In a Civilized Manner

Edris stood as still as the statue in Ace's room.

He could hear it.

Multiple footsteps. And they were growing louder by the second.

Edris tapped his lips with his index finger, thinking. Although he had the beast tamer's [SNEAKERS] card at hand, he'd wanted to save it if possible for his plan on final exam day.

He glimpsed down the balcony, toward his room. Was there no way for him to somehow cut across and land on the sixth floor without breaking a limb?

It was then he saw it.

A silhouette by the window.

"Owein!"

On the inside of the window, Owein stiffened as his ears perked up. He poked his head upwards, only to see a dark-haired man waving at him.

"…"

Owein slid open the window.

"Hey, can you help me down somehow?" Edris asked from above, his voice in a whisper. "You're good at climbing, right?"

Owein stared at him.

"Jump," he said.

"Would you catch me if I do?"

"…"

Owein shot him what seemed like a judging stare, then fell into a severe contemplation. He shook his head.

"No." He paused. "Too heavy."

This time, it was Edris's turn to fall silent. Realising he couldn't depend on his "unrequited love," Edris felt the card in his pocket.

Just as he was about to pull it out, Owein spoke up.

"The portrait."

Edris glanced down.

"Hm?"

"If you're trying to hide," Owein said slowly. "Behind the portrait."

He peered past Edris, and the latter, following his gaze, found himself staring at the second balcony. It belonged to none other than Sky.

"…To think there was something behind there all along." Edris sighed, then narrowed his eyes.

Although he had initial suspicions about something being behind the gigantic frame, how did Owein know?

Edris didn't have time to probe, though. He was running out of time. He glimpsed at the brown-haired man one last time, only to see the latter ruminating about something.

"What?"

"But the portrait. If you're going in there…" Owein twirled a strand of his hair, somewhat aloof. The next moment, he glanced back up. Their eyes locked, and there was a particular glint in his eyes.

"You should mentally prepare yourself."

***

In the elevator, two men stood on either side of the narrow space.

Moss hummed to some foreign melody as he leaned by the elevator railings, tapping his foot.

Ace stood postured, staring straight ahead and ignoring the man beside him.

"You know," Moss started. "You're a bit different from the previous professors in training we had before."

Ace didn't respond. He merely gave him a sideways glance, and that prompted the man to continue.

"See? This is what I mean." Moss chuckled. "I've seen many in your place before, even the current professors, but they've all gone through some sort of period of anxiety before adapting to their roles. None started as composed as you are."

He paused.

"It's like you're made for this."

"Anxiety only befalls the disadvantaged," Ace said. "Why should I act anxious toward those weaker than me?"

"…"

Moss sighed as the elevator door slid open.

"We're here."

The two stepped out of the elevator onto the velvet carpet floor. Sweeping his gaze across the lounge, Ace's attention landed on the empty stove slots in the kitchen. He then glimpsed the man beside him, and withdrew his gaze.

Moss raised an eyebrow as he noticed the open door to his room.

"Someone's been here," he said to the white-haired man. "They might still be."

Ace received his statement with no particular reaction. He cast his gaze toward the five rooms, three of which had their doors swung open. He closed his eyes, attempting to sense any signs of life within those rooms.

Nothing.

Aside from Edris, there was the lingering trace of a second person. However, it was hard to track down their exact identity due to the Labyrinth's mana restriction.

"Perhaps so," Ace said.

"…How interesting," Moss laughed coldly.

The two of them sped toward the left edge of the lounge. Entering Moss's room, they were confronted with flying papers and broken windows from the balcony. Whoever had intruded the space must have done so in a hurry. The drawers to his desk were all opened, and even his closet had been gone through and trampled.

Taking in the mess in sight, Moss's chivalrous smile fell off his face.

He bent over to the desk, examining the empty drawers. After two seconds, he slammed the entire thing onto the floor.

"The test materials are gone," he said through gritted teeth.

Ace raised an eyebrow at his outburst. He didn't expect Edris's guess to hit the bullseye.

The white-haired man stepped into the room, kicking the debris out of his way as he did a swift sweep of the state of the room.

"There's no one in here," he said.

"And the other rooms?"

Inspecting Ace and Sky's rooms, they found the former's room to be in the same disastrous state, while the latter remained largely untouched.

Ace's gaze landed on the giant portrait plastered on the wall.

"…"

A presence that wasn't there before.

"How strange. Did the intruder not have time to damage Sky's room?" Moss said, sounding somewhat dejected. "Now for the final two rooms. You think the intruder's hiding in one of them?"

Without a word, Ace strode up to the remaining rooms, starting from Magenta's on the very right. He glimpsed the green-haired man over his shoulder.

"Shall we find out?"

With a pivot of his heel, the man sprung forward and aimed right above the door handle with his right leg. The striking force sent the block of fibreglass flying into the room, blowing up a surge of a gust as it contacted the floor.

"You now." Walking up behind him, Moss pressed a hand to the side of his head. "I could have opened it with the master key."

"There's no one here," Ace said. Not waiting for Moss to respond, he headed over to the remaining room, belonging to Aureolin, and busted it open with another kick.

"Also nothing." He turned toward Moss. "Looks like the intruder has escaped."

Despite his usual stoicism, Ace was looking at Moss with a trace of amusement in his gaze. With the seventh floor a mess and the intrude gone, he was in a comparatively better mood than Moss, whose face was shifting closer to the colour of his hair.

Releasing a shaky exhale, Moss turned toward him, all previous traces of leisure gone.

"Notify Magenta. The Principal as well," he said. "Immediately."

***

The seventh-floor intrusion caused quite a commotion among the student body. With three of the five professors' rooms rummaged through, the test had been postponed indefinitely.

Celio and the others walked out of the academic building, tenseness occupying their facial features. After hearing the news, all students were held back in the building for two hours, each undergoing a full-body search before being released.

Aureolin and Magenta took their attendance, and those absent—around a tenth of the student body—were put on the suspect list.

Most of those students were in similar situations as Edris, steering away from academics due to their role requirements.

"I've been saved," Alicia said, dramatically pressing a hand to her chest. "The God of Erudition has spoken."

"To think someone would manage to sneak into the seventh floor, and to steal the tests too…" No. 12 shuddered. "Whoever the person is, they've got balls."

Alicia shook her head. "I don't know whether to be impressed or be afraid for their sake."

Celio swallowed. "What do you mean?"

"Haven't you noticed? This Labyrinth is obsessed with rules and order. The intruder's action was a direct threat to the structural system they've established for the past month." She sighed. "Let's hope this student doesn't get caught. Otherwise, who knows what those crazy cloak people and the professors would do to them?"

Despite the sunny weather, the beast tamer's face looked as pale as a sheet of paper. He turned toward the seven-year-old at his side.

"Is Master going to be okay?" Celio grimaced. "He said he was only going to scout the area. You don't think he's actually the one who stole the papers, right?"

Ives hushed the beast tamer with a nudge of the elbow.

"If it's anyone else on the suspect list, I will hold my doubts—but this is Mister Edris we're talking about." She peered at the sidewalk. "Look."

At her prompting, Celio followed the direction of her gaze, only to see a certain dark-haired man lounging by the bench, playing with a pigeon by his feet.

Celio let out a sigh of relief.

"Master!"

Edris glanced up from the pigeon, casting his gaze on the hoard of students approaching his way. The man pieced together an innocent smile.

"What's this? Everyone's here," he said. "Having a party without me?"

"No. 111!" The freckled boy waved at him, and Edris narrowed his eyes.

"What did you just call me?"

The freckled boy's arm froze mid-air. He stared at him blankly, and the latter sighed.

"It's only been a day, and you forgot my name already?"

The boy blinked twice, and he smacked himself on the head.

"…Edris!" He rubbed the nape of his neck sheepishly. "Sorry dude, I don't know why, but my memory's been so shit lately."

He shook his head.

"Anyway, did you hear about what happened on the seventh floor? Some kid snuck in and stole the test plans! The test was cancelled because of this."

"Oh? That's unexpected." Edris arched an eyebrow in feigned shock, as though he wasn't the one on the seventh floor just hours ago. "I didn't think people would actually go out of their way to steal a few pieces of paper."

Leaning back, he swung an arm over the top of the bench while the other trickled some nuts onto the ground. The pigeon wobbled his way, eagerly pecking at the scattered pieces. Edris peered toward the hoard of students, sneering half-heartedly.

"Books for brains. What did they think a few sheets of paper could achieve?" He tapped on his left forearm. "They're not even worth as much as the watch on my wrist."

"…"

Celio and Ives looked at each other, then at the dark-haired man.

What an actor.

Since their meetings were mostly among players, it was their first time witnessing the man actually acting his role. Having grown up in upper society, Celio must admit that Edris's aura was more fitting of the "spoiled noble" persona than many real nobles he knew.

Some students grumbled under their breath at Edris's words, while others glared at him in bitterness. Naturally, Edris did not mind their reactions as he leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees.

"Why? Jealous?" His pale eyes swept through the crowd, resting on the pink-haired professor for a second before reeling in his gaze.

"Professor Magenta," one of the students stepped forth, the number 23 on top of his head. "This man is trying to disrupt the harmony between students. It's a violation of Rule #5."

"We value freedom of speech in MW Academy," Magenta replied in her emotionless voice. "No. 111 was merely expressing his opinion."

"… You're kidding, right?" No. 23 stared at her in disbelief. "Then why'd you throw my friend in detention on the last test when all he said was lend me a pen?!"

"Any collaboration between students is considered cheating. Any form of cheating is a violation of Rule #1 and must be punished accordingly."

"This is ridiculous."

"Really? I think it's quite amusing to watch," Edris said, ignoring No. 23's burning eyes. "Now, now. If you're this upset, you should try to get on the donor's list. Maybe that'd give you some more freedom."

"Donor's list?" No. 48 narrowed his eyes. "What do you mean?"

"No. 111," Magenta interrupted the conversation, her gaze piercing through him. "Why were you absent during the test? That is a faulty act as a student."

"Does it say anywhere on the rules that the tests are mandatory?" Edris tilted his head. "I don't think father and mother sent me here to be bossed around like this. Right, professor?"

Witnessing their conversation from the sidelines, Celio subconsciously held his breath. Even though he knew his Master was merely playing his role, and even though he knew the man was a good actor, he couldn't help but be in awe at the naturalness of his execution.

However, Ives's words drew him out of his trance.

"Something feels weird."

Celio spun to look at her.

"What do you mean?"

Ives didn't respond. Her dark eyes were fixed on the man lounging by the bench. The shoulder-length hair, the pale grey eyes, the scheming glint in his gaze as he smiled—every part of the man was the signature of Edris.

Yet, Ives couldn't suppress the sense of incongruity arising within her chest as she stared at the man across from her.

"That's Mister Edris…right?"