The administrative wing of the Tianxia Imperial Academy was a temple of polished jade and dark mahogany. Inside the grand interview chamber, three high-ranking officials from the Imperial Diplomatic Corps sat behind a massive, curved desk, their expressions carved from stone.
Sitting perfectly straight in the chair opposite them, bathed in the soft morning light, was Rian Kuro.
On his right index finger, the heavy, dark silver ring rested comfortably against his skin. The terrifying, calculating shadow of the Architect was locked deep in the darkest vault of his mind. Right now, Rian was just a seventeen-year-old student fighting for his future, his heart beating with a perfectly normal, healthy dose of nervous adrenaline.
"Your written thesis on the economic integration of the outer rings was exemplary, Mr. Kuro," the lead diplomat, a stern woman with silver hair, said, peering over her datapad. "However, the Diplomatic Corps requires more than academic theory. Suppose the Southern Jade Empire imposes a sudden, crippling embargo on our synthetic agricultural imports. How do you respond without inciting a border skirmish?"
Rian offered a polite, composed smile. He didn't even have to think; the geopolitical landscape of the continent was second nature to him.
"I wouldn't address the agricultural embargo directly, Minister," Rian answered, his voice smooth and melodic. "To do so would legitimize their aggression. Instead, I would immediately lobby the Onyx Tortoise Court to offer a highly subsidized, exclusive cybernetics trade deal to the Japanese Empire's naval fleet."
The three diplomats paused, exchanging surprised glances.
"By strengthening our ties with the Japanese Navy," Rian continued flawlessly, "we indirectly threaten the Southern Empire's eastern coastline. Emperor Huang would be forced to divert his military budget to secure his shores, crippling his economic leverage. He would quietly lift the agricultural embargo within a week to stabilize his own markets, and we would have never fired a single shot."
The lead diplomat stared at Rian for a long moment. A slow, deeply impressed smile finally broke through her stern facade. She tapped her datapad.
"Flawless lateral thinking, Mr. Kuro," she praised warmly. "The Ministry of State will be incredibly fortunate to have you. Welcome to the Imperial Diplomatic Corps. We will finalize your placement upon graduation."
"Thank you, Minister. It is an honor," Rian bowed deeply, relief and pure joy washing over him.
When Rian pushed open the heavy mahogany doors and stepped out into the sunlit corridor, he let out a massive, unburdened exhale.
"Well?!"
Kenji was practically vibrating with anticipation, leaning heavily on a sleek, silver cybernetic walking brace that encased his left leg. Beside him, Iris stood with her hands clasped together, her pale eyes wide and hopeful.
"I got it," Rian grinned, unable to hide the sheer, overwhelming happiness in his voice. "I'm officially on the Ministry's fast track."
"Yes!" Kenji roared, completely ignoring his injured leg. He threw his arms around Rian, pulling him into a massive, crushing hug that nearly knocked the wind out of the newly minted diplomat. "I knew it! Look at you, Imperial Diplomat Kuro! You're going to be living in a penthouse in the upper rings while I'm still trying to figure out how gravity works!"
"Speaking of gravity, how is the leg holding up?" Rian laughed, gently pushing his best friend back so he wouldn't aggravate the injury. "You only got out of the hospital bed two days ago, Kenji. You shouldn't be jumping around."
"The stasis-cast did its job," Kenji grinned, slapping the silver brace on his thigh. "It's a little stiff, and the doctors said I can't play grav-ball for a month, but I can walk perfectly fine. Nothing was going to stop me from being here to celebrate your interview."
Iris stepped forward, her ethereal face glowing with absolute, unconditional pride. She reached up, gently adjusting the collar of Rian's uniform, her soft fingers lingering against his neck.
"Your aura is magnificent today, Rian," Iris whispered, her voice a soothing melody. "It's a brilliant, shining gold. There isn't a single shadow in it. I am so incredibly proud of you."
"I couldn't have done it without you keeping me sane," Rian murmured, looking down into her pale eyes. He gently cupped her cheek, his thumb brushing against her skin. The world around them seemed to melt away, leaving only the profound, synthetic love programmed into his very biology. "You're my good luck charm, Iris."
Iris beamed, leaning up slightly, her lips hovering just an inch from his.
Kenji immediately threw his head back and looked up at the ornate ceiling, letting out a loud, theatrical groan.
"Dear God, or the Emperor, or whoever is listening up there," Kenji prayed loudly, throwing a dramatic hand over his heart. "Please, I am begging you, drop a beautiful, single girl right out of the sky and into my lap. I am dying of third-wheel radiation. I cannot physically survive another year of watching these two stare into each other's eyes."
Rian chuckled, stepping back from Iris with a faint blush, though he kept his hand firmly laced with hers. "You'll find someone, Kenji. You just have to stop trying to impress girls by telling them how much you can bench-press."
"It's a valid metric of my genetic viability!" Kenji argued defensively.
"Excuse me? Senior Kuro?"
The three of them turned. Standing a few feet away, clutching a small, messy bundle of exposed wiring and a fractured repulsor-coil to her chest, was Mei. The junior girl looked incredibly timid, her cheeks flushing a vibrant pink the moment Rian looked at her.
The warm, golden atmosphere in the hallway instantly plummeted by ten degrees.
Iris's posture went completely rigid. Her pale eyes narrowed into icy, dangerous slits as she stared at the younger girl. The Anomaly within her surged, violently possessive and fiercely protective of her programmed asset.
"Hello, Mei," Rian smiled politely, entirely oblivious to the sudden, lethal psychic pressure Iris was radiating beside him. "Can I help you?"
"I... I'm so sorry to interrupt," Mei stammered, shrinking slightly under Iris's terrifying glare. "But I have my mid-term presentation for applied physics in an hour, and my repulsor-coil completely shorted out. I heard from some of the other students that you stayed up late and flawlessly fixed Kenji's short-wave radio project last week. I was just hoping... maybe you could look at my circuit board? Just for five minutes?"
Iris took a very deliberate step forward, physically placing herself between Rian and the junior. "Rian is very busy celebrating his Imperial placement, Mei," Iris said, her voice sugary sweet, but laced with absolute, undeniable venom. "Perhaps you should ask the teacher's assistant for help with your homework."
"Iris, it's okay," Rian said gently, placing a calming hand on Iris's shoulder. The nice-guy persona was deeply ingrained in his civilian cover, and he genuinely didn't mind helping. He looked at the frantic, stressed underclassman and felt a pang of sympathy. "It will only take a few minutes. I'm happy to take a look, Mei."
Iris shot Rian a look of sheer, unadulterated betrayal, but Rian just offered her an oblivious, reassuring smile.
"I'll meet you guys by the courtyard fountains," Rian promised, giving Iris's hand a final squeeze. "Start thinking about what we're going to bring to the picnic tomorrow."
Kenji smirked, leaning heavily on his brace. "Take your time, bro. I'll make sure Iris doesn't spontaneously combust."
Rian followed Mei into an empty, sunlit mechanics classroom down the hall. He set his satchel down and took the sparking repulsor-coil from her hands, laying it out on a metal workbench. He grabbed a fine-tipped soldering iron from a nearby rack.
"You reversed the polarity on the copper induction loop," Rian diagnosed instantly, his mind effortlessly processing the electrical pathways. He bent over the board, the soldering iron hissing as he quickly and efficiently rewired the burnt connections. "If you run a positive charge through a negative gate, the kinetic energy has nowhere to go. It just fries the motherboard."
Mei watched him work, her eyes filled with quiet admiration. "You make it look so easy."
"It's just variables and logic," Rian smiled, keeping his eyes on the circuit. "Everything has a specific place it belongs."
Mei shifted her weight nervously, twisting the hem of her uniform skirt. "Senior Kuro... I also wanted to apologize."
Rian paused, the soldering iron hovering in the air. He looked up at her.
"For the other day. By the lockers," Mei clarified, her face turning pink again. "When I gave you that letter. I knew you were with Iris, but I was just... I don't know, hoping, I guess. It was really selfish of me."
"You don't need to apologize, Mei," Rian said softly, his tone incredibly kind.
"I do," Mei insisted, offering a small, genuinely respectful smile. "When Iris looked at me in the hallway just now... I realized it. She looks at you like you are the center of her entire universe. And you look at her the exact same way. You guys are perfect together. I just wanted to say I'm sorry for trying to intrude on that."
Rian felt a profound, overwhelming warmth bloom in his chest. The silver ring on his finger pulsed slightly, reinforcing the absolute truth of her words in his mind. He and Iris were perfect. They were safe, they were happy, and they had a beautiful future ahead of them.
"Thank you, Mei," Rian said sincerely. He finished the final weld and handed the repaired repulsor-coil back to her. "There you go. Good as new. Good luck on your presentation."
"Thank you, Senior Kuro!" Mei beamed, clutching the project to her chest and bowing deeply before hurrying out of the classroom.
When Rian returned to the sunlit courtyard, he found Kenji sitting on the edge of a massive, bubbling stone fountain, his braced leg stretched out. Iris was pacing back and forth in front of him, muttering angrily under her breath, aggressively tearing a synthetic leaf into tiny, microscopic shreds.
"Did you fix the little junior's toy?" Iris asked tartly the moment Rian approached, her arms crossed tightly over her chest.
Rian couldn't help it; he laughed. He walked up to her, wrapped his arms around her waist, and lifted her slightly off the ground, spinning her around once.
"Iris, she was just apologizing to me for the letter," Rian smiled, setting her back down. "She said she sees how much we love each other, and she thinks we're perfect together."
Iris paused. The fierce, jealous scowl on her ethereal face instantly melted away, replaced by a soft, highly satisfied blush. "Oh," Iris murmured, her posture completely relaxing. "Well. She's a very perceptive junior, then. I suppose I can forgive her interruption."
"Thank God," Kenji sighed dramatically from the fountain. "I thought she was going to rip my head off if you didn't come back in the next thirty seconds. Now, can we please talk about the most important event of the year? The mandatory Grand Garden Picnic tomorrow."
"It's at the Western Gardens, right?" Rian asked, sitting down next to Kenji and pulling Iris down to sit beside him.
"Yeah, right on the edge of the neutral zone near the Third Palace," Kenji nodded, pulling up a digital map on his datapad. "The school rented out the entire eastern pavilion. We have to bring our own food, though. And since you are now officially a high-ranking Imperial Diplomat, you are paying."
"I haven't even graduated yet, Kenji," Rian laughed. "But fine. What are we eating?"
"Spicy roasted pork skewers," Kenji declared instantly, his eyes gleaming with culinary passion. "A mountain of them. And those sweet lotus buns from Sector 4. Oh, and we definitely need to smuggle in some of that sparkling cider."
"I want synthetic strawberries," Iris added dreamily, leaning her head on Rian's shoulder. "And we should try to claim a spot near the weeping willows. The shade there is perfect, and we can watch the swans in the pond."
"Pork skewers, lotus buns, strawberries, and a spot by the willows," Rian listed off, a deep, contented sigh escaping his lips as he wrapped his arm around Iris. "It sounds perfect. Just a quiet, completely normal afternoon in the sun."
Rian closed his eyes, leaning back against the cool stone of the fountain, letting the warmth of the afternoon sun wash over his face. He felt incredibly lucky. He had his friends, the girl he loved, and a guaranteed, peaceful future. Tomorrow was going to be a beautiful, flawless day.