Chapter 104: Pillow Palace Rejected

By the time we returned to Residence Five, I had already decided that winning the orientation exam had been a mistake.

First place created expectations.

Expectations created responsibility.

Responsibility created work.

The progression was obvious.

Unfortunately, the rest of Class Five seemed incapable of recognizing the danger.

They were still celebrating.

Several conversations filled the common lounge as students discussed the illusion, the rankings, and which parts of the examination they had apparently performed well in.

I ignored most of it.

My destination was upstairs.

More specifically, my room.

I had been awake for far too long already.

Dream Haven rested beneath one arm as I crossed the common hall and approached the staircase.

Only a few more steps.

Then privacy.

A bed.

Silence.

Possibly several uninterrupted hours of sleep if nobody discovered where my room was.

"Lord Vortex?"

I stopped with one foot on the first stair.

Terrible timing.

An Academy assistant stood near the center of the lounge holding a thin booklet.

Penelope, who had been walking nearby, stopped as well.

Roland and Cedric were only a short distance away.

Mira was sitting on the arm of one of the couches.

All four looked toward me.

I looked at the assistant.

Then upstairs.

Then back toward him.

"Can this wait?"

"I’m afraid not."

Of course.

Nothing important ever waited until after a nap.

The assistant approached and extended the booklet.

"As the appointed leader of Class Five, you’re required to receive a copy of the residence leadership regulations."

I stared at the booklet.

It wasn’t particularly large.

Still dangerous.

"What happens if I don’t receive it?"

"I’m currently giving it to you."

"That doesn’t answer the question."

Penelope took it from him.

"Thank you."

I looked at her.

"Betrayal."

"You weren’t going to take it."

"I was considering my options."

"You were halfway up the stairs."

"The room was one of the options."

Roland laughed.

The assistant, to his credit, maintained a perfectly professional expression.

"The booklet explains the residence leader’s authority and responsibilities. You are expected to familiarize yourself with it."

"Expected?"

I frowned.

There was that word again.

Penelope opened the booklet before I could object.

"No."

I looked at her.

"What?"

"Whatever you’re thinking."

"You don’t know what I’m thinking."

"You’re trying to determine whether ’expected’ means ’mandatory.’"

I became quiet.

Cedric looked at me.

"Was she right?"

"Unfortunately."

Penelope began flipping through the pages.

I stayed beside the staircase.

Not because I was interested.

Because leaving now would probably create a second conversation.

Roland moved closer.

Mira abandoned the couch.

Within seconds, what should have been my private administrative suffering had become a group activity.

Wonderful.

Penelope skimmed several pages.

"Most of this is standard."

"Excellent."

I placed one foot back on the stairs.

She grabbed my sleeve.

"We aren’t finished."

"You said it was standard."

"There’s one important section."

Of course there was.

She turned the booklet around.

A paragraph had been printed beneath a bold heading.

---

RESIDENCE LEADER RESPONSIBILITY

The appointed class leader bears primary responsibility for maintaining order within the residence. Repeated misconduct, unresolved internal disputes, or preventable damage resulting from inadequate supervision may be attributed to the residence leader.

---

I read it.

Then again.

Then very carefully a third time.

Perhaps I had misunderstood.

I hadn’t.

I slowly looked around the lounge.

Thirty-six classmates.

Thirty-six independent sources of poor judgment.

Thirty-six people capable of using magic.

My eyes eventually landed on Roland.

He frowned.

"Why are you looking at me?"

"Probability."

"Probability of what?"

"Property damage."

Mira laughed.

Roland looked offended.

"I haven’t broken anything."

"Yet."

Cedric leaned closer to the booklet.

"So if someone destroys part of the residence, Alash can also be held responsible?"

Penelope nodded.

"If the Academy believes the damage could have been prevented through proper leadership."

Silence.

I looked toward the assistant.

"This rule is unreasonable."

"It is Academy policy."

"Those statements are not mutually exclusive."

The assistant’s mouth twitched.

Barely.

Penelope continued scanning.

Then stopped again.

"Oh."

I immediately disliked that sound.

"What?"

She read aloud.

"The residence leader is also responsible for ensuring that all students assigned to the residence attend their scheduled classes."

I stared at her.

She read it again.

Slowly.

Perhaps she thought repetition would make it less offensive.

It didn’t.

I looked toward the assistant.

"Define ensuring."

"Making reasonable efforts to prevent repeated absences, checking on students who fail to attend, and reporting persistent truancy."

I became completely still.

Roland noticed.

Then smiled.

"Oh, that’s bad."

I ignored him.

"You’re telling me that if one of these thirty-six people decides not to attend class..."

The assistant nodded.

"You are expected to address it."

I looked around the room.

Then toward the staircase.

Then back at the assistant.

"This Academy has made a serious administrative error."

Penelope folded her arms.

"Why?"

"I was planning to skip classes."

The room became quiet.

Then Roland burst out laughing.

Cedric covered his mouth.

Mira nearly fell back onto the couch.

Penelope stared at me.

"You were what?"

"Considering it."

"You haven’t attended a single class yet."

"Preparation is important."

Penelope held up the booklet.

"You are literally responsible for making sure everyone attends."

I stared at the rule.

Then at my classmates.

Then at Penelope.

"I see a solution."

Her eyes narrowed immediately.

"No."

"I haven’t said it yet."

"I know you."

"Everyone is responsible for their own attendance."

"That is not what the rule says."

"Then we amend the interpretation."

"You cannot amend Academy regulations."

"Unfortunate."

Roland grinned.

"So if I skip class, you have to come find me?"

I looked at him.

"No."

"The rule says—"

"I’ll send Penelope."

Penelope stared at me.

"What?"

"You are reliable."

"I am not your attendance officer."

"Not officially."

"No."

"Consider the promotion."

"No."

Cedric nodded thoughtfully.

"The Hermit did tell him to delegate."

I pointed toward him.

"Exactly."

Penelope closed her eyes.

"That is not what he meant."

"Interpretation varies."

She ignored me and tapped the booklet.

"You need an actual rule."

Fine.

I thought for several seconds.

Then looked around the lounge.

"New residence rule."

A few more classmates nearby turned toward me.

"If you skip class..."

Roland waited.

"...do it quietly."

Penelope’s head snapped toward me.

"No."

"Why?"

"You are supposed to prevent absences."

"Fine."

I revised.

"If you skip class, don’t make me come upstairs to wake you."

Mira started laughing again.

Penelope looked exhausted.

"Still wrong."

I sighed.

Apparently leadership required extremely precise wording.

"Fine. Everyone attends class."

Penelope nodded.

"Good."

"Unless there’s a very good reason."

"Reasonable."

"Such as illness."

"Yes."

"Injury."

"Yes."

"Mana exhaustion."

"Yes."

"Severe emotional distress."

Penelope hesitated.

"Depending on the circumstances."

"Extreme sleep deprivation."

"No."

I frowned.

"Biased."

"Alash."

"Fine."

Roland grinned.

"What happens if someone skips anyway?"

I thought about that.

Then nodded toward Penelope.

"She finds you."

Penelope stared at me.

"No."

I looked toward Cedric.

"You?"

"Absolutely not."

Mira immediately shook her head.

I sighed.

"Then I’ll figure it out when someone actually commits the crime."

Roland looked amused.

"Crime?"

"Against my sleep schedule."

The assistant finally looked away.

Definitely hiding a smile.

Before Penelope could start reading anything else, he cleared his throat.

"There is one other matter."

Naturally.

I looked at him.

"What now?"

"Your residence requires an official name."

That got everyone’s attention.

Even Penelope lowered the booklet.

"A name?" Mira asked.

The assistant nodded.

"The five residences currently have numerical designations. Each class leader is permitted to choose an official residence name. It will be used on Academy notices, correspondence, internal competitions, residence records, and future class events."

I became slightly more interested.

Penelope noticed.

Immediately.

"No."

I looked at her.

"I haven’t said anything."

"You looked interested."

"Am I not allowed?"

"Not when you’re being asked to name something."

Roland laughed.

I ignored him.

The assistant held a small crystal tablet.

"Once you’ve decided, I can register it immediately."

Excellent.

No paperwork.

I already knew the answer.

"Pillow Palace."

"No."

Penelope responded so quickly that the assistant hadn’t even moved.

I looked at her.

"You didn’t consider it."

"I did."

"For less than one second."

"That was enough."

Mira covered her mouth.

Roland looked delighted.

Cedric, however, appeared thoughtful.

"Pillow Palace isn’t terrible."

Penelope slowly turned toward him.

"It is."

Cedric reconsidered.

"Apparently it is."

I looked toward the assistant.

"Pillow Palace."

His finger hovered above the tablet.

Then stopped.

He looked toward Penelope.

Smart man.

"We are not calling it Pillow Palace," Penelope said.

"Why?"

"Because this name will appear on official Academy documents."

"Exactly."

"Imagine Headmaster Vale receiving a report that says Pillow Palace defeated Class Two in a residence competition."

I paused.

That sounded excellent.

"You’re strengthening my argument."

"No."

Roland was already laughing.

I sighed.

"Fine."

Apparently democracy was interfering with leadership again.

I thought for several seconds.

Something more dignified.

Something powerful.

Something that represented our class.

"The Fortress of Slumber."

Penelope stared at me.

"No."

Roland raised a hand.

"I vote yes."

"Your vote has been rejected."

"You aren’t the leader."

"I’m stopping the leader."

I frowned.

"Abuse of unofficial authority."

Penelope ignored me.

"Try again."

Fine.

Perhaps she wanted something noble.

Something grand.

"The Eternal Rest."

The room became silent.

Mira’s smile disappeared.

Cedric stared at me.

Roland slowly lowered his hand.

Penelope blinked twice.

Then said, "That sounds like a cemetery."

I considered it.

"...Fair."

"Absolutely not."

That was two perfectly reasonable suggestions rejected.

Three if Eternal Rest was included.

Naming things was surprisingly difficult when other people were allowed opinions.

I leaned against the staircase railing.

"Why does the residence even need a name?"

"Identity," Mira said.

"Unity," Cedric added.

Roland shrugged.

"Sounds better than Residence Five."

Penelope nodded.

"We’re going to live here for years. It should be something everyone can feel comfortable calling home."

Home.

I looked around again.

The loud common room.

Thirty-six classmates.

People already arguing about who had claimed which room.

Someone upstairs complaining because another student had apparently taken the room nearest the stairs.

A few people discussing training tomorrow.

Others still talking about the examination.

It was noisy.

Far noisier than I preferred.

But it was ours.

For the foreseeable future, at least.

Classes would happen outside.

Training outside.

Examinations outside.

Expectations, unfortunately, everywhere.

But at the end of the day, we’d return here.

Somewhere to recover.

Somewhere protected from whatever Zenith decided to throw at us next.

Somewhere people could rest.

My eyes moved toward Dream Haven.

Rest.

Safe.

Quiet.

A place where nobody needed to remain alert all the time.

I spoke before thinking too much about it.

"Sanctuary."

Penelope paused.

Roland stopped smiling.

Mira tilted her head.

Even Cedric looked slightly surprised.

I frowned.

"What?"

Penelope repeated it.

"Sanctuary."

"Yes."

A few seconds passed.

Then Mira smiled.

"I like it."

Cedric nodded.

"Same."

Roland looked around the residence.

"Sanctuary."

He grinned.

"Actually sounds good."

I stared at him.

"’Actually’ was unnecessary."

"Considering your previous suggestions, it was very necessary."

Penelope looked at me.

"Sanctuary is good."

I raised an eyebrow.

"Approved?"

"Approved."

"Finally."

The assistant looked around at the others.

No objections came.

His finger touched the crystal tablet.

A faint glow passed across its surface.

Letters appeared.

---

CLASS FIVE RESIDENCE

SANCTUARY

---

"Registration complete."

The assistant gave a short bow.

"From today onward, Residence Five will officially be registered as Sanctuary."

Mira smiled.

Roland nodded approvingly.

Cedric looked toward the entrance as though already imagining the name above it.

Penelope closed the leadership booklet.

"See? You can choose a normal name when you try."

I looked at her.

"I didn’t try."

"Of course."

The assistant handed the booklet back to me.

I stared at it.

Then at Penelope.

She stared back.

"No."

"You already read it."

"It’s yours."

"Shared knowledge benefits the group."

"Take the booklet."

I sighed and accepted it.

Leadership continued finding new ways to inconvenience me.

The assistant bowed one final time before leaving.

I watched him disappear through the entrance.

Then looked toward the staircase.

At last.

Freedom.

I started climbing.

Penelope looked up at me.

"Where are you going?"

"My room."

"You just got here."

"Exactly."

"You should probably talk with the class first."

"I already established attendance regulations and named the residence."

"That is an extremely generous description of what just happened."

I kept climbing.

"Leadership duties completed."

"For today?"

"For the foreseeable future."

"Alash."

I reached the next step.

Then stopped.

"Everyone attends class tomorrow."

A few classmates looked toward me.

Roland raised an eyebrow.

"You’re serious?"

"Unfortunately."

Penelope smiled.

"Good."

I continued upstairs.

Roland called after me.

"What happens if you’re the one who doesn’t attend?"

I stopped.

Slowly.

The room became quiet.

That was an excellent question.

I turned my head toward Penelope.

She smiled.

Dangerously.

"I’ll wake you."

I stared at her.

Then at the booklet beneath my arm.

Then back toward the stairs.

This leadership arrangement had become hostile remarkably quickly.

"Sanctuary was a misleading name."

Laughter followed me all the way upstairs.