"Makes one girl become interested in you…"
Baston stared at the second quest for a long time. His fingers were tapping lightly against the edge of the old book.
The words themselves were simple. Still, how to do it would not be simple as he wished.
Such short and vague sentences reminded him on the first quest. Back then, the old book had only given him an order without much explanation.
It had merely demanded his best performance toward the request.
At first, he had thought that keeping it simple was enough.
By doing what the book ordered, he would satisfy whatever judgment that waited inside those pages. Perhaps, there would be much time to wait until the next quest was issued. He could then have a rest while enjoying his new blessing.
However, it had not been a week before a new request was given. Based on the sentence alone, it somehow forced him to run the command.
The book had measured how he performed his first quest. It had rewarded him for doing what that had been ordered.
Even though so, it never said what would happen if he denied or rejected such order. He wanted to find out but he was afraid of the implication.
Anyway, the old book did not say which girl he must do his performance. It did not say how much interest he had to gain. All he had to do was to abide by the requirement.
The evaluation would come later. He could do any performance but the judgment would be always delivered after he did the work. The only participant here was only him so he didn't have a choice
"I wonder what would happen if I mess up this quest… After all, I rarely speak with other girls…" Baston thought.
If he was being honest, the easiest way to make a girl interested was money.
The wealth changed how people looked at someone. It always had been like that, especially in this world.
For poor girls, commoners, and even those from the merchant families, money alone could open many doors. With a decent dinner and small gift, the confidence that was backed by the coins could seduce several inexperienced girls.
It didn't require skill or courage. It only needed much resources.
That kind of approach would work, but then again, he had to understand that he had no money. Such path wouldn't exist within him.
All he had now was only himself with two hands and two legs. He could use his mouth to speak just of what he had done with the first quest.
He only blabbered nonsense but Panto believed him. The fear that the boy created by his own imagination fortunately had been striking his heart hardly. Such coincidence and lies finally rewarded him with ice magic.
After thinking for a moment, he had a new conjecture toward the result.
"Perhaps, for the old book, the completion and the excellence aren't the same thing. To achieve better result, you must go the hard way…"
"Since I was able to affect the merchant boy, the result I got was excellent. If I lower the target, then there was a chance the result would be lowered too…"
"Does it mean if I try to impress the noble girl, the result would be higher then?"
For noble girls, the money alone meant almost nothing. Among nobles, the wealth was only one variable among many. For the poor him, they were almost unreachable.
His conjecture told him that the old book had rewarded his performance before based on the target status. If he wanted to check on it, then he must go with the hardest possibility.
However, he wondered what was about him that he could use to impress a noble girl.
A small display of ice magic would not be enough to attract their attention. He needed much more than that. Perhaps, he could use another lie but toward such knowledgeable person, the possibility was very small.
Somehow, he could foresee the result of his performance.
"If I choose the safest target, the book might treat it as the lowest acceptable performance… Even though it's just my hunch but still…"
The first quest had already showed few clues. While the book had its own criteria, he could only go with his own parameter if he wanted a higher evaluation.
For now, the commoner girl must be the best option for him. It required less effort and risk. As for the highest one, he had his own hesitation.
After all, a noble girl was nearly impossible. He didn't know any personally and there was the division between them.
The nobles lived and socialized in their own spaces. Their paths rarely crossed with the others unless they came out from their own residence.
Baston frowned toward his current situation.
"I guess I will try my best first… It's not too late to change my target later…"
"I wonder if Panto knows any girls… If he does, maybe he could introduce us... By then, I can make sure to complete the quest…"
The first quest had been done and the reward had been very useful to him. Now, he wondered about the next reward. Despite it was still in his own mind, he had already imagined the best.
He then straightened his body, resolved to complete the quest even though it was truly hard for him.
"I'll observe everyone first… Gather the information and I will look for an opening next..."
The quest indeed wasn't easy but he didn't have a choice to back down.
He needed more time to understand how the book worked behind the scene. Although the hesitation occurred inside his heart, the mysterious old book kept pushing him forward.
*****
Baston left his room and wandered through the academy grounds.
The sky had darkened after a long day of lessons yet the academy still remained lively. Several students walked in groups. They were laughing and chatting since the day was still young and the curfew was far off.
Naturally, he headed toward the cafeteria. The dinner time meant crowds and such crowds would surely have girls. Just when he was about to take a seat, the waiter came to him.
"Ah, student Baston… Here's your dinner…"
The waiter placed a dish in front of him. A warm steak that was cooked just right, accompanied by a glass of apple juice.
"I didn't order this…"
"Someone already paid for it. Please enjoy your meal."
The waiter left without another word just like before.
He stared at the food, feeling confused. It might be a coincidence for the first time, but for a second time, he believed someone had worked behind him.
That person had been treating him repeatedly yet he had no idea who it was. He frowned slightly but decided not to overthink it. After all, wasting food was a sin. Whoever it was, he would thank them properly someday.
What Baston didn't know was that Panto had paid for every meal.
The timid boy still remembered the moment his savior revealed his ice magic.
For the first time, he felt like he had a protector in the academy. He had wanted to apologize for his past bullying but Baston never brought it up.
He feared reopening the old wounds if he said something that he must not. So instead, he chose this as the silent way of repayment.
After finishing the meal, Baston felt both full and drowsy.
His original plan about searching for a suitable target had completely slipped his mind. Shaking his head, he decided to postpone the task until tomorrow.
He wandered away from the crowd and eventually found a quiet corner at the academy grounds.
It was a stone bench beneath the tree, away from the magic lamp light.
"Such a cool wind…" he stretched lazily.
"Indeed…"
He stiffened because hadn't sensed anyone nearby.
The area was deserted and the figure beside him was cloaked. Her face was hidden by shadows but the voice was unmistakable. It was a voice of a girl.
"Are you following me?" she asked.
"I don't even know you. Why would I follow you?" Baston thought but he replied calmly, "No... I'm just taking a place to rest. It's a perfect spot to enjoy such night..."
"What a glib of tongue. You must be speaking like that to other girls."
Her tone was sharp and distrustful.
Baston frowned, pondering why she clearly assumed he was trying to flirt. Perhaps, she had dealt with many boys before. In the situation like this, the best move was usually to leave.
However, he chose a different approach. It was such an enjoyable moment to sit here. There was no need to leave just for one girl. If she was dissatisfied, she could just leave instead of him.
"The password is correct," Baston said suddenly, "By the way, what do you know about the cult?"
"The cult?"
The girl froze because the abrupt shift in conversation caught her completely off guard. Her mind raced as she tried to make sense of it. She wanted to leave but her curiosity took a good hold on herself.
"There's no recent news... Not at present…" she answered hesitantly.
"Really?" Baston said, feigning a surprise. "I'm certain they're around here but I just can't identify them. There are too many people in this academy."
"What exactly does this cult do?"
"As an informant, shouldn't you already know? Everything should have been written in your briefing."
"I… I'm new here… I don't know much yet…"
"Why are you so useless?" Baston shook his head, "Never mind… The less you know, the less your family will be implicated."
"My family can handle any cult in this kingdom."
She stood up, removing her hood.
His breath was soon caught behind his words. Only then, he realized the girl beside him wasn't just any ordinary girl.
Within the academy, she was someone that many admired and pursued.
He had never been among them. He had been too busy surviving in this world to even consider chasing after a girl. Besides, the gap in their status was something he had never needed to think about.
He could just shove away any girl but he never expected the person beside him was Alicia. She was the beauty of his class.
She was talented and came from a great noble family that strong enough to crush most opposition. For a brief moment, he forgot how to breathe.
From all the possibilities that he had calculated, this was never one of them.
This noble girl was supposedly never wandering alone, speaking to him in the dark as if it were natural. It was absurd and out of nowhere.
The worst of all had already happened and it felt like his fate was laughing silently at him.
Just a moment ago, he had been convincing himself that approaching a noble was impossible.
That thinking was foolish, and yet, he wanted to try it. The taste of future possibility seemingly motivated him for doing the most impossible.
"It's great that I can approach a noble girl… However, I realize it's very risky after going up close…"
Alicia wasn't merely a noble. She was the kind of noble whose name carried weight even outside the academy.
She was someone who didn't need to raise her voice to command the attention. She was someone who had never needed to wonder whether her words mattered.
Standing before her now, he became acutely aware of every difference between them.
She won in everything.
It seemed kneeling and bowing down in front of her had already given him the most fortunate moment in the entire life. If she could forgive him, that was very worth it.
However, even if he explained himself perfectly, she could still ruin him with a single accusation. That was the power the nobles held over people like him.
If she truly saw him as insignificant, she would have already punished him. He could only save himself if there was a hidden value on himself.
"Even though the chance is very slim, I have to try it... No matter what, I have to try it…"
If she reported him, he would be finished. If she believed him even partially, then it would be his victory.
It would also acquiesce toward what the old book had ordered him before.
"Explain!" Alicia demanded, "What cult? Where are they and who are you?"
"It's pointless…" Baston said, stepping past her, "You're not strong enough…"
"Stop!"
She blocked his path, "If you don't explain, I'll call the guards. If you're lying, you'll take the responsibility."
Before she could turn away, he grabbed her wrist and pressed her against the wall. The ice magic soon formed in his free hand. This simple action made her eyes widened.
"Ice magic… You…"
Not only he could perform such rare magic, the pressure was stronger than hers. This kind of power supposedly would not be placed on the student. Slowly, a doubt flickered across her face.
"Are you really the informant?" Baston interrupted her thought coldly, "Or are you a spy from the cult?"
Her teeth clenched because she was still perplexed over the ice magic.
She couldn't answer since she didn't know anything. In the end, her curiosity pushed forward even though her hesitation was still around.
"Fine if you don't want to talk… I don't know you but keep silent... This conversation must not spread…"
Without waiting for her response, he disappeared into the darkness.
*****
That night, Baston locked his door and stared at the old book beside his bed. His plan had spiraled far beyond the control.
He started to curse such quest but thinking of the reward that he already accepted, he could not do it. After all, his action would be deemed as shameless.
Even though he was a poor, he knew how to make sense on everything. He could only sigh at the moment.
When he opened the final page, his eyes widened.
The quest had progressed silently and unexpectedly.
"My performance is good…?"