"I'm serious. I want to be a Milites," I say, following the long-haired man, whose name I still don't know, along the path towards the village town.
He insisted on ignoring me. Behind us, Jina was looking after my sister, walking with her and holding her hand. The other three men followed closely behind them, providing escort, while the long-haired man went ahead, leaving me behind every time I tried to keep up.
As we entered the village, I was shocked by the mess left by the Monis: houses with broken roofs, remnants of fire in the streets, a collapsed house, fallen trees, and the whole street in mourning with the residents still outside, trying to clean up the mess after the chaos had passed. Some looked at us with sadness; others kept their heads down. Some houses had their doors and windows locked, belonging to residents who had taken refuge in their homes. Sitting on a warehouse sidewalk, a fat, bearded Milites, dressed in his bronze-colored uniform, calmly smokes his cigarette while his companions, wearing the same attire, assist the residents.
"Looks like your mission wasn't a complete disaster, Captain Lay Dixen!" says the chubby man, focused on lighting the cigarette he'd taken as we approached.
"Two people who lived in that house died; these two children were the only survivors. It seems they were outside when it all happened," recounts Captain Lay Dixen, who until then had been the hairy man to me.
"Child, no. I'm a man now."
The chubby man laughs mockingly and looks me up and down, as if checking what I said.
"How old are you?" the chubby man asks.
"Fifteen years old."
"He wants to join the Milites," says Lay, continuing to doubt that I really want to, or perhaps he's judging that I can't because I'm thin.
"You want to be a Milites?" the chubby man asked with a serious expression on his face.
"I want to." I replied firmly.
"Why do you want to be a Milites?" he continued.
"I want to kill all the Monis and get to the Daemon Satan and be able to avenge them for killing my family." I said coldly, with a huge rage in my chest.
"To apply, you need a tutor. Do you have a tutor who is responsible for enrolling you in the Milites Academy?"
Those words from the chubby man made me face reality and realize that I am alone and don't have a tutor to enroll me.
" No." I said, with my head down and a sad voice.
"Then you won't be able to become a Milites, kid. The tutor is the one who will support you during your start at the academy; the tutor's role is to be your legal representative."
"I'll be his tutor," says Lay, standing right behind me.
I raise my head, my eyes wide, and look at him, who until then seemed to doubt me and even less want me to be a Milites.
"If the captain of the Ruby Milites wants to be your tutor, then you can be one of us."
"Captain?" shouted a man with dark skin and a thin build, wearing a uniform the same color as the chubby one's.
"What's your name, kid?" asks the chubby one, standing up.
"Kai. Kai Antian."
"Kai Antian. You remind me a lot of your father; we were great friends. My name is Dawn Brigiton, but you can just call me Dawn."
"Let's go!" Lay says, leading the way, and we follow him.
At the city entrance, there were some horses waiting for them. Lay picked up Nayana and sat her on his lap, then climbed on and sat behind her. Jina mounted hers, and the strong man with impressive strength skills gave his horse for me to ride. With everyone on their horse, we headed towards the capital. Along the way, I dismounted and let the man ride for a bit, because I knew he was tired from walking and also from the battle against the Monis.
"Big brother, don't go. I don't want to be alone." Nayana cries out in tears.
I crouch down in front of her and hold her delicate face, smeared with phlegm.
"I need to go. I'm going to train and become a Milites like Dad."
"But you'll die, just like him too."
I hug her before the orphanage director takes her inside, and we separate.
"I won't go. I know how to take care of myself." I say, hugging her.
"You promise?"
"Remember what Mom taught us?" I ask, stroking her head.
"Never make promises you can't keep," we said at the same time.
"Shall we go, kid?" Lay said, standing behind me with Jina.
"Let's go," I said, getting up.
Leaving the orphanage, I swallowed my tears and avoided crying in front of Lay and Jina so they wouldn't think I was weak and incapable of becoming a Milites.
After we left the orphanage, Jina separated from us and went to the academy with the other members of the Ruby Milites, who were waiting for us by the horses on a street near the orphanage, while Lay took me to the registry office.
"What are we going to do here?" I asked, entering the registry office with him.
"I need to register that I'm your guardian; if you don't have this registration, they won't let you into the academy on the day of the test." he says, walking towards a woman seated behind a wooden desk with a stack of papers on it.
"Lay! What brings you here?" she asks, excited to see him, looking like a heartthrob who attracts the attention of all the women in the city of Tismu.
"I came to register this boy to enter the academy."
" Did you find someone to be his tutor?" she asks, looking him up and down.
Meanwhile, I observe the registry office, decorated entirely in wood: wooden benches lined up one behind the other, a total of five; a wooden shelf full of poorly organized paper; and two desks, with only this woman attending at the moment.
"Boy, come here." Lay calls, pulling his cloak and sword back, and sitting in a chair opposite the woman.
I walk quickly and sit beside her.
" What's your name, boy?" she asks, dipping the tip of a peacock feather in black ink.
"Kai Antian." I say, looking at her, writing my name on the paper.
"By any chance, are you Mayú Antian's son?" she asks, looking at me.
"Yes."
It seems like everyone I meet knew my father.
"So you want to follow in your late father's footsteps!"
It wasn't something I wanted at all, but with the death of my family, what I want most now is to end the lives of all demons.
"Yes. I want to be like him." I lie to her.
"Very well then. Sign here, please." she says, handing me the feather.
I take the feather, dip it in the ink, and sign my name.
"Now it's your turn, Lay."
Lay takes the paper and pen from my hand and signs his name.
"Very good!" says the woman, receiving the sheet from Lay's hand. "Now you're ready to enter the academy."
She stamps the sheet and hands it back to me.
"Good luck!"
"Thank you!" I say, getting up right behind Lay, who is already walking out of the registry office.
Leaving the registry office, I observed the city and saw that it seemed to be two cities, one at the bottom of the mountain and the other at the top. Where we are is the lower city, and high above the hill are other houses and the academy.
"Where are we going now?" I ask him.
"That way," he says, pointing to the upper city. "That's where I live."
I look at the upper city, a little discouraged.
"Let's go," Lay calls to me, already rushing ahead.
We climbed the hill towards the upper town. The hill was populated, and I wondered how houses could be built in places like that. As soon as we reached the upper town, I realized that the houses there belonged to people who were well-off. We stopped in front of a medium-sized house, made of good wood and with glass windows.
"This is my house," Lay said, going to the house and opening the door.
I went in right after him and stood admiring the house's decoration, all the good-quality furniture, and the large space between the living room and the kitchen.
"Wow!" I exclaimed, amazed.
"Make yourself at home," he says, settling into the sofa.
"Where will I sleep?"
"Come with me," he says, getting up and heading towards the stairs to the upper floor. I follow him closely behind.
"This is your room."
Lay opens the door, letting me in. I'm speechless as I enter the room and see that I can finally sleep alone and have a room of my own.
"You only have the clothes on your back, right?"
"Yes, all my clothes were burned with the house."
"I'll see if I can find some of my old clothes that might fit you until I can take you to the tailor."
"Okay."
"We'll go to the restaurant soon; we'll have dinner."
I nod, and he leaves. As soon as Lay left the room, I went to the window and watched the gym on top of the mountain.
"Tomorrow is the day of the test. And I'm going to do my best to pass," I tell myself.
Later, as agreed, Lay took me to dinner, and at the restaurant, he let me order whatever I wanted. Lay wasn't wearing his Milites uniform anymore; he was wearing a dress shirt with black tailored trousers, and his hair was still the same. And I managed to find some of his clothes that fit me, since we're the same height, only our physiques are different.
"I'll explain how the academy works."
"Okay," I say while chewing my food.
"You're going to take three assessments: logical intelligence, emotional intelligence, and hand-to-hand combat with another student who will be testing you to see if you have the capacity to be a Milites."
I listen to Lay's information without abandoning my food, and I continue eating. The restaurant we're in is quiet, with varnished wooden tables and chairs and warm lighting. The people who are frequenting it seem to be wealthy, and judging by Lay's house, his behavior, and the neighborhood he lives in, I think he must earn a lot of money as a Milites.
"You don't need to pass all three; if you get a good score in two, you can already get into the academy."
"Then I need to focus on two. Which ones do you recommend?"
"Battle and emotional intelligence. Logic is more for those who want to be the team's strategist."
"Who is the strategist on your team?"
"Masuke. The Black guy. He's our strategist."
"To be approved, I'll need to win in hand-to-hand combat and demonstrate that I can control my emotions."
"Exactly."