CHAPTER 5 - PROGRESSION

"Ugh… Sooooo hot."

"I'm sick of this heat already."

"Talking about it is making me feel even hotter…"

"Can we PLEASE stop saying the word 'hot'?"

The school year had reached the peak of the summer months, which meant that the sweltering sun was out in full force. Sadly, being indoors did very little to diminish the summer heat; the open windows were the only things keeping Class VII from baking inside their own classroom.

"The academy should install an orbal air conditioner…" Alisa muttered. "At least then it'd be a little easier to cope…"

"Orbal…?"

"...Air conditioner?"

"It's this device that blows out cool air to help regulate a room's temperature," Alisa explained. "Maybe it'd help if you think of it as the opposite of a stove."

Gaius's eyes widened. "Wow. That's some kind of wizardry."

Off to the side, Emma started coughing for apparently no reason.

"I've heard of them," said Machias, "but aren't they supposed to be prohibitively expensive? Only the most modern buildings seem able to afford them."

"Modern buildings, huh?" Morgan groaned at the dated interior of their classroom. "Guess that means we're out of the running."

"This IS a military academy," Emma reminded her. "I doubt we can expect to be indulged that much."

Laura wiped a bead of sweat from her brow. "I'll admit, the summer heat here is more difficult to cope with than in Legram. But as long as I think of it as another part of my training, it doesn't bother me all that much."

"Bareahard gets similar summer heat waves, but there's usually a breeze blowing in from the canyon at this time of year. That does make summers a bit easier to manage."

"Ymir is up in the mountains, so it's pretty cool even around this time of year."

Morgan heaved a sigh of jealousy. "Must be nice, having hometowns with bearable summer weather. I'm surprised you three didn't take the opportunity to go back home just for that alone."

True to the school's military roots, Thors only allowed extended vacations over the new year's holiday, making it a notable exception among affluent Erebonian schools to hold mandatory classes in the summer. However, nobles were allowed to visit home during this time frame, ostensibly to give them time to become familiar with their family's holdings. Naturally, this offer was extended to Rean, Jusis, and Laura as well, but to the surprise of their classmates, they decided to stay in Trista and face the heat.

"If everyone else was going home, I would've considered it…" said Rean. "But in the end, I decided against it. I mean, it wasn't all that long ago I got to see Elise. Maybe next year."

"I came here to train," Laura stated. "Until I feel like I've made significant progress, I have no intention of returning home."

"Some of you already know my feelings about Bareahard," Jusis answered with a small scowl. "I'd much rather stay here and take my chances with heatstroke."

Elliot scratched his cheek. "Y-You're really that uncomfortable at home, huh…?"

The conversation shifted around several other topics as the students continued to wait for their instructor to arrive so they could begin homeroom. They discussed the upcoming West Zemuria Trade Conference, an international summit between the various continental powers that was to be held in Crossbell at the end of the month. Identifying the major players of the conference led to the students talking about Chancellor Osborne, who, along with Prince Olivert, would be attending the conference as a representative of the Erebonian Empire. This, naturally, segwayed to talking about the Imperial Liberation Front, the group that Class VII had encountered during their field study. From what they were able to gleam from their cryptic speeches, the terrorists appeared to have the Blood and Iron Chancellor as their main target, and since the chancellor was going to attend the trade conference in Crossbell, would that entail that the ILF were going to strike there next? Unfortunately, the students didn't have the answer to that question, but the thought alone made the air in the classroom very uncomfortable.

"Morgan, you worked at the palace, correct?" Gaius asked. "Does that mean you've met Chancellor Osborne before?"

"I have, but it's not like we were close or anything. I was mostly either doing chores with the other servants or attending to Her Highness, but we did exchange pleasantries every once in a while." Morgan then leaned forward and cupped her mouth with her hand. "And just between us? He's just as scary off the job as he is when he's on it."

"You must've met a lot of the Empire's bigwigs, haven't you?" Rean remarked.

Morgan puffed out her chest. "Hehe. You jealous? Well, I wish I could brag more, but those times were mostly when I was with Her Highness, so most of the attention was on her, not on little ol' me; I doubt some of them remember what I even look like."

"Well, you were wearing that mask, right?" Alisa remembered. "Anyone would have a hard time recognizing you with that on."

"And it's not uncommon for servants to cover their faces with veils and the like," Jusis added. "It drives the focus away from them so that people's attention is more easily placed on their masters."

"And that actually works?"

"It happens a lot more often than you think, Elliot," Emma responded. "Do you remember what Instructor Sara taught us last week about selective attention? 'People pay closer attention to what they want to see, which can cause them to block all other stimuli from their field of perception.'"

Fie nodded her head. "That's where we get tunnel vision. Covering your face lets you blend into the background more easily, too."

"Never thought I'd see combat studies be applied to daily life," Rean said with a laugh. "But speaking of Sara, where IS she? Homeroom should have started about ten minutes ago."

The students unconsciously shifted their eyes to the door to their classroom.

"I swear, that woman…" Alisa sighed. "She'd better not be sleeping off another hangover back at the dormitory."

Fie smirked. "Wouldn't put it past her."

Morgan laughed. "Haha! That's Sara for you. Former A-Rank bracer one moment, hard-drinking party girl the next! Our upstanding instructor, ladies and gentlemen!"

And of course, the door decided to slam open right then and there.

"Thanks for the introduction, Morgan! Now back to your seats, everyone!"

"Ack!" Morgan yelped. "Speak of the devil, and she shall appear!"

"Who are you calling a devil?" Instructor Sara pouted for a brief moment. "Anyways, sorry I'm late, but I've got a good reason today! Does anyone wanna guess?"

All the members of Class VII had returned to their seats and were now looking at each other in confusion.

"No? Okay. Well, it's because…" Instructor Sara paused for dramatic effect. "We're going to be welcoming two new classmates today!"

"...Beg your pardon?"

"Transfer students?! At this time of year?"

"Yup. Those were the reactions I expected." Their instructor turned to the door, which was still open. "All right, both of you! Come on in!"

Two voices, one male and one female, responded to Sara's instructions.

"Right-o!" "Okey-dokey!"

Morgan nearly jumped out of her seat when she heard the first voice. 'No way…'

Her suspicions were confirmed as one Crow Armbrust entered the room. Following him was a petite girl with a black beanie seated on top of her light blue hair. Morgan had never seen her before, but judging from some of her classmate's reactions, she was no stranger to Class VII.

The classroom subsequently erupted into chaos.

"C-Crow?!"

"Yo! How's it going, Morgs?"

"Don't call me Morgs!"

"That girl! Isn't she…?"

"The one from the Nord Highlands!"

"Yuppers! Long time no see, guys!"

"Let's start over from the beginning…" Instructor Sara said once the class finally settled down. "These two are going to be your new classmates for the next three months. Crow, how about you start with the introductions?"

"Sure thing!" The second-year student jovially pointed his thumb at himself. "I'm Crow Armbrust. Starting today, I'll be joining you fine folks as a member of Class VII. It's gonna be pretty sweet, guys!"

"Okay, yeah. Sure. We get that. But why, though?" Morgan slammed her desk. "Aren't you a second-year?"

"Hehe. You sure you wanna know?" Crow smirked. "It's a long tale, fraught with the intrigue of school politics-"

"He failed too many of his classes in his first year, so long story short, he's gonna be joining our class as part of his remedial lessons," Sara answered matter-of-factly.

"Remedial lessons, eh?" A devilish grin crept onto Morgan's face. "Cute. REAL cute."

"That's an even more pathetic reason than I was bracing myself for," Machias agreed.

"Hahaha!" The blue-haired girl playfully pointed her index finger at a now-humiliated Crow. "Hurts to be you, Crow!"

"To Crow's credit…" Instructor Sara continued. "I think most of you already know that he was one of the trial users for the ARCUS tests they ran last year. He'll be a role model for you in that sense when the time comes for your field studies."

"Whew! Thanks for the save there, Instructor!"

"Don't get used to it, slacker. And next up…"

Instructor Sara's voice trailed off as she narrowed her eyes at the other transfer student. The rest of Class VII, particularly those who had not met her before, held their collective breaths as they waited for her to introduce herself.

"Huh? Oh! Was that supposed to be my cue?" the blue-haired girl asked. "Hi, guys! I'm Millium! Millium Orion! I work for the Intelligence Division!"

The students did a double take at the way that last sentence flowed without restraint from her mouth.

"She's WHAT?!"

"Yeah, she is." Rean, along with those who had encountered Millium before in the Nord Highlands, comparatively showed only a dull surprise.

"And this…" Just when it felt like Millium didn't have any more surprises, she raised her hand and, just a second later, called a floating silver object to phase into existence. "...is Airgetlam! But we'll just call him Lammy for short."

The strange silver automaton greatly resembled the combat shells that Sara frequently had Class VII fight during their practical exams, though this one was far larger in comparison. It also seemed to possess a degree of intelligence, as it struck a pose to introduce itself, bending its side protrusions in a way that resembled a human putting their hands on their hips.

"Wh-What the hell is THAT?!" Machias stammered.

"Ah!" Morgan pointed at the flying automaton. "That's the thing that was escaping from Aurochs Fort!"

Instructor Sara placed her folder on Millium's head. "Just a little house rule before anything gets blown up: no bringing that thing out in the classroom. Or any room, for that matter. If he accidentally smashes a wall or blasts through the ceiling, I'm the one who's gonna get chewed out for it."

Millium puffed out her cheeks. "Booooo…"

"And I'll tell Claire about it."

"Fiiiiiine…" Millium waved her hand again, and Airgetlam disappeared as quickly as it appeared. "Aaaaaanyway! Nice to meet'cha guys!"

"Well, I can see we're in for some fun times these next three months!" Crow gave a saluting gesture with his index and middle fingers. "Nice to meet'cha guys!"

Rean gave a pleading look at his homeroom instructor. "Tell me you're kidding. Please?"

"I really wish I could…" Sara's hand was placed over her forehead. "But the chancellor did promise us at the end of last month that he'd give us some additional assistance. I sure wasn't expecting him to send him one of his own Ironbloods, though."

"Ironbloods…" Morgan muttered. "The group of people that directly serve His Excellency."

"Yuh-huh! That's us! Me, Claire, Lechter, and one other person!" Millium put her hands behind her head. "We even have our own codenames! Mine's 'White Rabbit', by the way."

A long beat of silence passed over the classroom.

"...Is she always going to spout out government secrets THIS overtly?" Jusis asked drily.

Machias shook his head in subtle agreement. "The Intelligence Division's done for…"

*tap* *tap* *tap*

A knocking sound came from the door, followed by a male voice that said, "I've got two new desks for you!"

"Great! Thanks, Gyler!" Sara called out. "Perfect timing. Now that we've said hello to our new members, it's time to give them a spot in the classroom. Can you guys start moving the tables into three rows of four? After that, we'll discuss your new seating placements."

"New seating placements?"

The students wondered how that was going to work out. Before, they were divided evenly among the genders, with the girls taking the five seats in the front and the boys taking the five in the back. If the new desk arrangements called for three rows of four, then there was bound to be some intermingling. Of course, all of them were more comfortable around each other now than they were at the beginning of the year, so no one voiced any complaints.

Eventually, all the seats were in place. Sara brought out a sheet of paper from her folder and walked to the front row of desks.

"Starting from the left…" Instructor Sara pointed her finger at the desk closest to the left wall and made her way across the row. "Fie, Machias, Jusis, Millium."

"Of course the short people are in the front…" Fie grumbled to herself.

"Well, if you were behind someone, you'd have an easier time sleeping in class!" Machias reasoned.

"Ahaha! This is gonna be so much fun!" Millium practically jumped into her new seat.

Jusis groaned to himself. "A gremlin on one side, my mortal enemy on the other. What in Aidios's name did I do to deserve this?"

Sara paid no attention to their individual comments and moved to the row behind them. "Next up, we have Emma, Laura, Gaius, and Elliot."

"Oh! Guess we're still sitting next to each other, Gaius!"

"Haha. We started the year in the same group in the old schoolhouse as well."

"I look forward to this new arrangement, Emma."

"Yes! Likewise, Laura!"

"And finally in the back, we have Alisa, Rean, Crow, and Morgan!"

"I-I'm...sitting next to Rean?" Alisa muttered to herself, a hint of red glossing over her cheeks.

"You've GOT to be kidding me."

"Hey! Looks like I'm with familiar company!" Crow winked at Morgan. "Try not to get too distracted from sitting next to me, 'kay?"

"You're one to talk, slacker," Morgan fired back. "Pay attention in class, or I'll tell Towa you were hitting on me."

"Oof. Talk about nerves of steel."

"COLD steel. But don't worry; you'll get used to her." Rean held out his hand. "Here's hoping we can get along, Crow."

Crow enthusiastically shook his new classmate's hand. "Sure thing, Reanster! We're gonna have a blast!"

And so, that was how Class VII suddenly acquired two new members to their ranks. At first, no one was sure what to make of the new transfers, but over the course of the next few days, it began to feel like they'd been there all along.

8/19 - Erebonian History

"...I'm sure none of you need to be reminded that it was none other than Emperor Dreichels who ended the War of the Lions, but did you know that historical records tell us he had amazingly few soldiers under his command? Initially, his allies numbered only a few confidants and several warriors from Nord. And while supporters rallied to him in each region, his ranks still couldn't hope to compare to the other prince's armies. Nonetheless, they continued to advance, liberating region after region, and after half a year of bloody battles, Prince Dreichels met perhaps his most well-known supporter."

Instructor Thomas's gaze landed on one of the new members of Class VII. "Millium, right? Would you happen to know the historical figure to whom I'm referring?"

"Sure do!" Millium energetically stood up and raised her hand. "Lianne Sandlot! Also known as the Lance Maiden."

"Oooh, right you are! Well done."

'She's keeping up with the rest of us pretty well…' Morgan observed from the back of the class. 'Especially since she's only thirteen. I'm guessing Captain Claire must've helped her study.'

Morgan then snidely looked to her immediate right. 'And on the other end of the spectrum…'

In the seat next to her, Crow Armbrust was unapologetically snoozing away in his seat. The only reason he managed to get away with it without the instructor noticing was because the person seated directly in front of him, Gaius, was one of the taller members of the class.

Morgan snapped her fingers under the sleeping student's nose and hissed, "Hey! Crow! Wake up!"

"Snrrk...huh?!" The bubble that was blowing in and out of Crow's nose popped. "Whoa. Must've dozed off. Sorry, what were we talking about?"

Morgan rolled her eyes. "Well, if you must know-"

"...Why don't you tell us, Crow?"

"Huh?" Upon hearing his name being called out by Instructor Thomas, Crow blinked and looked around the room in a panic. Everyone's eyes were on him. "M-Me?"

"Yes! What was the name of the famous band that served under the Lance Maiden?"

"Lance Maiden's...band? Wait, I know this one!" Crow confidently stood up and gave his answer. "They were called the Eisenritter! That also translates to 'Iron Knights', by the way."

"Correct on both fronts!" Instructor Thomas nodded in approval. "It's good to see that you still remember some of this from your first year. I'll be sure to rely on your guidance in the future, Crow!"

"Haha...ha…" Crow did his best to smile as he sat back down in his seat.

Morgan snickered, smiling genuinely where Crow could not. "Ha! He said he'll be relying on you."

"Ugh, shoot me now…"

Her smile disappeared. "You were lucky. Don't think I'm going to bail you out a second time."

From Crow's right side, Rean smiled at the little exchange between the two. "You don't like history, Crow?"

"I mean, it's all stuff I've learned before. I'm surprised you guys're all still awake!"

"You just don't see the appeal in it."

"Yeah, but this is all old news, you know, Morgs? It's not like all these past events are just gonna suddenly come back to bite you in the ass."

"Don't call me Morgs," Morgan retorted. "And you'd be surprised at how often history repeats itself. At least, that's what my father said. Studying what happened in the past can help influence your present decisions so you don't make those same mistakes."

"I guess that's why I don't click with this." Crow put his hands behind his head and reclined into his seat. "I'm more of a forward-looking person myself, if you catch my drift. Live big, dream big."

"Then in that case…" Morgan slapped her pencil on Crow's desk. "Focus on what you need to do in the present first, which is paying attention. Once you're more stable, THEN you start planning your future."

"Hm? Is something going on back there?"

The noise that Morgan made by slapping her pencil had caught the attention of Instructor Thomas.

"Uh, n-no, Instructor! Please go on."

The bespectacled instructor nodded his head. "Alright, but if you have any future questions, please let me know by raising your hand! I find it a more suitable alternative to banging on your classmate's desk."

Morgan looked down, feeling humiliated. "Yes, sir…"

Now it was Crow's turn to start snickering to himself. "Wise words, Morgs. I'll definitely be remembering that."

8/20 - Swimming

"And time!" Alisa stopped her stopwatch. "You're not too bad at swimming, Millium!"

"Really? You really think so?" Millium wondered as she was helped out of the swimming pool. "Actually, that was the first time I've ever swam in a pool."

"You could've fooled us! You're definitely not cut from the same cloth as Morgan, that's for sure."

Millium's eyes started sparkling. "Huh? What happened with Morgan? I wanna hear!"

"She sank like a rock," Fie replied succinctly.

"Oooooh, z'at true?"

"...I'm right here, you know."

Millium, Alisa, and Fie tried not to pay attention to Morgan's closed eyes and subtle twitching of her eyebrow. Fortunately, Instructor Sara spared them from any further comments by calling Morgan to take her place on the starting block.

"Just keep calm, Morgan!" Laura called out. "Remember our training."

"You've got this!" Rean shouted.

"Yeah! What they said!" Crow flashed a thumbs up. "Focus on what you need to do in the present and all that!"

"Rrgh…" On the inside, Morgan was dreading that Crow had front-row seats to see her in a swimsuit. Not only that, but her progress when it came to swimming was incomprehensibly slow compared to how she was on land. If she somehow didn't make it to the other side today… Morgan did not need that kind of humiliation hanging over her. That was enough to distract her from how surprisingly toned Crow's body was for a long-ranged fighter…

'No! Snap out of it, Morgan! Keep calm. Inhale, exhale…' Morgan breathed in once, then breathed out slowly. 'You're not the same old Morgan you were a month ago! You're Super Morgan! Like a butterfly flying into the sky, except through the water! Maybe a sea butterfly? Wait, do those even exist?'

She slapped her hands on her cheeks. "I'm making it this time for sure!"

"On your mark!" Instructor Sara called out. "Go!"

Morgan dove headfirst into the water. Her feet kicked off from the bottom of the pool, propelling her back up to the surface. Then, she began moving her arms and kicking her feet in an attempt to move forward and stay afloat at the same time. Occasionally, she would turn her head to the side so she could get a breath in.

Morgan continued crawling through the water. She began to wonder if this lap would ever end. Everyone else made it look so easy!

She noticed that she had unconsciously started veering to the left. Why did everything have to look so blurry underwater?

She just kept going. And going. And going…

Until at long last, the palm of her hand touched the other side.

Her classmates erupted into a storm of celebratory cheers and applause.

"Hell yeah!" Morgan raised her arm in triumph. "How do you like that?! You can do anything, even if you're a tactician that doesn't know how to swim! Woo-GRBLHR!"

Morgan had made the mistake of taking her other arm off the side of the pool in her celebratory stupor, causing her to promptly drop below the water's surface. Everyone scrambled to pull her out of the water before she was submerged completely.

"You see that?" Sara wiped a tear from her eye. "That's dedication, right there."

"Yo, are you serious?" Compared to everyone else, Crow looked more confused than anything. "That has GOT to be the slowest I've ever seen anyone swim 25 arge."

"Let her have her moment. This one's been coming for a while."

"And, uh, what was her time exactly?"

Sara showed him the time she recorded on her clipboard.

"Wh-Whoa…"

"Mm-hmm. With this, I can confidently say that as far as swimming is concerned, she's in the lowest percentile of her year."

"You say that like it's a good thing."

"Considering she almost drowned last month? We'll take anything at this point."

"It's not about swimming fast!" Morgan said as she approached the pair. "It's about doing what you can to not drown! I'll take today as a win."

"Yeah? Well, good for you!" Crow flashed a playful smirk at Morgan. "And hey! Even if you can't swim, at least you're cute! People would jump at the chance to save you!"

Morgan started to feel self-conscious again. She adjusted the shoulder straps of her swimsuit. "Just remember to keep your eyes up front, Trickster."

"Yes, ma'am." Crow gave a mocking salute. "But then again, compared to the other lady Sevens, it's not like there's not much to see-OW! My foot!"

As Morgan walked away from a limping Crow, Sara mulled over the students' times. "All the guys got faster times this week, too…" she muttered under her breath. "Crow's always been athletic, same with Rean and Gaius. I can understand Jusis and maybe Machias. But Elliot too? Maybe I'm overthinking things…"

8/21 - Gender Divided Lessons

"Rrgh… Uuu…"

"Laura, are you...crying?"

"I...I can't help it!" Laura protested. "It's these onions!"

"You get used to it," said Morgan. "Emma, is the meat ready?"

"We just need to add the salt and egg! Fie? Millium?"

"One egg, coming up." Fie tapped an egg on the side of the meat bowl and gently opened both sides of the shell, letting the raw contents fall cleanly into the bowl.

"Very good, Fie!" Instructor Mary praised. "You've come a long way since the beginning of the year."

"Mm. Thanks."

"Me next! Me next!" Millium plopped a small dish filled with salt next to the meat bowl. She grabbed a fingerful of salt, raised her arm above her head, and sprinkled the salt downwards while striking a pose. While some of the salt landed into the bowl, the majority of it fell in a circle around the intended target.

"Aw, whoops! I was trying to do something Lechter showed me once. Maybe it's cause I'm not wearing sunglasses…"

"I'm not sure what sunglasses have to do with this," Alisa said as cleaned up Millium's mess. "But I'm pretty sure that'd just make your aim even worse."

Laura stepped in to insert her diced onions into the mixture before leaving to go wash her face. Morgan then took her place in front of the bowl.

"So you guys are sure about this?" Morgan asked. "You REALLY want me to do the rest?"

"Why so serious, Morgan?" Millium asked innocently. "It's just sticking your hand in some meat! What's the worst that can happen?"

"A lot of things, actually…" Fie commented.

"Just relax, Morgan!" Alisa said. "If you can keep up with Sharon when she's cooking, you can handle anything!"

"Th-This and that are two completely different things!"

"Morgan…" Instructor Mary spoke up. "I'm not entirely sure why you've always abstained from doing the latter parts of cooking during our classes, but at the very least, it is just me and your class today. Class I isn't here to witness your blunders, and you trust your classmates, right?"

Of course the 'trust card' had to be played right there, albeit unintentionally. Morgan gave a relenting sigh. "Fine. But don't say I didn't warn you."

After lacing her fingers together and giving her hands a good stretch, Morgan stuck her dominant hand into the bowl and began clawing at the raw ingredients, kneading the meat, salt, onions, and egg together.

'Ew, it feels gross…' Morgan complained inside her head. 'Like, REALLY gross. I'm never taking butchers for granted ever again.'

Once the mixture felt complete, Morgan's free hand grabbed a bottle of oil and squeezed some of its contents onto her dirty hand. She then rubbed her both hands together before taking half of the meat and tossing it back and forth in her hands until it formed a recognizable oval shape.

"Hey! She's pretty good!" Millium commented.

"Don't count your chickens before they hatch," Morgan said. "The next part's the moment of truth. Alisa?"

"Way ahead of you." Alisa was already using the orbal stove to heat a frying pan.

Morgan finished tossing the other half of the meat and brought both patties to where Alisa was. Once the pan was hot enough, Alisa drizzled a little bit of oil into it before Morgan stepped in to place both patties into the pan.

"It's just putting meat into a pan, it's just putting meat into a pan…" Morgan muttered over and over to herself. "It's just putting meat into a pan… Meat that I mixed together with my own...hands…"

A familiar chill ran up Morgan's spine.

"Uh-oh."

"Huh?" Alisa looked at her quizzically. "What's up?"

"I think I might've jinxed it."

"Well, it looks fine from where I'm standing." The blonde grabbed a wooden spatula. "Now to flip it over…"

Alisa slid the spatula under one of the patties and flipped over with a flick of her wrist. Upon seeing the other side, she frowned. "Hey, um… Is it supposed to look like that, Instructor?"

"Let me see…" Instructor Mary looked over Alisa's shoulder. "Hm, that IS rather peculiar. It's not turning brown at all. Actually, it's going from pink to-"

Before the instructor could say any more, a cloud of red smoke started rising from the pan.

"Wha-huh?! What the heck?!"

"Don't panic! Water! Someone get water!"

"I have some, Instructor!" Laura arrived in the nick of time with a glass of water. "Morgan, please step aside."

Morgan did as she was told and stepped aside, leaving the three of them to try and defuse the situation.

"Gee, whad'ya put in there, Morgan?" Millium asked innocently. "Some kinda secret ingredient to make it go 'poof'?"

"I-I didn't add anything, I swear!" Morgan tried to defend herself as she washed her hands. "You guys saw me, right?"

Fie nodded. "Guess the curse lives on, huh?"

"The...curse?" Emma's face turned dead serious for a moment.

"N-No need to get all worked up! It's nothing like that! At least, I don't think it is…" Morgan shrugged her shoulders. "Every time I try and make something, it just sort of...goes up in smoke like that."

"EVERY time?"

"Every time she MAKES something. Fine print. It's all good if she sticks to chopping up vegetables, but once she tries doing anything else?" Fie blew a raspberry while pointing her thumb downwards.

"How come you know, Fie?" Millium asked.

"Morgan and I cooked together once. I got front row seats to see her ruin breakfast."

"That was before Sharon came around. We all took turns cooking for each other so we could save money." Morgan laughed half-heartedly to herself. "Fie and I weren't allowed to share a kitchen after that."

The commotion from the other end of the home ec room died down, and Alisa walked forward with a plate in her hand. "Well, the good news is that we were able to save it, but…"

She presented the plate for the others to see. What were supposed to be two handmade hamburger steaks were now charred, unrecognizable lumps. A sickly red aroma was emanating from both patties as well, making their edibility even more questionable.

"Th-Those don't look like handmade hamburgers…"

"More like dangerous meatballs."

A nervous bead of sweat dropped from Alisa's forehead after hearing Emma and Fie's respective comments. "Well, you're still welcome to try, if you want…?"

"Don't mind if I do!" Millium was already reaching forward with a fork in her hand, much to the surprise of everyone else.

"Wait, Millium! Don't-!"

Despite Morgan's warnings, Millium took a piece of hamburger and inserted it into her mouth. "Down the hatch! Gulp!"

The other female Sevens held their breath as Millium chewed on the hamburger. Instructor Mary prepared a glass of water just in case.

"W-Well…?"

Millium swallowed at last. Then, not a few seconds later, she gave a loud belch that caused her to spew fire from her mouth. "AGH! I'm BUUURNIIIIING!"

Everyone did their best to contain the fire-breathing student before she burned down the entire room.

…

"...Sorry that your first cooking class ended up like this."

"Don't mind, don't mind!" Millium flashed a grin. "I still had tons of fun! Not every day I get to be a fire-breathing dragon!"

"Whatever that red cloud was, it did a number on the pan that was used as well," Instructor Mary added. "We have spares, but I may need to order another one just in case…"

Emma hummed to herself. "So the pan was corroded as well…?"

Morgan hung her head in shame. "I'm sorry, Instructor…"

"You need to stop apologizing, Morgan," Instructor Mary said with a smile. "Today's events were without a doubt...unexpected. However, I highly doubt that you were the sole cause of it. I know that you aren't the kind of person to play that sort of prank in the middle of class."

Morgan was unsure if Instructor Mary was saying that to make her feel better or because she was genuinely oblivious as to what had truly happened.

"I call dibs on cooking next time!" Millium shouted. "I'm sure I can do a better job than Morgan here! Can I? Pleeeaaase?"

"This isn't a competition…" Morgan muttered.

"I'm sorry, Millium…" Instructor Mary apologized. "But the next time we have gender-divided classes, you will have to be with Instructor Makarov. I will definitely make sure to keep you in mind the next time we meet, though…"

Millium looked rightfully disappointed. "Booo…"

"But you know…" Instructor Mary continued. "If you're that interested in perfecting your culinary skills, there IS a Cooking Club here at Thors."

Millium gasped loudly. "There's a COOKING Club?!"

"Indeed! It is one of the clubs that I'm in charge of overseeing, and it just so happens that they're short on members at the moment. Would you like to learn more about it?"

"You betcha I do! Ooh, do we get free food over there, too?"

Same day - After School

"Aaaaand there!" Morgan wiped the sweat from her brow. "Whew! That's the last stack of documents for the day!"

"Thanks for offering to help me organize, Morgan!" Towa said cheerfully. "You don't know how much time this saves me tomorrow!"

"I don't know how you do it, Towa. How does your workload keep INCREASING every time I come here?"

The petite president giggled. "Well, there's a good reason this time. Don't tell this to anyone yet, but I actually received an invitation to sit in on the upcoming trade conference."

"Get out! Really?!"

"Shh! Not so loud!"

Morgan covered her mouth with both her hands and glanced at the door to the Student Council room. She then looked back and asked, this time in a much lower volume, "Do the teachers know about this?"

"Mm-hmm. The only other people who know are you and Angie."

"Seriously? I thought for sure you'd let George and Crow know."

"Well, it's less that I didn't and more like I can't." Towa leaned in closer and spoke in a hushed whisper. "It was a special request from the Imperial government, actually. They asked me to go along and help out the major players with paperwork and scheduling. Either way, it was an offer I couldn't refuse."

"Aw, look at you! You may be small, but you're already making big leaps in the world!"

"H-Hey! No height jokes allowed!"

Morgan winked and stuck out her tongue. Never had she imagined that she'd become close enough to engage in friendly teasing with the Student Council president of all people. "All joking aside, not many civilians get the opportunity to see the trade conference firsthand, much less from an invitation from the government. You should make the most of what you're given." She put a hand over her breast and bowed. "Take it from someone who used to be a domestic servant."

Towa giggled. Following the Heimdallr field study, Morgan had told her, George, and Angelica about her background with the Imperial family. To her surprise, they took the information surprisingly well, though it did leave Angelica bemoaning that she didn't recognize Morgan sooner.

"At any rate, that's why I'm doing as much work as I can now so it doesn't pile up at the end of the month. I'll be leaving on the day of, so you guys and Crow will probably already be on your field study. I might not see you again for a while."

"Not unless one of our groups gets shipped to Crossbell before you do!" Morgan shrugged her shoulders. "Hey, a girl can dream, can't she?"

Another giggle from the petite president. "Speaking of Crow, how has he been adjusting to your class? He hasn't been giving you guys too much trouble, has he?"

Morgan thought back to their interactions over the past few days. A bead of sweat unconsciously dropped from her forehead. "They're...about as well as you'd expect from him."

"I knew he was a habitual class-cutter, but I always figured he at least had enough credits to graduate…" Towa sighed. "Ooh, I feel like a failure as Student Council president for not noticing… Maybe even a failure as a friend."

"Wh-Whoa, there!" Morgan started waving her hands around frantically. "I think you're being a little hard on yourself. It's not as bad as you think. When it comes to practical skills, he definitely knows what he's doing. It's just…" She exhaled. "I just wish he'd act more...responsible most of the time."

It was difficult for Morgan to describe how she felt about Crow post-transfer to Class VII. She had always assumed that he was one of those people that only pretended to play the fool, but his everyday behavior over the past few days suggested that it wasn't a total facade. As if having to retake first-year lessons wasn't enough, there was his negligence to stay awake during class, his tendency to show off, his addiction to gambling, his lecherous ogling of the other girls in Class VII… He knew what buttons to press around her, and he was not afraid to start mashing on them.

And yet, Morgan also knew firsthand that when the chips were down, Crow was an effective unit and surprisingly intelligent, possibly even more than what Thors could measure. After all, she had yet to meet another person who liberally made use of the different phases of orbal arts in conjunction with his weapon. Ironically, it was when he naturally focused on what needed doing instead of how he looked while doing it that he acted as cool as he tried to be. Which begged the question: why were his priorities so skewed? Why couldn't he apply some of that intelligence and dependability in combat to his daily life? At least Fie had the excuse of not having attended school before; Crow was the very definition of a person who knew what to do to succeed, but chose not to anyways. But what if that too was another act? It could go either way at this point.

But if there was one thing that Morgan knew for certain, it was that she struggled to get an accurate read on him. Once again, he proved to himself to be a trickster.

"It might be kind of awkward having a second-year student in your class…" President Towa continued. "But I hope you guys will all get along. Oh, and that goes for Millium, too, of course! She might have an unusual background, but at the end of the day, she's still a thirteen-year-old girl."

"Guess you're right." At the mention of Millium's name, a new question appeared in Morgan's mind. "Actually, if you don't mind my asking, how much do you know about why she's here at the academy?"

"Hmm…" Towa cupped her chin as she hummed to herself. "All I know is that she came with a recommendation from the army's Intelligence Division, really. You know those combat shells you fight in your practical exams? They're being used with the emperor's authorization. Apparently, it's something similar for Millium; they can't deny her admission if the emperor's pushing it through."

Morgan let out a loud gasp. "This goes all the way up to His Majesty?!"

Towa blinked in confusion. "You mean you didn't know?"

"Just because I used to work for the Imperial family doesn't mean I know every little thing about them!" A thought then occurred to her. "But then again… It's only because of His Majesty that the chancellor was able to establish the Intelligence Division and the RMP. When you look at it that way, I guess it does mean that a backing from them indirectly comes from the emperor."

"It's different from your circumstances, that's for sure. Prince Olivert recommended you as the academy's chairman of the board, not as a member of the royal family."

The two of them talked some more until Morgan's ARCUS started ringing.

"Sorry, let me get that…" Morgan grumbled as she opened her ARCUS. "Hello? Morgan Daraen speaking… Huh?! Millium's doing what?!"

…

Millium burst through the front door of the Class VII dormitory and called out, "Weee're baaaaack!"

Sharon, dutiful as ever, was in the lobby waiting to greet her. "Welcome back, everyone."

"Ugh…" Morgan groaned. "That took FOREVER."

"You're telling me…" Rean complained, also in a similar state of fatigue.

Earlier, Rean had called Morgan to assist him with the task of pinning Millium down so she could return to the dormitory at their instructor's directions. What they didn't expect was an hour-long manhunt that spanned the entire Thors campus. Obviously, Millium wasn't satisfied with the campus tour she was given when she first arrived at Thors, because she didn't stop until she visited every landmark and got a feel for every club that the school offered. This, of course, led to Millium dropping in uninterrupted to the clubs that their classmates were a part of. One thing led to another, and eventually Millium was forced to come quietly after every member of Class VII gathered to ask her nicely.

Someone else who wasn't Sharon whistled loudly. "Whoo! You guys look like you just ran a marathon! Want some coffee to get you re-energized?"

Rean and Morgan perked up at the voice.

"C-Crow?"

"Why are you here?"

"Well, I AM a member of Class VII now," the second-year answered matter-of-factly. "So I've been given the go-ahead to move into this dorm now."

Rean and Morgan looked at each other. Up until now, Crow had continued to stay in his old room in the Lower Class Dormitories, and since he didn't announce any plans of moving, the rest of Class VII figured that that was how things were going to be.

Crow leaned over and picked up a small cup that was resting on the low table in front of him. "But man, Sharon sure makes some a-maaaaazing coffee. If I'd known you guys were feasting on this every day, I would've been banging down the door to join Class VII ages ago!"

Sharon let out a giggle. "Teehee! You flatter me, Master Crow. Would you like me to bring some of the cakes I baked earlier as well?

"Heh. Do you even need to ask?"

"Cake? Did you just say CAKE?!" Millium excitedly jumped up and down like a rabbit. "Oooh! I want some too!"

"As you wish, Lady Millium."

As Sharon walked back into the dining area, Millium bashfully rubbed the back of her head. "Ehehe… She called me 'Lady'..."

'You're the last person that comes to mind when I hear the word 'lady'!"

Rean and Morgan weren't conscious of it, but the two of them thought the exact same thing.

"Anyway…" Crow spoke up. "I finished hauling most of my stuff over from my old dorm, but I'll probably need to go back for another trip tomorrow. Between that and the old schoolhouse, I've got my work cut out for me tomorrow."

"Oh? You want to come with us tomorrow?"

"Gotta get back into the groove with my ARCUS again, after all. You know how it is, Rean."

"Old...schoolhouse?" Millium tilted her head slightly. "Who'd wanna go to school on their day off?"

"Well, we've got this...uh...this special schoolhouse here…"

Rean briefly explained the labyrinth beneath the old schoolhouse to Millium.

"Whoa, really?! That sounds kinda cool! I wanna come, too!"

"How did I know you were going to say that…?"

"We might as well. Millium's the only one who hasn't been in there yet." Morgan then raised her hand. "Also, mind if I call dibs on this trip, too? I've sat out for two months in a row; I think I'm long overdue for a turn."

Rean smiled. "I was hoping you'd say that. I'll be counting you three tomorrow, then!"

Millium pumped both her fists. "Oooh, this is gonna be sooo exciting! I might not even be able to sleep tonight!"

"Um, please do, actually…" Morgan commented. "Sleep, I mean. Just a little request from your roommate next door."

"And speaking of..." Crow said. "Looks like I ended up in the room right next to yours, Rean. And just a little heads-up: I'm a bit of a night owl, so if you hear me talking to some friends over the phone and want me to lower the volume, just let me know."

"Y-You bet..."

Crow rubbed his neck. "Man, moving all those things really tired me out. I was hoping I could just stow all my junk in my old room, but Towa wouldn't let me."

Morgan crossed her arms and leered at him. "Of course not. That's just common sense."

Rean chuckled softly. "Well, I suppose now's as good a time as any to officially welcome you guys to the Class VII dormitory. Glad to have you here!"

Author's note: Hello everyone, and welcome to the next arc of the story! I finally managed to gather the time and motivation needed to get this done. It'll still be a while before I get back on schedule, so please continue to be patient with updates in the meantime.

The main focus of this chapter was to introduce Class VII's newest members, Crow and Millium. Both of them are entertaining characters to write in their own right, and I hope I managed to capture their personalities, especially in regards to how they interact with Morgan. And speaking of Morgan, one thing that I've also been doing is going back to her interactions with Crow and adding a recurring line of dialogue that frequently gets mentioned in this chapter. For longtime readers, this may come off as something that appeared out of the blue, so I do advise looking back to see their revised interactions for the sake of consistency.

Thank you for reading, and thanks to all the new followers I have attained since the last time I updated! Until next time. (❁´▽`❁)*✲ﾟ*