“So this is the Imperial Academy...” A young man moved with confident steps through the main gate of the academy as he looked at the towering buildings in front of him. “There are a lot of people, I'm sure being here will be more lively than staying on Family Island.”
The boy had white hair and red eyes
He continued to move, and behind him, only two steps away, there was a little girl about twelve years old who had features that resembled this young man in a way that indicated that she was this young man’s younger sister, but with a much smaller body, as if she were a fragile doll.
Behind them was a group of knights wearing silver armor with swords hanging at their waists
A man from the knights came forward and spoke in an emotionless tone. “Young Master, we are here on official business. We had to inform the Imperial Forces of our arrival.”
The little girl nodded softly. "He's right, Rafael. We have to take this seriously."
Raphael smiled carefree, directing his words to the knight who came forward. "We don't have to be in a hurry, Boris. We can walk around a little before we go to meet Alexander."
Boris frowned sadly. “This is the mission the family has given you. You know very well what this means.”
Despite his cold tone, Boris' concern was evident
The main family assigned each member of the younger generation a task to prove themselves to their peers
Whether they were the young people assigned these tasks or even their parents, they always tread carefully in order to complete these tasks perfectly.
In their view, failure will constitute a shame that will haunt them for life and can only be erased by achieving important achievements for the family.
But young men like Raphael saw these missions as an opportunity to leave the isolated island and wander the world
Rafael was excited when he heard about the mission he was assigned
Go to the Imperial Academy and protect Alexander... This is the order issued by the head of the family
The reason for Raphael's enthusiasm was the part about the visit to the Imperial Academy, ignoring everything related to protecting Alexander.
The academy was a place where talented young people from different backgrounds and affiliations gathered
For a young man who was curious and eager to see the outside world, visiting this place was an opportunity that could not be missed. As for protecting Alexander, this is an easy task that he can carry out with his eyes closed, because he is confident in his strength, and does not believe that there is anyone who could harm Alexander while he is under his protection.
Boris shook his head when he saw Rafael's action
Boris was a knight who worked under Rafael's father
His master sent him as an escort to Raphael and his younger sister Angelica on this mission
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It was necessary that Rafael and Angelica pass this test without problems, which is why Boris came here with them.
“How should we find Alexander without the help of the intelligence men?” Angelica asked, her head lolling to the side slightly
“We can ask about him...” Raphael decided to move towards the center of the academy. “He's from the Ford family, and we must find some people who can identify him...”
“So your goal is to search for Alexander and not play around?” Angelica said with some sarcasm
Boris nodded vigorously in support of Angelica
But Rafael ignored them completely and pointed to a bus parked on the side of the road. "Let's take this bus..."
Ten minutes later, Rafael and his group arrived at the center of the academy
Classes were over and students were starting to flock to this area to eat and hang out
Raphael's group had already attracted the students' attention due to the appearance of the knights who were wearing distinctive armor
But the students did not dare to approach this group despite their curiosity
Rafael approached a food stall
A young waiter greeted them with a broad smile. “How can I serve you?”
Rafael took out a picture from his pocket and showed it to the waiter. "I'm looking for this person. Can you—"
Rafael's words stopped when he noticed the young waiter's expression change
“…” The waiter looked at Alexander’s photo with a blank expression
Then he quickly returned his gaze to Rafael and his group. “We will be closing soon. We are sorry that we cannot receive you.”
" Why?." Rafael felt confused by this sudden change in the waiter's behavior
“The manager had a stroke...” the waiter said indifferently
Angelica stepped forward. "We're just looking for this person. We're asking if you know him."
The waiter's expression softened slightly. "It's Alexander Ford..."
" you know him?." Rafael didn't expect this waiter to recognize Alexander directly
Alexander was from the Ford family, but there were many more important people than him in the academy. The nobles might be able to recognize Alexander quickly, but the common people might not know what he looked like
“Yes…” The waiter’s expression darkened. “This boy has caused a lot of problems for the restaurant. He always complains about the prices of our products even though we offer the cheapest food. Why does he insist that we are exploiting students?”
The waiter's voice began to rise as he remembered the amount of complaints Alexander made every time he visited them
The waiter became angrier. “And the most annoying thing is that he is surprised by the prices of food every time he comes here even though he comes every day. Does he have the memory of a fish?”
"..." Everyone listened to the miserable waiter's complaints
The waiter sighed tiredly. “In the end we blacklisted him.”
"You have a blacklist?" Raphael raised an eyebrow
“We never had a blacklist before, but we created one and put Alexander’s name on it.” The waiter pointed to a paper hanging on one of the walls
Alexander's name was the only name on that list
"..." What did Alexander do for you to invent a blacklist for him alone?
“So, do you know where he is?” Angelica asked impatiently
The waiter shrugged. “I don’t know where he is, but I think I know someone who knows where he is.”
Angelica's eyes lit up. “Can you point us to this person?”
"He's in the shop across from us." The waiter pointed to a juice shop that was across the road
Rafael and his group headed to the juice shop and asked a boy who worked there if he knew where Alexander was
The young man frowned. "I don't know where he is."
“But the waiter who worked in the restaurant opposite you said that you knew him.” Angelica looked at the restaurant they came from
“Oh…” The young man was surprised for a moment. “Actually, I was working with Alexander.”
“Are you one of his followers?” Rafael asked
It was normal for young men from superior families to have followers from the lower classes
"I'm not his follower..." The young man shook his head. “You could say it's mutual benefit.”
A girl who was wearing the same outfit as this young man approached them. " What is the problem?."
The young man pointed to Raphael. “They are looking for Alexander.”
"Heh.." The girl looked at them curiously, because they didn't look like they were from the academy
“There are a lot of people who know him, you can ask them.” The girl gave them advice
“Did you work with Alexander too?” Rafael asked
“No, I was working under Larry.”
“Who is Larry?”
“He is Alexander’s secretary, I think...”
"..." Doesn't that mean you were working with Alexander?
Another young man, who was sitting at one of the tables and listening to their conversation, intervened. “You can go to Larry, he is close to Alexander...”
Can't we just enlist the help of Imperial Intelligence?.... Boris sighed
Rafael knew Larry's location from the young man who advised them to go to him, and they headed there directly
“Alexander?...” Larry looked at the picture for a moment
Larry was sitting in a cafe crowded with students who were talking so loudly, making such noise that it was difficult to hear anything.
Larry held up the picture and waved it. “Guys, has anyone seen Alexander lately?”
The noisy place suddenly became quiet
Everyone was looking at each other
“Do you know who Alexander is?” Rafael looked at the place crowded with students
There were dozens here. Do they all know Alexander?
“Actually, we've all been working with Alexander for a while.” Larry explained to him
Twenty, thirty. Have mercy, Apollo, there are at least forty people here... Boris swallowed as he looked at those students who said they worked with Alexander
Every student within the academy was considered the elite among the elite
How did Alexander manage to recruit so many students?
Boris decided to send an urgent report to the main family so that they could re-evaluate Alexander
His ability to gather this number of elites around him is not an easy matter at all