Chapter 118: Chapter 112: Quinn
In an office, a muscular man was smoking a cigar while looking at some papers. He didn’t look that old, but the vicissitudes of time were apparent in his eyes.
He said, "This is quite a surprise."
Another man sat in front of him, radiating a different vibe. If the man with the cigar was akin to a lion, this one was like a fox. Well... he was a fox—at least partly. His purple fox ears and fluffy tail made that quite apparent.
Curiously, he asked, "What’s surprising?"
The man smoking the cigar handed the fox Demi-Human the papers and said, "This."
The Demi-Human took the papers and, after a quick glance, said, "These are the results of the children who appeared for the FWA JEE. Why are they surprising?"
(Federation War Academy Joint Entrance Exam)
The muscular man smiled and said, "Read the examinees’ names."
The Demi-Human looked carefully at the names and realized something was wrong. These names—they weren’t supposed to be there.
He read aloud, "Ra, Maurya, Thorsson, and Windsor. That can’t be a coincidence. All of the Four Imperial Families have sent their descendants. Direct descendants."
The muscular man exhaled a cloud of thick smoke and said, "You missed some pages."
The Demi-Human saw there were two pages left.
He checked them and said, "Ashbourne? Is that a new House? Why does it sound familiar?"
The muscular man replied, "You know, you really should be more aware of what’s happening in the Academy, considering you’re the Vice Dean."
The Demi-Human retorted, "Please. I’m far too busy on the frontlines to take care of a bunch of runts. Not everyone is like you."
The muscular man chuckled, "I’ll take that as a compliment."
The Demi-Human asked, "So... will you tell me now?"
The muscular man replied, "The Neo-Nephilims."
The gears in the Demi-Human’s head started turning as he said, "Wait, if these two sheets are here with the rest of the descendants..."
The muscular man smiled and replied, "These boys are the heirs apparent of Nephilim Pharmaceuticals. And the descendants of Aurevion. Not to mention, the next leaders of all Neo-Nephilims."
The Demi-Human said, "I heard whispers that they were going to attend the Academy, even at the frontlines. It seems that someone is intentionally spreading the news—"
The muscular man’s expression hardened as he said in an extremely serious tone, "Quinn, don’t."
Quinn asked, "Don’t what?"
The muscular man replied, "Don’t look into them. Trust me, I tried. But I got nothing. Their files have been sealed."
Quinn, now even more curious, asked, "Clearance?"
The muscular man shook his head and replied, "Code Verna."
Quinn said, "Code Verna? Isn’t that..."
The muscular man finished Quinn’s sentence, "Yup. The files were sealed by the Mad Immortal himself."
Quinn paused and asked, "Are you sure it was Code Verna?"
The muscular man nodded. "The current Head of House Vitali personally warned me when I tried looking into the boys’ history."
Quinn said, "Which means that this is some serious business. Are you sure you want it anywhere near you?"
The muscular man sighed, "I don’t have a choice, do I?"
Quinn said, "No, you don’t. Still, this batch will be a pretty exciting one. Shame I’ll have to miss it. Too many enemies to kill."
Quinn was about to leave. The muscular man knew that Quinn was just trying to escape the drama. Unfortunately for him, the muscular man knew him too well.
"You’re not getting away from this. Take this," he said, handing Quinn an envelope.
Quinn opened the letter and said, "This is a transfer order. You can’t do this. You don’t have that authority."
The muscular man said, "Look at the seal."
Quinn raised an eyebrow, then looked at the seal on the letter and yelled, "Fuck! Even the Supreme Commander is involved? Damn it!"
The muscular man laughed, "I guess you’re stuck with me. It’s time to do your job, Mr. Vice Dean."
Quinn sat back down, grumbling about how he had been taken advantage of. Now that he was stuck, he decided he might as well do his job properly.
He asked, "So, what do we know about these kids?"
"The Ashbourne brothers?" the muscular man asked.
Quinn shook his head. "All of them."
The muscular man opened a drawer in his desk and handed Quinn some files. Quinn opened them, reading carefully, hoping to get an idea about the kids’ personalities. But his expression grew stranger and stranger as he finished one file after another.
He then looked at the muscular man and asked, "You’re telling me these..."
He held up the files as if to emphasize his frustration and continued, "These dumbasses are supposed to be the future of the Federation?"
The muscular man replied, "Calling them dumbasses might be a stretch. They are still kids."
Quinn said, "You mean sheltered kids with a superiority complex."
The muscular man said, "It isn’t their fault. Their upbringing had a lot to do with that. And you know how special their affinities are. So, it’s completely normal for them to be a little strange."
Quinn asked, "And what about the Ashbourne brothers? We have virtually no information on them—their affinities, grade, personalities, genealogy. We know nothing. Hell, even their photos are two years old."
The muscular man replied, "We’ll see them during the finals, so it’s fine."
Quinn exclaimed, "So they’re seeded participants! Who pulled the strings for them?"
The muscular man replied, "Surprisingly, they actually earned that themselves. Look at the ranking."
Quinn checked the ranking and saw ’Rank 1 - Ezekiel Ashbourne.’ He looked for Cass’s name and found it: ’Rank 8 - Castiel Ashbourne.’
Quinn said, "Oh, it seems they aren’t that dumb after all."
The muscular man said, "It’s not just them. Even the Imperials earned their positions on their own. Even superiority complexes have some advantages."
Quinn asked, "Have you decided the format for the Finals?"
The muscular man smiled and sent Quinn a voice transmission. Quinn also smiled mysteriously. This job wasn’t going to be boring after all.
