"You don't eat a lot?" Selena asked, looking at Jack who had barely touched his platter.
"Ah, no. I don't have a big appetite," he chuckled nervously.
"Lies," Rurin popped in, "look at you, you don't look like you have a small stomach."
"Ha, you caught me," he once more gave in, "I'm just not hungry, forgive me."
Shia notices his fingers twitching, noticing how he wasn't exactly comfortable. Did he not like the food? Or is the company not good enough? No, he's just a bit off track, maybe bad memories.
"So, Rurin, how's class?" Shia broke the silence.
Rurin room a sip of his wine, "The new batch isn't half bad, there are quite a few geniuses."
"How about you Selena?" Shia shifted to her.
"How about you Selena? You're in charge of first year Emitters, right?"
"We have quite a few noticeable names, like Finn, Xióng, Alan, Donatello and a few others," Selena replied.
"How is the academy?" Rurin shot a glance at Jack curiously.
"It's good, but I don't know what an academy is like, everything feels new," he gracefully took a sip of his red wine.
"What do you mean you don't know what an academy is like?" Selena asked in surprise.
"I never had any formal education."
Rurin followed up with another question, "You've never been to any academy?"
"Hey," Shia tapped on Rurin's shoulders, "is that how you talk to a war veteran?"
"War veteran?" Selena and Rurin looked at her in surprise.
"Of course, why do you guys only hear the bad rumors, he's been at the battlefield from the age of sixteen, isn't that right?" she turned her head towards Jack.
"Ha, you know how to flatter me Miss Shia, but it's nothing noteworthy, I just took my brother's place, besides father never had any interest in me."
"The Duke? Why?" Rurin asked genuinely interested rather than prying him open.
"For one, father valued talent above all else, I did not have that, and Vinchen was always better than me, Elias had grandfather's support, but my mother was just a commoner." The rough memories he had experienced at the duchy came rushing in but he masks it.
Rurin felt a pang of guilt for asking such a sensitive topic, "I'm sorry for asking, I didn't mean to dig into you."
"Ah, don't worry, and these reminders keep me grounded," he chuckled with a self depreciating tone.
Another awkward silence befell as the only sound heard was the screeching of the knife against the porcelain plate as Shia cut a piece of her steak.
"What do you guys want for desert?" Selena asked, "I'll take a honey lemon cake."
"I'll have it as well," Jack and Rurin said in union, before glancing at each and letting out a quiet chuckle.
"I'll take the vanilla ice cream," Shia added to the noise.
"I've been meaning to ask," Rurin's tone turned deep, "how many stars have you formed, Professor?"
"Six, ever since six, I've had a bottleneck, and now I'm stuck," Jack replied.
"Six! That's amazing," Rurin's voice went up, 'ive been stuck at the five for sometime," he leaned back into his chair.
"I can help you... if you want, that is," Jack's voice was inviting, almost as if he held the key to his problem.
"You can help me star up?" Rurin returned in amusement, "and how is that Professor?"
"I have my means, but if you trust me I can help you," he held up his offer high and proud, something he didn't possess in any of the earlier conversations.
"I'll pass, I'd like to get there myself," Rurin rejected him, "but thanks for the offer."
"How was the battlefield?" Selena quietly whispered, "was it vicious and cruel as they say?"
"I don't want to ramble on about it, but if I had to say, the battlefield was better than my home."
The words sank in, and a single thought came across everyone, How harsh must have his home been if he had to compare it with the battlefield?!
_________________________
"You're my team?" Nichole looked at the boy in front of her.
"You too picked this mission?" Xióng slightly tilted his head.
"Wo both lost the first round, you need the points too, right?"
"Are you two of my party members?" a boy in black uniform moved towards the two, "Ren Gayeon, nice to meet you."
"Nichole Avery," she slightly bowed in respect.
While Xióng stood proud, "Huo Xióng, pleased to meet you."
"Well be the party for the mission," he tapped on his Vördr and a single poster shone from it, "the case of children's disappearance at Mirana city."
"Missing children?" Nichole was relatively surprised compared to Xióng who maintained a more composed expression.
"It is certainly very disturbing, a lot of children go missing on average," Xióng said, "but this could be different if they had to request the academy for help."
"Great observation," Ren said, "the request was submitted by the Marquis himself. Usually the knights and officers take care of this but their hands must be full."
"Something else going on?" Nichole asked once again.
"Yes, there has been an increase in Eonborn, even the academy is facing troubles when we're situated deeper into the continent, while the Laon Marquessate is a border region."
"They can't pay attention to multiple problems, this seems like a rather difficult case, what's our objective?"
"Help with the investigation, they won't be expecting much from us since we're just kids," Xióng said.
"Then why can't the academy directly involve itself with it," Nichole voiced her doubt.
"One of the conditions laid out when the academy was built was; the academy would have to maintain neutrality and is not to interfere with any situations," Ren explained to Nichole.
"That means the missions are the only way for the academy to help," she pieced it together, "that just seems stupid."
"Whatever, let's go, we only have a week to do it, right, senior?" Xióng looked at Ren.
"Yep."
"Fine, how are we going?" Xióng kicked a rock on the ground, breaking his eyes off Ren.
"Teleportation gate."
...
Bleh Nichole bent over as she retched out, while Ren got a bottle of water and tapped on her back lightly.
"That seems fun," Xióng laughed from behind, arms crossed as he leant on a lamp post.
"Hey, it seems like her first time, let's cut her some slack, shall we?" Ren smiled at him.
"Actually," she got up as she accepted the water bottle, "it's my second, but the first time wasn't pretty either."
"Well, now for our first location, we're here, the Laon Marquessate, shall we meet the Marquis?"
_________________________
"Isn't a team supposed to have three members?" Finn looked at Daniela, "where is our third member?"
"I guess no one picked this mission because of its... um, rather peculiar objectives," a small window of hologram floated above her Vördr, "solve the haunting at Laon estate."
"I picked the mission because it's a perfect match for me, what about you senior sister?"
"Perfect for you?" she raised a brow.
"It's a perfect mission for a spirit Walker, nothing is better than a spoonfed mission like this," Finn puffed his chest in pride.
"It was a rather easy mission for me, I already have enough points, so I thought an easier mission wouldn't be bad," Daniela replied.
"Lazy senior," Finn mocked.
"Aren't you just using the Spiritwalker as a reason for an easy mission as well?" Daniela pointed at him flatly.
"Of course not, besides there have been rumors of the Marquis's son falling sick, I hope to see him as well."
"What's that one, I haven't heard that yet?"
"Apparently the boy is sick, and has been bedridden for some time, and there is a high chance he will never be able to even walk again."
"I guess we don't need a third member, do we?" she tapped on the accept option in the hologram.
"Let's go."
"Are you comfortable with a teleportation gate?"
...
"That was quite the fun ride," Finn sat on the bench, trying to catch his breath.
"Tell me about it," Daniela gulped down a bottle of water, "I don't feel like vomiting, but it still makes my head spin."
"Let's go see the Marquis."
"Young ones, are you two here for the investigation?" a tall man in black suit, his hair grey with small wrinkles around his face asked.
"Ah, yes," Daniela pulled out a piece of paper and handed it out to the man.
It was a white paper with the school's name, some content and a seal. The man rolled the paper and handed it back to the children.
"Welcome to the Laon estate," he bowed down, "I am Samuel, the estate butler."
"So, what seems to be the problem, Mister?"
"Quite a few, follow me," the man walked first, Daniela and Finn following behind.
Finn looked around at the estate as they passed through the garden, 'The area doesn't seem to have any specific evil energy, but in my past life the Marquis's son passed away from some unknown condition.'
"Mister, what's the current problem the estate seems to be facing?" Daniela asked the man in front of them.
"Please call me Sam," the man looked back as they walked, "as for the problem, the young lord keeps seeing hallucinations before collapsing, he's also been having seizures."
"Poisoned? But the symptoms seem rather vague, it could be from sickness as well," Daniela placed her hand on her chin.
"Could be, but there have also been some movements and sounds of chains getting dragged through the floors at night, and the young lord seems pretty sensitive to it as he wakes up at the exact time every night, twelve forty-five."
"Twelve forty-five?" Daniela looked at him in confusion.
"Can I see him?" Finn asked Sam.
"The Marquis won't let anyone near him without his supervision, I will request the lord for a meeting right now."
"Oh, we'll wait, please take your time, in the meantime can I get someone to show me around the estate," Finn made a request to the man, "the architecture seems too beautiful to ignore."
Architecture? That's odd, but what is even more odd is the fact that the scan function is not working on him, unlike when the appraisal didn't work on the wand I gave Nichole, she looked at him skeptically.
"Oh, I'll get a maid to show you around," he said kindly as he walks off.
"Thank you, Sam," Finn replied in kind,
"What's with the sloppy reason?" Daniela asked as soon as the butler left.
"It's faint, but I can sense faint traces of negative qi, there could be a resentful spirit around here," Finn replied as he looked around.
"Aren't you quite the shaman? I'll wait, you go take a look around the estate," Daniela made her way over to a stone bench on the side.
"What do you mean, just come with me sister," Finn looked at Daniela.
"Sister? That's strange to hear, call me Dani."
"Alright Dani, please come with me, aren't you going to help me?"
"Why do you need me around?"
"I'm... scared o... ahem I'm scared of ghosts..."
_________________________
"Why is it taking so long?" Xióng walked around restlessly while Nichole and Ren watched him walk around.
"Calm down Xióng, or however you pronounce it," Nichole shot a glance at the boy.
"It's Xióng, and what do you mean calm down, can't you two feel it!" he rubbed his palms together, "there is something strange going on here, and its way too cold."
"Cold?" Ren asked him, "what's with the cold, and I'm feeling pretty warm here?"
"My mother always told me cold is associated with evil and malignant beings, and I can feel a chill rather than a cold."
"First you said cold, now your saying chill, stick with one," Nichole let out a sigh.
"You wouldn't understand," Xióng shrugged off her comment, even more agitated.
"Maybe I can understand, care to explain young boy?" a deep voice came from behind Xióng as the shadow of a man fell over him.
_________________________