Key of Souls: Twisted Wonderland

Chapter 45: Meeting in Session and Trouble in the Shadows

3rd POV

Headmaster Crowley stepped up to the circular table as he and the Dorm Leaders were ready to begin the meeting. Dawn, who became the new Ramshackle Dorm Leader, was asked by the headmaster to attend for studying purposes; she felt her body slightly shaking as her nerves started to take over. Then she felt a hand on top of hers and looked to see that it was Riddle; he glanced at her and gave her a small smile and nod, hoping that this would make her more relaxed. Dawn saw this and smiled back at Riddle; she was glad he was here just in case.

"Then, let our meeting about the October Inter-Dorm Magical Shift Tournament commence. First, Octavinelle Dorm's Mr. Ashengrotto has an announcement as the manager for the tournament.", announced Crowley.

Everyone's eyes soon shifted toward the silvery-blue-haired teen as he stood from his seat. "I'm Azul Ashengrotto, the tournament manager. Thank you for your time.", he said as he bowed politely. "To begin, for installing food stalls around the coliseum venue, all slots for both external enterprises and internal club activities have been filled."

"Oh! Very nice! It's going to be super lively.", said Kalim excitedly.

"Royal guests from every country have been sent their invitations. General attendance tickets are also selling well. And applications from TV stations and newspapers are coming in like they do every year.",  Azul said. Dawn's eyes widened with surprise; she had heard that the tournament would be broadcast all across many countries, but she didn't think it would be this popular with members of royalty as well.

"This tournament is a big deal worldwide. I got super excited about my invitation every year before I came here.", Kalim said, and then he soon faced Leona. "Since you're royalty, you would've gotten one too. Right, Leona? Maybe we passed by each other when we were little."

"...Who knows. I don't care.", said Leona with slight annoyance. Dawn glanced at him and thought, 'This guy is part of a royal family!?' She couldn't believe that a man who nearly picked a fight with her and Grim would have that kind of social background; this made her have a brief flashback of her encounter with him back at the Botanical Garden after accidentally stepping on his tail.

"I have to make sure my foundation is in perfect form for the ultra vision. Physical activity means I have to spend that much more time fixing it.", Vil said. 

Riddle let out a sigh as he gave a blonde-haired man a deadpan look. "Pomfiore is the only dorm to take timeouts to fix their makeup.", he said. Dawn fought the urge to roll back her eyes; she agreed with Riddle that it was a bit ridiculous that a team should take breaks just to fix up their appearance during a tournament.

"How can you all be so proactive about being in front of a bunch of people? Just thinking about it makes me wanna vomit.", said the Ignihyde Dorm Leader.

"Ahem! Everyone, quiet please.", Azul said, bringing everyone's attention back to the main topic.

"Ah, sorry 'bout that.", Kalim said with a light laugh.

"As soon as every dorm has decided on their player lineup, please make sure to submit all the paperwork. If the paperwork is late by one day...", Azul says.

"You'll be disqualified, correct?", Riddle asked, thinking that was a reasonable consequence. But Azul shook his head and gave a smile. "No. I will accept a special processing fee. An express delivery fee, if you will.", he said. Seeing him smiling like that made Dawn feel more uneasy about him.

Riddle was shocked upon hearing how Azul was going to make a profit from someone else tardiness. Remembering what he learned from Dawn, he said, "Huh... I think making a rule for exceptions like that is in bad form."