Wolf Servant

Chapter 3: Please Don't Be So Mischievous Next Time, Young Master

If an hour ago Bai Jue's achievement was considered "somewhat famous", then now, he could be called "known to all, familiar to all".

Standing among the new students, wearing Fayser's hat on his head, Bai Jue lazily watched the man with soft golden hair standing on the podium, giving a welcoming speech to the new students—even though millions of eyes were watching, the fact that his clothes were not in order did not bring him any embarrassment. He leaned on the lectern with his hands covered in black leather gloves, his azure eyes calmly scanning every young face below...

Being scanned by those calm eyes, many newcomers blushed, becoming the first to lower their heads.

Bai Jue: "..."

Lifting his hand, he gently flicked the hat on his head with a finger, the brim lifting and falling, carrying a faint scent of tobacco mixed with the other male werewolves' scents, masculine, restrained, and without any aggression, the scent of a standard beta wolf.

His keen nose told Bai Jue that this was Fayser's scent—

At this point, the young man's slightly scrutinizing gaze had to once again focus on the "future star" standing on the stage—

If he were an alpha, perhaps he would already have a very large wolf pack before graduation; but now, as a beta, he was destined to be the best wolf pack assistant eagerly sought after by alphas from all walks of life, from the top nobility to the grassroots newcomers...

There should be quite a few families extending an olive branch to him over the years, right?

But seeing that he was about to graduate in a year, Fayser still hadn't chosen his final wolf pack... Well, it's understandable. Since he, a beta, was allowed to stand on the platform today and have all the alphas look up to him and listen to his speech, it meant that at least within the school, there was no alpha who could suppress him.

Of course, Master Bai Jue had just enrolled and couldn't be compared to those useless old sticks, so he didn't count.

"Hey, Lancelot."

"..."

His shoulder was bumped, interrupting Bai Jue's thoughts. He raised his eyebrows, withdrawing his gaze from Fayser on the platform, and turned his head to find one of the few alphas in his grade standing beside him. This guy was tall and long-limbed, with light brown skin, slightly pointed ears, and a clean-cut buzz cut, the typical appearance of a southern werewolf... Wasn't he one of the sons of the Rhine family? Bai Jue vaguely remembered his sister mentioning him before leaving home today.

...Lilith, that crazy woman, has been chasing after a certain beta from the Rhine family all over the world recently. Wasn't it one of his brothers? So, following suit, she warned Bai Jue before he left home to be kind to his future "brother-in-law."

—Otherwise, Bai Jue would have turned his head and walked away by now.

—If he weren't a little afraid of his own eldest sister's annoying level.

And now, seeing Bai Jue looking over, Manhattan Rhine almost blinded his dog's eyes with his black eyes and beautiful doll-like face. He paused for a moment, forgetting what he wanted to say before, but suddenly thought of some gossip circulating among the nobles: the Lancelot family had always raised their youngest alpha child as an omega.

Now, it didn't seem as ridiculous as it initially sounded.

Until he saw a hint of impatience in the eyes that looked over, Manhattan reluctantly pulled himself out of various bad digressions in his mind and winked at Bai Jue, "Before this, my elder brothers have been discussing it. The best beta of the Imperial Knight Academy has yet to find a home... It annoys everyone, seeing the best beta being fought over, but not getting it."

Bai Jue: "?"

Manhattan smiled, revealing a canine tooth, "Now I seem to understand why..."

Bai Jue was stunned for a moment, unexpectedly someone else was pondering the same thing and reached a conclusion before him, so he didn't care about this guy's seemingly overly intimate tone, raising his hand to push down the brim of his hat, "What?"

"It's you."

"Hmm?"

"I mean, it's you!" Manhattan squinted his eyes, "Isn't it obvious enough? When he gave you the hat just now, it scared all of us—now all the alphas in the school probably already got the message, Fayser Lancelot is very likely to belong to your wolf pack in the future."

Bai Jue: "???"

Manhattan: "He obeys you unquestioningly."

Bai Jue: "...He just gave me the hat, that's all."

Manhattan: "He deducted his conduct points for you!"

Bai Jue completely didn't understand, "Of course he would deduct points for himself after giving me the hat, because having the power to deduct points blatantly for oneself in front of everyone is like giving oneself a backdoor, unless he doesn't want to do it anymore..."

Manhattan also didn't listen to what he was saying, "This invisible oath is so romantic, isn't it?!"

Bai Jue: "What... sorry, I didn't quite understand—"

Manhattan: "You've become the enemy of all alphas in the school because you've taken away the best beta."

Bai Jue: "..."

Bai Jue understood this sentence.

After a moment of daze, his eyes gradually returned to calmness. Then, he turned his head and coldly said, "You misunderstood. He doesn't belong to my wolf pack, and perhaps his hesitation in finding a wolf pack may stem from ambition or even stranger quirks... He's graduating in a year, and after joining the military, he'll have even better wolf packs waiting for him to choose. Those famous generals are probably looking forward to him as well—"

As he spoke, his tone lifted slightly, with some deeply hidden emotions in his voice... When he said this, Bai Jue's gaze inadvertently swept over the stage—

Then unexpectedly met the gaze of those lake-blue eyes.

Bai Jue: "..."

The young man was slightly stunned, was he looking at him?

[You are the future of the empire, and also the stars scattered in the historical galaxy. Perhaps the future is dim and silent until it falls, or perhaps it shines brightly, building a galaxy that leads to a broader starry sea...]

A deep voice resonated steadily from the microphone. When he locked eyes with Bai Jue, he paused for a moment... then subtly lifted his lips, nodding slightly at the young man—

[Here, I bless you all, may you spread your wings and soar when the time comes.]

His gaze seemed to ripple with gentle lake water, calm as a mirror yet unfathomable.

As thunderous applause erupted, Bai Jue stood in the crowd, slightly furrowing his brows, being the first to avert his gaze, raising his hand to lower the brim of his hat, casting shadows over all the emotions in his eyes.

...

Freshman orientation day was just an ordinary day for new students to get to know each other and familiarize themselves with the campus.

After the student representative's speech, everyone dispersed to do their own thing. Nobles living in the Imperial Capital either flew home by helicopter or spacecraft, while those living a bit further away commanded their servants to clean the dormitories where they would live for the next four years.

After finishing everything, everyone would rest early on this day.

Because the real enrollment ceremony began on the second day of school—

It was called "Sacred Choice Day."

The origin of "Sacred Choice Day" can be traced back hundreds of years. At that time, the "Imperial Royal Knight Academy" was not called by that name; it was called the "St. Yale Knight Mech Academy"... At that time, the werewolves had just begun their journey of conquering the stars, and "mechs" as the most popular new combat method were receiving a lot of attention.

So, as a well-known institution in the empire, to encourage students to develop in the field of mech research, the academy decided to test the students on mech-related subjects at the beginning of the school year.

Students could volunteer to participate—these tests were divided into practical operation control and theoretical knowledge of mech information. The former was combat, and the latter was heavy on academics.

Simply put, the former involved piloting a mech (self-provided) and fighting.

The latter involved solving various difficult problems related to mechs on paper.

Those who performed exceptionally well in both academics and combat during the assessment would first gain a certain level of exposure and the favor of the military; secondly, they could be assigned to better classes for the next four years of study; and lastly, for those children from families that were not wealthy and relied solely on their strength to enter the academy—scholarships were the most important thing to them.

The reason why "Sacred Choice Day" was called that was because every minute and every second of this day could change a person's life, so whether it was outstanding students from poor families or children born into noble families, they all eagerly anticipated this day.

Bai Jue's seven older siblings all graduated from this academy, so he knew the rules of this school like the back of his hand. When he received the acceptance letter, he unhesitatingly ticked the "mech combat training" performance item on the "Sacred Choice Day" supplementary form... His father was very dissatisfied: as a noble young master, how could you be so rude?

Bai Jue just smiled, without explaining.

At this moment.

When he returned home in the evening, Bai Jue opened the door of the spacecraft and saw another young man already sitting straight inside. His golden hair was impeccably neat, just like his well-ironed black school uniform...

Bai Jue climbed in with a cold face, not intending to acknowledge him.

However, Fayser turned around, taking the initiative to speak to him, which was rare, "Young Master, I saw you having a good chat with the youngest son of the Rhine family today..."

"Mind your own business." Bai Jue climbed into his seat without hesitation, rudely saying.

He was indeed looking at him back then, damn it, like a p*****t, so annoying.

Facing Bai Jue's non-cooperation, Fayser didn't react at all, choosing another topic, "Tomorrow's 'Sacred Choice Day'—"

This time Bai Jue frowned slightly, becoming even more impatient, directly interrupting Fayser, "Do you have anything else to say to me, just shut up. Are you guys planning to nag about this forever?"

"...No," Fayser, as if accustomed to his bad tone, patiently explained, "Miss Lilith asked me to come and ask you whether you're going to use 'Star Striker' or 'Snow Leopard' tomorrow?"

Bai Jue hesitated slightly at this. In modern times, the price of a mech was no longer as expensive as it used to be, and most outstanding students from commoner backgrounds could afford an ordinary mech, so compared to the past when hardly anyone signed up for this project, the value of this project has increased a lot now—

Although there were still unfair factors.

For example, the best mech that commoner students could afford at most was from the 2555 series, but Bai Jue used the new 'Snow Leopard' that was just released at the end of last year. Compared to the 'Star Striker' series, the hardware configuration of the two series of mechs was like the difference between a car's Alto and an Audi...

And 'Star Striker' was a slightly higher-end classic series compared to 'Star Striker', which could be more impressive and less controversial to use than a new type of mech, and could avoid unnecessary gossip.

Considering this, Bai Jue didn't answer, but instead raised his lips, tilting his head to look at the man beside him, "Which one do you think I should use?"

"I adjusted Young Master's 'Snow Leopard' security system just last month. Comparatively, the 'Star Striker' at home hasn't been debugged for a while," Fayser bent down, lowering his eyes, his slender fingertips reached over to fasten Bai Jue's seat belt, while in his usual professional tone, he said, "For safety reasons, I personally suggest that the Young Master still use his own 'Snow Leopard'..."

Bai Jue remained motionless in his seat. He felt the man's breath enveloping him... still that faint tobacco smell.

But he didn't feel uncomfortable.

Bai Jue didn't move, "Using 'Snow Leopard,' those people will make a big deal out of it. Thanks to you, I'm already quite famous today."

As if not hearing the sarcasm in the young man's words, the man's voice remained steady, "Compared to Young Master's safety, those rumors are less important than a strand of your hair—money and lineage are also part of strength, which is an undeniable fact. Those who can't possess it will make a fuss about it."

Bai Jue raised the corners of his lips, "Oh."

It seemed he was quite happy to hear that—

Although no one knew exactly which part of what he heard made him happy.

After a moment of silence.

"......Fayser."

"Yes?"

"Some people have started to spread rumors, saying that you obey my every word."

After a moment of silence.

The smile in the man's lake-blue eyes became clearer—

"Indeed, Young Master, is there anything wrong with that?"