"Mina is feeling concerned... Mina feels like she is really losing her way..." Mina squinted her eyes at the surroundings, slowly submitting to the reality of her current dilemma, which was lost inside this mazeful campus.

"Arh!!! Mina, look, what have you gotten us into?! Now we are stuck inside this endless loop! There is no grown-up here, and there is no grown-up there! We're gonna be trapped forever, Mina! What should we do now?!" a girl blustered in hopelessness adjacent to Mina, in a fashion to be someone who Mina dragged into this mess in the first place.

"Fret not, Keena! Mina still has one more ace up in her sleeve! Aunt Lilia once said Mina has an good sniffer that is comparable to the hellhounds! Mina had once sniffed out her dinner far from Mina's whereabout! So Mina believes she can sniff out the path that leads to our freedom!" Mina confidently stated and immediately started to sniff around. Like an exact hound will.

Her bizarre manner put Keena into graver despair, who later desparingly dropped on four to the cold concrete and cried with sheer misery. Knowing she was bound to be doomed under Mina's guidance, one who was also accountable for her current predicament and also now decided to solve their problem with absurd nonsense.

As all this happened during the midst of the tour.

***

***

***

Three hours before the disaster,

under the common blazing sunlight that shone from the high tier of the sky, radiating each dimmed night in the corners, pests and lurkers hid in the shadow as the light never in their favor. But throughout this common daylight, a queue of students and their handler stumbled there.

"Welcome to the campus of Dragania, fellow students. I'm your personal handler, whom you shall mingle in the next five consecutive years!" the handler said,

"And before we advance to the next section, it is ideal for your handler to introduce herself, as you all shall familiarize with the names that bear to resolve all your puzzled thoughts. And also the one you will be interacting with in the upcoming years."

The handler of Mina, or the House of Lamella, was relatively petite in body structure. Compared to most of the handlers from other houses, she is much smaller, shorter, and skinnier, as she seemed not far older than them by much. She also has black silky hair tied into a ponytail, an ovally shaped face, two pointy sharp ears and two stubby sharp horns like any Demonkins are, and two sizeable turquoise jewelry eyes to finish it.

"Name, Tiandraora "Kiandrak" Dragarok, or Tiandra in short, and... as I presume all of you probably knew from whom ancestry lineage I from. I mean, it's in my surname, after all."

Mina hastily raised her right hand and asked in a curious tone.

"Miss Tiandra! If you're from Dragarok, does it mean you are really smart?"

Mina's unexpected question had put her handler in delighted as she responded with her chest held high,

"Oh, it's Princess Mina, for the question! Well... I certainly feel flattered and honored by your remark, Princess Mina, and maybe it's right for the notion of yours and others. Considering that the Dragarok kins' erudition-wise was always deemed to surpass the others, making it to be the norm. But within the specular of Dragarok, I was rather not the brightest nor the smartest... Heh..."

and also murmured and tittered in bitterness,

"Poor me..."

Mina was amazed by her handler's answer, as it was her first interaction with Dragarok born. On the other side, Tiandra proceeded to question the masses, "Any more questions?" before immediately regressing to her solemn manner,

"Listen up, students! Before we progress further, please ensure to follow up with the queue under no circumstances. Any student who strays away from the group will most likely get lost within the campus, and a warning will post to those who fail to fulfill what's been warned.

So under strict advice, please refrain from getting excessive distractions and becoming disorientated halfway through the tour. Otherwise, you will be forced to receive the stick of consequences, which is the warning letter.

And a student with three accumulated warning letters will be suspended from attending the houses for a whole week, and an accumulation of five or more warning letters will be deduced to the finalized decision, the expulsion. So behave, student!"

Tiandra concluded her rehearsed notes and advanced to guide her students through this extensive ground, exhibiting the essential facilities and prominent grounds sure to secure their attention.

The place is vast, beautiful and magnificently structured, as each ground likely to convey its tall meanings, whether it was the carves on the wall or the paints that dried to glorified the places. The students never ceased to be amazed by its impressive display, whereas Mina was unexceptional.

"As you can see, on your 3 o'clock, that will be the..." the handler introduced some of the facilities to her homeroom students while Mina's inordinate inquisitiveness was indeed pried like it normally would, distracting her prolonging will stay on the parts that were already bypast by her handler, as she slowly drifted away from her mates. And there, Mina was mustered by one of her housemates, who possessed a contradictory nature to her, someone attentive, cautious, and deliberate on things.

And her vigilance had lent her the eyes to capture a princess slowly straying from the group. Under a reasonable conclusion, she called out to Mina as she realized her imperceptibly left-behind position was in as everyone sailed into the deeper depth of the tour.

The girl hollered,

"Princess Mina, we are departing now! Please come join us as soon as possible! Otherwise, you will get left behind!"

The girl's holler was in luck to snap Mina back to her senses, which commonly would not be until the shout was great enough to pierce through the sound barrier or her occupied thought decided to return. And so Mina nonchalantly replied,

"Wait... Just a second! I'm coming!"

Although Mina dashed lightly to the girl not far from her, her focus remained on those distracting features. Luckily, at the moment of her arrival, they were only a few feet away from the masses by the girl's perimeter, so they regrouped with their housemates in no time.

Throughout the journey, Mina ventured by the girl's side, who devoted herself to supervising Mina's excessively disorderly, live-spirited behavior.

While they were tailing the queue, the girl introduced herself in a casual, unanticipated way,

"I'm Keena, by the way!"

Her spontaneous introduction thrilled Mina immensely as it was her first time mingling with someone who willingly took the wheel in the conversation. Mina warmly responded with her name to accommodate the chatter. "Mina!" was her response.

However, the girl wasn't surprised by her name. Who was instead just chuckled and teasingly said,

"I know who you are. You are the Princess, Princess Mina Vuzgal! The daughter of the mighty King Elias! I mean... you are pretty famous around here and I bet everyone probably already know about you more than you do about them!"

Keena's instinctive compassionate assertion had dragged along the conversation but died at the last moment. Who proceeded to apologize thereafter,

"My apologies, Princess- No, I mean your royal highness! This one had acted too reckless by your royal highness side! This one believed she may behaved too impolite and callous to you! But please, this one hope your royal highness will forgive this one for her uncalled-for behavi-"

Before Keena was able to resume completing her statement, Mina revolted,

"What are you doing, Keena... Mina doesn't hate the way you talk. In fact, Mina enjoyed it. Also, Mina despises how others always acted proper when they talk to Mina. Exactly like what you did now. So please stop, Keena. Just talk like how you would talk."

"Oh... My apologies, Princess Mina, for my-"

"It's fine, Keena. And drop that proper act already..."

Mina interjected once again but in a beaten tone,

"Mina also doesn't really understand why everyone always wants to be so stern when they are around Mina. Mina just wanted to be treated like everyone else. Not all high and mighty... It kinda annoys Mina.."

"Well... Princ- I mean, Mina! *Ahem* I believe it's what they call "respect". It only happens when you are superior to them, like a noble or royalty. And those "them" believe it is wise to act properly when talking to those "superior". It is so they we might not disrespect those "superior" and getting punished for things that we could avoid easily. So we must always be proper when conversing with those "superior" Demonkins. Otherwise, bad things could happen to us..."

Mina squinted at Keena for her statement disgruntedly and commented in an unamazed, displeased tone,

"Hmm... From how you sound it, it still doesn't make Mina feels better at all... The idea of hierarchy is just needless in Mina's favor. Mina just wanted everybody to be be happy the way they were without the idea of fabricating it. So we can behave more truthfully to ourself and others."

"That... is pretty noble of you to think of that, Mina..." Keena's eyes gaped as she was greatly impressed by Mina's declaration.

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

"Although Mina may hate the idea of hierarchy, such a system is far from reachable in removing. Let alon-" Keena continued but was interloped halfway by a random mockery tone,

"Say from the person who's been spoilt since her birth. Despising hierarchy? Hah, what a cowardice and the rubbishy thing you could say." This abrupt insulting message was deemed to be derived from the front of theirs. A boy who coincidentally eavesdropped on their conversation and decided to scorn them for their distinctive opinions.

"Of course, you would say that hierarchy doesn't matter when you literally lack the power to control it. As reputation and wealth are the only things you ever possessed, without them, you are nothing like a grain of sand similar to those uncultured peasants out of the scurvy lands." the boy continued,

"It is really uncalled for of you to insult Mina like that, whoever you are! You are just jealous of Mina for having a better standing than you!" Keena defended Mina in an irritated tone, while Mina was unfazed by the insult and remained in her deadpan expression.

"You have no right to leave your opinion here. You pathetic, insignificant, expandable nobody."

"What do you mean nobody? And for what reason we had made you insult us like that!"

"The mere existence of your kinds purely disgusted me. The Demonkins had the opportunity to enroll on this prominent ground but lacked the talents and skills to accommodate it. Nothing but a bunch of feasible pests lucky to be born under wealthy and renowned clans. As for I, the mighty, prestigious one, have to share my rights equally with your bunch of excuses in terms of joining the elites?!

It is a big disgrace to my presence, don't you think? While both of you waste time on those childish affairs, I have dedicated myself to sheer practice and training. Horning myself to the grandest amongst you all incompetents."

"You're just exaggerating yourself in front of the others. If you really believe that you are better than us in all ways, proof it then!" while Keena retorted in a complete sentence to amplify their upper standing in the argument, Mina, however, only replied in a concise sentence that depicted her annoyance,

"You annoyed me, you potty mouth..." was Mina's response.

"Hmm! It would be such a waste of my time. Expressing my grandeur in front of underdeveloped imps? I would rather keep those uncompensated energies to myself. Refining me to be grander. And becoming the most remarkable asset in these lands.

(Imps are the underdeveloped demons that roamed in the under realm's wilderness as they resemble primates in the human tongue)

So, please stop making yourself like a fool and just accept that you are all just a bunch of incompetent scums, especially you, Princess Mina. So much flaunt but so less of brawn, so incompetent that it made me yawn." the boy mocked Mina with his rhythmic tone,

and Mina was infuriated devastatingly as she tightly clenched her fist, about to commit something outrageous. She uttered in a genuinely displeased, incensed voice,

"Eh, Keena... Can Mina beats this fella up before his mouth get stinkier? Mina really doesn't like the way he put his words..."

It was concretely the first time Mina's nerve was devastated by someone else.

"Oh? Did I get on your nerve or something, PrInCesS MiNa???" The boy's response incremented Mina's irritation even more.

"It's not worth it, Mina. Calm down!" Keena quickly simmered an irritated, wild Mina from making a rash decision.

Right before Mina succumbed to doing something regretful, an unexpected solemn tone interrupted their confrontation.

"Dalius! It is very unwise and inelegant of you to provoke your housemate! And I demand you to stop that attitude of yours at once!" A random girl inserted her voice to cease the boy from further insults, tranquilizing this heated atmosphere.

"Shut up, Patria! It is none of your hellish business! Place that nosy nose of yours somewhere else you belong! It is my only chance to see that aggravating-looking imps collapsing! So you better stay away before you regret-" Patria immediately smacked Dalius on his head and silenced him for good.

Patria dragged Dalius away while Dalius murmured in a disgruntled, docile tone, and Keena approached Patria heartwarmingly,

"Thank you for the help! I assume Patria... is it...? I might have accidentally eavesdropped on your name when the boy ranted about it. Names Keena by the way! Hope we can be friends with each other in the future!" Keena proffered her hand, wanting to shake with her as a sign of gratitude. But instead of getting a mindful response, Patria departed from them with the cold icicle shoulder, placing Keena in great annoyance.

"What's with anyone's attitude in this school?!" Keena was broken down and grunted in utter aggression. "I thought that everyone should at least have the common courtesy before joining school! I can't take it anymore!"

Keena was peaked in frustration as Mina approached Keena, subtly patted her shoulder, and composedly added, with her impassive tone,

"It's okay, Keena. Let Mina console you for a bit." Mina responded.

As the role between them had reversed, as before.

"Please... just ignore their impolite manner..." a boy composedly placed himself between them, giving a sudden shock to both Keena and Mina due to his unanticipated insertion.

"And who you might be?" Keena highly doubted him, questioning his probable crude attitude like those from minutes ago.

"Oh, my bad... Sorry for my hasty intrusion! Name, Konnaugh, Konnaugh Kortrar. I as well, from the House of Lamella, like it was to you two too. And it's nice to meet the both of you. And... I presume this one on your side is her royal highness..."

Before Konnaugh could denote his regard to Mina's royal presence, Mina interjected,

"Mina! Just call me Mina!"

"And I'm Keena, Keena Zaran. It is pleased to meet you too, Konnaugh." Keena introduced herself before Konnaugh and shook his hand correspondingly as a sign of respect.

"Finally, there is someone "normal" among us, Mina. Unlike those jerks."

"Yeah, about that... I heard that they both seemed to be derived from the Xorros clan." Konnaugh solemnly added.

"Xorros... huh...? It doesn't matter what clan they are from. Their attitude tells who they are! And as for I know that I want no further affinity with them!" Keena responded loathly. Konnaugh then continued in a serious tone,

"It's not entirely their fault... They acted like this because of more of the self-defense mechanism..."

"Self-defense mechanism?"

"Yes... A rumor says that civil conflicts often happen inside the Xorros Clan family circle. As they always fight among themselves and attempt to win over one another. Unlike us, the Zaran, Vuzgal, Kortrar, and others, Xorros don't share their riches, even with the closest. They barely spoke to those bound by blood, even their spouses.

And to them, children are like an achievement of some sort, nothing else. They care little about them and always push them to achieve what they want, like a tool in precise.

Because in Xorros, they only believe in the achievement or "power" in their saying, as "power" rules everything. The more "power" you have, the more respect you get. A Xorros without much achievement is typically considered a loser, which is why they always compete with others to gain their superiority."

"Hmm... sound more like a bunch of selfish morons that somehow have a family together. We shouldn't get too close to them. I heard that selfishness is contagious, and I don't want to be like them in any way! So I believe we should put ourselves away from them at all costs. Don't you think so too, Mina?" Keena turned toward Mina, yearning for her approval, but instead, Mina solemnly responded,

"The way Konnaugh sounded their life made Mina feels heartwrenching. For children without parental love but instead treated like their accomplishment stepping stool, it's like they are an object rather than living things. Forcing them only to act on what their parent wanted and not on theirs...

As it's gonna taint their innocuous mind with the idea that everyone who wants to befriend them is just because of some lurking intention. Destroying their trust in everything...

And Mina believes when trust ceases to exist within one's core, we will eventually disbelieve and detach ourselves from affection, refrain from bonding with others, and name everyone as our rival or enemy. Ultimately, as time passes, we will make foes more than friends, which will encumber us with burdens. Overwhelming ourselves with loneliness. Now Mina just can't stop feeling sorry for them."

Keena and Konnaugh were surprised by Mina's remark and stunned in silence.

Abruptly, Mina realized she had strayed too far from being supposedly a child's sound like and quickly snapped back to her default manner with a vigorous shake of her head. She then inserted, in her mundane passionate tone,

"Mina means she agrees with Keena! Mina despises those selfish attitudes they have!"

Both of them remained speechless as everything coursed too quickly.

The noon arrived as they remained on the track of the tour. The sun blazed fiercer than ever, where winds carried nothing but sheer heat, as sweats thrived at this hour.

Considering they had been standing around this one spot while the group consistently marched on, Konnaugh realized the duration of their leisure chatter had caused them to be left behind. So he articulated to Mina and Keena in a hurried tone,

"Anyway, we should be moving already and regrouping with the others. They seemed to go too far ahead already. Come on, guys, we have to pick up the paces!"

He quickly led Mina and Keena to regroup with the rest as soon as he ended his words.

Upon their way to rally with their housemates and handler, a levitating shining orb glistering with the dust of light captivated Mina's eyes and led her to drift away. Thanks to Keena's attentiveness, she spotted Mina was gradually wandering off and quickly dashed toward Mina, hollering,

"Mina!" attempting to seize Mina from her roguery.

The longer Keena after Mina, who was allured by somewhat abnormal particles, the further they deviate from joining the mass. The chase wasn't easy for Keena as Mina was a nimble critter that embodied the Vuzgal blood, an excellent boost for her unrivaled speed.

Eventually, Mina stopped at a random vast space that was surrounded by stout concrete pillars with beams to one another. And there Keena finally rolled up to Mina, wheezily shouting, "Mina...!"

Mina heard her name being called. She pivoted her gaze to the sound source and found none other than a crumbling Keena, who was puffing excessively.

Not knowing the situation, Mina passionately greeted Keena with her broad smile,

"Hi, Keena!"

"Mina... Please... just... stop... for... a... sec..." Keena was wearied after a devastating chase against Mina. Deducing her to staggeringly walked toward Mina in her half-dying state.

Once Keena approached Mina, she locked her hand on Mina's shoulder, abstaining Mina from further bolting.

"Is Keena alright? Keena was seen to wear off for a certain reason." Mina pitied Keena, who was still recuperating from the chase.

"And whose fault is that!" Keena responded irritatedly.

After minutes of Keena catching her breath, Keena began to investigate their surroundings, defining their whereabouts.

"Eh... Mina, do you happen to know where we are?"

"Not really... Mina was fully concentrated on the orb when she was on her way here."

"And why was Mina following the orb in the first place? We were told to regroup with the rest!" Keena wasn't keen on Mina's statement.

"Mina was charmed by something interesting. So, Mina apologizes..." Mina apologized to Keena with a slight bow as Keena sighed deeply and forgave her.

"Now, we need to quickly rejoin with the others. Otherwise, we might get stuck here till we know when." Keena quickly grabbed Mina's left hand and escorted her back.

Keena was born with a near-to-perfect photographic memory, allowing her to easily capture and memorize each speck of the footpath, decoration, and landscape she ever came across. And this also gave her the great confidence to regroup with others. And so it was what she thought...

Ten or so minutes of interlude later,

They somehow looped back to the very one similar spot, a vast space surrounded by pillars. And there Keena was, confused and shocked,

"Huh??? B- b- but how? I'm pretty it was the right way to go..."

"Maybe Keena took one wrong turn at a certain intersection or something? Mina believes we should give it a try again." Mina said,

"Yeah, maybe you're right..." Keena accepted Mina's advice and attempted once more.

One lapse, two lapses, and three lapses had bypassed. But somehow, they returned to zero, the point where they commenced.

Keena immediately collapsed out of despair and uttered,

"I gave up... We're doomed... Hours had passed, and we had done more than three lapses... And yet there is no escape for us..."

"Fret not, Keena! Mina gonna put up on her attempts now! Mina will find us the way to escape!"

"Yeah... fine... go right ahead..."

Mina tried to elevate Keena but failed, so she made her attempts which, not surprisingly, failed.

"Mina is feeling concerned... Mina feels like she is really losing her way..." Mina squinted her eyes at the surroundings, slowly realizing her current dilemma.

"Arh!!! Mina, look, what have you gotten us into?! Now we are stuck inside this endless loop! There is no grown-up here, and there is no grown-up there! We're gonna be trapped forever, Mina! What should we do now?!" Keena cried out of desperation.

"Fret not, Keena! Mina still has one more ace up in her sleeve! Aunt Lilia once said Mina has a good sniffer that is comparable to the hellhounds! Mina had once sniffed out her dinner far from Mina's whereabouts! So Mina believes she can sniff out the path that leads to our freedom!" Mina confidently stated and immediately started to sniff around. Like an exact hound will.

Keena was hopelessly dropped to the floor on four and cried in utter despair, accepting she was doomed.