I felt the morning sunlight break through the gaps in the curtains, and warm rays caress my face. Finally… Perhaps for the first time since I've been here, I truly feel somewhat refreshed. Of course, I'm not saying I couldn't sleep a little more, but at least I don't feel as though a mountain has crushed me.
My thoughts were abruptly interrupted by a sudden, sharp sound. My phone rang.
"What the…" I muttered to myself as I reached for the device.
According to the clock, it was five o'clock. Well, yes… It was time to get up. A quick morning wash wouldn't hurt, especially since, if I remember correctly, a long day awaits me. I wasn't particularly excited about the idea of heading among the people and apologizing to Michael—someone I don't even know—yet I had indeed kicked him off a roof. So this is the least I must do. A command. I obey the command, and that's that.
As I made my way to the bathroom, I tried to shut out all thoughts. I let the hot water wash the sleepiness from my mind, then thoroughly washed my hair. Looking into the mirror, I noted that although faint circles had formed under my eyes, at least I no longer looked like someone who had just come out of an all-night battle. I dried my hair, quickly combed it, and finally managed to dress.
Then I noticed that carefully folded next to my bed was a new black overall and a pair of black boots. They were probably there since yesterday, but I was so tired I hadn't even noticed. I picked up the boots and tried to slip into them. As soon as I stood up in them, I immediately felt that their heels were much higher than usual.
"Oh, come on…" I muttered under my breath. "Either they're preparing me to be a kickboxer or expecting me to train in them. Neither sounds good."
But in the end, I just shrugged and headed toward the dining hall. Walking along the corridors, I enjoyed that my access card practically opened every door. At least that was one advantage of it all…
When I entered the dining hall, I glanced at the clock. It was a few minutes before six. I paused for a moment and looked around. The room was surprisingly full. The people had already arrived after their workout—refreshed, energetic. I didn't see a single tired face. Everyone was alert, as if a night's sleep were merely an optional activity for them.
"These aren't even human…" I muttered to myself.
I sat down at the same table where I had dinner yesterday. Not long after, the little group that had been around yesterday evening also appeared. The short, black-haired girl once again settled beside me, but this time she remained silent for a while.
"Good morning," she finally greeted, along with the others.
I merely nodded, not really sure how to respond to this sudden friendly mood. Then I remembered that yesterday they helped me get back to my room, so I had no reason to be grumpy. Everyone ate in silence, except for a few guys from the group who loudly chattered about various trivial matters.
The black-haired girl eventually spoke up again:
"I heard about yesterday's trouble. It was pretty cool. Not everyone manages to kick an angel off a roof on their first day."
I looked around and noticed that the others were also smiling faintly—not mockingly, but rather… appreciatively.
It felt somewhat nice.
"Yeah…," I finally said with a sigh. "And now I have to go apologize to him."
The girl chuckled.
"At least you got off lightly. But you'll probably have to appear before the ruler too. Don't worry though, everyone eventually ends up before the ruler when something gets messy."
At first, I wasn't sure if she was trying to comfort me or simply stating a fact, but in the end, I let it go.
"And then?" I asked, having a feeling that my day wasn't over yet.
"Then?" she raised her eyebrow. "Then the real fun begins."
"What do you mean by that?"
Her smile widened.
"Since the rookie training hasn't officially started yet—there are still two weeks to go—they're going to throw you right into the thick of things. You'll be taking part in the same training as the rest of us. And believe me, it won't be easy."
I began to feel less and less happy about this whole day.
But before I could say anything more, the dining hall suddenly fell silent. The door opened, and in walked the dark-clad men I had seen yesterday. In the center stood the same man who had slammed onto the table yesterday, and next to him, the blond general entered with a serious expression.
They headed straight toward us.
Our table was the only one still chatting, while everyone else watched tensely in silence.
The general stopped in front of us and looked us over with a stern gaze.
"If the little birds have finished chirping," he said coolly, "I would like to request the kung fu panda to get moving. I understand we have a little matter to attend to."
That was all that needed to be said. I stood up, and with one last smile directed at the little group, I set off. The blond general led the way, followed by the dark-clad men, then me, and finally a couple more dark-clad figures closed the line.
As we exited the building, a long black off-road vehicle awaited us, with several more black cars lined up behind it.
For a moment, I felt as if I were part of a royal procession, not someone setting off to apologize.
I liked this parade.
But when I looked at the general and saw that his expression remained just as somber, I kept silent. Wordlessly, I got into the car, and we headed toward the gate.
Then one more question bubbled up inside me, which I ultimately couldn't keep to myself.
"Am I even allowed to go out through the gate? My last two attempts… weren't really successful."
The general replied coolly, in his usual detached manner:
"They won't let you out the gate if someone doesn't want you to leave permanently. Since you belong to the city, you can roam freely with your access card. If you don't return within the specified time, thanks to our refined techniques and abilities, we'll even dig you up from under the ground—but you'd better not even consider a similar situation. If you break the law, you'll end up underground sooner than you think."
It's quite frightening how they always remind me of that. My mind just couldn't let that idea go.
In the end, I simply nodded and allowed the car to merge into the long convoy.