The Test Begins!

Two days flew by in the blink of an eye.

The gates of Eden Academy bustled with activity as hundreds upon hundreds of families entered, each with a goal of their own.

The click of leather shoes against the stone pavement mingled with children's laughter and cries, forming a cacophony of noise.

The three members of the Forger family were among them.

The moment Anya stepped onto campus, she couldn't help exclaiming, "It's huge! And there are so many people!!" She tilted her head back, her little hands clutching Twilight's coat as the ends of her hair swayed with her movements.

"It is the country's top school, after all," Twilight explained, his wary gaze sweeping their surroundings. "They're all our competition. Anya, it's packed here. Are you going to be all right?"

Anya shook her head. "I'll be fine."

She could read minds. No challenge could scare Anya!

"Good. Let's go, then." Twilight adjusted his hat once more to ensure he looked neat and presentable. But he had barely taken a step when he sensed something wrong.

-This feeling. There's no mistaking it. I've experienced it countless times before...

...Someone is watching me! Could there be an enemy nearby? His back tensed slightly as he quickly surveyed their surroundings.

Anya looked up at Twilight, her eyes wide.

An e-enemy?

Yor also felt plenty of eyes on her, but she was an assassin, after all, and couldn't detect other people's gazes as readily as Twilight could.

Twilight continued checking the directions those gazes came from. They originated in the surrounding buildings, some at the tops of towers, others inside the buildings...

The wind swept past the eaves with a faint moan.

Twilight had committed almost the entire Eden Academy staff roster to memory. He was certain that the people watching them were-the teachers!

The exam has already begun. The teachers are judging our every word and action to decide whether we can enter this school.

He lowered his head slightly, keeping his expression natural, and whispered to the two beside him, "Stay sharp. The examiners are watching us. Act just like we practiced."

To get Anya into Eden Academy, they had been practicing like mad for the past few days.

Yor nodded gently beside him, a trace of nervousness in her eyes.

Upstairs, the teachers observing the prospective students below were deeply dissatisfied with this year's candidates. Most of them lacked any semblance of elegance.

Henry approached with a stern expression, and everyone around him bowed in greeting.

Through the upstairs windows, he could see everything below clearly. His expression soured. "Simply seeing them tread the grounds of the prestigious Eden Academy with those uncouth strides is offensive."

He turned to the staff member keeping records behind him. "Disqualify every one of those inelegant families."

"Yes, sir!" The clerk hurried to record his orders, the pen scratching across the paper.

Henry looked down again, and a family with composed movements and alert expressions caught his eye.

He couldn't resist observing them through his binoculars. He nodded slightly, his expression softening. "Oh? There are still some people with an air of elegance."

The family he was observing was none other than the Forgers. They had reached the statue of Eden Academy's first headmaster and were bowing to it with their right hands over their chests.

Twilight's expression was solemn and his back perfectly straight, every movement seemingly calculated with precision.

Although Yor had no idea who the statue depicted, she only needed to copy her husband's movements. Her slightly stiff gestures carried a hint of earnestness.

Anya, meanwhile, was quite curious about the statue's bald head. Her eyes kept drifting upward, but she still did her best to maintain her bow.

"Elegant. So elegant!!" Henry couldn't help praising them. He was eager to learn more about this family. These were exactly the elegant people he had hoped to find. "Who is that family?!"

The clerk behind him hurriedly flipped through the roster and written test scores. "That's the Forger family, K-212. Their daughter Anya scored thirty-one points, just barely passing."

Henry took Anya's test paper, and his impression of the Forger family changed instantly.

"Not elegant in the slightest, and her handwriting is atrocious!!" His brow furrowed again, his face full of disappointment. "And the father has remarried?"

The other teachers behind him found this suspicious. "Could they be a temporary family put together solely to gain admission?"

Sweat beaded on Henry's forehead. The elegant people he had finally found had so many shortcomings. "I don't know. We must verify this and see whether they truly possess elegance..."

Karen stood guard at the third examination hall. The passage under his supervision was reserved for those certain to be eliminated.

The hall was dimly lit, and mottled shadows on the walls flickered with the lights.

Any name sent over the radio belonged to someone whose chance of admission had been cut off, someone who would never become a proud student of Eden Academy.

His post was quite relaxing, though. Unlike the staff at the other halls, he didn't call people over one by one. He had found a wooden sign somewhere and wrote down each name as it arrived, leaving them to check for themselves. He couldn't be bothered to track down so many people.

Bored, he started crunching on his lollipop again, then suddenly spotted the approaching Forger family. He strolled over and greeted them. "Hi, Mr. Forger. We meet again."

A faint smile played on his lips, but there was a teasing glint in his eyes.

Seeing Karen approach, Twilight bowed to him. "It's been a while, Mr. Karen."

Yor continued copying Twilight's movements, but Anya was a little frightened. She clung to Twilight's coat, trembling, though she still bowed.

"What an adorable child. Here, have a sweet." Looking at the trembling Anya, Karen crouched down and took the sweets he hadn't finished earlier out of his pocket.

Anya was about to shake her head when Karen spoke again. "Children can be very wary, but as a teacher, I would never hurt a child. You need to learn to accept other people's kindness. The world is a wonderful place."

He wore a gentle smile as he spoke, but a flicker of warning passed through his eyes.

Take the sweets. Don't worry, they're not poisoned. I just want to remind you not to expose my identity. Otherwise, well, you know...

Anya read Karen's threat through his thoughts. Though she was terrified, she still accepted the sweets.

Otherwise, her whole family would be in trouble ˃̣̣̥᷄⌓˂̣̣̥᷅. He was a powerful assassin...

Anya had to protect Papa and Mama.

"Good girl." Karen nodded in satisfaction. He knew Anya's personality very well. She was especially prone to letting things slip, so she needed regular reminders.

"Mr. Karen, keep watch over the third hall. I'll handle things here." A tall, thin teacher wearing gold-rimmed glasses hurried over. He checked his form, then looked at Twilight. "Are you the Forger family, K-212? Please follow me. You're assigned to the first examination hall."

The Forger family followed the teacher inside.

"We're still being watched. Don't let your guard down." After saying this to Yor and Anya, Twilight began pondering Karen's earlier words.

There was definitely a deeper meaning behind them. As a seasoned intelligence operative, Twilight would never let any piece of information slip past him.