Chapter 1: The Afternoon of the Wolf Part 2

After Harold dropped them by the Central Square, the team decided to head to next destination, which was St. Ursula Medical College.

To reach there, they needed to take bus at South Gate. They found a lot of people waiting for the bus, so there's no need to worry they would miss the bus. However, after fifteen minutes passed, the bus was nowhere to be found.

"Hey…is this normal?" Randy could see the people around started to get impatient.

Lloyd had a bad feeling. He shook his head.

Later, a man came out and kept checking the trace of the bus, but he still couldn't find it.

"…What should we do…something must have happened to the bus…" He mumbled under his breath. "There's no response from them either…"

Lloyd walked near him and asked.

"Pardon, may I know what happened?"

"The bus seems late." Elie added.

"I think something must have happened to the bus. Seems to be malfunctioned, I guess. The driver has had contacted, but hung up halfway, and then no response afterward." The man answered with a hint of worry.

"…I have a very bad feeling." Tio looked at Lloyd, face darkened.

"Me, too."

"Hey, who are you, anyway?" Randy asked.

"Oh…I am staff of Crossbell City Traffic Section which manages the buses operation in Crossbell. It's difficult to have police set out for such a trouble. I think I'll have to rely on Bracer's Guild, then…"

Hearing that, Lloyd looked at his team.

"…Everyone."

"Yes, I have no problem with it." Elie nodded. They have rested in the orbal car just now. It shouldn't be a problem.

"…Looks like we have no choice." Tio sighed.

"Cheer up Tio." Randy rubbed her head, grimacing.

Lloyd smiled. He knew his team wouldn't oppose the idea.

"Can you leave this matter to us?"

"Huh? Hmm…you're…?"

"We're police under Special Support Section. Because of the mission, we're on the way to Medical College."

"P-Police?" Everyone gave the same reaction whenever they told the identity. Lloyd smiled bitterly. "Oh I remember now…I read the article on magazine. So the police launched the same service as Bracer's Guild, huh?"

"Hmm…there are some differences between the two of them, though…anyway, I would like to check on the bus, is it alright?"

"Of course. Then, I shall leave it to you. If necessary, we can have bracer to go with you."

"I-It's alright." Lloyd quickly declined the offer. It would be awkward to work with bracer under such condition. He had not ready for it.

The team then set out to find the bus. If the bus stopped at somewhere beside the road, they should have no problem to find it.

Lloyd was worried about the girls' condition at first, but Elie and Tio assured him repeatedly. Having no choice, he decided to pay more attention on their condition.

The path was the same, filled with monsters. First, they walked passed a small road on their right to the main road while taking down the monsters. There was river on their left hand side with some beautiful scenes.

"Elie, Tio, are you alright? Don't hesitate to tell us if you feel tired."

"I'm fine. Thank you Lloyd." Elie gave him a soft smile.

"…Don't make me repeat twice." Tio glared at him instead.

Feeling relieve, Lloyd let out a sigh, thinking maybe he was worried too much.

"Hey Lloyd, look at that." Randy pointed to the front.

"That's…"

"Tch…looks like we're right!"

The bus was surrounded by two Giant Apes. The driver stood in front of the bus, panicked. He was trying to repair the bus, but with monsters around, it was hard to protect himself, let alone repairing.

"Oh no…why monsters would appear at this time…Adios, please save us!"

"Are you alright!?"

The team quickly rushed to the bus.

"Y-You're…"

"We're police!"

"Stay back! We will handle the monsters, you stay in the bus!" Randy quickly ordered, and without delaying, the driver quickly ran into the bus and locked the door.

The team used the usual battle tactic, which Lloyd and Randy as the attackers while Elie and Tio as supporters. At the beginning of the battle, Tio cast on magic. Lloyd and Randy each handled one of the Giant Apes. Elie supported them and cast healing magic whenever needed. At last, Tio released [Water Bombardment] to the Giant Apes and killed them in instant.

"Phew…what a strong monsters." Lloyd sighed.

"Yes…they were fairly large monsters. I wonder where they came from." Elie frowned, but she really had no idea.

"…Looks like the species that perch on woodland, though…maybe they ran to the street for some reasons."

"Huh? Is this always happened?" Randy asked with shocked face.

At the same time, the driver came out from the bus.

"Well done, guys! I thought I'm done…"

"No, I'm glad you're alright. I assume that the bus delayed because of the monsters?" Lloyd asked.

"Well…the monsters were part of the reason. But before that, the orbal engine is out of order. Having no choice, I tried to check on it…"

"And that's the time monsters appeared, right?" Randy continued for him.

"…Then what about the communication failure? Is it because of the orbal engine, too?"

"That's right. The transmitter is getting orbal energy from the engine. Hmm…I have to check whether I can fix it or not…" With the worries in his tone, the driver took no delay and quickly went to check on the engine.

"Looks like it will take quite some times to get it fixed." Elie turned to the team, saying.

"Hmm…maybe we should head back and report t this to Traffic Section."

"…I guess we have no choice…" Letting out a sigh, Tio crossed her arms.

"…Wait!" As Always, Randy was the first noticed something unusual. "Hey guys!"

The team turned their heads to the back, and shocked by the scene.

There were at least three Giant Apes behind them. They looked furious.

"What the…!?"

"This looks bad…Lloyd, ready to them out one by one! At this rate, we're unable to take them in once! " Randy took out his stun halberd while shouted.

Indeed Randy was right, but…

Lloyd looked at the bus, gritting his teeth.

"No, we can't! The bus will be in danger!"

"Anyway, we have to take them out…"

When the team was frustrated over the situation, someone came from behind and struck the Giant Apes.

"Huh…?"

"They're…?"

The one appeared in front of them were a black haired boy and a pigtails girl. The girl wielded a Bo Staff while the boy wielded a pair of sword.

"Joshua!"

"Alright!"

Then, they released the Combination Craft with Joshua struck first with unseen speed, and followed up by Estelle's uncountable hits. At last, they struck together and killed the Giant Apes in once.

"T-This is brilliant…"

The team amazed by the couple's skill.

"It seems we make it in time."Joshua looked at the girl. "Are you alright, Estelle?"

"Don't worry, I'm fine!" Estelle shook her head to Joshua, and then looked to the team. "Well…Are you Crossbell Police? We've heard from the people of Traffic Section."

"That's right…but you're…?"

Lloyd had a feeling that they're bracers.

"It seems our sudden appearance has made you confused. I am Estelle, Estelle Bright."

"My name is Joshua Bright. We have just been officially assigned to Bracer Guild Crossbell branch."

So, they're truly bracers…Lloyd sighed inwardly. Judging from their appearance, they're about the same age as him. But they're strong. They weren't at the same level.

Lloyd took a step forward.

"We are police under Special Support Section. Thanks for your help."

"Don't be modest. You look pretty strong too! I wonder if we should just mind our own business." Estelle scratched her head.

"No…to tell the truth, it was really dangerous. Anyway, my name is Lloyd, Lloyd Bannings."

"My name is Elie MacDowell. Nice to meet you."

"Hey, Randy Orlando here."

"…Tio Plato."

"Lloyd, Elie, Randy and Tio…" Estelle repeated the names and giggled. "Hey Tio and Lloyd…!"

"What an interesting coincidence." Joshua chuckled lightly, while Lloyd and Tio had no idea what they're laughing at.

"Excuse me…?"

"What's so weird with our names?" It made Tio uncomfortable. She asked with a hint of anger.

"Sorry…we're sorry. Actually we know someone by the name of Lloyd and Tio, too. We find this coincidence is very interesting. Of course, you don't look like them at all." Estelle explained and apologized to the little girl.

"I see…"

"Then again…" Joshua looked at the driver. "How's the situation of the orbal bus?"

"Ah yes…It seems to be the poor contact of the Quartz…I should have learned more about maintenance."

"If you don't mind, can I have a look?" Joshua asked and moved closer to the engine.

"R-Really!?"

"Oh yeah, Joshua can even drive an airship. The maintenance shouldn't be a problem at all."

"Oh my! Bracer is most reliable!" The driver cheered like a little child.

Looking at that, Randy secretly moved closer to Tio and asked.

("Hey Tio…can you repair an engine?")

("…No way. I have the knowledge with orbal machine, but I don't know repairing at all.")

"Hey Lloyd, why are you here?" Estelle asked. "Are you hunting monsters like us doing?"

"No, we're on the way to the hospital because of the mission."

"And we happened to bump into the incident."

"Hospital…do you mean St. Ursula Medical College?"

"Oh, there's a place like that too, huh?" Estelle let out a surprised look. "Then, you can leave this to us."

Lloyd could see the awkwardness of the team, and he felt unpleasant to leave out the case like this. But then again, they could do nothing here, not helping on repairing at all. The bus would be safe as long as Estelle and Joshua were here.

"…Then, I will leave it to you, Ms. Estelle and Mr. Joshua."

"Call us by name. We look almost the same age!" Estelle chuckled.

"Yes…I hope we can be friends."

Their friendly attitude put a smile on Lloyd's face.

"We're going, Estelle, Joshua."

"Yeah!"

"Be careful on the way."

"The new faces from Bracer's Guild, Estelle and Joshua, huh?"

While continuing their journey to St. Ursula Medical College, Lloyd took a deep thought.

"…I don't know the reason, but I feel depressing…" Elie let out a sigh. "We look about the same age, but we're not at the same level. They seem to be some…high class bracers."

"Well, I guess they are." Randy nodded. "Judging from their moves and skills, they must have had been through some fierce battles."

"…Yes. They only took a blink to defeat the monsters we fought so tough…" Tio said, looked quite down. "Are they going to be our rivals in the future…?"

Thinking of the fact made the atmosphere turned heavy. Lloyd had thought the same matter from the beginning of the meeting. But he rather not admitted the fact. Estelle and Joshua were kind and skillful. He didn't want to treat them as rivals under any circumstances. But in other ways, they did need good rival now.

"…Anyway, feeling down doesn't help. All we can do is following our style and do our best. We can treat them as rivals. This will be more motivated, isn't it?" Lloyd clapped his hands, trying to lighten their moods.

"…I don't mind treating them as rivals, but the strength gap is too wide…" Tio glanced at Lloyd and then to the team, said.

"But they're far easier to catch than Arios, right?" Randy smirked.

"Well, I guess you're right, though."

"We just need to believe it. Come on, we should head straight to the hospital."

"…So, we have to walk there, too?" Tio looked down to her feet. "…I think it can't be helped."

"Tio, let's think this is the chance to train, okay?" Elie comforted the little girl, taking her hands.

Lloyd and Randy followed behind them, and continued their journey.

It wasn't a long journey compared to Amorica Village's. The hospital was visible on half way. The building was tall and bright. There's a bus stop before the entrance of the hospital. Upon entering the hospital, the staff hostel was on the left side. It had a small bridge connected the hostel and the hospital main building on the rooftop. On their right side, there's a small leisure area with benches and comfortable river view. Some of the patients relaxed their days there. Further in was the entrance of the main building.

"There aren't many people today." After observing the waiting area, Lloyd said.

"Yes…in peak hour, the waiting area usually is full of people." Elie smiled. "Well, why don't we go to the Information Desk to ask about Ms. Cecil?"

Lloyd had told them about Cecil, who worked as a nurse. Lloyd always thought he should pay her a visit, so this was a good time. Though, he came here for job.

"Sure."

"Welcome to St. Ursula Medical College. How may I help you?" The receptionist greeted them with a kind smile.

Lloyd took out his manual. "We are police under Special Support Section. My name is Lloyd Bannings. I came to investigate the case."

"So you're police…you mean you come here to investigate the Monster Mauling case?"

"Indeed. We received delegate from CSGF to investigate the case, and we would like to meet the person."

"Sure, no problem. I shall call our Head Nurse to lead you."

"Hmm…actually, I know someone who works here. If possible, can I have that particular person to take us there?" Feeling nervous, Lloyd started to get stammer.

Man, he was so nervous, knowing he would meet Cecil soon. It has been three years, how should he greet her later?

("Is it me, or we all get nervous?") Tio said timidly.

("Of course I am nervous. She must be a beautiful girl, and on top of that, she's a nurse!") Randy said with high spirit.

("…Why are you so excited?") Elie sighed.

No one realized a woman walked down from stair had stared at them for a while. She took a step closer to get a clear look of Lloyd, and then she gasped.

"…Lloyd?"

A beautiful woman with light brown long curly hair in nurse uniform walked down of the stair and came to the front of the team.

Lloyd wasn't expecting to meet her so soon, without any prepare. The woman was the same, staring at him with wide eyes.

Randy half opened his mouth in shock. Both Tio and Elie were amazed by her beauty and the shape of her body.

"Oh, right timing Cecil." The receptionist said. "They're police…"

Before the receptionist finished her sentence, the woman suddenly closed her arms on Lloyd shoulder.

"C-Cecil!?"

"Finally…I'm finally seeing you again." Cecil hugged Lloyd tighter in her arms. "Welcome back, Lloyd…it has been a long time…"

Hearing her soft voice, Lloyd finally let out a smile.

He wasn't expecting the meeting under such condition, but…it wasn't bad at all. At last, he met her.

"I'm sorry that I didn't come to see you sooner…b-by the way, this is t-too embarrassing…"

"Don't say anything now." Cecil said softly. "Let me hug you for a while…see, you've grown so tall. It was about my height on our last meet."

"O-Of course I was. There were three years of growing period…"

Seeing the scene, the others were all sweating dropped. The receptionist coughed few times in embarrassment.

("H-How should I put this?") Elie smiled awkwardly.

("They're sweeter than I've imagined…") Tio closed her eyes, feeling she had seen things.

Randy gritted his teeth. ("Damn Lloyd…what a sweet and beautiful sister he got…! This is so unfair…!")

After the embarrassing reunion, Cecil leaded the team to the canteen of the hostel. It happened to be Cecil's resting time, so she leaded them here to avoid interrupting other colleagues' work, and she could have her lunch.

"Nice to meet you all. My name is Cecil Neues. So all of you are Lloyd's colleagues, huh?" Cecil smiled gently, kept looking on Elie and Tio while the team introduced themselves to her. "I thought Lloyd would bring girlfriend to me…it makes me panic for a while."

"W-What are you talking about!?"

"We haven't seen in three years, right? So I thought you would bring girlfriend in case you get one or two…oh I see! Could it be you're together, but conceal because of the work…?"

"N-No…"

"Tell me, Elie or Tio? Or…the both of them?"

"I said NO!"

Cecil looked to Randy, and suddenly gasped.

"Don't tell me it is…" She covered her mouth. "I-I see…don't worry, I understand…and I will support you no matter what."

"Hell no! Shouldn't you oppose if that really happen!?"

Lloyd rolled his eyes again and again, but he couldn't really get angry with her. Why must she said those with innocent and sweet smile!?

"…Such pure and natural. She's very interesting." Randy examined Cecil carefully and finally laid his gaze on Cecil's breast. Elie and Tio gave him a cold glare at the same time.

"Ahem!" Lloyd coughed loudly to grasp the leading right. "Alright Cecil, back to the topic. About the Monster Mauling…"

"Well, since I got the permission of the Head Nurse, let me explain the whole incident clearly to you." Cecil pondered for a while before started. "…It was a week ago at night time. A trainee doctor was attacked by monsters. However, the whole incident was strange."

"…According to the report, they think it was victim's judging error, you mean?" Tio said on her behalf.

"Yes…they're doubtful. I don't really know the details…it seemed happened on the rooftop of the Ward Building."

"Wait…you said rooftop!?"

"What do you mean by that?" The team looked at each other with deep shock and questions.

"There's a roof garden on the top of the Ward Building. Further in is the Research Building where doctors use to work." Cecil explained.

"I get it…" Randy clicked his fingers. "You mean, the monsters weren't supposed appeared in that place, right?"

"Yes…the CSGF thinks the same way. All in all, it doesn't sound convincible. I guess that's why they put their hopes on you."

May be Cecil thought that way. But for Lloyd and the team that knew they're simply the replacement of Investigation Section I, they couldn't think the same way.

"…To be honest, I don't think it's anything worth to look forward."

"Don't be so modest." Cecil chuckled. "I read the article. You've done well. I can feel you all put a lot of effort into the case."

"Oh…you mean the case in Downtown."

"Not long ago, several injured boys admitted to our hospital. They said they owe you all a big one."

It was probably some simple words from Cecil, but it encouraged them a lot. They might still have a long way to go, though.

They all smiled sheepishly.

"I think you'd better ask directly from the victim." Cecil looked at Lloyd, suggested.

"Of course. Can you lead us to the victim? One more thing…we need to investigate the event site."

"No problem. We'll take you to both of them. Come on, let's head to the second floor of the Ward Building."

Seeing the team was getting familiar to Cecil, Lloyd let out a bitter smile.

Well, that's the charm of Cecil, he guessed?

They headed to the Ward Building. The second and third floors were ward for patients. The victim trainee doctor currently placed at the ward on second floor, room 202.

"This is the ward where Litton is placed, but there are other patients here, so make sure don't make too much noises, okay?"

"No problem. We only ask few questions." Lloyd assured her.

"Good, let's get inside."

Inside, a water blue haired male doctor was talking to Litton. He wore a spectacle and looked very kind. Well, in fact, he was a kind man in everyone's opinion.

"You seem to be recovering well. If no problem, you can discharge tomorrow."

"R-Really!?" Litton cheered out.

"Do I look like a liar?" The doctor raised a grin. "Be fully prepared after you discharge. I have a lot of work to celebrate your return."

"W-Wait, Doctor Joachim! You can't be so cruel to me!" Hearing that, he just hoped that he would never recover!

"Come on, you're just some laceration, collision and sprain. Don't be such a loser." Joachim adjusted his spectacle and sighed. "You have a lot of rest, so I guess that shouldn't be a problem. Yes…that's right, you can do more works than before. I am sure!"

"…Doctor, does anyone tell you are S-Type?"

"Unfortunately, I think I am M-Type."

"…What are you two talking about?" Cecil's voice made the two men turned their heads to the back. "There are other patients here. Stop saying anything weird. What if children hear those weird things?" She crossed her arms.

"S-Sorry, Cecil…"

"Alright…sorry, I apologize." Joachim shrugged, sighing. "By the way…who are they?"

"They're police from Crossbell." Cecil introduced. "Litton, they came to get more understanding of the incident."

"Oh…"

"I see…then, I think I should return to my job. See you all then." Joachim nodded to the team and Cecil, and then left the ward.

"…Doctor, please don't skip work and go to fishing, alright?"

"No no no, of course I am not." Joachim smiled diffidently.

Cecil watched him walked out from the ward, sighing inwardly. He was a kind man, but she must say if anything wrong with him, it would no other than skipping work suddenly. Doctor Joachim loved fishing. He disappeared few times in the middle of work and made all of them panicked for a while. But now they knew where to find him - near the river.

"Cecil, he is…?" Lloyd asked.

"He is Doctor Joachim, and Associate Professor. He is a talented doctor, but he is too obsessed with fishing…" Cecil smiled a hint of worry, and then she turned to Litton. "Litton, are you convenient to talk now?"

"No problem." He was a patient here. He had lots of time though. "But…why police?"

"We're helping CSGF to investigate the incident."

"I see…I guess everyone thought I was dreaming, huh?" Litton furrowed his brows, looking unsatisfied. "They said I was sleepwalking, but that's impossible…"

Elie softened her voice. "Could you explain it to us?"

Litton pondered for a while. He tried to remember the incident on that day.

"…That was the night I finished studies. I was writing my internship report at that time. I concentrated all my energy to stay up late to finish the report, so I was quite fuzzy during that time…Although I was fuzzy, but my emotion was running high." He remembered that's the time he went out to the roof garden to relax his mind. "And then I heard some voices. Some monsters appeared behind me and suddenly attacked me…to tell the truth, that's all I can remember. And as you know, they found me the next day morning…"

The explanation was almost the same as the report stated.

"…Thanks. We get it."

"Did you see what kind of monsters attacked you?" Randy asked.

"Hmm…I am ashamed to say that I seemed directly passed out due to shock. I only remember their eyes were red, with white teeth and dark fur….CSGF said it looked like wolf, so I thought the same way."

"I see…"

"Anyway, how are your injuries?" Elie asked with concerned.

"Right shoulder has bite marks. Other than this…there are only some collisions and sprains."

This was weird…

"The monsters didn't do further damage to you, is that so?"

"Yes, exactly! I am not surprised if they torn me into pieces…and that's the rooftop. CSGF all gave me suspicious glares. They even suspected I was attacked because I went to the street!"

Tio tilted her head. "But they found you on rooftop, right…?"

"They suspected I was attacked on the street, and fled to the rooftop in panic…" Sometimes, he also felt that maybe true. Ahh…he was so confused!

The team sweat dropped.

"…Hmm, I don't think it is possible…"

"Litton, you should feel more confident with your words." Even Cecil couldn't stand him.

"S-Sorry…" Litton scratched his head. "I really can't tell it clearly. What if the monsters really appeared on rooftop? Isn't that scary?"

Indeed he was right. The team felt impossible for monsters appeared on rooftop at first. Anyway, they needed to do research first before jumping into conclusion.

"…I understand you feeling, Litton. If that's the case, we should really do something about it."

"…Thank you for your cooperation. We will head to the event site for more information."

And then, Cecil leaded them to the rooftop. Her resting time was almost over, so this was the least she could do for them. She hoped they could solve the case and return the peace to the hospital.

The rooftop was huge and spacious. There was indeed a roof garden there with some trees, blossomed flowers and benches.

"Judging from the heard situation, this is the scene, right?" Lloyd asked.

"Yes. Litton seemed to be found in front of the bench." Cecil pointed the only bench placed in front of the railing.

Lloyd looked around the place, and laid his gaze on the building on his left side.

"This is the Research Building, right?"

"Yes, all the doctors work here."

""…Is there any dangerous monsters feed here for the purpose of experiment?" Tio tilted her head to Cecil. However, the mature woman shook her head.

"No, no monster inside the building. We only have greenhouses for plants."

"…Cecil, thanks for taking us here. We will do some investigation here."

"Alright, I look forward for it." Cecil chuckled. "I shall be going now."

"Thanks, Ms. Cecil." The others smiled and bowed a little to Cecil before she went off.

"Alright. We'll start investigate the area. The wolf type monsters indeed appeared on rooftop – we base on this thought, try to find out their entry point. "

"Roger."

The team split around to look for any suspicious object and trace.

Starting from the left side of the rooftop, Randy found a river view point. However, judging from the height and the river, it was impossible that the monsters could enter rooftop from here. So he excluded the idea.

Tio examined the railing in front of the Research Building's entrance. She slightly tiptoe and found underneath was the main entrance of the Ward Building. Plus, there was a canopy.

She called for Lloyd, but after a few examinations, Lloyd excluded the idea as the monsters shouldn't be able jump through.

Elie searched the small bridge that connecting hostel and Ward Building. She quickly excluded the idea and moved to other area.

Lastly, the place Lloyd examined was the laundry area of the hostel. Surprisingly, he found a floor underneath the area. It seemed to be the storage floor.

"It shouldn't be any problem to cross…" He called the others and headed to the hostel.

On the end of second floor in the hostel, Lloyd decided to do a small experiment. Of course, the one did it were Randy and Lloyd himself.

"Randy, lend me a hand."

"Alright."

They jumped up to the stacked goods and checked. The goods seemed store here a sometimes as an layer ash could be seen.

"Hey Lloyd!"

"Yeah…bingo."

They found some footprints, and it looked like the footprints of canines.

"…Just as we thought…"

Tio looked to the left of the hostel. It was an undeveloped forest. If their guesses were right, the monsters should come from the forest.

"…I think this is the only assumption."

"Yeah…"

Randy and Lloyd jumped down from the goods and gazed to the forest.

"It doesn't seem to be too high for the monsters either. I think they should do something about this to avoid any of the incidents happen again." Randy crossed his arms.

"You're right…in this case, I think our investigation is over." Elie looked to Lloyd, waiting for his command.

"Yeah…I wonder why they would enter through this place, and why they stopped attacked Litton when he passed out? This is really weird."

"…We wouldn't know that unless we could ask from the monsters." Tio shrugged.

"This information should fill the report, right?"

"Yes. Anyway, we should report to Cecil before heading back." However, just about Lloyd planned to leave, he found something unusual on the stacked goods on the left side. "Weird…"

If the monsters were come from the opposite side, it should have footprints on top of the goods. Judging from the accumulation of ask layer on top of the goods, it should have been placed here for quite some time. However, he didn't see any footprints on top of it.

He felt weird, but he couldn't really tell the reason.

He looked to other places, and laid his gaze on the railing on the west side. He took a closer look, finding some peeling traces of the painting on the railing.

"It seems to be traces of recently…"

The others had no idea what he was looking at. They waited him at the entrance, but he didn't seem to join them.

"Lloyd, what's wrong?"

"You seem pretty weird."

"No…it's nothing."

He took a last check on the suspicious traces he found, and decided to leave it for now. They should report to Cecil now.

They went to the Ward Building, following the instruction of the receptionist and came to second floor. There was a nurse counter. They should find Cecil in this place.

"I heard that you're police, right? How is the investigation?"

A young nurse named Felia asked with big innocent eyes and sweet smile. She looked pretty curious with their jobs.

"It's almost done. We need to report to Cecil…is she here?" Lloyd answered her politely.

"I see…Hey, you're really cute, just exactly the same as Cecil's said before." Felia chuckled, face a bit red.

"H-Huh?"

"Cecil always talks about you, you know? She was so happy when she knows you came back to Crossbell…Geez, you can imagine the look on her face. Hehe…now I understand the reason. See what a cute boy you are."

"C-Cute boy?" He didn't think he should be considered as cute in his age now. It's really embarrassing.

Elie and Tio glared at him at the same time.

"W-Why are you two staring at me like that? I-I did nothing!" He protested, but sounded unconvincing.

"Come on Lloyd, let me teach you." Randy winked to Lloyd, signaling him to step back for the moment. "I think cute can only describe girl as cute as you."

"Eh…?" Felia widened her eyes.

"My name is Randy. What's yours?"

"Oh…my name is Felia~ are you colleague of Lloyd?"

"Yeah, I am a police, too. Do you mind going out with me during this weekend?" Randy gave her a charmed smile. "Of course I will bring this guy and our ladies…I know it will be a fun dating."

"H-Hey…!"

"Hehe…it's quite a good idea. I always wanted to relax…maybe I should join you…"

"That's the deal! How about the bar at Crossbell? We'll prepare everything for you." Randy continued to flirt with Felia.

("…What is this all about?") Tio's face deadpanned.

("So, he really loves flirting with girls…") Elie sighed heavily.

(W-We're here to report…why it turns out this way…") Lloyd felt so frustrated. He tried to hold the urge to give Randy a punch on face.

"…Felia, what are you doing?"

Suddenly, a stern voice sounded from the room behind the counter, revealing a middle aged woman.

"U-Um…Head Nurse…"

Head Nurse glared at Felia who was laughing sheepishly.

"How is the afternoon temperature measurement? You're responsible for it, right?" Felia widened her eyes and looked panicked. Seeing that, Head Nurse let out a sigh. "Next week, you do have a major operation to attend…don't tell me you forget."

"Ahaha…well, that's…" She flustered. "Mr. Randy, I think we should postpone the date…sorry, next time, okay?"

Not waiting for Randy's response, Felia quickly went to the room at the back and disappeared in front of the team.

"Err…"

Head Nurse turned to Randy with a fake smile.

"So…how about I accompany you next week?"

"N-No…" Randy quickly step down and pushed Lloyd forward. "Come on, your turn!"

"…I'm sorry for the commotion."

"Well, that aside, you look for Cecil, right? She should be the child there…can you go to the ward on third floor and look for her?"

"Is it okay for us to go there?" Elie asked.

"No problem. There is a child with special situation currently being hospitalized. You may visit her as well."

"…Alright. Then, we'll go there."

Following instruction of Head Nurse, they went to third floor room 304. They knocked the door before opened it, revealing Cecil and a long black haired little girl inside the ward. From what Lloyd could see, the little girl's eyes didn't seem too well.

"Lloyd…?"

"We heard from Head Nurse that you're here. Are we disturbing you two?"

"No, it's okay." Cecil shook her head, smiling gently. "Sizuku, they are the one I told you just now. They're Crossbell Police."

"…Nice to meet you all. I am Sizuku…Sizuku MacLaine."

"MacLaine…?" The team froze when they repeated the name.

"You're…!?" They all gasped.

"It's not surprised if you have met him. Her father is no other than the Arios MacLaine." Cecil revealed for them and chuckled lightly.

"Daughter of the [Sword of Wind]…"

"What? He has daughter!?"

"Hmm…do you know my father?" Sizuku asked with concern.

"It shouldn't consider that we know him well…but he saved us during a mission." It was quite a shame to recall the incident before, but they truly knew Arios through that.

"I see…my father uses to be serious all the time, surely he makes you unhappy."

"N-No, not at all." Lloyd quickly denied. Although Sizuku couldn't see him, he still felt flustered. "We're surprised by his skill, that's all."

"Yes…he is serious but kind. We know he is a trustworthy person." Elie added. "He is a good father."

Hearing that, Sizuku smiled. "Thank you…"

"Sizuku loves her father so much, but she always so polite when her father came to visit her…" Cecil patted the girl's head lightly, said with a hint of sadness in her tone.

"Ms. Cecil…"

"By the way…about the incident before…Sizuku said she noticed something."

"…What is it? Could you tell us?" Lloyd immediately straightened his posture and asked carefully.

"Hmm…On the day which Mr. Litton was attacked, I couldn't sleep. So I decided to read the Braille books. And then, I heard a scream…"

"Then...how happened next?"

"Because of the little curious, I opened the window there to listen carefully, but I didn't hear the scream anymore. Instead, I heard some gasps…after a while, I heard something jumped up…hmm, that's all."

"I see…" Lloyd looked at little girl. "Do you tell CSGF about this?"

"No…I thought I was dreaming…but after hearing the case from Ms. Cecil, I realized I wasn't…I'm sorry. I should have told it earlier…"

"Don't worry." Lloyd reassured her.

"Thank you for telling us, Sizuku." Elie held the girl's hands.

"…So, this proved the investigation we did on rooftop." Tio said.

"The scream must be the time when the trainee doctor was attacked. And then, the monsters escaped by jumping up to the stacked goods."

"Hmm…there's more…" Sizuku suddenly looked panic. "There's one more thing, but I am not sure was it an illusion…"

"Don't worry. Just tell us anything you're curious."

"Y-Yes. Hmm…while I heard those voices, I felt like I heard another sound mixed in, Ding…like that."

"Ding…?"

"Could it be the call of the specific monster?" Randy and Tio looked at each other and then to Lloyd.

"Sizuku, do you hear this kind of sound before?" Elie double confirmed with the girl.

"No…I only heard on that night. It may be just my illusion…"

"Thank you Sizuku. Your testimony means a lot to us." Lloyd turned to Cecil. "Cecil, we found something. Can I have a moment of your time?"

"Alright." Before she left, Cecil gave Sizuku a gentle pat on head. "Sizuku, I'll come here on dinner time."

"Okay…everyone, please be careful on work."

"Thanks."

"We'll come again."

Outside of the ward, Lloyd confirmed that Sizuku was blind due to an incident happened five years ago. But there's hope for her to recover. She was undergoing rehabilitation therapy now.

"…She is a strong girl. Her father is so busy with the works. I can tell she is lonely, but she tries to stay as cheerful as she can when her father visits her. Well, if you're free, come and visit her often."

"Of course."

Then, the team started report the investigation they have done on the rooftop. After some discussion, the Head Nurse decided to build a fence to block the monsters from coming in again. It took quite some times to complete the fence. When everything was done, it was evening time.

"You did a good job. Now everyone feel at ease. This is because of your hard work."

"Don't say that." Seeing the beautiful smile from Cecil, Randy almost fell for her.

"We just proved the way monsters entered the premise, nothing important."

"You know, if you didn't prove it, we'll never take action to build the fence." Cecil smiled. "I'm sure that one day you all will grow up as the person as capable as Mr. Arios."

"Cecil…"

"Yes Ma'am!"

"This is really encouraging."

"…I will work harder."

"Lloyd, let's meet again during our off day. I want to visit Guy."

"Alright."

"Oh yeah…if you succeed in date with Elie or Tio, don't forget to tell me. I will give my full blessing to you!"

"Umm…why are we suddenly talking about this…?" Lloyd sweat dropped. He could feel the glares from the girls behind him.

"But if you truly in date with Randy…Never mind. I will support you too!"

"Well, as long as Cecil is happy about it, I don't mind, though." Randy laughed.

"Hell No!"

On the way back to Crossbell, Lloyd ended up questioned by this teammate what was the relationship between him and Cecil, especially Randy.

One thing they didn't know, a snowy white wolf showed up again. It stared at them for a while before it went off.