Azul and Jade

Azul says, “Jade is a capable assistant. I wouldn’t have appointed him as my vice housewarden otherwise.”

In Floyd’s dream of Book 7 he assumes that Azul is on land, and follows with, “Jade’s…probably with Azul?”

In Jade’s dream of Book 7 he is with both Azul and Floyd, visiting an underwater volcano where a dream-Azul hopes to discover gold. Dream-Azul sticks his hand near a hydrothermal vent as Jade encourages him, laughing when dream-Azul is burned in his pursuit of gold.

Jade realizes the discrepancies from reality when dream-Azul refers to him as a subordinate, saying that the Azul he knows would “never say such things,” and, “Azul would never willingly expose himself to danger. He’d send someone else to do it instead. More to the point-neither of them would merrily tag along on my mountain expeditions.”

After Jade awakens he assumes that Azul’s dream will involve him running a successful on-land business, and both Jade and Floyd are surprised when the dream takes place in the Coral Sea. Jade decides that, “after opening franchises in every nation up on land, the Mostro Lounge has finally expanded into the Coral Sea. That might be the dream’s premise,” but he is incorrect.

In their battle against Azul later on Jade takes so much damage from Azul that he is forced to step back, and later on Azul instructs him to stay behind and recover, saying, “I don’t want any dead weight.” Jade responds, “What a thing to say to someone who sustained damage because of you. I’m wounded… Boo hoo.”

Jade is seen multiple times going to Azul’s aid without needing to be asked for help, such as during an awkward line of questioning from Vil about the ingredients in a moisturizer that Azul is not inclined to reveal.

When Azul decides to take the opportunity of Vargas Camp to get closer to Kalim, Cater comes close to interjecting, but Jade intervenes to ask for Cater’s help, leaving Azul alone with Kalim.

While debating how they are to handle the Vargas Monster Azul reveals that he has a cache of magestones that the group can utilize, for a price, and Jade assures Vil and Trey that Azul’s terms “will be more than favorable.”

When Vil tries to haggle for how long he will be expected to work at Mostro Lounge in exchange for Azul’s magestones Jade offers the compromise of Vil also offering his custom smoothies to patrons, saying that Azul might be “more amenable,” if so. Later it is revealed that Jade was not even aware of Azul’s true aim when he intervened to assist Azul in his negotiations.

At the conclusion of the event Azul reminds Vil and Trey of their promise, with Jade providing a review of the details of their agreement.

Riddle says that Jade and Azul “are always plotting something,” and Jade seems to agree that they have certain things in common, giving Floyd that example of “If Azul and I specialize in gentlemanly man-to-man combat, you specialize in…guerrilla warfare.”

In an early vignette we see Jade providing information on new students to Azul by request, but also adding information of his own accord, including both public and private Magicam accounts. During Vargas Camp Kalim compliments Azul on his knowledge of fireword and Azul says, “A certain ‘authority’ on campfires lectured me at length,” possibly in reference to Jade.

Jade has at least two voice lines encouraging the prefect to consult with Azul.

In a vignette Jade asks Vil for permission to transfer to Pomefiore, saying that he is “fed up with Azul,” and, “Between Azul’s unreasonable demands, working myself to the bone for the sake of the dorm, having to dirty my hands with indecorous jobs…the mere thought revolts. It was too much to bear.”

Vil is suspicious, but accepts in order to evaluate Jade’s skills, saying, “He is like a gifted secretary who fulfills Azul’s every wish.”

Azul goes to visit Pomefiore during the vignette, coming face-to-face with Jade and saying that he and Floyd have been worried since he left. After he leaves Jade says that Azul is “nothing more than a remora tenaciously clinging to my side. We have nothing to discuss.” 

Soon after Jade proves his worth to Vil, predicting his needs before he can even voice them, such as preparing a cold drink and uploading a photo to Magicam on his behalf. Jade then announces that he is returning to Octavinelle as he has made up with Azul, who convinced him “tears in his eyes —that Octavinelle is at a complete loss without (him).”

After Jade returns to Octavinelle it is revealed that the entire set up had been a ruse: Jade had gotten close to Vil in order to promote a new drink at Mostro Lounge to Vil’s five million Magicam followers without his knowledge, thus not having to compensate him for the advertising.

Jade asks if Azul visited Pomefiore during their ruse in order to “watch (him) squirm,” to which Azul says, “Do you think me so cruel? I was worried that you might be homesick, reminiscing about how much easier you had it with us.”

Jade responds, “On the contrary, satisfying Vil was like child’s play in comparison to a certain someone I know. My stay at Pomefiore was like a well-deserved break. I must thank you for essentially giving me some time off.” (Azul: “Ha ha ha! Oh, you jokester, you.” – Floyd: “It’s nice to have things back to normal.”)

There are many examples throughout the game of Azul giving instructions to Jade, ordering him to do such things as looking after Floyd, handling unruly visitors (and Floyd), contacting Floyd for information, reporting information to the headmage, and using his unique magic on Kalim.

Jade says that he would never make a contract with Azul due to the threat of Azul “inventing excuses” to hold onto his collateral indefinitely. It seems that Azul was holding onto the secret of Jade’s unique magic as his “ace in the hole,” compromised by Jamil revealing it to Leona, Riddle, and Vil in Book 6.

During NBC when Azul insists on pursuing Riddle, who is pursuing Lock in an effort to receive a poem to him. Jade observes, “Azul sets high targets, leaps for them, falls flat on his face, then pops back up again like a tilting doll” and he often finds himself stunned by Azul’s and Riddle’s behavior, saying he will remark to himself, “Something is very wrong with that individual.”

When Jamil asks what his point is Jade explains, “They don’t remotely fear making fools of themselves or failing. Or incurring grudges from others with their self-centered conduct,” and as such, “Those two are almost certainly putting on some truly hilarious sketch comedy. We should go have a laugh at them together.”

Jade is often teasing Azul, laughing in the middle of his own description of how Azul looks in the water, and teasing him about “the sorry state of the lounge” throwing him “into the depths of despair.”

Despite how Jade has said that he has no interest in making money and only does “what’s most entertaining,” he suggests that they overthrow Azul as owner of Mostro Lounge in favor of the more profitable Tsum (“I, for one, prioritize the Mostro Lounge’s profits above all else…”), to which Azul responds, “All you care about are new ways to amuse yourself at my expense.”

Jade says he looks forward to seeing Azul in action during Beanfest, to which Azul responds, “Patronize me while you still can.”

Azul is not pleased when Jade improvises instructions for Azul to dance during Halloween, saying, “Don’t you think it was a fine way to seal the deal?,” but Azul responds, “You were doing it for kicks and you know it.”

Jade also teases Azul during Halloween about how much he can eat, and when Ortho asks Jade to do something about a possessed Azul during Spectral Soiree Jade replies, “Oh, but it’s so entertaining. Couldn’t we just leave him like this for a while?”

When Azul struggles to hold a conversation from a broom during the Lantern event he asks Jade to make room for him on a windowsill, and Jade says, “Dear me, I’m afraid there just isn’t room.” (Azul: “Oh, stop lying!”)

When Azul is suspicious of Fellow’s invitation, insistent that there is “a non-promo-related motive at play,” Jade asks, “Are you secretly the owner of Playful Land?”

When Azul struggles to run during the Vargas Camp event Jade does not say anything in particular, but he does smile, and Azul yells at him in large font to “stop relishing in (his) suffering,”

When Trey instructions the other students to evacuate the mine with an incapacitated Vargas and Grim, Jade volunteers to carry Grim and immediately runs away, leaving Azul to try and maneuver Vargas out of the narrow space with the prefect.

When putting Azul’s plan into action in Book 4 Jade tells Kalim that his compassion is a touching thing to behold, and, “Would that Azul could take a page from your book.” (Azul: “You just had to get in a dig, didn’t you.”)

At the end of Book 4 Jade asks if Azul has not considered taking dancing lessons from Kalim and Jamil and Azul says, “Some things are too tall of an order for merfolk” as Floyd goes to join the dancers.

While the majority of the teasing comes, unprompted, from Jade, Azul will sometimes make wry remarks about Jade when he is not around: when Floyd says that Jade would want to see Azul struggling to surf Azul responds, “I’m sure he’d struggle just as much as I did. I’ll be the one doing the laughing next time,” and when Riddle asks about visiting Jade’s club’s booth during the culture fair Azul says, “By all means, pay him a visit. I’m sure he’d be delighted to have company. I assume he’d be all alone and bored out of his skull otherwise.”

In a Vargas Camp voice line Azul mentions Jade telling him that he would fish up octopus. Talking to the prefect Azul says, “Fine, two can play at that game—l’ll roast up some moray eel.”

There are examples in the game of Jade both following and refusing Azul’s directions, such as during Book 4 when Azul approves of Jade sharing the details of his unique magic with the prefect and Grim and Jade does so, despite saying that he is “not a fan of revealing it.”

In a vignette Jade reveals that he has felt as though he has been watched over the course of the past several days, and when Azul asks, “Why didn’t you tell me sooner?,” he responds, “I did not think it concerning enough to trouble you with.” Concerned with the unknown watcher’s objective Azul tells him to “deal with this interloper posthaste” and Jade does as he is told. (The interloper is revealed to be Rook.)

At the end of Book 3, however, Jade refuses to allow Azul to edit himself out of a group photo, and upon learning exactly what it was the Floyd traded to Sam in exchange for the rights to sell a drink from the school store in Mostro Lounge, Jade tells him he had best keep it a secret from Azul.

There are also multiple examples of Jade intentionally keeping Azul from derailing conversations: when Azul offers to guide a group of his fellow second-year students around the Coral Sea as “part of a package tour” Jade says, “let’s save that proposal for another day,” he moves the conversation away from Azul’s interest in Kalim’s magic in Book 4 by saying, “I think we can leave Azul to his get-rich-quick fantasies for a bit,” and when Azul declares that he wants a dummy of his in Book 7 in order to double his productivity Jade says, “You can ignore Azul when he gets like this.”

When Jack throws out mushrooms belonging to Jade, Azul asks how it is that Jack intends to take responsibility for what he has done, ultimately resulting in a week’s worth of free labor for Jack at Mostro Lounge.

Azul tells Jade, “Sometimes your hobbies pay off in spades,” but he is not always grateful for Jade’s interest in mushrooms, forbidding Jade from donating any more to the lounge after he grows too many of them.

Jade reflects, “lately Floyd and Azul have made it a point not to eat anything I cook for two weeks after I’ve been trekking in the mountains.”

During the Eternity Float event Jade takes the group to a shop he is interested in, but when Riddle asks if he has been before with Azul and Floyd, Jade says, “No. Sadly they showed no interest whatsoever and summarily ignored the shop when walking by.”

Jade often acts in a supporting role to things that Azul is looking to accomplish, such as during Book 4 when he shares Jamil’s monologue to Azul with the students of Scarabia via speakerphone, and during Halloween when he assists Azul in motivating Idia to participate in the school’s Halloween event so that they do not lose out on the cost of printing brochures to sell to campus visitors. 

Azul and Jade join forces in mocking Leona during the NBC event, insinuating that Leona would go back on his word (“That’s hardly acceptable. Wouldn’t you agree, Azul?”) and that Leona is tone deaf. (“Come now, Jade. It’s rude to say it so plainly.”)

After they lose a game during New Year it is Jade who suggests that they stock up on tea leaves for the lounge, giving them a reason to spend enough money at the school store to attempt the challenge again.

After Jamil outright refuses Azul’s request to sample a particular dish that he can prepare Jade follows with, “Perhaps we can discuss the details once we get a taste of your cooking,” overriding Jamil’s refusal on Azul’s behalf.

When Trey asks for their help after falling into a lake with Ortho, Azul says that he will help “for the right price,” while Jade adds, “I’ll draw up a contract. Could you give me 10 minutes or so?”

When the prefect and Grim and wary of Azul in Book 4 Jade assures them, “Have some faith in Azul. I’m sure he’ll make this a holiday to remember.”

During Beanfest Jade says, “Azul has been preparing for this event for QUITE a while. I imagine he’ll be pulling out all the stops to hunt us,” and during the event Azul shares his intent other focus on eliminating Jade.

Azul explains, “Floyd is actually the easier of the two to deal with on many levels, since his nature is far more obvious than Jade’s. Jade, on the other hand…He’s a particular brand of devious. If you see him, do not provoke him. Do not make eye contact. Just back away slowly.” (Trey: “You’re talking about your own vice housewarden like he’s some kind of wild animal.”)

Jade goes to Idia during for a handmade weapon, having learned about Idia’s backroom dealings the previous year, from Azul. Knowing that Jade knows, Azul goes to the school store at the same time as Jade himself, intending to use Jack’s sense of smell to hunt him down and capture him.

Jade, however, sets ups durian-juice based trap that compromises Jack’s ability to sniff him out, compromising Azul’s plan. Jade explains, “I was one hundred percent certain that Azul would team up with Jack for this game.”

When Idia asks what he would have done if he’d been wrong Jade says, “I would have accepted that Azul outplayed my prediction and given up the game.”

Towards the end of the game Azul overlaps with Rook, who shares that he was recently outplayed by Jade, and describes the long-distance weapon with which Jade is armed. Azul asks for Rook’s opinion on where to go to snipe targets in the coliseum, and Rook’s advice leafs him to Jade.

Jade reveals, however that he fully expected Azul to anticipate his plot, and Azul realizes that Jade spared Rook on purpose to lure him out—his weapon is not loaded.

Despite Jade anticipating his every move Azul still wins the game thanks to Jack’s reflexes. Azul says, “I’m taking this as a lesson to NEVER get on your bad side if I can help it,” and they both reassure the other that they will be winning next year.

Azul is surprised to learn that, between, Jade and Floyd, Jade was “actually the most into (Idia’s incantation)” of Book 7.

Jade has multiple lines about wanting to invite Azul (and often Floyd) to places with him, with a Playfulland voice line of, “Rollercoasters are a far more intense experience than I was expecting. I should get Azul to go on one sometime.”

When Kalim asks Jade to teach him how to brew potions Jade responds, “I’ll invite Azul and Floyd as well,” and when Jade overhears Kalim inviting Floyd to perform at Scarabia he says, “I’ll have to notify Azul as well.”

Jade tells a story about Riddle running in circle in Octavinelle for six hour in his previous year, Riddle reveals that his actual embarrassment comes from what led to it: being caught in the rain.

Riddle declares that now he carries a folding umbrella everywhere he goes so as not to worry about getting wet, and Jade says, “I must tell Azul and Floyd when we get back to school. They’ll be beside themselves with lau— ah, with admiration.”

During the Eternity Float event we Georgina says that Jade “suddenly started liking (octopus carpaccio) out of nowhere one day,” but if Azul is at all related to this sudden new preference, it has yet to be revealed.