"Hmm. A lot of quests this week. Just a ton of cleaning and courier jobs again though."

----------------------------------------

...

Maritess Darrokhail - Partied all night last night. Clean my room pls.

›Orlen Greenwall - Need Delivery ASAP!

Tigris Valmer - I need you to find something for me.

...

----------------------------------------

Lucius swiped through his Questgiver and smiled when he saw a familiar name listed among many others. Orlen Greenwall. The elf needed something delivered 'ASAP', whatever that meant, but the details weren't included. He would have to go and meet with him and receive the quest face-to-face to discuss the details of the quest beforehand, as per the Golden Conglomerate's policy.

Lucius rubbed his chin, musing for a while as he gazed at the screen. Orlen was the only one of Tissette's friends that he still hadn't talked to all that much. This could be an opportunity for him to know the elven noble a little bit better, although deep inside, he didn't really count on it. He was on the job after all, and knowing Orlen, he doubted their interaction would be anything but professional.

"Gold is still gold though. I wonder how much he'd pay me?"

Lucius's eyes shone as he remembered one crucial detail about Orlen. The boy was a noble. Not an ordinary one, but a Greenwall at that. He must be pretty loaded.

Fine then. Orlen, it is.

After giving some thought to it, Lucius finally decided whose quest he was going to do for his first job as a Student Agent. He walked onwards, eager to deliver whatever Orlen wanted him to—his eyes practically shining a brilliant gold hue as he thought about the money he could make from doing such a menial errand.

...

Inside Orlen's dorm room, a dull slam and a wooden creak resounded as Orlen lugged a big, heavy box before putting it haphazardly down the table.

"That should be all of it. Now, are you sure you can handle it? It's getting pretty late after all," Orlen said, staring at Lucius with a raised brow.

Lucius remained speechless for a while as he gaped at the massive box full of envelopes and letters. Considering that Orlen, someone whose Corpus was much higher than his, seemed to struggle moderately when lifting the box, he suspected that he'd have a hell of a harder time carrying it to the mailroom that was quite a distance away from the dormitories.

"I can do it, rest assured, but what even is all these, may I ask?"

"You may not. It's none of your business," Orlen said in a manner that seemed cold, but calm. He eyed Lucius carefully.

"I see," Lucius replied after seeing the frown on Orlen's face, not wanting to push the matter too much. He was just making conversation anyway.

Orlen stared at Lucius for a while, and with an uneasy look on his face, asked, "Why are you doing this?"

"Doing what?"

"Quests. Here in the academy. Don't you know you get very little EXP for doing them? Not only that but seeing that the quest hosts are just students like you and me, the rewards that they give away are mostly just gold. You'll gain very little, toiling away for other people like this."

Lucius nodded. "That's true, but that little bit could add up, don't you think? Besides, I happen to be in a dire need of every gold I could get my hands on at the moment."

"There are other ways you can earn more than this. For example, when the next Labyrinth Dive comes you could hunt—"

"I believe you already saw my stats, Orlen. I'm afraid I am not at the level where I can hunt monsters beyond the Nihil level, thus aberrant hunting would neither be a profitable nor a safe option for me," Lucius explained with a wry smile. "At the moment, at least."

"Oh," Orlen replied weakly before shaking his head. "That's right. I almost forgot."

Lucius scratched his head, not knowing what to say next as a long bout of deafening, unhindered silence passed by with Orlen avoiding his gaze. After a short while, he decided that had no choice but to end the conversation there, lest he wanted to make the situation more awkward than it already was. After seeing that Orlen was just being his usual self, it looked like he'd have to put off getting to know the elf better. What a shame.

"Aren't you mad?"

"Excuse me?"

Lucius was just about to rise from his seat and take the box when Orlen stared right at him, asking him a question he couldn't quite catch at first.

"After what Dario did to you at that PCM class, aren't you angry at all?" Orlen asked, leaning over as he looked at Lucius with a narrowed gaze. "Even yesterday at PCC they're still mocking you out loud. There's no way in hell you missed all of their teasings during the exercises. Those fucks were as loud and annoying as they could ever be, after all."

Lucius thought about what Orlen said for a moment before grinning inwardly. This could be his chance to find a common ground with someone as distant as him. It was clear that the elf was furious with Dario, and considering the excellent adage that Wesker said he invented: "The enemy of my enemy is my friend," then there was no reason for him to shy away from this opportunity.

"Who says I wasn't?" Lucius finally answered with a serious look on his face.

"Is that so?" Orlen smirked. "Then why do you seem so complacent? Are you like Tissette who just lets those assholes walk all over her?"

"And you have a gripe with her way of doing things, I take it?" Lucius asked.

"You're damn right I do. Let's be honest here, Tissette's a nice girl. She's one of the very few people in this godsawful place I actually like, but don't you ever tell her I said that," Orlen said with a frown while giving Lucius a withering look.

This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

"Absolutely."

"Good. Now, despite that, I think Tissette's too nice for her own good. Someone should teach those fuckers a lesson, but she's never gonna do it. Not after that accident. The same goes for Ardred and Mort, even though Ardred's had just about enough of their shit as well. Althea's pretty new and I have to admit that I don't really know what's going on through her head most of the time."

"I see, but why tell me all this?" Lucius asked before leaning back on his chair.

"I just wanted to know if you're one of these weirdos who seem to enjoy being stepped on," Orlen said with a long sigh. "I mean, they're my friends but I just don't get their mentality. Now, the last thing we need is another goodie-two-shoes in our group."

"My thoughts exactly," Lucius replied with a small smile on his face as he finally spoke his mind. "I think those brigands must pay as well."

"Oh? Now you got me interested," Orlen said in a thrilled tone, but then, he frowned. "Too bad you're still kinda weak though. No offense."

Lucius shrugged off Orlen's frank, yet truthful words and answered, "I've got time, and more importantly a plan."

"Oh? What plan?"

With a fanged grin, Lucius then went on to explain his devious plan to the wide-eyed Orlen. He didn't go much into the details, but his revenge against the Dario involved one particularly nasty spell called Sicken—a low-level debuff spell that enfeebles opponents by disorienting them and making them nauseous, then using it to prevent Dario from going to the Labyrinth Dive. After losing Gilly, he thought it was only proper that Dario lost something as well, and the chance to grow stronger by acquiring EXP, gold, and items in the labyrinth would have to do.

"Are you telling me that you're planning to put a curse on him before the Labyrinth Dive? That's fucking insane!" Orlen exclaimed, and with a smile on his face, he continued "Count me the fuck in."

Lucius's inward smile mirrored Orlen's.

"About that spellbook. Maybe I can cover the costs so you don't have to do all this work. I'm already in this with you, after all."

"No need," Lucius replied quickly. "I also intend to use this little venture of mine to train myself and do some quests along the way. They're not only means to an end."

"Alright. Striking out on your own, huh. I dig that," Orlen said with an amused nod. "What am I supposed to do then? I can't just sit by and let you do all the work, can I?"

"I'll think about what you can do to help in due time. For now, let me earn enough gold to buy that spellbook. We still have plenty of time until the next Labyrinth Dive anyway," Lucius said, grinning. The elf seemed more into the plan than he'd initially thought.

"Alright then. Just don't forget to tell me when that time comes. I wouldn't wanna miss this for the world," Orlen said with a somewhat mischievous-looking smirk. "Now then, I suppose you'd like to receive the quest now?"

"Yes please."

"Right. Hold on one second," Orlen replied, a rectangular, dim box of a Declaration that only he could see flashing in his eyes. He was silent for a few seconds, then continued, "Done."

----------------------------------------

QUEST REQUEST RECEIVED

The quest [Box Delivery] has been given to you by [Orlen Greenwall].

Will you accept it?

Accept | Decline

Objective: Deliver the box to the academy's mailroom.

Time Limit: 2h 33m 17s left.

Grade: F

Rewards: [50] Gold

EXP Given: 10

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"I «Accept»."

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Quest Accepted

[Box Delivery] has been added to your Quest Log.

----------------------------------------

Lucius eyed the prompt a little while longer before looking at Orlen. "I looked up the average monetary gain per quests in this academy. This is way more than students usually pay their agents."

"Yeah well, consider it a head start. Oh and as my apology gift for probably making you think that I'm an ass on the first day we've met," Orlen said, scratching his head while looking away. "Anyways, you've got a pretty long way to go, my friend. I hope you know what you're getting yourself into."

Lucius didn't realize it, but a small smile cracked his lips at the mention of the word 'friend'.

"I know that being a Student Agent isn't exactly the most popular or dignified thing to do in this place, but its charms aren't lost for students like me who need every help they can get," Lucius said, smiling wryly. "And don't be bothered about what happened before. You were right. As I am now, I cannot even hold a candle against any of you. That is why I'm doing this in the first place. The warning you gave was warranted. Not once did I ever think of you as an 'ass'."

"You mean you became a Student Agent just to try and catch up with us?" Orlen tilted his head disbelievingly. "I have to admit, I'm actually pretty impressed. Not many students in this place have even half the willingness to do the hard work as you. Makes me wonder where they've all gone, really."

"Thank you for the kind words," Lucius said with a polite and sincere nod. "I should probably get going though."

"Right. Be careful not to bump into Dario and the others out there. Your name seems to be written in bold on their ledger right now. I'd be extra cautious if I were you."

"That, I will," Lucius said before lifting the box on the table with a heave and walking out of the room with a smile on his face. With an inward smirk, he then remembered another saying he had read from one of Wesker's recommended books, then said, "After all, cautious is my middle name."

Lucius felt pretty good about his parting words, but it was only after taking several steps away from the door that he realized just how strange it must've sounded.

"What is wrong with me..."

Elyssians don't have middle names.

‹^›

Orlen watched Lucius leave with a small, amused grin.

"What a weird guy," he muttered. He knew that the boy was strange when they first met, but damn if he didn't admire how different he was from the group. Finally, someone who wanted to take action just like him.

Then, he frowned. There was something about Lucius though, that he couldn't quite put his finger on. Something about the way he spoke struck a chord with him. He'd seen enough schemers in his father's courts to know that talking to Lucius was like talking to an experienced schemer, and the way he laid out his plans made it look like he'd been planning his revenge for quite some time now. Not only that, but he also noticed that Lucius seemed to carry an air of elegance with him as well, and combined with his often strange way of speaking, the way he conducted himself was almost reminiscent of the older elven nobles he was used to seeing back home. Perhaps the Ferrian boy was just that weird.

"He thought up a hell of a plan though. Shame I didn't think of it myself," Orlen said, shrugging."Oh, Dario. You're going to have a hell of a time. Just you wait."

Orlen may be banished, but unlike his friends, he still had his pride. He would never tolerate someone stepping over it, and especially not a simple-minded buffoon like Aries Dario. With the help of his newfound, like-minded ally, he could finally see to it that this annoyance would be dealt with once and for all.