The meeting with Ozpin had gotten Jaune thinking. Specifically, about Magic. He had never heard about 'Magic' being an actual thing before coming to Beacon- Then again, he'd never heard about Aura before coming to Beacon either, but that more was more his ignorance than a general quiet about the topic. Magic though… Was Magic even real? Well, obviously it was, considering that Jaune could summon fire into his hand at will without dust and not be affected by it, but to what extent was Magic real?

Jaune always considered the Game to be his Semblance in some way, but semblances were intrinsically tied to Aura- as he had learned in class- and the Game made itself known to him an entire day before his Aura was unlocked. Even if the Game somehow had the power to time travel or whatever, that still wouldn't explain how it allowed him access to magical abilities like his control over fire. Did that mean the Game itself was Magic?

At this point in his thought process, Gamer's Mind was going wild trying to nullify 'Existential Crisis,' but the leader of Team JWLR knew how to ignore Gamer's Mind and Body now, so they wouldn't get in his way.

The Game being magic made sense in some ways, but also absolutely no sense in others. It allowed him to summon his scythe from 'the inventory,' i.e. nowhere. Yet, it 'shut down' that time when Jaune was made to fight Yang. The implications were maddening, but he knew he had to focus on the issue of Magic itself now, less the Game decided to shut him down completely for ignoring all of the pop ups.

Was his scythe magic? Jaune had never heard of anything cutting through Aura before, so it made complete sense. But how could such a thing be crafted? Wouldn't someone need magic to make magical things?

"Mr. Arc," An external voice finally stopped his train of thought. "I heard about your unfortunate circumstances regarding your first mission. My condolences." Jaune turned around to see Miss Goodwitch speaking. They hadn't spoken to each other outside of class for a while now.

"Thank you, Miss Goodwitch. I appreciate that. Honestly, though, my team is more upset than I am. They were really looking for a chance to prove themselves in the field." The leader of Team JWLR broke the news to his other teammates not too long after his dance with Weiss. Ren tried to act like it didn't bother him, but even Jaune could see that it did. Ruby, however, didn't bother to hide her disappointment. At the very least, neither of them blamed him- Though it was definitely his fault.

"Since you have all this free time, would you like to come to my apartment? I require some… 'Assistance' there. And as I said before, call me Glynda." The teacher gave a sultry smirk. Suddenly, Jaune remembered a reward he had earned the last time Miss Goodwitch had flirted with him: future access to an unknown quest chain. So this was it? Alright then…

"Uhh… Sure. I'll help you in any way I can." Jaune committed himself fully into the task as he always did, not quite realizing the implications. He still wasn't quite sure what the teacher was offering, but he refused to assume the worst.

"Oh I know you will." Glynda smirked.

So, umm… Glynda just wanted him to clean.

Yup. That's it. Her apartment, located in one of Beacon's many towers, needed cleaning. And since Jaune had so kindly offered to help her, the Professor took the opportunity in stride. As Jaune swept and dusted the combined kitchen and living room, Glynda reclined on her sofa, watching him work with a glass of champagne in hand.

He scrubbed the marble counters and unloaded the dishwasher, dusted the shelves and washed the windows- all in relative silence. Occasionally, Glynda would point out a spot he missed- satisfaction clear in her voice- and he knew, oddly enough, that he was doing a good job.

While this outcome was not what he was expecting, Jaune couldn't say he had a problem with it. The repetitive nature of the tasks let him relax nearly as much as Glynda, and with Gamer's Body nullifying any possible exertion he might feel, the team leader could honestly say he was having a good time. But in that time, his mind continued to wander.

"Glynda?" He asked his teacher as he took out files and books from a bookshelf to dust it off.

"Yes Jaune?" She responded with her voice the most relaxed he'd ever heard.

"Do you know anything about Magic?" It was a long shot, but where was the harm?

"'Magic?' Ha!" Glynda mumbled something about Ozpin that Jaune couldn't quite catch. "Let me answer your question with a question: do you know the tale of the Four Maidens?"

"I do." He confirmed, not sure where she was going with this.

"Well-"

KNOCK, KNOCK!

"Glynda!" The unmistakable bombastic voice of Professor Port called out. "It's me! I had some questions about the newsletter you typed up and I was wondering if I could confer with you!" The man shouted. The relaxed look on Glynda's face vanished instantly as she pinched the bridge of her nose. "Glynda?!" Port shouted again.

"Yes, yes! I'm coming, Peter!" The female teacher called back. She placed her glass of champagne on the side table with a sigh and got up to answer the door. "This might take a minute, Jaune."

While the two professors talked things out, Jaune's eyes wandered aimlessly to his surroundings. Most of the books were on teaching techniques and combat forms- though he also saw a book written by the same author of Ninjas of Love which he was fairly sure contained themes around 'female domination,' but Jaune convinced himself that he was mistaken.

The rest of the bookshelf's contents was just a variety of files pertaining to the daily functions of Beacon, but that wasn't very interesting. However, one paper stuck out among the rest.

"STATUS REPORT

Grimm Levels:

Vacuo-Low

Atlus-Low

Mistral-Low

Vale-High

Notes: Grimm levels have started increasing around Vale. Presumed to be Salem's next target.

Maiden Status:

Winter-Safe,Atlus

Spring-Out of Reach

Summer-Safe,Beacon

Fall-?

Relic Status:"

"Jaune, you're going to have to leave now. It appears my work day is not over yet." Glynda tore him away from the paper by speaking.

"R-right. Have a nice day, Miss. Goodwitch." Jaune quickly put everything back in its place and walked out of the room to let the two teachers talk in private.

Jaune did not know what he had just read, but he knew it was important somehow. Salem? Maidens? Relics? What the hell did it all mean? And how did it relate to Magic? Glynda was about to say something about the Maidens in regards to magic, and now there it was on that paper. Better yet, how did the Grimm relate to magic?

Finally, we're starting to unravel the bigger mysteries at play. Or, at least, Jaune is. I'm sure you guys already know about the Maidens.

Until next time,

-RMV