[6/30 (Monday) – Evening]
[Beacon Academy — Convenience Store]
After dropping off the requests from the staff members, Clerval slowly made his way back to the dorms.
While he wasn't as exhausted as he had been a few days ago, he was still hoping to grab a quick snack before heading to bed. The Seafood Platter, while delicious, had not been enough to satisfy his appetite.
So, he headed toward the convenience store located on the ground floor of the dormitory.
"That'll be 13 Lien," the student working part-time at the store cheerfully told him after scanning the few snack bars and sodas that he handpicked earlier.
After paying, his eyes landed on an advertisement hanging beside the counter, promoting an opening for a cashier position with a decent hourly wage.
... If he took the job, he could undoubtedly increase both his Courage and Reputation a fair bit.
Plus, the working hours were surprisingly flexible. He could choose any day, as long as he completed the mandatory six-hour afternoon-to-night shifts.
Noticing that he was staring at the advertisement, the student gave him a polite smile as she handed him a name card.
"If you're interested, just call this number! The job opening only became available after one of our seniors graduated, so we're always looking for new employees!"
She glanced around the convenience store, making sure no one else was listening, before leaning forward from behind the counter toward his ear.
"I can tell you're the hush-hush type, so I'll give you something real good," she whispered. "If you stick with us long enough—about two or three months—you'll get access to things that you can't really buy around these parts. Even through the net!"
She leaned back and gave his shoulder a friendly pat.
"That's all I'm going to say. If you need anything or decide you want to join, just give us a call and we'll get you hired!"
Waving him goodbye as he walked out of the convenience store, he glanced at the name card in hand before storing it in his wallet.
Maybe he will check it out on another day.
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[6/30 (Monday) – Evening]
[Beacon Academy — Dorm Hallway]
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Reaching the first-year floor, he exited the lift with his purchases in hand—
Only to be ambushed by the entirety of Team Ruby and Team Juniper the moment he stepped into the lounge.
"Where were you?!"
Weiss hissed, a fire burning in her eyes as she grabbed him by the arms.
Though it was somewhat comical that he had to lower his head just to meet her eyes at this angle, he could sense a genuine danger if he failed to answer her question.
"I was in Vale."
"Which Zone? District?"
"... Why?"
Weiss growled and tightened her grip.
Yang immediately grabbed her by the back of her sweater and pulled her away like a misbehaving baby cub.
"Haha!" She laughed in a monotone. "No big reason. We're just curious, right, Weiss?"
She raised an eyebrow at her teammate, and that seemed to calm her down as Clerval simply shrugged.
"In the old district... I went to the theater."
A strange silence fell over the group as everyone exchanged glances.
Blake was the first to speak.
"I'm actually interested in watching a movie lately. What movies are currently showing, if you don't mind telling me?"
Movies?
Clerval searched through his memories, trying to recall the titles he had recently seen advertised.
["Crouching Beowolf, Hidden Wyvern"! We gotta go watch it sometime!]
["Dash Hour" was one of them, woof.]
["Slay Bill 1", hee-hoo! It's about a woman in a yellow tracksuit doing cool moves!]
The voices of Pixie, Chimera, and Jack Frost echoed through his mind, providing him with the answers he needed.
Repeating the movie titles to Blake, he watched as she nodded after a brief moment of silence.
"Thank you. I'll be sure to watch them and provide my review at a later date."
After some light conversation in the lounge while sharing the snacks and drinks he had bought, Clerval eventually bid everyone goodnight and headed to bed after washing up.
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"He wasn't in the cinema," Ruby sighed once they were certain that Clerval was out of hearing distance. "I checked three times, and I even got permanently banned from entering the theater...!"
"And the movies he listed were replaced by new ones yesterday," Blake noted quietly.
"Why was he keeping his whereabouts a secret?" Pyrrha asked worriedly.
Nora stood up, her mouth still filled with chips.
"I bet he's hanging out with the wrong crowd! Should I bring Magnhild the next time we stalk him?!"
"I don't think he's that kind of guy, Nora." Jaune quickly dismissed the idea, a bead of sweat forming on his forehead.
Ren hummed as he took a sip from the herbal tea that Clerval had gifted him.
"In my opinion, it is not our business what he does in his free time." He glanced at everyone. "Might I repeat myself? Even if he is our teammate, violating his privacy is the wrong thing to do."
A brief silence followed.
Then Yang stood up from her seat.
"Ren is right. Let's drop this for now."
Placing a hand on her hip, Yang continued.
"Besides, I'm sure he'll tell us when the time comes. I have a feeling that he's the kind of person who would do that."
That earned nods of agreement from everyone.
"Alright!" Ruby exclaimed as she used her Semblance to quickly clean up the table. "Our Operation: 'Eyeing Clerval' will be put on hold for now until he does something weird again! Thanks for joining the meeting!"
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A/N: Sorry for the wait!
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