Book 3 - The Merchant from the Depths: Chapter 4; Press-Gang Contract

The screen turns on as the title card plays "Chapter - 4; Press-Gang Contract".

It opens to Yuu and Jack following a small crowd into the hall of mirrors, the students are all being pulled by anemones on their heads and complaining.

Jack comments "Oh, it's the Hall of Mirrors… The place that leads to every dorm."

Just then a Heartslabyul student is overheard complaining "I was so sure I'd make the top fifty!" Then a Savanaclaw student "Blast it all, I've been had! That cheating octo-punk!" As a Scarabia student finishes off the complaining segment "My school life is doomed now. Doooomed!" The students are still moving in the direction of their anemones to a certain dorm mirror.

Jack's ears flatten as he says "Huh? It's not just the three stooges… There are other students here with sea anemones coming outta their heads."

He then takes a closer look at the students and states "I'm seeing some sophomores and juniors in here, too. And they're all going through the mirror leading to Octavinelle Dorm."

Yuu thinks 'Who's this "cheating octo-punk"?' as she states her observation "They're all moaning about their test placement…"

Jack is now even more curious as he tells her "Let's head over and see what's up." Yuu nods and they both head to the Octavinelle dorm teleportation mirror.

The stairs leading up to it have a purple carpet that kinda blends in with the stairs, then as decoration on the stairs there are shells, coral still alive most likely due to magic, some rather pretty blue glossy rocks, and a purple starfish. Then for extra lighting on the two sides of the wall without the mirror have lights that admit a purple glow in the shape of Seashells.

Then the mirror. On the bottom and sides there are octopus tentacles curling around the mirror, with the most actually covering it being at the bottom as two tentacles touch right at the base, making you have to watch your step when entering. Then there were two nautilus shells with a tentacle around the bottom of both nearest to the mirror. Then on the outer side of each shell was a striped moray eel, each looking into the mirror. Then at the top of the shells and in between the middle part of the eels was the dorm's emblem.

The two walked into the mirror with all the other anemone students.

Once inside they saw that the entire dorm was underwater, and the actual dorm buildings and main areas are just in glass domes or walkways, similar to aquariums where you can walk under the water. And the entrance of the dorm was just a giant tunnel to the main dome, or perhaps dorm building. The tunnels and domes were also made of glass so you could see the ocean outside from all around, except for the ground. The ground was a bit more patchy, as if a bunch of stones were just melted together to make the pathway, similar to the type of thing you would find for an outside garden of a suburban house.

The two look around in wonder, as it was both of their first times being to this dorm.

Yuu looks around amazed before jokingly asking Jack "It's like the opposite of Savanaclaw Dorm, huh?"

But Jack is trapped within his own amazement, his tail is wagging wildly in excitement as he shouts "The whole dorm is underwater?! For real?! Night Raven College is so cool!" Yuu smiles at his fanboying, which makes Jack put his 'I don't care' facade back on, as he fakes a cough before telling her, although slightly embarrassed, "Just remember we're treading on another dorm's turf. Keep your wits about you." As he rubs his head, although his tail betrays his acting as it's still wagging although now in a much more hidden way.

They then continue on their way following the anemone group.

They walk through the tunnel still having some amazement towards the ocean and the different plants and animals that are inside of it, especially as a school of fish would swim past. The dorm is set up with the buildings almost seeming to be makeshift or carved out. As most of the roofs just seem to be giant seashells and some of the builds seem to lean a little sideways.

Although one of the main things is the banner hanging from one of the buildings with the dorm emblem on it. The banner has a curved bottom with gray tassel, and the main banner is a light purple. The main body of the emblem is in a vague shield shape, the tip is pointed it goes slightly in at the middle with slight nubs on each side before closing together in the circular top part. A top of that is a purple/silver lotus on top from a side view. Then there are a total of four purple tentacles, two on each side, coming out from the bottom. There is a silver border around the main crest of the emblem, with the inside being two colors of purple striped, with a indigo strip across the top with "Octavinelle" written fancily on the strip. Then in the striped portion there is a silver with some hints of purple nautilus shell.

The two then walk inside one of the buildings all the other anemones had walked into.

Yuu looks around at the large group of people before telling Jack "I think we found where the Anemone Gang all went." Jack tries to estimate how many people are there saying "There's gotta be a hundred – no, closer to two hundred people here."

He then takes a closer look at the actual building before asking "What is this place, anyway? Some kinda coffee shop?"

It's that same place that Azul had met with the student that ended up getting squeezed by Floyd.

Jack spots a nameplate on something as he asks "'Mostro Lounge'? Where did Ace and the others go?"

Someone suddenly snaps their fingers and the lights dim.

A spotlight then shines on Azul as he says "Well, well. What have we here? A band of misfortune souls who failed to break into the top 50. Welcome to the Mostro Lounge. I'm sure you're all WELL aware of who I am, but let's go over it again anyway."

He then reintroduces himself "My name is Azul Ashengrotto. I am the housewarden of Octavinelle Dorm, the manager of the Mostro Lounge café, aaand…" his voice trails off as he says with an insane look in his eyes "...as of today, you have to listen to everything I say."

The lights return to normal as Jack whispers "Say what?"

Azul states "You made a bet with me, and subsequently lost. As per the terms of our contract, you are to devote yourselves to my service until such time as you graduate."

Just then Ace shouts from the crowd "Hey, hold on! This is all a huge scam!"

Azul says "You're…" as he thinks for a second before stating to him "Ace Trappola, a freshman, if memory serves. Your accusations are insulting, frankly."

He pretends to only be talking to Ace although it's clear that he's telling this to all of them as he states "I upheld my end of the bargain and provided you with an impeccably flawless study guide for your exams. If you used it properly, you should have scored at least a 90." He pushed up his glasses as he said the last sentence.

Ace shouts "Yeah, and I did. I got a 92!" Azul smiles an extremely wide smile, but it doesn't reach his eyes as he says "Why, that's wonderful news! I'm delighted to have been of service."

Ace ignores what Azul said and his fake smile as he shouts "But you never told me you'd given the same study guide to this many other people!"

Deuce and Grim are both nearby as Deuce states in agreement with Ace "Yeah, Ace is right. No study guide could help us break into the top fifty when the deck's this stacked!" Grim also shouts annoyed "When everybody else is scorin' over 90, even with my 85, my spot in the rankings is no different than when I was failin'!"

Azul simply asks them "Have you boys never heard of client confidentiality?"

He then recites their reasons for making a deal "I want an easy way to score high marks." "I don't want to flunk out." "I want to goof off until the night before the test."

He then confidently states "All of you fools–" he fakes a cough as he corrects himself "I mean, gentlemen – had your own reasons for seeking my help with your finals. Details such as who made a contract with me, what kind of contract it was, and why it was made… That's all privileged data. Who am I to divulge someone's personal information to a third party? I am a man of integrity, thank you very much. You will find this exact topic covered extensively in the non-disclosure agreement clause on page 127 of your contract. I simply abided by its terms."

Grim is thrown off by the exact detailed statement and his confident tone, so he instead moves on asking "O-okay, then what happens to the fire magic I put up as collateral for the study guide?" A random Pomefiore student then voiced the same question "Y-yeah! And what about my water magic?" A Scarabia student also shouts at Azul "Give me back my signature spell/unique magic!"

Azul sighs as he asks then "What's this? Have you really forgotten the terms of your contract?"

He then quotes the exact term stated "I will provide you with a midterm exam study guide. In exchange, you will leave one 'personal specialty' in my possession. Should you earn a spot among the school's fifty highest achievers, your power will be returned to you… and I will continue to provide you with study guides for all exams until such time as you graduate. However, in the event that you do not earn a spot among the school's fifty highest achievers… you will act with absolute obedience to me until such time as you graduate."

After quoting the exact term he tells them rather smugly "As outlined in the contract, I now control every part of your beings down to every last hair on your heads. In other words, your powers are mine, to return or not as I please."

Ace shouts "That ain't fair!"

Yuu then thinks back to before when Ace and Grim didn't fight with magic as she now realizes 'No wonder Grim and Ace weren't fighting with magic.' but is more curious about something else as she tries to ask Jack "You can really leave your power with someone else?"

But Jack is more enraged by the students and ignores her as he shouts at all of them "Y'know, I've been listening to this whole spectacle… and ALL of you disgust me!"

This surprises the other half of the group as Deuce shouts at Jack "J-Jack?! What are you doing here?!"

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