As Azariah and Alyssa stepped down the staircase, they saw two students coming their way.
From the bands on their coats, they seemed to be second-year students.
It became evident when they also saw the badge on their coats, indicating their affiliation with the student council.
"Greetings. You are Student Alyssa Indrath, if I'm correct?" the boy on the right asked.
He had quite a jacked build, with properly combed and swept-back hair paired with glasses.
'A proper noble,' thought Azariah.
The other guy was quite the opposite, with a relaxed posture and messy hair, not carrying himself with as much pride as the one on the right.
Regardless, both of them were from the student council.
The question made no sense though. Everyone knew who Alyssa Indrath was, even excluding the fact that she was first-ranked in the first year.
Azariah assumed that it was just asked to get a response out of her.
Beside him, he just saw Alyssa nod in response.
Nonetheless, the guy in front didn't mind.
"Great, my name is Nicholas and my partner here is Liam. The president sent us here to guide you towards the student council meeting."
Again, Alyssa just nodded to them.
Nicholas turned to show her the way before suddenly stopping.
"I'm sorry, but past this point, only student council members are allowed," he said, giving the clue to Azariah to back off.
'Ah, another pain in the ass.'
He felt another headache creeping in, but surprisingly, someone spoke up.
"He's coming with me," Alyssa said for the first time in their meeting.
Azariah raised his brows from behind as he saw her stepping up for the first time.
Even Nicholas was surprised, as he was speechless for the first time.
"Well, I'm not sure if this is allowed, but he's also your bodyguard. I think we'll let the President decide on what has to be done on this issue."
"Yeah, leave it, Nicholas. It's not like he's a threat, and Ms. Alyssa has vouched for him," the boy on the left, Liam, spoke up.
Nicholas nodded to his partner before turning back once more.
"Very well, you two can follow me."
Azariah didn't know why, but the part 'he's not a threat' stung him quite a bit.
After five minutes of walking around multiple pathways, the group came to a gigantic two-door entrance.
The corridors and doors here were quite different from the other parts of the building.
It gave off a scholarly vibe with all the inscriptions that were made on the walls and doors.
'Quite beautifully done,' Azariah complimented.
He was quite impressed by the architecture in the academy, and he had his team from behind in the real world to thank for it.
"Okay, we are here," Nicholas announced before knocking on the door.
"You may enter," a raspy voice came from inside.
Nodding to the group, Nicholas twisted the handle before opening the gigantic doors.
As he stepped inside, Alyssa and Azariah followed him as well.
In an instant, Azariah could feel the pressure of the people inside.
It was as if it were crawling and scratching across his back, almost making him shiver.
The room inside was gargantuan, built like a dome with huge paintings hung on all sides of the walls.
Dim sunlight filtered through the glass panels of the dome at the top of the ceiling, illuminating the room.
Inside the room was a huge table that spanned from one length to the other, with seats arranged on both sides.
Members of the academy council sat in silence in many of these seats, some of them observing Alyssa and Azariah.
Just at the other end of the room, there were two staircases to the sides that led to an uplifted platform.
And there, sitting on a much more luxurious chair and observing all of them from a high point, was the Academy Council President.
Her long black hair was tied into a voluminous bun, with side locks falling down the sides of her face.
The three bands on her coat indicated that she was a third-year, and behind her pleasing smile and enchanting beauty, he sensed a demon.
For he knew who she was.
Amanda Declian — one of the strongest people in the academy.
Standing right behind her was another man. With his square-shaped glasses, his sophisticated posture and build, one would immediately get the vibe of a nerd.
But Azariah also knew who he was.
He was the Vice President of the Student Council — John Griezmann.
He was probably the man who had asked them to enter as well. And now, he was glaring directly at Azariah.
"What is a Division 2 student doing here!? Who allowed you to enter!?" he asked in anger.
Azariah remained undisturbed and just pointed to the lady in front of him.
Nicholas also stepped up to clear the misunderstanding.
"Since he's directly appointed as Ms. Alyssa's bodyguard, she refused to go anywhere without him."
John, however, was having none of it.
"Are you not aware that nobody except the student council members are allowed here!?"
Before Alyssa or Azariah could speak, however, a surprising voice intervened.
"That's fine. Let him stay."
Everyone's heads shifted toward the President as they heard her intervene for the first time.
Even the members who had no interest were surprised to see her talk.
"But—" John tried to talk but quickly held himself back.
Meanwhile, the President just looked at Azariah.
The latter felt a chill crawl down his spine as he met her golden eyes.
They were different from Alyssa's. It was as if they held a certain fire that would entirely consume you should you try to fall in.
Her bewitching smile gave the same feeling.
"You're… Azariah Indrath, correct? The boy who intervened in the fight yesterday?" she asked, leaning her chin on her palm as she leaned closer.
"Yes, Ms. President. I am."
At the confirmation, Amanda leaned back into her chair, clapping.
"Fascinating. I was informed by our member here of your intervention yesterday. You have my gratitude as the Academy Council President."
Azariah could feel the stares of some of the members after hearing he was the guy from yesterday.
Regardless, he just nodded with a smile.
Then, he saw Amanda turn toward John.
"It's fine, let him stand behind Alyssa. In fact, it's very good that he's here with her as well."
Azariah was confused at the last part, but he got the explanation a moment later as Amanda turned toward him.
"It's because one of the main matters we have to discuss today is concerning you."