The three repleanse students entered the school hall after the black car had left. It took a moment for the rest to stand up. Robert, one of the seniors, sighed in relief after chatting with his friend and began walking toward Ray's group. He enthusiastically shook Ray's hand. Despite the vigorous handshake, Ray was unfazed. After that, they all entered the school hall. For a moment, Ray hesitated to hear what the seniors were discussing. He could only hear how shocked they were when they arrived early. Ray thought that the people who entered before them were related to the meeting that would take place after school.
As Ray and his group headed to their class, Robert called out to them, and they all turned back to see what he wanted. He put his hands together and bowed slightly, saying, "So, could you guys join us for the meeting?" Despite feeling the urge to sleep, Ray nodded. Ivory tapped Ray's shoulder and said, "If my brother agrees to go, then I'm going too, right, Lloyd?"
Lloyd looked at them with hesitation but agreed to accompany them. Upon hearing their response, the seniors were happy, and they all headed to the director's office. Robert stood in front of the big wooden door, which the director himself had designed. After a moment of hesitation, he knocked on the door. There was silence after the knock, and after waiting a moment, a cold, old voice called from inside, telling them to enter.
Hearing the voice, the students all entered the office. They greeted their director with a slight bow and stood still. The director was confused as to why they were still standing.
"Why are you guys standing? Go and relax on the sofa," he prompted.
They slowly sat on the left sofa, which was opposite the three repleanse students. Despite the sofa being made for only four people, they managed to fit all six of them into it. The director became more confused about their behaviour, but decided to let it go.
Then, a blonde-haired girl from the repleanse school stood up and bowed as she spoke.
"I would like to thank you, Director Milki, for accepting the proposal for the collab in this year's festival with our repleanse school."
The director stroked his small beard and replied, "Well, it is an honour for our school to help with anything the government requests. After all, they do work for the public, don't they?"
"Indeed, Director. We wanted to show our support for the community and TZO school, and the students that they could rely on us, the repleanse," she responded.
After finishing his brief exchange, the director observed the gloomy atmosphere. An idea struck him as he spoke, "Well, why don't you guys introduce each other, since it seems you don't know one another?"
His bold words made Ray uncomfortable. Ray had many strengths and weaknesses, but self-introduction was his poison; he could do anything but that. As he tried to calm himself, the blonde-haired girl stood looking at them with a hint of mockery. "It seems it should be us who introduce ourselves. My name is Beatrix Rio Warhall from the Warhall family."
Hearing her name shocked the TZO students, and the senior students began murmuring to each other. "What is one of the Five Emperors' heirs doing here?"
"I know, right?"
Despite the surprise, Ray tried to recollect what he knew about them. In this world, there is a hierarchy of life based on names. Having a first name is not special, but having a second and last name carries significant weight.
All the given second names contain only three letters, which are either granted through being a nobility or bestowed by the families of the Five Emperors through honour. However, only those born into these families can inherit ancestral names, and even then, they are only given to heirs. So the fact that one of them was among them was simply crazy.
The second person introduced himself as the only boy representative from their school. He gave off a chill that reminded others of cold places. He touched his wavy, black hair, which was similar to the colour of his eyes that had dark circles around them.
"I thank you all for this chance. My name is Mike, and I am the top student at Repleanse Academy. I hope we have a good time," he said.
His voice, despite being cold, had a politeness that one might expect to hear in governmental council meetings. Most of the TZO students felt intimidated by the boy, who was likely around their age. Ray, on the other hand, began to examine him, surmising that he must have been an expert in combat, yet he felt confident that he could take him down.
Then, all of them turned to the last person to introduce herself. She didn't seem to possess anything remarkable in terms of features or skills compared to the two who had already introduced themselves.
She spoke in a kind and gentle manner that captivated everyone. "It seems I am the last one. Hello, students of TZO. My name is Venica, and I am the junior reporter scout from Repleanse Academy."
Her introduction made Ray uneasy. Bringing in a journalist wasn't necessarily a bad idea, but having her alongside one of the top students and a member of one of the five empires was a bit concerning for him. Still, he decided to let it slip away, considering it wasn't the most important part.
After the Repleanse students finished up, it was time for the TZO. Each student simply provided their name as Venica wrote them down: Robert, Cail, Molud, Ray, Ivory, and Lloyd.
The director stood up from his chair and said, "Well, now that we have finished the introductions, let's go to the meeting room."
Ray did not expect to spend most of the day in this room. It had only been 30 minutes since he had left, but now he was back with the new faces he had met today.
Throughout half of the meeting, Ray felt himself getting sleepy. He tried to control himself, but it was futile. Though he managed to listen to some parts, he was battling his drowsiness, and he noticed the seniors' faces becoming increasingly sadder by the minute from the new points.
Feeling a little pitiful, he lowered his head and fell asleep. When he opened his eyes, the meeting room was empty except for him and Venica. He glanced over to see that she was staring at him with interest.
Ray asked, "So where did everybody go?"
"Most went to the field, and some went to the director's office. Ivory was about to wake you up when Lloyd stopped him so you could get some rest. It was funny that you slept through the discussion; most didn't notice, so it was fine."
"So why are you staring at me like that?" Ray replied.
"Well, I was just interested. Of all the students here, you are at the top of the school, am I wrong?"
"So what does that have to do with you staring at me?"
"Before I came here, I checked the profiles of the top students, and you were at the top. But now that I see you, you're not the type I would expect to be a role model."
"When did I ever consider myself one?" he asked, trying to understand her point. But she didn't answer him; instead, he continued speaking.
"You see, I really want to ask those people who see me as a role model. Sure, I have the highest grades academically, but that doesn't automatically make me a role model. To me, anyone can see their role model in different people. Mine is a guy who is confident in himself; if someone thinks they are better, he would challenge them on their words. He doesn't look down on others because he sees them as weak, but because no one can challenge him. Despite all that, my ideas and role model are different. I want to have a peaceful life, free from anything dramatic happening, so that's why I'm working towards it. You see, I used to be average when it came to my scores, but now I've changed and am trying to make an effort in my life. So, the fact that you called me a role model was flattering, but I'm just someone trying to be at peace."
Her interest grew as she handed him a file. He picked up the file to read it, but it only contained information about schools and images of beaten-up people.
"What is this?" he asked, unsure of what the information was about.
She smiled slightly. "Well, it's just a list of places and people the attacker had visited."
"And what does that have to do with me?"
"It seems you're only smart in your academic scores. Did you really read it? If you looked closely, you'd see that all the locations are schools and training places associated with gang activity. Despite all that, every attack has happened in every school, including Rukah, except TZO, which means the attacker is either from TZO or associated with them."
He acted surprised, even though he already knew the attacker was from TZO. The fact that she was able to deduce that made him uneasy. Her report was flawless; there wasn't a single detail that could be missed. However, she didn't just present the information—she felt it was her responsibility to make the people aware. After Ray thought it over, he asked her, "So what do you want?"
"Well, since we'll be coming to the school only on Friday, until then, I would like you to work with me to find the attacker before the end of the festival."
"But why me?" he asked, knowing she could handle it herself.
"Well, if I speak with the director, he'll stop me, and I can't tell the rest of my colleagues. But you... You are the only one I could trust."
"But what if I know the guy and gave him information?" he replied, a smirk appearing on his face.
"Oh, come on! A person who was stuttering to talk about himself, knowing the attacker is just too funny."
Ray rolled his eyes at her remark. "Well, fine, I have no choice in the matter."
Hearing his words, she stood and walked toward him. She placed one hand on her chest and the other in front of Ray as she knelt slightly. "So let's do our best, partner."
Her enthusiastic voice made Ray smile as he stood and knelt as well, shaking her hand. "Okay, partner."
He felt happy that his quest to find the attacker had just become easier.