Book 3 - The Merchant from the Depths: Chapter 11; A Contract Signed

The screen turns on as the chapter title plays "Chapter - 11; A Contract Signed".

Azul's hands are folded on his desk as he leans forwards and tells Yuu "Here's the deal… I bid you pilfer a certain photograph from the Atlantica Memorial Museum in the Coral Sea before the sun sets on the third day from now."

Jack is horrified as he shouts "You want us to steal a piece of art?!" at Azul.

Jade seems to understand or realize something as his eyes widen in presumed shock.

Azul then answers Jack "No, not a piece of art. A photo. One commemorating a visit to the museum from Prince Rielé, taken ten years ago."

Jack's still hesitant as he tells Azul "Gonna need more detail than that." Azul explains "It's a photo panel placed right near the museum entrance. It has no historic value whatsoever. Borrowing it would not cause any particular fuss."

Azul sits calmly in his chair as Grim asks, kinda confused "Then why do you want it at all?" Azul pushes his glasses up as he lets out a chuckle before asking back "What's the point of a challenge if it's not challenging?"

He looks at Yuu and sees her thinking, so he smirks and rhetorically asks "If I were to concoct a trifling errand, I would simply be giving away my end of it, wouldn't I? I'm not running a charity here."

Jade then informs them "The Atlantica Memorial Museum is a renowned tourist attraction that houses a good twenty different cultural artifacts. That includes the Silver Hair Comb, a Coral Sea national treasure, and the Mermaid Princess's Prized Cork Openers, among others. We're not asking you to find a speck of gold on the seabed here."

Floyd was quiet and seemed to be thinking back on something as he asked "Oh, hey, didn't we go there on an elementary school field trip once?"

Yuu is seriously debating if it was possible, with her limited knowledge of this world.

Jack, seeing Yuu on a serious gate, asks for her "Hold on. The nation of the Coral Sea is at the bottom of the ocean, right? It's not exactly hospitable to land mammals like us with no fins or gills. I think you're askin' too much here." Yuu's eyes widen as she gains the knowledge that Coral Sea is located at the bottom of the ocean. Grim, who also most likely only just now learned this, exclaims "What he said! I can't breathe underwater, y'know!"

Azul tells them "That sounds like a "you" problem…is what I would normally say, but fear not. I will provide you with our very own magic potions. They'll enable you to breathe underwater." as he pulls out a small clear nautilus shell vial.

The vial has a thin opening which causes a more unique cork that looks kinda like a bone to be used, and around the opening as well is a tag that looks kinda like one of Azul's golden contracts dictating where it's from.

Azul sets it on his desk as he continues "Once, when a poor little mermaid princess fell in love with a human, the Sea Witch was kind enough to grant her legs to walk upon the earth. And really, what are any of us without a sense of charity?" He then starts to chuckle a little.

Yuu looks back up to Azul as he asks her "So, what do you say? Do we have a deal? Will you agree to a contract with me?"

Yuu tries to fully consider both options but Azul snaps his fingers as he frowns and tells her "I'm afraid I don't have all day, so if you could make your decision now, I'd appreciate it. Chop, chop!"

Yuu looks at Grim and thinks back to Ace and Deuce before suddenly standing up as she just shouts "It's a deal!"

Azul's smile widens as he pushes the golden contract he had out early towards the front of his desk as he tells her "Excellent! Go ahead and sign the scroll, then." Yuu signs it before Azul pulls it back to him while chuckling before saying "There we are. Signature received. The contract is now in effect."

He then reiterates the terms, stating "Should you successfully steal the photo from the Atlantica Memorial Museum and bring it to me before sunset on the third day from now… I give you my word that I will release the 225 sea anemones currently doing my bidding. Should you fail at your challenge, however… Ramshackle Dorm will belong to me, and as a student of that dorm, you will do as I say!"

Yuu's eyes widened as she hadn't thought of the fact that as a student of Ramshackle she would also then be under Azul. She thinks 'What did I just sign myself up for…?' before getting her mojo back as she clenches her fist before shouting "I won't let you win!"

Azul's smirk simply stays on his face as he tells Jade and Floyd "Jade. Floyd. If you could kindly walk our guest home?" He then says to the three first years "I'll see you in three days."

Jade and Floyd walk the Grim and Yuu home as well as inside of their dorm. Which although strange, Yuu just kinda brushed it off thinking that perhaps it was their own kind of politeness, and didn't want to be rude.

Jade and Floyd are looking around, also hinting at the fact that perhaps they had come in because they had never been inside of the dorm before. Jade comments "Oho. So this is Ramshackle Dorm. This is my first time inside, and already I'm smitten by its charm. It's close to school as well. It would be a perfect site for a Mostro Lounge branch cafe." Floyd is still looking around as he asks "There's ghosts living here, right? That sounds rad!~"

Grim then asks them "Why're you guys followin' us inside, anyway?"

Floyd then stops looking around as he walks over while telling them "Uh, 'cause this place is collateral in a deal between Yuu and Azul? Duh~" Grim shouts "Myah?!" at that.

As it became clear that he was listening to none of what was said even though he was eavesdropping.

Jade seems to try and suppress a laugh and is amused at Grim's ignorance as he re-informs Grim "Unlike the rest of you, Yuu has no power to put up as collateral. So we're confiscating the dorm instead." Grim shouts "Say WHAT?!"

Yuu's eyebrow raises as Jade states "This dorm belongs to Azul until you hold up your end of the bargain." He then fakes sadness as he tells them "Hence, I'm afraid I must ask you to vacate the premises immediately." Yuu's eyes widen at the fact that they're kicking them out of their own dorm.

Floyd smiles as he resources them in his own way telling them "Don't worry, we'll give you time to pack your stuff. So nice, right?~" Jade then informs them "Once this dorm officially enters Azul's possession, we will be disposing of all personal belongings in it. So I suggest you prepare accordingly." Floyd laughs as he tells them "Don't worry!~ We'll give it all back if you bring us the photo before the third sunset." Both of the twins then start to laugh.

Grim hurries to the kitchen while shouting "MRAAAH! I gotta save all the tuna!" Yuu thinks 'What a mess.' as she starts on her walk to her and Grim's room while starting to list off some items "I'd better start with my school uniform and study supplies…"

The tweels seem more interested in what she's doing as they follow Yuu to her room. Yuu starts to grab stuff and put it on the bed, to organize and leave with later.

But suddenly she stops and drops the items she was holding as she gets another one of the flat shadowy background visions. This time it's a dusty gray-purple. It's blank with no black liquid until two drops fall and start another small puddle.

The tweels are confused by her sudden freeze, and she's brought back as she shakes her head and Floyd poking her arm confused about what had just happened.

Yuu now has an idea about what this specific vision means so she lets out a shaky breath, and considers telling the twins as it always happens with the dorm she's the most invested in at the time. But ultimately decides against it and just goes back to packing her stuff up.

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