[Isaac Mahoka's POV]
[Day 4|August 5th]
It was seven in the morning now; the rain still poured as if it knew it would be a grim day.
And to many, that is most likely true, and to me as well.
I had already stripped off my former clothes and was wearing my school uniform.
And with my bookbag hanging from my hand that was behind my back.
Right now, I am currently walking to the Mochaccino Dream Cafe.
The Mochaccino Dream Cafe was extraordinary amongst the twenty coffee cafes that reside on this campus-city of International Requiem Academy.
And it wasn't due to their quality of food or coffee; it was due to the aesthetic.
On the outside, it appears to be a modern aesthetic building, devoid of any futurist, brutalist, or classical features you would see in any building that was built before the twenty-first and twenty-second centuries.
Even in the United States when they transitioned into a national syndicalist state, they remodeled all the remnants of the neoclassical architectures into a more brutalist style, similar to what the Union of Soviet Socialist Republic and the Italian Social Republic had.
However, in the interior of Mochaccino Dream Cafe, it is the opposite of brutalism, neo-classicalism, and even our conventional understanding of futuristic art movements.
The interior palette mainly prioritizes the color brown, but the aesthetic principle they adopted was one that can be considered retrofuturism, an artistic movement of the anticipation of what the future can be that adds in the nostalgia of forgotten ideals.
In short, it was viewed as a visionary nostalgia infused with a utopian future modeled after traditionalist values infused with technological advancements.
A forgotten future that many yearn for, even in our current year of twenty-one-forty-nine.
Despite never visiting the cafe, I was pretty interested in entering the retro-futuristic world of aesthetics that was different from my Victorian style in my early life and modernist style from the past few years.
The reason why I was going here before school started is that Aurelie invited me to hang out to have coffee and breakfast.
And of course I accepted with no hesitation because spending quality time with Aurelie is always a very special time for me, given that she is my first established friend at this academy.
And I am pretty sure that she wants to talk with me to help her reduce her stress and nervousness about being the reluctant leader of the defense side of Class B.
But I don't have any intention of bringing that up; unless she wants to bring the subject up of her own accord, that is fine too.
Finally seeing the Cafe, I saw Aurelie with her beret and the flower pin on her hair, who was vibrating with pure joy and anticipation, and beside her was my favorite nun-in-training con artist, Isidora, who had the posture of religious patience and serene joyfulness.
"Yo!" I called them out cheerfully, waving my hands at them.
I think that is the first time I ever said "Yo", I always wondered how I sounded when saying that word.
I played that scenario in my head around four hundred seventy-eight thousand times.
Needless to say, I was not disappointed in how I sounded when I said it.
Both turned to see me as Aurelie's face brightened up like a child seeing Santa Claus for the first time. "Isaac!" She ran at me quickly to give me a hug.
That's a lot of afterimages of Aurelie going at that speed from such a short distance; I believe I saw forty afterimages of her.
The impact force when she hugged me felt like having two hundred sixty-seven bullet trains hit you all at once at maximum speed.
It felt like an interesting experience to feel it happen that fast. I was also relieved that my training helped me absorb the impact range, or else twenty of these buildings just around us would be leveled by the sheer force that can be spread.
"It's good to see you!" She looked up with her eyes shining like a bright star that would make a demon vomit rainbows and unicorns. "And thank you for accepting my invitation!"
I hugged her back and patted her head. "It's good to see you too!" I said serenely even if my voice was slightly wheezy.
I won't lie, her hug is terrifyingly tighter than Miss. Morena's!
"Good morning Isaac," Isidora said, walking up to us with the same smile, but her eyes looked at me with the intensity of an eldritch entity absorbing my soul and squeezing me through incomprehensible pain.
"G-good morning, Sister Claire!" I said cheerfully, hiding my nervousness with no effort as I always did.
"I-is there a reason for having such intensity in your gaze…?" I asked.
"Yes." She confirmed.
And the next words she said have broken my confidence so completely that I felt like I had been personally sent to the deepest pits of hell, to the point that I am Satan's cellmate.
"Please never say Yo again," she said, giving me no mercy. "It's below you, and it makes you sound silly."
I felt myself falling into hell as my dramatic self felt like I was in the cell with Satan, the chairs in the cell positioned as if it were a philosophical book club that was currently discussing the works of Friedrich Nietzsche.
Curse this monster in religious femininity clothing!
And then I realized I can't curse her since I am not a witch, warlock, or any scholar of dark magic that this world has to offer.
As I am but a mere illusionist who loves and empathizes with everything and everyone, and who also so happens to have mommy issues.
But magicians are good at being tricksters, If not, better than jesters because we come out when they least expect it!
Therefore I shall make it my lifelong mission to prank Isidora before the month ends!
Which means I must use my jester friend Lucico to assist me!
"I'll have you know, Sister Claire," I began speaking as Aurelie watched with innocent amusement and delight. "That I sounded wonderful, right Aurelie?"
I looked at Aurelie to back me up for support.
And to my hopeful heart, she agreed.
"Actually… I think I found what Isaac said to sound good!" Aurelie said cheerfully.
I looked at Isidora with a triumphant grin like I was winning a world war. "See Sister Claire? She agrees with me."
"Of course I agree with Aurelie that your voice is beautiful." Isidora said with a smile that was too calm and her eyes finally showed amusement as if I had fallen into her elaborate social trap that I could not perceive.
Before I could respond to why she sounded like that, she turned to look at Aurelie while pulling out her phone. "Aurelie," she said to her with a tone that shifted to something that could be considered the abstract personification of demonic delight. "Did you know that our dear Isaac can sing wonderfully?"
"Oh, he can?!" Aurelie was surprised by Isidora's revelation.
I looked at Isidora with an expression that can be best described by the mirror I will eventually pull out of my book bag to be an: expression of seeing death being a seductress and she is successfully seducing me as I was in horror of enjoying it.
But I was indeed NOT going to enjoy what was going to happen.
Isidora hummed and nodded as she played an audio recording that had a shower behind and was muffled as if the phone was pressed up against a wall to record.
And what followed next could be the most humiliating thing that has ever been bestowed upon me:
[They built the world with perfect lines
Every rule and every sign
But I was born with different code
A frequency they can't decode]
[Error, error, in my brain
Running wild against the grain
System crash, I don't care
I'm the bug that's everywhere!]
[I'm a glitch in the system, can't you see?
I'm everything they said I shouldn't be
I'm a glitch, I'm a flaw, I'm a beautiful mistake
And I'm not gonna bend, I'm not gonna break!
Glitch, glitch, in the machine
Living life like a fever dream
Glitch, glitch, can't be tamed
Watch me set the world aflame!]
[They wanted dolls who sit and smile
I ran a mile in denial
But then I learned to love the noise
The chaos in my voice]
[Error, error, in my soul
Losing all my self-control
System crash, let it fall
I'm gonna have it all!]
[I'm a glitch in the system, can't you see?
I'm everything they said I shouldn't be
I'm a glitch, I'm a flaw, I'm a beautiful mistake
And I'm not gonna bend, I'm not gonna break!
Glitch, glitch, in the machine
Living life like a fever dream
Glitch, glitch, can't be tamed
Watch me set the world aflame!]
[So what if I don't fit the mold?
So what if my story's never been told?
The glitches are the ones who change the game
And I'm here to stake my claim!]
[I'm a glitch in the system, watch me rise!
See the rebellion in my eyes!
I'm a glitch, I'm a spark, I'm a revolution's start
And I'm gonna leave my mark!
Glitch, glitch, hear me roar!
I'm not hiding anymore!
Glitch, glitch, this is me!
Finally, finally free!]
The audio recording finished as I looked at them with the expression I described despite hearing my wonderful voice that sang like an angel of music.
That song was from Jun's second famous album from last year… the electric dream, and the song specifically was a glitch in the system that fell under the Japanese idol genre of hyperpop and alternative J-pop music…
And I recalled singing that song two nights ago in the shower at night, and given that all dorm layouts are the same… meaning Lucico's bedroom was right next to my shower…
LUCICO!
That jester has recorded my shower singing time without my permission. That traitor!
Mark my words Lucico and Isidora, you two will now experience the true prank master from the aspiring magician!
"I didn't know he could sing so well!" Aurelie jumped up in surprise and her face was flushed. "Isaac, you could be a singer!"
"A musician hm…?" I mused the idea despite the fact I should give Isidora a forty-five-minute lecture on the most dramatic way possible.
Musicians are the magicians of sound, chefs are the magicians of taste, and the magician I intend to be is of wonder and entertainment.
Despite my plans to systematically defeat the Moonlight Society, I actually did plan an aftermath goal after the plan.
"Truth be told," I began. "I have always planned on opening my own esteemed restaurant that provides open seating to watch chefs cook and also provides a huge stage for performers and musicians."
Isidora stared at me in horror, realizing her tactics to destroy my social soul failed as I reversed the cards and turned this battle of social wits into my favor to have Aurelie learn more about me.
So HA!
Take that you nun of demons!
I stuck out my tongue at Isidora, and she returned the favor by flipping me off, and of course I did a double flip-off at her.
"You feel the burn now Isidora?" I mouthed silently.
Isidora mouthed. "I'll burn you on the stake!"
Aurelie turned to look at me as Isidora and I returned to our calm state. "That's a wonderful dream, Isaac!"
"It is," I nodded. "Just imagine, an aspiring magician who happens to be able to cook and sing beautifully can open up a restaurant. It sounds like a nice catch."
"It does sound good!" Aurelie agreed.
I looked at the time I had mentally noted to keep track of in my head; it was seven zero nine A.M.
"Say, we should probably head in if we want to get some coffee and something to eat," I suggested.
Aurelie shook her head. "We can't go in yet. We're still waiting for one more person!"
I looked at Isidora, sensing my unspoken question, and she shrugged, instantly telling me that she didn't know who either.
As if fate was not allowing me to get a response, a feminine voice yelled from a distance of thirty feet away from us that had the accent of the southern Netherlands.
"Hey! I've arrived!"
We all looked at the source and…
Oh moons and stars…
Despite being thirty feet away from us, my eyes were totally clocking her in.
I started feeling an erotic stimulus, not because I wanted to, but because the girl, Johanna Wilson, whom I recognized, was currently running to us.
Miss. Wilson had a body that would make someone in the erotic entertainment industry jealous since her body had an hourglass-like build, along with her plump glossy lips that were glistening from the rain. She had shoulder-length chestnut brown hair that fit well with her medium tan peach skin. And she had a rather large bust that would dwarf Camila's well hidden ones that she compresses, if I were to compare Camila's hidden seventy-five-centimeter double D size, then she loses to Miss. Wilson's ninety-five-centimeter G size.
If we base it on Miss. Wilson's proportions, she would have the golden ratio for her posterior.
Also even from the distance in her school uniform and her white blouse being opaque, I could faintly see her dark royal purple lingerie bra. And it doesn't help that her bust is jiggling from her running.
I only felt a similar rush like this, well not sexually, but something in the same realm of stimulus whenever my mother complimented me, or when Scarlett or Lure teased me when I was young, and/or a certain Priscilla wanted to flirt with me.
Hmm my external composure hasn't flushed nor has my penis aroused, for which I thank my own biological discipline for controlling my erection at all, nor do I feel a blush or heat on my neck or the tip of my ears, so that means I am not feeling any voluntary sexual attraction towards Miss. Wilson.
Which means Miss. Wilson appears to have the presence to instill an involuntary erotic stimulus in people, even from a distance.
Note to my self reflection and to Priscilla if she ever gets an intuitive feeling of me thinking about her.
I am gonna find a blacksmith that makes a sword, and I will have the blade be made of pure love with the blade having my name and yours Priscilla, and when we finally make love in bed for the first time…
I want you to use that sword and pierce my heart for allowing such a foreign invasion of someone's involuntary erotic stimulus magic!
Yes, that's exactly what I am gonna do!
I gotta tell my eyes to stop staring at Miss. Wilson's jiggling bust.
Note to self, once I see Priscilla again I will have a three hundred sixty-five-day torture binder for her to follow to inflict the torture on me for a whole year.
On a side note, if I am not mistaken Miss. Wilson is from Mr. Kwon's offense faction of Class B, so seeing her come here and based on her expression and being devoid of any calculations and inconsistencies that shows any darkness that would make her clinical was nowhere to be found.
Could possibly mean that Aurelie is planning on trying to form a two-headed state for the class to maintain an offense leader and a defense leader, or rather not a two-headed state but like a bicephalous executive like the Roman Republic had.
Which means Aurelie did have intentions to talk about the internal politics of Class B.
And when I am thinking about it, it makes sense when regarding Aurelie's personality would imply she kept this idea to herself till she gathered a certain amount of people who could weigh in on her idea, meaning she needed someone from her side and that is Isidora Claire, and someone on Jinhyuk's side who is willing to listen and that would be Johanna Wilson, and then a person from another class that could weigh in with some insight which means me.
One might say that Aurelie is applying the principles of diplomatic quadrangulation to see if she can be confident in her idea.
Though, I am certain she still wants to have good coffee time.
Miss. Wilson finally arrived, put down her umbrella, and smiled at us. "Sorry for arriving so late Aurelie," She scratched her cheek with an embarrassed apologetic expression. "I was having a…" Her face flushed a bit. "Wardrobe malfunction."
Aurelie and Isidora hearing this nodded; after all women always understood these struggles that women had to endure, even when their physical proportions were at war with clothing.
I too can empathize on the matter, given I have to wear… specific metallic flexible underwear to contain my… endowment…
I decided to extend my hand out, presenting myself as authentically warm as I could. "I'm Isaac Mahoka; you must be Johanna Wilson right?"
Miss. Wilson looked at me with those beautiful green eyes and shook my hand, her expression showing genuine enthusiasm and… guilt…? "The pleasure is mine to meet you, Isaac. And you can call me by my first name. I know you have a tendency to use honorifics, but you don't have to with me," She giggled serenely. "It makes me feel like an old person."
"Then Johanna it is," I said. "I don't want to be rude… but you seem to have some guilt within you. If you want to you could get it out of your che— I mean mind. It helps to not bottle it up. But it is your choice not to share."
Sometimes opening up to those who genuinely do mean it because it gives them a sense of relief and closure.
And why I believe it's a closure like guilt is because when she looked at me the sense of guilt within her appeared onto her expression which meant she felt guilty about something that involves me despite never meeting me.
When I offered that, she only nodded and didn't show an ounce of surprise that I noticed; perhaps she read my thoughts because I just thought about it and somehow she noticed.
"Well since you asked…" Johanna began speaking, tapping her glossy lip as an almost invisible strand of it connected to her finger like a couple after kissing and they pulled away to see their saliva connected.
Oh dear, Priscilla you might have a genuine rival, Johanna appears to have the same alluring presence as you and is almost equal to my own…
Johanna continued. "When I first watched those two popular videos of you…" She paused a bit. "I thought that you had the charisma of sin… someone who could bring someone into sin…"
I stared at her.
So all that guilt was because she believed I was a temptation made by the devil…
Sigh
"Oh I don't hold a grudge against that," I said, waving my hand in dismissal. "I've been called many things within these past few days like the king of trash, lord Apollo, and Houdini. So I'm not really offended."
Johanna placed her hand on her chest hard, pushing on her bust as she sighed in relief showing a small smile. "That is a relief but still I felt like apologizing."
It makes sense she is doing that since she is an Orthodox Christian based on her monogram necklace that had IC XC NIKA.
Essentially the eastern parallel to Isidora's Roman Catholicism, but the difference between her and Johanna is that Johanna is an angel compared to the demonic Isidora.
"Well apology accepted," I gave her my accepted smile.
Aurelie clapped her hands. "I knew you two would get along!"
Isidora glanced at her. "You knew she would get along with Isaac?"
Aurelie nodded. "They both have this same… emotional frequency, so it made sense if they would be able to get along so easily."
Aurelie is describing inter-brain synchronization when two people interact on the same subject with equal focus; their brainwaves temporarily align in particular fields of intent and empathy.
But I fear that I cannot perceive Johanna's as she cannot perceive—
Johanna glanced at them and then looked at me as she whispered to where it was only audible to me. "Isaac, if you don't mind me asking, you seem awfully tired. Have you gotten enough sleep?"
Do I look tired, I remember leaving my dorm looking as natural as I usually do.
Even when I returned to my dorm at four in the morning, I went to take a nap and a very long shower so I felt relaxed and energized.
And yet she was able to perceive my deep tiredness despite my body nor any signs of my expression showing no signs of it.
Which means she either is incredibly intuitive when it comes to the emotional and psychological state, or she has reached an incredible level of theory of mind that she was able to penetrate my impossible defense that I had long lobotomized when I was five.
I nodded as my expression brightened. "I did have a lot of sleep last night. What makes you say otherwise if you don't mind?"
She tapped her lips, hesitant. "Well… you just seem more serene than usual…" She trailed off again. "Even if I notice the videos showing your usual serene composure, there is like this depth in your serenity, as if you cried for some victims you murdered…"
Truly an understatement of the century.
But to my knowledge the Poseidon's Tarot matchup was kept private due to Araxie's modification so that only Class C only knew the matchup and no one else.
And in the aftermath, I'm sure all of Class C decided to keep the revelation of getting a massive penalty and losing Miss. Runerth and Mr. Parmenius to themselves so that the other students can't exploit that vulnerability if anyone outside of Class C figures it out.
And yet Johanna once more perceived that the accuracy of my emotional state three hours ago was on point; it was almost scary.
And looking back on the memory, I don't recall anyone else being around the area when I did cry. So she is most likely extrapolating this from one specific intuitive observation.
I curse thy concept of intuition!
And then I internally pouted again since I cannot cast curses.
"I don't know about that," I scratched my cheek. "But I can guarantee you that I am perfectly fine."
Johanna stared at me with her beautiful green eyes that I have yet to truly see through them.
I wonder if Priscilla would be fine with having another partner in our future wedding.
I started to imagine Priscilla and Johanna in a wedding dress that showed their figure.
And then I grabbed an internal flame thrower and burnt that thought away.
And Mother, when I see you in the afterlife, please put me into a corner wearing a dunce cap for I am being rather silly.
Johanna nodded, not wanting to press this further.
We four finally entered the cafe as it felt like traveling through an alternative timeline; it looked beautiful. And the jazz was rather lovely.
I controlled the urge to snap my fingers and do a little dance.
"Wow…" Johanna beside me said in amazement.
"They really did capture the aesthetic of retrofuturism." I commented as we sat down at an empty table.
"Isidora and I came here the other day and we established this is where we'll go every morning to get our coffee!" Aurelie said with absolute enthusiasm.
"Mhm," Isidora nodded.
A waitress came to us with an enthusiastic expression and bright brown eyes and short brown hair with an asymmetrical bang, wearing a dark brown-black waitress uniform.
I looked at this woman's face and then at her name tag, which said: "M. P."
I repeated the sequences a few more times as I realized the facial structure of this woman's face is identical to Miss. Pfeffermintz except this woman has brown hair, brown eyes, and visible brown freckles.
I bet her name is Mocha Pfeffermintz, and if that is the case then the jokes of the Pfeffermintz family do write themselves— or rather, are born themselves. Yes, their parents must be comedians.
"The name is Mocha Pfeffermintz, at your service for today!" She cheerfully declared giving a small playful salute.
Well what do you know, I was right all along. Now I must ask Miss. Pfeffermintz if she has any other siblings with punful names.
I'll just call this woman Mocha for now.
Mocha turned to Isidora and Aurelie as her face brightened. "Ah! My favorite customers! How have you two been doing this morning?"
"We've been doing well, Mocha!" Aurelie answered.
Johanna and I glanced at each other, somehow synchronizing our thoughts of wondering why Mocha already declared those two her favorite customers.
And the decision on who would ask the question was visualized in our minds as we mentally declared rock, paper, scissors to decide who would ask as our hands are under the table as she could never guess what sequence I was thinking of which is: Paper, Scissors, and Paper
We played:
First round: Johanna chose scissors, beating my paper.
Second round: Johanna chose rock, beating my scissors
Final round: Johanna chose scissors, beating my paper.
GAH!
She… she defeated me in rock, paper, scissors…
The one game that I could excel at was a one-hundred success rate… and now Johanna has rendered my infinite win streak as finite as she was the first person in the world to beat me in rock, paper, scissors…
I will cry about this later tonight.
But wait Johanna's female gaze went to my eyes, essentially asking to play mental chess even though her eyes said she does not know how to play chess, which I already knew she was telling the truth
I, a magician, accepted this challenge.
We entered our own mental world as seconds slowed to the point that time froze.
I chose black and she chose white.
Johanna gently grabbed her pawn and pushed it two squares as she pressed her mental clock.
I did not hesitate to respond as I moved my piece to challenge her center.
1. e4 c5
I was playing the Sicilian defense, because I was indeed ready to fight!
The moves flash rapidly as we blitz out our opening preparations, the pieces gliding across our mental board:
2. Nf3 d6
3. d4 cxd4
4. Nxd4 Nf6
5. Nc3 a6
I had set up my Najdorf Variation, a sharp and dangerous weapon from my creation! While Johanna's expression remained the same maternal serenity, and to my utter shock, she chose the most aggressive path:
6. Bg5 e6
7. f4 Qb6
8. Qd2 Qxb2
Oh my… she chose the Poisoned Pawn Variation! She sacrificed her b2-pawn for a massive development lead. Meaning one wrong step from either side could face instant checkmate. She moves her rook to attack my queen, seemingly already ten steps ahead of me:
9. Rb1 Qa3
10. e5 dxe5
11. fxe5 Nfd7
12. Ne4 h6
13. Bh4 Qxa2
I had taken a second pawn; my queen became a rogue agent in Johanna's territory but Johanna's pieces are perfectly mobilized for an attack as she closes her eyes to think for a moment and moves her bishop with absolute finality:
14. Rd1 Qd5
15. Qe3 Qxe5
I was now up to three pawns, but looking at Johanna's pieces. They were aimed at my uncastled king!
Johanna doesn't look at me as she reaches for her light-squared bishop and moves it on an empty square sacrificing it entirely:
16. Be2 Bc5
17. O-O O-O
18. Nf6+!
I felt an internal gasp coming out of me. Johanna had conducted a brilliant knight sacrifice; if I take it with a pawn, my king's safety is completely destroyed. Having no choice I serenely accepted the sacrifice:
18… gxf6
19. Bxf6 Nxf6
20. Rxf6!!
Johannahad sacrificed another piece, this time, a full rook. My clock was ticking down from forty-five seconds to forty…
20… Qxf6
21. Qg3+ Kh8
22. Rf1!!
She kept throwing fuel on the fire as she forced my queen to defend alone:
22… Qg7
23. Qh4 f5
24. Kh1 Bd7
I was trying to bring my pieces back to defend, but it was long too late! She has woven a mating net and slides her rook over:
25. Rf3 Be7
26. Qh5 Be8
27. Qh3 Bg5
Johanna picks up her knight and delivers the final crushing blow:
28. Nxe6!
I froze; the knight forks my queen and rook, but more importantly, it unlocks a forced checkmate sequence I cannot stop:
28… Qf6
29. Nxg5 Qxg5
30. Rg3 Qf6
31. Qh6+!
The ultimate queen sacrifice! I looked at the board. If my king takes her queen, the white rook slides to g3 with an unavoidable checkmate…
I sighed as I resigned by knocking down my black king declaring Johanna the winner, and me the loser… meaning I must ask Mocha the question…
We stopped our mental chess as only two seconds passed by after Aurelie finished her answer to Mocha.
"Excuse me," I said softly.
Mocha turned to look at me with those brilliant bright brown eyes. "Yes sir?"
"How come Aurelie and Isidora are your favorite customers?"
It made sense considering that Aurelie and Isidora had to have been coming here on Wednesday.
"Ah! That's because they leave a two hundred Requiem tip!"
Of course, a tip that massive will make any staff member happy to see a customer who pays that much for a tip.
Mocha continued. "Now then! I already know Isidora and Aurelie's usual; what would you two like to order?"
Johanna and I quickly glanced at the menu and at other strange events we both said the same thing in perfect unison.
"An Eclipse Mocha with the base being a double ristretto espresso with the beans being a dark roast blend of Yemeni mokha and Sumatran mandheling. And the bottom layer needs to be eighty-five percent dark chocolate ganache, the middle layer being sixty percent dark milk chocolate with Fleur de Sel, and finally the top layer is white chocolate infused with vanilla bean and a hint of lavender. The milk must be steamed oat milk with a dash of cinnamon and cardamom. The garnish should be a dried rose petal and a dusting of edible gold. And for the food part, two Mille-Feuille Cream Puffs." We said at the same time under one breath.
Mocha nodded, writing all of the details down with no issues. "Mhm! Your orders should be out in seven minutes now!"
Leaving us, Johanna and I were looking at each other as her face was flushed.
"See!" Aurelie exclaimed with excitement. "This is what I meant that you two have a frequency between you two that you have identical things you like!"
Isidora with her hands resting under her chin, her eyes showing a guarded amusement. "It does seem very true Isaac. It could be a divine destiny that you two were destined to meet."
Johanna looked away even more flustered, not because of me specifically, but due to Isidora's comment. "I-I don't know about that…" She glanced at me for a very split second.
Johanna, despite being flustered by the idea, didn't seem to be against the idea of us meeting each other by faith considering a blushing small smile did land on her plump lips.
But I also caught something when she was flustered regarding her eyes.
It wasn't that I saw any calculations or coldness in them. In fact, it was entirely devoid of it. It was a sequence of emotions that ran through her eyes movements that I saw. The first sequence was her looking left to right fast which indicated nervousness and a hint of embarrassment. Then the next sequence was looking everywhere frantically which indicated flusteredness of the idea that our meeting was a divine destiny prophesied.
And the final sequence is what interested me the most, since no one can ever perceive the final sequence, since it requires the speed and comprehension of perceiving infinite information at the speed that renders light useless.
What I saw was a tremor in her pupils dilated that usually infers to the realms of possessiveness, obsession, and lust. Usually those three emotions tend to trigger norepinephrine, dopamine, and adrenaline which cause the pupils to dilate. I've seen it in Camila, Milicia, Scarlett, Priscilla, and Miss. Ethereal that ranges from those three emotions. But the fact I am seeing it in Johanna is interesting.
Although Occam's razor suggests the simplest explanation could be that she was just flustered by the idea, since no other body language suggests otherwise and that I had no prior encounter with Johanna or any memory of her beyond now.
But I'll keep it in mind, not that I don't trust her, in fact I trust her as much as Aurelie. Which is to say, it's pretty high.
"You mustn't tease Johanna," I said, smiling with amusement. "Or else she might experience spontaneous combustion from flustered overload."
"This might be true." Johanna weakly offered, moaning and groaning into her hands.
Even her moan is incredibly exotic and seductive.
It seems Johanna equally rivals Priscilla in allure and exoticism now! Her charisma has now reached the level where it stands equal to my own!
This is an extraordinary discovery and a terrifying one when I allow Priscilla to stab my heart.
And I, a magician wishes not to have a harem, for I… will be dead by a bunch of women smothering me to death with either their hugs or their busts.
And that is its own special hell that I do not want to partake in.
Since lust is detrimental to a magician's perspective.
We all laughed, a relaxing laugh.
"A-anyways!" Aurelie said, wiping a tear away. "I wanted to talk about my class…"
Aurelie looked at me, most likely to help explain the context of Class B's internal politics.
"To provide context for you Isaac," She said softly. "On Tuesday, Jinhyuk began to form a faction that is now known as the offense faction, and due to his pragmatic and almost aggressive methods… I found it unpleasant, and when I saw Johanna join Jinhyuk's faction on Wednesday…" She gestured to Johanna.
"I joined because I didn't want Jinhyuk to resort to aggressive actions to the point of recklessness that will hurt our classmates and our studentmates in other classes despite the competitive nature…" Johanna added.
Despite her being the moral regulator of Mr. Kwon's faction, the few members of his faction like Arizona, Shen, and Hasia were forced to join due to Mr. Kwon's coercion and sexual assault amongst them.
But she could be entirely unaware of it due to her leaving the gym area yesterday before Mr. Kwon sexually assaulted them again.
However, the problem with that is she displayed her perceptive skills to me which means that she would have to be aware that Mr. Kwon did use extreme levels of sexual, physical, and psychological abuse against those three.
But if his initial abuse against them happened before Wednesday, then that might mean Johanna joined the faction because of that.
Which made the most sense.
Aurelie nodded at Johanna's reasoning. "And when I heard her reasoning for joining his side, it inspired me to form a defensive faction… Though reluctantly… since I am entirely new to the world of strategies and wits… so this experience is novel to me…"
I connected the dots instantly. "And that is why I am here. Since you need another opinion from someone outside the class but also someone you trust to apply a critical but holistic insight to what you are planning?"
Aurelie sighed in defeat and guilt, putting her head in her hands. "Yeah…" she admitted. "Sorry if this hangout sounded so strategic…"
"It's perfectly alright, Aurelie," I reassured her. "I can tell you also wanted to have a friendly hangout before homeroom period starts. I take no offense to your strategic intentions."
Isidora placed a hand on Aurelie's shoulder. "You must know Aurelie. That Isaac here doesn't hold grudges against anyone even if one person has a multifaceted reason."
Aurelie nodded. "I know I just didn't want to keep it hidden; it would feel… dishonest."
The kindness, honesty, and integrity radiating from Aurelie make my heart bloom with warmth and joy due to how refreshingly honest and kind Aurelie is.
It's a really nice feeling.
"What I wanted to say was that I was creating a contract that I've been wanting to get agreed upon so that we could democratically work together in special events so that it could benefit both sides," Aurelie explained. "And given that Class B's physical education period is today… and the patterns of each class having to partake in a game that will grant us Ruby Points. I need help figuring out how to appeal to some like Jinhyuk…"
It takes courage to admit that you need help, and it shows high quality leadership in decision- making.
I believe that is why she is ranked so high at twenty-six despite her personality. It's her psychological determination and high almost supernatural level of learning ability that allows her to adapt in an entirely new environment especially when that environment involves wits, cunningness, and strategy.
And the fact that Aurelie has no experience in it but showcases an already high level of strategic comprehension is impressive and admirable to the point she can give those who are experienced or use aggressive pragmatic methods a difficult time.
She reminds me of Miss. Mussolini but instead of having an authoritative or corporatist iron will, Aurelie's is a passive compassionate but democratically cunning.
And on the present matter, if I consider Mr. Kwon's psyche which is pretty interesting despite his cost-benefit depravity.
He has a public persona he uses for everyone which is a passive apologetic pragmatic persona.
And his second persona he uses for his inner faction is a malignant narcissist which means he'll play an arrogant aggressor no matter what method but would feel attacked when someone mentions an inadequacy in the person.
But his true self is an aggressive pragmatist devoid of conventional narcissist traits. His pragmatic side is true which makes the first persona so convincing because the pragmatism is real but the passivity is artificial, and the same goes for his second persona, the aggression makes the second persona real but the malignant narcissism is artificial.
Like I mentioned before, Mr. Kwon has one narcissistic trait that is only seen in high-level intellectuals. It is intellectual vanity.
"If you ask me," I began speaking. "If you want to appeal to him. Appeal to his cost-benefit approach."
Aurelie hummed in her thinking state. "So… like creating a bet during the gym period and the winning condition being that if I win, he signs the contract which will help maintain his faction's autonomy while still benefiting the class and establishing a long-term goal of our factions merging into one class. But if Jinhyuk wins, our faction merges with his?"
Isidora nodded. "I believe that is the best condition for getting Jinhyuk to agree."
"Also!" Johanna chimed in. "If you're worried about the Ruby Point allocation problem regarding the gym period event. We can talk to our physical educators and pay them to modify the Ruby Point award to give to the entire class."
"Ah," the realization hit me with amusement. "So that it appears as a participation award. Which means if Aurelie wins, Mr. Kwon will feel something worse than second place and third place; he'll feel like he was just patted on the head and told "You did your best"."
"Mhm," Johanna nodded. "And it would socially pressure him to accept the defeat, or else he'll show that he is short-tempered and a spoilsport when losing."
It appears that Johanna and I have the same fundamental level of psychological understanding, tactics, profiling, and forecasting regarding Mr. Kwon. I felt a sense of kinship with Johanna, and perhaps another emotion I had yet to explore authentically since I am not a firm believer in "first sight"
Perhaps I can explore it slowly…
Before we could continue, Mocha came by with our food as Aurelie and Isidora had strawberry pastries.
And Johanna and I had our faces lightened up like a baby seeing their first outlet port ready to put a fork in it.
We began to eat our food as I glanced at Johanna eating and…
Oh dear…
When she first took a bite into the cream puff, the cream on her glossy lips mixed with the gloss giving the cream a liquid-like texture.
Moaning from eating, her tongue came out slowly to lick the cream from her lips and it was incredibly alluring as she let out a hot breath that smelled good and incredibly intoxicating.
I felt a rush of blood heading to my member.
Nope!
I stopped that blood flow from reaching it. Which made me feel relieved since if I allowed the blood flow to reach it, these metallic underwear would break instantly since even then they can't contain my endowment.
As the saying goes, from some perspectives, I am suffering from success.
Though success is a strong word.
"These are good aren't they?!" Johanna looked at me with delight after eating the cream puff.
Oh boy…
"They sure are…" I said softly as I ate one.
And it was indeed very good.
[End of Vol 1 epilogue]