"Okay. Let's talk about the internal structure... It will consist of committee members... From the paper that I've gotten from Arya yesterday. According to it, it looks like Arya... already put the names of her committees which only involved Claude, me, and Adelle... Arya? This is not enough." Lily said as she read through the paper in her hands.
"Wait, me too!?" Adelle exclaimed.
"The old man said that they're for important people whom I deem worthy," Arya said.
"You should've expected that since she's been telling that since the beginning," I remarked.
Lily sighed exasperatedly. From then on, Lily began explaining our future plans. "First and foremost, from now on, you all shall ask permission to the faction committee whenever you will subjugate a beast inside the dungeon, as stated here. To put it simply, instead of the person asking for permission, the faction shall be the one to ask it for you...? Oh... Okay, I understand... Do you all have any questions?"
No one raised a hand.
Lily nodded before continuing. "Okay, secondly, as also stated here, any disciplinary actions regarding any member. The faction shall not intervene or act independently, as the academy shall bestow the punishment accordingly, regarding the accused member. This implies the faction committee shall not be held accountable when a member of ours committed an offense that violates the academy rules. Okay, that's reasonable. Then below it, there's another statement which says, if any committee faction member was caught interfering or caught involved with it shall be punished accordingly. There are many more..."
"I think it's better to not go through all of it. Just say the necessary ones since our time is limited." I said. As Rosalyn in front of me became calmer, her arms wrapping around my back finally loosened. Lily's eyes caught the sight of Rosalyn, so she angrily averted her eyes back to everyone.
"Next one... This is related to equipment and loots... Every member shall give a fraction of their loots toward the faction... about twenty percent. But that can be changed, so right now, we will not tackle that and I shall discuss it with my fellow committee member. Moreover, we also need someone trustworthy enough for faction inventory. So, who is willing?"
Like earlier, no one raised a hand.
"Okay... We will postpone that for later since we don't have items to sort out for now. I think that's all the major details listed here... I think this is the best time to mention the upcoming Rite festival. For those who don't know, it's a festival in celebration of the opening of an unknown passageway through another place, similar to a dungeon. A once-a-year portal that leads to an unknown ethereal world." Lily flipped through the pages.
"Why are you mentioning that?" Stephanie asked.
"Well, there's nothing that looks necessary in here anymore... Also, Arya signed us to participate in it."
"Is that so?"
"Did you also participate in it last year?"
"No. A few selected people are allowed to enter, and unfortunately, I wasn't given the chance to participate. With what you're saying right now, the headmaster picked our faction to participate in it?"
"Yes."
"Hm... With the amount of S-Class students in here... Yeah, that's fair." Stephanie held her chin while contemplating.
"With that being said, we're instructed to attend a presentation meeting about it for more details, some day next week. They will announce it."
I glanced at Arya to let her explain, but she was sleeping comfortably on the flooring. Then back to the people around me, from my observation, no one seems to be rejecting the idea of us participating in it. Instructor Sienna did mention it to me once, but she didn't give me a full detailed explanation of what that is, so it didn't really take my interest.
"Hehehehe~ Husband *Sniff* *Sniff*" Rosalyn isn't listening from the start, so I'm having a hard time thinking whether I should let her join in meetings like this because all this time she's just distracting me. Out of nowhere, she's back to her usual behavior after staying silent for a few minutes. On the sidelines, I can feel Clara's discontent toward Rosalyn's behavior. Well, she's not the only one...
Then I shifted my gaze to Albert who was listening since the beginning, but his eyes are locked on Rosalyn throughout the entire time. He remained silent.
"Also, I would like to point out. Because of the sudden creation of our group, we will be the center of attention once the words had gotten out. I'm saying this because there were some instances of some particular news erupting into conflict. Most importantly, the members... Our group will surely be in the spotlight... I'm saying this for our own protection." Stephanie said.
"Yes, thank you for worrying. But since the beginning of the creation of this group, it's pre-determined that other major factions will be wary of us. Princess Arya's name is enough to bring a lot of attention and then add my name and the other S-Class students. It's surely worthy of attention. This is mostly because of Claude." Lily replied.
Based on the reaction that I saw from them, most of them are not pleased upon hearing it.
"Why is my name mentioned?"
"Because you're the centerpiece of this group. Rosalyn... Albert, Adelle, Stephanie, Rinna... Do you want me to continue?"
"No need."
"Moreover, your name is also popular because of the fight between you and Arya."
"The fight where I got beaten up?"
"I guess so... We're all on the same boat. I mean, most of my classmates already fought her, even Mr. Albert also experienced it."
When Albert's name was mentioned, Albert snapped out of his daze. "Eh?"
"She said you were also beaten up by our little princess." I glanced at Arya.
Albert frowned and averted his gaze. "No comment."
The circulation of information through the academy would be something that we need to look out for. We're not certain how fast it is, or how reliable it is. Like Lily said before, countries are in a constant battle of information against each other which I concluded would be the same here. Because of that, I already had a plan in mind with Rinna. With her stealth, she could be a valuable informant for us. She could pair with Clara since both of them have high-tier stealth skills. However, the plan will be postponed because right now, I have no use for it nor have any idea where to start...
"Either way, there's nothing to explain for now since... Yes, Adelle?" Lily said.
Adelle raises her hand. "Can I suggest?"
"Go ahead."
"First of all, does the restriction of the party apply to the faction party?"
"From my understanding, it depends, but it still does."
"I also have another one. Wouldn't it be great for us to have someone in command to look at everything? Someone that can lead a group to safety? We may have great, strong people, but that still doesn't exclude us from imploding. Because these instances, already had happened to me before. It's quite worrying."
"Why are you mentioning that?"
"Because of the Rite festival. From what you said earlier, it looks like another dungeon that just opens once a year. This means we will participate in exploration or just subjugation. Is that right, Stephanie?" Adelle shifted her gaze to Stephanie next to her.
"I think so?"
"With that being said, we need someone reliable to lead."
"We will discuss that for another day because it will only incite a long day of debate from Arya..." Lily stared at the sleeping Arya.
"Do you have more, Adelle?"
"I'm good. I just wanted to bring that up."
"So, anyone?" Lily asked everyone.
"Okay, looks like that concludes our meeting for today."
In middle the of Lily's explanation, Rinna fell asleep to which I took notice of it now. As I was about to wake her up, Lily approached me and tugs my arms "Let's go to the other room. I want to discuss something."
"Privately." She narrowed her eyes to Rosalyn clinging to my body.
"Oi, Rosa, let go of him. They need talk." Albert approached us in a calm manner.
Rosalyn glances at her brother and scoffs. "No way. Wherever he will be, I will be there. Always. Always."
Albert didn't like the response of his sister, as it was apparent from the veins in his temple. Not only him, but Lily is also in the same boat. However, in Lily's case, she's already on verge of attacking Rosalyn. She won't hesitate to attack Rosalyn if she were to snap now. While the two are getting angry, I'm getting cold chills from Rosalyn's emphasis on the word 'always'.
And then, out of nowhere, Clara appears next to me. She forcefully separates Rosalyn and me from each other. Because of that, Rosalyn got angry with Clara. "What are you doing!"
However, Clara immediately shuts her off by pinching a part of her neck, halting her movements. All the people in the room watched it happen but were too astonished to even react, except for Arya and Rinna who were obviously asleep.
Seeing Rosalyn in Clara's arms. "Oh, that's convenient. Let's go, Lily. Thank you, Clara!"
As we pass Albert, I whispered. "Take care of her. Sorry for the trouble." before dragging Lily to the other room.
"Oh thank god... Finally... I thought she would cling to me forever." I sighed in relief upon entering the other room.
"Then reject her!"
"I did! But... I'm too weak against women crying. It breaks my heart."
"Tsk. You better fix that, or I will do it for you." Lily showed a displeased expression.
"Yes, yes. You know that I'm a gentleman that won't hurt a woman unless I needed to do so. Don't think about Rosalyn too much. She doesn't hold any malicious intent towards me."
"It's not about her intent that worries me about. It's about what's going through her head. She's crazy. We can't tell what goes through her head. What if she snaps and..." Lily's eyes quivered.
I flick her forehead.
"Aww!" Lily grunted in pain.
"Trust me. The twins are not bad as they seem to be. It's better this way since rather let her snoop around me behind my back. This way, I can watch their movements and make the necessary plan to prevent them. I don't know their past or what they experienced, but let's be patient and be understanding. Okay?"
"You're playing with fire, Claude."
"I know." I smiled.
Lily pulls my cheek. "You're being too cheeky and arrogant, nowadays."
"Aw, aw, aw, don't pull it too hard."
"Just don't overwork yourself."
"Wow, pleasing words to hear from you. You're entirely different from before, now, you're too overprotective over me. You're becoming more and more like my mother."
"Then I can be one." Lily caressed my cheeks and pulled me in. Our foreheads kissed each other. "You've worked hard these past few years. Our future is bleak and our problems will just keep piling, but remember to take a rest from time to time if things don't go in your way. You look tired."
Countless mixed emotions filled my chest, as it shows in my face. Lily quickly took notice of it. "See. You haven't been yourself lately. Look at yourself, you're also neglecting your body. It's hard been hard for you lately, right?"
"Yeah, life is pretty harsh lately. I was expecting a normal life..."
"It depends on the definition of what you expect normal life would be. But with your circumstance, it's hard. If you're scared because Master Irene isn't with us in here to save or protect us... So what's wrong?! You lived a year without our master and you did well!! What's the difference!?" Lily hits my chest in a playful manner with a big smile plastered on her face.
I can't help myself but smile. "You're right."
After a few days of my stay here, I've been acting tough and cowardly at the same time, but the majority of the time, I act highly. As if I'm acting differently than my usual self, or most of the time so lost of everything. The burden of consequences of the wrong choices was slowly devouring my mind. Those discriminating gazes that I thought I'm used to it are also taking a toll on my mind without my knowledge. Realizing it, it's more painful than I thought.
"Let me rest." I placed my head on Lily's shoulder.
"Yeah. Have some rest." Lily patted my back.
"Thank you. I really need this."
"Just remember, take of yourself first."