Mission 4: The Elegant Interview

The day of the interview had come; the most dreaded obstacle that lay before them. In theory, it should've been the hardest, but Tanya and Loid were both far too skeptical to be so overly confident. Regardless of what came next, this came first, and it wasn't something they could afford to fail. Failure meant setting back plans for a whole year at least, if not more considering the emphasis on prestige. For Loid, it meant setting back Strix, if not outright canceling it. For Tanya, it meant putting her hope of gaining access to a pristine education at the nation's top school in jeopardy. For Anya and Yor, it threatened to tear their newfound family apart, regardless of whether the latter saw it as more of a cover story than a family. It was still a family nonetheless.

The preparations were extensive, the test interviews conducted were many, and Loid seemed insistent on planning for every conceivable eventuality. He was as thorough as Tanya would've been herself, even more so in fact. His preparedness leaked over into the realm of paranoia, at least from Tanya's perspective.

Tanya had no problem with it, however. 'Know thy enemy' and whatnot, after all. However, in this case, they were less of an enemy and more of an obstacle they had to appease. They had to get approval from the judges, and if Loid was to be believed, they would be watched and judged from the very start to the very end.

Tanya questioned just what sort of insane school went through that much effort to single out the 'inelegant' lower class, but then reminded herself that they were dealing with not only the rich but the inherited rich, old money. Most of these people got their money from birth, and thought that having huge sums of money was as natural as existing. Although plenty were worthy of respect and knew how to use that money properly, many did nothing more than sit on it and live off of their inheritance alone rather than working to improve society, and that meant those biases of working for finances would result in the characteristic superiority complex they were preparing to soften up.

Whatever the case may be, they were fighting an uphill battle, one that they were (at least in theory,) very prepared for. Emphasis on in theory, Tanya didn't have much confidence in Anya, but Loid and Yor could possibly pass alongside her. 

Before them stood Eden Academy's vast campus, towering over them all. The school grounds contained all grades from first to twelfth, meaning it was quite massive overall for a school, let alone a school as prestigious as this one. The family of four walked amidst a crowd of several other families, each vying to have their children enlist in Eden Academy and dressed in their best. Out of all the families here, only a fraction of them would succeed, and the odds were stacked against them all.

'What was the name of the project that made me? Project Eve, was it? How ironically fitting that I'd be going to a school called Eden of all places...' Tanya mused as she began to survey her surroundings.

She needed to keep her composure, even if she was skeptical if they were truly being watched. True to Loid's suspicions, she spotted observers in the overhead passage above them as they walked by, peering down and jotting down on notepads. Optical formulas quickly improved her eyesight, making spotting them a bit easier, although the formulas could only do so much. She was once an artillery spotter, after all; she needed a good eye.

The exam had already begun, no turning back now. Victory or Valhalla.

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

"Elegance makes tradition, elegance is what makes the world a better place…"

That was the philosophy of Henry Henderson, the Housemaster of Cecile Hall. It was his duty now to handle the entrance exams for the incoming new generation of Eden Academy. For him, the entire academy was sacred ground, in which the inelegant were staining with their very presence.

Those without elegance didn't deserve even a chance to pass, for they had no place in the prestigious and old Eden Academy. Filtering out the elegant from the inelegant was his duty for today, and he would make sure it would be fulfilled with the utmost elegance.

He walked up to the window and observed down below at the families approaching the interview location. They walked as a small crowd, and almost instantly he could filter out those destined to fail and those with a chance of succeeding with only a brief overview of the crowd. He had been working here for decades, he knew the interview process inside and out. And this year's incoming applicants were no better than last year it seemed.

'The way one carries themselves shows their elegance… One can tell if another has no elegance just by observing that…'

He continued observing the families until he spotted one near the back, walking at a more polite pace compared to some of the families that had so inelegantly rushed through the academy's sacred gateway.

There weren't any clear giveaways about the family at first glance, which he could respect. The father walked proudly and with the utmost elegance that Henry could respect, obviously practiced with a refinement only extensive familiarity could've done. The mother walked with confidence in her movements, similar to the father. The family seemed to have two daughters applying today, such wasn't unheard of, but you only got so many successful applicants each year. The two daughters couldn't have carried themselves more differently, however, as stark as the difference between day and night.

What appeared to be the younger, or at the very least shorter, daughter with pink hair seemed to be trying her best to walk with elegance, but it at times seemed stiff and overly firm. Of those who hadn't undergone as much training as those truly elegant, he could at least respect the effort, sometimes simply having a willingness to be elegant was a good sign for a child, although he wasn't sure if she would get accepted. 

Meanwhile, the other child with blonde hair walked firmly, yet not stiffly like her sibling. It was the kind of orderly walk you'd expect to see from a military officer or veteran, from years of discipline and mirroring the veterans he knew of. It wasn't inelegant by any means, on the contrary, such an orderly form clearly showed immense self-discipline, a vital quality for those striving to become elegant. However, it was a bit strange to see from a child, at least when the rest of the family didn't quite match that form.

Ignoring the inconsistency of the family, there wasn't much defining them as 'inelegant' from the get-go, and the inconsistency could be explained as just having different interests in how they passively approached elegance and the world. However as the family approached the statue of the founder, a statue that most did little more than nod or gaze up at, they stopped. At first, it was unclear as to why they stopped, but then they raised their hands to their chest.

'They're paying respect to the founder?! How… ELEGANT!'

Henry turned to one of the observers behind him, their job was to keep track of all the individual families and their applicant children. After all, one man couldn't properly keep track of everyone's elegance alone, a team was needed. Hastily, he inquired, "Who is that family?! I must know."

The observer looked out the window and flipped through his clipboard before monotonously stating, "K-212, the Forger Family, sir. They have two daughters applying this year. The eldest, Tanya Forger, passed the exam with a perfect score of 100. By contrast, the younger sister, Anya Forger, barely passed the exam with a score of 31."

Henry took the clipboard and looked it over, gazing at both of the tests as he grumbled, "Absolutely not elegant! Such poor penmanship!"

"There were some concerns that the eldest sister may have cheated during the test due to the vast contrast in their scoring," the observer explained.

Henry looked over Tanya's paper then gazed back out the window and shook his head, "No, I doubt it. The two sisters carry themselves in a very different way. There is even a clear difference in their handwriting. The integrity of our exams is not at fault, instead, it simply appears that there is a clear difference between these two sisters. Perhaps the junior will learn from the senior."

Henry coughed, handing the clipboard back to the observer, "Regardless. The father is remarried, yes? I shall keep an eye on them for now, best if we make sure this family wasn't hastily put together for application's sake. I shall ascertain whether or not they contain true elegance."

The families continued to move down the walkway of Eden Academy, flowing forward as they began to be filtered into different halls to go down through. It wasn't often Henry himself took an interest in a specific family, but there came times when even he had to see the true extent of one's elegance. And this was one of those times. 

As they walked their way towards the interview hall, they neared the first obstacle. It was a test to see how people would act, and thus discern their true natures. A boy was stuck in a filthy gutter, the young student was granted extra credit if he played his part well, and the student did. How people handled the situation would greatly determine their placements going forward.

As people walked by, most simply ignored the child. Some pretended not to notice, while others occasionally said they'd get someone to help when they could. None tried to save the boy as that would risk them getting themselves dirtied on Eden's sacred grounds. They were smart, elegant even, and highly traditional. The rabble were the rabble, the elites were the elites. The distinction was clear.

Then there were the Forgers… The youngest daughter Anya pointed at the boy and declared that he needed help. It was certainly possible to help the boy out elegantly, but it was almost certainly bound to be a tricky task.

'Now Forgers… How shall you handle thi-'

Henry stared in startled silence as Loid stepped in and pulled the boy out with a single motion of his hand. It was a brilliant showing of strength, however, it was filthy, sloppy, and inelegant.

Henry scoffed, "It seems I misjudged them… Throw K-212 out immediately. It appears that they're just some commoners from the countryside."

As Henry began to walk away, content to resume his observation of the remaining candidates, he overheard the mother speak from the other side of the wall.

"Good thing we anticipated this and brought a spare change of clothes, then!"

'What?! Who in the world could have ever possibly anticipated that?!'

"So smart… smart and ELEGANT!" He exclaimed. "Curse you and your cunning, Forgers…"

One of the observers turned towards him nervously. "U-Uh Housemaster… we're supposed to be observing the children…"

"Silence! Children learn from their parents! Inelegant parents will produce inelegant children, and as such elegant parents will naturally produce elegant children!" Henry explained, still staring at the family in awe.

The Forgers had his curiosity before, but now they had his attention. "Keep them in. I wish to continue observing them."

The observer nodded, "As you wish, Housemaster."

'I'll make you reveal your true nature, Forgers…'

The rest of the path to the interview was planned to be fairly normal. A few minor obstacles that most should have no issue overcoming with ease, but the main focus was always on the interview itself.

As the families began making their way closer to the interviewing hall, there became a greater emphasis on the planned part of that statement.

A bell rang from another part of the academy's campus as the ground below them shook. Turning, Henry noticed a countless stampede of Eden's prized animals rushing down the path. Eden Academy effectively had a small zoo of animals on its premises, from more basic farm animals like cows and sheep to even expensive bald eagles imported from the Unified States.

It seemed that by some strange set of circumstances, the animals had somehow been let out. Panicked, Henry turned to the other observers behind him, asking "Who said to go that far? Do you know how much of a mess this will cause?!"

The observer seemed confused and shocked, nervously muttering "T-This wasn't you, Housemaster?"

Henry turned back to the window with panic, this wasn't some strange and radical test, rather this was an actual crisis. The very honor and respect for Eden Academy was on the line now. The repercussions of how they should handle the disaster after the fact would come later. Right now, they needed to fix the problem before it got too out of hand.

"There are some important people among the applicants! Fix this mess immediately! We can't risk the name of Eden Academy over this!" Henry ordered, causing the observers to scatter out of the room rapidly.

Henry looked back out the window, already dreading the mess that this was going to be to clean up. Not only in the sense that calming down a herd of stampeding wild animals was hard enough as it was, but there would no doubt be some powerful people who would be very upset about this. Eden Academy would survive, of course, but he would soon have to decide if he was to brush this off as 'just another test' or admit this was truly an accident. The old housemaster wasn't sure which would piss them off less, since the former would annoy them greatly and the latter could result in their complete withdrawal.

That wasn't even getting into all the staff that would need to be replaced. There was no way someone wasn't getting fired for this, if not multiple. Even if it was nobody's fault, someone would need to take the fall for it, unfortunately, and he as the Housemaster knew that all too well.

Then there were the Forgers. In the chaos, he had briefly stopped paying attention to the family, and in truth, they were now largely insignificant in the grand scheme of this unprecedented catastrophe. Yet as he was panicking over this crisis, he couldn't help but observe with curiosity how the Forgers would handle themselves in this situation.

During the pandemonium, a young boy had been left stranded from his family, left before the mercy of a raging bull. There wasn't anything Henry could do but observe, yet suddenly Loid Forger swept in and saved the boy before returning him to his father. To risk himself and even his interview apparel to save the child of another… Truly elegant, Loid Forger.

Then there was the eldest daughter, Tanya. She was still on the ground, unlike her sister who rested in her mother's arms. However as Tanya stepped to the side, quickly dodging the bull with impressive speed for a child, Henry watched in shock as she extended her leg, causing the bull to trip into an elegant frontflip with her small frame.

'Such speed and durability! Even if she was only aiming for the leg, she still managed to trip a bull running at top speed! In such an elegant display too!'

Of course, that wasn't enough to stop the bull, not by far. It fumbled briefly after landing, and its speed was dramatically halted, but it displayed no intent to actually stop. However, almost as if it was a coordinated assault the mother, Yor Forger, swept in and quickly neutralized the bull within seconds. Even Henry wasn't sure how she did it. He overheard her mumbling something about 'pressure points' and 'yoga class,' but that didn't matter. The truly elegant had their ways of being elegant, and how they did it varied from person to person. 

As he glanced at the rest of the stampeding animals, they had all stopped dead in their tracks. Whether it was out of sheer shock, fear, or something else, he couldn't tell. The leader bull meanwhile lay trembling on the floor. She didn't kill the bull, it seemed, merely neutralized it by stunning it. Truly elegant!

Then there was the youngest daughter, Anya. Despite the fact the bull had just been rampaging mere moments ago, she walked over and began to pet it. 'She's petting the bull? No! She's calming it down!' He watched in awe as the bull stood up and slowly began to leave with the other animals, leading them away. Crisis averted.

"E-E-E-EL-EL-E-EL-ELEGANCE!"

At the shock of the other observers in the room, Henry rushed out of the door, rushing down the hallway as fast as he could. The Forgers had proven their worth, even if they had ruined their clothes yet again; they deserved to apply to the grand Eden Academy.

Suddenly, Henry slammed out the door and into the courtyard, practically panting as he called out for the Forgers who were standing nearby. After taking a moment to collect himself from rushing down the hallway, he shouted, "Forger! You have helped us to avoid a crisis, I thank you. We'll be delaying the interviews to allow us some time to collect ourselves. Please return to the hall once you've had the time to clean yourselves up, you have earned a right to apply to our school."

Henry glanced away, mostly to skim over the damages from the catastrophe that just swept through the school, however, he turned briefly after hearing Loid's response.

"Sir, I appreciate your generosity but do not worry. We anticipated something like this may happen, so we brought another change of clothes."

Henry looked back in time to see Yor stow a sheet away and all of them now in an entirely different outfit than before. How they had managed to change so fast was beyond him, and he had trained with the best of the best.

'This is beyond elegance! These people just scare me!'

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

The interviews were a slow yet necessary process. Not just anyone could have the pleasure of attending the grand Eden Academy, only the elites could. And although the walk to the interview alone weeded out the most inelegant among the families, the interview was made to snuff out any who managed to pass the careful eyes of the observers.

Being in charge of the application process as a whole, Henry was once more at the front lines of this operation, spearheading its efforts. This time, he was one of the three judges that would be handling the interview. Alongside him were two other teachers, respected among Eden Academy's staff.

Well, perhaps 'respected' was an exaggeration. Immediately to his left was Murdoch Swan, Housemaster of Dorm 2, Cline Hall. He was the product of immense nepotism, an unfortunate stain on Eden Academy, but not one he had any authority to cleanse given his own position. He was tolerated well enough among the staff, although some of his comments in the interviews had already garnered some frustration out of Henry. He was in no place to comment, as in the end the two of them were equals. Such inelegance was truly a detriment to the image of Eden Academy. Had they truly needed to place him on the interviewing team?

Almost a polar opposite to the inelegance of Swan was the other interviewer placed with Henry, the man to the far left of him and the housemaster of Dorm 5, Malcolm Hall. He was an older gentleman named Walter Evans. Contrary to his counterpart, he was a kind man and one that Henry could actually respect, at least by comparison to the former.

Henry watched as another family exited the interview hall, the child practically in tears as they left, shuddering with emotion. The hardest part of the selection process was letting down so many children who had simply sought elegance. After all, they simply had an unfortunate upbringing that did not allow them to be raised with the proper elegance required. Children took after their parents' example, and for many children, their parents had not been elegant enough for it to rub off on them for the admissions process.

In a way, a child was the purest reflection of their parents. Just as you could judge children by their parents, so too could you judge parents by their children. The interview more often showed the true side of the children rather than of the adults. The adults could easily practice, prepare, and act to save face, it happened every year. They could easily hide behind a mask of elegance for long enough to last the interview, but a child… A child could not. The test showed they had the academic elegance needed, the walk here displayed they could present themselves as elegant, and the interview was the last test to see for themselves how truly elegant they were in person during high-pressure situations.

It was a masterful design, and one he had the pleasure of overseeing the past few years. It had worked for over a century now, but there was a certain family he had taken a vested interest in. One whom he wished to see how the interview would reflect on their inner workings. As he saw the assistant in the room pull up another chair for seemingly two children rather than one, he could already guess who was next, and he was strangely excited.

A double application was rare, but not unheard of, after all. But he had interviewed all the other double applicants already. There was only one family left that had two children…

The Forgers.

Evans gestured towards the seats across from them, "Please have a seat."

Loid Forger politely nodded, "Thank you for having us."

His family silently took their seats. The parents, Loid and Yor, took their seats across from himself and his fellow interviewers as the others had. Tanya and Anya, the children, meanwhile similarly sat off to the side where every other child had.

Henry was quick to analyze every small detail he could about the Forgers. However, he had already inspected Loid himself plenty, his focus now was on his children. The truest reflection of someone can be found with their children, after all. It was there that the once more a stark contrast between the two sisters was glaringly evident, particularly in their eyes.

Anya's green eyes gave off a sense of anxiety, but also of interest. It was reasonable for even elegant children to be anxious going into such an important interview, he could hardly blame her for that reaction, he had seen it hundreds of times before. But it was the interest and intrigue in her eyes that fascinated Henry. She seemed to be listening well, even when nobody was talking. Perhaps that meant she was an eager learner.

Tanya's blue eyes gave off something almost scary, even for his experienced analytical mind. That being nothing. He couldn't get a read on her eyes at all. The eyes were a window to the brain; many people, especially children, displayed their emotions through their eyes vividly. You could fake a smile, but it was much harder to fake the glint in one's eyes.

Yet here was Tanya, revealing almost no emotion at all through them. That wasn't something he often saw from a child. Adults? Sure, there were plenty, military officers and politicians especially, considering they had to be hardened through time. Even Loid himself seemed to have that skill down, similar to Tanya, yet he had never seen a child so skillfully hide their emotions and thoughts. 

Although looking at her father, it was very much possible that she learned it from him… Or was it just genetic? They had the same neutral expression after all.

Evans began the interview as he did all the others, his calmer tone of voice was often much more soothing to anxious children than Henry's and especially Swan's. "First, we will start by asking the parents some questions. Starting off, I heard that this was your second wife. If I may ask, how did you two meet?"

Loid gave his answer without hesitation, a good sign of his elegance. "I met my wife at the tailor shop that handles this school's uniforms, and I was in awe at her grace. I was hesitant to take on another relationship because of my two daughters, but the more I spoke to her the more I felt as though she was a kindred spirit. She truly cares for our family, and so I came to the conclusion that she'd get along well with my daughters."

'A respectable answer, Forger. Too many people are quick to shun away remarriages. While divorce is truly inelegant, one can hardly blame a man for seeking someone else after their wife's death. To raise a child on one's own is hard work, it would be improper to harm his score over this being his second wife… So long as the family is firm and elegant, that is.'

Evans continued, "I see… And what about you, madam?"

Henry had not gotten much of a read on the wife yet, and though he had become focused on the children, now he was curious about the inner workings of Yor, too. She was the other half of the parenthood, after all. If she was inelegant, then perhaps her children would be too. 

Yor began a bit less firmly than Loid, although she was clearly flustered after what Loid had said. Henry could hardly fault her for that, considering outright declarations of love were rare even here. "W-Well you see… Loid is a wonderful person who truly cares for his children. He is also very considerate of me."

"I'm glad to hear you have a happy family," Evans responded.

As if Henry wasn't allowed to simply sit and enjoy a satisfying and elegant answer to a properly organized question, Swan grumbled and asked, "Why would a beautiful girl like you choose to be with a man who's got baggage?"

Henry did his best to suppress a sigh, "That question was rather uncouth, Master Swan."

'He has been like this all day… The one family I wish to examine further seems to be the one that will annoy him the most…'

Swan was undergoing a divorce and had even lost custody of his child, that much Henry knew and had deemed it rather inelegant, but that was no reason to bring up your frustrations in the workplace. That was especially true when your frustrations could sabotage the future of some of the potentially brightest minds of the next generation.

It was clear that Swan was jealous, just as he had been with any happy family that came through. But with Loid being a remarried man, that was no doubt bound to make him even more upset.

Henry sighed mentally, it was just another headache he would have to deal with for today. He would file a complaint about Swan's behavior after the day was over, but he doubted–no, he knew it wouldn't do much. Perhaps, if nothing else, he wouldn't be assigned as an interviewer next year, and that would be something to be thankful for.

Evans continued, it seemed he was also frustrated with Swan's behavior, but he too knew not to make a fuss of it in front of applicants. "Now then, can you tell us why you sought to apply to Eden Academy?"

Loid responded, "There was only one reason, sir; the quality of the instructors at this establishment is superior. You are all very intelligent and cultured. However, when it comes to teaching anything such as patriotism to how to properly handle one's self, the instructors at Eden Academy are second to none."

'Elegantly said, Loid Forger. It seems my judgment of you was correct. Although… The elegance of the children remained to be tested.'

"Now then, how would you describe both of your children? Please let us know about their strengths and weaknesses," Evans asked.

"Anya is a very curious child," Loid began, already confirming Henry's own suspicions about Anya. "While she has a habit of sticking her nose where it doesn't belong, I could hardly see it as a weakness. She is a truly intelligent child."

Henry found his gaze turning towards Anya, 'Intelligent? Her?! If she's intelligent, then surely Tanya must be the next Schugel!'

Despite Henry's internal monologuing, Loid continued, "Sometimes it feels like she could even read my mind which keeps me on my feet. I'd say her main shortcoming is that she's a picky eater."

Evans nodded along, "I see, and what of your other daughter, Tanya?"

"Tanya is a curious child in her own way. Whereas Anya is often curious about what is going on around her now, Tanya will often be far more curious about the events of the past. I can hardly count the number of times she has requested to visit the library and take another collection of large history books to learn from."

'I see, so she is fascinated by history… There are many great lessons that could be learned by looking at the past of humanity. Truly elegant.'

Loid continued, "She is particularly knowledgeable about the Great War, although she has recently broadened her horizons into other parts of history. She is especially interested in the history of Ostania and the former Empire."

'She has the makings of a fine patriot. Understanding the mistakes of the Empire and early Ostania will no doubt help guide her in the future. I am very curious to see the future path this child chooses to take. I am still curious how she scored so high when her sister scored so low, though. Perhaps it is a difference in how they learn. If I didn't have other duties as a Housemaster I may have considered looking into that…'

"I'd say her biggest weakness is that she isn't the most sociable. She is a very silent, obedient, and patient child, but she doesn't tend to play as much as her sister or other kids her age. Although one could simply call her studious."

'An antisocial child? Those aren't unheard of in Eden Academy, but some do have a tendency to be troublemakers down the road. I do hope Tanya doesn't become one of those… she has potential'

Henry looked to observe the reactions of both children after hearing themselves be described by their parents. Anya was somewhat embarrassed as children usually were, her weaknesses exposed to the judges she had likely been warned to never express weakness to. Tanya once again maintained a blank expression on her face. Does this child just not have any emotions?

Once more, the Forgers were walking the line between being elegant and being downright scary.

Evans turned now to Yor, "I see… And Miss Forger, how would you describe your parenting style?"

Yor subtly clenched her dress lightly and explained, "As you know I'm not their biological mother. I know what it's like to live without a mother as well, and so at first, I had thought to spoil them quite often in hopes that they would come to like me. However, for the sake of their future, I was hoping to be a bit more strict with them, at times."

"Mister Forger mentioned that your daughter, Anya, is a picky eater, what kind of meals do you tend to cook at home?" Evans inquired.

Yor was somewhat startled by this question as she muttered, "O-Oh! C-Cooking… Well um…"

Loid interrupted her, "I actually do most of the cooking. Although at times when I am busy, my wife is kind enough to cook for me."

Henry could already practically hear Swan's blood slowly boiling over the last few questions before he finally became upset and blurted out, "You're joking! What kind of wife doesn't cook for her husband?! You should be stricter with yourself before you worry about those damn children!"

'I'm starting to see why his wife wanted a divorce…'

Loid once more answered, "Everyone has strengths and weaknesses. For example, she is incredibly tidy and excels in keeping our house clean and spotless. This isn't even mentioning the fact that she is also an excellent mother to my daughters. I just happen to be very good at cooking, a skill I picked up after my late wife passed away for my children."

'An elegant response, Loid Forger.'

Swan scoffed, "Yes, well those are both things women are expected to do. Even if you're good at cooking, you shouldn't bother yourself with such menial tasks if you have a woman in the house."

"That's–" Loid began.

"I-It's alright, Loid," Yor muttered, calming him down.

'It is reasonable to be angry, Forger. Frankly, I cannot blame you. This nuisance has been annoying me all day, God I wish I had some tape…'

It was pretty clear that even Evans didn't know how to best handle Swan. For now, he seemed to come to the same conclusion Henry himself had; to deal with him later, or most likely, not at all. Nervously, he continued, "A-Alright, next let's ask the young ladies some questions… First, could you tell us your name and address?"

"My name is Tanya Forger. I live in Berlint, West District 128 Park Avenue."

"My name is A-Anya Horger! I l-live in Berlint… West Dish trick 128 Park Ave new!"

"And what do you do on days off, miss Anya?"

"We do moozeums… a-and eat operas!"

'She's… a bit off, but there is some elegance to the activities she's trying to describe.'

Evans continued, "And what of you, Miss Tanya?"

"I personally enjoy spending time in the library reading. I believe that there is much to be learned by observing humanity's past and present and understanding how human nature has influenced our society and history," Tanya explained, a faint grin on her face as she spoke.

'Quite an elegant answer. Perhaps she aspires to be a historian? Loid is a psychiatrist, yes? Perhaps her interest in how the human mind influences history stems from that. She must take after her father greatly.' Although Henry found an interest in the young Tanya, he couldn't help but feel strange about her. Something was… off with this child. Part of him worried she would become something truly terrifying in the future. But perhaps he was just on edge. Today was a stressful day, after all, it was best to just not dwell on it, he decided. He still had to handle the stampede later, he internally reminded himself not to allow that to taint his perspective.

Evans nodded as he asked the next question, "And what would the two of you like to do should you get into this school?"

Both were silent for a moment as if both were expecting the other to speak first. After a moment, Tanya quickly took over, "I hope to secure a valuable and credible education so that I may rise the ranks and become a functioning and valuable member of society."

There was a firm determination in her words and in her eyes. There was no doubting Tanya's resolve, she truly wished to excel in her studies for her own future. Perhaps that's where the difference in the two stemmed from. Maybe Anya just hadn't yet processed the importance of her future, leading to her far less elegant score. Frankly, it was difficult to discern which child was the outlier within the Forgers. Perhaps it was both? Truly, this family felt like an anomaly the more Henry analyzed it.

"Truly an admirable goal, Miss Tanya. And what of you, Anya?" Evans asked.

"I-I uhm… I which to get good grades and exit cell in so shyity!" Anya stated nervously.

'Is she just rephrasing what her sister said? No, perhaps she simply aspires to be like her sister. Considering her sister's record so far, that might be a good thing…'

Evans nodded along. "I see, now let's change the subject. What does your father do for a living?"

Anya was quick to answer this, "He's a spy!-Spy-chiatrist! A speshulist in mental health. A very good one!"

'She appears to be a bit stuffy… Perhaps she is sick after all that happened today? No, I think that's just how she talks. I do hope she grows out of it quickly.'

Evans moved on to the next question. "And how do you feel about your new mother?"

"She is very nice! But she's scary sometimes," Anya answered.

Yor seemed to be somewhat startled by her answer but Henry ignored it.

"And if you were to give your parents a score, what would it be?" Evans asked.

"A perfect 100 points! Papa and Mama are both so much fun, I love them very much. I want to be with them forever!" Anya exclaimed eagerly.

Tanya shrugged, "90 points, nobody's perfect."

'This child concerns me.'

Henry suppressed a groan as he heard Swan scoff to his left. 'He's going to ruin this moment, isn't he?'

Right on cue, Swan asked, "In that case, would you score your old mother or your new mother higher?"

'He is lucky that I find punching him in the face during an interview to be inelegant.'

"May I respectfully request an alternative question?" Loid questioned, although from his tone of voice, he was almost demanding it, not that Henry could blame him.

'Such an inelegant question, I can only hope Swan comes to his senses and drops it…'

"Absolutely not. If you don't answer, you're losing points."

Henry could hardly look, although he was doing his best to silently suppress his own anger at Swan's behavior. There was no way such inelegance should stand in Eden Academy, yet it was beyond his control. He had no authority here. He would have to handle this through bureaucratic means, unfortunately.

Looking over at the children, he saw tears begin to form in Anya's eyes as she began to cry, "M-Mama…?"

Then he felt something change. It felt as if the pressure in the room itself had shifted. It didn't feel like something he was imagining, it felt almost supernatural. It was around then that he saw a flicker of golden light in the corner of his eye, but searching for the source, he found nothing. 'All this stress must be getting to my head. After this is over I should take a day off if I can get it approved…'

Then he noticed something else, the elder sister, Tanya, had reached over and was now clinging onto her sister's hand. The look in her eyes had shifted. Throughout the interview, Tanya had been a brick wall of unreadable expressions, but now the expression on her face was clear as day; frustration–no, fury.

Tanya's gaze fell upon Swan who recoiled back into his seat. Even Henry felt a chill although her eyes weren't directed at him. Then she spoke, sending a chill down all of their bones, "I will not tolerate this line of questioning. It is improper, informal, and completely unrelated to the topic of this interview. I do not know which loophole of incompetence or nepotism you crawled through to obtain your position, but you do not deserve your position in society."

Then Tanya retracted her hand, a somewhat startled look on her face as if she had not even expected herself to say that. She sat back in her seat and sighed, "Apologies, I spoke too aggressively. What I meant to say is that neither I nor my sister will be answering that question. Reduce points as you will."

It was clear that Swan was frustrated, but he was also terrified at the same time, seemingly scared into silence by the little girl. Normally, Henry would consider such a retort inelegant, but it was thoroughly deserved and thus was excusable.

After that display, Evans silently muttered, "W-Well that will be all for now, thank you for your time Forgers."

The Forgers left in an awkward yet formal silence, just about everyone leaving startled for one reason or another.

Henry sighed, "My, what a headache."

Swan scoffed, "I know, such insolence shall not be tolerated! They should not be allowed to attend our school!"

"It is not them I was referring to. They answered all of the questions appropriately and elegantly, I say they've earned a passing score," Henry muttered.

"What?! After that display! That little girl has no right to speak back to an adult that way, much less a Housemaster! They should fail!" Swan angrily retorted.

Henry nodded. "So one vote for them passing and one for them failing. What is your decision, Evans?"

Evans sighed and shook his head, "I'm afraid I must side with Henderson on the case of the Forgers, Swan. As he stated, they answered everything appropriately. As for Tanya's last retort, I'd argue that it was fairly appropriate as well considering the context."

Swan looked as if he was about to explode. Of course, he seemed to be just as aware of his position as they were. He knew he couldn't do anything, they were all equals in this room. His connections would only get him so far. Without another word he stormed out, leaving Henry and Evans exhausted.

"Well, that concludes the interviews for today. I do hope Housemaster Swan didn't scare off such a nice family from attending our school," Evans muttered as he stood and began to leave.

Henry nodded. "Agreed."

As Evans left, Henry stood and approached the window overlooking the outside courtyard below. There he saw the Forgers making their way home, the youngest daughter Anya clinging onto Tanya as she seemed to awkwardly try and squirm free.

"A strange family indeed…" Henry muttered to himself before turning his attention to the shelf next to the window. On each layer of the shelf, there were trinkets and memorabilia of the many eras Eden Academy had gone through.

It was that young lady that led him to look at it. Her apparent fascination with history reminded him that he too should remember his country's history. After all, he had lived through much of it himself. Memorabilia of the Great War brought him back to his youth. He had been 26 when the war began, and although he was never a soldier during it, he remembered hearing all about the events going on at the front through newspapers and radios.

Something about the girl brought him to remember that time of his life, although he couldn't pinpoint what. It almost felt nostalgic to him now. However, it was then he noticed something strange. On the shelf was an old mana-detecting device; yet the dials had been turned up to the max, as if it had detected a giant magical signature before breaking.

Had it always been like that? Maybe it had and he just never noticed. He rarely glanced at the shelf, after all. Still, whenever this thing picked up a magical signature, it must've been quite a massive one in order to outright break it.

Could it be that strange pressure he felt earlier during the interview? No, that's absurd. He had a list of all applicants that had magical affinities since everyone needed a health evaluation before applying. The only ones with magic would be the children of generals who weren't immediately sent to war school.

'I'm thinking about this too much. I really should take a nap. This stress is killing me…'

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

Sylvia stood beneath the massive behemoth of a complex that was WISE's HQ. Just how long had it been since she had last been here? It felt like ages despite how high ranking she technically was within the organization. For years now she had operated almost solely within Ostania itself, being the main handler of agents and spies in the area.

Every movement or operation made by WISE in Ostania went through her first, and although she only had a limited say on which missions were ultimately chosen, she was largely in charge of how they were executed; at least to a large extent.

But there were some affairs that needed to be taken right to the top, whether it be for their importance or her own lack of knowledge on the topic at hand. Mages were a category that fell under both of those descriptions.

Mages were a tense subject for most former countries of the Empire, but no countries suffered more than Ostania and Westalis. The East-West Wars had effectively dropped both nations' mage populations to near zero, devastating both militarily.

Both nations had been in a silent magical arms race ever since Ostania had broken free from the Russy Federation. If one country could secure a magical superiority over the other, then it was all over. It was their equal grounds in terms of technology and magical power that kept both nations at peace; without it, nationalists from either country would feel emboldened to seize the opportunity to kickstart yet another war.

The news of Operation Strix's initial successes in getting not just one but two children into Eden Academy was also met by strange, confusing, and partially terrifying reports of a massive magical surge in Berlint.

Ostania was doing quite a good job hiding the event, however, even WISE's own magical scanners in Berlint were damaged by the shockwave. The nature of the surge made it impossible to triangulate a source, however, there were some worries about SNAKE's potential revival.

SNAKE was a headache all on its own; they were elusive and almost impossible to track down. It wasn't until just a few years ago when their main facility, at the time unknown to WISE, suddenly combusted. That facility going down basically ended the organization, but if there were remnants still pushing the limits of mages, then it could prove very problematic at best.

Then there was Strix itself. Strix was a fairly standard operation on its own, but there was an observation made of one of the children Agent Twilight had taken in for the plan. One of WISE's informants had spotted the girl wearing a unique type of computation jewel from the Great War. Of course, this could all just be nonsense, after all, it didn't match any records she could find, but supposedly the informant had identified it as matching some descriptions of the White Silver's jewel.

While reporting this discovery to HQ was certainly one of the reasons she was here, it was largely secondary to giving a first-hand report of the magical surge detected in Berlint and deciding what to do about it. Knowing HQ and the situation they were presented with, she doubted they would do anything at all besides keep a closer eye out for SNAKE or any other magic-related organizations.

After a long wait in the lobby, she was quickly and silently brought deep within the facility before reaching a secluded elevator. It was only there that the secretary politely bowed and informed her, "The Director will see you now."

'The director? They're definitely taking this situation seriously if I'm going straight to her instead of having to deal with the bureaucratic nonsense that is the upper ranks of WISE.'

Soon the elevator reached the top floor, where a hallway stretched forward toward the front office. All along the walls were portraits of the former directors with plenty of room for more. There had only been five directors before the current one, who had so far served for the longest time of any of them. That wasn't without a reason, she was considered bi-partisanly good at her job. Regardless of which party was in charge, they both wanted her in command; neither could dispute her competence.

Although impossible for a standard person to see, Sylvia could easily spot no less than a dozen security systems put in place within the hallway, with dozens more no doubt hidden even better than an expert like herself could see. 

Although she didn't need to prove her identity before entering the large doors that led to the main office, she could tell that it had already been silently checked several times as she walked the halls. She hadn't been shot yet, so that clearly meant the systems were operating as expected.

Entering the room revealed a luxurious yet surprisingly modest office. While many top officers decorated their rooms lavishly with medals and awards, the Director knew well that this was a thankless job. Aside from a few trinkets and memorabilia, the room was filled with little more than a collection of flowers scattered throughout the room. It made a fairly cheerful atmosphere for someone feared across Europa as a faceless master of unprecedented and near-unstoppable espionage.

Officially, WISE was just an "Eastern-Focused" division of the Westalian Intelligence Services, however, that was a lie, or rather a gross exaggeration. Everyone expected Westalis to spy on Ostania, that much was a given, but what the rest of the continent didn't expect was for Westalis to spy on most countries on the continent to at least some extent. By hiding most of Westalis' espionage operations behind an organization seemingly targeted against Ostania alone, it became a bit easier to hide things. 

Of course, that mattered little now. All it meant was that despite technically being officially lower than the Director of the Westalian Intelligence Services, the Director of WISE was de facto ranked far above them, as the Director of WIS was a largely ceremonial public role to hide who was truly in charge.

Sitting at the desk was a woman who at first glance could be easily assumed to be someone's kind old grandma. However, behind the curly gray hair and friendly smile was a woman who had turned the espionage game on its head. The woman played the continent like a chessboard, leaving only Ostania as a lone blind spot on her horizons.

Sylvia quickly saluted, "Director Müller, it has been some time since I last spoke to you directly."

The Director waved off her salute, gesturing for her to take a seat in front of her desk, "Please, we are friends are we not? I have great respect for the work you've done in Ostania. If I didn't want my best out there handling things directly I would've easily given you a nice role here in HQ. All the formalities do get tiring when so few people know my name. Please call me Elena, or if you'd like, my friends call me Erya."

Sylvia sighed and took a seat. It was quite like the Director to throw out formalities to anyone she trusted. Of course, reaching that point was a staggering mountain few had climbed, and even still she had countless precautions to protect herself if the mountain had been falsely breached, but still it seemed the years of living without even her own name grew tiring for some.

Although she considered herself friendly with the Director, their friendship was purely for their job alone. With both having such important roles, neither had time to act like genuine friends for anyone. It was this friendship and early trust she had garnered with the Director that had aided her in securing her role in Ostania, so she could hardly complain.

The Director meanwhile continued, "It's not often you come to HQ directly to report something. It must be rather big if you don't want to have even the slightest risk of a leak."

"Has your secretary briefed you on my report?" Sylvia asked.

The Director nodded, "She told me the gist. Large magical surge damaged most magical detection equipment in most of Berlint and was too short to allow a chance to triangulate its origin. Also something with Strix and a Computation Jewel?"

Sylvia nodded. "Yes, I suppose it would be easier to start there before moving on to the magical surge. You see, as Strix has gone on, Agent Twilight has acquired two children who have both now successfully made it into Eden Academy. However, one of the children is speculated to have a computational jewel possibly belonging to the White Silver… At least that's what the informant suggests."

"Not possible," the Director scoffed.

"Excuse me?"

"I saw the White Silver get buried. She had the jewel with her," the Director muttered.

Sylvia was startled, but knowing the Director, she found it strangely hard to be surprised. "I see… Well, I suppose that settles that, but I thought I'd share the family photo with you anyway."

Sylvia handed the Director a small family photo as she looked it over. At first glance, all seemed normal, but as she looked to analyze the child with the supposed computation jewel, she subtly twitched. Although Sylvia hadn't noticed and the Director was good at hiding it, the sight of the photo unnerved her in a way.

The Type 95 was buried… right? Did someone dig it up? How many people even know it's there? Is that even the real thing? The girl seemed familiar, maybe she was related somehow to Degurechaff. It had been decades and she had moved on. She didn't even remember what Tanya looked like, not that she ever got a good look at her outside of a coffin.

For a moment, the Director placed the photo down and listened to Sylvia explain the situation involving the magical surge. In short, it was little more than speculation. In time they would probably find out more, she just had to allocate a bit more resources. Yet the photo lingered at the back of her head.

After Sylvia finished explaining, the Director stated, "I'll be coming back to Ostania with you."

Sylvia was reasonably startled by this. It was rare that the Director ever left HQ at all, much less entered enemy territory. Of course, few people even knew what the director looked like, and even fewer would ever be able to see past any disguise she might put on, but the fact remained that she rarely left her office. Was this magical surge issue problematic enough to warrant her direct attention? Or was there something else?

Sylvia, of course, knew to just not ask questions. This was the Director of WISE. If she wanted Sylvia to know, she would know, and if not, then Sylvia would be in the grave before she ever found out.

For the Director, the affair with the magical surge was just yet another mystery for WISE to look into, but nothing she personally needed to attend to. No, she was going to Ostania to satisfy her own curiosity… and to pay a visit to an old friend.

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

Swiss - Before anyone asks, no I did not forget that Tanya's magic cannot be normally detected unless she does something big. Emphasis on 'unless'. Anyways join the discord or I will bully you: https://discord.gg/wur2kHqkJx

Fish Tank - Next day's headline: "Massive magical spike destroys every magic detector in Berlint. Could this be a plot of Westalia?"

Dragon1008 - What's the chances that the Director brings a shovel, the most useful invention known to man, to be prepared for all situations in Ostania?

U2Donyz - There is definitely totally nothing suspicious about that large magical signature that just so happened to destroy most of the magical detection devices in the city in a few seconds. Nothing. Suspicious. At. All. 

Antilene - Truly, Elegant.

Half_Baked_Cat - One can sweetened condensed milk. One can evaporated milk. One can coconut milk. One can coconut cream. Optionally add rum. Blend, serve over ice. This has been recipe time with HBC.

Dr. Rx - To answer Dragon1008, I doubt. And to HBC, minors are probably reading this. So I add a disclaimer that the story does not encourage minors to consume alcohol without parental permission.