"Aargh, Emile. You are stupider than we could ever imagine," Timothy whispered harshly and pushed Emile's head down.

"Sorry," Emile whispered back.

Damien, who noticed that the time was not appropriate for him to continue there anymore, immediately closed the shelf without making a single noise and walked stealthily out of the room.

"Why were you late, Qorder? You aren't with your friends?" The magical door asked him.

"Don't you have any other business than sneaking into other's affairs?"

"I'm just an old door that's rooted to this place for my entire life. What more business would I have?"

"Keep your old, woody mouth shut. You don't want to say goodbye to the world so soon, do you?" He snapped, keeping his voice down.

He exited before the door replied to him.

"Children these days are haughty and discourteous," The door muttered to itself.

The boys slowly poked their heads above the desks and later walked down to the old door.

"Aha! So you people were here too. I thought you were all busy eating," The door exclaimed.

"We expected the same too until that Qorder did something fishy inside the teacher's shelf. Did you see what he was doing there?"

"No. Alas, no wonder why I saw him shifting glances around the classroom."

"That's it. He's definitely hiding something." Charlie punched the air.

"I don't think we should meddle more in this. He's a Qorder and we don't want to pay a high price for it. Let's go before the soup turns cold."

"Emile's right but we need to know what he's doing," Timothy suggested.

"What is the need here?" Emile raised a brow.

"You know, curiosity," he grinned.

Thereafter, until all the classes were over, the boys' mind except Emile, was deeply buried in what Damien must be up to. They stared at every action of his.

When all the classes were over, Ermand and his two brothers enquired about joining the dorm and other procedures related to it at the college office. He didn't expect him to actually move there.

Fate's play, he thought.

"Stay away from trouble and be a good boy. Grab good grades and make us proud, Ermie," Mrs. Chisel advised him, tapping on his shoulder before hugging him tightly. Her eyes welled up with tears and her cheeks were flushed.

"I will be back on the holidays," He consoled her, smiling. His eyes were slightly moist when she saw Mrs. Chisel's eyes abrim with tears.

"Jack. I can't even scold you now. At least don't create much trouble there. And Jason, I know my son will do fine there," She patted on the boys' arms.

"You don't have to bother with that mum. I'll be doing just fine," Jack grinned, winking.

Mrs. Chisel sighed and shook her head. She's tired of scolding and advising her son. She thought that all of his naughtiness would end once he realized he had grown up. It seemed that Jack hadn't grown up yet.

"You don't want me to turn into a Chimera, do you, Jack?"

"You won't."

"You think?"

"Come on, mum. I've grown up. The old monster tales won't terrify me anymore," he laughed and picked up his large bag.

"Jack!" She shouted after him in a high pitched voice.

The three boys bid goodbye to their parents. For Ermand, departing wasn't so easy. He had never been to school or in any public association in his life before, he had always lived in the warmth of his little family.

"You should've seen mum's face. It was as if she's sending us to a slaughter house," Jack whispered as the boys scurried toward the Locoshifter station.

They chose travel coach Locoshifter and paid five Twoks each. Jack seemed to have enjoyed all of the changes while Jason wasn't bothered by it at all.

Maybe, I'm too antisocial... Ermand thought.

Only when Jack tapped on his shoulder did Ermand realize that they had reached Hazelfield.

"We're lucky that you moved today or else, some other guy must be occupying our room tomorrow," Timothy explained in an informative manner.

"Is this your idea of renting out one of your father's plots at the far end of Tawarn so that Ermand would join the dorm?" Jack raised a brow after all the procedures were completed.

"No. I really wanted someone close to be in our dorm room but I never thought of that."

"Fine. I'll be in room number twenty-eight--"

"Twenty-eight?" Charlie, Timothy and Emile squealed in unison.

"What's wrong?"

"Many students say that they could hear drilling and weird noises inside the dorm but when the superintendent investigated every nook and corner of the room, he couldn't find anything worthy of suspicion," Emile imparted.

"They're my friends and I know them well," Jack shrugged before moving into the Defender's hall.

Jason had already disappeared just after the procedures were done. Ermand moved into room number ten.

As he entered the room with his friends, a skinny, thin and lean boy who sat near the large window in the room suddenly shuddered and got up.

"Hi..." he mumbled.

"Hello. I'm Ermand... Chisel."

"The only person who interceded when I was left to be humiliated and brutally hurt. I'm sorry for all the trouble I caused you. "

"No. I just couldn't hold seeing that. We're all living beings, at least if they consider that."

"You're right. By the way, I'm Lapel, Edwin Lapel."

"Pleased to meet you. We'll be roommates now on," Ermand shook hands with the pale boy.

"Edwin barely comes out of the room. Hey, the view out there is ten thousand times more incredible than the little world you see outside this window," Timothy said, strolling toward his bed.

Edwin responded with a smile that scarcely showed the bliss. The typical joy that can easily be reflected in an eighteen-year-old was missing in him.

"So, Ermand. That bed next to Edwin's is yours." Charlie indicated with one of his fingers.

Ermand gave a suppressed smile and untied his big bag that seemed like a gunny sack. He produced a few clothes from it and gently organised them in the polished wooden chest near to his bed.

"It's almost dinner time now. Let's go," Timothy called.

Ermand nodded while closing the chest. Before he exited the room, he noticed Edwin lying on the foot of his bed.

"Edwin."

"Yes?" He slightly gasped. It seemed he was deeply immersed in his thoughts.

"Aren't you coming?"

"No. You guys go."

"Why aren't you? Come along with us." Ermand walked toward him and bent beside.

"Sorry, Chisel. But I can't."

"Why?"

"Nothing... I am... fine."

"Feel you don't fit in? Your case is okay if you consider me," He chuckled. "When I arrived here, it was my first time talking with people other than my family members, you know. I fitted in, and you will too."

"I'm a Lapel."

"Why do we have to include this in? I'm not a racist."

"I knew it the moment stood up for me despite all those thousands of people in the hall."

"My friends are like me too."

Edwin stared at the floor for a short while before getting up along with Ermand.

"Alright."

When Ermand and Odin walked out of their room and into the mess hall, they were surprised to see students rummaging in a huge pile of pink sand.

"What are they doing?"

Emile shrugged behind him.