Everyone has become silent when Kalim, the housewarden of the Scarabia Dorm arrives on the scene and the students have become uneasy and some even frightened.

Kalim asks in a demanding tone, "What's going on, Jamil? Nobody told me to expect company!"

"Kalim, there's a good reason for this, I assure you," Jamil says as he walks to Kalim.

Briar and the others of Ramshackle feel a bit tense to see Kalim being kind of harsh.

Grim whispers to Briar, "Uh, this guy seems like bad news..."

"Maybe, but..." Briar says.

But suddenly, Kalim says, "How many times must I tell you to always inform me ahead of time when inviting guests?! If you had..." and says in a disappointed tone, "...I would have arranged for an even finer banquet and a whole band!"

"Huh?" Grim, Jasper, and Tanzanite react with confused looks.

Kalim then smiles and says, "Hiya! Welcome to our dorm. Sorry for not throwing you a welcoming parade!I'm Kalim Al-Asim, housewarden of Scarabia. This is the first time we've met, right?

"It's not, actually," Jamil says, "Grim burned your posterior at orientation, and you spoke with them before the Spelldrive tournament as well."

"Oh, really? Aha ha, sorry!" Kalim replies, "I've always been terrible with faces. I hope you won't take any offense. Regardless, it's nice to meet you all over again!"

"Nice to meet you too," Briar says.

"Hello," Sereia says.

"Hey," Jasper says.

"It's nice to meet you," Tanzanite says.

Trinket nods her head in reply.

Briar says in thought, "Kalim is a far cry from the other housewardens we've met."

"All the food looks incredible, as always," Kalim happily says.

Then turns to Jamil and asks, "How did everything turn out, Jamil?"

"Splendidly as ever. There are no dangerous substances in any of these dishes, so eat whatever you like. They've also been poison-tested already," Jamil ays.

Stunned, Grim asks, "Wh-why is THAT relevant?!"

"Kalim is the heir to a very wealthy family. The unfortunate dangers related to that mean that everything he eats must be vetted," Jamil says.

But Kalim says, "You just love blowing these things out of proportion, Jamil. Really, who would do that? Nobody's tried poisoning me since that time four years ago when I went comatose for two weeks. It's a thing of the past now."

"Yes, because you've had someone to specifically prevent that from happening for the past four years. I ensure that anything hazardous is identified and disposed of before it crosses your plate," Jamil says.

Just then, Grim cries out, "Wait a minute. When you were feedin' me all those different dishes, was that to test 'em for poison?!"

Kalim laughs, "Aha ha ha! There's no real danger for you, don't worry. All the food Jamil makes is safe. Jamil would never poison my food."

"Heh. Must you state the obvious?" Jamil replies in remark.

Still stunned, Grim says, "Y'know, I'm startin' to think these guys were only pretendin' to be nice."

Kalim walks to Briar and Grim and says, "Ooh, Grim! Have you tried the goat's milk blue cheese yet? Nothing beats a smear of it on a cracker!" as he grabs the cheese and smears it on a cracker.

"Huh? Why would I eat somethin' with mold all over—" Grim reacts and Kalim shoves the food into his mouth. "Mmph!"

With food in his mouth, Grim cries out, "Don't go shovin' food in my—mmph!"

"Oh, good, you like it! By all means, have some more! Aha ha!" Kalim happily says.

"Mmmph! Awmmph!" Grim replies with more food in his mouth.

Then Kalim cheers, "Bring out more food and drinks. And kick the music up a notch or three! Today, we party!"

Jasper whispers, "That Kalim is sure is different from Riddle, Leona, and Azul."

"Maybe, but he seems nice, but his first impression when he arrived made me feel uneasy at first," Briar whispers.

"I'm just glad this guy turns out to be a nice guy," Jasper whispers.

Time has passed and everyone seems to have a good time. They have food, listen to music, and chat among the students of the dorm.

Kalim asks, "So Briar, how are you and the others doing at the school?"

"We're doing good. Of course, it's still a bit odd that I'm practically the only girl to go to an all boys school, besides Sereia and Trinket," Briar says.

"I'm glad to hear you're having a good time. I'll bet you learning how to use magic is fun," Kalim happily says.

"Maybe, but it's also difficult to do so, but I think I've gotten a hang of it," Briar says.

Jamil calmly says, "It's good to hear you've gotten used to the school, despite a lot of the hitches that you had to take care of."

"I suppose so, but I think my friends and I were able to handle it well," Briar says.

Suddenly, the three hear groaning and turn to see Grim is lying on the pillow as he rubs his tummy.

Aching from the stomach, Grim says, "I can't eat another bite... Urgh... My tummy's gonna burst. Where does that Kalim guy get off, crammin' crackers with moldy cheese in my mouth? I make it a personal policy to eat any food I get, but that was just too much!

Then Kalim asks, "Hey, you guys! Care for dessert? We've got ice cream. Or would you prefer a selection of fruits? We've also got baked sweets with pistachios and almonds. I could have Jamil bring you some."

That just makes Grim feel sick and says,"Mrah! N-nope, I'm square! Can't eat another bite!"

"That's funny coming from you. Considering that you've been able to eat so much at first," Tanzanite says with a giggle.

Jasper laughs, "I didn't think you never get full."

"Aww. They're all so good, I would've loved to share some with you," Kalim says, "Oh well. We'll be here over the whole winter break. You're welcome to drop by for a meal whenever you like. Right, Jamil?

"Absolutely. Anytime," Jamil answers.

Briar then asks Kalim, "By the way, I've been meaning to ask, how come you guys are still at the campus?"

"Yeah. How come you guys aren't going home?

Kalim answers, "Hm? Oh... Well, you know how we recently had that Spelldrive tournament, followed by our exams? Well, our dorm is placed at the bottom in both."

Jamil remains silent.

Then Kalim says, "So I decided to do something about it. Our whole dorm is doing voluntary special training."

"I woulda taken last place over what Ramshackle Dorm got in the Spelldrive tournament brackets: a fat lotta nothin'," Grim says.

"Grim," Briari calmly says in a stern tone.

"Oh, right. Yes, that's a real shame," Kalim says.

Then Jamil says, "On our winter break, we'll be spending six hours a day on studies and practical magic training.

"Six hours a day? That ain't any different from regular school hours!" Grim says in surprise, "'Holidays are for resting. Homework can wait until after break.'" That's what Leona says.

"Yes, I'm sure he does," Jamil says.

"Hmmm. When you put it that way, you do have a point," Kalim says, "My dad DID always drill the whole 'work hard, play hard, and know when to do which' thing into my head. Maybe Leona's right, and we should focus more on striking the right balance between the two."

He then eagerly says, "All right! I've decided, Jamil. We should take our breaks when we can get them. I'll let our students go home tomorrow."

"What?!" Jamil asks, shocked.

"I'll tell them over dinner tonight," Kalim happily says.

Then asks, "Do me a favor and make sure everybody shows up, okay?"

"R-right. Of course," Jamil says, not sounding too eager.

Then Kalim turns to Briar, "Say, Briar, I should give you and your group the grand Scarabia tour. I'd love to show you a few things."

But Jamil says, "Kalim, please! You'll be setting a bad example if you task the students with studying and then goof off yourself."

"But it's not every day we get guests. Surely one day of slacking can't hurt," Kalim ays.

Jamil sternly says, "...Kalim."

Kalim flinches a bit, "Erk... Okay, fine. Don't get mad. I'll do some defense magic training, then. A mock battle would make for a nice after-meal workout."

And then someone calls out, "Hey, could someone fight me?!"

And soon, some of the Scarabia students volunteer, "Yes, Housewarden!"

And soon enough, Briar and the others watch Kalim do some training with the other students outside of the dorm.