Meanwhile...
In his office, hidden deep beneath the university, Rector Argus sat in his comfortable armchair. His massive figure always looked squat and compressed, as if he were crouching down. As if he should actually be much taller. And this despite the fact that, at over two meters tall, he was only towered over by very few students or employees. The unusually round and completely bald skull reflected the light of the candles he preferred for illumination. He could only see the scene outside the hospital, but not hear it. However, with the time that his long life in the service of Eris had brought him, he had learned to read lips easily. And none of the students used a language that he could not understand without help. When Soran turned in surprise during the conversation, he lost sight of his face for a moment. He concentrated calmly for a moment. With a soft smacking sound, a previously invisible eye opened at the back of his head. He concentrated again and the eye disappeared again with a blink, only to reappear on a conveniently located lamp post. A muttered word from the principal was enough to camouflage it in its new position with a spell that made it invisible. He had now placed a total of eight of his numerous eyes up there and was quite sure that he would not lose sight of the conversation any time soon. A faint smile crept onto his face as he heard Soran's comment above him. The gardeners really had been an absolute stroke of luck. He still remembered the day when he had to hire all the staff for the university...
The principal paced tensely up and down his spacious office. Occasionally he walked along the wall or the ceiling without giving it much thought. He had little use for rules and laws, and he did not see fit to make an exception for the law of gravity. Moreover, he was deep in thought. Founding a university required a great deal of organization and precise planning. But as a follower of Eris, chaos followed hot on his heels. Whether he wanted it to or not. He was still looking for ideas for the rules he should set up for the students. A more than unfamiliar and unpleasant task for him. However, a university without rules would be unmanageable. Not with the "students" he hoped to educate there. And students who grew up in unrestricted freedom would never develop the hatred of the pervasive order that they would need to motivate them. He needed a few rules for them to rebel against. Bureaucracy in timetabling, pointless hollow hours, weekend classes, overlapping curricula. And, of course, a few surprising changes to the study regulations just when they thought they had adjusted to everything. But there had to be more. After all, they were expecting it. He still needed something unexpected. Annoying and omnipresent....
His wanderings took him past the model of the university, which took up most of the left-hand side of the office. Small balsa wood models represented the future buildings, small cardboard walls, the elegant wall that separated the huge grounds. His gaze lingered on the expansive lawns that surrounded all the buildings. A spiteful laugh rang out in the room with no visible source. It shimmered over the model landscape like hot air. An observer would certainly not have recognized any change at first, but then he would have noticed the many small signs that had appeared on all the lawns. If he had then looked at them with a magnifying glass, he would have been able to read the inscription: "No trespassing!" Argus looked at the meadows in front of him. Comfortable sunbathing areas in bright sunshine. Inviting for a picnic or just to lie down and relax during the break after a strenuous lesson. THAT would certainly annoy them.
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Now he just needed gardeners who could assert themselves against students with very unusual talents...
Moments later, the phone rang at the top-secret headquarters of the Kumagami-Gumi, the largest of all yakuza clans. Argus had already used their employees several times for difficult undertakings.
"Moshi Moshi." The typical Japanese greeting on the phone no longer elicited a smile from the principal. The person he called did not bother to give his name. He rightly assumed that everyone who called him knew what he was getting himself into. After briefly exchanging secret code words to confirm his identity, Argus got down to business.
"I need a team for a long-term special assignment."
"What's the goal?" The yakuza employee obviously didn't think much of the small talk that was otherwise customary in his culture.
"Protection and maintenance of approx. 12 hectares of garden area."
There was silence for a moment. When the voice sounded again, it was emphatically controlled and emotionless. "Would you repeat that, please?"
"I never repeat myself. I know the skills of their ninjas. As far as I know, some of their oldest employees have retired and are now engaged in bonsai cultivation, Chinese gardening and flower arranging. I would love to hire a dozen of them to maintain my university's garden. The people who will threaten these lawns and gardens have very... unusual skills. So your ninjas will not be underchallenged."
"Our retired employees will also continue to receive our usual standard salary during assignments. For a permanent assignment, this would be..."
Argus interrupted: "Money doesn't matter. Inform your employees that they will most likely be entitled to hazard pay from time to time."
"Then I already know some potential employees." A brief rustling of documents could be heard quietly in the background. "Our team will be ready for action in seven days under the leadership of Master Hisashi Okada. Let us know the details of the mission in the usual way."
Argus hung up the phone and smiled. The ninjas of the Kumagami-Gumi were the best in their field. Their code of honor forbade them from divulging information about their mission, the client or other events during a mission. Just the attitude he needed. Now he just had to get a few janitors and then he could take care of recruiting teachers...
The principal smiled quietly to himself. Those had been the days. But the new semester promised a lot of excitement. Some of the new arrivals looked very promising. The only one he had vague doubts about was Norman Zimmermann. After several discussions in the council, he had finally called for a vote and then, to everyone's surprise, had abided by the result. After all, he had no intention of ignoring their decisions every time. That would make him predictable. Chuckling quietly to himself, he slid comfortably deeper into his armchair and decided to enjoy the show.