"ARE you certain about this information?" Reas asked, hoping that the other was just spouting unfounded gossip.
"I got it from an insider. So, it's pretty much a sure thing," Ash said with a shrug.
Reas frowned a bit when he heard that. "You know someone from the academy?"
"No, not the academy. Someone from one of the five armies."
What Reas got from that was this guy was probably related to someone from the five armies. But the viability of this information still depended on whether the source had a high rank within the army they were part of.
"Someone?" he asked, trying to get the other to say who this 'source' might be.
"Don't be surprise but my older brother is a lieutenant under the strongest army of the Empire," Ash said, puffing out his chest, obviously very proud of that fact.
Strongest army? "The Aegis Army?" he spoke before thinking.
Ash appeared highly offended when he heard that. "How could you even think that the Aegis Army is the strongest? Is something wrong with your eyes?"
"What's wrong with the Aegis Army?"
Reas was truly baffled by the other's reaction. If one would think in terms of size, Aegis Army was the biggest. Their sphere of influence was also no joke. Amongst all the five armies, they were the most trusted by His Majesty, the emperor. And most of all, their general, General Schwartz, was like the epitome of a perfect soldier.
Strong, upstanding, and respected. That was how most saw the general. Even his father, who was once in the army, thought highly of the guy. He remembered what his father said to him when he and Astrid was still preparing to go to the capital.
The two of them were talking about the Imperial Army and their topic just somewhat turned to the current five generals. It might be because one was a member of that horrendous Lancaster family while the other was a prince who suddenly fell down to their planet and showed interest to Astrid.
[General Schwartz is a person who embodies the word 'general' perfectly. His sense of justice is the real deal. If he knew that something was wrong, he wouldn't back down until the people who had done wrong received their just punishment. It didn't matter what their identity or status was, all that mattered was the crime they committed. That's the kind of guy he is. Once you graduate, I think it would be good to apply to his army.]
Just by those words alone, Reas could feel just how much respect his father had for General Schwartz. Especially since his father didn't become a soldier because he wanted to. He became one just for revenge. Frankly speaking, his father probably had a grudge against the military, considering what the Lancasters did.
That's why Reas also believed that General Schwartz was probably the most decent guy out of all the five generals. So, why wouldn't he say that the Aegis Army that the other commanded was the strongest?
"I'm not saying there's something wrong with those upright guys," Ash responded in frustration. "It's common knowledge that Fenris Squad is the strongest army of today. How come you don't know that?"
At the mention of 'Fenris Squad', Reas just felt like being punched on the face. Because that was the name of the prince's army. Then, he suddenly realized something. Wait- wouldn't that mean that Ash's older brother was a lieutenant at the Fenris Squad?
Then, with this roommate right here, was he now somehow connected to the army of the prince?
"Are you saying that your older brother is a member of Fenris Squad?" he asked, hoping that he just didn't hear thigs properly.
Ash looked at him as if wondering if he was deaf or something. "Isn't that what I said?"
Reas resisted the urge to slap his forehead. Seriously, of all the people he could be roommates with, it just really had to be someone that had a connection to that prince. Was fate playing a joke on him?
Maybe it's not too late to ask for a change in roommate. He quickly shook his head and rejected that thought. Doing so would just make him appear squeamish. Like some child complaining that he wanted to change seats because he didn't like his seatmate.
At the end, the only thing he could do was to do nothing. Well, it's not like he could actually do anything about this situation anyway.
What was this guy's full name again? Ah, Assil Brewer. At least with that he's sure that the older brother the other was talking about was not that Hildred or that Edmund.
"So, the one who told you this information to you was your older brother?" he just thought of asking. Because he finally accepted the fact that someway or another, he ended up with an indirect connection to that guy's army.
Ash scratched the back of his head. "Well, yeah."
The information was not actually from his older brother, Leland. But from Brother Hil. Although the other practically said it in a teasing tone, he knew him long enough to know that there's some semblance of truth to what he said. But Ash didn't need to tell those details to his new roommate.
It would be cool if Fenris Squad would be the army in charge of their training. Then, maybe Reas could see just how amazing they were. Especially the general. Up until now, his record in the Mecha Hall still remained unbroken. As someone who also played there, how could this roommate of his not understand the other's greatness?
Maybe this Reas was just a fan of General Schwartz. Anyway, he's really excited for this upcoming training. He hoped to learn and fight a lot.
That night, the two teenagers who just met that day had two different moods when they went to bed to sleep. One was excited for tomorrow while the other was just hoping that his hunch would be wrong.
-----
The next morning, Reas was awakened by an alarm that sounded all throughout the freshmen dormitory building.
[Announcement! Announcement! Announcement! All freshmen must go to their respective department building within 10 minutes! I repeat, all freshmen must go to their respective department building within 10 minutes!]