After leaving the Octavinelle Dorm, Briar and the group, including Jack, return to the Ramshackle Dorm to figure out what to do about the situation. Everyone is sitting in the lounge of the dorm trying to come up with a plan.
Jack is the first to speak out, "I think it's safe to say that everybody with an anemone stuck on their head... gambled on Azul's contract and lost. The terms of said contract were apparently to place in the top 50. But with the sheer number of students signin' on most of them never stood a chance of getting in at all. That was Azul's game from the start.
"I DID find it weird that Grim managed to score over 80 on a test. Not to sound mean, but Grim isn't the best with his studies," Briar says.
"You can say that again," Jasper says.
Tanzanite sighs, "Seems like Grim and the others have gotten themselves in a real mess."
Then Jack says, irritated, "I mean, c'mon! If you're gettin' good grades off someone else's work, what does that even prove? You're throwin' away a perfectly good opportunity to show others what you're capable of. Frankly, you're cheating yourself.
Suddenly, Crowley's voice appears, "If the rest of the student body here were as principled and tedious... I mean, as 'serious' as you, it would spare me such grief!"
Everyone yelps in surprise to see Crowley has entered the room.
Even Jack yelps, "WHOA! Headmage?! You startled me!"
"You startled all of us," Jasper says, surprised.
"Hello headmage, what brings you here?" Briar asks.
"I came over to see you to talk to you about something," Crowley says.
He sighs and says, "So transpires another year of me being unable to clamp down on Ashengrotto's little 'side business.'"
"What do you mean, 'side business'?" Sereia asks, confused.
"Do you know something about this, Headmage?" Tanzanite asks.
Crowley nods his head and explains, "Azul Ashengrotto: Sophomore. Housewarden of Octavinelle Dorm. Much like Rosehearts, he is a highly capable student already running a dorm as a sophomore, but... He's a bit-no, I daresay QUITE a bit troublesome."
"Are you talking about him swindling people? Seems to me like one word from the headmage could put a stop to this whole thing," Jack says.
"Jack has a point. If you knew about it, how come you didn't stop it?" Briar replies.
"Ah, but it is precisely BECAUSE I am in a teaching position that I cannot prohibit his actions," Crowley says, sounding a bit distressed.
"Why not?" Jack questions.
"Here's the thing about those study guides that Ashengrotto handed out to the students.
There was no illegitimate activity involved in their production. Nobody snuck looks at test questions or answers beforehand. It was crafted exhaustively by hand, after researching the past century's worth of Night Raven College exam questions and their patterns. In other words, it's an entirely legitimate study guide," Crowley explains.
"A century's worth of test questions?!" Briar says, surprised.
"That's actually amazing!" Tanzanite says, impressed and adjusts his glasses.
"Huh. Well, I'll be. If he did that all by hand, the guy's got chops," Jack says, impressed.
Then something comes to mind, "Hm? Wait... So the problem is that there IS no problem with it?"
"You strike right to the heart of the matter, Howl," Crowley says, "As a teacher, I can hardly prohibit a student from crafting an exam study guide via honest work. Nor I can prohibit a student from 'kindly' sharing their notes with friends."
"If you did, you'd basically be tellin' students, 'no studying' AND 'no helping your buds.'" Jack says, understanding.
He lets out a low growl, "Grr... Talk about a seriously briny pickle."
"That is most certainly is," Crowley says.
"So what you're saying, that there isn't much you could do about it either," Sereia says.
Crowley nods his head in reply.
"And earlier, you said 'another year,' yeah?" Jack questions.
"Are you saying this happened before?" Briar asks.
"Indeed it did," Crowley answers, "Of course, last year his study guides didn't have quite the reputation they carry this year. So the commotion was much more contained, relatively speaking. This year, on the other hand, rumors abounded throughout campus that if one wished to score well on a test, they should visit the Mostro Lounge."
"And I'm guessin' the nasty little caveat in the contract in the event of a breach stayed hush-hush because of that binding NDA," Jack suspects.
"So it would seem," Crowley answers, and continues, "Thus did Ashengrotto have a steady stream of students lining up to accept his bargain this year. And the test average across all subjects and years has jumped above 90, much to my chagrin. Of course, I would be even more chagrinned if all our subject averages were failing grades. But still! And sounds frustrated."
"What you're saying is that most of the student body cheated," Briar says.
Then Jack asks, "Does that mean that there are guys from last year who lost the bet and still haven't gotten their powers back?"
But Crowley says, "Actually, he returned the powers he took from students last year as part of an arrangement he made with me. In return, I granted him permission to run the Mostro Lounge on school property."
"WHAT?!" Everyone exclaims in shock.
Flashback: Last Year, Headmage's Office.
Azul says to Crowley, "Night Raven College is a historic and prestigious institution famed for producing the finest of magicians. Yet now the campus is replete with students capable of only minor feats of magic-a fact I'm sure you're none too pleased about, Headmage. Which is why I have a proposal...and it's one I think you will find to be quite beneficial.
Flashback Ends:
"That was how he framed it," Crowley says.
"Talk about brazen. I mean, blackmailing the headmage into a deal? No wonder Leona wants nothin' to do with this guy," Jack says, kind of stunned.
Then Crowley says, "And when he offered to contribute 10% of the proceeds to the school... Why, how could I say no to such a mutually beneficial arrangement?"
"Wait so you're gettin' something from it?" Jack questions.
Crowley says in distress, "Dear oh dear. I can only wonder what demands he'll make of me this year. Whatever he wants, I will undoubtedly be forced to acquiesce. What else can I do for our idiotic-ah, that is, our poor, unfortunate students? My immense kindness always gets the better of me. Ashengrotto 'merely' studies diligently, then shares his rightfully earned knowledge with other students out of the kindness of his heart... It wouldn't do for a teacher to discourage such earnest behavior. Why must every student in our school arrive with some amount of baggage to sort out?!"
"Calm down headmage, getting distressed isn't going to solve anything," Briar says.
"But what do we do about it?" Sereia asks.
"Yeah. Grim, Ace, and Deuce got themselves in a serious mess, and there isn't much we can do about it," Jasper says.
Trinket nods his head.
Suddenly, Crowley says, ""And that's where you come in, Briar."
"Me?" Briar questions, "What can I do about it?
Then Crowley asks, "Would you be so kind as to persuade Ashengrotto to cease this little game of his?"
"You want me to persuade Azul to stop his little game?" Briar questions.
"That won't be easy. Azul doesn't seem like the guy to be persuaded," Tanzanite says.
Trinket nods her head.
"Not to mention along with his two henchmen practically defeated our friends and the other students who retaliated," Jasper says.
However, Crowley says, "Incidentally, Ramshackle Dorm's food expenses have been mounting as of late, as I recall. You must be terribly strapped for cash... And alas, I'm so preoccupied researching a way to return SOMEONE to their home, I have so little time to address other problems... Oh but don't worry about me, really. I am, as you know, a philanthropist to the core."
Jack deeply frowns and says, "With teachers like this, no wonder our students are the way they are."
"I won't say that I won't do it, I'm just saying that Azul is not going to be easy to persuade, but I'll try the best I can to convince Azul," Briar says.
"You'll accept my request, then?" Crowley asks.
"I guess. Besides, despite the mess they got themselves into, I want to help Ace, Deuce, and Grim get out of it," Briar says.
"And we'll do our best to help her," Tanzanite says.
"Wonderful, Eri! I knew I saw potential in this prefect!" Crowley happily says. "Then I'll be going now, as I am a very busy man. I'm counting on you!"
Then Crowley leaves the building and closes the door.
Once he's gone, Jack rubs the back of his head and says, "Boy, you never know when the headmage'll pop up."
"No kidding," Jasper says.
"So what do we do now? Sereia asks.
"Well, we're going to need a plan," Tanzanite says.
"Yeah. Because you're kinda right-just going up to Azul and askin' him nicely isn't gonna get you anywhere," Jack says.
Briar thinks for a bit and says, "Well, I think the best place to start is to observe our target."
"You mean spy on Azul?" Sereia asks.
"Right. All we know is that He's the housewarden like Azul, about his little dealing game, and is pretty capable of being a housewarden, but a bit troublesome. We need more information about him," Briar says.
"True. A successful hunt starts with learnin' all you can about your target. You actually know your stuff. Besides, letting Ace and the others stew in the mess they made might help 'em learn something from this," Jack says.
"So it's settled, starting tomorrow, we're going to start an investigation on Azul," Briar says.
Everyone nods their heads in reply, and plans to start an investigation on Azul Ashengrotto.