(Lyon POV)
Lyon stepped through the door to the dormitory room and immediately noticed the addition of three more portals that hadn't been there before. He ignored the new additions for now, correctly assuming they were the work of the school staff.
He scoffed at the idea that making the students live together would actually foster better relations with their teammates. That might be something worth thinking about in other places, but here, Lyon was more concerned with making sure his 'partners' didn't ruin his mission.
Since his original dorm had been chosen for the newly formed group to live in for the foreseeable future, it helped that he was already familiar with the place. At the very least, it would give him a small psychological edge when they began introducing themselves in 'his territory.'
It was a small, cheap win, but given his current circumstances and secrets, Lyon would take whatever he could get.
While Lyon had opened the door and strolled through casually, the other three were still trying to wrap their minds around his sudden personality shift. They shared a silent glance without moving, each seemingly waiting for someone else to make the first move.
(Alicia POV)
Zesher's eyes glinted with amusement, a faint smile appearing on his face. "I am curious what the honorable teachers have in mind. Placing the top four students on the same team seems unfair to everyone. Still, I must admit this does make things more interesting."
With that, Zesher walked through the open doorway, leaving Alicia and Derrick staring at the empty space where the two boys had been only a second ago.
Are they not aware of the seriousness of this situation?! We are going to be the group with the highest expectations placed upon us!
Not to mention gaining the biggest targets on our backs from all the most prestigious and powerful families on the continent. All that, and they just call it interesting?!
Alicia and Derrick exchanged exasperated looks. Alicia had been through enough to know that trying to change things now would only backfire on her.
The thought was infuriating, but at least she wasn't saddled with a bunch of incompetent teammates. Sighing deeply at the perceived unfairness while deciding it wasn't the end of the world either way, Alicia shrugged.
Her indifferent and cold mask slipped back into place as if nothing had ever happened. She figured that, no matter the outcome, she would be fine.
After all, no one would dare risk starting a war with her Imperial grandmother over something this trivial. Once she had allowed herself to properly acknowledge her frustration, Alicia walked straight through the portal entrance to their dorm.
(Derrick POV)
Watching his last teammate walk away, Derrick couldn't help feeling like he was missing something. Was no one even going to bring up the issues here?
Feeling as if he was getting himself in way over his head, Derrick decided to stop thinking about it and let the bigshots handle the situation. Internally, he calculated how much of his ability he was going to have to show.
Being fourth allowed him to be in the perfect position. He was in the best group without drawing too much attention from anyone vying to become number one. Better yet, they seemed content to let him fade into the background without much comment.
All in all, he found that he actually liked his new team so far. They were competent, talented, and knew how to play the perception game just as well as he did. Who knew, he might even make friends with them.
Upon further thought, however, he had already noticed how suspicious the other three were of everyone, even if they tried to hide it behind fake smiles or indifference. At that realization, Derrick had to chuckle.
Here he was, starting to see why the teachers saw fit to put them together. It had nothing to do with their ranks and everything to do with their attitudes.
Derrick was certain that the others had already figured that much out by now, but their biggest problems had nothing to do with their training or foundation. With four talented, untrusting, and intelligent students put together, forming a cohesive team would prove next to impossible.
Even more so considering that no one here had an absolute power advantage over the others. There was no obvious way to force a leader, even if they wanted one.
Shaking his head at the shady behavior of his teachers, Derrick finally decided to enter the dorm and face the storm that was almost guaranteed to start soon.
Lyon looked with calm eyes and an inviting smile at the faces sitting around the living room. He could tell that everyone had already come to the same conclusions as he had and was feeling too awkward to start the conversation.
Zesher looked warmly at everyone while sipping a tea he had made while they sat around. Alicia had no particular emotion on her face, leaving it as a mask of calm, while Derrick simply continued sitting there and playing with his fingers.
Every now and again, Derrick's eyes darted around the room, briefly glancing at each of them before returning to his hands.
(Lyon POV)
Sighing to himself and praying for the best, Lyon decided he would test the waters by giving them a pretty big 'secret' and determine his next moves from there. Lyon cleared his throat, causing Zesher to look up from his cup.
Alicia turned her head slightly toward him, while Derrick seemed to deflate a little before turning his attention to Lyon as well.
"So, I am sure we are all well aware of why we were put together, so like I said earlier, we should introduce ourselves again. I'll start us off since we are all still unfamiliar with each other. Not to mention, I did take advantage of you guys by having you all become my live-in subordinates."
His attempt at a joke didn't lighten the mood as he had hoped. Lyon could only sigh internally at his own lacking skills.
"Anyway, my name is Lyon Sable. I have a mutated Shadow Lightning Dragon innate spirit. One of my main goals for the immediate future is to find out who killed my parents.
So far, all I know is that the Emperor spoke to them the day before they died."