Margaretha was seated alone on a wooden bench, her eyes closed in quiet meditation. On her lap was a small bag containing her belongings and the string keeping it closed was wrapped around her right wrist. Her hands were clasped together in prayer.

A slight movement to her left broke her meditative stance. She glanced at what disturbed her and her eyes met with that of a strange, bespectacled man. She nearly gasped in surprise.

"I'm sorry if I disturbed you," said the man. Margaretha noted that though there was roughness in his voice, it was surprising gentle. Margaretha took a good look at him and saw that he was wearing scholarly-looking, yet somewhat tattered-looking coat. His face had a small trace of youthfulness left in it despite his short, white hair. Margaretha smiled at the stranger.

"There is no need to apologize, I was merely praying to Odin for a safe journey," said Margaretha. "My name is… Margaretha. And who might you be?"

"Ah…" the stranger smiled back at her before looking away. "I am but a lowly alchemist, whose name is unimportant."

"Nonsense…" began Margaretha, but noticed quickly that the alchemist had a stance that suggested that the matter should not be pressed. Unable to think of anything else to say, Margaretha simply fiddled the strings of her bag nervously.

"I am curious…" said the alchemist in a voice barely above a whisper. "What is a young acolyte doing here alone?"

"Ah…" Margaretha's expression suddenly became worried. Was she being targeted by this strange man? The alchemist noticed her expression and quickly held his hands out, his back bent away from her. "I'm sorry. I did not wish to frighten you. Rest assured, I mean you no harm."

Margaretha sighed with relief. Sure she was not alone with the stranger, with a good number of people passing by. "Still," she thought. "A girl could not help but worry for her safety when approached by a strange man." She silently wished that Eremes was with her.

"Is there something wrong?" asked the alchemist. Margaretha was startled. She quietly told herself not to become so deep in thought when talking with a stranger.

"N-Nothing is wrong." Margaretha sighed. "If you are to ask, I am waiting here for my friends. I believe they went to retrieve luggage, or refreshments or whatnot."

"You seem unsure."

Margaretha nodded. "I was meditating for a while but then I noticed that everyone had disappeared. I assumed that they went somewhere for a little while. I has been… quite a bit of time since then."

The alchemist looked at Margaretha curiously. His gaze made Margaretha uncomfortable. The sound of an airship rising into the sky interrupted them however. As it rose, it caused an updraft where they were sitting. People clutched onto their clothes and belonging as the airship slowly turned and moved away. Margaretha in particular held her hair down with one hand and clutched her bag tightly with the other. The alchemist seemed completely unfazed.

"By the way, If I may just ask… Does your ticket happen to be for the Flight D852?"

"Huh?" Margaretha had not looked at her ticket beforehand, so she did not know. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a ticket that Seyren gave her. "Why… yes it is. Why did you ask?"

The alchemist sighed before folding his arms, facing front once more. "That flight already left for Juno about an hour ago."

Margaretha was stunned. Was she truly meditating for so long that she did not notice? She felt a little angry at herself for being left behind, but felt even angrier at the thought of being forgotten. She decided that she would have to have a word with Eremes when they meet… again.

"T-This can't be happening!" exclaimed Margaretha as anger gave way to panic. "How am I supposed to meet with my friends again?! I…"

"Calm down Margaretha…" said the alchemist in a gentle voice. Somehow, the alchemist's words felt a little familiar to Margaretha, but she was too panicked to give it much thought. "Listen..." continued the alchemist. "I have friend from the Kafra corporation with me. If we are to go and meet her, she'll be able to set you up for a direct teleport to Juno."

"A-A direct teleport to Juno?" repeated Margaretha. The alchemist nodded. "The airship should only take a few hours to get there. You can wait for them there, perhaps even before they notice you were gone!" When he saw Margaretha's expression darken from his last statement, he nervously added, "O-Of course, they're more likely to be worried sick about you right now. But the airship will not stop to return for late passengers. Your best course of action is to definitely await them at Juno."

Margaretha sighed once more. She decided that she had little choice but to trust the alchemist. He seemed trustworthy enough... But still, something bothered her.

"May I ask? Why are you offering help to me?" asked Margaretha, adjusting her tone carefully. "This direct teleport to Juno… is unheard of."

"Oh I'm quite sure that as an adventurer, you know how steadfast with their duty Kafra girls are," replied the alchemist in a matter-of-fact tone. Margaretha felt slightly surprised at his calm answer. "As for the Juno teleport, I'm sure you understand. If everyone knew that there was a direct teleport to Juno, then nobody will ride the airships. The Airship company would come into conflict with the Kafra corporation. The problems are still being discussed by the council in Prontera. In the meantime, those wishing to make use of the direct teleportation service would have to pay a hefty fee."

"A fee?"

"Oh no need to worry my dear, I can speak with my friend to let you make use of this service for free just this once. I'll have to owe her a favour, but it shouldn't prove to be a problem."

Margaretha felt uncomfortable yet again. "Again I ask: why are you doing this? For a complete stranger?"

For a split second, Margaretha thought that the alchemist look at her with a distant expression was quickly replaced with a calm smile. "You might not believe me, but I work here at the Airship terminal. You seemed to be a in a bit of trouble, as it is unusual to see an acolyte by herself."

"Really…? And how does helping me help…"

"Oh it's to help with Customer Service, we could use much less complaints coming in, so it would benefit my peers to not have to deal with your situation. Not that I'm saying that it would be a bother to them, though!" The alchemist laughed. "Well then, shall we go?"

Margaretha nodded. The alchemist got up and motioned for her to follow. Margaretha slowly got and approached the alchemist, who briskly walked towards a nearby Kafra girl with short blue hair. Margaretha was surprised on how suddenly that Kafra girl appeared. She did not look like any Kafra girl she had seen.

"Hello my name is Sheila," said the blue-haired Kafra girl, bowing toward Margaretha. Noticing Margaretha's curious expression, she added, "If I look unfamiliar, it's because I hail from the Schwartzvald Republic. We hope that you will make use of Kafra Corp.'s services there as well!"

"Ummm okay…" murmured Margaretha, taken aback by the sudden introduction.

"Okay…" The Kafra girl nodded towards the alchemist before turning to Margaretha once more. "A special direct trip to Juno, coming right up! You should arrive at the town square. Another Kafra employee should meet you there, and will offer assistance in case you need it."

Margaretha smiled. Though uncertain with the strange alchemist's suggestion, there was no doubting the steadfastness of a Kafra girl. She nodded at the Kafra girl before turning to the alchemist.

"Um… I would like to thank you for this…" said Margaretha. The alchemist smiled at her and said, "We hope that you would be able to successfully our Airship service in the future!"

Margaretha nodded. As the Kafra girl completed her preparations for the teleportation, Margaretha took a moment to observe the alchemist once more. He was definitely familiar, but she could not think how. As the world faded around Margaretha as the teleport took effect, she was quite sure with one thing.

That alchemist definitely does not work for the Airship company.