❝DÉVOUEMENT❞ ; twst.

✦ chapter fifty.

ೃ༄ "we believe in you."
✧──────✧

f/n patiently sat on pomefiore's couch as she waited for lilia to return. the ballroom was a little further away from the lounge, so she did not have the chance to eavesdrop on everyone's singing. it would be nice to hear ruggie or cater's voice, or how ortho's vocal synthesizer would sound like.

half of the participants were already called and f/n was left in the room with her first year friends. they crowded around her as they waited for them to be called. "this is taking a while~" groaned ace. "patience, there's a lot of people who joined the audition." replied f/n, taking out a pocketbook to read while waiting. "you came here with lilia-senpai, right? how come you didn't join with him?" asked deuce. "i only came here to accompany him..." answered f/n.

"ace trappola-kun, deuce spade-kun, grim, and yuu-kun. show us what you are capable of," called rook as he peeked in the lounge.

"that's our cue~" said ace. "good luck," spoke f/n, "...break a leg." deuce smiled as he thanked the diasomnia first year, "thank you, n/n!" soon, the group disappeared and it was just f/n left. they sat quietly on their seat, though their eyes were trailing everywhere. their gaze penetrated every nook and cranny of the lounge, silently complimenting its beauty.

some time has passed and lilia popped out of nowhere beside f/n, informing her that they were ready to go. f/n stood up and the two teleported back to diasomnia's lounge. "a sudden change of scenery... i like the dark vibe of our dorm, though..." commented f/n as she sat down on one of the black couches. lilia hummed in response as he sat beside them, "our dormitory certainly has its charm~"

"mhm... how did it go?" asked f/n. "great! i had fun. although... i heard vil say that he does not sense a youthful vibe on me," replied lilia. f/n snickered in response and patted his shoulder, "seems like you're giving off grandpa vibes to him." lilia's brows knitted as he pursed his lips together and said, "grandpa?! is that how you really see me?"

...

the next day, f/n was walking alongside her friends to the cafeteria after a long history lesson. f/n walked beside yuu, occasionally stealing glances at him or grim. ace had his hands resting behind his head as he let out a long sigh, "haaa... ugh, professor trein caught me sleeping in class and gave me extra homework..."

"that guy is definitely casting some sleeping magic so he has an excuse to give us more homework!" exclaimed grim. deuce lifted his wrist and showed a rubber band as he said, "i wear a little rubber band on my wrist that i pull to stop myself from falling asleep." f/n blinked as she stared at deuce's wrist and thought, 'oh... maybe silver would like that method? though, that is only temporary and not to mention, it will cause him pain.'

"you'll go that far? oh yeah, they'll be announcing the passers for the audition today, right?" mentioned ace. grim's eyes widened as if he had a realization and said, "it's almost lunch, but there's still no announcement!" deuce frowned a little and replied, "if we didn't get called, then that must mean we didn't pass."

on the contrary, yuu remained optimistic as he said, "let's try waiting a little bit more." as soon as yuu mentioned that, f/n sensed an arrow heading towards their direction and was seemingly close to hit deuce. f/n vanished from their spot and immediately appeared beside deuce, grabbing the arrow in the process.

"HIEE—!! what was that?!"

f/n looked towards the direction where the arrow came from. it seems the bow user was nowhere to be found, presumably already left the area once f/n caught the arrow. they turned to look back at deuce and asked, "are you alright?" deuce looked petrified, but answered her back nonetheless. "yes... thank you, n/n..."

"s-someone shot an arrow from outside!" shrieked yuu. f/n grabbed the paper that was attached to the arrow and unfolded it before reading its content out loud, "thank you very much for participating in the vocal & dance championship auditions. after careful considerations, we are happy to inform you that ace trappola and deuce spade have successfully passed the auditions. if possible, please come and visit us at pomefiore's ballroom after class. to ramshackle dorm's prefect: we have something to discuss, so please come to pomefiore together with your two aforementioned friends."

f/n folded the piece of paper before looking back at her friends and replying nonchalantly, "congrats. you made it to the team." ace and deuce had a huge grin on their face as they celebrated their success, while yuu was more or less curious on why he was mentioned in the letter.

"we passed?! that means we'll be part of the selection team, right?!"

"what else could it be? alright~! we don't have to help prefect out~!"

f/n had an unamused look as she remarked, "escaping responsibilities now, are we?" ace awkwardly laughed as deuce said, "in any case, let's all go to pomefiore after school today." f/n hummed and said, "right... good luck, i won't be joining you. it would be inappropriate to go there uninvited."

...

f/n immediately teleported back to diasomnia after class ended. most of the dorms are busy with the upcoming event, some may be busy with the decorations while some may be busy with their performance. the board game club has this exhibition booth going on and it'd probably be best if f/n would pay them a visit and cooperate.

"are you leaving?"

f/n turned around to see four of her diasomnia friends. the first year nodded and spoke before letting out a fake sob, "i was about to rest until i realized i have to help with putting up the board game club's exhibition booth... i doubt there'd be much to fix, though... idia has this research presentation and azul is more or less busy with managing mostro lounge... all my club friends are busy~ huhuhu..."

"fear not, you still have a task to do..." replied malleus. f/n tilted her head and asked, "since you called me, is there something you guys need?" lilia shrugged as he replied, "you need to keep a close eye on pomefiore's three residents in case one of them overblots, remember?" f/n let out a long sigh and said, "i know... oh hell no, don't tell me i have to participate in their rehearsals..."

lilia gave them a goofy grin as he responded, "alright~ we won't tell you~ however, the headmaster will be requesting for your presence in pomefiore later on." f/n groaned as they rubbed their temples, "and what role am i playing this time?" malleus took this chance to answer her question, bringing up three of his fingers as he stated her roles. "you have three options: the assistant stage manager, the vocal coach, or the dance instructor. it's up to you to choose."

"...can i choose none?" mumbled f/n, "i don't see any reason why i should be part of the music production. heck, i did not even audition in the first place! can't we go for another strategy?" lilia hummed as he placed a finger on his chin, "this might be a long discussion... very well, let us talk for a bit then we can decide." the five sat on the couches at the lounge as they started talking.

"the goal here is to let me work closely with schoenheit to see his progress, in case he overblots. is that right?" clarified f/n. malleus nodded to confirm and said, "schoenheit is the potential candidate. however, this doesn't mean the other pomefiore residents won't overblot. you just have to keep an eye on them, but mostly their dorm leader." f/n crossed her arms and let out a hum, indicating that she was thinking of another strategy.

"dropping by from time to time isn't an option... i'd get kicked out," mumbled f/n. their frustration grew with each minute that passes by, wanting to just find a solution right then and there and move on with their day. f/n sighed for the umpteenth time before deciding, "...i'll just take up the role of the assistant stage manager."

"are you sure?" asked lilia. f/n shrugged and replied, "i can't think of another strategy, so let's just go with that. i hope the people i work with will be tolerable, at the very least..." they stood up and curtsied at the four, "i must go now before the headmaster grows impatient while waiting for my arrival. thank you for allowing me to take care of this problem. i won't let you down."

"we believe in you, n/n. we're one call away if you need any assistance."