"How did you know?"
"Oh come on, dude~ with how you were able to plan all of this shit out, I'll leave the discussion to you and the Headmaster later."
"... Did you use that ocular ability…?"
"W-wow~ Caelum Veldt, did your mother not teach you manners? You motherfucker! I don't need it to figure you two out."
"How did you get it? What does it do?"
Isaac rubbed his temples as if he were deliberating with an idiot.
"Explain to me why I would tell you shit, you two-faced asshole?"
"Then could you explain it to me, Isaac?" The headmaster finally chimed in.
"If I said no? You can't do anything to me currently, yes?"
"Perhaps."
"For some reason, you and Caelum have been playing Kahoots in the background, so much so that you have taught him your personal, still under development Noësis. I am quite certain that you, Headmaster, would love to dissect me right now, yes?"
"I will not comment on that."
"Exactly. I knew your ahh was not such a kind Headmaster."
"So what's stopping you? Someone with greater authority—or greater leverage—said no? I don't think it's the Monarch because Turaiya would have been more wary of me if you had warned him."
Isaac turns around to the third party.
"That leaves Caelum, or perhaps, whoever Caelum is working for as well."
"..."
"Tell me, Caelum? How long have you been doing this shit behind the scenes? Since the Welcoming Ceremony? Since my matriculation process? Or all the way back since I even first entered Elenos? It's such~ a fucking coincidence that the moment I stepped foot near the campus, Headmaster Orthellius jumpscared me. I went through some ideas, but none of them make sense. Tell me, sir… What led you to my exact location?"
"...Good question… If I recall, I was following someone."
"And who might that be? I don't think the average civilian would interest you in following them."
At this rate, both Isaac and Orthellius knew who that boy was.
As for the reason?
"Doesn't matter."
Before either of them could respond, Isaac finished his speech.
"What I wanted to say is that when two men disagree, the one who wins is usually the one everyone is more afraid of. Headmaster Orthellius, perhaps you've brought a knife to a gun fight."
Isaac flipped his wrist and closed his palm, like a conductor stopping his musicians.
"I just want to know why."
Orthellius and Caelum look at each other, and it seemed that they could converse without saying a single word. So, with a heavy heart, Orthellius stepped forward.
"It's simple, Isaac… I think it should concern you now, so I suggest that after all this is over, and you officially begin your academy years here, you spend as much effort as possible to decipher the term 'Katapleric'."
"Can't you just tell me? I know can barely make out 'Pleric' should be a twist on 'plérés', but I got no clue what 'Kata' means."
Both of the assailants shook their heads.
"Hoh? Okay, okay…," Isaac shifted his leg into his boxing stance, "Since the Headmaster can't do shit right now, what's stopping me from fucking YOU up, Caelum? I'll fuck you up till you spill it out. I don't think you'd dare use Noësis here, so c'mon, 1v1 me."
"Isaac… Don't… Caelum only wants you alive; you need not be enrolled in EINA for that."
Ah… Fuck… I want to study here temporarily…
"Oh? Is that so?" Isaac immediately backed down, his tone immediately shifted to that of a close friend. "Say, how bout' we make a 3-way truce, yeah? Caelum and Headmaster Orthellius?"
"Why should I agree to your terms, Isaac?"
"Because whatever Caelum can do for you, I can do better."
Isaac stared at Caelum, and Caelum returned the gaze without hesitation. There was no resistance in his expression; if anything, there was eagerness, as though he had been waiting for Isaac to reach that conclusion on his own. Through that small gesture, the answer was relayed to the Headmaster.
The two came together and shook Isaac's hands. Only that, Isaac crossed his arms, using his left to shake the right and right to shake the left.
"What is with this attitude?" Orthellius frowned.
"I have one request, though." With all the strength he could muster, Isaac tightened his grip.
"State it, Isaac."
"I need the highest grade of a composite structural material formed from extremely thin crystalline filaments composed primarily of carbon atoms arranged in aligned graphitic domains, where strong covalent sp² bonds provide exceptional tensile strength and stiffness along the fiber's axis."
"So you need Carbon Fibre?"
Ah… Great, it has the same name here.
"Correct, 1 Meter by 1 Meter by 15-20 mm."
"You do understand what a great price that is? A sheet that large would be approximately Æ 3,000. What would you even need it for, and why should I subsidize it?"
"Since you refused to tell me what a 'Katapleric' is, why should I explain my motives for wanting that sheet?"
"You cannot rely on that argument alone to make demands. This is a matter of money, Isaac."
"And I assume that term is directly related to my existence, yes? Tell me, then—which holds more value to you? A possible existence that defies the laws of our world, valued by even your most prospecting student… or a single sheet composed of nothing more than a few arranged carbon atoms?"
"Give it to him, Headmaster," Caelum said.
Isaac glanced toward him and smiled faintly.
"See? Even he agrees. Trust me, placing that sheet in my hands will do far more for this academy than selling it to whoever else buys it. In fact, it may benefit the entire student body one day."
The Headmaster exhaled slowly, as though each compromise was a greater sacrifice of his patience than the last. With visible reluctance, he relented. Once it was done, Isaac shifted his posture and extended each hand with proper form, first to the Headmaster, then to Caelum, shaking each hand with the original courtesy, as though the preceding exchange had been nothing more than a civil negotiation.
"Also. Where can I find old-school tools to work with the carbon fibre?"
"You can find it near the perimeters of the House of Yves. You can spot it quite easily."
"Okay. Thank you, sir. Anything else to add, guys? Personally, I believe we are finished here, and I would very much like to return to the tour. Caelum?"
"I would also prefer to return to the tour."
"Headmaster Orthellius?" Isaac proposed.
The Headmaster, who should have stood as the highest authority in the room, had been reduced to little more than a reluctant courier of permission.
He let out a sigh.
"Hah… Very well. Thank you, both of you. You are free to return to the tour. I assume you know the way to the auditorium."
"Thank you, Headmaster." Both students bow.
Isaac and Caelum nodded and moved toward the door. Isaac opened it first, holding it aside for Caelum with exaggerated courtesy, as though ushering feminine royalty rather than a fellow student.
In 10 minutes, Isaac had safely avoided lobotomization and the discovery of his true nature.
"Caelum Veldt… That's your full name, right?"
"Mhm."
"Caelum 'motherfucking' Veldt… Whatever shennanigans your trying to accomplish. Stop getting on my case… I promise you… I. Promise. YOU… I will retaliate against anyone. Be it you, 'THEM', or anyone else. You fucking remember that in your accessible memory, got it?"
Both of the boys continued to walk as if this threat by Isaac was nothing more than banter.
"Sure." He responded indifferently.
"Great! Wonderful to be your friend then." Isaac slapped the 'Clanker's back.
As they passed by a restroom along the corridor, Caelum stopped, turning slightly.
"I'll use the restroom. Meet you at the auditorium."
"Aight… Catch you later."
Liar… Let's take a shit together, shall we?
Allowing him a few seconds of distance, Isaac followed and entered the washroom himself.
It was less a restroom and more a furnished lounge masquerading as one, enough space to mistake it for a private sitting room rather than a place built for urinating necessity.
The only issue?
Where was Caelum Veldt?
No one is shitting or pissing. I didn't hear any footsteps or running water. Had he hidden somewhere beyond my line of sight and slipped out the moment he followed?
But why would he need to?
I 'befriended' him already. no?
Isaac leaned back toward the doorway and stuck his head out just enough to look down the corridor.
There he was.
Caelum Veldt, somehow walking ahead as though he had never intended to stop in the first place, continued calmly toward the auditorium.
Ah~ What a sneaky bastard.
Isaac let out a quiet click of his tongue before stepping back into the hall, lengthening his stride.
Soon enough, he caught up to Caelum.
"Yo? Piss fast, don't ya?"
"Hm? Yeah… Let's go."
"Fuck off, don't shake my hand if you don't wash."
.
.
.
Headmaster Orthellius turns to face the materialized individual who lands without a thud.
"What do you think, C.D?"
"he's likely a katapleric."
"And is that how he figured out this entire plan?"
"no, it was all carefully played out by him; that is purely his own intellect.'
"Right."
The Headmaster reflected on those 10 minutes.
The simple flaw was that I rejected Isaac's coin flip proposition, telling him that I was subjected to the lobotomizing light. Which wouldn't make sense, suggesting that I wasn't the rule enforcer but also a player.
After that, he bowed and looked around the room, making the bow longer than usual to show 'respect' to me. He slammed that pen on the table to see if he could induce any sound reflections or distortions of the room.
That didn't work again.
So he paid full attention to my eye movements whilst covering his with his palm.
Hoh… What a boy… And yet…
"But at the same time… Is that not what you expected out of him, Caelum Veldt? You foresaw this entire exchange and therefore sent that letter to me on the 15th of September to incite these events. We basically did this entire debacle to see his actions rather than answers, correct?"
"yes."
"What kind of life do you think Isaac Mun had lived?"
"more than what he claims."
"And that essentially confirms that he is a Katapleric. What remains now is to determine what kind of Katapleric he is. Of course, before anything else, I should submit a formal report to the Blacklist Registry. With your knowledge, I am certain you are already familiar with who they are—"
"don't, headmaster orthellius. give me 1 week, 3 days, and 7 hours before you send that report."
"Listen… Caelum Veldt… As reliable a source as you are slowly becoming, I cannot help but suspect you as a greater, more horrifying being than that who is Isaac Mun. Not only do you have equivalent intellect — no, you have more intellect and knowledge than Isaac — but you also possess the nerve and guts to utilize that knowledge to its fullest, unlike the passive Isaac. And due to that, should I not catalogue you first into the Blacklist Registry? You may be putting on the facade of the First-Year Student Caelum Veldt, but just who is this C.D?"
A soft exhale.
"you could."
Caelum raises his head to fully face the Headmaster, and what remaining light in his eyes was returned back to black.
"C.D is a friend of mine whom i wish to honor, abbreviating my name to do so."
"What happened to him?"
"we split up, due to conflicting ideologies."
"And why does this matter to you?"
"because all my actions, from now till the next, are all dedicated to the peace of this haven. whether you trust that or not, and take proactive measures to halt my actions, i promise you, i. promise. you. i seek to gain Isaac as an ally for the future. a future that all of us, including entities of incomprehensible natures, cannot foresee."
"How poetic, Caelum Veldt. Push hasn't come to shove with you yet. I will grant you these 1 week, 3 days, and now 6 hours to do what you wish with no reprisal action. I hope I can trust you from now on. Do you understand?"
"you should. thank you, headmaster."
"Return to the hallway. Isaac is likely looking for you."
"right…"
"Ah~ Also, I wanted to ask. Where did you figure out to use the T⁰-Boson's Isospin Bifurcation in addition to my unpublished Noësis to develop your so-called 'Lie Detection Noësis', and, how are you so sure that it works?"
"try. lie to me. cut the connection of the src and pdc-m at your 5th syllable."
"Sure. Y—"
The word never finished.
The 6th syllable died in Orthellius Sol Tharis' throat.
His body locked, and his smile vanished.
Now came the silence.
Of course, the Headmaster would not freeze from lobotomization, yet.
This time, he merely froze from shock.
The Clause Construct had activated.
In fact, for the briefest microfractions of a second, the surrounding light condensed, sharpening into a thin, needle-like formation poised at the edge of his eyesight.
Ready to enter.
At the very moment Orhtellius conceived a lie, it was about to enter through his eye sockets.
It was about to fry and scramble his prefrontal cortex.
"I-I see… Thank you for the heads up. Should I publish this thesis under your name?"
"under yours, that's all, right?"
"Y-yes, thank you once again, Caelum, this is… fascinating per se."
As quickly as C.D materialized, the reversal of the sound of a thud and the image of C.D was heard and seen.
And he was gone.
These two boys… Hah… How interesting this cohort will be.
One is a boy who violates known natural laws; the other operates within them to a level that no present First-Year… student in general shouldn't possess.
Sigh…