Deja Vu

Chapter 39: Behind Closed Doors

The professors listen to Crowley's admissions of guilt and his cries of hopelessness. Every attempt to explain himself that he couldn't spill in front of you comes fumbling out of the broken man as he practically begs them for their forgiveness.

You are still outside the office. Solomon and Grim are still helping you decompress.

The professors ask about the school's finances, and aren't happy to learn the answers. It's a long history of people using the school for their own personal means, with only a few individuals trying to fix the mess. And for most of it, Crowley only uncovered the real stories because he was trying to fix other problems. The evidence always seemed to disappear quickly after, or he wasn't able to tangibly tie it back to the previous headmages and financial advisors, meaning the blame would easily have been shifted onto him.

While it informs the decisions he made.. It still doesn't excuse them.

Once he reaches the end of all of their questions, the Night Raven College staffers are just stuck sitting in their chairs in various degrees of devastation. They know everything now, they understand everything, but they don't know what to do from here, or how to even begin to approach fixing these issues.

Lucifer finally offers a suggestion; "We're all here to improve ___'s situation, and resolve the problems between our two institutions. Might I propose cooperation?" He looks to Diavolo, whose eyes light up at the idea.

He has been trying to figure out how to repay you for everything you've endured in your time as one of his wards. This would be the perfect chance to do just that. "Ah! What do you have in mind?"

"Well, it certainly wouldn't be too hard for us to fund the restoration of the school's finances and bring stability to the situation. Though.." Lucifer pauses, trying to think through the option. The school staff watch him with bated breath. ".. It would definitely depend on whether you think that would be a wise use of exchange program funds." He looks back to Diavolo.

The demon prince muses on the option.

As he does, Crewel can't help himself; ".. Excuse me if this is out of line, but.. Why would you even entertain such an idea? Are you hoping to take advantage of the situation to put our school into your debt?" addressing Lucifer directly. He knows it's a bad-faith take, but he can't even begin to fathom why a foreign realm's leaders would take such interest in bolstering their school after all the trouble they've caused.

Lucifer has a very no-nonsense look in his eye as he explains; "I suppose I do have a selfish ulterior motive, as I'm personally invested in ___'s wellbeing, but it's nothing sinister. ___ has done immeasurable good for me and my family, and Devildom as a whole. I'm not looking to indebt you to us, rather, I am indebted to ___."

This intrigues the professors and Crowley. What could an initially magicless student do for the most powerful demons in Devildom that would put them in your debt?

It only further intrigues them when Diavolo quietly considers the option, giving the notion even more weight. If the prince himself considers your work in Devildom to be worthy of paying off the entire school's financial instability, you must have done something really noteworthy.

But.. What could you have possibly done for them?

Before anything can be discussed further, you and your entourage return to the room. The air is still somber, and you can tell they've continued talking about this while you've been gone. Diavolo smiles and greets you, motioning you to come back to the table.

You retake your seat, but instead of being caught up on what they were talking about, Crewel cuts through all the questions lying in the air and asks you directly; "May I ask about your time in Devildom?" which redirects the conversation entirely.