Chapter 96: Apex Privilege [IV]

"Not at all," Liora said immediately, her hands already reaching for the bag she had placed on the tabletop. "We routinely issue dedicated academy accounts for incoming high-rankers who arrive without personal banking arrangements."

She opened the bag and pulled out a compact academy banking terminal.

"You are certainly not the first. Many students, particularly freshmen from lower-income districts, don’t have personal accounts when they first arrive. Whenever one of those students reaches a qualifying Apex position, the academy can create an academy-linked student account for them on the spot."

She began navigating through several menus on the terminal before looking up.

"We can open yours right here, issue you an access card immediately, and link it directly to your Apex profile for future transfers. You’ll be able to receive your earnings through it and access the funds whenever you need them."

"I would appreciate that," Starlight said.

"Very well."

Liora immediately got to work with practiced efficiency. As her fingers moved rapidly across the terminal, she asked for Starlight’s full name, date of birth, current year, student status, and student identification number. Even though most of the information was already available in the academy’s records, Starlight answered anyway, understanding that some of the questions were simply part of the verification process. Liora continued entering the information, occasionally asking another question as she completed the registration. Within a few minutes, she stopped typing and reviewed everything on her screen.

"All right. We’re done with the registration."

She unzipped a side compartment of her bag and pulled out a compact card encoder along with a sleek red card. "Let’s get your card activated."

She slid the card into the encoder, entered a brief command into the terminal, and then turned the device toward Starlight. "Please enter a four-digit personal identification number. This PIN will secure all future transactions, account modifications, and direct withdrawals."

Starlight leaned forward and keyed in a four-digit combination on the numeric pad.

The machine chimed once, flashing a green confirmation light before ejecting the card. Liora completed the activation process, removed the card, and handed it to Starlight.

"Congratulations. Your academy account is now active."

Starlight accepted the card and looked down at it.

"We’ll also need a phone number for your account alerts," Liora added. "You’ll receive notifications whenever money is deposited, withdrawn, or whenever there is any other important activity on the account, so please enter your contact number here."

She pointed to the prompt displayed on her tablet screen. Starlight entered her number and handed the tablet back.

"Everything is set. Your number has been linked," Liora said after a quick check. "You should begin receiving account notifications shortly, and your Apex earnings will be transferred once the final processing is complete." She placed the terminal back into her bag and stood up.

"Now, shall we proceed to your private suite?"

"Okay, sure. No problem," Starlight said, standing as well.

Elle immediately stood up from the far side of the room, smoothing her jacket before stepping directly into line beside Starlight.

"Would you mind if I joined you?" she asked, looking directly at Eden and Vera. "Like I said, I’m her manager, and I wouldn’t want to leave her to handle all of this alone. I should probably be there to help her organize everything and make sure she doesn’t miss anything important."

Vera exchanged a glance with Liora before smiling, while Eden gave a brief approving nod.

"Sure. No problem. You can follow us."

Elle beamed. "Perfect. Let’s go then."

The group turned and headed toward the door together. The moment it shut behind them, Chloe and Ariel exchanged a long loo.

"This is getting way too serious," Chloe muttered.

Ariel let out a short laugh, shaking her head as she leaned back against her pillows.

"Tell me about it. And Elle is taking this whole manager thing way too seriously."

Both girls shared a quiet laugh. Ariel pointed toward the bathroom. "Now go take your bath. We still have morning classes to attend."

Chloe groaned dramatically.

"What about Elle? Shouldn’t we wait for her?"

Ariel snorted. "She doesn’t have any classes until eleven. I checked her schedule. It’s just you and me this morning, so up you go."

Chloe chuckled, climbed down from her bunk, grabbed her towel, and headed toward the bathroom.

*****

The elevator doors slid open on the highest residential floor of Eclipse House with a faint, velvet chime.

Stepping out onto the landing, the immediate contrast from the lower levels was stark. The hallway here was nearly double the width of the dormitory corridors below, carpeted in deep red wool that swallowed the sound of their footsteps. Floor-to-ceiling windows lined one side of the passageway, flooding the space with natural morning light, while elegant wall fixtures cast a warm glow across the polished walls and decorative molding.

Instead of a long row of uniform doors packed closely together, the passage felt massive, broken up by only three entrances set vast distances apart. Two pale wood doors sat recessed within opposite alcoves, and at the very end of the hall, separated by an enormous stretch of empty space and facing directly toward the corridor, stood the third.

Elle’s eyes darted around the wide hallway, taking in the grand archways and warm wall sconces. "So, I know the Imperial Twins are supposed to be occupying two of the suites up here," she began, stepping alongside Eden as Vera and Liora led the way down the hall. "And since they’re only sharing one, who stays in the second one? The one they’re not using?"

Eden glanced down at her, his expression placid. "I do," he said smoothly. "Since they didn’t like staying apart, they decided to assign the unused suite to me."

"Wow," Elle gasped, staring at him in open envy. "Aren’t you lucky? Being the Beta and manager of the Imperial Twins definitely comes with its perks, doesn’t it?"

The corner of Eden’s mouth twitched upward slightly, though he wisely chose not to answer.

Liora stepped up to the panel beside the central door, typing in a temporary override code before turning to Starlight. "Place your hand here so we can register your biometric access."

Starlight pressed her palm against the illuminated glass. The panel chimed, flashed green, and the heavy double doors clicked open before swinging inward smoothly.

Stepping over the threshold, Starlight felt her breath catch in her throat.