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"THIS ISN'T A REAL school? So all the things I endured here...it meant nothing?" Xander asks in disbelief, trying to stay calm but his heart wouldn't stop beating fast at the painful realization. "I could have left! Do you know that?! I should have told my parents how worthless this all was!" he then shouted, taking a step to approach the Saints but Max immediately stopped him.

    "Calm down," Max says. "I know you're frustrated, and I don't want to take that away from you. But as fucked up as this may be, let's think rationally for a second. Okay?"

    Stefan and Keigo reach out to touch Xander's shoulder, and the poor serf finally takes a deep breath and calms himself down.

    "You bunch better have a fucking good explanation as to why you hid this from all of us," Xander then says, looking at the council officers again who were obviously guilty for keeping this a secret from everyone.

     "As Perseus said, we only learned about this two years ago, just a year after Klyde left. St. George Academy has been running for seven years, and within seven years, thousands of students have already graduated. Thousands of students are out there, finally living their normal lives after the fucked up things they endured here. We couldn't do anything. We were just stuck between doing the right thing and doing what needed to be done. We couldn't...we didn't have the heart to tell everyone the truth. To tell them that they endured all this for nothing. We were just scared," Justice explains, and for the first time, the charming and strong-willed Saints' President looked terrified.

     "And please don't get mad at Justice. I made the final call," Levi then revealed. "Justice initially wanted to do something but I told him to keep quiet. I'm not asking any of you to forgive us, but I hope you can understand why we did what we did," Levi then says.

     Xander and the others didn't say anything anymore either. They're angry and frustrated, but the council was left with the burden of keeping this painful truth. They're just victims too. The real villains are the adults who got away with everything.

     "So that's why when we were making plans, you never said anything about taking down the ministry. It was either implement the White Uniform Protection Code or destroy the Division Program. It was never destroy the Ministry," Max points out, massaging his temple because of how messy everything became. He just wanted to help, and now he's tangled with something as big as this. He's started to doubt if involving himself in their problem was worth it or not, but at the end of the day, he already made up his mind so no point crying over split milk now.

     "Okay, we can think of something," Max says, pacing across the room while touching the brooches in his collar. "There has to be something we can do about this."

     "But if this wasn't a registered school, how is it possible that the Department of Education never questioned it?" Vesper then blurts out, instantly making Max stop walking.

     "We checked their system and saw that St. George was never approved by them. Father Lucas Ivory must have lied to President Janus about it," Levi then adds, making Max furrow his brows in confusion.

     "Then they know? They know this isn't a school at all. That's the only explanation," Stefan says, which the others agree on.

     "Most schools here are non-profitable, and sometimes free of charge. They're also funded by the local authority, or the government directly but..." Max paused, thinking about it for a while, but then his eyes widened in shock; the others somehow realized it now too after connecting the dots.

     "The Department of Education is in on it!" Max and Keigo shouted in unison.

     "St. George Academy has a chance. The Secretary of State for Education, Laurence Chapman, probably knows about what's happening here. They purposely didn't register this house so they can easily exploit the students without any problem," Max explains before looking at his dear friend, Keigo. "Can you check on the Secretary of Education? See if you can find anything about him."

     "On it," Keigo answers, immediately running to his laptop so he can start searching for clues.

     "Now we just have to find more information about the Von Hatzfeld brothers," Max then adds before walking up to the whiteboard so he can write his plan down. Xander and Stefan also joined in to help–Xander sitting beside Keigo to assist him, while Stefan stood beside Max.

     While everyone was busy, the Saints just looked at the serfs with disbelief at how fast they'd come up with something. Vesper saw their reaction, so he smirked and approached them.

     "What's wrong? Never seen someone so certain about himself before?" Vesper teasingly asks while looking at Max. "Max is different from others because he never doubts himself. He makes a plan, and he doesn't care if it fails or not. What's important is he's doing something. He faces things head-on, and he doesn't let fear take over. I don't want to compare but...who do you think is the president who will help this school. If we're being honest here, it's definitely not you...Justice."

     Vesper grins and pats Justice's back before walking towards the exit.

     "Anyway, I'm heading out to guard the main door. Good luck with whatever it is you're doing," Vesper finishes, waving his hand and flashing his middle finger to the Saints before heading out and slamming the door shut.

     Justice, who was stunned by what Vesper just said, ends up laughing. He wasn't even mad because he knew that it was the truth.

     "Aren't we gonna do anything about this? What if this fails and all this backfires on us?" Perseus asks, obviously still worried.

    Justice and Levi continued to stare at Max and his friends, and then they looked at each other and nodded their heads in determination.

     "I think it's time that we actually do something for the students for once. I'm tired of being church decorations. Seeing someone do the dirty work for us is a bit embarrassing now," Justice says as he approaches Max, making Levi smile at him proudly. 

     "The Saints hold meetings with the Ministry at the convent twice a month. In the convent, there's a room that's always locked and heavily guarded. That's where the student records are found. They're all printed out and you can't find copies on any digital devices, which may be the reason why you're having a hard time finding it," Justice then reveals as he stands beside Max.

     "So we can find it there?" Max asks, turning to look at him.

     "The members of the Ministry and the other nuns and priest will be at the meeting, so the convent will mostly be empty. If you can hack the security, you'll be able to get in. It's important you don't get caught because the moment they find out, those documents will disappear in flames," Justice explains further.

     "We can work with that," Keigo confidently answers, and Xander nods his head as well, ready to give a hand if needed.

     "We'll have our meeting on Wednesday, which is only two days from now. I'm sure the Ministry won't cancel it thanks to what Perseus said about President Janus making a surprise visit," Levi then states while Perseus awkwardly scratches the back of his head.

     "Looks like we finally have a solid plan," Stefan says, and the white uniforms in the room look at each other and give out hopeful smiles. 

     The Saints, the highest white uniforms in this house, and the serfs who are considered the lowest, were never expected to work together since they're like fire and ice, but here they are now, trying to save the school that did absolutely nothing for them. No one is certain of the outcome, but what they are sure of is that at the end of the day, this is the beginning of the Ministry's end.

OBJECTIVES:

(1) Help serfs produce 50,000 MP for next week's tax collection. ✓

(2) [POSTPONED] Find clues on who's working with Payton Wolfe.

(3) [POSTPONED] Prove there was foul play to get PHD back in J.S High.

(4) Ask about the previous president who proposed the Divisions Program. (Old Saints President: Klyde Vitus Von Hatzfeld, brother of Klaus, member of Paradox) ✓

- Serfs mistreatment(?)...why are serfs treated like this?

- House of Bishops' involvement with PARADOX (Klaus & Klyde Vitus Von Hatzfeld)

- WHO IS THE ARCHBISHOP?

(5) Help the White Uniform Protection Code get approved.

(6) NEW: DESTROY the Ministry!!!!

- Do all this in 1 MONTH: April 22, deadline.

...

Max takes a deep breath while hiding at the back of the convent where the Saints and members of the Ministry are having a meeting. It was during lunchtime so it was almost impossible to hide, but thanks to Keigo, they were easily able to hijack the CCTV cameras. Unfortunately, they only have at least 40 minutes before Keigo loses its control again.

     "Max, can you hear me?" a voice asks, making Max adjust the earpiece that he's wearing.

     "Yeah," Max whispers, and Stefan, who's sitting beside Keigo and Xander while staring at the live CCTV footage on his laptop, sighs in relief.

     "The coast is clear. I'll automatically open the back door for you, and you have ten seconds to get in without getting noticed. Do you have the sketch that Justice gave to you earlier?" Keigo then asks.

     "I have it," Max whispers back, pulling out a paper to check the map again.

    "I mean...I kinda get it. He surprisingly did a pretty good job," Max compliments before putting the map back in his pocket.

    "Alright, if you're ready I'm gonna open the door. As I said, you only have ten seconds to get in once it's open."

    "We keep doing this. I'm starting to get worried," Max manages to joke, making Keigo laugh. He then wipes the sweat on his forehead and takes a deep breath before putting his mask on and tightening his shoelaces. When he was finally ready, he adjusted his hat and said, "Go."

    The red light above the metal door turns green in an instant. Max rushes inside without any hesitation and is instantly welcomed by a long corridor that you'd see in horror movies. The place was also dim, and the old-style interior made the vibe eerie.

    "Looks like you're in," Keigo says on the other line. "We're checking the cameras and it seems like the coast is clear. Justice and the others are right, the convent is practically empty. All you gotta do now is follow the map and head to the second floor."

    Max nods his head again and pulls the map out to check it one last time. After double-checking the directions, Max finally made a run for it, making sure he was as quick and quiet as possible. When Max reached the second floor, he instantly heard voices in one of the rooms. According to the map, it's the room where the meeting is being held. The Saints and the Ministry are all inside, so Max has to make sure not to make a sound.

    "Are you sure Janus might come and visit?" a voice asks while Max quietly walks past the door, making sure his footsteps won't make a sound.

    "I'm sure of it," a familiar voice then answers. "If we don't handle this now, the brotherhood association will end up inspecting us. We won't be able to avoid it."

     "And how do you suggest we handle this? The Brotherhoods are becoming violent and everything is in chaos! As long as that PHD doesn't take back the implementation of the Brotherhood Customs, we won't be able to do anything. It also doesn't help that a king was sent here. Who knows what he'll discover here."

     As curious as he is to hear more about the meeting, Max ignores the heated conversation and sneaks his way across the hall so he can arrive at his designated goal. When he turned a corner, he finally saw another metal door that had a CCTV camera directly pointed in its direction.

     "Looks like you found it," Keigo says through the earpiece. "I'll open the door again. I'll give you ten seconds like before. You ready?"

     "Yeah."

     "Okay...go!"

    Max took a step and was about to make a run for it, but as his hands were now only inches away from the door, someone suddenly grabbed his arm, surprising him. Max turned his head around to check, and his body instantly froze when he finally saw who it was. The person who ended up catching him was none other than the Tax Collector, Matthias. Or better known as the Ministry's loyal dog.

    "Max?! Who was that?! We didn't even notice him. He came out of nowhere!" Keigo shouted in a panic, but Max ignored him so that Matthias wouldn't notice that he was talking to him.

     "Look who we have here. A rat," Matthias says as he grips on Max's arm. "The Ministry will be very pleased to see you here..."

     Max looks around, trying to think of what to do. He thought of kicking him in the leg and pushing him away, but that would make a sound and alert the others. But just as he thought there wouldn't be any way out of this, someone appears behind Matthias and suddenly hits him around the neck, instantly knocking the Tax Collector out.

     Max's eyes widened in shock as Matthias's lifeless body dropped to the ground, revealing the serfs' official guard, Vesper Hugo Cinna.

     "Vesper?!" Keigo, Xander, and Stefan shouted in shock, making Max till his head a little because of how loud they were in his ear.

     "My apologies. I thought you'd need an extra hand, so I followed you here. I'm surprised the others didn't notice me," Vesper casually says.

     Max looks down at Matthias, and then he looks back at Vesper and smiles. "Thanks," he says before touching his earpiece. "Keigo, can you open the door again?"

     "I can, but I won't be able to open it anymore when you leave. If you try opening it for the second time, the alarms will turn on, so I suggest you keep the door open while you're inside," Keigo explains, and Max looks at Vesper with an even wider smile.

    "Looks like you came just in time," Max says before looking down at Matthias's lifeless body again. "Can you keep the door open while I search for the files?"

     "That's all you need? Easy."

     Keigo eventually opens the metal door again. Utilizing Matthias's body, Vesper dragged it towards the door and used it as a stopper to keep it open.

     Max hurries inside while Vesper waits outside as a guard.

     The room was drowning with file cabinets and shelves that were filled with all sorts of documents. Max expected it, but he still can't help but be overwhelmed. There was no way he's gonna find it before the meeting with the Saints and the Ministry ended.

      "Keigo, there are hundreds, maybe even thousands of files here. There's no way I'm gonna find this thing," Max declares.

     "Looks like it's time you used my baby prototypes," Xander says next, stealing the microphone from Keigo's hand so Max can hear him better. "Remember the box I gave you earlier before you left? Open it."

     Max hurriedly pulled the box out of his pocket and did what he was told. Max expected that it would be some kind of scanner, but when he opened it, he was surprised to see three miniature black and yellow propellers instead.

     "What in the spy gadget is that?" Stefan comments.

     "Microdrones, or what I call B-Cams," Xander confidently explains. "Those things are as big as a bee. Nothing this small has been created before. It's a prototype because the battery life is hella low. It can fly for five minutes before shutting down but I think that would be enough to help you find it."

     "Okay, now you're just flexing," Keigo comments next, making Max and Stefan chuckle.

    "Anyway, no time to waste. B-Cams...fly."

     The microdrones automatically turned on and began flying like actual bees, making Max smile because of how impressed he was.

    "Max, we'll take the shelves. You go and check the file cabinets," Xander instructs, and Max starts opening the cabinets with the letter V on it for Von Hatzfeld, running his finger over every file and reading the names as quickly as possible. Max was scanning the names so fast he thought his eyes were going to roll at the back of his head because of how many names they were looking at.

     "Anything?"

     "Nothing."

    Max and the B-Cams continued searching for the files. Max was already getting worried, so when Vesper stuck his head inside the room and said, "I think the meeting is ending soon," Max almost panicked.

     "At this point just take anything that looks suspicious!" Max says, grabbing folders that didn't have labels on them. 

     "Wait! Here! I found something!" Xander shouted against Max's ear, "On the top shelf on the left. There's a box labeled 'Classified Files.' This might be it."

     "Well, we just have to take our chances," Max says as he heads to the shelf, stepping on some books so he can reach for the box that's now covered in dust. After acquiring it, the 'bees' started falling to the ground, indicating that the battery had now died. Max picked them up and placed them inside their case before leaving the room. "Alright, let's go," he tells Vesper, and Vesper quickly pulls Matthias's body away from the door, finally closing it.

     "What are we going to do with this guy? He might rat us out," Vesper then says.

     Max looks at the lifeless body on the ground and grips on the box. With no other choice, he says, "Carry him. We'll bring him back to our dorm."

     Without any hesitation, Vesper grabs Matthias and carries him up like a sack. When they were finally ready, Max and Vesper, along with the Tax Collector, ran out of the convent, making their successful escape just minutes before the meeting ended.

     With Keigo's further instructions, the three safely arrived back at Hell Sanctum without getting caught. Surprisingly enough there weren't brotherhoods around when they went back to their dorm, or rather, someone must have kept them occupied while Max made their escape. But who it could have been is no longer their concern because what's important is they did what they could and acquired something from that file room.

    "They're back!" a serf shouted while the others locked their front door.

     Max removed his mask and hat while Vesper handed Matthias's still lifeless body to another white uniform.

     "W-What the...is this Matthias?!" the serf shouted in shock.

     "Tie him up in an empty room. Make sure to guard him, and call us if he wakes up," Vesper then instructed. And as strange as the request was, the serfs did what they were told and carried Matthias away.

     Max and Vesper headed to their office with the classified files and mystery box. When they got inside, Keigo immediately got up from his seat to hug his friend when he saw that he had come back in one piece.

    "Glad you're okay," Keigo says while Max hugs him back.

     "Good work to you guys as well," he tells him, and then Max turns to Xander and gives him his bee back. "And you left me completely speechless again. Thanks for this, Xander."

     "N-No problem," Xander shyly answers while scratching the back of his head, embarrassed by the sudden compliment.

     "Anyway, is this everything you need?" Stefan then asks, looking at the folders and box that Max and Vesper brought with them. Max quickly checked the folders he grabbed and realized that none of them were important, which left them with the box.

     The serfs surrounded the box and stared down at it, acting as if it would explode if someone touched it. Time was running out earlier so this was the best they could find. This was the only thing that looked suspicious enough, but if they ended up opening this and nothing was inside, all this would have been for nothing.

    "Well then, gentlemen..." Vesper says, and Max takes a deep breath, removing his earpiece and finally opening the box to see what's inside.

     Everyone moved close to get a better look. They were expecting to see papers and folders, maybe even old items, but when they opened it, they were surprised to see that it was actually cassette tapes. 

     Max takes one of the tapes out to see what was written on it. "September 19, 2019," he reads out loud.

     "This was five years ago," Stefan adds.

     "Wait, I know someone with a cassette where we can play that. Wait a second," Xander then says, running out of the room for a quick second before returning with a cassette player that he borrowed from one of the serfs.

     Xander places the cassette on the table, and Max puts the tape inside.

     The room was completely silent as they waited for the record to start playing something. After a couple of seconds, someone finally speaks, and all of the hair in their body stands as soon as they discover whose voice it belongs to.

     "Hi, this is Klyde Vitus Von Hatzfeld, and this is my weekly log as a new student of St. George Academy. I can't wait to learn and make friends in this house...I just can't wait."

- END -