𝒲𝒾𝓃𝓉ℯ𝓇 𝒲ℴ𝓃𝒹ℯ𝓇𝓁𝒶𝓃𝒹： 𝒯𝒽𝒶𝓌 ℴ𝒻 𝓉𝒽ℯ ℱ𝓇ℴ𝓏ℯ𝓃 ℋℯ𝒶𝓇𝓉

𝓣𝓱𝓮 𝓒𝓸𝓻𝓻𝓾𝓹𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓜𝓮𝓻𝓬𝓱𝓪𝓷𝓽 𝓯𝓻𝓸𝓶 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓓𝓮𝓹𝓽𝓱𝓼: 𝓒𝓱𝓪𝓹𝓽𝓮𝓻 54

*
"And here lately, please don't laugh. I use it on behalf of the miserable, lonely, and depressed...Pathetic."

**
Lumikuinen Minka - Lounge

After about 10 minutes, Y/n had finished her meal and left Mostro Lounge, much to Azul's dismay, hoping that she could stay longer. Aqua had escorted Y/n back to Lumikuinen where Jack waited for them.

Y/n held onto a small tea plate with a cup of cherry blossom tea as she sat on the sofa with Jack sitting on a single couch across from her while Aqua stood guard behind the crown princess, talking about the events that took place in Mostro Lounge.

"I think it's safe to say that everybody with an anemone stuck on their head..." Jack begun. "...gambled on Azul's contract and lost. The terms of said contract were apparently to place in the top 50. But with the sheer number of students signin' on most of them never stood a chance of getting in at all. That was Azul's game from the start." he stated.

"I DID find it weird that Grim managed to score over 80 on a test..." Y/n says, nodding in agreement before letting out a heavy sigh. "Talk about a racket..."

"I mean, c'mon!" Jack yelled, gritting his teeth. "If you're gettin' good grades off someone else's work, what does that even prove? You're throwin' away a perfectly good opportunity to show others what you're capable of. Frankly, you're cheating yourself."

"If the rest of the student body here were as principled and tedious..." A familiar voice begun before correcting himself. "...I mean, as serious as you, Mr. Howl and your majesty... it would spare me such grief!" he exclaimed, accidently scaring the living daylights out of Jack.

"WHOA! Headmage?! You startled me!" Jack yelped out while Y/n just sipped her tea calmly, completely unfazed.

Crowley released a heavy sigh. "*Sigh* So transpires another year of me being unable to clamp down on Ashengrotto's little 'side business.'" he bemoaned.

"What do you mean, 'side business'?" Y/n sternly questioned.

"Azul Ashengrotto: Sophomore. Housewarden of Octavinelle Dorm." Crowley began to explain. "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." he huffed.

"Are you talking about him swindling people?" Jack questioned. "Seems to me like one word from the headmage could put a stop to this whole thing."

"Ah, but it is precisely BECAUSE I am in a teaching position that I cannot prohibit his actions." Crowley added as Y/n poured him a cup of tea before passing it to the headmage.

"Why not?" Jack asked, perking an eyebrow up.

"Here's the thing about those study guides that Ashengrotto handed out to the students." Crowley says. "There was no illegitimate activity involved in their production. Nobody snuck looks at test questions or answers beforehand. It was crafted exhaustively by hand, after researching the past century's worth of Night Raven College exam questions and their patterns. In other words, it's an entirely legitimate study guide." he revealed.

"A century's worth of test questions...That's actually pretty amazing." Y/n admitted as Aqua hummed in agreement.

"To make something like that, all with his own strength..." Jack smirked. "I gotta hand it to him! Hm? Wait... In other words, the legitimacy itself is the problem. Is that what you're saying?" he asked the headmage.