Death… And Me

Chapter 3930: Vote!

Rean, Kentucky, Celis and the others also returned to the Divine Military Academy before and after Roan got there, as they had different missions. The same went for Foliana and the rest.

It goes without saying that those who tried to get rid of the twins and Kentucky obviously noticed that all their attempts failed. The weird thing was that nothing was told in the reports, as if the attempts never happened.

They weren’t idiots. They knew someone was behind those failures, and that the twins’ group was being observed. That being the case, whoever tried to target the twins’ group, or the various powers in this case, would definitely not try it again anytime soon. If information escapes somehow, they would be the ones on the back foot.

With that, a few months passed, and the twins’ group began to create more waves in the academy. The missions and other tasks now happened without anything out of the ordinary. Sure, not everything always went according to plan, but at least there were no assassination attempts against them anymore.

That gave them the opportunity to stand out, with each report showing that they were always the ones to contribute the most.

The twins’ group also managed to show a lot more, like the Red Lighting Rean and Roan could use, Kentucky’s Feather Blade Intent, which no one expected a demon beast would be able to use, or Celis’s way over than expected abilities to control energy. Tanxan and Zangeshu made a better case for themselves in the fields of formations and blacksmithing.

Wisfreya’s Luminous Aether Dragon bloodline caught some attention, although Foliana received a higher highlight since she, too, had a hybrid bloodline, but was stronger. It made sense in their eyes since Foliana had a higher Golden Radiance level.

Their rise continues...

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Inside the academy, there was a meeting hall where representatives from every country gathered once a year to discuss matters of the academy and the students’ overall affairs. Today, another gathering was taking place, with just as many topics as any other year.

Principal Ximao, obviously, was also there, listening to the events and the various concerns of the countries regarding his regiment in the Exchange Program. Let’s not forget, at the end of the day, Ximao was hired by those countries, and if the countries joined forces to decide to remove Ximao, he could only leave. At the same time that he remained neutral, his work had to please all those countries, or at least the majority of them.

The various elders and representatives discussed numerous topics, including budgets, the academy’s curriculum, and interactions with other continents, among other things. The gathering continued for two days straight before all the official matters were over.

Then, finally, the topics turned to the students, and this year, this topic was bound to be a lot more heated. The last time a Celestial Ascendance Radiance Student appeared, it was the same, let alone now that four of them have emerged.

Ximao started, as everyone seemed unwilling to do so. ”We have been here for two days already, so let’s not waste time. During this year, we got a total of seventeen new Golden Radiance Students. However, I know that most of you couldn’t care less about those in the first level of Golden Radiance, right? Especially since their countries made sure to take them in before anyone could make any attempt.”

”That said, the topic obviously will shift into those seven who declared they wanted to be neutral. Now, that truly surprised me, but that also brought me a lot of trouble,” said Ximao. ”I wonder, just how many offers have you tried to make to them?”

”Ahem...” Suddenly, one of the representatives there called everyone’s attention. His name was Ernest, from a country called Glu-terkis. ”Principal Ximao, there is nothing wrong in trying to recruit them to our own country, now is there? Instead, I would like to talk about their origins. They aren’t really from our country. Instead, they all came from a place called Green Cluster, which is an alliance of various continents that is being invaded at this very moment. Please, everyone, take a look at the information I sent to all your terminals. Well, I’m pretty sure most of you already know about it, but check the information anyway.”

Everyone nodded and looked into it. A few minutes later, Ernest continued. ”So, as you can see, they all came from that Verjansy Country.” His eyes then turned in a certain direction, landing on the representative of the Galantes Country. ”And it was your Galantes Country who took them in, wasn’t it, Donafela? From what I found, your country received quite a big payment to do that, but there is no attachment. Everyone there is free to leave once the war is over, in case Verjansy Country survives, that is. Is that correct?”

Donafela nodded. She wasn’t surprised at all. This information was easily found because Galantes didn’t really try to hide it. They couldn’t be blamed, as they never expected this batch of refugees to have so many Golden Radiance Prospects. ”So? All countries here have taken in outsiders before. Principal Ximao was hired by all of us exactly because he is an outsider with no bias towards any of the countries. Are you saying my Galantes Country did the wrong thing?”

”Of course not!” Ernest answered and smiled. ”I just wanted you to confirm that if we manage to reel any of them in, your country truly won’t have any say in the matter. You said it yourself, recruiting outsiders is nothing to be ashamed of.”

Everyone in the hall nodded, knowing that this conversation would turn in that direction.

”However!” Yet, Ernest didn’t stop there. ”I’m sure all of us have kept a close eye on those seven, especially the four Celestial Ascendances. Let’s be honest, they are exceeding all expectations. Or we could say we couldn’t expect less of the kids who even broke the Judgemental Eye. That said, any one of them could potentially break the balance between the countries. What I want to discuss is whether we truly want to keep them or not.”

Ximao narrowed his eyes. ”What are you saying?”

Ernest continued. ”What I’m saying is that perhaps, for the sake of peace, we’d better get rid of them.”

Ximao didn’t need to think twice to understand. Ernest and his country were probably involved in the attempts against the twins’ group’s lives back then. Yet, he suddenly smiled, then began to laugh out loud. ”Hahahaha! That’s the most ridiculous argument I’ve ever heard in my entire life!”

Ernest narrowed his eyes, not liking Ximao’s attitude. ”Principal, I must remind you that you must keep an unbiased position at all times. Or are you perhaps hoping for another age of dark wars to start in our Runia Continent?”

”Me?” Ximao snorted. ”I couldn’t be any less interested in that age. If it happens, I would lose my position as principal as well, and I definitely don’t want that to happen. However, you are asking everyone to get rid of the kids with the biggest potential we have had in over a thousand years, and several of them at once. Let me ask you, are you dumb? Can’t you even see just what kind of power they will become for the continent as a whole in the future?”

Ximao’s eyes turned to everyone. ”I think it is exactly the opposite. It is the fact that there are seven of them, all third-level Golden Radiance or higher, that their neutral position should be celebrated. If they join a different country each, wouldn’t the balance be preserved?”

Ximao turned to Ernest. ”Ernest, even if it takes over a thousand years for each Celestial Ascendance Radiance to appear, they always join one of the countries, normally the country where they were born. Now, should I remind you how the balance between each country’s power shifts every time that happens? However, with more than just one, it could actually strengthen the balance, and it will also serve as a deterrent for other continents in the future. Everyone here knows that until this fake peace was created, this continent was on the verge of being invaded and conquered.”

Ximao returned his attention to the rest. ”That being said, I have another proposal. We all agree that if any country here manages to reel one of them in, they MUST NOT attempt to recruit another one. If you truly care about the future of this continent and this Exchange Program, you know what you have to do.”

Immediately, several discussions started in the hall. It was obvious that the opinions were divided. Some wanted to follow Ernest’s plan, while others thought Ximao to be the correct one. It was all a matter of balance between their fears and their aspirations, and the memories of the age of dark wars definitely influenced their opinions greatly.

In the end, it wasn’t possible to reach a consensus with everyone’s opinions divided. So, Ximao simply used the best method available. ”Let’s vote!”

”Wait a minute!” But then, Donafela interrupted everyone. ”I have one more proposal that might be worth considering.”

As she said that, the image of a black and white haired young duo appeared in her mind. Her memories went back a few days, to a meeting she had with Rean and Roan. ’Everything is playing exactly as those two said it would...’