A young man sleeps peacefully on a bed, not caring about anything in the world. The sun outside his window which has casted a light on his face made him look like he came out of a romance novel as a main lead.
BAM! BAM!
"Wake up, Ajax! It's already six in the morning." the voice of an angry woman from the back of the door woke up the young man. He turned his body sideways to the bed and sat up, stretching his arms before scratching his head, his messy hair moving as his finger irritatedly moved at an up and down motion.
The boy stood up and fixed his clothes before approaching the door. He opened the door, revealing a beautiful young girl with long black hair and the face of a doll.
"What are you staring at? Go wash your face!" the girl said furiously before walking away.
He yawned and hesitantly walked towards the restroom. Opening the door, he entered and glanced at the sink, not bothering to even close the door. In front of the mirror, a young boy with blonde hair can be seen. He smiled and touched his cheek with the tip of his finger.
"It doesn't hurt anymore," he said happily.
He grabbed the wheel-like button next to the tap and turned it clockwise. Water quickly gushed down from the tap, which he used to wash his face. After washing his face, he grabbed a toothbrush and applied a toothpaste on it before brushing his teeth.
He looked forward, seeing himself brushing his teeth. The sight was goofy as bubbles kept forming on his mouth and lips. He subconsciously smiled as he brushed his teeth, looking at his face with sarcastic disgust.
Ptu
He spit out the residue of the toothpaste in his mouth. Placing the toothbrush below the tap, he turned it on once again and let the water hit the surface of his toothbrush to clean it off. Right after cleaning it, he set it aside and used his hands to make a bowl-shaped form, catching the water then placing it in his mouth.
He gargled the water, doing it multiple times for about thirty seconds or so. Looking up at the mirror he smiled again, running his hand through his hair, he whispered, "damn, I'm handsome."
He grabbed a towel and left the bathroom, wiping his face and looking at the girl from earlier, who is now sitting on a couch, looking at her phone.
"What are you looking at?" he asked, leaning in closer to the screen.
"Back off!" the girl said, pushing his face away from the phone screen. The girl looked at him once again before letting out a sigh. "They said unauthorized personnel were given orders to enter the gate."
"Unauthorized? Given orders?" Ajax asked confusedly. How can both 'unauthorized' and 'given orders' be in the same sentence? Ajax, who has a confused face, made the girl slightly mad again.
The girl let out another sigh. "The article said the order was given by one of the higher ups to let them enter. However, the government has said that no one gave them permission to enter."
"It… what?" he, more confused, kept looking at the girl, demanding more explanation.
"Ugh… In simple words: those who entered the gate were mistakenly given false information by someone. Or in the worst case scenario, someone in the government is playing dumb, and is intentionally causing ruckus inside."
She looked at Ajax, still confused but understood the content, even if only a little.
He nodded his head, pretending to have fully understood everything. "There's… a snake in the government?"
"It's not entirely confirmed, but the article has also said the government has already started with their investigations."
"What about the people who entered the gate? Do they at least have a weapon? An official raider to assist them?"
She sighed, shaking her head a little. "According to the gate guards, they were armed with assault rifles, an old fashioned weapon. What's more, there were not any raiders who accompanied them, yet the guards still let them in. Isn't that unbelievable? Old weapons, no veterans to assist them? Huh, totally not suspicious. Let them enter the gate."
Her voice at the last part was sarcastic, but is clearly filled with lots of hatred.
"You alright?"
"How am I supposed to be alright, you clueless guy? And what are you doing standing there? Do you think talking to me will make me forget that you have school?" she said, bending down to grab something she can throw at him.
Ajax, who has experienced this before, quickly decides to run to his room, quickly changing to his school uniform. He opened the door again and left his room.
The girl looked at him once again, analyzing him and looking for something she can improve. Seeing none to improve, she shrugged and returned her gaze back to her phone, reading the same article again.
With a flick of a finger, his bag magically appeared on his bag. Looking proud of what he did, he walked towards the exit of the home.
"I'm leaving, mom."
His mom, who is still reading the article, moved his hand, gesturing to him to leave already.
Ajax stared at his mom, who didn't even bother to tell him goodbye. Noticing Ajax' glare, the girl looked at him and let out another sigh.
"Goodbye," she whispered, although loud enough for him to hear. He smiled again and nodded
"Goodbye, mom."
With that, he exited their home.
***
"Hey, have you heard about the news?"
"There's a rat in the government!"
"Thirty people entered the gate. Do you think they'll survive?"
"That hell… I doubt they will come out alive. If they're lucky, their bodies may be recovered."
The talk of the town was all the same; the people who entered the gate. Ajax, who only wants to go to the academy in peace, is irked by the amount of people who keep mentioning the same story over and over again.
His journey to the academy continued, and so did the gossip about the gate incident. Not wanting to hear any more of the same stuff, he picked up his pace, marching quicker and quicker every second.
In just a few minutes, he arrived at a place called "Magic Train," a place where he can ride a floating machine that can bring him, as long as not prohibited and with enough currency, to any destination he wants to go.
He entered the place, looking around for a bit. Although he has visited this place many times now, he is still fascinated by the interior of the place. His gaze finally landed on a girl behind a counter, and he walked towards her.
The girl noticed Ajax and greeted him with a smile. "Good morning, mr. Ajax!"
He returned the smile and said, "Good morning, miss Ela. How are you doing today?"
"Oh, flirting with me in the middle of the day? How audacious of you, mr. Ajax~." Ela said, her voice hinting playfulness.
"Please stop it, miss Ela," he embarrassingly scratched the back of his head, noticing the stare of the others inside the place.
She giggled, a teasing smile still evident in her face. "Right, have you heard the news?"
Ajax sighed once again. "Let me guess, the gate incident again?"
"Oh, you've already heard? Well, let me tell ya more about it."
"Oh, please no more. Give me a break. I've been hearing the same sh*t over and over again. Give this student a break."
"It's quite popular, after all. Don't you think the incident is interesting? I mean, who might be the 'higher up' who gave the order."
"It is interesting, but it gets draining if you keep hearing it all of the time in the streets."
Ela chuckled amusedly, the teasing smile gone from her face, replaced by an amused one.
"There, there. You're such a baby. How are you doing at the academy? Have you gotten familiar with the place now?"
"Indeed, I have. The instructors of the academy are so educated and strong! Especially professor Alma."
"Instructor Alma? Oh, are you talking about the Wind Whisperer, that Alma?"
"Yes! him!" Ajax replied enthusiastically. His eyes shone from excitement as he started rambling about his instructors, clearly fascinated and in awe of them. Meanwhile, Ela listened with a smile, amused at the sight of Ajax with such enthusiasm.
After a while, Ela cleared her throat, stopping Ajax' from saying another word.
"Sorry to interrupt, but are you sure you have enough time for all this?" Ela worryingly said, her voice still hinting the same playfulness as earlier.
"Are you not busy? You're a student, after all. I'm sure you don't have the time all day rambling about your professors, don't you?" Ela added, looking him in the eyes.
Ajax looked at her for a second before quickly understanding what she meant. Immediately, he took out three silver coins from his pocket.
"One ticket to the capital, please!"