"Next up we got Class C. Azul's in this group, eh," Grim says.

He soon sees the stand, "Wow, they got a first-rate stand here."

"Yeah, he was pretty thrilled when the headmage announced we'd be selling food at Port Fest," Jack says.

Soon, they hear a lot of chattering, and look over to see a loud crowd.

"Oh my," Sereia says.

"Gadzooks, look at this crowd!" Grim says, shocked.

"It's massive!" Jack says, shocked, "I know he said he was going for huge profits, but this is somethin' else. What're they selling?" and soon looks at the list, "Lemme check the forms they submitted... Salad cups?!"

"Precisely," Azul says.

"Oh, hey, Azul! Gotta say, I didn't expect you all to sell salad," Jack says.

"It's true that salads are not exactly common fare at festivals. They contain raw, fresh vegetables, so refrigeration is a must. Furthermore, the ingredients are costly, and you just have to dispose of anything you don't sell," Azul says.

"The fact that you still went with them despite all that tells me you must have a plan," Jack says.

'But of course. Thanks to Vil, our business is booming! Heh heh," Azul says.

Grim is shocked, "Mrah? Whaddaya mean?"

"Initially, I planned to select some standard festival foods, to ensure steady, reliable trade. But since Vil is in our group, we decided to change the business plan," Azul says, "Our core advantage over the other groups is Vil's overwhelming name recognition and the strength of his brand! What reason could we have NOT to leverage that?"

Jack and Grim say, shocked, "Huh?!"

"I think I understand," Briar says.

"But of course you do, Briar. Your insight is as keen as ever," Azul says, "With a model of considerable repute and brand recognition endorsing it, customers would hardly balk at paying a somewhat higher price. On the contrary. The price only adds to the prestige of the product. Such is the nature of branding. Thus, we were able to virtually guarantee we would quickly break even—a very low-risk business model."

"I'm not sure I understood any of that," Jack says.

And Vil says, "Typically, a business needs to sign a sponsorship contract to use my name to sell a product. My agent has a whole formal procedure for it—and I can't unilaterally change it."

"Of course. And I have no intention of running afoul of that policy," Azul says, "You just happened to be standing by our salad cup stand. That's all, a mere coincidence of your presence, entirely by chance."

And Vil says, "Heh. You love doing business in these little gray areas, don't you? I will pretend I haven't noticed, for today. I am, after all, Class C's leader. Festivals are great, of course, but they are always lacking in vegetables. An utterly intolerable situation for one with my particular sense of aesthetics and beauty. What's more, the salads are positively delicious! I hope lots of people buy and enjoy them. For Jamil's sake, too. He worked so hard to make the dressing meet my requirements, and it came out perfect."

"Oil free, low calorie, low sodium, yet with a flavor that is second to none... It took considerable effort to get it right— Vil has such exacting standards, and I had little time to come up with the recipe. It appears that I've managed to meet his expectations, though. The fact that our customers seem to like it is a relief as well," Jamil adds.

"It's a marvelous dressing. I'd expect nothing less from you," Vil says, "I'd love for the Pomefiore students to try it, too. Perhaps you can share the recipe later?"

"I wouldn't mind that," Jamil says.

"Oh, really? How very kind, thanks!" Azul says with a smile.

But Jamil says, "I wasn't talking to you."

And soon, screaming "'Omigosh, is that VIL SCHOENHEIT over there?!' 'It IS him, like for real! Squeeeeee!'"

"Looks like your adoring fans have found you, Vil," Grim says.

"Just as Azul planned. Wonder if this'll bring in more sales for 'em,' Jack says, but soon notices, "...Wait, I don't see any fans stampeding over here. What's the deal?"

And soon, Ortho comes over and shouts the same words, "'Omigosh, is that VIL SCHOENHEIT over there?!' 'It IS him, like for real! Squeeeeee!'"

This has Jack surprised, "That was YOU, Ortho?! Why'd you change your voice like that?!"

"Operation: Shill It Up! Azul Ashengrotto asked me to do it," Ortho says, "Basically, he wants me to shout in different voices every so often to make people notice that Vil is here."

"If a crowd gathers to see Vil, then it will make the food stand look like it's booming as well. And that will translate into salad sales," Azul explains, "It's the bandwagon effect. People see a line, and they want whatever's at the end of it."

"You've certainly considered all the angles. Astonishing,' Vil says.

Ortho continues, ""'Omigosh, is that VIL SCHOENHEIT over there?!'"

But suddenly, a familiar floating head appears, "Hmm, it could be... Or it might NOT be."

And someone notices, causing them to scream, "EEEK! Floating head! THERE'S A FLOATING HEAD!"

"What in the world?! Jack cries out.

Jamil cries out, "Gah! That guy is nothing but a head!"

However, it's revealed to be Che'nya and he says, "What a diverting little food stand. Such throngs of people thronging about it! Ooh, but even if I joined the crowd, no one would confuse us for a clowder of cats! Why, you ask? Because I'm a person who just LOOKS like a cat!"

Soon, Grim and Briar recognize him, "Wait a sec, I remember you! You're from Royal Sword Academy!"

"Che'nya? What are you doing here?!" Briar asks, shocked.

Everyone exclaims in shock, "Whaaat?!"

"Well, this is a small island. It's no great surprise we'd see Royal Sword students here, I suppose," Vil says.

And Che'nya, who now has his body appeared, says, "I was terribly excited when I heard that this year's Port Fest would be big, big, bigger! But never in my wildest dreams did I imagine that Night Raven College students would be manning the culinary helms! And there are so many fun things for sale at all the stands! Why, I couldn't be bored if I tried! But now I'm off to sniff out Riddle and Trey's stands. Whee hee hee hee!" and disappears.

"He... He disappeared!" Azul says, shocked.

"What kind of guy shows up, mumbles a bunch of nonsense, then vanishes?" Jamil asks.

"...A Royal Sword Academy guy, apparently. He seemed to be enjoying himself, too.," Jack says.

"I suppose he meant no harm," Vil says.

Soon, Floyd comes over with Ruggie and Rook.

Floyd says, "Hey, Sealie! Sea Urchin! Little Shrimpy! Angel Fish! Twin Catfish! Plankton! What's crackin'?"

"It's nearly time for us to ascend the concert stage, so we came to get you," Rook says.

"All of you on the Port Fest Steering Committee are going to put on a concert soon, right? I didn't know that Jack Howl and the others had learned to play instruments! I'll have to update my databanks," Ortho says.

"Strange. I thought Rook was an expert at LISTENING to music,' Vil says.

Azul then says, "Floyd's fantastic on the drums. And he's no slouch when it comes to brass band instruments."

"Oh, I understand! Then Floyd Leech will be playing all of the instruments one right after the other!" Ortho says, "Jack Howl, will you and the others be carrying all the instruments for Floyd Leech to play?!"

"Now there's a novel idea..." Jack says.

"Très bien! We had not considered that!" Rook says.

"Still, centering the performance on your best musician is a sound choice," Vil says.

"If you try and hang the whole show on a guy as fickle as Floyd, it's gonna be over before it starts!" Jamil says.

"Hard to imagine what you guys go through on a normal day in the Basketball Club..." Ruggie says.

"I'm not gonna be wailin' on the drums or any brass instruments today," Floyd says.

Everyone says in shock, "What?!"

"Then what's the plan, Rook?" Vil asks.

Rook chuckles, "Heh heh. Let the mystery set your heart aflutter until the curtain goes up on our performance."

"So this is all part of the show, hm? Very nice. I'm looking forward to it," Vil says.