In the morning the whole house was woken up by the ringing of various electronic devices. Every appliance that was capable of displaying text received the same two messages. While everyone was wondering what happened, the exact same messages also arrived by mail.

The first message was an invitation to attend a private school funded by the prime minister. The other one was a personal message from Leon.

It said the following:

[Sorry for the excessive amount of mail. I had to make sure you received at least one of them.

All of the four children received an official invitation but I would like to give them a personal one as well. I want all of them to attend a school made specifically for children like them. (We are still debating over the official name.)

The plan is that the students will arrive at the school a week from now and stay there until the end of summer. During that time we will do everything in our power to facilitate their growth both physically and mentally.

It is important to me that all of you attend the program from beginning until the end.

Please don’t make my job difficult.]

The letter was a mixture of professionalism and Leon’s usual style. His intention was clear, his motive a little less so.

“I think we should go. Does anyone have an objection”

Said Peter while holding up the only physical copy of Leon’s writing.

Nyx once again acted as the divine group’s representative and gave their opinion.

{You should go. It will be a good learning experience if nothing else. It’s never too late to learn about the competition. Though Mr. Grumpy might have something to say.}

“That’s a stupid nickname, but I agree. As much as I hate him, Leon isn’t evil or an idiot. It’s worth it to at least check what he’s trying to do.”

313.1.08.

A thousand or so kids were standing in the middle of a large field surrounded by a dozen indistinct buildings. Prime minister Leon Verndari was standing in front of them on a makeshift stage.

The children were either those who were still in the care of the government or could be tracked down by Leon’s men and also chose to accept the invitation, plus a few extras.

The politician was about to open up the academy alongside a short pre-prepared speech. Looking at his audience however, he decided to just improvise.

“Thank you for coming here today. All of you are here today because you have the ability to change the world. Though that doesn’t mean you can do anything. Most of you are far away from being able to change anything, but that’s precisely why we’re here. From now on the workers of this establishment will do everything in their power to help you live up to the potential you’ve always had.

Now before we begin, I see that most of you have brought pets. We didn’t exactly plan on taking care of animals but I’m sure something can be done.”

While saying that last part a small gray bird landed on his shoulder and a lot of the animals he saw started to disappear.

{Don’t take it too hard, they didn’t exactly plan on being seen today. Also, it might be in your best interest to act like they don’t exist in the future.}

Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

Leon then used his ability to launch the bird towards Drake before continuing.

“For the foreseeable future you will be living in the academy. If you have a guardian they will only be allowed to visit or take you away after being vetted for safety reasons.

These buildings around us are various types of training facilities. Activities that are beneficial to all of you will be held for everyone simultaneously, outside of that you are free to go wherever you wish on the condition that you are actually doing something and not just lazing around.

Your first order of business is to pick a room for yourselves. There are some dormitories behind the facilities. You are free to choose any one of them as long as there are enough beds.”

After some encouragement the young trainees began to search for available rooms. Peter wanted to do so as well to fit in a room with his friends. Unfortunately his legs weren’t listening.

[You are affected by Commanding authority!]

“Could I have a moment of your time?”

Before he even had a chance to respond, Peter was swiftly dragged away to a small shed on the edge of the clearing.

He was suddenly left alone with the most important person in the country. And while that would have been the chance of a lifetime for most, he had a feeling that he wouldn’t really like what was going to happen next.

“Sorry, but you specifically will not get a choice in accommodation. You see, we have a few guests here. Guests that have very important people behind them and therefore have some special needs.”

“I guessed as much, but what does that have to do with me?”

“One of those guests is none other than Princess Aereus and her mother wanted specifically you to be her bodyguard. I don’t know why she asked that and honestly I don’t care, but you should probably still do it.”

Halfway through the explanation Peter’s brain froze. His perception of reality was incompatible with the logic that made him an ideal bodyguard.

There were more than fifty supervisors in the area, it shouldn’t have been a problem to add another person for security. And even if a student was required for some reason there were better candidates than himself. Just out of the ones he knew Manda was objectively the most powerful and Sarah with her zombies could do a much better job of protecting someone. His only advantage in this field was night vision.

“I still don’t get why I have to do it.”

“Don’t think much of it. She was crazy even before the whole possession thing. But while you’re here I’d like to make a request of my own.

As everyone was approaching me to get their “representatives” in, it dawned on me that I don’t have anyone. Even though I’m the organizer. So my request is that you and your friends act as my delegate if any political conflict happens to come up.”

Peter was a lot happier dealing with Leon than the distant and mysterious Queen Mira. He was right here and direct enough to make talking with him not feel like a formal affair, in spite of his position.

“What’s in it for me?”

“Turns out that hack raised you well. You’ll already be getting a salary of 100 UC a day from the princess, which is a total rip off by the way, so I thought along similar lines.

If there really will be assassins coming here then I’ll double the bounty of anyone you help us neutralize. They don’t even have to target Aereus, just get rid of anyone who’s not supposed to be here.

Also…”

He then opened a cabinet making a tied up man fall out. The man was wearing a prisoner’s outfit and the restraints were sort of unnecessary because he was unconscious and didn’t seem like he would be waking up anytime soon.

“I was informed about how your ability works and I'm sorry to say but this place will be useless to you for getting stronger. This man will be executed tomorrow, you can have his ability in advance and I’ll try to get more people like him if you agree to work with me.”

Peter walked closer to the criminal and inspected him. He didn’t know what the person lying in front of him committed other than the fact that it was enough to sentence him to death.

Leon was probably trying to be generous by providing people who, in the politician’s mind, deserved to have their powers taken away. He never actually thought about who deserved the curse that was his ability and the deal offered ensured that would remain true for a while.

“This is honestly a lot better tha n what I would have asked for. We have a deal.”

[Successfully absorbed class 7 Impact blessing.]

[Result: AGI +0.15, END +0.2, EXP +70]

“It’s a pleasure doing business with you. I guess it’s time to meet your other employer.”