Eye-to-eye

Because of the all-around tasks the Support Department received, students started to turn away from them to the point that no one wanted to join them.

Sheha could be seen basking in sunlight as though she received enlightenment. Sheha didn't even notice the person behind her at that moment. Seeing her in that situation, the person who was standing behind her let out an exasperated sigh before calling her.

"Psst! Oi! Sheha!"

Sheha who heard that looked around in haste. She feared that someone would see her in such an embarrassing sight. When she looked behind, she saw a girl with short stature. Her pink hair was slightly ruffled and wavy. She looked like a kid but she was not actually a kid.

Her pair of round eyes look adorable. Her hands were hiding inside the pockets of her long coat of green and gray colors.

"C-Commander Felomina!" Sheha exclaimed while blushing in embarrassment.

"What are you doing there? You look like an alien spaceship is going to abduct you any moment."

"Eh?! Uh-eh… i-i-it's not like that…" flustered, Sheha was waving her hands in front, trying to explain something but could not come up with the right words.

Hah~

Felomina, the Commander of the Support Department, let out another sigh before she asked again.

"By the way, aren't you going to deliver the items to the Mech Engineering Department? So why are you still here?"

"Uhh! About that, Commander! There's someone who took my place to do the task."

Hearing that, Felomina wondered what magic Sheha used to fool someone into doing her job for her this time.

"By the way, Commander!" Sheha suddenly rested her hands on Felomina's shoulders. Felomina wondered what was up with this idiot. "It's good news, Commander! We finally have a new recruit!" Sheha said cheerfully.

Felomina suddenly looked amazed. "Eh? How did you know? Did you awaken a psychic power? I'm about to introduce her to you, but that seems unnecessary."

Sheha looked baffled though.

"Eh? Eh?"

Before she could ask, Felomina already dragged her with her. "Regardless, come with me. She's a difficult one. I need you to deal with her."

"….."

Sheha was even more puzzled now.

After leaving Sheha, Cross remembered that he forgot to ask about the whereabouts of the Mech Engineering Department.

"I think I'm lost," he whispered to himself after seeing he was standing in front of an unfamiliar place.

"Haha. Well…" Cross laughed dryly. "Regardless, is this a lobby?"

They saw some students heading their way.

"You're right."

Cross was about to step forward but suddenly halted his intention because he noticed a very attractive person among them. Also, they looked like they were not ordinary students.

He surreptitiously watched them while involuntarily listening to their conversation.

"Miss Scarlet, we saw it on live TV when you fought the Zergs. That was very cool!" Said a passionate female student to the other female student.

Scarlet? Zergs?

"Elite," Cross muttered.

The slate and their uniform were the very definitions of being one of the elites. Their blazers were paired with a skirt of the same colors for the girls while pants for the boys.

Cross and Adam noticed the other students with Scarlet also had those slates. They also saw the gold six-winged insignia on their uniforms. It was attached to their left chest.

Elite class - a Special Class that consisted of the best students in the academy. Only those who had passed their standards could enter such a class.

"Miss Scarlet, are you the one who will fight in the mock battle later?" Suddenly asked one of the students around Scarlet.

Hearing that, Scarlet shook her head. "No. But an older elite student will do the job."

"Oh."

The students around her looked dejected after her reply. It looks like they preferred to watch her than any other members of the elite class.

"What are you guys talking about? We just fought with Zergs yesterday. Scarlet needs a rest."

Said the person beside Scarlet. She was a female student with short green hair. Although her hair was short, her green bangs were blocking one of her eyes. She had a slender frame but it looked like she was the type of person with a strong personality.

Suddenly, the guy walking behind them whispered something to the other guy beside him. These two guys also wore the same uniform as Scarlet and the green-haired girl. Like with the girls, they also have those slates.

"Unbelievable, to think there's something like that in this age!" Exclaimed the other guy after hearing the other guy's whisper. He had medium-length light blue hair.

"Right? Is he the last survivor of homo sapiens? From which indigenous tribe he belonge? Hahaha!" The other also commented. He had spiky white hair and a pair of almond garnet eyes.

"If it was me, I would be depressed for who knows how long!" Said the guy with light blue hair.

"Hah~ If it was me, I'm sure my father would kill me," added the spiky white-haired guy.

"Haha, that's more intense but I guess my family will throw me out of the house." The blue-haired laughed, amused.

Hahaha!

Then, the two laughed together at the same time.

Their laughter reverberated in the lobby as they came closer to a young male student who was standing quietly while hugging a box in his arms, looking somewhat like a sore thumb.

Cross was surprised that the news about his scores already proliferated to this degree.

When Scarlet and the others heard them, the three girls looked behind and asked the two guys.

"Vaan, Dereck, what are you talking about?" Said the third girl in Scarlet's group. She wore a pair of eyeglasses. She had medium-length pink hair.

The two guys, Vaan and Dereck, told them what they heard.

"A manaless? That's horrible," said the green-haired girl.

The pink-haired just nodded in agreement to her.

Scarlet, on the other hand, knitted her brows. If it was she who got that kind of result, she would lose all the rights in the family.

"Anyway, let's hurry before the arena is packed with people," Scarlet suggested.

"Right!"

Everyone agreed with her.

Before they left, from the corner of her eyes, she caught a glimpse of a male student with black hair, standing alone with a box in his arms. Their eyes met at that moment.

Who is he? She thought. Scarlet also noticed something in him but she had no time to care about it.

Their eye-to-eye moment only happened a second before Scarlet and her friends left along with some students.