▃▃▃▃▃▃▃
▃▃▃▃▃▃▃
❝ 𝐈 𝐊𝐍𝐎𝐖 𝐄𝐗𝐀𝐂𝐓𝐋𝐘 𝐖𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐈 𝐖𝐀𝐍𝐓 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐖𝐇𝐎 𝐈 𝐖𝐀𝐍𝐓 𝐓𝐎 𝐁𝐄, 𝐈 𝐊𝐍𝐎𝐖 𝐄𝐗𝐀𝐂𝐓𝐋𝐘 𝐖𝐇𝐘 𝐈 𝐖𝐀𝐋𝐊 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐓𝐀𝐋𝐊 𝐋𝐈𝐊𝐄 𝐀 𝐌𝐀𝐂𝐇𝐈𝐍𝐄, 𝐈'𝐌 𝐍𝐎𝐖 𝐁𝐄𝐂𝐎𝐌𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐌𝐘 𝐎𝐖𝐍 𝐒𝐄𝐋𝐅 𝐅𝐔𝐋𝐅𝐈𝐋𝐋𝐄𝐃 𝐏𝐑𝐎𝐏𝐇𝐄𝐂𝐘❞
- oh no!
some time passed and the finals were finally over. that meant f/n could finally take a break and have it easy until winter break officially came. that's what they hoped at least. so when f/n finished up their paperwork for the day, they hoped to grab a drink from the vending machine and read a book in the quiet parts of the botanical garden. it's the first thing they were looking forward to do after a day of hard work in the supervisor council room.
"ugh, no way!" isabel complained. "i've got tenth place while f/n got seventh place. i was sure i would be just below them!" f/n always gets in the top ten of their examination boards. first place wasn't a necessity for them but even if it was, they would scrap that ideal of absurdity the chance they get it. "but, you still managed to get in the top ten among the entire school." genesis giggled.
"yeah. set proper standards for yourself, isabel." f/n closed their laptop after they printed out their analytical report. the headmaster sincerely wants to hear their opinions on the cruciality of teamwork and how to improve it within night raven college. "what's that supposed to mean?" isabel growled. she placed the papers of the second year final exam scores onto the table with a huff.
"i..i think you did amazing on the finals, lady isabel! you scored a hundred on biology, a higher score than head supervisor f/n...!" nicoline assured. f/n went to get their printed report, side eying nicoline for a moment. that girl really knew the words to cheer up isabel, or maybe anyone at that. "you're right! and aren't they a doctor, too? i feel so honored, fufu!" isabel laughed, putting her hands on her cheeks.
"haha. what subject was your highest grade, nico?" genesis asked. nicoline stiffened up slightly. she looked down at her document with a flush on her face. "it was..incantations. the essay part elucidating the components of it was sort of tricky." nicoline scratched her cheek. she couldn't say it out loud, she was too embarrassed.
'all of them probably know already! but..it's so disgraceful to have the lowest scores among the supervisors. i mean..an 80 in my best subject! you can do better than that, nicoline!'
nicoline's grades are average in general. she doesn't succeed in getting anything above an 85 for as long as she could remember. she knew the grades she has right now are more than enough to make her pass by, but that didn't stop her from wishing to get anything higher. "i'm going to grab a drink from the vending machine. nicoline, come with me?" genesis pointed at the door as she stood up.
"sure!" nicoline stood up. "is there anything you two would like?"
"a strawberry lemonade bottle. thanks." isabel smiled. f/n waved their hand dismissively. "i'm heading out so don't bother." they simply told nicoline. "okay. we'll be right back!" nicoline walked out after genesis.
f/n slipped their paperwork into their folder. they only needed to drop this off and go along with their break in the beautiful botanical garden. they could already smell the fresh plants and fruits. "hey, f/n. could we talk?" yet isabel stopped them from walking out the room. they turned to her, still at the printer with their folder.
"...what is it?" f/n leaned against the table.
"it's about what happened with savanaclaw." isabel looked unrecognizable when she turns this timid. she's usually the boldest in a crowd, but confessing your wrongdoings to your enemy, or more like— frenemy? gets isabel unnerved. "you're not the one to apologize, if that's what you're going to do." f/n put a hand on their neck to rub it softly. "i know i punched you for what you encouraged, but that was also for everything else you said to me."
"n-no! apologize to you personally? nope." isabel crossed her arms scornfully under her chest. maybe she considered apologizing to trey, jamil and the other victims, but it was scrapped completely this morning. "it's just..." isabel fidgeted her arms.
"after my dorm leader's life was on the line...after leona's life was at stake back there, i was..starting to think this whole internalized hatred i have inside of me was holding me back."
"i would hope so." f/n quickly responded with. isabel deadpanned, growling under her breath. she composed herself immediately.
"that day i saw what envy can do to a person. i don't want that for myself. that's not what my brother would want for me. it'd mean all his lessons would go down the drain if i let myself get blinded the way leona was." isabel confessed. f/n tilted their head slightly, raising their eyebrows in surprisement.
"what i'm trying to say...is that i'll be taking life more serious. i won't be fixated on defeating you anymore." isabel swallowed thickly. f/n chewed the inside of their cheek. they were conflicted for another moment, whether or not to take her word for it, but isabel's aura was clear as day.
"i'm glad, isabel." f/n walked passed her. "i'm wishing you the best of luck, really." they believed her. isabel smiled as she let those words sink in. "that was sort of corny, wasn't it?"
"it was. that wasn't your style, isabel." f/n opened the door. two boys stood there in the entrance. one of them having their knuckles up that was on the verge of knocking. "ah! good afternoon, h-head supervisor f/n and vice supervisor isabel!" the other boy next to him yelped. they were both from scarabia.
"good afternoon to you two as well. what is it?" f/n asked. however, isabel moved next to them with her hands clapped together. "don't you two know you have to make an appointment to meet with us?" it was vital as it avoids any rushed counseling with students every hour and hour. it was stressful for four students to handle so many helping sessions. they aren't therapists, they are supervisors.
"but..it's about octavinelle! this is an emergency!" one of them pleaded. "yes! it's about octavinelle's dorm leader, azul! he scammed out friends!" the other pouted. f/n and isabel exchanged uncertain looks. "don't tell me..." f/n whispered. "he's done it again?" isabel gasped.
━━━━━━━━
ace, deuce and grim were about to drop to the ground in defeat. as well as the many other boys with the anemones wiggling on their heads. each and every one of them being from one of the seven dorms. jack was holding up alright, only angry with everybody in this room for falling for such an obvious trap.
"they're not giving up, but i'm getting kinda bored." floyd whined.
"this had me thinking." jade chuckled. "the last time monstro lounge was this full was because of a special sale."
"alright, i think it's time for me to unleash one of my special spells." azul brought out his staff. surely one of the supervisors can excuse this type of behavior when many students were trying to attack him.
"hurry! let's all use our magic at the same time!" ace commanded. "yeah!" deuce, grim and the others exclaimed. none in the octatrio were impressed at their determination to take them down when it was all but a delusional attempt for freedom.
azul swished his staff around in the air with a smirk. light began to sparkle at the tip of it. once the boys on the other side darted for him, various types of spells bursted from the students, azul flung his staff across. "you're all done."
"enough." two large complex white glyphs appeared on each side of the adversaries. azul gaped as his attack of illuminating sparkles dissolved into the floating symbol. "what?" he gaped, transforming his staff back into his magical pen.
"aye?!" the attacks of the other boys were also dissolved into the other glyph. ace, deuce, jack and grin gasped at the grand glyph appearing out of nowhere.
"there better be a good reason for this fight, azul." f/n glared at the boy directly. isabel stood next to them. their backs turned to the boys with the anemones on their heads. "head supervisor, f/n!" deuce gasped. "supervisor i-isabel!" jack called out. the glyphs disappeared.
"hey, boys! those are funny looking things on your heads!" isabel giggled, waving at them while wiggling her fingers. ace and deuce blushed after f/n gave them a side look. they covered up their anemones with their hands urgently.
"i didn't expect you two to drop by at this disastrous moment." jade frowned.
"they're all weaklings, anyways. there's nothing to squeeze." floyd complained. "dolphin and orca can definitely be more fun to fight with."
"it's like a powerless school of fry." azul sighed. even so, the boys with the anemones seemed pained after that fight. "just how many different kinds of magic can azul use? i call foul play." ace huffed.
"the golden contracts azul has, are they repelling all of your attacks?" jack asked. deuce put his magical pen inside his pocket. "crap. i really see how much i relied on the spells i excel at out of habit." deuce touched his wrist. it was excessively swinging from the movement of his magical pen. "if grim can't breathe fire, grim's just a racoon..." ace mumbled.
"fgnaa...i'm no racoon...guh." grim was picked up by yuu, who gave a saddened look at the two supervisors.
"supervisors, you have to help us!"
"ashengrotto made us fools!"
"they scammed us!"
this wasn't the first time azul has done this. what f/n was most upset with is that two of their own men, if not, many more guys from heartslaybul fell victim to azul's deals. f/n pinched the bridge of their noses. "you bastards had this coming." they murmured. isabel stiffened a snort. f/n wasn't wrong. anyone could see just how shady azul and the leech twins are from a mile away.
"oi, azul." f/n faced him completely. "what do you think you're doing? exploiting brats without a care in the world." to be fair, f/n has warned plenty of students not to get involved with the likes of him, but turns out not many listen when they're a desperate man. "exploiting is a vulgar word, f/n." azul frowned with false despondency. "don't waste your time defending those who got themselves stuck in my command."
"but you know...not only as a head supervisor can i terminate your contracts, but as a professional sorcerer. i can deem it as an abuse of power against you with a single warrant." f/n threatened.
"it's called 'making the most of it', f/n." azul suddenly turned serious. "if anyone's abusing their power, it's you. using your position as a professional mage doesn't intimidate me. last time i recall, you're not part of the police department."
"not to mention, getting involved with the land of pyroxene's military doesn't sound so fun." floyd pouted.
"it's rather dangerous on your part, f/n. is it really a wise idea?" jade wrapped his fingers around his chin with a knowing smirk. also showing off his pointy teeth. f/n grit their teeth faintly as they averted their gaze onto jade.
"whether it's wise or not, you don't get to decide that, jade." isabel glared at him. "f/n's boss will understand their actions. they're his favorite after all."
"is that so?" azul wondered. "favoritism is a thing in the military of f/n's home country? that's disappointing, wouldn't you agree?" he faked his pity. even the way he talks gets f/n riled up sometimes.
f/n scrunched their eyes closed momentarily. there was one thing they agreed on with the octatrio, and that was floyd's concern of getting involved with the military. f/n couldn't bring themselves to think it was wise to get these children tangled within their military just because some simple minded boys slipped up in a major mistake. "isabel, let's stand down for now."
"w-what? are you sure?" isabel gaped.
"that's more like it." azul smiled. "we can have a chat later on if you'd like, though. i'll have one of your boys prepare you a delicious cup of tea." he gestured towards ace and deuce. f/n gave them another side look. deuce looked to the ground in shame and ace frowned defeatedly, clenching his fists. "you guys have to be more careful with those you bargain with."
f/n scolded as they turned to the boys with the anemones. jack's eyes widened. this is not what he expected from f/n. even though, they made a point. "you're not going to do anything?" yuu gasped. f/n gestured at the other pitiful men that did the night raven college uniform no justice at all.
"in a way, consider this a lesson. i can't jump in and be your prince charming every time you boys get in trouble." f/n lectured them.
"this ain't gonna teach us anything valuable!"
"what! boo!"
"yeah, you're supposed to be our hero!"
isabel pursed her lips as she eyed f/n for their reaction. "what was that?" f/n's glare darkened on the crowd of boys.
"nothing! nothing, head supervisor f/n!!"
"...azul, put them to work." f/n said without turning back to him. isabel clicked her tongue. "that's my plan!" azul laughed.
━━━━━━━━
"those guys with the anemone on their head. in order to get a good test score, they were tricked into forming a contract. i don't think i got anything wrong." jack went through the gist of it. he and yuu both dropped by the supervisor council office to go over the situation. genesis and nicoline also gathered there with the drinks they brought.
"the condition was that they had to get into the top 50 but because there were so many students to make contracts, most of them couldn't make the cut. thats what azul was aiming for from the start." jack growled. isabel nodded in agreement as she took a sip from her strawberry lemonade.
"i thought it was weird for grim to score above 80." yuu sweat dropped.
"there's no meaning in using someone else's power to get good grades." jack advised. "wasting the chance to show off their true power to everyone is what really makes them stupid. also..." jack glanced at f/n. they seemed to be pouting with a darkened forehead while looking outside the window. "is supervisor f/n...?"
"they're okay." isabel giggled. she closed her strawberry lemonade and placed it onto the coffee table in front of the couch nearby the conference table. "i despise scammers." f/n mumbled. "we all do, dear." isabel called out. nobody likes scammers, that much should be the decency of someone, but f/n has a personal reason to it. "but we can't put that scammer and azul in the same league, f/n."
"i know, but all scammers are trashy." f/n uttered.
yuu hummed, tilting his head to the side while looking at genesis for an answer. genesis waved her hands. "it's an infamous story in f/n's workplace." the demon fae slayer corps, precisely but nobody could say that to these kids. nicoline frowned, rubbing her arm.
"let's not talk about it." isabel noticed the strain in the room. so before anyone could bring it up more, another voice spoke.
"everyone at this school is self-obsessed like mr howl, it's so troublesome. if they took things seriously we could avoid hardships for everyone. including myself." crowley sighed as he stood in front of the coffee table. f/n's darkened forehead disappeared. they were genuinely curious about what crowley had to say about it now.
"waah! headmaster! you scared me!" jack exclaimed.
"hello, headmaster." nicoline greeted.
"huuh...the head supervisor and i couldn't put a stop to mr ashengrotto's 'business' again thid year." crowley tiredly put a hand to his forehead. "business? what do you mean?" yuu asked.
"mr azul ashengrotto. he is a second year that works as the dorm head for octavinelle. he is an extraordinary student to be the dorm head as a second year like mr rosehearts but.." crowley elucidated. "there a few..no, a great number of problems."
"problems? like the scam incident? if that's the case then as headmaster can't you just order him to stop?" jack told him.
"the thing is...precisely because i'm a teacher. i can't prohibit his activities." crowley frowned. "what do you mean?" jack narrowed his eyes. f/n's face softened vaguely as they looked away from the headmaster. they had almost forgotten the means azul uses that doesn't have any malicious intent in any form.
"the test notebook that mr ashengrotto distributed throughout the year...wasn't something he made by stealing answers, cheating or anything like that. he thoroughly read through the last 100 years of test answers from night raven college and refined a test key with his own abilities." crowley explained.
"the last 100 years?!" yuu gasped. "that's impressive! just thinking about it makes my brain hurt..." nicoline touched her head.
"that makes it more difficult for f/n to get involved too." genesis frowned.
"using his own power to make something like that. he's pretty good." jack mumbled. "hm. wait! so you're saying that because it's not cheating that's what makes it so troublesome, right?"
"mr howl, that's a good conclusion. from the position of the teacher, we can't prevent one student from creating a test notebook like that from their legitimate efforts." crowley continued. "and the fact he kindly helped others with their studies."
"if you did you'd pretty much be telling everyone 'don't study' or 'don't work with your friends'..grr..that is troublesome." jack growled. "even the head supervisor's threat couldn't work."
"that is correct." crowley finished.
"by the way, headmaster. didn't you say something like 'i couldn't stop his business' again this year? did he actually do this last year too?" jack questioned. well, it was nice to see crowley care a bit for the predicament. "yes. his notebook didn't gain as much fame and notoriety last year. luckily, our head and vice supervisors managed to tone it down."
f/n remembered how they went to help a student being pressured into making a deal with azul after being guilt tripped. good grades don't determine all of one person, is what f/n would say to those who struggled. "you should have seen the head supervisor. they protected the students from the contracts, and isabel, she encouraged over fifty students to come to the tutoring association and study with others. it was splendid...but.." crowley praised.
"this year it seems the rumor 'if you want to get good grades on your exams then come visit monstro lounge' was spread all around campus." f/n and isabel grumbled at the mention of it. the both of them were so busy catching up on paperwork and sessions with other students that they missed the rumor flying right past them. it must have been kept a secret from them.
"but what would happen if your breach contract kept from spreading due to the confidentiality agreement?" jack questioned.
"it seems that way. as a result, mr ashengrotto was able to continue making deals with students this year. and in the end...the average test score for all grades in all subject is over 90." crowley began to frey, bringing his clawed hands up. "it's better than the average for all subjects failing! however..."
"it means that most students ended up cheating..." yuu mumbled.
"have the guys that got their abilities taken last year just been going about without getting them back?" jack asked firmly.
"for that...in order for the students from last year to get their abilities back, he gave the condition that i allow him to open monstro lounge for business on campus." crowley explained. "what?!" jack gasped.
"that makes more sense actually." genesis mumbled. f/n leaned against the table with their arms crossed. they thought back on that day. they don't care what business azul does when it doesn't involve other people's happiness or even their lives in general.
— one year ago
"night raven college is a prestigious school known for turning out exceptional wizards in great numbers." azul has said in a particular day. they both reported to the headmaster's office to clear up the situation azul created. him and f/n didn't look so different as first years. maybe their hair grew a little longer or they changed a portion of their uniform.
"it must cause you great pain, headmaster, to see it become a place for students that can only use meager magic." azul continued. he gestured at both him and f/n. "for that i have an idea. the head supervisor helped me with my proposal after i consulted them a few days ago." it was a shock to crowley that f/n was lending a hand to him that time. "they're so kind, aren't they?"
"shut up. let's get this over with already." f/n demanded with the proposal booklet in their hands.
"it's not something disadvantageous for you, headmaster." azul continued.
— now
"is how he put it." crowley finished.
"wh-what a bastard..to go and threaten the headmaster into a deal like that. not only that but make the head supervisor agree to it. i think i see why leona doesn't wanna go near him." jack scoffed.
"he went as far as calling it a win-win since the school gets 10% of the money made." crowley added on. that was also a bribery in a sense, f/n knew crowley was going to agree to it fully if it involved money. "tch. you've got yourself a pretty good deal." jack admitted.
"but, f/n-nee/nii chan..if he could even make you work with him, there's no saying what azul is capable of. was there really no other way to get rid of his contracts?" genesis frowned. isabel threw her head back and blew her bangs on her forehead, legs crossed. f/n silently grumbled in annoyance again.
"hey first years..magic is everything to night raven college. so what do you think we could do if we didn't have magic?" isabel looked at yuu with a flick of her wrist. "no offense, yuu, but in this world..for night raven college, we're nothing without magic. this school ceases to exist, so when f/n and i saw just how miserable the boys who fell victim to the contracts, we had to do something, y'know."
"...i see." jack frowned. "no offense taken, by the way." yuu sighed. nicoline brought her hands to her cheeks, smiling softly.
'f/n and lady isabel are so generous!'
"aaah, just what will he demand this year?" crowley whined. "i'm afraid the first year supervisors will also have to interfere if things get too chaotic." genesis and nicoline huffed determinedly. "we'll be ready!"
"for those stupi...no, those pathetic students i will have to meet his demands once again. for i am gracious." crowley narrated with a melodramatic tone. "mr ashengrotto is taking his studies seriously, and only benevolently helping his fellow students. as a teacher, i can't strongly advise he stop." crowley proceeded to fake sob into his hands. "why is it that only students with a few problems enter this school?! oohh! sob! sob!"
"i've a bad feeling." yuu hissed quietly.
"so that's why, prefect." oh— f/n knew that tone of voice. "could you somehow persuade mr ashengrotto to cease these activities?" isabel couldn't help but facepalm out of disappointment. "he's definitely not the type to be persuaded!" yuu shook his head frantically.
"huuh...the food expenses for ramshackle dorm have really been building up lately. my pocketbook hurts, and i'm busy researching a way to get a certain someone home so it's hard to find the time to search for a solution." crowley guiltripped shamelessly. "bullshit." f/n cursed under their breath.
"ah, you don't have to worry. for i am gracious." crowley smiled sheepishly at yuu. genesis put a hand on his shoulder and leaned closer. "if i were you, i still wouldn't take the challenge to spite him."
"i'm not surprised we get students like that when we have a headmaster like this, y'know." jack whispered. yuu lowered his head with knitted eyebrows. "grr..refusal isn't an option."
"oh really?! you'll take care of this for me! that's to be expected of the prefect i can always count on." crowley praised gleefully. "then...i am very busy so i bid you adieu. i'm counting on you to solve this! supervisors, please help them!"
crowley left the council room after that. f/n rolled their eye. there was nothing gracious about him other than his clothes. "headmaster is a really elusive guy... so what do you plan to do now?" jack asked yuu. "like you said, he doesn't seem like the kind of person you can just persuade to stop."
"investigating a target starts with reconnaissance." yuu confidently puffed his chest out. jack seemed to be pleased with his answer. "yeah. the basics of hunting are to know your enemy. you know your stuff and it might be good for ace and the others to suffer a bit and learn their lesson."
"exactly. i'm glad i didn't listen to them. nicoline, we should definitely drop by monstro lounge and poke some fun at it." genesis teased. "e-eh?" nicoline gaped.
"first, f/n, isabel, can you give us some information on azul?" yuu asked. none of them could refuse yuu when he looked at them all so innocently. "f/n is more fit to give you all you need to know. them and azul are in the same class after all." isabel winked at f/n.
"f/n, please!" yuu pouted. they gnawed the inside of their cheek. "ugh...sure, why not. you'll need all the help you can get." f/n nodded.
"that's right. your upperclassmen are here to help, so if you're stuck, come to us." isabel giggled. thus, the new chapter of their lives began.