The Earl of Phantomhive sat upright at the desk in his office. His posture was absolutely perfect, as an Earl's should be, without even the slightest hint of a slouch in his figure. Alongside him stood his faithful butler clad in a jet black uniform, who also stood completely upright and kept an almost never wavering smile planted on his face. The young Earl elegantly brought the Earl Black tea that his butler had prepared for him up to his lips and slowly sipped on it before letting out a soft hum. As always, Ciel Phantomhive was working diligently at his desk, looking over various reports and files.
"I do hope the tea is to your liking, Young Master," The butler said, which only earned a nod from Ciel, who proceeded to set the tea down on the small silver plate his butler had placed on the right of his desk.
"Yes, it's fine." Ciel replied, though no glance was offered in Sebastian's direction as he spoke. Instead he kept his eyes focused on the various papers and news clippings laid out in front of him. Sebastian, of course, expected nothing less from his Young Master. Work always took precedence with him, it seemed.
"Hmm…" Ciel hummed as he continued to read over the information he had laid out in front of him. After a few more moments of silence, Ciel looked up to his butler and set the paper he was holding down with the others. "Sebastian," He began, "Tell me what you know of a kingdom by the name of Vale."
"Ah yes, Vale…" Sebastian began as he quizzically places a finger to his chin in thought, that faint smile still present on his face. "If I remember correctly, it is a neighboring kingdom in the land known as Remnant," He replied before glancing back down to his young master. "Though, if I may be so bold Young Master, why do you ask?"
Ciel would close his free eye for a moment and inhale a deep breath through his nose as he grabbed his cane and pulled himself up to his feet. The young Earl soon stepped over to the nearby window and exhaled softly, opening his free eye in the process. With one arm politely placed behind his back and the other firmly grasping his cane, Ciel finally spoke. "Recently, there have been several terrorist attacks throughout the streets of London. Bombings, mass shootings, arson, and other attacks of the like." Ciel stated calmly as he continued to overlook the front of the estate from his window.
"Ah yes," Sebastian began as he glanced down to the various information laid out on the desk and lifted up one of the various photos. The photo in question was a drawing of a particularly angry looking wolf painted red with three claw marks crudely drawn through it. "I believe that the attackers refer to themselves as the White Fang." Ciel nodded.
"Precisely," He states, closing his free eye once more. "As you may also know, these terrorists appear to all be part of a particular race known as the Faunus, a race which originates from Remnant." Opening his eye once more, Ciel turned and slowly approached his desk before taking a seat and glancing over the information once more. "Recently after a few of the more notable extremists were captured and interrogated, they were inclined to reveal that one of the strongholds of the organization lies within Vale itself."
"And I take it that you wish to take your leave and deal with this organization yourself?" Sebastian asked as he set the aforementioned photo back down on the desk as Ciel took another sip from his tea.
"Indeed," Ciel said while holding both the cup and the plate in each hand. "It is my duty as the Queen's Guard Dog to dispel all of the Queen's worries. This situation is no different." Ciel said, now looking Sebastian directly in the eye after setting his tea down once more. Leaning forward, Ciel would stare off once more as he rested his chin against his fingers in thought. "Though… we will need a good cover story if we wish to not draw attention to ourselves. An Earl such as myself visiting a small kingdom such as Vale is bound to raise suspicion, after all."
"I believe that I have a suggestion, Young Master." Sebastian replied with a smile as he slightly bent down and began shuffling through the various news clippings and photos that were laid out on the desk below. "Aha!" Sebastian exclaimed as he pressed his gloved index finger against a photo of a tall circular skyscraper and spun it around to face the young Earl. "Here we are. One Beacon Academy." He replied with a smile.
"Yes, what of it?" Ciel asked quizzically as he glanced up at his butler.
"You could enroll here as a transfer student from England. It is one of the most prominent schools in all of Remnant, after all." Sebastian suggested, causing Ciel to tap his fingers against his chin and hum in thought for a long moment.
"Hmm…. I suppose that could work." Ciel said after a long moment's thought. "Though what about you? I doubt that they'd let someone such as yourself enroll as a student in any academy." Ciel replied, which earned a light chuckle from the butler.
"Well, while I certainly couldn't enroll as a student, perhaps I could apply for a teaching position." Sebastian suggested.
"Well, I suppose that could work." Ciel said, and after another short gap of silence, he stood up out of his overly large chair yet again with the aid of his cane. "Then it is settled. I shall enroll into Beacon Academy as a transfer student and yourself as a teacher."
"As you wish, Young Master." Sebastian replied with a polite smile and a small bow. "I shall have preparations made by the end of the week."
With that, the two exited the office and began to prepare for the long trip ahead of them.
Within the coming days, both Ciel and Sebastian made the proper preparations for their little trip. Sebastian had enrolled Ciel into the esteemed academy under the alias "Stanley Edwards" while sticking to his own name that the Young Master had given him to apply for the teaching position. Sebastian managed to land a job as an art teacher there of all things. While it certainly wasn't his first choice, just about any cover would do, and Sebastian was far from someone to complain about the cards he was dealt.
Meanwhile, Ciel had to brush up on what little fighting skills he had, as he knew that the Beacon was primarily a fighting academy to train Hunters and Huntresses to fight off creatures known as Grimm, a creature which appeared to be native to Remnant, just as the Faunus were. Sebastian helped him train, of course, and had even modified his cane to act as both a sword and a shotgun.
It was quite simple in its design, really. With the simple push of a button, the butt end of the cane would open up to reveal a small barrel of a shotgun. Press the button again, and the barrel would retract and out would extend the blade of a sword akin to ones knights would use. Press the button once more and it would return to normal. There wasn't much time to train, however, as they had to swiftly leave for Vale if they wished to put a stop the White Fang's operations before they could do any more harm to the Queen or her monarch.
Before either of them knew it, their carriage was awaiting them right outside of the estate. Sebastian held all their luggage in both hands while the other Phantomhive Butlers, Finny, Mey-Rin, Bardroy, and Tanaka were all there to send the both of them off.
"Oh, try not to get into too much trouble while you're gone, Young Master! It would break me heart if you got hurt, it would!" The redheaded maid, Mey-Rin, exclaimed in a high pitched and worried tone.
"Oh hush it," The tall blonde one, Bardroy, replied slyly as he rubbed the back of his neck with a cheeky grin. "The Young Master will be just fine, especially since he'll be in Sebastian's care the whole time."
"Y-yeah!" The shortest one, Finny, piped up as that ever-so familiar straw hat hung on his back like a cape of sorts. "The Young Master will be just fine, Mei-Rin! I guarantee it! Isn't that right, Tanaka?" He asked before turning to the oldest one present, who stood there smiling while holding a cup of tea and a plate.
"Ho ho ho!" He tiredly laughed in response.
"Thank you for your concern, though I assure you that I will be just fine." Ciel said to the various Phantomhive butlers who stood before him. The young Earl offered them a reassuring smile and nod as well, as Sebastian finally finished placing all their luggage within the carriage.
"Although I hate to cut things short, I'm afraid that we must be going now, Young Master." Sebastian stated after turning to face Ciel before looking up to his fellow Phantomhive butlers. "And I trust that the four of you will not burn down the estate while I'm gone." He said, causing the three to frantically shake their heads and laugh nervously, which only earned a simple nod from Sebastian as both him and Ciel stepped into the carriage.
And within moments, their driver furiously cracked his whip to get the pair of horses going, causing the carriage to begin moving away from the estate slowly. The loud goodbyes from the workers could be heard in the background as Ciel and Sebastian went off to Beacon for their next adventure.