Chapter 64: Card

Central was divided into five major Areas, with Canelo being one of them. Each Area had one main academy authorized to send candidates to the Elite Evaluation.

Every academy would bring their very best students. The numbers were never large given the strict requirements, most likely, this year would see only five students, or possibly fewer.

Alongside that, Julian, for the first time, caught a glimpse of another side of Central. He’d only ever wandered around Canelo before, viewing the other Areas purely through the internet, but now he could finally see them up close, in far more detail.

Not all of it, but the journey to the designated location required Julian to pass through Dimelia, a district lined with blooming cherry blossom trees.

That alone was enough to leave him genuinely satisfied. Watching the buildings blur past through the window of the car carrying him, alone.

Since Kina would be traveling separately with Adelle for certain procedures, and Lurker had already arrived at the location ahead of time, Julian ended up making the trip solo.

Fortunately, the Academy had already arranged everything Julian needed, including the ride he was currently in.

As for the designated location itself, it sat within the Association District, an area unaffiliated with any of the other five districts, positioned right along the border between Central and the Elite Region.

"We’ve arrived, Lord Julian."

And the exact location itself was within that same Association District. An Association responsible for managing Hunters and providing support for the required evaluations.

The moment Julian stepped out, he found himself facing an incredibly grand building right along the roadside. A massive structure, curving long along both sides.

The building gleamed brilliantly, bustling with people constantly moving in and out, and Julian even recognized a few of them as fairly famous Hunters.

Taking in that sight, Julian hesitated for a moment. He’d come dressed in his usual outfit, his own black coat, white gloves, and, on top of that, a hat to avoid drawing too much attention.

Adelle had suggested he do so, given how well-known Julian had become.

After that, Julian didn’t hesitate, stepping straight into the building. He immediately found the ground floor, a hall filled with tables and chairs where Hunters used the space for socializing.

Several reception desks served different functions, registration, special reports, and other matters.

"Do you think any of the academy students this year will actually manage to land a sponsor?"

"Hm? Well, I’m fairly confident about Siena from Nuvela Academy. She’s already in her third year now, plenty of experience under her belt, they’re saying she’s nearly reached Rank-E."

"What about her talent, though? I’d say it’s pretty normal for a first-year at the elite academies to already be at Siena’s level. And Siena’s already in her third year now, unfortunately, that might make things difficult for her to get accepted."

"What about Canelo Academy? Or maybe Dimelia? Both have had some remarkably impressive candidates lately, especially Canelo, they somehow ended up with an incredibly talented student out of nowhere. Shame their academy’s still crawling with stubborn sponsors, though."

"Oh, speaking of that, haven’t you heard they’ve already got a new program in the works? I also heard the sponsors have completely given up their rights over the training program."

News really did travel fast. Julian never expected to end up overhearing such familiar news all the way out here.

He glanced around once more, then quickly spotted a door leading to a specific section connected to the adjacent building, marked with signage related to the Elite Academy Evaluation.

So, Julian walked toward it without a shred of hesitation. The guard stationed at the door immediately stopped him, studying Julian carefully.

"Excuse me, could you state your identity? This isn’t a place you can simply walk into."

Julian wasn’t surprised by that, nodding as he pulled out the card Lurker had given him and handed it over.

"I’m Kiena’s guardian."

The guard fell silent for a moment, his expression tightening as he studied the card, then he looked back at Julian with a strange expression.

"Where did you get this card?"

’What?’

Julian tilted his head hearing that.

’What’s wrong with the card? And what’s with that reaction?’

"...That’s the card required for entry, isn’t it?"

At least, based on what Lurker had told him, this was clearly the card he needed to attend this event. But seeing that reaction made Julian wonder whether Lurker had made some kind of mistake somewhere.

"What’s going on here?"

Both Julian and the guard turned around at the arrival of a man who appeared to be in his mid-twenties.

The guard flinched briefly, then immediately bowed his head. "Oh, welcome, Lord Daren Alivius."

Daren Alivius, a man with somewhat pale blond hair, glanced at Julian for a moment, then looked at the guard, eyeing the card in his hand. His brow furrowed slightly. "Who is this?"

"Ah, he claims to be the guardian of one of the participants here, My Lord. He says he’s Kiena’s guardian."

Daren nodded briefly, then turned his gaze to Julian, a small smile forming on his face.

"As it happens, I’ve seen Kiena’s guardian’s face on social media before. Would you mind taking off your hat for a moment? Sorry about this, but you understand, we’re just doing this to ease a bit of suspicion."

Right, that was a fair enough thing to consider. So Julian nodded, removing his hat, revealing his features.

Messy black hair parted down the middle, dark eyes, completely empty, and a flat expression showing absolutely no emotion whatsoever.

Daren’s smile widened. "Ah, so it really is you. Nice to meet you, I come from a family based in the Elite Region."

’Oh? So he’s from an Elite family, then?’ Julian felt a flicker of surprise, but quickly nodded and gave a thin smile.

"Nice to meet you too."

He didn’t know much about who this man actually was. But it was clear enough that those attending this event to scout out talented candidates and offer sponsorship weren’t limited to just the great families alone.

Rather, anyone from an Elite family, whether low or middle-tier, could attend as well.

So Daren was likely one of those individuals.

Daren nodded, smiling rather widely as he glanced at the card in the guard’s hand.

His gaze then narrowed slightly.

"But, may I ask something? How exactly does someone from the Slums end up in possession of that card?"

The air around them fell briefly silent as the guard nodded, Julian found himself standing there stiffly, while a small crowd began gathering, as Daren shrugged his shoulders and gave a crooked smile.

"Ah, I don’t mean any harm by it. It’s just... that card really doesn’t match your status, and I hear... people from the Slums have quite the reputation for theft."