It's A Gargoyle

 "That's disheartening..." Malleus sighed in disappointment. 

 "I'm moreso looking forward to the new drama show just waiting to be released tomorrow." Lotus sneered sending shivers of disgust down Malleus' spine. 

 He scowled angrily, "I highly advise you to withhold that ugly perverted side of yours before I decide you never get to watch the drama unfold."

 "Hey..." She whined in annoyance, "You can't do that. I haven't even gotten a chance to play my part and even the big shot is coming to the city today! Meanie..." 

 "MALLEUUUS-SAMMMMAAAAA!!!"

 At the cry of Sebek, Lotus looked over in confusion as Sebek was running over to them at top speed. Lotus noted hesitantly, "Ah... I wonder how long he will continue to keep up this energy. What could he have found this time?" 

 Just as she said this, Sebek pointed to a nearby stone figure as he stood proudly, "Look! It's one of your beloved gargoyles! Please, take all the time you want to gaze upon it!"

 Despite Sebek's enthusiasm, Lotus noticed Malleus seemingly annoyed as he stood before what looked like a human-sized stone gargoyle. Seeing his frown, Sebek became worried as he voiced his concerns, "Hm? Why do you look displeased? Is there something wrong?!"

 "It doesn't have a waterspout." Malleus explained as Rollo noticed his divert attention, "The only purpose it serves is to adorn the railing. Hence, it's not a gargoyle. It's a mere decoration, which means it's a grotesque. You must not conflate the two."

 "Pedantic, much?" Azul grumbled in dismay.

 "I guess Malleus is pretty particular." Idia noted in surprise before he grumbled in disdain, "Dude, I can relate. It seriously grinds my gears when people call the shield in Star Rogue a barrier. Pfft."

 "Ugh, persnickety people are so tiresome..." Azul grumbled in dismay as he took a coser look at the 'grotesque', "The gar—ah, grotesque—looks rather dirty, though. There's straw stuffed in its mouth."

 "What? There is?" Malleus looked into the wide opened jaw closely, "...Why, yes, you're right. Is that a bird's nest?"

 "It looks that way. Excuse me, birds. May we have a look inside?" Silver questioned the bird who replied with chirps. 

Carefully, he removed the nest intact and glanced inside, "Ah, it's hollow on the inside. The birds built their nest in there."

"It's hollow?" Malleus noted in surprise as Lotus took the nest from Silver gingerly.

"Yes, sir. There seems to be a passage going from its mouth to the back." Sebek looked.

"A passage, hm..." Malleus muttered in deep thoughts before smiling, "Ah...Of course."

"What is it? You're staring so intently at the gar—um, grotesque, I mean." Silver questioned in confusion.

"I must apologize for my earlier rudeness. You are a gargoyle, through and through. I can clearly see the passage goes all the way back. It must serve as your waterspout." He looked around quite pleased, "And there are so many of you... On closer inspection, you each have a distinctive face all your own. I'm curious about your placement...but it's an intriguing thought exercise to guess why you might be there. Are you being relocated, I wonder? What a truly fascinating place Noble Bell College is."

"Anyone else having whiplash from that total one-eighty?" Idia muttered hesitantly.

"Are you happy with them, then?" Silver asked Malleus curiously.

"Yes. Thank you both for drawing my attention to them." Malleus nodded rather satisfied.

"You needn't thank us, my liege! I'm sure even the gargoyles are honored to earn your noble recognition!" Sebek responded with a thrilled smile.

A sudden slight creaking sound caught Azul's attention as he had been staring at the gargoyles much to his own displeasure only to jump nervous in confusion, "...Hm? Did that gargoyle just move?"

"Huh? The gargoyle...moved?" Silver questioned in confusion and looked to Malleus.

After a moment of silence, Malleus responded rather troubled, "...Ashengrotto. You must be sorely exhausted from the climb up here. You should take a long rest."

"It's just a big rock. It CAN'T move on its own. Are you sure you're not delirious, Azul?" Idia sneered.

"I know what I saw...!" Azul cried out before giving up quickly, "Oh, never mind. I'm well aware how silly it sounds. Forget I said anything."

"Well, I think that covers all the notable geographic points... Ah, and what were you chatting about over here?" Rollo questioned with a look of confusion.

"Nothing at all! We're finished now." Azul replied bluntly.

"Is that so?" Rollo nodded, "Then let us head back down. Once you've checked in, you're welcome to tour around the city. Seeing is believing, as they say."

"Oh yes, it's about time for our fieldwork, according to the itinerary." Azul chimed in more cheerfully.

Trein nodded, "You will have free exploration time so you can learn about the city's history. Once we've left the tower, we can—"

"Oh, uh, one more thing!" The Vice-President interrupted him.

"Yes?"

"We actually have gifts for all of our guests, as a token of our regard." The student said with a wide smile.

"Gifts, you say? Ooo, what'd ya get us?" Ruggie now chimmed along happily.

"Is it food? Well? IS IT?!" Grim's eyes sparkled just as brightly as Ruggie's.

"We got you special attire so you can truly enjoy the festival!" The assistant answered excitedly.

"Oh, clothes? Hmm... Not what I expected, but if you're offerin', I'm takin'." Ruggie thought carefully before asking, "So, are they like, pricey duds, or...?"

"You're not supposed to ask how much a present costs!" Jamil scolded him.

"I wouldn't call them "pricey," but I'm sure you'll like them." The assistant replied innocently.

"All the locals wear similar outfits at this time of year." The vice-president explained.

"So it's traditional attire?" Malleus questioned curiously.

They're more for the festival specifically. We thought it would be nice to have all the social participants dress in these outfits..." Rollow pulled out a handkerchief and clarified, "...Or rather, that's what these two thought."

"Absolutely! These clothes will help you immerse yourselves in our history and give you a true appreciation of Fleur City!" The assistant insisted eagerly.

"Hmph. Well, there you have it." Rollo huffed as he with the student a correcting glance much to the other's embarrassment, "Let us head down. The sooner you get changed, the better."

Once down, Lotus stretched and looked around in confusion as the others changed. Even with a word of her arrival as a substitute and no one else came to escort her. Not even a substitute. Lotus raised a brow before questioning carefully, "May I ask who is the current headmaster of the school? When I was told to come here, they failed to share with me the name of the current headmaster. Now I'm more concerned if there was any misunderstanding."

 Rollo shook his head, "The current headmaster is Axel Trill."

 "Axel Trill... However, I was told that he was the vice-headmaster. Don't tell me this change happened a two years ago..." Lotus muttered in confusion. 

 Rollo raised a brow and frowned, "I do not know. However, I do know he took the position of Acting headmaster about four years ago."

 "Four years ago..." Lotus hummed in confusion, "That was sudden..."

 Rollo did not reply as though telling her that none of these things mattered. She also did not press for more information to avoid catching further suspicion. Instead, she sighed, "I see. That's unfortunate. Especially since I recall my employer was hoping to meet with the former headmaster again."

 "The fairy kingdom has connection with him?" Trein looked to her in confusion. 

 Lotus nodded, "According to the fairies, it was back when the human princess of the fairy kingdom was officially adopted. The king and queen decided to hire a private tutor for her. The former headmaster of Nobel Bell College was sought out after many months."

 The former headmaster?

 Trein and Rollo looked surprised upon hearing this. Lotus continued, "The princess did not look fondly at the idea of a tutor as she normally was self-taught and decided to not pay him any heed. However, the new tutor was relentless in the pursuit to have her educated properly in literature and whatnot. Not just that, but he also bore a firm approach in the presence of injustice. There is one incident the palace recounts fondly of."

 "I recall the crowning of the princess occurred quite recently. It was quite a change considering that fairies aren't particularly fond of humans. However, compared to the past, this is a big improvement." Trein hesitated, "However, they sought out a human tutor and it was the Nobel Bell College's headmaster?"

 Lotus hesitated for a while but their gaze at her gave her the signal she needed, "Well, it's best not to share this around. But, the royal family is pondering what sort of path she may choose in the future. After an grave err that nearly put the princess's life in danger, they settled with a human tutor and came upon the headmaster. He was quite a bizarre character and is not afraid of the hierarchy."

 "Not afraid?"

 Lotus nodded, "I recall a story of when he first arrived there, he decided to seek out the princess again since she did not attend his classes or often slipped out of them mid-way. That day, he arrived at her quarter only to find some mischevious and young noble fairies attempt to poison her water outside her door and bully her nanny. Not realizing it was poison, the tutor already had a bad premonition and struck the water jug down with his cane. Once he saw the formula melt away the floor, he was furious and scolded the fairies. The fairies were offended and began to attack him. However, the headmaster simply used defensive magic to fend them off without a problem. The nanny soon returned with the queen and king. The queen was so horrified she fainted and the king had the fairies arrested on the spot."

 "Where was the princess?" Rollo raised a brow. 

 "She was watching everything out of sight." Lotus shook her head with a frown as she feigned a headache.