Leona leisurely walks outside of the Octavinelle dorm. He stops when he stands next to Ruggie. You rush towards them, finally making it to the dorm.
"Managed to swipe 'em without a hitch, huh?" Ruggie laughs.
Leona tosses a packet of golden papers to you. "Y'know, your compulsive pickpocketing never ceases to amaze me."
The hyena shrugs. "Hey, if you wanna keep somethin' safe, you gotta keep your pockets secured too." Ruggie looks over your shoulder at the contracts. "I'm still not over how many contract scrolls there are. I count around five to six hundred."
Leona rolls his eyes. "He's probably been trapping people in contracts and stockpiling 'em since long before he enrolled. Now that we've got the contracts outside the VIP room, that just leaves one thing to do..."
You hand the contracts back to Leona and he pulls out his pen. It glows a bright orange. "I am the one who hungers. I am the one who thirsts. I am the one to rob you of your future-"
"Hold it!"
Azul rushes to you and the Savanaclaw boys. His gaze lands on you for a moment but he quickly turns to Leona.
Leona turns around with a smirk. "That was quick." He holds up the contracts. "Don't come any closer, or the contracts are toast."
Azul glares at the lion. "Give them back now, if you please!"
"Hey now, at least try to sound composed. Have you decided to drop the cool act altogether?" Leona grins at you. "Judging by the way he's panicking, you were right on the money, Y/N."
Azul pauses. "Wait... what?"
Last night, you explained your theory to to Ruggie and Leona.
Leona tilts his head in thought. "So what you're saying is that the contracts could be breakable when they're stored in the vault?"
"Huh? 'Scuse me? What?" Grim looks between you and Leona in confusion. "How would that work?"
Ruggie's ears perk up. "Ooh, now that you mention it, yeah! Something doesn't quite add up right, huh? If Azul and his boys are right, and the contracts are totally unbreakable and jolt anyone who touches them..."
Ruggie brings a hand to his chin. "Why would they need to keep 'em locked up tight in a vault at all? They could just leave 'em around anywhere, like Leona does with his wallet."
Grim's eyes light up. "Oh! Now that you mention the vault, remember how freaked out he got when the Vault got a little dinged up?"
You tell the two how upset Azul was when Floyd hit the safe with the cauldron. It only dinged the door but Azul was so mad at the twin. Practically panicking if the contracts were damaged.
"Yeah, huh?" Ruggie grins. "It's just common sense to put valuables in a safe, so I didn't even question that part."
Ruggie throws a smirk at Leona. "Who knew our pampered prince's inability to tie his own shoes in the morning would be the key to solving this mystery?"
Leona rolls his eyes. "You always hafta get in a dig."
Ruggie turns back to you. "Y'know, I'm startin' to think that whole bit about the contracts electrifying people was another bluff on their part."
"What did mew just say?" Grim asks.
"He knew you froshes were watching them, so they conveniently forgot a contract scroll and left it on the table." Leona explains. "All they'd have to do at that point is wait for one of you to touch it, then use some lightning magic to jolt you. Maybe don't fall for such an obvious trap next time."
"Hey, I didn't fall for it." You say indignantly.
"Azul ain't just duplicitous!" Grim throws his paws in the air. "He's like, octaplicitous! We've been had again!"
"Regardless," Leona continues. "the quickest way to test your theory is to remove the contracts from the vault."
Azul's eyes widen, looking to you. "This was your idea? Why? Why am I being hassled like this? You stand to gain nothing whatsoever from releasing the anemones! Why would you do this? It's ridiculous!"
You try to say something but can't find the words.
Leona chuckles. "Frankly, I couldn't agree more with you, Azul. But that's what makes her so special, sets her apart from the likes of us."
Leona smugly grins. "So, Azul... How about you and I make a deal?"
Azul was taken aback. "I'm sorry?"
Leona tilts his head. "What are you prepared to offer me if I return these contracts to you?"
"I-I'll do anything." Azul takes a step forward. "I'll give you all the study guides you want. I'll write your graduation thesis. I'll pad your attendance. Anything, just name it!"
Leona puts a hand to his chin, humming in thought. "Interesting. That's a pretty tempting offer."
Azul grins. "Then-"
"Here's the thing, though." Leona interrupts. "No offense, but none of that's gonna be enough to justify me returning these contracts."
Azul frowns. "What?"
"See, Y/N's got me over a barrel right now." Leona explains. "If I don't help Team Ramshackle dispose of these contracts, that annoying cat of hers will make a huge racket outside my room every day until morning."
Leona tilts his head and grins at Azul. "Basically, if you take their dorm away from them, they take my good night's sleep away from me. I want them gone from Savanaclaw, so these things have gotta go."
"THAT'S what this is all about?" Azul couldn't believe it.
"Sorry, Azul." Leona smiles down at you. "You're just not quite as dastardly a villain as Y/N is."
"R-ridiculous." Azul stutters. "Don't do it!"
"Now..." Magic swirls all around Leona. "Kneel before me! King's Roar!"
"NOOOOO!"
Azul lunges for the lion but it's too late. The contracts in Leona's hands dissipate into sand. Azul falls to his knees in despair.
"My... My golden contracts... All reduced to dust."
You can't help but feel a little heartbroken for him. You didn't want to make Azul feel this way, but you had to do something to save your friends and your dorm.
Ruggie puts his hands on his hips. "Azul's signature spell, It's a Deal... Once the contract scroll is signed, it cannot be damaged, regardless of how many people try."
"You made a show of how unbreakable it was several times, just to hammer that impression home..." Leona says to Azul. "But there's no such thing as a spell that's completely flawless. From what I saw, it looked like they were impervious to damage only under specific conditions. Namely, either being in the VIP room, or being in your hands."
Leona smirks. "And judging by how easily my magic turned them to sand, I was right. The contract scrolls themselves are no stronger than any other sheet of paper."
"I... I don't believe this..."
Ruggie laughs. "You could just knock Y/N into next week for trying to blackmail you. I've been wonderin' why you'd go to all this trouble, and I think I've finally figured it out."
Leona quirks an eye at the hyena. "Oh yeah?"
Ruggie grins, leaning in to whisper to the lion. "You secretly like her. No wonder you've been so helpful to her."
Leona shakes his head, laughing. "Nobody likes a snoop, y'know. I'm just a nice guy who can't ignore a friend in need, that's all."
Ruggie let's out a laugh. "Listen to you, laughin' at your own jokes."
Azul screams in frustration. You and the boys take a step back in shock. Azul glares at the ground.
"It's gone. My carefully amassed collection of magic... My omnipotent power..."
Ruggie flattens his ears against his head. "Talk about changin' your tune..."
"All of it, up in smoke!" Azul looks up and turns his glare on you. "How could you DO this to me?"
"I-I'm sorry, Azul." You say honestly. "But I couldn't let you hurt my friends."
"Without that, I... I... I'm back to being that silly little octo-twerp again!"
Black ink clings to Azul's hands, slowly spreading up his arms. "That's the last thing I want... I refuse... I refuse to go back to being my old self again!"
Leona's eyes widen. "What's going on? There's a black aura growing..."
"This is your fault for gettin' his hopes up and then dashing 'em on the rocks, Leona!" Ruggie throws a glare at the lion. "Okay, Azul. Let's all just... take a deep breath and chill for a second. Okay?"
"SHUT! UP!" Azul whirls on them. "You don't know me! You don't know my life! All that time I spent being roundly mocked for my weakness... My intellect... Nobody could EVER understand!"
Azul runs his hand through his hair. "Of course. It's so simple. If you lose something... just take it back." Azul glares at the two boys. "Give them to me. I want your prowesses... GIVE THEM TO MEEE!"