The room that Valentine was lead to was much more extravagant than he had imagined it would be, close to the dorm room he had been assigned at the school. And like a dorm room, he had a roommate, Terran. While in his previous life Valentine had gotten rather close to Terran, in this one he was still rough and unfriendly. The months of getting to know him and wear down the hard shell he built around himself was non-existent in this life. So it was not unexpected to Valentine that when he entered the room he found Terran scowling at him.
“Of course I get stuck with you.” Terran’s first words to Valentine as he entered the room were already filled with hostility that Valentine had almost forgotten. Ever since he died and came back Valentine had not had a chance to have a proper conversation with Terran, it seems now would be his best chance at that.
“Hey, it’s not like we had much of a choice here. Let’s just make the best of this since I think we might be like this for a while.” Valentine first tried to appease Terran. He learned in the months of living together that the best way to get Terran to calm down was not to play into the combative nature of his words.
“Whatever.” A short response, but a response, nonetheless.
Despite the response Terran didn’t leave much room for a conversation to continue. Valentine, not wanting to push it, decided that he would not try and continue the conversation. Looking around the room closer he took note of the belongings that he had and what was provided to him. When packing for the trip it was hard to take everything with them, the only things they could bring was what they could carry. Valentine was much the same, though he had the subspace, he decided to keep this a secret in this life. While he did trust those around him, he didn’t want to take any chances with anyone who shouldn’t know of it, especially since he still had the Lycanthrope token. Since he didn’t want to show anyone this he
The accommodations to the room were not bad, both him and Terran had beds and closets to store clothes and personal belongings. The room was split in two with each side having the same bed closet combo and in the middle directly across from the door was a window that peered out to a side courtyard. The rooms themselves were not in the main building of the mansion, they were in a sperate smaller building that joined with the main building. The position of the building made Valentine guess it must have been used to house servants previously. Besides the bed and closet there was two desks as well.
Exiting his room Valentine decided he wanted to wander around the building. He found it boring to be stuck it in a room with someone who wouldn’t talk to him so he decided to find Kaedric’s room.
“Hey where are you going?” Valentine was stopped suddenly by the voice of Terran.
“I’m going to go find Kaedric, you can come if you want.” Valentine responded.
“Sure.” A simple response and Terran got up, following behind Valentine who began making his way down the hallway. Each room they passed they looked to find Kaedric, it wasn’t until the room 3 doors down that they found him and Micheal sitting in their respective beds talking. Along the way Valentine and Terran had been joined by Taylor and Jesse, entering the room there was now all the older students together.
“What’s up man, I see you brought a party with you.” Kaedric greeted the group that began to file into his room, addressing Valentine who was the first to enter.
“Nothing much Kaedric, and yeah, I brought Taylor, Jesse, and Terran. Felt bored so I figured we could all hang out and talk before dinner, that cool?” Valentine asked, though knowing Kaedric he already knew the answer would be a yes.
“Of course man, the more the merrier. Me and Micheal were just talking about how crazy the past few days have been. New world and all that crazy shit.” Though Kaedric’s speech was rough, it was an apt statement of the situation.
“I don’t know man you seem to be taking it pretty well for it being some crazy shit.” Valentine responded back, in both this life and the last Kaedric was the first to start taking it easy and relax.
“What are you talking about man, you’re the weirdest of all of us, you keep acting like you’ve been through all this shit before its kind of freaky.” Kaedric was surprisingly close to the answer, though he would never believe it even if Valentine told him directly.
“Come on, I’m just acting like anyone would.” Valentine tried to play it off, though he even thought to himself how unconvincing he was being.
“Bullshit, actually this is a really good time to bring this up, how have you been so calm during all this?” This time the rough speech came from not Kaedric but rather Terran.
“Yeah what Terran said, how come you were so calm when we first got transported with the library?” Taylor spoke up as well.
“How did you know we would be attacked, and that we should stay put and build or defenses?” Jesse asked.
“And when you met that Elf Quinzel, you were so calm and friendly with him.” Micheal responded.
Each of the questions piling up one after another gave Valentine no time to answer any of them. While he hoped he could just tell the truth and get it over with, he knew that he would just look crazy telling them. Valentine, however, couldn’t think of a good enough lie to cover his tracks, and every moment he waited to answer the weirder he looked.
“My family died the first night of the monster invasion, so I had to survive on my own for a while, I guess I just have good instincts from that.” Valentine decided the best way to deflect the questions was to give a piece of truth that made them feel bad for further questions. While he didn’t want to bring the atmosphere down with his past, it was the only way he could think of to get the suspicion off himself.
“Wow that sucks man, sorry for questioning you.” Kaedric was the first to speak after a moment of silence.
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“Don’t worry about it.” Valentine accepted the apology with no question, wanting to move the conversation on. “Anyways crazy shit right, this whole mess.” Valentine laughed a little, trying to lighten the mood.
“Damn right, wonder what we’ll do now?” Micheal responded.
“I know that were going to live here for a while and then start working, but what sort of life is this?” Jesse spoke up, her discontent noticeable. “I don’t want to just move on from this, I want to go home.” Though she was the first to say it, her sentiment was echoed by the rest of the group with nods and vocal agreement.
“What can we do? How are we supposed to go home if everyone else who came before never got home?” Kaedric questioned her, though he agreed with wanting to go home, he was more realistic about the prospect of doing so.
“We aren’t like the rest of the people who got transported here. Were from Haven Magica, the greatest school in the world, we should be able to something if anyone can.” Jesse responded, anger rising in her voice.
“But that’s all we are, students, this is way out of our range. If we were already powerful hunters then maybe, but were weak, we can’t do anything.” Kaedric’s own anger was rising.
“Both of you stop!” Terran was the one to stop the argument before it could overflow, raising his voice loud enough for both to hear him. “Kaedric’s right, we can’t do anything.” Kaedric had a slightly satisfied look on his face, though it quickly faded at the implication of hopelessness. “But that doesn't mean we never will be able to. If we aren’t strong enough now, that just means we must get stronger. Strong enough that we can make it home.”
Terran’s speech though short was oddly inspiring, even for Valentine. For Valentine who had fought and died to an impossibly strong opponent in his past life, this was the motivation that he felt he might need.
“So, we should be as powerful as the Gods.” Valentine spoke up, though it was mostly his inner thoughts being spoken out loud.
“The Gods huh, where did you get that idea.” Kaedric questioned.
“In the story Quinzel told, Evarim, he said that the Gods created all the middle races, and the worlds for the to reside in. So shouldn’t we be as powerful as the Gods to save our world?” Valentine was only speaking the thoughts he himself viewed as insane, but as he spoke he felt slightly motivated.
“The Gods huh, guess we should aim for that.” Terran laughed as he agreed, Valentine wanted to comment on the insanity of the response, but it was his own idea.
“That’s a goal if I’ve ever heard one, but you have a point.” Jesse was the next to speak up, her agreeance surprising Valentine.
“Should we stop at Gods? That might be going a little too far, so I guess we’ll settle for Gods.” Micheal joked
“God Kaedric, I like the ring to it.” Kaedric agreed.
“Well, if we’re going to be gods, can I be the god of music, that sounds fun.” Taylor spoke her own mind
“I was joking, but if were being serious we better get to work.” Valentine sighed as he agreed to the insane idea.
The conversation flowed smoothly after their agreement. Everyone in the room had pent up feelings and finally an outlet of free time to express them. While over the past few days they had talked, it was mostly about the weird situation and how to live in the new world they were in. Now they had a goal, and feeling safe for the first time, both gave a new outlook to the group.
Valentine was so wrapped up in it he didn’t notice the afternoon sky had turned into an evening sunset. He guessed that the conversation had been going on for multiple hours at this point. The only reason he noticed that the sky had changed was because of the sudden interruption of a servant telling them dinner was ready. The entire group followed closely behind the servant, along the way the other students joined the group.
The dinner hall was at the bottom of the building that housed the students, there were 8 total tables, each was in a pair making 4 sections. Each section of tables had 16 seats available, and 3 of the sections had already been filled with servants eating. The final section was empty except for Professor Roxanne. As the students sat, 2 servants brought out trays of food and empty plates for the students to serve themselves. Each tray had a simple selection of options, bread, meat soup, apples, and vegetables, though Valentine could see that the servants did not have the option of fruits for their meals. Valentine chose to sit with Professor Roxanne, with the rest of the group of older students choosing the same.
While the surrounding sections mostly ate in silence, the students were undeterred in their conversations. The conversations were split between age the younger students talking amongst themselves, and the older students and Professor Roxanne did the same. Valentine noted that while the food looked simple, it was still the best food he had in months. The months spent eating only fired roasted fish and wild herbs had made him forget that food can have great flavor.
“What do you think the lord wants to talk to us about Professor Roxanne?” Valentine asked the question that had been bugging him since arriving at the mansion. The look he saw on Quinzel’s father before made Valentine think that the conversation would not be pleasant.
Professor Roxanne thought for a moment about the question, chewing her food before she answered. “I suppose it would be the details regarding our stay, and more than likely what we will have to do to stay.”
“So, you think they might kick us out if we don’t work while we stay?” Valentine asked.
“They will probably not be that harsh, Quinzel has already promised us a spot here for the time being. Even if his father doesn’t like it he doesn’t seem like the type to go back on a promise like that. But if we won’t be able to stay here for long if we don’t provide some sort of benefit to them.” Professor Roxanne answered back.
“You are probably right, it is probably difficult for us to stay here as is, much more if we don’t offset that cost.” Valentine thought for a moment about what they may be asked to do. While he didn’t think it would be something dangerous, it wasn’t completely out of question. Quinzel had already seen that the students could fight, even if it was only the older students they could provide valuable combat resources. Other than fighting it would be hard for them to be useful, as the knowledge of this world was far from their own, many skills wouldn’t transfer.
“Well, either way we will find out.” Professor Roxanne took a lax approach to the possibilities in front of them, something he thought wildly out of character for her. But if she did not seem worried about it then Valentine could relax.
As the students finished eating, they began to head back to their respective rooms. Valentine and Professor Roxanne, however, stayed behind. When all the students finished eating and only they were left a servant approached them.
“If you are ready, the duke is ready to meet with you.” The servant spoke to Professor Roxanne.
“Then please lead the way” Professor Roxanne answered back.
Valentine and Professor Roxanne followed behind the servant closely. As they walked they walked through a series of doors and corridors that Valentine guessed connected the servant housing to the main building. Finally, after about a 5 minute walk, they arrived at the office of the duke.
“Pardon the intrusion master Hurcule, the guests have arrived for your meeting.” The servant knocked at the door before opening it and speaking.
“Please come in and have a seat.” A voice came from beyond the door. The servant fully opened the door to the office and allowed Valentine and Professor Roxanne to enter.
Inside the office sat Quinzel and his father, on either side of a desk. On Quinzel’s side there were 2 extra seats that Valentine assumed were for himself and Professor Roxanne. Valentine sat in the seat farther from Quinzel as Professor Roxanne sat in the middle seat.
“First, I’d like to introduce myself. I am Duke Hercule Von Brecket, the lord of this area. My son, Quinzel, has explained your situation and we’ve come to an agreement that you will stay here under some conditions.” Quinzel’s father had a rough scratchy voice.
“I am Roxanne Alacosta, thank you for your generosity for letting us stay here. What exactly are these conditions for our staying here.” Professor Roxanne asked.
“First, we wish that you and the students work during your stay with us.” Duke Hercule answered.
“What exactly is the work we would do?” Professor Roxanne had known they would request something like this, though she still did not know what the work would be.
“The younger children can work as servants in the mansion, their pay would be the same as any other servant. The older ones however I would like to join the guard forces, if they choose, they could also find work outside the castle.” Duke Hercule answered, as he spoke about the older students, he looked at Valentine.
“I see, I would like to discuss this with the students themselves, but I see no reason that the younger students could not work as servants. While I would like my students to avoid danger, the older ones can decide for themselves whether it is best to work outside the castle. What about me then?” Professor Roxanne agreed to the previous condition more readily than Valentine had thought she would.
“That is the second condition I would like to speak about, I would like you to work as a magic instructor for my territory. I have heard that this is the position you held before the crossover, and as we are in need of one currently, I think you are the best fit.” Duke Hercule spoke his second condition.
“This is a reasonable request, I agree to be a magic instructor for your territory.” Professor Roxanne agreed to the second condition, Valentine felt that the negotiations were going smoother than he imagined.
“Your name, it is Valentine correct?” Duke Hercule suddenly turned towards Valentine and asked his name.
“Yes, I am Valentine.” Valentine answered, though still confused at the sudden turn in the conversation.
“I want you to marry my daughter, Zylphia.” Duke Hercule spoke his final request. Though this answered Valentine’s question about the sudden turn in conversation, it left him much more confused than before.