At the Test Center

The test center was a 42 floor tall skyscraper with each floor capable of accomodating 1000 people at a time. Shining against the bright sunlight it seemed a little exquisite to say the least.

"It looks fancy," Azariel said as he got out of the car first, followed by Ariel and Emily. 

"Rhea. Take them in. I will be there in a minute," Edward spoke as he drove the car towards the parking space, trailing behind the other cars in front of theirs. 

Rhea nodded before looking at her three kids gazing at the entrance of the building. There were a few more families bringing their children to take the test. It wasn't exactly packed, but the building definitely was more crowded than normal days.

"Let's go. Your father would be there in a minute," she spoke as she held the hand of Azariel and Ariel before beginning to walk. Emily walked beside them with her heart racing a little.

"You okay?" Azariel asked with slight curiosity, making her nod. Azariel smirked as he was about to comment, but Rhea interrupted," Azariel. Leave her for now. Let her get over it by herself this time."

Azariel looked at his mother for a few seconds and nodded with an understanding gaze before they reached the entrance gate.

"ID," the guard spoke, and Rhea showed him our IDs.

"Are you here for the test too?! I am Flare!!" And as we were busy with ID verification, a voice appeared from the left side behind Emily. 

"I am really excited about this test! Are you?!! You look nervous! Man, I couldn't even sleep at all last night!! What is your name? Where do you live?" An orange-haired girl with a tomboyish outfit and short hair reaching her shoulders stood there with excitement written all over her face.

"Uh- I.. am Emily," Emily stuttered as she was bombarded with sudden questions. She even took a few steps back as she looked at Flare. Her eyes puzzled at what was going on right now.

Emily was an energetic girl at home. Helping with the dishes, helping the brothers with whatever they asked for, she was always the first one to be there when you needed her. But that was only when it came to her own home.

Outside, she was a strict introvert who rarely interacted with people. Even her class teachers usually complained that Emily's social skills were rather zero to none. Except for a friend, whom she talked to in correspondence with classes, she rarely interacted much at all.

So, finding someone trying to talk with her, she couldn't help but feel overwhelmed by this. For her, this interaction was more nerve racking than the test itself.

"Emily. That's a nice name! Are you specialized in anything? I have been learning martial arts from my mentor for the past 2 years, along with a bit of kickboxing. Father told me I can probably awaken a fire-based technique, so I am really looking forward to it!! What about you?!"

And that extreme introvert nature just jumped again, making Emily have a hard time even concentrating on what she was saying. She only heard the first few words before she got lost in words again.

"I am… I know a bit of sword art," Emily, though this time, didn't give up like she usually did. Azariel and Ariel had especially drilled into her the importance of making connections. 

In fact, she had made a bet with the twins that she would interact with at least one person in this test. Hence, rather than backing down, she tried her best to talk about something.

"Sword art?!! Did you have a master too?!!!" And the excited Flare flared a bit more. Burning the little confidence Emily was trying to muster up.

"That… I practiced with my… brothers," she spoke, getting more and more embarrassed with her tone while she looked at her twin brothers at the back, smiling at her.

Flare was confused as she looked at those brothers for a brief moment before thinking of something. It didn't seem like she was going to belittle Emily. So, instead, she changed the topic immediately,

"Hey! Let's go in. The test should start in about 20 minutes. It would be better to fill out the rest of the information. Come, let's go!" Flare held Emily's hand and took her away as the rest of the family watched her go.

"Apologies for the young lady's attitude. It's just that, given her fiery personality, it is hard for her to make any friends at all. She didn't mean any harm, though. I hope Emily can be friends with the young lady," a butler like person appeared and spoke in a warm tone.

Azariel and Ariel had already guessed this nature of Flare, thus they didn't interrupt. In fact, they seemed happy with this sudden development. It was the same for Rhea as well, who simply smiled and nodded at the butler before all of them went in as well.

Though the twins were more interested in that butler himself. Or rather, the family he was working for. Given the aura he was exuding, it didn't seem like he was a normal butler at all.

'He has a good grasp of martial arts,' Azariel could tell with a single look.

'He is at least a B-ranked hunter… to have a hunter that powerful as a butler. I wonder what family he belongs to… and why I hadn't heard of the name Flare before? Did she die early or something?' Ariel, on the other hand, could see the mana potential of the butler. 

"Ummm… who's that?" And then Azariel noticed something.