Chapter 10

Back at Thors, Crow remained in an empty classroom, along with Prince Olivert, Richard, Sara, and Neithardt, prepared to brief them on the ILF's general plan...

Starting off, Prince Olivert says "I want to stress that I am pleased with your cooperation, Crow. And even though you technically are a criminal, since you're willing to help, I'll do what I can to resolve that."

Crow smiles, and leans back in his chair, while saying "I really appreciate it, princey! I know what we're planin' for our next operation, so I'll give ya the info..."

However, before Crow could continue, Neithardt glares and sternly says "Armbrust! When speaking with his highness, maintain an aura of respect."

Crow just laughs, and says "C'mon Instructor Neithardt... You know that's just not my style."

Neithardt continues to glare, while leaning closer while still sitting, as he says "Your 'style' is not relevant to how you should behave, as a student at Thors. Understand?"

A chill goes down Crow's spine, as he had just awakened Neithardt's teacher/officer side, so he raises his hands in surrender, as he says "Okay... Okay... I'll work on that..."

Luckily, Olivert just smiles, and says "I do not mind being spoken to casually. In fact, I'd rather people be natural around me rather than feeling forced to behave in a way that is uncomfortable for them, just because of my status as a prince." Then he winks, and says "Not all royalty think like I do, so I hope you do not just disregard your instructor's guidance..."

Neithardt sighs, as Crow starts to explain, saying "Well, our next major operation was to help the noble faction take over the Sachsen Iron Mines. Since it's currently managed by the regular army, if a group like the ILF caused enough damage, it'd give the nobles an excuse to claim it for themselves."

Sara taps her lower lip, and says "That would deal a pretty big blow to the Chancellor if you manage to pull it off, I'll give you that."

Richard nods, and says "Since there are rumbles of a civil war in the future, snatching a mine of that size for the nobles would give them a major advantage. You would need to make sure that none of Osborne's pawns could stop your group, at least until reinforcements could arrive. Even if the nobles would want you to succeed, they'd need to keep up appearances at that point. It would be damaging for them if they publically supported a terrorist group."

Crow nods, and says "You're right on the money. The plan is to sneak in some Archaisms, hidden in crates, so they'll cause enough of a distraction until we're ready. We'll have one or two guys on the inside, so all the workers can escape before the Archaisms are activated though."

After that, Sara says "Archaisms... That means that Ouroborus is involved in this plan. Anything else, Crow?"

Crow shakes his head, as he says "Well, near the end of it, we were gonna try and fake the death of Comrade C, AKA me. And if I'm gonna be honest, I was lookin' forward to pulling that stunt off..."

Neithardt scratches his chin, as he says "Faking your death? I'd expect that after a final scheme, not after just taking over Sachsen Mines... Am I correct in thinking that you will fake your death for a future operation, Armbrust?"

Crow smiles, and says "You nailed it!" As he says this, he catches another glare from Neithardt, so Crow quickly add, saying "...Instructor..." He then coughs, and continues, saying "Anyway, the whole faking my death thing was meant to be my grand daddy of all plans. During the national address that Osborne's doin', I was gonna sneak in and take him out. That's how it all would've ended..."

He then leans back, as he just revealed his plans to assassinate the current chancellor of Erebonia, causing the others to remain speechless, until Richard says "That is a well crafted plan. Since the military would believe that the worst of the danger was passed, since the ILF would seemingly be routed, you could take down your enemy when he least expects it."

Olivert shakes his head, and says "But that would not solve any of your problems, Crow; at least not in the way that you want. If a known terrorist assassinates Osborne at that moment, you will forever turn him into a martyr, which would make it incredibly difficult to steer Erebonia in a better direction."

Crow nods, and says "I know this sounds bad, but I just really wanted to take that bastard out. Honestly, I felt like if I at least did that, I could die without regret."

Richard then hums to himself, before saying "It sounds to me like you might not feel the same way right now. I think that's a good start. Why don't we take a short break before continuing?"

The others nod, as they all get up to walk around while allowing what was already discussed to sink in...

Same Time, Arseid School Training Hall, Legram

Estelle, Joshua, and Renne had just entered the building, so they could meet with and speak to Klaus, the Arseid family butler and sword school instructor...

Now that they were inside the building, they see a collection of target dummies and students wielding a myriad of weapons. Upon seeing this, Estelle says "Wow! So they don't all train with swords...?"

Joshua nods, and says "It seems like they learn with a variety of weapons, possibly to better counter non-sword wielding opponents."

The elderly Klaus then walks over while chuckling, and says "That is correct. By spending time working with weapons aside from swords, the students can adjust to and find weaknesses through sparring." After saying this, he bows, and says "Since I have not gotten to yet, allow me to welcome you to Legram. Any relative of the Divine Blade is welcome here..."

Hearing this, Estelle's eyes widen, as she says "Wait, do you know our dad?"

Klaus sighs and shakes his head, before saying "Regrettably, neither I nor Master Victor have had the pleasure of meeting Master Cassius. I do hope to have the chance at least once, before I grow too old to appreciate the meeting..."

Hearing this, Renne takes a step back, before saying "Wait, are you implying that you would spar with Cassius Bright? At your age...?"

Klaus sighs again, as he says "Children can be so cruel... But as long as I can stand on my two feet, I would never pass up on that chance, as a life-long student of the Arseid School..."

After he says this, Renne taps her chin, and says "Hmm... You remind me of old man Phillip... I bet you're tough for a geezer too..."

Estelle prepares to apologize on Renne's behalf, but Klaus merely laughs, as he says "I can't deny my age, but your candidness is appreciated, young lady... I should stress though, that as the acting instructor here, I can guarantee that I am no feeble old man. Who was this Phillip?"

Joshua explains, saying "Currently, he acts as an attendant to one of Liberl's royals, although he used to be the head of the royal guard, and he is still highly skilled."

Hearing this, Klaus smiles, and says "It sounds like Phillip is someone who would be fun to meet!"

After that, Estelle says "Not that this isn't fun, but you needed to speak with us, right?"

Klaus nods, and says "That is correct. In an hour or two, a group of students from Class VII will arrive here, and I understand Toval already explained the basics of them. Essentially, I would request that you keep Renne's and Joshua's status of being a former Enforcers a secret. I do not wish for those students to have to learn of that society while they are still fresh in their first year of school. And related to that, please allow them to work on their duties on their own, with as little assistance as you can manage."

Renne smirks, and says "Aww... And I was hoping to spook a few of them... But I'll keep a low profile."

Joshua nods, and says "If those students are trying to improve by coming here, then we shouldn't interfere. It wouldn't fair for them."

Estelle grins, and says "Yeah! Those kids will have to just manage on their own! We handled what we were thrown into after all."

Hearing this, Renne snickers, and says "Really...? Joshua was an ex-Enforcer as well, unless you forgot... Plus most of your other friends were more experienced than you were..."

Estelle then pouts, and says "Yeah... But that was only the case for the first adventure! Once we actually started dealing with the society, I did plenty of independent growing!"

Joshua nods, and says "And isn't it accurate that Estelle earned the respect of all of those people, including me?"

Renne then laughs, and says "I just like to push Estelle's buttons. It's surprising that it's still so easy..."

Estelle begins to glare, as she says "Keep this up if you want to get smacked by my bo staff..."

Following that, Klaus smiles and says "You three get along quite well. That is heartwarming to see. There are some things that need to be done around here, which would be too difficult for the students to deal with. Can I request for you all to work on them?"

Estelle energetically nods, before saying "Of course! That's what Bracers do! You guys are letting us hide out here, so we'll consider that your official Guild payment."

Following that, the Estelle and company leave the training hall, with a list of tasks in hand, reminded that a Bracer's day is never truly finished...

Same time, Thors Main Entrance, Trista

Currently, Agate was sitting outside, while thinking about everything that happened during that meeting. And while he was reflecting to himself, he sees Claire walk by, before she stops to sit next to him...

Now that Claire was seated, Agate smiles and says "That meeting got a bit heated, huh? Never expected some student to run a terrorist group..."

Claire nods, and says "I can't claim that I had even the slightest suspicions of him. The ILF really are a danger to this country. But now I just feel conflicted... Was everything Prince Olivert said about the Liberl Crisis true?"

Agate looks down for a moment, before saying "Yeah. It was pretty terrifying to deal with, besides those Society bastards causing havoc all over the country. And once we thought we actually made a bit of progress at the capital, we find out that Erebonia was fielding a whole group of steam powered tanks to invade..."

Hearing this, Claire looks down sadly, while saying "So it really went that far? Would you believe me if I said I had next to no knowledge of that operation before today...?"

Agate folds his arms, and says "They were prepared to occupy all of our cities if we didn't comply with them, and if Olivert didn't step in, things might have gone in a much different direction. And I don't know how high up you are with your military, so I can't make much of a judgment on how much you'd know anyway."

Hearing this, Claire explains, saying "Well, I am one of the Empire's Ironbloods. Essentially, we are elite agents who directly serve the chancellor. So a person like me should have information like an attempted assault on a foreign rival, but I knew nothing of this... But you said that Prince Olivert stopped it?"

Agate nods, and says "Yep. He stepped in for the military commander, and had a short debate with Princess Klaudia. Really, they were just stalling for time, but it ended with that commander pulling back the army."

After this, Claire's eyes light up, as she says "Commander? You wouldn't happen to remember who was leading the attack? Or what they looked like...?"

Agate starts to ruffle his hair, while thinking, until he says "I can't remember the name, but he had an eye patch and a brown mustache. He looked like a pretty serious guy too."

Claire silently gasps, before saying "That could only be Zechs Vander! He was recently moved to the Nord Highlands, way out in a sort of frontier post, and I always found it odd that a general of his experience and skill was sent there. But if he pulled back, and prevented an invasion into Liberl, it would make much more sense."

Hearing this, Agate asks "Does anyone in particular decide where soldiers and officers are assigned?"

Claire answers, saying "Really, the chancellor would make most of those decisions. And since the timing of Lt General Zech's reassignment matches so clearly for when the Liberl Crisis seemed to occur, I can't just pass it off as a coincidence."

Agate nods, and says "Well, with that figured out, maybe I can give you another avenue to research into..."

Claire nods back, and says "I'm listening..."

Agate then takes a deep breath, before saying "Okay, do you know anything about the Tragedy of Hamel...?"

Claire merely tilts her head, and says "It was unfortunate that the village was destroyed in a landslide, but it was just a natural disaster. Why do you ask?"

Hearing this, Agate sighs, and says "Well, that's completely wrong. I lived in a Liberl village near Hamel, so I knew a bit more, but I recently learned the whole story from a close friend. Just prepare yourself, okay? It isn't an easy one to take in..."

Following this, Agate explains everything he learned about the Tragedy of Hamel, from both what he heard from Joshua and from what Georg Weissmann shared back when they had to face him. And as Agate explained, Claire's face remained twisted in shock and horror...

Same Time, Winding Road, Calvard

While all of this was happening, Zin Vathek, a large and imposing brown haired martial artist, was currently taking a walk to a nearby town, ready to do some Bracer work.

As he walked, he takes a deep breath, before having a few sips of his handy jug of alcohol. After that, he says "Pretty soon, I'll be taking a trip over to Erebonia. Apparently a whole lot of people will be there. It'll be great to see all my friends again..."

After that, Zin continues to walk, ready to spend the day doing jobs, before planning to train late into the evening...

End Chapter 10

Notes:

Hope you all liked the chapter! Let me know what you thought, or what you liked or disliked. I think I'll start working Part 3 of Taki and Mitsuha's Bizarre Adventure next, as I've got some basic stuff written down. Either way, take care!

Review Feedback:

JohnJoestar17:

Thanks for both of your reviews! For the issue with the line breaks for character dialogue, I've actually started doing that later in the story, but I may go back and start breaking those paragraphs where that is needed. And I'm happy about all the aspects that you liked, especially how I wrote Rean and Crow's friendship. I definitely wanted to capture their 'bro' friendship.

And for the Recluse Cube, I don't actually remember the details of what was done with the cube at the end of 3rd. But the reason why Kevin carries it with him is because he thinks it is depowered. And certain events in 3rd were why I wanted to include the Recluse Cube as a relevant part of my story. Of course, I don't want to say how that works, because I'm not sure if you read past Chapter 3.