"Thank you so much." Yuu gave a small bow of gratitude towards Jack after he recollected his bearings.
"Ah ha ha," Cater wore a small smile, "I showed you a pretty ugly side of me."
"Jack, was it?" Deuce spoke up and also gave a nod in gratitude, "You saved us."
"It wasn't like I was trying to help you or anything."
Jack grumbled as he rubbed away the spiky hair from the side of his face without looking at them in the eye.
"Ugh, I'm so gross." Ace grumbled as he wiped away the sweat and grime from himself, "Let's just go straight back to the dorm."
"And I'm starving..." Grim grumbled on the ground as Lotus place ointment on his tail.
"Well, Jack," Cater smiled, "We're heading out but be careful, alright."
"You guys aren't in a position to worry about me." Jack folded his arms with a frown, "Go home already."
"Mh." Yuu nodded and got up after Lotus had finished applying ointment on their bruises.
Lotus sighed as she watched her group walk away and placed the ointment container back into her pocket before turning to Jack, "Thank you for hearing Peony out and stepping in."
Jack raised a brow in bewilderment, "So, you're her friend."
Lotus wore a small smile, "We're actually acquaintances, but friends, perhaps. I figured you might be modest, but please don't hesitate to ask me for help if you need it. You've saved my friends and I always return kindness back in kind."
Jack raised a brow in bewilderment, but Lotus had already left before he could say anything else. Her words have definitely caught him off-guard as he grumbled to himself before noticing the towering structure of the large cliff wall of the dorm. He narrowed his eyes as he recalled Peony's words.
Just what should he do?
.....
That night, while Lotus was cultivating she noticed her phone buzz and shudder. She raised a brow and looked at it in confusion before touching a strange icon with a box and a triangle. However, she was surprised to find herself looking into darkness before seeing a strange familiar shape and strands of orange as she could hear the otherside.
"Hi~!"
"Cater-sempai?" Lotus raised a brow, "Is that your hair?"
"Huh?!"
The picture suddenly moved back as she could see Cater's face of bewilderment. Cater laughed nervously, "Ah... It seems you turned on the video call..."
"Video call?" Lotus raised a brow in confusion, "So a call with image?"
Cater nodded, "That's right. That's right."
He chuckled, "It's all right. You'll get the hang of it. More importantly..."
Cater looked to her seriously, "What do you think about today's situation?"
"It's not them." Lotus said bluntly.
"What makes you think that?" Cater raised a brow.
She sighed, "The method is too lenient. With this much movement for the tournament on campus, they would be more wary on who they would pick out and how to silence them for good. Not injure them till they can't play. If it was like that, the students would have suffered more previous injuries."
Cater sighed in relief, "I'm glad to know that Trey wasn't hurt by them, then, and Dorm Leader wasn't their target."
"How's Dorm Leader Riddle?" Lotus questioned bluntly.
"He made it back safe and sound." Cater responded before he raised a brow, "But, if it's not those guys who did it..."
"Rest assured." Lotus responded, "It's a student."
"Things are a little... weird, though." Cater noted with a look of confusion, "The good news is that the other targets are safe for now, but the Jack student... What do you think about the situation?"
Lotus shook her head, "I've already figured it out."
"That fast?!" Cater looked to her in bewilderment.
Lotus nodded, "However... even if we catch the guy, the mastermind isn't in the right mind at the moment to think reasonably. So, if you catch him, the mastermind might abandon him without another thought."
"So, there was a mastermind behind that student." Cater frowned, "However, if we report it..."
"It won't work." Lotus responded, "Reporting is one thing, but it won't ensure that he won't do it again. At most, he'd only learn to be more discrete about it or find better underlings is what would go on his mind."
"But..."
Cater hesitated in confusion. Lotus shook her head, "I'll tell you this. I'm not the only one who knows the truth."
"What do you mean?" Cater raised a brow.
Lotus sighed, "There's a third party who has his suspicions for a while now. Today, I only helped reaffirm some of his suspicions... But, I don't know if he would pull some sense back into the guys."
"You want the culprit to get away?" Cater frowned.
"Nope." Lotus responded bluntly, "Rather, make him realize the gravity of the situation. However..."
Lotus frowned as she continued, "I believe he might strike again between tonight to tomorrow. Heartslabyul, Pomefiore have already been struck. He won't be able to strike against Diasomnia or Ignihyde for reasons we can guess. That leaves Scarabia, Octavinelle and Savanaclaw. However, he won't strike against Octavinelle or Savanaclaw."
"Why those two?" Cater raised a brow.
"Cause it benefits him." Lotus responded bluntly when she noticed a movement of energy in the building, "Hm?"
"What's up?"
Lotus raised a brow and looked to her door, "The prefect is going out for a walk. I need to go with him right now."
"Seriously?!" Cater's eyes wide in bewilderment, "What about Grim?"
"We started cramming lessons into his head shortly after dinner." Lotus shook her head, "He's knocked out cold with the sores too."
Recalling her words, Cater realized what she had done and couldn't help but feel really nervous with a forced smile, "You... You actually used the game to wear Grim's energy out... Scary..."
Lotus shrugged, "I'll just bring some vials with me. Don't worry about me."
Cater sighed in exasperation, "Fine. I'll go and relay some information to Riddle. Speaking of which, he seems to be drawn to the books you brought to him."
Lotus nodded, "Tell him not to practice the ones with the magic. Aside from not working, I'm afraid it might stir up his mana in an unknown way. I'm sure Riddle understands this better than me, so there should be no need for me to worry."
"Ah..." Cater wanted to add something but stopped himself as he sighed, "Nevermind. I'll send you a text later. You remember how to use texts, right?"
"Blue arrow is the sent key. The comma is the punctuations." Lotus nodded, "I think I got it."
Cater laughed feeling a lot better knowing that, at least, Lotus still has things she wasn't familiar with.
Lotus stuffed the phone into her pocket and snuck out of the building with her ability to work.
.....
Once out, she noticed that the wind had gotten rather cold and that Yuu was actually limping quite a bit. She should start applying some warm press to their sores, so it'd heal faster with less pain.
Lotus was looking around the place curiously when she found a strange figure make a dash in the shadow. She frowned and kept her presence low as she quietly followed after it. However, as she hurried further away from the dorm. She paused in her steps and looked past the dead trees and tall green grass. That direction the dark shadow left to was the school. Realizing this, she became a little worried as she thought of the other students. Perhaps it would be better if she had left to check, after all.
With this in mind, she retreated back to the mansion. By the time she returned, she noticed a familiar figure walking towards her. She raised a brow in bewilderment as she quickly decided to remove her ability quietly. As she walked by, the figure stopped and turned to her way as she gave a slight nod of greeting much to his curiosity.
"Going for a late-night stroll?" Malleus questioned as he watched her reaction.
It was the heir of the Valley of Thorns. She found it very unusual for him to move about in the middle of the night as she noticed he was also still in his school uniform and without the black cap on his head. She thought for a bit before shaking her head, "I went to go hunting."
"Hunting?" Malleus raised a brow.
Lotus nodded, "However, the prey vanished and I can't leave my prefect and the other student behind. So, I'm returning."
"Hm..." Malleus smirked as he watched her, "How diligent."
Lotus smiled, "I guess..."
She thought for a bit before saying with a look of concern, "However, the prey..."
She shook her head with a sigh, "It would seem that it had gone straight for the school grounds..."
"What is it?" Malleus asked with a smirk.
Lotus looked to him in confusion, "You're interested?"
"Interested?"Malleus looked to him in bewilderment before he smirked, "I suppose it would fit what I'm feeling."
"Ha..." Lotus thought for a bit before nodding, "I've been hunting little blue spiders. They're very agile and cute, but they could hurt the prefect and his friends if they encounter it too. Despite their pretty appearance, they're very aggressive sadly and can't be tamed. Not like I can keep them anyway."
"Huh..." Malleus folded his arms with a smirk on his face, "It seems your very familiar with them, then."
Lotus thought for a bit before responding, "Not really. I've seen one before, but it was so long ago. Other times, it was in books. I didn't think I'd come across a few here, though."
"You want it?" Malleus asked.
She nodded without hesitation, "I want it. However, the guy is very clever. It's familiar with traps and knows how to contact others if he is attacked. They live in colonies, after all."
"But, you want it." Malleus pointed out.
Lotus nodded again, "I can make an antidote from the poison later on. However, I can't use poison or it could contaminate the sac."
Malleus nodded in understanding, "That is troublesome..."
Lotus sighed in irritation, "So, I'll have to wait till tomorrow night with a different strategy."
The dorm leader of Diasomnia smiled, "I see. Then, I wish you the best of luck."
Lotus gave him a wry smile, "Thanks. I'm going to need it that's for sure. Then, I'll take my leave. See ya!"
Malleus watched as Lotus made her way back to the dorm. He smirked, "Interesting for sure..."
.....
The night was another one of a message from the mirror in her prefect's room. This time, there was a dark tan lion with black man, glowing green eyes, and sharp black claws with one that was marked across the lion king's neck with a sneer as he talked about a new and shiny era with two names that he wanted to kill whilst warning them to be prepared for his plan. When it was over, Lotus retracted her energy and returned to check on Little Jun.
Back in the ring, Lotus was back in the mansion where she had gone to check on Little Jun's study. The little creature had already continued to grow just to the height of her chin. Yet, his horns still hasn't come in.
"Master!" Little Jun dashed over to her at the sight of Lotus.
For once, the little horse has learned to stop beside her rather than crash into her again. Seeing the glittery eyes of the horse, Lotus couldn't help but smile in approval whilst still managing to hold back the hand that wants to pet him. Little Jun came over to her and asked curiously, "Master... Can I ask you something right now?"
Lotus raised a brow as she looked to him attentively before responding, "Let's first go inside."
"Okay!" Little Jun nodded his head and hurried in after her.
Xiao Li and Ying Hui came to greet her as she told them to put aside matters that she can tend to later. That they can tell her of more urgent matters. Understanding this, they left the room back to the library. She turned to Little Jun and asked, "What is it that you want to ask?"
"Ying..." Little Jun hesitated nervously, "Ying Hui told me that I wasn't meant to make a contract with Master at the beginning... Does that mean I'm a mistake."
Suddenly, the temperature dropped around them as Lotus scowled and pinched his ears making him yelp in pain. His ears reared back and his head reared back in surprise as she scolded him aloud, "Never ever call yourself a mistake, you hear me!"
"Y-Yes..." The little kirin whined nervously.
Lotus sighed as she flicked him lightly on the forehead, "Ying Hui's words does not mean you're not wanted, Little Jun. I didn't think I'd have to explain this to you after you heard our talk with Riddle, but it seems you do not understand some things. Listen well."