The SSS-rank Guide Doesn't Need Saving

The guard nearly dropped the terminal a second time.

His heart started pounding violently against his ribcage, and a horrified scream almost burst from his throat. He was completely terrified to see the Admiral of the Association in front of him!

He had served the Guide and Sentinel Association transport ship for almost three years now, guarding the transport ships as they sailed up toward the floating island in the sky where the Association headquarters was situated.

In all the time, he had only seen the Admiral exactly twice from a distance. Both times, the man had been surrounded by enough elite guards that ordinary people couldn’t even dream of getting close.

Now, this legendary powerhouse’s face filled the screen in his hand, waiting for an answer.

The guard suddenly felt his soul leaving his body. However, he bit his lips fiercely; he absolutely could not faint in front of the Admiral.

"A—Admiral Zeke," the guard stammered, straightening so fast he nearly bit his own tongue. "This—this girl, we found her with a large sum of—that, um, a passenger claimed—"

"Give the terminal back to her," Zeke ordered flatly.

The guard didn’t dare ask why. He didn’t even have the courage to hold the device for a second longer. He turned the terminal around and thrust it toward Aisha with both hands, bowing his head deeply as he did so. His previous thoughts of currying favor with the arrogant nobleman completely vanished into thin air.

cross the cabin, the midlde-aged man stood there with his mouth hanging wide open. Shock and disblief were written all over his face as he wondered whether his eyes were playing tricks on him.

Aisha took the terminal back with an indifferent expression.

"Is something wrong?" Zeke asked again, his deep gaze finally shifting to lock onto her.

"Someone accused me of theft," Aisha replied calmly. "Apparently, I stole a pouch of star credits that happens to belong to me."

Hearng this, the middle-aged man’s face wen through several colors in quick succession. He opened his mouth to argue, but the moment he remembered the identity of the person on the other end of the call, his throat grew tight and he forced his mouth shut.

The entire cabin fell into a dead silence. Nobody dared to release a single breath.

The young guard who had just tried to arrest her looked like he wanted to find a crack in the floor to sink into. Meanwhile, the passenger who had claimed his money was missing suddenly patted his coat pocket, nervously mumbling that he might have miscounted his money earlier.

The overbearing middle-aged man cleared his throat, gave a stiff, trembling bow toward the screen, and immediately turned around to flee to another section of the ship.

However, a cold voice echoed from the terminal before he could take a step.

"The Association will thoroughly investigate this matter. Once the report is finalized, proper compensation and punishment will be handed down accordingly."

He deliberately emphasized the words ’punishment’ and ’compensation’.

The middle-aged man almost lost the strength in his legs. He opened his mouth, desperately wanting to plead for forgiveness, but his late regrets were completely ignored as he was dragged away instead.

Aisha waited until the surrounding crowd thinned out in fear before speaking into the terminal again.

"Thank you."

"You should use the Teleportation Array next time," Zeke said, his tone perfectly calm. "It’s faster, and you can use my permit to enter for free."

Aisha considered refusing his offer. She hadn’t planned on owing this man anything, nor did she have plans to visit the Association often anytime soon. But a free pass was a free pass. It wasn’t like she enjoyed handing over a thousand star credits just to get through a basic checkpoint.

"Fine," she said.

He gave her the exact coordinates for where to meet him, along with a short note explaining that someone would be sent to collect her once she landed.

Then, the call ended.

***

Inside the Association’s central tower, on the top floor reserved for military strategy briefings, the atmosphere had gone stiff the moment their Admiral started to call.

It wasn’t that the Admiral never took calls during high-level meetings. He did occasionally, but only when the matter was urgent enough to affect the Guide and Sentinel Association.

Even then, he always answered in the same direct manner and ended the conversation within ten seconds.

But this time...

"--It’s faster, and you can use my permit for free."

W--what did they just hear?

Permit? Whose permit again? Was it the personal permit of the second-in-command of the entire Guide and Sentinel Association?!

A deathly silence instantly enveloped the grand briefing room. Not a single person dared to exchange glances, let alone let out a breath.

Vice Admiral Selene, a broad-shouldered woman with red hair, kept her eyes rigidly glued to the tactical display before her. However, her focus was completely not processing a single line of the glowing data.

When Zeke finally terminated the call and turned back to face the room, his handsome face had already returned to its usual unreadable calm. It was as if that conversation from a moment ago had never even occurred.

"Continue," he commanded.

The officer handling the presentation cleared his dry throat. He forced himself to pick up where he had left off, but his voice trembled noticeably during the first few sentences, his previous momentum completely crushed by the heavy atmosphere.

The strategy meeting dragged on for another twenty minutes, though most of the officials listened half-heartedly, their minds entirely distracted.

By the time Zeke dismissed the room, the officers streamed out of the heavy doors with hurried steps, immediately lowering their voices to gossip the second they cleared the room.

Only a young lieutenant lingered behind.

"Admiral," he opened his mouth the moment the room emptied. "Who exactly was that on the line?"

Outside the doorway, several departing officers slowed their footsteps, their ears perking up instantly.

In their heart, they were wildly cheering and praising the lieutenant’s boldness for voicing the exact question they were all dying to ask.

If there was anyone in the entire militant division who could ask such a probing question and survive the consequences, it was Ares. Not only was he the Admiral’s oldest comrade, but he was also the Lieutenant of the Golden Scale-- the elite force under Zeke’s direct command and the only militant group that protects the Association.

Zeke picked up a leather folder from the desk, his eyelids lowered. "Someone from the Academy."

With that single sentence, the burning curiosity of the officers outside was instantly extinguished.

They were expecting something worth gossiping about. Or something that could finally reveal whether their Admiral had paired up with someone.

They exchanged helpless glances and departed without further delay.

Everyone knew that the Admiral’s current posting at the Academy was merely an annoying task forced upon him by the Chief’s direct orders.

Ares waited until the door clicked shut behind the last person before dropping his voice to report a serious matter.

"I have another urgent matter to report. Our scouts have detected traces of the Dark Knight Organization in both Sector 2 and Sector 5. The sightings aren’t fully confirmed yet, but they were spotted loitering near a black-market auction house--Manephesto Exchange. Should we dispatch an alert to the Federation’s military factions and the Imperial Loyalist Death Guards?"

Zeke paused, setting the folder back onto the desk.

"Do it," Zeke replied. Then, after a brief beat of silence, he added, "Hold back the report regarding the Sector 2 sighting. I will handle that investigation personally."

Ares frowned slightly. "As for the abnormal spiritual energy fluctuation detected at the Resource Department from the branch of the Divine Tree, should we prioritize it?"

"Yes," Zeke nodded. "Head over there yourself to see through the investigation."

"Ah? You’re not going to do it, sir?"

Zeke lifted his gaze and looked at him silently.

Sensing the cold pressure in the room, Ares immediately straightened his spine.

"Understood, sir. This subordinate will depart immediately to investigate the matter!"

He gave a salute and turned on his heel to leave.

"Ares."

The lieutenant’s steps halted.

"If you’ve got nothing to do, go to the Association transit entrance," Zeke said, his tone shifting into a more casual, private setting. "Bring a guest back to my private estate."

"Who am I looking for?" Ares asked, matching his casual tone now that Zeke dropped it.

Zeke fell into a brief silence, searching for the most accurate words to describe that girl’s unpredictable nature.

Finally, a faint glint flashed through his eyes as he spoke: "A deceptively lethal doll."

Ares stared blankly for a second, his lips twitching slightly.

"...Understood," he muttered slowly. He swiftly turned and exited the briefing hall.

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