บท 144: The Award Ceremony 1

City Hall, the place where everything began. The founders of Country Z began to develop this land starting from here. The large building had large marble pillars that supported the inverted stairs ceiling making it look extremely domineering. Inside, it was where the country's Justice Court was and where many major Government meetings and events were held.

The Award Ceremony which was held annually was traditionally held in the biggest function room in City Hall. It was used there as a symbol that without our strong and reliable Military, the country would not have prospered and the City Hall would not have existed.

During the Award Ceremony, the military celebrates Long service personnels that were finishing their leg of the race. The best units from each formation would be awarded too. Moreover, significant milestones achieved would also be celebrated. It was the perfect time to adorn patriotism and inspire the younger generation.

Seeing that it was such a major event, every high ranking officer in the military —that was not undergoing out of country missions— are required to attend. That was also to say that the country media outlets would be sure to capture however much on the event as they could.

The event starts at 8 at night. Sato and Gray arrived five minutes before the event. Dressed in their well tailored suits, they immediately caught the eye of the media. Sato stood beside Gray who maintained a straight face as they walked up the steps into City Hall. Sato wasn't as good as the General, resulting in him looking like a stiff stick.

"Relax your shoulder muscle. Take a deep breath in and breathe out." Gray whispered in his ear. Within seconds, Sato's loosened slightly. His heart, however, was pounding.

When they finally got inside the building, Sato placed his hand on his knee to support his limped body. He complained to Gray, "How do you even do this so often?"

Gray laughed as he placed his hand comfortingly on his partner's shoulder. "All you need is a little more practice."

"Yeah nah. I'll pass on that. I'd rather much be unknown."

"You know that by being with me, your life would never be unknown right?" Gray chuckles lightly.

"Then I Guess I would just have to go back to my usual life before I met you." Gray's expression became solemn in an instant. Seeing how depressed the General looked Sato could not bear to joke around anymore. "I'm kidding okay. I cannot bear to leave you in a million years!"

"Only a million?" Gray pouted slightly.

"A billion! A trillion years! Are you happy now?" Sato pacified the grown man.

"Hahahaha. That means that even if you were to be reborn millions of times over, you would still want to be with me?" Gray laughed, satisfied by what Sato had said.

"You were the one that teased me into saying that.." Now was Sato��s turn to be sad.

"Alright, alright. Let's not wait around here and proceed to our seats." Gray changed the topic and led his partner towards the function hall. It was impossible to be lost in this enormous building. After all, there were signs and guides plastered along every major junction.

When the pair of handsome men arrived at the front door, the door mans opened up to welcome them to a completely new view. The function hall was fully carpeted in red velvet, with chandeliers hanging freely along every few meters. Round tables covered over with a silky material, with overly excessive floral decorations on the Lazy Susan.

One of the waiters guided Gray and Sato to their seats. Around the table, there were already a few familiar faces awaiting their arrival.

"Good evening, Sir and Mr. Sato." The man that greeted the couple, adorned a Colonel military rank. He was Colonel John, one of Gray's subordinates.

"Good evening, Sir and Mr. Sato." Late by a beat was the other Colonel ranked subordinate of Gray's, Colonel Cyrus. The both of them stood up as a sign of respect.

"Sit down," Gray smiled relaxingly, "There is no need to be so stiff."

There was another person that reached their table before the couple. He did not show any signs of greeting the Major General and continued to sip on his white wine in a sophisticated manner. Gray saw the person and decided to be the first one to greet him. "Evening, Jack."

"Evening, Gray." The man grunted out a reply. From the tone, it was easy enough for bystanders like Sato to know that the two did not have favourable impressions of each other. Before Gray had taken up this position, it was Major General Jack that lead this formation. Coming from Jack, there was obvious signs of disparagement to the young General.

"How is the new position holding out for you?" Gray asked the old man.

"Great. My current subordinates are full of tenacity and grit. Unlike..Hmph.." Jack scoffed as he looked towards Colonel Cyrus and John. The pair subconsciously lowered their heads in disappointment.

Hearing such cutting words from your ex boss will surely hurt anyone. The pair worked their asses off and all they received back was criticism.

"Well, I'm glad you love the muscle heads in the active formation. They sure complement your work ethics." In a heartbeat, Gray threw back his own criticism so as to spite the Major General. He would sit back and allow his own subordinates to suffer such insults.

"…" A thick blood vessel formed on Jack's forehead. Gray's banter surely struck a nerve. He swallowed his anger with a mouthful of wine, before shutting his mouth shut.

Sato smiled subtly as he watched how Gray handled the situation smoothly. Indeed, this was the great man he fell in love with.

On time, the Army award ceremony commenced at 7.30 sharp. The emcee for today started to give a brief introduction and history of Country Z's military. As the emcee was giving his speech, a young man had strolled up to the table where Gray and gang sat. The young man's hair was a typical military haircut, short and neat. He wore a simple black hoodie and jeans into the venue, which caught the eyes of many military personnels.