The Magician of Sound

After returning from Ria's house, Ayaka had a fresh and felt a little more mature than her usual appearance. Her blazing flame got milder a bit, but it was becoming more stable than ever. 

She was even teased by Michelle and Tasha for a whole day, while Evan had an annoyed face the entire day. 

At this time, Nathan came to the school and appeared before them. 

"Did Professor Ria give you the bad news?" Nathan looked at Kai with a solemn expression. 

"Yes." Kai nodded.

"Then, I'm not going to bother you with that. Just prepare yourself for it since they are going to spew every bullsh*t they know to get you. The Government might need to agree because the partnership is that important. As long as you are not swayed, then everything will be alright."

"Does Sir Nathan only want to talk about this?"

"No." He shook his head before putting a document down. "This is your current plan."

Kai furrowed his eyebrows and read the document.

"You are free to do anything this month since the school only starts handing missions from March except there was an emergency or a raid mission. However, there is a mission for you in March." Nathan glanced at Kai's teammates and sighed. "Anyway, you know that SS rank magical beasts have escaped, right?"

"Yes. They escaped to Canada, but their location is unknown."

"We have gotten the information about it… Albeit we need to confirm it first. I actually want to send you to confirm their position, but it will be too much favoritism, and you won't get liked by the masses. That's why the army will be investigating the rumor. After we confirm their position, you will be given a mission."

"What is the mission? I mean, do you know anything specific? Do we just need to kill and be done with it? Where is their general location, and are there any other magical beasts around them?"

"Don't worry. I will answer your doubts one by one. The documents are still being prepared, so you can take a look at it later." Nathan paused for a moment. "Anyway, the place we first spotted them was Yukon. They escaped and hid around there. I'm pretty sure they are still around, so we have a little bit of difficulty in tracking them. Hence, we need around one month or so. I will inform you later."

"I understand." Kai nodded. "I will prepare myself in March. What about the mission?" 

"The mission is obviously to kill them. Our front line is still in Yukon Territory, so we might find them in the middle of magical beasts. If so, you are going to lead one hundred soldiers like how a Captain usually does.

"You need to lead your group through their area and sneak-attack them. Our army will provide support afterward. I'm not the leader of this operation though." Nathan shrugged and thought for a moment. "If they are still within our border, you will kill them with only your group.

"Depending on the situation, the reward will be different. You have been leading a high number group this whole time, so they are planning to test your ability to lead a small group such as this. One hundred people will be the same as a Captain Rank. In other words, if you strike the first scenario, you will be rewarded as Captain.

"On the other hand, the latter scenario won't give you much promotion… You will only become a First Lieutenant, I guess." Nathan sighed. "We will try to find another mission for you after that."

"Still, don't you think that my promotion is too fast? I mean, one mission can skip a rank? If this is a normal situation, I will never get one." Kai furrowed his eyebrows. His earliest and best prediction told him that he needed around five years after graduation to reach General, but…

"I know we are rushing, but we have another reason for it… One that we can't tell you yet." Nathan shook his head.

"I understand." Kai let out a long sigh. He didn't really mind about the promotion though, since it sped up his progress to reach his goal. "When do you think you can tell me the reason?"

"Hmm… I'm not very sure. I have my own speculation, but this has a high probability of being wrong. If you don't mind, I can tell you my prediction."

Kai thought for a moment. There was nothing wrong with knowing, but he was wondering whether the reason would make him think twice or at least kept getting in his mind. In this case, Kai wouldn't want to take the risk by knowing it too early, but he also had his own confidence. Nathan said it himself that it might be wrong, so there should be nothing wrong to know when. "Can you tell me?"

"General!" Nathan narrowed his eyes. "Get at least one star on your shoulder; you might be qualified."

"One star!" Kai was dumbfounded. He still had many steps before reaching Brigadier General, so he buried this thought deep inside his mind.

"That's right. What is the reward for Raid Mission?"

"Since this is an obligation mission, we won't get any group points. After all, the mission difficulty will bring the reward to a new height. That's why the students will be receiving money and a special reward from the school." Michelle explained.

"That's right. Kai should receive the most due to his contribution, but the money can't be transferred right now because it's too big. That's why we are giving you another reward." Nathan nodded. 

"Do you know Savannah City in Georgia? The bottom of our South Carolina, where my Graham Family rule?" 

"Yeah."

"It's yours now," Nathan said with a poker face like it wasn't a big deal. This was the first plan to have Kai stay in this place. If they made him comfortable or raised his price, EU Base couldn't think about poaching him. Besides, it was located right below South Carolina, so the Graham Family could watch him.

"There is still a problem with security and such, but the Government promises to fix it if you finish this mission." Nathan pointed at the new mission he brought.

"…" Kai looked at Nathan for a minute before sighing. "Politics."

Nathan only shrugged as if it wasn't his doing. "If you can fortify the area, your family can enjoy their time there. Anyway, that's all for your reward."

"Fine. I can sell the land later if I need money anyway," said Kai nonchalantly. He thought it was a nice boost to his prestige. The only problem was that he didn't know anything about governing a city.

"Don't worry. The Government won't change the personnel, so it won't trouble you."

"Alright, then." Kai nodded.

"One more thing. You might be the biggest contributor in the last mission, but we also have the fifth biggest contributor here." Nathan glanced at Evan. "You healed so many people there, preventing almost a thousand deaths. That's why you are eligible for this reward… Though I don't know whether this is a reward or not."

Nathan took out a ticket and gave it to Evan. 

"This is a ticket for ten people."

Evan twitched his eyebrows when he realized what this ticket was for. "Tch. Who is pulling the string? My father or Isabelle's father?"

"Both."

"What is the reward?" Kai asked, curious about the ticket.

"It's a ticket to enjoy the beach in Miami. That beach there has been fortified many times, becoming one of the most secure places despite being surrounded by water. In fact, this is the only place where you can enjoy the beach in this era. However, the fact that this is for ten people, I'm sure that my father wants me to take you guys there while bringing Isabelle… I mean, Eagle Group." Evan said in annoyance.

"Eagle Group?" Kai and the others were confused. There should be nothing between them after the battle, but he suddenly mentioned this with absolute confidence. There was only one probability, Evan had a relationship with Isabelle, or their families had. "If I may ask-"

"You don't need to ask. It's very clear that my family has a relationship with hers. After your matter blows up, they are trying to make me together with Isabelle. That's all. Our two families have been in-laws for many generations after all."

"Anyway, you guys can discuss it with each other. The ticket is for June, so you can enjoy the summer there. Of course, it's a VVIP ticket. It will be filled with perfect services." Nathan then left the room. 

"Hehe… To think there is another soon to be couple here…" Michelle grinned before coming closer to Evan. 

"I have been betrayed by my own student. I thought we were kindred spirits… I will drink again tonight." Sanae sighed.

"There is nothing between us. As long as I can prove that she is not the one, it should still be possible to break off this relationship.

"I heard that you two were pretty chummy back in Junior High School. Even though both of you had pretty rough lives there, you supported each other." Michelle smirked, planning to tease him more. 

Kai and the others were also interested and listened to what he had to say.

"Nothing. It was only my obligation. My eldest sister is her brother's wife after all." Evan shrugged. "Besides, I am a Zodiac. I know the possibility of me conceiving a child is basically zero."

"What do you mean zero?" Kai furrowed his eyebrows. "I have no problem with that and only ask my Teacher for the medicine to make the animal blood hibernate for a while."

"Is that true?" Evan's expression suddenly brightened before shaking his head and bringing back his poker face. "Never mind." 

Kai only smiled and didn't tease him any further.