“You’re blocking the way.”

As always, the disciplinary committee members attempted to enter earlier than the others. But 82, the head, encountered 71 standing firm before the door.

“As I said, only one may enter.” His eyes turned cold, “Decide who’s in charge of the class, then knock again.”

Hearing 71’s bold words, the others started to murmur. 82’s eyes narrowed. Both of them stood at the same height and had similar body build.

“Why?” asked 82 with a hint of nonconformity in his voice. As head of the disciplinary committee, he could not just comply with anyone’s demands.

Slam!

71 didn’t speak further and slammed the door close.

After that, 82 could feel the murmurings getting louder. He sighed and decided to knock again. But right as he raised his arm, he felt his shoulder grabbed. Turning his head, he saw 178 with a grip on his shoulder.

“He said only the one in charge may enter.” She said while meeting his gaze.

“I’m the head—” He got interrupted “—of the disciplinary committee, not the entire class.” She completed his statement.

-

“My proposal seems to have enticed an argument.” 71 stayed leaning against the door. Thus, he could hear the whispers from the other side of the room.

“Anything else?” 101 asked from afar while resting on a chair and flipping through the pages of a book.

“Around ten looked extremely pale, and 2 had bloodstains on their clothes.”

101 stopped flipping the pages, “really now,” 101 said with an intrigued voice.

-

After a while, the one who knocked was 82. Again, the class leader was decided by voting.

“So?” 82 looked dazed. He’d thought 71 was throwing a tantrum and would start some meaningless theatrics. But to his surprise, 71 stayed leaned against the door like a guard. 18, remained behind the wooden slab. And 82, himself, rested behind a desk in a chair. Opposite him sat 101, who seemed to be pouring something in a chalice.

“Tea?” 101 offered with a light smile. 82 extended his arm and grabbed the white clay chalice. As far as first impressions go, 82 had none of 101. In his eyes, 101 was like most kids, with no distinguishable traits.

But, now that he saw him up close. He noticed there was one separable trait—the black eyes. Most kids had black eyes. But when 101 offered the cup, his eyes did not echo with his smile, which made it look eerie.

“You know, I expected 178 would enter through that door,” 101 said as he poured another chalice for himself. “Seems I guessed wrong.”

“Shows you lack insight. How about you get to the point?” 82 asked firmly.

“There’s no rush,” 101 said as he looked at 82, who was about the sip the tea. “Not like there are 56 kids outside exhausted and ravenous—desperately waiting for the door to open, so they could savor the luscious meal they tasted yesterday.”

Cough!

82 coughed vigorously, spitting out the little tea he had just drank. “What was that?” He asked with a scowled face. The drink smelled pleasant but tasted way too sour and vinegary.

“Oh, nothing. Unless we settle for some negotiations, just everyone’s meal for today.”

82 wiped his mouth, “I do not yet know what you want. But, seeing your actions, you seem to be a terrible negotiator,” His face’s composure, slightly disturbed by the horrendous taste, now seemed calm and firm, “There are three of you. What do you think would happen when those exhausted kids taste such a thing?”

“They would be displeased, no doubt—” he sipped some tea from his glass, “but you see, we have not broken any rules. Ergo, we three have the protection of the disciplinary committee, of which you’re the head.”

82 chuckled, “You see the rules—” 82’s voice got stuck in his throat.

“—don’t exist, I know,” 101 completed the sentence, “Even if you break the rules and don’t give us protection. Nothing would change. Robert gave quite a speech about responsibilities and jurisdictions, but it’s only a hocus. True, the ones unable to learn any Arts would get punished, but that was the sole rule. The rest of the divisions, the voting, and the rules were made by the kids. Hence, it entirely relies upon the kids.”

“And, you benefit by it, how?” 82 asked in a heedful manner.

“Let’s say, since we refused to cook something good, you and others take the kitchen violently. In a way, that would be similar to tyranny. But others would realize that not upholding the rules bears no consequences. They would think, ‘We are free to do whatever we want.’ Rebellious notions spread faster than wildfire—it all starts with the little acts.”

“And, you benefit by it, how?” 82 asked again. In his mind, he wondered, both his and 101’s cup was filled from the same kettle, and they should have tasted the same beverage. So, how could he drink such a beverage with a straight face and still talk?

“During class, no walls separate the groups. If one observed carefully, he would be able to see what everyone was doing,” 101 said as he took another sip, “You see, I consider myself quite perceptive. At first, I wondered why my group would get assigned as chefs. Because of hate? No, one or two may be that petty, but surely many would see the chefs’ advantages. So, then why assign our group?”

82’s grip on his chalice tightened.

“But right after the voting, I noticed you had become the disciplinary committee head, which was uncanny. 50 had 20 kids under him, while you and 178 had less than that. So, I assume a deal was made.”

Crack!

The chalice’s surface cracked open, and the beverage inside spilled on the table.

“Indeed, he offered me 20 votes on the account that I assign your group as the chefs. Later, when his group did not obtain either medical arts or martial arts, he offered me ten men for Medicinal Arts, similarly ten men to 178 for Martial Arts. Driven by emotions, he made foolish mistakes.” His eyes turned indifferent, “And, you benefit by it, how?”

“Since the deal was made due to benefits rather than enmity, I wanted to offer a better one. No one likes enemies. So, how about a mutual agreement?”

“I can guess what you want,” He folded his arms and leaned backward, “But for the Art manuals, what can you offer?”

“Some of the kids outside seemed pale. I wonder if anyone figured out a way to heal them?” 101 said as he leaned back.

82’s eyes narrowed, “Not completely. No. So, you figured out a way to achieve something that our top rankers failed to figure out even with Medicinal Arts in just one day?”

“Me? No,” he shook his head, “But the first and second rankers by grade are in my group. After they looked over the properties of various herbs, figuring out ways to deal with internal injuries was simple.”

71, who keenly listened for afar, flinched, “That liar,” he whispered.

82 closed his eyes and pondered for a while, “That’s still not enough.”

101 tilted his head, “Then, how about for the manuals. We give you a way to test compatibility within a week. And if anyone else were to figure it out before us then—” 82 interrupted, “Fine”

“Fine?” 101 blinked.

“You sound surprised. I had no intention of monopolizing the resources,” He stood up. “If 71 had apologized in front of the class, I would have shared the discovered information, either way.” His face brewed a light smile, “But your proposal seems more interesting. Now—will you distribute some proper food?”

“…sure”, 101 nodded.

71 sighed and opened the door. Henceforth, everything else went as regular. Later while distributing food from behind the slab, 71 asked, “That was not the plan.”

“I wanted to see whether negotiations would work or not before taking any steps, and I was almost sure that they would fail.” 101 could see 82, who seemed to be discussing with his group members afar at a long desk. “So, either I’m really good at negotiations, or,” His gaze narrowed, “he has a sharp comprehension of present circumstances.”

-

Next day.

-

82 sighed. He thought he should at least tell 50 about the deal he made last night. 50, at least, deserved to know that much. Initially, he had judged 50 to be a clever man, as he had more followers than him. But the recent events made him question his conclusion. For instance, rather than just demanding 71’s group be chefs, had he forbidden sharing knowledge with them, the situation might have been different.

“Let’s talk,” 82 said, looming over 50 who sat leaning against a wall.

“hm,” 50 closed the book which he was reading. That was when 82 noticed the change in his face. 50’s amber eyes looked dead cold, and there was no forged smile on his face, which he usually wore to get closer to others. His slightly fat body looked, now, lean and muscular.

“Considering how long you were inside that room with those three,” 50 stood up, “You must have formed another deal.” A wry smile grew on his face. “You don’t have to explain anything,” He walked past 82, “After all, I got what I need.”

Seeing the smile, 82 wondered, ‘Did I miscalculate?’ He turned his head, and that’s when he noticed black stripes behind 50’s neck.