586: Teams Established

Teams Established

With our deal settled, the three of us headed back into the auditorium. I had wanted to be with Mei Gui and Qing Yue, but… life doesn't always go the way you want it to, I suppose. After running some math in my head though, trying to figure out how the girls were going to distribute themselves into teams, I… gave up, because there were too many people around us and it was far too loud.0

After brushing past several people and making it clear to anyone who tried to talk to us that we were already in a team, we finally arrived at where the girls were. They had apparently by some miracle managed to meet up, and were now busy shooing away people once more.

"Oh, Big Brother Xuan Kai!" Qing Yue called out, spotting me, and waved. I waved back briefly, and moved past everyone else to where they were. Then, after some explanation to the crowd all around us, they finally understood no one here was going to go with any of them, and backed off at long last. There were several especially desperate people, of course, but 'forcefulness' didn't factor in intimidation, so with a little bit of help from Axilia, they were driven off with ease.

Once we were finally left able to talk, I explained to the girls what was going on with Claire and the butler. I'd assumed they would be mad about it, but surprisingly enough, they were quite accommodating and even attempted to become Claire's friends. Of course, Mei Gui wasn't very happy, but she was an exception.

Now, the only problem was… yes, the distribution of them amongst themselves.

In total, there were fourteen of the girls. Obsidia, Yu An Yan, Lan Xiao Su, Qing Yue, Mei Gui, Bai He, Amane, Feng Mian, Yu An Xue, Zhao Xiuying, Xuan Yu, Lin Luo, Axilia, and Eve. This was a problem, since there were more Elites than Supports and each Elite needed two Supports.

"… Well, how are we going to figure this out?" Axilia asked, scratching her head. "If I end up being with someone else, I might kill them~"

"Uh… that would not be good," Feng Mian muttered. "Though with this ratio of Elites to Supports, it's unavoidable that we will need to be introduced to strangers…"

"Actually, false," a voice cut in, and we all spun around in surprise to see none other than Ling Xin standing there, with a wry smile on her face.

"… Ling Xin? What are you doing here?" Yu An Yan asked in surprise.

"Oh, just spectating," she said with a wave of her hand. "But as you will soon find out… after re-evaluating how many Elites there are and how many Supports made the cut of the Entrance Exam, they have decided to change things up a bit."

As if on cue, suddenly, the PA system throughout the room suddenly blared out a new broadcast, causing everyone to pause.

"Attention all students. Upon re-evaluation, the organization committee has decided to alter the distribution of teams. Instead of one Elite having two Supports, it will be changed to one Elite having only one Support. Please readjust your teams if you have already formed one, and if you have not, begin searching with this new rule in mind. That is all."

The entire auditorium sank into silence at this message for a good minute or two, until finally they began frantically going into panic mode. The Supports who had already found a team were now comparing with one another to see who gets to stay, while the Elites were busy choosing who to keep.

Amidst the chaos, I turned to Ling Xin, not even bothering to hide the smile on her face.

"… They did this on purpose, didn't they?" I asked quietly, to which she shrugged.

"Whatever do you mean?"

"Hmph. An organization as powerful as the IMF would never miscalculate like so," I said. "They already had the exam results for the Supports when the Elites finished their aptitude tests, but they still did this on purpose—this is a test in and of itself, isn't it?"

At this, Ling Xin laughed. "You are too sharp for your own good sometimes, Xuan Kai."

"… Hm. Well, not that I'm complaining," I muttered. "But if that's the case, then…"

"My lady will be your partner," the butler said without any hesitation. I will seek elsewhere."

"… I see. I'll fulfill our deal," I said. "I only hope you fulfill your end as well."

"Worry not. We are a very prideful race. We will always honor our promises."

With a bow, he turned away from me and to Claire.

"My lady, please do not be so openly hostile to your benefactor. I am aware of your introversion and tendency to automatically flag others as evil and distrust them, but please. This is for your own sake. And as for you…"

He turned back to me briefly, and bowed again.

"… I am entrusting my lady to you. She can be—quite frankly—a nuisance often times, but I hope you do not hold it against her. It is due to the environment she grew up in and what happened to her parents. I believe… it is partly my fault as well, since it is I who taught her not to trust anyone, but…"

"I understand," I said, waving his concerns off. "But just so you know, I'm only her blood supply, nothing more. If she ends up getting into trouble of her own accord or anything, I won't be there to help."

"That is more than enough," the butler said with a soft smile. "I will go find my own partner now—my lady is in your hands."

With that, he left, and the girls began sorting out their own groups. In the end, the tag teams formed between Elite and Support among us were as follows:

Claire (Support) and I (Elite).

Obsidia (Support) and Lin Luo (Elite).

Yu An Yan (Support) and Yu An Xue (Elite).

Qing Yue (Support) and Axilia (Elite).

Mei Gui (Support) and Zhao Xiuying (Elite).

Bai He (Support) and Xuan Yu (Elite).

Lan Xiao Su (Support) and Feng Mian (Elite).

Amane (Support) and Eve (Elite).

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