Upon Ariel’s direction, she and Evie finally made their way to the fourth floor and joined Bianca and Kato in the empty classroom, skipping the first period of class.
When Ariel first entered the room, her already-rigid frown turned evermore frosty as she broke apart their smooching with a loud smack on the chalkboard before Evie could enter. The two instantly extracted themselves from each other’s embrace, faces steaming and red. Ariel and Eon were the only ones who knew the extent of their difficult feelings that could never be, so it was a godsend that it wasn’t Evie who walked in on them first.
With all the attendees present, Ariel, who called the meeting in the first place, climbed atop Evie’s shoulders and sat there. Strange, yes, but it was her unusual way of taking control of a room where everyone was taller than her.
“For the future, there are a few things we have to go over. The first thing is the closure of the Records Office, which means that my role in the student council is coming to an end. We have until the end of the day to hand-copy any documents from the Records Office we want to keep, so I’m counting on all of you here, plus Scarlett, to do this for the whole day today. At the very least, I want to transcribe the third-year profiles, including family registers. Is that clear?”
There were no objections, though Evie was surprised Ariel included her in such an operation when she wasn’t very adept at bureaucratic accounting. She was here solely because of her very firm connection to Eternia, and Mirabelle was to join the Hearts as her equal.
“Any exams you have to take today will be deferred in the name of student council duties. Now, the second thing is the case with Mayumi and her group. All of us here knew that they were gonna try and cheat on an exam, and they ended up getting out in one piece. So, we’re gonna keep this under wraps as-is, right?”
The group nodded. There were no objections here either. Their disastrous adventure was their prerogative, and they had no intention of getting in their way.
“Kato, you will continue with what you’re doing in the talent show for Mayumi and Caius, right?”
“Yeah, that’s right.”
It was something he intended to do no matter what, especially now with Eon also taken out of Class F. There was even more pressure on him to make this work, because if it didn’t succeed, then it would really be the end of the Elites. There were too many people he would let down if he couldn’t pull through.
“Perfect. Then, the third thing is the most important topic. Mira’s intentions on joining the Hearts. What are your first impressions?”
Ariel could already hazard a good guess at Kato’s, so instead she directed her gaze downwards at Evie.
“She’s a nuisance. It would be better for everyone if she didn’t join the Hearts.”
Her evaluation was so blunt that even Ariel couldn’t hold back a gasp, but when they spared a moment to think about it, it really was the truth in every interpretation of her words. She was surprisingly lucid in the most unexpected of times.
“She’ll probably serve under you. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed with her ability. Aren’t you surprised at her being able to do all of this in the first place?”
“Nah. If she’s physically superior and is gifted enough to utilize it, anyone can join the Hearts. As far as I know, she’s both, and if your story is true, then she really did go through enough training to make it here. Shouldn’t be surprising at all.”
Evie said confidently, confounding Bianca and Kato to no end. While they were childhood friends and stepsiblings respectively, Evie’s abnormally high tolerance of the absurd was still profoundly shocking to the two who lived in the “normal” world. The Hearts never meaning to be easy to make it into, and having a friend training to become a deity in secret from them for years, didn’t strike Evie as absurd, amazingly enough.
“That makes sense, I guess. Still, we weren’t allowed to discuss it for all these years. Have you heard anything about Mira doing this at all?”
“Nope. This is the first time I’m hearing this.”
So, not even Evie knew anything about Mirabelle’s ambitions. Because she was the future Number One, Queen of Hearts, she sometimes picked up information not meant for their ears, including learning of their memory erasure ahead of time.
“Then this should also be the first time you’ll be hearing this. Mira will be moving into your household later tonight.”
Finally surprising even Evie, the jaws of Ariel’s audience of three dropped. Even Bianca was in the dark, so she was the first to ask, utterly shocked.
“…how did this come about? And where did you learn this from?”
“I took the liberty of doing a little digging around. I even went to Master Suvorov to confirm the sequence of events.”
Ariel took a deep breath in.
“The moment she obtained her spirit tablet, she was no longer a member of the House of Jupiter. No noble has ever officially joined the organization, and doing so meant giving up your titles. Normally, you wouldn’t even be able to get this far in the first place, much less joining the Hearts, but here we are. Unlike the nomenklatura, treason as a noble can never be forgiven.”
That was an obvious nod to Mayumi’s mother, Satsuki, whom Mirabelle helped to rehabilitate. Accordingly, there was no such path of recourse in the Auxirian aristocracy.
“As such, she was to leave our house and live elsewhere. She could technically live at one of our safe houses as a renting commoner, but I don’t think that would be her ideal situation. Hence, she found a way to convince Sisi and Karl to allow her to stay at your place.”
She eyed Kato carefully, watching him for any reaction to the news. She was to be surprised and disappointed, though, because his expression barely changed from the initial shock.
“Sisi and Master Suvorov knew each other, going all the way back to their youth. Together in the Hearts, they were once part of the Winged Emissaries who fought in the many conflicts in Royal Candor. Apparently, Master Suvorov appealed to Sisi for this favour, and she and Karl agreed.”
They remained silent. Bianca, for one, couldn’t believe Mirabelle was leaving the house. Though it was already an eventuality with the memory wipe, she didn’t expect the move to occur before it.
“Thankfully, I was able to learn all the missing pieces of what happened to Mira on the Eternian side in time, and that was why I was able to gather you all here right now, before everything could fall into place.”
Evie was strangely deep in thought.
“Sisi once said she couldn’t tell us who the sixth deity was in Korolev Senior. Then Mira must be it. A secret to be kept until she became a Hearts candidate.”
Kato also recalled that conversation from a while ago. From that, Sisi must have known about Mirabelle’s situation from the get-go, and elected not to tell them about it. He didn’t blame her for that, of course. This whole debacle was never in Sisi’s purview, and it made sense she wouldn’t interfere in it if it involved the will of another Heart, Master Suvorov.
“Well, quite a number of people had to keep their mouths shut. In my opinion, the possibility of a leak was so high that it was a miracle that it didn’t make it to you guys until now. Then again, I had very little details of Mira’s Hearts candidateship until recently, so it turned out it covered itself up quite well.”
That was correct. For example, Gilbert and Mona were aware of Mirabelle’s ambitions to become a Heart—people who had no prior connection to the Jupiters before Master Suvorov. So, it meant that Master Suvorov was likely the person who kept in line all who were in the know, at the behest of the Jupiter family. It showed how much influence Master Suvorov wielded over the organization.
“Kato, on the night of the day we went to the Bozz, you met with Master Suvorov briefly. You were together with Alice and Sisi, and so were Gilbert and Mona and their families. That day, Mira was there too, to guard their delegation and retrieve Alice. Do you remember?”
Upon that prompt, he instantly remembered. The mysterious man with a very intense aura in the limousine who was able to make Sisi back down must have been Master Suvorov. Therefore, the barehanded assassin-fighter in the jumpsuit was Mirabelle. Her profile and body proportions matched perfectly.
“…yes, I do.”
Kato must admit Mirabelle’s empty-handed technique was fearsome. He thought they were about evenly matched, so Mirabelle certainly had the physical chops to join the Hearts. A fellow deity through and through.
At the same time, it was unnerving to completely re-evaluate his childhood friend like this, almost as if he needed to replace one whole person with another. Mirabelle’s hidden side was so out of left field that even after having it repeated so many times now, he was still shocked.
“Master Suvorov must have also had a hand in the cover-ups. If I were to guess, anyone who knew and leaked it would’ve been terminated by Master Suvorov himself. That’s the only reason I can think of, considering all the students he’s taken in to train alongside Mira.”
“Right, Gilbert was one of them.”
Ariel closed her eyes.
“Donovan was another. And there’s a third person which we need to be wary of. The same person the faculty is bringing back to Korolev Senior to, with Mira’s support, take the AC away from Mona.”
Kato and Bianca instantly froze. There were very few people who fit those descriptors—really, only one they could think of—and it was terrible news for the school.
“…is this also Mira’s idea?”
“I can’t say for sure. If it was, I wouldn’t be surprised, but she would be putting herself in a lot of danger too. A deity she may be, a challenger is only a step away.”
No matter how much one refined their technique, it only took one opening to lose, and to lose everything. Winning nine out of ten times was meaningless if the one out of ten occurred. That was the nature of their line of work.
“There’s no way that’s the case, right? Right?”
Bianca trembled at the thought of it. If Mirabelle actually did bring him back, then it was a real, unequivocal slap in her face. As flesh and blood sisters, it would’ve been an action beyond unforgivable.
“I don’t think so. Mira doesn’t involve things she can’t control. There’s no way that motherfucker can be a reliable chess piece in her game like Mayumi is.”
Uncharacteristically, or perhaps very characteristically, Evie gave a sober take on it.
“That’s true. Arnold isn’t a person you can control. That’s why he was expelled in the first place.”
“So, the faculty decided to bring him back? There has to be more than that, right?”
Ariel furrowed her glorious brows.
“I don’t know. At this point, we have to assume that’s the case. I don’t believe anyone among the third-years with any significant amount of power would want to bring him back.”
That was true. While Arnold had some unsavoury allies who might want to see him return, he had many more enemies among the third-year elites. He was, in many ways, the ultimate villain of their year.
“Bringing him back at this timing is extremely risky, no? We’re about a month away from when the millers join us for the exchange program.”
Millers were the colloquial designation for exchange students from the Auxirian fatherland, specifically from the Central Imperial Academy for Military Arts, or Central Mil. In other words, noble children from the Auxirian aristocracy were allowed to board and attend Korolev Senior for a semester. This strange arrangement was certainly unfathomable at a glance, given the very real power struggle between the two authorities, but considering the existence of the Jupiter household, it was not an unusual outcome.
Of course, taking in noble children and having them coexist with the most exceptional commoners was not an easy task—it was excruciatingly difficult for all parties involved, in fact, so bringing back an untameable force such as Arnold before the arrival of the millers was extremely risky.
“We don’t have to sweat over things we don’t know yet. Whether if it’s about Arnold’s return, or its timing with the millers’ arrival, we can’t make any judgments on them without any additional information, right? I haven’t heard anything of the sort from Gilbert or Mona. Has Mira said anything about it?”
“No, she only mentioned it was the faculty’s decision.”
Ariel answered Kato flatly.
“There you go. I guess it’ll be homework for us.”
Kato said rather gravely and somewhat dismayed. Evie, however, was already marching ahead.
“Bia, don’t worry about Arnold. We’ll take care of him for you the same way we did last time.”
As the embodiment of a superhuman, Evie was unafraid of her outlandish claims. At the same time, it gave Bianca reassurance of its guarantee because of it.
“Thanks, Evie. I’m counting on you.”
In the past, Bianca had been on the receiving end of Arnold’s unsavoury advances. It was a strange sequence of events that didn’t make any sense with regards to Arnold’s motives, but in the end Evie physically ended the terror. Confronted with Evie’s overwhelming power under Kato’s direction, Arnold uncharacteristically backed off without a second look back, as if he instantly lost all interest in Bianca and the Elites.
“You can count on me, too.”
“O-of course.”
Buoyed by Kato’s additional assertion, she stuttered slightly as she averted her eyes shyly, their intimate moment earlier still fresh in her mind. Kato, for his part, felt his heart stop as he watched her eyelashes flutter. In another stroke of luck for them both, Evie had already trained her focus back on Ariel.
“The question is, what are we gonna do moving forward?”
“I think we’re a little late when it comes to gaining any advantages in the power struggles. As an undersecretary now without a secret police, I don’t think I can do much at all to effect significant change. Bia’s chancellorship is the only source of power we have left we can use to leverage against any contingencies. I think the most we can do is to make moves to protect ourselves.”
“Self-preservation, eh?”
“We get what we’ve sown for sleeping on the job. While I think Gilbert and Mona’s factions are sufficiently friendly enough, even allied perhaps, I can’t expect much considering I was the one who prosecuted Gilbert’s faction. For liaison with those two, I leave it to you two, all right?”
Kato and Bianca nodded.
“In Mira’s case, we’re still unclear about the details of her future plans, but we do know that it’ll be her job to support Arnold in his attempt to usurp the AC from Mona. From this, we can infer that they will at least work in tandem, if not allied, while Mona is still the chairwoman. There’s a good possibility that Donovan will aid Mira and Arnold in this struggle. In light of that, it’s best to consider the three of them as part of the faculty’s faction. The general student council and Class B will quickly fall in line under Mira for this purpose, and I don’t see a way for me to create a meaningful splinter faction under these circumstances.”
Ariel admitted grimly. That was the charismatic power of Mirabelle. While Ariel had clout of her own, and indeed she was well-respected among many students of Class 3-B and formed her own personal clique, her opponent had to be Mirabelle. If it was anybody else, it would have been a no-brainer to split the class like Gilbert and Mona had done, but reality wasn’t so kind.
“It’ll be better if the Elites don’t show up for student council duties anymore. That’ll lessen the likelihood of getting Alice caught up in things she doesn’t need to. Though, I don’t think the Elites are in any position to come to the student council room together anymore, are you?”
She continued to muse. The separation of the Elites probably meant the end of their occasional adventures in the student council room with the Jupiter sisters, she seemed to suggest. Kato nodded in agreement.
“Mhm. Though, are you sure we don’t need to involve Eon or Alice in this conversation? I’m fine with leaving Alice out of this since it’s not her battle, at least not until she’s joined the nomenklatura, but Eon could be a lot of help.”
“If Mira didn’t make such a mess out of this already, I would’ve approached all of you for help. However, with Mayumi’s group joining my class, I’m afraid they have to be dealt with differently. One of Mira’s conditions for Mayumi’s return was to join the student council and help her. You’d think she’ll try and use her again, right? And Mayumi probably won’t, or perhaps can’t, refuse.”
Kato closed his eyes and gritted his teeth.
“So, what you’re saying is that even if they know Mira’s planning something for them, they’ll go along with it anyway?”
“Yes. Under these circumstances, I don’t think we’ll be able to work alongside them. Given Mayumi’s agreement with Mira, and by extension the faculty, whatever superficial thing we try to do will probably fall on deaf ears, right?”
Perhaps it was difficult for them to imagine due to their preconceptions of Mayumi, but that particular arrangement was agreed upon as a precondition for Mayumi’s return to Korolev Senior. Plus, if Mayumi’s no longer a sacrifice and could be controlled by Mirabelle, then there wouldn’t be any pressure from the faculty to get Mayumi expelled either. Her attendance here would be reinforced by helping Mirabelle out, and this fact was likely not lost on Mayumi and the original Elites.
“That’s about as far as I can see at the moment. Kato, what do you intend to do?”
All eyes turned to the lone man in the room. In some respects, he was the one who held them all together. He was the old Mayumi’s true successor.
“I tried my best to keep everyone together for one final year, but at this point I think I’ve gotta accept reality. Everyone’s changed in some way or another, including myself, and as a result of that we’ve split apart of our own accord. That’s the truth.
“I’ve lost Mayumi, Caius and Eon, and I don’t know if I’m ever getting them back. What’s more, Mira’s the cause of it, yet she’s gonna be living with us. Honestly, I don’t know how I should face her. I don’t want to face her.”
Kato stared at his feet, struggling to keep his eyes from closing and his mouth from shouting. It had been a long time since he felt this pathetic. Ariel climbed down from her mount and walked up to Kato.
“If there’s any consolation, Kato, is that we still have some time before anything happens. Unless the faculty really is in a hurry, Arnold probably won’t return at least until after the morning classes’ midterms are over.”
A reasonable deduction, as a student’s schedule mostly revolved around the morning classes. Ariel continued.
“I don’t think Arnold’ll be Mira’s ally, either. In fact, I don’t think they see eye to eye at all. When that time comes, when Arnold inevitably becomes her enemy, will you be ready? Will you protect Mira, as you did for Bia?”
Kato raised his head to meet Ariel’s stern glare, yet her eyes were red with exhaustion. It was a difficult morning for her, too.
“Isn’t it obvious? I wanna protect everyone, whether they have been lost or have betrayed us. I wanna say I’m gonna involve myself more, but honestly, I’m still hesitant.”
He made a difficult face. Evie immediately clapped back.
“Don’t be. Even if you’re hated by the guys in Class B, as long as we get what we want, it’s fine, right?”
“Letty still left Korolev in the end…”
“That’s still a better outcome than Letty staying here while Class B overwhelms her. She was never gonna compromise on her feelings, so you were the perfect lightning rod.
“In other words, you need to do it yourself in order to protect what’s dear to you. If you’re gonna be regretting what happens either way, I’d prefer choosing my own path rather than letting chance decide for me.”
Although overly cringe, Evie’s words still struck a chord with Kato, who had spent so much time by himself lately mulling over the situation with Mayumi and the original Elites. The maelstrom of unease he felt was akin to regret, but not exactly; it was more about why did things have to turn out this way, rather than rewinding time and wishing for a different outcome. Even so, Evie was correct that he would be moping like this in every scenario.
“Yeah, you’re right. Thanks, Evie.”
Kato took a long breath in.
“Feeling better?”
“Mhm. I still think it’s best if I lay as low as possible. I don’t wanna get in Mira’s way if it turns out her plan doesn’t involve us. I’ll do my best to keep in touch with Gilbert and Mona to check Mira’s moves, so I’m gonna count on you, Ariel. You’re our leader this time around.”
“Says the troublemaker the last time. I’m sure you’ll think of something on your own later on, but all right. I’ll take on that role in an official capacity.”
“I don’t deny that, but I took it upon myself to help Letty last time. This time, I’m relying on all of you guys first.”
Ariel smiled for the first time in ages. The catlike tiny girl finally revealed herself to be a human.
“Evie, what do you plan to do?”
Ariel asked curtly as she pointed a finger at her, wanting to know Evie’s intentions.
“I’m not doing anything. There’s no role yet for me in this battle.”
She shrugged with her answer, but the implication in both Ariel and Evie’s words were clear. There was a good chance that, with Mirabelle soon living together with them, Evie would get pulled along into Mirabelle’s plans. An absolute physical deterrent such as Evie would be extremely advantageous in the right situations.
“Evie, just do whatever you want. Whether it’s to get dragged into Mira’s plans or oppose her, I think it’s better for all of us if you just do what your gut tells you to. You’re actually more predictable that way.”
“You don’t think I can help you, Kato?”
“You always end up having your own ideas and acting on it, regardless of what we wanted you to do. It’s fine, just snoop around like you always do, and I’ll bug you every now and then for intel.”
Kato shook his head in exasperation, his evaluation of Evie’s reliability quite harsh. When Ariel nodded emphatically in agreement with Kato, Evie shrugged again, taking his criticism on the chin. They have known each other for a long time, after all.
“It’s okay, Evie. All we need from you is to side with us when we tell you to.”
“I’m always on Kato’s side.”
She replied confidently to Ariel, who nodded again gratefully. They could count on Evie being Evie.
“Then, Bia, what do you plan on doing?”
Ariel turned to the remaining person in the room who had been fairly silent in their discussion. The pressure Ariel exuded was rather intense, even against her own sister. That was how serious she took their conversation, and a serious Ariel was a wild force to be reckoned with.
“I…I don’t know.”
Bianca bit her lip as she let her thoughts linger, clearly still distracted by what happened with Kato earlier. Ariel immediately saw what was going through her mind and yanked on her chain.
“Bia, we’re gonna be in far greater danger than three years ago, now that Arnold’s returned and Mira’s moving of her own accord. Not to mention, those rowdy millers are gonna be joining us soon, too. Don’t tell me you’re not gonna do anything to protect yourself?”
“Uh…huh?”
Bianca blinked, confused and taken aback by the strength in Ariel’s tone.
“You can be a bit dim and airheaded sometimes, dear sister. I’m not sure it’s because of your innate personality or your tunnel visioning on a certain someone, but you’re more than capable and affable yourself to be marked as a target.”
“…me? A target?”
“You were our valedictorian back in middle school because you’re actually popular. Sure, you would’ve been second after Mira if she actually came to school, but being the second- is not the same as being the thirtieth-most popular girl at school. Do keep in mind all those love letters I had to dispose of for you.”
“Love letters, huh?”
Kato hummed exaggeratingly, goading a reaction from Bianca. Actually, he had long since known about them and Bianca’s popularity via Ariel, which was part of why he pushed himself to be involved with Bianca back in middle school. He couldn’t help but feel bothered by those no-names trying to go after his precious childhood friend.
“W-what, Kato, they’re not what you think they are!”
“Hm? Whatever do I think they are, indeed? Why, I’m just pleasantly surprised at your popularity, is all.”
“N-no, you got it all wrong! They don’t mean anything to me! That’s why I had to reject all of them!”
Dumbfounded, Bianca desperately tried to ward off the accusatory and smug expression on Kato’s face. To no avail, of course, since Ariel interrupted before the conversation derailed itself.
“In other words, Bia, being second-best means you still stand out too much and it attracts trouble. Do you understand your situation? Mira returning to resume the student council presidency doesn’t mean you’re getting relegated to the background. It means any moves she makes as president could come to bite you. If she’s already tossed me and Mayumi under the bus, it’s not inconceivable that she’ll use you to her ends, too.”
“I get that, but…”
A short moment of annoyance flashed across Ariel’s face, but it disappeared as quickly as it appeared. Instead, she walked up to Bianca and started to pull on her cheeks angrily.
“Wha—wha’or y’do’n—!”
“I wanna know what you’re doing, spacing out like this. Can you give it some serious thought? When you come up with something later, let me know.”
Ariel let go after she finished making her utilitarian requests, backing off from her terminally absentminded sister. Sometimes, she thought Mirabelle and Bianca’s personalities overlapped so much that it made sense they were identical twins. Both shared this bizarre propensity to be overwhelmed by their emotions to the point of inaction. On the opposite side of the spectrum, she and Scarlett had the capacity to easily endure these mood swings like it was a fly on a tank. In a sense, they had a pinch of Evie in them.
“Kato, I leave Bia to you.”
“Huh?”
“Don’t look at me like that. You know she’s part of this battle, whether we like it or not. Gilbert and Mona chose to test Bia for information on Mira, and then still chose to loop her in this particular debacle. So, it stands to reason that others would view her the same way. Arnold certainly did previously, and that wouldn’t be the last time this would happen. You get me?”
Unable to get through to her sister, Ariel pointed her finger at Kato, who fortunately was still wide awake and aware. He nodded, of course, since the subject was Bianca. Panning his gaze over the three girls around him, who wore expressions from listless, determined, to anxious, he internally chuckled at this hastily put together and unlikely coalition of masterminds.
“Got it.”
“I-I’m terribly sorry, Don.”
“Don’t be, Liam. We’re up against real heavyweights. My physical superiority was never enough to win.”
Only these two remained in the PSC headquarters after the general members were dismissed for the day. The afternoon was quickly ending, and so were their duties.
“But I am quite annoyed about the faculty. They knew what they were doing when they put me into this position. I can only imagine what they have in store for the second- and first-years.”
“How so?”
“For the time being, our year’s student hierarchy is controlled by faculty outsiders, Gilbert and Mona. The faculty originally wanted to let this year go and redouble their efforts in the next, seeing how our year had first turned out. Despite the fractious scene of Class A, their two factions actually garnered much respect from many significantly named students in the lower classes.”
Considering how Wild West student hierarchies were, without an abnormal deviance, ability and merit trumped all. Many were satisfied with Gilbert and Mona at the top until Mirabelle showed that she would join the race, and quite obviously had the same, if not better, ability than them, allowing her to easily assume leadership of their year.
“Mirabelle decided to run for president of her own volition, so the faculty took the chance to milk whatever they could out of this opportunity. They pulled me back into the fight when I had zero influence outside of the drama department. I mean, look at the state of the PSC. They didn’t even let me train our folks with the outgoing senior members, and yet they expect me to run it at full power.”
“Uh…huh?”
“It means management is expecting me to produce just as many results as before, but with fewer resources. In fact, there are no resources. The second-years are essentially all green to the role; they were supposed to be trained up this year by the outgoing seniors. Fucking upper management, man.”
“I see.”
Liam still didn’t quite understand the rant, but Donovan continued anyway.
“But that’s exactly what they want. It’s a win-win either way for the faculty. They either get a functioning PSC but with me in charge instead of Gilbert, or they get a PSC that’s been neutered. I really wanna stick it in those old farts’ asses.”
“Are you gonna?”
“Of course not. They know exactly what kind of a person I am when they put me in for this job. I’m a fundamentally lazy person and I ain’t gonna do any work, even for revenge. No, scratch that, there is a revenge angle befitting of my style. They haven’t prepped me like they should have—I deserve to be prepped, though, by the way—so they’re not gonna get anything in return from me. An eye for an eye by being lazy.”
Donovan grinned smugly, seemingly satisfied with his in-the-moment decision. Perhaps strangely to outsiders, Liam too smirked in agreement and understanding.
“Now, that sounds like a plan, boss. Although, you’ve been putting in a lot of effort trying to get Mirabelle’s plans to work. I’ll bet the faculty’s still gonna try to get you to work your ass off for them.”
“You’re right. The passing of the Act of Neutrality, the return of the infamous Arnold Hedonez, and then helping him take the AC chairmanship. I can see it all too well.
“But it won’t be this easy to use me the next time, Mirabelle and the old farts. Really, I have to hand it to the faculty to make me work. Thinking back on it now, it makes me despise them even more.”
“What do you mean?”
“After Mirabelle brought Mayumi back to this school, the faculty ordered me to find a reason to prosecute and possibly expel her. If you can put two and two together, that order probably originated from Mirabelle as a suggestion to those in the faculty who opposed Mirabelle’s way of doing things. She essentially tricked the faculty to cover both loose ends at once. She could get the Act of Neutrality to pass by either letting Mayumi’s revolutionary activities blow up, or have Mayumi indicted for cheating while she’s still the revolution’s leader. In both cases, it’s enough to warrant extreme measures to be passed.”
“Oh… then Mirabelle got you to cover that second scenario.”
“Yes. In the end, she didn’t pull the gun on either trigger, and opted to go for a third solution. It’s not just about taking Mayumi into Class B and ending the revolutionary activities. This path became available to her after she got the faculty to dismantle the Records Office and her sister Ariel’s faction. The whole of Class B has been forced into following Mirabelle’s lead now.”
“Class B is split into two factions?”
Liam opened his mouth in surprise.
“They’re more like soft splits than real factions. The two of them are the most capable students of their class, and students would naturally gravitate around either of the two. But with the Records Office gone, there’s no more reason to maintain any kind of split between the two sisters. Mirabelle is clearly the winner here.”
“Wow… Mirabelle really is amazing. Well, whatever. Like you said, it’s not like Mirabelle’s plans have been disadvantageous for us so far. Do you think she’s thought this all through as she planned it?”
“I’m not gonna lie, I think she does have the ability to plan and do all of that. She isn’t without weaknesses, though, and Arnold’s return is gonna be the real test of that. For all her capabilities, she’s at a great disadvantage against him.”
Donovan’s smirk could be described as sinister by any normal folk. However, Liam was used to the sinister-ness, and was mildly amused by it instead.
“Arnold’s return will be a test for us too, though, if we don’t stay on our toes. You know how he is.”
“Of course. Class C will be steering well clear of that ass.”
Liam nodded strongly, for once in the conversation in complete understanding. He was a veteran of this school district like Donovan, and so he knew exactly how troublesome Arnold was. As a male, he was by no means cowed by the existence of another alpha, but the common trait he shared with Donovan was their propensity for dodging hassles as much as possible, and Arnold was definitely a hassle. Even better, leaving the hard work for someone else was their modus operandi.
“I sort of still can’t believe the faculty would allow Arnold to return. He went overboard on too many things, and I don’t think he’s ever gonna feel sorry about them. I can only guess this is the faculty becoming wary of Mirabelle’s capabilities and needing something to check her.”
“You mean the faculty doesn’t fully trust Mirabelle to do their bidding?”
“Yes, and with a move like that, they’re definitely trying to take advantage of her capabilities for as long as possible. They know they have the keys to her kingdom, so they’re dangling it in front of her so she would follow their orders, almost desperately. And when they see she’s being too capable, they’re throwing in a guard dog to control her. Those rascals, the faculty.”
“She’s not going to get what she wants, is she?”
“There’s no way she didn’t negotiate a time limit on their partnership. If I’m correct, she wants to be able to join the Hearts before the end of the year, so she wants to finish this job as soon as possible.”
“The faculty’s getting greedy, huh?”
“That’s exactly right, and they’ll probably pay for it in the end. Crossing Mirabelle by dragging out their demands is one thing, but bringing back Arnold is just inviting disaster. Frankly, I feel sorry for Mona and her lot. Unless Arnold’s distracted, they’ll probably bear the brunt of his wrath.”
“Will it actually come back to bite the faculty? How would that come about?”
Donovan smirked again. As a bystander, the drama he was watching unfold was like dopamine. He could enjoy it like a sweet, sweet dessert, so long as it didn’t affect him.
“He’ll probably commit a very heinous crime, likely against a fellow student, and be expelled again. The faculty might push the blame of this hypothetical incident on us, the PSC, for failing our duties, but I’ll be ready for when that time comes.”
They both laughed, despite the topic of the conversation being quite serious. Not surprisingly, wriggling out of responsibilities was second nature to them.
“The first thing I’ll do when Arnold returns is to file a complaint to the faculty about his return. With that in place, afterwards, if anything goes astray, the faculty isn’t gonna like what I’ll do if they try to pin fault on me.”
“Let’s hope the hassle doesn’t get that far, of course.”
“Well, of course. Only fools would waste time on troubling themselves. Live life easy, that’s what I’d say.”
They chuckled again, making their way out the PSC office with smug looks on their faces. Just as the faculty desired, the indomitable authority of the PSC was no more, and Donovan knew it. He was a puppet of the faculty, and he would play his part as much as he would allow himself to be. He knew he was a grifter, an opportunist who leached off the system, and he wholeheartedly submitted himself to this role.
However, any more than that was not in his job description, and he would fight tooth and nail against the faculty if they tried to force him to work more than he thought was necessary. Unlike with Mirabelle’s situation, the faculty didn’t have anything to coerce him with, so he really could just sit back and watch. And as he walked out of the school building with his usual genial smile, he couldn’t help but feel elated in anticipation for the spectacular show that the faculty and his fellow third-year classes would put on for him.
Inside of a local karaoke box, five kids gathered after school for, unfortunately, not a relaxing session of singing, but rather for a debrief in a private space. The centre of attention was, as always, Mona.
“What do you think our chances are?”
“I believe we can hold the line for some time, but if it’s as you say, Mona, and the weight of Class B is going to be behind Arnold in any shape or form, then we’re looking at a pretty grim situation.”
“Julian’s right. With how Class A is fracturing at the moment, we probably can’t take on Class D and Class B at the same time. Most of our power base has been in Class D and other clubs from the lower classes, but if Arnold returns, we’d lose all of Class D.”
“They’ll undoubtedly follow Arnold’s lead, whether they want to or not. And even if there’s anyone within Class D we could get to agree to dissent, none of them would actually be useful in slowing down Arnold. They’d just be consumed by Arnold’s faction the moment they try anything.”
Mona’s three protégés painted a dire picture for the current AC leadership. Not only were they on the defence, the offence was projected to only mount further pressure with no opening or opportunity to be weakened.
“We shouldn’t have listened to Mirabelle in the first place. We wouldn’t be in this position if she didn’t get her way.”
“Yeah! The Act of Neutrality was a trap, and now we’re gonna pay for it! Plus, we’d be the ones to be publicly blamed for proposing this security law in the first place!”
“And out of all of this, she’s managed to shatter our class, too. We missed our window to counterattack, so to speak.”
Julian, the bespectacled, ever-cold and plain-looking strategist, concluded solemnly. His closest friend, the bulky, blond, and usually peppy henchman sitting next to him, Terrance, was decidedly dejected by the turn of events. Across from them was Ophelia, a tall blonde girl whose expression was just as harsh as Julian’s, and was Mona’s secretary and right-hand woman.
“Well, I guess we held out for as long as we could have.”
Contrary to her usual abrasiveness, Mona seemed unconcerned with the impending destruction of their monopoly over the AC’s activities. It made Ophelia and Terrance ever more anxious, getting a good rise out of them.
“What are you saying? We’re gonna be done in if this keeps up!”
“There’s no doubt that we’re at a great disadvantage, Mona, and it’ll only get worse moving forward.”
Mona waved their points away.
“Julian, do you think we have enough resources to escape?”
“With all due respect, we’ll take a lot of damage even if we try to avoid a confrontation. I won’t be surprised if what’s left of our faction is the three of us, plus a few trustworthy stragglers. I can probably count them on my hand.”
“I see.”
Mona took some time to think for herself, angering her other two lackeys again.
“C’mon, sister!”
“Mona!”
“Shut it, guys.”
The fifth member of the karaoke squad finally spoke up. His towering presence was frightening even when sitting down, and the others obediently backed down. Though it might be strange for them to be working together after years of sidelining each other, at least for Mona’s inner circle, they actually respected him a lot, even if they might not like him as a person. They looked at him expectantly, to which he duly answered their scrutinizing gazes.
“The fact that Mirabelle was kind enough to warn us of what the faculty decided to do for this year, is already more than what we could expect to have. Sure, she’s under the thumb of the faculty, but it doesn’t change the fact that, regardless of her allegiances, we were always at the mercy of the faculty.”
“If Mirabelle didn’t become a Hearts candidate, the faculty wouldn’t have tried to make use of her, would they? Then the trigger is still hers to pull!”
Apparent from Terrance’s outburst, the three adjutants weren’t aware of the truth: Mirabelle’s intention of joining the Hearts in the same manner as the three Eternian children. As a part of his obfuscation scheme, Gilbert had explained earlier that he suspected her early candidacy was traded for submission to the faculty. That was the public story he was willing to “reveal”. Whatever the real reason was, though, was not important; they only needed to know it was Mirabelle pulling the strings. Weaving the truth between the lies was necessary to keep Gilbert’s debt to Mirabelle a secret, after all.
“That’s just how things stand. The organization isn’t going to forfeit real business for the whims of a few high school students.”
“…”
They went silent for a short while, unable to retort at that matter of fact.
“Still, being the faculty’s dog still means she’s against us, no matter her personal friendship with the two of you. It’s still a fact that, at this moment, she’s our enemy.”
Julian eventually spoke up. In the end, whatever the underlying circumstances were, it was clear that Mirabelle was working against their interests. At least that, they had to recognize.
“I’m well aware of that, but if it weren’t for her efforts to not intervene until the student council presidential election last year, we wouldn’t have the positions we have right now. Up until then, she prevented the rise of Donovan to the PSC, allowed Arnold to self-destruct the way he did at the end of middle school, and didn’t install Scarlett as her puppet afterwards.”
Mona had unusually kind words for Mirabelle—at least, as kind as she could get.
“Then what should we do? I personally don’t really care if Mirabelle had let us off the hook, so to speak, for all these years. That’s her opportunity loss. I don’t owe her anything, and I don’t think we should think that way either.”
Ophelia said sharply. The other adjutants nodded in agreement, still seeking consensus from their leader.
“I feel the same way, however, I just want to make our priorities clear. While Mirabelle’s doing things in her own interest, she’s by no means an ally of Arnold. She’ll support him for sure, but we’ll be wasting our time trying to find countermeasures against her. The main enemy is still Arnold, and he does things his way, no matter how much she tries to help him. You and I can hold a grudge against her, but it’s not helping my predicament here.”
The others quieted down, unable to find their words once more. To be honest, they were thoroughly shaken by the news of Arnold’s return. In middle school, he was the terror that informally reigned over their year. Any backroom dispute was handled by this man, while official duties were carried out by his “clean” allies. Gilbert and Mona fought and bled against his allies to bring themselves to the forefront of the official student bodies, and to rise to Class A.
“And in light of our predicament, given what we know, I also don’t think we stand a chance against him. We’re not gonna win. So, we’re gonna find a way to retreat with our forces intact. Once the chairmanship passes to him, we’ll be in the clear of his wrath. Back then, I don’t think he has ever considered us more than just ants, and I don’t think he’ll start re-evaluating us now. We’ll take that on the chin and bow out gracefully.”
“Mona…”
“…”
Dejectedly, the three slumped in their seats. As long-time friends that trusted each other, they also knew that upstarts like themselves were never meant to last long. Unless they were able to increase their own abilities, they were still at the mercy of the more talented. Ophelia turned to the towering, emotionless hulk of a defeated but still impressive faction leader.
“Gilbert, what do you think of our situation?”
He shook his head gravely.
“I think this is as dire as you say. As a leader of the broken faction, I also think Mona’s decision to preserve yourselves to be the correct move.”
Julian grimaced and muttered.
“Is this the extent of our abilities?”
“Gilbert, was it really not possible for you to rein in Fabian?”
Ophelia imposed, unafraid of Gilbert’s aura.
“That he didn’t try to stage an outright revolt in the last three years was already a miracle. Perhaps he would be of some use as fodder against Arnold, now that he’s gone rogue.”
Although dissatisfied, Ophelia nodded earnestly.
“I guess I can’t expect too much from Fabian. He’s always been a thorn in our side.”
“He’s a little too ambitious. I would be delighted if Arnold could put him in his place permanently.”
“Wow, those are some strong words from the former marshal.”
“He’s forming a faction from the remaining third of our class. As a faction leader, this comes with the territory.”
Fabian’s splinter faction was made up of his own inner circle, Gilbert’s faction’s hangers-on, and those who were actually secretly in opposition to Gilbert and Mona. Seeing Gilbert’s waning authority and knowing his association with Mona outside of school, they abandoned the nominal allocation of Class A students to their respective student organizations and formed their own distinct faction under Fabian.
“Where’s Stephen? Shouldn’t he be here with us?”
“Ophelia, this is still technically a gathering of the Mona faction. But yes, next time, I’ll have Stephen and Roy join us. Even with Stephen out of our class, he will most definitely continue to support us in his new capacity as a Class B student. He won’t receive the accolades that come with Class A, but as you know, his position is special now.”
They nodded. They also heard, through the grapevines, of Stephen’s new appointment in his family. Mona stood up from her cushion seat.
“It’s fine. You guys were the last to be briefed. Stephen and Roy already knew what had gone down, so they won’t miss anything.”
Roy Hawkfeather was the other Gilbert loyalist, through and through. He was a descendant of the indigenous peoples of the Carpathian peninsula, a land on the far side of the Candoran continent.
“So there you have it. We have five things going against us: Arnold, Fabian, Mirabelle, the faculty and the arrival of the millers. It has been a great ride while it lasted.”
Mona put a certain sense of finality into her words that stirred surrender in her three followers. They, of course, didn’t want their career to end like this, but as sub-leaders too they understood their situation very well. They were, very simply, cornered.
“Chin up, folks. At least we have the talent show to be proud of, a fruit of our efforts. If we survive until Karllestide, then the year-end banquet might also be in our hands. I am concerned that it’s a little over two months away, but I think we’ll get a majority of the planning done, even if we don’t get to eventually host it ourselves.”
They all gloomily looked down at their feet, a part of this defeat still surreal to them. They were on the top of the school for so long, but it only took about a month or so to be put on the chopping block. They were aware that they lacked the absolute ability that the gifted had, and in a sense they were even beacons of hope for the masses that had nothing but hard work going for them. Through the AC and PSC in their sophomore and junior years, they strove for their own version of a meritocracy, climbed to the top of their own accord, and overturned decades of tradition.
“In the end, we weren’t strong enough to best the faculty, but it was a valiant fight nonetheless. Let’s try and stay alive from now on. As long as we’re still here, we still have a chance to make a difference.”
Terrance began to tear up as the others turned ever more stone-faced. The admission of defeat was real. They didn’t want to believe it. Mona continued.
“We’re not down and out, of course. We’ll just have to work in a different way to get what we want, right, Gilbert?”
“That’s right. Between the two of us, we still control almost a third of the Assembly. We’re disappearing quietly into the night, not into thin air.”
A rare quip from Gilbert, the three refocused their attention on Mona’s newest right-hand man. It was Mona’s decision to yield to Gilbert as the ultimate decision-maker from now on, as Gilbert was much more involved with Eternia and thus more qualified to be that person, now that they have decided to redouble their efforts on defence against the faculty, and in extension, Eternia.
“We’re gonna make sure our new faction survives this year. Sticking to the top, no dropouts, and passing with flying colours. We’ll make it through with our pride as the new self-made elites intact.”
Mona declared with the karaoke microphone in her hand as behind her, the first verse approached them from both the speakers as music, and the television screen as lyrics. With renewed determination, the crew nodded earnestly in agreement, and began following Mona’s lead in her choice of song. Gilbert watched on curiously at the bizarre gathering of usually very serious students, minus Terrance, trying to live it up at a karaoke box. He allowed himself a chuckle, also feeling very surreal at how things had turned out after just two months of school.