He hadn't meant to eavesdrop that day.

  Rei had meant to swing by the infirmary between periods, quickly grab bandages for his injured hands, and head back to class. When he'd heard two voices talking from outside Darren's lab that day, he didn't open the door solely to wait for a lull in their discussion and lessen the impact of his interruption.

  For the first ten seconds or so, anyway.

  But ten seconds had stretched to a minute, then five, and he'd quickly found himself engrossed by the conversation happening on the other side of that door. One of the participants had been Doctor Darren; Rei recognized his voice, but it was a completely different version of the man he knew.

  The Darren Rei knew was always angry, constantly exhausted, never speaking any more than he needed to. But the man he heard that day had been animated and snarky, trading barbs back and forth with a second, female voice. This change initially captured his attention, and then the second person's boldness forced him to stand there and listen like some kind of stalker.

  "The joy and pleasure they get from violence and fighting, the way they look down on low-tiers for being weak - it feels so gross!"

  Rei recalled the specific words again, for something like the thirteenth time. Nobody ever said things like that, not at Wellston High! He was the king of the school hierarchy, and still too afraid to say anything half as extreme.

  So in a sense, one could say that it had been his duty to secretly take a peek through the door and find out who the doctor was talking with, and not at all a matter of personal interest…

  He exhaled and ran a hand through his hair. He wasn't deluding himself. Rei had never cared about his duty to uphold the hierarchy. This latest incident had only been yet another instance of his poor impulse control, which had gotten progressively worse ever since he became a high-tier and people started kissing the ground he walked on.

  As he'd learned in his tenure, once you reached a certain threshold of power, it was harder not to abuse it.

  And now I've really gone and done it, calling this girl out in the middle of class, Rei thought, glancing at Meili as they walked through the hallway. She's probably scared out of her mind. Why didn't the teacher even try to stop me? God, I ought to just-

  "Are you okay?" Meili asked cautiously, trailing him by half a step. "I don't mean any disrespect, but you're kind of, um- well, you haven't been speaking at all since we left the classroom. We could talk sometime else if now's not a great time."

  In his mind, he let out some kind of self-ashamed shriek; in reality, he just smiled.

  "No, no. I'm doing just fine. I just have some things on my mind right now... For one, I was a little bit worried about your class, actually," he finally managed. "You weren't doing anything too important, right? Mrs. Ito seemed a little troubled when I called you out."

  She shrugged. "It was just a regular lecture day, nothing special. Not as important as business with the king."

  She thinks I want to talk about something serious and official when it's all on a whim!

  Somehow, he managed to limit his reaction to a facial twitch. Stop freaking out. She's just a Freshman. Just phrase your impulsive curiosity in a reasonable, official-sounding way, and she'll fall for it.

  "Well, I was going to wait until we reached the rooftop to seriously start, but I think we can begin now. The hallways are empty enough at this time of day." He made a cursory glance around them and nodded.

  "I'm looking for an outside opinion on how the student hierarchy is doing right now. I was thinking of asking Doctor Darren for his opinion, and he pointed me to you, Meili."

  It was technically true, in the barest, loosest sense.

  "Oh! Sure, I guess?" Meili said, startled. "It's super flattering that you would come to me over someone else, but I've only been here two months; I'm not sure how much help I can be. For curiosity's sake, did he give you a reason for recommending me?"

  "He told me that you two had a conversation on the hierarchy and the effects of being a higher-ranking student at Wellston," Rei answered, thinking quickly. "He also said that you were knowledgeable for a high schooler. You know that's high praise coming from him."

  If Meili was surprised, it didn't show on her face. "I guess that makes sense.... So did you have a specific issue or policy or something? The hierarchy as a whole is pretty broad."

  By this point, they'd arrived on the school's rooftop, and their location reminded Rei of an idea he'd been toying with over the summer.

  "I did," he said. "You know how there are some spots on campus that only the high-rankers can access, like up here on the roof or the central tables in the cafeteria? I was thinking about implementing a similar thing in reverse, like locations or rooms specifically for low-tiers."

  Meili's expression immediately morphed into a 'what did you just say?' stare, and Rei hastily elaborated. "I mean, low-tiers are the most vulnerable students at our school, right? If anybody could use an exclusive space, it's them!"

  She seemed to mull it over for a moment, considering the idea, and Rei expected her to either express enthusiastic agreement or start an angry, bigoted rant about how he was being a traitor to high-tiers.

  What he didn't expect was for her to break out into laughter.

  "Pfft. Gosh, the rumors painted you as that kind of guy, but… I'm sorry! You're just so different from…" She laughed, and when she was done wiped at the corners of her eyes, which made him feel a lot more stupid than he'd expected to feel. If even an ultra-progressive like Meili thought it was ridiculous, who would ever be on board?

  Rei smiled self-deprecatingly. "I know there are potential problems, but I don't think it's bad enough to laugh at."

  "Oh, no! It wasn't because of that! I totally understand where you're coming from. You want to help low-tiers who aren't interested in the drama of combat and rankings make it through the day without having to deal with some high-ranker coming up to them and making demands of them. I totally get that."

  "But?" Rei prompted.

  "But I was shocked at your willingness for self-sacrifice," she said. "Wow. I mean, single-handedly enforcing something like that will be a lot of work, even for someone as strong as you."

  Rei frowned, feeling like he was on the receiving end of a joke.

  "What do you mean? I'm the king. Of course, people will stop rebellious students who don't follow along with my orders. I don't have to do anything to enforce the current elites-only zones, so why would I..." He stopped his sentence, feeling like there was something wrong with it.

  "Right. Elite-tiers like having exclusive hangout spots," Meili said. "If a non-elite student intrudes, they just beat that student up. But can low-tiers do the same?"

  It's so simple.

  "No," he said. "And a lot of high-ranking students would take issue with not being able to go everywhere in the school and break the rules. At that point, other high-rankers wouldn't find it worthwhile to try to stop them, while low-tier students obviously wouldn't be able to do anything about it."

  "Which leaves you, the one who had the idea in the first place, to carry things out alone," Meili concluded. "I'm not trying to criticize your strength. You might be powerful enough to do it, but it sounds really tough, and you could lose most of your high-ranking support..."

  He nodded in agreement, simultaneously glad he hadn't doubled down and embarrassed that he'd thought it was a good idea in the first place. "I'll just drop it for now, then. There's definitely a better way to achieve similar results, though I'm not sure exactly how."

  Meili smiled. "Well, I'm just glad to hear that the king of Wellston has some compassion. All the other high-rankers I've met at this school have been incredibly disappointing to talk to, but you really seem like you're trying to make a positive change."

  He could have simply thanked her for the compliment, then moved on to ask about what she'd said to Darren. But something about the scenery from the rooftop, the students milling around below them, made him lapse into silence.

  Autumn wind rippled through his uniform. Fire-colored treetops swayed back and forth in the surrounding view.

  It was sad and unfair, he realized, that only elite-tier students would ever get to see Wellston High School from above.

  But there was so much for him to do, and things were so much more difficult and complex than he'd ever expected. Small changes could simply be bypassed and circumvented, and a massive change would be resisted by all the high-rankers, including. Perhaps worst of all, he had less than a year to make policy before he graduated.

  Maybe I should just give up on changing things myself and switch to a mentoring role, Rei thought. That Arlo kid is already pretty strong, and he might have three whole years to rule as king instead of my measly one.

  Wait a second, this girl is only a freshman, right? And her updated file puts her at a 3.7, so maybe I should…

  "What would you do in my place?" He asked. "If you had seven months to make this school a fairer, less dangerous place, what would you do?"

  He expected her to be surprised, but she just hummed thoughtfully.

  "Let's see..." she said. "To begin with, I don't think I would try as hard as you are. The position of king or queen is a temporary thing by nature - you can only hold it while you're still a student. And once you graduate, your successor could just as easily reverse everything you ever did."

  She glanced him over, eyes lingering on his bandaged, injured hands. "You're strong, which is the most important thing. A 5.3 as of now, right? Let's say you reach 5.7 by the time you go to college. That leaves you a good amount of time to become a god-tier, at which point you would have a chance to make a real, permanent mark on whatever you choose to do."

  The analytical response wasn't really what he was looking for, but then the passion came in.

  "Instead of just being the king of Wellston, you could try to become headmaster! You would have the kind of time and power that you can only dream of right now."

  He blinked, realizing he hadn't even considered that. "If I could become the headmaster... Yeah. That would be great. Still, I'm only a senior in high school; I don't know if I need to think that far ahead."

  "I guess that's true. But how do I say this..." Meili thought for a little while, then pointed out into the city, at something far away.

  "Do you see that building over there?"

  "Yeah?" He squinted. "That's Wellston City Hospital, isn't it?"

  "My mom works as a Surgeon there," she said. Right now, my goal is to become the hospital director there, because I want to give my mom a better place to work."

  Rei stared at her in surprise, not expecting the words from the mouth of a fourteen-year-old girl. At the same time, he'd heard something similar that day when he was eavesdropping on her...

  "You already knew most of that, didn't you?"

  He did a double-take with his ears. "What?"

  "You overheard me talking with Doctor Darren, didn't you?" She smiled knowingly. "I made him promise not to reveal anything - being known as an ultra-radical would be really, really bad for my plans. But you knew about it, somehow."

  Rei looked away, flustered. "Sorry."

  "I don't mind," Meili said. "Thinking differently from all the other high-rankers is exhausting. I know what it's like to crave a conversation with someone who won't stare at you like you're an idiot or rank traitor. It's why I was talking with Darren in the first place."

  Slowly, she started walking back toward the stairs. "Anyway. We should talk more, but later. I have to head back to class."

  When she reached the stairwell, she took one last look at the injuries on his hands.

  "I think it's nice to have goals that go beyond just a few years!" Meili called, leaving him alone on the roof.

  ***Beautiful***

  As I pulled up to a gargantuan mansion, seated in the backseat of a car worth my family's combined assets, I couldn't help but stare a little. Years ago, I'd read on paper that the average god-tier household was four hundred times richer than a typical elite-tier family. Seeing the difference in real life was an entirely different category of experience.

  The Lingard family estate seemed to be a fusion of contemporary and medieval Nordic architecture, with a grandly furnished exterior of spruce, stone, and pine. Its size and construction made it seem almost castle-like in my eyes, which made it all the more shocking that it was a thirty-minute drive from downtown Wellston City.

  Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

  Even more ridiculously, the mansion was a shoreside property. It sat on the beach of a large freshwater lake, which Arlo had casually mentioned that his family also owned.

  And the front side of the mansion wasn't lacking in comparison, either.

  "Your front yard might be larger than the Wellston dormitories," I joked to Arlo nervously. "I've never heard of a minutes-long walk from the front gates to the front door before."

  Arlo shrugged in response, though I could faintly sense him holding back a smile. "Considering the rate your ability has been growing, Meili, you were going to see something like this sooner or later."

  I explained my nerves to him while we walked through the front garden (his mother's level was 7.3!), but he reassured me that I had nothing to worry about. When we reached the doors, I hung back a few steps as Arlo walked up.

  He rang the doorbell three times in short succession, paused for half a moment, and then rang it five more times. It was an oddly specific pattern, almost like a code, and it suddenly struck me that god-tier families (like Arlo's Lingard family) likely had pages upon pages of stringent safety policies to protect their young.

  After all, even god-tiers had to start off as (relatively) weak children. It certainly wouldn't do if some random elite-tier assassin managed to off an honored child of the Lingard clan - a horrible waste of potential, for one, but also terrible for the family's standing in the hierarchy...

  Maybe I'm starting to understand a little too well.

  "Arlo! You're finally home!" Out of nowhere, a tall, shapely blonde woman slammed open the door.

  Like me, Arlo was caught off guard, and she picked him up in a vice-grip hug, manhandling his comparatively short body like a teddy bear. He protested and struggled to no avail, and I laughed a little, finding it entertaining to watch the perennially strong and stoic boy unable to resist.

  My laughing drew the woman's attention to me. She ruthlessly dropped Arlo, leaving him a panting pile of limbs on the ground. "And I see you finally brought a girl with you. Our little Arlo is finally growing up."

  She gave me the thumbs-up of approval. "My name is Linette Lingard, by the way. It's good to meet a future member of the family. I think our last name will really suit you!"

  What?

  ...Oh, she's joking.

  Arlo began to sputter violently in protest, temporarily out of breath, and I could tell from her gaze that she wanted me to play along.

  I offered my hand. "Meili Strauss. It's nice to meet you, too, but Arlo and I are just going to be friends."

  "Really..." She grinned, drawing the word out. "What's disqualifying him? Height? You can tell me, I won't mind."

  "It's his odd propensity for lying," I answered, playing into the joke. "I don't know why he lied about being an only child, when clearly he has such a gorgeous older sister. He also lied on the ride here, saying his mom would be the only one home."

  Arlo's psychic damage visually multiplied a few times, and Linette, whom I already inferred was Arlo's mother, smiled even wider.

  "Oh, I think we're going to get along." She glanced at Arlo (still breathing hard) and clicked her tongue like she was disappointed in him. "It's just a shock that my stiff of a son managed to drag such a clever girl here. You'll have to tell me how you met."

  "How long does she have to stand outside awkwardly before you invite her in, Mother?" Arlo finally spoke, probably trying to claw back some dignity. "You're always dissatisfied with my social skills, so you should try to demonstrate some occasionally."

  It would have worked, too, if only he hadn't gotten self-conscious about his height. He'd started standing up as straight as possible, which just made him seem shorter. Instead, Arlo's mother pressed down on his head and mussed up his hair, inspiring another round of protests and tussling - which, again, Arlo came out worse for.

  Finally, after thoroughly asserting physical dominance over her son, she decided to show us into the mansion.

  The Interior was extravagant but not as exorbitantly grand as it looked outside. Some things still stuck out, of course, like the group of house servants who greeted us as we entered and a kitchen plucked straight from the back of a michelin restaraunt – but I'd expected those things long before arriving.

  One thing in particular caught my attention above all else. A theater-sized TV in the living room and, more importantly, what was playing on it.

  "Is that God of Surgery?" I asked, sitting on the most pleasantly soft couch I could remember touching. "I know that's Dr. Trace. I've watched every season, but I don't think I recognize the scene that's playing."

  Linette's eyes lit up.

  "Oh! So you're a fan too," she said. "That's great! Medical dramas have always been a guilty pleasure of mine, so I donated a bit of funding to U Studios in exchange for early viewing rights to the series."

  I blinked in surprise. The God of Surgery wasn't some niche production. It was among the most popular dramas in the world as of late – clearly, it hadn't been just 'a bit of funding.'

  She leaned in conspiratorially, whispering into my ear. "This episode is more filler than anything, but if I remember correctly, season four ended on quite the cliffhanger. Are you curious about how Annabelle's operation ends, Meili?"

  Ooh. I gulped a bit of saliva, comically, realizing that I really did want to know what would happen to her.

  They probably won't kill the main heroine off before Trace can finally get with her. But the drama writers in this world are more comfortable killing off central characters, so maybe my judgment's off.

  And there's also that theory going around that she'll get stuck in a coma...

  Before I could be fully tempted, Arlo knocked some sense into me. "Mother, please. You already angered the studio by playing an episode for your friends." He turned to me, warningly. "We have viewing rights for the family, not distribution rights. You had better not mention what you're seeing right now - unless you want to be sued."

  I nodded gratefully, and Arlo's mother let out a huff.

  "I don't know how you turned out such a little stickler for the rules," she said to him. "Fine. Then no spoilers; who do you like best out of the male leads, Meili? I'm partial to Mr. Edwards, though I'm aware he's not as popular with girls under thirty."

  I flushed slightly in surprise at the question. "I guess- I guess I like Marco the most? He's humble and understanding. All the female characters go to him for advice when they're having issues with the other male leads. He can also be super charming when he wants to be. But the writers have kind of turned him into a plot tool, and now he's more of a convenient side character."

  "Hmm? Really?" Linette made a face of disagreement. "He's much cuter than he is handsome, though! And a little bit young for my tastes."

  Arlo gave her a scandalized look, but she ignored it and glanced me over. "I suppose it makes sense. You're Arlo's age. And there certainly is something to be said about the charm of a younger man..."

  She licked her lips sensually, and I felt a sudden sense of impropriety - as if I were doing something wrong by simply seeing and hearing her.

  "Really, mother?" Arlo raised an eyebrow at her. "When I asked you which character you liked a week ago, you said: 'The only man in the world who's my type is your father, dear!'"

  He finished the last part slightly mockingly, flashing a dry smile. "What's changed between now and then? Father not being in the house to hear you?"

  She rolled her eyes, letting the accusation slide off her. "Please, Arlo. If your father can cheat on me with real women, I'm at least allowed to do the same with imaginary men."

  Arlo broke out into sputtering once again, but this time interspersed with laughter, and I grinned, settling myself into the couch.

  I nearly forgot she was a god-tier. In around half an hour, my caution had melted away.

  .

  .

  .

  Four hours later, after a long, entertaining conversation and fantastic dinner, I began to suspect something was wrong.

  Something felt off to me about Arlo's mother. I had arrived at the mansion tense and nervous, preparing myself to deal with the stone-hearted matriarch of one of the most powerful clans in the district. Instead, I'd gotten a far less arrogant, far more normal (if slightly unhinged) woman than I had ever imagined.

  Which made me quickly let my guard down - probably far too quickly.

  And wasn't it a perfect coincidence that she just so happened to be playing a medical drama right as we walked in - that we found a shared interest and conversation topic right off the bat? Her question about 'my type' had also felt faintly rehearsed, as though she'd been trying to lead the conversation to a particular place…

  I felt vaguely that I was being manipulated, that she was putting on a slight act, maneuvering the environment to put me in a certain state of mind. But why? What reason could she possibly have for being underhanded when she had all the power in the world?

  I racked my brain discreetly, while picking at the last crumbs of the luxurious triple-chocolate cake I'd been served for dessert.

  But if she wants to manipulate me, I thought, there's no better time than right now. Considering what Arlo had likely told her about me (and the informants she'd almost certainly stationed around Wellston High), she had a massive advantage in information.

  The longer she waited, the more that advantage would gradually slip away as I learned about her.

  You usually can't manipulate someone the first time you talk to them. You don't know anything about their likes or dislikes, their insecurities, their goals and dreams. You don't know what kind of person they are.

  But they don't know anything about you, either. Most lies and performances will come off as disingenuous or contrived to someone you know, but they won't be nearly as suspect to a stranger.

  So, the absolute best time to manipulate someone is when there's an information gap: when you know a lot about them, and they know little about you.

  "Arne Lingard was said to have encapsulated the city of New Trondheim with his nigh-indestructible barrier for three days and three nights. Some historians doubt the veracity of the legend, but if it were true, his level would have to have been at least 8.6 – and even the strongest known modern-day fighters are only in the lower nines or so! Back to the point, after weathering the siege, he…"

  I glanced across the dining table to Arlo's mother, who was explaining the grand tale of the Lingard clan's founding. My lips twitched upwards into a slight smile. Even in a world where power was king, cleverness and social tricks still had their place to shine.

  I should have known. I used the same dirty tricks on Rei earlier today.

  The final factor to consider when manipulating someone is that you can best catch them off guard when they think they're the one with the information advantage. (But in fact, the opposite is true). When, in reality, you had been studying and analyzing their character for years on end.

  Rei was a person and character whom I had studied for a very long time.

  So when Rei came to me, clearly frustrated and looking for someone like-minded to talk to… I saw an opportunity, and I capitalized.

  Don't become a vigilante and die at age 21, you stupidly heroic living corpse! There are better ways to change this world, don't you see? If you became the headmaster of Wellston, you could subvert this district's most elite student body to your subversively egalitarian and peaceful ideology! Look, I'll even pull out the sentimental 'I want to help my mom' card to assure you of my righteous intentions. You're hurt from dealing with petty schoolyard brawls, and you think you can handle secret government operatives? Watch me stare at your bandages some more so I can drill it into your head – don't die! Don't die! DON'T DIE! Please, you might be the only morally good high-tier in this stupid world-

  -Was what I was really trying to convince him of, though not in so many words.

  Of course, none of it was necessarily a lie. I really did want to become a higher-up at Wellston City Hospital, to make my mom's hospital a better place to work – but it wasn't my 'goal' in a fully sincere sense. And I really did believe that Rei could get a lot more done as the school headmaster than as king.

  I had simply phrased my thoughts in a slightly disingenuous way, nudged the conversation in a suitable direction, and stared a little bit more at his injuries than I typically would have. The act was simply a glossy, cosmetic coating over my authentic self.

  Not a compelling lie, but a compelling truth at the right time.

  Arlo poked his mother on the leg, interrupting her story. "I understand that we don't have visitors often, Mother, but we still ought to move on to the main purpose of Meili's visit today. It's already getting late, after all."

  "And what might that be?" She asked. "I thought she was here today to get to know us and have dinner. I didn't think there was any grand purpose beyond that!"

  "Please. It was your idea to begin with," Arlo said, "to grant Meili the support and network of our family in exchange for assisting with my ascension to King of Wellston next year. You couldn't have possibly forgotten."

  Oh. Things were finally coming together in my head.

  As Arlo had told me a few days ago, the true purpose of my visit was to receive his family's backing in exchange for my wholehearted support of him as the king of Wellston. At the time, I'd inferred that it was Arlo's version of a present, the closest thing I was getting to a friendly gesture.

  But if it had been his mother's initiative the whole time, that certainly put a new spin on things.

  I thought back to my pre-visit research session on the Lingard clan. A few details stuck out where they hadn't before. For one thing, Linette was a 7.3, while Valerie, her sister, had more recently progressed to 7.5 - likely due to the nature of her work as a member of The Authorities. Valerie should have been the matriarch based on her power level alone.

  But Valerie had never conceived a child.

  She was a little stronger than Linette, sure. But if Linette's son ascended to become king of Wellston at the beginning of his Sophomore year, establishing himself as the youngest king in the school's prestigious history… That would prove Linette's strength of bloodline, wouldn't it?

  And to a clan with 500 years of history, nothing else mattered more.

  "I'll sign it," I found myself saying. "Whatever contract or agreement you prepared, I'll sign onto it."

  Linette blinked at me, stiffening. "Are you sure, Meili? You haven't yet learned what the contract looks like! For all you know, it could be a horribly unfair, lopsided deal."

  "I think I can trust you," I said with a smile. "I've long thought of Arlo as deserving to be king, so it would be difficult to create an unfair deal. But I can still read it over if you'd like."

  Her expression seemed to lighten at that, and she stood up from her seat to grab a sheet of paper from inside a tall spruce cabinet. She passed it to me, and I scanned it, looking for anything suspicious.

  ...With this signature, I, Meili Strauss, agree to fully support Arlo Lingard while a student of Wellston Private Boarding School, to do everything reasonable within my power toward the objective of Arlo Lingard's attainment and retainment of the position of king…

  And there it was. My suspicion was proven right

  'Do everything within my power,' I read the words again. That's all you can really do, in the end.

  But to Arlo's mother, I was the 14-year-old child of two elite-tiers, merely a little girl who had found herself on the train to success after evolving her ability by chance. In her eyes, I had likely spent the entirety of my life hearing endlessly about the 'elite ceiling,' or that god-tiers did nothing but look down upon and profit off of the efforts of virtuous, hard-working people like my parents. (She wasn't wrong).

  Why would such a girl, who had spent her entire life hearing those things, do 'everything within her power' to help out a clan of god-tiers? A family of oppressive thieves?

  Obviously, she wouldn't. She would take advantage of the connections, take advantage of the support, and spitefully betray them at the first opportunity. The girl would consider it revenge for her overworked, underpaid parents.

  So Arlo's mother had taken it upon herself to prove to the girl that god-tiers weren't, in fact, all oppressive monsters, that they could simply be humans with their own lives, passions, and troubles.

  She proved it by teasing and arguing with her son.

  She proved it by enjoying the same Medical Drama that I did.

  She proved it by implying she was getting cheated on, that even god-tiers had to deal with unfaithfulness.

  She proved it by warmly greeting Arlo at the door, hugging him tightly as any normal mother would.

  But even after seeing through her, I didn't feel angry about being tricked. To me, no behavior was more normal - more human - than deceiving and manipulating while being too afraid to tell the truth.

  You're just like me, aren't you? I wanted so badly to say that to her, as I stared down at the form and tapped my pen against the corner of the final page. But to reveal I'd figured it out would do nothing but put the situation into flux. Instead, I simply asked:

  "Once I'm affiliated with the Lingard clan, would I be able to get a research internship in New Boston over the summer?"

  Linette smirked. "Once you've been brought into the fold, Meili, you'll be able to get an internship at any company you want."

  I signed on the dotted line.