We left our room, and looked for the quest board. It was after noon and the sun shone through the corridors giving them a mysterious vibe.

Raynard told me, that the quest board was usually located in the entrance hall, so that was, where we went. We went through the same door, I took earlier, went past Principal Featherhead’s office, as well as past the entrance, where for the second time this day, I spotted that princess, that just kept crossing paths with me.

“Oh my god, that’s the princess.”, Raynard whispered next to me, his voice cracking in the process. I did not really get why, but whatever.

“Yo, Princess Abc.”, I said, not stopping in my tracks. Raynard stayed behind, and I felt his anxious gaze piercing my back. Well, either he is afraid of the princess, or he likes her, I figured.

“Oh, hey Nathan.”, the princess said.

“Wait, you know the princess? She knows you?!”

“Are you looking for missions to take on?”, I asked her.

“Yes, I still need two more points. Oh, Shelly told me, that she would write a report of that grimoire incident and make sure that I would get a point for that. So that makes only one more point for me I guess.”

“Oh, Shelly actually made me the same offer.”, I admitted.

“I know, she already told me that. I just met her a couple of minutes ago, that was when she mentioned it. And as lazy as I am, I of course asked her to not forget to mention my role in this mess.”

“Cool. I don’t know if you should use the word lazy to describe yourself though ...”

Then I noticed, that Raynard was awkwardly standing beside me the entire time.

“Ah, this is Raynard, by the way. My roommate.”

“Oh, I actually know who he is.” Suddenly she decided it would be better to be facing him. “Who you are. I mean, we are in the same year, and we are like, what ... 50 students?”

“Yeah.” You could tell that he was squeezing it out from somewhere deep within.

“Anyway”, I tried to somehow draw the attention to the board. “Have you decided on anything yet?”

“Not really.”, she answered. “I mean, there’s a couple of monster hunting quests, but they seem really boring.”

“Monsters?”, I asked. “I haven’t seen any monsters since coming to the city.”

“Yeah, I heard that hunters keep the area around the city relatively safe. That’s why you won’t find any monsters within the next couple of hours around the city. They’re ... dead!”

“Oh.”, I simply replied. “So monster slaying is not in the game for us?”

“Us?”, Raynard and Princess Abc exclaimed at the same time.

“Yeah, I thought it might be good to team up? I mean, the princess and I already worked together, so ...” That last bit was directed at Raynard.

“You worked together?”, Raynard asked, giving weight to every single word.

At the same time Princess Abc said: “No, we can’t do this. That fight in the cave was a disaster. And you weren’t even involved! I bet we would just stand in each others way.”

“But the potential was there!”, I argued. “And I’m pretty sure you could teach me a thing or two.” With that I tried to reach her conscience, and even though she slightly turned away, her arms crossed before her chest, I was sure I saw a faint hint of red covering her face.

“Well, thank your for that, but I really am not a team-player.”

“That’s why you should accept!”, someone called out from afar. It was Shelly, she came from the principals office, apparently. She steadily walked up to us with pleased expression on her face.

“Hey, you two I just delivered the reports to the principal. She approved of them.”

“Wow, thank you very much.”, we both exclaimed.

“Why is there a police officer on school grounds ...”, a distraught Raynard mumbled behind us, which we happily ignored.

“I also wanted to inform you, that I’m also authorized as a supervisor for missions, so I decided to join you two on your next adventure.”

“Well, as I said, I am not-” Princess Abc was abruptly cut off by Shelly.

“I had a talk with the principal. She said, you’re not really a sociable person, and she fears that this might lead to some problems down the road. At first I found that statement odd. And I mean, yes, we barely know each other that well, but the way you and Nathan talked to each other, showed some ... weird chemistry.” Now it was my turn to turn bright red. At least I felt that way. I tried not to make it show on my face. “What I wanted to say by that is ... Princess Aurelia. I don’t know of any circumstances, that might have caused any anti-social behavior of sorts. So please don’t think that I pity you. I see it as my duty as an honorary teacher, to make sure that all students are at their best. Especially since you might have big shoe’s to fill one day, Princess.”

Out of the corner of my eye I could see Princess Abc clench her fists. That’s when suddenly Raynard chimed in, more energetic than before

“Me too!” That caused the princess to spin around in surprise. “I want to help too! I saw you sitting alone during lunch break a couple of times, even though you’re so popular and no-one holds a grudge against you. I always wondered why it was, that you seemed so lonely, while being surrounded by so many people, and I thought of talking to you, but was afraid because well ... you are the princess after all. But seeing you and Nathan talk so casually made me think, that there isn’t actually anything I should be afraid of. I mean who would you blame for wanting to be friends with someone.” Raynard stopped for a second to take a breath.

“So ... Princess Aurelia, would you like to be friends with me?” Marking the conclusion of his improvised friendship speech he stiffly threw his hand into Princess Abc’s direction. I was quite impressed by this sudden outburst, and so was the princess, stuttering a series of incomprehensible words after another. I quickly decided to break the tension.

“You can call her Princess Abc. It’s shorter.”

The princess shot me a glare of disbelief, before hitting my elbow in her rage. In that moment, it felt as if I was hit by thunder. I stumbled away, holding my elbow restraining a curse. She hit my funny bone.

I looked up, but tried not to be offended, even though Shelly was without a doubt laughing at me. That also seemed to tickle the princesses laugh box as she started giggling viciously.

Raynard simply was confused.

“I’m sorry.”, she said wiping a tear from her eye and giving me her hand in apology which I accepted. Seeing that Raynard was just about to remove his hand from the position it had occupied not so long ago, she offered him her other hand. He too grabbed it hesitantly.

“Okay ... with that I guess, we’re a team!”, she said.

“What?”, it just slipped out of my mouth.

“Any complaints?”

“No, it’s just ... unexpected, but we’re a team now, okay.” A weird satisfied huff escaped my lips after that realization.

“Perfect, because I just found the ideal mission for you guys.” This came from Shelly who appeared to have changed her position without us noticing. She now was standing in front of the board, and took off one of the posters containing a short description for a mission.

“Type: crime investigation, Location: Village Crema, Blackwood Forest. Investigate the disappearance of several corpses from the villages ... graveyard?” Raynard, who was reading the job description, had a voice crack near the end of the sentence. I’m glad that he spared me from the embarrassment of having that happen to my voice. Normally I would not be freaked out by something like that, but whatever was happening in that village, I was sure, this was the real deal. I could only imagine what kind of satanic rituals people would do in our world, but in this world it probably won’t take long for me to find out exactly that.

“A quest about missing corpses?” The Scepticism in Princess Abc’s voice was unmistakable. “Well, we already solved one theft, why not solve another?”

“That’s a way to put it ...”, I muttered.

“So, what do you think?”, Shelly asked.

“I mean, I wouldn’t have any viable arguments against it ...”, I said.

“Sound fishy, but okay, let’s do this.”, Princess Abc agreed.

Raynard only gave a silent nod.

“Well in that case, I’ll take that to the principal’s so she can send the message ahead, that we’ll be coming as soon as possible.” Shelly took the paper and rolled it up. “You should pack your things, we might set out tomorrow.” Just as she added that something sent the quest board flying. It smashed against the opposite wall with a loud thud, that made everyone flinch.

“I heard everything, and I won’t let the master go without me!” It was Raven.

“A- An Incubus?” Without a doubt, Raynard just couldn’t pull himself together.

“Yes, he is my ... you know what, I don’t even know what this is anymore, but it doesn’t feel wrong.”

“An Incubus?”, he repeated. “In our school?”

“It’s more likely than you think.”

“I’m sorry Raven, but you can’t come with us.”

“Actually Shelly-”

“No. You. Can’t. This is a students-only event. Go home.”

Raven’s shoulders drooped and he went for the exit in a sulking manner. But as he walked past me, his mood immediately brightened and he said: “Don’t worry honey, I’ll find a way.” He kissed my cheek, and after that he left cheerily and without any complaint. That little peck though sent shivers all over my body.

“Ugh, what did we get ourselves into.”, Shelly complained on the other hand, brushing through her short her with her hand. “Whatever, I’ll bring this to the principal, pack your things, and, ugh, Nathan? Make sure I’ll never see that weirdo ago. He is a criminal, jeez!”

“You surely are an interesting lot.”, Raynard said a lot paler than normal.