Chapter 102: Conference

Thursday 30 [09:30 a.m.].

Érica looked at the time and blinked.

She stared at the ceiling of her room for five minutes and finally ended up going to the bathroom.

There she washed her face, looking at herself in the mirror.

Nothing.

Reflected in the mirror was an elegant young woman with long blonde hair and if she had a hint of pride and haughtiness before, she now carried a touch of maturity.

However, no emotion could be seen... Érica felt no emotion.

Yesterday’s battle felt like a lie.

When they finished healing their companions, the entire group returned to the mansion and everyone fell asleep as if what they did was a complete dream.

Now it felt like a complete dream.

Yesterday, she had just murdered a human for the first time.

In the heat of the moment, she did it... Érica couldn’t take it in.

She felt so many emotions at that moment; they were hard to describe her, and she seemed unable to understand them all, making her unable to understand anything.

In that difficult to describe situation was where she was at the moment.

“I’ll go get breakfast,” Érica muttered with a sigh to herself.

Maybe she was trying to avoid it, but she didn’t wish to think about that subject.

Leaving her room, she went down using a doorway and came to the living room.

In it stood Clémentine, watching television.

“Can’t you sleep?” Érica asked curiously.

Clémentine, just like her, also killed for the first time.

Érica believed it was for the same reason her companion was awake so early after an exhausting battle.

“No, I’m excited,” Clémentine replied, and seeing Érica looking at her, gave a smile.

Raising her hand, an intangible force caught Érica’s body and, lifting her into the air, she pulled her closer to where she was.

“I was stabilizing my psionic energy,” Clémentine commented and with a half-embarrassed smile, she added. “I just wanted to show off.”

Érica couldn’t help but give a smile.

Unlike her, Clémentine seemed to have no worries and was in her best possible condition.

Maybe because she had become an A-Rank and got rid of all her doubts.

Was that what she needed?

Avoiding the subject again in her mind, Érica sat down next to her partner and someone she could call a friend.

She couldn’t deny that she was jealous of Clémentine’s progress, but she was also impressed and proud of her friend, gaining strength to achieve the same.

At eighteen, she had become an A-Rank!

Clémentine’s talent was extremely admirable, and her future seemed limitless.

Slowly, the members of Akira’s group came downstairs with exhausted, calm expressions and, after greeting each other, they would retire to take care of their own business, leaving a quiet room.

The only sound was of the television on and Érica, who watched distractedly watching the program, saw Leslie and Nicole appearing through a doorway.

“How are you guys feeling?” Clémentine asked as she saw them arrive.

Nicole, Leslie, and Andrés took the brunt of the mission assault.

Andrés found himself in a position where he almost ended up dead, while Leslie suffered a blow from the fighter that knocked her out.

As for Nicole, she took the worst damage.

After the mission, the church healers had to fix several bones that had been fractured or broken from the blow and the impact on the pillar.

“Tired, though in excellent condition,” Nicole replied animatedly, and looking at the group, her expression turned serious, and lowering her head in apology, she murmured. “Yesterday, I lacked the ability to protect you. I’m sorry, as a fighter, I should have been at the front to protect you guys.”

Her tone carried great seriousness and weight, yet the others looked at as an ‘idiot’ her.

“That’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard,” Clémentine said helplessly.

For someone who always acted calm and collected, this time was the first time she was so direct and no one criticized her for the reaction.

“I’ve never been happier to have a partner like you,” Érica said honestly.

Nicole was the first to take a hit and enduring the pain, she got back up and, as if that wasn’t enough; she managed to hit her enemy.

That young fighter who had been next to them yesterday differed from the young woman who entered the academy and always looked shy and nervous.

Nicole was extremely brave, protecting her teammates without hesitation and supporting them with everything she had, risking her life.

It was useless to say that she lacked skill when they faced an A-Rank fighter who attacked them with surprise, being all B-Ranks.

“You did great. Better than me, who went down with one hit,” Leslie said, shaking her head, disappointed with herself.

The armor Leslie always wore was what helped her withstand the damage from the blow, however, the impact was enough to make her lose consciousness.

Leading to the fact that she could not support them later.

“You don’t need to say anything about that. All did a good job yesterday,” Clémentine announced and, with a soft smile, added. “I think we should focus on that point.”

Reflecting on their mistakes so that they wouldn’t happen again was right, and it was more, Érica believed it was best to reflect on mistakes.

It was wrong, however, to assume that they made only mistakes during this mission.

They were up against an A-ranked fighter whose strength was fearsome and who had a dangerous criminal record, and in that kind of situation, each member of the group acted as best they could.

And in the end, it all ended well, whether it was luck or not.

Clémentine’s words calmed Nicole and then they all ate breakfast with a certain unique slowness.

After a few minutes, Oscar came into the room.

“Can you turn on the news channel? They’re giving the report from the authorities today.” Oscar said with an interested tone.

The group nodded and since they weren’t watching anything, Érica switched to the news channel.

It was a few minutes before the authorities’ report, and the newscast was describing the news coming in from Kenya.

With no one in command of the Somali Terror forces, some strong A-Rank individuals had wanted to take control, but thanks to the forces of the Lord of Mombasa, no one could do so.

Although some lunatics were still opposing, the Somali Terror forces were being decimated or subjugated by the forces of Lord of Mombasa.

As this was a local channel, they were well-informed about the situation in Kenya.

In the end, they mentioned experts predicted that the conflict would be over in a few weeks completely.

Then they opened the conference.

Held in a large conference room, they could see dozens of journalists taking part in the conference.

Despite being an emergency conference, there were quite a few journalists, not only from Zerzura but also from other countries.

Without delay, three people entered and stood at the front of the room.

Érica knew two of them.

The dark-skinned man was the Minister of Zerzura she had seen at the parade, and next to him was Cardinal Brousseau, who was impossible not to recognize.

Then there was a man with graying white hair, wearing an elegant suit, a smile full of calm on his face.

“As you must have heard, Zerzura forces have been involved in the conflict in Kenya. However, not only we have sent some soldiers to support the Lord of Mombasa, but General McLean himself and the army’s special forces have taken on the Somali Terror and other individuals of great importance, as is General Kavuri, under his command,” explained the Minister directly, after giving a casual salute.

Without going in circles, he got straight to the point, causing murmurs to spread among the journalists.

And he silenced those same people when he raised his hand, silencing the murmurs.

“Destabilizing an area as Kenya is when we are recovering from our tragic past cannot be accepted by Zerzura. We are refugees, and with the support of millions of people, we created a beautiful city. Unfortunately, Zerzura does not have the strength to open his arms for the entire continent to prosper by our side. However, we have the strength to stop those who seek to stop progress and recovery,” announced the Minister and looking at the main cameras as if he was speaking to the citizens of the city, he added. “That we did.”

Those citizens who were once refugees knew the tragedy of losing their homes, living in war-torn regions, where corruption was commonplace.

They knew what it was like to survive in those regions.

They knew the hardship of living one ‘more’ day, in a place where warlords rose fighting among themselves, with no regard for the innocent.

Those people who lived in the prosperous city of Zerzura did not forget their origins and hardships to get to where they were now.

Helping the entire continent prosper or extending Zerzura’s area of influence to other distant ancient countries would be a task that required exorbitant amounts of money.

The city of Zerzura, unlike when it was founded, which depended economically on the Apicius Company for its development, now enjoyed economic independence.

However, it was not to the point where they could expand further.

“We brought calm, sending General McLean and different Colonels along with special forces to take charge of stopping the Warlord the Somali Terror who had destabilized Kenya in a senseless war and had allowed his armed forces to perform cruel and heartless acts. As is the abduction of innocents to perform a ritual by General Kavuri, a subordinate of the Somali Terror,” reported the Minister and with a more relieved expression, he added. “The mission has been a success. Those who protect Zerzura have never failed us and we have eliminated General Kavuri and captured the Somali Terror.”

While journalists reported that in Kenya, the Somali terror and some of its top generals had been attacked and disappeared in a blitzkrieg, they did not actually know that it was the city of Zerzura.

Since the Kingdom of Madagascar ruled by its King, also had a strong offensive capability and even though rumors mentioned he did not like to intervene in matters outside his island, some assumed his intervention.

“Supporting the Lord of Mombasa will allow a new country to be born from the ashes and ruins of Africa. We only hope that this new nation can heal the wounds of our past and raise a better future for its people.” Declared the Minister with a tone of longing and hope that all the spectators felt and shared.

Then began the questions from the journalists about the objectives of the mission and sometimes asking for more details about the ritual.

“I guess we must be those ‘special forces’,” Oscar muttered with a smile and with a sigh, he added. “It’s a pity that revealing our identities could create problems for our guild. This is good publicity.”

Érica didn’t know what to reply.

Certainly, if her guild was one that took part in these kinds of activities and they created an image in that sense, it could have become a very good advertisement.

However, the guild ‘Frozen Storm’ was in charge of various tasks related to clearing creature-infested islands or in protecting those islands, along with dungeon clearing.

A completely different job.

As they looked quizzically at Oscar, they turned their gaze back to the television.

A reporter had asked Cardinal Brousseau about the Church’s involvement in this mission.

“As you know, the Church of Time and Space is neutral. However, that neutrality disappears when it comes to matters involving innocent lives and inhuman rituals,” Cardinal Brousseau reported, and looking at the reporter, she specified. “This time that the Somali Terror was permissive of individuals who perpetrated such acts, surpassed any kind of neutrality that we can sustain.”

Cardinal Brousseau gave a solemn and serious look, which did not match the old woman Érica had met during the ark mission.

“The ‘Time’ may be indifferent, but we sometimes can not,” Cardinal added, after a few seconds of silence.

While the God of Time and Space could be indifferent, they, as mere mortals, could not.

Those were the words hidden in her brief comment and that was the reality.

The members of the Church of Time and Space worshipped their god and although some of them respected him, there was really no dogma and no one prevented priests or paladins from speaking or criticizing their own god.

To abide by his designs was the only task entrusted to them by that god, whose mythology of Terra Nova said that he represented omniscience.

Otherwise, they were to follow certain basic principles and could organize themselves as they wished.

As long as they did not contradict those principles and his designs, that God would continue to answer their prayers and lend part of his power to his worshippers.

The reporter who asked nodded simply, and another raised his hand.

“My question is to Apicius Company CEO James Wiley,” said the reporter, looking at the gray-haired old man and seeing that the latter gave him confirmation to continue, he asked. “Did Apicius Enterprise support or encourage the accomplishment of this mission, on its charitable side, or simply for the profits it could make?”

Érica’s eyebrows twitched at that controversial question.

“Kenya is a place where important resource areas are found and from what I understand, the Apicius Company has connections with different guilds settled there. Guilds whose businesses went negatively since the conflict started,” The journalist related giving a context, and at the same time, footing for secondary reasons.

Perhaps the Apicius Company did not want to lose and for that reason it encouraged Zerzura City to move, taking care of solving its problems.

As the Company that was said to be the controller of Zerzura, that was a possibility the reporter laid bare.

“For profit, of course.” replied the old man with a simple tone. And seeing that there were quite a few surprised people, he explained. “We are a company, not a charitable organization. Our principal aim is and will be to make profit, as far as charity is concerned... The organizations to which we donate hundreds of millions of dollars take care of the task.”

A harsh and direct answer, which made all the reporters look at him rather incredulously.

The students looked at each other and couldn’t find the right way to react.

There were dozens of ways to answer that question or whether it was necessary to pass on that question, but the answer that man gave was nothing but surprising.

Érica had never met the CEO of the Apicius Company and since she had arrived, she had only heard that the company always supported all kinds of missions.

Taking it upon themselves to send trucks and provide support on the Ark mission, they hired a group to support them against General Kavuri.

It was very hard for Erica to believe that he had performed such actions for “profit”.

However...

“That doesn’t mean that in the process we can’t ease the situation for other people. By helping in Kenya, we stabilize our businesses and increase our profits, but we also help the lives of the residents there to improve,” added the old man and looking at the journalists, he announced. “We are a food-focused company, and to survive we need people to stay alive so they will buy our products.”

“...”

It was hard to figure out if the old man was joking or was speaking seriously, however; the reporter was silent and allowed another question to pass.

“They won’t have a problem with that answer?” Leslie asked curiously.

Was the answer good or bad?

That would depend on the individual.

Whether they saw their buyers as ‘individuals’ who needed to keep them alive so they would buy their produce... There was no doubt it was odd and from her tone, it was hard to tell if he had said it in jest.

In the networks, it could become a furor and gain criticism, garnering a negative image.

“I thought it was funny,” Oscar replied with a smile and, seeing the group looking at her, explained. “When Zerzura was being built, everyone talked about how it would be a tremendous waste of money and the company would end up bankrupt. Now the company can infuriate everyone and they could still wallow in a sea of bills.”

At the time, they were teenagers, still in school and paying no attention to the business world.

Still, some news channels joked that the Apicius Enterprise became a charitable organization by supporting the construction of a city in the middle of the most dangerous continent of all.

Surrounded by both magical beasts and troublesome warlords.

Now, not only were they in a trading relationship with that magical forest whose resources were invaluable on the outside, but the warlords were disappearing one by one, to the point where they became the major influence on the continent.

To those who criticized, they could say that they supported those actions because of money rather than because they wanted to, for in the end, the critics always had it.

“As for the stockholders... They agreed to build a city in the middle of a ruined and dangerous continent, supporting that man who brought such a laudable goal to success. I doubt they have any criticism of the man who made them richer than they were.” Oscar added with a shrug.

If Érica saw the result, then she had to admit, it was a wise decision to support that man, and more so when the company became a giant in the business world.

After the conference, the leaders invited those who wanted more information to read the official statement, which was released.

For their part, the students continued to eat breakfast leisurely, until Aurora and Alice arrived from the basement, giving the impression that they had just finished work.

“The academy practice will end tomorrow. I’ll give you your notes so you can get ready to go home and take some time to rest before classes start again,” Aurora reported, and looking carefully at the group, she added. “If you have anything to talk about, we will be there for you. Not as your ‘your superiors’, but as your classmates and friends.”

While everyone else realized they were at the end of the month and practice was about to end, Érica shivered at Aurora’s last words.

They reached the end of practice, which changed them in multiple ways.