!Please let me know if you see any errors in the text!
NRC: cafeteria
Riddle and Cater looked around for another victim while you kept a close eye on Grim to make sure he didn't run off towards the food.
"Jamil has long, black hair. Let's see...Ah, there he is!" - Cater exclaimed pointing to a table at which two people were sitting. One with white hair was actively discussing something with a dark-haired guy.
"You're the guy who got banged up in the kitchen yesterday, right? Mind if we chat?" - Grim jumped onto their table, attracting attention.
"What is this? An inquisition?" - the dark-haired guy raised an eyebrow questioningly and tensed a little.
"Oh, hey! That's the weasel who set my rear on fire at orientation!" - the guy with red eyes stood up from his seat in surprise.
"Grim. You need to work on your tone. Tact is important for these sorts of things. Forgive us for interrupting your breakfast." - Riddle intervened in the conversation.
"Wow, the Heartslabyul housewarden and the fire-spitting weasel. Ahaha, what a fun combo!" - the guy laughed and sat down while the dark-haired one looked at him with slight irritation.
"I ain't a weasel! The name's Grim. Better remember it for the rest of your life." - Grim.
"Huh! Well, I'm Kalim, Scarabia's housewarden. And that's the vice housewarden, Jamil." - Kalim introduced himself and finally noticed you.
"Hey! You're the girl who saved me from the fire." - he smiled broadly at you, to which you just rolled your eyes.
"Whatever, we're not here to make friends."
"So, why are you asking about my accident?" - Jamil asked.
"We're here at the headmage's behest." - Grim answered him, sitting comfortably on the table.
"The headmage? Huh...Well, okay. Last night, I was in the kitchen frying up some lamb rolls at Kalim's request." - he started.
"Oh man, you guys have NO idea how amazing Jamil's lamb rolls are. You've gotta try 'em one day." - Kalim stood up from his seat and leaned on the table.
"Can we stay focused here, Kalim?" - Jamil frowned irritably.
"Ah, right. Sorry!" - Kalim.
"When I was chopping the ingredients, it was like my knife hand went wild and cut my other hand all on its own." - Jamil looked at his hand wrapped in bandages.
"It makes no sense! Even the dorm's head chef can attest to Jamil's legendary knife skills." - Scarabia housewarden intervened again.
"Were you tired from Spelldrive practice, maybe?" - Riddle asked the brunette.
"No. Not so tired I couldn't control my hands. But at one point while I was cooking, I did feel kind of light-headed." - Jamil stopped and looked firmly at your group.
"I think I was feeling the effects of someone's signature spell." - this took the others by surprise until a thoughtful look appeared on your face and you lowered your gaze. It seemed more and more familiar.
"Oh, right! Because your signature spell is—MMMPH!" - Before Kalim could finish his sentence, Jamil covered his mouth. Making sure that he would not continue, the brunette let go.
"Pffft! Why'd you put your hand over my mouth?!" - the white-haired exclaimed.
"Because we're not talking about me here. Anyway, my theory is that someone was controlling my movements with magic." - Jamil finally finished.
"Interesting...That WOULD be a way to hurt people and have it appear like it was nothing more than the victim's own carelessness." - Cater put his hand to his chin.
"And if it only lasted an instant, even the victim might perceive it as his own mistake. When I nearly fell down the stairs, I never felt as though I was being controlled against my will." - Riddle.
"Well, I guess this is kind of a lead? What's our next move, guys?" - the third-year student was looking through his phone, looking for something.
"A spell that can control someone...If I could learn how to cast that, I could really clean up on bakery day!" - Grim exclaimed with a wide grin.
"Such small-mindedness...Truly, Grim? That's as far as your ambitions extend?" - Riddle gave him a disappointed look.
"Man, imagine eating all the deluxe grilled cheese I wanted— Huh?" - as soon as the cat said these words -
"This asshole..."
"AAAAAAHHHHH!"
Your group and the nearby tables shook at Grim's loud scream.
"WHOA! Why are we screaming?!" - Kalim asked still with wide open eyes.
"I, Grim, Expert Detective, have solved the case! I know who's got that signature spell!" - the cat struck a pose and stars literally flew around him.
"What?" - Riddle.
"It's the mongrel who serves the pussy!"
"...What?" - Riddle looked at you two strangely in even greater bewilderment.
"Are you talking about Ruggie? That lil' dude from Savanaclaw?" - Cater raised an eyebrow.
"Let's track him down and see what he has to say." - Riddle nodded decisively.
"Hmmm...Looks like Ruggie's in class 2B." - Cater looked at his phone again and flipped through a couple of pages.
"Thank you both for your cooperation!" - the red-haired man bowed to the two at the table.
"I'm still kinda lost here, but good luck!" - Kalim waved goodbye to you with a smile, while Jamil just looked at him irritably.
Timeskip
NRC: interoir hallway
Following Cater's instructions, you have found the desired classroom. Grim rushed to the door and began shouting Ruggie's name, you also hurried to join, but someone caught your hand.
"Stop right there, pup."
"Shi..." - you turned to the man in the fur coat with a sullen look.
"Professor Crewel?" - Riddle and Cater also stopped.
"What have you been doing all this time?" - he looked intently at your group.
"Professor, headmage gave us...more precisely Y/n-chan and Grim a task, and now we’re in a bit of a hurry..." - Cater tried to explain the situation, but was sweating from the teacher’s gaze.
"Whatever it is, I can't let you go like this." - his gaze fell on you.
"Why?"
"Your sleeves are ruined. What did you do? Did you try to burn someone?" - he lifted your arm so that the burnt areas on the sleeves of your jacket were visible. You must have gone a little overboard when you played spelldrive.
"Come. I have a spare one in my classroom." - he grabbed your hand tightly.
"No fu-!" - you tried to break free from his grip, but a familiar pointer appeared literally centimeters from you, forcing you into silence.
"Quiet! This won't take long, so you can go." - Crewel glanced at the two before walking away, dragging you with him.
"Well, it looks like we'll have to proceed without Y/n-chan." - Cater sweated a little when he saw how you tried to fight, to which Riddle only nodded.
"Stop lying! You STOLE my sandwich!"
"For the last time, it was a fair EXCHANGE!"
They sighed tiredly and rushed towards the cat and the suspect before they started fighting.
NRC: classroom
You sat in front of Crewel's desk and quietly muttered curses while he was looking for something on the shelves.
A minute later he pulled out another version of the jacket in your size.
"Tch. Why do you even need to have so much?" - you asked casually.
"Besides you, there are many more problematic puppies who constantly tear up my work." - he explained and stared out the window while you put on a new jacket.
"How did you even ruin the fabric like that? It should be resistant to mid-level magic."
"None of your business." - you answered and were about to leave when the professor grabbed your shoulder.
"Listen pup, you are in foreign territory now, and you'll have to behave yourself and be a good puppy. Unless you want to be muzzled." - the last words made you stop for a moment.
As much as you don't want to admit it, he was right.
You’ve been here for a month now, but you’ve learned practically nothing about this world, except for the history of the appearance of magic and other nonsense. In fact, you don’t know the true potential of magic; you’ve only ever fought with half-educated freaks.
You are all alone in this world. If the whole world turns against you, no one will stand on your side. No matter how strong you are, never underestimate your opponent.
"...Pup?" - Crewel’s voice brought you out of your trance and you looked at him.
"Are you alright?"
"...Just tired." - you turned away from him and silently left the office, leaving the professor alone.
Walking past the large windows you saw Ace and Deuce chasing Ruggie, but they were too slow. You frowned and ran out of the corridor as quickly as possible.
NRC: courtyard
You arrived there while Ruggie was laughing at their slowness.
"And what about evidence? Do you have a witness who saw me casting spells? For that matter, did anyone snap a picture? You don't have anything like that, do you?" - Ruggie laughed into his sleeve, still not noticing you behind him.
"Yeah, but...still!" - Ace exclaimed still breathing heavily, Deuce and Grim were also trying to catch their breath.
"How pathetic." - unpleasant shivers ran down his back when he slowly turned and saw your gaze burning through him.
"W-well, I'm done playing tag for today. I'll leave those pens of yours I stole right here for you, okay? Next time you wanna come after me, do me a favor and gather some proof first. Toodles !" - he backed away and muttered nervously before turning around and running into the college.
"Grrrrr...This guy..." - Grim growled as he watched the sophomore run away.
"Argh! He really gets on my nerves!" - Ace pouted, sitting on the ground.
"Housewarden Riddle is not going to be pleased. By the way, Y/n, where have you been all this time?" - Deuce turned and asked you.
"None of your business." - you waved it off, to their surprise without the usual irritation. Deuce was about to ask something else when a gray-haired student approached your group.
"So you guys are still on the hunt, huh?" - Jack crossed his arms and looked intently at each of you.
"Yup. Hey, here's an idea: Next time, maybe give us a hand? There is seriously something wrong with that guy." - Ace rolled his eyes with sarcasm in his voice.
"Why're you going through all this trouble for the sake of total strangers?" - he suddenly asked a question.
"I'm not sure I follow." - Deuce scratched the back of his head.
"I mean, I'd understand if you were out for vengeance for an injured friend, or something." - Jack.
"Buddy, you're missing the point." - Ace grinned.
"What?" - the wolf looked at him questioningly.
"We're not doin' this for anyone else's sake!" - ginger said.
"This is just a chance for us to score some kudos by catching the culprit." - Deuce continued, turning away.
"Yeah. I'd do anything to get on my dorm's team so I can show my talent to the world!" - Ace.
"Yeah, me too! I wanna catch the guy so I can get this glorious mug of mine on TV!" - Grim grinned widely, imagining the crowd clapping and praising him.
"I feel bad about what happened to Trey, but if there's an opening on the roster...I'll take it." - Ace continued again.
"Wow. I was doubting whether I could trust people who would suffer like this for strangers...But it turns out you guys're total scum." - Jack looked disappointed, and their smiles immediately fell.
"If we're scum, then you're less than scum, because you knew all along, didn't you? You knew exactly who the culprit was." - the ginger frowned more.
"Oh! I get it! That's why you were sure he wasn't gonna come for you—you knew the culprit was from your own dorm!" - Grim raised his paw as if he had solved the mystery of the world before frowning at him.
Jack's gaze grew heavier and he looked at you, who was staring intently at the three of you with disappointment.
"Why are you doing this? You don't seem like the type to immediately call for help." - Jack asked, ignoring the murderous look.
"Tch. I'll get paid for this." - Hearing your answer, the wolf was also about to say something, but you interrupted him.
"But now, I want to kick that pussy's ass!" - your harsh statements made the wolf’s eyes widen.
"Wait, are you doing this to prove that you are stronger than housewarden?" - Jack.
"This idiot is weak and pathetic if he relies on playing dirty. If I were him, I would rather fight to the death than run away like a coward!"
The wolf thought for a moment and you again played a staring contest before he turned to the three, which nervously watched from the side.
"...Fight me. Three of you."
"Huh? Why should we?" - Ace raised an eyebrow.
"If I'm gonna trust you, I gotta size you up first. Prove to me that you ain't all talk, and I'll tell you everything I know." - Jack took a fighting pose.
"Ugh, do I have to? I hate getting all sweaty." - the ginger groaned, stretching tiredly.
"Now you're talkin' my language. Let's cut that smack-talk and THROW DOWN!" - Deuce cracked his knuckles.
"Myah?! I'll never get used to him flippin' out like that!" - Grim flinched at Deuce's sudden change.
You stood to the side with a blank face. Well, they can handle it themselves, you're a little hungry anyway...
Timeskip
You arrived when Ace and Grim, tired and exhausted, were lying on the ground with bruises, Deuce and Jack continued to fight.
"Hyeeeaaarrrgh!" - Jack roared and punched Deuce, but he dodged and threw a punch himself.
"Grrraaaaah!" - the wolf blocked Deuce's fist with his hands and backed away a little.
"*pant* *pant*...Man, you just...You just don't give an inch..." - Jack grinned.
"Phew...You neither. You sure can fight." - Deuce wiped the sweat from his forehead and grinned too.
"It's like every one of your punches rattled me to the core..." - Grim whined.
"Yeeesh...Maybe we got a little carried away. Uuuugh. At this point, I don't even care about makin' the stupid team." - Ace sighed, holding his hand.
"Idiots."
After some more time, Jack finally gave up.
"All right. The path ahead is clear. I'll tell you what I know." - he said, breathing heavily.
"The path"? The path to what?" - Ace raised an eyebrow.
"The path my heart's telling me to walk. Remember, I'm betraying my own dorm here. But I can't be quiet any longer! I don't care how strong the foe—I wanna face them with my own two fists! I've been training hard for this tournament. I was excited to see how far I could go. But these cowardly schemes are making me sick! A triumph won through treachery means nothing! I wanted to claim victory on the back of my own strength and skill, and fight to defend it!" - Jack declared loudly.
"I think I preferred talking to his fists." - Ace was sweating from his dramatic speech.
"I get it! I know exactly what he means!" - Deuce put his hand to his heart, as if he had heard the most beautiful music in the world.
"That's not a good sign." - Grim.
"Spit it out already!" - your patience is beginning to come to an end.
"Ruggie's signature spell - It makes its target copy Ruggie's movements. Since he's making the same movements as the person he's controlling, he's able to make it look like an accident on their part." - the wolf explained.
"Huh. So that's how he was able to get Grim to trade without getting caught. He just put out his hand, and Grim put out his." - Ace.
"That lousy, rotten...! Aaargh! Now I'm angry again! Food grudges never die!" - Grim stomped in rage.
"Wait, hold on a minute. If he was mirroring the movements of someone about to fall down the stairs, surely someone would have noticed that?" - Deuce put his hand to his chin.
"Ruggie didn't cause these accidents by himself. Most of Savanaclaw was probably in on it too." - Jack frowned.
"Myah?!" - Grim.
"Like you said, someone would have noticed if he was near the targets and also mimicking their actions. I believe he escaped notice by surrounding himself with a wall of his dormmates." - he crossed his arms and growled.
"The whole dorm was in on it? But why?" - Deuce asked.
"Well, duh. How well they do at the Spelldrive tournament could make or break their careers. If that's their motive, well, it isn't hard to understand where they're coming from." - Ace crossed his arms, looking askance at the white-haired student.
"Grrrrr..." - Jack growled at him, his ears flattening against his head.
"Dude! Don't bare your fangs at me! I'm just connectin' the dots!" - Ace raised his hands and backed away a little until he stood behind you.
"Hmph. If they're not willing to show what they're capable of now, what does the future even matter? I'm most disappointed with our housewarden, Leona Kingscholar. He has incredible talent, but refuses to even use it! " - the wolf frowned more deeply.
"Yeah, for as lazy as that guy is...He seemed insanely strong." - Grim shuddered, remembering their game against Savanaclaw.
"Right?! Why would you possess such power and not even hone it? I despise guys like him! The way he played when I saw him three years ago... It blew my mind. That was the reason I came to this school. I thought if I joined Savanaclaw, he and I would be tearing up the Spelldrive field together." - Jack exclaimed and shook his head but sounded rather disappointed in the end.
"Yo, Y/n. He's pretty harsh when he talks about his own housewarden, but I'm starting to think..." - Ace whispered in your ear.
"Get away from me." -you muttered with a blank look. You may be familiar with the desire to surpass your idol.
"All these "accidents" are just an incidental part of the plan. They're hunting bigger prey here." - Jack continued his explanation, not paying much attention to you.
"Bigger prey?" - Deuce raised an eyebrow.
"Malleus Draconia, the Diasomnia housewarden. He possesses monstrous power. He led Diasomnia to victory two years running. He's the reason we were knocked out of both tournaments without scoring a single point. The older dorm members won't ever forgive that." - Jack.
'Who is this Draconia anyway?' - you involuntarily thought. During your entire stay here, you never encountered him, but there were many rumors about him.
"Without a single point...? For a dorm that usually wins the tournament, that had to hurt." - Deuce.
"You know it. Our greatest moment of shame—broadcast to the whole world in real time. The upperclassmen want to redeem themselves, but the way they're doing it is despicable." - the wolf looked at the ground.
"So this all comes together on the day of the tournament." - Ace put his hand to his chin and nodded.
"Yep. And that's why I need to stop them!" - Jack exclaimed, looking firmly at your group.
"I believe I've heard enough." - footsteps were heard behind you and a familiar voice caught your attention.
"Hello, Housewarden Rosehearts. Cater." - Deuce straightened up.
"I cannot allow such an important tradition to be tarnished by personal grudges." - Riddle frowned and crossed his arms.
"So what's the sitch, Riddle? We got a plan?" - Cater put his hand on the red-haired shoulder.
"As we have no proof of Leona's machinations, nor of Ruggie's assaults, we cannot take this to Crowley. Without solid evidence, that sort of accusation would never stick to someone as sly as Leona." - Riddle thought out loud.
"So you're saying we need to catch him in the act?" - Ace.
"Yes. And I have a suggestion to that end. First—" - housewarden was interrupted by Jack.
"Stop. I've told you what I know, but that doesn't mean I'm plannin' to join your merry band." - he shook his head.
"What? C'mon, Jack, even after all we've been through together? The smiles and the tears?" - Cater said in a pitiful tone.
"Savanaclaw is my dorm, and I'm gonna be the one to settle this. Seeya." -Jack turned around and was about to leave.
"Tch. Idiot. Do you think you have a chance?" - you are muttered, but the wolf still heard you.
"What'd you just say?!" - Jack frowned and looked at you intently.
"This is bad..." - Grim winced while the Heartslabyul glanced nervously at each other.
"It's true, though. You versus your entire dorm? Can't say I see the odds favoring you." - Deuce tensed slightly at the beastman's gaze.
Jack looked at you again, but in your gaze there was no anger and hate like last time, only confidence and determination.
"...All right, fine. I'll hear you out. But I'm not committing to anything. If I don't like the sound of your scheme, I'm out." — he sighed and turned away from you.
"Man, this guy is impossible." -Ace muttered.
"Funny, I was just thinking how much he reminds me of you and Deuce." - Cater just smiled at the freshman's gaze.
Riddle cleared his throat, gaining everybody's attention.
"Then, if I may continue explaining my plan? The first step is..."
💥Little notes💥
- Despite your rudeness, Kalim sees you as a friend.
- A trio of idiots noticed that you were acting unusually quiet.
- Jack noticed that you were behaving completely differently.
- Perhaps you need a little break from everything.
A/n: Hi, sorry this took so long, it was a hard week for me, both physically and mentally....And we also got snow in May for one day...
I'm also sorry that it took me so long to update Che'nya!reader, but it's almost done and I'll update all the chapters soon!
I'll probably be gone for a while again, but then I'll try to get back to weekly updates.
Bye~