"Whoah!" the young man cried out as Estelle just seemingly jumped straight at him and hugging him tightly. "Ah...I missed you too?" Yuri said quickly.

"Cute couple." Jin smirked, as he approached the small group.

"Flynn, you look different." Said Karol, walking up to him.

Letting go of Yuri, Estelle turned around. "Oh, that's not Flynn. He's a new knight acting as my guard for a bit."

"I have a name you know?" Jin frowned before staring back at the odd group.

"Wha...why are you here?!" a surprised voice told him, Jin turning his head towards its direction. That boy there seemed familiar.

"Hey Carl, you forgot something." Another voice said, a young girl opening the door of the fierta...and followed by a tall marionette-like thing.

This he certainly recognized. "Now I remember, Carl Clover wasn't it?" Jin frowned, looking straight at the boy.

"You two know each other?" Yuri wondered, "Guess that's a good thing. I was beginning to wonder where we were supposed to drop him off."

"Really? I thought he was staying to help with my research. I'm not quite done fixing his ah...'sister' after all." Replied Rita before turning her attention towards Jin. "Are you Carl's brother or something?" she asked, before shaking her head. "No, your eyes are too different."

"My name is Jin Kisaragi. Carl here was someone I met who challenged me and lost in the past." He said

"Wait, that's not right. I found you and defeated you. You hadn't beaten me." Carl retorted.

"I don't forget things that easily. I recall you walking up to me and challenging me at the port. In fact-" Jin was interrupted as Carl spoke up.

"I challenged you at the Cathedral. I remember that clearly. That was right after that weird girl told me I can obtain your Nox Nyctores." Said Carl.

"You two are very confusing individuals." Said a deeper voice, Duke stepping up to meet them. "Hmm?" he wondered, looking at Jin. "Haven't we met before?"

"I don't think so." Jin replied.

"Well, now that everyone's here...aren't we all tired?" said the blue-haired Krityan. "Raven doesn't look so good after we picked him up."

"Oww..." said a voice from the side of the Fierta. "My stomach..."

"Everyone's supposed to be sleeping right now and I'm going to guess that Flynn will be here tomorrow." Yuri sighed. "Anyways, we have way too much to talk about right now. Let's just sleep this off for now."

"Are all of us going to fit in the inn?" said Karol. "There's, how many....Yuri, Estelle, Raven, Judith, Duke, Carl, Rita, me, and that guy...Nine in total?"

"Eleven in total if you include Ioder and Hakumen. That's enough for two or three rooms at least." Estelle continued before adding..."Oh yeah, I forgot about Repede. I guess that's twelve then?"

"My sister counts as one so thirteen in total would be the correct answer." Carl continued.

"So he did manage to find you." Duke said quietly, looking at Halure's entrance. Hakumen wasn't there but he had a feeling that the supposedly heroic soul was watching them close by.

"You said that Hakumen person is very odd." Yuri looked at Duke. "But you also said he reminds you of yourself?"

"That is correct." Duke replied, turning around to see Hakumen standing right there.

"Wha-where'd he come from?!" Karol exclaimed, startled by how silent the white knight made it to their location.

"Guess he wasn't quite done yet." Jin muttered.

"You have arrived earlier than I anticipated." Hakumen started, "Nevertheless that is not such a bad thing. It means I can explain things with greater detail tomorrow once everyone has rested enough."

"So you're not going to explain anything to us yet?" Rita scowled, stepping towards the white knight. "If it's so important, why are you waiting then?"

"Umm, Miss Mordio? I don't think that's a very good idea..." Carl whispered, attempting to pull Rita away from Hakumen. Not that he needed to. Hakumen didn't even reply or acknowledge Rita's presence.

"All of you can find me at the base of the tree tomorrow. I will not be sleeping." Hakumen said before leaving the group.

"Don't tell me that's all he came here to say." Karol said.

"Well, you heard him. We'll have to wait until tomorrow. Let's just get to the inn and rest. We have all the time in the world to ask him the questions we want." Yuri replied.

It wasn't long before they arrived at the inn, Ioder sitting down at a table and almost falling asleep. "Oh, you're back." He raised his head, before being surprised by the rather large amount of people who came in through the entrance.

"Four rooms please!" Estelle told the innkeeper.

"Wait...if it's four rooms and twelve people...wouldn't it be three per room?" asked Yuri.

"I guess it's good if you want a bit more space rather than being cramped in like that." Raven said. "Now who shall be my roommates?" he wondered.

"Jin's staying with me and Yuri!" Estelle proclaimed, grabbing the hands of the two young men, leading them up the stairs and into the first room.

"But I didn't agree..." started Jin before the door closed. Not locking of course.

That was certainly awkward, but that leaves nine people...kind of.

Rita yawned. "Carl and Ada are in my room then. Come on, let's go." She ordered, Nirvana picking up an almost hesitant Carl up the stairs and following Rita.

"Hmm, I guess this means Old Raven is staying with...hey!" he paused, Ioder, Duke, and Judith already heading up as well. "No one wants to stay with me?!"

"Oh don't worry about that." Judith smirked. "At least you get to keep Karol and Repede company."

"Come on old man. We have a long day tomorrow." The boy sighed, though Repede didn't follow and instead headed outside. "Out for a walk again?" Karol wondered.

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The dog was walking around Halure, heading straight for the base of the giant tree...and of course, seeing Hakumen waiting there. That was Repede's plan of course.

Repede immediately barked, catching Hakumen's attention as he turned towards the dog.

"Are you planning to wait here as well?" the white knight asked, staring down at Repede.

In response, the dog laid down right besides Hakumen. Though it didn't really know much about the stranger, Repede seemed to trust him for some reason.

"It is a long wait." Hakumen continued, staring up at the sky.

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It wasn't even an hour later before a certain genius mage opened her eyes again. Taking a look around the room, she decided to get off the bed and stand over the sleeping Carl. "You...wake up." She ordered, shaking him awake.

"Huh? What....what time is it?" Carl asked groggily, still very disoriented from Rita's shaking.

"Nevermind that. You need to help me with something." She continued.

Carl yawned, reaching towards a table for his glasses. "It's the middle of the night. What can I possibly help you with?"

"That guy's weapon." Rita grinned. "You know, the one who seems to know you quite a bit. I want to study it. Right now. And you're going to help me borrow it and return it before the night is done." She said.

"Are you crazy?!" Carl exclaimed, before lowering the tone of his voice somewhat. He highly doubted anyone heard but still. "If Jin finds out we were tampering with his things, he'll kill us for sure."

"Yeah, I highly doubt he can do that. Besides, we're returning it before he's even awake." Frowned Rita. "Now come on. The faster we get this over with, the more time I'll be able to sleep."

With a sigh, Carl whispered, "Ada, can't you tell her that this is a stupid idea?" There was a short pause before he frowned again. "What do you mean it was your idea?"

"Come on." Rita said, heading out of the room with Carl reluctantly following her.

Slowly, the pair made their way to the next room, opening the door just slightly in order to make sure everyone was asleep. "There he is..." whispered Rita, spotting Jin sleeping on the bed. Strange...he seemed very calm. "Now, go get his sword." She ordered.

"What?! Why me?!" Carl hissed in irritation, before Rita pushed him into the room.

"Just hurry up. It would be better if a familiar face was caught by that guy instead of me." The young mage smiled.

"You're using me as a guinea pig?!" Carl whispered.

"I said hurry up..." continued Rita.

Luckily for Carl, Jin wasn't holding on to Yukianesa. At least...that's what he originally thought. It was propped to its side against a wall in its sheath. He was hesitant to reach out for it but grabbed the handle anyways, walking slowly back towards the entrance...and froze.

Not literally of course. He just stopped his movements.

"Y-Yuri...what are you..." Estelle murmured in her sleep. Carl sighed, before finally getting out the door where Rita was waiting. Heart pounding, Carl dropped down on the ground.

"Alright, now let's take it to our room." Rita smirked happily, leading the way.

"Evil..." Carl said quietly, having no choice but to follow the mage. Once they reached the room, Rita seemed to take something out from her supplies. Various objects that seemed like a chemistry set...at least from what Carl knows about chemistry. Some of them are just plain odd though. In that room, they continued to spend time weighing Yukianesa, acting surprised when they found out Yukianesa's blade was literally ice, and one important detail.

"I don't believe it." Rita gasped in amazement. "It's not using aer to create its desired effects. It's bypassing the Rizomata formula." She continued.

At this, Carl frowned. "Is that a good thing or a bad thing?" he asked.

"It's revolutionary, that's what it is." Rita answered, stopping her analysis. "I need to make a few notes on what's happening here. Your sister gave me some information when I was studying her but seeing this sword...it's giving me something I never even thought I'd be able to manage until a few years from now."

"Mhmm..." Carl replied, partially bored and partially interested. Rita did explain the basics of what's going on in this world. Blastia, aer....surprisingly enough, he managed to grasp the basics of the old formulas she showed him.

"There, done. We can give it back now." Rita said, turning to a half-asleep Carl. "You know what, for your help...I'll let you sleep. I'm taking this back." She continued.

Yawning Carl muttered, "Thanks Miss Mordio." Before going back to his bed.

"What? What are you looking at me for?" she asked Nirvana. "Yeah I know. He follows what I tell him to do a little too much. He complains a bit but at least he tells me what he thinks."

A pause.

"What do you mean he likes me? I don't understand you at all." Rita said in a bit of a flustered expression before heading out of the room.

As soon as he returned Yukianesa...right besides Jin's sleeping form...Rita made her way back. That didn't seem hard at all. At least, not that Rita felt it was overly difficult. It was mostly luck in hoping no one woke up.

"Good Night." She whispered, slipping back onto the bed and closing her eyes.