~ * ~
Calm.
Blissful.
Amongst the classes and chaos as one of those that attend Night Raven College, (Y/N) managed to finally feel those two things. It was refreshing for the girl, to be able to be at peace.
That is, only for it to shatter like a broken mirror.
Ironically and unknowingly, the mirror began glowing in her sleep, once again, showing a dream covered in monochrome.
"I can hear the wind. . ."
For the setting of this dream, it began taking place in a savannah. To be exact, the Pride Lands if the beast tamer recalled from her lessons.
And there, a lion walked down to go see his subjects, a monkey trailing the king by only a few steps behind him.
The moment the lion saw his subjects, a bird flew up above him as the monkey proudly showed the rest a lion cub.
The crown prince of the kingdom.
As if the sun was celebrating his birth, it shone down on the prince while everyone in the kingdom cheered for him.
It was a glorious moment.
Awakening in cold sweat, (Y/N) began to pant.
Usually, she would brush off such dreams since they were what they were, dreams. However, those before what she had were like visions. They were visions of what may happen in the future.
It was a dream of a new birth.
But reality may come with death.
"What was with that roar?" (Y/N) mumbled when she then heard the monster who yelled in his sleep.
"Nngonyaaaa, how's that? Do you now get the power of the Great Grim?" Grim sleep-talked once again.
"Grim, wake up, now." The non-magic user shook him awake.
"I showed that tyrant Riddle who's boss--" He opened his eyes. "Fungah?!"
"What? The Ramshackle dorm?"
"Yes, our dorm," the girl confirmed.
"It was only a dream. I thought I got Riddle and then I became the strongest wizard ever, so disappointing." The creature sulked with his ears flattened.
"We've really been through a lot," (Y/N) nodded.
"Okay! Time to get going, another day closer to being a great wizard, ya know~!"
The (h/c) girl nodded, settling on getting ready as of the moment.
She will have to focus on class first then find a way to prevent the possible terrible outcome.
+ + +
As the morning classes have come to a finish, (Y/N), who was with her fellow first year friends, waited for their turns to get lunch in the cafeteria.
"Ugh, Mister Trein has to be using some sort of spell to put me to sleep." Grim grumbled, fiery ears flaring.
"No matter how hard I resist, I lose to drowsiness!"
"You fell asleep three minutes in. That's not resisting at all." Deuce crosses his arms, unimpressed.
"Lunch time, what should I have today~!" Ace sang, a happy smile on his face as he eagerly went down his way for lunch.
Well, he would have if it were not for many people.
"Hmm? The cafeteria is extra crowded today."
At the obvious pointed out, (Y/N) held Grim tighter in her arms protectively. Yes, he could manage, but she would rather not risk him getting separated.
A ghost who wore a chef's hat and a cloak explained to the three regarding the situation.
"Today's a special day that happens once a month. A super popular bakery is here to promote the school."
"It sells out fast, so early bird gets the worm," he said and watched at the students in line like a spectator.
"Thank you for the explanation," (Y/N) bowed.
"You're welcome," he nodded.
Indeed, the students raced for the delicasies.
"Three chocolate croissants for me!"
"I actually got something this month! This egg salad sandwich is the best!"
The ghost rubbed his hands together.
"The egg salad sandwich is already sold out! There's only one deluxe minchi katsu sandwich left!"
"Everything looks really tasty. I would probably go on and get something," Ace mused.
"Are you sure? You said it's crowded." The non-magic user said and referred to the long lines of their peers, yes, she wished to go too. Even so, she refuses to go and have herself marked late.
"It's only once a month so why not?"
"It's really popular though what would you want to go get, Prefect, Grim--huh?" Deuce paused, the monster, previously with them, gone.
"Grim, why?" The (h/c) girl muttered under her breath in defeat then heard the said monster's voice.
"Outta my way! All of you! That deluxe minchi katsu sandwich is mine!"
As the creature whizzed through the males, he had a fair number of complaints all directed at him.
"Hey, you jerk, don't cut in line!"
"You got some nerve cutting in front of us, freshman! Get outta here!"
"He loses it to food too easily!" The blue-haired male, who was flabbergasted, exclaimed as his fellow first year friend in Heartslabyul sighed.
"Let's get him now." The magicless being instructed.
As she and the rest went after their friend, (Y/N) had left a trail of apologies while doing so. What was the matter with listening for the creature?!
"I'm sorry, excuse me, please," she apologized one by one.
Nearing her fellow dorm resident, Grim huffed.
"Do you get how strong I am now? It's the last deluxe menchi katsu sandwich and it's mine!"
"Nyahaha! I'll get both the yakisoba bread and then a cream-filled bread!" He ordered shamelessly, the first year Heartslabyul friends of his and the girl nearby.
"Grim, stop it! I'm so sorry everyone!" The blue-haired first year apologized in his place with the (e/c) girl.
"And, uhhh, roast beef and lettuce panini!" The ginger added as shamelessly as the monster did earlier and earned a scolding from (Y/N) and Deuce.
"Please don't take advantage of this."
"You don't get to cut in line either!"
From afar, a certain male with dirty blonde hair along with blue eyes, had a disappointed look at seeing the many students in line for the bakery.
"Ah, crap, I missed the lunch time free-for-all." He lets out, tired with this and his morning classes.
"The deluxe menchi katsu sandwich got sold out and Leona wanted it."
"Nyahaha! The taste of victory! I'll really take my time on savoring it!" Grim rejoiced, boasting about how he had gotten the last of it.
Hearing this, the male went over to him.
"Hey you, that's pretty great! You got your hands on a deluxe menchi katsu sandwich, huh?" He mused.
"Huh?" The monster turned to him. "What about it?"
"I have to get that sandwich no matter what, but they sold out in front of me, so I have a proposition."
The hyena brought out a mini paste bread.
"Could you give that deluxe menchi katsu sandwich? I'll give you mini paste bread in exchange."
"Huh?! No way in hell!" The creature only declined.
"Now, now, don't say that." The blonde brushed off as a grin curved his lips. "Here you are."
As if the words of Grim were forgotten by himself, he began moving towards him to give his sandwich. If it was somehow with a change of heart for doing so, it would not have been that quick.
He was moving out of his own will.
"What's going on?! My arms and legs are moving just on their own!" He exclaimed.
As (Y/N) had seen the exchange, the non-magic user was surprised to say the least. Was it a hallucination, or was Grim really giving his food away?
"Grim, who has a large space on his head for food, is trading a mini for a deluxe?" She mutters, shocked.
On Ruggie and Grim's side, Ruggie snickered.
"Negotiations complete!"
"Thanks for being kind enough to trade me! The mini bean paste bread is just as good." The blonde-haired male coyly smiled at the creature.
"It being tiny is a defect. Thanks and bye bye!"
"F-f-fungaaahh!" The monster cried out, watching the male leave. "My deluxe menchi katsu sandwich!"
By the time he sat with his friend group (after the girl gave him headpats), he sadly ate his lunch.
"Today is," he munched on his bread, "The worst."
"This bread is hard to swallow. . ."
"He says after vacuuming up three of them." Ace told Deuce who actually agreed.
"Then what was that earlier? If you're going to whine, you shouldn't have traded it." He added with his arms crossed, making Grim frustrated.
"That's not it! When that guy stuck out his arms, I felt my body moving the same way on its own!"
"The trade was over before I knew it," Grim ended.
At that, (Y/N) gave his back a little pat while she was chewing on her carbonara.
"Oh, I see, you just kind of went along with it. It's fine, that happens sometimes." The ginger nodded before drinking his glass of water.
Grim, meanwhile, was frustrated.
"That's not right either! Grr, I can't explain it well!" The monster growls, tempted to just claw everything out.
"I'm confused so I'm just gonna eat to feel better! Go give me some of your pasta, Deuce!"
"I'm not part of this! Knock it off!" The male objected, raising his pasta above the head of the creature.
As the two of them bickered, (Y/N) only sighed while shaking her head before pulling the creature and had fed him a bit of her carbonara.
"Thanks, (Y/N)," Deuce thanks, relieved.
"You're welcome," she smiled slightly and ate.
"By the way, the headmaster said he needs to go talk to us about something in his office when classes are done," Ace informed.
"Wonder what it is?"
"Isn't it probably about all that happened with Prefect Rosehearts the other day?" The fellow first year from Heartslabyul guessed.
"The "evil berserker mode" incident? Probably."
"Hah, we might get a whole lot of canned tuna for us all working so hard!" Grim puffed his chest pridefully.
"No canned tuna please," the ginger rejected.
"I'm just fine with all of us being okay." (Y/N) held her fork, twirling her pasta while assuring herself that all of them were indeed here.
It's alright, it's alright.
No one is hurt.
Everyone is alive and well.
Turning her head to the (h/c) girl who ate her food in silence, Deuce told his two other friends to go finish.
I'm here with you, (Y/N), he thought.
+ + +
In the Botanical Garden, the blonde-haired hyena had the deluxe menchi katsu sandwich in his hands.
"Leona, I'm back with lunch!" He called out to a male, who was laying on the ground, beginning to wake up.
"Already afternoon?" Leona rubbed his eyes.
"Were you by chance sleeping here all morning? You are gonna fail another class."
Ignoring his little lecture, the male sniffed the air and his ears, lion ears, perked up at registering a scent.
"Oh, smells like you got what I ordered."
"Ugghh, Leona, you're always aiming for the one with the most competition." The blue-eyed male whined a little and handed the brunette his lunch.
"Here's your deluxe menchi katsu sandwich and your ice tea, your order."
"Stupid, the harder it is to get, the more you'd want to eat it." The brown-haired male scoffed as he ate.
"I'm fine with anything not moldy," Ruggie shrugged.
"I'm sure Prince Leona wouldn't know anything about that."
At the mention of his title, the other's green eyes had narrowed.
Royalty.
Prince.
it was anything but like those in fairytales.
"I'm not the crown prince, I'm second. It's impossible, I'm not different from the masses even if I hate it," he huffed.
"I'll never forget the time I showed you my home with a picture of it. You commented, "I thought that was a dog house." The hyena recalls, displeased.
"I said that?" Leona asked rather nonchalantly.
"Ya sure did, ugh. I would love to live in a huge castle that it makes my home look like a dog house."
The green-eyed male scoffed, "Being part of royalty's not that great."
"Your effort and skills won't make a difference as the order you're born in decides it all." The male ended in a bitter tone, sipping his beverage.
"Is that so?" Ruggie hummed with a frown.
In truth, he had his own struggles himself, everybody has. However, his particular own, were not exactly to be considered normal, everyday ones.
That was the same but different case for Leona.
"Oh yeah, after school, today's the meeting about the Magical Shift Tournament with the dorm leaders. Go attend, don't miss it." Ruggie reminded which made a curse escape the lion's lips.
"Tsk, pain in the a**," Leona grumbled.
"As the dorm leader, you get the biggest single room, so work to earn that place."
"Fine, fine," the green-eyed male groaned.
Setting aside the sandwich wrapper and the ice tea's plastic cup, he yawned before laying himself back on the grass.
"I'm stiffed to the brim and sleepy. Wake me up after lunch."
"I'm not your alarm clock, Leona." The hyena mutters, defeated as he went to the bin, throwing the wrapper and the plastic cup away.
By the time he looked back, he exclaimed.
"Eh?! He's already asleep?!"
Then again, he cannot do anything now.
"Ugh, I can't," he sighed before he recalled something in the cafeteria earlier.
"Now that I think about it, from where did I see those first years and the raccoon from?"
+ + +
"I wonder what the headmaster will say." Deuce said, walking down the halls with Ace, Grim, and (Y/N), his three friends.
It was dismissal and the time the four were off to go, go talk to the dean on what he will further explain on the overblot case days ago.
"We do have to discuss about it." (Y/N) nodded while carrying a sleepy Grim in her arms who just felt tired.
A slightly relieved sigh escaped her lips.
"In all honesty, I'm thankful we did not get sent to the principal's office because of us getting into trouble. I wouldn't want something bad in the class record."
"I agree," Deuce nodded.
"The good girl's gone bad," Ace laughed.
"Do you not know how wrong that sounds?" The non-magic user whined which caused the ginger to laugh more and cause her to blush in embarrassment.
By the time the four have made it, the magicless first year knocked on the door and entered with the rest.
"Headmaster, pardon the intrusion," Deuce spoke.
"Pardon us," the red-eyed male followed.
While the other two spoke, (Y/N) bowed in greeting.
The moment she raised her head, however, the beast tamer's expression had nearly contorted into a glare.
The Queen of Hearts' portrait.
Beside her, there was the King of Beasts.
Recalling the dream she had, she gritted her teeth as she told herself to keep calm. Do not walk up to it for her to destroy. Do not walk up to it for her to tear it.
Taking a deep breath, she sighed.
"You're all here, I see." Crowley crossed his arms and continued. "Let's get right to the matter at hand."
"Now that things have calmed down after everything, there is a matter I must discuss about the incident in Heartslabyul."
"You all need to know about Mister Rosehearts if the three of you are to be great wizards. To be specific, I am talking about his berserk state," he ended.
"It was overblot?" The blue-eyed male recalled.
"Yes, that's correct," Crowley nodded.
"I've heard about it from my bro before, but seeing all of it in action was something else," Ace commented.
"He really went full "evil berseker mode."
"Hey, what is "blot" anyway?" Grim asked and had the other three students nod, wishing to know as well.
"Of course, you two are in need of an explanation too with this matter." The dean nodded with the creature, whom he took in, was new along with the girl.
"I shall fill you in, for--"
I am gracious, yes, (Y/N) mentally finished.
"--I am gracious!"
"Ahem, blot is a type of waste created after one uses magic." The headmaster started, clearing his
"In the same way a vehicle creates exhaust with fuel, it runs. Spells burn magic to manifest and make blot, so this should be easy to understand."
"Then, blot must be the exhaust of magic?" The non-magic user guessed.
"That is correct, blot has been researched ever since, even from the start of recorded history. However, the many mysteries are yet to be unravelled."
"One thing that is known for sure is that blot's a toxin and building up too much can cause great harm with both the mind and body." He ended, earning one nod.
"Oh yeah, my grandma always used to say, "You'll get blot so don't use magic willy nilly." Ace recalled as he even imitated how she said it.
"She went on and on about it."
"With great power comes risk. Nevertheless, nobody, no matter how great the wizard, they can't use magic infinitely." Crowley ended in a grim tone.
"With great power comes great responsibility." (Y/N), who was just as grim, shortened.
Who knew this was taken in this context in real life?
"So you're saying the more we use magic, the more it will be unhealthy?!" Grim frets, terrified for his life.
"No, that's not exactly it," Crowley shook his head.
"Hmm, it might be better to show you instead."
The students were confused at that.
"My dear ghosts, it's time for work!" He clapped.
Instantly, three ghosts in cloaks appeared before the headmaster, surprising the students. They knew they were specters but please.
"Yo, yo, you called, headmaster," one smiled.
"Eh?! Wh-what now?" Ace stuttered.
"First, please lend a hand in helping the young ones." The black-haired man instructed the three specters.
"Eh?!" Deuce exclaimed as one appeared beside him.
"Here we go, let's go a round!" A ghost grinned.
"Ready your magical pens, everyone, for your lesson, a special lesson from the headmaster, isn't over yet." Crowley ended with a closed eye smile.