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Evil, ornery, scandalous and evil
Most definitely
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The two of you returned to Ramshackle. Although you didn't get your friends back, you got a bunch of knowledge on what the situation was. Now that you knew the context, you could come up with a game plan.
First, you and Jack had been recapping all the information you had gathered.
"I think it's safe to say that everybody with an anemone stuck on their head...gambled on Azul's contract and lost. The terms of said contract were apparently to place in the top 50." Jack continued.
"But with the sheer number of students signin' on, most of them never stood a chance of getting in at all." He added.
That must be the case, but you had one problem. Yuu was able to place 50, and he still broke the contact. No one else that you knew dealt with this. He must be a special case in that regard. You'd rule him out for now, though that might come back later.
You nodded, agreeing with Jack's deduction. "Azul had been planning this from the start. His overall goal was to get a handful of student's unique magic."
For what though? The possibilities were endless. He would stay in power, or he could even try selling off people's magic. Numerous things could happen as a result, none of them good.
"I still can't believe so many people made the deal though." You echoed your thoughts. "Is studying well really that hard?"
Jack chimed in agreement. "Right? I mean, c'mon! If you're gettin' good grades off someone else's work, what does that even prove?"
"Absolutely nothing." You answered, and he nodded.
"You're throwin' away a perfectly good opportunity to show others what you're capable of. Frankly, you're cheating yourself."
You agreed wholeheartedly. It was refreshing to be on the same wavelength like this. The two of you connected pretty well with your beliefs.
Jack admittedly felt the same. You continued to surprise him with how much you had in common.
"Everyone at this school is self-obsessed like Mr. Howl, it's so troublesome..."
The two of you turned. Crowley had entered without warning. "If they took things seriously, we could avoid hardships for everyone, including myself." He wearily sighed aloud.
Jack was startled by his sudden appearance. "Woah!! Headmaster! You scared me!" Does he always just pop out nowhere like that?!
"He does that a lot." You uttered, unfazed by the interruption.
The headmaster closed his eyes as he continued his speech. Crossing his arms, he defeatedly sighed again. "Ha... So transpires another year of me being unable to clamp down on Ashengrotto's little 'side business.'"
"Side business?" Those words caught your attention. The curiosity in you was beginning to amp up. "Has this been going on for a while?" You asked.
"Alas..." He confirmed your suspicions as he began to explain. "Azul Ashengrotto: Sophomore. Housewarden of Octavinelle Dorm. Much like Rosehearts, he is a highly capable student already running a dorm as a sophomore, but..."
"He's a bit-no, I daresay QUITE a bit troublesome."
You had no doubts about that.
Jack was still confused. "Are you talking about him swindling people? Seems to me like one word from the headmaster could put a stop to this whole thing."
