Inti had certainly not expected any applause, especially not after following up an apparent professional, but the sound of clapping drew his attention and he found himself looking back up again at Franz.

"Even 'not much' is an overstatement," Inti said with a grin bordering on cheeky. His face was still flushed slightly darker from the exercise, though he was cooling down quickly outside of the throng of students. He blinked at the hand Franz had extended, but after a moment he took it in both of his and gave it an enthusiastic shake.

"It's nice to meet you Franz! My name is Inti." The Inca released Franz's hand, and forgoing a surname he continued. "The other students were singing your praises. _{Well, mostly.} It's nice to get a compliment from such a person." Even if it was probably just flattery, Inti didn't mind. He was in a good mood, enjoying himself, and he knew his performance was not great. Still, Franz seemed nice enough. Plus if he remembered right, someone had mentioned that he was a particular type of Polymath. Inti had never met a Mesmerologist before. Not that he recalled anyway. But he had heard about them, and they interested him, and so Inti didn't hesitate to bring the Occidental boy's specialty up.

"They said you are... a mesmerologist too, is that right?" At some point Inti had crossed his arms underneath his poncho, tilting his head curiously. "I've heard it's rare and difficult. How does it work? Can you see inside of a person? Do you have to practice a lot? Oh, how do you find time to practice and dance and everything else too?" For what it was worth, Inti did appear to be genuinely interested to know more, with not a hint of judgement in his voice. Just after asking his questions, he paused and an expression reminiscent of embarrassment crossed his face, but it passed quickly. Manners, manners, Inti! "Ah, if you don't mind answering. I would understand if you didn't want to talk about it," he added, "though it seems really cool."

While Inti and Franz talked, more students made their way to the dance area. Little by little they were taking to the floor in the wake of excitement the two boys had stirred up. It was nice to see things getting even more lively. And speaking of lively, there were two guys that had come loudly into the hall and requesting another song change. Were they inebriated or something? There was alcohol being served, so it was possibility. The duo was hard to ignore even if you were in the middle of a conversation with someone... and now they had started singing! The sight of them made Inti laugh, it looked like they were having fun.

---

While a great number of rumors about the powers that be in the Occident had reached the Orient, more fringe theories were largely kept out of the reports that Shou had been granted. Thus it was of his own deduction that he came to the conclusion that Frau Konigsmahne had quite the mechanical personality. Her expression may have been awfully blank, but her intentions were quite clear as she studied him. The question was not a rejection, so he imposed himself on her further and placed his plate and several glasses of refreshments on the table across from her.

"Mainly socialization," he broke the silence before it could drag on long enough to be considered awkward. He chuckled a bit at her rather courteous manner of speaking, and swapped out the chair for something more suited for an Egoist like himself. "Shou Zheng," he introduced himself as he dropped himself into the rather plush seat. "Business though? In a strict sense I suppose, but it would be more akin to training for the both of us. It was quite hard not to notice that student shielding you earlier after all. Speaking of which, where is he? I don't believe the cut he suffered was that serious."

"Socialization..." An interesting answer, yet unsurprising as Lucy was aware that her peers loved to do this... activity, apparently it was important and she was the weird one for not wanting to waste her time with pointless small talks and fruitless discussions. Why should she socialize when she could be furthering her studies and working on her projects? No one could live forever, no? Thus, every person had a limited time on Earth and wasting said time with this 'socialization' was unwise. Regardless, just as only a minority of the populace were polymaths, it seemed the same could be true for wisdom. Nevertheless, perhaps the slightly-older student had a specific purpose in mind, just like Mr. Gharbi, she shouldn't rule out that possibility.

The silver-haired girl watched Shou swapped the standard dining chair for one that could accommodate his self-modified body better, judging from the fins on his ears and piscine tail, his Egoist Formulization must be themed around aquatic creatures. "An excellent swimmer, likely could breathe underwater, among other abilities commonly shared by Egoists..." She self-mused about him, only stopping when he took a seat and started 'socializing'. Oh, how unexpected, it seemed he was curious about Mr. Gharbi instead, but why he did he approach her instead of Kalil himself? Indeed it's because he also didn't know of his whereabouts, so this confirmed that she didn't miss him, the Mughal Polymath really was not present in the Hall of the Greats.

"An excellent question, Mr. Zheng, for I am searching for the same answer. We are supposed to rendezvous here for a dance, but it seemed he is late, or I am too early." She explained matter-of-factly in Latin, "Fortunately, it wasn't and after the nurse treated it with disinfectant and clean bandages, he will recover in a matter of days." She continued her meal for a few more cuts before her green eyes blinked once.

Hmmm... Egoists... the defector that Franz mentioned was an Egoist... so, perhaps? But, what were the odds? There were hundreds of Egoists here, it could be any of them, hell, they could be not even physically here in Bermuda. Thus, while it was a tempting proposition to address the topic, Lucy deduced that the chance was far too slim without further information from either her family or employer.

With that said, what could she say to Mr. Zheng? She didn't plan for this encounter, she had nothing to say to him, which was why this socialization activity is so pointless... it achieves nothing. "...do you need me for something else, Mr. Zheng?"

“Good, good. It’d be a shame if it was anything too serious.” He nodded a few times before he took a moment and dug into the plate of food before him. He also took the time to consider the younger girl he sat across. She was far too expressionless to come across as rude or haughty. From the rumors he had heard of her, disinterest seemed to be the most apt word to describe her. There was only so much that Shou could come up with after a few moments of interaction though.

An eyebrow of his climbed just slightly as her attention seemed to be drawn to his more inhuman features. The apparent curiosity seemed to last only a moment though, and it wasn’t addressed either as she sought a close to their conversation instead. “I was wondering if you’d entertain the idea of further training though. Given that earlier mishap, it seems that a quicker reaction time might serve you well,” he explained himself as he nodded towards the folded up form of Schwarzritter next to her. “Personally, I am curious to see how well I can fare against your famous creation as there aren’t many things comparable to it.”

"It'd be a shame if it couldn't perform to its utmost, no?" Shou asked with a small grin and a most earnest tone. Heavens knew that it seemed unlikely he'd be able to bait a reaction from her, so why bother trying?

"Training..." Oh, he meant training her own body to perform better in the face of danger, ah of course, he was an Egoist and all, it'd make perfect sense for him to suggest that. However, Lucy saw the matter in a different light, it wasn't her who needed to improve, it's Schwarzritter that was currently limited in its functions, but should she even waste Shou's time with matters that he likely not understand? Her answer came when he addressed Schwarzritter directly, at that very moment, Shou could see that unmistakable glint of passionate interest in the young girl's green eyes. He better be prepared for a rant, he asked for this after all.

"Oh, indeed, that's a good point, Mr. Zheng. Schwarzritter is currently unable to act by himself, he needs my commands to do so, either via voice or direct contact," Lucretia put her fork and knife down as she seemed to entirely abandon the notion of eating, at least for the moment, "You see, the reason for his inaction when those glass shards fell upon me was because I, myself didn't realize such an accident had transpired, and thus I was unable to command Schwarzritter to shield me. I am the weakest link in his functions." At this point in the technologist prodigy's rant, perhaps Shou could get an inkling that the hypothesis he told Jeanne regarding Lucy's business with Franz wasn't inaccurate, "It is for this reason that the next major breakthrough I need to make him truly perfect is self-automation, a machine capable of independent actions though a pre-defined set of logic parameters, emulating the mind of a person." She nodded satisfyingly to herself a few times in succession, "Tis' will also mean unlocking the secrets of the automaton concept, and I believe it can be done, just as Paracelsus once discovered Polymathy, so will I discover automatons."

Her rant ended, she didn't even realize that she might have put off people, ordinary people her age mostly, but fortunately, Shou was also a genius and despite his major being different, the fact remained that he was among the world's brightest youths. "Of course, I will welcome chances to gather more data for Schwarzritter's functions through practical experiments, however... She paused for a moment, studying Shou's aquatic features again. "I didn't engineer him to be operated in a hydrosphere... would it be fair to you to engage him on dry land?" Lucy inquired, all of her attention were now focused on Shou, for better or worse.

In the background, the orchestra somehow shifted to a particularly pro-Britain song, instigated by a particularly 'drunk' student, but since it's not "Deutschland über alles", she paid no particular attention to it, what she did pay particular attention toward was the symphony's requester himself, the person she had promised a dance for. So... Kalil was finally here, hmmm... between a dance and talking about Schwarzritter, it was abundantly clear where her priorities lied. Besides, it seemed Kalil was busy with someone else anyway, an older British boy with dark hair and golden eyes, wearing that distinctive top hat, one of his friends perhaps? They seemed quite jolly together.

"So, Mr. Zheng, what do you think?" She pressed him for an answer, her eyes opened wider than the usual blank stare, and one of her hands petting the backpack-shaped metal contraption as if it's a beloved canine companion.

If anything, the glint in Lucretia’s eyes only made Shou lean forward with a continued grin. It was always nice to see some genuine passion and enthusiasm from subject matter experts, and he rarely disliked listening to them speak. While the information might not be personally applicable, who knew when some tidbit of knowledge might prove to be useful.

He continued to eat while Lucretia spoke, but at a slightly slower pace so that he’d be free to respond if an opportunity presented itself. Sometimes it was best to just let them talk without interrupting their train of thought. For all that the conversation may have gotten off to a slow start, it didn’t seem like interacting with Lucretia was all too difficult. Just be straightforward with her and have something that wasn’t a waste of her time~ Though he wasn’t sure how well that would work out as friend material... He put those thoughts aside as she made her declaration though and nodded along with her. “Mhmm, I imagined it was something along those lines if you sought out Herr Steiner so quickly.”

“There’s not many with similar adaptations to mine, so most of my experience is on land to begin with,” he explained. “I’ve only heard rumors regarding your creation, but unless it overshadows the Leopards and their controllers currently in service, I believe we should all be able to learn from these tests.” He had no doubt that Lucretia’s masterpiece boasted some impressive performance, but she had said so herself. All that performance was directed by her in the end, and he had no idea what sort of training she had received.

Before he could ask though, a rather loud and boisterous shout caused him to glance over his shoulder. Had someone gotten that drunk already? After recognizing the student responsible and seeing the pipe in his hands? Apparently they had just gotten high instead. “I’d say he looks rather recovered already,” Shou remarked with a chuckle as he turned his attention back towards Lucretia.

“While we can always figure out where we need to start after our first tests, I am curious as to how Schwarzritter might differ from other panzermensch in function. When commanded by voice the Leopards are… somewhat simple in their attack patterns,” he allowed with a shrug. “They’re much more skilled when controlled directly, but of course that varies from one controller to the next."

"Ah, Herr Franz Steiner, ja." The silver-haired girl nodded gingerly, approving of Shou's knowledge of the Austrian Mesmerologist, "Indeed, while many simply dismiss mesmerology as a faux major, I think otherwise. I've hypothesized that Mesmerology may be the key to construct an artificial mind. After all, plenty of technological innovations are based off what already exists in nature, and the brain is part of nature." Lucy continued explaining, it wouldn't take a genius to see that Shou had found the key to her heart, the type of geniuses who has limitless passion toward their interests and little for everything else.

In return, whether out of genuine interest or as a form of feedback to keep Shou's attention on her, Lucy listened to his explanations regarding his own major. Although since he's a fellow polymath, perhaps it was indeed genuine interest as Lucy rarely did something just for the sake of politeness. "So aquatic egoists are rare? I see..." Then her eyes practically perked up when he mentioned the Leopards, one of Germany's most compact, reliable, and thus mass-produced Panzermensch. "Ah, the Leopards, well, they are Panzermenschs, while my creation is a drone, not meant to house a pilot, although I understand how they can be confused." With both of them being hulking metal constructs and all, "As of right now, in a straight up combat encounter, a Leopard defeats Schwarzritter in pure combat prowess, She paused for a moment to let her words sink in before continuing with a confident emphasis, "However, Schwarzritter possesses many advantages over a Leopard." Judging from the small smirk curled at the corner of her lips, she was definitely going to chew Shou's fin-ears out with another rant.

"First, Schwarzritter is capable of aerial traversal, counteracting gravity via the Peizogravitas Formula, making it far more versatile. Second, he's capable of folding into a compact size when not needed as you can see right now. Third, indeed his capacity of receiving and reacting to commands are notably more efficient than a Leopard as Schwarzritter was designed as a drone, not a bipedal vehicle, a Leopard best functions when manually-controlled as it should be, being a Panzermensch. And last but not least, fourth, he's far from finished, I fully intend to keep working on his design and once I've unlocked the secrets to full automation, he'll be able to take on even the most skilled pilot without a single command from me aside from "Engage!"." Lucretia huffed with her eyes closed, very satisfied at her ambitions and her means to achieve them. At this point, her plan to dance with Kalil was nothing but forgotten.

"So, of course, Mr. Zheng, we can arrange for a test once we've received our academic schedules." She finished before deciding to continue with her meal, now with more emotions in her gesture.

“Well, I hope he can produce some worthy results then. I haven’t heard much about his work,” Shou admitted with a shrug. “Most of the news I have heard involves him being on the bad side of his country’s nobility.” Then again there must have been something about Franz that had granted him entry to Bermuda. Whether the man was a snake and charlatan, or the real deal was something Shou had yet to determine, but he hoped it wouldn’t end up too troublesome for anyone who got involved with the other student.

“Slightly more uncommon, ja. Most people don’t make their livings upon the seas after all.” He replied and nodded before he leaned back into his seat to listen. “Ah. I did recall an explanation for why the Leopards take so much time to shift between use and transport forms.” Something about how they wanted to make sure the pilots weren’t inadvertently crushed to death if the Leopard was compromised and forced to compact on itself. Chuckling softly as she finally looked a bit more like someone her age, Shou raised an eyebrow as he waited for her to no doubt espouse the greatness of her own masterpiece.

“Flying does grant it a lot more options and mobility,” Shou agreed with a nod as he looked at the box floating next to Lucretia. He had seen it hover next to the girl earlier when its full bulk was on display, but it had been a first for him. The Leopards were great, hulking constructs after all, and each step that had taken shook the ground. Utterly incomparable to the way Schwarzritter glided through the air smoothly at its creator’s side. Now if the slight hum that came from all the power flowing through it, the blue glowing lines that ran over its frame, and the cre- Well, maybe there was still quite a bit of things to be done before Schwarzritter could be considered stealthy by any means.

“I suppose his bulk doesn’t quite lend an air of femininity.” With how much time and effort she had poured into Schwarzritter’s creation, it wasn’t too odd that she treated it like an actual companion. If her ambitions were made real, that might not just be a quirk either~ “Indeed. Let’s see if we can’t make it so you can do that together first,” he agreed with a smile.

Hana recognized the name. Ryuuko was, if nothing else, well-known for being the prodigal daughter of her family. "You've managed some impressive work of your own," she greeted her praise in kind. "Nothing wrong with being in a hurry, I'm in the same boat, though, I don't think anyone's in dire need of first aid, from what I can see from here. Maybe they'd already left.

"How do you like the evening's festivities so far? Certainly a little more than I was expecting, I'd say."

"You're too kind." Ryuuko smiled as she responded to Hana's return-praise. She then briefly turned her gaze back to where the shards had rained down from the chandelier. Indeed, no one there seemed like they are in need of aid, confirming Hana's words. "Hmm, that's true isn't it. Or perhaps nobody had been harmed in the first place. One can hope, haha." She nodded lightly before continuing, now putting her attention fully to her fellow Egoist.

"Oh it had been quite nice, really. The food and beverages on offer are both diverse and pleasing, and the general atmosphere had been very fine so far. Yes, I suppose it's been more than I was expecting as well, haha. Still, nourishment and fine music are just the side dressing. This night exceeded my expectation most of all because of the people that I've seen and met here. It's incredible, don't you think? So many people of significant renown and achievements from all over the world... Including you, Ms. Yun. Or should I say, especially ones like you." Ryuuko's smile widened as she paused briefly.

"And I did not say that merely as flattery. After all, what you did with your skills were not only highly remarkable but also bravely straying from the convention, at least to me. And well, I found people who are brave enough to break the limitation of norm, convention or tradition to be most admirable indeed." She made a friendly grin, a little bit of obvious excitement visible on her face. "After all, that was what I did myself. Breaking away from tradition, that is."

"I haven't tried the wine yet. The food is quite impressive, just from the selection. I've grazed a bit, mostly on things I didn't recognize." Hana didn't really have too much to add in terms of the party itself. Other than the incident with the lights, it was quite a lovely, if large, gathering. "As for my own skills, flattery will only get you so far. My homeland's had plenty of time to move toward breaks with tradition and enjoy the fruits of trade with the rest of the world."

"From what I understand, you really aren't a fan of tradition at all, Miss Higashiakemi. It's most of what I've heard about you, striking out to forge your own path, and disowning your family, and all that. That has to take quite a lot of conviction. Or a lot of spite." Hana shrugged. "Either works, really." By her tone of voice, there's no judgment in her words, just an honest assessment. "Anyway, it is interesting what one can accomplish when not shackled by tradition, isn't it?"

"Haha, you understand right, Ms. Yun! By now, I've had way too many disappointments with the notion of tradition. And well, it's both out of conviction and spite really. My family simply didn't see eye to eye with me." Ryuuko saw no reason to lie about that herself. She made her own casual shrug before continuing. "Anyway, indeed. It's definitely very interesting!" Ryuuko nodded rather enthusiastically. "After all, traditions should not be used as an excuse to shy away from beneficial changes and advancements. Why stick with harmful traditions that no longer fit the ever evolving world, right? If only the people of my birth country can understand that..." She sighed, briefly looking to the side while recalling the arguments and the annoying family dramas that she had to deal with back then before she left Japan for Germany. Then she made a short amused chuckle before lightly shaking her head and turning to look at Hana again.

"I have to say that I am a bit envious of your homeland, Ms. Hana. An Oriental country just like Japan and yet wise and smart enough to understand the benefits of opening up to the rest of the world... Korea is smart to welcome the life improving changes from the Occident." She clicked her tongue in an expression of annoyance. "The huge majority of my people are still stuck in the past. The war had been over for a long while now and yet still they see the Occident as enemies to keep away at bay. Meanwhile, other countries like yours had cleverly moved forward."

"Ah but I don't want to bore you with my woes and personal displeasure of my country." She giggled lightly, making an embarrassed smile. "I'd be more interested to hear about your opinion as a citizen of your country, Ms. Yun. I have not had the honor of having a first hand source in regards to understanding the situation within Korea after all. Only if you do not mind sharing your mind on the matter, of course." Ryuuko raised her left hand slightly, showing her palm and smiling amicably as a gesture meant to show that she do not intend to force the matter at all if Hana doesn't feel like it.

Hana paused to think for a moment. It was a reasonable question, she just wasn't sure how much of recent history to summarize. "Well, I'm not sure how much I can really say. A lot of the stuff started before I was born, anyway. But, mostly we're learning what we can and taking advantage of what trade and exchange of ideas can bring, after opening up from isolationism. I don't remember a time when Seoul didn't have electricity, but it's still a pretty recent development. I can't say government's changed that much, but it's not really something I need to pay close attention to."

Other than borrowing the fruit of Occidental industry, what did they really have? "I suppose we've had some cultural influence, too. Some fashions you'd see closer to those in Europe, that sort of thing. But not like we're completely consumed with mania for the Occident, either."

"Ha, I see." Ryuuko laughed lightly at the mention of electricity. Mostly because of how Japan, despite their so-called pride and apparent refusal to accept the innovations from the west, had eagerly taken to integrating electricity to its society. They couldn't even be honest about it. All the denials... She then sighed lightly, a light frown on her face. "In any case, it's a great thing indeed that Korea had been reasonably open minded. I mean, something like wearing Occidental fashion in Japan would earn a person sneers and stares of disgust. I know for sure from experience. Heh..."

Ryuuko then shrugged casually, and the frown on her face turned into a friendly smile. "Anyhow, thank you, Ms. Yun. It's always more interesting to hear directly about a country from someone native to it. Hmmm, actually. You mentioned earlier that you've only tried a bit of the dishes on offer so far. Well, me too actually, and I'm feeling like getting an actual proper dinner." She giggled politely at that before continuing to talk. "If you don't mind, I'd love to talk more with you over that dinner. May I have the honor? Of course, no pressure involved, haha."

"Dinner sounds good. I have been grazing, but sitting down at a table's better for discussion, anyway." Hana nods in the affirmative, and starts wandering toward the food once again. She browsed the dishes on offer, continuing to focus on things she didn't recognize. Though, this time for more substantial items. A bit of that beef roast, that sort of thing. Helpfully, she pointed out anything she knew was worth trying to Ryuuko. Although, she wouldn't comment on why, in most cases.

After she filled her own plate, Hana was quick to move on with "I'll go get us a table," by way of explanation. It might take a bit of searching to find her again, but she had managed to claim a small table off to the side. It was a quieter space, more dimly lit and perfect for more intimate conversation.

"Splendid!" Ryuuko grinned wide at Hana after the other girl's acceptance of her offer. "And agreed. It will be much better to speak over dinner indeed." Thus, as Hana started to wander towards finding food once more, Ryuuko followed her closely. She appreciated Hana pointing out the things she knew was worth trying, which delightfully for Ryuuko turned out to mostly be things she have yet to try out. Of course, she still took only things that fitted with her unusual teeth configuration. It would be awkward not to be able to properly eat something after she took it after all.

"Very well, thank you!" Ryuuko answered as Hana moved on to go find a table for both of them. "I'll look around just a little bit more and find you after." In the end, it only took her about a minute more before she fully filled her plate with things that caught her interest. "Hmm..." She then started looking around to find where Hana was sitting, before deciding that it would be easier to try asking people instead. A waiter that she called on happened to saw where Hana was sitting and helpfully pointed the location out to Ryuuko.

Thanking the waiter, Ryuuko quickly strode off according to the waiter's direction, promptly finding Hana soon after. "Ah, I see you've made a good choice with our table, Ms. Yun." She smiled casually at Hana as she put her plate on the table and took a seat. "Very conducive for a pleasant dinner and talk between us. In any case, I suppose we can just start... Let us dine." And so with one more nod towards Hana, Ryuuko set into tasting the first bite of her proper dinner.

With most having had their meals and their initial conversations squared away, the attention of the students naturally turned towards the dance floor. Franz Steiner, despite being a rat, a murderer, and a scam, had put on a mean display of dance skills on the open space, somehow not looking out of place despite the lack of a lady in his arms. There was something admirable about the confidence of the man, undoubtedly, a self-assuredness that made others hesitant to be the second act…until Inti joined in with his own off-kilter interpretation of Occidental-Abya-Yalan fusion dance. That drew more than a couple chuckles out of the observers, most of them wondering who that kid even was, but while the Austrian’s dance was beautiful, the Aztec’s dance was compelling. And when a couple of shitfaced teens crashed into the dance floor following Inti’s routine, demanding perhaps one of the most hilariously satirical orchestrations of the 16th century?

Well, who wouldn’t skip out on an opportunity to dunk on those islanders with an outsized ego?

Brass instruments blared out brightly, echoing throughout the opera hall with the bombast of artillery, as more than a couple drunk Polymaths, in lieu of accidentally causing a catastrophe with their specializations, sang in off-kilter unison with Kalil instead, some with more vulgar interpretation of the lyrics than others. Above in the private boxes, those that fancied themselves more aristocratic sneered or giggled at the display, while those who sat at the dining tables at the back were forced to endure the cacophony they were surrounded in. Hearing damage may not be a complete possibility, but if that elephant-faced Egoist joined in, perhaps no one would be leaving the party without blown-out eardrums. Still, this amount of merry-making may have been expected out of Polymaths who suddenly found themselves free to do as they wished, to mingle with who they wished. So many of them had been tied to academies and parents, governments and wellwishers. But here in Bermuda, surrounded only by their peers? For many, this was the first true night of freedom that they’ve had, not to pursue their own designs, but to act out in socially irresponsible manners.

And with a crescendo of instruments and voices, the song ended, leaving them all breathless.

In that lapse of concentration, in the caesura of youthful restlessness, a man, beard well-trimmed and hair swept back, stepped out from the orchestra of mechanical musicians, his presence commanding, his features a handsome mix of Oriental and Occidental. A few shrill gasps sounded from those more musically-inclined amongst the Polymaths; one particularly-enthused lady even fainted on the spot. For he was Ling-Ling Zamloch, a violinist with international fame, whose talents had seen him perform all across the world. His right hand could control a bow with near-molecular precision, while his left hand could strike the strings at speeds that easily surpassed machinery, all whilst maintaining his humanity. And now, he was here? Some may have dreamt of it, some may have thought it possible, but none had expected that such a humanistic artisan of the musical crafts would be performing for them in-person!

For a moment, the middle-aged man stood, eyes lowered in heart-wrenching contemplation.

Seconds ticked by, the lights in the room slowly concentrating upon him.

And then, bathed in luminescence, he let out a rare smile.

“Would the real Franz Steiner please stand up?”

One finger crooked, beckoning the prodigy of prodigies, the Universal Genius who needed to sacrifice nothing to attain his Formulization.

It was never a challenge that the Austrian boy could back down from, and in Ling-Ling’s shadow emerged a second violin. Twin Stradivariuses, crafted of warm wood and polished by the hands of a master luthier. Seconds stretched on to eternity as two musicians tuned their instruments, the notes honing like the sharpening of blades before a battle, while one of the waiters assembled a stand upon which sheet music was provided to Franz.

‘Danse Macabre, an arrangement for two.’

The genius youth met the gaze of the untouched apex and in unison, they raised their violins.

It has begun.

Thirty minutes remained until the end of the night.

With the important topic done, Lucy continued her meal, focused on the task as Shou would find that the silver-haired girl spared nary a single moment for small talks in-between servings, unless he talked to her first, but at this point in their acquaintanceship, that should nowhere come as a surprise to him anyway. Before long, the young prodigy would finish her meal, now just enjoying a glass of water cupped between her dainty fingers. It was at this moment that the grandiloquent British symphony ended, much to the relief of nearly everyone in the hall, excluding the two shitfaced bros and their compatriots.

Lucy herself didn't particularly care, her attention was solely focused on Shou previously then her meal after that, so it was a nice coincidence that by the time she finished, the show marched to a more... palatable performance. "...?" She locked her emerald irises at the stage, curious as to what brought such a commotion of high-pitched feminine squeals and gasps. She could see a gentleman, well into his middle-aged years, carrying a violin with him. Oh, a human musician instead of the brass orchestra perhaps? No... that wouldn't elicit such a reaction, it was likelier that this man - whoever he is - was a figure of some repute. She didn't know him though... but then again, she wasn't the type to know other people much if they were irrelevant to her passions.

Then, an interesting turn of events, instead of beginning his performance, the violinist invited Franz Steiner instead to the stage, yes, the very same Herr Steiner that she wished to ally with, Franz Steiner the Mesmerologist. Oh, of course, he's a musician too after all. She knew all about him, well, the information that was presented to her in the briefings anyway. Since she had a personal stake and connection with the older youth now, Lucy paid specific attention to him, his duet with Ling-Ling.

"..." Indeed, it was a beautiful performance, an auditory delight, symphonic masterpiece. If anything, this just proved that Franz wasn't a sham, he had skills. He could dance and play, among other things. The notion that this young man might hold the key to unlocking Schwarzritter's true potential in perfect automation was enough to curl a smile on Lucy's lips as she clapped after the last note was strung from his violin.

---

Ling-ling Zamlock. The man needed no introduction in Franz’ mind. His mere presence ripped the Austrian boy’s attention away from his conversation with Inti. All eyes were on him. What interest did such a man have in Bermuda specifically, as opposed to the global stage?

”Would the real Franz Steiner please stand up?”

Franz was taken aback in shock. One of his idols, the man who stood atop of the world of violin, had directly asked for him. Had the tales of his exploits earned him such recognition? Franz was quick to compose himself as he began walking toward the stage. What was he thinking, of course he had made such a name for himself. He was Franz Steiner, and he was the only one who could gather the reputation that was held in that name.

Franz took the stage and took a bow to accept the honour in front of his fellow students. He graciously accepted the violin that was handed to him. The two exchanged pleasantries as they prepared their instruments for the duet.

”I must admit Zamlock, you were one of my role models when it came to honing my skills on the violin. When I first moved to Vienna, I had seen you perform in person in the first year. I was mesmerized by the skill you displayed then and I had thought then that no one could surpass such a skill.”

”I wish to humbly compare my skill to yours.”

Even if Franz couldn’t satisfy his desire to surpass all others tonight, it was certain that this would be the grand conclusion to the night he had been waiting for. It would be a duet like no other.

Certainly, it would be more fitting than that amateur British drivel those two drunkards requested. Of course, Franz did expect much better. If the British had musical taste, they wouldn’t be called British.

As Franz adjusted his sheet music, a glint of recognition passed over his eyes as he looked toward the Ottoman boy he had spoken with earlier. Civil war eh. No time to dwell on it just yet though, the people had been waiting long enough for this performance.

The genius youth met the gaze of the untouched apex and in unison, they raised their violins.

It has begun.

---

Franz could keep up with the maestro in the duet well enough. Although Zamlock was certainly in the lead position, even if the untrained ear couldn’t hear it. This did not bother Franz for the time being. He would allow the maestro to take the lead for the start out of respect. He had other matters to ponder on anyway.

The Austrian boy scanned the room with the stage as his vantage point. While he did need to look down to the page frequently, he was able to keep a sense of showmanship while he surveyed his future colleagues. With the matter of Konigmahne’s rush to conduct family business and de Bordeaux’s comments about snakes in the grass, one thing was made abundantly clear. Many of these students were not here for genuine academic purposes, much like himself, they served some outside interest groups.

But that left some key questions on Franz’ mind. Just how many of them were like him? How many looked at their fellow students only to try and find a place to slip a poisoned dagger? Could he see some doing such a thing in the crowd right now? How exciting, Franz thought. And then his attention fell onto Salim, his target.

Civil war had broken out in the Ottoman Empire. Such news was very good to Franz. One of the greatest threats to Austria was crumbling at its base. All Franz needed to do was make sure it toppled over. As long as Salim stayed in Bermuda, voiceless and unable to help his country, the empire will have lost one of its great minds to help stabilize the political system. All Franz had to do was make sure Salim stayed in Bermuda with minimal contact to home.

On the other hand, if Salim would tried to leave back to the Ottoman Empire, Franz would have no issues dealing with him. It would be a great tragedy if Ottoman insurgents managed to take out the young Formulization prodigy.

But enough of those thoughts, it was about time Franz took the lead in the duet. He began to play louder and with more gusto, only for the maestro himself to match it and surpass it only slightly. Franz looked toward Zamlock and the two exchanged pleasant smiles. Franz furrowed his brow and tried again a few bars later, only for the same result. The maestro was playing with him, not allowing him to take the lead.

To the untrained ear, this would sound like the two experts were making the duet truly come alive. But to Franz, calling it a duet was far too pleasant for what this was. It was a duel. Franz was the aggressor, listening in for any opportunity Zamlock gave to take the lead and trying to take it. But Zamlock’s defence was perfect. Every time Franz tried to leave the shadow of the maestro, he would match it immediately, maintaining his position.

Franz hid his look of frustration behind a facade of theatrical confidence. The maestro was playing with him. The two continued to exchange pleasant smiles throughout the song. There was no way that Zamlock was not aware of what Franz was trying to do. Did he hold the same malcontent that the boy hid behind his grin, Franz wondered. Was the maestro trying to send a message of humility to the young prodigy or was Franz merely letting it get to his head?

The exchange continued like this until before Franz knew it, the song was over. To an outside viewer, this was a spectacularly grand performance on both the violinist’s parts. One may even think that Franz should consider himself proud to keep up with the world’s greatest violinist. But Franz knew better, there was no point that he had shown himself capable to outplay Zamlock. Franz had lost the duel of strings.

Afterwards, Franz spent a brief moment studying the man. What was his intention behind this? But any attempt was fruitless. If it is was humility the maestro wanted to give the prodigy, Franz would have to endure its bitter taste.

Franz gave a smile to the man he admires and reached to shake his hand. ”And thus, I believe I have my answer. Now if you will excuse me, the night is close to finishing and I would like to dance some more.” Franz gave a bow before exiting the stage to return to the floor. There was no point trying to contend further with the maestro, the difference in skill was decided far before the song had ended. He would need to exercise patience and practice before he could surpass that man.

---

Valeriya Zhukova

Well. Bang danced better than Valeriya expected for a cripple. Still, she could see that he was tiring. After just one round of dance, Valeriya disengaged herself, favoring him with a slight smile as she made a quick excuse to leave. After all, she wasn't looking to kill the boy. Another round of that might as well have him collapse, from what she could see.

The Russian engineer snatched another glass of all-too-weak wine champagne for herself, looking around for somewhere to sit and keep herself occupied. She could continue to go after her target, but being too pushy might just tip him off. Best to lay low for the moment. But where to sit...ah.

The only table near her with available seating just so happened to be occupied by one von Konigsmahne. So with no better options and without further ado, Valeriya took a seat at Lucrezia's table, resting one leg on her knee as she took a swig of bubbly.

"And here I thought they said Germans have no sense of joy." Valeriya remarked, taking note of the slight smile on Lucrezia's face and following her gaze. "So what strikes your fancy more, then? The music, or Herr Steiner?"

---

It was a tiring performance, one which accelerated the heart and rushed the blood. In all senses, among these drunk and rowdy, not the bourgeois and judging, did Kalil feel most alive. Genius and merchant's son though he was, his foremost childhood was not spent only tutoring in his father's manor. Roaming and exploring the streets of Dhaka, being among the common peoples, this was the childhood he had. To smell the street food and hear the lower merchants sell their wares, to feel the trundling of the masses and to see the laughter of the people. It was something to enjoy and onboard the airship, it seemed to be something he left behind.

These noble sons and daughters felt so distant to him. Kalil was rich, yes, mayhaps even richer than many here, but a commoner he was still. So, in his drug-addled mind, he was surprised to find other students joining him in song. He laughed with a few of them afterwards, sweating slightly after the boisterous effort.

His well-needed conversing and socialising was distracted by two men taking center stage. It was a duet of expertise, as far as his ear could tell, the occidental-style music both new and refreshing in his ears. There was something more lively about a performance by humans over a performance by machines. It was sobering him to listen to the duet, calming his senses and euphoria. And in this small, calm sea he found himself in, Kalil realised two things.

One, his compatriot Englishman (did he learn his name?) had parted ways without him noticing. Rude. Two, he had promised a dance with a lady. And a gentleman never backed down from an offer of dance. This distracted him enough to ignore the fact he actually did recognise one of the men which underwent spontaneous performance.

Hurrying to leave, he bid farewell to faces he would surely forget in the morning, to look for one he would. Spotting the silver-haired German on a table, approached by a familiar looking blonde, the Mughal beelined straight for the pair. Hopefully he would not be strayed from his path.

That would just be rude.

---

Kiran departed from his former group, gaze raking over the remaining attendees. In the background, one Franz Steiner was called to perform with the maestro Ling-Ling Zamloch. Kiran found it incredibly pleasing, but didn’t focus solely to listening to it. He had a mission to tend to, and not much time remaining to make contact. Fortunately, his target was not too difficult to find. Approaching Shou Zheng, who was seated next to the Königsmähne heiress of all people, he prepared what he wished to say.

“Good evening,” he greeted them, nodding politely to them both, then promptly sat down next to them. “I apologize if I am bothering you during your meal, but I had meant to greet you, Zheng, all since I’ve realized you were also on board the Titania, though I did not get the opportunity to do so. You see, one of the things I was looking forward to doing during my studies in Bermuda was looking into cooperation with people of other Majors. I happen to believe that you would be the perfect candidate – if you are interested of course. I am working on making my mobile unit,” he patted the suit-case he was carrying, “viable for underwater exploration. I think you might have some valuable input in regards to that, and perhaps may be even willing to help me test it out?” Once he was finished with the explanation and request, Kiran flashed the other boy a hopeful smile.

With their conversation finished, Shou didn't attempt to bother Lucretia with any further idle chatter. Maybe in time the girl would be open for it, but for now he contented himself with finishing his meal in peace. That his ears were ringing from the rambunctious happenings on the dance floor was hardly a concern. He had experience and participated in worse during his sailing days after all.

It was even preferable to the more serious and refined performance that followed it. Ling-Ling was a name he knew, even if he didn't follow the music scene, and it made sense for the world's premier Academy to have the influence required to hire a man of such prominence. He raised an eyebrow as one of his peers was called out to duet with the man though. Truly Franz had the attention of many it seemed, and he supposed it made sense. He hadn't heard of another Mesmerist among the students, although it could be wholly possible they existed and were simply being a bit more clandestine about painting a target on their back.

Whatever musings he might have had on the matter were pushed aside as Kiran approached the table though. "Not to worry," he reassured the other student as he placed his chopsticks down and finished what was left in one of his glasses. He picked up another one and swirled its contents around as he listened. Kiran's work was somewhat familiar to Shou, if only due to its relation to Valeriya's.

"I'm not sure how applicable my knowledge might be to your constructions, but if you're in need of a safety diver for your tests I certainly don't mind," Shou replied with a polite smile of his own. While he knew of what adaptations had taken place to enable him to swim deep, Shou hadn't given any particular thought about how they might be replicated by a Technologist. "If you have any drafts or notes about these modifications, I'd be interested in taking a read."

After the mesmerizing performance, Franz handed full reign of the stage to Ling Ling as he rejoined the student body, thus also marking the end of Lucy's particular interest in the remaining violinists. Fortunately, the maestro's music would serve just as well as background entertainment for there was something else that grabbed her focus. Another young polymath was approaching the Chinese Egoist and for the first time since she arrived at this hall - excluding her deliberate approach to Franz - she could recognize the student even without prior introduction. "Hmmm? That's Kiran Agnarsson, the panzermensch engineer from Iceland." Mobile Unit, Panzermensch, these terms refer to the same concept anyway, just as with tank and panzer.

"I wonder what business does Mr. Agnarsson have with Mr. Zheng?" Lucy pondered silently, her green eyes shifted over to the two even as her lips remained silent. The silver-haired girl was all ears as the two older boys discussed Kiran's latest project, a mobile unit designed for exploration, including submerged operations. "Aaah... of course." She praised Kiran's resourcefulness to beeline for Shou's assistance as she did with Franz, these two were incredibly relevant to the next step of each Technologist's respective projects after all. In fact, this moment of thought enabled her to deduce that Shou's time would better be spent with Kiran, which in turn would make herself have more time with Franz, yes, that'd be the wiser move based on simple deductions of efficiency.

"I do agree as well, Mr. Zheng and Mr. Agnarsson," Lucy quipped in Latin at the two older students, "While I'd welcome having you to gather more data for Schwarzritter, I think you should prioritize working with Mr. Agnarsson's exploration mobile unit as its functions are more relevant to your expertise."

“Oh, yes, having you as a safety diver would be greatly appreciated. I do have notes, though they’re in my native tongue, so I’ll have to translate them before handing them over to you,” Kiran replied. “Well, thank you for the endorsement, Ms. Königsmähne,” he briefly turned to the other conversation partner, slightly befuddled at her agreement, but nonetheless polite as he spoke to her.

“You do have me curious, however - did the two of you intend to cooperate as well, then?” If that was the case, it seemed he was not the only one who was interested in drawing from the experience of differently Majored polymaths. But Lucretia also withdrew from what had likely been an offer on Zhou’s part - given her current proposal and the fact that he was aware that Zhou’s expertise would not pertain to her own project. So, she might have someone else in mind to work with, or perhaps she’d rather work on her own, after all. Either way, he was rather keen to find out.

As Lucretia suddenly chimed in, Shou raised an eyebrow as he looked at her. A few words danced on his tongue for a moment before he snorted instead. The attempt likely would have fallen flat on the German heir. "I suppose that's German efficiency for you," he remarked with a slightly overblown shake of his head, "but I shan't insist."

"Training more specifically," he explained to Kiran as he turned his attention back towards the older boy. "As with your request, there's not much I can offer her on the technical development of her Schwarzritter. Given the little incident with the chandelier earlier though, I figured she could use more practice with him and I offered myself as a training partner." That pretty much summed it up and he took a moment to drink from the glass in his hand before he continued. “I had a similar offer with Jeanne. … Possibly, the details weren’t exactly ironed out.” Given her specialization though, it probably involved a fair bit of fire and heat.

In Lucretia's mind, it was an elementary deduction that she was sure everyone here would agree with. Sure, if she had unlimited time and resources, she'd love to have both Shou and Franz to assist with her projects, but as things stood, there was no reason for Shou to pick her over Kiran, the Icelandic prodigy was working on an oceangoing panzermensch for Paracelsus' sake, they were a match made in heaven. In fact, she'd honestly feel uneasy if she knowingly hindered a fellow Occident Polymath's passion project. Of course, the bit about Kiran and Shou's slight befuddlement went way over her head.

"Indeed, Mr. Zheng intended to help me hone my own ability to control Schwarzritter as in his mind, it'd help prevent me being caught unprepared by sudden threats, such as the falling glass earlier. I can see where he's coming from, especially as an Egoist whose major focuses on the development of one's own body." The silver-haired girl elaborated, then directed her next statement at Kiran in particular, "However, as I've told Mr. Zheng before, my vision for Schwarzritter will entail that he can protect me even if I'm fast asleep." Perhaps Kiran would immediately get what she implied, perhaps not, nevertheless, the younger polymath would curl a confidently ambitious smirk, "Automaton, a self-thinking, self-learning machine, and I believe Herr Steiner's major will make this concept feasible to be realized." She concluded with a little silent huff.

Jeanne, that was a name she also knew, Jeanne du Bordeaux, ja? The French Technologist focusing on the design of blast furnaces, a device for rapidly converting potential energy into heat among other things, but her specialization had little to do with Lucy's passions so she had nothing to say about her, thus say nothing she would.

“Ahh, I see,” Kiran nodded alongside the explanation, satisfied at getting the answers so easily, and pleasantly engaged besides. “As I understand, you wished to train against Ms. Königsmähne’s Schwarzritter, correct? While my mobile unit is not militant in design, it can function in hand-to-hand combat, and I could easily add some weapons to it for the sake of such a competition.” He assumed the Egoist had wished to test himself against Schwarzritter, and while he was aware he likely wasn’t seen as an equivalent recompensation for Zheng’s ‘loss’ of Lucretia’s assistance, he nonetheless offered to do what he could. It was only proper that if one gained something, they were prepared to give another thing in recompense. Otherwise, he would be indebted to Zheng, which he did not wish to be.

Kiran could also understand why Zheng as an Egoist would recommend training of one’s own body. And for projects such as Valeriya’s and his own, he wasn’t even all that far off the mark. As the Russian had commented, soldiers using power-armour required sufficient training, and so did pilots of mobile units. Even Lucretia could have benefitted from heightened reaction speed - if it wasn’t for her self-stated mission that was. As a Technologist himself, something the likes of automation would be preferable to himself as well, of course. However, he believed that before that happened, it couldn’t hurt to be better physically conditioned. He made a mental note to perhaps do so himself, if he found the time for it. He had quite a few other priorities after all, but if was to work with Zheng, well, maybe physical activity would find a way into his life somehow or other anyhow.

“I appreciate the offer, but you needn’t go out of your way,” Shou reassured Kiran as he set the empty glass down. “If you had no intentions of militarizing your designs to begin with, I’d rather not impose such modifications. It can be somewhat of a slippery slope if people get the wrong idea about the purpose of your creation after all.” Perhaps it was a bit of an unfounded assumption on his part given how little he knew of Kiran, but Shou did not mind offering his assistance without an immediate return. The ocean’s depths were vast and nigh unfathomable for just one person to tackle, no matter how great of an Egoist they might be.

“I did not intend to do so, no, but then again, I’d like it to be as adaptable as possible. Adding or removing weaponry as necessary would not be too difficult. Nor am I too worried about people’s assumptions as to why I do what I do. Simply making a mobile unit such as my own is seen as too much in the minds of some,” Kiran told Shou. “But we can discuss the particulars at a later time. In any case, I would simply like to repay your kindly offered aid,” he revealed.

Turning his attention to Lucretia when she revealed her ambition, he nodded thoughtfully. “Automation is quite the admirable goal, I’m not surprised you are attempting it,” he admitted. “I do wonder if Mesmerology is advanced enough so as to enable that? Though, I suppose even if it isn’t at that stage yet, your collaboration with Steiner might change that,” he commented. Privately, he was divided between doubt that the newest and most unlikely of Majors could accomplish such a feat and the thrill of possibility that Lucretia’s goal, if attained, would bring. He would certainly have to reserve a portion of his time for gathering intel on the Königsmähne-Steiner business partnership. Perhaps the German polymath may even be willing to offer that information willingly. However, while he was intrigued by her project and its results, the opposite might not be true.

“I realize it is a delicate matter, but would you be prepared to exchange some basic findings of yours?” he asked this with the slightest hesitances, though as he continued speaking, his voice and offer were both firmer. “I would reciprocate, of course, if you decide to do so. However, I will also understand if you decline. I know that those of us working in the same or adjacent fields can be rather secretive and competitive, after all,” he concluded with a playful smile.

Lucretia's T-shaped drone wasn't exactly designed for exclusive military use either and that's the beauty of it, it's a versatile floating drone that can be customized to fit one's needs. It could be used for personal transport, item storage, general heavy-duty tools, and of course, weapons platform. As of right now, it didn't even have dedicated weapons because all students were required to hand over any tools of war to be kept for safekeeping, including Schwarzritter's arm-mounted assault turrets. However, she was content to just listen to Kiran and Shou's conversation at the moment, not feeling the need to interrupt them. She definitely didn't share Shou's slippery slope sentiment, why should one care about the opinion of uneducated plebeians?

As for Valeriya, ja, that's one of the few students here that she had prior knowledge about, the Engineer of War from the Holy Tsardom of Russia. Now she was a straightforward militaristic polymath with a specialization focused on the construction of tools of war. Definitely a prodigy worth keeping an eye on, her progress could prove crucial to the Occident.

Now that Kiran addressed her again, the white-haired girl felt it was prudent to reply, "Indeed, true automatons are only thought as a myth even now, but I aim to push the boundaries of progress, turning this myth into fact." Mesmerology would just be the thing she needed! A new major to realize an old 'mythical' concept, "Hmmm?" She perked up as the Icelandic Engineer-Polymath dropped into a more careful wording, one that's so obvious that even Lucy could pick it up, "Basic findings regarding...?" If it was about Mesmerology, then he was asking the wrong person as if she knew, she wouldn't need Franz's allegiance.

However, Kiran wasn't one of those aforementioned plebeians, he must be asking about her drone, "Of course, Mr. Agnarsson, gladly." It wasn't everyday that she could converse with individuals that could keep up with her, "Mutual cooperation in the name of technological progress isn't something to be avoided, ignorance and irrationality are." Lucy surmised confidently.

“Ha, right you are!” Kiran exclaimed with a bark of laughter. “I am relieved to know you are one of those unafraid to share knowledge. It is the path to advancement, as you say. I will be looking forward to our future discussions, then,” he concluded.

With a nod, Shou let the matter drop after that and the two Technologists have their brief exchange. As he drained the last of his glasses and looked out over the dance floor, he raised an eyebrow and stood somewhat abruptly for a better look. “And I to ours,” he remarked in conclusion with Kiran, “but for now, I’ve got another person to greet.” He excused himself with a polite nod to the two other students before he gathered up his dishes and left the table.

"Of course, Mr. Agnarsson, and farewell, Mr. Zheng." The silver-haired girl concluded her three-way conversation, it seemed everything that wanted to be said had been said, very good. Indeed it was for the best that Shou worked with Kiran instead, it wouldn't take a genius to put two-and-two together. Lucy thought that'd finally be the end of her own string of conversations, but it seemed the universe had other plans as the aforementioned Engineer of War arrived just as the Iceborn Pioneer was leaving.

"...?" Then the blonde Russian prodigy proceeded to make a particularly odd statement, however, one that likely didn't contain literal interpretations of the words. Germans having no sense of joy... what could that possibly mean? Or at least, what did Valeriya intend to convey? Lucretia thought, and thought, and thought, she truly tried but came up short, this was something even a savant like her couldn't decipher. It could be a Russian metaphor, but unfortunately, she wasn't familiar with their culture. In the end, Lucy stopped her exercise in futility and just focused on Valeria's question instead.

"Herr Steiner." She replied matter-of-factly and it took a specific kind of personality to answer an ice-breaking question with the seriousness of a judge giving their verdict. The Iron Princess felt her response was sufficient and she'd say no more on the topic, not because of the need to be secretive, but because there was no need to give further explanations when it wasn't asked.

Then, Lucy spotted a familiar figure approaching her from the corner of her green eyes, the Flametouched Virtuoso, fresh bandages wrapped around his forearm. This instantly reminded her of their appointment. Hmmm... since the music was still playing, it was still within an acceptable timeframe to consider fulfilling her promise. Just before Kalil arrived, the petite girl stood up in all of her 4'8" grandeur. "I'm ready." She declared without the slightest hint of doubt that there might be other possibilities, such as Kalil revealing that he wanted to cancel or postpone the dance maybe? No, in Lucretia's world, there was only one possible reason why he was here and as mentioned, she was ready.

@Psyker Landshark @SgtEasy

Clockwork Autumn

Although it hadn’t been enlightening, the conversation with the Icelander, the Russian, and the Oriental had been interesting enough. And the food was even better, as expected of an institution like this. Nonetheless, it hadn’t been a conversation she had actively participated in, and she really did have a certain Mughal man to track down again. The white-haired girl had half a mind to send out a small insect drone into the ballroom to find out where the tanned fellow had disappeared off to, but as she wandered about the hall, an uncomfortable feeling began to strike her.

At first, the tanned girl thought that her stomach simply just disagreed with the delicious –yet foreign—cuisine, but it really wasn’t something that she couldn’t handle. She’d had and shrugged off far worse, especially when she was in her native lands. Sometimes, you’d really needed rock-hard guts to stay standing after eating some of what was available in her former country.

Whatever it was, though, it wasn’t getting better. It was getting far worse, actually, as waves of intensifying nausea began to rock her system. It wasn’t before long that Nazca had to rush for the water closet, and it wasn’t because of some half-assed excuse like Kalil had fobbed off on her earlier. This was… an emergency.

Some time later, she reemerged from the facilities with a groan.

Perhaps next time, she would be more careful before consuming raw seafood and shellfish.

Nah, who was she kidding, she was still going to have more of that delicious sushi. Just… no more for today.

The white-haired Tlaxcalan, still a bit put off by the experience, nonetheless returned to her task of finding a certain man, and finally caught sight of him once again, locking onto his figure and making a beeline for him… as he seemed to make a beeline for… was that another white-haired girl? The nerve!

“Ah! What a pleasant coincidence to run into you again,” she began, as she executed her intercept right in front of the German white-haired girl. “I trust you are feeling better, Mr. Gharbi?”

@SgtEasy @Izurich

---

The two might have had a few moments to dine in peace, but they were interrupted before any real continuation of their conversation could happen. Thankfully Hana had chosen a table off to the side of the hall, and thus underneath one of the boxes that littered the second floor. It gave him an opportunity to greet her in a rather unorthodox method; see if he couldn't get more of a reaction from her. Hopefully her dining partner didn't mind too much. Then again, Mrs. Higashiakemi was supposed to be the rather free spirited sort.

Given how the both of them were Egoist, they may have noticed something of a shadow over their dining table. Despite Jeanne's warning, Shou nonetheless continued to use the opera boxes as perches to hop between instead of their intended use. The railing might have protested and creaked a bit as he wrapped his tail around it to secure himself, but it did hold. For the moment at the least as he hung himself upside down from them and intruded on the pair's dinner.

"Hana-yang! Good to see you here," he greeted her in Korean with a grin as he swayed upside down somewhat precariously.

Ryuuko was in the middle of enjoying her dinner, which she ate rather quickly owing to the unique way upon which she eats. She noticed when the famed violinist took to the stage and invited the also famed, for his own particular reasons, self-proclaimed mesmerologist. Ryuuko wasn't really one for such form of music, preferring rather... revolutionary kinds of music instead, but even she were able to tell that the two violinists were playing very well. Of course, she couldn't notice that Franz was actually the inferior between the two. Both Zamloch and Franz sounded just as good to her.

For sometime, she focused on just enjoying her dinner. When she did decided to resume her conversation with Hana, she stopped as she noticed the shadow over the table which were then followed by the figure of fellow egoist Shou Zheng hanging upside down as he greeted Hana, beating Ryuuko to the gun.

Ryuuko raised an eyebrow at that, quickly recognizing who the "intruder" was. Then, she chuckled lightly before grinning. "Well well, you sure know how to make an appearance, Mr. Zheng... How rude, intruding upon two ladies enjoying their dinner. While hanging upside down no less, hehe." Of course, she wasn't actually the littlest bit offended, being amused instead at the fellow egoist's antics. "Regardless, it is good to finally meet you in person... Care to actually take a seat? Or would you prefer to continue being upside down as we talk?" She let out a casual, playful laugh at that.

Hana took a bit more time with her meal than Ryuuko, so she wasn't as far into her meal when the unexpected visitor dropped in. He did managed to get the drop on her, eliciting a short exclamation of surprise. It didn't last very long, as the greeting alone was enough to recognise the boy hanging unspide-down above the table. A smile spread across her face, quickly replacing the surprise.

"Oh, you startled me there, Shou." She replied in latin, just to keep to the lingua franca. "It's been a while, and I dare say this meeting's much nicer than the first time." She had to agree with Ryuuko's invitation, and gestured a bit to one of the empty chairs nearby. "You're welcome to join us, although do be careful about hanging upside-down too long. I hear it's not usually good for one."

"Well, it's certainly not good for the railing," he agreed with a cheerful smile as his impromptu introduction was welcomed. He could feel the metal bend and give within the grip of his tail, and he let go before something finally snapped. Even just a few feet above the pair was enough for Shou to twist midair and land clear of their table as he caught himself with his tail. "I'm glad to see you've made it to Bermuda."

"It's a pleasure to meet you as well, Ryuuko. You don't mind, do you?" He asked about the casual way he addressed the other girl as he pulled one of the empty seats up and dropped himself into it. She hadn't been wrong to call him rude, even if she hadn't truly meant it either. Around someone he had history with, a more crude and lax personality easily bled into his posture and expression.

"Mind? Ha!" Ryuuko grinned widely at that. Being able to address people casually without inadvertently causing an offense is music to her ears. "Quite the opposite. I'm glad to know you're not one for needless formality, Shou." She continued as shou then dropped from his upside-down posturing to one of the empty seats. "And now that you're well and properly on the same "level" as the rest of us, it's even better, hehe."

She then looked at Hana, or more precisely made sure that both Hana and Shou were in her field of vision. "And I see that you're both already quite familiar with each other, hmm? Long time friends, perhaps?" She asked casually while at the same time putting in one more large spoonful of her dinner into her mouth. Considering she's also putting an eyebrow up and smirking, it's quite obvious to the other two that the relative stranger among them was being unrestrainedly curious about their relation to one another.

Hana was tempted to play along, just to see how the other two would react. It would be easy enough to give Ryuuko the wrong idea, but friendly as she was, it might be a bit too early to joke around. "We met a while ago," she does confirm. "It's probably more his story to tell, I was just brought in to help with his treatment." There was, as far as she knew, no reason to keep that much private. She would leave the details to Shou, as it really was more his story. There were parts of it she didn't really know anyway, given how late she entered the tale.

"It's nice when I only have to worry about stepping on the toes of the person I'm talking to," Shou agreed with a sharp nod and grin. He couldn't qute manage something as striking as Ryuuko with her fangs, but the enthusiasm was there all the same. His lips did curl a bit upwards into more of a smirk at her line of questioning, and he looked towards Hana. She was a familiar face to him, yes, but that hardly meant he was any good at figuring out what she was thinking.

"It was just over a year ago, so not that long, but she's quite the important friend. It was nice having some company that was around my age, even if I didn't know a lot of Korean when I first showed up there. Yes, I enjoyed your company Hana, even if I was bedridden for the most of it~" Shou elaborated as he rolled his eyes a bit. Elaborated mighth have been a bit generous with how he hadn't described the events that brought them together at all!

With Ryuuko leaned in and clearly still curious though... Shou didn't mind actually explaining. With how unusual the loss of a full merchant fleet was nowadays, the event had certainly made the news. Possibly all the way to the Occident even! There were no doubt those that would pounce on any chance to call attention to Oriental failings.

"I know some of our papers called it the Tragedy of the Sixth," Shou started off, "but it's probably got a different title where you lived when it happened Ryuuko. I was onboard the escort assigned to the merchants because of some pirate activity in the area. What hit us definitely weren't pirates though..." He trailed off for a moment as his expression furrowed in thought before he sighed.

"We were close enough that the Koreans noticed the distress flares and sent out help. The other survivors and I weren't in the best of shapes though, even if we did avoid going down with our ships. Can't say I remember being transported all the way back to the mainland, but I do remember the first face I saw. Hana looked pretty cute with her expression all scrunched up in concentration." And just like that, the more serious tone of Shou's story went up in smoke as he took the opportunity to tease her. "I think there were... what, five different drugs you had in me when I first woke up?" He asked as he glanced towards Hana for clarification.

"In my home country, they say that incident is a failure of Egoism." Franz had joined in, his tone more on of curiousity than the somber tone talking about such a tradgedy. He had followed the sight of an aquatic acrobat on the second story because Franz realised he had yet to talk with an egoist all night. "The Occident is quick to label Egoism as a field with no further point of progress. So any news of failure in the Orient is quickly bent to such a belief. I happen to disagree entirely."

"I apologize, where are my manners. My name is Franz Steiner. May I join you three?" Franz developed a small polite smile on realizing that his company was all of the Egoist field of study. It was a field he respected and rather enjoyed learning about. But he did get some amusement from how brazen his introduction would be to the table.

Hana didn't mind the sudden interruption, and quickly turned her attention to their new interlocutor. "Pleasure to meet you, Mr. Steiner. I'm Hana Yun," she began with a straightforward introduction. "This is Miss Ryuuko Higashiakemi," she getured to the dragon girl seated next to her, "and Mr. Shou Zheng," indicating the young man. "I dare say you need little introduction; you're quite the man of the hour, with that performance earlier."

Tactfully refraining from comment on the occidental perception of the incident itself, Hana picked up the narrative where Shou lad left off. "I think it was something like that. Only maybe one or two were of my own design, but we definitely had you on quite a bit to help you recuperate. You were still quite goofy from anesthetic when you first woke up, if I recall." She didn't elaborate, but the grin on her face suggests it must have been interesting to see.

"Oooh, I see." Ryuuko nodded along as she listened to Hana's and Shou's retelling of the event that led to the two of them becoming acquaintated. "Oh yeah, now that you said it that became quite the big news, huh. I remembered the media in my country were generally trying to be somewhat subdued about it what's with not wanting to make it like the Orient messed something up. Heh." She casually shrugged at that, and before she can respond even further the famed mesmerologist intruded upon the conversation.

"Ha, and the star of the night had decided to grace us with his presence! Care to take a seat?" Ryuuko remarked playfully, meaning it in good humor. "Indeed, pleasant to finally meet you in person, Mr. Steiner. Like Ms. Yun had kindly said on my behalf, I'm Ryuuko. Higashiakemi Ryuuko." She nodded casually, grinning as she introduced herself. She also noticed Hana's decision to not comment on the Occidental perception about the incident.

Well, Ryuuko herself definitely have no reservation to comment on it. "For reasons obvious, I definitely disagree about Egoism being a field devoid of further progress." She chuckled lightly before continuing. "But it was a failure nonetheless in a way, so they're not wrong on that. Failures are what kept us improving after all... The Orient.. Or rather my country, would do well to understand that." And she finished her remark with a sort of lightly disdainful scoff at the thought. It is after all, indeed one of the folly of Japan, being a country so prideful and allergic to anything that can be regarded as bad press for the country's image.

"But eh, whatever." She shrugged again, her expression quickly turning into a nonchalant smile. "Regardless that was interesting to know." She nodded to Shou and Hana. "It would have been even more interesting to see your work in action directly, Ms. Yun..." Then she turned and grinned playfully as she looked at Shou, deciding to tease him lightly. "And indeed even eeeven more interesting to see Shou here being goofy."

"Hardly a surprise there," Shou remarked as he rolled his eyes at Franz's rather blunt entry into the conversation. There was a lot more that could be said about the incident, but it was neither the company nor time for it. An amused snort escaped him as Ryuuko didn't miss the opportunity to take a jab at Japan. Given the amount of effort her old family had spent on tarnishing her reputation though, it wasn't that surprising that the grudges ran both ways now.

In any case, Hana had already done the introductions for him and there was plenty of space around the table for Franz to pull up a seat for himself.

He raised an eyebrow at his fellow Egoist and just smirked right back. "We can find out together then. Hana still won't tell me exactly what I did, and I certainly can't remember much of what happened." He turned his narrowed eyes towards the person in question as if that would somehow get an answer out of the amused girl.

Franz pulled out a chair and graciously fell into it with the flair one would expect. "Miss Yun, Miss Higashiakemi you both flatter me too much. Although I am glad you enjoyed the performance. High praise should never go unappreciated." Franz noticed Shou's significantly colder reception to his intrusion. But it was hardly surprising, given the subject matter. "It is also a pleasure to meet you too Mr Shou. I can see such an event is not my business to press further about."

"The pleasure's all mine," he replied in turn to Franz as he softened his tone somewhat and nodded a greeting. "Lord knows I've heard more than my fair share of rumours about you." It wasn't even that much of an exaggeration either. The rumours weren't all that widespread in the Orient yet, but it hadn't been uncommon to hear Steiner brought up during discussions on Polymaths of note.

Japan was an infamously closed off to the rest of the world. It is certainly not a country above critique. But it was interesting to see someone so openly critical of their own nation. It still did not cross Franz' mind that Ryuuko may be the defector, given she talked about Japan as if it was still her nation. He would address Ryuuko directly. "One could consider my profession Egoism into the minds of others. So I am certainly in no position to say it has reached its limits, nor do I want to make that claim. While it may be increasingly more difficult to improve Egoism in a linear manner, creative applications have only just scratched the surface from what I hear." He had wondered if Egoism of the mind was a common thing in the Orient. Certainly he only knew one person who had done it successfully.

But then Franz realised in his talking that the attention was on Hana. He was also curious to know what goofy behaviors the girl could cause this beast of a boy to exhibit.

"Oh, it wasn't that much, really. I'm sure if anyone else has had a similar expereince it'd be the same story for them. He said some silly things that I won't repeat here becuase I honestly can't remember the details either. And there's the usual stumbling around in a bit of a haze." Of course, she full well could have helped with that recovery. And left unspoken was any suggestion of the difficulty in sedating or otherwise treating an egoist in the first place. "I did give him something to take the haze off and perk up in a hurry. One of my tricks is a pretty good antidote."

And now, tempted to show off, Hana leaned in toward the center of the table, conspiratorially. "While I shouldn't encourage it, I do have a few drugs I could administer at low doses, if one wants an idea of the experience. And hey, we can all be sobered up by the end of this conversation, too." Maybe it was an indiscretion on her part, but her own skills weren't nearly as obvious as some.

"That, is exactly how it is Mr. Steiner." Ryuuko nodded and smiled lightly at Franz's words. "I suppose in general it would take an Egoist to understand that there are so much potentials yet within the art of Egoism, so I'm glad to hear that you are able to understand that we've barely scratched the surface of it. After all, with how complex it is just by nature, the human body still holds so many secrets we have yet to uncover."

She then turned to look at Shou and Hana, returning Shou's smirk with yet another toothful of grin of her own. "Well now, that's an interesting suggestion, Shou. Hands on experience is always better than merely hearing it from others after all..." And for someone as curious as Ryuuko, there's indeed just no way she'll pass up the chance to experience it. "So with that said... I'd take you up on that offer, Ms. Yun. A low dose shouldn't be too bad, hmm?" She chuckled casually, though her eyes are positively lit up by obvious curiosity.

"Please. I bet you still carry around that notebook of your's," Shou remarked with an amused snort as he sat up in his seat and leaned forwards. "I'm certainly not getting buzzed with these drinks though, and I did sort of bring it up. So are we going to need glasses for this? Maybe some hand-holding?" He waggled his eyebrows a bit as he held his arm out towards Hana.

Franz was taken aback by Miss Yun's offer in pleasant suprise. It was a choice Franz did not expect to be faced with tonight. Still, he was no coward and he wasn't about to show weakness in front of his new Egoist friends. "I too will join, I will volunteer to embarrass myself being the only non Egoist to take such a strong medicine." It was a lie of course. The Egoism Franz had done on his brain would likely make him one of the more resistant in the trio he imagined. Still, it was made by a competent chemist. So it was going to hit. "Thank you, Miss Yun. I will be more than happy to share any side effects in the morning for research." Franz said jokingly.

Hana nodded to the assent of her peers around the table. "A little skin contact should be enough," she answered Shou's question first. "I could calculate a proper dose for everyone if I knew a few things, but I think I can make a best guess anyway. I'm not trying to knock anyone out, so much as give enough for those after effects, anyway." It took a bit of time to prepare, but once she was ready, she gave everyone a light touch on the hand or arm, holding it for a short while. Her fingers did feel wet, as if she'd dipped them in water, but otehrwise there wasn't much at first, beyond a slight cool and numbing sensation. "There we go. If it's too much, let me know and I can give you an antidote."

"Now, Miss Higashiakemi. I believe you have some interesting beliefs on the future of Egoism. I too wish to explore its limits, so I would love to discuss it more." Franz stood up, dusting off his pants. "Although, I believe we should leave old friends to talk in peace. And, while the medicine has yet to kick in, I would like to move this discussion to the dance floor. May I?" Franz offered out his hand to dance.

Ryuuko watched intently with barely concealed anticipation as Hana "administered" the dose to each of them. As she received her own dose in turn, there was indeed nothing immediately obvious aside from the cool and numb sensation. Still, it will likely take effect pretty soon. Regardless, she now had a dance invitation and considering she had yet to do so... Besides, there's probably still some time before the party ends, so there's no reason to refuse. "Alright then, now I guess we'll wait and see if we'll all start getting dizzy and such. This'll be interesting." She chuckled casually before continuing. "Thanks for humoring our curiosity, Ms. Yun! Now then, I think I'll accept your offer, Mr. Franz. It'll be my honor." She grinned playfully at that as she accepted Franz's hand. "Shou, Ms. Yun, it had been a pleasant talk. I hope to see you both again soon!" And with that, she's off to the dance floor with Franz.

@Vega7285 @Jumbus @Zombehs

The waltz of polymaths and prodigies continued on into the night, more and more couples joining the floor as they realized that the entire party may pass before any of them could actually find a partner to take out on a spin. The lights in the room shone warmly, exuberantly, as the automatic orchestra gained a new brilliance under the guidance of the mixed-blood maestro, restrained instrumentals serving as a counterpoint to the soulful strings of Ling-Ling Zamloch. Such musicality wove itself particularly well into the ears of the more inebriated of the party, Franz, Ryuuko, Shou, and Hana all enjoying an altered state of mind amidst the glamourous opulence of the Hall of the Greats. For once, Vienna’s Universal Genius found himself following rather than leading, Ryuuko’s constitution and distaste for traditional roles driving the young lady to pilot them through the controlled chaos of the dance floor. Her years in Germany had served her well, and though she may not have been the better dancer under normal circumstances, when both parties were all loosey-goosey from Hana’s concoctions, it was little wonder that an Egoist would do better in keeping their wits together and their body controlled. Shou and Hana enjoyed the circumstances as well, the latter’s recreational opioids granting both Egoist a look perhaps at what Technologists see on a daily basis. The light that reflected from brass instruments and chandeliers, from wine glasses and marbled pillars, all seemed to disseminate into their base constructions, a kaleidoscopic brilliance that encouraged a bubbly joy within the two as they slipped between the gaps of fellow couples, quickstepping with the audacity that only two Egoists could possess.

Not all though, had the benefit of joining the dance floor. For all the suitors she had waiting back in her fatherland, for all the hands that normally would have taken hers in any of the Royal Society’s galas and parties following an architectural discovery or a historical breakthrough, Nazca found herself frustratingly alone, watching as the one hand she had wanted to take was whisked off onto the dance floor by some German who didn’t even know how to dance. Kalil had certainly expeditated the usual ballroom ritual of asking a lady out to a dance once he sensed the former princess’s approach, perhaps unwilling to be pulled between two equally stubborn choices once more and was now half-stumbling across the dance floor with someone else more than a foot shorter than him. A merchant’s guile may have taught the young man how to talk to short people, but it definitely didn’t prepare him for the experience of dancing with them. After all, the little princess of the Konigsmahnes had eschewed so much social experience in pursuit of her technologist obsessions that she knew little of what to actually do on the dance floor beyond following the basics ardently…basics that were mismatched for how Kalil himself was taught to dance. It was a small disaster, made only bearable by Lucretia’s inability to really comprehend how bad of a dancer he was, and Kalil being unable to really appreciate how embarrassing this was due still coming off his high.

If that trio was a disaster, however, Valeriya was a star, her flaxen hair shining in crystal-hued lights and catching the gaze of all bystanders. Other Egoists may possess more physicality than her, but the dance moves of the Occidental had always been designed for a flesh-and-blood human rather than some animalistic mutant, and the Ministry had prepared her well for the finer craft of socialization. She passed into the arms of many gentlemen and ladies that night, always a witty observation or a fine compliment on her lips as she changed partners, while off in the corner the one who originally invited her sat on a chair, tie loosened and sweat still dripping from his bow. Bang had been a good dancer. He always had an image to fulfill, after all. Being a ‘publicly adored’ Egoist meant knowing things that the War Gods of Vietnam did not need to, and he had performed admirably for one dance before his old wounds began catching up to him once more. A glass of chilled fruit juice subdued his fatigue though, and the cheerful frenzy of the dance floor pulled at him once more. The last song of the night was approaching. It was only right to accompany Valeriya one final time.

Thoughts of joining the dance at any point was totally out of the picture for James, however. The infamous Professor Poison, terror of Britain’s secret underbelly, was currently reclining on a sofa, a damp towel over his face as he suffered the down that came with the high of whatever twisted cocktail of drugs that the blasted Prodigy of Dhaka had, well, blasted him with. The music was simply too damned loud, and every footfall sounded like a hammer to his skull, a reminder that he seriously should have upped his tolerance to drugs and poisons rather than obsessing over the functionalities of his gas mask. It didn’t help, of course, that he could hear the high-pitched chatterings of one Inti Ruq’a, intent on making friends with any asocial wallflower that didn’t want to join in on the dance. Even through rejections and noncommittal responses to his conversation starts, the Aztecan youth was having the time of his life. A waltz was fun to watch even when you weren’t in the thick of it, after all, and seeing how more monstrous Egoists adjusted to accommodate for their non-standard limbs was a sight to behold. A sight that became even more worthy of beholding when one of them practically tossed another up a whole three stories into the air, the fabrics of that girl’s dress closing like a flower bud upon ascent, before blossoming open on descent.

Such revelry was not what Jeanne had interest in partaking in though. The buffoonery of supposed geniuses only exposed the ignorance and immaturity of her peers, as if they truly believed that the Academy City of Bermuda existed as some symbol of peace. Alone in an opera box, a goblet of sanguine wine swirling in her hand, the Flame Witch of France watched with cold eyes at the proceedings below, the light refracting from her wine glass casting a crimson hue over her pale features. They didn’t understand, did they? Perhaps they would never understand, truthfully. Geniuses bound by conventions, children still treading the tired roads of the adults before them, when they ought to be stepping upon the shoulders and the skulls of their forebearers instead, casting their gaze ever higher, ever brighter.

Or perhaps their gaze should be kept towards the horizon instead. Though he had been prepared for the party somewhat, Kiran had still found the opera hall to be somewhat stifling in its grandeur. As those that sought him had hopped off to join in the dance, the young explorer had sought solace outside the Hall of the Greats instead. The music was muted now, and he found himself staring at the falsified sky outside, breathing in the balmy air of the equator. Even here, the faint roar of the ocean could be heard, and as the time ticked closer and closer to the end of the party, double-decked trams began to converge upon the hall. The muted music crescendoed, the heady warmth of the night gave way to the cool breath of the near and distant ocean. Perhaps there would never be a true winter in Bermuda, but there would always be the familiar seas.

And that was fine.

As the first of the trams arrived, as the last notes of played out, Kiran got himself the first choice of seats.

The night was over. It was time to see their accommodations properly.


_{@Medili@Jumbus}
Was this a sick joke? Was whoever in charge of assigning students to their rooms actually some perverted psychopath? Did her family pay good money for this bullshit? Beyond the pleasant surprise of realizing that her dance partner was also apparently her roommate, Ryuuko, stepping off the tram and being directed to the apartment, would realize that the entire building was designed as a Japanese ryokan, with sturdy wooden walls partitioning the property from the streets and austere gardens of swept stone and crooked trees framing the wide, three-story array. She could practically smell the tatami at this distance. Perhaps it was novel, even enjoyable to the other students who had been assigned to this building, and there definitely seemed to be an eclectic mish-mash of nationalities around her, but wow. Just wow.

Ryuuko would have to do a fair lot of renovation, for sure.
_{@banjoanjo@Liotrent}
The grandeur of La Nadine was not lost upon Bang and James, both who had a moment to marvel at the French architecture that informed the design of the seven-story hotel, before they were whisked in by the staff to get their room keys. The first floor had both a communal dining room, a gym, and an entire swimming pool tucked in, doubtlessly meant to be a public space for all occupants of the hotel, while the two Polymaths themselves found themselves rooming together in a spacious four-bedroom, three-bathroom, two-kitchen space, already furnished with plush furniture and floral prints. There was no doubt now that Bermuda was meant to accommodate even more students than the initial two thousand, and it undoubtedly boggled the mind to consider just how much luxury could be afford when the unified wealth of the nations was concentrated in one stop.

Perhaps it was even a bit uncomfortable for the two of them…but on the other hand? It was about time they could live it up, as individuals of true genius and popularity!
_{@Yankee@SgtEasy}
Subdued elegance was what Inti and Kalil came to as they marvelled the Venetian design of their four-story apartment. Formed in the design of a horseshoe, with the inner side becoming an open plaza for dining and socializing amongst a well-maintained garden, the apartments had a wonderful beachside view, and the interior that the two were housed in followed that same trend of classy, cool charm. Patterned tiles clicked beneath their feet, while firm and warm rugs ringed around the furniture in the room. With a private bedroom and a shared living space that had an open-concept kitchen, the only fault that the apartment had was perhaps the lack of a bathroom…which honestly wasn’t a problem, when there was a thermae and a whole ocean within walking distance.

The colors in the room may be lacking the complexity that each of the boys’ respective heritages and cultures had, but certainly, that was an easy thing to fix.
_{@Psyker Landshark@Izurich}
Perhaps there was some irony to be mined from Valeriya being expected to live in what, by all accounts, looked to be a British castle, but Lucretia was easily at home with it. Roughly-hewn stonework gave the exterior of the castle-apartment quite a bit of medieval charm, while the suite that the two Europeans were actually expected to share was fortunately still equipped with all the facilities one could expect out of any modern suite. A massive hearth, equally massive chairs, and the mounted head of a stag, all generated a real sense of rustic, aristocratic coziness to the space, while the four canopy beds that were present in the singular bedroom was decked with fine embroidered silks. It was perhaps a bit excessive to have such beds, when piping wove in and out of the stonework to heat up each room regardless, but it brought forth thoughts both of resplendent comfort and archaic times, when privacy could not be guaranteed no matter how wealthy one was. Well, privacy wasn’t too much of a concern in the end. It would be easy enough to partition off the bedroom into two halves, and there were four separate studies within the suite too.

It looked to be very comforting, having this place as a home, even if it was unlikely that there would be any good hunting to be had on Bermuda.
_{@Zombehs@Silverpaw}
Dark, thick timbers and sturdy brickwork made for a rather traditional Germanic set-up for an apartment. Three stories tall and painted the brown, white, and green of any old-fashioned inn, the building was nothing if not comfortable for Shou and Kiran, removed from the flimsy opulence of the opera hall. It was auspicious that two men of the sea found themselves roomed together in a space that was humbly-furnished but still remarkably spacious. The small windows of the suite were a bit unfortunate, and the beds were a bit too big for what both of them were accustomed to, but otherwise, it was a comforting place with a simple coloring theme. Two bedrooms, a small fireplace and dining room, and a well-equipped kitchen made an austere impression, but one that gave Shou and Kiran plenty of room to make their own design choices if they so wished.

And if they didn’t? Well, what sort of traditional German hostel didn’t have a full tavern right underneath?
_{@Click This@GreenGoat@Vega7285}
The waters of the swimming pool that laid in the inner courtyard of the lime plastered apartments was wonderfully, beautifully blue. It was almost a pity then, that neither Nazca nor Hana nor Jeanne would be able to dip into that pool until the morning. The three had been assigned separate rooms in the three storied building, where stone pillars and plentiful archways contrasted with tiled roofs and wooden railings. Large glass doors led to patios that offered both views of the pool below, where lounge chairs and sunshades stood, as well as to the natural reserves beyond. The suites themselves, single bedroom establishments with a kitchen close to the patio to encourage outdoors dining, had wonderful Incan-style rugs to give some color to the interior, while tasteful Renaissance paintings adorned the walls. And of course, one could not forget to comment on how gorgeous the clawfoot tubs of the bathrooms were.

Undoubtedly, this would be a wonderfully clandestine retreat for the ladies of the apartment. And if they ever wanted to socialize and show off their swimwear…well, a scenic pool was just downstairs.

"...?" Suddenly for the second time that night, Lucretia was ambushed with absolutely no warning, first by shards of transparent glass and now by a strange white-haired Abya Yalan girl who spoke with a distinctly British accent. Lucy's green eyes blinked a few times, her protocol-directed mind taken unprepared, scrambling to make sense of the abrupt development of the situation, a situation that she abhorred to be in. Indeed, perhaps Shou's recommendation for her to improve her reaction time had merits after all...

However, right now, she had to do something. Her brows frowned and the corner of her right eye twitched in frustrated annoyance at the intruder's blatant disrespect of her plans. Right now, the offender's identity, appearance, ethnicity, bearings, and everything else didn't matter in the slightest to the Iron Princess, she could be the Empress of Britannia and it wouldn't erase the fact that she just committed the greatest sin, disrupting her plans. Those shards of glass weren't sentient, they had no motivations to speak of, merely following the whims of gravity, unlike this... this brown-skinned Arschgeige!

Lucy's pale lips quivered, her teeth gritting, then just as she was about to open her mouth to hurl some very demeaning authoritative words, Kalil managed to sidestep the trespasser and addressed her directly. The Indian prodigy could swear he heard Lucy sighing like a machine blowing off excess steam as the shorter paler white-haired girl took his dance invitation without a single fuss, genuinely not caring if it seemed rushed and walked with him to the dance floor. Finally, finally she could fulfill her promise and all was right again in the world.

@SgtEasy @Click This



Thus the ball ended and despite a few hiccups along the way, the event concluded satisfyingly for most students - save for a certain English polymath perhaps - including Lucretia as she closed the curtains via a dance with Kalil, amateurish it might be, she enjoyed it. Now, it was time to board the trams and retreat to their assigned dorms.

The one assigned to her was honestly just fine, a faux medieval castle implemented with all the amenities that the modern age could offer. It was a fine abode for someone of her stature, although Lucy wasn't exactly a snob in terms of demands, the fact that a noble's way of life was all that she knew meant it was her standard, something to be expected, but fortunately for any would-be hosts out there, anything less would simply mean it was an inferior lodging as far as Lucy was concerned, nothing more.

The petite silver-haired girl was indubitably dwarfed by the room's sheer scale, even if one would only consider half of it to belong to her, but she was used to such space, whether in the Konigsmahne's manor or her personal workshop. In fact, checking the studies was literally the first thing she did after entering the room, beelining there without delay, not even sparing her Russian roommate so much as a greeting. Twas' of utmost importance as she had specifically ordered for her WIP projects and associated materials to be delivered to her dorm's study. Hmmm... everything seemed to be in order, but there wasn't a way to be sure without opening these containers.

"Schwarzritter, aktiviere." She ordered for the drone to unfurl itself to its full size then began ordering it to move the crates around, unstacking them neatly so she could open them and examine its contents. Of course, whether Valeriya cared for such things or not, this task would leave Lucy quite occupied and the Engineer of War would find no ice-breaking conversations from her 'roommate', although the latter half of the word could be debated.

@Psyker Landshark

Valeriya Zhukova

Well, if nothing else, the end of the ball had been a splendid diversion. Valeriya was more than certain she'd cemented herself in the minds of more than a few boys and girls among her peers. Perfect if she ever required connections for one issue or another. Or if she just wanted a different bedmate for a night. Not that the two were separate, of course.

Her assigned quarters were...interesting, to say the least. Of all the possible options, a British-style castle wouldn't have been at the top of her list for a place to live. Still, she couldn't complain. It certainly beat her quarters back when she'd been in training at the Ministry.

Valeriya's roommate was even more of an unexpected occurrence. What were the odds that she'd be sharing her quarters with one of the more notable students of the lot? And an utter brick wall in social terms, at that? Still, like with the quarters itself, she supposed it could be worse. Lucretia didn't seem inclined to be the first one to speak, so Valeriya supposed she'd have to be the one to start setting ground rules.

The Russian hadn't brought too much luggage with her. Well, most of her materials and prototypes were already shipped to Bermuda's armory. So all she really had to unpack were clothes and the tools of her trade. Once those were squared away, she decided it was high time to make some attempt at socializing with the German. At least she had a better handle on the girl's personality, now.

"Lucretia," Valeriya approached from across the room. "I thought it best if we establish some boundaries considering we'll be dorming together. I doubt we'll have many issues most of the time. I won't bother you, you won't bother me, though feel free to if you wish. At night, though..." She paused, thinking of how best to phrase this to a thirteen-year old before deciding to simply be blunt.

"Occasionally, I may invite other students into the dormitory and into my bed. Even with the partition, there may be some noise at night, and I apologize in advance should that disturb you. If it's too much, I'll make an effort to use the rooms of others instead. And I'll likely be doing so half the time regardless. That's all, really. Any objections?"

She paused, smirking as a thought struck her.

"Of course, you could always join in, if you were so inclined."

When the ponytailed blonde entered one of the four studies of her spacious dorm, she'd find her roommate already kneeling in front of an opened crate, rummaging inside it, Schwarzritter floating near her in all of its T-shaped glory. "Hmmm?" Lucy paused what she's doing when she heard her name being called, the polymath stood up and faced her Russian counterpart. "Yes, Ms. Zhukova?" The silver-haired girl tilted her head a bit, wondering if there was something important enough to warrant interrupting her tidying up.

Oh, boundaries, regulations, ja, she wholeheartedly approved. It'd only be convenient for everyone involved if they had clear rules to follow, thus eliminating any ambiguity as to whether something was or wasn't allowed plus the consequences should a violation occurred. Valeriya had Lucy's full attention now. Don't bother one another unless necessary, no problems there, in fact, that should be a given in fact. "I agree." She nodded, so far so good there.

However, what came next confused the German prodigy a bit, at least Valeriya's wording made it so. If my deduction is correct... what Ms. Zhukova means is that she'll sometime invite students to this room, guests then? That sounded simple enough, half of the room was hers to do as she pleased anyway, but why did she have to specify about inviting them to her bed? Was it a Russian metaphor for socializing? Well, of course when two or more people are socializing, they'd be producing sounds, voices of conversations in addition to noises produced by whatever activity they'd be doing.

"Worry not," Lucretia replied, fully confident that she perfectly understood what Valeriya meant, "One, I can simply cover my ears with sound-absorbent material should the need arise, and two, I'll be working on some of my projects in the study, particularly those that are small enough to not require a dedicated workshop, they'll certainly produce sounds. With these context in mind, I think we'll have no issues." She concluded.

The petite girl would already be returning to her rummaging if not for Valeriya's final statement, in which its ironic tone completely flew over Lucy's head, "If it aligns with my interests, then I will participate." She then proceeded to nonchalantly return to kneeling down beside her crate, dainty fingers disappearing into the container.

@Psyker Landshark

Shou Zheng

---

Thankfully Shou had no need to rely on the tram to arrive at his assigned dormitory at the end of the party. As Hana had promised, the drug's effects hadn't lingered for longer than enjoyable. Thanks had been given for her company, apologies for ruining her conversation, and promises to be fulfilled at a later date. Even if his mind was all cleared up and he knew exactly which tram he was supposed to take, the chance to stretch his legs and get some fresh air wasn't something he would skip.

So while other students made themselves comfortable in the spacious and plush seats, Shou made himself a nuisance and climbed around like he had arboreal rather than aquatic features. The tour might have shown them the highlights Bermuda had to offer, but it was something else to get a bird's view of the man-made island. When he closed his eyes he could feel the ocean breeze against his skin and taste the salt-kissed air. It was almost enough for him to head down and take a swim, but the curfew was far too close for him to risk it.

So he made his way towards the accommodations he had been assigned when he received his papers down by the docks this morning. Careful leaps and jumps carried him from one chimney to another, or similarly reinforced parts of the rooftops. He'd crashed through enough ceilings before to learn about avoiding the more flimsy sections. Thus the sturdy construction of his accommodations came as a welcome surprise. The many small windows that adorned the building slightly less so. It'd be a tight squeeze, but he could probably still slip his way out. A quick entry through one was probably right out though unless he planned on knocking out the entire window frame.

While Bermuda's trams might have been smooth and efficient, there was something to be said about simply ignoring the streets and pathways and cutting one's own path. Even with the pauses to sight see, Shou landed with a heavy thud in the street before the trams. And just because he had gone under the influence once tonight did not mean he had to pass on the opportunity for some less fruity drinks. His belongings were not particularly numerous nor did they need to be unpacked immediately for any reason. All he had to do was freshen up before he retired for tonight.

Thus when Kiran did arrive, he'd be met with Shou sitting in the tavern. Balancing his chair somewhat precariously as he munched away at a bratwurst while a mug of dark lager sat on the table before him.
_@SilverPaw

Valeriya Zhukova

Did...did Lucretia not understand what she meant? Valeriya blinked in mild surprise as the German girl seemed to not understand what she was getting at. After a moment, she decided to just go with it. Forget it, then. If Lucretia didn't know what she was talking about it, it wasn't her problem. She'd learn about the birds and the bees eventually.

Now that she was done unpacking, though, there wasn't quite much to do for the rest of the night besides sleep, was there? There was the option of breaking curfew to start scouting around the campus at night and get the lay of the land, but two factors told Valeriya that would be a poor idea, at least for tonight.

First, there was a good chance that the staff would be far more vigilant on the first few nights, before routine and lack of excitement set in. There was little point in not patiently waiting for a better window in which to sneak out.

Second, all that dancing earlier in the evening had worn her out somewhat. Valeriya was in very good physical shape, as befitting a trained spy, but dancing was still a good amount of exertion. No, if she were caught or if something untoward happened, it was too much of a risk, as tired as she was.

So with a mental shrug, she started pulling out some more comfortable clothing to sleep in from her just-unpacked garments, briefly glancing over to check on what the German girl on the other side of the room was doing.

---

---

James took a moment to let everything settle down. He was still slightly reeling from the drugs in his system. He found the entire place simply exquisite, but it was more spacious than what he was comfortable with. On top of that, he had a roommate, this complicated things. He had already missed a golden opportunity to find his target, now he had to deal with a person looking over his shoulders every time he were to do something. 'This situation is a pain in the ass' he thought.

However, instead of dwelling on complications, he simply wanted to recover from tonight's exciting events. The student he was to have as his roommate shared many physical similarities. If one were to see them together, it'd be certain that they'd ask if one was related to the other. The only dead giveaway that they weren't are the orient features that his roommate had. James paced the rooms for a little before stopping to glance at his roommate.

"It seems we're stuck together for the time being..." James' tone was a little harsher than he wanted it to sound. If he were to be honest with himself, a little frustrated at how everything turned out and it seemed to be leaking into his speech.

James turned to face him properly and continued, attempting to remedy his tone with a smile, "... Introductions are in order I suppose, James Porter. Chemist and Dynamicist, and you are?"

_@banjoanjo

After his discussion with Shou and Lucretia, Kiran headed outside for a bit. He didn’t mind dancing, but nor was he especially fond of it, and seeing how he wasn’t missing physical activity nor was he interested in partying just then – he was, in fact, somewhat drained by all the conversing he did with all those people – Kiran headed outside for some fresh air.

He sat on the stairs leading to the Hall, canting his head up as he closed his eyes for a brief moment. It had finally cooled down now that it was evening, yet it was still so very warm. He’d likely have to set up some sort of coolers wherever he was stationed for the sake of his sanity. Maybe he could gradually get used to the temperatures here, but being exposed to the high degrees of the day may very well be too much of a shock to his body if he wasn’t careful about it.

When the crashing of the waves entered his awareness, Kiran glanced towards the sea – he didn’t see it from where he was, but could easily imagine it. Shou’d agreed to help with his project, so that was taken care of, more or less. The specifics would have to be planned later on, from when the other boy wanted to meet, how much time and energy he had to dedicate to another’s passion, how much knowledge Kiran would divulge to him…

He hadn’t forgotten the side project he, Kalil, and Valeriya had briefly discussed either. He wondered if they all would still feel eager to try their hand at brewing (and profiteering off of) alcohol. Though they had an initial interest, Kiran knew that it could wane over time. Perhaps Kalil would not remember at all; Kiran recalled how obviously inebriated he’d spotted the merchant boy at some point.

His comfortable lounging and various ponderings were brought to an end by the arrival of the trams. Kiran entered, and found himself as secluded a corner seat as he could. During the ride, he leaned against the glass, staring outside as they were driven from building to building, the students leaving in groups to wherever they were assigned. Kiran did the same when they stopped at his assigned apartment, eyeing the building appreciatively. It was somewhat familiar, and its style was definitely to his liking. This was somewhere he could feel at ease.

Entering revealed the first floor to be a tavern, rather than one of those fancy reception rooms, and Kiran raised his brows as a pleased smile stretched his face. Maybe the drinks offered at the party hadn’t been all that’d be allowed to them after all. Though Kiran was sure that if they wanted to find a niche for their own products, they could.

The next thing he saw was Shou Zheng, which was equally unexpected, as well as serendipitous. Kiran walked straight to him, calling, “Hey, Zheng,” as he did so. “Seems we were put in the same building,” he commented as he pulled a bar stool next to him and sat down. “Do you already know who you’re rooming with?” he asked curiously. “I didn’t think I’d see you so soon again, to be honest, but it’s a pleasant surprise for sure.”

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