"Sir Dante?" Bai Liang tilted his head slightly as he placed Dantalion's pen back on his desk.
Dantalion regained his senses and lowered his gaze as he quietly composed himself, "You may wear it on your breast pocket."
Bai Liang held his amused smile down and started fumbling with the badge, 'trying' to wear it on his breast pocket. Dantalion raised his gaze to see how Bai Liang was trying to stick the needle in and saw that if he forced it in, he would prick his finger.
He immediately stood up and encircled his desk to stop Bai Liang's hands, "Don't be careless. Turn to me."
Bai Liang gladly turned to face him and sneakily took a half step closer.
Dantalion was focused on attaching the badge neatly and didn't notice. He ensured that it wasn't crooked in the slightest and straightened Bai Liang's uniform. When he looked up, his heart stopped for a split second to find Bai Liang's face so close to him.
His breathing faintly trembled as he exhaled, unable to bear the strong, rapid drumming of his chest. He knew he should step away and maintain propriety yet he wanted to embrace the delicate body with all tenderness, imagining how soft he would be in his arms that he wouldn't dare to cause him the slightest burden lest he broke.
Bai Liang raised his eyes with a slight tilt of his head and saw the marshal's frozen face and bright red ears. The struggle in his eyes was painfully yet adorably apparent as his mind and heart battled so as to not succumb to his desire. Even his hands still hung awkwardly in place, not knowing whether to advance or retreat.
Having his fill, Bai Liang decided to spare him. He took a step back and smiled, "Thank you, Sir Dante."
Dantalion was slightly relieved, but the feeling of loss overwhelmed him more. His hands slowly clenched in regret as he lowered them, "Be more careful of your own body or else you will not be able to perceive the danger around you."
"I will keep that in mind," Bai Liang nodded. "Sir Dante, what can I assist you with first?"
Dantalion silently took a deep breath, extinguishing the sinful flame in his heart, and exhaled. He walked back to his chair, "Come."
Bai Liang went to stand next to Dantalion's chair. The marshal opened his desk drawer to take out the same clear tablet as the one Ivan had earlier and a white digital pen. He gave them to him.
"You may treat this as your notepad, but this is mainly a file," Dantalion said. "Although documents can be sent through light brains, please refrain from doing so. For regular documents, you may send them virtually from this tablet to my desk, but for sensitive and classified documents, I want you to directly transfer them in my office."
Bai Liang had figured that Dantalion's desk was actually a device itself with the whole surface as a screen. Still, he didn't think that just by placing the tablet on top of it, they would automatically be linked and he could move the document on the tablet to the table just by sweeping it off the screen. Once the document was moved, it would leave no copy behind on the tablet. It was as if the devices were treating the documents as physical papers themselves only that it was in a digital form.
"It might be tedious and I am aware that I am being paranoid since the information security of Tempest Corps itself is already very extensive," Dantalion lowly said. "But if something happens because of carelessness, it will already be too late."
Bai Liang, "…"
Why…did it feel like he was learning from Huo Zhang's mistake?
Bai Liang felt that it wouldn't be too strange since the fragment of the soul inside them were from the same person. Any strong feelings or emotions could possibly be transferred to other fragments through some intangible link.
He put the thoughts away and focused back on Dantalion, "Sir Dante, I do not think you are being paranoid. You are only upholding your responsibility as a marshal towards the information that is entrusted to you. There are no such things as being too careful."
Those were the words he always wanted to hear to dispel his doubt towards this protocol of his and when he finally heard it, Dantalion felt the wedge in his mind was finally lifted.
"Thank you for your words, Cai–" Dantalion's throat halted as he realized he almost called Bai Liang too familiarly.
"Sir Dante, please call me Cain," Bai Liang leaned down slightly with a mellow smile. "Or do you not like my name after all?"
"No, of course not," Dantalion said without any doubt. He covered his lips as he cleared his throat, "Shall we continue, Cain?"
"Yes, Sir Dante," Bai Liang smiled.
Dantalion worked on his documents while explaining things to Bai Liang from time to time. Bai Liang stored everything in his own brain rather than noting them down so as to be able to focus wholeheartedly on Dantalion's voice and words. Anyway, he was confident with his memory.
Their harmonious hour ended when the clock struck 3 and the door was knocked. Dantalion opened it from his desk and Ivan entered.
"Marshal, the welcoming ceremony is beginning in half an hour. Would you like to leave now or should I wait for a while?" Ivan asked.
Dantalion put down his pen, "Now."
Bai Liang followed Dantalion out of the office and walked behind him with Ivan by his side. Ivan was taller by a couple of inches compared to him.
"Chief Assistant," Ivan suddenly spoke up as he fixed his glasses, "if there is anything you are unsure about, please do not hesitate to ask me. I will move my administrative work to you at your preferred pace."
"Thank you, Admiral," Bai Liang raised his tablet. "Then, may I ask you about some things now?"
Ivan didn't mind since the distance towards the hangar was quite far by foot. He answered Bai Liang's questions and told some advice based on his own experience on how he did certain tasks.
Dantalion listened to the friendly interaction behind his back and felt somewhat neglected. Still, he was the one who told Bai Liang to ask things to Ivan and studied from him, so he didn't intervene. It was great that Bai Liang took the initiative to learn.
Once they reached the hangar, they entered through the side door and went to the second level. They stood by the guardrail behind the new recruits who were already lined up neatly below them. Since they were new, all the dragons still had horns and some of their scales were apparent.
Bai Liang briefly counted to find there were around 500 of them. He soon found Aiden Leonhart and Noah Winter among them who safely entered the same division as in the trajectory.
"Are you familiar with anyone, Chief Assistant?" Ivan asked.
"No, Admiral," Bai Liang shook his head. "I went to a general academy after all."
Nearing the start of the ceremony, a man with short, bright red hair stepped up onto the makeshift platform. On his black uniform, 3 silver stripes encircled his left arm, showing his rank.
"That is Oster Fleming, Tempest Corps' first admiral," Ivan introduced. "I suggest Chief Assistant run away from him if you don't want to get burned."
Bai Liang, "?"
The second the time turned 3.30, Oster opened the ceremony with a booming voice, startling all the new recruits to stand attention. Even from where he was, Bai Liang could hear his voice as if he was speaking with a loudspeaker.
As he preached about resolve, willpower, and dedication in fervent passion, the hangar was filled with only his voice and Bai Liang keenly felt the temperature slowly rising. The generals of every division below the platforms listened through with flat faces, clearly showing their numbness to the situation. Dantalion and Ivan were also unperturbed.
"Is Admiral Oster a fire dragon?" Bai Liang asked.
"Yes, but he is stup–ahem," Ivan cleared the words from his throat. "He is a special case, so no need to fear that all fire dragons are like him."
Bai Liang thought it was both funny and interesting how the 2 admirals were the exact opposite.
"When it comes down to it, Oster is capable," Dantalion added. "And although he is…slower than average, his raw instinct is the sharpest."
"The type that wins every gamble through pure instinct," Ivan clicked his tongue.
With a small wave of his hand, Oster's assistant promptly went up the platform and told him that his time was up. The hangar finally cooled back as Oster stepped down.
After the representative of the fairies finished giving her speech as well, Dantalion promptly headed down with Bai Liang and Ivan following closely behind.