Chapter 3: Chapter 3: Proceeding As Planned

I'm still not quite over what happened in the race event. It's been occupying my mind a lot. What actually happened? Is that what they call a glitch? I remember learning once about how a save file got glitched, and unintended things started to happen. Then apparently it became corrupted, and crashed the game. I retain no memories from such save files, so I don't actually know how it plays out. Am I going to be corrupted? Are we going to crash? Crash into what, exactly? Maybe it's like getting a bad ending early. Maybe this will all be over soon, and we can start over with a file where everything is back to normal. As it should be.

Another possibility is that that's how it was supposed to play out this time, but... I don't like the thought of that...

Maybe it was just a one-time thing. A... a temporary glitch. And everything will proceed as normal from here on out. Yes, that's probably it.

Oh! Here's an encounter I recognise. I kind of lost track of where we're at in the days since the race, but I know where, or rather when, we are now.

I have spotted Emma and Valleroy sitting together in the cafeteria. They're having a piece of cake each. A cute scenario. I'm on my way to join Bella and Eloise, who have gone ahead to secure a table, but here's my cue to make a quick stop first.

I very casually adjust my path. They're occupied with conversation, Valleroy has his back to me, and Emma is very focused on her cake. So they won't see me coming until it's too late.

While her family is hardly poor (their farm is pretty large, and does decent business. Plus it's self-owned. Hence how they could afford to send Emma here), she isn't used to having cake at home. She'd get one for her birthday, and perhaps if there was some really special occasion. Here they serve the students cake every other weekend. Some might call that a bit decadent, but that's what being one of the premier academies in the country is like.

I eye the strawberry on top of Emma's cake. She is very carefully eating around it. So adorable. Once I'm close enough, and before they are able to register my presence, I lean down just enough to pluck the strawberry with my fingers.

"H-hey!" Emma looks up, and shrinks back just a little as she sees who it is.

I smile victoriously, and quickly pop the strawberry into my mouth.

Emma gasps. "I was saving that for last..." she says. She looks upset, and almost on the verge of tears. She's even giving me a slightly defiant look.

She is very cute, but I'll admit I feel a little guilty about this encounter. I can't oppose the script, but after I learned how much it means to her, and how much she had been looking forward to it, it's hard to not feel at least a little bad about it.

Valleroy is on his feet. "What's your problem, Lataille?" he growls at me. I don't feel particularly threatened.

I am able to maintain both my composure, and my smile. "That's Lady Lataille to you. And there's no problem. Merely a lesson that you shouldn't be too slow about taking what you want."

I can see in his eyes that he wants to slap me, but we both know that's strictly forbidden. Striking another student is bad enough to warrant at least a suspension. A guy striking a lady would basically be a guaranteed expulsion. Even without all these witnesses, if it was my word against his, my higher standing would win out.

"Ta ta~," I say, and turn around to walk away.

He sits back down. While I can no longer hear what they're saying, I know he's giving his strawberry to Emma. It's a bonding moment for the two of them, spurred on by how terrible I am. So in that sense I helped them get closer, which I suppose doesn't really count as a win for me. This is a limited encounter, that is only an option if she has gotten a certain amount of points with Valleroy by a certain date. Perhaps he's her main focus this time, then.

So we're already at that point in the game, huh? I confess this isn't my favourite part. She's really starting to fear me at this point, and fear isn't what I want to see in those eyes. I like her annoyance, her confusion, her stubborn determination, her embarrassment, and her anger. She will start to get some of her fire back soon, and assuming the player doesn't screw it up, the payoff will be worth it, but when I'm right here I kinda just want it to be over with. At least that event played out exactly how it was supposed to. That makes me feel a little better.

* * *

The dorms for Fleurs Magiques Academy are larger than the academy itself, if you only count the buildings, and not the entire grounds. This is mainly owing to each student having a room to themselves. There's some history behind that.

When they were first built, these rooms were actually meant to fit two people each. They had a bunk-bed, and two students were supposed to share a room of this size. That was both to save space, and construction costs. There were different standards back then. However it didn't take many years for the highborn students to decide en masse that they would no longer stand for it. While initially their complaints were ignored, the academy board was eventually forced to recognise them. Though they solicited donations from the families to help fund further construction.

Temporary lodgings were quickly set up, and all the students from less prestigious families were shoved in there to await construction of new proper dorm rooms. They didn't want to shut down the academy for the time it would take to expand the room sizes. Better to build more new ones. Meanwhile the students of higher standing got to stay in the nicer rooms with new furniture better suited to their desires. Once construction was complete we arrived at the current system of everyone having a solo room.

We are also nominally expected to clean our own rooms, and keep them in order. However it's typical for the wealthier students to simply hire maids to clean for them, or bring one from home. But someone at some point (perhaps as payback) decided that this wasn't good enough. So once per semester they demand that all the maids take the day off, and the students themselves are expected to do a thorough cleaning of the building, then await inspection. The highborn students are less than happy about this, but any attempts to repeal the policy have failed. 'It's just one day'.

Only the first cleaning is treated as an event. The second happens too late to matter. It's a cakewalk so long as the player has put any amount of effort into training the right skills. Emma is used to helping out at home, so she can clean her own room quite quickly. Meaning she also has time to go help out the boys, who are less accustomed to cleaning, if she wants to. Another chance to score some extra points with them. There are four options to go for:

Emma can stay here, quickly clean her own room, and help out other girls in neighbouring rooms. This improves her relationships with her classmates, but has no effect on any of the routes, and only minor effects in general. Some dialogue changes, and a few encounters will play out a little bit differently later on. It's the safest option, but not a lot of players pick it.

She can go help one boy, and then come back. That still gives her enough time to deal with her own room, but if her skills levels are low, she won't have time to help any of the other girls. Still a mostly risk-free option.

She can go for two boys, at which point she will need a decently high skill level to be able to clean her own room in time when she comes back. It is the most popular option, but it requires some dedication to avoid getting a failed grade on the inspection.

And finally she can push for three boys, but that is an auto-forfeit on clearing the inspection. It means having to be careful to avoid any unnecessary black marks on her record for the rest of the game if they want to avoid a bad ending, but some players really want the points.

So why doesn't Emma just sort out her own room before going over to the boys? Oh, she does. She keeps it so tidy all the time that it takes very little effort to sort things out before leaving, but little old me complicates things. If she goes over to the boys' dorms, Bella, Eloise, and I head into her room, and mess it up a bit. We have two constraints on us. Firstly, if she only helps one boy, it won't be too long until she's back, so we have limited time. Secondly, it has to look believable. If the room looks genuinely trashed, and the professors are convinced it was sabotage, Emma will get away with a mere warning to not leave her room unattended and unlocked for too long.

The best we can do is mess up her bed so it looks like she didn't make it; pull out some clothes to make it look like she didn't fold and put them away; spread out all her school supplies so it looks like she didn't put them away after studying; and dump some dust and lint swept up from our rooms onto the floor.

As I expected, Emma goes over to the boys, and we quickly enact our plan. Then we wait. Once Bella and Eloise are done with their own rooms, they'll work together on mine. It's what followers are for, after all.

I am a little surprised at seeing her come back early. So she only went to help one boy. The player must be pretty confident about their points, then. Or they've already made their choice, and don't intend to worry about the others. I wonder who it was. It clearly wasn't for lack of skill level, because she even has time to help a couple of the other girls who are struggling after sorting out her own room. Curious. Even if it's a common choice, it feels a little odd. Though I can't say why.

So the inspection occurs with no issues.

* * *

We're in the girls' locker room after gym class. Just out of the shower, in fact. Thankfully it was today's last class, so I can head back to the dorm to do my hair. My image won't suffer any from that, as it's common for everyone else who puts effort into their hair as well. Doing your hair in the locker room is not impossible, but certainly undesirable. So now I just have to focus on drying it properly.

Despite what you might believe about noble ladies in general, I am actually very physically fit. The best in the class, in fact. Dancing lessons, fencing, sports, riding (be it horse or broom), and so on have all given me a very toned body. I'm even a skilled archer. I have no brothers, so I have always had to fend for myself in that regard. And I have to set a good example for my little sister as well. Though what would she think if she saw the way I treat Emma? My sister is such a sweet soul, unlike me.

Due to her background, Emma is also quite fit. Even if they're well off farmers, they're still farmers, and she has helped out with just about anything. Probably lifted a cow or something too. So while it might not look as elegant as mine, she certainly has a very nice body. Her slightly rough hands would probably prevent her from being a very good piano player, but I don't think that's something she's especially concerned about.

I do wonder which of us would win in a fight, should it ever come to that. I have the advantage in size, and training, but she probably has more raw strength. I'm certain she could match me in speed, too.

I glance over towards her. She is currently drying her hair. We should see results soon then. I can't wait.

See, I had Eloise pretend to not feel well enough to join us in gym today. Her mission was to instead go into the locker room, find Emma's shampoo bottle, and add a few drops of a potion I brewed up. As soon as Emma's hair is dry enough, we should see it take effect.

Emma puts her towel down, and there are some gasps in the room. Then some of the girls start giggling. It's quite the sight.

Emma looks confused. "What's wrong?" she asks.

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"Um... I think you'd better see for yourself," one of the other girls says, and hands Emma a mirror.

She gasps as she looks into it, and quickly gets up to look in the full-body mirror. Every strand of hair on her head stands straight out, making it appear like an orb of hair is encasing her head. Very tentatively she reaches up to touch it. Her hand easily sinks in, as if it's really fluffy, but as soon as she pulls away the hair returns to its previous position. She tries to push it down, but it just springs back up. She whines a little, while some of the other girls are still giggling. At least most of them don't sound mean-spirited. It's just a funny sight.

I wish I could touch it. I'm really curious what it feels like. Sadly I can't.

"What do I do?" she asks, mostly to herself.

One girl shoots me a dirty look. It's obvious that only I could be behind it. My bullying is basically an open secret that all the girls mostly stay out of, but I know there are a few that really don't approve. They are still hesitant to speak up because of who I am. However they sometimes help Emma out if they can. My efforts at ostracising her aren't as successful as old me would have liked. Current me... I suppose I appreciate that she has friends.

"I have a cap you can borrow," the girl says, taking it out of her locker.

Emma turns around. At first she looks surprised, but it quickly changes to an expression of gratitude. How can one girl be this adorable? "Oh, thank you," she says from the bottom of her heart, and quickly presses the cap down on her head. While it would have been amusing if it just flew off, it's successful at containing the wild hair. Anything the cap doesn't automatically cover she is able to tuck underneath it. It looks a little silly that she's wearing just a cap and underwear before putting on anything else, but she was probably desperate to deal with it.

The potion's effect should wear off in an hour or two. I suppose Emma is also glad it was the last class of the day so she can go to the dorm, and wait it out.

I really wish I could have touched it.

* * *

Our first examination in practical magic is the next event. Not a lot for me to do this time. It's just a series of skill checks to raise academic values, really. One of the bad endings in the game is doing so poorly at academy work that you get expelled before the end of the game. I already mentioned that failing the cleaning inspection is a black mark which contributes to that. The first big significant flag. This would be another.

This is the exam to see how well we've mastered the basics, before they start more advanced lessons. Stuff any good student should already have a decent grasp of before they start at the academy, at least if they're highborn. So the four main tasks are elemental manipulation for water, air, fire, and earth. In that order. The game doesn't allow me to try to meddle with Emma's results at all in the basic tests. It's purely to see how well the player has allotted their skill training.

There are of course opportunities to score points with the love interests here too. If she passes a certain score threshold it will impress the boys. They each have their preferred element. Water is Arthur's speciality. Gabriel's is air. Otto's is fire. And finally Valleroy's is earth. The better she does in each element, the more points she gets with the associated boy. It's not as much as from certain other events, but it's something dedicated players keep in mind. It's possible to get decent scores in every subject if they have set their training schedule right. They might have even unlocked options to practice with a specific boy in the days leading up to the exam. If she only scores average, or less, then no points are gained from that test. A really low score, or a fail, actually has her lose points because of the disappointing performance.

The water test is drawing water out of a sponge. Which is actually pretty tricky. Getting it completely dry is nigh impossible for a student of our age. Though I am able do it. Water is also my element of choice, supposedly in an effort to impress Arthur. Though I like to think I would have been good at it regardless.

The air and fire tests are combined, in a sense. The students will be presented with a low-hanging chandelier with twelve lit candles. The air part of the test is blowing them out. The trick is to make the chandelier sway as little as possible, and blow out as many candles at once as possible.

Fire follows with having to relight the candles. The score increases with how many candles you're able to light at once, and your overall speed for getting all of them. This also neatly sets things up for the next student in line to take the test, assuming nothing goes wrong.

And finally earth is using magic to rearrange a set of rocks to match a given pattern. You get one minute, and have to make it as close as possible, while doing as little damage to the ground underneath, and the rocks themselves, as possible.

Then at the very end each student is supposed to show off a project they've been working on. Combining their knowledge and skill into a feat of conjuring. That is where I try to mess with things, but more on that when we get there. Time to see the results of the basic tests.

Emma gets pretty darn close to drying the sponge. The professor only finds a slight amount of moisture left. I've seen players who manage to have her completely dry the sponge, but that usually means they fail, or nearly fail, something else. The time cost to increase the requisite skill high enough do any of the tests perfectly means you have to neglect something else.

For air she blows the candles out in two attempts. Eight candles first, then the remaining four next. The chandelier sways a little bit, but there are certainly worse results. It's above average.

Fire is not too different. Nine, then three. Fairly speedy.

And in earth she does quite well. The professor judges the accuracy to be 92%, with minimal damage done.

So what does that mean? Well, she seems mostly focused on building affection with Valleroy so far, and might have steered away from Gabriel. Of course, I don't know all the encounters and scenarios she's been doing. I'm aware of which ones are possible, and their requirements, but while I'm within a playthrough I will only know what I personally witness. So outside of any encounters that involve me, and seeing event outcomes, I don't actually know the full scope of what she's doing. Maybe the player is already so confident in their points with Gabriel that they thought it was better to get extra points with someone else in case they haven't made up their mind yet.

I have not seen any evidence there's been any focus on Otto this playthrough. Hopefully he isn't taking it too hard.

The water result is probably the oddest. I haven't seen much interest in Arthur either, so suddenly pivoting into that... well, it's possible it's not too late. They've done overall well enough to not put Emma in a negative light, and maybe interacting with Arthur has made them want to focus more on him. While this event doesn't give that many points, it can still help with catching up.

Once everyone has gotten through the basic tests, it's time for us to show off our conjuring projects.

I combine my talents into making an ice sculpture of my little sister. Well, a bust of her. A full figure is a bit beyond me yet. Getting the hair right is more than enough work. I'm fairly certain the ice thing is intentional on the game creator's behalf. I'm cold and cruel, after all.

Arthur forms a glass-less aquarium, just held together with his own power, that has little magical fish swimming around in it.

Gabriel makes a bunch of leaves and sticks dance around, and form patterns to tell a short story. They even change colours.

Otto creates a flaming steed that he makes gallop around. It has emerald eyes, no doubt to reflect how he sees himself.

Valleroy constructs a small house that looks like it just rises out of the ground piece by piece. It has a pretty nice style. I'm not entirely sure whether he based it off a model, or if he has a future in architecture.

The player will have picked one for Emma, hopefully based on what they thought their strongest elements were. It's possible the project will fail otherwise. And of course there's me to factor in.

Though I see both Gabriel and Valleroy are keeping an eye on me. Of the four boys, only those two are really aware of the extent of my bullying. I don't bother concealing it from Valleroy at all, so he's seen it up close. Gabriel used to get bullied himself, so he knows the signs. Otto can tell there's something going on between us, but doesn't know the full context. Arthur is largely oblivious to it. Though I wonder whether he truly would be if the script didn't demand it of him. You'd think someone of that level would be a bit more observant, right?

If the player has gotten enough favour for both of them to keep an eye on me, then my attempt at sabotage will get countered. Not that I have any choice except to try anyway.

Ah, I see what she's doing. She's picked the project that relies mainly on fire and water. Creating a series of figures that flow around in the air like snakes to form the shapes of six different constellations. It's quite impressive to see it play out, actually. The fire marks the stars, and the water makes the lines between them. The way it flows from figure to figure is elegant.

Though it's a little weird that she didn't go for water and earth considering those are what she scored best in. Anyway, I have my own role to play out. Being very careful to not draw any attention from the professors, I cast a disruption spell to make Emma lose control of her fire-water snakes.

If it gets through, they will spin around wildly for a short while before exploding. Nothing truly dangerous, though anyone who's too close gets splashed. Of course both Gabriel and Valleroy are ready, and cast their counters. Oh dear, now I have to watch Emma doing her beautiful display, what a shame. Hehehe.

Wait. Something's wrong. The counters didn't work? No, they did something, but the disruption spell is continuing towards Emma's display. Did the counters counter each other? I'm not sure, but I can feel that that's not the same spell that I cast. Did they somehow merge? Suddenly I feel nervous. This has never happened before. What if it's something dangerous? Should I do something? No, it won't let me... wait... I'm raising my wand? How? But it's too late. The spell connects with Emma's snakes, just as she's about to make the first constellation.

The snakes don't start to spin, instead they start to sparkle. It makes me think of a lit fuse. This is bad. Emma has frozen. Gabriel and Valleroy must have realised something is wrong too, as I can see them moving. Everyone else doesn't know this isn't part of the display.

What can I do? I want to run to her. I take a step forwards. "Em-" There's an explosion. But... it's fireworks? How... Emma.

She recovered quickly, and now she's standing firm. She seems to be directing the fizzling snakes as they soar through the air, leaving bursts of fireworks in their wake. She looks a bit like someone wrangling a wild beast, gripping her wand with both hands to stay in control. I didn't know she was capable of that sort of quick thinking. I'm not sure if I would have been able to do it. It's... stunning.

Between the sight I'm seeing, and the relief that Emma is safe, I can't help but let out a laugh of genuine delight.

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