“Damn, what do we do now?” asked Arman as we made out way down from the lecture hall.

“First and foremost, we need to eat dinner,” Elliot pointed out.

“Yeah, I’m starving!” Cat agreed.

“Don’t worry,” I assured them. “I already have a plan.”

“Are you sure?” Arman asked. “It’s not something that would get you in trouble, is it?”

“I sure hope not,” I wrinkled my brows in deep thought. “What is it, though, that the empire would do to minors who learn magic on their own?” I asked them. “From what I read before, they are only asked to pay a fine and sent to the Ivory Tower.”

“Their family gets fined with 500 pieces of gold for not declaring their awakening, then the minor in question is sent to the Ivory Tower, where they are never to be seen again,” Arman said with a shiver.

“T-they are?” I asked wide-eyed. “I’ve always thought that the Ivory Tower was just some kind of school!”

“Mages are very rare, indispensable resources of the empire. The earlier they manifest, the stronger they are,” said Arman.

“What about the seniors who manifest when they reach their fourth year?” I asked.

“Those are basically rejects that the tower no longer have interest in,” Arman said darkly. “Kids are easier to manipulate.”

“It’s because magicians are harder to train when they come to age as adults. Or so, I’ve been told.” Darius explained. “That’s why they are kept in the Ivory Tower all their lives to develop their potential, and only leave for special assignments from the emperor, such as quests or wars.”

“The rejects are then greedily taken by either the royal guards or the holy knights’ order,” added Arman.

“There is also a rumor that the emperor turns them into catamites,” Elliot whispered low. “That’s why we need to prove that none of us are mages, and that the mask was made somewhere else.”

“What’s a catamite?” asked Cat, his head tilted to a side.

“It’s a boy used as a sex slave,” replied Arman, the look on his face, turning darker.

“But isn’t that what’s already happening here on campus?” I asked.

“Not really,” answered Elliot. “The emperor is much older, after all, and it’s rumored that he has catamites as young as 7 years old.”

I felt a sudden cold chill run down my spine.

“But isn’t he incompetent now?” Arman said with a sinister laugh.

“Sure hope so,” Elliot laughed as well.

“Then all we need to do is show the professor an enchanted mask, right?” asked Cat.

“But how?” Arman huffed, pulling at his long hair in frustration.

“Like I said,” I told Arman, touching him gently on the shoulder, “I already have a plan.”

My friends looked at me.

I can see in their eyes that they were all worried.

I have never had anyone look at me with such eyes.

“For now, can we go to the dining hall and have some early dinner?” I asked them with a smile.

“That’s right, what’s the use of worrying with an empty stomach?” said Elliot, patting me on the back. “Let’s just trust our Pat, he has never let us down before, after all.”

“A-and even if you fail!” Arman piped in. “If ever you get caught and sent to the empire, you can be sure that I will go there with you!”

“M-me too!” said Cat, his eyes full of determination.

“So am I, though I doubt if the emperor would fancy someone as fat as me as a catamite!” said Elliot with a laugh.

There were not that many students yet in the dining hall when we entered, it was only past five in the afternoon, after all. We had our pick of Aunt May’s specialties and asked her to fill Elliot’s platters as well.

“It’s so we can eat privately somewhere else when dinner arrives,” Elliot told her.

“That’s right, Aunt May, your food is so good, we just want to eat it all the time!” Cat complimented her.

“Ho-ho-ho! I guess it can’t be helped, then,” said the elderly lady with a mirthful laugh. “It is certainly much better than getting an upset stomach from those troublesome seniors.”

She took two whole pieces each of meat and fruit pies and handed them to us.

“There you go!” she said, pinching Cat’s beaming face, hives and all. “Now, tell Aunt May if you need some more, I’ve got plenty where that came from!”

“Thank you very much, Aunt May!” I gave her a curt bow. “You have been very good to us, if you need any help of any kind, please don’t hesitate to tell us either!”

“Ho-ho-ho!” she laughed some more. “Just put some muscle in those bones and that’s enough to make me happy!”

We went to a table with our trays full of food. Elliot proceeded to put them in the sealed platters inside his dimensional pouch, while the rest of us ate our fill.

“After this, I plan to go to the library to do some research,” I told my companions. “Now that we have our library cards, we can finally enter the building.”

“Oh, let me go with you, I can help you with the mask making!” said Arman.

“Do you think they allow snacks in there?” asked Elliot.

“I hope they have picture books!” said Cat excitedly.

“We won’t know until we get there,” I said with a smile.

“Then we better hurry so we can have more time to –”

“Well, well, well, look what we’ve got here!”

We were interrupted by Turin, the senior who caused Cat to throw up.

Behind him were several other seniors, and at the back, his eyes stuck to the ground, stood Hank, his body ripe with red rashes.

“I heard a rumor that a certain neophyte was wearing a mask to look ugly.”

He looked at Arman who stared down at his half eaten plate.

“I guess it was true.”

Turin suddenly grabbed Arman’s arm and pulled him up from his seat.

“Damn it! Let me go!” yelled, Arman, slapping the senior across the face.

A gasp broke across the room, followed by complete silence, as Turin stared at him, wide-eyes full of wrath.

“You dare hit a senior?!” he yelled and raised his other hand back, planning to hit Arman, when Elliot and I stood up to stop him.

“Senior, please calm down!” said Elliot, his big body covering Arman whom he had snatched away.

“U-Unhand me!” Turin yelled at me.

I didn’t notice that I had grabbed his raised arm.

I quickly let him go.

“You fools dare to go against us?! Do you know what fate awaits neophytes who go against their seniors?!” he roared, while rubbing his left wrist. “Why, I ought to whip you a hundred times myself!”

“What were you planning to do to our friend?” I asked him calmly.

“What do you think?” another senior approached us. “As your seniors, we have the right to take you as apprentices,” he said with an ugly sneer. “Now, submit yourselves to us!”

“Is this the other one?” asked another senior who walked closer to our table. He was walking towards Cat! I quickly placed myself between them.

“Yeah.. that’s the other one.”

All four of us looked at Hank who was shamelessly pointing at our Cat.

“Traitor!” Arman snarled at him.

“S-see? They don’t even have rashes! They’re just wearing masks!”

“I guess the ‘grand duke’ has a lot of tricks up his sleeve!” Turin said obnoxiously.

“Take them both!” he called to his companions.

“P-Patrick!” Cat looked at me, visibly shaking in fear.

I tried to block the seniors, but someone came from behind me and pulled me away. Two others approached Elliot as well, while another took hold of Cat and looked at his arms in disgust.

“Are you sure this is just a mask?” he asked, letting go of Cat’s arm. “He’s got it all over his body! And now he’s breaking into rashes as well!”

“Just take them both with us!” Turin insisted.

“I object!” I said out loud. “These two are my wards, and as such, I challenge you to a duel to win them back!”

The room was filled with murmurings.

“You?” Turin laughed, “challenge us to a duel?!”

The rest of the seniors laughed at us.

They at least let Cat go, as well as Arman who is now also covered in rashes.

“Do you think you could even last one minute with me?” he mocked me. “One hit, and I’d sent your bones rattling back to the grave!”

“He probably won’t, but I could,” said Elliot who stood in front of him.

“What? This bag of lard?” the seniors laughed once more.

“Go back to the kitchen before I melt you down to a puddle, fat boy!” sneered Turin.

“I challenge you in hand-to-hand combat,” Elliot stood his ground. “But if you’re too afraid to lose, then, my friends and I will just take our leave.”

“Woah...” students around us mumbled.

“Hey, Turin, take the challenge!” said the rest of the seniors.

“Yeah, just wipe the floor with those cocky first years!”

“Well, your friend here, the grand duke, challenged me first!” he suddenly said, pointing at me.

“That’s right,” I replied. “I challenge you in a game of wits. You can choose the topic of your choice, as long as it is part of the academy’s academic curriculum.”

He stared at me blankly.

“I accept that challenge, for this little kitten here,” said the senior who tried to take Cat.

“Then all that’s left is senior Turin’s challenge,” said Elliot with a slight bow.

“Go on, Turin, it’s just a fat kid!” his companions egged him.

“That’s right, Turin, what are you so afraid of?” asked a familiar voice who turned out to be senior Rian.

He gave me a lopsided grin when he saw me looking at him.

“If everyone is ready, then I will be the judge and witness.”

Now enters Prof. Novil who took a chair and placed it in front of the food counters.

“Let the challenges begin.”