Built Network

Lotus was oblivious to what had been going through Riddle's mind and had even forgotten that little thing she planted a few weeks ago. Meanwhile, Riddle was still at a loss for words when it came to how to lecture her for this trouble. So, he took them back out to the stalls and began to give them a tour, "At the exhibition booths, the various culture clubs are given priority to give presentations on things they've made and sell goods. There will also be booths where the fourth years will also present the results of their research and investigations. You should go check them out if you're interested."

"Oh yeah," Grim folded his arms together and nodded as he recalled, "Crewel was saying something about the fourth years coming back, y'know. We never see hide nor hair of them on campus, where are they?"

"Most four-year magical training schools have their fourth years join off campus internships or programs." Trey answered, "I'll be sent off somewhere next year too, and then I'll only be back on campus every so often."

"Hmm…" Grim hummed to himself, "So these program things, what do people usually do for them?"

Riddle nodded, "There are some people who want to be part of government agencies' special forces teams. Others want to investigate and research historical sites, or decipher ancient texts. There are also cases where people want to get internships with businesses having to do with magic."

Lotus looked up with sparkling eyes of curiosity, "Government agencies' special forces?"

With a look of exasperation, the two saw her reaction and Riddle muttered quietly under his breath with a slight tinge of regret, "At least pretend you aren't interested in causing mischief there... I hope you don't end up in the Rose Kingdom's government agencies if you are up to something again..."

As he sighed, Trey patted his shoulder with a wry smile on his face sympathizing with the younger student's worries.

"There are so many options." Yuu noted in awe.

"Yeah." Trey nodded when he recalled something curious, "Oh, that's right, didn't you come from a world without magic? Then it's no surprise that all of this is news to you. Within the fire and police departments of Twisted Wonderland, there are teams comprised exclusively of wizards. Among those elite teams, the one that gathers the top of the top wizards to take on special missions internationally is Magical Force. There's plenty of people who've looked up to them since they were kids."

"Elite!" Grins eyes shine in excitement when he heard this, "So are you saying that I can join that Magical Force if I become a great wizard?"

"I've never heard of a Monster making it in, but this is the era of diversity." Riddle pondered the possibilities with considerations, "You might be able to if you put in the effort."

"There are so many different fields to work in." Yuu muttered in bewilderment and awe.

" Still, that doesn't sound all that 'wizardly'." Lotus criticized Riddle's words.

"Hmph." Riddle smiled proudly, "That means that for modern mages, you can't get by just by riding a broom through the sky. You both have to think about your future, follow the rules, and give everything you have to your studies."

Grim grumbled hearing his words, "Urgh, that's all you ever talk about, y'know."

"You can say that even though you're the one who asked the question?" Riddle muttered in disappointment, "So rude."

Trey chuckled seeing the group having fun talking of the future, "When you're a first year, the future doesn't feel real, even when you're told to think about it. The serious, research presentations aren't the only things the culture festival has to offer. There are plenty of easy-going booths too. Oh, I know. How about you guys come check my club's booth? The science club is hosting a 'Decorative Plant Café'."

"A café!" Grim looked up with glittering eyes and a salivating mouth, "Does that mean you've got food? I'm so going!"

He quickly hopped off of Yuu's shoulder and ran down the road to which Yuu called out after him only to be stopped by Lotus who shrugged nonchalantly, "Once he realized he doesn't know where the Cafe is, he will naturally return to us. Don't forget that we have the wallet in our hands. Today, just leave the payment to me. If it was you, he'd take your wallet and run a marathon by now."

"Ugh..." Yuu grumbled as he heard this knowing it was pretty much true as seen with the previous attempt during the magift tournament.

"Seriously?" Riddle raised a brow in bewilderment, "That's... kind of disappointing."

"Please don't remind me anymore..." Yuu groaned painfully at the idea of this as he patted his wallet, "Huh?! M-My wallet!"

"Did he just pickpocketed your wallet?!" Trey cried out in disbelief.

Riddle scolded in disapproval once he heard this, "That thief-!"

"Well, that's even better." Lotus smirked once she heard this.

"What?!"

They looked to her with a dubious look as Riddle muttered, "Lotus... What did you-"

Suddenly, her smartphone went off as she picked up a call, "Ah, Hello! Is he there? Yup! Just meet us at the entrance of this street... Yes, this street. Not the Collesium. Oh, make sure you subdue him well. He's a sneaky one... All right! Thanks again! I'll see you there!"

With that, she shut her phone and turned to Yuu with a wide smile, "Okay. Let's go, Yuu."

Yuu sighed as he grumbled, "He knew he shouldn't do this either..."

"Shouldn't do what?!" The other two stared at them in disbelief.

With that, she dragged them to the front of the street to the stalls and found a couple of familiar faces.

"Elijah?" Riddle spoke up curiously as he recalled the quiet and antisocial freshman he had noticed since a couple months ago before his eyes shifted to his chainmail glove and the ducktape going over Grim's mouth multiple times, "Agh, Grim?!"

Lotus wore a small smile when she saw this and took Grim from his hand, "Thanks, guys. I hope there's no next time, but, if there is, you can go a little lighter with the tape."

Removing the tape slowly, Lotus even took the wallet from Grim's grip as he muttered with a sigh, "You know that you're not allowed to handle any wallets or cards without a good reason."

"Fgna... Yuu..." Grim cried tearfully looking up to Yuu pleading.

Yuu sighed in defeat when he heard this, "Well, we can get something in the cafe? And you won't be in trouble this time."

Elijah turned to her and stated with a sigh of disdain, "I saw him stuff the wallet under one of the stalls and came with the cash from the corner of my eye. So, we caught him and retrieved the wallet, then we called you right away. Because we didn't want anything bad happening during the festivities while our dorm leader was managing the event, we took the extra step to tape up his mouth since he did spit out fire during the orientation."

"I-I see." Riddle nodded, "I can see your enthusiasm and I'm grateful for your help. You don't have to worry about him spitting out fire again next time. Think of it like this, since he's a student here, using magic for his own personal gain will get him in trouble with the Headmaster who allowed him to attend school here. You did well putting some gloves on when picking him up."

"Yes, Dormleader Rosehearts!"

Elijah continued, "We will return to our stall now."

"Okay. Good work."

"Thanks again!" Yuu called out only to receive a thumbs up from the other student.

"No prob!"

Watching the two hurry back to their original positions, Trey wore a dry smile as he muttered, "Who would've known that Lotus actually had a network of people to rely on?"

"Eh. I just made a few friends and acquaintances and asked them to keep an eye out on this guy over the festival." Lotus shrugged, "It was that Grim was unfortunate enough to come across one of them at his first stop."

"Fgna..." Grim cried tearfully before curling up in Yuu's arms refusing to look back at them.

"Just leave him be." Lotus sighed, "He'll perk up and forget it all once we're there."

As they walked away, Trey stared at her in disbelief before whispering to Yuu quietly, "Was he always this resourceful?"

Yuu wore a wry smile, "Well, he is full of talents and skills. In the dorm, it's Lotus who can keep Grim contained completely."

"You don't say..." Trey muttered in bewilderment when he heard this.

.....

After walking for a while, they finally arrived at the Botanical Garden where there was a set up of a lot of tables and chairs surrounding each of them. It was lively and the members in the club was in their lab uniforms passing out drinks and snacks. Seeing the bustling place, Grim instantly cheered up and hopped off Yuu's arms in surprise, "Ffna! The Botanical Garden's got a bunch of tables and chairs all set up in it, y'know."

"Oh, it's Trey!" One of the members with the Pomefiore emblem called out to him.

"And Lotus!" Gabriel called out with a wide smile, "You guys must be working hard!"

"You guys too." Trey nodded with a wry smile, "Sorry I can't help you get things ready for opening."

Lotus nodded, "I know I was supposed to be helping out today, but I had something to check before then."

"Not a problem." The Pomefiore student responded, "You stayed late to help us finalize the café menu last yesterday and Lotus will be busy later on."