CHAPTER 11: THE FIRST QUARTER STORM

**Greg**

I just finished my lunch in some isolated part of the Conclave (I like eating alone, see?) when the news of a new election for the Lord Head Scholarship broke out and reached me.

“!!!”

At first, I wondered what’s the noise was all about. The student-scholars were chanting something, and since the sound was a bit faraway, I didn’t pay much attention to it. Soon, however, the chaotic shouts became unified—as if they were singing, with everyone crying out, “Lord Head Special Scholar Now!”

Hearing those people shouting in unison brought goosebumps to me. First, I didn’t expect that the situation would explode immediately; it was only a few days ago when I was proposing my ideas to the demon prince. And now, this…

While I myself is ready to run against the current Lord Head Scholar, I think that our base of support is not yet that prepared for any escalation of tensions.

Second, I hadn’t discussed the steps on how we would run our campaign against the Biorno clan, well-known succubi and incubi demons of Cherflammen. In the first place, I had no idea of how powerful those guys were, and the limits of their infamous abilities.

Prince Hurion Devras…no, Princess Noir is moving without proper plans. I need to put a stop to this, or at least get them to slow down. I’m afraid our momentum will be lost if we rushed things.

“Oh, there you are! I’m looking for you all around the Conclave; luckily, you’re just here!”

I froze in my spot when I heard a familiar voice from behind me. Turning around, I saw the Lady Scholar Irene Capaldi—in her full succubus form, complete with a pair of beautiful black wings, the typical skimpy, ‘feathery’ outfit, and the seductive aura—hovering slightly above me. Remembering what she tried to do to me a day ago, I immediately went into defensive.

“What’s the matter Special Scholar?” the succubus asked. “I’m just here to check on you. That pesky Usarved princess just declared your candidacy for the Lord Head Scholarship, with that idiot goblin, Srexe, supporting her nomination.”

“I know what you wanted,” I answered. “You’re here to seduce me again, just like what you did yesterday.”

“Hoh…” Lady Scholar Capaldi chuckled, “You really are what they say…a formidable battlefield strategist and tactician, eh?”

I couldn’t answer that. Deep inside, I was thinking of ways to escape, or at least, fight. But of course, to fight, I needed a weapon at the very least. Also, I had no idea of how to fight a succubus’ ability. If what Princess Noir told me before was right, then I’m hopeless to resist such seductions.

“Why are you silent?” she asked. “Getting afraid already?”

“Well, I am,” I could only laugh to bluff my way out. “I have no idea to fight a beautiful lady like you.”

At that point, it was the succubus’ turn to fall quiet. Her cheeks were red, and she quickly averted her gaze from me. Heh, looks like I can get out of this unscathed…

“P-Please stop that!” Lady Capaldi told me. “Okay, I…I’m not here to seduce you, actually.”

“You can’t fool a dense virgin like me!” I replied, laughing. “The moment I lowered my guard is the opportunity for you to attack!” Secretly, I already grabbed a pencil in my pocket, ready to turn it into a makeshift dagger to fight her influence once she used it against me.

“No! Please, I’m telling the truth!” the succubus pleaded. “Look, Special Scholar Greg Santos, the reason I failed in seducing you yesterday—aside from the Usarved princess’ resistance, was that, I’m also against it.”

“What do you mean?”

“I am a succubus, Special Scholar, but…err…”

“But what?”

Lady Capaldi took a deep breath and said with all her might, “I’m a virgin, too! I have no idea on things about se—”

“Okay, I got it,” I interrupted her. “So you’re saying to me that you’re only forced to comply with the orders to seduce me?”

The succubus nodded. “I’m a Capaldi, Special Scholar. Our clan is allied to the Biornos; of course, I have to comply with whatever the Lord Head Scholar wanted from us. However, personally, I don’t want to do it…I wanted my first time to be with a person I love, see? Just like you humans.”

“Oh…” Well, it’s not like I couldn’t understand her point. However, we’re in the middle of conflict; it’s common sense that your enemy would use everything—including an appeal to your emotions—to subdue, or make you lower your guard. I had to be careful in dealing with her. “So, you’re telling me this because you want to side with me?”

“Y-Yes…” Lady Capaldi confirmed. “However, if I may plead to you, Special Scholar Sir, can you please be kind to our master, the Lord Head Scholar Emile Biorno? He may seem to be a villain, but deep inside, he only cares for our clans’ well-being.”

The offer of the succubus was tempting, yes…but I couldn’t keep myself from thinking that this may be a ruse. So, I said to her, “Alright, I’ll believe you.”

“Tha-Thank you—”

“But, of course, I need a collateral,” I revealed. “It’s easy for you to claim that you support my cause, which is—just to clarify—aimed at improving the Conclave’s system of education. In fact, I don’t intend to harm you, or the Biornos. If the Usarveds did something to you, I’d be the first to protest it. Still, I need a collateral from you.”

“If you want,” she offered to me, “I’ll give you my true demonic name to prove my case!”

“Your what?”

“True demonic name,” Lady Capaldi explained. “It’s the ‘real’ name of a member of the demon race. If someone knew of that, they can always control the demon to do their bidding.”

Oh, so it’s like a magic keyword that makes the owner of that name follow the whims of the one who knew about it. I couldn’t help but remember a similar thing back on Earth: the book known as the Lesser Key of Solomon. It was said to have listed the names of the 72 demons that was under King Solomon’s control…and anyone who possessed that knowledge could order those malevolent creatures around.

I don’t know. I don’t want to dabble myself into occult, and similar stuff.

“Err…if you give that to me, isn’t it the same as entrusting your whole life in my hands?” I pointed out. “If so, then what happened to the ‘first love’ stuff you’re telling me?”

“My apologies, Special Scholar…but this is a matter about the survival of my clan, and my master’s clan. As his loyal retainer, I only want the best for us, even if it costs me my life. However, I also believe that our best interests lie in your leadership.”

“Hoh? What made you think so?”

“The Lord Scholar Gracchio told us that the Lord Tenguri and the Lady Baraquiel are your friends. And that you ‘pacified’ their unruly daughter, Lady Srexe—our school’s headache for many weeks now. If that’s not proof enough of your capabilities, the fact that many of the student-scholars love your teaching style is another evidence of your prowess.”

“I didn’t know about that…”

“It doesn’t matter!” the succubus cried out, even going as far as coming down and kneeling on the ground. I had to ask her to stop doing it, for it was getting awkward to talk to her in that position. “Special Scholar Greg Santos, please accept my true name as collateral. I only implore you to show kindness to our people.”

Honestly, after hearing the reasons of the Lady Scholar Irene Capaldi, I couldn’t help but feel pity at her situation. I mean, though her master/lord, the Head Scholar Emile Biorno used her to take me down, she’s still faithful to him. Though I had my doubts, I’m starting to feel bad about knowing her ‘true name’, which would technically make her a ‘slave’ to me.

“…”

But of course, there’s the possibility that she’s only bluffing. Shit man, what do I do now?

“If you’re still doubting me, milord,” she continued, “please know that the Usarveds won’t take it lightly if I harmed you right here. The Biorno clan and its allies can’t fight them on an equal footing on the battlefield; I won’t risk starting a war that would destroy us!”

“Alright, Lady Scholar Capaldi,” I raised my hands to show that I meant no harm. “Please keep your name to yourself; I won’t ask for it. Though you still have my word that I’d show kindness to your kin. I only request that you tell this to the Head Scholar: I mean no harm, and I wish no conflict to happen. But the Conclave badly needs reforms for it to be effective. If it’s possible, I wanted to talk to him about my proposals…”

Then, I helped the succubus to stand up, and shake off the dust that got into her wings.

“Thank you, Special Scholar,” Lady Capaldi smiled at me. “As a member of the demon race, I won’t forget this show of magnanimity from you. You truly are the teacher of our hero, Lady Cassandra David.”

“Ah, welcome! Glad to work with you, then!”

The succubus spread her wings, and was about to fly when she turned to me once more and said, “By the way…”

“Hm?”

“It’s ‘Hannah’.”

“Eh?”

“See ’ya!” Lady Capaldi winked at me, then quickly left. As for me, I just realized that she had given me her ‘true name’.

----------

After that ‘negotiation’ that I had with the Lady Scholar Irene Capaldi, I immediately went to see the Prince Hurion Devras. I found him—together with Shevaun—leading a throng of student-scholars ready to support my candidacy for the Lord Head Scholarship. The moment the demon lord saw me, he broke into a run, followed by the crowd and surrounded me.

“Special Scholar!” they greeted. “We nominate you to be our candidate for the Head Scholarship of the Conclave!”

“We already talked about the reforms you wanted to implement,” the prince explained. “All of them agreed to your vision for this school.”

“Right,” the goblin girl, Lady Srexe, made her presence known. “Just so you know, human—I mean, Sir, I’m willing to cooperate with my fiercest rival to support you. Please don’t waste my efforts.”

My eyes immediately went to the chamberlain, Shevaun, who was standing nearby. She just smiled and nodded at me.

“By the way, Sir…”

“Yes?”

“I saw the succubus form of Lady Capaldi flying out from this direction a little while ago,” the prince revealed. “Did she do something to you?”

“Ah yes,” I admitted to him. “She came to see me.”

“What?” my companions chorused.

“Don’t worry, she did nothing,” I reassured them. “Although, the Lady Scholar Capaldi did ‘negotiate’ with me.”

“Don’t believe her!” was Prince Hurion Devras’ words. It’s not that I couldn’t understand where he’s coming from. The Biornos had a ‘suspicious’ track record, especially that they used back-handed tactics to remove the previous head scholar.

However, his chamberlain was more level-headed that him, “What did she say?”

“Well, she’s trying to negotiate for the Biornos and her own clan as well,” I explained to them. “Lady Capaldi expressed support for me, though, she asked that once I become the Lord Head Scholar, I would show generosity to them.”

“Don’t believe her,” Lady Srexe said. “That’s how they got the former head scholar, Lady Shevaun Ilkes.”

“Eh?”

Shevaun nodded. “She fooled me by saying exactly the same words.”

“Oh shit…” I muttered; I guess I was duped too. “That foul lady must’ve given me her wrong ‘true name’ then!”

“Wait,” my demon companions turned their attention to me. “What did you just say?”

“Lady Capaldi told me her ‘true name’?” I couldn’t help but feel awkward as their stares pierced me. “Hey, I don’t even know if that’s a real thing here!”

“Good saint…” the demon prince was shaking his head, though there was a smile on his lips.

“Wh-What? What did I do this time?”

“And to think she’s a potential enemy, eh?” Shevaun chuckled, her face had an amused expression. “I guess that’s how convincing you are, Lord Greg…”

“Huh?”

“I guess these two didn’t fully explain to you what a demon’s ‘true name’ is, Special Scholar Sir?” Lady Srexe asked. “Very well, listen up. A true name isn’t something we demons take for granted, nor joked about. If a person gets our true name, we’ll basically become a slave to that individual.”

“But one can easily make a fake one, right?” I argued. “Then give that fake name to fool your enemy.”

The goblin girl shook her head, “If we did give a person a fake ‘true name’, then it becomes the real one. So, if the Lady Scholar Capaldi gave you hers—even if it’s a ‘fake’, by now it is her ‘true name’.”

“Wow…Lord Greg…even your enemies give their ‘true names’ to you. That’s really something, eh?” the demon prince praised me, though for some reason, I could feel the jealousy from his tone. “Would you like to know mine—ow!”

Prince Hurion Devras was interrupted in his offer by his chamberlain, who quickly hit his head, “My apologies, Lord Greg, but I hope you understand that we can’t simply entrust our true names to others…especially that my master is the demon lord.”

“Y-Yeah, I got it. Please don’t do it.”

Oi, I don’t intend to make a slave out of anyone, not even a demon.

In any case, I’d like to know something, “So you mean to say that Lady Scholar Capaldi is telling me the truth? That she’s negotiating on behalf of the Biornos and their allied clans?”

“It’s a possible scenario, given that she let you know her true name,” Shevaun confirmed. “However, I doubt that the lady scholar acted on the head scholar’s orders. It’s highly-probable that’s she’s doing this on her own initiative. Emile Biorno is a tough nut to crack; he’ll use everything in his power to prevent a change of leadership in the Conclave.”

“Man…this is getting complicated…” I sighed, “If that’s so, then I guess there’s a possibility that we can resolve this matter about the Head Scholarship peacefully, eh?”

“Is that what you want, Lord Greg?” Prince Hurion Devras asked.

“Of course. I don’t like bloodshed, so if it’s possible for our rivals to talk it with us, the better,” I chuckled. “Besides, this is just an election for the Head Scholarship; no need to summon armies and bear arms just to force one side to yield! Let’s be civil.”

“Got it.”

Well, at least my demon companions agreed to what I wanted. Though, of course, this was Cherflammen—a different land with a different culture—I could still show my humanity by avoiding bloody conflicts.

I just hope my supporters understood my reason behind it…

----------

The crowd was swelling, as the student-scholars from other levels gathered to show their support for my candidacy. Some had even dragged their unwitting dormmates or classmates, so that they could listen to my plans.

“How many days we got ’till the election day?” I asked the prince.

“The what?”

“Election day. Of course, we’re going on a campaign here, right? After all, they’ll have to vote for their candidate, so they have to know our platforms.”

“Huh?” the Prince Hurion Devras was puzzled, “Special Scholar Sir, perhaps you don’t know that the voting has already begun, when I nominated you and Lady Srexe supported me?”

“What? This is all going way too fast!” I protested. “How do we even know that the voters already voted?”

“Sir, the test-checking device…that’s where we vote. And that device is where our ‘unique’ magic signatures are stored, so no one can cheat their votes.”

“Oh…” Once again, I’m impressed with how advanced the Conclave’s system was in this aspect.

“The voting ends once the last student-scholar had already voted,” the chamberlain added.

“How about the teachers?”

“They won’t vote. See, it’s part of the ‘balance’ Lady Cassandra David did,” Shevaun continued. “The Head Scholar determines the policies and education for the students, which are implemented by the teachers. The student-scholars vote for the Head Scholar they want.”

“I see…” Well, that arrangement made sense. Also, considering that Cherflammen never used ‘Gregorian’ calendars and relied only on the number of weeks and days to ‘measure’ time, their voting system was reasonable. Still, though, it could be better…

In any case, while we were talking, the crowd began chanting, “Greg Santos!”

The show of support the student-scholars were doing for me overwhelmed my heart. These demon kids, with their hopes for a better education clear in their eyes, were willing to go against the current school administration to support the reforms I wanted to do for the Conclave. Of course, though I had my doubts as to the probability of our success now that everyone’s emotions were high, I guess I couldn’t stop what has been set in motion already.

There’s no way out but forward…

“Alright guys, we know that our rival candidate can be crafty,” I told them. “Nevertheless, I won’t allow violence to come from our side. We should start the campaign as soon as possible and peacefully, too.”

“Yes, sir!” the student-scholars said in unison.

“His Highness, the Prince Hurion Devras had already explained to you my reforms. Convince your other classmates to vote for me. And that goes to your teachers, too. If you can persuade them, please do so, for the policies I had in mind will not only benefit you, but also them!”

“Alright guys!” Shevaun backed me up. “You heard the Special Scholar! We’re all going to gain in these initiatives, so we best cooperate with one another. We Usarveds can help with the finances for the campaign.”

“The Tambaras can contribute with doing some posters if you need it!” someone from the crowd suggested.

“Please do,” the Prince Hurion Devras answered. “We need all the support we can get.”

“The Orcs can help with the distribution of the campaign materials!”

“The Goblins can also distribute flyers!”

“Nice of you to pledge on how you’d support,” it was Lady Srexe. “However, we should hit the campaign going now! Time is of the essence! We should convince our friends, classmates and dormmates to vote for the Special Scholar as soon as possible, before the supporters of the other side regroup and defeat us.”

“Thanks for your help, guys!” was all that I could say from the outpouring support I was receiving. “Let’s get our reforms done and going!”

----------

**Srexe**

Amidst the chaos of celebration about the Special Scholar’s candidacy, I felt someone pull my hand. When I turned around to look, I was surprised, for it was the demon prince, Hurion Devras. He was gesturing to me, as if telling me to come with him.

“…”

Of course, I’d oblige. He took me to a relatively quiet location, but still near the crowds so as not to arouse suspicions. Though as that demon was an Usarved, I couldn’t keep my doubts down. However, this was a different situation, so I guess it had something to do with the election campaign of the Special Scholar. His chamberlain, the former head scholar Shevaun Ilkes came with him, so I knew right then that this was a serious conversation.

“The Goblin Legion,” the prince never minced with his words. He immediately went straight to the topic I most dreaded talking with him about. “How much is the chance that they’ll come here if you call them?”

“Why would I call them?” I answered. “Our armies answer to our lords, not you.”

“I think you’re misunderstanding my intent, Lady Srexe,” Prince Hurion countered. “I’m asking you not because I want to call them, but to prepare for things that might happen.”

“Wh-What do you mean?”

“You know the Biornos. They won’t take this lightly,” the prince chuckled. “The last thing we want is to have our Special Scholar arrested or killed because we are late to call our forces to protect him and his student-scholar supporters.”

I realized what Prince Hurion Devras was preparing for. I asked him, “Are the Biornos mobilizing their armies?”

“We have no idea as of now,” he turned to his chamberlain, who gave him a nod. “Shevaun is already working on it. However, since we’re on the same side of the coin—though we had bad blood between us before—I surmise you’d throw your wholehearted support to the Special Scholar.”

“Make no mistake, Usarved, my loyalty is to the Special Scholar, not you.”

The prince nodded, “Understood. But can you call the Goblin Legion?”

“I think my parents won’t just answer to the call; they’d happily oblige. The Special Scholar is their old friend, after all. And you know us goblins; we don’t accord friendship to other people unless that person has our respect.”

“Alright.”

“I guess the legion is still nearby,” I told him. “My parents are here the other day. And it takes a week to march from Goblinhom to this place, and it is the same as the return journey.”

“Can you send a message to them?”

“No problem,” I nodded. But then, I remembered, “Oi, demon prince!”

“Yes?”

“Would you like to add the orcish knights to the list of the Special Scholar’s supporters?”

Prince Hurion paused for a bit, as if pondering on my offer. However, he smiled and said, “Why not? We need all help we can so that we can force a peaceful resolution to this matter.”

----------

***The Office of the Head Scholar***

“What is this travesty?” Emile Biorno threw the things on the top of his table, in the heat of his breakdown. “What are you idiots doing? I did say you do something to prevent that Special Scholar from gathering support!”

“Yes! You two are incompetent traitors!”

“You allowed that Special Scholar—a human and not even a member of our faculty—to threaten us!”

The Discipline Prefect, Lord Scholar Benedetto Gracchio, and the Lady Scholar Irene Capaldi could only stare on the floor as the entire faculty of the Conclave had gathered inside the Head Scholar’s office to talk about the recent developments. Though they hurled insults—and occasional ink bottles and books—to them, the pair remained silent.

“Don’t you understand the consequences of what you did?” Emile Biorno asked them. “This is the only time we incubi and succubi are treated seriously, yet you idiots squandered that chance away!”

“Lord Head Scholar!” Scholar Gracchio finally had enough of the abuse and spoke up. “I may allow you to throw insults at me. However, I can’t let it pass…the fact that you’re more concerned with the Biorno’s base of power rather than the well-being of our students. What’s the purpose of us being teachers if it’s like that?”

“Cease your talk!” the Lord Head Scholar hurled an ink bottle at the prefect, hitting him on the head and causing it to bleed. The Lady Scholar Capaldi rushed to the aid of her companion. “Where’s your loyalty, Benedetto Gracchio? Isn’t your family the weakest among the weak? Where did you get the gall to talk back to me as if you have the license to do so?”

“L-Lord Head Scholar…” it was Lady Capaldi, “…I…I already negotiated with the Special Scholar.”

Emile Biorno’s eyes burned with anger, “You what?”

“Milord, the Special Scholar meant no harm, and he wishes for peace instead of conflict against us,” the succubus defended her actions. “He’s asking to meet with you to discuss the reforms that is needed for our beloved school!”

“And what made you believe his words? Humans have tricked us ever since the beginning of the ages.”

“Milord, please understand…not only does the Special Scholar has the backing of the House Usarved. He’s also a friend to one of the commanders of the Goblin Legion, and his wife—a former member of the orcish knights. And the Tambaras will surely be neutral to this conflict. Many of the student-scholars are supporting his reforms, too. If we continued on our course of conflict, then we’d be isolated and annihilated!”

“Shut up!” the Lord Head Scholar had enough. He kicked the Lady Scholar on her stomach, sending the succubus reeling on the floor. “You two are shameless defeatists! Traitors! You should be thrown in the dungeons, or shot by a firing squad! Throw them below the Saint’s Tower’s dungeons!”

At once the other teachers—either intimidated by the violent display of the Lord Head Scholar, or one his supporters—dragged the prefect and the lady scholar out of the office and into the passageway that led to the adjacent Saint’s Tower.

Meanwhile, Emile Biorno turned to the teachers that remained with him.

“If any of you wishes to leave and defect to that Special Scholar, do it now! I have no need for defeatists in my supporters!”

Those who were there, however, never made any opposing moves. They threw their lots to the leadership of Emile Biorno. Their leader said to him, “Lord Head Scholar, we will serve you and your clan till our last breath. As such, give us the orders to suppress the student-scholars.”

The old demon smirked, “Yes, once the shipment of weapons from a friend comes, you’ll be free to deprive these gullible kids their votes. Do this not only for me and my kin, but for yours as well! The Conclave shall be ours, and ours alone!”