"Haa…" Cassandra sighed as she shook her head. "You're full of surprises."
"I try...." Alex shrugged, his expression turning serious a second later. "I have a mission I want you to handle. Are you willing to take it?"
Cassandra noticed the seriousness in his tone, realising this was important to him--important for his universe.
"Of course," The catwoman nodded, turning to face Alex. "What do you need me to do?"
....
Mars, a few days later.
The students of the Hunters Academy had been made aware they'd be getting a new instructor in the person of Alexander Gray--the god himself.
The final years were overjoyed by the news. It was made clear that he was only only coming to handle just the elite class, but the entire fourth-year body.
Every student who grew up hearing stories about him made preparations for his first day. Those who schooled in other regions of the empire cried tears of blood.
Some attempted to take transfers to Mars, and even their parents got involved. Unfortunately, even with their status, there were mountains they couldn't climb.
It simply wasn't in the cards for them.
In the Hunters Academy, the males made silent vows to be on their best behaviour and prove their talents while the females dived into their makeup kits, planning on looking their very best.
There was always a chance, after all. Even if he was claimed, who said anything about there having to be only one woman in his life? Julia Knight was a scary and possessive woman?
Who cares?!
The hottest cake was making his way to his alma mater. It would be the joke of the millennia if they didn't try to shoot their shot or at the very least try to become his subordinate.
In all this mess of excitement, one student in particular had it the toughest--Aaron Gray, brother of Alexander Gray.
The number of students who wanted to be in his good graces was in the millions, if not more. Unfortunately for the masses, if they were not in his circle before, getting in now was impossible.
Aaron was not blind to the desires of man. He knew why most were after him. Instructors were even throwing themselves at him!
If not for his upbringing and his desire to emulate his brother, he might have fallen already. Regardless, his academy life had never been the same since his brother's return and achievements.
The entire fourth-year student body was seated in their classrooms, with a large holographic display at the front of the classroom.
"Tsk!" A student snorted. "I wanted to see him in person. What's the big idea?"
"Shut up, Melvin." A girl replied, known by her colleagues as Jessica. "The instructors already explained the issue to us. It will be in your best interest to behave appropriately."
"And who asked you to butt in?" Melvin turned to look at the girl. "Mind your own business."
Jessica sighed, subtly glancing Aaron's way. She was hoping to catch his attention for standing up to Melvin, one of the stronger students.
Unfortunately for her, Aaron remained quiet in his seat. He had his eyes closed and arms folded over his chest as he waited.
Aaron was now a young man of outstanding character. Standing at a height of 1.81 meters, he cut a dashing figure, a charming smile and abilities.
Regrettably, he was still single as most of the girls around him were only interested in his getting close to him for his brother. Also, he wasn't interested or found anyone he fancied, yet.
"Shh…It's about to start." A student drew everyone's attention.
All small chatters came to an end as everyone put on their best behaviour, even the rowdy ones. The greatest of all hunters was about to reveal himself, and the students couldn't stop their hearts from racing.
.....
A few minutes earlier.
Principal Yiny was pacing in her office, simply nervous about meeting Alexander. A person who a few years ago, she was in charge of.
This same person who didn't even complete his second year was returning as an instructor. But things were not so simple--Alexander wasn't so simple.
A knock at her door caused the principal to flinch, snapping her out of her thoughts. While it was a knock she was expecting, she wasn't in the right state of being.
"C-come in!" The principal said, attempting to find a place to sit or stand.
Within the time it took for the door to open, the woman had tried several sitting and standing postures, not sure which one to adopt.
Finally, she sat behind her desk, standing up to greet him 'only' after realizing who he was.
"Oh, Lord Alexander. You're here." Principal Yiny said with a dazzling smile. "Please, sit." She gestured at the chair before her desk.
"Thank you." Alex replied with a smile as he moved to take his seat. He was finding it difficult to keep his poker face, but for the sake of the woman's sanity, he held on.
'Status and power really change people's attitude towards you.' Alex noted inwardly. 'Hopefully, the students will be more relaxed.'
"Everything has been prepared for your address to the students." The principal went straight to business, knowing how particular Alex was about these things when you weren't very close to him. "A total of 1,645,746 students are gathered in their classrooms."
Alex nodded, not surprised by the numbers. He knew what he was getting into when he said he would take all of them.
"I want to meet all of them in one place." Alex said after pondering on the issue a bit. "And I know the perfect way to do that." He smiled knowingly.
There were various class auditoriums, but they only housed a few classes put together. And while the VR world could house all of them, Alex preferred the face-to-face interaction.
"Of course. Whatever suits your taste." The principal nodded. She was explicitly instructed to accommodate all of Alexander's wishes, even if he asked for her seat as principal. "What do I have to do?"
"Don't worry." Alex chuckled briefly. "I'll take care of everything. Just inform the instructors to get ready. They'll be on the podium with me."
"Right away." The principal reached for her the shared communicator and relayed Alexander's words. "They should be ready in a minute."
"Good." Alex nodded, crossing one leg over the other. "In the meantime, why don't we talk about you?"
The principal was infinitely close to the S-Tier and just needed a slight push in the right direction.
Today was her lucky day…