It had been over two months since the Magift Tournament and things were settling down.
Though now Leona seemed to be on better terms with Ramshackle, Kate most of all.
If anyone were to ask Leona of the benefits, he would deny it. But he liked that Kate was able to defend herself, and was a real fighter. As a result, students thought that the two of them were dating.
Once again, the school was bustling, mainly because Final Exams were coming up.
And at a certain lounge, a young megane was looking over the contracts for his 'clients' and he came across a peculiar one from some nobody student.
One that made him want to go in a rage.
'Make Anisha-sama fall in love with me!'
He gripped the parchment tightly as he actually ripped it up piece by piece and threw it all into a fire.
Then Azul smirked and they were closing up the Lounge.
'Yes, she won't be with some weak nobody. They aren't worthy of her at all. Once things fall into place, I'll get what I want from her.' Azul thought as he left for his room, his eyes filled with dark desire.
-------------------------------
Morning of the exams....
GRIM: (mumbling) So for the application for this problem... If 2 choices remain, I simply... (mumbling)
"Morning Grim, we're you studying all night?" Becky asked surprising the little demon.
GRIM: Wha-!? Don't just call my name like that! You made me forget what I was memorizing, yanno.
Today's the first day of exams, yanno!
"He has a point; a lot rides on this exam. So, we can't slack. That's why we all studied hard the past month and a half." Laura said
[LOCATION: Classroom]
Since the girls studied ever since the Magift Tournament, and tested each other often, it felt like a breeze for them.
CREWEL: Time is up, you dogs. Put your pens down obediently, and pass your answer sheets forward.
That concludes all of the written exams for this class.
ALL: YAAAAYYY!!!
CREWEL: Sit! It's still too early to celebrate. All the bad children that will get failing marks will be taking remedial classes over Christmas break.
I will whip you into shape, so be ready. Class dismissed.
ACE: Ah~! It's finally over!
DEUCE: I did all that I could. All that's left is to wait for the results.
GRIM: Ahaha! A test like this's a piece of cake for me!
ACE: Huh? You guys seem confident even though you normally make such defeated faces after a test~
GRIM: Hehe! I'm a bit different from the past me already, yanno.
Be prepared to ask me for help with your studying next time! I'll be waiting to hear "What a genius you are, Grim", yanno!
DEUCE: Sorry, but I am pretty confident this time. I'll be taking that glory for myself.
ACE: Pretty rich hearing that from the same dude who cried his eyes out because he barely passed. Well, I'm pretty confident too, so I ain't losin'.
The boys said as they interacted.
"You guys studied really hard for the exams, huh?" Minerva asked, and for some reason, she and the other girls felt like something was wrong.
ACE: Pretty much~♪ Studying's easy~♪
DEUCE: Alright, classes are over, so I might as well head to the track-and-field club.
ACE: I'm gonna play basketball and exercise 'til I drop. Alright, see you all later then.
"Let's go back home, too. I studied so hard that I'm feeling super sleepy now." Grim yawned as he flopped into the young strong girls' arms and she shook her head with a smile.
"Well, we have to finish the last touches to the bathroom and attic anyway." Becky pointed out.
"Yeah, let's finish that and celebrate with a movie night!" Justine cheered as the girls left.
[LOCATION: Mostro Lounge]
AZUL: Why did you ignore my summons for you yesterday? Do you understand the current position you are in?
OCTAVINELLE STUDENT: I-I had an upset stomach yesterday, so I...
AZUL: Really, now? Lying will not play in your favor.
OCTAVINELLE STUDENT: I-it's true! My stomach hurt so badly, and I...
AZUL: Jade, please make it so that he will be able to speak with us more honestly.
JADE: Understood. Fufufu, you do not have to be so scared. I promise that this will not hurt one bit.
Come, look over here... [Shock the Heart].
OCTAVINELLE STUDENT: (shrieks) Wh-what was that just now...!?
JADE: Now then, let me ask you again. Why did you not answer Azul's summons yesterday?
OCTAVINELLE STUDENT: That's...
OCTAVINELLE STUDENT: I've had enough of being used by that wicked, scheming bastard Azul!
OCTAVINELLE STUDENT: It's obvious that I was lying, ain't it?
OCTAVINELLE STUDENT: .... What-!? I just suddenly said what's on my mind-!! Ah...!?
JADE: Oh? I see now. So that is what you really feel, is it not?
AZUL: Ah, what an upsetting result. I am so shocked.
And right after I granted your wish in order to uphold the Sea Witch's benevolence...
And yet you still call me wicked and scheming?
OCTAVINELLE STUDENT: I-I'm sorry...! You've got it wrong, that was-!!
AZUL: Hm, it is already too late to take your words back! Floyd, come. It is your turn.
FLOYD: You guys are finally done talking~? Can I start squeezing tightly?
AZUL: Yes, go ahead. Do it to your heart's content.
FLOYD: Okay~
OCTAVINELLE STUDENT: P-please wait! Please give me another chance-AHHHHHHH!!!!
AZUL: (sighs) Good grief. We keep getting good-for-nothings who always end up beaten unconscious on payment deadlines.
If you buy it, you pay for it. If you borrow, you return it. Such obvious policies.
JADE: Indeed, it is as you say.
AZUL: It would be nice if we got more decent clients this year...
JADE: (chuckles) I am looking forward to the results of the tests.
AZUL: Fufufu....
-------the next day----------------
[LOCATION: Exterior Hallway - 2F]
[- One Week Later]
ACE: Stop right there, Grim! Today is the day I'll wring your neck!
GRIM: Hehe! You should've put your name on it, yanno!
ACE: Bastard~!!
"Are they fighting again?" Kate asked, sighing in exasperation.
"Really, what a tiring routine." Deuce agreed.
ACE: Ah, Stella! You're a Prefect, so discipline your students better!
This guy stole the bread I bought AGAIN!
GRIM: That's a rude accusation. It was left on the desk so I just picked it up and ate it, yanno.
ACE: Someone's desk doesn't really qualify as trash, damn you!
You keep running away. I'll end this with my wind magic and-
GRIM: Oh, you up for it? Get ready for my fire-
"Ah...!!" They both paused, as if they were remembering something.
ACE: I-I'll hold back on the magic on second thought... It'd be bad if I got punished if I break another window...
GRIM: Y-you say some pretty sensible things once in a while, huh.
I'll let you go this time because using magic is kinda childish, yanno?
'...What's going on? Something is definitely wrong.' The girls all thought.
"It's rare for them to stop fighting by themselves.
Normally they'd continue until a teacher or the Headmaster stops them." Deuce added.
"Not really~ I just thought I'd look lame chasing after a dumb raccoon over some bread." Ace shrugged.
"What?! You're being really rude, yanno!" Grim shouted.
At that, the girls had a feeling something bad would happen.
[LOCATION: Classroom]
CREWEL: Alright, you dogs. It's time for class to begin. Sit obediently at your desks. First, I'll be distributing your test papers.
DEUCE: It's finally time.
GRIM: Nyaha! Test results, come to papa~!!
"Grim." Hazel said putting a hand down on his head making quiet.
"Shutting up."
"I'll start calling your seat numbers, so come up here and get them. Number 1!" Crewel said, going in numeral order.
ACE: Alright, that's 92 points for me!
Deuce: 88 points!? To think that the day I would get over 80 would come, I'm...!
GRIM: Look, Hazel! I got 85 points!
'"Red-grade" Grim got 85 points!? This is obviously a red light.' Hazel thought again.
"Ladies, great work as always." Crewel said as the girls each got an 100.
[CHOICE A:]
DEUCE: I don't have to worry about repeating a year now...!
CREWEL: You all studied pretty well this time. Compared to the quiz the other day, it's...
No, it still feels a little too suspicious for me...
ACE: Suspicious? What do you mean, Teach?
CREWEL: Everyone in your year all scored an average of 90 points for Magical Alchemy.
I heard from Professor Trein that your scores for Magical History were quite good, too.
DEUCE: EH!?
GRIM: Wha-!?
ACE: I have a ba~d feeling about this...
CREWEL: The names of the top 50 highest scorers will be posted by the hallway, so look forward to it. Alright, let's begin. Open your textbooks.
---------After school--------
[LOCATION: Interior Hallway]
GRIM: The Top 50, finally! Where's my name~?
ACE: If my average is over 90, I should at least be ranked, right!?
DEUCE: Hey there's Becky's score: at rank 1?! And the others:
Stella: rank 2, Justine: rank 3, Anisha: rank 4, Laura: rank 5, Kate: rank 6, Minerva: rank 7
ACE: Wow, among the top 10. You are pretty smart ladies!
Kate: Thank you, Ace.
GRIM: Rank 10, 20... None! 48, 49, 50... None! My name's not here!!
DEUCE: My name's not here, too...
ACE: Wait, wait a sec-!! Their scores for each subject are written next to their names, and...!?
More than 30 of them have a perfect 500 score, dude! The ladies included, but that's no surprise.
DEUCE & GRIM: P-perfect scores!?
'Well, may not be a surprise, considering we had to aim higher, but this is suspicious.' Stella thought as the other three were panicking.
GRIM: More importantly... If I'm not in the top 50, I'll be violating the contract, yanno...!
ACE: Eh...? By contract, you mean... Dude, did you...!?
DEUCE: Ace, that look on your face means...
'Wait, contract-?!' Minerva thought as she saw...anemones appearing on their heads.
GRIM: Wh-what's this!? There's an anemone on my head~~!?
DEUCE: D-did you make a contract with that guy, too, Grim!? That's cheating!!
ACE: Says the cheater! It's on your head, too!
GRIM: Something like this is easy to-Ow, ow... I can't take it off!
"What in the world did you morons do?!" Kate asked the boys.
JACK: I knew you'd all be here since it was so noisy. What are you doing?
DEUCE: Jack, did you make a contr-There's no anemone on your head...?!
ACE: You don't look it, but you're pretty studious, huh!
JACK: Huh? What are you saying? What's that thing on your heads?
GRIM: This is, um... Wha-What's happening!? The anemone is pulling me-!?
ACE: Owowowowowowow! My head's gonna get ripped!
DEUCE: Damn it...! Is this what he meant by "absolute submission"!?
ACE/DEUCE/GRIM: AHHHHHHHH!!!!
The boys shouted in pain as if the anemones were leading them somewhere.
JACK: What's going on? Those guys just started following where the anemones lead them.
What an idiotic turnout.
"We should go after them." Stella said, earning Jack's attention.
JACK: Huh? Why me? I've got nothing to do with this.
"Are you scared or something?" Kate teased.
JACK: Tch... You've completely been influenced by this school, you know? Pretty bold of you to use me just like that.
Fine. I'll go with you if it's only for a while.
I'm just curious about the cause of all this ruckus. Plus Leona-sempai would repremand me if i let something happen to his woman.
----------------------------------
[LOCATION: Hall of Mirrors]
JACK: This is... the Hall of Mirrors for each dorm?
HEARTSLABYUL STUDENT: I definitely thought I'd make it to the top 50...!
SAVANACLAW STUDENT: Damn it, we were tricked by that lying octopus bastard!
SCARABIA STUDENT: Goodbye to my glorious student life!!
JACK: What's going on? There are so many students with anemones on their heads!? I thought it was only those three idiots.
Anisha: There are 2nd and 3rd years here too.
Becky: It looks like they're all gathered in front of the Octavinelle Dorm mirror. They're all saying something about the test rankings.
Justine:Do you think this 'octopus' has something to do with this?
JACK: Maybe. I heard theres one person of that dorm that fits that description. Let's go check it out, too.
[LOCATION: Octavinelle Dorm]
"A dorm underwater? That's a new one." Laura said.
"To think there'd be a dorm underwater! Night Raven College is amazing!" Jack said in amazement before recollecting himself.
"(clears throat) This is temporary, but we'll be entering another dorm. You better watch yourself, got it?" He said. Hazel nodded, but contained a giggle. Jack really was a softie once he loosened up.
[LOCATION: Mostro Lounge]
"How many people do you think are here, Jack?" Hazel asked the wolf as they entered a place that looked like a speakeasy mixed with the underwater scenery. In the place, there were
"100... No, maybe near 200... And what's this place? It looks like a shop..."
" 'Mostro Lounge?' Hey, where's Ace and the other two?" Kate looked around, but then she spotted some one with a fedora along with the twins that she encountered weeks ago.
"Oh, if it isn't the unfortunate students who couldn't make it to the Top 50.
Welcome to Mostro Lounge.
I know that you all are already familiar with me, but let me introduce myself once again. I am Azul Ashengrotto.
I am Octavinelle Dorm's Prefect as well as Mostro Lounge's manager. And now...
Starting today, I will be your Master." The individual said with a smile that reminded Minerva of Loki with a hint of poison.
JACK: (whispering) What did he say?
"Obviously, the idiot trio did something stupid and made a deal with him, and lost." Kate whispered back. "And so did everyone else with an anemone."
AZUL: You lost a bet against me.
And according to our contract, you all will be working under me as my servants until the day you graduate.
ACE: Wait right there! This is a scam, y'know!
AZUL: If I remember correctly, you are Ace Trappola, a 1st year. What a rude accusation.
I believe that I gave you the perfect test notes just like I promised in our contract.
Judging by that, you should have scored more than 90 points.
ACE: Yeah, I did score 92 points!
AZUL: What wonderful news! I'm happy to have been of help to you.
ACE: But I didn't know that you'd be giving those notes to all these guys!
DEUCE: I second Ace's argument.
Even if we received the notes, there's no way all of us could place in the top 50!
GRIM: If everyone got more than 90 points, getting 85 points and below is just like failing, yanno!
AZUL: Are you boys aware of the term "duty of confidentiality"?
"I want to get a high score with no effort." "I don't want to fail." "I want to laze around until the day of the tests." and etc...
'Really? Seriously?! Are these guys idiots?!' Becky whispered to Jack as he agreed.
AZUL: This time, the idiot-Ahem, all of your circumstances were different, however-
You do understand that there are a lot of complicated processes if you asked me "Who else?" "Under what circumstances?" and "What kind of contract was it?"
AZUL: There is no way that I will be talking about someone behind their back, you know?
I am a very honest man, after all.
There was a stipulation written on page 127 of our contract under the fine print, correct?
I am just protecting that agreement.
GRIM: Th-then, what will happen to my fire magic that I gave as a collateral?
POMEFIORE STUDENT: He's right! What about my water magic?
SCARABIA STUDENT: Give me back my unique magic!
"...!?! Don't tell me..!!!!" Justine thought out loud in a whisper as she thought back to earlier that day.
"So that's why Ace and Grim...!" Kate said as the girls put two and two together.
AZUL: Oh, my. Did you already forget the conditions for our contract?" Azul said as he clarified.
"In place of my giving you the test notes, you are to surrender to me one thing that you hold on to proudly."
"If you managed to be in the top 50, you get to keep your magic."
"And I will be giving you the test notes until your graduation."
"However, if you did not make it to the top 50..."
"You will be working with absolute submission under me as my servant." ...... Was it not?
A lock of your hair was part of the collateral, too, correct?
In other words... Whether I return your magic or not... It is completely up to me." Azul said as simple as if he was explaining the weather.
ACE: Is that even legal!?
JACK: I've been listening all this time, but... All of you are intolerable!!!
ALL: !!??
DEUCE: J-Jack...!? What are you doing here?
'What happened to being quiet and stealthy?' The girls thought looking at Jack.
AZUL: Hm? You are... You do not have an anemone on your head.
We are in the middle of a staff meeting, so could unauthorized personnel please keep out?
JACK: (growls) You want me to go out? I won against all these cheaters with my own effort.
Thanks to you, all that effort was wasted. I have every right to be here!
'Well, at least he's honorable. Ah, might as well...' Becky came out as well along with the other girls.
"We agree with Jack. This is an inexcuseable act, Ashengrotto." Anisha spoke up gaining attention.
Pomefiore student: Hey, that's the Women of Ramshackle!
Scarabia student: I heard their on good terms with Heartslabyul and Savanaclaw now.
GRIM: Guys...! Did you guys come here to save us!?
JACK: Don't get me wrong. I can't stand each and every one of you here.
I don't plan on choosing sides between someone who scammed people out of greed, and people who relied on others for help!
ACE: Then what did you come here for?
GRIM: No, I... I've finally come to my senses thanks to Jack.
We just have to fight for ourselves! In other words...
If we take the contract we signed from Azul and destroy it, then it's basically nullified, yanno!
POMEFIORE STUDENT: Ah...! Now that you mention it...
SCARABIA STUDENT: Even if we don't have our special magic, we still outnumber him! Get him!
'And here we have people who have no sense of responsibility at all.' Laura sighed.
AZUL: Good grief... I did not want to resort to such means, but you've forced my hand.
Jade, Floyd, please play with them for a bit.
JADE: As you wish.
FLOYD: I can strangle all of them? Aha, yay~!
It didn't take the twins long to make a workout of those who tried to oppose them.
FLOYD: They're all so weak. I didn't get the chance to strangle anyone~
AZUL: It's as if they were powerless fry.
ACE: Just how much magic can Azul use!? That's cheating!
JACK: Is the golden contract that Azul holds playing with all of your attacks?
DEUCE: Damn it... I didn't notice that I started relying too much on my special magic...
ACE: Grim's just a normal raccoon when he can't use his fire, huh.
GRIM: I'm not a raccoon... (faints)
AZUL: All of you signed your names under this [Golden Contract]. As it is an official form, none of you will be able to destroy it.
No matter what magic you use, it will be impossible to lay a hand on this contract. Fufufu...
The moment those anemones appeared on your heads means that you have no choice but to follow my orders.
Shall I have you clean around the Lounge first? And then afterwards, food preparation.
Now then, stand up and start working!
ACE: Are you for real...?
AZUL: Jade, Floyd. I'll leave the training of the new staff to you.
JADE: Very well. | FLOYD: Yessir~
"You are Savanaclaw's Jack Howl and... the Women of Ramshackle, are you not?
Please feel free to leave anytime soon." The last part was more directed at Jack, but then he turned to the girls with a gentleman's smile. "My apologies for the manner I displayed toward your classmates earlier, but it is business since they signed the contract. I regretfully must be busy right now, but I will graciously welcome you as guests anytime." Then he turned to Anisha. "Especially you, my dear." Azul said placing a kiss on her knuckle before leaving.
"Well, looks like the Octavinelle head's got the hots for our panther." Justine whispered to Becky.
JACK: (growls)
JACK: Hey. Let's leave and regroup for now.
" But, Grim and the others..." Laura said
"You saw how the battle went, didn't you? We can't do anything right now." The wolf said frustrated with the situation as well.
"Jack's right, we got to regroup and assess the situation for now." Stella commanded the group.
As they left, a certain pair of eyes filled with desire kept following a certain Wakandan female as she departed.
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