After announcing the great news of the latest For Honor Tournament, the President Theus stepped down and introduced his colleague, Lumen.
"I will now call on the Vice President to explain the rules of the Tournament."
It may seem boring to many but it was substantial information for the participants.
"Again, my name is Lumen Norn, the Vice President of the Council. I shall delegate the rules and regulations of the tournament!"
Seeing the familiar Tailor act composed and formal, was only natural to Veritas. His first impression of the boy perfectly fit the image that he formulated in his mind.
'But why didn't he mention that he was the Vice President of the council?!'
Veritas had no clue, but he felt proud due to him already being acquainted with the Tailor.
"Rule Number 1! Only Pathbearers from Wielder Curriculum is allowed to participate!"
"Rule Number 2! Only Impure Pathbearers are allowed to participate!"
"Rule Number 3! Killing another participant is absolutely prohibited!"
"Rule Number 4! External help of any kind is prohibited!"
"Rule Number 5! Cheating will not be tolerated, failure to comply will result in the participant's expulsion."
"Rule Number 6! Any form of violence within the audience is prohibited!"
"Rule Number 7! Interruption of the audience in the upcoming Tournament is prohibited!"
"Rule Number 8! Possession of any sharp materials such as knives, scissors, and many more.. is not allowed!"
"Rule Number 9! Possession of technical devices that may cause harm is prohibited!"
"Rule Number 10!..."
Veritas listened to many sets of rules that defined and governed the safety of the audience along with the participants. There were no weird rules that were said. All of them were straight to the point and strict.
Veritas tried to find any loopholes but could not do so. He deduced that Auntie Mikella was somehow involved in the rule-making.
After a strict announcement of 37 sets of rules, the Vice President finally finished his part and gave the podium to the secretary.
"Hello~ is everyone doing good so far?"
Her charming and alluring voice captivated the crowd's hearts as they responded with a "yes". There were people that had nosebleeds and there were those that froze on the spot.
"Ehem, Ehem. I want to make sure that the eligibility of the participants are correct. As already stated in the rules, only Impure Pathbearers are allowed to participate. This is already a recurring rule in our previous For Honor Tournaments, nothing much more could be said about them."
"Another thing is.. the limitation of participants from each Regional School. There are a number of Impure Souls in our Wielder Curriculum... so we, the Student Council, are in charge of deciding who gets to participate or not."
"Worry not, it is of no bias at all. They are all based on the individuals' performance. Thus, we shall conduct a mini-selection based on how well our Pathbearers do."
The alluring Secretary gazed at the crowd with her attracting sight. She pursed her lips and continued:
"In the Wielder's For Honor classes, each respected Professors will choose who they determine to be eligible to compete. A maximum of 50 students is only needed though.."
"After the end of the Professor's decision, they would communicate with the others to decide who participates in the Tournament."
Suddenly, the Secretary stared directly at Veritas. She gave off a vibe that seems to entrap him into her possession.
It wouldn't work that easy though.
Veritas stared back with the use of his Eye of the Kraken, she immediately lost her composure yet regained it quickly.
'That won't work on me.'
Veritas continued to listen.
"I apologize for my sudden loss of balance. As I was saying.. once the 50 students have been chosen, they would be informed by their respective Professors. There might be classes that don't get chosen yet there is also a chance that the entire population of a single class would be contrast to that.."
She fixed her tie and straightened her red hair.
"Please look forward to the tournament, we spent a lot of time planning this for everyone to experience."
She politely bowed and her body seemed to be stiff for a moment.
After her, the President came to the podium once more, he called out for the Peace Officer to close the announcement with his remarks.
"I know that this is an event that everyone anticipates every year. However, please do not forget that you all are still at the Academy, don't forget to follow its rules and regulations, and most importantly.. behave on the day of the tournament."
The Peace Officer adjusted his glasses.
"Please listen to these and act accordingly."
His remarks were... very normal, Veritas was surprised by how average it was, as someone at the Student Council, Veritas at least expected for him to give out an inspiring speech.
'I guess mundaneness is also a virtue sometimes..'
With that, the charming President came back to the podium and thanked everyone.
"Again.. I thank all of you for attending this sudden announcement. I bid you all farewell and to do the best at your studies!"
He bowed and said:
"Virtus et Fortitet!"
Everyone followed right after.
"Virtus et Fortitet!"
Even Veritas said the particular slogan of the Academy, he was really looking forward to the Tournament. But what Veritas really wanted to know was the scale of the incidents that the student council was hiding.
After their cheers, the Student Council left and everyone was guided back to their respective classrooms.
Veritas walked along with his group which consisted of: Alice, Leo, Hana, and now... Mercury, who was still following their group.
'I guess he is a part of it now.'
Three children of royalty and dukes.. No one would expect them to get along, yet alone get in a group!
Veritas felt the need to ask:
"What are your next classes?"
Leo was first to reply.
"Biology!"
Hana was the second..
"Courtesy.."
After her, it was Alice.
"Also, Biology."
"Aye!"
Leo gestured for a high-five, but Alice did not know what it was so Leo was just left hanging.
"O-okay.."
He looked dejected.
Veritas stared at Mercury.
"You?"
He blinked gracefully and took a second to reply.
"Geography"
Veritas' mouth was left open.
'He has the same class as me!'
"We're the same then, let's go to that class together."
"Sure, your majesty.."
Thus, the quick conversation between the five continued with Leo leading most of it. In the group where most of them were cold and emotionless people, Leo was a light that is very appreciated to have.
Hana also bantered with him quite often, but Veritas mainly talked to Leo as anyone was too cold for him to start a conversation with.
It was nice..
To have a normal life such as this, Veritas bet that Bello would get along quite well with Leo.
Speaking of Bello, Veritas caught a glimpse of him just now!
He was.. with someone, a brown-haired individual looked to be pestering him. Bello seemed annoyed and chose not to notice the individual, he acted as if there was only air behind him.
Veritas, although far, could hear the brown-haired individuals rambling quite well.
"Fight with me! I'm not done with you yet!"
"Hey- you! Stop ignoring me!"
"You actually dare ignore me?!"
Veritas stared at the scene with disbelief.
'I can't believe he has someone annoying him like that, it must feel so hard for him.'
He could not quite imagine Bello dealing with an annoyance in his everyday life so Veritas felt quite bad for his friend.
'Poor Bello..'
Veritas and his group then walked towards the end of the halls. They squeezed through the crowd, but once the individuals saw the particular figures of Veritas, Alice, and Mercury, they immediately stepped out to form a way for them.
"It's Prince Veritas! I can't believe that I'm this close to him."
"Who is he with? They all look nice, especially that blonde-haired boy."
"Move away everyone! Do not make trouble for the Prince!"
As whispers echoed with the winds, Veritas disregarded them and continued to walk.
After a few seconds, they reached the end of the halls where they would separate ways.
"I shall head over this way, my classroom is on the first floor." Hana spoke out.
"Sure, our classroom's are on the second.. So, we'll see you later."
Veritas mildly replied, giving a warm smile on his face.
"I shall see you later.. My liege."
She bowed and proclaimed her allegiance once more before heading towards the classroom for Courtesy class.
Veritas still felt suspicion coming from within her, so he was not quick to trust the flower-eyes girl.
And so, the four of them headed upstairs.
Upon reaching the top, Veritas and the others waved their hands towards each other. Leo and Alice headed towards the opposite direction of Veritas and Mercury, while they walked towards a hall that led to the left.
Veritas felt quite awkward walking with the boy with a cold demeanor, but as a Prince, he was taught proper conversational skills at a young age. It was not too hard for him to start a conversation.
His awkward attempts at conversation all died down in a second.
'This guy is too tough!'
Veritas felt defeated.