Knowledge is power

Nakiri Alice suddenly sauntered in followed by her aide. A moment of silence passed before she exclaimed "Ben?Hvordan har du det?" and proceeded to hug him. This display of intimate affection greatly shocked the crowd of the dorm.

Erina had never even heard of Ben, yet Alice seemed close enough to hug him? What was their relationship? Did they know each other through her grandfather? If so, how come she didn't know of Ben? She'd always been the heir apparent of the Nakiri dynasty; it would make sense for her to know this information.

The relationship status seemed to occupy most of the group; the only one unresponsive was Kurokiba. This perplexed them even more. Kurokiba and Alice dating each other were all but verbally confirmed.

After the hug, which in honesty had lasted all of two seconds, Ben walked over to the black-haired aide. For a moment it looked as though they were going to hug as well, but they opted for a firm handshake instead. Just what was happening?

"So… how do you three know each other?" It was Ryōko who finally dared asking.

Alice, oblivious to the cultural difference, started. "It was a couple of years back, when I still lived in Denmark. Dad held some sort of social gathering where Ben attended."

"Miss, I think it was your farewell party; just before leaving for Japan."

Ever intrigued by the unfolding, all eyes turned to Ben.

"I was there on a work-related note…The Nakiri family is in quite high regards even in Denmark, and I knew Mr. Sōe through my family… anyways when I was finished with my own dealings, I decided to socialize for a bit and I bumped into Alice and Ryō."

Kurokiba then took up the mantle "Oh yeah, I remember. Miss Alice threw a temper tantrum…"

"I did not! I was merely a little upset because I had lost something dear to me, that I had planned taking with me. Ben offered to find it for me… he use some incomprehensible method to find it in 15 minutes."

Ben let out a tired sigh. "First of all, it took me 12 minutes and 45 seconds. Second of all, it's not voodoo Alice; you of all people should know that… I merely asked some questions to methodically rule out places where she had left her prized possession."

EveRyōne was left speechless by the story. This stranger had tackled the problem in front of him, knowing nothing beforehand, yet he'd done what Alice... and presumably a small horde of maids hadn't been able to do, in a matter of minutes. Still, did that warrant such an affectionate display?

"But you hugged him." It had been the other Nakiri girl who pointed this out. Was that all Alice knew of him? Through their respective families? Alice, not missing the chance to tease her cousin, put on her most patronizing tone. "Oh… my sweet, innocent Erina. That is a normal way of greeting acquaintances in Denmark."

Yūki, still wanting to know more; again put her attention on Ben "Why were you at the party? How come you are in Japan if you're from Denmark? More importantly, why did you come to Tōtsuki? Did you come to see Alice?"

Ben, whether it was because he almost two heads taller than her or not, was unfazed by this questioning. "The reason I was at the party is confidential, I can only discuss it with permission from that client. As for why I'm here, it actually concerns Nakiri Erina, not her cousin… Which reminds me; Nakiri-san could we find a vacant room?"

The last part was directed at the new headmistress. She was highly skeptical of him, especially after the last round of old maid, and replied thusly. "You can tell them as well, I don't mind." Plus I want witnesses.

"Ok. I have a proposal to make… and before any of you freak out, I mean a business proposal." Some of the dorm-members had been ready to faint at the mere, particular word he uttered. "A business proposal? What can you offer, exactly? Find my lost teddy-bear?" she was unimpressed to put it mildly.

"A bit more than that, to be honest. I can use my network to give you information on various factions. You didn't think these sudden changes in administration would go unnoticed, did you? People will try to exploit this upheaval, I can mend the damages. Furthermore, I am quite the keen observer and my methods could prove useful."

She was still pondering whether see would take up the offer, but Ben assured her he wouldn't leave Japan before she gave a clear answer.

Benjamin's offer had left the group shell-shocked making the party rather tense. Still they were too intrigued by his astute reasoning skills, and before they knew it he was helping them in a spectrum of ways. If something was lost, he found it; if there was a disagreement, he solved it. It genuinely was as if Ben had an answer for everything. And if he couldn't give a conclusive answer, he'd do his best to explain what he thought was the best possibility.

After some time Tadokoro suggested they could play old maid again, as she saw their guest was getting exhausted answering menial questions. Erina protested this heatedly, now that Alice was here she couldn't afford to lose. The white-haired vixen had enough dirt on her as it was; she and Ben would make a deadly duo to humiliate the new headmistress.

Benjamin whether out of consideration for Erina or as part of some higher plan, told them he was too tired to play cards again. Instead he pulled a small keyboard out and began playing. At first it was an impromptu lighthearted melody, but soon he took request from the crowd. He played theme songs from TV-shows, contemporary pop, evergreens, and most popular of all his tunes - Disney songs.

Every one sang along to the soundtrack of their childhood, regardless of talent or language. Alice and Ryō sang in Danish; the Aldini brothers in Italian; Hayama mixed between Hindi and Japanese; the dorm-members, Hisako, Mito, and Erina stuck to Japanese; whereas Ben himself sang in whatever language the movie was supposed to be set in. Ryōko, at some point, brought out her infamous 'rice juice' and the party returned with a vengeance.

It had been some time since the piano music stopped, as Erina went down the hallway. She'd said she needed some air, which was true, but she was also dead tired after her father's 'revolution'. She was at the main-door in the hall when she heard voices from the other side of it. She recognized both of them.

"It's illegal, I can't do it" the voice, clearly belonging to Mimasaka Subaru, pleaded.

"It was also illegal when you did it on your own. This time you'll do it to help her." The other voice surprised Erina, as he had claimed he'd go to bed - Benjamin Williams. She knew there was something fishy about him. "This time you will have official permission to snoop around. Alternatively, I can go to the police… even if you're acquitted Nakiri-san will be forced to expel you"

Said headmistress snuck up to the door, still a bit opened what she saw was terrible. Mimasaka looking despondent and defeated, shaking Benjamin's hand; he had the most satisfied smile plastered on his face. Even when Yukihira-kun served one of his atrocities against mankind, he'd not have this gruesome a grin. The scene looked like a gothic mural of a person signing a deal with Satan.

"Smile a bit, will you? All you need to do is keep me informed on what she does. Don't help her unless she comes to you, ok? Alice will keep an eye on the lost cause, and help her…even if she doesn't know. You better head back quickly, it's quite chilly." Ben turned on his heel and began marching back to the dorm. Erina had to act quickly or he'd find her. She could hear his footsteps on the tile-flooring of the hall, from her hiding spot.

After what seemed like an eternity waiting, she began her own climb of the stair. She was far too exhausted to go back to the party now.

It was a brand new day, and Erina had barely slept. She'd spent the whole night pondering Benjamin's offer, and what she had subsequently seen. Was she going to be like Mimasaka Subaru, a defeated informant? Or would this strange Dane prove invaluable? These thoughts had rummaged her head for hours, trying to figure out how to confront him. She was sitting in the dining room, as far as she could tell eveRyōne was out and about doing chores. The only person she could hear was Yukihira-kun in the kitchen, creating something awful no doubt.

As Ben still hadn't come down, she decided she would come to him. Surprisingly she met him sooner than expected. He was walking down the staircase, one hand on the railing. She was just about to start her tirade, when she noticed something was off. He wasn't walking straight and he looked very pale. Before she knew it, he took a tumble down the last couple of steps. Erina watched it helplessly as he landed at her feet.

"Sōma! Sōma, you need to help me! Ben just collapsed! I don't know if he's breathing."

This concludes the second chapter of a taste of Knowledge, I hope you liked it. If so, or if you have any suggestions feel free to review it. I'll try posting every Wednesday, as my vacation just began, but no promises. I have still a couple of chapters planned ahead, but feel free to suggest anything you'd like to see.

- One-of-Stone out