CHAPTER 243: LET SLEEPING DRAGONS LIE [PART 1]

A week had passed since Mark and Spencer attempted to kidnap Dim Dim.

Ever since then, no one from the Lionheart Society had tried to mess with Alex or Dim Dim.

However, the same couldn’t be said for the other members of Endless Horizon.

Lavinia, Charles, Renard, Nessia, and Chuck found themselves being subjected to all forms of bullying—from name-calling to backhanded compliments to malicious gossip.

Renard and Lavinia were not the sort to take things lying down, so they retaliated against their bullies. Unfortunately, it also landed them before the Disciplinary Committee.

For the offense of thrashing the people who had tried to mock them, both were suspended for two days.

The employers of the bullies knew that they would not stand down, so it made things easier for them to make the two resort to violence.

Either way, they only needed to get the two punished, and continue this strategy until they broke.

On the other hand, Nessia decided that it was more prudent to endure the constant harassment and insults hurled her way just because she was a Commoner.

Charles did the same thing as Nessia, but for some reason, the bullies targeting him stopped after a couple of days.

This might be because they were all sent to the infirmary after being bitten by countless ants when they least expected it.

The lucky ones had been bitten in their sleep. The not-so-lucky ones? The ants had struck when they were stuck to toilet bowls, utterly defenseless.

Some of these ants carried mild toxins. Although their toxins were not fatal to humans, they could still cause pain far worse than normal bug bites.

As for Chuck? Well, his troublemaker phase had started.

Those who tried to mess with him got messed with first. Of course, that landed him in hot water as well.

However, he was more resourceful—and more shameless—compared to everyone else from Endless Horizon. By skillfully and subtly mentioning Princess Xenia, he managed to escape serious punishment on several occasions.

As for Vaan, well, no one tried to bully the pretty lady—err, boy since they saw him as a tragic victim of the Demon Worshiper, Willow.

Besides, almost everyone thought of him as a pitiful girl who needed protection.

He gained a lot of fans, and even those who did not fall for his good looks knew that they would instantly become the most hated person in school if they were to pick on this delicate beauty who had been through so much already!

This was good news for Vaan but bad news for Alex.

After all, the silver-haired young man was now the target of several young men who wished they could snap his neck.

Frankly, it could be blamed on Vann—the pretty boy somehow developed a habit of hugging Alex’s arm or back whenever they were together. This filled the simps with jealousy and made Alex public enemy number one!

"Vaan, can you tone it down a bit?" Alex asked. "I’m almost sure you’re doing this on purpose."

"Am I?" Vaan giggled. "But Alex, are you sure you’re not going to do anything? Our members are all anxious and exhausted these past few days."

"Don’t worry. If they ask me for help, I will definitely lend a hand," Alex answered. "But since none of them are asking for my help, it means that they plan to handle things on their own."

"Maybe they’re just shy?" Vaan suggested, linking arms with Alex.

As they walked side by side down the corridor, the ladies they passed by looked at them with sparkling eyes and quickly turned to whisper to their friends in excited voices.

Alex was like the prince who had saved the princess from the evil witch, and teenage girls often liked these kinds of stories.

Despite being on the receiving end of many death glares from his male schoolmates, Alex didn’t show any discomfort at Vaan’s clinginess. After all, Vaan was still pretending to be a girl.

It was for the pretty boy’s safety. Even Willow had kept this secret when possessing his body and brought it to the afterlife with her.

Even the son of the Viscount of Montclair was aware that Vaan was a boy, yet he kept his mouth shut.

Of course, it wasn’t out of generosity or any positive feeling. He was simply compelled to keep this secret since it was his only blackmail material against the last heir of the Damne family.

"Well," Alex said as he glanced at the pretty boy, who was clearly having fun making others believe they were a couple. "Who do you think will be the first to ask me for help?"

"Nessia," Vaan answered. "She looks like she’s going to start killing people very soon."

Alex chuckled, knowing Nessia would not do something like that.

Why?

Because she planned to make her bullies suffer a very slow and painful school life.

In order for that to happen, she would need them to be very much alive, right?

"Boooo! Why are you laughing at the suffering of others?" Vaan pouted. "Do you really want our club to be looked down on by the other clubs?"

"Of course not." Alex shook his head. "Remember this, Vaan, our members are not that weak."

"Even Latifa?"

"Latifa is actually strong, you know? You just can’t see how strong she is because she’s always sleeping. However, have you heard of that famous saying?"

"What famous saying?"

Alex smirked. "Let sleeping dragons lie."

Vaan blinked. "...Are you calling Latifa a dragon? Isn’t she a Foxkin?"

"She might be a Foxkin, but her temperament is like a dragon," Alex clarified. "A sleeping dragon doesn’t roar. But that doesn’t mean it can’t burn everything to ash when it wakes up."

Vaan grinned. "I’ll remember that. Though it’s hard to imagine Latifa doing anything other than napping all day."

"You’ll be surprised. She’s the type who fights only when it really matters," Alex explained as his attention was momentarily drawn to a group of students whispering and giggling behind their hands. "Just like the rest of us."

Just then, a loud commotion echoed from around the corner.

"YOU BASTARDS THINK I’LL JUST TAKE THIS LYING DOWN?!"

Alex and Vaan stopped in their tracks and looked at each other.

"Renard!" they exclaimed in unison.

The two sprinted towards the ruckus, only to see a few teenage boys running away from Renard, whose shirt was half-torn and eyes were wild. With one hand he wielded... a classroom table?

A moment later, a loud crashing sound drowned out almost everything as Renard threw the table at the escaping bullies, who all cried out in shock and pain after getting hit by this unusual projectile weapon.

"What the hell are you doing?!" A loud shout silenced everyone as several students wearing red armbands appeared at the scene.

"Renard Vale, stop this at once!" Dante Krev, the Sergeant at Arms of the Student Council and head of the Disciplinary Committee, commanded. "You just came out of suspension and you’re causing trouble again?!"

"They started it!" Renard argued, not the least bit intimidated by Dante’s bulging muscles even though that sight alone could make babies cry.

The Third Year scratched his head furiously before glaring at the injured students, who were groaning in pain and sprawled all over the floor.

"Take these bastards to the infirmary!" Dante ordered before pointing at Renard as his subordinates rushed to follow his words. "And you! You come with me!"

Renard clicked his tongue in annoyance but obeyed nonetheless. He understood that if he didn’t follow Dante, his punishment might be even more severe.

As the two walked away, Alex decided to follow behind them.

"Vaan, I’ll help Renard in a bit," Alex said. "You do what you need to do."

"President, you already know that Renard dislikes being helped," Vaan pointed out. "Especially if that person is you. Ever since I joined the club, I have noticed that Renard doesn’t like you."

"I know," Alex replied. "But that’s between the two of us."

"Is this what they call tough love?"

"Huh? What are you talking about?"

"Nothing." Vaan stuck out his tongue playfully before waving goodbye.

"Dim Dim?" Dim Dim blinked.

"Not you too, Dim Dim," Alex groaned. "Of course, Vaan is a guy."

"Dim?"

"Of course, I’m sure."

"Dim Dim?"

"Yes! I’m really sure."

Alex didn’t know if Dim Dim was just messing with him. Shouldn’t the Dim Sum God know for certain whether Vaan was a boy or girl?

But he had no time to think about this. He quickened his steps to make sure he didn’t lose Dante and Renard.

Sensing that someone was following them, the two teenagers turned around and saw Alex.

"Why are you following us?" Renard demanded. "This has nothing to do with you."

"What are you talking about?" Alex smiled mischievously. "Of course, this has something to do with me. After all, I’m the club president."

Renard clicked his tongue again and rolled his eyes, but Alex’s smile only got even more smug.

"It’s good that you’re here, Alex Stratos," Dante stated. "Follow us. This hazing is getting out of hand."

The student councilors weren’t stupid. They knew that the other clubs, especially those with many Noble members, were targeting the members of Endless Horizon specifically.

This was why they hadn’t punished Lavinia or Renard too harshly.

Instead, they had threatened the perpetrators with expulsion to ensure they wouldn’t dare do it again.

Of course, the perpetrators whom the student councilors managed to catch red-handed didn’t reveal that they had acted under the orders of the Nobles in Crest Clubs.

They understood that if they went against these Nobles, they would suffer for the rest of their stay in the academy.