One of the doors was open, while the other remained closed. That gate, when locked, had an engraving in the wood, which was now cut in half. However, it was possible to see four stars around a sword.
Luke immediately noticed how Adrian's heartbeat had accelerated, the boy was much more nervous than before. With each step the blond boy took, his heart beat five times, his breathing was heavy, but the young man tried to keep up with his gentle smile.
Until both students hear shouting, it was an argument.
"You know! I don't want any wimps in the main event! We need to make a stricter entry process!" A male voice said.
"That's why the event will have a qualifying round its airhead! Is it really so absurd to leave qualifying battles before the main event?" A woman shouted
As soon as Luke and Adrian approached the door, it was possible to see the full view of the room. Sitting in an armchair in front of the main window that illuminated that room was a beautiful dark blue haired elf with a serious look and a completely neutral face. In front of her was a desk.
The elf was watching an argument in front of her, a small girl with short green hair arguing with a tall muscular boy with red hair. Both were dressed in academy uniforms, but only the elf had a gold pendant on her uniform.
"Silence," said the elf.
The moment those simple words were spoken, the two stopped talking at the same instant. They turned to the head of the committee and behaved like two soldiers responding to a general. The atmosphere in that place changed in seconds.
Inside that room, there were still other committee members, most of whom were girls. All the other members were focused on their respective tasks, each of them reading, some reviewing long piles of sheets and others writing on equally staggering amounts of paper.
"You know this project has already been approved Hawk" The elf said, looking into the eyes of that muscular young man, the man's face showed a fright at the same instant. Feeling threatened by that elegant and cold posture.
"The battles will take place in two phases, we have already decided that. And Kaori, I don't want any arguments in this group, if you two keep fighting..." The elf then placed both hands on the table, giving them both a frosty look before continuing with her sentence. "I will remove both of you, and make sure to notify you of this unbecoming behavior" the two students were in a cold sweat.
"Now, what do you two need?" The elf said, as she turned her face to Adrian and Luke, who were waiting at the door.
[I wonder if this was the person who was scaring Adrian].
'I imagine not, Adrian is not that bothered by Megan, even if she has that same kind of attitude'
As soon as the Elf turned to the two students in the doorway, Hawk frowned and snorted. His gaze was fixed on the half-wolf, analyzing Luke from head to toe. That look gave Luke the answer on the spot, it was evident how that red-haired boy was just another person with a prejudice against half-beasts.
[This girl... she reminds me]
'Ayumi'
Aoi's noble attitude was somewhat similar to Ayumi's, and this similarity made Luke more interested in discovering Aoi's plans.
The half-wolf and the elf then exchanged glances, and within seconds they both understood the deal. Luke nodded, while the elf just closed her eyes in response, also bowing slightly. With that, Luke's goal now was also to defeat Hawk Vermillion, a mage he did not yet know the skills of.
Luke took the paper given to him by Aoi and signed it. It was a four-page document with the regulations of the battle, the only action prevented was the death of the opponent. However, serious injuries were limited in the early stages of the event, the ranking phase before the larger performances.
Once the document had been signed, Adrian and Luke left the room. In the pocket of the half-wolf's uniform was a note that Aoi had placed next to the documents he had signed, there the information about the mission was described in detail.
As soon as Luke and Adrian reached the third floor of the building, walking down that first flight of stairs, the blond-haired boy collapsed.
"Luke that was so stressful, I thought I was going to die" Adrian said, breaking into tears.
"What made you so nervous?" Luke questioned.
"Aoi's presence is overwhelming on its own, but there is going to be a committee meeting today. So I was sure the bastard Hawk would be there" Adrian explained, "Hawk Vermillion is one of the most prominent fire mages in the academy, but not only is he extremely prejudiced against half-beasts but he has ties to Melki's empire.
I heard that he has been licking Miss Aoi's boots for a few months now, trying to gain an influential position in the student council.
Everything had now fallen into place in Luke's head, if Hawk was connected with the empire, maybe he was helping Max, that alone was a reason to be eliminated. But surely Aoi doesn't want a political connection between Melki's academy and Melki's empire, which no doubt explains the need to remove Hawk from the committee team.
'So she wants me to leave him unable to work on the student council. I see...'
[What are you going to do?]
'I imagine he can't write papers if he loses one of his hands.'
[Luke.]