Kings On The Horizon (Vol. 4-6) ✓

231 | Tax Collection

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WHILE SITTING AT ONE of the desks that Xander kindly cleared for him, Max looks through the files that President Justice gave him earlier so he'll know what to do before classes officially start. Just like his first day in J.S High, Max was already reading the rules and regulations both for the white uniforms and the brotherhoods. He has also memorized his schedule, as well as the names of all their professors. It also looks like he's still in Class A, which was something Max was relieved about.

     "This is quite interesting," Max says while his eyes are glued to the student handbook. "In J.S High, gaffers, dwellers, and serfs are just titles for your specific rank. But here, they're referred to as Divisions. That really gives a sense of separation. And I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing."

     "Wait, yours aren't?" Xander asks, and Max shakes his head in reply.

     "By the way, are you and Keigo close friends?" Xander asks while readjusting the alarm button that Max accidentally stepped on earlier,

     "We're not just friends. We're best friends," Keigo suddenly answers, making Max chuckle.

     "Ari and the others might not agree with that," Max teases, but Keigo just brushes it off.

     "Anyway, it must be strange that you two are serfs again after everything you've done in J.S High. I mean, I heard the system there is harder, and students literally have to do everything they can to survive. I'm not saying it's not hard here, of course, but the House of Kings must be a different level, right?" Xander wonders, making Max look away from the handbook he's reading before turning to look at Xander who's sitting on the edge of his bed beside Keigo.

     "If you asked me this same question a few months back, I would have agreed with you. But after everything that had happened to our house, some students of J.S High started to treat each other as healthy competition. Our titles still hold merit, which is important, but students are becoming unified when needed, and that's the ideal school that I want. Of course, there's still a long way to go, but at least change is slowly starting," Max explains with so much dedication and confidence that Xander couldn't help but look at him with awe.

     Max isn't even the president yet, but there's no denying that he has the charisma to influence others. It's still not as strong as President Ian's, but Max is truly on his way there.

     "Besides, I can't really compare J.S High with St. George Academy yet since I've only been here for a couple of hours. But if I were to make an observation, serfs here really feel like they're serfs, especially with their living conditions. In J.S High, serfs are looked down upon. But after the bell rings and when everyone leaves the campus grounds, they're back to becoming the heirs that they are. But here...there's no escaping your titles," Max explains next, and Xander couldn't help but sigh and nod his head in agreement.

     "You just hit the nail on that one. And seeing how you talk about J.S High, I can't help but feel jealous. Only the very best are chosen to enroll in the House of Kings, so I expected it to be a nightmare. But after hearing you, I can tell you genuinely love your house, which students in our house wouldn't be able to relate to," Xander says with a sad expression.

     "The hierarchy here is intense, especially when you're a serf. How we're treated is very different from others, but that's also the very reason why there aren't a lot of serfs that are in a higher year, which makes the council conclude that this way is effective," Xander explains.

     "It's effective because you're being forced to live like this if you don't rank up. Students aren't encouraged to rank up because they want to. They rank up because they need to," Keigo replies, and Xander nods to agree to it.