"As Cater mentioned earlier, the dorms of this school are themed after the Great Seven. We have our dorm, Heartslabyul, modeled after the strictness of the Queen of Hearts." Trey explained, "To run down the rest of them for you, we have Savanaclaw, based on the persistent spirit of the King of Beasts. Octavinelle, based on the benevolent heart of the Sea Witch. Scarabia, based on the mindful personality of the Sorcerer of the Sands. Pomefiore, based on the tenacity of the Fairest Queen. Ignihyde, based on the diligence of the king of the underworld. And finally... Diasomnia, based on the noble spirit of the Thorn Fairy."
"That's a lot to take in." Hoshi muttered as she sipped her water, "This… No way am I ever going to remember all that…"
"Yeah! All those names are way too long! How's anyone supposed to remember 'em?" Grim complained.
"Ah ha ha! Well, you get the idea. Want to or not, you'll learn them soon enough." Cater responded as though he was remembering his own experience.
"At orientation, the Dark Mirror picks a dorm for you based on the essence of your being." Trey explained, "As a result, each dorm ends up with a distinct sort of... flavor, we'll call it."
"That is sooo true. I totes see it." Cater laughed.
"'Flavor,' huh...?" Ace muttered in surprise.
A flavor…
Hoshi hummed in deep thought. Like spicy and bitter?
"For example, look at that guy." Trey pointed in a direction.
As Hoshi followed the line of direction, she noticed a tall buff guy with dog ears. She muttered with a strange sense of surprise mixed with dejavu, "He has dog ears?!"
"That rough-and-tumble vibe he's got has Savanaclaw House written all over it." Trey explained with a chuckle.
"No doubt. That dorm is full of scrappy guys who are into, like, working out and fighting." Cater responded as he pondered the best description, "How should I describe the vibe...? Macho dudes?Gruff big brothers? Something along those lines. The black and gold armband is another giveaway."
"Huh. All right, so what about that guy with the grey and purple cord wrapped around his arm?" Grim pointed to another guy with glasses and wavy hair seated with a couple other boys with darker skin. Seeing him, Hoshi became more uncertain.
"He's gotta be from Octavinelle House." Trey replied, "And the student sitting at the table in front of him has a red and gold armband—Scarabia colors."
"Those dorms are for the smart students. They're always neck-and-neck in the academic rankings." Cater responded, "Ah, but the current housewarden of Scarabia doesn't seem to be all that great of a student..."
Hoshi stifled back a chuckle. This cater guy is quite blunt sometimes!
"And here Cater goes, off on some tangent." Ace grumbled.
"Ha. You learn fast." Trey chuckled, "Let's get back on topic. You see the flashy one with the purple and red armband? Those are Pomefiore colors."
"Whoa! The girl with the potion books, I really like her!" Grim muttered in surprise as he noticed the owner of the band was a small cute girl with purple hair and blue eyes.
"A girl?" Hoshi stared at the small one from afar and raised a brow, "Isn't that a guy?"
"No way! That's definitely a girl."Deuce was shocked "What's she doing in a boys' school?!"
"You are such a moron. There aren't girls officially enrolled here." Ace grumbled in disappointment.
"WHAAAT?!"
Hearing Deuce scream, that small person with soft purple curls turned around with a look of confusion. However, he could not find the source of the scream as Grim and Deuce quickly ducked their head out of embarrassment.
"PFFFT." Hoshi barely managed to stifle a laugh as she watched. It would seem her disguise wasn't too bad.
"Speaking of girls, there's a portrait in the west hall who's a real beauty. Name's Rosaria." Cater suggested, "If you'd like to meet her, I'd be happy to introduce you. Maybe we can set something up?"
Another girl? Perhaps she can gather some information from her if she were careful. Still, would she notice her gender? She needed to be cautious. Hoshi listened curiously.
"A painting? Hard pass! I don't care how cute she is if she's two-dimensional!" Ace exclaimed in dismay.
"A female figure painting that talks… inside this school? What a surprise…" Hoshi hummed with the hope that Cater could continue.
A talking painting… Hoshi recalled the one who helped them find Ace and wondered just how many there are in this school or perhaps world. It would be a nice change of pace in a school full of boys and men. However…
Chances are the painting might not actually know she was a girl either…or she could end up with her identity revealed.
Best to give it up and not over complicate matters.
"Come on, man. Who cares how many dimensions she's got! Anyway, they take vanity pretty seriously at Pomefiore. It's basically a dorm full of models." Cater gossiped eagerly, "Their housewarden has 5,000,000 followers on Magicam."
"Followers?" Hoshi muttered in confusion.
"You don't even know what followers are? Man, I've never seen someone who doesn't know about Magicam!" Cater exclaimed in disbelief, "If you like the content, such as pictures or videos, etc. You can select the follow option on the screen. That way, you can be updated whenever they make a post and see what they have going on."
"I see…" Hoshi hummed. She wanted to ask what Magicam was as well. But she decided to keep her mouth shut for what little remained of her sense of pride. After all, she was still around their age and so she would rather not be considered behind.
"Hey now, they're not all just pretty faces. The students at Pomefiore are among the best at potions and casting curses." Trey pointed out.
Potions and curses…
Hoshi recognized those words… But it felt a little strange to her chest. It didn't seem as awful as she had thought she would feel.
"Heh heh. True dat." Cater agreed with a nervous chuckle, "Next, we have Ignihyde... Their armbands are blue and black, but I don't see any around here. They tend not to be the most outgoing of students. Even I don't have a single friend from that dorm. They're kind of the polar opposite of us sunny, fun-loving Heartslabyuls."
"So they're gloomy and miserable?" Grim muttered curiously.
Hoshi paused with surprise before tuning to him with an unamused look, "Remind me to get you started on literature books as soon as we go back to the dorms. There are better ways to put that nicely."
"Well, I ain't trying to be nice either!" Grim pouted.
"Hey, now. Anyway, there's no need to put it like that! They just have a reputation for being quiet and serious, is all." Trey interjected hurriedly with a nervous laugh, "That dorm tends to attract magical-energy engineers and students who are good with tech."
"And that just leaves... Diahonyalara, was it?" Deuce fumbled nervously.
"You were off to a good start, and then you rammed right into the guardrails." Ace muttered in exasperation, "It's 'Diasomnia.'"
"Dia. Som. Nia..." Hoshi muttered quietly, "It IS quite a mouthful..."
"I know that! I just misspoke, all right?" Deuce exclaimed hiding his embarrassment.
"Really? Maybe we can practice the names of the dorms after class. They're still a bit difficult for me…" Hoshi suggested.
"I-is it?! Then, sure!"
"Diasomnia House is, hm... Ah, look over there. Those guys in the special seating area." Cater pointed to some guys from afar, "You can tell from the neon green and black armbands. They're basically campus celebrities. The vibe they give off makes it real hard for regular schmucks like us to even approach them. And their housewarden is that times a thousand."
"The vibe?" Hoshi tilted her head in confusion. They don't seem any way special…
"There's a little kid in that group!" Ace pointed at what looks like a young black hair boy with pointy ears.
Hoshi raised a brow. He looks quite familiar...
"Ah, we do get some child prodigies here." Trey responded with an exasperated smile, "But that guy there is no kid. He's a junior like us. Name's-"
A figure magically appeared infront of them upside down from the ceiling. It was the boy from that orientation!
"Lili-."
"BWAH?!"
SMACK!
There was a pause of silence as all eyes turned to them. There was the boy appearing right in their faces only to be punched right in the chin by their new and unusual freshman student with a cat monster familiar! The other two behind him gawked in disbelief as they had been teleported alongside him only to witness this scene.
"H-he just teleported!" Grim exclaimed in bewilderment.
"A-And got punched in the face by Hoshi..." Deuce added in disbelief.
"Lilia?!" Trey called out nervously in confusion.
"Woah... That's gonna bruise..." Lilia muttered with a slight painful expression as he rubbed his chin in surprise, "You got some good reflexes."
"A-ah... S-sorry!" Hoshi apologized nervously only to notice a sharp glare from one of the students next to him, "I'm so sorry!"
"Haha... It's all right. Let's not make a big deal out of it. One punch won't knock me out. Right, Sebek? Let's not glare at your fellow freshmen." Lilia chuckled hoping to quickly deescalate the tension, "Anyway, let's try that again. I'm Lilia. Lilia Vanrouge. I understand my apparent age interests you? As this bespectacled fellow accurately noted... Despite my fresh-faced, boyish good looks, it would be inaccurate to call me a 'child.'"
His words seemingly surprised her as she was left in confusion.
"'Fresh-faced,' he says..." Trey wore a dry smile yet felt a little more relaxed as other eyes began to look away from their table.
"You need not gawk at us from afar. You may feel free to speak with us directly. We are schoolmates, are we not? All of us at Diasomnia House welcome you without reservation." Lilia smiled.
Confused, Hoshi looked to the other two next to him and noticed how quiet they've been. One of them with silver hair looked to her with a clear look of concern. Meanwhile, the other also didn't hesitate to glare at her. Seeing this, she paused in thought. Why does this scene feel all too familiar? Especially that glare the guy is giving her.
"And yet, those guys over there aren't exactly rolling out the red carpet in terms of approachability..." Deuce muttered in confusion as he noticed how quiet they've been.
Lilia chuckled, "Forgive me for appearing above you during your meal. I do hope we can speak again."
Suddenly, the three vanished just as abrupt as they appeared. Unsure if he is in awe or is freaked out, Ace whispered, "Their table has got to be over twenty yards away from ours. And they overheard our conversation? That's WAY creepy!"
Hoshi recalled Lilia from the orientation and last night. The two attitudes he bore didn't seem to match with today's. He was so happy go lucky. It was like they had never had a rough relationship in the past two days. No apologies or conditions. Just a friendly nature.
"Well... Diasomnia House does have a bit of a reputation for having lots of special students." Trey shook his head hesitantly, "Some of them are extremely talented at magic. Their housewarden, Malleus Draconia, is considered to be one of the five best mages in the world."
"Malleus?" Hoshi muttered. Didn't someone mentioned this back during the orientation? And then, there was Lilia….
There was a sense of familiarity when she thought of him, which wasn't present when they first met at the orientation. Perhaps she was too disoriented to think straight?
"Malleus is reeeeeal bad news. Though I suppose the same could be said of our own dear housewarden." Cater continued.
"Your housewarden? He does seem to be quite talented… Unfortunately, I haven't met all of them to make a fair judgement…" Hoshi hummed, "But… isn't the fact he's a housewarden means he's met all the conditions to take leadership? Perhaps he's trying a little too hard to maintain the stability with the addition of new freshmen?"
"You're being too nice…" Cater wore a dry smile.
"No kidding!" Ace exclaimed angrily, "He collared me for eating one slice of tart! All his rule obsession is outta control!"
"My "rule obsession" is "outta control," is it?" A voice sounded softly yet firm enough to bring a tremor of silence in the cafeteria.
"You bet it is. Riddle's just a petty tyrant who leans into the whole "rules" schtick as a pretext to keep everyone under his puny thumb!" Ace continued with a scowl.
"Ace!" Deuce gasped in alarm as he saw the owner of the voice, "Behind you!"
Ace looked back only for his eyes to widen in horror, "Bwah?! Housewarden!"