"Lizzy. I guess it's time for your first mission…"
Gray had barely uttered that he saw his new student squirm.
A mission? Wasn't this a little too early?! She could barely use magic! But just as she was having an existential crisis, Teacher Gale suddenly waved a Badge in her face.
W-Wait, wasn't that her Badge?! When had he even…
"Alright, Lizzy, watch this carefully."
"T-Teacher, what's the Mage Clu—"
She was instantly silenced… There was ONE rule! Then Gray happily explained the Badge thing and her mission:
Objective 1: Infiltrate the Disciple Auction House
Objective 2: Be his ears and eyes!
Then, the two serenely watched her leave, a Fatty Zhang sighing in utter relief. After all, this was a sitting auction— shiver. Still, he couldn't help but be worried for this new junior of his.
"Say, Teacher… will she be alright?"
"Alright? She's perfect for the job! After all…"
And the more Gray explained the more baffled Zhang became… until he suddenly couldn't hold it in anymore. "Pfft— Hahahahahaha! Teacher, that plan's so EVIL!"
But while the two laughed, a certain girl stressed.
'This is a test!'
'This is a test!'
'This is a test!'
Lizzy kept repeating while clenching her tiny fist. This whole task ought to be her initiation as a disciple, and she wouldn't let her new Teacher down! Thus, she quickly reached the auction.
It was a classroom that had temporarily been refitted for this new purpose, a crowd of students excitingly gossiping about it, mostly about how much they wanted to get in!
But something prevented them…
"Ah? What's with those guys blocking the way?"
There were two bouncers who checked everyone entering.
"Hehe, they're just there to filter out who attends." A dashing man explained. "You can call me Allan, young lady. I teach the Elite Class alongside Teacher Regald."
The crowd gasped in awe. The Elite Class?! Amazing!
But they went even wilder when the man whipped out a golden invitation…
"There are two ways to enter this place. Either have one of those or be someone really important. There's no other way around it." He flicked his hair backward… for nothing.
Lizzy? She was far too busy panic-typing on her Badge.
'T-Teacher, I can't even get in! What now?!"
How was she supposed to accomplish her mission? Wasn't she already doomed? But as she read her Teacher's reply, her entire body trembled. C-Could this really work?!"
Not even glancing at the Allan guy, she went straight for the doors!
"Golden ticket invitation, please!" One of the guards asked.
"Don't have any!" She said… as she kept walking?!
She didn't just ignore them. She was willfully disregarding them?! That's when they moved to block her way. They expected her to protest, but instead, she did something else…
"David… Goertre… Great, have an amazing day! Hehe, Teacher won't be able to say I didn't try!" She didn't even push back. After reading the guards' nameplates, she simply skipped away?!
Students trying to sneak into the event? They had seen plenty! Students trying to use their Teacher's name in vain? They had seen plenty of that too, but this girl… she was different!
Wait, did this mean she had checked their names to complain?!
"Miss, who's your Teacher? Is he perhaps invited?"
"No need! We're good, take care guys!"
But, the more she said she didn't want in, the more the poor guard was convinced that she really had some backing! "Miss, wait, just wait a bit!" What was up with her?!
But as if to confirm his fears, he heard the student chatter….
"Hey, isn't that Lizzy Luska? She's not at the Astral Tower?"
"That's really weird. Ah, maybe Teacher Eagleye sent her?
"Eagleye? He's in charge of the Astral Tower, right?"
— Gasp! —
Oh god! This was BAD!
The poor bouncer didn't just run. He flew!
"Miss Luska, sorry about earlier, it was a mix up, let me guide you in!"
Inwardly, Lizzy was rejoicing, but she couldn't have it show. She even made sure to seem reluctant until, eventually, the poor guard had to beg her to follow him.
Just like that, she wasn't just let through. She was directly escorted by security like a VIP! Hell, they even bypassed a certain Teacher Allan, who was still waiting for his turn?!
"Y-You?! H-How? Aren't you a student?—"
"Oh? This girl is quite interesting!"
"Hehe, Eagleye's making a move?"
Lizzy instantly became the focus of the room. No matter where she glanced, all she saw were Teachers, all here to recruit an interesting student. Yet, there she was… in a VIP spot too!
Everything was following Teacher Gale's typed prediction!
- Assistant Teacher Allan's shocked toad-like face
- The older Teachers overthinking the whole thing
- The recent Teachers seeming a bit lost in comparison
- And finally, Teacher Aldor seemingly looking for someone in the crowd?!
The place his predictions were off were on the chair dispositions and the stage layout. But it as more that he had overestimated the opponent! She hurriedly relayed the key differences.
As for what she got in return…
— WeAreLegion: HAHAHAHA, Perfect! Everything's according to 'keikaku'! Keep doing what you're doing, and use plans B to E if needed. You got this! ^_^v
He even had the energy to write such silly…. But cute characters?! Lizzy couldn't help but grin as she kept chatting with her Teacher. But then it finally came the time for the Auction…
— Flash! Flash! Flash! —
With the light illuminating the stage came a youngster. Dark hair, vivacious green eyes, and an elegant outfit that said I'm better than you, and I know it.
"Hello, everyone, and welcome to this first golden Crow Disciple Auction. If you're in this room it means that you're pillars of this Academy. It means that—"
Chad Rockefeller had been enthusiastically preaching when he suddenly noticed a certain girl who seemed utterly bored with his speech. She was even playing with her Badge?!
"As I was saying, it means that you've been chosen to see this through this new revolutionary idea where disciples are auctioned so the recruitment can be done even more efficiently and—
Seriously, what the hell was her problem?! By now, she even seemed to be sleeping?! His pause didn't escape the present crowd, their gaze going toward Lizzy.
The girl who represented Eagleye, eh? Was there a deeper meaning to her actions, or was she simply derelicting her duties? But that's when she raised her hand.
"Miss, I'm afraid the bidding starts a tiny bit later."
"Ah, it's not for a bid. I'm just wondering..."
"What is it, Miss?"
It was at that moment that he fucked up.
Giving the stage to Lizzy Luska was already bad enough, but giving it to Lizzy with a devilish Teacher whispering in her badge?!
The participants expected her questions to be quick. It wasn't:
"Revolutionary method of recruitment? Is it true that the whole thing was to give you the moral high ground and attract the Academy bigshots?"
"Is it also true that your true goal in all this was to start a bidding war to increase your relative value?"
"Is it also true you specifically restricted the number of invitations for it to feel more exclusive?"
"Is it true the bouncers outside are doing this voluntarily while you reap all the benefits?"
"Is it true that you've actually paid to market your reputation in the Academy?"
"Is it true that your real name isn't even Chad Rockefeller?"
"Care to comment?"