Dormitory

"Never knew you were so good at mana theory," commented Jake, raising an eyebrow as they exited the school building. "You know, even if you couldn't find three flaws, Mr. Slevonio's theories are practically unbreakable."

"I can break almost all of them."

"The confidence," Jake chuckled, ruffling Arthur's perfectly styled hair. When the crimson-eyed man glared at the dirty-blonde-haired man, the latter only revealed a faint smile. "Make that face and you'll get stuck with it for the rest of your life."

"What are you, my mom?"

"Nah, more like a friend," replied Jake before exiting the school grounds in order to head home. He didn't live in the dormitory, considering his residence was larger than the entirety of Arcadia Academy.

"Friend…"

*

'Friend… I haven't had one in decades,' thought Arthur, letting out a chuckle. He finished unpacking his things and quietly sat on his bed. Apparently, he was sharing the room with three other people.

Two of them were boys, while the third was a girl.

Currently, the other three hadn't arrived. Once Arthur unpacked, he immediately slid under the covers. Although not physically exhausted, he seemed to be mentally exhausted due to the battle with Flecker.

Well, it wasn't a battle. But it was close enough.

Also, a person had referred to him as a friend…

'Where did he get that idea?' Arthur wondered, stroking his chin as he recalled their past interactions. Perhaps he could have mistaken the time Arthur advised him to acknowledge the peanut gallery?

Or perhaps it was when he added Jake into the reward for disproving Flecker's theories.

Either way, Jake seemed to now consider the crimson-eyed man as something more than an acquaintance. Suddenly, Arthur's eyes narrowed before relaxing, and a vicious smile blossomed on his face.

'I can use him to get to the Garcias,' he thought. 'Although he and his father do not have a close relationship, they're still linked by blood. If I can hold him hostage…'

The crimson-eyed man's thoughts faded and he shook his head violently. 'A hostage situation would not be the correct answer. That would only cause enmity to form between the Jester Organization and the Garcias. The Ainsworths would also be involved, since Arthur was technically allied to them.'

'Perhaps, I can schedule an audience with his father and start negotiations,' he wondered, continuing to caress his chin. 'But that would be a risk, as I don't know if the Garcias hold enmity against Arcadia Academy.'

Basically, getting the Garcias involved would be beneficial but risky for Arthur, the Jester Organization, and the Ainsworths. Although the Jester Organization could simply pull back and avoid annihilation, Arthur and the Ainsworths couldn't resist the force of the Arcadia Academy. If they even had an inkling of Arthur and the others' intention, the crimson-eyed man and the Ainsworths would be executed.

'Back in the tower, I could have just mobilized my clan…' thought Arthur, revealing a faint smile to mask the agony. "We could have destroyed them all."

"Destroyed whom?" An unknown voice entered Arthur's ears, and the crimson-eyed man's eyes widened. His mouth clamped shut, and he wondered if he'd revealed his thoughts by speaking them out loud.

Noticing his reaction, the owner of the unknown voice, a black-haired man, chuckled.

"Evan Smith," said the black-haired man, approaching Arthur before extending his arm to indicate a hand-shake. The crimson-eyed man, without exiting his covers, simply shook Evan's hands in reciprocation.

"Arthur Solace."

"I know," replied Evan. "There isn't anyone in the first years' batch that doesn't know you. You're even more famous than Alisha Mason Ainsworth and Jake Garcia."

"Is that so?" Arthur asked, letting out a chuckle. He then scratched his head in embarrassment before glancing at Evan. "How much did I say out loud? How much did you hear? Are you going to tell anyone?"

Raising an eyebrow at Arthur's suspicious words, Evan scrunched his eyebrows. "You just said, 'We could have destroyed them all'. And, I just arrived here, so I didn't hear the rest of your monologue."

Arthur nodded in response, but let out a sigh of relief internally. Revealing his intentions would basically mean death at this point. He was nowhere near powerful enough to protect himself, and it was obvious the Ainsworths and Jester Organization would abandon him if he was dead weight.

The two forces were enormous, and weren't renowned for their magnanimous nature. Instead, they were tyrants in their respective fields, ruling using sheer force and their widespread influence.

Allying with them was a risky move, but Arthur couldn't play it safe, considering his ambitions. And, at that moment, his family was also at risk.

"What was your monologue about, anyway?" Evan asked, plopping down on his bed, which was a few meters away from Arthur's. There were two bunk beds and four drawers in the room, along with a bathroom, a kitchen, and a tiny balcony.

The room was quite small, around 600 square feet at most. However, it was simply for sleeping or essential cooking. Dormitories weren't meant to be lived in, and were simply for those who weren't natives of Arcadia Academy.

Well, even if you were native, if your home was too far away, you could reside in the dormitory.

Arthur and Evan were on the bottom beds, and the other two members on the top. The latter members hadn't arrived yet, though.

"My monologue…" Arthur muttered. "It was nothing. You don't have to pay attention to it."

"Suspicious."

"Truly," replied Arthur, letting out a sigh. He then turned to face Evan, who stared at the ceiling, which was the bottom of another bed. "Anyway, do you know the other two members? It's almost midnight. Why aren't they here, yet?"

"Those two will come eventually. One is a girl named Caroline, while the other is a guy named Gary."

Suddenly, a rustling sound resounded across the room. It was the sound of two people bickering, something that amused both Arthur and Evan. Eventually, the doorknob twisted, and two people entered the room.

"I didn't realize you guys were already here."