NOVGO.NET Chapter 45: Lazy Genius
Chapter 45: Lazy Genius
The morning sun glistened through the glass windowpanes, shining its brilliant light across the four roommates lying carelessly on the floor.
After their discussions lasted until midnight, the four of them had opted to sleep on the rug since their mattresses were still soaked in foul garbage fluids. Not even Derrick had dared to lay on the edges of those ruined beds.
"Hey, stop that!" Eric yelled, shoving a sock-covered foot away from his face.
He sat upright immediately, sputtering in disgust.
Derrick shrugged lazily, pulling his legs back to kick them off in another direction.
"Tch. Why did I ever agree to sleep like this?" Eric muttered, adjusting his glasses with a scowl.
He glanced toward his damp mattress, grimaced, and added in a low whisper, "Right. That’s why."
Rising to his feet, Eric dusted himself off from head to toe, meticulously checking his nightwear for any stray specks before stepping over to the mirror.
Atlas was already awake, but his body felt like lead.
He lay flat on his back, staring at the ceiling as his sore joints protested every breath. "Ugh..." he groaned softly.
Beside him, Claus rolled onto his stomach, lying completely limp.
He had been the first to wake, but lacking the energy to move, he simply remained sprawled out, soaking in the morning silence.
Derrick was in the middle of stretching when Eric suddenly gasped, freezing in front of the mirror.
Everyone turned to look at him, instantly on edge.
Eric slowly turned around, his comb held mid-air.
"What day is today?" he whispered, his eyes wide.
"Uhm... I don’t know?" Atlas murmured in confusion, rubbing his tired eyes.
"Does it matter?" Claus muffled into the rug. "We’re all going to die eventually anyway. Today, tomorrow... who knows?"
Derrick sat up, yawning wide and stretching his arms. "What happened? Why is everyone staring at me?"
"What day is today?" Eric repeated, his voice rising in pitch.
"I don’t know, Friday?" Derrick offered nonchalantly.
"No, no, no! It can’t be!" Eric began pacing, grabbing his hair. "No way it’s Friday! We’re doomed!"
"Will you just tell us what we should be worrying about?" Atlas asked, forcing himself upright.
"You don’t remember?!" Eric practically shrieked.
"Ted! Ted the fatty! Today is the day for the mandatory weekly dormitory inspection! He’s going to see those wet mattresses and punish us!"
A collective freeze settled over the room as the realization hit them. It was only natural for Eric to remember — his neat-freak tendencies tracked every cleaning schedule in the building.
’Right! Ted! How could I forget about Ted?!’ Atlas thought, panic surging through him. ’We don’t have time to replace these mattresses. We need the Head Maid to approve access to the linen vault, and she isn’t even back yet!’
Ted was infamous for handing out severe administrative penalties, and today was packed.
Atlas had to meet with the owner of the bangle, and Mr. Crosswell had explicitly emailed him to attend class today for a crucial announcement regarding his recovery. Detention would ruin everything.
"What do we do?!" Derrick panicked, grabbing his head. "I can’t do weekend library labor! Sorting scroll archives is actual torture!"
"There are worse punishments than that, Derrick!." Eric yelled.
Atlas tried to force his mind to work, searching for any way out of the impending disaster, but his brain was running on empty.
"Why are you guys sweating this so much?" a muffled voice rasped from the floor.
All three turned to look down at Claus, who hadn’t moved an inch from his sprawling position on the rug.
"Claus, this isn’t the time for your existential dread," Eric snapped. "We’re about to get written up!"
"Just... use the Pending dorm Law," Claus mumbled, resting his cheek against the fabric.
Atlas blinked, his mind catching on the term. "The ’Pending dorm Law’? What are you talking about?"
Claus let out a long, exhausted sigh, as if speaking a full sentence was sapping his remaining lifeforce.
"Atlas... you spent half an hour filling out that red ledger yesterday, right? And you brought a junior maid to verify the crime scene?"
"Yeah..."
"That means the room is under active administrative inquiry," Claus murmured, closing his eyes.
"Under academy dormitory bylaws... section seven... inspectors can’t cite a room for physical infractions while an open security investigation is pending with the Head Maid’s office. Tampering with evidence... or whatever. Just show him the carbon-copy filing receipt you kept."
The room fell dead silent.
Eric stared at Claus with an open mouth, his comb slipping slightly in his grip.
Derrick slowly blinked, digesting the information, while a wave of profound relief washed over Atlas.
’The filing receipt!’ Atlas thought, quickly reaching into his coat pocket and pulling out the stamped parchment slip the maid had handed him yesterday.
"Claus... you brilliant, lazy genius," Atlas breathed.
Before anyone could say another word, three heavy, booming knocks rattled the wooden door frame.
"Dormitory Inspection! Open up!" a harsh, raspy voice bellowed from the hallway.
Derrick paled, while Eric instinctively reached down to smooth out his clothes. Atlas took a stabilizing breath, walked over to the door, and swung it open just a crack.
Standing on the threshold was Ted, a broad, fat, heavy-set warden holding a large brass clipboard and a quill.
His sharp eyes immediately tried to peer over Atlas’s shoulder, his nose twitching as if searching for the faint scent of dampness inside.
"Room 150," Ted growled, tapping his quill against the parchment. "Morning clearance check. Step aside so I can verify the state of your living space."
Instead of stepping aside, Atlas held up the bright red, stamped receipt, placing it directly in Ted’s line of sight.
"Respectfully, Inspector, Room 150 is currently under an active Pending dorm Administrative Hold," Atlas said smoothly, keeping his tone perfectly formal.
"The room suffered a security breach yesterday. The scene has been logged in the Head Maid’s official ledger and verified by reception staff. As per academy bylaws, routine inspections are suspended until the Head Maid resolves the inquiry."
Ted squinted at the stamped parchment, his brow furrowing deeper and deeper as he read the official seal.
His face contorted in visible frustration, realizing his hands were completely tied by bureaucratic red tape.
"Tch!" Ted sneered, aggressively flipping a page on his clipboard. "Filing complaints won’t save you forever, kid. The moment the Head Maid signs off on this report, I’m checking every inch of this room!"
Without another word, the warden turned on his heel and stomped off down the corridor, grumbling under his breath.
Atlas closed the door, letting out a long, shuddering breath of relief.
"That was way too close," Eric muttered, letting out a breath he seemed to have been holding for a full minute.
He adjusted his collar and shot a glance at the floor. "Claus... I take back five percent of the terrible things I said about you this morning."
"Don’t care... still tired," Claus grunted from the rug.
Atlas turned to Derrick, his expression shifting from relief to intense focus. He reached into his pocket, his hand brushing against his shadow space where the dark purple butterfly bangle rested securely in his Soul Forge.
"Alright, now that Ted is off our backs and I’ve got time before Mr. Crosswell’s class... Derrick, you said last night you recognized who this belongs to," Atlas said, leaning in. "Who is she?"
Derrick stopped adjusting his tunic, his face paling slightly under the morning light. He looked at Eric, then back at Atlas, his voice dropping into a tense whisper.
"It’s not just some random noble girl, Atlas," Derrick said, his eyes dead serious.
"That bangle belongs to Lady Aurelia, the Head Maid’s top senior assistant."