It had been a long time since Yuu had had one of those strange dreams that began with him visualizing the mirror in his room. He had almost forgotten about them.

The infinite-looking gray space was the same as the last few times, and this time he was also wearing a specific set of clothing: a white shirt unbuttoned at the collar, blue pants tied with a red cloth belt, and thick, black boots.

"Hey!" His sister called him with a notable combination of joy and confusion.

He assumed she was dressed just like him, as it happened on previous occasions, but as he turned around, he could see that this wasn't the case. "Hey. Oh, you look so pretty!"

Yukiko was dressed in a simple but nice blue dress whose skirt reached her ankles, along with black shoes. The white blouse, with long sleeves, was accompanied by a midnight-blue bodice. She also had her hair half up with a big, blue bow on her head. "You think so? Thanks, you don't look bad either," she responded just before frowning slightly with disappointment. "But I thought we were supposed to wear the same thing, I really wanted to see you in a dress too!"

"Well, looks like that's not happening this time," Yuu replied between laughs.

The dream images did not take long to arrive. The twins held hands as they found themselves surrounded by a stormy night in the middle of the ocean's surface. "What an intense storm..." Yuu shuddered.

"Look over there!" Yukiko pointed to one large boat sinking due to the chaos around.

"A storm is coming! Hold on tight!" The distant voice of a sailor shouted just before the ship caught fire and got further destroyed. In the midst of the chaos, they could see how a beautiful, young, red-haired girl came to the surface, holding a young man who seemed unconscious in her arms.

"She's saving him from the shipwreck," Yuu observed as he saw the girl fighting against the force of the waves to take him to a safe place.

"She's a mermaid!" Yukiko exclaimed with admiration when she saw her green, scaled tail sticking out of the water. "She's so beautiful...!"

Neither of them had any idea why, but somehow they knew the names of those people they had never seen: the mermaid was named Ariel, and the human, Eric.

After that, the images changed to a much calmer scenario: it dawned, the storm had subsided, and the girl was with the unconscious human on the shore of a beach.

"Look, he's breathing!" Ariel exclaimed, relieved, and she looked at him, dazzled. "He's so... attractive."

"Wow, she already fell in love at first sight," Yukiko commented, impressed.

"Understandable, he's actually kinda handsome," Yuu opined.

"Right? This girl has good taste. Wait, that guy's dressed just like you! See?"

Now that the young man was about to wake up, the beautiful mermaid began to sing to help him come to his senses, proving to have a wonderful voice that mesmerized even the twins. After the human started to open his eyes weakly, Ariel stopped singing and hurried to hide in the sea when it resounded the barking of a dog and a male voice calling the young man.

"Prince Eric!" Exclaimed with relief a kindly-looking older man, whom they recognized as Grimsby, as he helped him up.

"A girl rescued me... She had... The most beautiful voice!" The young man murmured, still dizzy from the accident and dazzled by his savior, of whom he could only remember her red hair and, of course, that distinctive voice. He wondered if he could find her again with just those clues.

"I see he fell too," Yuu commented.

The old man assumed he was just delirious from swallowing too much seawater and helped him walk back to the big castle over the cliff.

The mermaid climbed onto a high rock and watched them leave into the distance. "I don't know when... I don't know how... But I know something's starting right now!" Ariel kept singing while the wind made her long, red hair wave beautifully. "Watch and you'll see, someday I'll be... Part of your... WORLD!"

As soon as she finished that last verse, the crystalline waves crashed against the rocks and rose in a synchronized splash just as she stood up on the rock, determined to see again that human she wanted to know better along with his world...

The twins watched with admiration this marvelous spectacle, but the feeling turned into concern when the images zoomed into a pair of similar-looking moray eels, known as Flotsam and Jetsam, peering above the surface of the water. They laughed sinisterly while the left eye of one of them and the right eye of the other lit up with a golden glow...

"What are they doing?" Yukiko asked suspiciously.

"I don't know, but it doesn't look good..." Yuu answered.

Those new images had given them many doubts, but the dream was over, and everything quickly faded into darkness...

Yuu opened his eyes with difficulty and stretched on the comfortable mattress of his bed. "A dream about the ocean...?" He thought, making an effort to retain important details and discuss them later with his sister. In his rambling, he eventually realized that Grim was not sleeping by his side, and gasped involuntarily.

"Hm, I see..." He heard him mumble quietly. "If the questions tend to have... more than one option, it means there's a trick... Hmm..."

He rubbed his eyes and saw him sitting on the armchair, absorbed in the notebook he had been studying with for final exams for the past week. He hadn't even realized that he had woken up. "Good morning, Grim," Yuu greeted him.

"Ffgnya!" Grim screeched, startled by his unexpected greeting, and gave him a dirty look, still feeling his fur stand on end and his heart pounding. "Don't give me those scares, you're gonna make me forget everythin' I memorized."

"Oh, sorry," Yuu apologized as he stood up and observed through the window that it was still dawn, the time he got used to getting up for the past few weeks to review for finals. "I'm surprised you got up so early to study. Wait a minute, look at those bags under your eyes... Have you been up all night? Studying?"

"Well, of course! Today's the last day of final exams!" Grim responded while flashing a malicious smile. "You and I count as one student, so don't go makin' me look bad."

"Says the naughty fella who dozes off in class..." Yuu replied, amused, as he raised an eyebrow. "I'm going to make breakfast, then we'll get those exams over with."

As soon as he opened the door, he found himself face to face with Yukiko, who already had her hand raised with the intention of knocking. "Oh, hi!" They said at the same time, surprised.

"What's wrong?" Grim asked and looked up from his notebook again. "Oh, hey, Yuki. Don't talk to me too right now, or I'll forget everythin'."

"Uh, okay?" She responded, stunned, as her brother closed the door behind him. "He really got serious at the last minute, huh?"

"At least he's studying," Yuu sighed. "How about you you? How are you with the last day?"

"I'll score at least a 60," she admitted. "Good thing I got help from you and the others, although we had to buy all those donuts for Ruggie..."

"At least he liked them, he didn't even hesitate to want to help us with Animal Languages when he saw the bags." They laughed when they remembered how quickly he snatched the bag out of their hands. "I'm going to make breakfast. Are you coming?"

"Of course," she nodded and pointed to the door. "By the way, Grim still won't tell you where he got those notes from?"

"He didn't say anything else than that he got them from an upperclassman, so I think he copied them to have them more at hand." He had a hard time believing that speculation, but he knew he would not achieve anything if he tried to press him with questions.

"I guess it doesn't matter now."

"Speaking of clearing things up, do you want to talk about last night?"

Yuu nodded, and both headed to the kitchen, where they got to work on the food. They had already gotten used to the dorm's finished renovations. They still had some problems with the pipes and water temperature, and there still were some areas where the night wind resonated. Nevertheless, the building looked much more decent and habitable than before, even the electricity worked better.

"These weird dreams are different from last time," Yukiko said to break the ice. "You looked pretty good in those clothes, exactly like that prince. Although I don't know what had my dress to do with all that."

"It was a dream about the sea, so maybe it was because of the blue color," Yuu mused as he took the bacon out of the refrigerator. "I also think it was clothing from that time, the Modern Age, maybe. But we haven't seen much either, so I'm not completely sure."

"But I don't get it, we wore exactly the same things before: first the blue dress, then the white shirt... Why was it different this time?"

"No idea, the dream may have decided it that way. But what bothered me the most was the ending..."

"Yeah... They looked like eels, right?" Yukiko asked, immediately understanding what he was referring to. "Just when the mermaid stared at that Eric guy... AH!" The girl put the mugs in a safe place and placed a hand on her right shoulder. An unpleasant burning sensation similar to fire had originated from nowhere.

"Yuki!?" Yuu exclaimed and stopped what he was doing to help her. He felt some kind of deja vu and instinctively knew what to do. "Yukiko, look at me!"

Just by hearing his voice, the pain immediately dissipated, but her shock still prevailed. Unpleasant memories of her arrival came flooding back to her mind like a lightning bolt and took an alarmed hand to her neck to make sure she was still wearing the choker.

"It's ok, it's ok! You're wearing it," Yuu said as he gently held her hand to try to calm her down. "See? It's over now..."

Yukiko tried to control her breathing and checked her right shoulder, seeing that her clothes were still intact. "What was that? I didn't even use magic today...!" She murmured, trying not to raise her voice too much and alert the ghosts.

"Don't worry, the same happened to me once," Yuu confessed, making her look at him in surprise. "So I doubt it's magic, or at least not as spells..."

"You did? When?"

"A few months ago, not long after the year started. I was in the library, and I read a description that looked like the girl from the first dream," Yuu began to explain, having just remembered that distant and ephemeral moment. "I mentioned her name out loud, and the same thing happened, but it went away when I thought about something else."

"You mean Ali-?" Her brother hushed her hastily to stop her from saying that name out loud. "Oh, right. Then I just mentioned the name of... that prince?"

"It was strange, and it only happened once, so I didn't tell anyone and forgot about it. Whatever it was, it's clear that these prints are the cause," Yuu refuted, almost convinced, as he caressed his left shoulder.

All this was a lot of new information to process first thing in the morning, especially for Yukiko: "I think my head's going to explode..."

Deciding that discussing any relation between the prints and the dream images seemed more delicate than they imagined, the two decided to keep the strange phenomenon a secret, at least until they had an idea of what it might be about. Maybe the most prudent thing would be to tell at least the headmaster, but they already had more than enough mysteries, and who knew if they would find an answer? And that one was easy to avoid, they just had to avoid mentioning any names from the dreams.

Besides, they still had real-world issues they had to pay even more attention to having their minds prepared for the exam from that day. Writting a mistake or forgetting something they had studied for days could be the difference between a pass and a fail.

They had a good breakfast, Yuu reviewed some Potionology theory with Grim, and when it came time, they hurried to class with Ace and Deuce. Professor Crewel would tolerate less than ever a single minute of tardiness.

About an hour and a half later, the bell rang through the school, and the students of class 1-A tensed, knowing that nothing more could be written or changed in the paper. "Time's up, puppies," Crewel announced firmly. "Put down your pens and pass in your answer sheets like obedient pups. This concludes your final exams."

All the students in the classroom celebrated with cheers and victorious gestures, happy that the complicated exam season finally ended.

"Sit! It's too early to claim victory," Crewel demanded as he held his renowned teacher's pointer. Any bad boy who gets a bad grade should be prepared to sacrifice his Christmas vacation to take make-up lessons. Now you're dismissed."

He put the exams in a folder and left the class, leaving the students to feel once again the joy of having finished the finals. "Ah, it's finally over!" Ace celebrated as he stretched his arms.

Yuu, on the other hand, couldn't resist the urge to lean on the desk, mentally exhausted. "At least I will pass, but this one was a bit hard..."

"Hey, where has the confidence of getting a 100 gone?" Ace questioned.

"It decided to stay with the History of Magic exam the day before yesterday."

"We did what we could, all that's left is to wait for the results," Deuce said with a calm smile.

"Hehehe! This test was a piece of cake for me," Grim said with a malicious smile, and Ace and Deuce looked at him curiously.

"Hm? For someone who always acts like it's the end of the world after written exams, you look pretty confident," Ace commented.

"Hehe! This time it'll be different. Get ready to call me the "Great Genius Grim" and beg me to share my knowledge with ya!"

"Well, I'm sorry to tell you this, but I'm more than sure that I'm going to get a better grade than you," Deuce replied, confident.

"Is that something a guy who always gets low marks and cries like a baby should be sayin'?" Ace teased. "But hey, these exams were easy peasy, so I'm not gonna lose either."

It was not unusual to see those three compete in something, but they looked very confident about the results as if they were sure they were going to pass. "You guys have studied pretty hard for these exams, huh? I remember we kinda had a hard time before," Yuu commented, remembering the bad grades they got in other subjects.

"What can we say? These were really easy!" Ace insisted cheerfully as he shrugged.

"Well, since exams are over, I'm gonna hit the Track-and-field Club," Deuce decided. He hadn't gone since she had started studying.

"I also feel like going to the Basketball club after so long, so let's all go," Ace said as he gathered his things to leave.

"Yuu, let's go back to the dorm," Grim proposed before yawning and feeling his eyelids get heavy. "I'm dead after that all-nighter..."

Yuu picked up his things and snuggled the tired monster into his arms. Despite the secrecy about those notes, he was glad that at least he had made an effort to study. "Come on, let's go," he sighed. "You did a good job, Grim. You deserve a break"

It was common for Yuu to support and congratulate him for trying hard, but for some reason, Grim became more excited than usual to hear it this time and see that his henchman was proud of him. But his pride did not allow him to let himself go and show he felt moved. "Of course I did! I'm a great magician after all," he replied while crossing his forepaws. "You better keep your promise to make lots of cookies, yanno?"

"Of course, but don't forget that you must also behave and be nice."

"Ah, then you can say goodbye to those cookies."

"Shut your trap, Ace!"

"Now that I think about it, Yukiko will also want to go back to club activities. She hasn't been able to train much with her magic because of the exams."

Just as Yuu had assumed, it didn't take long for his sister to put on her sports uniform and join Ruggie and Epel, who were waiting for her at the gate outside their dorm. "Hi, guys! Thanks for waiting for me," she greeted them.

"Sup, Yuki? Good to see you back at the club too," Ruggie greeted her. "How was today's exam? Ya passing?"

"Not for a 100, but I'd say so. Epel said something similar."

"That's right," the aforementioned confirmed. "Rook was a great help, especially with Potionology. Although it must've been great studying with Ruggie too."

"It was, but what's exactly with that Rook guy you mention so much? I've heard things about him, but never seen him," Yukiko questioned. "It's true that he's eccentric?"

Epel laughed, somewhat nervously. "You could say that..."

"That's an understatement, he's a weirdo!" Ruggie exclaimed, thinking of the not-so-pleasant encounters he had had with him. "He's a cheerful dude, but sometimes he gives a very bad feeling, even Leona gets very irritated 'round him. Not exaggeratin' here, you'll get it when you see him."

"Despite that, he spends a lot of time with our dorm leader," Epel added. "Apparently, they've known each other for some time."

"Well, instead of suspicious hunters, let's think about today's training," Ruggie insisted as he turned to the girl. "What are ya planning to do today? Dare finally to play on the field?"

Yukiko frowned and sighed dejectedly. Until now, she could not train her magic as much as she wanted in club activities. She could only attend for a week before focusing on studying for finals. "I don't know... I think I'd rather use the broom to train my balance, and then I'll do levitation spells with the disk, I'm not so bad at these anymore," she responded while looking for her white choker in her pocket.

"Sounds like a plan. That reminds me: how was the Flight exam?" Ruggie questioned. "You said somethin' about doing lots of exercise on the floor, right?"

"Yes, just like my brother and I do in class." She showed the white choker to her classmates. "But not with this one, of course..."

The choker that was supposed to fix her magic while she wore it still didn't show the slightest hint of gold, despite her efforts. Could it be that she had to try even harder?

"You weren't exaggerating when you said the process was slow..." Ruggie sighed, remembering what the headmaster said that night.

"You did a good job with what you did, though," Epel reminded in an attempt to cheer her up. "Maybe Professor Vargas will let you take a full Flight test next time."

"Maybe," Yukiko replied as she put the choker back in her pocket. "But until then, I have to keep training. These exams turned out way better than I expected, at least."

Upon reaching the main street, a couple of Heartslabyul students began to mutter things to each other while casting sidelong glances at them. "What's wrong? I think they're looking at us," Epel commented out loud upon noticing them.

"They're not looking at the three of us, they're looking at you, Yuki," Ruggie pointed out as he perked up his ears. "I don't think it's anything bad but sounds like they're talking about ya. Wanna see me playing the role of a big brother and scare 'em away for you? Shi, shi, shi!"

"No need, but I've been here for a while, people shouldn't be so surprised to see me by now," Yukiko commented.

"More than being surprised, it wouldn't be strange if you caught someone's interest. Who knows, with all the guys around here, you might end up gettin' yourself a rich boyfriend and everythin'. Shi, shi, shi!" Ruggie stopped laughing when he realized that the girl's reaction had only been a sigh of displeasure, and he swallowed nervously. "Ah, s-sorry! I was just kidding, I didn't mean to offend you or anything...!"

"Oh, no, no! I got the joke," Yukiko assured to calm him down. "But let's say I've already been through the rich boyfriend experience, and it didn't exactly end well."

"Wait, you actually dated someone rich!? Girl, that's so lucky!"

"To be fair, he wasn't exactly rich, he was just from a family with a lot of money because both of his parents were business owners, and they were doing well."

Ruggie stared at her, as if she had just said a bad joke. "What?"

"Rich, havin' lots of money... What's the f*ckin' difference!?" He exclaimed indignantly, startling the two first-years.

"Okay, okay. You have a point there..." Yukiko responded between nervous laughs. "She had almost forgotten that the economic situation of Ruggie's community was more than dire. "But the thing is that it didn't last long, and I haven't heard from him since he left me," she shrugged. "I got over it a long time ago, though. I've barely talked about him a couple of times with some friends. I can tell you two about it, if you want."

"You sure? Then... What happened?" Epel asked, intrigued.

"I'll even let you guess, it was because of something that happens a lot in rom-coms, but this time with a bad ending. Think of any, and you may be right."

"Did he... cheat on you?" Ruggie began. "Then the trash took itself out!"

"Oh, no, no. I'm pretty sure he would've never done that."

"Did he decide to focus on his studies or move to another city?" Epel continued.

"Oh, those two are classics too," Ruggie commented.

"Nope, it was another classic."

"Then which one?" Epel couldn't think of many more ideas.

"Oh, I know! His mother didn't like you," Ruggie said suddenly.

"You're right!" She exclaimed. "I think she had other personal reasons that we never found out, but her mother was classist and conservative person, so she never liked me from the beginning."

"Ah, classic classism..." Ruggie mumbled, now with venom in his voice. "I just congratulated you for datin' someone with money, but those types of people are the worst scum on earth."

"Yeah, but the most irritating thing about her was that she always forgot my name. She called me everything except Yukiko: Yukina, Yukiji, Yuko, Yana... And so on, but once she even called me yakisoba!"

Epel's eyes widened, but Ruggie immediately burst into laughter. "Hahaha! Yakisoba? Like the noodles? HA HA HA!" Epel and Yukiko stared at him in silence. "Ha ha! Sorry, sorry! That's cruel, I know, but..."

"Nah, it's OK. It was so surreal that even I laugh sometimes," Yukiko insisted before returning to seriousness. "But seeing that we were serious as a couple, she made him choose between going out with a business partner's daughter or staying with me, but not letting him go to his father's city for vacation, where his best friends lived, and whom he already had the chance to keep in touch with. I don't know if he's still with that girl, but as you can see, he made his decision."

"That must have been awful, I'm so sorry..." Epel murmured.

"Don't worry. The way we broke up was sad and sh*tty, but looking back, I don't believe we would've lasted long anyway, we had different goals and ideas. Now I just wish him well in the future."

"Well said!" Ruggie said, proud of her. "Now you can look for someone better who doesn't give you an evil mother-in-law. Oh, and with even more money, of course. Shi, shi, shi!"

"I've never cared much about that, I just want a good guy with whom I get along well and have at least one or two things in common with him, you know?"

"I think that's important too," Epel said. "I've never dated anyone before, but I'd like my partner to be someone I can count on. And make them sure that they can count on me too, maybe?"

"Oh, so our little first-years are feelin' romantic today. Keep talkin' and we may feel the love tonight, all you need is the special person!" Ruggie teased, making Epel jump and Yukiko laugh.

"I'm... I'm just speaking hypothetically!" The young boy stammered, trying to control his blush.

"And what about you, Ruggie? Do you have a type?" Yukiko asked, curious.

"Me? Meh, it's not like I've thought much about it, I've got more important things," Ruggie shrugged with disinterest.

"Aw, come on! There must be something, no matter how small!"

Ruggie sighed, her insistent curiosity reminded him of a mischievous puppy. "You're that interested, huh? Alright... If I had to think, I'd like them to be someone I could laugh with, someone hardworking or at least knows that things don't come on a plate."

"Oh, that's pretty good. And what else? Tell us, tell us!"

"Well... Eh, hey! Instead of thinkin' about that, we have some training to do," the second-year student exclaimed, refusing to give more details. "Besides, people are more interested in those who get good grades to ensure themselves a good future. You think ya'll pass all the exams this semester with flyin' colors, Yuki? Shi, shi, shi!"

"Hey, don't change the subject!" Yukiko complained, who was really interested in the conversation. "You, party-pooper!"

"Well, maybe I'll tell ya more about my interests if you participate in a Magift match with magic now. What'cha say to that?"

"You know that's impossible right now...!"

"True that. Then how 'bout some more of those yummy donuts you bought last time? If they're homemade, even better."

Watching them, Epel couldn't help but laugh a little at the funny scene. It was nice to see two Savanaclaw students getting along and playing back and forth like that. "It's true that they should give us the grades in a few days," he remembererd, changing the subject. "I've heard that they total the final grades and rank the 50 best scores in the school."

"They do? How so?" Yukiko asked, now feeling more curious about that than the type of her dormmate.

"Very simple, if you get a 100 on all the exams, the maximum score will be 500, and so on with what you get," Ruggie explained. "I wonder who'll rank top this year."

Three Octavinelle students wondered something similar. At that very moment, they were inside Mostro Lounge, the popular restaurant founded by the dorm leader just a year ago, when he was still a simple first-year student.

The place would not open its doors to the public for a few hours, so the only individuals present there were the dorm leader himself, Azul Ashengrotto, and his competent assistants, the twins Jade and Floyd Leech.

Azul was sitting with one leg crossed over the other on one of the large sofas that made up the seats. Jade was behind him, standing calmly, and Floyd was lying nonchalantly on another couch nearby, seemingly disinterested. "So, why did you ignore my summons yesterday?" Azul asked a student from his dorm with a calm tone, but firm and serious enough to display authority. "You don't seem to understand the situation you're in."

The young student swallowed nervously and looked at his three superiors with fear as if he were trying to think of some excuse. "I..." He began to stutter. "It was because my stomach wasn't feeling well..."

However, his three superiors would not fall for an excuse that was obviously false to them.

"Really? I can assure you that lying would not do you any favors," the dorm leader warned with a raised eyebrow.

"No, I'm serious!" The student insisted with a nervous smile, beginning to get even more scared. "I felt really sick."

Seeing that he would not get the truth directly out of him, Azul sighed and adjusted his glasses. "Jade, why don't you give our friend here the push he needs to be honest?"

"As you wish," Jade obeyed immediately and slowly approached the student with an air so sinister that it made him tremble and take a few steps back. "Oh, don't be so scared, I'm not going to hurt you," he told him in a less than reassuring way with a smile, revealing two lines of sharp teeth. He gently held his chin so he looked into his eyes, specifically the left one. "Come on, look at me... Shock the Heart!"

Before even revealing the name of his Unique Magic, that golden eye began to materialize hypnotic waves that approached the student's face, paralyzing him and causing him to fall to his knees as he became dizzy.

"What...? What have you done to me?" The student stammered, scared.

Jade simply smiled calmly and took a few steps back. "Now, let's try again: Why did you ignore Azul's summons yesterday?"

"Because..." The young student began to say before suddenly turning his fearful look into one full of defiance and arrogance. "Because I'm sick of being used by this cheating bastard Azul and his scams! Obviously, I pretended to have a stomachache!"

After hearing that, Floyd slightly moved on his seat, and Azul's gaze darkened after that lack of respect from his student, who jumped in horror and covered his mouth with both hands. "Ah... But what the...!? My mouth started moving on its own!"

"I see, so that's what you really think," Jade said calmly as he smiled, satisfied at the result of his Unique Magic, and returned to the side of the dorm leader, who just sighed disappointedly.

"Ah... How could you say that? I'm positively wounded... I granted you your wish, just as the benevolent Sea Witch would have done," Azul said melodramatically, clearly feigned, before looking at the student coldly. "And yet you dare to... call me a cheating bastard?"

"Forgive me!" The student implored. "I... I swear I didn't mean it!"

"It's too late to back down!" Azul exclaimed without any compassion and stood up to leave, but not before glancing at the other twin. "Floyd, it's your turn now."

"Ah, you finally done?" He said with a restless smile as he jumped up from the sofa and put on his hat again. "Can I start squeezing him now?"

"Yes, go ahead," agreed Azul, impassive. "To your heart's content."

"Yay~."

Knowing well what was going to happen to him, and that there was no way out from the feared Floyd Leech, who was slowly approaching him, tears started to flood the student's eyes... "NO WAIT! Give me another chance...!" He implored with tears in his eyes before being violently dragged to another room. "AAAAAAAAH!!!!!"

Counting on his brother to give him a good punishment for their resident's disobedience, lack of respect, and for attempting not to pay his debt for the wish, Jade followed Azul. Both looked at the restaurant's magnificent aquarium, where schools of colorful fish and other aquatic beings swam peacefully.

"Hmph. There are more and more people who just love skipping on their payments," Azul commented with disappointment. "Pay what you buy, and return what you borrowed. This is common sense."

"Yes, you're absolutely right," Jade agreed, and his dorm leader sighed.

"I can only hope this year provides me with better clients..."

Knowing well what he meant, Jade smiled evilly again and chuckled: "I'm looking forward to seeing the results of the final exams. It's going to be really interesting."

A week later, a furious Ace was chasing Grim down one of the school hallways. "Stop right there, Grim! You're not gettin' off easy today!" He exclaimed as he went after him.

"Hehe! Well, you shoulda written your name if you didn't want it taken away, yanno!" Grim mocked him, making it clear that he showed no remorse for whatever he had done."You little...!!"

Deuce and Yuu, who had only been away for a moment to go to the toilet before class, heard the commotion and came across that chaotic scene. "What is it this time?" Yuu sighed in disbelief, already used to seeing them fight over anything, no matter how insignificant.

"Those two are never going to change, huh?" Deuce said while he shook his head, as exhausted as he was.

"Hey, Yuu!" Ace exclaimed when he noticed him and pointed at Grim, still angry. "You're the prefect, so keep an eye on your residents! This idiot went and stole the bread I set aside for a snack, again!

"It's rude to say that I stole it, yanno? I just ate it after it fell on your desk!" Grim responded with an evil and mischievous smile as he hid behind Yuu's legs, who put a hand to his head and growled in exasperation.

"Don't say that something 'fell on' when someone set it there on purpose!" Ace exclaimed and started grabbing his magical pen from his jacket. "Okay, you asked for it yourself, you cowardly thief. I'll show you my wind magic!"

"Oh, so you wanna go? Well, I have my fire magic ready..."

"Hey, don't even think about it! Stop it right-!"

Before Yuu could finish telling them not to fight, the young boy from Heartslabyul and the little monster turned pale and stopped immediately. "...Ah!" They both gasped at the same time.

"You know? We better stop fighting with magic," Ace said as he put his magical pen back, and smiled proudly to attempt to hide his nerves. "I don't want clean windows again as punishment, it would be a pain."

"Hehe. You say smart things every once in a while," Grim responded with the same exact expression as him. "It'd be very immature of me to be the only one fightin' with magic, so I'll turn a blind eye this time."Deuce and Yuu watched in shock at the sudden change in their attitudes, the latter even needed to pinch himself to make sure he wasn't dreaming again.

"Wow, that was fast," Deuce commented, surprised. "It's rare for you two to stop on your own. Normally, it takes the headmaster to jump in when you've already burned something."

"Please don't remind me..." Yuu sighed, thinking about the embarrassing incident with the statue that had marked a before and after in his life.

"It's not such a big deal, y'know? It'd be stupid to fight with a raccoon over just some bread," Ace excused with indifference while he shrugged his shoulders.

"What did you say!? You never know when to shut up!" Grim exclaimed, furious at being called by that name that he hated so much.

"Stop fighting, you two!" Yuu commanded before grabbing Grim and securing him in his arms. "Sorry about your bread, Ace, I'll pay you back later. Come on, let's go to class before Professor Crewel gets here."

Shortly after entering the classroom, Professor Crewel positioned himself in front of his desk and tapped his pointer against the palm of his hand to impose order. "Sit down, puppies! It's time for class to start," he exclaimed. "First, I'll pass back your tests."

"The time has come," Deuce whispered, his heart pounding.

"Nya, ha, ha! The exams!" Grim, entusiastically exclaimed. "Gimme! Gimme! Hurry up, teach!"

"Calm yourself, Grim. Stay, STAY!!" The teacher ordered, unapproving of his behavior, and held out a stack of paper sheets. "Very good, I'll call you up by your class number. Number one!"

In less than a few minutes, the four friends began to show and compare the grades they had scored.

"SWEET! I got a 92!" Ace exclaimed as if he had successfully completed a mission.

"88 points! I never thought I'd see the day I scored over 80..." Deuce murmured, excited to have passed with such a high grade for the first time.Grim was so excited that he stood on the chair and almost shoved the paper in Yuu's face to show it.

"Look, Yuu! I got an 85!!!" He exclaimed, so proud and excited that the prefect couldn't help but find him adorable.

"Good job, Grim," Yuu congratulated and gave him some tender pats on the head. "I'm very proud of you. Congrats to you both, too."

Yuu already knew he wasn't going to get as high a grade in Potionology as he did in History of Magic, but he was still happy to pass with a 65. He would get a better grade next time.

"Thank you! This means I won't have to repeat a year...!" Deuce continued, looking forward to telling his mother the good news as soon as possible.

"I passed, so you're gonna make more cookies, right?" Grim questioned, feeling his mouth water just thinking about the aroma, even though he had just eaten Ace's bread.

"Of course, you earned it," Yuu replied and looked around to see the reactions of the others. He noticed that his classmates were just as happy and proud of themselves. It didn't seem like anyone had failed.

The professor also noticed this as he flipped through the list of grades in a portfolio. "It seems like you all studied hard for this exam. A great deal indeed, compared to your quiz scores," he said with a satisfied smile that soon turned into a serious expression. "In fact, I might say that it's unusual the average has increased this much."

The happy atmosphere of victory became tense in a split second. The students stopped talking and looked at the teacher with puzzlement.

"Huh? Unusual? What do you mean, professor?" Ace asked, as nervous as the rest of the class, including Grim and Deuce.

"The average grade for all grades this year is over 90 points," Crewel explained. "Professor Trein expressed exactly the same thing about his History of Magic exams."

With that information, gasps and startled exclamations of confusion arose throughout the class, including Ace, Grim, and Deuce. "Fgnaa!?" The little monster exclaimed, raising both paws in horror.

Yuu could hardly believe what he was hearing. Did that mean that a large number of people had managed to pass with more than 80 or 90 points at the same time? Either almost the entire school had agreed to study hard to pass these finals, or something was not adding up.

"I have a bad feeling about this..." Ace murmured, nervous.

Yuu didn't have a good feeling either, but what he found most suspicious was his friends and their behavior. "Is something wrong, guys?" He asked them but was interrupted when the teacher used his pointer again to order the students to remain silent and calm down.

"The names of the fifty students with the highest results will be displayed in the hallway, look forward to it," the teacher said with a calm smile, satisfied to see the discipline of his 'puppies'. "But first, we have a lesson to begin. Open your textbooks."

No one could concentrate much on that day's lesson. Many students were too anxious to see the board in the hallway and wanted the last class to end. The wait became hellish, and almost everyone rushed into the hallway as soon as the bell rang. Some didn't even bother to get their belongings.

When the four friends finally reached the hallway where the board with the ranking and the names of the school's fifty highest achievers, more than twenty students were already there, looking for themselves on the list.

"I'm in the top 50!?" Grim exclaimed, frantic, as he climbed onto Yuu's shoulders to get a better look and clung to his head to stand on tiptoe.

"Be careful, Grim! You're going to hurt me."

"I had an average above 90, so I must be in the top 50, right!?" Ace exclaimed as he began searching from the lowest position.

On the other hand, Grim was so confident that he started searching from above.

"Top 10... Top 20... No... Nothing!" His emotion began to go down as his gaze did. "48, 49, 50... No! I don't see my name!" He exclaimed, terrified, while tears began to appear in his eyes.

"My name isn't here either..." Deuce muttered, defeated.

"It's okay, Deuce. At least you passed, and that's what matters, right?" Yuu tried to reassure him.

"No, you don't understand..."

As he searched for his name without success on the list either, Ace discovered something. "Wait a minute, look at the highest positions..." He pointed out, nervous, and screamed: "Everyone in the top 30 has a perfect score with 500 points!"

"Perfect score!?" Deuce and Grim shouted at the same time. About twenty other students there heard it and reacted the same way.

Yuu looked closer and saw that it was true: from number 30 upwards, the only sum of grades reflected on the list was 500 points, which meant those people had gotten a 100 in everything and earned those exact spots.

"Is that even possible!?" He exclaimed, astonished.

"Who cares 'bout that!?" Grim exclaimed and got off Yuu's shoulders. "More than that, If I'm not in the top 50, I'm 'breaking the contract'!"

The three young boys stared at him, Yuu in confusion, and the two residents of Heartslabyul began to tremble with what Grim had just revealed.

"Contract?" Ace repeated as if he had an idea what he was talking about. "Then you too..."

"Ace... Judging by your face, it means you too..." Deuce stuttered.

Yuu's bad feeling turned even worse. Yukiko had mentioned something about contracts, but before he could inquire about it, a small light shone on Grim's head, right between his ears.

"Huh? I don't know why, but my head itches a lot," he grunted in annoyance as he put his paws to the source of the itch.

"Me too..." Ace murmured while he and Deuce did the same with their hands.

Suddenly, something that looked like steam began to originate from the top of their heads, right where the points of light had formed. "Ace! Smoke is coming out of your head!" Deuce pointed out with a combination of fear and disbelief just before realizing his own.

"Guys! Are you ok!?" Yuu stammered, completely worried, even though it looked like they weren't. "What's going on...!?"

As soon as he asked that last question, from the area where the smoke originated, something like blue and lilac marine plants that looked like anemones emerged... Some anemones had grown on the heads of Grim, Ace, and Deuce!

Without any delay, the four students let out a shriek of horror. Yuu almost felt like he had gone from a fantasy world to a horror movie.

"FGNAA!? What the hell is this!?" Grim screamed, feeling as if his heart was going to stop just by seeing that disgusting thing coming out of his head.

"Did you also make a contract with him, Grim!?" Deuce reproached him. "You coward!"

"Says the guy who also has something on his head!!" Ace shouted, offended, reminding him that all of them had also grown an anemone.

"I'll just give it a quick tug and...!" Grim exclaimed with determination before trying to pull the anemone off his head with both paws but stopped when he felt a sharp pain that made some tears escape. "OW, OW, OW, OW! I CAN'T TAKE IT OFF!"

"Can someone tell me what's happening here!?" Yuu asked and realized that the four of them were not the only ones since almost all the students there were also screaming, scared, and confused by the sinister anemone that had grown on each of their heads. "There's more!?"

In the tumult, the four friends barely realized someone was approaching them. "Hey, what's all this fuss about? Jack asked, looking at the Ramshackle and Heartslabyul students. "Ah, it's you, guys. What the hell are you doing?"

"Jack! Did you make a contract too?" Deuce exclaimed, thinking that was why he came, but noticed there was nothing different about him. "Wait... You don't have an anemone!?

"Do you really take your studies seriously, despite of your looks!?" Ace exclaimed, surprised that a bad-tempered Savanaclaw student like Jack would try to be a good student.

"Huh? What are you talking about?" Jack questioned, perplexed, since he did not understand anything. "And more importantly, what are those things in your heads?"

"That's what I'm trying to know!" Yuu said.

"The thing is..." Grim tried to say but was interrupted when his anemone wiggled abruptly. "Fgna!? What now!? AH! The anemone is yanking my head!"

Not only he, but the anemones on the heads of all the affected students began to move and stretch in one direction as if they were pulling their hosts to force them to go there. The cries of confusion turned into painful ones.

"OW, OW, OW, OW! It's gonna rip my head off!" Ace exclaimed, trying to resist the pulling.

"F*ck, so this is what he meant by 'absolute obedience'," Deuce said under his breath as he struggled against the pull, but eventually gave in as he took the first few steps.

In a last attempt, Grim grabbed the corner of the hallway. "No, I ain't going!!" He screamed, but his claws were not enough to withstand the pull and ended up dragged along with the rest of the students.

Left alone in the hallway, Yuu and Jack watched the strange parade disappear and shared an awkward silence.

"What a ridiculous spectacle," Jack commented, incredulous.

Yuu decided to get to the bottom of that matter, it was his duty as the prefect to report to the headmaster anything suspicious at school, and he really needed to know what was happening to his friends. "I'm not sure what that was, but I'm worried about them," Yuu said. "I'm going to see what's going on, are you coming?"

"Huh? Why should I go? This has nothing to do with me," Jack refused.

"I guess you're right. I understand if you don't want to go, we don't even know where they're going," Yuu responded, understanding. "But they mentioned some contracts, and Yukiko told me about something similar a while ago."

The curiosity that Jack felt and did not want to admit increased involuntarily. "Yuki? Did she make a deal or something?"

"No. She told me that two Octavinelle students offered to make a deal to help her with finals, but she said bye and turned around... She didn't say much else, so I don't know if that has anything to do with what happened here," Yuu explained. "But well, it's okay, what we've seen is quite weird, and not many would dare to follow them."

He meant it in good faith, but Jack flicked his ears in annoyance. "Are you calling me a coward?" He growled. "Don't underestimate me."

"I never said that."

Still, feeling his pride hurt, combined with the worry of the prefect daring to wander into something suspicious without any protection -not to mention that his new dormmate would almost get involved in that mess- caused Jack to say something that wouldn't have occurred to him before, and clicked his tongue.

"Tch. I guess there's no other choice. Fine, I'll go with you for a little while, at least," he decided. "But don't get me wrong, I'm just doing this out of curiosity. I'm not doing this for them or anything."

"I know you don't," Yuu answered calmly, unable to tell if Jack meant it this time or if he was just behaving like a tsundere character, as his sister would describe him. "Alright, let's go after them."

After hurrying, they managed to locate Ace, Deuce, Grim, and the other students again with the anemones implanted in their heads. They had not realized their presence as the anemones kept pulling from them, causing them to stagger and take clumsy steps in an attempt not to stumble.Jack and Yuu followed them outside the school to the Mirror Chamber, where all dorms were accessible. There were over thirty students there, all with an anemone dragging them by the head.

"I was so sure I'd make the top 50!" A Heartslabyul student painfully exclaimed.

"Sh*t, that octopus bastard tricked me!" A furious student from Savanaclaw shouted.

"This will ruin my school life!!" A Scarabia student lamented.

Yuu and Jack watched the crowd in shock as each and every one of them was dragged one by one to a specific mirror. They did not expect to find so many people with the anemone on their heads. "But what the...!? It's not just those three clowns! Look, there are even second and third years here," Jack exclaimed as he looked around. "Everyone's heading to Octavinelle's mirror. Let's follow them."

Yuu's hunch seemed to be true. Maybe it was all related to what Yukiko had mentioned.

Once all the affected students entered, the two boys ran towards the entrance of Octavinelle, whose stone had long octopus tentacles sculpted along two creatures with elongated bodies that looked like eels. The upper part featured the dorm's emblem with the Sea Witch's shell, and the steps, decorated with fake corals, shells, and starfish, were illuminated by seashell-shaped lamps.

Stepping through the portal, Yuu and Jack immediately found themselves submerged in salty water. Fearing the worst, they tried to hold their breath, but an air bubble began to materialize and form around them, creating a safe space with air where they could breathe. Even their clothes dried immediately.

"What's this...? A bubble?" Jack asked, confused, as he stood up and checked to see if the floor and air walls were sound.

When he regained his calm and balance, Yuu's eyes widened as he saw the majestic terrain where Octavinelle's building stood. Everything was submerged in the crystal clear sea waters; there were schools of fish swimming around, and pillars of bubbles rose as high as possible. Anyone could tell the place had been founded by a powerful mermaid like the Sea Witch!

"Wow, we're underwater!" He exclaimed, amazed. "It's like the opposite of Savanaclaw's barren landscape!"

To his surprise, Jack hadn't bothered to hide how astonished he was either, and his tail began to wag involuntarily. "For real!? Night Raven College is so cool! Who knew this could be possible!?" He exclaimed as he pressed his face to the transparent walls of the bubble, a behavior that Yuu found cute. But when he remembered that he was not alone, he cleared his throat to regain his serious face. "Ahem! We are entering another dorm's territory, so don't let your guard down at any time."

"Right..." Yuu said, who for a moment had forgotten the actual reason why they were there.

The bubble began to move on its own and took them to the entrance to the dorm, which had a strange shape of what appeared to be the skeleton of a sinister, giant sea serpent. They could see from afar two bubbles with a student in each of them passing through the skeleton's mouth.Seeing that structure better made Yuu feel a slight itch on his left shoulder, accompanied by some fear. But he couldn't tell if the latter was caused because of the print or just his natural reaction.

The inside was a safe place filled with air, the bubble burst as soon as they hit the ground, and they followed the students with anemones through a glass vaulted hallway that showed the marine exterior, very reminiscent of an aquarium. Then they crossed another hallway adorned with paintings and portraits.

"Ow, ow, ow...! It's pulling my hair!" Ace's was heard from afar.

They followed the voice and found Ace, Grim, and Deuce being dragged to a big double door that appeared to lead to a room.

"Mostro Lounge?" Jack read aloud the large sign above the door. "The anemones are dragging them here."

Upon entering, they found a huge, two-story local full of well-placed tables and sofas, illuminated with table lamps and chandeliers made of tentacles and hanging jellyfish, and a beautiful aquarium made up the back wall of the room. On the right side was what appeared to be the counter of a bar.

"So many people...!" Yuu exclaimed involuntarily when he saw a large number of students with anemones that exceeded a hundred, many talking frustrated and bewildered among themselves.

"One hundred... No, there's gotta be at least two hundred people here," Jack calculated, astonished, as he inspected the place. But what is this place, anyway? Looks like some café or a restaurant... Where are Ace and the others?"

Before they could look for their friends, the sound of a finger-snapping echoed through the place, and the lights dissipated, confusing everyone.

"Well, well. So you are the poor unfortunate souls who failed to break into the top 50," a calm voice echoed through the place, and the light of a spotlight illuminated from the ceiling an elegant figure that stood in the center of the room, as if it were about to begin a show.

Yuu and Jack recognized that young student dressed in Octavinelle's dorm uniform, accompanied by a long gray trench coat, and holding a cane with an octopus-shaped handle with his magical gem, his symbol as one of the dorm leaders. Azul Ashengrotto was a young man with a sophisticated appearance, curious silver hair, elegant glasses highlighting his light gray eyes, and a mole under his lower lip.

"Welcome to Mostro Lounge," Azul greeted the students formally. "I'm sure you're all well aware of who I am, but allow me to introduce myself again. I'm Azul Ashengrotto: Octavinelle's dorm leader, owner of Mostro Lounge café, and, more importantly..." His pleasant smile turned into a sadistic one. "...the one who will be your master from now on."

The lights returned to normal, and tension rose in the air once again. "...Say what?" Jack whispered, wondering if he was joking, but the dorm leader's expression made it clear that he was very serious.

"You all challenged me and lost," Azul continued. "According to our contract, I will have you work yourselves to the bone as my servants until you graduate."

Many people, including Yuu and Jack, jumped at this new announcement that was clearly a condemnation.

"Hey, hold on! This is straight-up fraud!" Ace soon objected with a furious shout.

Thus, Yuu was able to locate his friends among the crowd. Just as he had done to rebel against Riddle's former tyranny, Ace had not hesitated to protest against something that seemed to be unjust.

Not so impressed by the interruption, Azul calmly paid attention to him. "I believe you're the first-year Ace Trappola" he recognized him. " Calling it 'fraud' is rather insulting. The notebook I gave you as my part of the contract should have had the perfect study guide for your exams. If you followed it to the letter, you should have scored at least a 90."

Yuu gasped again, he finally understood everything: the notebook that Grim had been studying with all that time had been obtained by making a deal with that dorm leader!

"Yeah, and I did! I got a 92!" Ace responded.

"My, that's wonderful news! I'm delighted to have been of service," Azul exclaimed as if he were happy that his work was giving good results.

"But you never said anything about handing the same notebook over to this many people!" Ace continued as he pointed to the rest of the students with the anemone on his head.

"Ace is right," Deuce supported him. "There's no way we'd all make it into the top 50 if you gave out this many notebooks!"

"If everyone else has at least a 90, me scoring an 85 makes it no different from failin', yanno!" Grim screamed, furious. Even if the entire world studied hard with all the help possible, the top 50 only had room for fifty people, not for more than two hundred!

"That's right! This is a fraud!" Was heard from many voices among the crowd.

As if he expected that to happen, Azul sighed reluctantly and adjusted his glasses. "Are you familiar with the term 'client confidentiality'?" He asked ironically and raised his staff with the magical gem, materializing out of nowhere a golden piece of paper that unrolled, showing the word "Contract" followed by a long text in small print, and he spread it before the audience. "'I want to pass the exams easily', 'I don't want my grades to drop', 'I want to goof off until the exam'. All of you idiots... -I mean, gentlemen- had your own reasons for seeking my help with your finals. But details of whoever makes the contract, their circumstances, and what they're signing for... Are all deeply connected to private information, and who am I to divulge someone's personal information? I am a very honest man. Therefore, the contracts have a non-disclosure agreement clause that you can find in detail on page 127. I'm just following this policy."

Even though offering so many people to sign a contract for the same reason was a trick, the students couldn't say anything more about it because they were the ones who agreed in the end.

"T-then... what's gonna happen to my fire magic that I gave you as collateral for the notebook?" Grim asked, nervous.

The question caused even more concern in the students, who became even more upset. Jack and Yuu exchanged looks, realizing there was still more about the contracts.

"Y-yeah... And what about my water magic?" A Pomefiore student stammered.

"Give me back my Unique Magic!" A student from Scarabia implored.

"Can he really take away people's magic? Is that even possible!?" Jack whispered, incredulous.

Azul was not even fazed by the pleas of his new workers. "Now, now, gentlemen. Have you really all forgotten the terms of our contract?" He questioned before paraphrasing what he was referring to: "In exchange for the notebook to counter the final exams, you shall entrust me an ability you take pride in. If you are able to make it into the top 50 grades, I will return you that ability... and I will continue to provide you with notebooks for all exams until you graduate." He smiled evilly, now that he was about to remind them of the consequences if they failed. "However, if you fail to reach the top 50... You will offer me absolute obedience as servants until you graduate. Does it sound familiar?"

Everyone froze, fearing the worst once again.

"According to the contract, everything about you, even down to the hair on your head, belongs to me, which means it is up to me whether or not I decide to return your abilities."

"So that's why Grim and Ace didn't fight with magic!" Yuu understood, remembering their argument from before. If Grim had given up his precious fire magic as a treasured ability, he guessed that Ace must have given up his wind magic, which he was so proud of.

"I can't take it anymore..." Jack mumbled as he clenched his fists tightly. "HEY!"

Suddenly, he shouted loudly to get the attention of the dorm leader, Yuu flinched, and all the students present turned around, startled.

"Jack!? What is he doing here?" Deuce asked, finally noticing his presence.

"Yuu!!" Grim called him when he saw him.

"I've been listening to this whole spectacle... But I can't stand ANY of you!" Jack roared.

Not exactly happy about being interrupted again with such a lack of manners, Azul looked him up and down. "Hmm? And you are...? I see you don't have an anemone on your head," he observed. We're in the midst of a staff meeting. I don't think this concerns you, could you please leave?"

"Grr... You think this doesn't concern me?" Jack growled, getting even angrier. "I've studied hard to beat a bunch of guys who used their brains fair and square, but it all went to waste because of you. I DO think I'm plenty involved!"

Yuu swallowed hard upon seeing him so angry, that matter had indeed impacted his great sense of justice, the same one he showed during the dilemma with Savanaclaw. He wanted to say something too, but words didn't come out this time. He got chills just thinking about Yukiko getting out of such a situation...

Even so, he shared Jack's opinion of the notebooks being used to pass exams by just studying the bare minimum. It seemed unfair to those who had worked hard by their own means.

"Yuu, Jack! Have you really come to save us!?" Grim, exclaimed with hope.

Jack clicked his tongue as if he just heard a bad joke. "Don't get the wrong idea, everyone in this room sucks. Although I admit that Yuu's kinda tolerable," he grunted. "But I don't plan on gettin' chummy with greedy scammers or guys that depend on others to do their work for them!"

"Then what'd you come here for, then?" Ace whispered, incredulous.

"No... Jack's words opened my eyes," Grim interrupted calmly. "Do it ourselves! That means..."

He pointed to Azul. "All we gotta do is snatch back those contracts from Azul and tear them up! To make it null and void!"

Many students gasped, and the murmuring rose again. "Ah! If you put it that way..." A Pomefiore student mused, considering the idea.

"He's right! We may not have our strongest magic, but we've got the numbers!" A student of Scarabia exclaimed, convinced, as he raised his magical pen. "Let's do it!"

"LET'S GET HIM!!" Many students shouted as they used their magical pens to lift into the air everything they could find in that restaurant: table lamps, plates, cups, utensils, and even chairs.

"Aw, come on! Why!?" Yuu exclaimed as he put a hand to his forehead, fed up with the students of Night Raven College always resorting to brute force to solve their problems. "These guys are hopeless!"

How many more fights would have to happen in that school until they stopped once and for all?In all that commotion that had formed, Azul had barely moved from his spot, he had even limited himself to smiling sideways when Grim jumped to spring at him and all the floating objects were thrown at him...

As the objects were about to reach him, the contract in his hand levitated into the air and emitted a strong, electrical blast that protected him, repelled all the objects -destroying the most fragile ones in the process- and threw Grim to the ground.

"Fgyaa!!" The little monster exclaimed due to the strong impact.

"GRIM!" Yuu shouted with concern and tried to run to help him, but Jack quickly blocked his way with an arm.

"Are you stupid!? You'll get hurt too if you go there now!" He snapped at him as he made him retrace his steps.

The students looked petrified at Azul's powerful counterattack, even though he hadn't even moved a single muscle.

"He rejected the attacks!?" Deuce exclaimed, stupefied.

"How could that contract repel all that!?" Ace asked as he looked at the objects and remnants on the ground.

That was not enough for the persistent students with anemones to give up and continue the fight. "Dammit. This isn't over!!"

But it was still of no use, as the restaurant owner remained calm and impassive with the infallible protection of his contract, which kept repelling more flying objects and physical attacks launched towards him.

"Oh, dear... I really didn't want to have to come to this," Azul sighed, exhausted, and tapped his cane against the floor. "Jade, Floyd."

As if they had been waiting for that signal, the feared Leech twins appeared from somewhere in the restaurant and, in the blink of an eye, positioned themselves in front of their boss with a threatening manner, making the students stop immediately. "Play with them for a bit," Azul ordered them with a cold tone that caused chills by just hearing it.

"As you wish," Jade responded with an elegant bow.

"Does that mean I get to squeeze 'em all? Ah ha ha. Yay~!" Floyd murmured with a disturbing smile.

Without further ado, the twins ran towards the group of anemones, pulled out their magical pens, and soon had all the students in the dust in less than five minutes. In addition to using spells, they threw back the objects from before and Floyd even resorted to physical force when he saw fit.

During this entire battlefield, Azul did nothing more than sit on one of the sofas and calmly drink a cup of tea he poured himself as if the matter was not with him. In any case, he used the same golden contract as before to protect himself from any occasional flying objects.

When everything finished, the only students who were not lying on the ground were Jack and Yuu, who could do nothing but witness the scene in horror.

"Geez, what a bunch of weaklings," Floyd mumbled, dissatisfied, now that they had stopped the riot faster than expected. "There's nothing left to squeeze."

"It's like a whole school of feeble small fries," Azul agreed as he observed the mess around.

"All of them went down so quickly...!" Yuu murmured.

"Of course, they went and rushed in without thinking," Jack reproached as he watched Ace, Deuce, and Grim on the ground.

"But how can that Azul repel our attacks!? That's cheating!" Ace exclaimed with the strength he still had left.

"Dammit, now I realize how much I rely on my best magic..." Deuce muttered, overwhelmed at having lost the battle.

"And if Grim can't use fire, he's just a raccoon," Ace added, trying to ease the situation even a little.

"Ffnaa... I ain't a raccoon... Guh..." A pained Grim whimpered in response.

"Honestly, attempting to take it from me by force is rather uncivilized," Azul said as he stood up and extended the sheet of paper toward the group again. "You have all signed these golden contracts. As long as it's valid, it cannot be broken or annulled, regardless of how many bodies you throw at it. And no matter what kind of magic you use, you can't even scratch it. Heh heh heh... As long as you have the sea anemones on your heads, you will have no choice but to follow my orders." The students looked at him with helplessness and hate, but he simply smiled from ear to ear again. "I suppose I'll have you start by cleaning the lounge. Next will be food prep."

To make sure they wouldn't be slow in getting going, Azul used his magical gem to make the anemones pull on their heads to force the students to stand up. "Now, hurry up and get to work!"

Once the meeting was over, he made the golden contract disappear and prepared to leave to take care of other matters. Having no choice, the students began to sweep up the debris, rearrange the chairs, and pick up everything that was still available.

"I can't believe it...!" Ace complained, finally giving up.

"Jade, Floyd. I leave you in charge of training our new employees," Azul instructed them.

"Understood," both twins responded at the same time, Jade with formality and Floyd with a cheerful ease.

Before leaving the place, Azul stopped again to address Jack and Yuu, who were still there after all the ruckus. "You two are Jack Howl from Savanaclaw, and... Yuu Oshiro, from Ramshackle, I believe?" He examined them and gave another elegant smile. "It's been a while since we saw each other at Miss Yuki Oshiro's entrance ceremony, right?"

Both refused to say anything. Yuu felt a chill after hearing his dear sister's name from that implacable dorm leader who had just shown his power. "You are welcome to take your leave," Azul continued. "Though I do hope you return as our dear customers. You're welcome anytime."

After saying that, he finally left the restaurant under the gaze of the two students. "Grr..." Jack growled, furious, as he watched him disappear through the doors and tried to calm himself down to talk to the prefect. "C'mon, Yuu. Let's get outta here and come up with a plan."

"But what about Grim and the others...?" Yuu stuttered as he watched his best friends being forced to work at the restaurant, hating the idea of leaving them there.

Jack gently grabbed him by the shoulder and urged him to leave with him. "You saw the fight earlier. We're not gonna get anywhere unprepared."

Knowing that he was right and there was no other option, Yuu nodded sadly before looking back once more and leaving the dorm...

[Published on 18/12/2023]

To Be Continued...