It was utterly clear why Remi gave the floor to Talon. Being the 'leader' of the group meant all eyes were on him. His Restriction would become easier to spot by virtue of that. Of course, Talon wasn't all too scared of that with his current Restriction practically undetectable.
While giving the arrogant, foolish The Prince a lead role would seem ludicrous in and of itself, in the end, it was just because Remi had set his sights on Talon.
"Alright then," Talon said with a smile. "Each of you go sit in a seat… and someone pick that desk up, it's unsightly on the floor."
As Talon expected, nobody listened… except Remi and, technically, Temp, who was already in a seat. Remi went and sat in the back right seat, picking up the desk as he did.
'Is he hiding something over there from us?'
Vitty and Crow looked back at the Mare Prince.
Remi slowly said:
"You don't have to listen to him… but I'd suggest you do."
'Oh?'
Perhaps out of respect for Remi, or curiosity, Vitty took a seat at the closest desk while Crow walked back to the desk by the fridge and started playing with the glass water bottle she'd set down on it before.
Talon went and stood behind the lectern, looking out at the four students in front of them who'd all ended up in the corners they were assigned to search by Remi.
It felt a little weird for him, a slave, to be standing in front of a classroom looking out at a prince of all people, but hey… was he not 'The Prince' right now?
"So…" Talon said, "I expect you all to listen to me. For starters…"
Talon began wiping the chalkboard down with his bare hands, smudging and virtually erasing the words Corw had written. When he'd finished, he turned around and then grabbed the stack of papers on the lectern, walked over, and set it down in front of Crow, who'd been looking around the classroom through the glass bottle of water which had an opaque cap…
Then he placed the pencil in front of her.
He turned around and walked to the front of the room. He turned around and said:
"Respond in five seconds... Row, write it down. If you don't, you'd better be prepared."
Talon reached the lectern and turned around to face the group. With the clock in his field of view, he ordered:
"So, what is the color of the wall?"
'2:23:01'
All five responded at nearly the same time, and Crow held up a piece of paper.
"Red and green," said Talon.
"Red and green," said Vitty.
"Red and green," said Remi.
Red Green was written on Crow's paper.
"Red and green," said Temp.
There was one unknown factor that would loom over Talon until it was solved. Did afflictions one had in life carry to the realm of Below? It seemed like it wouldn't, but who knew? Either way, they'd all answered truthfully. None of them was red-green colorblind, nor were they pretending to be.
Remi spoke up:
"I'm surprised you answered your own question…"
Talon quickly replied:
"Why would I expect my subjects to lead me?"
Remi laughed:
"Subjects? Calling a prince of a foreign nation a subject. Your brazen audacity truly is admirable. Though I guess I'm not a prince of anything right now… but neither are… never mind. Continue..."
Talon placed his hands on either side of the lectern and pushed his weight into it, leaning over. Then said:
"What's a thousand minus seven?"
'2:24:34'
Five seconds later, the five answered:
"Nine, nine, three," said Talon.
"I don't know, s-sorry!" said Vitty.
"Nine-hundred and ninety-three," said Remi.
993 was written on Crow's paper
"I don't know," said Temp.
Remi stared at Talon:
"You're an interesting fellow, The Prince."
Talon quickly responded:
"Are you mocking me?"
Vitty soon raised her hand and spoke:
"H-how is this helping our situation at all?"
Talon moved his glare from Remi to her, then responded:
"Did I ask you to say that? No! Just do as you're told."
Remi sighed, then said:
"What he means to say is that he's trying to find our Restrictions by asking these questions."
Vitty stood up and screamed:
"T-this! Why are we listening to him then!"
Remi spoke slowly and quietly:
"Sadly, this might be the only way out of here… let him continue."
"B-but… O-okay."
Vitty slowly sat down, then looked forward. Once again, the room fell silent, and all eyes turned to Talon.
Talon asked his next question:
"Who led us here?"
'2:26:24'
Barely even one second had passed when Temp replied:
"Book…"
Talon immediately ordered:
"Stop!"
Then a radiant smile crept onto Talon's face as he asked:
"I thought I told you to respond after five seconds… why'd you respond after one?"
"I uh–"
Temp brought the fingers of his right hand together and snapped
…
Remi spoke slowly and quietly:
"What he means is he's…erm?"
Remi, all of a sudden, clutched his head as if something was wrong. Even more, Crow once again held a look of confusion on her face.
'2:26:54? How did…
Talon wanted to question Remi about his sudden pause, but there was someone else begging his attention, Temp. Temp had fallen out of his seat and was gasping for air.
Talon screamed out to stop Vitty, who was standing up to go help the poor man.
"Nobody move!"
Everyone but Temp went silent and still, watching the aching man.
After a short period, Talon asked:
"Temp, tell me, what's wrong?"
"I-it's," Temp spat out a small amount of blood as he dragged himself back to his chair. "My heart's acting up." Temp coughed again. "Forgive me… just go on…"
Talon narrowed his eyes, then asked:
"Who led us here?"
'2:27:39'
The five all responded at the same time after five seconds, even Temp, who was still coughing and clutching at his chest:
"Book," they all said, except Crow, who wrote it, Book.
Talon stared at Temp as his violent fit came to an end, a haggard look plastered on Temp's face.
"Now…" Talon looked around at the group and said, "Stand up! We're going to walk in a circle around the room, slowly."
Vitty screamed:
"W-why are we even following this idiot!"
Temp soon added:
"Remi! We should be looking for a way out of here instead, right?! Let's end this farce!"
Remi stood up and smiled:
"Actually, I think this is a great idea. In fact, it's the first good idea The Prince has had… Let's all stretch our legs."