"So, let me make sure I am understanding this correctly." Desmond said in disbelief, "You want Jade and me to join you for the Senior Work Study?"
The young man who had asked him to join was none other than Lucius Kane. He happened to be someone that Desmond was very interested in getting to know, however every opportunity so far had been dashed.
Lucius was impossible to find in the class or practical lessons for the first several days to weeks. He seemed to have some other business that kept him from normal academy life. On days when he was on campus, Lucius spent most of his time surrounded by his wife, Lady Kane, and his biological sister, Lyrah. Of course, with Lyrah, there was always that quiet maid.
Rena and the maid would be joining him on the trip as well. He had not gotten time to learn the maid's name because no one else in class wanted to talk with her, but apparently, she was quite the accomplished fighter. When he tried to talk to her, she would not speak to him.
Talking to others about her was not helpful either, as they simply referred to her as the 'deadly maid' or 'the oracle's assassin,' which was terrifying in its own right.
For a while, he thought the others were joking, but then he saw her fight against Lucius. She had managed to land a blow to his thigh, which surprised many of the spectators. After the dagger struck, Lucius managed to do something to counter her.
He used his mark, which caused her to enter a trance-like state. She raised her hand to him and let him simply walk up to her. When he reached her, he simply grabbed her by the throat, lifted her into the air, and then slammed her down on the ground, sinking his machete into the floor next to her.
No one knew why she stopped moving exactly, but whatever it was he did was a strong move... it made Desmond morbidly curious. "Why my sister?"
"Does she not need credit for this? Would you prefer she travel with someone else?" Lucius asked.
"What about your sister?"
"Jade, I am sorry. Lucius, I am in your debt for allowing us to join you and for helping me see my sister's strengths."
"Fine."
Shortly after a few exchanges of pleasantries between Rena, Lyrah, Desmond, and Jade, the group of peers left to go inform the staff of their party composition. According to the discussion, they were planning on investigating some ancient ruins near the border with the Wisteria Concord.
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The location was a joint excavation by researchers from both Arcadios and the Wisteria Concord. It was deeply nestled in a forested area, as most things were in Arcadios, which was home to a rather unpleasant number of strong beasts and bandits.
"Jade, are you sure you are okay with this? It will be tough to do. The place we are going to is not a vacation resort or something."
"I am aware, brother. However, I have learned a lot from Professor Wally regarding marks and the Demon language from which they originate. What I gathered from Lucius's explanation was that these ruins were believed to be remnants of the demon civilization.
"Imagine, brother, what things might be unearthed there? What secrets could we find? Even if the answer is nothing, the sheer exposure to such ancient history is a tantalizing prospect of its own!"
Desmond smiled ruefully at his sister. He often forgot how much of an intellectual she was, but it was good to see her motivated by something after such a long time. Though he was still worried about the actual excursion itself, at least she would end up having a good time.
Also, her earlier statements were not wrong. Working with Lucius was probably one of the best options they could have hoped for. Anyone else in the academy would be far too much of a 'wildcard' in terms of reliability and power. That would have made him and Jade do the work studies alone, which was something neither of them wanted to do at all.