The lady's silver pupils immediately locked on the old man. Her brows furrowed and various thoughts left her mind.
"Who are you?" She asked in an heroic tone as a sense of dignity waffled out of her demeanor.
"Reporting to Major General, he is my retainer that my father, the Monarch of Sama, arranged for me." Before the old man could reply, Maya opened her mouth and explained, she even added in her father's name, hoping to indicate the other party of her status.
But listening to Maya's reply, a glint of coldness flashed in her eyes which was missed by Maya.
The lady nodded in response at first and Maya breathed a sigh of relief but soon the lady's lips bent upwards in a smirk and the next words instantly doused Maya's face in cold water.
"Interrupting your superiors is an unpardonable offense in the Academy. Out of respect for the Monarch's contribution to Humanity, this lady shall not file a complaint, but that would only depend on your attitude. What say, Cadet?"
'This chick! How dare she!'
Maya gritted her teeth in frustration as she cursed the lady in her mind, but despite this she bowed her upper body in apology. She knew very well that even her father could not meddle with the rules of the Academy.
"Hmm, that's good! Now go, get back to your classes and all." The lady said as she swiped her hands as if swiping dust from her shoulders.
Maya did not dare tally, she hurriedly excused herself without even bothering to throw a glance at Jasmine and Aria.
After she left, the lady looked at everyone present that were gazing at the group with cold eyes. Everyone understood and hurriedly got busy with their work.
"Aunt Shashi!" It was only now that Jasmine's face lit up with joy and she called out towards the lady.
"Little Jasmine, how have you been?" Shashi said with a voice drenched in warmth as she rubbed Jasmine's head.
"Aunt Shashi, I have been well. Also why are you here? When did you get back? You should have visited Marshal and me before." Jasmine bombarded Shashi with questions nonstop.
Seeing this a smile appeared on Shashi's face which radiated their surroundings.
"Alright, alright. We can talk afterwards. I contacted Old Seven earlier and he informed me that you and his new cadet will be admitted to the Academy today." Shashi explained as she turned her face towards Aria as her gaze landed at the red wristband and she continued, "Little friend, I presume you are Old Seven's new cadet? You are even at Level-2, not bad. How should I address you? I forgot to ask Old Seven about your details."
"Thank you for your praise, Major General. You can call me Aria." Aria said in an awkward tone as his social skills somehow managed to hold his tongue together.
His attention was on the results from the detection system.
***
[ Level: 6.7 (Major General) ]
***
"No need to be formal, let's go. I shall guide you to the registration point in the Academy." Shashi said as she guided the duo towards the Academy.
As they moved towards their destination, Jasmine explained to Aria about Shashi's background.
'It turned out she is the second cadet referred to the Academy by Old Seven. Hmm, Jasmine mentioned that she was dispatched to the frontline fortress after her graduation three years ago. But the Academy graduation requires one to be at Level-3 at the max. So to say, she took only three years to reach Level-6 from Level-3, right? Just what is this Academy?'
The curiosity in Aria's mind was increasing and his thoughts were wandering to the origin of the human race and the three progenitors. Just when he was deep in thought----
"We are here." Shashi's voice dragged him back to reality.
As Aria's gaze focused on the scene in front of him, he could observe that they had reached the gate of the Academy. According to the books that Aria had read in the archive, the Academy was divided into two parts. The lower part located at the foot of the mountain was the one that would recruit cadets and teach them the basics. This was their current location.
The Academy was surrounded by huge metallic alloy walls dug deep into the ground. The gate in front of them was the only way that one could enter the Academy. There was a strict inspection of every personnel entering and exiting the Academy.
As they neared the gate, Aria gaze landed on two soldiers in front.
After using the detection system, Aria noticed that their levels were all around [ Level: 3 ].
They were dressed in some kind of armor, which Jasmine had mentioned were called 'combat armor' by the people. She had also mentioned that the armors were incorporated with 'technology' that would enable a normal human to exert a force beyond their individual capability.
Despite his short time in the archive, Aria had read a lot about this 'technology' that Humanity had developed. It could very well be said that Humanity's current development could be attributed to this 'technology' and thus Aria had a lot of interest in it.
Jasmine had mentioned that they would be taught about it during their classes in the Academy.
The soldiers immediately looked at the crimson collar patch and the two golden stars on Shashi and hurriedly saluted.
"At ease, soldiers. See these two, they are the new recruits of the Academy. Just get done with the formalities." Shashi said in a calm manner but then her eyes landed on Aria, who seemed to be looking at the soldiers.
"Don't be in awe, they are not the real warriors. These people, they failed to graduate and instead of contributing in the frontlines they chose to live a life of comfort by guarding these non-threatening gates." Misunderstanding Aria, Shashi hurriedly explained as a sense of disdain could be seen on her face.
She did not even try to lower her voice and this was also heard by the soldiers, who could only look down in shame and guilt. But something happened later which startled even her.