Book 4 - Schemer of the Scalding Sands: Chapter 21; Smiling Tacticians

The screen turns on as the next chapter title plays "Chapter - 21; Smiling Tacticians".

The fight had just about finished as Floyd dropped one of the students he had squeezed.

The student, being the same one who had told Azul to hand the Ramshackle duo over to them, made a sound of pain before very quickly standing up and shouted at the others "Retreat for now!" The student that had recognized Azul then shouted "You haven't seen the last of us!"

Floyd then rather cheerfully insults them "Go on and scatter, you bunch of minnows!" before laughing. Jade showed a smile, very clearly mockingly, as he told them "We'll be awaiting your next visit to our lounge."

The Scarabia student's footsteps are then heard running away as they escape out the door.

Grim then cheers "Mya - HAH! We did it! You see that?! That's what you get, you buncha jerks!"

Azul then speaks up, as he also pushes his glasses up, "I do hate to rain on your parade, but… I'm afraid we'll have to bill you for repair fees for the tables and chairs damaged in that fight. Not to mention our own labor rates, since we were dragged into this affair."

Grim then turns and faces Azul with shock as he shouts "WHAT?! You're chagrin' us for that?!" Azul then crosses his arms and rather sarcastically asks "Surely it's a small price to pay for us rescuing you from the inky depths of peril?"

Grim then looks like he's about to cry as he complains and pouts "First we get dragged into a bunch of Scarabian infighting, now this… I swear! There ain't a decent guy in this whole school!"

Azul takes a second to process what was heard before asking "I'm sorry, come again? What's this about Scarabian infighting?"

Yuu thought about making a pun considering it was Azul they were talking with about what 'the deal' was but instead shook her head before sighing and telling them, as she knew Floyd and Jade would also be 100% listening as well, "Buckle up. This is a rather long story."

There was then a small time-skip as Yuu and Grim explained all that had happened so far to the Octavinelle trio or fish mafia if you want to joke around.

After listening Azul asks in confirmation "The housewarden of Scarabia is acting out of control, you say?" Grim answers "Yeah! Kalim's runnin' all his dormmates through the wringer every day, nonstop."

Azul's eyes actually widened in surprise at that, perhaps his true emotions became much more visible after his overblot, or maybe it was so strange that even he couldn't help but show it visibly. As Azul then says "I wouldn't have expected that from Kalim, of all people. Floyd also looked shocked as he exclaimed "I never knew little Sea Otter had it in him!" Jade's eyes had also widened as he crossed his arms and said "He's never given me that impression, either."

Grim crosses his arms as he says "Vice Housewarden Jamil's got his hands full tryin' to deal with it. He's a decent guy, which is pretty rare for this school. I feel bad for him."

Grim then puts his paws on his hips as he annoyedly then complains "And we can't even reach the headmage in the middle of all this mess! That Crowley, I swear…!"

Azul is silent but looks thoughtful as he pushes his glasses up.

Jade then puts his hand to his chin as he asks "Azul, you're in Jamil's class, right?" Azul nods before saying "Yes. We also share a number of electives. Our paths are wont to cross often."

Azul then crosses his arms as he says "Grim might be right when he says that Jamil is a rarity in this school. He's… demure and poised, you might say. He's hardly ever ventures opinions of his own."

Floyd then adds on "Yeah. I'm in the Basketball Club with Sea Snake, and he pretty much plays like a goody-goody. I never pay attention to other dorms to start with~ So I had no idea he was vice housewarden for Scarabia." Crossing his arms towards the end.

Azul then comments "And now we know he's having trouble dealing with his housewarden's antics. Hrm…" Azul paused for a moment before essentially shouting "It sounds like I should come to their aid!" in an almost excited tone.

This greatly confuses Grim as he goes "Wha?!" before asking, suspicious, "Did you hit your head or somethin' when I wasn't lookin'?" Azul fakes a saddened offended expression as he tells Grim "Why, I never. I'll have you know the last incident forced me to reflect on my greed. I came out of it a changed man! Moving forward, I've decided to contribute to the school as a whole, in honor of the Sea Witch's spirit or benevolence." his look changes to one of passion towards the end, though dropping it once over.

To prove his point even more he then says "Now that Scarabia is faced with a crisis and my very own classmate is in need of help…" Now taking on a much more insane expression as he finishes "I can hardly ignore them in their time of need!"

Floyd chuckles out an "Oooh?~" While Jade simply says "Oh-ho."

Azul then shrugs as he also says "It's just as well – I tire of picking at the same turkey dinner alongside the same faces every year."

He then asks, despite the fact he's going to make those unwilling do so anyway, "Why don't we pay Scarabia a visit tomorrow?"

This makes Grim put his paws up in surprise as he shouts "Seriously?!" His paws then shoot down as he says rather angrily "We just broke outta that prison, and you want us to march back in? Count me out!"

Floyd smiles as he tells Grim "C'mon, Sealie-O~ don't be like that!" in a fairly light-hearted tone. Jade also comments "Have some faith in Azul. I'm sure he'll make this a holiday to remember."

Azul then says "It would be rude to visit empty-handed, of course. Jade. Floyd. Don't forget to wrap our gifts." Jade and Floyd then respectively answer "Yes, sir." and "Yes, SIR!" before chuckling.

Yuu's brain then starts to SCREAM 'danger!' at her so she instinctively starts to look for exits.

Azul smirks as he says "I could certainly think of worse ways to spend winter break than in a sweltering desert. I can already tell this is going to be positively delightful." before chuckling himself.

The screen then fades to black as "To be continued" plays before fully turning off.