The evening sky was painted orange. Early autumn wind was sharp but there was a bit of warmth underneath. The floor was still a little wet but it was the perfect weather to sit on a rock and watch the sunset.
In this perfect weather, I was lazily dragging my feet along the streets of East Alyona.
Until first year students came and inevitably started dropping out in the first few days, there weren't any available student dorms I could use. So I was looking for a place to stay the night.
While you wouldn't expect there to be any motels near school grounds, East Alyona — stationed at the outskirts of Alyona Academy — was home to quite a few. This was since younger knights that just started work used this area as a basecamp due to its proximity to forests, dungeons, or other towns.
Of course, these motels are a lot more expensive than student dorms despite their low quality. But hey, it's this or homelessness.
The wind got sharper as the orange in the sky started to slowly faded. It definitely didn't seem like it would be great weather to spend the night outside.
I opened the doors of the first motel I saw — East Side motel. The interior seemed a little broken down but the warmth that broke the chills on my arms didn't feel all that bad.
As I shook off dirt off the bottom of my shoes, a tall muscular man standing behind the counter greeted me.
"Hey you alone buddy?"
"Uh… yeah…"
The man leaned slightly forward towards my direction while spinning a keyring around his index finger. The man's presence was so frightening; I couldn't help but be slightly startled.
Who decided to put this muscular giant on the front counter? It's gonna scare everyone off. Maybe it was to attract knights? I don't really get the appeal.
"Just one night?"
"Yeah but it might be longer. Would that be okay?"
"Yeah that's fine. Just make sure to pay every morning."
Depending on what happens with dorms, I may need to stay here for a bit while. Thankfully, this place doesn't seem to have a lot of customers.
"Here's the key."
The man threw a key with a wooden block attached towards me. Room 204. As I frantically caught the wooden block flying towards me, the man pointed his fingers towards the rusty wooden staircase right next to him.
It's slightly hard to imagine this large man walking up those stairs.
Hm, maybe that's what caused the cracks?
"Take an immediate right after you get to the second floor. You should be able to find your room pretty easily. Come down if you need anything. We don't give food or anything so figure that out yourself."
"Thank you."
I answered as quickly as possible and headed directly to the stairs. I couldn't wait to take a shower after walking so long.
"Hey, hey!"
"Hm?"
The man got up and yelled at me with his eyes wide open. Chills ran down my spine. This was by far the most frightening person I've seen yet. I guess this is where my life ends. It was a good ride.
"You haven't paid yet."
"Oh, right."
With a sigh of relief, I returned to the counter.
"400 Ilya."
"Yep, just a second."
I scrambled through my pocket to open up my wallet, counting the bills to hand over to the man.
Hm?
"Wait 400 lira?"
Going homeless… Doesn't sound all that bad after all…
***
In the end, I decided to stay the night at the motel. 400 lira hurt quite a bit, but with what I have planned, it didn't matter.
Lost Cat in Chester town.
Looking for people to assist in finding our cat! Please come to Chester Town for more information. Willing to offer up to 10,000 Lira.
I laid out the poster I took from the bulletin board on the small table right by the entrance of my room.
A lost cat.
A damn lost cat for a whole 10,000 lira. Whoever requested this must love their cat a lot.
Despite the array of almost impossible missions that I saw on the bulletin board, easy missions like this were quite common. These were tasks hard for commoners to do but easy enough for trained academy students to accomplish. Normally, these missions wouldn't net you more than a couple hundred lira.
But 10,000? For a cat? I still can't believe it. What an idiot.
More importantly, none of these easier missions were this easy. Maybe it could be fending off slimes or hunting animals like deers; it was never a lost cat.
Maybe they were just super rich?
It also helped that Chester town was right by. It was maybe an hour or so away from East Alyona. I would have to get past a small forest, but it was considered safe enough for even normal citizens to cross.
I guess it's possible that I can't find the cat in the end. But the fact that even little traces would get me some money was the deal breaker. Maybe I could even look for more jobs at Chester town.
As long as I got their first, benefit was guaranteed; I basically stumbled upon gold perfect for my situation.
Thank you Eve!
Despite it being Thrusday tomorrow, I didn't have any class. It was because each year has its first class on a Friday to loosen everyone up for a new year. This meant I would have enough time to check out the town today.
With weights lifted off my shoulder, I couldn't help but hum excitedly as I showered.
Tomorrow is the day I get rich!
***
"Ms. Eve Chalphy. Welcome to the Cavendish Dorms"
The Cavendish Dorm stood 10 floors tall at the center of the Alyona Academy. Its glittering marble walls, flower-filled garden, and maids standing ever-so-formally was just a small showcase of how luxurious this dorm was.
The dorm was designed for students of the academy who either ranked amongst the three best students in their grade or had some special noble status. Eve was a part of the former.
While first year students still had a week or so left before class started, the Academy would give students with the highest affinity potential a Cavendish room for their first semester.
Hm~ hm~
Eve arrived at the entrance of her room — one of the two on the second floor. The bright glow of the chandelier reflecting off of the radiant golden linings shot towards Eve as two maids swung opened the door.
"Woah! Is this room all mine?"
"Unfortunately, you will have a roommate. Would you like an individual room? It will, however, be slightly smaller than this."
"Nope, it's fine!"
Even with Eve's uncontained excitement, the maids that accompanied her kept their composure.
While Eve was far from poor, she wasn't a noble. Certainly, she wasn't someone who would normally be able to live in a place like this. To her, seeing a large, heavily decorated room like this was unimaginable and, needless to say, fascinating.
Immediately entering the room, Eve decided she was going to "explore" this large room. As the maids left, she quickly took off her red knitted jacket, placing it carefully on one of the chairs.
As she walked around, she saw that her luggage she sent a couple of days prior were all organized neatly. Clothes were separated by type and color in the wardrobe, books were lined up in the book shelf, and her dolls were neatly organized in front of her bed. While Eve had guilt brewing up for not doing this herself, she decided to indulge.
'Better than anything I could've done. I should thank the maids when I see them!'
After checking where all her belongings were, Eve jumped straight down towards one of the queen size beds. There was another bed next to her, presumably her roommate's, but the room was anything but cramped. The room was simply too large.
After spacing out for a couple of minutes, Eve raised her hand straight towards the ceiling. A gust of wind wrapped around her hand.
"Gray Hazeldine…"
Eve started to remember the gray haired man who introduced himself as Gray Hazeldine.
Gray's name was somewhat infamous. A mysterious man with the Hazeldine last name who refused to interact with anyone. His cool and collected atmosphere always piqued the interest of his classmates. Nevertheless, his radiating presence stopped anyone from actually interacting with him.
Eve, who couldn't contain her excitement about attending the Academy, had already done her research about the students here. So Gray was a name she was naturally familiar with.
But Eve also heard recently that he was kicked out of the Hazeldines. Seeing someone who was rumored to be so mysterious completely ruined under the rain couldn't be more shocking.
More importantly, there were a lot of negative rumors associated with Gray — from speculations as to why he was kicked out to supposedly insulting the royal family. She wanted to stay away from Gray.
The whole reason why Eve came a bit early was to meet the upperclassmen, teachers, and look around the academy so she doesn't get lost when school starts. When she saw someone looking so messy, she was sure she found a fellow freshman looking for their dorm.
Little did she know that the first person she bumped into was going to be Gray.
'What's up with my luck…'
Eve started waving her legs up and down, viciously kicking the bed's blanket in annoyance.
As her frenzy died down, however, Eve started recollecting her conversation with Gray.
Thinking back, Gray seemed just like a nice yet slightly awkward person. It didn't seem like he was hiding anything, and he even offered to help her find her way. Before he said his name, he felt like a dependable upperclassman.
"Maybe he's not that weird?"
Eve decided she wanted to talk to Gray again. If he turned out to be nice, then she wanted to know the reason behind the rumors, if not, she could just simply ignore him.
It made her curious.
"The semester starts next week! I better start studying…"
Eve found someone that intrigued her. For Eve, even this simple fact was enough to make her excited for what's to come.
***
"Holy!"
I fell flat on the ground. The arrangement of bushes lessened the impact, but the dampness that seeped through my pants made me feel more uncomfortable than I already was.
I heard a slight rustle just up ahead.
I pointed my kitchen knife towards the direction of the sound. While this area wasn't anything of particular danger, it was still an unprotected forest area. I also didn't have any particular experience in forests alone; even the slightest sound heightened my senses.
The rumbling got slightly louder. It was clear; something was approaching me.
My slightly frightened self decided to get cover; stay on low ground for safety.
…
I swear. Just slightly frightened.
Gulp
As I mentally prepared myself, I saw a silhouette. It was laying low as I was.
Squeak!
Whew…
Just a rabbit.
With a sigh of relief, I brushed up the dirt on my pants and continued walking.
After packing basic necessities like small snacks and water, I got out of my motel room to go to Chester town.
My foot felt incredibly light as I left the building. Afterall, it was the day I'd get rich for pretty much nothing.
But as I got deeper into the forest, the high rise trees covered the sunlight. A darkness casted over me to erase my shadows. Each step, the forest was becoming something akin to a cave. The eerie atmosphere made my legs shake.
Thankfully, Chester town wasn't too far away. I've been walking for 50 minutes or so, meaning the town should appear in about ten minutes. For an Alyona student, this distance was more like a light jog; nothing to make me tired of any sort.
I cut through the thick vines with my kitchen knife to get through the damp forest. After a few more bushes, I saw light reappear ahead of me. Perhaps this was the same emotions my ancestors felt discovering fire.
What I arrived at was a completely different scene. Past the overwhelming pressure of trees were small hills — buildings encompassed by a small lake that greeted me. It was a bright atmosphere that just forced me to be excited.
Now I just have to find that cat!
To get to the exact location written on the poster, I walked closer to the main entrance of the town. While the town itself was bright, the outskirts — surrounded by the forest — still had that unique eeriness.
But as I got closer, I spotted something I wasn't expecting to see.
It was a woman, crouching down a few feet to the right of the entrance.
From what I could see, the woman had lushing, long brown hair all the way down to her shoulders. The golden lining on her skirt stood out, shining, even from afar. It was a pretty weird location for someone to be crouching at but it seemed like she knew her way around this town.
I decided to approach her and ask where I can find the person that requested this mission.
"Excuse me!"
The woman stood up, turning around towards me as I shouted in her direction. The black uniform she was wearing showed her rather slim figure.
I froze.
"Hey. You."
The calmly radiating voice of the woman reached me in no time.
But what made me freeze wasn't her voice. Nor was it her beautiful presence.
Infront of her was the body of a man lying down. A puddle. Blood scattered around him.