Opening the door revealed two recognizable faces, or at least that would be the case if one of them wasn't almost completely covered. Surprisingly the man who looked like an assassin was the more normal one of the two as he kept a flame close by and protected himself from the cold.
The other stood proud without any flames or warmth near and had a beautiful smile filled with superiority plastered on his face. Both were odd, yet somehow it felt normal to Lucas.
"It's a surprise to see both of you here.", normally it would be Asta who initiated the conversation and took control over it, yet with Eleven next to him, it was obvious something was bound to happen.
"C'mon in."
The two entered the little cabin, for both it was the first time seeing the inside. The immediate change in temperature surprised both of them. Seeing the freshly cleaned bookshelves and comfortable atmosphere they couldn't believe they just exited a blizzard.
The smell of tea permeated the room and with each footstep a slight creak from the planks could be heard. It felt like paradise was enclosed into a single room. It took them a moment to realize he didn't live alone.
On the couch was a small hill with the silhouette of a man. Only his face was partially visible since half of it was pressed into a pillow.
"Don't mind him, he's not very talkable.", part of Lucas hoped that Elam wouldn't embarrass him while the other part thought it was stupid to be worried about such a trivial thing.
"Hmm, eyes always closed, ruffled brown hair, can't hold a decent conversation to save his life? Is this Elam?"
"Yes, despite his behavior he's a great teacher."
"I don't doubt that, still, if he's so tired why not sleep in a bed?", a question that has long plagued Lucas's mind. At a certain point he forgot to even question Elam's actions, like it was completely normal to always sleep on the couch.
"This couch is better than any bed in this entire city, I'd like to see you try to find a better place to sleep."
Elam was surprisingly defensive. Asta wanted to respond despite Lucas's sign to just ignore it.
"Oh please, if you think a couch is better than a bed, the only facility made to sleep on, then it's obvious you're just demented."
"One more word about my couch, and you'll never get to enter my cabin again."
Asta wouldn't dare give in, the fire in his eyes wouldn't let up, yet he kept silent. Asta finally entered the cabin, a step closer to his friendship with Lucas. Getting kicked out now would ruin his plans. Elam's angry tone mismatched with what Elam was angry about, the couch was apparently more important than his own self. Lucas wanted to grab his head, but quickly switched the topic.
"Eleven, why have you come here?", turning the attention away from the couch debate he put the spotlight on Eleven.
"Conrad, I... I have a request."
Hearing that fake name again Lucas started to get tired of it. He did have a reason for using that name. His original plan was to on one hand keep some of his identity hidden and use the real Conrad's name as a substitute. If anyone had questions about him, he could just tell the story of the actual Conrad who was a simple scout of the mansion.
But his greater goal was to create a confirmation. If his fake name got some grand attention the people he wanted to contact would realize it was him after some research and search him out. Only by knowing his real name would Lucas know it was truly them. It did annoy him at times that he had to switch between names.
He had a goal in sight and was waiting for it to progress, the moment it did he would stop using the fake name, but for now, his identity as an official scout was better than an abandoned orphan. It wouldn't change much, but it did provide cover.
While Lucas was enraptured in his own thought, Asta took over.
"And what might this request be? To help you pick out new clothes? I know quite a nice shop that doesn't mind what kind of customer comes in, even if they're a commoner.", looking at Eleven's clothing did reveal them to be quite used. Stains and scratches were seen here and there, while actual tears remained few. Still, it had seen enough days.
Eleven didn't answer and waited patiently for Lucas. He didn't know Asta and his behavior up until now proved difficult to handle. Lucas let go of his internal struggle.
"I'm assuming you're open to talk about it with everyone here, or do you want to speak in private?"
"No, it's fine, we can talk here."
Lucas nodded to show his understanding.
'What a stupid move, talking about where he came from and what he'll do in front of a bunch of people he doesn't know. Asta could easily use that information against us!'
'First of all, it's only two people, not a bunch, and one of them is Elam, not the biggest threat I can think of. Second of all, if Eleven thinks it's fine to talk about it, it won't contain any valuable information. He's a trained assassin, not an idiot.'
With his nod, Eleven started to open up about his request.
"Conrad, I want you to come with me to destroy the mining camp. I need to go back and save my comrades, their suffering has to end."
It was unusually calm and well-spoken for Eleven. Extremely direct and without beating around the bush like Lucas expected.
'You want to take back that he's not an idiot?'
'No, I don't.'
'He just gave away his objective, an ambush is the least we can expect.'
'Nobody except him knows where it that camp is located, we're not in danger.'
'...yet.'
Unlike Elam, who expected the request but stayed completely silent, Asta's curiosity started to flare up. His eyes blinked like he found a hidden gem.
"Ooh, and what might this camp do and why do you have such a hatred against it?"
But once again, Eleven didn't bother listening to what Asta had to say. It started to get on his nerves, for someone like him, a superior being, to be ignored so shamelessly. And not just by someone of equal status, but a half-assed assassin!
"Hey! Are you deaf now as well? Answer my question! ... Urgh, never mind, not that you're problems interest me in the first place!"
Lucas stared at Asta and had to hold back a smile, enjoying Asta's fury put him in a good mood. Not wanting the scene to escalate he stepped forward.
"If you're in need of my help, I normally would gladly give it. Sadly, I've been busy with training and I need a lot more time to prepare for the national school competition. Only through days of training can I have a chance at victory. I can't let my teachers down, who are expecting great things of me."
And with that Lucas shielded himself from multiple angels. By showing his work, effort and dedication he had been putting into it, Eleven should feel uncomfortable taking him away. On the other hand, letting him know that others were relying on him meant that going on a trip would be inconvenient.
While it did have an effect on Eleven, Asta didn't even notice the social cues.
"As if people like us need training, we'll simply outsmart the enemy and crush them from the unexpected. With our brains combined, nothing can stop us!"
Asta proclaimed like it was gospel, he truly believed that Lucas and him had an absolute advantage, although Lucas didn't see it that way. But by ruining his argument, Eleven's stare was reinvigorated. He didn't like Asta, but if he helped him out without him asking he's not going to stop Asta. Eleven had always thought that Lucas was leagues above him when it came to anything.
"Asta, would you mind?"
"I do mind."
"..."
The stare Lucas gave him was filled with intent, but Asta didn't notice the slightest thing. A mediator came from an unexpected corner.
"Go with them, boy. Practical experience without any protection from us is also needed to grow."
Elam pushed Lucas to go with Eleven, but he wasn't having it. There was no justifiable reason to do so. Yes, he could help a friend, but Lucas didn't care enough to bother. There were a lot more pressing matters to attend to.
Simply from a glance of his face, Elam could tell Lucas didn't want to. He had always been motivated by his own self-interest. If there was no good reason to do so, why do it in the first place? Thus, Elam tried a second time.
"If you're not going with them, I'll restrict access to the bookshelf and my colleague and I will pause our lessons."
Making it sound like a legitimate threat, Lucas wasn't sure on what to do. It did prove to be more persuasive than Eleven or Asta. There were things he could work on, on his own, but that road would end soon.
"Fine, have you at least gathered the necessary information?", the moment Lucas approved of the trip a light began to shine in Eleven's eyes. Since that was the only thing anyone could see, it was quite obvious that he was elated.
"I have some basic information from living there, but I'll gather anything you'd like."
"Then we'll have a lot of work. I'll need daily schedules, supply routes, regular guard patrols paths, estimation of the amount of enemies, what do they normally eat and that's just the tip of the iceberg."
Lucas was a paranoid man, or at least part of him was very so. If he had to achieve something he needed to gather as much information as he possibly could. During his time in the mansion there wasn't a moment where he wasn't doing so.
Even at school he was always on the prowl for more intel about anything. But for all the others in the cabin, that amount of information was over the top. Even Asta found that to be unnecessary, but stayed quiet, for now.
"Uh... I'll try to get as much info as I can.", still, Eleven agreed even if he hesitated a slight bit. That's when something clicked in Lucas's head.
"Wait, how far away is it?"
"About a few days of traveling on horseback."
"How many?"
"Around 4 to 5 days to reach the camp.", at that statement Lucas wanted to pull his hair out. The national competition would start in 13 days. Meaning he would have to complete Eleven's request within 3 days if he assumed the worst. To defeat an entire camp in 3 days was a dumb idea, especially if he didn't have the information.
Back at the mansion he spent weeks preparing for everything, now he would have to do an even greater task within less. But even then, if he did accomplish everything, he would return and immediately go to the competition. There would be no point in going in the first place.
"C'mon now, us betters can clearly clear this camp without any preparation, our adaptability is what makes us strong."
"Would you go to fight an unknown camp that trained assassins without any preparation? Even if there is a Rank 2 mage there?"
Asta started to talk about how they would eventually come out on top since they are simply better. Lucas needed a moment to think and look over his choices.
'This is absolutely ridiculous, I hope you realize there's no reason at all to go!'
'Now, now, Elam has a point, we could learn a lot from this.'
'By risking our lives needlessly? If everything goes perfect we'll destroy that camp within 3 days, we would only have 2 days left over.'
'And? That should be enough for recovery and a slight amount of training.'
'Are you kidding me? No way is that going to be enough, we have to fight a Rank 2 in the competition, we need time to prepare!'
'What if we learned something there? What if we find an artifact there that could harm a Rank 2?'
'Since when do we base our plans on a 'maybe'?'
'What choice do we have? If we stay, we would have to do everything by ourselves, do you want to go hunting in the woods and risk getting involved with Rank 2 magical beasts?'
'No, of course not, we should just stay here and not bother with any of this and think of a plan that could kill a Rank 2. Thinking isn't going to potentially kill us.'
'Sigh, we're doing this, I'm deciding!'
'Why do you get to decide? I'm always the one that has to help you out when we're in danger! I'm always the one that gets us on the right path, and you always get to control the body! Not only that, but you're the one that makes all the choices! This isn't fair!'
Part of Lucas could see that things hadn't been very equal indeed, but giving control to that part of him could lead to disastrous consequences. The light side of Lucas stayed composed and knew what to say in order to achieve things through dialogue.
His other side didn't have that capability, it only knew brute force and ultimatums. There was no gray area, no room for negotiation. Hence, he stayed behind and only came out when necessary. It was a risk, a tremendous one, but if the light side had to choose between giving control now or during the national competition, the choice was instantly made.
Both parts of Lucas had equal control over their body, one wasn't stronger than the other, they kept each other in balance. The more rash side of Lucas could recognize the power of words and knew it didn't have that strength, but it also didn't care about it in the first place. It kept itself away since it knew that would be the best for both of them, yet, that didn't mean it liked it.
'Fine, let's make a deal, I'll give you full control on a single condition. During conversation, you listen to me.'
'... Deal.'