After the whole fiasco in Octavinelle, Yuu and Jack returned to Ramshackle dorm to review all the information they had and make a decision on what to do about it. There, Yuu offered his guest a seat on the living room couch while the tea finished brewing, and he commented on how different the building looked inside and out from the last time he had entered there.

"Tea's ready," Yuu said a few moments later before pouring two cups and left the teapot on the table. "Sorry I couldn't offer cookies, the plan to bake more had to be canceled, as you can see..."

"The tea is more than enough, thanks" Jack replied before sipping a bit of his cup and soon getting straight to the point. "To sum everythin' up, all the guys with the anemone on their heads, in order to get a good test score, were tricked into forming a contract with Azul to get good grades. They bet on it and lost. I don't think I got anything wrong."

"That's right," Yuu confirmed and drank some tea.

"And the condition of the contract was that they had to reach the top 50 of the best grades," Jack continued. "But with so many students signing for the same thing, most of them couldn't make the cut. That was Azul's aim from the very start."

Yuu lightly squeezed the delicate handle of his cup nervously. That vicious plan had been a well-crafted trap, and the bait was one that some lazy or truly desperate student couldn't resist. As he had just revealed, Azul was someone who knew well how to pull the strings for his benefit.

"To be honest, I found it strange for Grim to get more than an 80 like that suddenly," he confessed. "But now..."

Now he was very worried for him.

"Damn it! What's the point of using someone else's effort to get good grades?" Jack mumbled, still furious about that. "That was practically cheating. It was very stupid of them to waste an opportunity to show everyone their potential."

"If all the students in this school had principles as solid and troublesome, I mean, tenacious as yours, young Howl, we wouldn't have so many problems now."

Jack and Yuu let out a startled squeal as they realized that Crowley had appeared out of nowhere in the living room, sitting in the armchair next to the table and calmly drinking a cup of the same tea as them.

"WOAH! Headmaster?! You scared me!" Jack exclaimed.

It was usual to see the headmaster suddenly appear at the least expected moments, but this time they had not even seen him enter the living room. They did not even hear him! It seemed that the theory of him being able to teleport from one place to another with magic was not too far-fetched...

"And when did you get yourself a cup!?" Yuu questioned, seeing that the cup was the same set as theirs. When did he enter the kitchen to find one for himself!?

Ignoring his question, the headmaster drank some more tea before sighing. "Huh... I have failed again to stop young Ashengrotto's 'business plan' again this year," he lamented.

'This year'? Did that mean it wasn't the first time Azul had done something like that? The inquiries about the headmaster's sudden appearance were quickly set aside.

"Do you know anything about this matter, headmaster?" Yuu asked.

"Yes, the young Azul Ashengrotto. In addition to being a second-year student, he is Octavinelle's dorm leader," Crowley nodded, reviewing the characteristics of that young student. "Just like young Rosehearts, he is fully capable of leading a dorm extraordinarily as a second-year. However... Hes's a bit- no, I daresay he's QUITE problematic."

"Are you talking about that guy scamming people?" Jack asked. "You're the headmaster, can't you just order him to stop?"

"That's precisely the problem..." Crowley sighed as he shook his head, defeated, and left the cup on the table. "As I am in a teaching position, I cannot prohibit his actions."

Yuu and Jack exchanged a look, confused by that revelation. "What do you mean?" Jack questioned.

"The notebook that young Ashengrotto distributed around the school... was not made by stealing test answers, cheating or by any illegal means," Crowley explained. "He researched and read through the past 100 years of test answers from Night Raven College and crafted them with his own hands and skills. In other words, it is a completely legitimate study guide."

The two students' eyes widened. They didn't expect someone to be able to put so much time and dedication into a study guide from an untold number of old exams, much less make enough copies for almost an entire school. "What? He read a century's worth of tests questions!?" Yuu asked, stunned. "How can someone possibly do that?"

"Huh. Well, I have to admit it, it's impressive he did something like that using his own power," Jack commented with a slight smile before realizing something. "Hm? Wait... So the problem is... that there IS no problem since it's not cheating?"

"You understood it quickly, young Howl," Crowley nodded. "As a teacher, I cannot prohibit a student from crafting a study guide via honest, hard work. Nor I can tell him that he can't 'kindly' share his notes to 'help' his friends."

"Right, because it would be like saying 'Don't study" and 'Don't help your classmates'," Jack understood before growling in frustration. "Gr... Now that's a problem."

"Exactly," Crowley said.

Yuu clenched his fists. It was already a problem that most of the students at school were selfish, self-absorbed, or acted only out of their own interest. In addition to his job as the headmaster, not allowing a student to lend notes to their classmates would go against his goal of teaching them to work as a team...

"By the way, headmaster, you mentioned something before that you failed again to stop his business plan this year, right?" Jack asked. "Did that guy already do the same thing last year?"

"Yes, although his study guide was not widely spread by then. The commotion didn't come to an incident as big as this year," Crowley confirmed. "This year, on the other hand, rumors spread throughout campus that you should go to the Mostro Lounge if you want to score well on your tests."

"But no one warned them what would happen if you breached the contract, right? Because of that stupid NDA trap and all."

"So it would seem. Thus young Ashengrotto could continue signing deals with students this year." The headmaster put both hands to his head, indignant. "And in the end... the test average across all students in all years and subjects has jumped above 90. It's much better than if they had all failed...! But still..."

"That means that almost all the students cheated..." Yuu sighed, ending the sentence.

"But the price for the contract was to give up a special ability, which means that those who lost the bet last year still don't have their magic back," Jack said, realizing that detail. "How could they last a whole year without their magic?"

Already knowing that he had to talk about this matter at any point, Crowley held his cup again. "Well, you see... He actually returned the powers he took from students last year as a part of an arrangement he made with me. In return, he asked me to grant him to run the Mostro Lounge on school property and begin its immediate management of operations."

"What!?" Both students exclaimed at the same time, stunned by that revelation.

"He wasn't even a dorm leader by then, right?" Yuu asked with stupefaction, knowing that fact thanks to Cater's frequent gossip. "How could he have so much influence to achieve that?!"

"Everything happened in my office when he..."

Crowley began to tell them everything that had happened that day. That conversation was one difficult to forget...

"Night Raven College is a historic and prestigious school of magic known for producing the finest of magicians in big amounts. Yet, it would be a problem for you if it were full of students who have lost their strongest magic," Azul had begun to expound like an expert businessman -while Jade and Floyd listened patiently- and approached the desk where Crowley was sitting. 

"Which I have a small proposal for you, headmaster... And it's one I think you will find to be quite beneficial."

The school's situation at the time, the sinister smiles of the twins, and Azul's dominant nature gave the headmaster no choice but to agree and accept that deal with him... "And that's how it happened," he concluded, leaving both students speechless.

Yuu held his breath, frozen in his seat. Being able to manipulate even an adult with authority was something he did not expect of a dorm leader, but that school always managed to catch him by surprise in one way or another.

"What a bastard... Blackmailing the headmaster into a deal," Jack muttered, horrified. "No wonder Leona wants nothin' to do with him."

"He even went so far as to say that it was 'beneficial' for both parties since the school receives 10% of the restaurant's profits..." Crowley added, closing his eyes in shame.

"What!? So that was a good deal?!" Jack exclaimed, indignant at this revelation that made it seem that the situation was not really so bad for the headmaster.

"Dear oh dear. I wonder what demands he'll make of me this year...?" Crowley lamented with melodramatic gestures and took out a handkerchief, stunning the students once again. "Because of our stupid-, no, no, for those poor, unfortunate students, I'm going to have to obey their demands. Since I am very kind...!"

Seeing him like this, Yuu immediately remembered the first time that man started crying out of nowhere in his office just a few months ago. "Young Ashengrotto 'merely' took his studies seriously and helped his classmates with all the kindness of his heart... And as a teacher, I can't ask him to stop," Crowley repeated, wiping away the tears below his mask. "But why must every student in our school arrive with a problem that ends up getting worse?! Ooooh, poor me!!"

Jack and Yuu exchanged an awkward look at the headmaster's behavior, not knowing exactly what to say or do... Still, Yuu had a bad feeling, as if he knew where things were leading. If he had been asked to fix the Savanaclaw incident...

"This is where you come in, young Yuu," Crowley said, suddenly calming down and speaking firmly. "Could you persuade young Ashengrotto to cease this little game of his?"

"I knew it...!" Yuu thought to himself, upset. As much as he wanted to save and help his friends, he had literally just witnessed that dorm leader demonstrate his power in magic and authority. And his two loyal followers were even more dangerous. How could a magic-less boy like him be able to confront him?! Not to mention that he could control the very headmaster like it was nothing!

"With all due respect, headmaster, I don't think it's possible to 'persuade' someone like him," he refused, trying to sound as firm as possible. "If no one has been able to do it until now, I very much doubt that I can achieve anything different... So I'm very sorry to say it, but it won't be possible."

"Oh... Incidentally, food expenses for Ramshackle dorm have been increasing lately, especially since the arrival of our dear Yuki..." Crowley said suddenly, with a melodramatic but dissuasive tone. "My wallet is getting empty..."

Yuu immediately froze and jumped in fear.

"Alas, I'm so busy and preoccupied too, not only looking for a way to return TWO PEOPLE to their home but also how to help one of them control and fix her harmful magic. I barely have time to think of a solution to this new dilemma..." He finished drinking the tea in one sip and smiled. "Ah, but it's okay, don't you worry about any of that. I am very kind, after all."

"With teachers like this, it's no wonder we have students the way they are, you know? Jack muttered, incredulous at the headmaster's avoidant behavior.

With all the rampant situation, Yuu had completely forgotten one small, but crucial detail: being under the headmaster's care and protection came with a price. And it wasn't just him and Grim anymore, but also Yukiko.

Knowing he had no choice at the end, he clenched his fists in frustration and sighed. "I'll do what I can..." He replied.

"Really? You'll accept my request, young Yuu? Wonderful! As expected of our prefect!" Crowley exclaimed cheerfully as if he hadn't just reminded him about their little deal, and he stood up. "Then I'll be going now since I'm really busy. I'm counting on you!"

He closed the door as he left the dorm, and Yuu grunted in exhaustion. "Why does this have to happen!?" He mumbled as he covered his face with both hands.

Jack knew that the prefect was someone who, despite being generally calm, was able to say what he thought without hesitation or express stronger feelings when he felt confident. But he had noticed that those moments had increased in frequency since the battle against Leona and Yukiko's arrival, and now he was witnessing one of them. "Man, that headmaster really escapes from everything... Well? What do you plan to do now?" He asked, knowing that they couldn't waste time complaining. "Because you're kinda right, that Azul guy doesn't seem he'll stop what he's doing just by askin' him nicely."

Yuu took a deep breath to compose himself and poured himself more tea. "Well, something I learned from Riddle and Cater is that a good investigation starts with monitoring the target, so let's gather some information first," he said before drinking the warm liquid.

He couldn't help but be surprised to see Jack smile slightly and nod, agreeing with him. "You're right. The basic thing in hunting is to know your opponent well," he said before proudly patting him hard on the back. "You actually know your stuff!"

The impact of the beast-boy's pats caused Yuu to choke on the tea, prompting him to cough and put the cup down on the table in a hurry to avoid spills. "Oh, sorry!" Jack exclaimed, now patting him gently to help him. We will start tomorrow. Ace and the others got themselves into this mess, so it would be good for them to suffer a little and learn something from this," he proposed, smiling once again with a bit of malice this time.

Meanwhile, Crowley sighed and stood at the doors of the dorm building. With how stubborn and selfish the students at his school tended to be, he usually had no choice but to offer them compensation or blackmail them in one way or another into doing things, actions that he ended up acquiring as a habit of his.

He knew that the prefect was not someone like that, nor was he in a position to refuse his request, so he couldn't help but wonder if he had crossed a line this time by using his sister and their residence to pressure him...

On top of that, he reminded him that he was trying to return him to his home when he himself had begun to doubt whether it was even possible to do it...

If both had gotten there by "magic", there had to be a way to return them, right? Everything seemed logical by far.

But that certainty based on conjectures ended up almost destroyed a few days after Yukiko's entrance ceremony, a night when he had decided to take a breather after a long afternoon of work in his office.

He decided to pass by Ramshackle Dorm, where his two young protégés and the unruly monster that caused so much chaos at the beginning of the term resided. "Everything seems to be in order," Crowley murmured out loud, enjoying the quiet calm under the moonlight. "Tomorrow I will pay them a visit."

By then, he had already calmed down after the shock of the Dark Mirror sorting the newcomer into Savanaclaw, dismantling his expectations. He really wanted to see her in Heartslabyul, Pomefiore, or Diasomnia. But well, he still had time to know her better.

Not only was there the matter of helping both twins return home to the family they loved and the life they had already built, but he also had to get to the bottom of the younger sister's sudden, unstable magic. The number of questions increased, but there were no answers. Who would be the sender of those letters and necklaces, keys to keeping her safe, and for her magic to return to normal? Would he find a clue in those strange symbols on the skin of both youngsters?

Something he was very clear about was that the most important thing was that the two of them, along with all the other students at school, were safe and had the normal school life they deserved.

He was about to leave those questions for another day when he believed hearing the soft tinkling of bells. He stopped dead and looked around until he found something hovering above him.

"Oh. So you must be the famous pidgeon from that time. What a curious sound," he commented with surprise when he saw a beautiful white animal holding a rolled-up paper in its beak. "I'm aware pigeons come here every now and then, but what brings the full antithesis of the school crows here? I hope you're not from Royal Sword Academy, because I refuse to negotiate anything weird with that pompous director or anyone he knows! Wait, I highly doubt he had anything to do with this. He doesn't even know any of the twins."

The dove came down to stop a few inches from his face, and Crowley raised a hand for it to land there.

"A letter? This time for me?" He asked and smiled from ear to ear. "Does that mean I have a secret admirer out there, too? How come there are no gifts this time?" The dove frowned, shook its head with disdain, and rolled its eyes. "Hey, I'm just jesting! There's no need to get like that."

Having completed its task, the animal flew away, but not before staring at him with what seemed to be a sad look...

"Hmpf! This is why I prefer crows and ravens, at least they have more of a sense of humor," the headmaster mumbled before unrolling the strangely unsealed message.

When he opened it, the first thing that caught his attention was that it was written in bright golden words instead of the blue cursive of the letters the prefect had received.

"Thank you very much for taking in those twins, I can tell that they have been left in good and kind hands..." He read aloud, rejoicing at the compliment and relieved to know that he seemed to be doing things well. "That's why I ask you to continue taking good care of them. After all, even if they wanted to, they can't and won't be able to..."

The bright eyes behind his mask widened in horror as he read the following lines. He read it a second time. He looked at the back of the paper to check if there was anything else. But nothing, it didn't say anything else, and the content had made his hair stand on end.

"What kind of joke is this!? What does it mean that none of them can return to...!?" He shouted, but he was alone, and there was no longer any trace of the carrier dove.

He read the letter once again, trying to find a reason or some explanation for those claims. He even created an orb of light to illuminate the paper and see better, but nothing. Apart from that statement, there was no more information. It didn't even have a signature, adding to the number of anonymous submissions they received.

He squeezed the paper between his fingers, feeling anger and frustration. He found it as an act of cowardice that someone would dare say something like that without even showing their face. If the sender was the same one as the letters and seemed to know so much about the Oshiro twins, what was the need for so much mystery!? Why couldn't they give them the answers they needed at once!? And why did they tell him, as if they didn't want both young students to find out?

After calming down and thinking about it, he decided that if the message did not offer any proof or explanation, it was not reliable information. It could be a bad joke or a false statement from some weird guy who got wind of the the situation, the handwriting wasn't even the same, and there were still magicians who used pigeons to send secret documents. Yes, it must have been that!

No one else was supposed to know about the existence of that piece of paper, much less Yuu and Yuki, and to ensure that it would stay that way, he set it on fire with his magic. He waited for it to finish burning between his fingers before letting the ashes vanish into the air.

He wouldn't talk to anyone about what had just happened, not even the teachers at school. Those two young people were his responsibility, and he could not risk the information being leaked.

The message had ceased to exist, but the content of it would not leave his mind. That, however, would not be enough to stop him from finding a way to return them home. There had to be a way, and he would find it! Until then, he had to buy time and wouldn't say anything to anyone.

"Like this? What do you think?"

"Hmm? Not bad, but you should raise your arm a bit more. Here, you can hit punches better like this."

"Understood, I will update my data. Should I download more accurate martial arts algorithms?"

"Ah, ah, ah! Don't download anything else! That's cheating."

"I insist. That way, I'll learn to do it better and faster."

"It won't be fun if you don't learn it on your own!"

He was startled when he heard those cheerful voices but didn't see anyone nearby. He decided to investigate and found Yukiko and Ortho on the other side of the dorm building. They had to be playing or doing some sport together since she was wearing the sports uniform and the unofficial student of Ignihyde was wearing his mechanical body equivalent to the same outfit, the one that had a pair of feet to walk and run on the ground like other humans. It looked like they were practicing martial arts poses and movements.

"Now look at this: you stand like this on your side, focus, take a deep breath, and... double kick!" Yukiko exclaimed before she stretched her leg up and kicked the air twice at high speed. "Wanna try? Your turn."

"That's so cool! Very well, now I imitate it. Let's see... Ha!" He performed a double kick that looked very similar to hers. "How was it? Did I do it?"

Yukiko quickly clapped her hands. "Wow, you did it! That was pretty good." She then smiled mischievously. "But did you learn that from me or from your downloads?"

"Oh, but if it isn't young Yuki and little Shroud. Good afternoon to you both," Crowley greeted them with a smile that contradicted the crisis he had just gone through.

"Good afternoon, headmaster," both greeted him as he approached them.

"It's been a while since I saw you two in the same place, looks like you're having a good time."

"Yes, we just came here. I'm teaching Ortho some fighting moves," Yukiko began to explain. "He also wanted to show me his sports gear, right?"

"That's true. And we couldn't see each other much because of the test period. And when my brother finished his last exam, I spent the whole of last week with him watching a compilation of anime we had planned," Ortho added. "But now he's playing a videogame with his online friend, and since I ran into Miss Yukiko Oshiro and she had canceled a plan, I suggested she played with me instead. After this, I'll show her some mangas I wanted to recommend her."

"That sounds like a fun plan! Oh, were you planning to do something with your brother, young Yuki?"

"No, but with my friend Epel," Yukiko revealed, causing Crowley to make a comical grimace of disgust. "I was going to teach him some fighting moves, and he was going to help me with broom flying. But we had to cancel it because someone from his dorm called him, something that Vil wasn't going to tolerate him skipping his lessons on how to walk with heels again, or something like that..." She shuddered just thinking about it. "Ugh, heels! I hope his feet won't hurt too much later, he'll need both of them."

Crowley placed a hand on his chest and exhaled without hiding much of his relief. "Oh, I see! It's such a shame you can't spend time with him! But hey, what can we do about it? Young Schoenheit takes his students learning very seriously, what an exemple for all dorm leaders!" He responded with a big smile, mentally thanking Pomefiore's dorm leader for indirectly 'keeping' his protégé away from a 'potential wolf'. "At least you took the chance to hang out with little Shroud, your good friend. I bet you'll be perfectly fine with him, yes indeed!"

"Headmaster, why does it look like you're happy to hear that?" Ortho questioned curiously as he noticed his immediate transition from uneasiness to cheerfulness and Yukiko rolled her eyes, knowing well the reason.

"Oh, for nothing at all!" He insisted unconvincingly and cleared his throat. "Ahem! Changing the topic, I just came from visiting young Yuu and asking him for help with the Octavinelle incident. It just happened, so you may haven't heard anything yet."

The situation would already become known throughout the school before nightfall. It was a matter of time before word spread about the contract incident.

"Are you referring to the students with sea anemones on their heads, headmaster?" Ortho asked. "I have not seen them yet, but I heard testimonies about the situation, and my brother suspected something like this would happen since he is a clubmate of Mr. Azul Ashengrotto. No wonder the average score increased so much... We'll have to calculate the total number of people affected from our dorm."

"I've heard something too, but what exactly happened?" Yukiko questioned and raised an eyebrow suspiciously. "And why does Yuu have to help with that?"

"I would kindly explain it, but I advise you to ask him yourself, I'm sure he'll summarize it better than me," the headmaster insisted as he had to leave. "Well, it's been nice seeing you two, but I'd better get to work before everything piles up again. Don't hurt yourselves while training, take care!"

"See you later, headmaster!"

"Goodbye." Yukiko said before an idea occurred to her. "Hey, Ortho, check this out! Can you do this?"She approached the wall, gained speed, and did a handstand against it without much difficulty.

"Wow, so cool!" Ortho exclaimed. "Wait, that looks more like gymnastics. Let me install the algorithm, it won't take long."

"No! No cheating!" Yukiko insisted as she put her feet back on the ground. "Try doing it by yourself, I'll help you."

"He he! Too late."

"Orthoooo!"

Crowley held back a chuckle, they were so adorable! He hurriedly left so as not to interrupt their moment of fun again.

That reminded him why he couldn't give that bad news yet: he did not want to take away from that cheerful girl and that tender young boy the hope of being able to return home, especially if it was something false.

What seemed like the best decision to him was to keep what he had learned a secret at all costs, at least for now...

The following morning, Yuu and Jack were in one of the school hallways, looking for someone among the students waiting to start the first class period of the day.

"There he is," Jack pointed out when he found Azul, and they hid behind a wall so as not to be discovered. As they had agreed, they had to observe the dorm leader to take note of his strengths and see if they could find any weaknesses and make a plan to have him release the students with anemones on their heads.

Although Yuu was grateful that Jack came with him and decided to help him, there was something that he couldn't get out of his mind since they met first thing in the morning. "I know we've come this far, but I didn't think you'd come in the end," he confessed. "I mean, are you okay with skipping class?"

In order to monitor Azul, they had to spy on him while he was in class, which meant that the two of them would have to miss their own, and Jack wasn't exactly someone that liked to ditch school.

"This was an order from the headmaster, so I'm sure he'll understand," Jack replied without giving it much importance. "Besides, I'm tired of this losing streak. I want to discover why Azul's so strong too, nothing more."

They followed him to the assembly room, where the dorm leader would have his music class. That day, his class, 2-C, was having a joint practice with class 2-E, so Riddle and Jade were also there. Seeing one of his Heartslabyul friends there, Yuu realized he hadn't checked if Riddle's name was in the top 50 (the chaotic situation wouldn't give him chance). When it was Azul's turn, he sang a melodious tone, showing a beautiful voice. Many students saw him with surprise, including Riddle, who decided not to back down against such a good rival.

"Wow, that guy's a good singer!" Jack commented, amazed, while he and Yuu watched him from the door.

Azul's second period was Animal Languages with Professor Trein. The first exercise was to ask Lucius a question in cat language and then translate his answer into human language.

After one poor student failed miserably to pronounce something and got rejected with an angry hiss from the cat, Azul offered to be next. After clearing his throat, Octavinelle's dorm leader imitated a series of perfect meows, accompanied by hand gestures simulating cat paws and Lucius, without showing contempt, answered with one of his typical deep meows.

"Oh, I understand. According to Lucius, the last time he received treats from Mr. Trein was three hours ago," Azul translated without any problem, earning the admiration of his classmates.

"As expected from you, Ashengrotto. That's correct," Trein approved as he nodded, satisfied.

"Not only does he understand animal languages, but he also speaks it himself," Jack commented, impressed once again.

That sentence must have been of high level, because Yuu, with his basic first-year level, couldn't understand a single meaning among those meows...

Next period was time for Alchemy lesson with Professor Crewel in the alchemy workshop, who instructed the second years to pair up to create a potion in small cauldrons.

"A beluga's tooth, sturgeon eggs, aurora moth scales, mermaid tears..." Azul listed the ingredients that his companion had introduced. "And if we add this extract of 120 medicinal herbs I just blended..."

He poured the herbs into the cauldron, and the contents created a reaction that made it emanate a tall amount of steam accompanied by sparkles, a beautiful scenario worth seeing. The students were startled by the sudden explosion but Azul, satisfied with the expected result, smiled and poured the contents into a glass braker.

"Finished! If you drink this potion, you can transform a part of your body into another animal," he announced.

"Good boy!" Crewel congratulated him. "This experiment is one that enters the third-year exams. You other puppies should watch and learn from Ashengrotto."

As with the previous two classes, most students reacted with amazement except for Scarabia's vice-dorm leader, who looked at him for some reason with disdain.

Azul's great skill also did not go unnoticed by the two first-year students hiding behind a shelf full of plants and herbs to observe him.

"He can make potions this difficult to perfection," Jack commented in a low voice, astonished.

"As expected of someone who represents the ideals of the Sea Witch," Yuu added, remembering that the Octavinelle's founder was known for her magical potions.

Finally, it was lunchtime. Sitting at one of the tables in the school cafeteria, the two students kept watching the dorm leader from afar while they ate, thought they would gain no more information than their target's food preferences.

"For lunch today... I'll have squid ink pasta," Azul decided as he placed said dish on his tray. "Oh, can't forget to get some vegetables, eating just carbs will not be nutritious, plus I will gain weight."

Yuu noticed a somber look on Azul's face when she said that last part. He didn't take him as someone who cared about his figure.

"That Azul guy is a perfect honor student, no matter how you look at it," Jack concluded with everything they had observed that morning.

"You're right. With so many strong points, at this rate, we won't know how to defeat him," Yuu sighed, wondering if it would be worth continuing to monitor him for the rest of the day.

Just at that moment, the sound of whimpers of pain and fatigue with heavy footsteps approached their table. When both students turned around, they jumped at the sight of Ace, Deuce, and Grim, whose hunched figures, arms (and front paws) strained to hold on to the food they were carrying, and faces looked like they lacked life energy. It didn't make them look very different from zombies... The only thing that looked vigorous on them were the anemones on their heads.

"Guys!? What happened!?" Yuu exclaimed nervously as Ace and Deuce collapsed on the clear part of the table. He hadn't seen them since the previous day at the Monstro Lounge, and Grim had returned home quite late the night before, but he didn't look as bad as he did now.

"Fgnaa... I'm dead tired of being Azul's servant, yanno...?" Grim mumbled, and Yuu rushed to help him sit next to Ace and Deuce.

"He's been making me clean the entire dorm, waiting tables at the lounge, and even made me buy things at the store..." Ace explained with the strength he had left.

"He called me to work at 6 in the morning..." Deuce murmured.

"And we still have work at Monstro Lounge later today..." Ace added, feeling like fainting just thinking about it.

"And when he found out, dorm leader Rosehearts said: 'You made a deal with Azul? It should be off with your heads!" Deuce revealed, imitating Riddle's authoritative voice perfectly. "And he made us write an apology letter..."

Of course, Riddle would never tolerate his students signing a contract as an excuse to study less.

"And if that wasn't enough, this anemone on our heads makes us look stupid..." Grim whimpered.

Once they had shown their complaints, the three of them sat at the table and sighed deeply before finally start eating.

"Hmpf. You reap what you sow," Jack responded without much compassion as he kept eating.

On the other hand, seeing them in that state gave Yuu new reasons to stop Azul's new reign of terror. It was now much more than working in exchange for the headmaster's help. "I can't believe he's making you work to death, we have to do something!" He murmured.

Even though Jack was right and they were suffering the consequences of their actions, he couldn't tolerate his friends being treated that way, but what could he do about it?

Before they knew it, two tall, slender figures slowly approached their table. Of course, they recognized them immediately.

"My, what could be the problem? You're all making gloomy faces," Jade's voice suddenly said, making Yuu's hair stand on end.

"Ah ha ha~. Look at all these anemones growin' around here~" Floyd commented softly as he put his arm around his brother, causing the students with anemones on their heads to jump.

Grim swallowed his fear along his food and pointed at them accusingly. "Fgyaa! You two again: the exploiter twins!" He exclaimed, tired of seeing them.

Ignoring him, Jade continued to smile calmly, and Floyd took his arm off of him. "You appear to be exceedingly troubled about something," he said.

"Of course we are, there's certain someone forcing us to work," Ace replied disdainfully, mustering enough energy to confront them and Deuce frowned at them to make it clear that he thought the same.

"That's right! So lemme eat in peace!" Grim demanded, losing patience.

"Ah ha~. The contract-breaking anemones are talking," Floyd said in a sing-song voice, but his sinister smile made it clear that he was really irritated. "You have no right to complain..." He clenched his jaw and his pupils contracted with fury before he said in a low tone: "So shut up."

The coldness with which he silenced them shook the three students. "Eeeeek..! He's gonna squeeze me again!" Grim whimpered with tears in his eyes, fearful, as he hid behind Deuce.

As they had demonstrated the previous afternoon in their dorm, these twins were imposing and fearful in both appearance and attitude. "Don't look them in the eye!" Yuu thought to himself and tried to focus on his food. "Don't look at them and they won't look at you!"

"Allow me to clarify: I wasn't talking to any of you, sea anemones," Jade continued smiling softly, "but to you: Yuu Oshiro, prefect of Ramshackle dorm."Yuu jumped startled and froze, feeling his heart beating a mile an hour as the twins approached him. "Yes!?" He stammered.

"Look at you, jumping and backing away all nervous like a shrimp," Floyd mumbled, amused, and an idea occurred to him. "Shrimp...? Hm... And you're so small and cute, so that makes you 'Little Shrimpy'~."

"Floyd assigns nicknames related to sea creatures to people he knows," Jade explained, reading the prefect's confused expression.

"I think most students on campus are small compared to you two," Deuce commented in a low voice, referring to the tall height of both brothers.

"These two being this big are just too imposing..." Ace responded with another whisper, scared, and Grim nodded in agreement.

"We met that day when you were playing little spy with Riddle and the others, so I guess you already know who we are, but allow me to reintroduce ourselves," Jade continued, "I'm Jade Leech, and this is my twin brother Floyd."

"Heya, I'm Floyd," he introduced himself as he got too close to Yuu with a happy smile. "Nice to meetcha, Little Shrimpy."

"Now, back to the matter at hand, Yuu," Jade urged, taking the lead in the conversation. "Is your concern perhaps about... the situation these stupid anemones have gotten themselves into?"

Yuu and the affected students were surprised, and Jack snorted at that rhetorical question with an obvious answer. "'Perhaps' my ass. Listen to you, acting all cocky," he mumbled, speaking for the first time since the twins arrived.

"And who are you?" Floyd asked, finally noticing him. "You're as prickly as a sea urchin."

Understanding that he was referring to the shape of his hair, Jack became enraged. "Wha-!? I'm not a sea urchin, I'm a wolf!" He roared, offended.

It was almost surprising that Jade didn't get upset with being constantly interrupted. "If the source of your troubles does in fact lie with these anemones..." He continued. "I think it would best if you approached Azul directly to discuss it with him."

The first years looked at him with a combination of surprise and bewilderment. "Come again?" Jack questioned.

"Azul is a compassionate and benevolent person like the Sea Witch, one of the Great Seven. I'm sure he will hear all of your concerns," Jade explained to Yuu with a suggestive and silky soft voice as she got very close to him.

"That's right, that's right," Floyd agreed as he gently grabbed Yuu's shoulders, startling him. 

"Azul can solve any problem you have. For example..." He leaned close to his ear to whisper: "He could even set these sea anemones free if you asked him to."

"WHAT!?" Ace, Deuce, and Grim exclaimed in disbelief at the fact that they had just proposed a way to free them from forced labor.

"Of course, you'll understand that it won't be for free," Jade clarified as he and his brother returned Yuu his personal space.

The prefect placed a hand on his chest, trying to keep calm, but the sudden burning he felt on his left shoulder wasn't of any help. Besides, it was suspicious that the same people who had started the dilemma were now serving him a solution on a plate and that could only mean one thing...

Jack clicked his tongue angrily. "Tch. So that's your aim: you want Yuu to sign a contract with him too," he replied, coming to the same conclusion and now understanding the way Azul had looked at them the day before.

"Please, don't bare your fangs at us. Looks like earth creatures are quick to resort to violence," Jade replied, adding a mocking touch to his permanent smile.Floyd leaned on his brother's shoulder, smiling a dark smile. "We are just offerin' you a lil' help out of the kindness of our hearts. Right, Jade?"

"Exactly, Floyd. After all, we wouldn't dream of leaving poor, unfortunate souls by the wayside."

They both laughed sinisterly and disturbingly, once again revealing their two lines of almost inhuman-looking sharp teeth...

"If you are interested in our suggestion, do not hesitate to visit us today at Mostro Lounge sometime around 9 pm. We'll be waiting with a delicious tea ready for you," Jade formally offered once again as if he hadn't acted suspiciously.

"We'll be waiting, Little Shrimpy," Floyd said with an adorable smile as he gave him a friendly pat on the shoulder before finally leaving with his brother.

When they left, Yuu needed to take a deep breath; he had been holding his breath during the presence of those twins.

Grim and the Heartslabyul students didn't take long to process what they had just listened. "This means..." Deuce began, containing his emotion.

"That if you make a deal with Azul and beat him..." Grim continued.

"And depending on how it goes, we could be freed!?" Ace finished.

"Please, Yuu!! Win against that guy!!" The three of them implored in unison.

"You guys didn't waste any time," Jack snorted, incredulous at their desperation.

"Someone without an anemone on his head wouldn't understand our pain!" Grim responded, offended.

"You brought it on yourselves for cheating on the tests."

"I know, and we've learned our lesson, I swear," Ace insisted, already desiring to end his punishment.

"Yeah, I won't do it again," Deuce murmured, showing true regret. "And if I fail, I will accept my fate...!"

Jack frowned at Deuce's dramatic overstatement. "Just say that you will work so you won't fail," he mumbled before turning to the prefect. "Well, what are you planning to do, Yuu? Are you going to take them up on their invitation?"

Yuu clenched his fists. He knew that that tempting offer to solve the problem was not completely trustworthy and did not know that could Azul demand in return. But it had only been a few minutes since they had run out of ideas to defeat him, seeing how competent he was. "I suppose it won't hurt to listen what he proposes," he replied. "Besides, this could be our chance."

Grim widened his eyes in admiration, thankful that his "henchman" didn't leave him aside when he needed him the most. "This is the first time I see you as a prefect!" He admitted, trying to hold back his tears.

Jack growled at the audacity of the three boys with anemones and the prefect's decision. "I guess there's no other choice," he mumbled. "It could be dangerous by yourself, so I'll go with you."

"Really?" Yuu blinked, surprised. He didn't think Jack was going to help him beyond monitoring Azul.

"Oooh! You're so nice, Jack!" Ace exclaimed happily.

Jack frowned nervously. "Don't get me wrong! I'm simply against what Azul is doing," he insisted, although this time didn't sound as convincing to Yuu. "And it pisses me off that I lost to a bunch of people who just used someone else's efforts to get good grades."

Before anyone could say anything else, the anemones on the heads began to move before pulling Grim and the Heartslabyul students, causing them hurt.

"The sea anemones are tugging us again!" Deuce groaned through his teeth as he put his hands to his head.

"Ow, ow, ow, ow! Is he really making us work even at lunchtime!?" Ace exclaimed, indignant, knowing he couldn't fight against the forced movement.

"We're counting on you, Yuu!" Grim exclaimed with tears before following the other two with clumsy steps and moans under Yuu's worried gaze.

"Wow... Those are never going to change," Jack mumbled, stunned by the new ridiculous scene he had just witnessed. Anyway, I guess we're going to Monstro Lounge tonight , right?"

Once he set foot there, there would be no turning back, and Yuu was aware. But he had already made his decision. "Yes," he nodded. "But first, I must tell Yukiko I'll be out."

Once lunchtime was over, they both resumed classes and finished the day. Leaving class with her, they returned to Ramshackle dorm and summarized everything that happened and their plan. Just as he had assumed, she didn't like the idea.

"Are you actually going there!? That's crazy talk!" She said to Yuu. "It could be dangerous!"

"I'm going to be with Jack, I won't be alone," he responded to try to calm her down. "I'll be fine on that part."

"But what if they make you sign a contract? Grim and the others did, and look how they ended up," she pointed out. "You don't have magic, who knows what they will demand in return!"

"I know, but what other option do we have? And if he does, I will only listen. I can't miss this chance."

Yukiko couldn't think of a better alternative either. That dorm leader was a great magic user and could use brute force through his two henchmen, who had wiped out an entire room of students in ónly a few minutes. Even if she wanted to, she couldn't go on a fistfight against them, much less use her hard-to-use magic.

"Still, do YOU really have to do this!? Who knows what they will ask of you in return! Crowley should be able to figure this out, he's the headmaster!" She exclaimed. "Or at least the teachers?"

"Remember what we told you yesterday: that guy's capable of backing even the headmaster against the wall, he's not going to be much help," Jack replied."

"It's true, it could be bad for the school. He's afraid Azul will ask for something even bigger than all this problem," Yuu added. "Besides, I'm not just doing this because he tells me so, think about Grim and the others! Remember how tired Grim was when he came home last night? This may be the way to save him."

It was almost midnight at night when Grim had returned home after his first day of hard labor, and lots of Savanaclaw students had gone through the same thing. Even Epel had counted at least ten Pomefiore who had taken the bait.

Not to mention that she could be in the same situation: they also offered her a very tempting offer to help her study the contents of an entire month of class and get good grades... If it wasn't for Leona's warning and the bad feeling those twins had given her, it was very likely that she could have received an anemone on the head, too.

"Okay, but let me go with you," she insisted. "At least I'll be there with you if anything happens."

"I wouldn't recommend it. The less we go, the better," Jack objected. "Besides, didn't you say you already had plans?"

Lilia and Cater had invited her to spend the afternoon with them at their small Light Music Club, and both were going to introduce her to Scarabia's dorm leader, saying they would definitely get along. She wanted to go, but now she wasn't so sure anymore. "I know, but I'm sure they'll understand if..."

"Yuki, I know you're worried, I am too. But I'm sure I'll be fine with Jack," Yuu interrupted calmly and gently held her by the shoulders. I" know you want to protect me, but see it like this: this time I will be protecting you this time, what do you think? And it's not like I'm going to fight against them, they won't hurt me."

Yukiko huffed in frustration. Whether it was his own decision or his deal with Crowley, her brother was in no position to change his mind. Besides, it wasn't like he was going to walk into a dorm full of violent students like Savanaclaw. "Okay, but be careful, okay?" She finally approved. "I just hope you don't have to sign anything."

Hours later, right at 9 pm, Jack and Yuu entered the submerged Octavinelle building and headed straight to the Monstro Lounge, remembering the path from last time.

"Wow, this place looks pretty upbeat," Yuu commented after walking through the door, admiring the restaurant in all its splendor.

"From now on we're deep in enemy territory, don't let your guard down," Jack reminded him as he glanced at the place carefully.

Soft jazz music sounded in the background, and the place had an elegant and busy atmosphere: customers dining and waiters dressed in Octavinelle's dorm uniform serving dishes and drinks. It was worth mentioning that almost all the workers there had an anemone on their head, making it clear that they were not there of their own free will.

Showing they had indeed been waiting for them, two familiar faces approached them as soon as they saw them.

"Ah, Little Shrimpy. Welcome," Floyd greeted him with a smile. "I see that Little Sea Urchin came here with you."

"I told you I'm not a sea urchin!" Jack exclaimed angrily, tired of that strange nickname.

"My, my... Thank you for coming on such short notice," Jade greeted them formally. "Welcome to Monstro Lounge. Is this your first time visiting us?"

Another rhetorical question that Jack found quite absurd. They had been there the day before, and Jade must have been aware. "I've thought about it this afternoon, but do you enjoy asking questions you already know the answer to?" He asked in turn, annoyed.

"He, he. It's just to make sure," Jade answered before introducing their lounge. "Well, before we talk about business, allow me to explain some of the basic rules of our establishment." He cleared his throat. "Monstro Lounge is a social meeting space for gentlemen, so any kind of fights and disputes are strictly prohibited. And no matter which dorm you come from, here you shall respect and follow Octavinelle's rules. Please follow our rules and enjoy your time in our lounge. That being said, dear customers, how may we assist you today?"

Taking a calming breath, Yuu mustered enough courage to look him directly in the eye. "I'd like to talk to your boss about the anemone situation," he responded, getting straight to the point.

Seeing that the expected scenario was happening, Jade chuckled softly. "As you wish. The manager is currently busy attending to another client, so could I ask you to wait a moment in the lounge?" He seemed to remember something. "Oh, right. Our establishment has a one-drink service, so make sure to order at least one from our selection." Before they could say anything, he turned around and gestured to two nearby waiters. "Sea anemones, could you come here and take our esteemed customer's order."

Yuu jumped as he recognized Ace and Deuce, also dressed in Octavinelle's dorm uniform. They looked busy and exhausted, but he couldn't help but think about how elegant they looked.

"I'm sorry, but I still have to serve these drinks," Deuce refused and showed the two trays in each of his hands.

"We're busy! You can do that yourself, right?" Ace dared to exclaim, grabbing his tray angrily. "Seeing you so calm doing nothing while we work our asses off pisses me off!"

Not happy with their workers' disobedience, Jade grabbed his magical pen. "You're pretty bold for a pair of sea anemones," he said with a serious look, and, with a movement of his gem, the anemones in their heads stretched abruptly, causing them severe pain.

"Stop tugging!" Deuce exclaimed while making a tremendous effort not to drop the trays.

Jack and Yuu looked in horror at the way he was treating them.

"Azul left us in charge of training the new staff, so I must instill proper discipline in those who fail to respect authority," Jade simply responded and made an eye gesture to Floyd, who understood it immediately and prepared to pull the anemones with his bare hands, using even more force.

"Oow, ow, ow, ow! Okay, I get it!" Deuce screeched.

Yuu couldn't hold it any longer and took several steps forward. "Please, stop! That's way too much!" He implored.

"Oh my, this is a problem, dear customer. I think I just explained that while you are here in our establishment, you must follow our rules," Jade said with a smile that showed no compassion.

"And we're allowed to squeeze anyone who doesn't listen to what we say~!" Floyd added, happily, reducing his grip but still grabbing them.

"Rules? We're just saying that we hate seeing you mistreat the rookies. It's making me sick," Jack replied angrily. He didn't see them as much different from those students in his dorm who enjoyed entertaining themselves with "fresh meat."

"Then are you going to lend us a hand in their place?" Floyd proposed as he crossed his arms, finally releasing them.

Ace's eyes widened at that suggestion, and most of the pain dissipated immediately. "Oh, great idea! Let's do that!" He exclaimed hastily. "Jack and Yuu would be perfect to work as temps! Yuu even has experience from having worked as a waiter before~."

"Hey, don't you go deciding things on your own, you idiot!" Jack reprimanded him since he was not there to work and even less starting out of the blue like that.

On the other hand, Jade considered the idea and put a hand to his chin. "I won't mind it as long as you take your work seriously..."

"We're tired!" Ace implored as he clung to Jack's arm, making him uncomfortable. "It's crazy hard, and Grim's in the back, up to his eyeballs in bubbles from washing the dishes. Please!"

Jack and Yuu exchanged an awkward look, wondering if they should agree to help.

"Well, it's not like we have much else to do while we wait for Azul, so..." Yuu commented, without really feeling against it, and took off his uniform jacket to tie it around his waist and work more comfortably.

And with that, Jack sighed in frustration and patted his shoulder "Tch... Fine." He decided and took off his jacket, too. "I want to get this over fast so I can go to bed."

"Huh? But if it's only 9. What time do you usually go to sleep?" Ace asked, since he usually went to bed between 11 p.m. and midnight, despite the rules of his dorm, and that time seemed like going to bed early to him.

"I'm always in bed at 10," Jack revealed, leaving him speechless.

"What!? You're just some good boy!"

"So this means Little Shrimpy and Little Sea Urchin are going to lend a hand here, right?" Floyd interrupted them and took one of the trays from Deuce to hand it to Yuu. "Okay, then start by serving this drink to table 3."

"Hey, the drink I ordered hasn't arrived yet!" A customer who was losing patience exclaimed.

"Coming right up!" Deuce exclaimed in response and hurried to attend to him.

"As you can see, you mustn't make the customers wait too long," Jade told the new assistants. "And Jack, please be as courteous as possible when serving them."

"Pfft. Jack does have a scary face," Ace mocked.

"Huh? It's my usual face," Jack responded, not making sense of what he said.

"Come on, no slacking. We'll be watching~" Floyd urged and pushed the tray towards Yuu without much care. "Table 3~."

Yuu sighed and looked around, trying to locate the indicated table. He caught that the place was full of people. There was a lot of work left to do, such as unserved customers and tables with empty plates and glasses left unremoved. He also noticed that some of the staff members, especially those with the anemone on their heads, had not worked on something like that before, so they looked nervous or had difficulty performing some of the assigned activities. It had been a while since he and Yukiko had worked that part-time position at the café back at home, offered by the manager, who was a friend of his mother and saw potential in them after seeing them helping at the daycare. However, the working conditions there were much more different than in that place.

"Okay, Ace said you have experience in this. Where do we start?" Jack questioned, assuming it was true.

"I'm asking because I've never done anything like this before."

Not wanting to waste more time, Yuu took one last look and hadn't much trouble giving directions. "Alright. Jack, go to the tables and take the customers' orders. And Ace, when you're done serving those trays, pick up the empty plates and take them to the kitchen. I'll take care of serving the orders."

"And what should I do?" Deuce asked, returning to them."Can you take care of the drinks?"

"I wouldn't count on him for that. He made a mistake twice when preparing them earlier," Ace reproached, earning an angry look from Deuce.

"Then you take care of the drinks and Deuce clears the tables?" Yuu asked, changing the order of the positions.

Satisfied with that organization, the three boys nodded and got to work.

Jack dedicated himself to taking note of customer orders, helping to lessen impatience in the environment. Ace took care of the drinks without much problem, Yuu made sure to serve them at their respective tables, guided by the numbers of each one, and Deuce took care of the dishes, even lending Grim a hand in washing them.Thanks to the new additions, Ace and Deuce felt like they had a temporary relief.

"It's so much easier having you here, Jack," Ace admitted. "I thought you were going to be grumbling around, but you got this."

"It's not that difficult once you understand the flow, and Yuu also gave me instructions," he simply replied.

Noting that everything seemed to be going well with the small change, the twins approached again. "Good job, keep going at this place," Jade said approvingly. "There are still customers, so don't linger too long."

"Excuse me, we'd like to order!" A nearby Scarabia student exclaimed.

"I dropped my fork on the floor, can I ask for another one?" An Octavinelle student who did not work there requested.

"Right away!" Yuu exclaimed before returning to work.

At that, Jack stopped another waiter serving a plate of seafood pasta. "Wait, that's the order for table 7. I know because I took it myself."

"Oh, I see..." The young boy commented, nervous because of Jack's serious expression but understanding his mistake. "Thank you."

Jade and Floyd continued to observe carefully. Moments later, there were no longer any customers waiting, and those who were already satisfied left, decreasing the workload.

"Okay, I've finished here," Jack announced, exhausted but satisfied, as the two poor Heartslabyul students tried to recover after their hard work. Things had finally calmed down.

"It was pretty hard though..." Deuce gasped.

"Good job, guys," Yuu congratulated them as he returned to the group, having nothing else to serve.

"Good job, good job~. You handled all that pretty well~," Floyd said merrily. "Thank you very much for your help, you two. Hey, Little Shrimpy, I can tell you've actually worked on this before, can you keep going?"

They were interrupted when a loud, calm clapping sounded nearby."You have shown great ability to handle that big of a rush. I must admit that you have been of great help," a soft, familiar voice said behind them.Yuu and Jack immediately recognized Octavinelle's dorm leader, breaking into a serene smile that conveyed an air of mystery.

"AZUL!" Jack exclaimed, furious. Finally, they came face to face with the cause of the dilemma.

Yuu hurriedly put his jacket back on and smoothed it out, knowing what was waiting for him.

"Apologies for the wait. The VIP room is now ready for you, so please follow me here," Azul indicated as he showed a bid entrance that simulated a cavern at the bottom of the sea. "Jade, Floyd. Please, get some tea ready for our guests."

"As you wish," both twins responded at the same time. Their expressions made clear that they were eager to see what would happen in this negotiation.

Accompanied by Jack and with his heart in his mouth, Yuu followed Azul at a slow pace. He looked back to see Ace and Deuce one last time, both looking at him with intrigue and concern. In support, Ace gave him a thumbs up and nodded reassuringly.

"Hold on just a little longer," Yuu told them with a small smile before leaving them behind.

That was the moment. It was hard to imagine what could happen from now on, but they had already come too far to turn back.

[Published on 9/3/2024]