Hearing his companion's words, the burly man frowned, "Eh, you don't even know this much? How long now have we been doing this?"
"This is why I keep telling you to pay attention. If you were doing your job, at least, half-heartedly, you'd know the school he's from."
"Besides this Anon, there's a Melissa Green, the young missy of the Allmond family, and a long trip to the Constantin family, all students from St. Hope high school that we would be picking up. That school really-!"
Before he could continue, his companion shouted in agony.
"What?! Make it stop! Make it stop! For fuck's sake, are we a damn taxi or something?!"
"One, two, four… And then there's the brat from the Orland family too?!" His head buzzed just thinking about it.
"Hehe, not just him, but also some Andrew Webb-!"
The burly man couldn't continue as the grey-haired young man unhooked the lock on Anon's gate and opened it, walking in without hesitation.
Coming to a halt, he asked in a calmer tone, "Just tell me how many of them we're collecting today."
The burly man cackled and said, "Don't say collect as if we're picking up some objects. But Andrew was the last, so six, well five since we've already reached one."
The two made their way to the door of Anon's home and knocked on it as if attempting to break it down.
Soon after, the grey-haired young man couldn't help but utter in confusion, "Is this brat in the middle of shitting? What's taking him so long?"
But just as he was about to seemingly kick the door down, with a clicking sound, the door opened partially with Anon's amber eyes the only thing that they could see.
Stunning!
Not saying that Anon was ugly, but when combined with the rest of his human features, the appeal of his eyes would become within the realm of sense.
But, with just those eyes being the only thing one could see, the burly man and the grey-haired youth were both caught in a stupor for just an instance, a moment of silence, as if in awe of what they saw.
Yet, as if they didn't realize nor perceive this oddness, the grey-haired youth frowned and asked Anon, "Boy, do we look like some lowly thieves. Open your door and greet your instructors properly!"
The burly man shook his head and said in a gentler tone, "Forgive Mr. Rolan, he can be a little blunt at times."
He said it as gently as he could, but his voice was naturally thick and heavy, so it didn't really come off as gentle.
"My name's Parkinson, you can call me Mr. Park for short, but we're both members of the Military Academy's branch in this district, in other words, we've come to you in relation with the camp of ten thousand."
"Camp of ten thousand…?"
Anon giggled.
"Am I supposed to just go along with what you say?"
"Breathe in, breathe out."
Rolan grumbled under his breath as he patted Parkinson on his shoulder before taking his leave.
Truthfully, if he was to stay here any longer, he'd have no choice but to put this brat in his place.
"Again, I'm sorry about Mr. Rolan."
Mr. Park smiled apologetically before his wristwatch buzzed and a light shone on his face.
Right before Anon's eyes, a holographic screen appeared, showing Mr. Park's image along with his credentials and other personal information.
In the bottom corner, there was a unique insignia that could not be replicated by any technology.
Obviously, it could be falsely forged on physical documents, but technology was strictly controlled by this society's higher ups.
This was the single greatest proof anyone needed.
And obviously, from the beginning, Anon knew that they were related to the camp of ten thousand, but it'd come of very weird if he wasn't the least bit suspicious.
The supreme commander's son knew things not known by the public, but as of now, he was Anon, not Anon Xerxes.
"Oh," Opening his door fully, Anon slightly bowed his head in greeting.
"I'm sorry for my past rudeness. But you must-!"
Parkinson interrupted him whilst chuckling, "I know, the world isn't a haven. I'm sure you've come across your fair share of thieves as a student who walks to and from school."
"Anyways, we have a tight schedule, so you should go pack your clothes and say your goodbyes to your neighbors, we're leaving in fifteen minutes."
Anon nodded and closed the door as he went about his business.
In less than five minutes, he had already exited his house, as if having already prepared for this.
And indeed, this was the case.
Whether it was meeting the requirements to enter the Camp of Ten Thousand or this earlier program, he had anticipated it.
To enter differing universities and academies required different results in particular fields.
For example, to reach the basic requirements to enter the military academy, a student needed to get over ninety-five percent in the overall assessment of the beast exams, whilst needing at least ninety percent in the stellar cosmic energy exams.
The history exams were the least important, one needing only around eighty percent.
On the other hand, to enter the U.S.A.P, one needed ninety-nine percent in the stellar cosmic energy exams, ninety-five percent in the beast exams, and no less than ninety percent in any of the history exams, whether it was of the blue planet, or the great rebirth period.
Naturally, to enter the latter was unnaturally more difficult, with one needing to practically memorize the whole curriculum relating to stellar cosmic energy.
Besides these two top schools, the required results to enter the others were much less stringent.
Not bothering with those, Anon's results in the final exams would get him into U.S.A.P if he had it as his first choice.
Anon was standing outside his home, embracing Elizabeth and old lady Su who had made their way outside.
Though she was sickly and aged, old lady Su actively made her way out of her house to come see him off.
"Make sure to show them what a genius looks like, you hear."
Old lady Su's voice was weak and shaky, but Anon could naturally hear everything she said, even if it was as soft as a whisper.
"Old hag, you need not worry. Use that wrinkled brain of yours, who can prevent me from walking where I, Anon, says he wishes to walk?"
Anon chuckled and kissed old lady Su on her forehead.
"You damn brat. Back then I felt my blood pressure rise when some kid still wet behind his ears called me an old hag."
Old lady Su grumbled under her breath, "And to this day, he hasn't gained an atom's worth of respect."
"I've made it difficult for you, Grandma Su." Anon embraced her again.
Hearing him refer to her using her true name, tears welled up in her eyes as she weakly pushed him away and tapped him on his head, frowning.
"What you damn rascal. I can only imagine how that scoundrel father of yours is, for you to have such a glib tongue at such a young age, even after I raised you well."
Elizabeth covered her mouth whilst chuckling at this sight.
Shifting his gaze, he pulled Elizabeth into his embrace, whispering softly in her ear, "I'm heading off now. I'd hope to see you come next year, okay?"
When he was like this…
Anon's amber eyes shone with a strange light as he lifted her chin and stared into her pure hazel orbs.
She quickly turned away and whispered, "Naturally..."
"Okay lover boy, please, it's about time that we get going." Rolan, with a cigarette in his mouth, interrupted.
Hearing his words, Anon shook his head and pinched Elizabeth's chin, turning it appropriately before pecking on her lips.
Her eyes couldn't help but widen as her heart thumped so loudly it threatened to burst out of her chest.
By the time she came to, Anon had already entered the vehicle of the duo of instructors as they departed.
On the other hand, granny Su chuckled at the sight, causing Elizabeth's body to tremble from embarrassment and rage.
"I-It's that damn Seth."
Elizabeth growled with rosy cheeks, "My Anon never did such vile things before that bastardly Seth's arrival!"
For whatever reason, innocent Seth suffered blame as she helped old lady Su back into their home.
Thinking of Seth, she couldn't help but slam the door.
Bam!
Two large doors slammed shut.
Outside these two doors were a pair of guards cladded in silver armor, each holding a long spear.
The hall that they stood in was dark, with silvery walls and dark grey twisted pillars numbering in the dozens.
Behind the two doors, an eerie silence enveloped Catharina as she knelt on one knee before a humanoid figure that was barely visible on a holographic screen.