Guide Association

Edited by: ASaltedFish

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It took two days for the Guide Association, Sentinel Association, and the First Fleet's military legal team to confirm the contract. All three called Aster to ensure he consented to the contract before they witnessed its signing. 

Aster affirmed that everything discussed in the contract was confirmed by him. He was then able to set an appointment at the Guide Association for the upcoming weekend where he would be able to meet the legal representatives of each organization. He also scheduled to get his rank retested and to disclose his double spiritual sea so he could begin selling his and Lune's stabilizers. 

Marshal Caecius and Adjutant Ito also took time out of their schedules to come to this meeting. 

The meeting between Ellery, Aster, the Marshal, Adjutant Ito, and the legal representatives was not made public. He also didn't want to tell anyone to avoid any unforeseen circumstances and to ensure that his safety would be the top priority. 

The weekend came very quickly for Aster as he didn't have a lot to do at the Military Academy since he was graduating soon. He was also able to hang out with his small group of friends. Aster didn't want any more friends than that as it would be too exhausting…

Marshal Caecius and Adjutant Ito picked him up, as requested by Adjutant Ito who felt this was safer and easier. Aster didn't mind it and got into their vehicle. 

The hovercar was about three-fourths the size of a limo and was hovering above the ground. Hovercars were a common mode of transportation when moving around a city; though the size of Marshal Caecius' hovercar was a bit bigger than most. 

And it was equipped with weapons and protective force fields…

Strangely enough, Aster found himself sitting between Marshal Caecius and Adjutant Ito. He didn't say a word because he wasn't the most comfortable sitting next to the Marshal. 

Marshal Caeciusl also stayed quiet because he didn't want to make Aster more uncomfortable than he already was. As for Adjutant Ito, he remained quiet because the Marshal and Aster were quiet. He really hated this kind of silence so he wished he could talk with Ellery some more! 

It didn't take long for them to arrive at the Guide Association because they were near the Military Academy. The Sentinel Association was also next door. 

When they arrived, there was already someone waiting for them at the front of the building. It was a younger man, a bit older than Aster and Ellery. He was a guide who did secretary work at the Guide Association. He was a dark-skinned beauty with freckles and well-cared-for short, luscious, and curly hair. 

Judging from his aura, Aster could sense that he was a B-ranked guide.

The guide greeted them but was mostly looking at Aster. "My name is Amari Yusuf, it's a pleasure to meet you. You can just call me Amari since we are close in age." 

He then smiled. "Mr. Aster, I will be handling all matters pertaining to you from now on, as ordered by the Director of the Guide Association. If you need anything, please do give me a call." He opened up his terminal to exchange numbers. 

Aster did so and also greeted him. 

Amari didn't say much to Marshal Caecius or Adjutant Ito; he just gave them simple greetings and led them inside the Association. 

The Guide Association was six stories high, with lots of windows, but they were tinted, making it difficult to see inside. The building was pure white, but the surrounding area was a well-maintained flower garden with park benches and fountains. 

The inside of the building was very minimalistic, which seemed to be a common trend among guides of the Zevaria Empire. Spread around the lobby, there were several white leather couches, each with a glass coffee table, and the occasional potted plant. Everything was intentionally placed, so the couches, coffee tables, and plants were relatively equally distributed. There were also a lot of curtains, giving privacy to the people inside.

Amari guided the trio to the elevators on the left side; these were used for special guests and high-ranked members of the Guide Association. The right elevator was used for regular guests and staff, so there was a longer line at it compared to the left elevator. 

When everyone entered the elevator, Amari looked over at Aster with a holographic tablet in front of him. The hologram was coming from his tight watch, just below his terminal. It was a business terminal that could be easily detached from the body, unlike a personal one. 

"I am required to go over the itinerary one more time so everyone understands the schedule for today." Amari had the schedule right in front of him. "First, we will be retesting Mr. Aster's guide rank and checking the compatibility between Mr. Aster, Marshal Caecius, and Adjutant Ito. Finally, we will be going over the contract and having both parties sign it in front of the representatives of the Guide and Sentinel Associations, as well as the legal team for the First Fleet. Is this correct?" 

"Yes, that's correct," Aster answered because Amari was looking at him. 

Amari didn't wait for Marshal Caecius or Adjutant Ito to respond. "Perfect. With that confirmed, let us move to the testing room for Mr. Aster's rank." 

Amari took them to the 4th floor, where the testing would be done. There were nine rooms in total, four to test ranks and four for testing compatibility. There was also a waiting room for family members and friends in front of the elevator doors. 

When they got to the 4th floor, Amari motioned over to the waiting room. "Marshal Caecius, Adjutant Ito, please allow me to trouble you to stay in the waiting room while Mr. Aster tests his rank. I will have someone call you to the compatibility room when Mr. Aster is finished." 

"It's no problem," Adjutant Ito replied for the both of them and opened the door for Marshal Caecius. 

The two entered the waiting room with no complaints. The other people in the waiting room were shocked to see them and got up to give them space. 

Amari felt a bit better with the Marshal and his Adjutant gone. The Marshal's unstable spiritual sea made him uncomfortable and he felt a bit more relaxed with just Aster. "I apologize if I seem a bit stiff, I am not comfortable being around Sentinels, especially high-ranking ones with chaotic spiritual seas." 

"It's alright. I do not see a problem as long as you are not rude." 

Aster, the one who couldn't read social situations that well, was reassuring Amari that he was just fine. Ellery also didn't see a problem with it, so he let it be. 

"Thank goodness." 

Aster didn't know what Amari went through, and it was not his place to ask, so he didn't say much else. 

Amari guided Aster to the last testing room on the left because the others were occupied. The testing room didn't have a lot to it. In the middle of the room, there was a stand with a glass ball the size of a basketball on it. Inside the glass sphere was a special wiring made out of a material that neither Aster nor Ellery knew about. 

He gave a run down about how it worked because he knew that Aster "forgot" his memories. "All you need to do is summon your quantum beast and have both of you put a bit of your spiritual power into the orb. It doesn't need a lot of spiritual power. You just need to put enough in to touch the wires." 

"Once you are done, the system will calculate your rank, and within seconds, your results will pop up on the projection on the wall."

"That's pretty cool." Even if Aster had no idea how they made the wires that could detect spiritual power, that was none of his business. 

"When you are ready, put your hand on the sphere and put your spiritual energy in it." 

Amari stood next to the testing orb because there were no chairs in this room. This room was not a place for chit-chat or idling. There were two tinted windows that were covered with curtains, and a couple of potted plants off to the side, but that was it. 

Aster walked over to the orb and was about to summon his quantum beasts but he stopped. He looked over at Amari and nervously asked, "I know the rank will be posted on the official website but… do you have to mention the quantum beasts? Can it be optional?" 

He was asking this because he saw all guides had the type of quantum beast right below their rank but they didn't mention what kind of spiritual seas they had. He just wanted to slowly ask questions about having two quantum beasts. This was what he and Ellery had planned out to reveal that he had two quantum beasts. 

"Optional? From what I know, it has always been recorded along with the rank. Is there something wrong?" 

Aster hesitated and looked around like he was seeing if there was any way for anyone to hear him. "This room is sound-proof, right?" 

"Yes, it is sound-proof… I do not know what you are trying to get at but if you are that worried, there are no cameras or microphones that can listen in on our conversation. Aside from the rank and quantum beast, everything else that is discussed at the association today is confidential. 

He sighed in relief. "Thank you for answering my questions. I'm sorry if I seem rude but… please take a look at this." 

Aster summoned both Lune and Sol. Lune was on his head, and Sol was in his arms. Amari was so shocked, that his mouth was left open as he looked at Sol and then at Lune. 

"T-this… What?" 

"I know this is hard to believe. I woke up in the hospital after losing my memories and it turns out, I have two quantum beasts. As for why, I'm not quite sure but I can use both quantum beasts to make spiritual stabilizers and they both have different spiritual seas."

Amari didn't say anything. Actually, what could he say!? He was speechless. This was the first time in history for anyone to have two quantum beasts! He didn't know that this was even possible.

Seeing Amari not saying anything, Aster began to ramble because he was a bit worried. "Should I test both of the quantum beasts? How will that affect the ranking and the quantum beast column on my profile?" 

"Wait!" Amari paused Aster because everything was going too fast and he could not process it all. Still, seeing Aster comfortably holding his quantum beasts, it made him question his reality. 

He pinched his cheeks and found that it really really hurt! He pinched himself so hard he felt that his cheeks were red and probably swollen. 

"I apologize for my rudeness." Amari did his best to compose himself as he gave a bow. "Please stay in this room while I call the director of the Guide Association. Please excuse me for just a moment." 

"I understand… I will wait here."

"Thank you!"

Amari quickly left the room, leaving Aster a bit flabbergasted. 

[Aster! You could definitely be an actor. If I didn't know any better, I would have thought that you were genuinely nervous about this whole situation.] Ellery figuratively patted Aster on the shoulder. He was quite proud of him.

'Well, I was a bit nervous because I thought I would be too stiff and it wouldn't seem believable which, in turn, made me nervous.' 

[Basically, you got nervous because of your perfectionism. Well, it worked in your favor. It's better to let people know about this than to hide it. We will be able to help more sentinels… Plus, we will have Marshal Caecius and the first fleet's protection after this, so we should be safe.] 

Most guides wanted to give back to the sentinels who protected them from the Ineks. That was why Ellery had no intentions of hiding Lune. Even if he and Aster were going to be in danger here and there, it was better than living in hiding. Plus, he wanted Aster to be able to sell his own spiritual stabilizers to earn extra income. 

'Hopefully, Amari doesn't take too long. I'm sure the Marshal and Adjutant Ito are still waiting for us.' 

[Oh yeah… I wonder how those two are doing? Well, I'm sure they can wait a little longer.]