Y/n's pov
I was in my room, staring at the mirror. 'I came here through a mirror. And the dream (?) with Mickey, I saw him through a mirror. Through the looking glass, right? Maybe, that's my key to get home...'
Grim just asked me to pick him up which I did. 'It's still pretty cold, he must want to take advantage of my warmth.'
I went to the campus with him nuzzling into my arms, not before wearing my mask.
I met Ace and Deuce there and we passed by the great 7 statues before going to class. 'Hmm. Ever since arriving there, I seem to gain powers kinda based on them. Will I get more? Also...'
"Say..." They looked at me. "Do you know Mickey Mouse?"
"Who's this Mickey dude?" Ace was confused.
"I've never heard that name at this school before." Deuce added.
I picked up some letters 'They mustn't know. After all, we don't have the same realities.'
"What are those?" Grim asked me.
I smiled widely "Those are letters from Cheka! I'm so happy!"
They were about to ask something but "Get to your seats, puppies. In this homeroom period, I'm going to tighten the reins you whelps pulled loose over the holidays. I trust you're all aware that the National Arcane Academy Culture Fair is coming up in mid-February. This year, it's going to be held here at Night Raven College."
I sighed "I was so excited for the VDC too..."
Grim gave me a look and I knew what was up "The National Arcane Academy Culture Fair is a yearly event for students representing schools across the country. It's a two-day festival that includes fine art, music, research showcases on magic, and speech contests. It's mostly for art clubs and the seniors come back to school and announce their findings in their internships and research placements related to their magical professions..."
Ace and Deuce also took in the informations.
"And with that, homeroom time is over. First period will be a practical lesson in defensive magic. SIT quietly and STAY!"
I was excused sooner since there was a meeting I needed to attend.
"Once again, Malleus isn't here." I frowned.
"Sorry about that. I knew where he was up until lunch break... But once school let out, poof—he was gone." Lilia apologized by giving me a side hug.
"He pulls this every time. It has to be on purpose, right?" Idia asked.
"Well, y'all don't even invite him most of the time..." I trailed.
"I didn't mean to!" Kalim exclaimed.
Lilia chuckled "As his vice housewarden, I'll be representing Malleus today, with your leave."
Leona huffed "Who cares if that pretentious punk is here? Can we get this meeting started or what"
I flicked his tail, earning a growl from him "We now call this assembly to order."
Crowley went on "We've spent quite a while preparing for the National Arcane Academy Culture Fair. It takes place in less than two months. Management Committee Chairman Rosehearts, your progress report, if you please."
"Yes, sir. If everyone could refer to the papers I handed out at the start? Applications are still open for student admissions and presentations from magical academies nationwide. Vendor booths for food, drinks, and crafts are limited in number and all fully booked."
"Hm? The food and drinks part I get, but what's this about crafts?" Kalim asked.
"That covers arts club products: clothes, pottery, engravings, paintings, and so on. They'll be selling some and exhibiting others. We also had applications for live painting and independent films." Riddle explained.
"Ooh, that all sounds delightful!" Kalim was excited, making me smile.
"Moving on, regarding the venues for speech contests and research presentations... We plan to install three stages on campus for this event. The red stage will be on the sports field. The blue stage will be in the gym. And the purple stage will be in our largest spot, the coliseum. We are still accepting press coverage applications for all presentations, both from domestic and foreign sources, but......Mm."
"What is it, Riddle?" I asked.
"There's a musical presentation on the Purple Stage called the Vocal & Dance Championship. We've been flooded with applications from external media outlets to cover this program. To what I would call an excessive degree."
"I mean, of course. After all, Vil is participating." I pointed to the man who flipped his hair. "Riddle, you mustn't be into those things too much so maybe you don't know how famous Vil is."
"He's a highly popular figure who does everything from modeling for fashion magazines to acting in movies. When Fashion Week kicks off, he's flooded with offers from big-name brands. He held the record for runway appearances in last year's fall and winter seasons. Plus he's a Magicammer with over five million followers. All this while still a student! They say whenever he plugs a piece of merchandise, it flies off every store shelf. He's the textbook definition of an "influencer."" Azul explained.
Vil huffed "Ever the chatterbox, Azul. That's basic information—hardly worth calling attention to. Would you kindly cease your embarrassing slavering?"
"Oh, speaking of influencers—Vil's not the only one slated for VDC this year. I heard the one and only Neige LeBlanche is putting in an appearance too. It was all over online news sites a few days ago. It's no surprise that the media would be all over it." Idia said.
"Neige LeBlanche... Ah, yes. We received a registration form for him a few days ago. He's a sophomore representing Royal Sword Academy." Riddle remarked.
"Ugh." They looked at me. "It is true that Snow-white is cute."
Vil frowned.
"But Vil is the most beautiful queen!" I continued.
'I'm used to compliments. But I already knew it would be different with them.' Vil smiled.
Crowley pondered "Vil Schoenheit and Neige LeBlanche. This year's Vocal & Dance Championship will play host to two globally famous celebrities. It is no exaggeration to say that this will be the highest-profile year in the entire history of the event. Rosehearts, do make certain that you are amply prepared to avert any incidents on the day of the show."
"Y-yes, Headmage. This...is turning out to be even more of a to-do than I was expecting."
"Don't worry, rose queen. I'm always here for you." I winked at him, making him blush and thank me.
Idia sighed "I want reconfort from this UR+ character too. Meanwhile, I'm sitting here every day wracking my brain, trying to figure out how I can present my research without going up on stage... I just know if I go up there, everybody in the venue's gonna be like, "Uh, is his hair on fire?" "Is he from the Shroud family?" "What kind of creepy research is he doing, anyway?" They're gonna spread rumors like... Well, like wildfire. Uuugh, this sucks. For an introvert like me, public speaking is, like, EX difficulty."
I chuckled "Don't worry, Idia darling. You're the one who made this mask for me after all and you're a genius, I'm sure you'll find a solution."
"HP regenerated. Unlimited health."
"By the way Schatz, why are you wearing this mask?"
"Well... I was humming a song recently and didn't realize people around me were getting hypnotized by it and when I was in the residence, I was singing and was about to hit a high note which almost destroyed it..."
"Wha- Are you okay?!" Kalim panicked.
"How did this happen?" Lilia asked.
"I just got my magical voice back and it was always unstable in the beginning so I'm gonna need to rest my voice some and Idia made me this mask for more safety."
"So you can't sing." Vil looked at me.
I frowned but smiled "No but that doesn't mean I'm not gonna make sure we win against RSA!"