The relationships between the academies was not set in stone. Even though the Supreme Council’s rulings meant that fighting amongst themselves was not allowed, there were still an increasing amount of conflicts in other ways. The conflicts originated from two sources. One was from the fight over benefits in the New World, such as resources or territories. The other was from their history back on Earth.
Even though most of the academies adopted the principles of ignoring Earth politics, it was impossible for there to not be of any influence. For instance, Judge Academy was closer to the European academies, and the European academies were also a tight-knit bunch. Meanwhile, the Russian academy did not have the best relationship with the European academies, let alone America.
Due to recent events in history, Dawn Academy had been neglected by many of the academies initially, but due to Dawn Academy’s position as a founder, they could not do so publicly. However, making little issues in the background was something common. Because of that, Dawn Academy placed a lot of importance on their relationship with Voyna Akademiya.
The Russian academy had come over by passing through Earth, and the ones who came along were their assistant student union president and three department heads, as well as various administration staff. For a little friendly match, that lineup was already very spectacular.
On Dawn Academy’s side, it was the whole student union, including the president and the various department heads. There was no one from the colonist territories, but Dawn Academy emphasized that academy issues would be handled by the student union, so it was not strange.
The president was quite surprised by Xiao Lin’s appearance, but he did not really have the time to talk to Xiao Lin in such a setting, so the president merely nodded at Xiao Lin in acknowledgement.
The banquet was not as luxurious as he thought, and the ones in attendance all dressed fairly casually. The buffet was obviously very luxurious, but it was actually mostly food that they could normally eat. The difference was some things that had been specially added, such as alcohol, but it had probably been added for the Russians.
There were over twenty people from Voyna Akedemiya, and they seemed quite happy with the arrangements for the night. The ones in the student union seemed to be old friends as well, and they quickly started conversing after some formalities. Some of them used Russian, and some of them spoke in Mandarin or English.
Xiao Lin walked around the hall, and was constantly looking around. Compared to the other monitors that were eating and drinking, he seemed a bit different, so he was quickly noticed.
“It seems like you’re looking for someone?” A girl with golden, curly hair walked over with a smile and a glass of wine in hand. She spoke in fluent Mandarin. Xiao Lin had noticed her earlier because, among the group of Russians, the girl had been drinking alone from the start. Even though a few of the student union members had tried to walk over to talk to her, she had smiled and rejected them.
“No, I was just walking around.” Xiao Lin shrugged and denied before he took two steps back. That girl had a thick fragrance to her, and it was not any perfume, but her natural scent.
The girl quickly noticed Xiao Lin’s subtle movement, and laughed in exaggeration. That laugh attracted the gazes of some people, and some of those from Dawn Academy had looks of envy on their faces. The Russians merely laughed strangely before turning their attention away.
“You’re pretty much like any other Asian boy I’ve ever met. Are you a virgin?” The woman also had the openness of a Russian.
Xiao Lin did not want to waste time talking about such topics, especially after he realized they had attracted even more attention. He had wanted to leave immediately, since he preferred to keep a low profile. However, he had a change of heart as he pulled away slightly before asking, “Are you a student from Voyna Akademiya?”
“Do you think I look like one?” The girl closed in again, even brushing herself against Xiao Lin’s arm.
That action did not make Xiao Lin happy. Of course, he would not think that the girl had fallen in love with him at first sight or anything like that, because it appeared the girl obviously enjoyed playing games like that.
“Yes, it seems like you don’t look like who I was looking for. I had the wrong person. Goodbye!” Xiao Lin bluntly said before he turned around and left.
That answer was quite unexpected, and it left the girl dumbfounded. After pausing for two or three seconds, she immediately reached out and pulled at Xiao Lin, smiling. “I was just joking, I am Diana, from Russia.”
This time, the woman no longer had that teasing smile on her face, and instead seemed more dignified and ladylike. The contrast between then and now was so big that Xiao Lin furrowed his eyebrows. He could feel how much strength was in that woman’s pull earlier, but the strength was only maintained for less than half a second, meaning that her control over her strength was already at a very high level.
“Dawn Academy, Xiao Lin.”
“A pleasure to meet you.”
The two of them shook their hands briefly, and Diana said, “You don’t seem used to banquets like this. If you want to get to know any of my companions, I don’t mind introducing you. Of course, if you were planning on getting to know me, then you’ve achieved your goal.”
In just a few sentences, the teasing smile once again appeared on the girl’s face; her personality really was like that. However, it was obvious that her observational skills were very sharp. Xiao Lin obviously did not attend the banquet for dinner or just some vodka.
“Recently I’ve been reading about some colonist history, and I was actually quite interested in your academy’s history. It’s a pity that our library doesn’t keep many books on the other academies. If you know anyone who’s good at history, I’d be happy to meet them,” Xiao Lin recited a speech that he had already prepared.
“A student who researches history? That’s quite rare. Even though I’m not very good at history, you can tell me if you don’t mind. What do you want to know about?” Diana said.
Xiao Lin did not hold out a lot of hope after finding out that she was a student. What he wanted to know was not something a regular student would know. After all, the ones who were attending the friendly match were all first-years, and Xiao Lin had hoped to find someone from their student union.
Just to be polite, Xiao Lin still continued, “I read about recent history, about how Earth has been affected by the colonist academies. For instance, I’m quite interested in the historical records of the Tunguska event from Russia.”