The war is over, presumably, but Alex doesn't feel relieved.
Standing on the spire of the hive city, this place that once symbolized power, he suddenly fell deeply into the memories of the past——
"You are……"
In the cold corridor, the young voice was full of doubts, and then there was silence for a while.
"What are you doing?"
A big boy was kneeling on the corridor, with a tile on the drain under his knees.
After hearing the sound, the older boy raised his head and saw a slightly smaller child standing next to him, looking down at him curiously.
He didn't recognize him. Although this child was wearing a simple black twill Tadaji Academy uniform like him, he thought he was a new kid.
"Then what do you think I'm doing?"
The big boy asked succinctly:
"What do you think I look like doing?"
The little boy was silent for a while. He was thin and tall, about 12 years old.
For some reason, the big boy on the ground felt that there was something terribly old and frightening hidden in the eyes of the boy in front of him.
"It looks like you're just using a brush to clean the tiles in this corridor."
"Haha, should I praise your attention?"
The older boy smiled without humor. His dirty hands picked up the brush and showed it to the child. It was a tool made of soft bristles, originally used to brush buttons and belts on uniforms.
"I think you can still find the answer yourself."
Then he took a small brush and dipped it into the cold and biting water in the bowl next to him, and began to scrub the floor again.
"If you don't mind, I have to mop the other three sides of the yard."
The younger boy was silent for several minutes, but still didn't leave.
The man who was cleaning the tiles could feel a stab of pain on the back of his neck.
"What else do you want to ask?"
The child nodded.
"My name is Sebastian Yarrick."
"Okay, let me introduce myself, my name is Lucas Vander."
"Lucas, why are you doing this?"
Lucas threw the brush into the bowl, knelt aside, and rubbed his numb hands.
"I was too reckless. I went to the weapons training ground to practice target shooting with live ammunition. I ended up breaking three targets. The deputy instructor was very unhappy."
"So is this punishment?"
"Yes, this is punishment."
"That's really unfortunate."
The man who called himself Alec said thoughtfully.
"It's really unlucky. If you encounter such a bad thing and a bad person like you, wouldn't you ask for something better??"
Alex went to an open corner of the corridor and looked outside.
The cloisters of this ancient missionary college are paved with mosaic tiles of the Imperial double-headed eagle. The air is filled with the smell of rain, the cold wind whistles down from the stone colonnades, and the drains and gargoyles on the building are numerous.
It has almost disappeared due to thousands of years of erosion.
Outside the academy grounds, stands Ignatius, the capital of this episcopal world. The Ecclesiastical Palace overlooks the western horizon, its thick towers two kilometers high, reaching into the sky.
It is indeed a very cold place here.
Yarick arrived here by transport ship from a frigate. As soon as he got off the transport plane, he felt the local climate was bitingly cold.
The Imperial State Church manages a sector of the galaxy based on the iron laws of the State Church. He was told very early on that it was an honor to be admitted to the Zhongsi Academy.
He was taught by his father to love the Emperor, and the Emperor would love him back, but at a young age he did not feel that the Emperor had given him any compensation.
After watching for a while, even with his back turned, Alex could still feel that the older, muscular boy who was still mopping the floor was staring at him.
"What's your problem now?"
Alex asked with his back turned to him.
The punished boy immediately replied:
"Just some common questions, do you know how they died?"
"who?"
"Your parents, they must be dead. If they didn't die gloriously, then you wouldn't be in this orphanage."
"This is Chuji Academy, not an orphanage."
"As you wish, this empty building is a monastic college. The parents of those sent to study here are servants who dedicated their lives to the God Emperor."
Yarick turned back, looked at the other person, and said:
"My mother died when I was born, and my father was a colonel in the Imperial Guard. He died in a war against the greenskins last year."
The big boy stopped mopping the floor and stood up and walked over to Alex.
"interesting."
"interesting?"
"A heroic feat by an Imperial soldier, but common in the Empire."
Alex turned his head and stared at him.
The older boy felt a little intimidated by the other party's deep gaze.
"Lucas, why are you so interested? How did your parents die?"
Lucas took a step back and said with pride:
"My father was a noble general. He killed thousands of demons at Armageddon and died in the battle. You must have heard about that glorious victory, right?"
"I see."
Neither of the two boys spoke anymore, and they were silent for a long time, staring at the stone double-headed eagle sculpture diagonally passing by outside.
"Oh, then we can be considered friends now."
The older kid held out his hand, and Alex hesitated for a moment before shaking his hand.
"So, but now maybe you have to go to work..."
"Lucas! Are you fishing?"
A voice suddenly echoed through the corridor, and Lucas immediately knelt on the ground, took out the brush from the bowl, and started brushing furiously.
A tall figure in a robe slowly walked up to them. He stopped next to Lucas and looked down at him.
"You have to wipe every centimeter, every tile, and every gap on the ground clean."
"As you command, deputy instructor."
of college
The deputy instructor turned around and looked at Alec.
"You must be preparatory student Sebastian Yarrick."
There was no element of questioning in the other party's tone.
"Follow me, kid."
Alex followed the tall mentor and walked on the tiles.
He looked back for a moment, and saw Lucas raising his head, making a gesture of slitting his throat with his hands, sticking out his tongue, and coughing.
Alex smiled, this was the first time he had laughed this year.
The tutor's hall is a cylindrical room filled with books, with countless bookshelves stacked around each other, like a mini hive.
The shelves were filled with ancient tomes and data tablets, surrounded by a strange spiral track rising from the ground to the top. Alex was curious about what this brass gear structure machine was for.
He stood in the center of the room for four minutes until the Grand Master arrived.
The Grand Master was a sturdy man in his fifties—if he hadn't lost both legs, his left arm, and half his face.
He sits in a brass wheelchair with a suspended stand underneath, powered by three force field generators fixed inside the wheelchair.
Seeing Alec, his mutilated body slowly turned around.
"Are you Sebastian Yarrick?"
His voice was hoarse, as if it was electronically synthesized.
"Yes, Grand Master."
Alex replied recalling his uncle's teachings.
"You're so lucky, kid."
The Grand Master's strengthened vocal cords produced a hoarse voice.
"Ignatius's College of Faithful Heirs is not open to everyone."
"I understand that this is my honor. Grand Tutor, they told me this when they planned to enroll me."
Then the Grand Master looked at a data pad in the suspended position, inputting something on the data pad with his whirring artificial skeleton arm.