Sorry for taking so long to update! I've been busy... I'll try to update the next one sooner! Again, sorry...

If you're wondering about the final title, it's for a Christmas present that Starry-chan made for me!

--Nightmare--

We travel through a mountain path, towards the city of Olive. I guess that'd be where the knights of Fenrir would either attack or station themselves, right? There's a gap of mountains between the city and the castle, but that probably keeps Sauound and his family safer. But I guess it doesn't help at all that there are monsters on the pass... I can smell them clearly. "Hey, watch out—there are daemons around!" The others nod and prepare their weapons, glancing around as they walk.

A pair of flying daemons charge us—I swiftly shoot at one, knocking it off course, while Cless easily moves out of the way and swings his sword at the other. Both fall to the ground, but they quickly pick themselves back up. Two land creatures—basilisks—charge forward as well. Ami, Cless, Suzu, and Dhaos take the front lines, while I shoot another arrow at one of the fliers. Behind me, the spell casters begin charging up. One of the birds charges me—

I aim to use Eagle Shot—no, too close! I don't have time...!

Right, I'll try something new! "Take this!" I spin around as wind shoots up in a spiral around me. "Aerial Laser!" I release the arrow straight into the enemy as he's stalled from the sharp wind. Perfect!

"Power Seal!"

"Ghost Blade!" Suzu calls out as she concentrates. I wonder what that does... She then attacks. Wait, is it just me... or has she somehow gotten faster...?

"Dragon Crush!"

"Sharpness!"

I aim at another enemy—the one Ami's fighting this time.

"Dual Punishment!" She spins in circles, her hammer out, and hitting the monster away from her—I change my aim to accommodate.

"Gale Shot!" The basilisk dies, and my sister happily turns to me with a thumb up.

...Yeah... I guess she did good in that battle... I nod and aim at the one Cless is fighting now. I shoot—

"Earthquake!" Arche calls out. Whoa...! Aww, she made me miss the enemy! Keh...

"I summon thee... Come, Gremlin's Lair!"

...Is that what he's calling the gremlins? What kind of name is that...?

All six of them jump out, the power of the Jade Ring supporting them. They surround one of the birds and jump up at it, slashing at it with their claws. Wow...! Those gremlins are pretty powerful... The bird dies in no time, and the gremlins return to the pact ring. Just two enemies left!

I shoot another arrow at the basilisk—it dies.

"Nurse!" Oh, were some of us hurt? I'm glad we have Mint to watch our backs...

"Suzu!" Ami calls out. "Let's do that one we talked about!"

"Right!"

Huh...?

Suzu jumps in the air while Ami holds her hammer out—she steps forward and goes into Dual Punishment while Suzu comes down with Crow Blade—"Spinning Punishment!" The bird falls back, dizzy. That's enough to make anyone dizzy...!

"Pyre Seal!" Milard's attack finishes the thing. All right!

"You're getting stronger, Milard," Dad compliments her.

"Of course! I have to watch you for when you rush straight in to battle."

"H-hey, I fully assess the situation first..."

"Klarth, do I need to mention how much form you lacked in that battle?"

"It wasn't that bad..."

I can't help but laugh—poor Dad! Some of the others join me. "L-let's go!"

"Yeah, yeah! You just don't want to admit that you got owned!"

"I did not. Besides, I had better form than some people!"

"Nuh-uh, don't turn this to me! I did fine!"

"Did you even notice that you got hurt, Chester-san?" questions Mint.

"I-I did?" Now they're laughing at me... "I bet my form was better than Arche's!"

"Hey, how would you know?! I didn't get hurt!"

"You were behind me!"

"See?! So you couldn't have seen my form!"

"But it's you. Since when did you do anything right—ow!" She hit me with her broom...

"Spineless moron."

"Wow, you actually came up with a new one! I'm impressed!" I tease.

"Hey, what's that—"

"Let us hurry on, before you two give the rest of us headaches," Dhaos speaks up. He turns and starts walking away. ...Wha?!

"Hey, since when did you act like a part of the group?!"

"I did not mean it like that. However, you two always argue without any thought to the rest of us or the mission at hand."

Keh, I think I know what annoys me so much about him... he always talks like he's better than me!

Everyone else starts following him. Hmph... I follow as well. I hate Dhaos...

The trail disappears into flat desert just ahead... we quickly reach it. I wonder where the Fenrir knights will be...

We notice Olive knights patrolling the area—they charge towards us. Wait a sec...

"We found them! These must be the Fenrir knights!"

"But they're mostly women and children..."

...Not this again...

"We are guests of Prince Sauound," Cless speaks up. "Since we are also warriors, we decided to help search for the Fenrir knights."

"My, what brave children..." Eh?! Where'd that voice come from...?

"How can we know that you're telling the truth?!"

"We just came from the castle! Hope showed us around... We met Chris, too!"

The knights hold up their swords and shields, in fighting position. Keh...

"Cless, I don't think they're going to listen to us."

"Humans are so irrational..." I hear Dhaos mutter. A second later, the knights yell out and charge at us—Cless, Ami, and Suzu hurry up to meet them, while Mint casts Barrier. I aim at a knight an shoot—keh, stupid armor!

I aim again—"Piercing Line!" All right—it knocks two knights back!

"Nightmare!" Runes charge forward from behind me, hitting a section of knights. Those knights fall asleep. Wow...!

"Stalagmite!"

"Debris Fall!"

Earth comes from above and below the group of knights, thanks to Dhaos and Arche. Heh, that was effective!

"We won, we won!" cheers the witch.

"We have no time to waste," the sparrow says.

"Aww, c'mon! You don't have to be so serious all the time, Suzu-chan!"

"Odin might not like this... we should hurry on quickly," Dad points out.

"They're strong for kids..." I hear another voice whisper.

"We should let them take out some more Odin knights for us; that'll save us the trouble of dealing with them!"

Keh, I won't be used! I've figured out where they're coming from—behind us and a little to the right. I spin around, notching an arrow on my bow and aiming it at the cliffs there. "Come out! I know you're there!"

Someone steps out—a Fenrir warrior, from the looks of it. Though... he's not dressed in armor; he has weapons, but his cloths are made for more flexibility than armor would normally allow. He's wearing a loose shirt and breeches, though all tied at the ends so as not to get caught anywhere. He says nothing—he only stares at us.

"I know there's more," I say as my companions get in fighting positions. I can smell them all... It's hard to tell exactly how many from the scent, but I'd say at least five.

"I don't suggest you bother with us, kid," the man says. "We're Fenrir's top division—try us, and your worst nightmares will come true."

"Sorry, I don't think you could do much worse to me than what's already been done," I challenge. It's true, though... I'm the worst nightmare here.

"Oh well, we warned ya..." Six of them charge at us—we quickly start battling again, same as last time. As the close combat commences, I shoot an arrow at one charging at me. Yes, it hit his shoulder—what the?! He's still coming!

"Acid Rain!"

"Power Seal!"

I move to the side as he swings at me—ow! He kicked me... ack! I barely dodge the sword again. I have to get away from him...! I run, trying to create distance between me and him—

"Toss Hammer!" The hammer hits him on the head, stalling him for a second.

"Thanks, sis!" I quickly notch another arrow and take aim. "Dragon Slayer!" The blast charges at him—it hits, and he falls. All right...! I notch an arrow and aim at another one.

"You just made a huge mistake, boy..." What the?! He's still standing?!

"H-hey, hold it! I hit you too hard for you to be standing!"

The man laughs. "I told you, we're your worst nightmare..." Ah...! He's morphing... he's a werewolf?! The other five jump back out of the battle, and they all morph into wolves, too.

...Heh... My friends and I grin at each other. "Well well, looks like they didn't do their research..." I joke.

"Aww, do the wolfies really think that they're that scary?" taunts Arche.

The wolves growl. "You stupid little brats... we're going to make you pay for making fun of us!"

"Hey Chester, what'd they say?"

"Oh, you know. The usual 'we'll make you pay' stuff. Geez, not only are they copying me, but they're using such over-used lines. They're worse than comparing vampires to zombies—at least they got a little original there!"

Most of them growl louder, but one stops, surprised. "You can... understand us?!"

"What, too wrapped up in your own narcissistic ways that you didn't even notice that I'm one of your kind?" I can't deny it... so... Maybe it'll be easier... if I make light of it, right...?

"You're... a werewolf?!"

"That's right, and my father just so happens to have silver... and be a researcher."

"Don't think you can scare us that easily!"

"Hey Dad, they said they'd be more than happy to help you with some of your experiments!" Heh, this is kinda fun! Dad grins.

"You little brat!"

"Didn't they say that they were Fenrir's top division or something?" Milard questions. "Do they mean Fenrir's top attraction... at the zoo?"

I can't hold it any longer—I laugh. That's great!

"Why you...!" Uh oh, they're riled up—they leap at us.

"Barrier Strike!" The Eternal Sword is in the ground in front of Cless as he and Mint pull off their combo. Nice...!

"Chester, let's do Piercing Light!" the witch calls out as she starts concentrating.

"Right!" I take aim... and shoot! "Piercing Light!" The light arrow goes through one wolf, and light beams hit the rest. Ha! That's perfect, especially doubled with Barrier Strike!

"And what should that one be called...?" I hear Dad mutter.

"How about 'Double Date'?" suggests Milard.

"Hey hey, hold it! Are you trying to suggest that me and Arche are..."

"Well it does fit," Dad argues with me.

"It does not!"

"Don't you think so, Arche-chan?" questions the meerkat.

"Yep!"

"Don't agree with them!"

"Onii-chan, watch out!" Wha?! I turn—ah, one's leaping at me!

"Demon Fang!"

"Demon Fist!"

Blasts knock him away just in time. Whew... "Thanks, Cless."

"Thank you, Cless-san, Dhaos-san!" Ami says happily.

"Keh..."

"Onii-chan! You should thank Dhaos-san for saving you!"

I glare at him. I don't know why, but for some reason... I'm even more annoyed with him now...

"I do not care," Dhaos says coldly. "This was a waste of time—let's get back to the castle."

"Right..." We turn back towards the castle—what the?! There's an explosion—fire and ice shoot out of one of the top windows of the castle, and the ground all around us shakes. Fire and ice rain down around the castle, seeming to fight the whole way down. "That blast..."

"...it was powerful magic..." Arche speaks up.

"Wha?!"

"Haha... you're too late," one of the werewolves says. "Queen Merilynn has succeeded in infiltrating the castle... There's no way you can get there fast enough!"

Merilynn...! "We have to hurry—Merilynn's there!"

"Right! Let's take the Rheairds!"

Oh yeah! I open the pack, and the flying machines jump out in front of me. We all jump on them—I end up behind my sister. Wait, why is she driving?! Oh well, this way I can still fight if I need to... We take off, shooting sand all over the werewolves, and fly towards the castle. It doesn't take us long to get there—whoa! Ami barely manages to dodge another blast of fire and ice.

"Hey, Ami, be careful!"

"I'm trying...!"

I glance in the window. I can see her back again—she's holding a dagger. "Next time you come back... I wanna learn how to fight! Okay?!" Looks like she learned on her own... "Merilynn!"

"It's time for you to die, Sauound of Odin," I hear her say.

"Not before you, Merilynn!"

Wait... but these two... were friends... "I want to see my friends again..."

"Fire Storm!"

"Ice Tornado!"

It shoots out again—"Barrier!" Whew...

"Thanks, Mint!" Cless says.

"Guards!" Sauound calls.

"My people have already taken care of them..."

"...Then will we take each other out? What a pathetic way to go..."

We can't get close with all of this fire and ice being slung around...!

"Sauound!" Wait, is that... Chris?! There's another blast—wow, it looks powerful...!

"Is everyone all right?!" I hear Dad call from below.

"Yeah!"

"We're fine over here!"

"What should we do?!"

I glance around—we've separated quite a bit because of the magic...

"Dammit!" I hear someone—Merilynn, I think—say. "So this is your friend, then?!"

"That's right! I'm Sauound's best friend!" There's another blast.

"Onii-chan, I'm going to lower us!"

"Be careful—they don't know we're out here!"

"Why you...! Aqua Laser!" As Merilynn shouts, my sister and I descend towards the window.

"Pull up!" Arche yells—we move out of the way of a water blast just in time. Whew...

I hear Merilynn curse again—wait, I think I hear armor... guards are coming!

"Ice Storm!" There's a blast of ice—ah! A black figure jumps out of the window. "Merilynn!" She lands on the back of a wolf and the dash off, across the sand.

"Hey!" Someone rushes to the window—wait...

"Odin?!" It's definitely him—he has the same blonde hair, same style, same blue eyes... He stares at us, surprised. In his hand, he holds a white staff, and his cloths are made of a fine, green silk.

"More?!" the man demands as a magic circle appears under him.

"Wait, Sauound!" Chris calls. "These are your guests!"

Huh?! "You're... Prince Sauound...?" Cless questions for us.

"That is correct," the young man says. He looks just like Odin... I wonder if Odin choose to look like him on purpose or...

He's staring at me. "Hey. It's been a while, huh?" I wonder if he recognizes me... I haven't changed at all, really, since it's only been a few days for me.

"You're that strange guy who teleported around, right?"

"I'm not strange!"

"Hm... You look the same..."

"I don't suppose we can come in to talk, can we?" Dad questions.

"Oh... right. Please come on in... I'll meet you in the lounge."

We lower the Rheairds. I don't get it... how come Sauound looks just like Odin? And why are he and Merilynn fighting now...?

We land just outside of the castle gates, much to the guards' surprise, and hop off of the machines. I store them in the magical capsule and we silently reenter the castle. Everyone's thinking about this... I guess we'll find out what's going on in a few minutes. Or at least... I hope we figure it out. We walk to the lounge and enter—what the?!

There are tons of guards in here...! Ah... now there are guards behind us as well! Sauound, Hope, and Chris are in here as well, the girl looking worried. Sauound glares at us as we enter. "Give me one reason not to arrest you." How many times are we going to go through this...?!

"H-hold on a sec! Why are you going to arrest us?!"

"You're Merilynn's friend, are you not?" he asks me.

"Yeah, but you and Merilynn are friends, right...?"

"Idiot. Weren't you watching...? We're enemies," the prince answers coldly. "We now fight each other... Merilynn, Kalinthra, Curtis, and me... Only one of us will survive in the end. Whose side are you on?"

"We are on no side," Dad speaks up. "We're simply travelers who wish to stay out of the war."

"If you wish to stay out of the war, then I suggest you have nothing to do with the royal families of any country... but I see that that's unlikely."

"Sauound!" Hope grabs his arm. "They really are kind people... Please let them go. I'm sure they'll do no harm..."

"They're friends with Merilynn, though..."

"I haven't seen Merilynn for fifteen years," I explain.

"About that... how do you look the same...?"

"Eh?! Really?!" Chris stares at me, surprised.

"I... I'm not sure how I was pulled to that time period, but..."

"Something probably pulled Chester to that time fifteen years ago," Dad says. "He wasn't even born by then, to be perfectly honest."

...'Perfectly honest'?! My great-grandparents weren't even thought of by that time! He's just trying to make it sound like we're normal people from this time, I think...

"So," Dad continues, "It's only been a few days for him, and I can assure you that he's quite confused by the changes that have taken place."

"...Very well. Then I suggest you leave the castle at once if you want nothing to do with the war."

"Sauound!" Hope runs over to us and then turns to face the prince. "These are kind and peaceful people... Even if you say no, I'm going to make sure they get to stay here for as long as they like!"

Sauound and Chris exchange startled glances before staring at their friend, surprised. "But Hope..."

"You owe them an apology, Sauound... Would a place to stay be enough...?"

"Yes, that'd be perfectly fine. Thank you, Hope," the summoner says.

"Dinner will be ready soon... feel free to rest as long as you want."

"Thanks." Heh, I like Hope! Well, I guess we can stay here... "I'm hungry."

"You're always hungry," teases Arche. "You going to get fat!"

"I will not!"

"You really have been eating a lot lately, Chester-san," Mint agrees.

"Don't worry, I've already informed them that we have guests, so we'll have a large dinner."

Sauound turns and walks out of the room without a word, and Chris nervously follows his best friend. I guess I'll have to wait until dinner to ask Sauound why he and Merilynn are fighting... if he'll answer. He doesn't seem very happy...

And how are we supposed to find out what's going on with Odin...? I guess we'd have to ask the god himself, but unless he comes to this time, that's unlikely... and I'd prefer it if he didn't come to this time...

Wait... Will Fenrir be able to find me when I turn into a wolf...? Ah! And I'm going to change tonight... Staying at the castle's a bad idea...!

"So where did you guys go earlier?" Hope questions.

"We went to town and had a run in with the Fenrir knights," Milard explains.

"We took out their top division, so you have nothing to worry about," agrees the sparrow.

"Wow...! You're all really strong! Ah..." She pauses, thinking. "A-are you all alright? I can take you to the castle doctors if you'd like—or Sauound! He's a cleric..."

"Thank you, Hope-san, but there's no need to worry. We're all fine, right?" Mint says.

"Yeah!"

"Oh good... I'm glad. Heh heh, better watch out or Sauound and Chris will try to recruit you guys as knights or researchers!"

Heh... "We will. I'd feel so bad denying their most sincere requests," I say jokingly.

"I wonder what sorta things they'd offer us!" Ah great... Arche's mind's going wild again... Keh, she's such an idiot...

"I hope Prince Sauound won't be mad at us for long..." my sister speaks up.

"Don't worry. He may seem cold and quiet, but he'll come to accept you before you know it. He's really a kind person, he just doesn't show it at first. Anyway, I have some things to do before dinner... That's at six o'clock in the dinning hall. You can ask people where I am if you need to talk to me before then."

"Thanks, Hope."

"Please have a nice stay." The young woman waves at us before exiting the room.

"Well... now what?" I question.

"We won't be able to stay here tonight, but we might as well have dinner... as long as we get out before the sun sets," Dad says. "We'll let you keep track of that, Chester."

"We don't need to stick together while in the castle, correct?" questions Dhaos.

"No, I guess we don't. We should probably take this chance to rest and stock up on supplies... Try not to be late to dinner." Hey, he's staring at me and Arche!

"Keh, I'll be there on time!"

"Why are you looking at me?!"

"Need I remind you how you two were late most often to my class?"

"I'll be there before you! You'll see!" Arche declares before storming over to Milard. "Hey Milard, can I have that Judgment spell book now?"

"Sure. Here it is..." Milard reaches into the pack and pulls it out; she hands it to the witch.

"That's the one that Cathy gave you, right? You haven't learned the spell yet?" questions Cless.

"Arche's as slow as molasses..."

She glares at me. "Oh shaddup! I haven't had time to read it yet with all of the running around!" With a 'hmph!', she turns and walks out of the room, the large book in her hands.

"I'll leave the pack in one of the guest rooms if anyone needs anything from it," Milard offers. She also leaves, followed closely by Ami. What should I do while waiting for dinner...? I guess I'll explore the castle or something...

Everyone goes their own ways, and I start wandering through the halls. There are lots of maids around, cleaning the large halls. Everything's very open—large doors that are wide open to bright rooms, huge windows with no covers... Everything's very bright and large. I reach a warp portal that can go up or... there are two going down... I'll try the right down one, I guess. I enter it and it takes me to a new, more closed-off area... Everything's a dark crimson here... In front of me are large, metal doors that are closed. Is this the dungeon...? No, I don't smell anyone on the other side... It smells more like... earth... And I hear something on there, like a strange liquid... Hm... I grab the handle of the door—ow! It's hot...! It's not silver—probably iron—though silver usually feels something like that... Anyway, I better not worry about this door; I don't really have any right to be opening it anyway after almost being arrested three times.

I take the portal back. There's a large clock here... Ack, it's almost six! I guess I should figure out where the dinning hall is... I don't think it's on this hall; I warp up another level and walk around that hall. More big rooms... Geez, does Sauound and his family even use all of these rooms...? I don't think the dining room's up here... I'll try up one more level before heading back down. Huh... this one won't teleport me... Maybe it's broken? Anyway, it's not up there... I go down a few levels, this time taking the other down portal.

...I think I'm lost...

There are people in lab coats around now... Is this where they do research? ...Somehow, I don't think this the right floor, either. But I can ask someone... I walk up to the closest person. "Excuse me, can you tell me where the dinning hall is?"

"Are you a guest? Well, Lester-san will be out of the lab and heading that way soon, so you can follow him." Lester... He means Chris, right?

Ah, there's Chris... and Dad. He would be down here... They're hurrying this way; noticing me, they walk straight over to me while I wait. "Oh, hello again! You're Klarth's son, right? Did you also want a tour of the research section of the castle?" ...He sounds a little too excited about that...

"Actually, I'm just lost."

"Oh... Haha, come on. It's about time for dinner, isn't it? We can have a servant show you around after that if you'd like—though if you want to see this part, I'll be more than happy to show you!"

"I think I'll skip, thanks."

"Chester lacks an interest in research," the summoner explains.

"Aww... that's too bad..." As we talk, Chris leads us up through one warp portal. This is the floor that the lounge is on... I think. "I'm almost done in there for now... After we get a few more things done, they can go without me. Then I can finally have a break... We have to work hard with the war going on!"

"What was that weapon you used, anyway...?" I question.

"Oh, this?" He pulls out the small device. It's a silver color—hopefully iron or something—and the barrel is bulky. It looks to have a few outlets for magic... or is that where it gathers magic? There are magic circles drawn all over it, too. "It's a magitech gun. It's the first one I made, so I'm quite proud of it! It's small, but it can shoot off a ton of energy!"

"Magitech is quite commonly use in the kingdoms, correct?"

"Yep! Well, except in Heimdall... But Princess Kalinthra's only working for peace, and who knows what the king and queen are doing in the elf colony. Oh yeah, and Mizuho doesn't use magitech, either, though they're just a small village."

"Mizuho?"

"Yeah. They're a village that protects Yggdrasil... Though I've heard that they're finally going to officially become part of the kingdom of Thor."

"Does Thor own the whole continent with Yggdrasil on it?" questions my father.

"Yep! Well, all except the area owned by Mizuho... They've managed to stay peaceful somehow! It's in dispute as to who owns Yggdrasil, but it's dangerous for anyone to get near it right now... Once Mizuho joins Thor and they finish their magitech generator, we'll be in trouble... No one will stop Thor then."

Mizuho, huh...? That'd be where Miguel is by our time...

"Well, here we are!" Chris announces as he lets us enter the large dinning room before him. Wow...! This is huge...! The table is long, and Sauound and what looks to be his parents are already seated. Next to Sauound is Hope, who greets us with a smile. Most of the others are here, too... Wait, where's Arche? Keh, she would be running late... We sit down; Chris sits next to Hope, while Dad and I fill in near our friends.

"Are we missing anyone from your group?" Hope questions.

"Arche," we all chorus.

"Who's going to go find her?" Mint questions, a worried tone in her voice.

"Chester," Suzu pipes up.

"Hey, why me?!"

The steed leans over to me and whispers, "Because you have the best senses among everyone here... and a pretty good sense of direction."

Keh... I have half a mind to tell him I got lost in the castle so I won't have to go... Oh well. "Fine, fine... I'll be right back."

She went to read, didn't she? Hm... Maybe she's in one of the guest rooms? I head that way.

I don't even pick up her scent... "Arche?" But I have to be sure; I'm still new to this whole scent thing. Nope... she's not in any of these rooms. Hm... I'll ask a maid. I stop the first one I see. "Hey, have you seen a teenage girl wandering around? She has bright pink hair and strange, clown-like cloths..."

"Hm... Oh yeah! I think I saw her going towards the indoor courtyard."

"Where's that?"

"It's up a level, just above the dinning room."

"Thanks!" All right, that makes things a ton easier! I head over to the warp portals and warp up a level. Now then, above the dinning room would be... Huh, I guess I didn't really go that far on this floor... Ah, here we go!

The courtyard is completely open—no doors leading out to it or anything. The roof has a sky... it looks almost like this place really is outdoors... There's grass all around, and even a gentle breeze... There's a nice, neat stone path for walking on, and there are plenty of fountains and statues to help with the beautiful look. There are benches set up so people can relax here... There are also lots of flowers around... Ami would probably love to come play here. Heh, but she might mess something up, knowing her...

I can smell her scent, but it's not that strong... has she already left? Keh...

I follow the path towards the center of the courtyard; I might as well walk through it, just to be sure. Huh... There's a portal here... It can only be accessed from one side because of the fountains, and it looks like it can be easily closed off. I guess if it wasn't secure, it'd be a good entry point for invaders... I step on the portal.

Within seconds, I'm out in the open, wind blowing through my hair. I definitely smell Arche's scent now... There she is. She's sitting on the top of a castle wall, the book in her lap as she reads. I walk over to her; she hasn't even noticed me yet. Heh heh, I can have some fun with this! I move around so I'm behind her.

...Wait, she's not holding her broom and she's on a ledge... I guess scaring her now might turn out bad... Keh... Fine. "Hey, Arche. It's time for dinner." She slowly stares up at me, as if trying to comprehend what I'm saying. "Come on, we need to eat so we can get out of here before the moon comes out—ack!" She pulls me down so I'm practically sitting on top of her. Wha?! "What the heck are you doing?!" I pull myself back, but she won't let me stand; I'm sitting on the edge of the ledge. Keh...

"We can skip dinner, can't we? Since we don't have night anymore..."

"Arche, stop randomly going crazy on me!"

"What are you talking about? There's no one else here to impress, you know."

"I'm not trying to impress anyone! I'm trying to figure out why you're always so weird!"

"I am not! We were just talking about it!"

"What are you talking about?! I just got here!" What's wrong with her?! "You were reading!"

"Huh...?" She stares at the book in her hands. "No I wasn't..."

Eh...? "...You learned the spell, right?"

"Uh... yeah!"

"Then show me."

"Now?"

"Yes now!"

"Um... Well..." She stands up and picks her broom up off the ground. She floats up in the air and begins concentrating, while I wait. Something doesn't seem right here... "Here goes... Earthquake!"

The castle begins shaking. "Idiot! That's not the one you just learned—you've used it before! And don't use it on the castle! Keh... Didn't you call this one Judgment or something?!" That's what the front of the book says...

"Um... Well..."

"Well what?!"

"I... I started reading it, but..." She looks down, nervous.

This is unbelievable... "Really now?"

"Hey, I did!"

I pick the book up and open it to the first page. "All right, what's the first word?" It's 'the'...

"Um..." She turns red.

"Well?"

"I..."

"You didn't even try reading it, did you?"

"I did! I came up here to read it, but just as I opened it, you came up..."

"You were tuned into the book when I came up! You didn't even notice me!" I argue.

"That's not true!"

"You're making things up again!" Geez, she's enough to give anyone a headache... Why does she go weird like this sometimes?! Let's see, when else has she done this...

The first time was in Tethe'alla, when we were in the library with Lloyd's group... After that, she went weird that time we were traveling to Heimdall, after she looked through that dictionary... Then at the restaurant, when we were trying to order food... The next time was in Morlia, after the night we got drunk... And now, when she was supposed to be learning Judgment...

"Jerk..." she mutters. "Fine, let's go to dinner." The girl walks to the portal, and I follow her. Is there something similar about all of those times...?

I wonder if this has to do with her curse... I should definitely ask the others about it later!

Milard gained the title of Taunter. What, are you trying to attack? You're going to have to do better than that...

Chester gained the title of Nightmare. To normal people, werewolves are something to fear... I am their worst nightmare.

Arche gained the title of Crazy Girl. Why does she suddenly make things up?! She makes no sense...

Starry-chan gained the title of Fenrir's Artist. It is a title given to one who drew a beautiful picture portraying Teishi ni Hikkakamasu.

Chester learned Aerial Laser.

Suzu learned Ghost Blade.

Dhaos learned Dragon Crush.

Milard learned Nightmare.

Ami learned Toss Hammer.