#twstazul

[yuurei20]

Honorifics: Azul Ashengrotto

Azul uses "-san" with all the first-year students, with no exceptions.

Azul generally uses "-san" with the second-year students, except for Jade and Floyd, with whom he does not use any honorifics.

Exception: When Riddle is in danger during Book 6 and Azul calls out to him just once without an honorific, but this seems to be a one-time occurrence.

Azul uses "-san" with all the third-year students, with no exceptions.

[marrondrawsalot]

When Leona snuggle partner isn’t near them

“Where is my cuddle herbivore?! WHERE ARE THEY?!”

This is also the same with any Malleyuu or NeigFatye, AdriéYuuto, and TeraAmity.

@adrianasunderworld @mangacupcake @writing-heiress @the-weirdos-mind @skboba-stars @nproduction626

[mangacupcake]

Jades scarred face always cracks me up- then theres Floyd lol

@adrianasunderworld @marrondrawsalot @writing-heiress @the-weirdos-mind @nproduction626 @rose-tea-and-strawberries @anxious-twisted-vampire

[jadeleechsupportgroup]

this brings me to tears every time

[vveonnee98]

Doodle

[seikoowo]

I just noticed that baby Azul is in opening

So cute

[yuurei20]

Hi! first off, I want to thank you for all the work you do for this game, very helpful! For my question: do you know when Azul, Floyd, and Jade being in a band is mentioned in the game? I have heard about it several times and I thought it was something made up by fans, but apparently it’s real? And what instruments did they all play?

Hello hello! I am so glad, thank you very much ^^ And thank you for this question!

Yes! Azul, Jade and Floyd were canonically in a band together pre-NRC. It is mentioned in Floyd's ceremonial robes vignette!

Azul was on piano, Jade was on bass and Floyd played the drums, but he actually plays many instruments!

[yuurei20]

Azul Info Compilation part 9: Jade

Jade enjoys mocking Azul extremely.

He goes off-script during Halloween to force Azul to dance in front of visitors (“it’s called ‘ad-libbing’, my dear Azul”), and when a possessed Azul is discovered during Spectral Soiree he says “Oh, but it’s so entertaining. Couldn’t we just leave him like this for a while?”

When Azul regains consciousness Jade confirms whether or not he is still possessed by quizzing him on Mostro Lounge earnings from the previous night.

(When asked what he remembers about being kidnapped he says he does “faintly recall hearing Azul’s voice”, while Azul says he “had a dream where I was floating in the ocean. I was unusually buoyant.”)

Jade jokes about Azul being thrown “into the depths of despair” when the lounge has few customers, teases Azul about being an “ink-spewing crybaby” despite having signed an NDA covering Azul's childhood and happily leaves him with a difficult task during Vargas Camp 2 during a tense moment, taking up a far easier task for himself.

We also see him tease Azul during Book 4 by complimenting Kalim on his compassion and saying, “would that Azul could take a page from your book” and when he observes that Azul says he would like to “offer (his) services” during Wish Upon a Star, what he actually means is “take advantage of people’s wishes for your own gain”, he follows up with “That sounds rather fun, actually.”

When Jade makes a comment during Vargas Camp 2 about going to fish for an octopus Azul responds that, in that case, he looks forward to grilling eel.

Azul encourages Riddle and the others to go to Jade’s Mountain Lovers Club exhibition in Book 5 as “I assume he’d be all alone and bored out of his skull otherwise”.

Jade’s dorm uniform vignette consists of Jade feigning interest in transferring to Pomefiore in accordance with a plan that Azul has devised in order to trick Vil into promoting a drink offered at Mostro Lounge.

There is an interesting interaction where Vil presses Jade for information about how he met Azul and Jade refuses to answer, saying that he hasn’t “the foggiest idea” what brought them together.

Vil is suspicious about him having forgotten “such an important event in his life”—perhaps related to aforementioned NDA?

The vignette ends with Jade returning to Octavinelle (“Azul convinced me—tears in his eyes—that Octavinelle is at a complete loss without me”) and Azul welcomes him back as “the best in the school at worming your way into other’s hearts”.

Jade assures him that “satisfying Vil was like child’s play in comparison to a certain someone. My stay at Pomefiore was like a well-deserved breaks”. Azul responds, “Oh, you jokester, you.”

For all his mocking of Azul, however, Jade does seem to concede to his requests in a way similar to Floyd: Jade does not wear a t-shirt that Azul has forbidden and refrains from filling the Mostro Lounge menu with mushroom-based dishes when Azul asks him to stop.

In a vignette we see Azul being quite strict with Jade when he made a poor decision related to Mostro Lounge, but Jade is undeterred: in the same vignette we see Riddle complimenting Azul’s role in capturing Grim, which transitions to Jade going above and beyond at a task Azul had assigned him by drafting a list of home countries, hobbies, least favorite foods, worst subjects, public magicam accounts and “secret” magicam accounts for Azul’s use.

Riddle explains, “At first glance, it may seem as though Jade only follows Azul and Floyd’s lead, but that is a grave misunderstanding.”

We also get a small example of Jade keeping Azul informed about goings-on in the school when, in a separate vignette, Jade is nearby when Floyd commits himself to performing in a live show with Kalim, and Jade says he will be notifying Azul.

Jade and Azul also seem to share a healthy rivalry, teasing one another both before and after Beanfest.

[yuurei20]

Azul Info Compilation part 8: Floyd

In the original game Floyd has a sea-creature-based nicknaming convention that he applies to everyone in the school besides his own brother, with one exception: Azul.

When asked why, he responds “‘Cause Azul’s Azul, duh.”

(If you’re on NA then continuity will vary)

Floyd can be difficult to ask favors of, as we see in a vignette where Ruggie asks for his help during a shift at Mostro Lounge. Floyd refuses outright at first and only acquiesces once Ruggie points out that Azul might get angry at Floyd as a result.

Ruggie says Floyd might earn himself a bonus and Floyd says “Can’t say I’m all that interested in bonuses”. Ruggie observes, “a free spirit he may be, but I guess even Floyd bows down to Azul”.

Vil seems aware of this, invoking Azul during Beanfest to get Floyd to cooperate.

Floyd expends an unusual amount of effort in his Dorm Uniform vignette for Azul, haggling with Sam for the rights to the Mystery’s Shop’s “Mystery Drink” and trading a “legendary jewel from the Land of the Scalding Sands” that he receives from Kalim for them, even though Sam offers him anything he wants, as “I’d rather not have Azul angry at me”.

Floyd also talks about a time he had a takoyaki party with members of the dorm where they had a contest to see who could make the worst ones, but no matter how disgusting they were he was “sure to eat every last one” because “Azul gets all huffy if we waste food”.

Azul’s displeasure is not always enough, however, and in Book 5 Floyd happily abandons his assigned task, despite Azul assuring him that the profits lost from his decision to set up a “free drinks” sign in his stead will come out of Floyd’s pay.

During Halloween we see that Azul does not disagree with Floyd’s “non-verbal means of persuasion”, though he prefers it done outside.

Floyd says he finds it “hilarious” how Azul “goes all-out like some kinda shark in guppy’s clothing” when “professors or bigwigs come here for ceremonies” and he is happy to tell a traumatized, post-overblot-Azul that he likes “the old Azul” because “He’d make a better meal than the one we’ve got now”.

Floyd explains that he once hydro-dipped one of Azul’s hats and Azul was not pleased, magically returning it to its original state without so much as trying it on.

Undeterred, Floyd explains that the next time he comes up with an interesting idea, he will be trying it out on Azul.

[yuurei20]

Meet the Seiyuu: Azul Ashengrotto

Azul’s VA Tamaru Atsushi first became interested in voice acting while studying for university entrance exams, when he would listen to radio shows hosted by voice actors in order to relax. 

He enrolled in a voice actor training academy during his second year in university while majoring in electronics and IT. His thesis was on learning support tools for satellites; he studied at both schools simultaneously. After graduating he was accepted to his first agency through an open audition for aspiring voice actors. 

In an interview Tamaru says that he was the only new actor they accepted who had yet to have a lead role in any project. He says his first job was not voice acting, but for study materials.

I am not sure if this is the same project he mentioned in the interview but I was able to find a 2019 English conversation study guide, “Handsome English Conversation Phrases”, for people studying English as a second language.

In a 2021 interview Tamaru said he can be a perfectionist and struggle if he doesn’t feel he'll be able to do something to perfection.

When he first started out he was very nervous in front of senpai VAs and would obsess over being polite and any bad feedback he received on set.

His voice acting debut was 2009 anime “Kupu~!! Mamegoma!” at age 23. 

Tamaru voiced Kunimi Akira in Haikyuu!!, but actually auditioned for the role of Kageyama Tobio.

In a 2015 interview he said that his hobby is board games and that he enjoys Dominion and Settlers of Catan.

When asked, “What kind of role would you like to try in the future?” in the same 2015 interview Tamaru responded, “It is something I’ve never done before, but I would love to play a villain. I don't think my voice is suited for a villainous role, but I think I might have a chance if it were a colder-looking villain.”

He has had lead roles in 17 different anime series, 25 video games, over 30 drama cds including Jewelpet, Aikatsu!, Meganebu!, The Irregular at Magic High School, The Asterisk War, Seiren, A3!, Gundam Build Divers, I-Chu, Build Divide, Gakuen Heaven 2, Touken Ranbu and more.

Both Tamaru and Floyd’s VA Okamoto voice characters in “Variable Barricade NS”, for the Nintendo Switch, while Tamaru and Jade’s VA Komada voice the lead characters in drama CD, “All Our Love and Youth”.

An amazing person has put together a compilation of voice clips from 21 characters that Tamaru has voiced, viewable here.

A photoshoot of Tamaru modeling for Jade’s voice actor Komada Wataru (who is both a voice actor and professional photographer; he has done similar photoshoots with Crewel, Trey, Kalim and Rook’s voice actors)

More of Tamaru and Jade’s VA Komada Wataru, on an episode of Komada’s now completed “CanCamp” show.

Tamaru visiting the Twisted Wonderland exhibition and posing with Azul’s display:

Prism Paradise Winter Live

Posing with Azul’s Glorious Masquerade banner in Shinjuku Station

On his twitter he posts pictures and information about the projects he appears in, as well as Twisted Wonderland rolls. Here he wishes Floyd and Jade Happy Birthday.

Tamaru with Jade’s Komada and Floyd’s Okamoto

Singing Tamaru in a promotion for the A3! Blooming Live Concert DVD

Tamaru has appeared on Episodes 9, 10 and 11 of Crewel’s VA Ito Kent’s monthly YouTube show “Good Boy”: Episode 9 ・ Episode 10 ・ Episode 11

[yuurei20]

Azul Info Compilation part 7: Effort, Ruggie, Exercise and Strength

Azul always put overwhelming amounts of effort into everything he does. Jade says that “He’s as hardworking as it gets. It’s an easily misunderstood temperament”, and Azul himself says that “there’s no harm in putting forth effort. It leaves an admirable impression.”

This is likely why Rook’s nickname for Azul on JP is 努力の君 for “king of effort”, but this has been written as both “Roi de l’Effort” and “Roi de Fort” on NA.

(I have been assured by a French speaker that “Roi de l’Effort” is probably the correct version, given that this is Azul and also because “Roi de Fort” is grammatically incorrect (it would be “Roi du Fort”))

Rook also says that Azul "has the makings of a fine hunter."

In Vargas Camp 2 Azul struggles with erecting his tent but insists upon doing it alone, despite Idia’s teasing. He earns a special prize from Vargas just for putting in so much effort, revealing to Idia that that had been his plan all along.

The ghost that possesses Azul in Spectral Soiree seems to be the exact opposite of Azul’s personality, lying down because “trying to stay on my feet is a hassle” while Ruggie observes, “That’s the last thing I’d expect Azul to say…he’d take any opportunity to get ahead!”

Ruggie and Azul are not often seen together but they share an appreciation for money and hard work, with Jamil observing that they both “always become so worked up when it comes to matters of business” and they make for something of a “frightening combination”.

Azul says that he is “not very fond” of exercising on land, he finds the phenomenon of sweating to be revolting and that he is “not embarrassed to admit that I don’t excel at exercising”.

It does seem to be something of a sensitive subject for him, however, and he snaps at Deuce with “What would someone naturally athletic like you know of my suffering? NOTHING” when Deuce insinuates that he just need to try harder in his PE classes.

During Beanfest we get new insight into Azul’s physical prowess from Floyd, who says, “Who said anything about Azul bein’ weak without his magic? He’s real strong…Octopi are, like, all muscle. Seems to me like that wouldn’t go poof just ‘cause he took a potion to turn himself human.”

We also learn that Azul in his mer-form is bigger than Floyd.

[yuurei20]

Azul Info Compilation Part 6: Book 4

Book 4 opens with the information that Azul, Jade and Floyd do not go home for winter break as they live in the “far northern reaches of the Coral Sea” and “at this time of year, the whole surface is covered in ice floes”.

The player and Grim get caught up with drama at Scarabia, are briefly held prisoner and escape on a magic carpet only to crash into Mostro Lounge, where Azul greets them by saying he has mistaken them for “dingy dustcloths”.

This expression struck a chord with fans on JP server who adopted it, and even now searching for the term “dingy dustcloths”—even without a mention of Azul or twisted wonderland or anything else at all—will get you a bunch of twst screenshots, videos and octavinelle fan art.

The "dingy dustcloths" line was also picked up by the Disney Games YouTube show "Good Boy!". While full episodes are hosted by Crewel's VA, this mini episode is just Azul's VA trying to guess what "a pair of dingy dustcloths" means in Japanese.

After ejecting the Scarabia students from Mostro Lounge and explaining that the player and Grim will be charged for the damage done to the lounge, Azul hears the story of what has been going on and decides that Jamil—his “very own classmate”—is in need of his help.

Azul strong-arms his way into Scarabia to return the flying carpet despite Jamil’s insistence he stay out (“I won’t even ask for my standard twenty percent finder’s fee”), guilts Kalim into allowing them to stay and offers to “share any insights” he has with the dorm.

They deduce quickly that Kalim is being mind-controlled, with Floyd saying “You gotta have skills and power on par with Azul for that”, though Azul himself says “Even I would be hard-pressed to control living creatures with their own egos like humans”.

It is Azul who suspects Jamil (“a clever hawk hides its talons”) and creates the plan to take him down.

Azul’s plan appears to involve easing the load on the students of Scarabia so that they are no longer tempted to overthrow Kalim and replace him with Jamil.

It is through Jamil’s attempt to mind control Azul that we learn that Jamil’s unique magic apparently causes its victim physical pain until they submit to him.

Jamil underestimated the extent to which Azul plans for all eventualities, however:

Azul entered into a contract with Floyd, taking Floyd’s unique magic (“bind the heart”, which allows him to deflect magical attacks) and gifting Floyd a deep voice in exchange.

Jamil overblots and banishes everyone to the desert, where Azul explains to Kalim that he is the one who pushed Jamil over the edge.

They return to the dorm through Kalim’s unique magic (producing water of any quantity with little effort) and Jade and Floyd’s eel forms, with Azul refusing to transform as he “isn’t a fast swimmer, even in his mer-form”.

(It has been pointed out to me that octopi are very fast, but in Twst Azul is canonically slow compared to other mer-people, so I don’t know what to tell you ww His slowness is one of the things that he was bullied for as a child and pushed him to overblot in Book 3.)

In Book 4 Jade claims that Jamil’s confession was live-streamed, but in Book 5 Azul explains that this was a bluff (“I can’t believe you thought that I, the very soul of benevolence, would willingly destroy a classmate’s reputation and social standing!”) and that his phone was on a speaker with Jade. Azul explains that “unlike Leona” he doesn’t “torment others for sport”, does not do more than what is necessary, and that he “obtained some perfectly good intel from the experience. I would never dream of devaluing my own assets!”

Jamil admits that, thanks to Azul, his and Kalim’s families never learned why he overblotted. Grim points out that Jamil has changed and Azul says “I much prefer it this way...Octavinelle’s doors are always open to you.” Jamil says that he will never transfer to Octavinelle.

[yuurei20]

Azul Info Compilation part 2: Beanfest

Azul has a major role in Beanfest, and we learn that in his first year he was caught by the opposing team “within minutes”.

He says he has never forgotten the humiliation (or the “resulting soreness” from having to do strength training with Vargas for the course of the entire game), and “won’t be shamed this year”.

Azul begins Beanfest by blackmailing Jack to team up with him. Jack agrees only reluctantly, saying, “I’m not your minion, and I don’t take orders.” Azul uses Jack to take out Leona and blackmails Ruggie into joining them as well (Leona had originally bribed Ruggie into protecting him).

We learn that Azul has been crafting his Beanfest plan for the past year, telling neither Jade nor Floyd. Knowing that he could not rely on his physical prowess to survive the game he found and blackmailed the ten people on the Beanfest Management Committee for locations and contents of the Beanfest supply crates.

A week before the event Vargas had attempted to remove the all-important field scanner from the game but Riddle argued in favor of it remaining, thus—unknowingly—saving Azul’s plans. Azul releases Riddle and Deuce in order to thank him for this favor (“I make it a point to never incur debts”), only to immediately send Jack after them (“You are excused…from ME, that is.”).

They are interrupted by the appearance of Vil and Epel. Even with Jack and Ruggie on his team Azul struggles due to his lack of physical stamina, leading Jack to create a “herding strategy” that enables all three of them to participate in captures without leaving Azul behind.

Ruggie eventually decides to drop out of the game by intentionally taking a hit meant for Azul from Floyd (Azul refers to Ruggie--just like everyone else--with the "-san" honorific, while Ruggie calls him "Azul-kun".

Ruggie referring to Jack as "cute" was changed to "little" on NA) but not before an infamous mistranslation where Azul refers to Ruggie as Savanaclaw’s Vice Housewarden (which Savanaclaw does not actually have).

It seems the NA team noticed, however, and the line has been corrected to, "Your dorm. Your responsibility!")

Azul tracks Jade to the school store, but Jade is able to recognize Azul by the sound of his footsteps and rigs a trap that breaks a bottle of durian juice, compromising Jack’s ability to sniff him out.

Jade explains that he had been “one hundred percent certain that Azul would team up with Jack for this game”.

Azul charges cleaning expenses for Jade’s trap to Leona.

Azul finally corners Jade at the climax of the event, realizing too late what Jade’s own plan was.

After the drama at the coliseum Azul rescues Jamil from Floyd (who had decided to “throw the rules out of the window and just play until both of us are totally wrecked”, physically attacking Jamil without beans, despite how Jamil had been already eliminated).

Azul capturing Floyd ends the game, earning him the shared title of MVP, with Jack. Azul thanks Jack for his assistance, but for possibly the first time ever we Jamil and Azul of the same opinion as they chastise him for provoking Floyd in the first place.

[yuurei20]

Azul Info Compilation Part 5: Book 3 (pt 2)

Floyd and Jade evict the player from Ramshackle. We learn from Leona and Ruggie that it is best to avoid Azul in general (Leona says he has “made a few deals” in the past), and that Floyd and Jade are known for collecting collateral and running interference to keep things profitable.

When Jack and the others make an attempt to steal Azul’s contracts he insists that they are untouchable, but panics when Floyd accidentally diverts an attack with his unique magic onto the safe.

Leona steals the contracts successfully, refusing all Azul’s offers to trade for anything he might want. Leona claims he is only cooperating because “Team Ramshackle” intends to keep him awake all night, every night if they lose their dorm (he calls the player a “dastardly villain”), but it is revealed that he was actually taking the opportunity to get out of his own contract with Azul.

Leona turns Azul’s 500 to 600 contracts to sand, triggering Azul’s mental collapse.

Azul starts demanding everyone’s magic (seemingly terrified of reverting back to his “old self”) to which Jade responds, “You know better than anyone what will happen if you do this”, implying that this has happened before and Jade either heard about it or witnessed it firsthand.

After the overblot battle we learn of the bullying Azul endured as a child for being born an octopus, which made him extremely bitter and angry from a young age, but fascinating to Jade and Floyd.

(The qualifiers of “middle school” for Floyd and Jade were removed from the flashback on NA, as were references to a student getting a girlfriend after “losing weight” and another getting beautiful “blonde” hair).

We see that Floyd and Jade deduced the strange things happening to their classmates were Azul’s doing, and also Azul’s perfecting of his unique magic, crafted specifically so that he might have his revenge on his bullies.

Azul says that he “never forgot for a second” the sight of those who mocked and bullied him, and that with the power he worked so hard to obtain he intended to “rule over all. I’ll make everyone who ever mocked me quaver and beg for mercy”.

Azul wakes up from his overblot unable to remember anything that happened, and with unexpected support from Ruggie and Jack. It is revealed that the photo Azul wanted stolen from the museum was from when his elementary school class visited the museum on a school trip.

(Ruggie’s comment on Azul being “twice as wide as the other mermaids” was changed and Grim’s comment on Azul looking “round and fat” were both removed from NA.)

Azul explains that he has been trying to “erase the shame of (his) boyhood” by getting ahold of his schoolmates’ year books and negatives from the photographer and every existing picture except for the one in the museum, as “there just wasn’t any legal way to dispose of that one last photo”.

Azul returns the photo to its place, saying that he has always “wanted to be like” the Sea Witch who “never hid her past misdeeds” but instead “worked to restore her reputation and earned the people’s respect that way”, but “in the end, I couldn’t accept my own past. I kept rejecting it.”

At the end of Book 3 Crowley has forbidden Azul from taking anyone’s powers again, “even under contract”, so Azul devises a point card system for Mostro Lounge that allows visitors to earn “one free consultation” with him through repeated patronage.

[yuurei20]

Azul Info Compilation part 3: Book 2, Diasomnia and Kalim

Azul has a small role in Book 2 of the main story, leading the planning committee for the Spelldrive Tournament that is the book’s main event.

Despite his position of authority, however, he is happily bribed into rearranging the logistics of the event for Leona and creating a magic-boosting potion so that Ruggie could create chaos. Jade claims that Azul knew exactly what Ruggie’s intentions had been, and Azul says “I was just thinking I wanted to refurbish the lounge, so this offer came at a most opportune time”, implying the deal that he struck was most profitable for him.

Azul is eager to extend his business network into Briar Valley but finds himself struggling to make connections within the “insular” dorm that is Diasomnia.

He attempts to get Silver indebted to him in a Halloween vignette by listening to Silver’s concerns that he is not being listened to by others in Diasomnia. Azul spends over three hours with Silver, trying to teach him how to get others to fear him as a leader, but when Silver attempts to apply this training to Sebek he fails spectacularly.

Sebek reveals that the only reason people do not listen to Silver is because he will fall asleep mid-conversation.

Undeterred, Azul tells Silver to “give Malleus and Lilia my most heartfelt regards”, later reflecting that “Silver is not indebted to me, which means I accomplished my true goal”, and that “we need every dorm operating at peak condition”, as “if the school’s Halloween event fails popularity, then more outsiders will come to visit, increasing Mostro Lounge’s clientele.”

Azul also attempts to do a favor for Sebek, selling him a special detergent to remove a ketchup stain that Sebek got onto Malleus’ lab coat.

Jade observes that “Sebek seems like a born sucker”, but Azul explains they must be careful, as “Diasomnia is also home to a number of people whose wrath we’d be unwise to incur.” Sebek returns to Diaomnia with the clean lab coat and Silver expresses concern, but Lilia assures him, “A schemer (Azul) may be, but he knows better than to make an enemy out of Diasomnia.”

Despite Silver’s apparent distrust of Azul in this vignette, we learn that Silver offered to do “anything” for Azul for his birthday in exchange for Azul lending him a textbook.

Despite this desire to connect with Diasomnia, however, he inadvertently insinuates to Malleus’ face that Malleus may have had something to do with the disappearance of a magestone during the Fairy Gala event.

During Vargas Camp 2 Azul attempts to earn Kalim’s favor by carrying Kalim’s share of firewood (Cater voices skepticism about Azul’s motives, but Jade appears to whisk Cater away).

Azul encourages Kalim to tell his parents about the favors Azul has done for him, and Kalim responds that he will be telling them about Azul but also about Lilia, Cater, Jade and everyone.

[yuurei20]

Azul Info Compilation part 4: Book 3 (pt 1)

Book 3 begins with Azul confronting someone who had reneged on their contract with the aid of Jade and Floyd.

We learn that Deuce, Ace and Grim also contracted with Azul, promising him “absolute obedience” until they graduate if they failed to rank as one of the school’s fifty highest achievers after using Azul’s study guide.

Azul introduces himself as “the housewarden of Octavinelle Dorm, the manager of the Metro Lounge cafe and, as of today, the man who will be your master”, but this line was changed on NA to “as of today, you have to listen to everything I say”.

It is revealed that Azul provided study guides to so many students that is was impossible for most to rank as highly as they needed in order to fulfill their end of the contract.

Ace argues that he’d never told them about the other students, and Azul points out, “that’s all privileged data. Who am I to divulge someone’s personal information to a third party?”, as explained in the very contract that they signed.

Grim and the other students lose the magic that they put up as collateral for the study guides, which now belong to Azul. The students become violent, but are instantly subdued by Floyd, Jade and the many kinds of magic that Azul now has at his disposal.

Azul explains that “an official contract is completely unbreakable. No magic can harm this document in any way.”

Crowley says that Azul is untouchable, as “there was no illegitimate activity involved”. The study guides were “crafted exhaustively by hand, after researching the past century’s worth of Night Raven College exam question and their patterns”.

Crowley says he “can hardly prohibit a student from crafting an exam study guide via honest work. Nor can I prohibit a student from ‘kindly’ sharing their notes with friends.”

We learn that there was a similar incident in Azul’s first year at NRC, but “the commotion was much more contained” as “his study guides didn’t have quite the reputation they carry this year”.

Jack asks if there are students who haven’t had the magic they lost returned from last year, and Crowley says Azul “returned the powers he took from students last year as part of an arrangement he made with me”, which is how Azul got permission to run the Mostro Lounge at NRC.

Crowley then proceeds to blackmail the player into “persuading” Azul to “cease this little game of his”.

We see Azul excelling at a variety of subjects including music, animal linguistics and potion-making.

The player puts Ramshackle Dorm up as collateral in a deal with Azul to release all 225 students he has enslaved if they are able to steal a commemorative photograph from a museum in the Coral Sea, equipping them with a portion that enables them to breathe underwater to do so.

(In the original game the prince’s name is, consistently, リエーレ, but it seems like NA hasn’t decided how they want to spell it in romaji yet.)

(The pronunciation is ree-EH-ray. The Rielé spelling is possibly closer to the pronunciation than Rielle?)