"What're the other dorms like," Grim asked, slumping over on the table a little bit.
"Like Cater just said, there are seven dorms, each emulating one of the Great Seven." Trey gestured around to the Heartslabyul members sitting at the table. "Our dorm, Heartslabyul, is founded on the strict spirit of the Queen of Hearts. Next is Savanaclaw, the dorm founded on the fortitude of the King of Beasts. Octavinelle is the dorm founded on the benevolence of the Sea Witch. Scarabia, the dorm founded on the deliberation of the Sorcerer of the Sand. Pomefiore, the dorm founded on the strenuous efforts of the Beautiful Queen. Ignihyde, the dorm founded on the diligence of the King of the Underworld. And, Diasomnia, the dorm founded on the elegance of the Witch of Thorns."
"There are so many," Yuu moaned, dropping his head into his hand.
Grim didn't seem to appreciate the long and somewhat complex names either. "Their names are too long! No way I'm gonna remember all of that!"
Cater laughed and clapped Yuu on the back. "Just get the rough idea. You'll remember them eventually."
Trey continued with his explanation. "Which dorm you enter is based on the judgement of the Dark Mirror when it looks at your soul during the entrance ceremony. So each dorm has their own quirks about them."
"You're right about that," Cater said. "I totally see it."
"What quirks," Deuce asked, glancing around the room at the different students.
"Well..." Trey looked around for a good example. "For example, look over there." He gestured in the general direction of where a boy was sitting, a white wolf tail nearly brushing the ground beneath him, and a pair of ears poking out of his snowy hair.
"He's got dog ears," Yuu hissed. It was a curious sight to see, especially for someone who wasn't used to magic in the slightest.
"That rugged look definitely means Savanaclaw," Trey said.
"Totally! That dorm has a lot of people who are good at sports and martial arts," Cater added. "They're the buff and gruff big bro types. Savanaclaw wears yellow and black armbands."
"Then what about that guy with the grey and lavender thing on his arm," Grim asked, pointing to another student.
The lavender haired student seemed to realise that he had some attention focused on him and glared at Grim until he stopped pointing.
"He's from Octavinelle," Trey said, pushing Grim's paw away. "At the table in front of us, the guys with the dark red and yellow are from Scarabia." Everyone turned to see that, sure enough, two boys were sitting at the table, one with a bright sunny smile, while the other seemed to prefer darker colours and a darker aura.
"They say that both of them are really smart. Those two dorms are in a dead heat during written tests."
Cater was scrolling through his phone but was somehow also participating in the conversation. He frowned when he saw that there was a new person on the NRC Magicam page, and when he clicked on it, he was surprised to see that it was none other than Y/N's account. She didn't have anything posted, unfortunately, but Cater quickly sent her a friend request and then shot her a message.
"Though, the Scarabia dorm leader isn't that great at studying," he muttered, shutting off of his phone with a slightly giddy look on his face.
"We're getting completely derailed," Ace muttered.
"You sure adapt quickly," Trey chuckled. "Back to what we were saying, over there, practically sparkling, are members of Pomefiore. They have purple and red armbands."
"There's a super cute girl over there," Grim exclaimed, noticing the petite figure of one of the Pomefiore students sitting at the table.
"What? At a boys school?"
Ace scoffed. "Idiot. This is a boys-only school, there's no way that's a girl."
Cater laughed. "Have you guys already forgotten about the little rose called Y/N? The last time I checked, she is a girl. And if you wanna see girls, the portrait in the west building, Roselia is pretty high level. I don't mind introducing you if you're interested. Should I set up a blind date?"
"I'm good," Ace nearly yelled. "No matter how cute Roselia is, she's just a painting."
"Anything goes if you're good looking," Cater said with a small smirk. "Pomefiore always scores high for looks and their beauty regimen is second to none. Their dorm leader is a Magicamgrammer with over five million followers!"
"Hey now. Don't focus entirely on their looks," Trey cautioned. "Pomefiore has many members skilled at making potions and curses."
"Next would be Ignihyde but... I don't see any of them around. They've got blue and black armbands. Everyone in that dorm has their guard up at all times. Not even I have any friends from that dorm. They're the exact opposite of the extroverts in Heartslabyul."
"They're all dull," Grim asked.
"Hey! Word choice! Though they do have a very quiet image." Trey sighed and pulled off his glasses to wipe them on the cuff of his jacket. "Many of them are good at building equipment that uses magic energy or digital things."
Deuce piped up. "Only the... Diablahblah dorm is left."
"Diasomnia." Everyone looked up and smiled when they saw Y/N standing behind Cater, a daring look on her face, and her hands on her hips. Why she was smirking, no one knew, but none of them noticed the Heartslabyul leader who was standing behind Ace on the other side of the table.
"I bit my tongue, okay," Deuce exclaimed, a steady pink creeping up his neck.
"Diasomnia is..." Cater looked around. "There. They're all shoved into that booth in the back."
Y/N turned and waved at the mention of her new friends. She had to admit that it was a little cramped when she was sitting there, but they were all lovely people, and Y/N didn't mind being in such close quarters with them.
"Their symbol is their green and black armband. They're kind of like celebrities around here. They've got this aura that makes it hard for us regulars to approach them. The dorm leader has MAX don't come near me vibes."
"What about Y/N," Yuu asked, pulling the girl down into the seat next to him. "She didn't seem to have any trouble approaching them."
"Well, as we can all see," Cater said, "Y/N is special. For one, she's the only girl here, making her a bit of a celebrity herself, and I don't see anyone wanting to push away such a beautiful lady." Cater winked at Y/N, and the girl felt heat filling her body. She tried to fight it back, but she knew that her blush was showing, at least in the slightest bit.
Ace suddenly noticed the short boy sitting with the students. "Huh? There's a kid with them."
Threy shrugged. "You can skip grades and still enter this school. But he isn't a kid. He's a third-year just like..."
Suddenly, with a small poof, Lilia was floating upside down in front of the group, making everyone but Y/N jump.
"Lilia," he said in a calm tone. "Lilia Vanrouge."
"He just teleported right over here," Grim yelled, hopping up onto the table.
With another poof, Lilia was sitting next to Y/N. "Are you all curious about my age? Fufufu. I have this baby-faced visage but, like glasses said, I'm not at an age one would call me a child. There's no need to loon on from afar. Just come up and speak with us." Lilia took Y/N's hand in his. "The little beastie seemed to have no problems with coming and talking to us. Are we all not students of the same academy? We at Diasomnia will always welcome you with open arms."
Y/N glanced over at the table that she had been sitting at and laughed when she saw the intimidating glares that Silver and Sebek were giving her friends.
"Um... Lilia. Maybe tell Sil and Sebek to lighten up on their glares. They kind of give off a do-not-approach vibe."
"I agree," Deuce muttered. "Those guys over there don't look like they'd be very welcoming."
"Oh they're fine," Y/N said with a huff. "They're just puppies."
Lilia got up from the table. "Apologies for dropping in on your meal. Until we meet again." He looked like he was about to disappear, but he turned to Y/N. "Lady Y/N," he lifted her hand to his lips and pressed a feather-light kiss against the back of it. "Sebek has requested that you come and visit us in the Diasomnia common room to study rather than the library. He thinks that it might be a more suitable and comfortable environment."
Y/N nodded, ignoring the stares that she was getting from the rest of the boys at the table. "Okay. I guess I'll see you again after school."
"Until then, my lady." Lilia dropped another kiss to the back of her hand and disappeared in a swirl of light.
Once he was gone, Ace turned to Trey, looking somewhat panicked. "Our table is easily over twenty metres away from them, but you're telling me that he heard us talking?!"
Trey himself didn't look quite comfortable with that idea, but he quickly calmed down.
"Well, you weren't talking the quietest," Y/N muttered.
"And let's just say that Diasomnia has many peculiar members. Many of their members excel at magic in general. Their dorm leader, Malleus Draconia, is counted among the top five wizards in the world!"
Cater nodded. "Honestly, Malleus is like super super crazy. Our dorm leader is his own brand of crazy though."
Y/N's eyes flickered over to where Riddle was standing, watching as his eye twitched in annoyance. She reached around Yuu and slapped Cater in the shoulder, jerking her head in the direction of where Riddle was standing. Unfortunately, Cater was the only one who noticed that Riddle was there.
"So true," Ace yelled. "All I did was eat a single piece of tart and he collared me! His narrow-mindedness is super crazy."
"Ace," Y/N warned through gritted teeth. "Shut up."
Riddle decided that it was finally the time to say something. "I'm super crazy?"
"Yeah," Ace continued, ignoring Y/N's warning and the panicked faces of those sitting around him. "He blew right past strict and is just a tyrant."
"Ace," Deuce exclaimed. "Behind you!"
"Heh?! Dorm leader!"
"Idiot," Y/N muttered, shaking her head.