After having breakfast, Donovan went to the sink to wash the dishes.
5:59 a.m.
I should buy a robot assistant for washing the dishes… After Donovan finished up, he took care of everything else before coming to the bathroom.
He was going to take a bath, even though he had taken one last night.
At 6:48, he stood in front of the tall mirror, checking his appearance.
He wore a brown fedora, a brown suit, a brown vest, a brown necktie, brown pants, and a pair of brown leather shoes. On his left wrist was an expensive silver watch.
His brown hair was in a slick back style. Picking up his black umbrella, he left the apartment, locked the door by using the thumb scanner beside the doorknob, and left the building.
It was currently Tuesday, 21st of January.
Upon arriving at the Portal Chamber, Donovan met up with Mr. Tiero. He was wearing a black overcoat with a three-piece suit.
Tiero briefed the Visitor with the details for the mission, "371-Tosla-91. That's the name of the planet."
He cleared his throat, continuing in a rough voice, "This will be a special mission, different from the missions you've done lately. You will be joined by nine other Visitors, and the ten of you are tasked with protecting and escorting a messenger from Umbrellas."
"I'll let you meet the nine Visitors I told you about. Socialize with them, Donovan. Befriend them, make a connection with them. Listen, Visitors of Umbrellas have to know how to work as a team. If this mission fails, your Canopy will decrease. Don't forget that."
Donovan raised a brow, gaining curiosity from the word, "Canopy."
Canopy… If memory serves me right, it's the… "experience" gained by Visitors from completing missions and exterminating Annihiliths. Hm… It's kind of like the "exp" system from video games. And upon gaining enough Canopy, a Visitor can raise their Category…
That reminds me, how much Canopy do I currently have? How do I check it again? Forget it, I'll check it later.
This mission, though… It is indeed quite different from the missions the original Donovan have completed lately. And Mr. Tiero is saying that I have to socialize…
Meanwhile, upon seeing Donovan lost in thought, Tiero snapped his fingers three times and said, "Hey, wake up. No time for daydreaming. Did you even listen to a word I said?"
Donovan snapped out of it, and said succinctly, "Yes, I understood everything. Where… are they? The nine Visitors."
Tiero walked past Donovan, expecting for him to follow, and he did.
The two reached a small building. It had a simple name: "Zetar Family Restaurant."
It was a restaurant among the many restaurants in Umbrellas.
Upon entering, Donovan caught sight of nine people in suits gathered around two tables. There were five gathered in one table, and four gathered around the other.
They were the only customers inside, and no one was working at the counter.
As Tiero cleared his throat, the nine Visitors looked over and immediately stood up.
"This is Donovan Volgard. He is the tenth member who will be joining you all for this mission," said Tiero. He stepped to the side, letting the others see Donovan.
Donovan gave them a brief nod. Two female Visitors waved at him, and only one male Visitor waved at him.
"I'll give you all thirty minutes before the mission starts. I'll come back once the thirty minutes are up." Upon saying this, Tiero turned around and left the restaurant.
And as Tiero left, the nine Visitors went back to chatting.
Huh. Okay, just completely ignore me, I guess… No, what am I thinking? I have to take the initiative and socialize.
Donovan walked to the table with only four Visitors sitting. Then, he said, "May I join you guys?"
A female Visitor with beautiful features and black hair replied, "Go ahead." She was wearing an expensive black suit with a blue necktie.
Donovan slowly took a seat.
The entire situation reminded him of his high school days where he was a complete loner.
He frowned and sighed inwardly. Before he came to the table, the four of them were giggling and chatting openly. But after Donovan took a seat, they "slightly" quietened down.
A male Visitor with brown hair and wearing a simple black suit cleared his throat and said to Donovan, "So, Donovan, what class-type are you?"
Donovan's nerves tensed, and he answered succinctly, "Mage. I'm a Mage-type."
Suddenly, a female Visitor with blonde hair said quickly, "Oh, that's great. You're the only Mage here! There's three Fighters, one Tank, one Assassin, two Rangers, and two Healers! Well, that's what Mr. Tiero said…"
She added with a smile, "It's great to have you onboard, Mr. Donovan."
Donovan chuckled, saying, "No need for formalities. Just… call me Donovan or Volgard, whichever you prefer."
"Okay," she said.
Meanwhile, Donovan's brain was overheating. Since he was practically a loner in his previous life as Leon Valentin, and since the original Donovan was also a loner, he was trying very hard to socialize with new people.
Donovan's gaze briefly scanned the four Visitors, and he asked, "May I know your names?"
The girl with blonde hair answered, "I'm Sasha Brown, nice to meet you!"
After that, the man with brown hair who asked Donovan for his class-type said, "I'm Vincent Waltz, pleasure to meet you."
Then, the beautiful female Visitor with black hair who gave him permission to sit with them said, "And I'm Clara Swan."
Upon hearing this, Donovan's eyes slightly narrowed.
Swan…? Is she…? No, no, I'm probably wrong anyway.
He suspected Miss Clara to be the sister of Sylvia Swan, but he dismissed this thought as quickly as it came to his mind.
Suddenly, the man with brown hair, Vincent, cleared his throat at the person who was supposed to be introducing themselves next.
Vincent was sitting next to Clara, Sasha was sitting next to Donovan, at the end of the table sat a man with slightly messy blonde hair, handsome features but didn't give off masculine vibes, and fierce, red eyes.
The man was only wearing a wrinkled dress shirt. He was not wearing a black vest nor a necktie.
Making a "tsk" sound, the man said in an arrogant and condescending tone, "Dean."
Upon hearing this, the Visitors at the table didn't respond.
Meanwhile, Donovan was lost in thought.
Come to think of it, before I came to the table, this… "Dean" guy wasn't even talking.
Vincent said with a sigh, "And your last name?"
Suddenly, Dean interrupted hurriedly, "What does it matter to you if I told you my last name or not?"
The four Visitors, including Donovan and excluding Dean, sighed inwardly.
It had been a while since they met someone arrogant, because Umbrellas can make even the most arrogant person in the world become friendly.
The beautiful Sasha with blonde hair said, "This mission requires teamwork. We need to know a lot about each other so it's a success."
Dean sighed, and responded, "That's not necessary. I'm probably the strongest one here. And besides, ten Visitors? Seems a bit overkill if you asked me. All we need to do is fight. No need for making friends, socializing, telling people about yourself…"
"It's all such bullsh*t!" Dean laughed.
"Ahem?" Clara interrupted his laughing, and said, "Mr. Tiero gave us specific instructions about you, Mr. Dean. He said, and quote on quote, 'If he were to misbehave, tell me'..."
Upon hearing this, Dean tensed up. He humphed before focusing on his bubble tea.
"...Anyway, you should socialize with the others on the other table, Mr. Donovan," said Clara, her expression cold and flat.
Right…
Donovan quickly checked his watch. It had been about nine minutes since Tiero left.
With a nod, he stood up, thanking the others.
Then, as he approached the other table with five Visitors sitting on it, his smile slightly vanished.
The table was a mess, and the five of them were chatting and laughing their hearts out. If Donovan were to suddenly interrupt them, the situation would be very awkward.
With a sigh, he came back to the previous table.
"Oh? What's the matter?" asked Sasha.
"Nothing, just felt like talking to you guys again," Donovan said with a brief chuckle.
Sasha smiled, and said with a giggle, "Aw, that's so sweet."
Vincent started first, "Who do you guys think we're going to be protecting for the mission?"
Sasha shook her head with a sigh, "Did you not listen to Mr. Tiero? We're protecting a messenger from Umbrellas."
Donovan asked, "And who will the messenger be meeting?"
"Someone important, most likely," said Clara.
"Sounds a lot of fun, don't you think?" Sasha added.