Nero and Berlas stood in the entrance of some building. No one else was nearby, so it seemed like it was just the two of them. In such a situation, any conversation they had should technically stay between the two of them. No one else would be privy to the contents of their conversation, not that they were having a terribly important conversation to begin with.
Nevertheless, Nero did not assume that anything he said would remain a secret. Both Footer and Gabriel had warned him about the probes he would face. He did not know if cadet Berlad had a prominent family background, so for now he could only conclude that this was, at the very least, a probe from some faction or group within the military.
He could be completely wrong, and it could just be Berlas randomly giving Nero a friendly reminder. But in that case, even if Nero assumed that Berlas was reporting to someone and was wrong, he wouldn't suffer any harm by carefully considering his response.
In fact, Nero had already thought long and hard about how he would handle this particular topic. He could maintain the hard stance, which was that even as a sage, the general was not exempt from the responsibilities of his station. That was technically true, even if no one had the guts to point it out.
Or he could go with the excuse that he was disoriented and didn't know who he was talking to. Each one had strategic benefits, and would either bring him closer or push him further away from certain groups.
Nero needed to make allies, but also had to keep the long view. He needed to establish himself, and had to create a persona for himself that would align with his long term goals.
"I am not afraid of trouble," Nero said calmly, without any arrogance in his voice. He turned to make eye contact with Berlas.
"If I was, I would not have fought against the vines to protect my schoolmates. If anyone wants to cause any trouble for me, a student, doing their job for them, then they are free to do so. I do regret what happened afterwards though. Even though it was my first time on a battlefield, I shouldn't have let the death of my friends affect me like that. Next time, I will be better."
Since Nero's voice was completely even, it did not sound like he was boasting at all. He was just stating facts. Even when he subtly insinuated that the reason he had been disrespectful to the sage was because he was overwhelmed from the death of his friends, he did not dwell on or mention the excruciating sights he had seen or experienced.
He did not mention that he was not yet a soldier, and the deaths were those of children, not of those of trained professionals. It was as if he truly held himself to the standards of an actual soldier. His last sentence was also a subtle jab at the army. By saying next time he would be better, he was claiming that he was certain the army would continue to fail to maintain the peace.
Berlas, as a cadet, and someone who was being trained to be an officer, should be more than capable of picking up on all these subtleties, though he was sure not everyone would. He was fully expecting more trouble coming up soon. But when he saw the emotions flash in Berlas' eyes, and a hint of respect appear on his face, Nero knew he had taken the first right step.
"I can't imagine what it must have been like for you," Berlas said, shaking his head. "There hasn't been such a massive security failure in Kolar in years. There are rumours that all five other nations are working together against Kolar this time, because of the ruins."
Nero shook his head as well.
"I cannot comment on rumours. Who knows what's true? I'm just focused on my own training for now to prepare for the tournament in a few months."
"You're planning on joining KMA? I should have expected as much. Good luck. The examiners are sadistic bastards, I can tell you that much."
The environment around them seemed to relax as Berlas led the way. Even when they passed by the occasional soldier, they maintained their relaxed demeanour.
"The actual ceremony will begin in a few hours," Berlas stated. "In the meantime, you will have to wait with the other honourees. Once the ceremony starts, you all will be escorted to the auditorium where each of you have assigned seats. Sage Haiden himself will preside over the ceremony, so everyone has to be in place before he arrives. There is a proper procedure to hand out and accept rewards.
I will be giving you a handbook as well as a demonstration before you head out to the ceremony.
"Once both portions of the ceremony are over, all the guests will be escorted to the mess hall for breakfast. Unless otherwise stated, you will be allowed to leave once that is over."
"Ah, that means I'll have plenty of time to get to know the other honorees," Nero said. Of course he would. It was much simpler to make them all wait than to make the sage wait. No matter what, Nero had no delusions about whose time was more important, at least as far as the army was concerned.
"If that's what you want. I'll wish you good luck with that as well. You've made a strong impression on people."
Nero could not help but smile. Berlas was either trying to be friendly and warn him, or trying to secretly intimidate him. Either way, Nero already knew what to expect.
As he had stated earlier, Berlas led Nero to a room with a stage where he showed him a demo of how the ceremony was to proceed, and how Nero was supposed to accept the reward. It was not something elaborate, like a bow or kneeling down, but the army was very particular about its discipline and traditions, so it was important he behaved exactly right.
The method Berlas mentioned required Nero to salute and stand straight, looking directly ahead while the award would be pinned to his chest if he were a soldier, or handed to him if he were a civilian.
"It's said that this tradition goes all the way back to when Emperor Iskunder made Harrison Kade the marshal for the region that is now Kolar," Berlas said, when showing Nero exactly how to accept the reward.
"Yes, I've read about it," responded Nero. "It was during what historians call The Imperial Partition, wasn't it? The event that roughly outlined how Velariya would later be divided into the countries that now replace it? Wasn't it said that when the emperor offered the southern region of Velariya to Sage Harrison, he bowed and refused to make eye contact because he was protesting the decision?"
Berlas paused for a second, as he was not expecting Nero to know about this obscure piece of history that wasn't really taught in schools. Moreover, the position Nero mentioned was different from what Berlas had just stated, which caused a moment of awkwardness.
"Different versions of that event state different things. This is the one that the army officially follows. Here, you can read about it in the handbook. Now let me take you to the waiting hall."
Nero did not bring up the event again, though when he opened the handbook it did indeed show a diagram of how to stand when accepting the award, exactly how Berlas had stated.
Nero could not help but smile. How was he supposed to know if this was accurate? If someone was setting him up, it wouldn't be hard for them to make a fake handbook. But only like this were things interesting.
When Nero arrived at the waiting hall, he only found three other people there, though the number of seats was quite a lot. Berlas excused himself at that point, as he was not specifically assigned just to Nero, and instead had to escort many of the arriving guests.
Nero nodded, and made his way to the others. They were two men and a woman, all of them in army uniform. It seemed he would find out just how many of the army personnel thought badly of him.
"Hello, I'm glad I'm not the only one who arrived early," Nero said, putting on a wide smile. It was time to make some friends. "My name is Nero, by the way."
But it seemed that the three were not receptive to his friendliness. They continued to glare at him as he arrived, and said nothing. For a moment a silence filled the room as no one said anything.
Nero felt no awkwardness, and was not afraid of his friendliness being rejected, which is why he did not flinch or shy away as the three continued to stare.
Ultimately, it wasn't Nero who broke the silence, but one of the men.
"Aren't you the kid who was disrespectful to the sage? I don't know why he didn't slap you into oblivion right there. I know I would have if I were in his place, Kolar has no need for spoiled brats."
Without missing a beat, and without dropping the smile from his face, Nero responded.
"Maybe because right before that, I was the one keeping other kids from being killed by the vines. If the sage killed everyone who kept Kollar safe, that would probably only leave behind people like you, huh?"