Too Good to be True? It Must be Bad

Nothing went wrong. Other than being late on his first day of classes, Poltas had yet to experience a single problem with this arrangement.

A driver would be waiting for him every morning, outside the cottage. Lessons took place near noon, one class before lunch and one after it. During the break he received luxurious meals, awakening his foodie nature.

Aren did not interfere with his work, but often attended the classes himself. Poltas was good at teaching the general content, but when it came to job specific activities, he often cross checked with Aren on the protocol.

Two week passed like a breeze. Poltas had become better acquainted with Pamsteria and its residents. Unlike his life in a metropolis on Earth, Pamsteria was a lot calmer and smaller. You could see familiar faces everywhere.

Poltas had always considered it cliche when movie characters would greet everyone they passed, yet now he did the same. It didn't suit him much, so sometimes he'd pretend to be reading a book as he walked, but people would still call out to him.

Today Poltas was browsing through the weblet on his way to work. The quest progress went up by a small amount every day, but there was no sign of completion.

'Do I have to keep working here for months! Maybe I can start a different quest while this one is ongoing.'

Out of the remaining quests, the Oracle's quest was still locked. The remaining options were Horus and Winzton.

"Poltas!"

It was rare for Aren to approach him before class.

"Good morning Aren."

"I was hoping I could catch you before the class."

"Is everything okay?"

"Yes yes, there's nothing to worry about. But I will be going on a trip outside town for a few weeks, so I am afraid you'll need to manage classes alone."

"Just this? I can handle it no problem."

"That's great. I have also hired a manager to help with things in my absence, you might know him from the scholar's committee, Winzton."

The name was familiar but only due to the weblet, Poltas didn't think he knew the man personally.

"I don't think I know him."

"Are you sure? When I asked Brandial, she said you two had met before. I didn't want to hire someone completely new to you."

"Uh…."

If Brandial said he knew Winzton, then he definitely did. Only problem was: from where.

"Should I look for someone else? Although it might be hard on such an urgent basis."

"Oh, no. It's fine. I will get to know him now, you don't need to look for someone else."

"Perfect. I have to head off in the evening today, but I'll arrange a meal for the three of us and introduce you guys."

"Alright. I will see you after the class."

Regardless of how hard he tried, Poltas could not remember Winzton. He chalked it up to being a person he met during auto-mode. The lesson finished faster than he expected and he found himself in a room with Aren and the supposed scholar, Winzton.

Contrary to Poltas' expectations, Winzton did not look like a bookworm. Instead he had a chiselled face with bright green eyes, his muscles seem to be barely constrained by his clothes. The only thing remotely nerdy about him were the glasses, which formed a deadly combo with the smile on his face.

If Poltas had to describe him in one word, he would call the man a hunk. On earth these sort of men would definitely be high in the hierarchy, and catch the interest of many women. But here this man was merely a scholar.

In his past life he had been snubbed by various love interests in favour of these men. Even though they had not done anything directly to him, to Poltas, these men were his enemies.

Seeing Winzton put a bad taste in Poltas' mouth.

"You're finally here, we've been waiting for you. Poltas this is Winzton, the scholar I told you about. Winzton, this is Poltas, the new helper of the Keeper."

"Uh hello."

"Ah. I believe we have met before but I am not quite memorable, it seems the lady has forgotten me."

To deny without lying was impossible, Poltas kept his mouth shut to avoid making trouble for Aren and his own future self.

"Hahaha. It takes time to form relationships and remember people. I'm sure you can get to know each other better while working together."

"Definitely. I am very curious about the world beyond Pamsteria, and finally there is someone who can tell me from experience."

Poltas was in no mood to find out who this someone was. First he meets a person he should already know, said person is his enemy by nature and then that person wants to talk about information he doesn't even have. Was this the final challenge of Aren's quest or what?

"I don't know if I can be of much help there."

"I promise I won't disturb you during your classes!"

"Uh…"

"You two can discuss this later, let's eat lunch for now."

Aren took the wheel and began explaining the fancy dishes he had ordered. Polta was still sitting on pins and needles, knowing that the discussion was far from over.

The food in his mouth remained tasteless and he was unable to focus on what was discussed between the two men next to him.

As soon as he finished his meal, Poltas made an excuse about preparing for his next class and left. He fished out his weblet and hurriedly tapped through different menus until he had Winzton's side quest window open.

'To love is to lose. A pitiful being afraid to admit defeat seeks comfort in the tales of the world. May you guide this soul towards the correct path to earn his loyalty and so much more.'

What the f*ck.

'Is this a dating quest?!'

'My love for sandbox games is dying, how could you give me this quest?!?!?!'

Enraged by the possible implications of this quest, Poltas threw a pillow across the room.

'Does this thing really expect me to do this…'

He had acquiesced to his gender change out of necessity, but dating a man was beyond his tolerance.

Refuse. Poltas had no option but to refuse this quest and Winzton. He would not let this quest complete even if it meant burning bridges or this whole warehouse down.