Ten days later
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Early Morning
Frendon International Airport, East Coast, Kadwein.
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Rhen walks alongside his brother into the waiting area inside the crowded airport. He has a lone medium-sized black luggage bag. While Azrel on the other hand, has five and must rely on a cart to move around.
Scarlet won't be joining them today for she left three days ago in preparation for their enrolment.
They chose the economy class and pick the earliest possible time for them to arrive at Neotopia in the morning.
"What the hell do you have in there brother? Do you plan on carrying the entire house with you?" Rhen inquired.
"Well, you never know if you need spare clothes or shoes. Not to mention I have everything we need in case we end up in a shitty dorm room. I got heaters, an electric stove, and extra blankets. I even got you some new pajamas."
"Look, we can just buy them and we're not sleeping in a shitty dorm, we're staying at the branch hotel."
"What!? I thought we were going to stay at the school dorms. I was even thinking of throwing a party." Azrel stated, surprised, that everything he has prepared would be of no use.
"There's no way I'm gonna sleep with some random guy, I can't enjoy some privacy if I stay there." Rhen explained.
The main reason Rhen wanted a private room was for some magic to happen if he had a guest of the opposite sex, but he couldn't bring girls inside the male student dorm if he stayed there, so he chose to sleep elsewhere like his branch hotel.
"Man, you should've told me," Azrel hunched his shoulders and heaved a heavy sigh.
Rhen notices Azrel's gloomy aura and makes up for it. "Alright, I'll think about it brother, if we decide to get a student dorm or go camping maybe we can use them."
Happy with Rhen's answer, Azrel decides to keep the items he bought. Rhen helps him with his luggage and heads to the boarding area.
The two brothers sat on the bench waiting for the plane to arrive. Rhen opens his quest tab while sitting.
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Quest Tab:
Main Quest:
Kill or capture the leader of the Crimson Blood clan "Wraith"
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Sadly, unlike a video game, there is no system that magically hands him 10x bottles of healing potions out of thin air once he's done with a quest or task.
Rhen also needs to manually type the tasks on his notes or else he will risk forgetting about them, just like in the real world, and the only reward he gets from completing quests or tasks are things he receives from clients or money from the state upon turning them in.
"Brother tell me why we're not flying on a private jet?"
"I thought It would be a good change of pace. Not to mention It's been a long time since I've flown economy class, besides we're flying incognito."
Azrel shrugs his brother's response. He's not particular about it, and because Rhen paid for everything, he's not complaining.
Nonetheless, he desired to fly pleasantly owing to his bags, and they could simply fly anonymously as a businessman, he grumbles at Rhen's choices. He pulls out his phone and begins playing MOBA games to pass the time.
Rhen disregards his brother's protest, he can understand why Azrel felt that way, but Rhen worries that his nightmares are getting a bit too real for comfort and wishes to experience something new in hopes it never returns.
For now, it is a sensitive topic he doesn't want to reveal to his brother. With nothing to do, Rhen read some books while waiting for the announcement.
A few minutes later someone catches the two brothers' attention.
"Hi, fancy meeting you here." It was Claire, she is carrying one piece of luggage as well. Rhen also notes that the wallpaper on her phone is a picture of her and her supposed boyfriend together side by side.
She's wearing her drill hairstyle with a Neocademy jacket to fight the cold and blue jeans.
"Hello." Rhen responds with a smile.
"Is this seat already taken?" Claire indicates the empty seat next to him.
Rhen shakes his head and she sits beside him.
"I never thought you are a Neocademy student?" He asked her for confirmation.
"Oh, this?" Clair examines her jacket before laughing nervously. "Ahahaha, caught red-handed."
Claire also observes that Rhen's destination on his boarding stub is the same as hers, so she pressumed the they are also Academy students.
"Hey, uhmm... About you know." She furrows her brows to make herself appear smaller. Claire's reputation will suffer if Rhen tells anyone about her "Part-time" work.
-
[Order her services for later]
[My lips are tight]
[Blackmail her]
-
"Don't worry, my lips are tight." Rhen gesture a zipping motion across his sealed lips.
"Thank you." She sighs with relief and smiles. "By the way, are you also coming back from vacation?"
"Nope, we're transferees." It was Azrel who responded, giving Claire a short glance before playing with his phone.
Azrel is keenly attentive to his surroundings, even though he appears to be busy with something.
If Rhen wishes to ask Claire about her current situation, now is the time.
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[Ask about her phone wallpaper]
[Leave it be]
-
Rhen decided to inquire about her phone wallpaper because he was curious. He has no affection for her, but he felt it would be an interesting topic to pass the time and get to know Claire better.
"Looks like you have someone you fancy, a new boyfriend?"
"Oh, this?" Claire checks her phone's wallpaper, her eyes are brighter compared to the last time Rhen saw her.
"It's my ex, we had a lengthy talk about... Stuff, and it looks like I won't have to continue what I've done. If you see the Madame, please tell her I owe her a lot."
"(She must be talking about the receptionist.)" Rhen thought.
"Alright, If I stop by, I'll tell her." Before proceeding, he gave her a reassuring glance.
"I thought you broke up with your ex because he place you in a difficult situation. I'm sure you didn't like having that kind of, group party." He added.
Calling it a difficult situation understates it significantly, especially if it was orchestrated by someone she trusts. Rhen, on the other hand, says it in a manner that allows her to easily discuss it.
"You know, if you want help. you can just reach out to me or my brother." He added.
Azrel pauses his game; Though he holds his phone, his focus is on Rhen's conversation with Claire.
Claire shakes her head at Rhen's offer.
"I understand you're just concerned, but we talked about "Things", and I wanted to give him a second chance."
"Does your parents know about this?" Rhen asked her out of concern.
"Only my mother, I'm afraid I afraid my father isn't going to care much. He's only at home when he's drinking or having a quarrel with my mother." Claire bits her lower lip and casts a depressed expression on her face.
Claire is unsure why she is so open with Rhen about her own troubles. He's merely a client she met a few days ago to her. Perhaps it's because of this that she was able to speak up, given that Rhen is a stranger with no connection to her other than being a client.
"Hello." Azrel interrupts the talk and extends a hand to Claire with a dazzling grin worthy of a saint.
"Can you tell me more about it?" He added.
"I'll be back." Rhen got up and pretended to go to the restroom to give them some space; Azrel is better at something like this than him anyhow.
Rhen stops by a little cafe and passes some time, on the way back he purchases some chocolate bonbons in the shop.
He returns to the two only to see his brother comforting Claire. Her hands are covering her eyes, and she is sobbing.
Rhen sat easily alongside Claire, sandwiching her between him and his brother.
"Want one?" Rhen offered her a bonbon, but she declined. He shrugged and popped one in his mouth.
"Sorry, I was just. Sniff!..." Claire wipes her eyes with a tissue, her nose is red and mucus is dripping down her face.
It appears that she and Azrel had a lengthy discussion regarding her unfortunate life.
It was only when the intercom message broke the tension Claire was able to stop herself from sobbing.
"Attention everyone in flight JFD 3135, Your plane has arrived, you can now board at station 31. Please show your boarding tickets at the designated counter. Thank you for choosing Pixie Air as your airline of choice have a safe flight."
"Looks like this is it." Claire stands up, a joyful smile on her lips with luggage in hand.
"Thank you so much Rhen, Azrel." She said this while shifting her gaze from Rhen to Azrel. "I hope we meet again, I'm sure we can be great friends." WIth a glint in her eye, Claire now seemed to have a huge weight lifted off her shoulders.
She walks away from the two boys and into the boarding area first.
After a few minutes, when the line for boarding the plane was shorter, Rhen and Azrel followed suit.
"Please enjoy your flight." A squeak from a Halfling flight attendant greets them. Rhen is unsure about her age, but she appears to be too young to be working.
He reaches into his pocket and gives her a weighty small brown paper bag secretly. He then leans close to her ear. "A present for you, make sure my "Sporting gear" makes it through security." Rhen said in a hushed tone.
With a sleight of hand, the Halfling takes the paper bag. "Pixie Air is committed to serving their valuable clients."
The flight attendant once again greeted him with a bright, sealed smile. Her demeanor was friendly and welcoming, with no hint of any hidden agendas or ulterior motives to the untrained eye.
"A friend of yours" Azrel curiously asked.
"Kind of, but I prefer to call them big brother."
Upon boarding the plane, Rhen settles into a seat near the window and fastens his belt. Claire sat near the back of the plane, far enough back that she couldn't hear what he was about to ask Azrel.
"So, what happened when I was away?" Rhen asked Azrel casually.
"An abusive father, a whore of a mother, and an ass of a boyfriend, the usual. I turned her over to social services. The only thing left is if she or her mother asks for help. It looks like she really likes her boyfriend for some odd reason. Maybe they're childhood friends, but she never said anything."
Azrel said it as though it was just another day at the office, he then takes a bonbon from Rhen's box and pops one in his mouth.
"So where did you find her?" Inqured Azrel.
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[Tell the truth]
[Lie]
-
Rhen told him the truth; his brother is keen on such things. Actually, he might already know the answer already.
"I found her at the usual place."
"The whorehouse?"
"I prefer calling it my rest house." Rhen refutes him for calling his favorite establishment as such.
"Well as long as you're not doing anything, Illegal brother, it's fine. There are just so many of them out there."
Azrel isn't thrilled about Rhen taking advantage of women who have no other options, but he though Rhen isn't doing anything wrong since it is legal and it's all voluntary for both parties. As a result, he swallows his pride and decides that his connection with his brother is more important than everything else.
Due to the nature of the Succubus, prostitution is legal in many countries except for Camelot and Sylnari. The only thing that would make these establishments Illegal is the inclusion of Halflings in their roster for obvious reasons.
A few moments later, a Wood Elf flight attendant begins her standard preflight safety instructions, aided by the intercom.
"Please remain seated during the flight. Do not in under any circumstances remove your seat belt during a turbulence or a Dragon attack. Please remain calm as Pixie Air has the latest technology to ward off any Dragons, Wyverns, or the occasional drunk Harpy that may come close.
In case of a water crash landing, our Life vest is also equipped with the latest technology to ward off any Megalodons or Kraken, please stay calm and pray for your safety."
"(That doesn't sound too convincing.)" Rhen thought. According to the wiki, despite the jarring warning, Pixie Air has the lowest crash rates on record.
He can feel the plane accelerating as it taxis into the runway, pushing him against the seat as the jet engine roars.
Rhen felt his organs drop at the drop of a hat as the jet took off. He glances out the side window at Frendon's night metropolis; it was still dark, and the city's light illuminated the ground, twinkling like stars above the night sky.
He bids a small farewell to his home country as he heads off to another.