Extra's Descent

Chapter 72  Everglade [2]

"....I can't believe we're staying in the same room." n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

"Neither can I….."

Sarah and Brandon had just entered their assigned quarters in the hotel.

It was instructed for each pair to stay in the same room.

"This is just irresponsible, even for Astrea Academy."

"Agreed…."

Nodding at Sarah's words, Brandon stepped forward and flicked the lightswitch on.

Flick–

"..."

"..."

What met their sight was….

A single bed.

A King sized one.

For them to sleep next to each other?

"..."

"..."

The two were utterly speechless as their expressions froze.

From behind him, Sarah motioned to leave as her face scrunched up slightly.

"....Yeah, I'm sleeping in the lobby."

"Hold."

"....?"

Cr…Crack…

An ice sword materialized in Brandon's hand.

He then walked towards the bed, gripping the ice sword tightly.

Slash—!

"Good enough."

"..."

He cut the bed in half.

It was cut cleanly as well.

Sarah's voice raised with an anxious expression.

"What the hell is wrong with you?! We'll have to pay for that, you know?!"

"I can pay."

Brandon shrugged and walked towards the other half to the bed.

"Would you rather sleep in the lobby or here?"

"But…. I don't want you to watch me sleeping."

Foooo—!

A gust of wind blew the other half of the bed away, keeping a fixed distance from the other half.

Cr…Crack….

With a wave of his hand, an ice wall materialized to separate the two beds even further.

"Good enough?"

"....The ice is transparent."

Brandon extended his hand to grab the blanket that was covering his bed.

He then draped it all over the ice wall.

Now the other side couldn't be seen.

"Any more complaints?"

"..."

Letting out a sigh, Sarah walked towards the other half of the bed and sat down.

Brandon did so as well, settling his bag beneath the bed.

Suddenly…

Knock–! Knock—!

Someone knocked on the door.

Turning towards Sarah, Brandon nudged his chin, signaling for her to go to the door.

Sarah's face scrunched up.

Brandon shrugged as she did so.

"I did everything. It's your turn."

"Haaa…."

Letting out a heavy sigh, Sarah walked towards the door and slowly opened it.

"Yes?"

What met her sight was her Professor, Oliver White. He seemed anxious as he spoke.

"Sarah, apologies. There was a mistake in giving you the keys. This isn't your room."

"..."

"Sarah?"

Oliver then peered at the room.

Then, his eyes widened in shock as he loudly spoke up.

"What… What happened here?!"

Sarah turned towards Brandon—who was nonchalantly reading a book as if Oliver's voice never registered in his ears.

Extending her arms, she pointed towards him.

"He happened."

"..."

*

Entering the hotel's buffet restaurant, it bustled with activity.

Students filled the entire room as they sat on the tables.

Chafing dishes were aligned, separating it from the beverage dispensers.

It was currently 3:00 PM, and students had yet to eat. The same went for Brandon who had already picked up his food and sat at a table.

Seated at the opposite side from him was Sarah, who had already picked up her food as well.

But compared to Brandon's plate—which was filled to the brim with whatever exotic food he could find—Sarah was quite picky with her food.

As the two continued to eat in silence, two familiar figures approached them.

His deep-red hair and black eyes made him stand out. Beside him was another male student with brown hair and green eyes. Brandon was quite familiar with him as well. This was especially so as Liam was the one who had significantly helped Brandon during the mana poisoning incident.

It seemed like Liam was Reinhard's partner.

"Yo, Brandon. Mind if we join you?"

"Go ahead."

Giving his go signal, Reinhard sat beside him.

Liam on the other hand, seemed reluctant to sit down.

With the plate in his hand he turned towards Sarah and asked for permission.

"Hey, Sarah. Mind if I sit next to you?"

"Go ahead."

Sarah waved him off without sparing him a glance.

This piqued Brandon's curiosity.

From what he could remember during the Battle Royale, Liam was the one who instigated to kill Sarah.

Sarah must still be bitter about it, evident by her gesture.

Because Sarah and Brandon had gotten quite acquainted—being in the same elective and all, the two had fixed their relationship.

He could admit they were good friends.

Liam gave an awkward smile and sat down beside Sarah.

Brandon realized that he had never asked Liam about the change in heart.

Indeed, why did he help Brandon that day?

It was the perfect opportunity to ask.

Turning towards Liam, Brandon opened his mouth.

"Liam."

Liam was about to feed himself before his body twitched slightly at Brandon's call.

"A-ah, yes?"

"I'm quite curious. Weren't you about to drop out of the Academy?"

"Ah, that."

Liam rubbed his cheek with an awkward smile.

The guy was way too awkward.

"I was about to actually. But Reinhard talked some sense into me…."

He paused and glanced at Reinhard.

He then continued.

"I heard what you said to Sarah on the screen. At that moment, I realized we were the ones in the wrong and that you were actually a nice guy."

Liam awkwardly scratched his cheek and flashed Brandon a smile.

Brandon was quite taken aback.

His actions had indirectly affected a character that isn't in the main cast.

It was a good feeling.

Nodding, Brandon looked and tried to digest what Liam had just said.

Eventually he lifted his head up and met Liam's gaze.

"I see."

He then turned to look at Sarah who was eating her meal silently.

It was the perfect opportunity to bring it up.

"Sarah."

"...What?"

"That doll."

As soon as those words left Brandon's mouth, Sarah's expressions froze.

It seemed like she didn't want the two other people to know about the doll.

"What are you planning on doing with it?"

Sarah's eyes darted around, trying to come up with a reply.

Her eyes then lit up as she spoke.

"I'm thinking of giving it to my little Sister."

"You have a Sister?"

"Yes."

"I see. When are you planning on visiting them?"

Sarah seemed to already have an answer for that question as she spoke up without any hesitation.

"Maybe later."

"I see."

It was a brief conversation.

At that, the group continued to eat their meal in silence.

But the silence was soon broken by Reinhard who had already finished his meal.

"You guys want to go to the Guild Hub, together?"

Brandon turned towards him and pursed his lips.

"Sure."

Liam seemed to share the same thoughts as well as he nodded.

But Sarah was of a different opinion as she opened her mouth.

Each pair was advised to choose only one quest and that they would accomplish it together.

"I'll visit my Family first, you guys go on ahead."

*

Brandon, Reinhard, and Liam had arrived inside the Guild Hub.

She had told Brandon to pick up a quest before she returned.

Each pair was advised to choose only one quest and that they would accomplish it together.

The Guild Hub was quite advanced.

Though Everglade was a rural town far out the countryside, the hotel that they stayed in was quite luxurious. The same went for the Guild Hub.

The three approached the receptionist as they asked for directions on where to pick up the quests.

They were instructed to go up the second floor, and a bulletin board would be situated at the center.

Doing so, the three approached the bulletin board and there were a bunch of papers pinned on the board.

There were other students as well who were pondering on what quest to pick.

As Brandon scanned the board, it seemed like there were still a bunch of easy quests left.

"This one seems good."

As Brandon was about to grab an easy quest, he immediately paused.

A peculiar poster that was pinned on the far corner of the board had caught his attention.

He extended his hand and picked up the quest poster

As he read the contents, his eyes widened in shock.

He was quite confused but he had quickly come to a conclusion.

It wouldn't take a genius to know just what the quest was about.

[Missing Person] "....Aurae?"