Chapter 23: Planning Ahead
Early morning. Cillian was assessing what he knew already about casting spells of Fireball, Gale, Stone Ball, and Water Wall.
Since a day had just passed, obviously, he had zero results. He wasn’t even practicing, nor did he have plans for this weekend.
By next week, he had to put his mind to a goal, and it must be paved in a way that doesn’t complicate things.
He wanted it to be smooth sailing, which is why he was planning a mental schedule for himself. Now, he was almost wrapping things up inside his club room.
The moment his club room opened a few days ago, Cillian always came to his club early in the morning.
Every break and free time, Cillian always makes time to do a trip or two and see if new clients have been assigned something to be investigated. Alas, now and then, the customers didn’t just come and go inside.
At least, that’s what he knows.
He didn’t even have time to attend his club yesterday since he was focusing on his self-growth. Now, he didn’t want to neglect his club as it was part of his growth.
He will need that money.
’I’ll have to install a mailbox for future people coming here. Who knows if I’m absent, and Phillip and Vin were not present as well? Right, some kind of paper too for them to write their needs and inquiries.’
Ascertaining that he was becoming unfocused, Cillian threw the idea at the back of his head as he was planning two types of renovation once the payment from Ethan had gone through.
Then, he’ll have to pay Phillip and Vin to reduce his debt.
’There are so many things to do...’
Throwing out a defeated sigh, Cillian managed to hear chattering voices coming right outside of his club room. At first, he thought it was Phillip and Vin, but found it unlikely since it was too early.
As if he were right, he heard a series of knocks outside. The knob rattled before it twisted, revealing two figures outside.
The first person was very familiar. Stoic expression and calm gait. The only difference is that he was full of bandages from head to toe and appeared to be wearing casual clothes. It was no other than Ethan.
On Ethan’s side was a woman whom Cillian didn’t know.
Her long, wavy, dark blue hair touched her academy uniform. Her expression frowning upon looking at Cillian, but quickly dismissing it due to her purpose of coming.
With a blink, her brown eyes reflected Cillian’s deep gaze.
"She was waiting outside. She thought it was close,"
’She had hands to knock on the door, right?’
Cillian joked inwardly as he shook his hand.
"Oh, my bad. I’ll put a sign next time."
Cillian lied. He wasn’t planning on applying for a signboard in front of their door.
It wasn’t just a convenience store where one could know whether it was open or not.
They had to knock, just like a professional. They are, after all, still inside the academy.
Removing the idea, Cillian stood up and walked in front of the woman, and stretched his hand forward.
"What’s your name?"
Watching his hands, the woman sighed and received the handshake, "Iska Befot. Class 3-C."
Cillian welcomed the woman before looking at Ethan.
"You must be here to pay. If you’re interested, you might as well answer our survey. It’s something one of my people made."
...
"So, we have the same task received?"
The trio of the Investigative Crew Club was walking together as they talked about club-related activities.
Cillain managed to know about their lunch break since they hadn’t come to the club this morning.
But their reason is valid as they also received a task yesterday, the time he didn’t attend the club.
Because of that, Vin and Phillip chose to attend their own classes to gather information, but failed to gather intel.
They couldn’t just stay in the club room all day after receiving a job.
"Yes, what do we do about it?"
Stepping inside the cafeteria, Cillian shook his head and replied.
"Let’s get something to eat first."
The three of them picked up the meal they wanted for the day.
As for Cillian, since one point is worth two days’ food in the cafeteria, he had to pay one point after telling his name in front of the caterer taking care of the food.
Once it happened, Cillian was ready to pick the food he wanted for this break.
Phillip and Vin aren’t the same as him because they pay a month’s worth of food. They got really wealthy when they sold their possession of the walls within the academy.
After some time, they sat down at a square-shaped table with four chairs. Taking a bite of their food while Phillip munched a whole lot of meat from his mouth, Cillian addressed their current situation.
"So we all received the same task about finding out the tournament’s rules. You must’ve only given a vague answer because either it will be hard or a waste of time. You made the correct choice for not giving a concrete answer since the Academy is blatantly telling us to search and find clues about it.
"Everyone is convinced that these rules will be explained by next Friday, when we’ll be having exams. Yet for everyone to prepare for the upcoming tournament, that couldn’t happen since by the time we passed the exam, the tournament would be just around the corner."
Cillian pretty much explained everything that needed clarification.
The task they were assigned to investigate was the upcoming tournament happening in less than two weeks.
Classes needed to get information about what the tournament is all about, because various people started searching for clues and deploying manpower. Classes needed to pull off everything available, and some people stumbled upon their club.
The rewards were generous.
In Cillian’s case, if he were to accept and be successful in pulling it off, he would get seven merit points, three points, a low-tier one water spell, and free access to one of the training rooms Iska possessed.
After taking another bite from his plate, Vin glanced at Cillian and softly replied, "Are you going to accept?"
"Yeah, we will. It’s something we have to know eventually."
Seeing that both of them aren’t in disapproval, Cillian then added.
"The rewards are tempting, and there’s no risk whatsoever this time. However, the goal is that we must be the first ones to grasp the information."
Cillian gulped a mouthful of water he grabbed from his tray before continuing,
"Nevertheless, if you feel threatened by just gathering information, leave right away. No fight needs to be taken. If we’re done talking about it, inform the people who talked to you that we’re going to accept it. Take the initial payment. Say it’s occupational... expenses."
After everything was done, the three enjoyed their meal. Soon, all of them stood up as they walked side by side. Phillip was planning on returning to the club while Vin and Cillian were planning on attending a class.
"Cillian."
Suddenly, Vin called out to him.
"Yeah?"
As if contemplating his set of words, Vin continued walking forward before questioning.
"Do you really have no idea who Iska is? You acted as if she were just any regular student."
Suddenly mentioning the person that she met earlier in the club, Cillian was about to shake his head before freezing on the spot.
’Is she supposed to be important?’
Cillian began to think deeply, sensing that he was missing something.
If it was mentioned by Vin himself, then Iska might’ve been someone important. And finally, after juggling his memories, his eyes widened.
’Left-Hand Man for the Unblemished Gang, one of the top gangs in this academy. Adept in using knuckles as her weapon. A Circle One Sorcerer, Iska Befot. She said she was Class 3-C. She’s a real deal...’
Feeling unsettled, Cillian clearly remembered that she had asked her name and class. And Ethan, who was watching on the sidelines, couldn’t help but react... differently there.
Cillian thought he was doing something bad, but he realized that he was!
He was treating Iska as some sort of person who, just like Ethan, came to the club with one purpose.
And it is to investigate.
’Goodness... That’s why the offer she had given is huge!’
Unlike the other two, Iska had taken over her offer to Cillian miles away. She was dead set on knowing what the tournament was all about.
Cillian shakes his head.
"You don’t need to worry about it. It’s not like I disrespected her or something. Just... think about how to gather the information we have for now. I’ll... meet her later to inform her that we’re going to take it."
"Well, she’s your problem, not mine."
Letting out a sigh, Cillian waved Vin goodbye since he was already in front of his class.
Vin gestured a wave back as he left Cillian’s homeroom, his back becoming further away.
With another sigh coming from his mouth, Cillian entered and saw something inside that made his brows crease.
