Ink & Crown

Chapter 90 – The Fans Arrive

Both entered carrying the excitement of people attending a celebration and that excitement lasted approximately three seconds.

The moment Sera stepped through the door; she stopped so abruptly that Kiro nearly walked into her before catching himself and coming to a halt beside her.

The students behind them almost collided with the pair, stumbling to avoid crashing into their backs, and for several long seconds nobody moved or said a word as confusion spread through the doorway.

Sera slowly looked around the room, her gaze sweeping across the gathered faces one by one.

Lucien. Expected.

Dorian and the others. Also expected.

Mira. Expected.

Then her eyes landed on another figure standing among the guests and she froze.

"...Kiro."

"Yes?"

"I have a question."

Kiro was still scanning the room.

"That's usually a bad sign."

Sera pointed.

"Why is the Chancellor here?"

Kiro followed the direction of her finger.

His gaze landed on the figure in question. Then he immediately froze as well.

"Oh."

A pause stretched between them as the full implications settled in.

"Oh no."

Several students behind them finally noticed what Sera and Kiro had seen.

The reaction spread through the group with alarming speed.

Whispers erupted immediately.

"Is that really Chancellor Voss?"

"I think it is."

"Why is she here?"

"Did Lucien invite the Chancellor to a café opening?"

"Apparently."

"Can people do that?"

"I don't know."

Sera looked increasingly alarmed.

Not because she disliked Chancellor Voss.

Quite the opposite.

The Chancellor was one of the biggest reasons Sherlock Holmes had exploded across campus.

Sera respected her immensely, which was exactly the problem.

There was a very large difference between appreciating someone's support and unexpectedly finding them standing ten meters away.

Especially when they happened to be one of the most influential people at the entire institute.

Kiro slowly leaned closer.

"Should we leave and come back later?"

Sera actually considered the suggestion and for a brief moment, the idea seemed completely reasonable.

"Tempting."

"Very tempting."

Unfortunately, it was already too late.

Chancellor Voss had noticed them.

The Chancellor gave a small nod of greeting.

Sera immediately straightened her posture. So did Kiro. So did nearly every student behind them.

The transformation was so sudden that even Aelric noticed. He paused mid-conversation and looked toward the doorway.

He looked at the group, then at the Chancellor and then back at the group.

"They look like they're about to take an exam."

Several people laughed.

Chancellor Voss glanced at the students.

"They're students."

"Fair."

That did absolutely nothing to help.

In fact, several students somehow looked even more nervous afterward.

Kiro lowered his voice. "I think she just acknowledged our existence."

Sera nodded solemnly. "I know."

"Should we say something?"

"No."

"Why?"

"Because then she'll acknowledge it again."

Kiro thought about that. "...Good point."

Meanwhile, several nearby guests were already trying and failing not to laugh.

Before the situation could become any more awkward, Lucien finally noticed them.

He raised a hand. "You're here."

Immediately, several students felt relieved.

Lucien was normal. Lucien was familiar. Lucien made sense.

Then he gestured for them to come closer.

That feeling lasted approximately two seconds, because they had to walk toward Chancellor Voss.

The group collectively hesitated and Lucien blinked.

Then looked toward the Chancellor. "Chancellor, I think you're intimidating them."

Several students nearly stumbled.

Sera physically stopped walking. Kiro looked as though he had just witnessed something impossible.

Around them, several fan page members stared in disbelief.

Did he just say that? To the Chancellor? Directly? Out loud?

Meanwhile, Chancellor Voss looked genuinely puzzled. "Intimidating them?"

"Yes."

"What exactly am I doing?"

Lucien gestured vaguely. "Existing."

Aelric immediately laughed. Even several nearby guests struggled to keep straight faces.

The Chancellor looked no less confused. "I just greeted them."

"Exactly."

The confusion somehow deepened.

Kiro felt a headache coming on. Inside his head, he was screaming.

Of course you're intimidating! You're the Chancellor! Half the campus becomes nervous when they receive a formal message from your office!

Sera wasn't doing much better.

She had spent enough time helping run Lucien's fan page. She had spoken to professors. Organized events. Even coordinated with them while scouting locations.

None of that had prepared her for watching Lucien casually accuse the Chancellor of intimidating students. And somehow survive.

Chancellor Voss looked toward the group again and the students immediately straightened. Several even looked ready to salute.

The Chancellor paused and then looked back at Lucien.

"...I think I understand your point."

"Thank you."

That only made things worse, because now they were discussing it like this was a normal conversation.

The students exchanged glances. For perhaps the hundredth time since arriving, they found themselves wondering the same thing. Just how many unusual relationships had Lucien managed to build?

Meanwhile, Aelric smiled and motioned toward the empty seats. "Come on."

His tone was considerably gentler. "We don't bite."

Kiro glanced at the Chancellor, then at the professor. Then back at the Chancellor.

"Respectfully, Professor, I think that's easy for you to say."

This time the laughter spread through the entire room.

Eventually, under the combined pressure of Lucien, Professor Aelric, and basic social expectations, the group finally approached.

Lucien looked genuinely pleased to see them. "Glad you could make it."

Several students relaxed immediately as this was familiar territory.

Then Lucien began greeting them. "Good to see you again, Sera. Kiro."

Both nodded.

Then Lucien looked toward the others. "LanternLily."

The young woman immediately froze. "Oh no."

Lucien continued. "QuietInk."

Another student buried her face in her hands.

Unfortunately, Lucien wasn't finished. "PageTurnerX."

The young man in question visibly flinched.

Several nearby guests looked curious.

Lucien nodded politely. "You bowed last time."

"I REMEMBER."

The response came out far louder than intended and the laughter immediately erupted around the room.

PageTurnerX looked like he wanted the floor to open beneath him.

Lucien seemed mildly confused. "You were very enthusiastic."

"Please stop helping."

That only made things worse.

Meanwhile, several students had already realized where this was heading. It was too late to escape. Far too late.

Lucien looked toward another familiar face. "InkWatcher."

The student responsible for the now-famous sabotage video immediately closed his eyes.

Several people nearby recognized the name. Especially Mira, Edrin and Lucien's staff.

The poor student looked as though he had just made a terrible life decision by attending.

Around them, the fanpage members were slowly dying from embarrassment. Not because the names were secret as everyone in their community knew them.

The problem was the audience. The Chancellor had heard them. Professor Aelric had heard them and a whole lot of others there too heard them

And somehow Lucien was greeting them as casually as if those were perfectly normal names. Which, to him, they probably were.

Kiro finally pinched the bridge of his nose. "Lucien."

"Yes?"

"Those are our online names."

Lucien nodded. "I know."

"You're saying them out loud."

"Yes."

Another pause.

Then realization slowly crossed Lucien's face. "Oh."

Several students pointed at him immediately. "Exactly."

"That's the problem."

Lucien actually looked slightly sorry for them. Unfortunately, the damage had already been done.

Nearby, Riven was laughing so hard he nearly spilled his drink.

Even Chancellor Voss appeared faintly amused.

Meanwhile, the fanpage members collectively decided that attending this opening ceremony had been a terrible idea and somehow, they were still happy they came.

Eventually, Rivan stopped laughing and settling down. Though several people were still smiling whenever they glanced toward the fanpage members.

Lucien decided it was probably time to help them recover. He looked toward the group. "Come on."

Several students immediately became suspicious. "Come on what?"

"I'll introduce everyone."

The reactions were immediate. "No."

Lucien blinked. "No?"

This time both Sera and Kiro answered together. "No."

Several nearby guests looked amused.

Lucien looked genuinely confused. "Why not?"

Sera pointed at herself. "Because we're fanpage organizers."

Then pointed at Kiro. "And he's the other fanpage organizer."

Kiro nodded seriously. "We have professional standards."

Lucien stared at them not understanding them.

Nobody knew what that meant, Including Lucien.

Sera continued anyway. "It's our job to know who these people are."

Kiro folded his arms. "And more importantly, it's our job to learn the stories."

That immediately caught several people's attention.

The fanpage members behind them nodded enthusiastically. Exactly. This was practically research.

Sera gestured around the room. "Most people know the public side of things."

Kiro continued smoothly. "But very few know the people behind them."

Now even Gareth looked mildly interested.

Sera pointed toward him. "For example."

Gareth immediately looked suspicious. "I don't like where this is going."

"Perfect."

Sera smiled. "That usually means we're asking the right questions."

Several people laughed and Lucien slowly realized what was happening. "They're working to get scoops to publish."

"They're absolutely doing that."

Kiro nodded. "We came prepared."

Then, to everyone's surprise, he actually produced a small notebook.

Taren stared. "You brought notes?"

"Of course."

"You expected interviews?"

"We hoped for interviews."

The answer came so quickly that several people laughed again.

Meanwhile, the students behind them were already beginning to spread out naturally through the room.

Some approached the café staff. Others started speaking with Crownspire employees. A few were already trying to gather around Gareth and Theo.

The atmosphere shifted from nervousness to curiosity almost immediately.

Lucien watched for a few moments. Then looked toward Sera. "So, you don't need introductions?"

Sera shook her head. "No."

Kiro looked unusually confident. "We'll handle it."

Then he glanced around the room. Toward Gareth, Taren, Polvin, Lunessa, Rynel and toward several others they had never met before.

His eyes practically lit up. "This is basically a treasure trove."

Polvin looked mildly alarmed. "What does that mean?"

"Nothing."

"It sounded like something."

"It's definitely something."

Sera nodded. "It's absolutely something."

The expressions on both organizers' faces suggested that several future fanpage articles were already being planned.

And for the first time since arriving, Lucien felt slightly sorry for everyone they were about to interview. Though only slightly.

As Lucien walked away, Sera immediately opened her notebook and Kiro did the same.

The sight alone caused several nearby guests to become mildly concerned.

"Where do we start?" Kiro asked.

Sera looked around the room. "There are too many options."

"That's a good problem."

"It really isn't."

Both were still debating their first target when a familiar voice spoke beside them. "Need help?"

The two turned and Eiran stood there holding a drink.

Sera paused and Kiro did the same as neither recognized him.

Eiran immediately understood why. "Right."

He tapped the side of his head and then casually mentioned a username. "StageDetective."

The reaction was immediate as both of them froze. "...No way."

"Wait. You're StageDetective?"

"The one who wrote those ridiculously long scene analyses?"

Eiran looked mildly offended. "They weren't ridiculously long."

"One of them was longer than the chapter."

"That's not the point."

The username was familiar. Very familiar to them.

In fact, it had become difficult to miss as the account had appeared relatively recent and then proceeded to become one of the most active members of the entire fan community.

Discussion threads. Character theories. Scene breakdowns. Story analysis. The account StageDetective appeared everywhere.

Not in an annoying way. Just... constantly.

Sera pointed at him. "You're him?"

"Apparently."

"You're serious?"

"I hope so."

The disbelief remained as they had only known the username with no photographs, no personal information. Just posts. Lots of posts.

Kiro looked genuinely impressed. "I thought you'd be older."

Eiran looked offended. "I'm not sure how to take that."

"It was a compliment."

"It didn't sound like one."

Sera ignored both of them. "Wait."

Her eyes narrowed slightly. Then widened. "You already know Lucien."

"A little."

"A little?"

This time both organizers spoke together.

Eiran laughed. "Fine, maybe more than a little."

That answer seemed considerably more believable.

Kiro suddenly looked thoughtful and then slowly smiled. The kind of smile that usually worried people. "Oh."

Eiran immediately became suspicious. "What?"

"You know people here."

"I do."

"You know a lot of people here."

Eiran hesitated. "...Maybe."