After class and parting ways with Ace and Deuce, Yuu and Grim headed to the infirmary to talk to the young man from Heartslabyul who had suffered the accident on the stairs, since he was the most recent victim.  Since it was an investigation, Yuu had taken the ghost camera with him in case he found anything suspicious.

"We've been told that there are wounded people here. Let's go find them!" Grim yelled.

Knowing Grim well enough and the likelihood that he would say something that might offend people, Yuu scooped him up in his arms. "Grim, before you say anything, look at me so you can see how to talk to people in this kind of situation. Alright?"

Grim frowned slightly. "Okay, okay..." He murmured.

"Very well. These guys have been through something unpleasant, so you have to ask them about it tactfully so they don't feel worse, watch and learn. Excuse me..."

The two Heartslabyul biys who were there had already noticed them with Grim's shriek. The tall, brown-haired boy was lying on one of the beds with his foot bandaged and his green-haired friend was sitting in a chair next to him.

"Who are you?" Asked the student with the bandaged foot.

The other boy smiled as he recognized them. "Oh, you two are the Ramschackle boys who went to the Unbirthday Party," he said before looking at Yuu. "You were also by our dorm to help restoring the garden."

"Oooh, it seems that we are famous!" Grim commented, impressed.

"Yeah, it's me," Yuu said before clearing his throat. "We're investigating the security and the increased number of accidents at the school. We've been told that you're the most recent, so if it's not too much trouble, could you tell me what happened on the stairs yesterday, please?"

"I don't exactly get what happened either. I was talking with him while we were walking..." The young boy began to explain. "Before I knew it, I fell down the stairs."

"Yes," confirmed his friend. "It's not like he slipped or tripped."

"It's like my body had moved on its own..." Added the wounded student. "I wouldn't know how to explain it."

"I see, I understand," Grim commented.

Seeing that they had gotten as much information as possible, Yuu placed Grim on his shoulders. "Thank you very much for your cooperation. Get well soon!" He wished him before leaving. "Let's find the next one, Grim."

The next person was a second-year Pomefiore student with purple hair and a bandaged hand, who was found in his classroom while talking to a dark-blond-haired student from his own dorm.

"Let me do the talking this time!" I think I have it," Grim insisted.

"Okay," Yuu said as they entered the classroom and she picked him up again. "Do it like I told you: tactfully, okay?"

"Okay," Grim said before turning to both Pomefiore students. "Hey, hey. You hurt yourself a lot a few days ago, right?" He snapped. "Tell us what happened!"

Yuu wished to be swallowed by the earth at that moment. "Grim!"

"And who are you two?" The wounded student asked in his deep voice, obviously annoyed, but calm.

"He's already feeling bad because he can't participate in the Magift tournament after all his hard training!"  His friend asked with indignation and his high-pitched and offended, but elegant tone of voice.

"How can you be so insensitive and throw salt in my wound!" The purple-haired student  exclaimed dramatically and forcefully as he pulled a glove from his jacket pocket. "I challenge you to a duel! Pick up the glove and let's fight!" And he decisively threw it to the ground.

Yuu had heard that it was not uncommon to see Pomefiore students behaving in dramatic or theatrical ways, a fact that he had not taken seriously until now. "No, please wait a moment!" He exclaimed before setting Grim down. "Er... I sincerely apologize for my friend's inconsiderate behavior, we are still working on it. Now I am going to pick up the glove, but not to accept the duel, but to return it to you, okay? "He stooped down again with both arms raised, picked it up, shook it a little to remove the dirt and held it out to him. "Take it, we are not looking for a fight with you, but to ask you something, nothing else."

The purple-haired boy looked at the glove suspiciously, then at Yuu to receive it and put it back in his pocket. "Hmph.  Your friend needs to learn manners, but you seem reasonable. Apology accepted," he said. "Well, what do you need?"

He explained that they were investigating the accidents.

"Okay, I'll tell you about what happened that day."

"It happened in the laboratory," his friend began to explain. "Suddenly he grabbed with bared hands a vial in which he was brewing a potion, it fell from his hands and caused an uproar in class! To top it off, the potion spilled everywhere, even the desk. Even I was surprised!"

"Did you have to tell them everything!?" Asked the other with embarrassment.

"I see, I see," Grim muttered.

"Well, I think we've heard enough. Thank you very much for your cooperation," Yuu said. "We must go now, but I wish you a speedy recovery, gentleman. Take care."

When they left that class, Grim climbed back on the shoulders of his human. "Gentleman? What's this way of speaking come to?"

"Look who's talking! Did you forget what I told you about speaking tactfully?"

"I just did the same as you. I asked about the topic, talked about it and  them asked how the wound was made."

Yuu sighed. "Okay, I'll explain it to you better in the dorm how it's done. Let's go back there for now to think about what we've gathered so far."

On the way they met professor Trein. "Good evening, Grim and Ramschackle's Prefect," he greeted them with his serious face. "If you go to the library today too, I remind you to be careful with the books, there are some that are no longer in print."

Yuu felt Grim shiver in his arms. "Good afternoon, sir. No, we're going back to our dorm."

"We're in the middle of an important investigation!" Grim exclaimed proudly after swallowing his nervousness.

"Investigation? Oh, the accidents. We were informed of that matter by the headmaster," said the professor. "I believed that the cause was solely due to students' lack of attention, but the headmaster's intuition and the strange increase in accidents should not be underestimated. As soon as you find the culprit, report it as soon as possible, understood?"

"Yes, sir," Yuu nodded.

"Of course, even if it is a request from the headmaster, remember to finish your homework on time. I guess you don't want to receive more as punishment for not having done it, right?" He asked questioningly with both arms crossed.

They both swallowed hard. "No, sir. We'll do them when we finish for today," Yuu assured.

"Very well," Trein nodded calmly. "You've done a good job lately in my subject, Oshiro, keep it up. Even though you don't belong to a dorm, you should work hard to assimilate to any environment, all talented magicians do so."

Those words made Yuu take a calm, determined breath. "I will, Mr. Trein. See you soon," he said before leaving.

When they returned to Ramschakle, the thin ghost greeted them.

"Welcome back!  We wanted to let you know that we've finished fixing the doorbell. That way we'll be sure to hear someone calling if we get another delivery!"

"Understood, thank you very much," Yuu told him before seeing him disappear.

Grim  walked over to the hall stairs and shrugged off his shoulders. "For some reason, it seems that everyone is just being clumsy," he said, remembering the testimonies from the victims. "Are we really think that these are just simple accidents?"

"I don't know..." Yuu said as he sat down on the steps. "We have been told that nothing unusual was happening until they felt their bodies move on their own. For some reason I feel like there's something else behind this... I think we should ask more people."

As if someone had noticed the new doorbell, its sound was heard throughout the dorm when it was pressed.

"Hm? Who could it be?" Grim asked.

Yuu went to the door to open it.

"Hey!" Ace greeted cheerfully. "Oh, looks like you're feeling better, Grim."

Grim looked at him in disbelief. "Oh, it's just you," he commented. "We're busy right now, so we don't have time to play with you."

"Busy? You're not done with your homework yet?" Ace asked curiously.

"Come on in," Yuu invited him. "We'll explain everything inside."

They sat on the sofa in the living room and talked to him about the investigation.

"Oh, so you were investigating those suspicious accidents..." He commented.

"Yuu still thinks there might be something more," Grim said. "But from what they told us when we asked them, I can only think they were being clumsy or too excited about the tournament to pay attention."

They heard the sound of running footsteps in the dorm approaching them. Deuce walked in with a panicked expression. "Ace! We have problems!" He exclaimed.

All three looked at him in surprise.

"Huh? Why are you so worried?" Ace asked him.

Deuce wasted no time in giving the bad news: "Clover fell down the stairs and got injured!"

"What!?" The three of them asked with concern.

"Fgna! Are you talking about Trey, the unflappable four-eyes?" Grim asked stunned.

"Knowing how he is, I really can't imagine him being clumsy or distracted," Yuu said.

"It's true," Ace agreed. "Trey is not that kind of person."

"Let's ask him what happened!" Grim exclaimed before getting off the couch. "But first I gotta go to the kitchen."

"This isn't the time to eat!" Deuce reproached him.

"It's not for me, but for Trey! Yuu told me I have to be more sensitive, so I'm gonna give him one of my cans of tuna as a get-well present."

The two young boys from Heartslabyul gave the prefect a surprised look that was returned by him.

"What have you taught to him?" Ace asked. "Is Grim the Compulsive Eater really going to give one of his precious cans of tuna to someone?"

"I didn't expect this either," he told them.

"Yuu!  I can't reach the fridge handle! Can you open it for me?" The monster's voice yelled from the kitchen.

Soon after, the four of them made their way to the Heartslabyul dorm and knocked on Trey's bedroom door.

"Excuse me," Ace greeted.

"Clover, are you okay?" Deuce asked.

"Hey, four-eyes! We came to see you!" Grim exclaimed happily from Yuu's arms while holding his can.

Trey was lying on his bed and Cater was also there, sitting in a chair next to him. They noticed that there were some crutches leaning against the side of the desk.

"Oh, but if it isn't the Adeuce duo," Cater said cheerfully. "Little Grim and Yuu are here too."

That way of calling them confused both Ace and Deuce.

"Hello. This... What do you mean by "Adeuce", Cater?" Ace asked.

"Eh? It's just that your names end in "-ce", so I've combined them into one."

"Don't be lazy and call us by our full names, please!" Deuce exclaimed with a mixture of annoyance and embarrassment in his voice.

"Putting that aside, what happened to you, Trey?" Ace asked him.

"Oh, I fell down the stairs," Trey explained. "I tried to regain my balance, but my right leg is knackered." He pulled back the blanket to uncover his foot. "I'll have to use crutches for a while."

"Oh! That doesn't look good," Deuce said with concern while seeing his bandaged foot.

Trey sighed dejectedly. "It is likely I won't be able to participate in the Magift tournament this year."

Grim motioned for Yuu to bring him closer to Trey. "I didn't plan to do this if it wasn't too serious a wound, but... Here, I'll give you a can of tuna as a get-present. Take care, four-eyes."

Yuu smiled tenderly seeing that kind action.

"Ha, ha. Thank you very much," Trey said, amused by the curious and thoughtful detail as he saw the can placed on the desk.

Cater sighed dejectedly. "I can't believe it, not only have we lost Trey, our star player, but we must make a re-selection of players."

"Oh!? Re-selection of players!?" Ace and Deuce exclaimed at the same time with a scheming look that surprised Yuu.

Someone knocked on the door before entering, turning out to be Riddle, who looked surprised at the large number of people in his friend's room.

"What are you all doing here in an injured person's room?" He asked.

Grim climbed onto Yuu's shoulders for cover. "Ah-!! It's the irritable Riddle!" He exclaimed frightened.

"Did you just call me irritable?" Riddle asked incredulously before closing his eyes and taking a deep breath to regain his composure. "I won't get mad as long as you don't break the rules." Then he walked over to Trey. "Trey, how are you feeling? Is there something you want to eat or drink?"

"I'm fine. Didn't I tell you that you shouldn't worry so much about me?" Trey asked back calmly.

"But... you got hurt because of me," Riddle said ruefully.

"What do you mean?" Ace asked him.

"I had something to do in a third-year classroom, so I headed over there during lunchtime," Riddle began to explain. "Then..."

He told them that Trey was with him. When Riddle was going down the stairs, he tripped suddenly and Trey ran downstairs to get under him to protect him and break his fall, landing on the floor and twisting his ankle in the process.

"Trey covered for me when I fell down the stairs and hurt himself..." He summed up regretfully.

"I thought you'd be good at falling down after your flying lessons," Trey commented jokingly before looking at him calmly. "It's nobody's fault I sprained my ankle, so don't worry," he insisted.

"But..." Riddle muttered, trying to think of an answer.

"Hey, Yuu," Ace whispered. "That's it..."

"Yes, I also find it suspicious," Yuu told him in the same tone of voice. "What they just said doesn't seem to be clumsiness."

"Come on, don't get so bummed out, Riddle!" Cater told him. "I feel sorry for Trey too, but now we have to work hard for him."

Riddle seemed to collect himself and straightened his back. "Oh yeah. You're right," he murmured.

"Come on, it's better to let Trey rest. Everybody out, out," Cater insisted happily as he gently pushed Yuu by the shoulders.

Knowing him, Riddle guessed that Cater wanted to talk about something, so she looked at him as the group returned to Heartslabyul's living room. "Tell us Cater.  Is there something you don't want to talk about in front of Trey?" He asked him.

"As expected of you, Riddle, you understood quickly" then he looked at Yuu with serenity.  "Yuu, do you know anything about how Trey got hurt?"

All eyes fell on him. The same way that Yuu had heard Cater muttering something the other day, he had just heard him whispering to Ace.

"Well, the truth is..." Yuu said to start talking about his investigation at Crowley's request after his suspicions about the strange accidents.

"I see, so the Headmaster thinks that..." Riddle muttered.

"I knew it, you didn't just come to see how Trey was doing," Cater commented.

"Don't take this the wrong way," Yuu asked them. "It's true we came as part of our investigation, but we really got worried about him."

"We are aware," Riddle assured him. "In fact, I also noticed that something strange was going on, so I asked Cater to gather information."

"And then we quickly realized that all the injured students are good players who were going to be chosen for their teams, like Riddle and Trey," added Cater.

"At that time I hadn't tripped or felt someone push me," said Riddle. "But... How to explain it? It felt as if my body moved on its own."

Grim frowned as he recognized that information. "Everyone else told us the same thing!" He said.

"It's safe to say that someone is intentionally targeting the Magift players," Riddle added seriously as he frowned and crossed his arms.

"Do you mean that someone is hurting good players to have fewer rivals in the tournament?" Ace asked.

Riddle nodded. "Everyone will be watching it on television," he said. "Participating in the tournament guarantees you a professional career in the future, it would not be strange for people to do whatever it takes to achieve it."

"Hmm. But it's still weird," Cater commented. "Didn't you feel something like wind magic behind you?"

"No, I didn't feel any kind of an impact," Riddle denied.

"There were some who were even injured during their classes," Cater commented. "I wonder what's going on?"

"We have to make the culprit confess the moment we catch them," Riddle said. "We will help you find them."

"Eh? Are you going to help us?" Grim repeated in surprise before looking at them suspiciously. "What do you want? Especially you, Cater!"

"My, how mean you are. This is what to do when your fellow roommates are being attacked," Cater insisted.

"In that case, the two of us will help too," Ace said.

"Let's avenge Clover!!" Deuce exclaimed determinedly as he pounded a fist into his palm.

"Oh, you guys are really fired up," Riddle commented, stunned.

"Oh, I see," Cater said. "Are you going after the free spots for the team?"

"He, he. You caught me!" Ace admitted, amused.

"N-No, of course not!" Deuce stammered. "I really care about others!"

"Sure you do," Yuu sighed.

"My goodness," Riddle muttered.  "Well, depending on how you help find the culprit, I'll consider your request."

"Cool!" Both of them exclaimed with a mischievous smile that made Yuu roll his eyes.

"Going back to the topic," Riddle prompted, "if we're going to capture the culprit, we have to anticipate their next move."

"Anticipate them? How?" Grim asked.

"For example, bestowing a bodyguard on students who are potential targets," Riddle began to explain. "If something happens, we will rush to protect them. Then hunt down the culprit in that exact area."

"I understand, we will ambush them," Yuu commented.

"You got it fast, little Yuu!" Cater exclaimed cheerfully. "In fact, we have several candidates who could be possible targets." He pulled out his smartphone. "I'll open a private group chat in Magicam so we can send messages to each other. Take a look at the group's album, okay?"

A notification chime sounded on Ace and Deuce's phones.

"Diamond, there's a lot of information here," Deuce commented in amazement after looking at his cell phone.

"I know," he sang happily in response. "Let's go find the next target."

The first student they were going to observe was one of Pomefiore, so they went through the mirror of that dorm, which was not as ornate as Heartslabuyl's but seemed much more elegant, adorned with a sculpture of a peacock and its big feathers, the dorm's shield and some sparkling, blue gems on the stairs.

They went through it and found a huge white building that if it was not a real palace, it looked very much like one, surrounded by a beautiful green garden.

Just like with Heartslabyul, that dorm had anything alike from Ramschackle...

The interior did justice to the palatial exterior.

"Let's start with Pomefiore," Cater said. "I've got third-year Rook Hunt written on my Cater Check. His trademarks are his blonde, bob haircut and his big hat."

"Last year, Rook was an exceptional player," Riddle recalled. "But, there's something off about him..." He admitted.

As they crossed the hall, Deuce stopped near an open door. "Oh, isn't that the one sitting there?" He pointed out.

They watched from afar as Rook sat on the sofa next to a tall, handsome young man that Yuu recognized as one of the the dorm leaders from the entrance ceremony and the lilac-haired boy he had seen several times in school before. The three of them were having some tea while the dorm leader stared at his smartphone.

They were really handsome, so much to the point they seemed to glow in the light.

"Uwah...! They all look like they're sparkling...!" Ace remarked, stunned.

The lilac-haired boy seemed to be making an effort to drink from his cup while keeping his neck and back straight.

Rook noticed him and raised his index finger to made a denial gesture. "Non, non, little Epel," he said with each movement. "It's not elegant to put all your fingers through the cup handle when you drink tea."

The one now known as Epel was startled and closed his eyes in shame. "Eh... Oh, right," he said in a shy tone of voice as he flexed his little finger. "I'm sorry."

The dorm leader sighed in frustration. "I haven't decided on the makeup we'll wear for the tournament yet," he said softly as the two young men looked at him. "I'm curious about the new foundation from Felicité Cosmetics."

"Ha, ha, ha! Roi de Poison, our dear Vil!"  Rook exclaimed jovially. "Your glow is not determined by the quality of cosmetics."

"I'm aware of that, dear. But if I want to aim one rank higher, I must not hold back," Vil replied.

"Wonderful! That spirit of yours is truly marvelous!" Rook exclaimed admiringly.

Grim looked at the scene in disbelief. "Mhmmmmm. That guy doesn't seem strong at all, if I were the culprit, I wouldn't go after him," he said.

"Then let's find the next one," Cater urged.

That time they had to go all the way from the dormitories to the school, where they started looking for someone in the inner courtyard.

"Next would be Octavinelle dorm. In my Cater Check I marked the brothers Jade and Floyd Leech as a high probability," said Cater. "According to my info, they're known for their duo attacks to make their opponents bit the dust."

"Oh! There are two dudes with the same face over there," Grim pointed from Yuu's arms to two turquoise-haired twins who were walking together in one of the nearby corridors.

They hurriedly hid behind the well to watch them.

"Those two... They're so tall they make the other students look tiny," Ace commented, stunned.

Both brothers were practically identical, with few differences such as the color pattern in their bi-colored eyes, the position of black hair strand and the clothes and one of them was more groomed than the other.

Yuu recognized the twin with messy clothes as the tall boy with the big, adorable smile he met in the library. He couldn't help but blush a little while recalling that moment with the book...

"They're all tall and lanky, but they seem like the kind of guys you'd better not mess with," Grim added.

"So we should mark those two?" Deuce asked.

Not feeling very convinced, Riddle narrowed his eyes. "Hmm. If I were the culprit, I'd save those two for last," he commented. "I've talked about this with Yuu some days ago, but those two are people I'd rather not get close to, especially Floyd."

"Aaaah~~~! It's Goldfish~~~!" Floyd's voice suddenly exclaimed excitedly right behind them, startling them all.

"Ugh! He found me!" Riddle murmured worriedly as he hid behind Yuu and Cater, action that did not help because Floyd peeked over Yuu's shoulder.

"What are you doing, Goldfish? Playing hide-and-seek? It looks fun," Floyd said excitedly and curiously.

Everyone backed away from the well, Riddle frowned and stood before the tall boy with both arms crossed. "F-Floyd! How many times do I have to tell you to stop calling me that weird nickname?" Riddle asked with firmness in his voice, but the tension in his body made it clear he was nervous.

"But you're small and red, like a goldfish," replied Floyd.

"This guy's a weirdo," Grim whispered to Yuu in disbelief.

Floyd noticed him and leaned in to get a closer look. "Wow, a talking cat! So interesting!" He exclaimed excitedly before reaching a hand towards him. "Hey, hey. Can I squeeze you really tight?"

"S-squeeze me!? No way!" Grim stammered scared as Yuu covered him better with his arms and took a step back to protect him.

In that, Jade, the other twin, finished approaching them. "Look at this, it is everyone from Heartslabyul gathered here," he commented in a formal and polite tone of voice. "Are you perhaps doing a recognition for the Magical Shift tournament?"

"It's something like that..." Yuu answered.

"Ummm... It's a long story though..." Cater added nervously.

Even though Jade was smiling quietly, the peaceful feeling he gave off morphed into a fearful one. "Whatever are your reasons, we cannot overlook the fact that you have tried to spy on us," he said in a calm tone that was at odds with the mischievous gleam in his eyes. "Could I trouble you to go into detail about your reasons for doing such a thing?"

Ace swallowed hard. "This guy is calm and collected, but the look on his face says something else," Ace muttered in fear, describing Jade's image perfectly.

"Er... Sorry for the intrusion~" Cater said with a nervous smile as he urged the others to leave with a wave of his hand.

But not content with that, the twins began to follow them, especially Floyd, who started to run. "Hey, hey! Wait up~!" He exclaimed happily as he approached them.

"Who in their right mind would wait! Everyone, retreat!" Riddle exclaimed.

The fear was such that the group fled outside the school and stopped to catch their breath on the main street.

"That was scary..." Grim gasped with terror still reflected in his eyes. "What's up with those two?"

"Don't even ask me. Those two have always been difficult since last year, so I've never been able to put up with them," Riddle mumbled seriously before approaching  Yuu. "You see it? I told you those two were troublesome! Be careful with them."

"Yes... I see it now," Yuu murmured perplexed as he repositioned the ghost camera after that run.

"Be that as it may, those two look like the ones who would seek revenge if someone attacked them," Cater said uneasily.

"I wouldn't even dare to," Ace said ruefully.

"Surely the culprit either, let's remove them as a possible option," concluded Yuu.

"Okay, the sun is going to set soon, so let's go for the last observation for today of my Cater Check," Cater urged. "It's Jack Howl from Savanaclaw dorm, he's a first year. He's very athletic and super good at anything that requires physical activity, I have even heard that he got a flood of invitations to all the sports clubs."

"He should be back in his dorm by this time," Deuce guessed.

Talking about the time made Riddle glance at the screen of his smartphone. "Oh, it's already five o'clock. According to rule no. 346: 'No one must play croquet in the garden after 5:00 p.m.' I'm going back to the dorm, there are people who will break the rules when I'm not around."

"I thought you had calmed down a bit, but you're the same as ever," Grim told him incredulously as he placed his front paws on his hips.

"Ugh... I thought I had loosened the rules up a lot," Riddle muttered in frustration. "

"Yes, yes," agreed Cater kindly. "You're so much nicer than before, although your seriousness is also one of your good parts, Riddle. Then good luck," he said goodbye.

Riddle turned his back on them to leave.

"Okay, now we have to go to Savanaclaw," Ace pointed out.

Before they could even start walking, Yuu heard the female voice once again loudly. He had already lost count of how many times he heard that voice, he was already losing patience and getting on his nerves. The strangest thing of all was that this time the voice didn't sound so distant, it was a little clearer. It almost sounded like...

"Hey, is something wrong, Yuu?" Deuce asked him. "You seem worried."

"What? Oh, I'm not. I just thought I heard something," he said.

"What did you hear? The crows around here?"

"No, I thought I heard someone cough."

"I haven't heard anything," Ace said. "But if you say it, it will come from someone close."

"I'm not sure about that..."

"That's two times you've heard things today," Grim interrupted him. "Now you see why you shouldn't get up early to start cleaning, yanno!"

"Then you must be tired," Cater guessed. "Don't worry, I promise this will be the last observation and you'll rest."

"No, it's not about that!" Yuu insisted. "It's just... Meh, I guess it doesn't actually matter," he sighed defeated. "Let's keep going."

They could still see Riddle from a distance as they made their way into the Hall of Mirrors.

Savanaclaw's mirror was even simpler than Pomefiore's, but unlike Pomefiore's and Heartslabyul's, it was much cruder and barely ornamented. It was lit by two large tribal-style torches, and the only figures carved in stone were animal bones. Other details that caught the eye were the dorm's shield, with a lion's face with a menacing look and some long deep animal claw marks on the wall, something Yuu really hoped had been artificially made with tools.

They crossed it to accomplish their goal of finding the one called Jack Howl.

[Published in 20/1/2022]

To Be Continued...