"You freaking blackmailed the poor chef," Asher said with a loud laugh.
He just couldn't restrain himself as he remembered the scene of Silas negotiating with The Chef.
The chef had felt like a baby in the hands of Silas's maneuvers.
Silas sighed.
"I am now a businessman, thanks to my job."
Although he said it that way, within him, pride began to swell like an overfilled balloon.
"What job?" Asher asked with furrowed brows.
He had always thought Silas was only a student candidate of the Imperial Academy, who happened to be freakishly talented.
Silas glanced back at Asher with furrowed brows.
"You don't know yet?" He asked.
Asher shook his head slowly in confusion.
"I could have sworn I told you," Silas muttered, stroking his chin slowly.
After a few seconds of contemplation, Silas spoke again.
"I am the CEO of Sovereign Garden."
Asher nodded.
No, almost nodded, but he stopped mid-nod, his head hanging, eyes wide, mouth slightly open.
"If I may, how old are you?"
Silas blinked, his lips curling into a smile at Asher's question.
"Why are you suddenly asking about my age?"
"Your achievements all seem like something that only someone over a million years old can achieve. And that is if the person is very talented."
"Let's just say I am extremely talented," Silas said with a shrug.
Asher shook his head at the absurdity of the boy in front of him.
"Still can't believe that was not fish though," Silas muttered, remembering the recipe he had collected from The Chef earlier.
'And he always seems so casual about it,' Asher mused.
They continued walking without a clear direction.
"Have you ever been here?" Silas asked Asher.
"No," Asher replied directly. "The Imperial Sector is the second most guarded place in the universe after the Dragon Treasury."
He stopped at those words, letting Silas digest what he had said.
Then he continued.
"The requirements for entering are also listed clearly, with no other way in."
"What are the requirements?" Silas asked.
"Be a level 7 citizen, win the annual lottery, be an Imperial student or a candidate, a direct clan member of a level 3 clan, or a high-ranking worker in a level 5 company."
Asher looked at Silas, who had stopped to listen to what he was saying.
"There are more, but I can't remember all of them. Maybe you should check the library later in the academy," he advised.
"Hmm, okay."
Silas continued walking, starting slowly this time.
"But the security doesn't seem like much to me though."
He had thought about the scene at the barrier that led into the sector, but it still did not look that significant to him.
"Don't be fooled. You saw the thousands of officers there, right? Each of them is at least at the Void Sovereign stage, with some of them even reaching the Immortal Will stage."
As he spoke, light could not help but shine in his eyes.
"Stop sounding that way, it gives me the creeps," Silas said.
"Sorry, I lost my composure there for a second."
Silas nodded.
"Rion, how far away from Earth are we?"
"Master Silas, you have asked me that question over 10 times in the past hour. It is 2 days and a few hours away."
"Oh, so sorry," Silas replied.
"Are you in such a hurry to reach Earth?" Asher asked.
"Well, it is related to this," Silas said, bringing a paper out of his AI space.
He handed it to Asher without turning back.
"What is this?" Asher asked, taking the sheet from Silas.
He began to read through it, his expression changing at every line.
At first, it was happy.
Then, it shifted to confusion.
Sadness.
Anger.
Everything intertwined to the extent that Asher had to take his eyes off the paper to regain control over himself.
"I have never seen them since I was born. That paper was given to me by the nanny at my orphanage when I was 10 years old."
Silas's eyes turned pale red as he spoke.
"I believe you would find them if they are truly there."
Asher patted Silas's back slowly as he spoke.
"Asher… Asher," Silas called slowly.
"I know, I know, let it out," Asher replied.
"What am I letting out?" Silas asked with a smile as he removed Asher's palm.
"I thought you were about to cry since your eyes were red," Asher replied.
"I am at Monarch Stage; even if I wanted to cry, the tears wouldn't form."
Asher thought about what Silas had said, then sighed.
"Sorry, I forgot."
Silas nodded.
"My eyes were red because I was trying to see if I could attune with the flame element."
"You are already pushing for the Paragon Stage?" Asher asked.
They continued walking as they spoke.
"No, I only wanted to see how it felt."
Asher nodded slowly in realization.
As for getting shocked, he had gone way past that already; at least for things of this level, he was not surprised.
"The paper," Silas stretched his hand back to collect the paper from Asher.
Asher gave it back and Silas returned it to his AI space.
An awkward silence stretched between both of them as they walked.
The other students looked at Silas as he walked, stealing glances that did not escape his awareness.
"Silas."
Silas glanced at the person who had called him.
It was one of the officials on the spaceship, ones that had not approached any of the students even once throughout their stay on the ship.
Silas bowed slightly.
The official nodded.
"The commander wants to see you," he said.
His tone was flat and without emotion.
Silas furrowed his brows, then raised them, then sighed.
"Why?" He asked.
The official did not reply at first.
He stared at Silas plainly.
"Follow me."
He did not provide any reason.
Calmly, he began walking towards where Silas and Asher had just come from.
'These guys, always acting all high and mighty,' Silas groaned in his mind.
But ultimately, he chose to follow.
"Don't worry, I would be fine," he said to Asher.
Asher nodded.
At this point, if Silas said he was going to be fine, Asher would simply agree.
Soon, they reached the commander's quarters.
It was guarded by two fully armored soldiers.
'For someone who is the strongest on this ship, I see no reason for guards securing his quarters,' Silas thought.
The door opened smoothly, revealing a luxuriously designed room.
In the centre, a throne-like golden chair stood elegantly before a wide brown table.
There was a single person in the room: the commander.
He sat on the chair with the calm of a seasoned warrior.
His eyes were fixed on his door, and his chin rested on his locked palms.
"You are here, Silas," he said with a smile.
Silas nodded slowly.
The man's behavior had begun to unnerve him.
"Have a seat here."
Silas looked at the man again, then walked towards the chair.
"Thank you, sir," he said as he settled into the chair.
The commander nodded.
"Do you know why I called you?" He asked.
Silas did not reply.
The commander smiled.
"Okay, let me go straight to the point," he said, easing his arms as he sat upright. "During your academy years, would you like to do your cadetship with my platoon?" He asked.
"I heard of you from Levi; you are talented. Join my platoon and I will nurture you with all our resources."
Silas still said nothing.
"What do you say?"
"No."
Silas said.
The commander was stunned by Silas's straightforwardness.
"Are you sure you don't want to give this some thought?" The commander asked, leaning forward.
Silas nodded.
"I don't want to give you false hope, but I already have a faction to join for my cadetship."
The commander frowned.
Then a smirk.
A paper appeared in his hand.
Sliding it calmly towards Silas, he spoke.
"Can the faction rival my offer?"
Silas read through the offer, then smiled.
"Please, let's be serious here," Silas said — for the first time since entering the office, something had genuinely made him laugh.
"No, I am serious; I am ready to give you all of that," the commander said with a smile.
To him, the offer he had given was so good that Silas simply did not believe it.
"You don't get me. Your offer is like ten percent of what I am getting from my other faction."
"Spouting lies. If you are not joining me, don't join me; there's no need to say something like that."
"You caught me there. Well, five and ten percent, there's no difference, so I just said ten percent."
The commander was about to have an outburst when he calmed himself down.
"What faction did you join? I should call them to confirm."
As he spoke, a telecom appeared on the table.
He picked the phone up.
"Crimson Heaven Tower," Silas said calmly.
"Okay." The commander was about to speak when he grasped the full weight of the words.
The phone slipped from his hand unconsciously, hitting the floor with a thud.
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