Ekhm. Well. Here we are with another chapter.

Last time, we saw the end of Great Galactic War Arc, as well as the entire Great Galactic War as a whole. Now, than this is done, we can fully focus on the events in Special System. For the next chapters, we're gonna (more or less) follow the story of Gate and after that, SOMETHING will happen. But this is a secret.

But first, reviews.

To Hank: If you're asking about a race similar to Asari from Mass Effect, than no. While Wookies...Well, something similar is out there, somewhere.

To S31tora: Holy Order didn't quite have a home system. They were mostly Humans from Mars, which escaped the Sol System after war, as it was said before. After that, they managed to take over Unknown Region and rebuild their power there. Their capital was not a planet, but a ship named Overseer, where Supreme Leader resided. So pretty much like First Order, which was the main inspiration for HO.

With this done, let's get to it.

Chapter 37

,,Magical city"

September 14, 2151

13:22

Fort Terhis

A week after the Battle of Earth and the end of Great Galactic War, newly proclaimed Coalition Forces returned to Fort Terhis, where they began planning for the next few weeks. Sadera might have been dormant for that year, but everyone knew, that war was still not over. After all, there were many high-value targets to be eliminated and several cities to be taken. Not to mention currently ongoing trainings of newly allied armies around the planet. KCJM of Kingdoms Coalition already grew to over thirty thousand, while Araluenian forces reached level of ten thousand. And these numbers were growing.

Admiral Frederic Richards was sitting in the base commander's office. Due to the fact that Task Force 03 was disbanded, Task Force 01 took over as the main force in the Special System. They were controlling everything happening on the planet, thanks to the help of Hope and Selene, which were currently in the orbit of the planet.

Right then, he heard knocking at the door.

"Enter."admiral said.

The door opened and head of his assistant appeared in them.

"Sir, colonel co Lada is here."

"Let her in."

Assistant nodded and disappeared. Soon, the door opened again and Pina marched in.

"Welcome, colonel."Fred said, pointing at the chair."Please, take a seat."

"Thank you, admiral."Pina replied.

She moved the chair and sat down on it.

"So, what is the matter you wanted to discuss, colonel?"

"Well…I didn't have occasion to ask. What will happen now? When Great Galactic War is over and Coalition is back in Falmart?"

"Isn't the answer simple? We're gonna try and get this war to a swift and decisive end. Plans of operations for the next few weeks are being prepared and when we're done with all of them, we're gonna finally perform one, decisive assault."

"Sadera?"

"Indeed."

"These are some pretty ambitious plans, not gonna lie."

Awkward silence suddenly fell in the room, as none of them knew, what to say next.

"I'm sorry because of Jessica."former princess finally said.
"Yeah, you're not the first to tell me that."Fred said, leaning back in his chair.

"I heard you were close."

"In short, yes."

Saying that, admiral lifted his hand and showed a silver ring on one of his fingers.

"Is that…?"
"Wedding ring? Yes. Me and Jess maybe weren't married anymore, but…I never could force myself to take it off. Jessica was the only woman I truly loved and this ring had to be a remainder."Admiral smirked under his breath."Can you believe, that we even started talking about getting married again?"

"Really?"

"Yeah. Turned out, she also never took her ring off…But well. None of that is gonna happen now. Not to mention, that our daughter is now dead, too."Fred let out a heavy sigh."Life is just not fair for me."

He quickly regained his composure, though.

"But war is over in the Milky Way. What remains of Holy Order is disorganized and split into small pockets. But we're taking care of them systematically."

Silence again filled the air and atmosphere suddenly became heavier. Pina never expected Fred to get so emotional. By this few days, and by what she heard, she saw him as strong and battle-ready leader, which wouldn't be scared of anything. But as it turned out, even he had soft heart when it came to his ex-wife and daughter. Which should be expected.

Knocking at the door sounded again. Assistant opened the door and looked inside again.

"Sir, miss La Lalena is here."

"What does she need?"Fred asked.

"Something about 'magic city', 'mastery'…I'm not fully sure."

"Let her in."

Assistant nodded and left. Lelei entered the office few seconds later.

"Admiral."she said.

"Hello there."Fred said and pointed at second chair."Take a sit."

Young mage came up and sat down.
"Did I interrupt something?"she asked, tilting her head.

"No, not at all."Pina said."You can speak."

Lelei nodded and looked back at Fred.

"Admiral, I want to ask you for permission to go to Rondel."

"Rondel?"Fred asked, rising his eyebrow.

"It's a city here, in Empire."Pina started explaining."It houses the Magic Academy and is home to more Master Sorcerers than any other place in the Empire."

"And why would you want to go there?"

In response, Lelei pulled out a piece of paper and handed it to the admiral. Fred unraveled it and looked at the text written in Saderan. Fortunately, he took some time to learn this language and understood this and that.

"By the last year, while you focused on Holy Order, I applied for the granting of the title of Master."Lelei explained."Finally, they agreed and I have to make a presentation there soon."

Fred looked at Lelei.

"Aren't you too young for that title?"

"That's the point, admiral."Lelei replied, emotionless as always.

"Alright, what will this presentation be about?"

"About things I learned from your world."

Smile appeared on admiral's face and he nodded.

"Alright, permission granted. However, it would be good, if you took someone with you, just in case."

"Don't worry, I already know, who I want to go with me."

13:56

Fort Terhis barracks area

"You want us to go with you to Rondel?"Ester asked, upon hearing Lelei's request.

She, Lelei, Rory, Yao and Tuka were sitting in one of the barracks, the one used by White Squadron to be precise.

"Yes, all four of you and whoever else will you take, Ester."Lelei calmly replied."Admiral Richards said, that it would be better if someone accompanied me to the city."

White Squadron leader crossed her arms and started thinking.

"Well, today, we were supposed to go and help train first pilots from Kingdoms Coalition…"she said."…but maybe I'll talk a bit with admiral. Maybe he'll let some of us go."

"That would be good. Especially when we consider, that Vernago is pretty close."Rory pointed out.

Ester risen her eyebrow.

"By Vernago you mean…"
"Yes. Hardy's temple is there."the Apostle replied."I wanted to go there and finally, for the last time tell her, that I will not marry her."

"I would like to go there too."Yao joined in.

"Maybe when we find time before Lelei's presentation…"

"It's not that big of a problem."Lelei said.

Ester nodded and looked at Tuka.

"And you, Tuka? You wanna go somewhere?"

In response, elf pouted and looked away.

"I'm still mad at you for taking me where I didn't want to…"she said and smiled."Father."

Everyone, except Lelei, giggled.

"No, there is no need."Tuka said."I still owe you after that one."

"Yeah, yeah."White Squadron leader said and looked at the ceiling."I still can't believe, that it's already a year since we met each other…Lot of shit happened."

"True."Rory said."We had so many adventures since then."
"And we met so many people."Tuka added.

"And almost died too many times."

Once more, everyone giggled.

"Okay, give me and hour. I'll take care of everything."

"Okay."Lelei said.

One hour later, everything was dealt with and Ester was freed from the task of training KCJM pilots. After that, she chose who will go with her: Dora, for additional security and gun, and, after some talking, persisting and nagging, Liz. She argued, that she heard that Rondel was full of history texts and she wanted to learn something from them, to satisfy her historical knowledge.

Whole group gathered in front of the base's machine park.

"Everyone here?"Ester asked and after everyone nodded, she said:"Good. I'm gonna go straight to the point. We're gonna go to Rondel to accompany Lelei in her presentation in front of the Master Sorcerers. Just keep your eyes peeled and ready for anything. We never know, when something happens."

"Right."everyone replied.
"Alright, get in. We're taking Land Rover."

Whole group came up to the Land Rover and started getting in. When Ester sat on the passenger seat in the front, she was surprised to see Lelei, instead of Liz, sitting behind the wheel.
"Eh…"she said.
"Well, let's juts say, that Lelei wanted to learn how to drive after we got back…"Liz said, peeking her head between the seats."Hope you're not mad?"

"No…I'm just surprised."Ester admitted."But well, I'm pretty into seeing what did you learn."

"I just hope they won't need to extinguish the fire after our crash."Dora mumbled.

"Okay, Lelei, just as we trained…"Liz said to the mage.

Lelei did everything Liz told her and soon, Land Rover was on it's way out of the base. They passed by the exit and quickly turned towards the Express Way. There, Lelei accelerated a little, as they passed by a bunch of cows in the field.

"Hey, you're doing good."Ester admitted.

"I'm focusing. Don't talk."Lelei replied.

"But you got used to that, huh?"

"Somehow…"

"You're doing very good."Liz said and her face winced."Unlike some others…"

"What do you want?"Rory pouted.

"Alright, we're gonna get to Rondel by this road."Dora said, looking at the map."We should get there by tomorrow noon."

"Understood."

Lelei pressed the acceleration pedal harder and car accelerated towards Rondel.

But as they were driving, they had no idea, what they will go through there…

September 15

12:03

Rondel

After making a camp for a night and sleeping, everyone woke up in the morning, ate rations they took, quickly checked their stocks and continued on the way. This time, Lelei wanted Liz to drive, because she had to repeat some things from the books she took with them. So, that way, they made their way towards Rondel, passing by picturesque scenery of fields and farms, until the city finally came into view.

It's white buildings could be seen from far away. They contrasted with green hills surrounding it, which actually looked even more picturesque. Entering the city was no problem, they just told who they were and just like that, they were inside. There, they saw crowds of people walking around, caring about their business, some boats in the river flowing through the city and all the beautiful buildings made out of white stone.

"This certainly feels like a magical city."Ester said when they stopped.

"Even I like it here."Dora admitted.

"The city of Rondel is older than the Empire."Lelei started."It's beginnings reach times, when gods of science, Eruran and Ra, were still demigods. They started a school here."

"You really can feel the history flowing through here."Liz said with wide smile on her face."Can't wait to learn all of it…"

Next, she looked at the people around.

"But it still feels like city of magic more."she stated."Most people look like students."

"Another characteristic of the city is the fact, that people here can plan and are non-logical."young mage continued."There should be some inns here."

After few minutes of searching, Lelei stopped them in front of a building with entrance made of marble. She knocked on the door and a Falien man opened the door. When he noticed Rory, he asked:

"You're with Her Holiness? Come in, then."

Everyone looked at Rory and entered the building. There, at a desk in front of the entrance, they saw another man, this time Human, but with surprisingly reddish skin. When he saw Rory, he immediately smiled.

"Ah, welcome, Your Holiness, along with her worshipers."he said."'Sea of Books' inn is honored, being able to host Your Holiness here."

Ester, Liz and Dora looked at each other.
"Since when are we Rory's worshipers?"Dora asked quietly.

"It's better this way."Lelei whispered."Innkeeper will treat us better with some VIPs along."

"Old cities are all the same everywhere, eh?"Liz said, scratching her neck.

Suddenly, they heard sound of small wings fluttering and a fairy, carrying a feather, appeared.

"Welcome to Rondel."innkeeper said."We prepared the best rooms for you."

Next, he pointed at three goblins, which just entered the room.

"These three will take care of your luggage and lead you to your rooms."the man continued."They are our best workers."

"Eh…"Ester mumbled.

"Goal of your visit is related to this young lady, perhaps?"Innkeeper looked at Lelei."I bet she's trying to sign up to one of the school, right?"

Lelei cleared her throat meaningfully.

Three goblins came up and grabbed all things Lelei brought with herself, including her staff. Even Dora, although reluctantly, gave them her riffle, after telling them not to try and press the trigger, or she would 'rip their eyes out'. Goblins just smiled and promised not to touch anything, except the outside part of the weapon.

Next, everyone, except Ester, Liz and Dora, went up the stairs.

"Please, enjoy your stay!"innkeeper exclaimed after them."Room number two is on the third floor, second door to the South!"

"Uhm…"Ester said in Saderan.

"Hm?"the man turned to her.
"Where is our room?"

Man looked at the three and smiled.

"Ah, you are their servants! Your room has number three. It's on the other side of the corridor.

After entering said room, the words of innkeeper reappeared in Coalition soldiers' heads.

"It's a storeroom, but I thought of helping you, by giving you three a room near them. Be grateful for that."

"I'm gonna kill that guy."Dora said, looking at mountains of dusty boxes, covered in spiderweb. Her left eye started twitching and she clenched her fists."I'm gonna get charged with murder, but I'm gonna do it."

"Calm down, Do."Ester patted her girlfriend on the arm."We will survive. Just few days. Don't worry."

The three exited the room and went to the room occupied by Rory, Lelei, Tuka and Yao. Ester knocked on the door.

"Can we come in?"she asked.

"Yes."Rory replied.

White Squadron leader put her hand on the handle and opened the door.

Inside, first thing they saw, was Lelei, dressed a bit different than usual. She was wearing a blue dress, with some kind of shawl-sleeves hybrid, tied over her chest. On the neck, she had a purple rope, with golden details.

"Hey, it really suits you."Liz said.

"You look like a famous scientist!"Tuka cheered.

"Is it local tradition to wear such clothes?"Yao asked.

"People wanting to receive the rank of Master wear such robes in Rondel."Rory replied.

Three members of White Squadron risen her eyebrows.

"Master?"Ester asked.

"Something like university professor?"Liz added.

"That's the best parallel in your world."Lelei replied.

Lelei looked at her clothes and corrected some wrinkles. Now, the dress looked perfect on her.

"If my presentation won't impress the Masters, they're gonna throw ink and paints at my robe."she mumbled."Although that, I won't be able to change while being here, as well as gain the title of Master."

"Whatever you're doing, you're doing your best."Dora said."So don't worry."

Lelei tightened her lips in a single line and nodded with vigor. It was now or never for her.

The whole group walked down the stairs and entered the reception. When innkeeper saw them, he jumped as if he sat on a burning chair.
"These robes!"he exclaimed, pointing at Lelei's clothing."You're trying to become a Master at this age?!"

Ester giggled.

"And we're not servants. Remember that."she said.

And with that, they went on into the city, leaving shocked innkeeper behind. As they were walking, Lelei pointed at various buildings which they saw or passed on the way.

"That big building is the Meeting Building, where presentations take place. This is a City Hall…"

They stopped in front of another building, with three poles in front of the entrance.
"…And this is R&D section."young mage finished.

"So. All great Master are here?"Dora asked.

"They're isolated."
"Isolated?"Liz tilted her head.

"Yes."

Sudden explosion reached their ears. Three soldiers quickly grabbed their sidearms, expecting some kind of magic-powered terrorist attack.

"Aaaah, my research results!"someone shouted instead.

"Somebody! Somebody stop it!"someone else exclaimed.

"All notes, with formulas I worked so hard on!"

This was followed by second explosion.

"Another failure!"
"My notes got wet!"

"Mommy!"

"Isolated, as I said."Lelei didn't lose her composure."It does things to people."

"Yeah…"all three agreed.

With this event behind them, the group entered the spacious insides of the building. Young mage led them through the corridors, passing some people on the way. Of course, their group sparked attention, considering it was made out of an Apostle, an elf, a dark elf and three soldiers from different time and place. But everyone just continued on their ways.

Finally, they stopped in front of a wooden door. Lelei used her staff to knock on them.

"Yes?"the voice from inside asked.
"It's Lelei."

Quick footsteps were heard, followed by the sound of door being unlocked and after they swung open, they saw an elder woman in elegant robe. A smile appeared on her face when she saw Lelei.

"Long time no see."Lelei said.

"My, my, my, my my…It's you, Lily!"the woman exclaimed in joy.
"It's Lelei."young mage said, with a little of irritation in her voice.

"That's what you said to your friends. But Lily is just much cuter. Maybe you should change name to Lily?"

"Give me a break."

"Alright, come in everyone! Welcome!"

Rest of the group, even Rory, just stood there, stumped by the scene they just witnessed.

"S-She good a bright personality, hehe…"Tuka said.

"A bit too bright."Dora agreed.

They entered inside and first thing that happened, was wave of sparkles appearing in Liz's eyes, seeing literal mountains of bookshelves all over the place.

"Can I look at some of them?"the British asked, jumping in place like a child wanting a toy."Can I, can I, can I?"

"Of course, dear!"the woman said.

Liz sped forward and disappeared between the shelves.

"I guess we won't see her for some time."Dora stated.

"You know how she is."Ester sighed.

"Master."Lelei said, pulling out the same piece of paper she gave to Fred."Look at this."

Woman took the piece of paper and unrolled it. She looked at the sentences written on it and sat down.

"My, my, my!"she said."I understand! I understand! It's wonderful, Lily!"

"I'm Lelei."

"I thought you're too young to try becoming a Master, but your achievements Master Kato speaks of in this letter, are self explanatory."

"Grand Master Mimosa."

"Yes?"

"Where is Arpeggio?"

"Shopping."Mimosa stood up."What's more important, Lily, can you help me bring chairs for the guests?"She walked to the side.

"I'm Le…"

Before she could finish the sentence, a cloud of dust appeared, accompanied by Mimosa's scream.

"Grand Master!"Lelei exclaimed.

The dust slowly settled, revealing giggling Mimosa on the floor, among several books.
"Oh, I'm so clumsy. I tripped."Mimosa said.

"Are you alright?"Ester asked.

"Grand Master!"a new voice exclaimed.

Everyone turned their attention to the voice's owner. It was a tall girl with brown hair and dressed in orange robe. She quickly ran up to Mimosa.

"Arpeggio?"Grand Master asked."I'm sorry!"

"Grand Master, I told you not to make a mess! Alright, I 'll clean it, but you'll only interrupt me! Go outside!"

'When you were shopping, Lily stopped by…"

"Who is Lily?"

"Lelei…"Lelei said with tired voice.

Arpeggio looked at the blue-haired girl and quickly straightened up.

"Grand Master. Go to the same restaurant as always."she said to Mimosa."I'll join you soon. In front of me stands my little sister, trying to become a Master, while her big sister is stuck, working on a doctorate. She plays romances, while big sister doesn't have a boyfriend, has fun with rich people, while her sister barely ties the ends, and even is friends with elves!"Arpeggio's eye started twitching, while her lips bent in a creepy smile."I need to have a SERIOUS talk with her!"

Ester and Dora just stood there, with mouth open.

"Lelei, is that…?"Ester started.

"Yes."Lelei replied."This person is my older sister."

"Oh my…"Mimosa added her two coins.

Ester and Dora, feeling the tensions rising, decided to look for Liz among the books. They didn't have to look for long, as they found her sitting on the ground, surrounded by books, just behind the corner.

"So, Liz, how are you doing?"Ester asked.

"Well…Seems like I discovered some more secrets."Liz replied.
"What do you mean?"Dora asked.

"Look at this."

Saying that, she showed them one of books. Inside, they saw lines of text in unknown language.

"Sorry, we don't speak it."Ester said.

"Well. It's Ancient Egyptian, word form."the British explained.

"Wait, wait. Egyptian? Like, from Egypt?"Dora said.

"Yeah. I also found books in Persian, Arabic, Phrygian and even Celtyberian."

"Then…what does that mean?"Ester asked.

"I didn't thought about it much before, but now…What if it's not the first time in history when a Gate appeared?"

Silence fell between the three as they started thinking of this possibility. Which wasn't so impossible, considering that Saderans spoke some modification of Latin. Who knew, if some document describing a Gate appearing in Ancient Egypt, didn't await discovering? After all, Earth still didn't unravel all it's mysteries.

And who knew, if Special System didn't hold the answers?

Meanwhile…

Fort Terhis

Admiral Richards was walking down the corridor, accompanied by his assistant. Ten minutes ago, he was called to the section of the base occupied by the ICTA Operations Center. He didn't know why, but if guys from the intelligence called, it's always better to check what they want.

The door slid open and admiral walked into the room.

"Alright, why was I called here?"he asked.

Right then, he noticed Pina standing at the holo-table, accompanied by Hamilton. He risen his eyebrow.
"What is it, Pina?"he asked.

"Good that you came, admiral."Pina replied."There is a…situation. Hamilton, please."

"Of course, colonel."Hamilton said.

She pressed some things on tablet that was in her hands and soon, a list with names appeared in the air over the table.

"What am I looking at?"Fred asked, confused.

"During the absence of Task Force 03, we were not dormant."former princess started."Rose Knights were going around the continent, forming a net of contacts, spies and operatives, all working for us."

"So your private intelligence service?"

"In short, yes. But that's not important. The list you see here, is list of names of most known mercenaries and assassins."

Hamilton again pressed something on her tablet and this time, a map appeared near the list, with several red dots on it. Some names on the list also became red.

"Our contacts informed us, that some of them became highly active. They normally didn't leave their standard places of stay. But now, they are on the move. Along with one of them."

One of the names was highlighted in orange.

"Pied Piper?"Admiral turned to the two."Who is it?"

"One of the best and ruthless assassins on the continent."Pina explained."It's a master of manipulating people, often forcing them to do the dirty work instead of him. He is always in the shadows and nobody ever managed to capture him."
"Why?"

"Nobody knows how he looks like."Hamilton took over."Some people say it's a woman, others say it's a man. Yet none of that was ever confirmed by anyone. Some even say, that he can just change shape and appearance at any given moment."
Admiral winced.

"Great. Even here, they have Thers."he said.

"Thers?"Pina risen her eyebrow.

"Race of shapeshifting inhabitants of planet Therna."Fred explained."Great assassins and agents. During the war, they were unanimously aligned with Holy Order. I had some meetings with them, when they tried to assassinate me."

Two Rose Knights looked at each other.
"Anyway, continue. Why am I supposed to know about it?"
"Because, well…"Hamilton stopped.

"Some of our contacts said, that all these mercenaries and assassins, including the Pied Piper, are going to the same place."

Map then zoomed, until it showed one city.

Rondel.

"Why Rondel? I don't think that…"Suddenly, Fred realized something."Oh, fuck."

"We had exactly the same thought."Pina said."Whatever are they trying to do, it must have something in common with the fact, that Ester and others are there. What it is, we don't know."

"We need to inform them and send some help!"admiral exclaimed."We…!"

"Don't worry, admiral. I already sent Grey and Shandy there."former princess calmed him down.

"You sure they will handle it?"

"If I didn't believe that, I wouldn't send them."

Fred took a deep breath and calmed down a bit.
"Well then."he said."Monitor the situation. If you find anything new, report it to Sulio. He will give me the information afterward."

"Of course, admiral."the assistant said, saluting.

"As you wish, admiral."Pina nodded.

With this said, Fred turned around and left the room with his assistant. Situation suddenly became very dangerous. He knew, that if several assassins and mercenaries are going to one place, probably with the same goal, situation could get pretty ugly pretty fast. He just hoped, that Ester and others will be able to deal with it.

Back in Rondel…

After Arpeggio managed to clear the mess made by Master Mimosa, everyone left the R&D and simply took a rest at a nearby square with a fountain and some boards near it. Lelei and Mimosa took a sit at the edge of the fountain.

"Allow me to introduce one more time."Lelei said."This is Mimosa, a mage and great sage. She's a member of Rondel's elders."

"Nice to meet you."Mimosa said and waved."Long time no see, Rory."

Members of White Squadron, Tuka and Yao looked at Rory in surprise.

"You know each other?"Tuka asked.

"First time I hear…"Lelei admitted.

Mimosa just giggled.

"It was almost fifty years ago. We traveled together. Right?"
"You got old, Mimosa."Rory said, covering her mouth to stop giggling.

"Yes, I'm very old already."

"You're jealous, aren't you?"resigned Rory asked.

"I heard you crossed the Gate. How was it?"

"We only saw Human cities, but all were really clean."Rory replied.

"Shops were full of people and commodities!"Tuka joined.

"Book stores were especially amazing!"Lelei exclaimed, standing up.

"Lelei…"Ester tried to say.

"They had books about everything."the young mage continued."With prices affordable for normal people."

"Normal people read books there?"asked Mimosa, genuinely surprised."

"Yes. Publishing books is very popular and easy out there. Everyone can publish their books."

"My, my. Cheap books…How wonderful."Mimosa admitted.

"It's not!"Arpeggio, silent until now, exclaimed.

All eyes turned on her, standing on the side.

"That's just…really, really…"For some reason, she struggled to say it."REALLY wrong! If the magic encyclopedias I spent night after night copying were ever worth less…"

"What's her problem?"Dora asked.

"Arpeggio copies books on the side."Lelei replied."So she heard us talking about cheap books and panicked."

"Her specialty is mineral magic, which isn't cheap to practice."Mimosa added.

Lelei stood up from the edge of the fountain and slowly came up to her sister, which was currently bundling up on the ground, with hands on her head and face down, still mumbling like crazy.

"Next month's food bill, next month's rent…"she mumbled."If I'll miss another payment, they'll evict me."

Lelei placed her hand on Arpeggio's arm.

"Don't worry. Prices aren't going down today or tomorrow. It's take a long time."young mage said to calm her down.

"A long time?"
Suddenly, Arpeggio shot up and exclaimed:

"Then don't scare me like that!"

Members of White Squadron just sighed.
"Girls, she may not look it, but since minerals are her specialty, I think she can help in your search of resources."Mimosa said to the three.

"That would be cool."Ester said.

Older of the sisters looked at her and quickly corrected her hair, while showing her best smile.

"Of course, if you're okay with me."she said, as some of her hair's strands stood up again.

Meanwhile, as this was happening, Liz constantly glanced at the stone boards nearby. Somehow just made her do it.

"Interested?"Mimosa asked."You keep glancing over."

"Well…I have scientific mind. Things like these are always interesting for me."Liz replied.

"For me, not really."Rory joined the talk.

Grand Master giggled.

"I'm glad you're here, even by accident."she said."I wanted to tell you the answer for your homework."

"Homework?"Liz asked.
"That's right."Rory nodded."I gave her homework, before we said goodbye. 'Why are there so many races in this world?'"

"Is there a reason other than it's a fantasy world?"Dora asked.

"Of course."demigoddess replied.

"It's because of…"Mimosa pointed at one of the boards.

It showed drawings of some people, at some ceremony. There were some rays, coming out of a pretty familiar building.
"…the Gate."

"Elaborate, please."Liz said, activating her hand terminal.

"Of course."Mimosa agreed."The creation myths of the elves, begin with a man and a woman, 'the ancestors', being guided by God to the Primal Forest. All of the different clans of elves scattered around the continent tell more or less the same story. If you ask them, where the Primal Forest can be found, the elves of the North would say, 'In the South'. And elves from the South say, 'In the North'. They all point to a single location."

"And that's Alnus?"Ester asked.

"Indeed."

"So all of the elves call Alnus their homeland?"Liz asked.

"Not just the elves. Every species calls Alnus their homeland."

Before telling this story, Mimosa went for one of her books and entire group went to the nearby restaurant, where they sat down and listened.

"You sure of this?"Arpeggio asked.

"I've spent my whole life researching this."Mimosa replied.

"And so, what's your answer?"Rory asked.

"All of the demihumans moved here when the Gate opened. After a silence for centuries, or even over a millennium, the Gate opens. And then, new visitors come to this world. Sometimes, they fight with the ones that are already here, other times they interbreed. In the end, they become a part of this world. And the Gate enters a long period of sleep, before it reopens. This is the history, which been repeated over and over in this world."

"Fascinating, fascinating…"Liz smiled.

For the whole time, she was writing something in her hand terminal.

"What are you doing there?"Tuka asked.

"Oh, um…I didn't tell you this yet, but I'm writing a book on history of Special System."the British explained."I want to publish finish and publish it once we're back home."
"Oh, interesting."Rory admitted.

"Impressive."Mimosa admitted."But coming back. We Humans are no exception. From both our texts and distribution of ruins we discovered, it's clear that we're the newest here. That explains why the Empire considers Alnus a holy ground, right?"

Rory just smirked and nodded.

"That's my girl."she said.

"Hoooray! I'm finally free!"Mimosa cheered.

"You knew all this, Rory?"Dora asked.

"Not all of it. It's all a will of the gods."the Apostle replied."All we, demigods, do is obey the will of the gods and protect this world. Sometimes we provide guidance to those who are promising, and sometimes we eliminate those who approach what is forbidden."

She threw up her arms.

"That's how we maintain order in this world."

"I never learned that."Lelei admitted.

"That's because it's my research."Grand Master said."I can't see Kato taking interest in history."

"See, what did I tell you?"Arpeggio approached her sister."Instead of studying with one sage, you could learn more by staying here."

"If I'd stayed here, I wouldn't have gotten a chance to become a sage for a long time."

"That's…true, maybe, but…"

"That's right."Mimosa clapped her hands."What are you going to share with everyone? Coudl you tell me?"

In response, Lelei reached into bag she had Yao carry and pulled out a laptop. She pressed the button on the side and screen levitated in the air.

"What's this?"Mimosa asked.

"A tool from Human civilization."Lelei replied.

"You wouldn't need books at all if you had this!"Arpeggio exclaimed.

"What's inside is even more interesting."Mimosa said, looking at the screen."You incorporated the knowledge of another world into our system of magic. That'll be plenty good to shut up those nasty old men."

Arpeggio quickly read all the lines of text that were on the screen and lowered her head.

"She's way ahead of me. My sister beat me!"she mumbled."I can't take this! I have no money and my sister's leaving me behind! I've been researching for years and I'm getting nowhere. I've got no talent, do I?"

Suddenly, she smiled.

"Okay, I'll find myself someone to marry and become a housewife!"She turned to White Squadron."What kind of person is Ester?"

White Squadron leader literally choked on the water she was drinking and coughed several times.

"I did not expect that."Tuka said.

"Same."Liz and Yao said.

Meanwhile, Dora jumped towards Arpeggio and put her bayonet at her throat.

"For your information, Estie is already taken."she said with cold voice.

Arpeggio looked at the bayonet and cold eyes piercing her soul and quickly gulped.

"Do, calm down…"Ester tried to speak to her mind.
"You have no idea what we've been through together and I won't just allow anyone to simply take her from me…"

"Dora, calm down!"Ester shouted."I'm not your damn property! Let her go!"

"But…!"
"No buts! Now!"

Dora looked back at Ester and back at Arpeggio. Next, she hid her bayonet and returned to her place. She and Ester looked at each other, sending thunders to each other.

"I think we just witnessed their first relationship argument."Liz whispered.

"My, my…"Mimosa said.

"Don't worry, Dora."Lelei said."My stupid sister is not worth your time."

Hearing this, Arpeggio's eye twitched.

"What did you say?"she said through gritted teeth.

"I said that you're not worth Dora's time."Lelei didn't even hesitate.

In response, Arpeggio simply slammed her hands onto the table. She picked up her soup plate and came up with it to Lelei.

"Arpeggio?"Lelei asked.

"I lost…"she said with empty eyes."She overtook me in science, money and additionally thinks I'm not worth anyone's time…I lost all dignity as a big sister and now, I can only do one thing…I can't hesitate…It's needed for our future relations…"

Saying that, with full force, she slammed the plate onto Lelei's head, splashing the soup all over her. Everyone opened their mouths in shock and gasped loudly. Even Ester and Dora forgot about the situation from before few seconds and just watched, silently.

"My, my…"Mimosa broke the silence."Oh my!"

Plate slid down from Lelei's head, while Arpeggio took the triumphant position and laughed.

"So! You give up?"she asked.

Lelei looked at Arpeggio and narrowed her eyes.

"Outside. In ten minutes."she said.

Ten minutes later…

"We begin 13th fight between Lelei and Arpeggio!"Rory announced."As Rory mercury, I'm giving you my allowance!"

Lelei and Arpeggio stood in front of themselves and glanced at each other.

"Killing an enemy is forbidden. And so is anything, that could hurt the face. As long as you apply to these rules, you can destroy houses, cities or even the world!"

"Well, that escalated quickly…"Dora stated.

"You shouldn't have jump on Arpeggio."Ester replied.

"I already apologized."

"What even is this?"Liz asked Mimosa.

"They always loved fighting."Grand Master replied."But it seems, that this fight might bi a bit different."

"Really…?"White Squadron members asked.

Rory lifted up her axe.

"So!"she exclaimed.

Both sisters started glowing as they prepared.

"You go, Lelei!"someone exclaimed.

"Begin!"Axe swung down.

Arpeggio went to the offensive first, using her sling to throw several glowing balls at Lelei. Younger of the two managed to deflect them, right into the gathered crowd. However, before they could do any harm, they hit a magical force field.

"What is that?"Ester asked.

"Amazing, isn't it?"Mimosa said."Arpeggio can use minerals as catalysts, to bend laws of physics at elementary level."

"I don't folly understand"Dora said, looking at Arpeggio constantly firing at Lelei"but I'm sure it's not normal siblings fight."

"Fights between mages always look like that."

Lelei was constantly deflecting her sister's attacks. Finally, she went to offensive herself, as several magical circles appeared in the air before her. Next, she sent a shockwave, which pushed Arpeggio into nearby building, completely demolishing it.

"That seemed a bit dangerous."Liz said, biting her lip.

Arpeggio quickly regained her composure.

"She's fast!"

Right then, more of Lelei's attacks started piercing through the walls, forcing her to run. Once she went around the corner, she again fired at Lelei, but this time, she actually scored some hits.

"What's covering them?"Ester asked.

"Defense magic. Young mages in Rondel always learn self-defense first. That's why this is a race of who breaks the enemy's defense first."

Some of Arpeggio's minerals stopped right over Lelei, firing down at her. Young mage started running from them and after disappearing behind a building, she jumped on top of it. Next, she said some words, jumped on her staff like on a broom and shot into the sky at astounding speed. She then turned towards Arpeggio and fired at her, forcing the latter to run again.

"Fucking genius…"Arpeggio murmured through gritted teeth.

"Hey, Rory."Ester turned to the Apostle."Didn't they already went a bit overboard?"

"If we stop them now, their grudges will remain."Rory replied."

"Probably yes, but…"
"Shut up and watch."

Ester, knowing she won't speak to Rory's mind, simply backed off.

Meanwhile, Lelei was flying in circles over Arpeggio, awaiting her next move. It came, when Arpeggio started spinning around with her weapon, making more minerals appear around her in the air.

"Eat this!"Arpeggio shouted at her."Special attack: Big Sister's Authority!"

"Well, that sounds hackneyed."Dora stated.

Arpeggio sent all the minerals after Lelei, which started flying around, trying to shake them all off, but minerals were sitting on her tail like. Finally, she decided to fly up, but minerals managed to catch up with her and exploded, covering Lelei in cloud of dust. Seconds later, everyone saw Lelei flying out of the cloud, with her shield flickering in red. Everyone in anticipation watched her fall towards the ground, fearing the worst.

But suddenly, she shot up, holding under the staff with one hand. As she was flying towards Arpeggio, the latter pulled out a golden coin and threw it at Lelei with force of a bullet. Young mage made quick evasive maneuver and touched ground with her heels. While passing Arpeggio, she discharged another shockwave into her, again pushing her into the same building as before, while herself falling on the ground.

"Damn it!"Arpeggio hissed, as her shield fell apart.

Lelei tried to get up, when her shield also fell apart.

"Seems like we have a draw."Rory casually said.

"Yup. Sure looks like it."Ester agreed.

Suddenly, world became red in Lelei's eyes, as she tried to stand up. She saw someone approaching her and looked up, seeing a hooded man with crossbow in his hand. He lifted the crossbow and pointed it straight at Lelei, which was paralyzed by sudden fear. She just looked at the crossbow, not knowing what to do.

His finger started pulling the trigger…

XXX

Aaaaand cut! Cliffhanger.

Yeah, yeah, you probably know, how this goes further. Anyway, this is where this chapter ends. In the next chapter, we'll witness the end of Rondel adventure and after that, Res…I mean, Coalition, will move to action again.

So, see you later!