Disciplinary Committee

|Arthur|

"Are these the final members?" I asked Alistair, confirming our selection for the Disciplinary Committee. He nodded, and I quickly scanned the list.

"Lucas is out," Alistair said firmly, "He's too dangerous to be on the team after what happened in the Dire Tombs."

I sighed, knowing that Lucas was a talented adventurer, but his betrayal and recklessness had caused the death of several others. He couldn't be trusted.

"Agreed," I said, and the rest of the group nodded in unison.

"Then we're going with Kai Crestless, Feyrith Ivsaar III, Doradrea Oreguard, and Curtis Glayder," Rachel confirmed. I noticed a flicker of emotion on her face when she mentioned Kai's name, but I decided not to inquire further.

"Excellent," Alistair said, "We'll convene at the back of the auditorium for our next meeting. And Arthur, please make sure to arrive on time. I can't believe you manage to be late even when I wake you up before leaving."

I grinned and saluted him jokingly. "Aye aye, Captain!"

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|Arthur|

"Shit Alistair's going to kill me!" I exclaimed while quickly throwing my uniform around my body.

Sylvie's eyelids were half-open as I picked her up and plopped her on top of my head, balancing her using wind magic before sprinting towards the auditorium at full speed.

I ignored the curious looks of passersby as I accelerated my speed even more, moving the mana particles from my yellow core throughout my entire body.

Arriving at the back entrance to the auditorium, I straightened up my shirt, vest and strap, and opened the door, feeling tired, sleepy, curious, and a bit excited.

Sylvie had woken up by now and was "kyu" -ing in excitement while swaying her head from side to side.

As I opened the door to the back entrance of the auditorium, I was met with an unexpected greeting.

My hair was blown back by a bloodcurdling roar as Sylvie had to cling onto me to avoid falling off. Along with the deafening shout of the mana beast that greeted me came bullets of saliva that showered my face and upper chest.

"There, there." While wiping off the spit of the mana beast, I nonchalantly proceeded to pet its face, which was inches away from my own. This mana beast stood about two meters high on all fours. Its body was covered in thick dark brown fur and a deep red mane circled its head. Two pointed, vicious teeth spouted out from above its jaw, making it all the more menacing, but compared to Sylvie's dragon form, I could only see it as an overgrown kitten.

Even Sylvie looked at the mana beast with little interest as she just settled back on top of my head.

"Woah... he wasn't surprised at all..." From behind the mana beast peeked out a student that looked to be a couple of years older than I was. He had very dull, light grey—almost white—hair that reached over his brows. He had narrow eyes that were virtually slits and a smile on his face that didn't come off as pleasant but more so mocking.

Though lean and tall, his overall frame looks quite frail. What stuck out the most, however, was that his uniform was very different from mine and any other I'd seen so far. He wore a loose, dark grey oriental-style robe that covered his arms and came down past his torso, black pants, and a golden sash tied around his waist. Peeking out of the inside of his robe was the insignia that all of the disciplinary committee members had to carry around—the silver knife. Something felt a tad off about him—something that made me wary.

"Greetings, I am the Vice Captain of the DC, Arthur Leywin. You must be Kai Crestless?" I asked him.

"Apologies for the little prank, Vice Captain." he said as he winked, "Captain allowed it. Anyways, as you said my name is Kai Crestless, feel free to call me Kai." His expression didn't change at all, his eyes still narrowed and lips still smiling, but he put up his arm in a welcoming gesture, revealing hands that were completely wrapped in bandages so that it looked like he had gloves on.

I shook his bandaged hands with a practised smile on my face.

"Bah! Another frail-looking pretty boy! Why aren't there any more real men in this committee?"

A female dwarf that came up to my chest with limbs as thick as tree trunks hopped down from where she was sitting and came up to me. The only indications that told me she was female were her long brown hair and high-pitched voice, neither of which suited her masculine appearance.

"Looks like we'll be working together, so I might as well introduce myself. I'm Doradrea Oreguard, a first-year, like yerself. Let's get along, ey?" she said simply while firmly smacking my back, sending a jolt throughout my body. What power.

"Arthur Leywin. Nice to meet you," I replied, rubbing my back.

"Well, come on now! Follow me. Kai and I waited in the front to see who the late Vice Captain was. The rest of the DC officers are in the other room. Director Goodsky didn't really give us any details so everyone is curious." She led me through a hall, Kai following behind us with the mana beast.

"Everyone! The Vice Captain is here!" Doradrea shouted at the top of her lungs as we reached a room at the end of the hall.

Inside the gigantic room that I figured was used to holding events, I saw seven other figures. Of course, I knew four of them very well as they were the first members I met.

"Arthur Leywin? You really are the Vice Captain!" The first voice that spoke up sounded surprised. Looking back up, I saw a boy that appeared to be around seventeen. He had deep, mahogany-coloured hair that spiked out, making him look almost like a lion himself. His fierce sword-shaped brows combined with his strong brown eyes produced a striking gaze. It took me a couple of seconds but I soon realized who he was.

"If I remember correctly, you must be Prince Glayder?" The longer I looked at him, the more confident I became that he was Curtis Glayder, son of Sapin's king.

"I can hardly call myself a prince now ever since the three kings and queens dismissed their titles and became The Council. Just call me Curtis." He spoke very charismatically, his deep voice carrying a certain depth. His expression was a bit troubled though, no doubt because his father's guard did cause some problems for me the last time we met.

"Nice to see you again, Curtis. You must be a fifth-year now, right?" I responded cheerily, which eased the troubled look he had.

"Yup! fifth-year fire attribute augmenter as well as a beast tamer. Nice to see you again," he announced as we grasped hands.

"Ahh, that world lion that greeted me must be the one your father acquired at the auction several years back." Everything clicked as the mana beast that so kindly greeted me sat down behind Curtis.

"Ah... Kai used Grawder to scare you right?" He shot a look at Kai who just shrugged back. "Anyways, yes. I remember you were with us when we purchased him as a cub. We formed an equals contract last year after he reached A class." He tried to sound humble but I could tell he was extremely proud to call himself a beast tamer. I didn't mind because it was a great feat he had accomplished, especially since he was able to form an equal contract instead of a master-servant contract with his beast.

"Looks like your bond changed a bit as well! Although it didn't really change much in size." He rubbed his chin while studying Sylvie, who had fallen asleep on my head. Just by analysing his internal mana circulation, Curtis didn't seem to have gone through assimilation since the World Lion's beast will wasn't too strong on him.

"Yeah, her growth rate seems awfully slow," I said indifferently.

"It's okay! Even though there are quite a bit of students here that have bonds, most of them aren't beast tamers and not many of them even have equals contracts." He patted my shoulder, trying to comfort me.

Looking closely, Curtis and his world lion looked oddly similar. Curtis' hair and Grawder's mane were of comparable colour and both of them had a fierce look.

"Long time no see, Arthur!" a tall blonde elf that looked to be a couple of years older than me walked up, crossing his arms while he looked down at me.

"I apologise... Do I know you?" I asked.

"Ah! You're Feyfey!" I pointed at him in surprise. Boy, did he get big? He was at least a head taller than me and he turned out to become quite the pretty boy.

Feyfey's face instantly turned beet red as he placed both hands on my shoulders. "It's FeyRITH...Feyrith Ivsaar III. And although I'm a first-year like you, I'm still a couple of years older than you so don't call me by nicknames. I'm a water specialist conjurer, by the way." I could see veins popping from his forehead.

"Haha! Long time no see!" I exclaimed as I shook his hands. He just looked at me, bewildered. His uniform was completely black with gold stripes across his shoulders. It was simpler than everyone else's but it suited him well.

"Now that everyone is introduced to each other," Alistair began, his eyes peering into me for a few seconds, "We're going to be a team from now on. We will get lots of chances to bond and get closer, so everyone must look forward to it!" He said in a tone deviating from his usual as he put his hand out

"I'm excited as to what this semester will bring us!" Claire piped up in a cheery voice as she puts her hand out as well.

"I'm looking forward to it!" Kai put his bandaged hand on top of Claire, his face still a mocking smile.

"Aye! Sounds like we're going to have some interesting times!" Doradrea got on her toes as she put her beefy hand on top of Kai's.

"Haha! Yes! Let's do our best!" Curtis placed his hand in as well, Kathyln and Rachel wordlessly following suit.

I'd just met everyone and I was already tired. "I'm sure it'll be a blast," I breathed out while placing my hand on top of Rachel's. Sylvie ran down my arm and placed her paw in as well.

Theodore put his massive hand on top of Sylvie's and my hand, making the whole circle stumble a step forward. As Theodore gave a silent nod, Alistair gave us a big, confident smile and shouted, "TO US! THE DISCIPLINARY COMMITTEE!"

"AYE!"

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|Alistair|

"Before the club rush commences, the student council would like to formally introduce to you, the students of this academy, a group that was personally picked by the director in hopes to resolve and prevent disputes amongst students as well as enforce penalising measures for troublemakers. While the student council's main job is to help the director make sure this academy and the events held run smoothly, this group's job allows them to use magic appropriately to uphold the peace and safety of students, whether against other students or trespassers. Please join me in welcoming the disciplinary committee!" Gary's voice rang at his last words.

The auditorium filled with applause as the red curtains we stood behind was raised. We stood there, shoulders square and hands glued to our sides. I had to admit that with people like Curtis with Grawder behind him, Theodore, Claire and even Feyrith, we were an impressive sight in our colour-coordinated uniforms.

I took a peek at Tessia and I realized she was staring at me but as soon as our eyes met, she quickly turned her head away. As we stood in front of the students of Xyrus on the stage, side by side, we pulled out our knives and held them out in front of us so the insignia showed. Unsheathing our knives, we proceeded to do a small, choreographed routine before saluting the crowd.

I spoke out on behalf of the disciplinary committee with a short speech before we all headed out towards the back of the stage, leaving the crowd with mixed emotions.

For some students, the disciplinary committee meant to serve as a shackle that prohibited their spoiled behaviour. For others, the disciplinary committee served as an aegis, protecting them from the threat of harm.

Either way, it would be an interesting school year.