Kings On The Horizon (Vol. 4-6)

130 | Seventh

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THE CLUB ROOM WAS quiet even though Sky already left. After what he said to them, no one could say a word. To casually tell them to spread a brotherhood member's secret was just beyond anything they could have imagined.

     "Okay, that's it. I don't care if this club gets dissolved. I'm not doing this shit," Max reluctantly says, standing from his seat to take his leave, but Payton immediately grabs him by his arm to stop him.

     "Wait Max, come on, you can't be like this," Payton tells him, but Max immediately pulls his arm away from him before looking back at Payton with anger.

     "That man just asked us to spread, not rumors, but actual fucking secrets and use that to blackmail brotherhoods so we could get points. I am not breaking the trust these people have given me just for points," Max insists, making Payton look back at him seriously.

     "Do you seriously think I'm thrilled to know about this too?" He asks Max, and Max finally calms down. "I know that what Sky said is out of the question, but at the same time we need him as our club advisor, and I'm afraid that he might leave if we don't follow him," Payton explains.

     "So what? Do you want us to just blindly do what he tells us to do him and ruin the name we already made for this club?" Eren then asks back.

     "Of course not!" Payton replies. "All I'm saying is that we have to think of something before it's too late. President Ian gave us this chance and if Sky leaves then our club will definitely get pulled out, and if you guys do not know yet, when a club gets dissolved the existing members will get a penalty," Payton then explains, surprising Max because he wasn't aware of any penalty.

     "Penalty?"

     "They'll take away all the points we got from this club, and that's a total of 400 points. For us gaffers it might not be much, but for our 1st-year members, 400 points is a lot," Payton explains, and even though Eren has been against Sky since earlier, Max could see his expression change a little when he heard about the penalty too.

     Freshmen students need to have at least 1500 merit points in order to become dwellers in their next school year. Removing 400 points from their account will greatly push them back.

     "So what are we going to do now? Unless we find another senior to take Sky's place, we have no choice but to follow him," Felix says, making Payton massage his temple in frustration.

     When no one could think of anything, Max looks at them and suggests, "Then let's protest. Let's not do what he wants and see the outcome. With Sky's personality, I'm guessing he's not just going to back down just because we're not following him. He's too prideful for that."

     Payton and the others couldn't believe what Max just suggested, but deep down they knew that this was the only thing they could do for now.

     "What if he does leave? What then?" Eren asks.

     "Then I'll give you all the points you have lost. I swear it," Max suddenly declares without even batting an eye, surprising not just Payton, but even his friend Felix.

     "W-wait, Max, there are nine freshmen members in our club. You're literally giving away 3600 points!" Felix tells him, but Max didn't even look fazed at all. He wasn't entirely confident, but he didn't want to let his juniors down. Losing 3600 points for their sake isn't a loss. Max knows what it feels like to be a serf. He doesn't want them to feel disheartened just because of a decision he made.

     "I'll still have enough points so you don't have to worry about me," Max says before standing up from his seat again. He then looks at Payton, and with a serious expression, he asks him, "Payton, I know you're the club leader of the Omega Society, but please give me permission to handle this situation and act on my own. I will think of a way to make sure our club doesn't get stained by our new advisor's ideologies."