—Sunday, August 1, 2148.
"Everyone! Please form a single line."
Vanessa was the one in charge to escort them to the bus.
Beside her was a man with gray hair and black eyes, adorning glasses.
Apparently he was Section B's Professor, Oliver White.
He had quite the youthful appearance despite his age, 25-years-old.
Following as instructed, each student lined up in front of the bus. There were a total of 80 students.
40 students from Section A, and 40 students from Section B.
The initiation was brief as Oliver's voice rang.
"Inside the bus, you are to sit with your pair. The trip will be quite long, so I hope you've brought something to entertain you throughout the ride."
Standing in front of the bus, it was quite large. It seemed to be able to fit at least 200 people.
But as Brandon stared at the bus, a certain memory surfaced in his mind.
One that he would rather not want to remember.
That being said, everyone had started to enter the bus with their pair.
***
Seated next to each other, Rachel and Claire continued to converse with each other.
Rachel's gaze eventually landed on Amy and Raven.
The two sat next to each other on the other side of the row in front of her.
Putting up a smile, Rachel pursed her lips.
"I'm happy for her."
"Guess the plan worked out. That guy's quite dense though."
"True. I guess Amy has to up her game."
Amy appeared to be laughing as she conversed with Raven.
It was a wholesome sight.
After everything that had happened to Amy, she deserved this kind of happiness.
From beside her, Claire's voice reached her ears.
"And what about you? How are you holding up?"
"....What do you mean?"
"That."
Claire extended her hand, pointing towards a familiar figure—farther out in the front row.
His pale-white hair, that was once long, was now shorter than before.
Brandon seemed to have gotten a haircut.
He appeared to be nonchalantly reading a book, while replying once in a while to the figure that sat beside him.
As Rachel turned her head to Brandon's direction, she immediately looked away and turned towards Claire.
Blinking, Rachel pursed her lips.
"What about it?"
"You're seriously not bothered by it?"
"No…?"
Indeed, why would she be bothered with whoever Brandon had paired up with.
Of course, she knew who it was.
Sarah Aurae.
She had seen her a couple of times whenever she would wait for Claire to finish the Advanced Spellcasting elective.
But whatever Claire was talking about, she had no idea.
Breathing out a heavy sigh, Claire turned her attention back to the window beside her.
"Haaa…. Whatever you say."
Shrugging, Rachel got back to reading her 'book'.
But unknowingly, she would sneak a couple of glances Brandon's way.
All of a sudden, Brandon turned his head back slightly and their gazes eventually met.
As soon as it did, Rachel abruptly peered down back to her book.
From a distance, she felt like she had heard Brandon murmuring to himself.
"Must've been my imagination."
At that, Rachel silently chuckled.
***
Everglade.
Arriving at the town, the first thing that everyone agreed with was…
"Brrr…"
It was cold.
Too cold.
Which was why Brandon had thoroughly prepared.
He currently adorned a white turtle neck underneath a long black winter coat.
Pulling his gloves, he let out a smile.
His sense of style was usually bad.
But currently, he was quite proud of his outfit.
It was the first outfit that Belle had approved of.
"Brrr… so c-cold."
Stepping out of the bus from beside him was Sarah, who was relentlessly rubbing her shoulders.
Brandon turned towards her, giving her a skeptical look.
"Thought you were used to this?"
"....No, t-that's why I m-moved out."
"Makes sense."
It didn't.
But Brandon shrugged it off anyway.
All of the other students continued to step out of the bus.
Eventually, a familiar figure registered within Brandon's vision.
Her pitch-black hair was tied to a ponytail similar to Sarah's.
Her dark-crimson eyes swept the view and before Brandon knew it, their gazes met.
Calling out towards her, Brandon waved his hand.
"Rachel, want to eat with–"
Step—
Rachel walked ahead as if she had never heard or seen him.
"..."
Brandon was taken aback.
As he stared at Rachel's departing back, another voice reached his ear.
"Despite how smart you are… You're an idiot."
"..."
Frowning, Claire passed by him and joined Rachel's side.
The hell was she talking about?
Bunch of nonsense.
Brandon just shrugged it off.
It was most likely a girl thing.
Maybe it was that time of the month for Rachel.
And maybe Claire too.
Yeah, definitely Claire.
'Claire seems like she's always on her perio—'
Snapping him out of his thoughts was Oliver.
Since Vanessa was currently checking in with the hotel's reception, Oliver was the one in charge at the moment.
Clapping his hands, 'Clap– Clap—' it immediately gathered the students' attention.
"Recently, Everglade has had a shortage of rankers. Each and every group will have to complete a single quest everyday."
The moment those words left Oliver's mouth, the students' had already mouthed their protest.
"Eh… I thought this was a reward."
"Do we really have to do that?"
"Quiet. Let me finish."
Oliver's deep voice eventually rang, silencing the students.
"As I was saying, in doing so, you will receive an allowance and be given the leisure to relax for the day."
He had definitely grabbed the attention of the students as soon as he mentioned 'allowance'.
Everyone's eyes lit up, and it seemed like they were eager to go.
That being said, Oliver continued on.
The quests would be picked up inside the city's main guild hub.
It was a first come first serve basis. Meaning, it was a race to grab whichever the easier quest was.
There weren't any punishments if the quota isn't fulfilled for the day. It was just that they wouldn't receive an allowance.
They would have to use their own money.
At that, Vanessa had returned from the hotel, and everyone quickly beckoned inside.
As Brandon stepped forward, he came to a sudden pause.
It seemed like he had stepped on something.
Looking down, what met his sight was…
"....A doll?"
How peculiar.
Leaning down, he picked up the doll.
It had a design that could be described as a little girl.
But having had his fair share of horror movies back in his old life, the doll's figure sent chills down his spine.
As Brandon continued to scan the doll, the hair on the back of his neck suddenly stood on end.
"Goosebumps…."
It was eerily creepy.
From beside him, Sarah chimed in.
She leaned close to scan the doll as well.
Her brows were raised skeptically as she pinched her chin.
"....This doll looks oddly familiar."
"Is it yours?"
Sarah then took the doll away from Brandon, and hugged it tightly.
"No, but I have a feeling I should keep it."
"Aren't you too old for that?"
Brandon tilted his head with a smirk.
Sarah turned towards him and frowned.
"It's cute."
"..."
Brandon stepped ahead of her.
Turning around, he opened his mouth.
"Don't let that thing near me."
"Oh? Is Mr. Ranked One afraid of a little doll?"
"I'll burn it."