"You all challened me and lost." Azul announced in a stern voice again despite the former courteous voice he had used before, "In accordance with the contract, from now until you graduate, I will have you work yourselves to the bone as my servants."
"Hold up." Ace called out with a scowl somewhere in the crowd of people, "This is straight up fraud!"
"Ace..." Yuu whispered with a look of surprise.
As expected, only Ace would be hot headed as to speak up in these situations. Lotus frowned.
If he was this rash in her world, he'd have a lot of trouble against schemers without a strong supporter.
"I believe you are..." Azul narrowed his with a cold gaze on Ace, "the first year, Ace Trappola. Calling it 'fraud' is rather rude. The notebook I gave you as my part of the contract should have had a perfect plan for taking the tests. If you followed it to the letter you should have had no problem scoring over 90 points. "
"Yeah." Ace admitted, "You're right, I got a 92!"
"That's wonderful! I'm overjoyed that it was of use to you." Azul smiled passively.
"But I didn't hear anything about you handing that notebook over to this many people!" Ace added with a scowl.
"Ace is right on the money." Deuce stood by him firmly with a scowl, "There's no way we'd all make it into the top 50 if you gave out this many notebooks!"
"If this many people scored over 90 then scoring 85 doesn't change my position at all from when I was failing!" Grim supported with a deadpanned stare.
"Do you know of the concept of 'duty of confidentiality'?" Azul said to them with a firm gaze, "'I want to easily get a high score', 'I don't want my grades to drop', I want to spend my time until the test having fun'..."
He folded his arms and continued with a business-like smile, "The idiots- Ahem, no, eveyone- who relied on me had their own reason for doing so but..."
Closing his eyes and shaking his head in false dismay, he continued, "Who made a contract for what reasons and under what conditions... Are all deeply connected to an individual's privacy..."
He smirked and looked fearlessly with his smile, "that I can't simply go around revealing to others, no? I am a very honest man."
He took out a stack of gold papers which was one of the many contracts he had handed out before, "Look on page 127 of the contract and you'll see the clause about confidentiality."
He continued firmly, "I am simply upholding that."
"Th-Then, what's gonna happen to my fire magic that I gave you as collateral for the notebook?" Grim said nervously upon realization.
"Y-Yeah!" A Pomefiore student with the purple and red ribbon called out, "And, my water magic?"
"Gimme back my unique magic!" The Scarabia student cried out desperately.
"Idiots..." Lotus grumbled under her breath with a frown and a sigh of dismay.
They've done themselves in the moment they signed the contract but neglected the contents. And, now they want it back?
What foolishness...
However, there was something else that worried Lotus more than that...
"Lotus..." Yuu hissed quietly under his breath as he reprimanded her.
Lotus decided to turn around with her arms folded.
"Oh my, oh my. Everyone," Azul shook his head and sighed in disappointment, "have you already forgotten the terms of the contract?"
"The terms?" Yuu hummed quietly.
"'In return for the notebook to counter the final exams, you shall entrust an ability you take pride in to me.'" Azul reminded them bluntly, "'If you are able to make it into the top 50 grades then I will return your ability and give you a notebook for every test until you graduate. However, if you are unable to place in the top 50...'"
Azul smirked, "Then, you will become my absolutely obedient servant util you graduate.' ... you recall?"
Seeing the stunned expressions on everyone's faces, Azul's calculative smile widened, "Based on the contract you signed, your everything to the hair on your head belong to me. That means I'm free to choose whether or not to return your abilities."
"How's that possible?" Ace frowned in disbelief.
"So, that's why Grim and Ace didn't fight with magic..." Yuu's eyes widen upon better understanding.
Lotus watched as Jack stepped up before them with a harsh glare and pen in hand, "I've just been listening... But I can't handle any of these guys!!!"
"H-Huh?!"
The three turned around in bewilderment as they finally noticed Jack in the darkness stepping closer to the light.
"Ja-Jack?!" Deuce called out in surprise, "Why're you here?"
"Hmm? You are..." Azul raised a brow as he snapped his fingers to turn on the lights and had a better look at Jack, "You don't have an anemone, do you."
It was then that he noticed Lotus behind Yuu who decided to follow Jack's lead. He narrowed his eyes to which she caught on and shook her head with a dismayed look and a sigh. Azul looked back to Jack and said bluntly, "We are currently in the middle of a staff meeting. If it doesn't pertain to you, could you please leave?"
"Grrr..." Jack growled with an angry glare, "Doesn't pertain? I wanted to study hard to beat a bunch of guys who used their own brains fair and square. Because of you, it was all for nothing. I'm plenty involved!"
Lotus narrowed her eyes with a raised brow as she stared at Jack in confusion. First, he had wanted to face off against the other dorms fair and square in the tournament and, now, he wanted to beat some guys with their exams? Jack really does have a one-track mind.
Thoughtfully, she placed a knuckle on her chin with her elbow supported by her other hand as she watched on curiously.
"They've lit a fire under his high standards..." Yuu groaned as he shook his head.
"Jack, did you guys come to help us?!" Grim cheered with glee and shiny eyes.
"Don't get the wrong idea." Jack responded with a growl as he scanned the entire room intimidating the other students aside from the dorm leader, "I can't stand any of the people in this room. Those who make greedy deals, those who rely on others, I don't want to be bros with any of them!"
"Th-Then..." Grim was in near tears before spying Lotus amongst them, "L-Lotus... Yuu..."
Yuu sighed with uncertainty. Lotus however, folded her arms and leaned back against the entrance with a sharp stare at the cat, "This only-..."
Lotus cleared his throat after her voice cracked again, "Ahem, this is only means your score should've gone higher... I said you should've gotten a 90 or higher... Ahem! Take this as your punishment for a while and learn what it means to be responsible."
"Ehhh?!" Grim was in near tears when he heard this.
"You knew this entire time?!" Ace scowled and folded his arms with a scowl.
Giving them a deadpanned manner amongst the angry glare, Lotus raised a brow, "Ahem, I said this only means... Not, this is why... You tell me if I knew or not."
"Hey! Isn't this the Freshman that got third place?" A Savanaclaw student called out, "I bet he cheated! I heard from the seniors that he cheated on the test in potions class!"
"You're kidding..."
"I thought he looked familiar..."
"Lotus..." Yuu whispered under his breath nervously as Jack was alarmed that all eyes had now turned towards Lotus.
Suddenly, all attention came upon her with glares as she noticed Azul having a look of amusement. Lotus smirked and said as steadily as she could, "I see now... But, everyone should've heard... that four seniors from the Savanaclaw was called in on the same day the test happened."
A Scarabia student gasped and said to the student next to him, "Th-That's true too."
"I haven't seen those guys since yesterday." A younger Savanaclaw resident spoke up in bewilderment, "But, the tournament is going to happen in the next few months... They wouldn't slack off... Don't tell me..."
These guys really are too easy to manipulate. No wonder, Azul was able to have them sign a contract so easily.
Lotus smirked as she released a tiny bit of internal energy from her body as she sneered over them, "However, if you guys don't believe me... I can take the test again for the third time if you want?"
"T-t-take the test again?!" The Savanaclaw student that had accused her yelped nervously as the tension she used to press down on them gave them the shivers with her aura.
"Why not..." Lotus sneered wider, "Let's see if I can finish it in ten minutes this time? But, let me warn you..."
Feeling that everyone was starting to back off, she smiled calmly, "Don't keep bothering our teachers for more tests for me to take. If I get third place again, it'll be you whom they would become suspicious of instead... too..."
Lotus watched as the student from earlier looked away and tried to blend into the crowd nervously under Lotus's gaze. This time, nobody dared to argue back as they whispered quietly amongst themselves.
"D-Don't tell me those students have been..."
"I-Is this really that guy that doesn't have any magic? No way, right?"
"I thought he was only hiding behind the supervisor and their raccoon, but that doesn't seem to be the case..."
"Scary..."
Amongst the whispers, Deuce stared at her in bewilderment as he stammered quietly in disbelief, "L-L-Lotus?"
"Ah..." Grim sighed in a deadpanned manner, "Here it is again... Evil Lotus..."
"There's a side like that to him too?!" Ace hissed under his breath in horror, "He's like Riddle when someone argues back against with him..."
Jack could feel the hair on his neck rise as he unconsciously bared his teeth staring at her and quietly whispering, "I thought the prefect was able to take advantages, but looks like his resident clearly surpasses him at being villainous... Why is someone like him not the prefect instead?"
Yuu shook his head with a sigh in response, "Sometimes I wonder why am I even the acting dorm leader when he's clearly able to do all the job... He told the headmaster on the first day after hearing about my position that he doesn't want the job because he's too busy with his own affairs to do it. I bet if you hand him my position, he'd nail everything down in place..."
"Lotus." Yuu spoke up over the other students, "Your throat is still sore, right? You should go outside to wait for us since you're not here to help."
Retracting her aura, Lotus raised a brow when she heard this but soon shrugged and nodded her head before leaving the room.
"Ahem!!!" Ace called out and turned to Jack hoping to avoid the eyes on his friend, "So, Jack, prefect, what did you come here for?"
"No..." Grim shook his head snapping himself out of his daze, "Jack's words have opened my eyes. We just have to beat him! That means..."
He sneered and concluded, "If we just go all out against Azul to steal the contracts and destroy them, they'll be invalid!"
"Ah!" A Pomefiore student looked to Azul upon realization, "When you put it that way..."
"We might not have out strongest magic, but we have numbers on our side!" A Scarabia student called out with his chest puffed in pride, "Let's do this!"