"Where do you go to school, and what grade are you in this year?" Horatio asked the girl who had gone back to fiddle with the bartending tools.
He was curious about education in the 41st millennium because he couldn't imagine it.
"Vegas S-15 Grammar High School, third year. The Abyss Port Summer Advanced Placement Exam is in another month." The girl picked up the cocktail shaker and blinked playfully.
[Third year of high school, huh.]
"Then your father must be working very hard to be able to send you to school given such a poor overall environment."
"Oh, it's what I should do! I only have this one precious daughter. I didn't get to live the life of a cultured person, but I should at least let my child live a good life, shouldn't I?" Before the girl could speak, Hanzi suddenly walked over and said, then smiled as he picked up the cold boiled water the girl had prepared earlier and gulped it down.
"Dad, this gentleman just taught me how to solve this problem!" the girl exclaimed happily.
"Ah! That's amazing!" Hanzi widened his eyes and wiped his hands with a towel, his gaze instantly lighting up with the respect unique to scholars: "Did you thank him properly?"
"I gave him a dish! You don't mind, do you?" the girl replied happily.
"Haha, no, our girl is sensible. You must learn to thank others when they help you. That's good."
"Mm!"
[Letting the child live a good life… so familiar.]
Horatio looked at the father and daughter and chuckled softly.
"Business isn't easy these days, is it? I see that the entire Imperium of Man's transportation lines are being harassed by rebels and pirates, material supplies are unstable, and costs fluctuate wildly."
"Millions in mortgage payments haven't been paid off, and the cost of living in the Middle Hive is getting more and more expensive. To survive, we have to do it even if it's hard. Another drink!" Hanzi slammed the teacup on the table, and the girl obediently poured him water from the cold water jug.
"Fortunately, I used to be a freight worker in the dock area, and a few of the guys I knew back then are now cargo masters in merchant fleets. Every time they come back, they can always get us some economical and good stuff here. After deducting taxes and costs, I can still earn seven or eight thousand a month. If I save for half a year, my child's tuition for a year is covered. I still need to work harder in the future."
Horatio listened silently, his lips moving slightly, feeling a bit touched.
Even in the dark 41st millennium, the working people were still striving to survive with their own hands, silently interpreting the deepest core of the Imperium of Man — no matter how stormy the galaxy, they must continue to live.
And protecting these hardworking people would be his future responsibility.
Could he… do even more?
Suddenly, an emergency news report was broadcast on the old cathode-ray tube second-hand television at the bar, issued by the propaganda department of the Guild Alliance Government. All the guests simultaneously looked at the television.
"We interrupt this program for an urgent announcement.
Due to incitement by lurking Evil Cultists and rebels, some residents of the Vegas District who are unaware of the truth have joined the rebellion, and the situation has worsened. Approximately 30 Hive City Law Enforcement and Planetary Defense Force members have sacrificed their lives in operations to suppress the rioters, with no civilian casualties.
The Guild Alliance Government will ensure the safety of residents to the maximum extent. Imperial citizens in the F-4 Block of the Vegas District are requested to stay at home and not go out when demonstrations occur."
Hanzi and the girl frowned.
"Turn it off!" Hanzi angrily slammed his water cup on the bar.
The smile had vanished from the girl's face, and she walked over with a worried expression to turn off the television.
"What rebellion? Those people were just protesting the increase in 'cost of living,' and the Guild Alliance deployed the Planetary Defense Force to suppress them! And they say there were no casualties, what a load of nonsense!"
Hanzi grimaced and sighed angrily.
"Dad…" the girl whispered, reminding Hanzi to stop talking.
A freight truck with the words 'Bread' written on it drove up to the front of the shop. Hanzi immediately changed his expression and ran towards the door, muttering, "Oh, my bread order has arrived."
"Please wait, sir, your dish will be ready soon," the girl said apologetically.
"It's fine, I have plenty of time," Horatio said with a wry smile.
[Only been locked up for half a year, and now the conflict has escalated to this level of suppression…]
"Where did you learn bartending?" Horatio asked, watching the girl's skilled bartending technique with interest.
"Bartending is part of the enrichment classes at school. The Science Master also uses cocktail mixing to teach us density physics, which is really interesting. At the time, I thought if I learned this well, I could help my dad get more business. In fact, many customers here love the drinks I mix."
"Aren't your studies important? It looks like you have a lot of homework," Horatio said with a smile.
"I finished my homework a long time ago; that's for advanced problems."
[Amazing, a 41st millennium small-town test-taker.]
The girl's nimble fingers stirred the cocktail shaker, and she said with a wry smile, "Just doing homework won't get me into Plymouth Womens College. That's the only school I can get into based on my grades. Every year, a portion of the spots are allocated to Middle Hive girls, and everyone fights tooth and nail for them."
As a Master from Ancient Terra, Horatio was not unfamiliar with this academic system. In the past, classical universities in England would set aside 'scholarship' spots for commoner students to attend.
Horatio had witnessed how fierce the competition for entrance exams was on Ancient Terra.
Hearing the girl say this, he couldn't even imagine how intense the competition for enrollment at Plymouth Womens College would be.
"Oh, what about Gotha University? I heard it's very famous. Why not try for that school?"
Horatio had heard of this well-known university in Abyss Port, a famous sector capital university known to everyone, much like Tsinghua and Peking Universities, or Cambridge and Oxford on Ancient Terra.
The girl smiled: "You don't know, sir. Gotha University is not a single, physical university; it's an alliance of multiple academies. Plymouth Womens College is already a constituent institution of Gotha University.
Other academies include: Ravensberg Advanced Academy, which is only for students from the Upper Hive and Spire District; Saint Sava Theological Seminary, founded by the Ecclesiarchy; Abyss Port Polytechnic managed by the Adeptus Mechanicus; Gothic Political and Economic Academy directly under the Ministry of Internal Affairs; and then there's the Saint Abridal Successor Academy, primarily overseen by the Imperial Navy."
[Sounds like an Ivy League-like alliance, and the Loyalist Academy is actually part of it, which means… this girl might be my future junior?]
After she finished speaking, a prepared Martini was placed in front of Horatio.
It had no lemon garnish, but a decorative miniature paper umbrella inserted into a fruit gummy.
"Thank you." Horatio picked up the glass. From the color of the drink, the quality was good; it was clearly good stuff the boss had gotten from his merchant fleet friends.
Then he took a small sip. It was smooth on the palate, refreshing in taste, and had a good strength, with a relatively pure flavor.
The pleasant aroma of gin, accompanied by flavors of juniper, spices, herbs, and tropical fruits, came first, followed by the diluted faint wormwood, with its complex and peculiar anise spice flavor.
The bottom seasoning had a hint of sweet cherry sweetness and aftertaste. This cocktail gave Horatio a very unique experience.
"The taste is good. It would probably be even better with a little fruit juice."
"I know, but fruit juice depends on luck. If a ship happens to come from a Garden World, we might be able to get some, but unfortunately, no supplies from such a ship have reached the Middle Hive port for three months."