Ray

Ray moved towards them, trying to overhear what they were talking about. "Do you know when Ray will be back? I have been waiting for hours." Torrin asked.

"No, but you can have some food if you want." Marcus answered, holding out one of those folded things. What was it called again?

"I thought this was a celebration in honor of a successful hunt. Ray should be here." Torrin stated.

"Yes, he should. But we don't exactly get to choose when nobles whisk us off, do we?" Marcus quipped back.

Torrin turned to look at the Shadow Princess, his face pleading for help. "Oh, don't look at me. I am just enjoying this...what is this again?" the Shadow Princess asked, turning to Marcus.

"Pesta. Ferrin's Mother is from the Human continent. The dish is apparently very old." Marcus said, informatively. Torrin sighed in frustration as he said. "The dish was brought to the continent by our ancestors. So was that Teco that you are eating. Do you have some respect, you are eating something as old as our language." Torrin said.

"Oh, excuse me. I just thought I was eating food. Now, I hear I am eating food as old as Ingdish. What interesting facts you learn in such noble company." the Shadow Princess said, putting her sarcastic skills on show.

"The lot of you should have learned a lot then. After all, Ray is the Marchioness' son. Not to mention, the College is full of nobles." Torrin said.

Marcus laughed, almost choking on his Teco. "Come on, even you can't be that dumb. Ray isn't a noble, adopted children cannot be heirs. The land would revert to the Empire after death, not pass on to the adopted son. Not fair if you ask me, but then, what is?"

"What do you want, Torrin?" Ray asked, stepping out.

Torrin turned to him in surprise. "Ray? Wait, how long have you been here?"

"What do you want?" Ray repeated. "Does the Order of Mage-Warriors have some message for me?" Ray asked, remembering that Torrin was a part of that organization. Torrin actually looked embarrassed at the question.

The people around him turned hostile, turning toward him with raised eyebrows.

"And here I thought you were working for the Marchioness." Marcus said, his tone sharp and accusatory.

Torrin looked sheepish as he said, "I was, ugh, kicked out of the Mage-Warrior's Order. The Marchioness took me in."

"Oh? What did you do to make them kick you out?" the Shadow Princess asked, her curiosity apparent.

"I don't really know, but as far as I can tell, it was trying to kill a beast in the hunt. Corriss took it before I could make the kill." Torrin answered, looking even more embarrassed than before.

The Shadow Princess began laughing, almost spilling her Pesta. "Oh, this is fun. So you got kicked out cause you tried to kill something on a hunt? And the noble brat stole it from you in the end? I am almost sorry that Ray killed him. The guy could have brought down the Order all by himself."

Marcus coughed awkwardly, "Please, miss, it is best that such things not be talked about."

"Yes, some people have a tendency to get into places where they don't exactly fit." the Shadow Princess said, looking at Torrin pointedly.

"Aunty Ariana took you in?" Ray asked, more interested in that than the barbs Marcus was making.

"Yes, she, ugh, approached me during the hunt." Torrin said.

"I see. And why exactly are you here?'" Ray asked.

"Yes, she told me to help guard the warehouse. I just reached Tier 7." Torrin said, extending his neck like a peacock.

"Oh. I am already in Tier 8. I would've expected you to have more, if I am honest. After all, you are a noble. But whatever. Are you sure you can guard here? After all, this is a place run by filthy commoners." Ray said.

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"I don't really have any problem with commoners, you know..." Torrin said.

"I thought that once, too. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have other people to talk to." Ray answered. The matter would have to be taken up with Aunty Ariana, it would be a bit bratty of him to ask her for help and then demand to have a say in who helped. Ray was also pretty sure that if Aunty Ariana was sending Torrin here, there was a good reason for it.

"Why are you here?" Ray asked the Shadow Princess. "Have you moved on to Pesta from cookies? The bakery doesn't provide that, you know. So you'll have to hash out a deal with someone else for it."

The Shadow Princess almost choked on her Pesta again, rapidly trying to swallow it. "Wha-at do you mean? I am just enjoying some nice food. What are you thinking up in your head?" the Shadow Princess said, moving her head towards the noble standing to the side.

Ray sighed as he turned towards Torrin, "Torrin, could you please leave us for a moment?" he asked.

"Yeah, sure." Torrin replied, looking around awkwardly as he left.

"So...what do you want?" Ray asked, exasperated by the distractions.

"Is there somewhere private we can talk? Perhaps with a few people from your-"the Shadow Princess looked around at the packed room- "friends?"

"Yeah sure, one of the labs should be empty." Ray said, turning to Marcus.

"I will call Rena over and meet you in Lab 3-17." Marcus said, wading into the crowd.

Ray led the Shadow Princess to the lab. The naming scheme was simple, 3-17 meant the seventeenth lab on the third floor. The ab was, as expected, empty.

Marcus arrived with Rena a few moments later, though the latter looked a little tipsy. Ray sighed as he turned around ,levitating a few ingredients. The party essential was a popular potion for a reason.

The potion making barely took a minute. Ray added the ingredients, manipulated the mana into place, and then the potion was ready. The Dean was right, seeing, mana was very useful when doing Alchemy.

"Here." Ray handed Rena the potion. Rena gulped it down, staring at Ray the entire time. "So, you're faster. Did you drink a super Alchemist potion or something? Did the dean have some secrets?" Rena asked.

"Not quite, but close." Ray answered, turning to the Shadow Princess. "So, Shadow Princess of the rebellion, daughter of the Rebel Queen, what is it that your Mother wants?"

Rena and Marcus immediately turned to stare at her. "Well, what do you think of other species..." the Shadow Princess began, making Ray facepalm No, that wasn’t how you broached the subject. Ray was a social imbecile, but even he knew to use something like: 'Elven food is delicious' to test things out.

Rena raised her eyebrow, turning to Ray. "Is she serious?"

"What do you mean?" Ray asked, not quite understanding why her seriousness was in question. Rena had the habit of expecting him to pick up on symbols that he just couldn't detect.

"Is she really starting the conversation by asking for help with something involving other species while the Xnarthan are pouring into the city by the hundreds?" Rena asked. "I strongly suggest just hunkering down and doing nothing for a while."

Ray sighed, this was going to be a difficult conversation.

"Shadow Princess, could you please leave us for a moment?" Ray asked.

"Mother asked..." the Shadow Princess began, then looked around a bit. "I will let you discuss."

"The Xnarthan aren't here just for the rebellion. And they likely think that we are involved. " Ray said.

"I mean, we want change, they want change...not really a leap. And your Aunt did warn us about it." Marcus said.

"Yes, they are coming for us, but that does not mean that we need to go right into the fire. " Rena replied, huddling together.

"Do we have a choice?" Ray asked.

"I have no idea, but wouldn't we be better off alone at this stage? What is stopping this Shadow Princess and others from making us their scapegoat?" Rena asked. A fair question, blame them for things and make it seem like the rebellion was just a little thing.

The Xnarthan would love that story, and that could buy them time. And pushed any hunt for the rebellion into secret after the Xnarthan dealt with the 'rebellion'. But Ray had something to add.

"I have a little to add to that." Ray took a deep breath as he continued. " As you know, the Dean took me in as a disciple today, and he made us an offer. In return for a thing that will remain secret, but will not need anything from you, he will give me the recipe for a very special potion.

A potion that can increase the probability of a child getting a useful element. In other words, it could help bridge the gap between a Commoner and a noble." Ray said.

"And you...want to give it to the rebellion? I mean, we're literally a potion producing factory led by you, who just made a potion in a minute. Why would we give the potion to them?" Rena asked.

"The potion requires rare materials, the kind you need connections to buy. And a Tier 15 alchemist. Perhaps we will reach that level in time, but the crisis is right now. So we have to decide what we want to do, help them now and have their good will. Or hold it so that we can become powerful ourselves?"