That afternoon, Lotus and the others had just finished class and walked out of the room. Well, at least, Yuu and Lotus was. Once the bell rang, Ace, Deuce, and Grim dashed out of the room and into the hall just before the teacher could dismiss them. By then, Lotus had already figured out what had happened to make the three into such a mess but remained quiet as per Yuu's request.
The halls were bustling, especially around the board with those who knew where the scored but were curious of the top 50 students and those with hopeful looks on their faces. Grim, Ace and Deuce had already dive bombed into the crowd as Grim quickly shouted, "Is my name in the top 50?!"
"I've gotta be in the top 50 if I got an average of above 90, right?!" Ace called out in bewilderment.
"Top 10... Ah, Lotus?!" Grim's jaw drop when he saw her name on the top third before shaking his head and continued scanning, "Focus, focus! Top 20... I-I'm not there! 48, 49, 50th... Nope, my name isn't there at all!!!"
"M-My name isn't there either..." Deuce moaned in despair alongside Grim.
"Hold up a sec..." Ace pointed out in bewilderment, "On the top score list, they've written everyone's total scores next to their names..."
He scanned the scores before his eyes widen in bewilderment, "They top 30 people all got a perfect score of 500!!!"
"A p-perfect score?!" Deuce and Grim stammered in a daze.
"Is it even possible for 30 people to get a perfect score?" Yuu wondered calmly in confusion, "Isn't that just a bit strange?"
"D-damn it, Lotus! Why are you one of these people too?!" Ace pointed to the top 3 with envy in his eyes.
"More than that..." Grim stammered in horror, "If I'm not in the top 50, I'm 'breaking contract'!"
"Eh..." Ace looked down on Grim in bewilderment, "'Contract'... Grim, did you..."
"Ace, that face..." Deuce pointed out upon realization, "Did you..."
There was a light flashing before Lotus as she and Yuu saw that everyone before them had a cute sea anemone attacked to the top of their heads.
"F-Fgna?!" Grim cried out in bewilderment, "Wh-What the hell is this?! There's an anemone coming out of my head!"
"G-Grim, you made a contract with him too?!" Deuce glared at Grim, "You coward!"
"Deuce, you've got one growing out of your head too!" Ace pointed out with wide eyes of mixed emotions but mostly dismay.
Grim ignored the two and began tugging on the thing on his head, "I'll pull this thing right out..."
As he began yanking on it, he cried, "Owowow, I can't get it off!"
"You've all got anemones?!" Yuu jolted in bewilderment, "What is going on here?"
"I came over to see what all the fuss is about but it's just you guys. What're you doing?"
"Jack, did you make a contract..." Deuce questioned the guy nervously before noting the top of his head in bewilderment, "but you don't have an anemone?!"
"Despite your looks do you actually take your studies seriously?!" Ace cried out in shock.
"Huh? What are you talking about?" Jack looked to them in confusion, "Actually, what's that on your head?"
"Well, you see..." Grim began when he was suddenly yanked away from the board by an invisible force, "Ffgna?! What now?!"
"Oh... Looks like it's started..." Lotus watched Grim with a wide grin as she watched him pulled away into the halls.
"I'm being pulled by my head by the anemone!" Grim cried out as the anemone pulled him away from them.
"Owowowowow!" Ace cried as he was also lifted up by the anemone on his head, "It's gonna pull my head off!"
"Shit!" Deuce cursed as he was also lifted up by his anemone, "is this what he meant by 'absolute obedience'..."
All three was then pulled away from the scene followed by others as Jack watched them with wide eyes in bewilderment, "They looked like they were being pulled along by the anemone on their heads... They all look like idiots..."
"Let's chase after them." Yuu responded firmly with a stern look on his face.
"Understood..." Lotus shrugged with an easy smile on her face.
"Huh? Why me?" Jack looked to them in confusion, "This doesn't involve me at all."
Lotus smirked, "Don't tell me you're scared?"
"Lotus..." Yuu shook his head with a sigh on exasperation, "It's fine if he's too scared to go with us."
Oh? It would seem that Yuu has started to learn some manners in the school.
"Who are you calling a scaredy-cat?" Jack growled at them with a glare straight on Lotus.
However, as she smirked and Yuu raised a brow obviously feigning obliviousness, Jack clicked his tongue and sighed, "Tch, you've gotten pretty used to how things work at this school. Can't be helped. I'll tag along with you for a bit."
"But," Jack pointed out with a firm gaze on them, "I'm just a bit curious about the cause of this. It's not for them at all, ya hear. Don't get the wrong idea."
"Yes, sir..." Lotus responded with a smirk on her face.
With that, the three followed the students pulled away out of the building and to the hall of mirrors just as Lotus had expected.
"This is..." Jack was left speechless as they could barely count the number of students crowded into the hall of mirrors, "The hall of mirrors that connects to all the dorms."
"I totally thought I'd make it into the top 50 this time!", said a Heartslabyul resident with the red and black ribbon.
"Dammit, he tricked me!" A savanaclaw student with the yellow and black ribbon cried out, "That cheating octopus bastard!"
"This totally ruins my school life!!" A student with the red and yellow ribbon depicting scarabia
One by one each of the students were dragged into the mirror with the Octavinelle emblem. However, they all have something in common.
"What the?!" Jack jumped back in surprise, "There's a whole bunch of other guys besides those idiots with anemones on their heads!"
"The majority of them are first years by the looks of it..." Lotus peered amongst the group with a smirk in a uttering voice.
"There's some 2nd and 3rd years too." Jack pointed out, "And, they're all heading to the mirror for Octavinelle Dorm."
"They're all complaining about their test ranking..." Yuu pointed out curiously, "Who's this 'cheating octopus bastard'?"
"Octopus, huh..." Lotus hummed in thought and whispered.
"Let's go take a look." Jack stated as he followed after them into the mirror.
Yuu followed after him nervously while Lotus looked around from the corner of her eyes and followed in after them.
.....
"Whoa! The dorm's under water!"
On the moment she entered the dorm, Yuu's voice was the first thing she heard as she took a step into the dorm grounds.
"Interesting, isn't it?" Lotus smiled as she watched Yuu's and Jack's eyes wander quickly from side to side.
"This is the complete opposite of Savanaclaw!" Yuu turned to her with eyes of excitement having forgotten about her voice, "Why didn't you tell us this sooner?!"
Lotus raised a brow and crossed her arms with a silent smile to which Yuu suddenly remembered her situation and held back, "Ah... Sorry about that. But, I still wished you've told us this sooner..."
"You're kidding me!" Jack exclaimed with a bright smile, "Night Raven College is amazing!"
Yuu's eyes widen in surprise as Lotus smiled wider to which caught Jack's attention as he steadied himself with a slight red blush under his tanned skin as he looked away, "... Cough. We're taking a step into another dorm's territory. Don't get distracted and keep your guard up."
"Right." Yuu nodded as Lotus nodded her head quietly.
Once again, Lotus entered the dorm made of coral rock as she noticed how the dorm was magically protected from being immersed by the waters like a barrier. As she was in a hurry before, she hadn't noticed this, but now she could leisurely observe her surroundings as she pleased.
It hadn't been long after she entered the part of the halls protected by a glass barrier that she noticed the crowd of anemone students rush inside or more like dragged inside against their wills.
She entered the Mostro Lounge and was met with the same leather couches, white abstract tables and the bar with a clean white counter.
"All the anemones are gathering here it seems." Yuu pointed out as he could see the crowd in front of them, "There's a huge number of people."
"100... No, looks closer to 200 people. But what is this place?" Jack narrowed his eyes in suspicions, "Looks like a cafe?"
Lotus raised a brow at his question as she took out a regular pen and quickly jolted down on a notebook she had already prepared in her pocket before handing the note to Yuu who took it in surprise before reading out the paper, "'This is Mostro Lounge. It's a cafe that the Octavinelle runs and is popular amongst the students. The owner of the cafe is the dormleader, Azul Ashengrotto. The majority of the students here work under him in this cafe. Anyway, just so you know, I'm just here to see how Grim and the others are going to face the consequences for their actions and not being ambitious enough.' What?! 'I'm not going to help them.' Seriously..."
Shaking his head in dismay, Jack noticed her note as he raised a brow curiously, "'Mostro Lounge'? Where'd Ace and the others go?"
Suddenly, the lights dimmed as a spotlight shined down upon a familiar figure walking out in a flamboyant manner, "Well, well. You poor, unfortunate souls who couldn't make it into the top 50 for test scores. Welcome to Mostro Lounge."
Despite the glare from the other students, the student in his dorm uniform easily continued in a smooth and courteous manner, "I am sure you all are more than well aware of who I am but allow me to introduce myself again. I am Azul Ashengrotto. I am the dorm head of Octavinelle, the boss of Mostro Lounge, and..."
He sneered proudly as his next words cause many spines to feel a shiver along their backs, "The man who will be your master from this day on."
Jack folded his arms quietly and frowned in confusion as he whispered in the dark with Yuu and Lotus besides him, "What now?"