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They had fans.
Jamil hadn't been expecting fans.
"What the hell," he muttered.
The stream of comments beneath the Magicam post announcing their first episode was near-neverending.
All that over a mouse?? someone wrote, to which someone else had replied idk man tbf he did set out house rules. his dorm his rules, which in turn received the argument of Okay, but it's a fucking MOUSE.
everyone shut up i'm gonna cry LOOK HOW HAPPY MALLEUS LOOKS!!
malleus just happy to be there
Cryinggg the terror of the lands and it's just. a guy that wants to be included.
Ortho is so tiny…. so cute…..
Bro what is rook ever even saying I'm obsessed
VIL VIL VIL VIL VIL VIL VILVILVIL SOMEONE SEDATE MEEEE
idia is so me fr omfg. Realest guy ever.
nobody gonna talk about the savanclaw hw and scarabia vice js being missing for the entire second half lmao??
Jamil scrolled quickly past that last one.
Azul looked close to tears of joy, beaming so wide that it was frankly unsettling. "Doesn't success feel exhilarating?"
Nobody answered him. Jamil didn't blame anyone. Azul looked more than slightly manic. The camera began to roll purely, Jamil suspected, for the purposes of capturing that expression.
Crowley cleared his throat. "As for the Savanaclaw episode, a game of Spelldrive would, of course, be optimal."
"Okay, that's it, I'm out," Idia announced, hands raised.
"Housewardens versus vice housewardens, ideally," Azul added, ignoring Idia, "except for the issue of numbers."
"You mean the issue of Octavinelle having two vice housewardens?" Vil asked blandly. "Or the issue of Savanaclaw and Ignihyde having none?"
"I'm not playing, either," Idia reiterated, arms crossed.
"Nii-san," Ortho, who had been trailing along for Idia's emotional support, pleaded. "Please. It'll be fun."
"Octavinelle has one vice housewarden," Azul corrected, still ignoring Idia. Vil raised an eyebrow at the twins. "They're just… anyways. The Savanclaw issue is hardly an issue, either. Ruggie has been filling in since the first episode. Floyd joining would make up for the missing Ignihyde player. It's more a… Diasomnia issue." He looked pointedly at Malleus.
Malleus tilted his head like an overgrown puppy. Jamil could hear the rabid squealing already. "Me?"
Lilia nudged him with an elbow. "I think he's saying you're too powerful."
"It's hardly any fun if we start just for the vices to lose immediately," Azul added, hands clasping behind his back.
"Oh, but what a thrill it would be to face such an opponent," Rook declared dramatically.
"We would lose," Ruggie said drily. "You get that, right?"
"I resent the implication that we would lose immediately," Lilia said thoughtfully, and Jamil… didn't really like where this seemed to be going.
"If my power is a hinderance," Malleus started, and in a way that seemed inevitable, all eyes swivelled to him, "then I volunteer to step down from the game."
"Gracious of you, Malleus," Jade commented lightly with a smile. "Very gracious."
"Such honour," Rook marvelled in agreement.
Jamil pretended not to notice Leona's eyeroll.
"Which leaves us with six on the housewardens team," Azul interrupted before Rook could launch into a flowery speech. Jamil was just glad Sebek wasn't around. Idia did not pipe in with another plea to be exempt, simply crossing his arms with what was undeniably a sulk.
"I'm not a vice housewarden," Ruggie said. "Me leaving would even up the numbers, but it's not Spelldrive without two teams of seven."
"And I would want you to be there," Azul said. "It's the Savanclaw episode. I want a Savanclaw on each team. If we go by that logic, Floyd can be put on the bench."
Floyd shrugged, stretching. "Lame, but 'kay. Don't feel like playin' anyways." Jamil wasn't sure he would have wanted Floyd on the team anyhow. His mercurial nature could be a bit difficult to weather.
"But that still leaves us with the six-player teams problem."
"Must we be so strict with it?" Jade wondered aloud. "It's not a tournament."
Azul pursed his lips. "Well. It's the Savanclaw episode. So, Leona?"
"No shits given here," Leona said bluntly.
Crowley cleared his throat pointedly. Jamil bit down on a smile.
Leona sighed. "I mean, yeah, sure, whatever."
"Fucking hell, Jamil," Ruggie said, breathing heavily.
Jamil wiped his forehead. Sweat clung to to him like a second skin, and Jamil grimaced as it dripped down, soaking into his gear. "Just focus on the game."
Jamil had known, of course, that it would be a challenge, going head-to-head with the housewardens. The vast majority of them were older, more practised, had had the time and the space and the opportunity to grow into their enormous magical capacities. Even with certain obvious weak points, it would not be difficult for them to compensate.
And yet, Jamil hadn't been quite prepared for how singularly brutal it would be to face Leona Kingscholar. Leona was a maniac on the attack, each burst of magic a precise force guiding the disc until Jamil felt dizzy trying to keep up. Leona was never sloppy with his shots; never an overabundance of magic, never blindly lashing out. Leona played with calculation. And, of course, there was the fact that Leona, shockingly, played well within a team.
No, that wasn't quite right.
Jamil watched Leona. His ears twitched attentively, and his eyes were focused but in constant survey. When any of the other housewardens moved, he moved in complement, compensating or clearing the stage or supplementing as necessary.
Leona knew how to use his team well. Frighteningly well.
And there lay the issue. Playing against Leona wasn't just playing against Leona, it was playing against all the housewardens at once, and Jamil wanted so badly to win. Jamil could not win alone.
Jamil barely managed to block the disc, sending it careening towards Jade, who—
"Learnin', are we?"
Leona was barely audible over the clash of magic, the wind whipping by them, the focus Jamil was trying to put into the game. Jamil was incredibly tempted to reply with a snappy Piss off, but he was all too aware of the microphone on him, and the cameras streaking across the sky, and the thousands of eyes and ears that could be on them once this aired. Seeing an actual growing fanbase for the show had, no doubt, put Jamil somewhat on edge.
And, so, Jamil grit his teeth and held his tongue.
"You're not doin' bad, y'know," Leona continued, and he had the gall to sound conversational. "But you're gonna run yourself dry."
As if Jamil didn't know that already. They were close— only two points behind the housewardens, and Jamil was tiring, and they had— Jamil cast a look at the timer— three minutes left. "Thank you for the tip," he said, probably unwisely. "But shouldn't you be focusing on your own team's progress?"
It was as though Jamil had summoned the fact simply by speaking; Rook scored a goal, doing an unnecessary little swoop after the fact and yelling something clearly joyous in French. Jamil tried to tamp down on a smirk and failed. He raised his eyebrows at Leona.
Leona's lips slanted to a side, but he didn't look particularly upset. "Touché."
The vice housewardens did not win.
They did not lose, either. It was a tie, secured in the last second by Lilia, who blasted through the housewarden defences with such magical force that Jamil was left wondering how much easier it might have been to win if Lilia hadn't spent a significant portion of the match hanging upside down from his broom.
Jamil breathed in deep, not even glancing up as someone offered him a water bottle. He grabbed at it without a second thought and took a long, long sip.
"What'd I say 'bout runnin' yourself dry?"
Jamil swallowed a bit too hastily and ended up choking. Leona pat at his back. Jamil wiped his mouth, feeling his cheeks warm up, and decided that was an aftereffect of the Spelldrive match. "Well," Jamil said, shrugging, "we didn't lose."
"Didn't win, either," Leona noted drily.
"Neither did you," Jamil countered, to which Leona conceded with a click of his tongue. Jamil took one last swig of water, emptying the bottle, before he began to walk away.
"Jamil," Leona called out, and, despite himself, Jamil paused. "Stop hoardin' all the work for yourself. That ain't how you win."
Jamil shrugged lightly. He pressed his lips together and sighed. He glanced over at where Kalim was still excitedly chattering away with the others. "Mm. I suppose you would know."