Chapter 8 - Heimdallr Tour
7.26.1204 - Monday (Field Study Day 3)
Heimdallr really is a city.
This had been the first time Rean had visited the capital, and he had to admit to himself that he wasn't sure what he was doing.
After his group finished their surveillance of Heimdallr they were allowed to spend the rest of their time as they wished until the ceremony at Mater Park started. Elliot went to hang out with his musician friends, Machias went to visit some friends, and Laura and Fie went to check out what weapons Watson's Weapon & Armor had in stock.
That left Rean, who decided to walk around Heimdallr by himself. It only occurred to him after he stopped being able to remember the street names (no matter how many times he retraced his steps) that he had no clue how to navigate Heimdallr. Rean thought about calling his classmates for directions, but they were all probably busy and didn't want to interrupt them.
He continued walking once more, at some point he was bound to hit a familiar sight. After a few minutes he realized he'd been walking in circles for the past few minutes. He was truly lost and directionless.
Luckily after a few minutes Rean was finally able to see a street sign: he was now in Vesta Street. It was filled with shops, maybe one of the shopkeepers could give him directions. He entered the first store he saw, and it had a rather familiar name: Herschel's Shop. He wondered if it had multiple locations, he could have sworn he's heard the Herschel name before. He just couldn't pinpoint where he heard it before.
As Rean walked inside he was greeted by the shopkeepers. "Hello, welcome to Herschel's Shop! Let us know if you need anything."
They were a tall man with grey hair and a woman with brown hair.
"Thank you thank you, uh… what do you sell here by any chance?" Rean asked in an attempt to strike a conversation.
The tall man approached him and took him to one side of the store. "We sell all sorts of general goods, but we pride ourselves in our imports selection."
Rean noticed all sorts of items on display. There were many imports from Liberl, Remiferia, Crossbell, and Calvard for sale. Admittedly the Calvard selection is what caught Rean's attention the most. He saw some tea for sale for a good price. Normally tea like this was marked up, so maybe it'd be a good idea to buy some here.
Rean then saw the exact tea that Towa had been giving him each time he went to the Student Council room to report the requests he completed. He remembered how they had emptied President Towa's stash a few days ago. Maybe he could buy the tea here and give it to her as a gift.
Rean then reached for that tea and told the shopkeeper that he would like to purchase it. They made their way to the counter where the woman took the mira Rean handed her in exchange for the tea.
Rean suddenly remembered why he was there and asked them for directions. "E-Excuse me, you wouldn't happen to know how I could get to Dreichels Plaza from here would you?"
"Oh sure, just take a-" the tall man started to answer before another customer walked in.
"Hi Uncle Fred and Aunt Martha! Sorry for visiting unannounced. You guys wouldn't happen to still have my favorite tea in stock would you?"
Rean quickly turned around to see who the other customer was and was shocked to see that it was Towa, who also had a shocked look on her face from seeing him there.
"What are you doing here!?" both asked in sync.
"I was lost and needed directions!" Rean answered.
"This is my family's shop! I came to pick up some things!" Towa answered.
Both were unaware that Towa's Uncle and Aunt were laughing at them.
Rean suddenly realized why the name Hershel sounded familiar. It wasn't a chain store: it was Towa's last name. This whole day was making Rean question his own intelligence.
"Towa come in, we're finishing this sale to one of your schoolmates. What was it you came for?" Fred said while still chuckling to himself.
"I had some free time and was wondering if you still had my favorite tea in stock?" Towa explained as she made her way to the counter.
"Sorry dear, but we just sold the last one we had to your schoolmate here." answered Martha as she motioned Towa towards Rean.
Rean decided it was best to just give Towa the tea here and now instead of later like he planned.
"W-Well this was meant as a surprise for later, b-but I suppose there's nothing wrong with giving it to you now. Here you go, President Towa." Rean said while he handed Towa the tea package he bought.
"Th-Thank you Rean, you shouldn't have. I'll probably keep these in the Student Council room, so feel free to come whenever." Towa said with gratitude.
"B-By the way, when I came in I overheard you say something needing directions around Heimdallr. Seeing as I'm free at the moment I could guide you around i-if you want." Towa continued.
Seeing as he had no real alternatives, Rean agreed to Towa's offer. Going around Heimdallr with President Towa did sound rather fun.
"Seeing as you're going out you might want to leave your tea here, if you want we can ship it to your dorm?" Martha asked.
"Good idea! I'll drop this off in my room." Towa said as she made her way up the stairs behind the counter. Unaware that Martha followed her.
Once Towa dropped off her tea in her room she was stopped by Martha, who wanted a quick chat.
"So, is that boy your boyfriend? You really know how to pick them, and here I thought you went to Thors purely for the education." Martha teased.
Towa felt her face heat up and tried to answer Martha's question. "B-Boyfriend!? A-Aunt Martha where'd you get that silly idea? Rean's just one of my underclassmen at Thors."
"Oh but you two look so close. Is that Rean boy really nothing more than just your underclassman?" Martha continued to teased.
"I'm telling you there's nothing more between us! Honest! He helps me with Student Council work and we have tea together as a reward for a job well done, that's all!" Towa tried to clear up while her face was still heating up even more.
"Oh, so that's why you've been asking us to send you more tea lately. Anyone who can get you to rest is okay in my book. Have fun on your date!" Martha teased before walking toward the stairs.
"Why is everyone on my case? First Crow and Angelica, now even my Aunt is teasing me about Rean. Am I just that easy to tease?" Towa thought to herself.
Towa soon remembered that Rean was waiting for her downstairs and made her down so they could leave.
Once downstairs she was surprised to see that her cousin Kai had arrived and was talking to Rean, who looked a bit confused. She walked up to them and asked what they were talking about.
Her cousin turned to her and answered. "I'm asking him if he's been treating you right. I'm not sure I buy his answer."
"You what!?" Towa yelled as she felt her face begin to feel hot again.
"Did I say something wrong? If you need more help President Towa you can tell me. I'll help you with anything you need." Rean asked.
Admittley he was still confused by Towa's cousin's question.
"N-No Rean, you help me more than enough already! You treat me very well so don't worry about that!" Towa tried to answer to the best of her ability.
Thankfully for Towa, Fred decided to intervene. "Don't worry about your cousin Kai, she's in good hands with Rean. Have fun with your tour of Heimdallr you two."
"Y-Yeah Rean we should get going, the ceremony still won't start for another two hours." Towa informed Rean.
The two quickly excused themselves to Towa's family, but Rean could still sense Towa's family eyeing him.
Towa started her tour by showing him the rest of Vesta Street. Before they left to explore the other districts Rean bought her some milk from the bakery. Next, they went to the Sankt District. They took a look at St. Astraia Girl's School's front gate before making their way to their next location. They went past Garnier District knowing full well that neither had enough mira to buy anything from those stores. Soon they reached Vainqueur Street. It had been a long time since Towa had heard so many cars drive past her, it felt sort of nostalgic. She did wonder how they made Rean feel, judging by how he was lost before he ended up at her family's store. It was clear to her that he was probably from a smaller village.
Finally, they made it to their final stop: the Leica District. If there was a place in Heimdallr besides Vesta Street that Towa could call home, it was the Leica District. Memories of her grandfather taking her there to visit the museum he curated came flooding in. The Imperial Museum held so many fond memories for her, she knew it was the perfect place to take Rean. Before she knew it, she reached for one of Rean's hands and gripped it rather tightly as she led him to the Imperial Museum. It had been a few years since her grandfather passed away, but it was clear to her that the museum staff had continued her Grandfather's spirit.
"I know it's not the most interesting place in Heimdallr, but I hope you like this museum." Towa said as she showed Rean around the displays.
Despite Towa's downplaying of the museum, Rean found it rather interesting. So much of Erebonia's history and science was on display there. Although it was a little difficult for him to focus on all of Towa's mini historical lessons when she was holding one of his hands rather tight the whole time. Overall, he was enjoying seeing Towa so happy, maybe this is what her cousin meant by "treating her right". Maybe he should look more into history himself.
Once Towa showed Rean everything there was to see in the museum, she led him outside as they tried to figure out where to go now.
"The ceremony is about to start in half an hour, I'm planning to meet up with Angie at Dreichels Plaza. Was there someplace you agreed to meet up with your group? Maybe I should walk you there if you want?" Towa asked.
"Actually, we also agreed to meet up at Dreichels Plaza. Lead the way President Towa." Rean answered.
Thus, they started to make their way to Dreichels Plaza, both unaware of Towa's continued firm holding of Rean's hand.
"So Rean, what was the highlight of your Heimdallr tour?" Towa asked while they walked side by side.
Rean thought about her question, the whole tour was rather enjoyable. Maybe it was because of Towa's enthusiasm and knowledge of Heimdallr or the fact that without her he would still be lost.
"While I enjoyed the whole tour. If I had to say what was the highlight of the tour, I would say it was you President Towa." Rean answered as he turned to Towa with a smile on his face.
For some reason Towa could feel her heart skip a beat in response to his answer.
They continued walking until they spotted their friends already waiting for them at Dreichels Plaza. They waved their hands to try and get their attention, and then finally realized that they had been holding hands since Towa led him to the Imperial Museum. They both quickly started to blush and separated their hands and apologized for not noticing earlier. They both hoped their friends didn't see them holding hands as they got closer to them to ask how their days went.