~Atlas~

I strolled around the halls, my hands in my pockets. My eyes scanned the familiar floor as I sauntered on past the classrooms, occasionally seeing students peek out the doorway, only to see me and snap their eyes back to their teacher.

Being the school's King had its advantages, like scaring people just by being in their vicinity.

I kept walking, watching for any students. Far too many of them loitered outside, typically the ones who didn't care too much about their grades. Usually, skippers were out by the gardens or the bathrooms. Nevertheless, those who decided to remain in the halls vanished as I walked by. Heading towards the office, I took a look at the text conversation I had with Tai moments ago.

I sighed and kept walking, rolling my eyes at the thought that the top-ranking prince was sent to the infirmary over a simple trip down the stairs. Then again, seven flights of stairs would do damage to pretty much anybody stupid enough to take that tumble.

Turning the corner, I noticed a girl with bright magenta hair waiting in the office — bored expression, crossed arms, hair up in two buns, and horrible posture. Just as I suspected, it was Pepper O'Harris. The Cherry Bomb herself, she turned hearing someone nearing and grinned when she saw me. Rare reaction, although Pepper seemed to be good at surprising anyone and everyone with her moods. Usually, people cower in fear and hope that I'm in a good mood.

          "Atlas! What brings you here?" I smiled and crossed my arms.

          "I was heading to the infirmary, it's down the hall, right?" I replied. Cherry laughed and pointed a slightly tanned finger in the direction I was already going. Truthfully, I did not need her guidance. I knew exactly where I was going; I knew this school like the back of my hand.

          "Yup, you don't go to the infirmary much I'm guessing." It was a statement that was completed with another chuckle, not a question because the answer was obvious; you don't have to go to the infirmary if you're never injured. Of course, there was also the fact that there isn't a single person in this entire school that could hurt me. I nodded a little and walked into the office to sit down next to her. Tai could wait a few more minutes; if he was stupid enough to fall down stairs he and his five brain cells wouldn't notice my absence for a bit.

          "What are you here for?" I asked, folding my arms tightly. Pepper sighed and rolled her eyes, gesturing at a girl who was talking to Ms. Kaitriz, the office lady.

          "See her? Found Dante holding her by the throat in the middle of the hallway, asking for an apology or something. That moron. I took her to the infirmary as an excuse to skip class. She needed it though, broken arm, jaw, and a punch to the face." I frowned as the girl turned around, trying to remember if I knew her from somewhere. She wasn't a high ranker if Dante beat her; he's the lowest ranking prince.

The girl nodded towards Ms. Kaitriz, then proceeded to walk out the door.

          "Why didn't she apologize?" I asked. Typically, those who can't defend themselves don't dare get in a high tier's way, especially not a prince. Did she think she was some big shot or something?

          "Well," The Cherry Bomb started, staring at me with a confused expression, "because she's mute?" I raised my eyebrows. I'd heard there was a mute in school, but I hadn't thought much of it at the time. But this girl was surely not the one.

          "You do realize she was just talking to Ms. Kaitriz, right?" Pepper raised her hands and clasped them together, sighing as if the answer was obvious. She had a lot of guts to be acting like this right in front of me, most princess's would cower just at the sight of me and wouldn't dare even suggest that I wasn't connecting simple dots, let alone a low ranking princess.

          "See her gloves? They understand when she uses sign language, so if she uses signs to say 'hello,' it transmutes that to a speaker type thing which verbally says whatever she's signed. What you just heard, if you even heard her, wasn't her real voice." I widened my eyes. I'd never heard before of someone who spoke through a machine like that. But more importantly, why did Cherry know so much about her?

          "What's her name?" I stood up to go, finally ready to meet Tai in the infirmary.

          "Not sure, but I think it's Quinley."

          "Do you know her rank?" Cherry shrugged and got up as well, her head near my chin.

          "Nah, she didn't say. Probably a D-Tier, maybe weak C-Tier, anything above wouldn't get that hurt by Dante." I narrowed my eyes at the doorway. The Cherry Bomb didn't even think about what her rank was before taking her to the infirmary?

          "Quinley, huh? What grade is she in?"

          "Dunno. Why do you care about her so much anyway? She's just some random low tier. You're the King, don't you have better things to..." The Cherry Bomb trailed off as I turned towards her, my eyes glowing.

          "Pepper," I drawled, knowing that my use of her real name would piss her off, "the next time I ask you something, you answer it without further reciprocations. Nevertheless, because you're a princess, I'll let you off this time. But do not think I will let you off again with just a warning. Do I make myself clear?"

Cherry took in a sharp breath and bowed respectfully, her eyes a rare combination of respect and fear.

          "Of course, Atlas. Any information you want, I'll give to you." I smiled as I towered over her, noting her clenched fists as she looked straight at the floor.

          "Good, now talk. I want a full debriefing of everything you saw and anything you know about her by the end of the day. You're finding me, not the other way around. I'll leave you to it." I turned and walked out the door, closing it shut behind me with a small smile.

I sincerely hoped that things would resolve themselves the way they typically did, and I wouldn't have to take action against this imbalance. But I couldn't let a high tier start wasting time on a low tier, even if only to skip class, that kind of thinking would lead to a downfall. Whoever this girl was, I just needed to have a quick chat with her and set things straight.

After all,

A weakling must know their place.