Готовый перевод Комната Историй / The Room of the Stories: Глава 3

Act 1. Chapter 3

Author's Note:

I'll say a few things.

1) Three months. This chapter took three months to write, and I'm not happy with it. Too much time was spent simply doing nothing. So I'll try to get my writing schedule back on track, hoping I can write two more chapters before the new year...

2) Writing via phone is Hell. My respect to all authors who write their stories through phones. You are truly something.

3) This chapter... I didn't like it. Maybe after the War Games Arc, I'll do a remake. But if you like it, I'll leave it as it is.

That's all, and as usual, Light Jester was with you, see you soon! And I'll go to bed...

* * *

All this happened in an instant. As soon as Miss Goodwitch's back disappeared behind the door, madness reigned in the room. Students were laughing or were in shock, depending on how well they knew Jaune and the CRDL team. After all, it was the last lines written by “High Priest Russell” that made everyone freeze at the beginning, and then react in their own way.

For example, Yang and Nora laughed so hard that tears of pain appeared in their eyes. Jaune opened and closed his mouth like a fish thrown out on land, not having the strength to answer anything. Ruby and Emerald also laughed, but not as loudly as the blonde and the orange head, while they supported each other so as not to fall to the floor; even Weiss froze as if she had heard the most ridiculous and impossible thing in the whole world, but she had neither the strength nor the desire to laugh at this nonsense. The rest showed a more or less normal reaction.

Blake, although she was smiling, “What did I just hear?” was reading in her eyes. The champion sitting to Jaune's left also smiled slightly as she looked at her leader, but unlike the others, she was glad that Team CRDL had abandoned their ideas about Jaune. Perhaps they could even become friends...

As for the rest...

Ozpin smiled slightly, as did Ren, but unlike the guy, he hid his smile behind a mug of coffee. Cinder sitting to the headmaster's right, could only blink silently as her mind tried to process what she had heard. And when she realized what she had heard, she did not laugh or smile, she simply shook her head. But Neo showed much more reaction, unlike the black-haired one. She, resting her forehead on the table, shook as if in a fit, although not a single sound was heard, but her eyes, now hidden from people’s attention, shimmered with many colors, showing the true mood of the mute girl.

And the only one who did not react in any way to the words spoken was Mercury Black. He was silent while his gaze was directed forward, no one knows where, no one knows why, but if someone looked into them now, he would see the incredible. It was as if a supernova was being born in the guy’s eyes, but unlike an astronomical phenomenon, this flash was nothing more than a harbinger of a brilliant idea. As if by magic, the guy’s lips began to widen into a wide grin, and his face began to fill with awareness and admiration. And the next moment...

He slammed his hand on the table, causing everyone to literally choke on the air and look at him. Already standing on his feet and smiling the widest smile, Mercury looked at all of them. Yes, at some point, Mercury even regretted what he had done since Cinder’s gaze did not promise anything good, but the guy swallowed a lump and, mentally hoping that his employer would not burn him in front of strangers, opened his mouth.

"Have you realized this?!" the guy looked at every person in the room. "Did you realize what the book wanted to tell us?! What did the one who locked us in this room want to say?! Did you understand?!"

"Got what?!" Weiss raised her voice, feeling that if this guy didn't shut up, she would turn him into an ice sculpture. Mercury, seeing the look of the heiress, felt something was wrong, so he cleared his throat several times and then continued in a normal voice.

"We're stuck in these rooms for a purpose, aren't we? I mean,” Mercury waved his hands sharply when he saw Weiss’s narrowed gaze. "We were given books, most of which are empty, and only this one!" the guy pointed his finger at the lying book. "was not empty like the others! Why?"

Everyone thought about it.

"Because it's the first?" Blake shrugged, to which Mercury looked at her.

"Then, don't you think we'll have to read all the books that are currently in the closet, hmm?" all eyes focused on the multitude of books, which with just one glance caused pure horror in some students. Well, except for Blake, of course. "If we have to read all these books, then let me tell you, it will take us much more time than a day or a week! I, unlike you, am talking about something else!"

Once again, something in Mercury's gaze made Jaune flinch. The blonde swallowed a lump, not understanding where this bad feeling came from. Others, on the contrary, listened to the silver guy. He smiled and then continued.

"When we first got stuck here, the closet was closed, wasn't it?" Having received nods, Mercury continued. "But for this, we needed to know where the key was in order to open it and read the books. Headmaster Ozpin,” the guy nodded to the headmaster. "was able to get the key only because the one who locked us here knew Ozpin and what he would do!"

Ozpin frowned, sensing some logic in the boy's words.

"So why, I ask you, why did we decide that reading a book is our goal or solution for the liberation of us all?! Why?!"

"Because it’s logical, idiot,” Emerald yawned, closing one eye. And then, she looked with her remaining eye at the guy who continued to stand to her left. "All books are empty, this one is not. What are your problems?"

"I don’t have them, Emy,” Emerald grimaced but didn’t say anything. "But that’s not what I was talking about..."

Mercury looked around all the people in the room again and then continued.

"I talked about what if in this book," the finger was again pointed at the book. "Are there other clues that can lead us to freedom?!"

"Hints?" many students asked in one voice. Weiss shook her head and then looked back at the silver-haired boy. "What hints? Where did you even see them?"

“In the end,” the guy said with a slight smile. "In the end."

Silence.

"Okay,” Emerald turned away and stared at the other people in the room, starting to ignore her partner. "What suggestions do you have to protect us from the influence of my distraught partner?"

“You don’t understand,” Mercury shook his head. "Listen, what if we were locked up for this?! In order to create a new religion, headed by Jaune Arc - our Master, who will become a symbol of the era of Humanity!"

"Hmm, maybe freeze him with ice?" Weiss joined the conversation with Emerald, also starting to ignore the guy. Others just widened their eyes and looked at the young guy. Jaune also looked at Mercury and in the blond's gaze, one could read only horror at the prospect that Mercury was trying to foist on them.

It wasn't even crazy, it was simply impossible! Who would even want to create a religion, or should I say a cult that praised him- Jaune Arc, who was just an ordinary seventeen year old boy, who only after entering Beacon realized what Aura was and that it was mandatory for admission?! Any student ten times better than him, so why did Mercury even propose this idea!?! Jaune felt a bitter residue on his tongue, remembering his thoughts the moment he agreed to the guy's request to sit next to him. He had thought that Mercury was a nice and rather normal guy....

How wrong Jaune was. Mercury was a madman, and his eyes, which now burned with a fanatical fire, only proved it. Fortunately, no one will want to accept this stupid, terrible, and, most importantly, impossible idea. Yes. Exactly…

Slowly, the blond turned his head to the left, hoping to see a skeptical look on his partner's face. But unfortunately, his dreams and thoughts were not destined to come true. Pyrrha, eyes widening, was looking at Mercury and seemed absorbed in the silver-haired lad's speech. It was at that moment Jaune regretted leaving the innocent and sweet Pyrrha in the clutches of the disgusting creature whose name was Mercury Black.

//"I wonder if this is how they brainwash people in the sects." - Jaune thought indifferently, paying attention to the guy and his speech, which was getting hotter and hotter, and the audience didn't even try to stop him. It probably didn't make things any better either that Jaune noticed the glances of Nora and Yang, who were looking at Mercury with interest. "God... if you are there, please... stop Mercury Black and his crazy speech. I don't want to see my friends brainwashed, I don't want to hear endless praise from Pyrrha. Please make it go back to the way it was! Please don't add Mercury Black to my life!!!"

Perhaps Jaune's prayers did reach the Gods, or perhaps it was just a coincidence, but nevertheless, Cinder Fall did what Jaune wanted with all his heart. She silenced Mercury Black.

"Black, enough,” Cinder said two words, but the guy fell silent as if in an instant he became mute. After standing still for a while, the guy finally sat down, leaving the listeners in shocked silence, and then the students, as if rehearsing, said in one voice:

"How did you do that?!" all eyes focused on the third-year student while she silently cursed the culprit of all this. But she still had to answer, so taking a big breath, she began to speak.

"I'm his leader," Cinder said simply as if it were obvious. But those words only caused even more attention from the students, mostly from the reaper alone. After a bit of silence, the Maiden decided to ask a follow-up question. "Shouldn't the team obey the leader? Or is it different for you?"

Fall even smiled slightly as she noticed the teens stiffen a bit in their seats. Some even looked away. Apparently they were not used to the idea of their leaders acting like... Leaders? Although, the young Shnee's gaze had warmed somehow.

And Cinder Fall knew all too well why.

//"Atlas," Cinder thought dismissively, stifling the urge to grin haughtily. Instead, she turned to Mercury and continued aloud: "Mercury sometimes gets so bad that I have to calm his violent temper myself. I guess he inherited something from his father after all. Right, Mercury?"

And from her sweet smile, Mercury awoke the desire to run away somewhere far away, it was too scary to see this smile on the Maiden’s face.

"Yeah," the boy said weakly, hearing his partner laughing quietly. Except, even Cinder's words couldn't stop his idea, she had him too caught up in its... Insanity? Maybe. In the end, it didn't matter so much. "Yeah, Cinder's right, I do get a little crazy sometimes. But, come to think of it, why not?"

And again, irritated sighs were heard in the room.

"Guys, I’m just proposing an idea,” Mercury threw up his hands. “But when we find out that this was our key to liberation, then do not ask me for forgiveness or, to your deepest shame, a rank higher than the henchman in my Church of Jaune!”

"Your church?" Emerald raised her voice. "Who even said that you would be the head?"

"First, I proposed an idea,” Mercury raised one finger. "Secondly, it is thanks to me that you will understand that my idea is not some stupid invention or proposal, it will be our key to liberation, so, of course, I will become the High Priest..."

"What nonsense?!" Weiss winced. "And isn’t Russell the High Priest?"

At the words “High Priest,” Weiss showed quotation marks, as if this title was just fiction and nonsense. Unfortunately, Mercury continued.

"It’s in the book that Russell is the main Priest, but in reality, it will be me,” Mercury raised his chin importantly. “And those who join me now will also receive good positions, I assure you that Jaune will be happy to know that you have become his followers..."

"Actually, I'm against all this!" Jaune raised his voice raising his hand and bringing attention to his person.

"Don't be humble, Jaune,” Mercury chuckled. "With your current and future exploits, you don’t have to be humble about yourself."

"Who's being humble?!" Jaune's eyes bulged. "What kind of deeds did you say I did?! I didn't do anything!"

“You’ll do it,” Mercury said authoritatively, and turned away, no longer reacting to the blond. "So, who wants to volunteer for Jaune's Church? Don't worry, the name is temporary. We will change the name at the moment when our Master has mercy and gives us the light that he so rejects."

"What nonsense?" Weiss repeated again and then shook her head. "Nobody wants to join this idiotic church..."

"I want to join!" Yang's voice made Weiss choke, and then, widening her eyes and stretching her face, the heiress stared at the blonde. Seeing this look, Yang just grinned. "What? I find this idea interesting. You know, I just imagine how I will walk along the corridors and attract people's attention with the help of speeches about the Great and Beautiful Master - Jaune Arc!"

For a moment there was silence in the room.

"You’re kidding..." Weiss fell silent for a few seconds. "Are you really ready to devote yourself to this... nonsense?!"

"Ahem, Miss Schnee, please don't call Jaune's Church bullshit. I can forgive you for this oversight since you still have not realized the true power of our Master, but in the future, I ask you to be more careful in your statements about our religion,” Mercury said with a smile, again forcing her blue eyes to focus on him. Weiss even opened her mouth for indignant words and a possible argument, but after a moment she quickly closed it and shook her head.

"You know what? OK! Do whatever you want, but don’t drag me in this,” Weiss leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes, stopping paying her precious attention to these brainless idiots.

"Well, okay. You will soon learn the truth anyway,” Weiss winced at the guy’s words but did not react further. Mercury smiled. "Okay, so we already have one volunteer, Yang Xiao Long, right?"

//"We have?" - Emerald questioned with a raised eyebrow, but Mercury ignored her.

"Yes,” the blonde grinned. "Where should I sign?"

"Nowhere," Mercury mirrored the smirk. " You are now a full member of our Church. And since you are the first to join our ranks, I appoint you a High Priest. I hope that under your leadership, the eyes of unbelievers will be opened and they will know the truth."

//"Ours?" Emerald spoke up again. "Where did you find "our ranks"? You're the only one involved in this nonsense!"

"Actually," Yang stood up a little, forcing everyone to pay attention to her. "Not the only one anymore. I, as High Priest, command you, Oh infidel! Join our great Lord and he will forgive your sins and slander!!!"

There was silence in the room for a few moments, and then there was a quiet sigh.

"You know, Black," Emerald looked at her partner with a kind of indifference. "Do whatever you want! I don't care," she said the last of it, stood up and went into the kitchen while a lot of eyes watched her. After the door closed behind her, the guy smirked.

"You know, I thought she'd last longer," he shook his head and stared at the people around him. "So, who else wants to join us?"

"She's right," Weiss said suddenly, and then repeated Emerald's actions, going into the kitchen. "I, too, refuse to be here until you wake up from this....."

"Bullshit?" Mercury interrupted her, causing the heiress to stop, and then, frowning her eyebrows, stare at him. "What? You already said that."

Weiss watched the boy for a few moments, and then, with a sigh, disappeared behind the door. After a moment, all eyes were once again focused on the boy. Mercury smirked.

"So, again, who wants to join the Church of Jaune?" And the guy stared at Pyrrha with a kind of expectant stare. The champion blushed slightly at that look and even managed to open her mouth, but her eyes darted sharply to the right to meet the same expectant, but blue eyes. Abruptly closing her mouth, Pyrrha remained silent for a while, and then, swallowing the lump in her throat, she looked away and said:

"I-I don't think this idea will work... I'll probably pass...."

"Pyrrha," the two lads whispered in one voice. One looked on with admiration, while the other looked on in shock. Mercury shook his head, still feeling shocked at what he had heard. He had been sure that the champion would agree to join the Church. But apparently, the fact that her object of admiration was nearby made her refuse to do so. Biting his lip, Mercury shook his head. "Okay, I respect your choice. So, does anyone else have anything to say?"

And the lad glanced at the nearest girl to his right. Ruby Rose blinked, and then glowed, feeling a lot of stares. And her sister's encouragement made the situation worse.

"I... I don't think that's a good idea," Ruby smiled weakly. "I mean, I'm friends with Jaune, of course." The Red Reaper smiled at her best friend. Jaune smiled as well, feeling a warmth in his chest. "But joining his Church... Don't you think that's a little... strange?"

Mercury and Yang exchanged glances, then shrugged in sync afterward.

"No," the teens said in unison. With a slight smile, Yang moved over to Weiss's chair and put her hand on Ruby's shoulder. "Come on, Rubes! Vomit-boy is your friend, why not join his Church? He'd be only too happy to do so!"

There was the sound of a thud, followed by a groan, but the blonde didn't even pay attention, continuing to stare into her sister's silver eyes. Ruby, on the other hand, broke her gaze for a moment and looked at her friend, who had his forehead on the table, moaning about something while Pyrrha comfortingly stroked his shoulder.

Ruby glanced at her sister again and then answered.

"I don't think he'll be happy about it," Ruby smiled slightly. "Therefore, I also refuse to do it. I'm sorry, Yang."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah."

"Well," Yang sighed, then turned to her partner. "Blake, don't you want to...?"

Blake didn't even let her finish her sentence.

"I refuse."

But..!

"No," Blake said, not even looking at Yang. The blonde groaned as she looked around the room again.

"Doesn't anyone else want to join the Church of Jaune? Come on, guys! It'll be fun! Nora!" Yang glanced at the Valkyrie, who was silent with some bitterness. But after seeing that look, the desire to involve Nora in this matter disappeared for some reason. "Uh? Nora?"

At these words, Nora just sighed.

“I would join,” Nora sighed sadly. "But only with Rennie. We are together, but not together-together, remember?"

Mercury reacted the fastest:

"Ren might as well join us!"

Unfortunately for Yang and Mercury, the offer was met with the same sad smile. But still, instead of Nora, her partner, the one in question now, answered. Ren, smiling slightly, shrugged his shoulders.

"In fact, though I might join your ranks, I don't think Jaune would forgive me for that," Ren glanced at his leader, who, hearing those words, lifted his head to stare at his friend with admiration and gratitude. "Besides, I'm more of a Monty Oum theory."

There was an awkward silence, and afterward, Mercury sighed. Leaning back in his chair, the boy looked around the people in the room again, trying to find those who might join his little idea, but apparently, everyone else didn't really want to be one of them either.

"Well," Mercury sighed sadly for the umpteenth time. "Apparently, the Church of Jaune will only have two members for the time being. I hope you'll come to your senses by the end of the book."

There was a cough, and then everyone stared at Blake. She nodded nonchalantly at the discarded and forgotten book and then said:

"So, are we going to keep reading? If I'm not mistaken, there are eleven more chapters to read," Blake stared expectantly at Ozpin sitting silently sipping his coffee while he watched the birth of a new religion, or cult, for that matter. What mattered was that after the black-haired woman's words, all eyes were again focused on the present. Namely the book and the new chapter.

Ozpin calmly took another sip of his coffee and then smiled at the students.

"Of course," the headmaster shrugged. "Once everyone is back in this room, we'll continue reading, won't we, Mr. Arc?"

Jaune blinked, partly not understanding what the director was getting at. Ozpin was in charge, so it was up to him to decide whether they read the book further. Why would he even ask a normal student a question? He certainly didn't ask Jon for permission to read. Wait a minute...

The hunch struck his mind like a bolt of lightning, flattening his face to the color of chalk. As he lowered his gaze, Jaune felt nauseous when he saw the book. Because of Mercury and his speeches, the blond had forgotten that he was the one who would be reading the next chapter. Well...

He has to read chapter three since that's what everyone expects. What could possibly be so scary about this chapter anyway? On this day his friends and teachers, along with Mercury Black, had learned so much about him that the guy was used to keeping secret from everyone. So what did it matter if he read one more chapter...?

Or eleven more...ha....

A light touch on his shoulder and Jaune was back in the real world, to be met with a multitude of stares directed in his direction. Fortunately - or was it horror? - he was able to endure it all, and afterward, glanced at Pyrrha, who continued to look at him with a pang of concern for his health. And, to be honest, such an action on his girlfriend's part, made the guy incredibly angry. First and foremost - at himself. It was actually Jaune who should have been watching Pyrrha with her heart problems, not her watching him. What kind of leader is he if he makes a sick man take care of a healthy one?

Biting his lip, the guy took a deep breath and exhaled. Blue eyes met green ones. The next words came out the very moment the guy broke their gazes, staring at the headmaster of the Academy.

“I’m ready to read the third chapter,” Jaune smiled slightly, although many noticed how nervous the smile was.

Silence.

"Okay,” Ozpin took a sip of coffee and then continued. "But we still have to wait until the other students and Glinda return to us, and then we... Miss Belladonna? Where are you going?"

"I'm not going to wait around while others distract us from reading the book. Jaune," Blake nodded toward the guy. "is ready to read a chapter, so why do we have to wait for the others to come back to the room? We should just call them and then we can continue reading the book," she smiled, hiding behind the door to the kitchen."

I don't think it needs to be said that just that smile made many of the students in that room flinch. After all, they all knew not to get between Blake and the books. Otherwise... let's not talk about dark things, it's better to just listen to light music, while not paying attention to these screams from the kitchen...

* * *

"So, now that everyone's here," Ozpin paused for a moment to look at the two girls, who looked as if they had been attacked by a rabid cat. You could even see a few cat claw wounds on their hands or face. At this time, Blake, sitting to Ren's left, was pensively examining her fingernails. Nothing gave away the fact that this girl just a few minutes ago, had hidden behind a door and then brought out two girls who looked even worse than they did now... And I don't think it's worth saying that Blake had nothing to do with all those wounds and cuts. Yeah. Ozpin nonchalantly took another sip of coffee. "We can finally start reading. Glinda?"

The professor nodded slightly and handed the book to Jaune. He glanced at the book as if it were some kind of poisonous thing, and then, making an effort, took it.

"Well," Jaune swallowed the lump in his throat as he nervously looked around the people in the room. "Should I start? Or does someone need to..."

"Read it already!" Yang couldn't stand it anymore, making not only Jaune but also Weiss and Emerald shudder. "All we're waiting for is for you to start reading. God, how much longer do we have to wait...?"

"Miss Xiao Long," Glinda said, furrowing her brows, but the student only rolled her eyes and glanced tiredly at the blond man.

"Come on, Vomit-boy, start it."

"Y-yes," Jaune swallowed the lump in his throat for the umpteenth time, and even the way Pyrrha was trying to ease his nervousness wasn't helping matters. "I'm starting... " - <…> Chapter 3 – The Makings of a Tribe. "Don't be stupid. It would take a person of unparalleled charisma, courage and leadership to unite the scattered tribes. Who among them has all three?" - Jaune hesitated for a moment, but continued reading nonetheless. - <…> "Vomit-boy!? Pft, yeah, right. Pull the other one." Yang Xiao-Long, Captain of the Dragoons

Yang blinked in surprise, suddenly jumped up from her seat, and punched the air.

"Hell yeah!" the blonde turned to Weiss and smirked derisively. "How about that, Weiss? I'm higher than you!"

There was an awkward silence for a moment.

"Higher...?" The girl was perplexed, looking up at Yang. "What are you talking about?"

"God,” Yang sighed, rolling her eyes. "I said that I am higher in rank than you."

"What?! You're not higher than me!" Weiss frowned, also standing up and staring into the blonde's violet eyes. "I'm a Brigadier General, and you're some kind of captain of dragons!"

"Dragoons, actually," Jaune corrected, but Weiss only waved her tail, not even paying attention to the oversight.

"Are you sure, ice queen?" Yang squinted, beginning to knead her fists. "You don't just get promoted to Captain of Dragons for nothing. Brigadier General? Yeah, they can put anyone, even you."

Uh, guys, "Dragoons," not dragons," Jaune tried to cut in, but he was ignored again. Realizing that no one was paying attention to him, the blond sighed heavily, mentally marveling at how ironic fate could be. When he wanted no one to look at him, everyone did. Now it was the other way around. Shaking his head, Jaune sighed and then waved his hand. "You know what, though? Okay, call it what you want..."

"Even me?!" while Weiss and Young continued their argument. "Anyone can swing his fists to be appointed captain, but to manage the whole structure and organization of the troops, only a few can do it! And since I'm a Brigadier General, I can do it! Unlike some fighters."

Yang's eyes began to redden.

"Uh, guys? Weiss? Yang?" Ruby tried to intervene, hoping it wouldn't come to a fight. Unfortunately she as the voice of reason was not listened to. Although, she even thought they simply did not hear her. "Please, let's not fight in the room!"

To further panic, Nora suddenly jumped up and yelled:

"Fight! Fight! Fight!!!"

And as if that weren’t enough, another voice was heard.

"Who are you betting on?" Ruby heard Mercury's voice as her mind tried to think of a plan that would keep her sister and her partner from being punished and all of them from reading again. "Dibs on the blonde."

"Girls!" Ruby tried to intervene again. And again she was ignored, just as she had been ignored earlier with Jaune. Apparently, the heiress and the blonde were in their own worlds, where only the two of them existed. And the fact that the temperature began to decrease or increase on both sides was just a play of imagination. "Girls! Enough already!"

Ruby's gaze began to quickly search for some clue in order to stop this whole farce. God, what would her family say if they saw all this? Thinking for a moment, the Reaper imagined the image of her uncle, who, swaying slightly, takes a sip from his flask and brushes away a proud tear while muttering: “All like me!” With a shudder, Ruby pushed those thoughts and images out of her head, staring at the last person in the room who could stop the two girls.

"Jaune!" the guy shuddered, then looked at the Red Reaper. "Weiss, Jaune just called you Snow Angel!"

"What?!" two people said in one voice: one with horror, the other with anger. Ruby could only turn away sadly, knowing that it was necessary. It's better for one person to suffer than for the whole room! Ruby mentally prayed for her friend, deciding that after another beating from Weiss, she would personally give him a spare pack of cookies to repay him for the crime she had committed in their friendship.

"Sorry, Jaune,” Ruby closed her eyes, hearing a cry of pain and horror echo in the room. "Forgive me... but it was necessary..."

"Wow,” Emerald whistled in surprise, staring at Ruby. "I thought that you were friends."

Ruby opened one eye to stare at Emerald.

"We are friends!" Ruby said indignantly, to which she was answered with a slightly raised eyebrow. The Reaper stammered "W-well, it was just the only way to prevent a fight."

Emerald raised a second eyebrow, and then, with ostentatious slowness, stared at the two adults, who were talking about something, occasionally glancing at what was happening between Weiss and Jaune. Probably as soon as Ruby stared at Ms. Goodwitch, her spirits went into overdrive.

"Oh, God..." Ruby stared at her friend in horror. "I'm a terrible friend..."

“Definitely,” Emerald nodded, taking out popcorn and starting to eat it, watching with interest what was happening.

Only screams of pain, anger, and Nora were heard in the room while all this continued.

"Come on Weiss! Break his legs!"

"Nora, he is your leader."

"Oh, right. Come on Jaune, you can defeat the Snow Angel!" There was another cry of anger and then pain. Yang whistled when she saw it, forgetting that she and Weiss were ready to fight when Ruby intervened. Meanwhile, the culprit was hiding under her hood, hoping that Jaune would forgive her after all this. He would forgive her, wouldn't he?

"Argh!!! My leg!!!"

He won't forgive her...

* * *

"Well, now that everyone is back in their seats,” Ozpin ignored the groan of one blond, “we can continue reading. Mr. Arc, would you be so kind as to start reading further"?

Jaune let out another groan but still reached for the book. And the moment his hand reached for the book, everyone could see how much it was shaking. In fact, it wasn't just the guy's hand shaking, but his whole body. Weiss blushed slightly. Apparently, a few vials of ice dust were really unnecessary. By the way, it wasn't only the guilt that made her blush, but also her irritation.

//"Why didn't anyone stop me?! Did they all really want to watch me beat up Arc so badly!"!" - thought the heiress, crossing her arms over her chest. Surprisingly, that's what happened. Most of the students - well, and the Headmaster - just wanted to relax while watching the beating of one blond boy. Was this normal?

For some civilians, probably not. But for Hunters or Huntresses, it was the norm. Even the "regular students" of Haven were cool with it. After all, they had seen too much to stop it. In their own way, each of them knew what a real beating was. And what Weiss had done to John wasn't even a beating, it was just fun.

As for the others... Let's just say that if Weiss had been a little more attentive, she would have noticed Pyrrha staring sullenly at the table with a black rain cloud hanging over her. In a figurative sense, of course. They're not in some cartoon, are they? And Ruby was no better than Pyrrha, to be honest.

Hiding under her hood, the Reaper simply couldn't look at Jaune, for every time she looked at him, she felt immense guilt for what she had done. Why had she been so stupid to shout those words instead of turning to the professor or the headmaster? Oh, God... She was so stupid after all....

Pyrrha felt the same way, except that unlike Ruby, who blamed herself for what had happened, the champion blamed herself for inaction. Although to be precise, even if it had happened again, Pyrrha still wouldn't have done anything. And it was all because Jaune had asked her to stay out of the altercation between him and Weiss. What's to say, he had told not only her but all of his friends as well.

//"I must defeat Weiss myself," were the words he uttered. Though he said nothing else, everyone understood what he was trying to say. Or rather, what he didn't say next. Pyrrha bit her lip, glancing at the heiress who sat with her arms crossed. What was there about Weiss that Pyrrha didn't have? Money? Power? Beauty?

Pyrrha had it all. It was she, not her family, as was the case with Weiss. Championships, fights, publicity - all this, and more, gave the girl so much lien that if she had her way, she could buy several "limited" Atlas robots, several stores with dust and Ashes, as well as, become one of the world's dozen philanthropists, with some money left over for ice cream...

Neo's eyes lit up, and then her gaze quickly traveled through the people in the room, looking for someone to catch her eye. But, finding no one, she sighed heavily...

And yet, Jaune wasn't paying attention to her. The kind of attention the champion had always wanted to get rid of. And that's what she'd always wanted. To find a man who would not pay attention to her because of fame, wealth, or beauty, but simply as a human being. Someone who could be her friend... Jaune had become her friend.

Unfortunately, the little heart wanted more.

Pyrrha blushed slightly but didn't dare to put those thoughts out of her mind. Her green eyes stared again at the trembling Jaune, who had already opened the book in the right place. After a moment, the champion's gaze was turned to the heiress, and once again a single question popped into her mind. A question - the answer she wanted to hear more than anything else in her life.

//"What does Weiss have that's special that I don't?"

* * *

"S-so...” Jaune cleared his throat, and then hesitantly began reading from where he left off last time. "Hmm..." <…> Not for the first time, nor for the last, I had no idea what I was doing. It wasn't exactly a new state of being, since I'd basically been that way since I tricked my way into Beacon, - this time, the trembling in the body was not because of the remaining cold, but because of fear. Swallowing the lump in his throat, Jaune tried to pretend that everything was normal, although the thought of the book telling his secret about joining Beacon couldn't help but make him shudder. - <…> but this one was a little more worrying because I didn't have Pyrrha, also known as the best partner ever, to drag me out of every little problem I got myself into. Ren tried, he really did, but it wasn't the same.

Pyrrha blushed slightly upon hearing these words. She was actually pleased that her partner thought of her that way. Even if it was only said because Jaune was reading bookish Jaune's mind. But even so, something told her that the real Jaune thought the same. And, to hide it, her heart began to beat wildly from such thoughts.

"Um, you’re reading the next words, Ren,” his friend nodded, making himself a little more comfortable, and then starting to listen. - <…> (Excuse me for that…)

Blinking, Ren raised his eyebrow slightly and asked Jaune.

"And it's all?" Jaune nodded awkwardly, feeling everyone looking at him. Ren, after a short silence, nodded. "Well, it was pretty short."

"Yeah..." Jaune mirrored his friend's nod, and then, seeing Weiss's gaze, decided to immediately return to reading. - <…> The problem I faced wasn't so much a combative one as a planning issue, however, not that it made much of a difference. I was crap at that, too. - Jaune's friends sighed heavily. Jaune is sometimes such an idiot that he fails to notice not only his good skills in leadership and strategy but also someone's love-filled gaze. Although... perhaps this is what makes it so special. - <…> At that moment, I sat upon a chair that was balanced on a table, giving me a height advantage as I looked down at a crudely drawn map of Beacon that Russel had made. It was about as detailed as one of Ruby's excuses for why she was late to class and equally as effective. I could only tell the cafeteria was in the middle because there was a big picture of a cake on it.

<…> Cardin and Ren knelt by the map, while the other members of Team CRDL, or my retinue, I suppose, were busy fortifying the small room we'd claimed as our own. It was a tiny classroom I'd never seen before. I could only imagine it served for classes for later years, and probably some elective courses with less students. Either way, it had no windows and was out of the way, which made it perfect for our purposes. I.e. hide away and never face any trouble until the whole thing blew over.

Jaune nodded to himself, thinking about it too. Unfortunately, the blond understood that since this book told about his adventures, it certainly wouldn’t be enough to wait in class alone. And, remembering the first chapter, where his book version called Weiss "Snow Angel", Jaune knew for sure they would not leave him so easily.

"Hmm, Mr. Arc?" Miss Goodwitch cleared her throat, returning the blond to the real world. Blinking, the guy blushed slightly, realizing he had been silent for too long. Clearing his throat, Jaune continued reading again.

<…> Unfortunately, not everyone seemed to be reading from the same page on that.

<…> "There isn't a male force at the moment," Cardin said, addressing both Ren and myself. "It's little more than scattered groups spread out across Beacon. Most of them keep moving to avoid capture and to try and find what food they can."

All the people in the room began to listen to Jaune's voice.

<…> "They're like nomads," Ren mused, one hand under his chin. "They seek a home but there is none available. I wonder if we could use that in some way." - Jaune quickly glanced at his friend, feeling a shiver at where the book was starting to lead them. //“This is simply impossible!” - thoughts flashed through the guy’s head, and then he continued reading again, hoping that the book would not confirm his fears. Unfortunately, the book had a different idea of ​​what was going to happen. - <…> "My thoughts exactly." Cardin stabbed a finger down onto the map. "If we can set up a decent-sized base and make a name for ourselves, we might be able to count on those nomads seeking us out for protection. We could bolster our own forces, and the bigger we get, the more attractive we'll be. We'll be able to build an army!"

Jaune mentally groaned as he heard chuckles from some people, Yang being one of them.

<…> "And then what?" I asked. I had a sinking feeling I already knew the answer, but dared to be optimistic.

<…> "Then you can take the fight to the enemy," Cardin cried, slamming his fist down on the cafeteria, the bastion of the feminine empire. "You will lead us to victory and we will reclaim what is ours. We will push them back, feed the hungry, and bring hope to our gender!"

What happened next was to be expected. In the beginning, the room was silent, and the next second, Yang started giggling. And gradually that giggling began to be replaced by laughter, and a real cackle. No one, not even Ms. Goodwitch, rebuked her, for in the next few moments, Yang was joined by others. Mercury, Weiss, Emerald, Neo ...

And that was only those who expressed their emotions more vividly than others. The same Blake giggled slightly, sitting to the left of Ren, who was also smiling faintly. Of course, Nora was also laughing, but somehow more kindly than Mercury or Yang, though hitting the table, in Jaune's opinion, was unnecessary.

The only ones who showed no sign of laughing or smiling were two women, a blonde with green eyes and a black-haired one with bright yellow eyes. They were, of course, Ms. Goodwitch and Cinder Fall. As for the headmaster...

As usual, he hid his light smile behind a mug of coffee, not showing it to anyone, not even his deputy.

Jaune held the book and waited silently for it to be over. No, of course, he understood that laughter prolonged life and all that... but laughing at something like this? Heck, Cardin had literally put him in charge of all men, and that, let's point out, is no laughing matter. It's like putting on a tee shirt with
a target and walking around a shooting range. At night. And the target itself is phosphor-based. So, to put it in normal terms, it glows in the dark. And now, let's think about what's better: to stand at the head of the All-Men, while definitely attracting the attention of all the women, including Pyrrha, Weiss, Yang, and, oh God, Nora! The second option is to walk around a gun range in a glowing T-shirt for a few hours or so, with about an eighty percent chance of getting shot in the chest.

I think the answer is obvious.

Sighing sadly, Jaune covered his eyes with his hand, feeling his face lighten with embarrassment as the laughter spread through the room and he remained silent, waiting for it all to end. Unfortunately - or fortunately? - at that moment, Pyrrha, placing her palm on his shoulder, caught the blond's attention.

"Jaune?"

Blinking, the guy stared questioningly at his friend, mentally going through the possible answers that made Pyrrha attract his attention.

" You know they didn't mean it, don't you?" Jaune blinked a few times, not understanding what his partner was talking about, but then he realized. Apparently, she was talking about their friends, and Mercury, who kept laughing at Cardin's words. Jaune as already mentioned, had nothing bad to say about their laughter. It was just that none of them were in a situation that made them laugh without thinking about the things that Cardin's words might entail.

The guy shuddered, remembering how he told his friends about his “little” secret. And now, if the Civil War happens in reality, he will definitely face the fate of a princess or,” the guy’s eyes glazed over for a moment, even worse.

With a sharp jerk of his head, the guy returned to reality, turning his attention to the girl next to him.

"Don’t worry Pyrrha, I’m not offended by their laughter,” Jaune tried to smile. "It’s just that I can’t understand why Cardin even said these words... we’re kind of enemies..."

"You're wrong!" Pyrrha suddenly interrupted him, making him stare at her with slightly widened eyes. "You're perfect for the role of Head of All Men!!!"

An empty gaze was fixed on the champion.

"Yes?"

"Yeah!" Pyrrha nodded decisively.

"...and what makes you think so?" after some hesitation, the blond asked.

"Well, first of all, you," Pyrrha faltered, almost saying the "H" word, and then, blushing slightly, decided to use a more neutral word to describe her leader's qualities. "Charming!"

The lad raised his eyebrow questioningly, not fully realizing the meaning of the word. He? Charming? Well, if you looked at it in the context of normal people, sure. In fact, Jaune was sure that since entering Beacon, he had become even more handsome than before. And, as Jaune was sure, it was because of his Aura.

It was actually quite logical, in his opinion. The aura not only protected but also slowly healed its bearer while giving a lot of positive qualities, among which were definitely improvements in Hunter's appearance. And, what to deny, Hunters and Huntresses are the really handsome ones.

Since coming to Beacon, Jaune had never seen an ugly or ordinary person. Everyone was differently beautiful or mesmerizing. The same Yang, any normal guy, at most a girl, would say she was irresistibly hot, and anyone who said she wasn't special must be blind at the very least.

Somewhere in Beacon, a red-haired guy sneezed.

But somehow Jaune got distracted. He listened to his friend again.

"Secondly, you are a brilliant strategist!"

This time, the blond froze a bit, pondering Pyrrha's words. Is he a "brilliant strategist"? If he can be called a genius, it's only in wanting to save his own skin. Yes, he's definitely brilliant at that, but in strategy? With a heavy sigh, he shook his head, deciding not to respond to the girl's words, instead he continued to listen.

"Thirdly, you are friendly and will never leave a friend in trouble!"

Jaune remembered the scene where his book version without hesitation sent a group of guys straight to death, who also happened to love shopping. To be honest, the blond would have done the same thing if he were in the double's shoes. Therefore, Pyrrha's words were only echoed by a faint denial. In fact, Jaune was sure that an hour ago, Ms. Goodwitch had spoken his thoughts about running off with the dog food, leaving Wren alone.

Yes. Pyrrha was right. He will never leave his comrades in trouble. Against Grimm, of course.

"And, in conclusion," Pyrrha was so excited that she even blushed. "You are a born leader!"

There was silence between them. It was interrupted by continued laughter from the others, especially Yang, who had apparently heard all of Pyrrha's words. Why did Jaune think of that? Well, the way she laughed even harder, while accidentally falling to the floor, made him think about it for some reason. And her half-suffocated wheeze only confirmed that guess.

"B-brilliant strategist... hahaha... born leader, hahaha!!!!" Yang laughed again as she continued under the table.

Jaune just sighed sadly and shook his head slightly while his gaze was fixed on the green eyes of his partner.

"Eh, do you know Pyrrha?" Jaune swallowed the lump in his throat but still said the following words. "Perhaps you're right. Yes, you're absolutely right!"

And not paying attention to the surprised face of his friend, the guy turned to the deputy headmistress, and then said in a slightly raised tone, so that everyone could hear it.

"Ms. Goodwich, I think it's time for us to move on to the next chapter. It's been quite a while, and we're still standing here. If this continues, we won't be able to get out of this room at all," the green eyes glanced at the blond, and then Glinda nodded. She was also tired of sitting there, waiting for the students to finally calm down so they could continue reading the book. Though, someone, definitely not a coffee drinker, was interested in watching the students' reactions.

Sighing and rubbing the bridge of her nose, Glynda glanced at the young leader.

"Sure, why not?" Glinda turned to the students, most of whom had already regained their composure. Coughing, the professor continued when many had turned their attention back to her. - I ask for silence, as Mr. Arc wishes to continue reading the book. I hope you will give him silence and not disturb others listening to the story.

After the deputy's words, almost everyone stopped giggling or laughing, and only Yang, who was still under the table, laughed intermittently and pantingly, but so faintly that she could be ignored. Everyone did, and Glinda, who had brought silence back to the room, nodded to Jaune as if to say he could continue reading.

The blond nodded weakly, and then, taking a deep breath, lowered his gaze to the lines in the book. It was easy to find where they had stopped, but it was harder to start. But the young man, overcome by his inner self, began to read.

<…> "Then you can take the fight to the enemy," Cardin cried, slamming his fist down on the cafeteria, the bastion of the feminine empire. "You will lead us to victory and we will reclaim what is ours. We will push them back, feed the hungry, and bring hope to our gender!"

There were faint chuckles, but a glance from Miss Goodwitch was enough to make those who were giggling shut their mouths and straighten up, letting the others hear Mr. Arc's words. The blond licked his lips and continued reading.

<…> Russel, Sky, and Dove cheered happily. I cheered, too, and hoped they didn't notice how similar to a whimper it sounded. Yep, that was exactly what I'd been afraid of. Cardin thought me some tactical genius that was going to be able to give them victory over the girls. I knew better, of course. It would take more than strategy to even the odds against people like Pyrrha and Yang.

Pyrrha said nothing, but Jaune felt her gaze on him. And without saying anything, the boy only smiled at her, mentally hoping she wouldn't start a second round of praise and admiration. Luckily for Jaune, and badly for her heart, she froze with a silly smile, looking at him. Well, perhaps it was for the best.

Jaune simply couldn't bear to get any more encouragement from his friend that day.

<…> The problem was that I couldn't say that. If I backed out now, or gave CRDL reason to believe they couldn't trust me, then our little alliance would fall to pieces. Ren and I would be back on our own, and Cardin would definitely take all the food we'd collected with him. We wouldn't be able to stop him. I didn't want to go back to being hungry. My stomach rumbled at the very thought of it, waking Zwei up from his place in my lap. - Ruby sighed sadly, again beginning to feel fear for her poor corgi. He is so small and defenseless... And there are so many dangers and horrors out there! What if some villains want to harm him?

At that moment, Emerald sneezed, and Ruby, momentarily forgetting about her dog, wished her health.

"Thank you,” Emerald smiled slightly and then winced. "It’s strange, there doesn’t seem to be any dust here..."

Jaune continued, meanwhile.

<…> "Sorry, boy," I whispered, stroking him gently. He huffed and went back to sleep, leaving me to provide an answer to Cardin, who was looking up at me with a terrifying mixture of awe, adulation, and battle lust on his face. "Don't you think that might draw the girl's attention?" I asked. "We'd need to make it obvious where to find us or the nomadic tribes wouldn't be able to, but if we're obvious then we'll be letting the girls know, too."

<…> "You're right," Cardin said, earning a breath of relief from Jaune. "I hadn't thought of that. I suppose that's why you're the boss." - Yang giggled again, causing Jaune to momentarily stop reading and look at the blonde. The blonde was no longer lying on the floor; instead, she stood and held her stomach, and her shoulders trembled slightly. Apparently, she was still shaking from the laughter she had had earlier.

The guy decided to ignore her, instead he simply turned his attention to his best friend, Ren.

"By the way, you are reading the next words, Ren" his friend simply nodded. "Hmm..." - <…> (Suffice to say, even with Jaune's self-perceived cowardice, his caution still was a valuable asset to our survival. It allowed us, at the very least, to temper some of Cardin's more aggressive suggestions.)

Hearing the words of his double, Ren thoughtfully rested his chin on his hand, then nodded slowly, apparently thinking about something. But Jaune decides to quickly finish this chapter. He did not pay attention to the guy’s actions; instead, he continued reading.

<…> "I don't think it's a bad idea, though," Ren said. "Not the idea itself at any rate. Instead of passively drawing the desperate into our midst, however, we should perhaps focus on finding and convincing others to join us." - Jaune momentarily lost his reading and glanced at his friend, mentally surprised by the words of his book double. Why did Ren suggest this? Does he really want to fight the Women's Army?

. . .

Shaking his head slightly, Jaune smiled. This was a stupid thing to do. Ren would never have suggested such an idea without having a plan. Most likely, he had just thought that: "the more people, the more security". That made sense. Of course, they'd have to share food, but if there were more of us, wouldn't that mean they could take sustenance away from the patrols?

"Ahem, Mr. Arc, would you please continue reading?" The sudden voice of Glinda made Jon flinch and then return to the real world. Blushing slightly, the boy realized that he had gone off in the wrong direction in his thoughts, so he quickly apologized and resumed reading.

<…> Oh, come on, Ren. Not you, too! I leaned forward to cut that idea off before it could start, but Cardin beat me to it.

Yang sitting back in her seat, moved closer with interest to better hear the guy's next words. And what she hears next will not disappoint her.

<…> "Perfect!" he barked. - Jaune only winced for a moment as his eyes skimmed over the next lines of text, but after taking a long breath and mentally counting to ten, he still began to read out loud. - <…> "Jaune can unite the tribes against the female host. Once people start to hear of someone bringing the scattered tribes together, they'll seek us out. This should let us stay relatively hidden early on though, and the girls won't figure out what's happening until later. By that time, we should have a force capable of holding our own." His eyes lit up. "Maybe even of taking the fight to them! Isn't that great?" Cardin asked, smiling fanatically at him.

It wasn't until the end that Jon suddenly thought Cardin was just trying to mess him up. How could it be called that when only a few hours ago - how long, to be exact, had it been since the run-in with the patrol? An hour? Two? Oh, never mind. - he and his bookish self were enemies fighting over a single packet of dog food.

And perhaps for one corgi, which in peripheral vision looks very much like a small cow...

But now, Cardin has gone so far as to not only take the oath of allegiance but put him in charge of All Men. Come on! Are those oaths worth anything? Or are they just words? Jaune, to be honest, hoped they were just words, since knowing that in the book Cardin had sworn allegiance to him was rather... disconcerting. Very.

And apparently, Cardin had decided to finally finish off not only the bookish Jaune, but the real one as well. With a heavy sigh, the blond covered his face with his hands, hoping he could hide from everyone: from Yang, with her laughter, from Pyrrha, with her praise or comfort, and, of course, from Mercury Black, with his slightly cocky and insane speech about "His greatness and His works."

Well...there's only one thing to say.

Jaune was gravely mistaken when he thought hiding behind his palms wouldn't do anything.

* * *

"God," Yang wiped the tears from her eyes and smiled cheerfully, feeling that this book was getting more and more fun with each chapter, and the way Jaune or other people were embarrassed by the action in the book made her want to hear the continuation of the story even more. "This is the most beautiful book I know! To think this douchebag thinks that nausea can defeat "female domination"?! Ha ha ha ha!!!"

The blonde laughed again, feeling new tears forming in her eyes. It wasn't every day you heard such nonsense, after all. However, getting into locked rooms with a bunch of books would also be considered an abnormal thing.

Meanwhile, while Yang laughed weakly, Jaune sighed once more, and then, ignoring the laughing girl, looked at Miss Goodwich, feeling that only she could help him continue reading the book.

" Ahem, could you...?" Jaune swallowed the lump in his throat, feeling the gaze of the focused green eyes. He tried to answer something, but the woman turned away and waved her hand. With a distinct sound, Yang's laughter fell silent, causing everyone to instinctively glance at the blonde. Well, the way her mouth was slightly glowing said something. Yang widening her eyes, only looked at Ms. Goodwitch in surprise.

"Ms. Xiao Long, we are all glad that you are showing your good mood to others, but because of your laughter, or should I say cackling, we cannot continue reading the book. I think many in this room will agree with me, as we all want to know what happens next. And like I said, you are not only disturbing me and Mr. Arc, but also your team, friends, and other students."

The green eyes behind the glasses squinted, making everyone who looked into them instinctively flinch. Yang turned pale.

"And let me tell you, it's not the first time," the deputy glanced at Ruby, who flinched and squirmed slightly in her seat. "Ms. Rose, as team leader, I'm asking you to keep an eye on your sister. If she distracts Mr. Ark from reading his book one more time, I'll have to punish her."

After these words, there was an oppressive silence. Yang, who was still staring at Miss Goodwich with widened eyes, felt a pure terror that made not only her hands but also her knees tremble. To say the least, even the brave and reckless Nora sat silently, hiding slightly behind Pyrrha as if behind a shield.

And, it was in this very atmosphere that the loud sound of a gulp was heard.

Ozpin, as if not noticing the atmosphere, drank his coffee in silence until many eyes shifted directly to him. Taking another sip, the headmaster glanced to his left and smiled slightly.

"Glinda, don't scare the children," Ozpin lifted the corners of his lips as his gaze shifted to the blonde. "I'm sure Miss Xiao Long won't disturb Mr. Arc from reading the book, so there's no need to punish anyone. Isn't that right, Ms. Xiao Long?"

Yang, who had tried to reply at first, quickly realized that the telekinesis was still keeping her mouth closed, so she quickly nodded in agreement. She really didn't want to be punished!

"You see," Ozpin took another sip of his coffee, and then looked at the woman with a slight smile. "You can let her go already, she certainly won't be in Mr. Arc's way. Ah, yes. Mr. Arc."

Jaune flinched as the headmaster's eyes focused on him.

"You can keep reading, no one's stopping you," Ozpin's words made the blond blink in surprise, and look around. Everyone was indeed silent, even the irritable Mercury was sitting silently in his seat, seemingly not even breathing. Slowly, he returned his gaze to the headmaster and saw him nod, his lips hidden behind his coffee mug.

"Okay," the gaze of the blue eyes went back to the lines of text. Unfortunately, as soon as Jaune mentally read the next words, he shuddered and mentally began to curse whoever had written those books. Apparently, the author wanted to finally ruin the blond man's life. And, apparently, Jaune would help to fulfill this goal, because everyone was expecting only him.

Jaune began to read.

<…> Cardin asked, smiling fanatically at him. - the blonde’s voice was heard in the silence, forcing everyone to listen to his baritone. - <…> "Y-Yeah," I replied back miserably. "I can't wait."

<…> The two continued to plan and I continued to pretend to listen in, all the while thinking about the situation in my head. What they wanted me to do and what I was going to do were two very different things, but the actual idea of banding together with another tribe wasn't necessarily a bad one. More people meant more protection, and maybe even a way to gather more food. When they inevitably refused to let me take control, we could become a part of their group and I'd be free from this whole mess.

Jaune smiled faintly as he read it out loud. He really wanted bookish Jaune's thoughts to come true. It's better to be a subordinate than a leader. But something told him that his thoughts and dreams would still remain unfulfilled in the end. Sighing, the blonde continued reading.

<…> The actual act of trying to unite the tribes shouldn't be dangerous at all. If anything, it was a diplomatic sort of things that would probably involve a lot of sneaking around Beacon and staying out of the girls' eyes. Well, better that than going back to what Ren and I had before. At least this way we have the food we stole from those Girl Scouts.

Everyone silently listened to bookish Jaune's thoughts.

<…> "Alright," I surrendered. "We'll give it a go."

<…> It was better than taking the fight straight to the women.

Jaune stopped for a moment.

"Well, then there’s a line break,” Jaune said awkwardly, although the guy couldn’t understand why he felt this awkwardness.

As for the others... some of the students nodded, the rest choosing to wait in silence for the story to continue as they sat in their seats. Some even munched on something, like popcorn or chips, as Mercury, Emerald, and, to Jon's surprise, Blake did. Though to be honest, the girl's eyes never took her eyes off the book in the guy's hands for a moment, which made it a little creepy.

With a twitch of his shoulder, Jaune decided to ignore it, just as he had when he'd accidentally walked into their room and met a wet and slightly dazed Ren while Nora, whistling a tune, was rolling a giant cauldron out of the bedroom. Jaune never dared to ask anything, as neither Nora nor Ren mentioned the incident the next day.

In fact, not paying attention to the weirdness of friends, students, and other people from the various Academies has become some sort of... norm. Probably, when you live in a room with a bunch of explosives, - thanks Nora, - and you're friends with a weapons fanatic who even calls her weapons lover, - it's nothing personal Ruby, - you start to feel a sense of defensiveness in many situations and try to ignore the oddities in people.

However, some individuals might be more restrained in some situations. Yes, those individuals should definitely keep their repulsive and impossible thoughts and not enslave the minds of his friends... poor Pyrrha.

With a sharp jerk of his head from side to side, Jaune snapped back to reality, and without waiting for Professor Goodwitch or anyone else to speak, he began to read new lines of text.

<…> The first group we came across was about what I expected. A ruined room with overturned beds and sheets flung about. It didn't so much look like a battle had been waged in the tiny dorm, but rather a full-blown war with numerous campaigns. The fact that the group of three guys we'd heard about being here weren't around spoke of who won. - Weiss slightly raised the corners of her lips into a semblance of a grin, as if acting in the books was precisely her achievement. But no one paid attention to this, since Jaune had no intention of stopping the story. - <…> I hovered at the entrance, anxiously looking down the corridor, while Ren entered with Russel in tow. The safety of our classroom gone, the bravado that had overtaken them was gone, and we were all nervous.

<…> "This is recent," Ren said, inspecting something only he could see – perhaps footprints, or some food crushed into the carpet, - Jaune blinked when he read this passage. And then he stared at his friend in surprise. "Can you read footprints?"

The brunette raised his eyes to the blond, but he was in no hurry to answer; instead, Ren looked down, straight at the table. And only after that, he spoke.

"Yeah, I've had to deal with it," Ren shrugged and looked up at Jaune thoughtfully, smiling slightly. "But I'm not much of an expert at it. So you don't have to pay much attention to this skill."

"Nope!" Nora jumped up sharply from her seat and slapped Ren on the shoulder, causing him to instinctively widen his eyes and slide down slightly as the girl continued to speak. "Renny is an incredible tracker! Just a few years ago, he could tell from a few faint traces not only the boars we hunted, but also their numbers, volume, and how difficult they would be to deal with!"

"Nora," the boy sighed and continued under the attentive stares of the people in the room. "In fact, nothing was surprising about it. By the number of prints on the ground and broken branches of bushes around that place, one could easily recognize the number of boars and their approximate height with volume. I'm sure anyone could see that."

"I’m not sure..." Jaune whispered to himself, unfortunately, Pyrrha heard him.

"Then, let me teach you!" Pyrrha, not noticing the guy’s surprised look, offered her help. And Jaune, once again surprised by the champion, mentally thought: //“Pyrrha can read the tracks? Wow. I wonder what she can’t do at all?”

But these thoughts remained thoughts. Instead, he said:

"Let's talk about this a little later,” Jaune nodded at Nora and Ren, who continued to talk. Blushing slightly, the girl nodded and, together with Jaune, returned to the couple again.

"But Ren!!!" Nora even exclaimed in surprise. "It was you who found me at the initiation! You were able to read my tracks!"

Ren sighed.

"Nora, I was just walking towards the sounds of explosions,” all the Beacon students instinctively thought and realized that while they were walking towards the chess pieces, they actually heard the sounds of explosions. There were a few chuckles.

"Still, you're incredible at this!" Nora folded her arms across her chest and sat back in her seat, pouting. Ren shrugged and glanced at Jaune, not noticing Cinder's scrutinizing gaze. Golden eyes squinted slightly, noting the new information in her mind. By the time the story continued, she didn't show she was paying attention to Ren in any way. Instead, she concentrated on the story.

<…> "How recent?" Cardin asked. - Jaune still felt something was wrong about Cardin being with the book versions of themselves. It looked too incredible from the outside. But deciding it was just a book, the blond continued reading aloud. - <…> "No older than twenty-four hours. That's as much as I can say."

<…> Cardin hummed but didn't say anymore. A day wasn't really much to go on, not when the whole war itself had only been going for two now. Either way, it didn't look like the guys we'd been here for were still around. Whatever had taken them was gone as well.

<…> "Do you think it was the Girl Scouts?" Russel asked quietly. In the silence we were trying to keep, his voice seemed to echo. - Jaune licked his dry lips. - <…> "They attack people they see wandering around, but I doubt they'd hunt people down." Dove slid into the room and looked around, his eyes narrowed. "This doesn't feel like them. I mean, the message we got said these guys were locked up in their room, right? Since when do Girl Scouts break the door down?"

"Although, it’s disgusting for me to agree with the bully, but he’s right,” Weiss raised her voice thoughtfully. "If you check all the rooms in Beacon, then this will require not only a lot of time but also effort. Besides, it won’t be possible to send all the girls, since we still need to defend the occupied points... Perhaps this is some other group of girls?"

Yang's eyes sparkled as she abruptly proposed her idea.

"Maybe it was the Dragons? Oh! It was definitely them!"

"What?" Weiss's voice drowned with other people. Shaking her head, she continued in some kind of denial. "This is impossible!"

"Why?" the blonde asked with a grin. "As Dov said, the door was knocked down. I'm just sure that it was my squad of Dragons!"

"First of all,” Weiss raised a finger. "you are not the commander of the Dragons! It’s just that in the book you are a commander, in reality, it’s not like that."

Yang raised her eyebrows.

“The same can be said about you, ice queen,” the blonde grinned, but Weiss didn’t pay attention to it raising a second finger.

"Second, it could still have been a patrol, since there's no reason they couldn't have been heard or seen in the hallway while they were entering the room itself," Weiss glanced at the blonde and smirked. "As for your statement, it's pretty self-explanatory. You're already a brawler in reality, but I'm," Weiss touched her chest and smiled slightly. "I'm a strategist and a leader."

"Actually, it was Ruby who was the leader," Blake said and glanced at them both. "And by the way, if you want to know who trashed the room, you'd better shut up, because I'm sure the book will tell you about it. And you're the only one continuing this silly argument."

These words had different effects on the two girls, but one thing worth noting is that both of them fell silent. Golden eyes stared at the blond and he flinched at Blake's voice.

"You can continue reading, Jaune,” he nodded and immediately stared at the book, starting to read out loud.

<…> "The doors are unlocked, remember?" - Jaune, momentarily confused about who was speaking, looked up and found the previous dialogue. “Russell” - flashed through his head as his gaze returned to the lines of text. - <…> "Same story," he said. "Girl Scouts don't attack defended positions. It's a pointless risk for them."

"They can attack from behind" Ruby suggested, hearing the words of the bookish Dov. Weiss decided to complement the leader of her team:

"They can be jammed on both sides. It's especially bad if they're opposed by upperclassmen," Ruby nodded, realizing what her friend was getting at.

<…> "This could be something else," Sky whispered. "I've heard stories of shadowed monsters striking in the night." - everyone stared at Jaune with interest, even he felt interested in the lines of text. //“What is Sky getting at? Grimm? - flashed through the guy’s head while he read everything out loud. - <…> "Grimm?" I asked, suddenly nervous.

Everyone held their breath. Well, at least Nora did it for sure.

<…> "No, worse. Women." - Jaune, like the others, at the beginning, did not realize what they had just heard, or, as in the case of the guy, read. And then, as expected, there were chuckles and giggles from the women and winces from the men. Yes... \\“Women are truly scary creatures...” flashed through every man in the room as images of certain women surfaced in their minds. Jaune has his mother and sisters, Ren has Nora, and Mercury has Cinder.

Even Ozpin was looking thoughtfully into the distance and thinking about something.

//"I wonder how Mr. Lark would react to Her?" - The headmaster hid a slight smile behind his mug of coffee, realizing that these were just thoughts without any desire to execute into reality. "Huh, that would definitely be funny."

And only Glinda and Cinder shook their heads as if they had heard a stupid and unsuccessful joke. Green eyes narrowed and Glynda cleared her throat, causing all the laughter and smiles to disappear.

"Mister Arc"

"Yes, Professor,” Jaune immediately continued reading the chapter. - <…> I wasn't sure how to respond to that.

<…>"Women who move like smoke and who can cover the Academy in less than an hour, who spread across the halls like shadow itself, striking and destroying any who dare-" - Blake approached with interest, caught on a few words. Something was bothering her, but she didn't pay attention to it, continuing to listen to Jaune. - <…>"Rumours," Cardin spat. "Those are nothing but rumours!"

<…> "Y-Yeah, Sky," Russel laughed. "You've been spending too much time on the forums." - Freezing for a moment, Jaune looked at Ren. "Next comes your note, Ren."

Many fell silent with interest, waiting for the continuation. Usually, Ren would say interesting information, like with the women's patrol or other things. Therefore, it was expected that everyone would become quiet. Some because of information, others because of something else, and some because of the brunette with pink streaks.

Nora sneezed.

<…> (The Beacon Forums were, as they sound, a collection of topics and posts between students in the Academy, and had existed long before we even came to the school. Normally, they'd be filled with general chatter, or offers of help with homework traded for a sparring partner, or even just notices to let people know if a specific event was coming up, or if lessons were cancelled. Everyone in Beacon used it at some point or another.)

This... was unexpected. Each student looked at each other and felt confused. Why did Ren write this in the note? Still, everyone already knew about it. And, as if asking this question, everyone stared at the author of these lines.

"“I... I don’t know. I just have guesses,” Ren shook his head as a sign of a misunderstanding of the situation. "Can we continue?"

Jaune just nodded, continuing to read the book again, although the strange note was still on the students' minds.

<…> "Those are still up?" I asked. I wasn't sure why I was surprised, but I was. I hadn't thought to use my scroll for anything other than checking the time, but since the girls were busy sending out propaganda to make us hungry, it technically meant we still had all the usual functions. I pulled mine out and accessed them, and quickly realised the forum had gotten just as involved in the war as everything else. - again the students, and not only them, listened to Jaune’s voice. - <…> For starters, the female propaganda continued there, which was kind of impressive, really. They were definitely going all-out on that front. I wondered whose idea that was, and was flicking between the idea of Weiss or Blake. A little further looking showed that there actually were posts from guys too, however. There was no keeping them hidden from the girls, but there were little things like people warning where they'd seen Girl Scouts, or comments about what areas definitely didn't have any food in them.

Pausing for a few seconds, Jaune took a few breaths from such a long speech, and then, licking his dry lips, continued the interrupted story.

<…> Beyond that, there was also a section dedicated to those who had fallen, and it was that Sky directed me to. “Fallen?” - one thought flashed through every student, but many simply did not pay due attention to it. - <…> "It's about knowing your enemy," he said. "The Girl Scouts have taken out a load of people, but they're just scouts, not even the main force. There are bigger things to worry about."

It was these words that made Weiss and Yang prick up their ears in interest. The “main forces” stood out too much. Although, with the same Pyrrha or Coco in their ranks, one could guess that the Scouts were just a drop in the ocean.

Meanwhile, Jaune continued to talk.

<…> "Like what?"

<…> "The Valkyries for one…" - all the people who knew Nora quite well turned pale, realizing what words Jaune had just uttered. Even the blond himself felt a sharp nausea in the stomach area. The mere thought that there was someone like Nora caused trembling throughout my body. And the reaction of the true Valkyrie, who, upon hearing her last name, came closer and stared at the book with interest made him horrified. Team J_PR instantly imagined a squad of girls all looking like Nora and, not surprisingly, each of them mentally vowed to never let this happen.

The world was not ready to bear several Valkyries with an uncontrollable psyche and the gift of heaven.

Well, at least for now.

As for Nora, although she was interested in what she heard, she just shrugged and stared at Jaune with a smile. He shuddered, then, shrugged and mentally thanked God for the fact that Nora did not say anything. He continued reading the book in the silence of the entire group.

<…> I shivered instinctively at the name, and I wasn't the only one. Ren had a haunted look on his face, and there wasn't a shred of doubt in either of us as to who might be in charge of that unit. - The atmosphere slowly began to calm down as Jaune recited the book's contents out loud in his baritone voice. - <…> "They're the Shock Troopers for their forces," Sky explained. "Wherever they go, men fall. If we run into them, our only chance is to run for our lives."

<…> "Do you think this is their work?" Dove asked.

<…> Ren shook his head. "No. Nora wasn't here." - such a statement was met with interested glances. Ren just shrugged his shoulders at this, listening silently to his friend.

<…> "How can you tell?"

<…> "I know my partner. There's not enough property damage." - Nora blinked in surprise, and then giggled, hugging her friend by the shoulder. He did not change in any way in his face, only became more dignified, and even then not by much.

"Oh Renny, Thanks for the compliment!" Valkyrie giggled again, hugging her friend a little tighter, causing a few drops of sweat to appear on the guy’s forehead. He coughed embarrassedly but said nothing. Emerald sitting silently before, raised an eyebrow in confusion and quietly asked Ruby.

"Was that a compliment?" red eyes stared into silver ones. Ruby shrugged, and then said in a casual tone as if it was already obvious:

"This is Nora," three words and everything fell into place... no, it didn’t, but Emerald only nodded weakly, deciding not to sharpen her attention to such an insignificant detail.

After a few minutes, the whole room was quiet again interrupted by the sounds of crunching or drinking, and yet, once again, Jaune could continue to read the book aloud. There was no one in the room to make much noise. And so, deciding that such a fortunate chance was not to be missed, for anything could happen at any moment, from Mercury and his Church to Nora and Yang, Jaune began to read the book and immediately felt many eyes on him.

Fortunately, he was already somewhat used to such attention, thanks to which his voice did not waver the moment he began to read.

<…> There was a pregnant pause as we all considered that. Well, he was right. She'd have torn the room to shreds if she were involved. At the very least there would be scorch and burn marks on the floor, and the sheets would be in tatters.- those who didn’t know Nora very well blinked in bewilderment, but no one dared to interrupt Jaune as the narrator. And it wasn’t even that someone could fry them to a crisp if they attracted attention again, no. They were just lazy. Yes, Mercury? -
<…> "If not her, then who?" I asked.

"And why," Ren added.

<…> "I told you, it's the Ninjas of Lo-" - After these words, silence reigned in the room. Jaune, who had never encountered a certain book for adults before, blinked in confusion, and then, looking up at his friends, asked: “Who are the Ninjas of Love?”

That one question made the three girls from Team RWBY jerk their heads toward the last girl sitting to Ren's left. Yes, Ruby, Weiss, and Yang stared at Blake, whose cheeks had turned slightly pink, and she had straightened up so that even the bow on her head seemed to have become elongated like a string.

"Hey Blakey?" Yang smirked slightly when she saw her partner's burning cheeks. "Do you know something about “Ninjas of Love”? It seems to me that this is definitely related to your book..."

"No!" Raising her voice sharply, Blake shook her head in denial. "I don’t know anything about Kuno... that is, “Ninjas of Love”!"

"Are you sure?" The blonde asked with an even wider devilish grin, moving a little closer and gazing into her partner's golden eyes. She nodded, weakly swallowing the lump in her throat. "Then, will you tell me what that little book you usually hide behind your textbook in Port's class?"

Blake turned pale.

"Um, and yet, what is this Ninjas of Love?" Jaune turned away from the two girls and looked at the champion. "Do you know something about them Pyrrha?"

Meanwhile, the champion, who was definitely not reading any adult books or anything like that, was just smiling. Or rather, she was trying to smile, because the scarlet cheeks and the lopsided smile made them think of something else.

"Are you okay?" Jaune looked at his friend warily. "You blushed..."

"I'm fine!" Pyrrha replied too quickly blushing even more matching the color of her hair. "It just got so hot in here, ha ha... Oh, why is it so hot?"

The blond stared perplexedly at his friend, who began to pull her shirt slightly away from her throat and breathe slightly faster. The awkward atmosphere increased slightly when a cold breeze blew in from the RWBY team.

"Ha ha..." Pyrrha laughed tensely, but Zhawn only raised his right eyebrow looking at his partner.

"Okay..." Jaune said slowly, moving slightly away from his friend, feeling that it was better not to get into this swamp with an obscure thing called a "Ninjas of Love". By the way, Jaune had seen something similar in his older sister table. What was it called... Kunoichi of Love? Probably, but Jaune decided not to focus his attention on that, as it definitely had nothing to do with the current situation. Instead, he shifted his gaze back to Ruby's team.

Well, while he was talking to Pyrrha, apparently their fight with some book was over, though Yang was still throwing snide glances at her partner, it could be seen that the two girls had calmed down. So when Blake noticed the blond's gaze, she coughed and said in a slightly impatient tone:

"Ahem, Jaune couldn't you continue reading the chapter?" her cheeks turned a little rosy. "We've cleared up the misunderstanding."

"Misunderstanding?" Yang grinned again. "It seems to me that there is something else here."

"You're imagining it," Blake retorted, and then she stared demandingly at Jon. For a moment it seemed to him that the girl's pupils were shrinking into a line, and she was ready to throw herself at him like a cat if he refused. Jaune Arc was not suicidal, so it was clear what he would choose. But what choice, it was clear from the start.

"Of course,” showing a weak smile, the guy stared at the lines of text. Clearing his throat, he began to read in the last place. - <…> "Those don't exist, Sky," Cardin repeated. "They're nothing but a myth. A rumor spread by the women to frighten us. - Yang chuckled and looked pointedly at Blake, muttering something under her breath about the commander of this “myth.” But Jaune, already accustomed to reading a book, did not pay attention to this, continuing to read the book out loud. -<…> It'll only work if you believe it. Ren is right. Instead of inventing enemies, we should focus on figuring out why this is happening and what it means for us."

<…> "Does it mean anything?" I asked, kicking aside a discarded shoe. "These guys got found out and they sent someone to capture them. It's not unusual."

<…> Sure, it was a shame they'd been caught before our group could chat with them, but that felt more like bad luck than anything. Or good luck, depending on how you looked at it. I'd rather they got caught before we arrived than while we were there.

<…> "I think this was a targeted move," Ren whispered, eyes scanning the room warily. "More than that, I think it was us they wanted to catch. They know we're out there and they know what our plan is." - Once again Jaune raised his gaze to Ren and asked with incomprehension: - Catch us?

Weiss sat in silence before snorting, but she didn't speak of the foolishness and arrogance of such thoughts; instead, she just sat back down glancing at the brunet on her right. Ren, who was also pondering Jaune's words, simply shrugged.

"Maybe it could be because our book versions were able to defeat the female patrols? I think the book said that the patrols had never lost before, so they could have sent a unit to catch us," the brunet suggested. But after some silence, he shrugged again. "In any case, the book would probably explain it to us."

"Probably," shaking his head, Jaune continued reading again. - <…> "Already, your name is instilling panic in the enemy." Cardin boasted. "They've moved against us, terrified of what it might mean if we're left free." - the thoughtful atmosphere instantly changed to a cheerful one, when giggles or chuckles began to be heard from everywhere, but there was not much noise, thanks to which Jaune could continue reading the book.

<…> He threw back his head and laughed, not at all giving such an idea the fear it deserved.

<…> "How would they be onto us already? That makes no sense." I crossed my arms to ward off the instinctive spike of panic I felt. There was no need for it. We were completely safe. "The girls don't even know what we're doing; let alone what it might mean in the long run. There's no way they'd be chasing after us."

Slowly, the chuckles and giggles began to fade, replaced by curious silence and the occasional crunch of some snack.

<…> "Well we did take out one of their patrols," Ren pointed out.

<…> "True," I allowed, "But that's not enough to warrant a response like this!"

<…> "You also taunted them," Sky said. "I mean, did you really think they were going to sit still after the stuff you said?" - Jaune blinked. \\“I taunted them? When was this?!” - Sharply shaking his head, he, under the slightly raised eyebrows of his friends in surprise and misunderstanding, who also did not understand what was being discussed, began to read the book faster. - <…> "I did what?" My eyes narrowed. "What stuff?"

<…> Sky moved over to point out a specific topic, hidden at the top, and with plenty of people watching it. It seemed to be a general one for all purposes of the war, but there had been a flurry of activity in the last few hours. When I saw why, it was all I could do to stare at Cardin.

<…> "Well," he explained, "We did need a way to find some of the other men. How do you think we knew where to meet these ones?" - reading these lines, Jaune began to feel that “his” bullying was definitely not his, but someone else’s, but definitely not the one whose name starts with “Car” and ends with “din”. Taking another breath, the guy continued reading. - <…> "Looks like a spy passed the message on," Ren said. "I imagine there are plenty of captured men who would give over their account details for some food, freedom, or maybe their girlfriend. One must have sent these guys a private message and tricked them into giving up their location."

<…> He gestured to the chaos.

<…> "And the girls struck." - Having mentally read the following lines, Jaune groaned, thinking at the same time, could Mercury become friends with Cardin? Well, they both complicate his life, they both make him embarrassed. But deciding not to dwell further on this, Jaune simply read the following lines out loud. - <…> "More proof they're afraid," Cardin said, punctuating his words by slamming a fist into his open palm. "We have them running afraid and doing everything they can to stop us. Isn't that great?"

Once again, laughter was heard in the room, but this time it did not last as long as before. Jaune decided to just keep reading.

<…> "Yeah," I groaned. "Great."

<…> My eyes were still glued to the final message, a message which had been posted by a user known as `The Chosen One`. Beside it was my face, grinning stupidly. - Jaune felt a trembling in his body, with a desire to kill one person from the Cardinal team. And if not for the initiative in this action, then for the stupid photo. Cardin could have gotten a good photo, right? - <…> "Going to unite the tribes, and lead them against the women, lol. Who's joining me?"

There was silence, among which only Jaune's melodic voice could be heard.

<…> And beneath it, posted by Yang, a simple message. "Good luck with that."

<…> That didn't bode well…

But to the boy's surprise, instead of another bout of laughter from his friends, he heard only faint chuckles and giggles from some of the girls, but nothing much. As it had been said before, only faint chuckles, which Jaune could easily ignore and continue reading the third chapter.

Stopping for a moment, Jaune stared at Yang with some expectation, but she, leaning back in her chair, thoughtfully stared at the ceiling of the room, without showing any desire to stop or interrupt the narrator, that is, Jaune.

Well, Jaune didn’t even think of refusing such a gift.

"Okay,” shaking his head and throwing unnecessary thoughts aside, Jaune stared at the book's text. It was a line break, which the guy immediately informed his friends and adults in the room about. Having received affirmative nods, he cleared his throat once again licked his dry lips, and began to read new lines of text. - <…> It took us another three hours or so to find another group of guys, and only because Cardin was busy pretending to be me on the forums. I'd wanted to cut that off, but the damage was already done so it didn't matter. I'd become a wanted figure overnight, and all thanks to a single ill-thought comment. - Exhaling heavily, Jaune simply shook his head, sincerely feeling sorry for his double. - <…> It didn't help that a lot of guys were already throwing their support behind the idea.

<…> The idea, that was. Not me. My reputation was too well-known for people to think following me was a good idea. I always wondered why Cardin and his team seemed to have forgotten that. - //“It’s simple,” Jaune stared at the last lines of the text with some sadness. “They simply made me a target, someone who will be hunted by all and sundry, and they will stand on the sidelines, laughing at me and my situation... After all, this is exactly what I would have done if I had such an opportunity...” With bitterness sighing, the blond continued reading. - <…> Regardless, we didn't so much find the first group of guys as they did us. A personal message hit Cardin's scroll, and he alerted us to the fact we were near a small group of men operating under a local tribal chief.

"Wait... who?" Weiss raised her hand and asked Jaune, puzzled. He, stuttering for a moment, returned to the previous lines and repeated them out loud again. The heiress blinked again, shaking her head, she said, “Seriously? Tribe? Leader?"

With every word spoken, the girl’s voice added more and more sarcasm and venom, but, to the surprise of many, none other than Mercury Black, the High Priest of Jaune’s Church, entered into an argument with her, the first who was initiated into His true power, and also, by fairly modest standards, just a handsome and stunning guy.

But we got distracted, let's get back to reality.

Mercury, crossing one leg over the other, grinned at Weiss Schnee, who in turn narrowed her eyes slightly, staring at the slightly arrogant silver-haired guy.

"You know, Weiss,” Mercury smiled, not paying attention to how the heiress cringed at such familiar pronunciation from a third-year student. But the guy without even paying attention to the girl’s face. "To say such words when you hold the post of Brigadier General, in my opinion, is not very ethical."

The heiress's eyebrow twitched.

"Actually,” the girl raised her finger. "In our time, having titles or ranks such as Brigadier General is the norm. In any army, as in Atlas, you can meet many people with similar ranks, such as Great General Ironwood."

Taking another sip of coffee, Ozpin glanced at Glinda, noticing how she quietly rolled her eyes at her student’s words, apparently thinking a little differently about “Great General Ironwood.” Thinking about this, the director smirked slightly as he remembered some of the funny moments that could ruin James' reputation among women in an instant.

//“But I told him, there’s no need to hide in the locker,” Ozpin shook his head, throwing old memories aside, returning to the current conversation.

"About “The Tribe and the Leader,” Weiss especially highlighted these two words with brackets and then stared at the third-year student with malice. "Are we living in some ancient times? In my opinion, this is overkill."

"It sounds fine to me," Mercury shrugged, his gaze fixed on Weiss. "Tribe and Chief sound good, too. If you think about it, that's what we should call the small group of men who fight for freedom, justice, and, of course, for the Great Lord - Jon Arc, who will lead us into our bright future!!!!"

There was silence.

"Well," Emerald began massaging the bridge of her nose, feeling that if things continued like this, she would kill her partner herself. And you know, the girl liked that outcome much better than sitting and listening to the guy's nonsense. Though, with every word he said, Cinder's eyes were getting hotter and hotter, so, in any case, Mercury was going to suffer a terrible fate after they could get out. But, for now, she wanted to finish this chapter soon, because if this continued, they would have to spend more than one day reading the same book. So, she licked her lips and drew everyone's attention around her. "This was interesting, but let's just keep reading the book, shall we?"

The students nodded and stared at Jaune, the group ignoring the silver-haired boy's indignant shriek. "Lord" also calmed down and even smiled at Emerald, feeling that the girl was much better than her partner. Yes, Jaune would definitely choose Emerald as a friend over the same Mercury.

And it is not surprising that when he began to read the book, he simply ignored Mercury and his cry.

<…> "Tribal chief…?" I asked, just to make sure I'd heard correctly. "Cardin, you realise that was just a metaphor, right? We're not actually tribes." - Weiss chuckled, but did nothing more, as did Mercury, who sat down again in his seat. Meanwhile, others began to listen to Jaune and the book. - <…> "That's what it says on his post. I'm just reading it off."

Pausing for a moment, Jaune cleared his throat and said:

“The following is Ren’s note,” blue eyes again ran over the lines of text, while simultaneously reading the contents out loud. - <…> (Although the title may have seemed rather foolish, it's important to note that morale was at an all-time low among the men. Titles like this, pointless as they may have seemed, helped to instill trust and confidence in a time when it was needed most. In time, Jaune would come to gain many of his own, but that is perhaps jumping ahead.) - Jaune blinked, feeling an unknown anxiety from his friend's words. What can I say, every student in the room looked at each other in puzzlement, wondering what titles Jaune would receive and what they would be associated with. But something told everyone that it would definitely be in the book, which made Jaune, who was also thinking about it, feel anxious. But deciding to ignore the feeling, just like he did with Mercury, Jaune simply finished reading his book friend's note.

The blond looked up.

"The note is over,” the guy said simply and returned to the book. - <…> I could feel a headache coming on, and desperately wished we were back in our classroom gorging on stolen sandwiches and chocolate bars. Those wouldn't last, however, nor would the team I'd surrounded myself with if I didn't do this. - Jaune sighed sadly, feeling the connection between him and his double Sometimes Jon felt as if he was speaking a completely different language than the others. It was not the first time he had felt this way since entering Bicon... He sighed again. - <…> Plus, if Cardin really had gone and sicced all the girls onto me, then I needed protection. The kind of protection that could only be achieved by surrounding myself with as many bodies as possible. I'd build a wall to keep them out! A wall built of hopes, dreams, and as many disposable people as I could get a hold of.

" Huh," Weiss hummed. "Perfect plan! But something tells me that these 'fighters' won't be able to stop the Valkyrie squad." The heiress glanced at Blake and shrugged her shoulders, shrinking and blushing strangely. "Or the Ninjas of Love..."

There was silence again as most of them stared at Nora, who was smiling broadly and humming something to herself. No one knew why, but an elusive shiver ran through everyone's body, even the CNEM team, who didn't know the true nature of Valkyrie - the daughter of Heaven and Destruction....

Hmm... Let's get back to the main thing.

"You're right," Jaune nodded, drawing everyone's attention again. "Let's continue."

And without waiting for an answer, he began to read.

<…> "Let's go meet this chieftain, then. I'll see what I can do." - Everyone's attention was again focused on the story. - <…> "You'll bring them to our side," Russel said. "I just know it."

//“High Priest Russell” - the last lines of the text of the second chapter flashed through everyone’s heads, which is why some couldn’t help but grin. It was really funny.

<…> "I said I'll see what I can do."

<…> "This is the beginning. The start of our revolution!" - Blake shuddered when she heard these words. Shrugging her shoulder, she threw away thoughts about the past, about who she used to be, and also about who turned into a monster for the sake of the revolution.

//"Adam..." - Blake's shoulders slumped and regret appeared in her eyes. A moment later, the girl flinched when a heavy palm came down on her shoulder. Turning her head, she stared at Yang's smile, which was warm and protective. Blake without realizing it smiled placing her palm on her partner's palm, and then with just her lips she said: "Thank you."

They didn't say anything to each other, but each of them felt better.

Nodding, Yang turned to Jaune, as did Blake, but who only momentarily fixed her gaze on the blonde's face, while feeling an inexplicable sensation in the chest area.

And Jaune continued.

<…> There was no arguing with them when they were like that so I didn't bother. We must have made for a strange group as we headed through the halls, myself in the lead and five others trailing behind, fanning out in a V formation that made me look far more important than I had any right to.

<…> Our host's domain was indicated by several totems arranged in the corridors as we closed in, - Jaune blinked, as did several other people, but after reading the following lines out loud, some of the girls furrowed their eyebrows in disgust. - <…> namely men's boxer shorts hung from door knobs and low ceiling lights. I wasn't sure if they were meant to ward off women, but I couldn't imagine Yang being too afraid of touching them if she thought a good fight was on the other side.

Yang grinned, and then defiantly flexed her fists, showing how ready she was to touch the “totems.” All the guys in the room flinched. With a shrug, Jaune continued reading.

<…> Eventually, we reached what Cardin assured me was the chieftain's headquarters. It was a woman's bathroom.

"This..." Ren was the first to speak but never continued what he wanted to say.

"... smart?" Ruby suggested, although she thought it was a little unnecessary.

"Well," Weiss frowned, thinking about it. "At first it seems like a stupid idea because any girl who wants to go to the bathroom will be able to find the guys in no time, and by their... totems," the heiress said in disgust. "I'm sure a regular squad could find them. But... on second thought, it's a pretty interesting idea... brrrrr," Weiss shuddered. "interesting? God, what am I thinking!"

"About the guys in the women's restroom,” Ruby Weiss kindly suggested, but she only winced harder, and then stared at Jaune and said in a commanding voice: “Keep reading.”

Jaune was no fool, so he immediately started reading.

<…> I felt a little disappointed at that, I'll admit. - //“And you’re not alone, my friend,” flashed through Jaune’s head. - <…> "Hiding where the enemy would never think to look," Cardin said. "Impressive…"

"..." - no one said anything about this, which is why there was an awkward silence, but, fortunately, Jaune decided to continue the story, breaking this awkwardness: - <…> //Yeah, never think to look until they need a piss and discover it by accident//, I didn't bother to say. Instead, I stepped under the archway, rolling my eyes as the others hesitated, afraid to enter what few men had before. Two men met us halfway. One was dark-skinned and wiry, the other a bulkier fellow with suspicious eyes set in a pale face. They looked me up and down, and neither seemed particularly impressed.

<…> "You're the guy?" the pale one said. "You think you're going to be the one to unite everyone and bring us to battle against the girls? You think you can manage that?" - Jaune sighed and smiled slightly, hoping that the following remarks would cheer the guys up a little. - <…> No.

The blonde cleared his throat defiantly, and then continued:

<…> "Yes."

There was silence for a moment, and then chuckles, first from Ruby and Nora and then from the others. Pyrrha chuckled softly at the last lines, too, and Jaune, listening for a moment to his friend's melodious voice, missed the moment when Miss Goodwitch caught everyone's attention. So it wasn't surprising that the blond man flinched in surprise, and then blushed slightly.

"Mr. Arc, I know it seems difficult to read a chapter, but I ask you to read it to the end, and then you can rest," Glinda glanced at the young man. He shrank back slightly, swallowed the lump in his throat, and nodded, feeling the heavy binding of the book become even heavier. It's all because of that look in her green eyes. As he shrugged his shoulders, Jon noticed the glint in the professor's eyes, so he decided to start reading the book immediately.

//“Well, at least the atmosphere has become more pleasant,” Jaune’s thoughts flashed as his gaze settled on the next lines of the book.

<…> "Tch," he spat to the side, into one of the sinks. If he meant it as a rude show of defiance, it failed. "Why should our boss meet with you? He brought us together, found us a home, and protects us even now. Why should we follow you instead of him? Maybe he'll be the one to unite everyone." - //“Oh, I would gladly give him the right to do this, but something tells me that by doing this, in an instant I will lose all the provisions that my double got...”

Everyone listened with interest to Jaune's voice, mentally going through the options of who could be hiding behind the title of "Boss". Neptune? San? Or someone else? Everyone thought about someone, but no one, including the professors, had any idea who the “Boss” would be.

Meanwhile, Jaune Arc - the narrator of the third chapter - continued.

<…> I rolled my eyes at what was fairly obvious intimidation and nodded for Ren to step forward. The two tensed, but quickly calmed down – and then started to salivate – when Ren opened a small pouch to reveal a pile of candy.

<…> "It's a gift for your Chieftain," I said, pleased to finally have their attention. It had been my idea, based on memories of the best way to get my sister's attention when I needed it. There wasn't much they wouldn't do for chocolate. - After reading this, Jaune didn't find anything he could say, so he cleared his throat and just continued reading, hoping that no one would ask him about it. Luckily no one asked him. - <…> "W-We'll take you to him. Can we…?"

<…> I picked out a small, wrapped piece of chocolate and tossed it to him, and then one for his friend as well. They caught them quickly and swallowed them in one, barely pausing to remove the plastic. They groaned happily as they ate, bodies shaking.

Some students had smiles on their faces as the image of two trembling boys tearing open the wrappers and eating small chocolates while licking their fingers appeared in their minds.

<…> A small bit of charity could go a long way, or so my Dad had often told me. I wasn't sure this counted as such, more of a bribe, but it certainly replaced their surly expressions with far more welcoming ones.

<…> "Come on, come on. I'll introduce you." The pale man with a wide smile and chocolate-stained lips threw an arm around my shoulder and led me deeper into the restroom. "Bring your friends too. You're all welcome."

Leaning forward with interest, the students and others began to listen.

<…> There wasn't much to their lair to describe. It was a bathroom in a school, which was to say it had tiled floors and walls, six sinks, six cubicles, and some hand dryers. There were a few mattresses laid about, with sheets taken from nearby rooms, but for the most part, it looked like they wanted to keep a low profile. - well, it was logical, according to Jaune. Although, some sensible people had an idea about “totems” and this inscription. Why hang shorts if you don't want to attract attention? Or is this some kind of trick? - <…> That was probably why they'd survived as long as they had, really. And there, against one wall, whispering into the ear of someone knelt nearby, was the leader of this rag-tag tribe of outcasts. His huge frame bulged with muscle, and he cut an intimidating sight, even sitting in a corner of a woman's bathroom. His head rose when he heard them, and he smiled kindly as he stood.

Most of the students held their breath.

<…> "Welcome travellers. My name is Yatsuhashi Daichi, elected leader of the small group you see before you." He bowed from the waist. "It is an honour to meet fellow free-men. There are few of us that still remain."

"Oh!" Ruby jumped in her seat, and then screamed in surprise. "He’s on a team with Velvet! He also has a huge two-handed sword!"

After the cherished words about the sword were spoken, Ruby's eyes literally shone. And, like a loving and attentive sister, Yang could not help but draw everyone's attention to this action.

"Who's talking about what, but Ruby's talking about weapons," a slight smirk appeared on the blonde's lips as her violet eyes stared at the red reaper.

"Yang!" Ruby shrieked indignantly, puffing up her cheeks and blushing slightly, making her look several times cuter than usual. But unfortunately, the attack of cuteness was ignored, and Yang giggled when she saw her sister's face. And the erupted chuckles and giggles from the people around them only made Ruby blush more. "You're all insufferable!"

Ruby folded her arms across her chest, thumped the back of her chair, and then stared at Jaune with indignation and hope, hoping at least he wasn't smiling like the others. Her dreams were destined to be shattered. He was smiling slightly, just like the rest of the Beacon students, apparently remembering their first meeting the day before the initiation.

But this didn’t make the current situation any easier.

"And you, Jaune?" Ruby said sadly, staring at the boy's slight smile. He shrugged, not commenting on it. It was clear to her and to everyone else in the room that Ruby Rose was a bit of an oddball when it came to weapons. But even so, Ruby, under the scrutiny of her friends and professors, couldn't help but feel her cheeks begin to blaze, which caused Yang, the traitor! - giggled even harder.

Groaning loudly, Ruby pulled her hood over herself, hoping that for once her cloak would be able to acquire the unique ability of invisibility. But, due to the repeated influx of giggles from the guys and giggles from Yang, Ruby was once again disappointed in magic.

Apparently, magic really was just a fairy tale...

And at this time, Ozpin, who at that moment was ready to take another sip of his wonderful and tasty coffee, suddenly froze for a few moments, and then, as if nothing had happened, he still took the desired sip of coffee. Shaking his head, the man lowered his mug onto the table, while staring thoughtfully into the distance.

//"I wonder who is remembering me? James perhaps? The Council? Or is it Taiyang, having heard about me going missing along with his two daughters..." - The Headmaster's lips curved slightly in a half smile. "Perhaps they're all remembering me right now since I felt the urge to sneeze so suddenly. Hmm. How would everyone react to my sudden sneeze?"

Shaking his head, Ozpin turned his attention back to the happenings in the room. Although he was glad to see his students smiling, as Mercury had pointed out at the beginning of the reading, if this wasn't the last book they were going to read, and considering there were over seventy books in the closet - Ozpin didn't pay much attention to that, figuring they had plenty of time for that in the future - they really had better get on with it as soon as possible.

"Ahem," the Headmaster of Beacon took his time looking around the room, paying special attention to Summer's daughter, and then, smiling slightly, coughed loudly enough for the students to pay attention. After a few more moments, the room was blissfully silent once more, and it was not without the help of Glinda and some of the students. Let's thank Weiss, Cinder, and Wren for their help in this endeavor. "I'm glad you're all keeping the fun going, but let's get this chapter over with, we've been in the same place for too long. Besides," Ozpin glanced unequivocally at Jon, who shrank slightly from his gaze. "Mr. Arc probably wants to finish this chapter as soon as possible, doesn't he?"

" Uh-huh," Jaune nodded embarrassedly and scratched the back of his head nervously, still feeling unnerved by the attention from the headmaster. "Hmm, there's not much left here..."

"So what are we waiting for?" Ozpin clapped his hands together and looked around at all the students with a reassuring smile. "Anyone want to do something before we start? No? Well then, Mr. Ark, you can pick up where we left off."

"Okay,” coughing several times from the dryness of his throat, Jaune still continued reading the book. - <…> "Uh, yeah." I tried to mimic the bow, but it didn't come off as well as I'd have liked. "Likewise. You're from Team CFVY, right? Velvet's team."

Ruby peeked out of her hood slightly, staring at the reading Jaune, her cheeks still burning, but at least this time no one was looking at her, causing her to be able to listen to her friend's voice.

<…> "I am, yes." The giant of a man sighed and slowly lowered himself back down onto his throne – which was, in fact, a toilet. - There were quiet chuckles, but Jaune continued reading, although he also smiled from the lines he read. -<…> "In the early panic of the war's outbreak, I sought to meet with my team, and Coco assured me we would stick together and not be driven apart by some silly game the headmaster plays. I trusted her, as any would their team leader."

<…> I coughed awkwardly and looked around the bathroom. - The embarrassed atmosphere seemed to move from the book to reality, causing many to look away or cough embarrassedly. Even Pyrrha, blushing slightly, looked away from Jaune in embarrassment, feeling a kind of guilt at the actions of her book version. But the one who most understood what Yatsuhashi was talking about was none other than Mercury Black. After all, he was the only guy on Cinder's team. And needless to say, he had long ago guessed the fate of his counterpart, knowing how much he annoyed everyone around him. So even he, the son of an assassin, could sympathize with the big guy. Just a little. Meanwhile, Jaune continued. - <…> "I can see how that went."

<…> "Indeed. It was not my wisest decision. My sword was stolen from me, Fox captured, and it was only by the grace of several men storming the main entrance that I was able to escape. In the chaos, they created a distraction." - laughter was heard, as they still remembered who was the “culprit” for the fact that those guys ran to their deaths. Jaune blushed, cleared his throat in embarrassment, and then continued. - <…> He meant the distraction I'd caused when I convinced those guys to charge Coco so Ren and I could get away. Well, it was nice to know someone else had benefitted.

Even Ren felt a slight shame for such actions. Let's be honest though, most of the guys would have died anyway, so why waste them? It's better to let some die but save many... Especially if the death is Nora Valkyrie or Pyrrha Nikos.

Ren averted his gaze, hoping no one noticed his blush because of the thoughts that had come to him, instead, he focused on the story.

<…> "Enough of pleasantries," Yatsuhashi said. "I know why you are here, Jaune of Arc. You seek to unite the tribes." - blinking, Jaune asked his silent friends. "Jaune... of Arc?"

There was silence for a few moments.

The first who was able to come to her senses was Nora, she easily rose to her chair, laughed with a thunderous laugh, then stood in her signature pose and said:

"Prostrate yourself before me, Nora of the Valkyries! I, the Daughter of Sky and Thunder, command you!!! Bring all your pancakes, otherwise heavenly punishment will overtake you! Muahahaha!" Nora laughed while lightning danced behind her, appearing out of nowhere. Everyone, from students to professors, could only blink their eyes when suddenly another laugh was heard.

To the left of Nora, the one you were all waiting for appeared. Yes, it was Yang Xiao Long, and she also jumped up on her chair and pointed her finger at Nora.

"Valkyrie!" Yang thundered as loudly as Nora. “I am Yang from the Long family of Dragon Hunters, and I refuse to obey you!” We, who have passed on secret knowledge from generation to generation, cannot obey the self-proclaimed “Daughter of Sky” just because of her order! Defeat me and then I will become your servant and reveal the secret of cooking divine pancakes on the fire of a dragon!"

Nora gasped, clutching her heart, her voice trembling as she began to speak:

"W-were you able to get your hands on the secret recipe for making Dragon Pancakes?! Even the Valkyries couldn't get their hands on this recipe!!!"

."Ha ha ha!!! That's right, we Long were able to get this recipe, and if you want to get it, you'll have to defeat me!"

Biting her lip, Nora stared at the dragon slayer with her cold eyes, trying to find a loophole or some sort of deception. After all, dragons were not only the strongest creatures on Remnant but also the most hidden of all the creatures in existence. No one had been able to find dragons for over a thousand years since... Ah! The aquamarine-colored eyes widened in realization of the truth.

"You... Impossible! You can't be him... No!" Nora tried to back away, but the chair was too small for that, so she stopped at the very edge, looking at Yang with widened eyes of horror. Yang grinned with all her teeth. "Y-you!!! Dragon!"

"Half-dragon," Yang corrected as her hair began to glow and float through the air, and her eyes turned blood red. "And you, Nora from the Valkyries, want to take my title of Lady of theHeaven?!"

Nora of the Valkyries and Yang of the Long family stared at each other silently. It wasn't just a stare, it was a battle. A battle of titans for the right to be the Master of Heaven, for only one could rule.....

Mercury broke the atmosphere with the sound of popcorn crunching, causing everyone to stare at him. Blinking, he slowly took another popcorn and threw it into his mouth, and then said:

"What?" Mercury raised his eyebrow, not understanding why everyone was staring at him. There's an incredible battle going on right now that's... already over...? Mercury blinked, and afterward, he cursed. Damn, he'd missed the whole thing! How do you rewind this?

Unfortunately for him, it was over the moment Yang noticed the gaze of the horrible monster from the depths of the Abyss. The green glowing eyes seemed to penetrate into your very essence, tearing you to pieces and tearing your soul... That's exactly what Yang felt while Ms. Goodwitch was looking at her with an angry gaze.

Licking her parched lips, Yang tried to answer or say something, but Glinda just shook her head as if to say she didn't need any excuses. Coughing and drawing everyone's attention, Glinda looked around and began to speak in a stern voice:

"I've already mentioned it, and not only me, but even after repeated warnings, some people still disregarded the warnings and distracted us from reading the story," the green eyes seemed incredibly deadly for a few moments, but no one could understand why. "But Miss Xiao Long and Miss Valkyrie decided to interrupt the story," Glinda stared at Yang, causing her to flinch. "It wasn't the first time for some of them. So..."

A deadly silence fell over the room, causing even Ozpin to look away from his coffee mug for a moment.

"So, after this chapter, Miss Xiao Long and Miss Valkyrie, as well as anyone who distracts us for more than two minutes, will join me for training," after saying that, many people's faces changed: Pyrrha turned drastically pale; Blake, Weiss, and Ruby simultaneously gasped for their own breath, even Ren suddenly recoiled back sharply with extreme horror on his face. Only Team C_EM and Jaune didn't realize what was going on... As for the culprits of this...

Their faces... at that moment they looked more like dead men than living people. Terror, despair, fear, and hopelessness. All of this was on their faces, causing even those who didn't know to feel the fear of the unknown.

Glinda smiled slightly, causing Nora and Yang to collapse into their chairs at the same time. Neo, who was sitting on her chair at the time, once again stared at Glinda with admiration, flashing her green eyes. Fortunately for everyone, no one was paying attention to her.

"I'm sure one or more drills for your discipline wouldn't hurt," Ms. Goodwitch's lips widened, making even Ozpin sitting next to her, feel a flock of goosebumps running down his spine. For a moment the man thought he saw another woman, but just as terrifying and powerful at the same time.

Shaking his head sharply and clearing away any unnecessary thoughts, Ozpin coughed, drawing the attention of those who could still hold themselves together, and then spoke:

"Yes... It was certainly interesting, but let's continue anyway... hmm, Mr. Arc?"

Shuddering, the boy stared at his headmaster, and immediately turned his gaze to his book, deciding that it was best to just keep reading... And then he would ask his friends what was so scary about this training.

"Hmm,” Jaune cleared his throat and began telling the story again.- <…> "I know why you are here, Jaune of Arc. You seek to unite the tribes."

No one said anything, but even so, everyone instinctively stared at the two girls, who seemed not to react to anything around them, remaining motionless and... lifeless.

Startled by what he saw, Jaune decided to immediately continue reading the book, since even now Miss Goodwitch's warning seemed to be flying around the room. And this only made it worse, because what could happen to the blond, even if Nora and Yang looked like some kind of suicider, even worse, corpses.

Jaune swallowed the lump in his throat before continuing to read out loud.

<…> "Of Arc?" I echoed, vaguely confused. - Jaune remembered his words a few minutes ago, but decided not to focus on it, he simply played his role as a storyteller. - <…> "Your goals are just, but I fear idealism has clouded your mind," he continued, ignoring my question. "There has been no shortage of men like you; the forums are filled with them. While uniting is a worthy goal and might allow us to strike back, the logistics of such a move are not quite so simple. Have you given any thought to where we might gather, or how we would build supplies?"

Everyone was still silent, but little by little one could feel how the atmosphere of horror, fear, misunderstanding, and admiration from one girl began to give way to a more curious atmosphere. However, as mentioned, no one wanted to attract Miss Goodwitch's attention too.

<…>Considering I'd been forced into this with no warning and no real motivation? No, not really. - a chuckle was heard from Mercury, but it also quickly disappeared when green eyes stared straight at him. There was silence in the room again. Jaune coughed in embarrassment and simply continued. - <…> "Then there is the issue of female reprisal. So far, they have remained somewhat passive in their approach, likely a sign of mercy since they are already sure to win this war. So long as we remain out of their way, we are allowed to exist. If we make ourselves targets, however…"

<…> Then we'd be taken out like the guys we'd tried to meet with earlier. In fact, thanks to what Cardin had gotten up to under my name on the forums, it looked like we were targets already. There went the option of chilling out and letting the War Games pass without lifting a finger. - Jaune, as well as Ren, would like to believe in this, but something - in this case - thirteen chapters - told them that the thoughts of bookish Jaune were just his dream.

This only made it worse, since both guys saw too well how the eyes of Ozpin and other people lit up at some moments. After all, who knows...what if the War Games will happen to them too?

Both guys shuddered and then looked at each other, again feeling an inexplicable connection between the two of them. Perhaps it's because they're both guys?

Sighing, Jaune just shook his head, turning back to the book.

<…> "Forgive me, Jaune," Yatsuhashi said. "You must wonder why I would invite you to meet with me if my intention was to reject your offer from the start."

After saying that, a few people began to think about it. Weiss, who was also among them, tilted her head down thoughtfully, considering why the leader of the small group of men should have invited Arc. Certainly not to go together against an army of women since he had refused to do so.

//"Then why? Is it for nothing?" - Shaking her head, the heiress stared at the book in Jaune's hands. "No... something had to be... If Yatsuhashi were me, what would I do?"

Weiss closed her eyes and thought.

//"I have my own men who stand under my wing, we hide from the enemy group like other people, but for all that, I send another leader, of a group as small as mine, a message about a meeting," the heiress frowned. "Why? If I wanted to refuse right away, what would I be inviting them for? For the sake of cooperation? We could hold out well and steal patrols, but with the same chance a squad of dragons or valkyries would be sent after us..."

//"Something else, then. Yatsuhashi didn't strike me as the kind of idiot to invite someone over just to talk... Though," Weiss remembered the 'totems' and sighed. "I take that back, Yatsuhashi is just as much of an idiot as Ark. Eh, okay. I can't understand how people like that think anyway."

Sighing weakly, Weiss shook her head, deciding that there was no point in thinking about it. After all, as Ren said, the book will definitely talk about this. Nodding to her thoughts, the heiress looked up and stared at Jaune, again beginning to listen to the voice of the blond, who had already begun to read further.

<…> "I did wonder," I lied. In truth, I'd not even thought about it all. Too busy focusing on my own survival, and wondering how I was going to get out of this mess in one piece. - Jaune sighed heavily, realizing that his double was continuing to dig not only his own grave, but his too. But the real blond couldn’t change anything, so the only thing he could do was just continue reading the book. - <…> "But first of all, we came with some gifts."

<…> Ren stepped forward with a small nod and presented the food we'd brought to Yatsuhashi. The large man's face lit up and he accepted it with a smile. He was a better man than I was, at least in terms of self-control, because instead of tearing into them, he split the pile equally and handed it out to his followers. For himself, he took only the smallest of chocolate bars, and even then, put it away for later.

<…> "I thank you, Jaune. Times have been difficult for us. Rest assured that we will not forget this. How did you come across such bounty?"

After these words, everyone intuitively remembered the last chapter, where Jaune, Ren and the CRDL team fought over a pack of ordinary dog ​​food, so no one had any idea why Yatsuhashi considered the food to be a treasure. Coughing in embarrassment, the blond simply continued reading.

<…> I opened my mouth to speak, but Russel interrupted before I could. - and again Jaune had a bad feeling. “High Priest Russell” definitely didn’t mean anything good. And the following lines of text only confirmed this. - <…> "He took them from a team of Girl Scouts," the mohawk-wearing teen said proudly. "We were ambushed by them back when we were still enemies, but he brought us together, made us fight as one, and even led us to victory over the eight girls."

Once again, everyone remembered the moment when Jaune had "united" and "led" the Cardinal group into battle. That thought alone made many students smile or smirk, depending on the nature of the person. Even Jaune smiled embarrassed and slightly ashamed as he recalled that moment.

The atmosphere in the room gradually became warmer, and even Yang and Nora finally began to show signs of life. Meanwhile, Jaune continued his role as narrator.

<…> Yatsuhashi's tribe murmured between themselves. Many seemed awed, while some clearly didn't believe the story at all; the mere idea of any men beating the girls just about impossible. - Weiss chuckled, although deep down she was surprised at how low the self-esteem of the Yatsuhashi group was. Apparently the huge defeat in the dining room and starvation really affected them. The heiress, if she were part of what is happening in the book, would be happy about such an event. After all, if this continues, then victory will already be in their hands. And, to be honest, the real Weiss couldn’t help but be happy about such thoughts. - <…> The food was hard to argue against, however. Where else would we have found so much?

After wetting his throat, Jaune continued.

<…> "I'd heard rumours, but I thought it just that," Yatsuhashi said.

<…> "It's no rumour. Without Jaune, we'd still be no better than staving bandits stealing from our fellow man to eat. He made us into something better. He gave us back our pride!" - Pyrrha smiled when she heard such words from Russell. She was really starting to like the book versions of Team Cardinal. Perhaps in the future, they will eventually become friends in reality? Pyrrha, without looking up from her thoughts, looked away from the book and stared at Jaune, looking at how extremely focused he was while reading the third chapter. Her cheeks turned a slight shade of pink. - <…> "That's enough, Russel," I said, cringing. I really didn't deserve such awe.

Jaune suddenly felt a sense of deja vu as his gaze instinctively moved up from the lines of text to his partner, who, suddenly as the guy realized, was also looking at him with her strange gaze. The blond, without realizing it, remembered his partner's attitude to all his actions and thoughts. What to say, she had literally called him the "Ideal for the Head of All Men"!

So it wasn't surprising that Jaune had a flock of goosebumps all over his body as his gaze slowly shifted back to the book. Perhaps the best thing to do in this situation was simply to ignore the whole thing and go back to the story. Jaune did just that, continuing to tell the story.

<…> "I can sense no dishonesty in his words. You have brought an impressive victory to your people, and also inspired them to greatness." Yatsuhashi sighed. "It is admirable, I will freely say, but I do not believe it will be enough to win this war. I am sorry, Jaune of Arc. I cannot risk my people's freedom by choosing to follow you. If it were myself alone, then perhaps… but that is not the case."

Once again, everyone's attention began to return to the story as Jaune continued to read.

<…> It was a no, then. That was fine. I swallowed what little disappointment I felt, but to be honest I was more relieved that I cared to admit. Yatsuhashi's view wasn't exactly the wrong one. Honestly, it was what I wanted to make. More than that, I could respect him for it – and this hadn't left me looking bad in front of Team CRDL, either. I'd tried to unite this tribe with mine, but it failed. Oh well, time to try another, and then keep trying until the five days were over and I could go back to Team JNPR and forget this ever happened. Nice and simple. No risks involved. Or so I wished.

Jaune sighed heavily when he read these words. For some reason, he didn’t have an ounce of confidence in the words he said, because if everything was that simple, they wouldn’t have been given this book, would they? Apparently, he was not the only one who thought about this, since the chuckles that were heard and the grins that appeared on some faces spoke a lot.

And the following lines only added chips to his disappointing thoughts.

<…> "He can beat them!" Sky pushed past me and threw an arm wide, shouting at the top of his voice. "Jaune can beat the women. He can deliver us to victory!"

Hearing these words, Weiss chuckled disdainfully. One man cannot stand against an army. Especially if this person is Arc.

<…> "Sky," I hissed. He ignored me. - \\“This is definitely the beginning of the end,” Jaune thought as he continued to read. - <…> "Look at what he did with us. We're not the strongest team. We're just first years. If he can lead us to win against the Scouts, then think what he could do with a real army!"

Pyrrha smiled dreamily upon hearing Skye's words. Her mind slowly drew a picture of a lonely warlord standing at the cliff, with a huge army behind him, waiting for a single word. Strong, independent, intelligent, but at the same time so empty in his soul, without someone to be his soul mate... Pyrrha drifted off into dreamland.

<…> "It's fine, Sky. He's already said no." I tried to pull him back, but was knocked off balance as yet another person pushed by me.

Ren tilted his head to the side thoughtfully, beginning to understand where the story was starting to go, causing a faint smile to appear on his lips.

<…> "Sky is right," Dove said, moving to stand beside his partner. "If you guys just want to sit here and hide in the toilets for the whole week, then fine. Don't come crying to us when you get found out and captured. Or worse, do you want to look back on this after the fact and think how you hid away like cowards while other men fought for their freedom? Is that how far your honour goes? Are you men or mice!?"

<…> Yatsuhashi sighed. "I have to think of what is best for my people."

<…> "Cowering in a toilet is what's best? Why not surrender? It's probably just as bad!"

Shuddering for a moment, Blake suddenly remembered a moment from the past, before she'd left Menagerie for White Fang on the continent. Back then, she had come to her father, and like Dove from the book, had started arguing with him. She said he was a coward, a traitor, a fool for abandoning his men so easily, and many other things that she was now incredibly ashamed of. And even Yatsuhashi's words echoed her father's words like an echo from the past. He had also told her that he thought first of all for the good of his men....

"Best?!" the young Blake shrieked. She waved her hands and gestured around the room, feeling rage deep in her soul. "Our people are suffering! We are oppressed, insulted, treated as second-class, and kept as slaves in those damned Schnee mines! Tell me, Father. - where do you see the good in giving up the White Fang at a time when we can finally make a difference?! Where?!"

Gira looked around the half-empty office, his own belongings already in boxes, and then finally stared at his daughter. He sighed.

"Violence only begets violence," the yellow eyes stared at Blake with a kind of sadness. "And now, White Fang is about to dive headfirst into violence, drawing the world's attention to himself. Menagerie is behind me," Gira looked into his daughter's eyes. "If I stay, all the fauns will follow me. I can't let that happen."

"Why?" Blake whispered with rage, staring at the man’s figure. The same one took his eyes off her eyes for a moment in order to sigh heavily. But instead of answering, he only said:

"Perhaps in the future you will understand this..."

Blake understood. It took her a long time to do this, but she finally understood. She understood and was horrified by what could have happened if her father had remained at the head of the White Fang. And it’s better that the White Fang remain a terrorist group than for a new war to start between humans and fauns...

Yellow eyes silently stared at the patterned table while her thoughts were somewhere in the distance. Meanwhile the story continued:

<…> "Stop, stop!" I pushed the two aside and strode though them, waving my arms in an attempt to calm everyone down before something altogether worse happened. Already, Yatsuhashi's people looked offended, and now I was throwing myself in front of them.
Better that then get stuck into a fight, I supposed. I was used to dealing with anger and difficult conversation. I'd been flirting with Weiss for months now. - Taken aback for a moment, Jaune coughed weakly, feeling his cheeks turn red from the attention of everyone in the room. And the giggling that came from Ruby did not bring anything good, since at the same time, a deadly cold blew from that side again, from which the blond instinctively shuddered and immediately began to read further, fearing that if he delayed even a second, a terrible punishment would overtake him. Therefore, gathering his courage, Jaune continued: - <…> "No one is calling anyone a coward. Yatsuhashi, I'm sorry for what they said. Please don't take it seriously."

<…> "What was said was spoken in the heat of the moment," the gentle giant said, calming his forces with an easy smile. "I take no offence. If anything, it speaks of the faith and belief they have in you, and your ability to inspire it."

<…> No, it really didn't. It spoke of Team CRDL's idiocy.

After reading these words, Jaune couldn't help but grin, as did many of the students around him, such as Mercury, Emerald, and Weiss. Even Yang showed signs of life for the first time, slightly lifting the corners of her lips. Of course others also reacted at the moment, such as: Ruby giggled weakly; Ren and Blake chuckled weakly; the rest also showed their reaction, but not the same as that of the students.

Meanwhile, Ozpin peered thoughtfully into his empty coffee mug, simply forgetting about everyone around him.

<…> "You must understand, however," he went on. "We have nothing to base our own belief on. We have no proof of your abilities, and no reason to trust that you can lead us to victory and not an inglorious defeat."

<…> "I get it, it's fine. I wouldn't risk my life on a wild chance, either-"

After reading the following lines with his eyes alone, Jaune suddenly let out a sigh.

"Well, it was expected," and without waiting for questions from his friends, he continued the story. - <…> "Then he'll prove himself to you!" Cardin declared. "If it's proof you want, he can deliver."

After these words, every person in the room finally understood where the story began to lead them. So what can I say? It will definitely be something funny and fun.

<…> "Wait, what?"

Pyrrha covered her mouth with her hand and giggled weakly, followed by Ruby, who also began to giggle. Jaune, meanwhile, without realizing it, smiled, feeling an inexplicable feeling deep inside him. It was light and warm, which is why the guy simply couldn’t help but smile.

<…> "Proof?" Yatsuhashi rubbed his chin. "I'll admit that isn't an angle I thought of. You wish for me to set a challenge?"

<…> "Yes. That's right."

<…> "Cardin, wait-"

<…> I tried to grab his arm, but the taller man had already stepped forward, sweeping an arm before him.

Neo, who was sitting next to Cinder, grinned widely as she imagined the scene. The popcorn crunched sweetly as she watched Jaune and his reaction as his voice spread across the room and into people's ears.

<…> "He can handle whatever you set forth, but you have to join us afterwards."

<…> "If he completes it."

<…> "When he completes it." - Jaune's eye began to twitch on its own, but he managed to get through the story, although the increased giggling and chuckles distracted him slightly. - <…> "Or, alternatively-" I said, only to get interrupted. Yatsuhashi pushed off his porcelain throne and stood tall.

At this point, even Ozpin finally put his empty mug aside and crossed his fingers as he stared at Jaune with utmost attention as he began to listen to the young Arc's voice.

<…> "Very well," he said. "You have spoken, Jaune of Arc. We shall see how fit you prove yourself to be."

<…> I haven't bloody spoken at all, you moron! - Jaune portrayed this so vividly that a wave of laughter and giggling swept across the room again, which is why the guy could not hold back the grins that escaped. Glinda shook her head, but even she smiled slightly upon hearing Mr. Arc's last words. - <…> That's exactly what you're NOT letting me do. - Ruby hissed, abruptly stopping her giggling and glaring at Jaune angrily. This only seemed to increase the grins and giggles from all the teams, - <…> I groaned to myself but kept my mouth shut. It was done now. I couldn't back out without everyone seeing me as a failure. Ren touched my arm and nodded in what he probably thought was support. - Looking up from the book, Jaune met Ren's eyes, and again they had a special moment between them, which unfortunately ended so quickly. - <…> It didn't help much. I wanted to smash my head against the nearest wall, but instead settled for sticking a panicked smile to my face – like this had somehow been my idea all along.

<…> "My men have need of two things," Yatsuhashi said. "Food, and medical supplies. - //“Food and medicine” - Weiss nodded to her thoughts. //"Logical" - <…> I care not which you choose to provide, but if you can bring me enough medicine to treat them should we be hurt, or enough food to feed the eight of us for two days, I will take that as proof you are able to adequately support and provide for us, and I shall pledge my support to your cause."

Everyone's attention was focused on the story again, even Jaune momentarily forgot that he was not alone.

<…> Food and medicine, huh? The cafeteria was out of bounds since it had been taken over at the start of the war, but I could recall the infirmary being declared a neutral zone. Maybe we could go there and get something from Tsune. - Ozpin bowed his head thoughtfully, trying to remember a person with that name. The silhouette of a woman appeared in his mind for a few moments, but it also quickly disappeared, causing the director to instinctively furrow his brows. "What was it?" - <…> I had a feeling it wouldn't be that easy.

<…> "Do this, Jaune Arc, and you shall have what you seek."

//What you seek. Jaune shook his head, sighing heavily. //"I'm sure this is definitely not what I seek..."

<…> With a nod, I turned away, marching out of the bathroom with my retinue in tow. What I sought, huh? Not likely. Not unless Yatsuhashi could bring an end to this civil war and have me back in my dorm fretting over how to ask Weiss out and how I was going to avoid being called up for another spar by Miss Goodwitch.

The room was filled with smiles and laughter again, but Jaune, already seeing the end, decided not to pay his attention to this, but simply finally finish the chapter and throw this book far away. Yes, that definitely sounded like a plan.

<…> It was only once we were outside once more that anyone spoke, and it was Cardin, turning to me with a wide grin on his face, and an even wilder light in his eye.

<…> "That went better than I thought it would!"

<…> I'd never wanted to punch someone in the face quite so badly. - and without waiting for a reaction to the ending, Jaune simply threw the book on the table and exhaled with relief, feeling that the weight of the narrator had finally disappeared from his shoulders.

A small smile appeared on his lips as he looked around everyone in the room.

“Well,” said Jaune. "This is the end."

And he was infinitely happy about it.

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Переведено на Нотабеноиде
http://notabenoid.org/book/87121/572922

Переводчики: Camrad_RIP