How to Bribe an Honor Student 101

For the reason that Calliope can aid the Champions in the near future, Hal decided to give it a chance to prove itself worthy of his mercy.

After the debacle yesterday, Eli gained the ability to interpret the summoned creature's language. That motivated her to try harder in convincing Hal to spare it. She listed down all of its potentials, promised to take responsibility, and guaranteed its loyalty to her, which eventually gained his consent, but with the conditions that Calliope would only remain as guard inside the library and stay out of people's sight.

"A bird and a bookworm. How befitting."

Eli was happily brushing Calliope's smooth feathers when Hal came into picture, watching them with a teasing look. His mockery only fell on deaf ears, though. She just beamed at him before replying cheerfully, "That's right! Calliope and I are meant to be, after all."

For unknown reasons, that seemed to irk him.

Their conversation got cut off when the library's doors flew open, giving way to a red head and his companion. Allen entered with Zeke in tow, much to Eli's surprise. Hal seemed to have anticipated their arrival as he only approached them with an amicable smile.

"Calliope, you may roam around for now, but make sure to hide from the others, okay?" Eli asked the summoned creature to which it only nodded in reply. With that, Calliope flew away while she sauntered to where Hal and the others are.

"It's nice to meet you again, Ms. Claes. Once more, my name is Ezekiel, a freshman," Zeke greeted upon seeing her.

"I'm glad to see you again, Ezekiel. I was quite relieved after learning that you're deeply connected with the Champions. Although the golden chain is already a straight giveaway, I was still worried. If you happened to be a normal student here, I don't know what I'd do with Venus," Eli confessed, much to Zeke's surprise.

Eli was very pleased since she finally found a comrade. By that, she meant someone other than the Champions who knew about the secrets of the school. Zeke was also an interesting character himself. After meeting him as Venus, she's completely intrigued at his tenacious and unique personality. Looking back, not even she could manage to make the proud Empress laugh like that.

"It's also a pleasure to meet you. I'm Harrison Louen, Eli's classmate and fellow library assistant. Just call me Hal," the librarian chimed in, extending his hand forward for a handshake.

They were baffled when Zeke abruptly took it with starry eyes – the look of someone meeting his idol.

"You're the leader of the Four Heroes, aren't you?" he inquired to which Hal just slowly nodded despite his confusion.

With that, the young heir went on to spout words of adoration, revealing that he used to hear his mother's bedtime stories about them. On the other hand, Allen only mustered an indignant, deadpan look from the side while wondering why he's acting like that to Hal when he's clearly enslaving him yesterday,

"How dare he discriminate me like this...?" he mentally hissed, completely forgetting that it's his fault in the first place since he didn't disclose the fact that he's a Champion himself.

While Allen was hiding his grudge on Zeke behind a smile, Eli was silently scrutinizing her classmate with a straight face. Looking at Hal, she could already hear the pompous thoughts running in his mind at the moment. He's the type who enjoys being praised while feigning a very humble expression, after all.

"Don't be fooled, Ezekiel... He's a fellow of many faces..."

Eli snapped out of her daze when Allen suddenly stood beside her, consequently grabbing her attention. She then turned to him, tilting her head with an inquisitive stare and asking, "What's the problem, Sir President?"

"Isn't it about time to call me by my name, Angelica?" he replied, much to her astonishment.

"O-Oh... Then, Allen?"

"That's good... Anyway, Mr. Canaan asked you for a favour. The truth is, Mr. Zeke wasn't properly enrolled here yet. He'll be taking the transferee entrance test three days from now. Is it okay if you tutor him?"

"W-What?!"

Eli was caught off guard.

Meeting the Chairman's son like this is incredible enough, especially for a commoner like her, but teaching him as well is already a little too overwhelming. Moreover, he could just have him tutored by a professional or one of the teachers in this academy. She couldn't figure out why he's asking for her specifically.

Cupping both cheeks with a flustered expression, she faced the red head again who just peered at her with his signature sparkling smile.

"If you're wondering why he had to do it despite being the Chairman's son, it's because Mr. Zeke told him that he wanted to pass the test with his own ability," Allen continued which only made her blink twice.

"Well, that's expected. He did tell me yesterday that he wanted to do something without relying on his father," Eli commented absentmindedly, much to his surprise.

Allen was about to open his mouth again when Zeke approached them with a startled look. It appeared that he just finished exchanging greetings with Hal and had heard their conversation.

"Is Ms. Claes going to tutor me?" he questioned with the look of a child who was told they're going to an amusement park. The ash-haired girl remained indecisive about taking the offer. However, seeing his expectant eyes, she couldn't afford to decline. Then with a defeated sigh, she turned to Allen and gave a nod of approval, telling him that she'd be glad to do the Chairman this favour.

Allen only smiled at this, thinking that the bribe they prepared wasn't necessary after all.

"Whaaat...? A tutor? What about library duties, Eli?" Hal childishly complained, suddenly attaching his arms around her shoulders like a leech, much to Allen and Zeke's flummox.

They're even more flabbergasted when Eli reacted to this indifferently. It's as if that level of skinship was already normal to the two. Unbeknownst to them, however, Hal and Eli themselves weren't aware of how their current position looked due to how used they were to this kind of gestures, especially Eli who only thought of it as his usual clinginess.

"Oh, right... I also have my self-study before that," she mused out loud, suddenly deep in thought.

It seemed like Allen had to pull the bribe off in the end.

"Since Mr. Zeke just got here, he still has no friends. That's why it's a good idea to have a capable peer to teach him. It's hitting two birds with one stone.... Oh, and also, Mr. Canaan said that he's willing to pay his son's tutor handsomely," Allen explained, deliberately making the statement longer so as to not appear winning her over.

Such underhanded tactics didn't go unnoticed by the prying librarian, though.

"No, don't do it, Eli! It's an obvious-"

"So when do I start?"

Eli suddenly cut in, eyes gleaming with zest and unclouded desire. The others were stupefied at this, wondering why she's this fired up.

"O-Oh, it's not like what you think, okay? I accepted it out of kindness. It's not because I'm in need of money, alright?! It's not because I'm financially low at the moment! And it's really not because I spent all my pocket money yesterday, get it?!"

With that, she already gave herself away, but out of true kindness, the boys decided to just leave it be.