[5/24 (Saturday) - Morning]
A full week had passed since his deal with the Beacon Academy staff, and today he was finally heading to Vale once more to complete a few requests—along with several other items on his to-do list. Since he was making the trip anyway, he planned to clear everything that required a visit to the city in one go.
After double-checking the Staff Support group chat and mapping out where to go first, Clerval grabbed a large backpack to hold the various items he'd be carrying and stepped out of the dorms.
============================================
Vale - Zone 5 (Residential)
============================================
First stop: coffee.
For both Doctor Oobleck and the headmaster, their request was simple enough—they wanted him to help retrieve their pre-ordered coffee from this store. Why did they not have it sent to Beacon instead? He had no clue, but a request was a request, so he got to it.
Following an online map given by the headmaster privately to the location of the store, he soon stood before a café hidden deep in the residential area. Zone 5, he found, was the heavily populated residential district in Vale that was filled with little house-turned-shop lots such as this café before him.
"Café Bianchi," he muttered before entering the coffee store. A soft ding from a bell rang as he opened the door. The place had a totally different aesthetic compared to Vale's, having a more traditional design and appearance, making the atmosphere rather cozy.
A man wearing pink who stood behind the counter noticed a new customer and greeted, "Ah, welcome." The man's eyes scanned his clothing, a flicker of understanding in his eyes. "A Beacon student, you must be the student Bart and Ozpin referred to, right?"
Clerval gave a nod, handing his Scroll with the screen showing Doctor Oobleck's and Headmaster Ozpin's request to retrieve their coffee bags.
The man gave a low hum. "Alright, come on to the back—their orders are right here." With a casual wave to gesture him along, the older man slipped behind a door near the restroom, a faded warning sign for employees only fixed to it.
He followed suit.
Soon, he came out of the storeroom, his hands filled with large bags of coffee beans. Sending a picture to confirm that he has collected their coffee beans, he shoved them into his backpack and bid the manager farewell.
============================================
Vale - Zone 15 (Industrial)
============================================
Second stop for the day: medical supplies.
Thankfully, Beacon would be covering transport costs—otherwise he'd be drowning in Bullhead fees. The academy's nurse, Miss Florence, had asked him to collect a package from a warehouse in Zone 15.
Once again, he wondered why it couldn't simply be shipped to Beacon.
Retrieving the package turned out to be a tedious process, nearly an hour of waiting before it was finally handed over. He didn't know the full contents, though the label suggested common supplies such as bandages, sterile syringes, and other standard equipment.
He sent a photo to Miss Florence to confirm the pickup and quickly received a thumbs-up in the group chat.
Final stop before lunch with Team Ruby and Team Juniper: blacksmithing materials.
In the same industrial zone as Miss Florence's request stood a larger warehouse where blacksmith Muramase's items were being held in... and he quickly realized he had underestimated the scale of the request.
"Seriously?"
It was practically a mountain of crates. Military-grade Dust from the Schnee Dust Company and copious amounts of metal from a Daidara Workcraft Group filled the storage area rented by Beacon Academy. It was far too much for a single person to move—let alone a student.
He thumbed his chin, considering his options, before deciding to call the headmaster for advice on the matter. It took only a few seconds to explain the situation.
["Sigh... It seems that Mr. Muramase is back at it again with stockpiling his materials.]
[No worries, Mr. Grayson, you may leave this request be; I shall have a word with the warehouse company to ship it to Beacon instead."]
With that settled, the matter was out of his hands. Clerval relayed the headmaster's instructions to the employee he had been speaking with, then finally turned his steps back toward Beacon.
============================================
Vale - Beacon Academy
============================================
Entering the staff room, he huffed as he placed the heavy backpack with a loud thud on a table. In an instant, Doctor Oobleck zipped towards him and grabbed his coffee beans.
"Perfect timing, Mr. Grayson; my coffee supplies were running thin." With his piece said, he zoomed out of the staff room towards where the cafeteria was, presumably to brew himself a fresh cup of coffee.
Placing Headmaster Ozpin's coffee beans at a side as requested from the busy man, he detoured to the nurse's office after asking for Nurse Florence's location, with the answer being given by Professor Goodwitch.
The nurse's office was far larger than he had expected. A dozen hospital cots were arranged in neat, symmetrical rows, each separated by light privacy curtains that could be drawn when needed.
Along the wall stood tall cabinets with glass panels, displaying neatly organized medical equipment and labeled containers. Opposite them was a long counter fitted with sinks, storage drawers, and equipment for medical care.
It was then, after taking a second to examine the office, that Nurse Florence came through a door at the back of the room.
Gothic was the first thing that came to mind. And she was tall—a few centimeters taller than him with heels on. A tattoo of a nightingale's silhouette trailed along her left cheek, disappearing beneath the collar of her white lab coat, which was a stark contrast to the rest of her aesthetic.
Noticing him, she blew her jet-black bangs aside, revealing heavy black eyeliner along with a few subtle piercings and black lipstick on her lips. "So you must be Clerval." She remarked as she removed the unlit cigarette from her mouth—he mentally corrected himself; it was a lollipop shaped like a cigarette.
"Got my package?"
He gave a nod as he took out her requested item from his backpack, handing it over to her. Gently picking up her package, she took a scalpel from her inner coat before she sliced through the sealing tape, the blade gliding cleanly across the cardboard before she folded the flaps open to inspect the contents inside.
And… makeup?
What? Inside were neatly packed cosmetic products, from mascara, eyeliner, and foundation, arranged far too carefully for ordinary medical supplies. And the price tags on the products—he visibly winced at the five- to six-digit numbers.
"Thanks. I'll have finance send you your paycheck."
Huh? Paycheck?
"Now shoo, I've got some mascara to try out." She waved a hand dismissively and snapped her fingers.
The next thing he knew, he was standing outside the nurse's office door.
... That was something.
============================================
NEXT UPDATE: 15 April, Wednesday
A/N: Ahem, sorry for the wait. It's becoming apparent that I can't do anything on Fridays to Sundays.
So, the update schedule for both of my fics will be: Wednesdays and Thursdays
And give me a few more weeks to cook up more chapters, I have a new fic that I'll be releasing real soon.
Hint: It's a ONE PIECE X ? fanfic
============================================
Please consider supporting me on my Patre0n where I post chapters in advance and new story ideas not on any websites yet.
Your support, even if it's only for a month or even a whole year, helps me dedicate more effort and resources to writing more of my work!
patre0n.c0m/damaine_n
(change the zero to "o")
Advanced Mastery Tier - 3 Advanced Chapters and more (Almost Fully Implemented)
Ultimate One Tier - 5 Advanced Chapters and much, much more (Almost Fully Implemented)
============================================