It only took a day for some semblance of normality to return to the sleepy mountain village. The scars from the jaeger attack were still present and would take months to fully heal, but the people were able to put the horror behind them and return to their daily lives.

Well, most of them would. Rean's father, the Baron, was still unconscious in bed thanks to his injuries. Luckily they managed to stabilize him in time and his life was no longer in danger, but not even Father Bernard had any inkling as to when he might awaken. It was concerning, but with his mom there to look after him and all the townsfolk doing what they can to support the Schwarzer family, Rean felt optimistic about his recovery.

As for Rean himself, while he felt somewhat guilty at the idea of leaving a Ymir already bereft of its best protector, he knew without a doubt that he needed to leave. He had made a promise to Elise and Alfin, but he couldn't do it alone. Toval and Celine were going to accompany him, but he would need Class VII if there was any hope of making it through the storm of civil war.

Currently he was making his final preparations for the trip. Unlike the casual clothes he had worn the previous day, he now opted for heavier travel clothes. He had no idea how long his trip would take him, so he opted for an ensemble that would last. Travel boots, blue trousers, a black shirt, and a heavy red jacket that he left unbuttoned.

After changing he began to search his ragged old school uniform for anything he had left in its pockets. It was mostly mundane stuff for school, but he did find his student notebook and the intermediary scroll his master had left for him. Those he opted to bring with him. He was just about to conclude his search when he heard a rattle from a pocket he never recalled actually using. Curious, he opened it up and pulled out-

Hurriedly he placed the item on the nearest table and put some distance between he and it, as if it was something contagious. Once safely away, he glanced at the offensive object with a red face. Those damn pills that the prince had given him during the festival. He had completely forgotten about their presence with everything that had happened since that night.

Once again putting the cursed item out of mind, Rean bade farewell to his mother before exiting the Schwarzer mansion, meeting up with his two companions just outside the place. Toval had taken it upon himself to secure the necessary provisions for the trip, as they were unsure just how safe it would be to stop at any of the occupied towns in Erebonia.

Although they were eager to get started, the decision was made to once again go through the valley and pay Valimar a visit. They hadn't really come up with any concrete plans on what to do with the Divine Knight, but the least Rean could do was check in on it after its successful fight against the Magic Knight. He had no idea if there was a limit to the range in which he could summon it, but having it combat ready could only be a boon for their chances, especially with soldats being a new threat on the battlefield.

Even without Elise with them, the trip was rather simple. Pushing himself the day before had done wonders for his strength and he was a lot more comfortable working with the Zero Artisan Bracer. Between his Eight Leaves and Toval's rapid-fire arts, the few monsters that decided to attack them paid a dear price. Before long they had returned to the clearing and found Valimar slumped over just as they had left him. There had been some fears that Vita or someone else might have tried messing with the knight while they were in Ymir, but those worries appeared to have been unfounded.

As Rean gazed upon the slumbering knight he couldn't help but think back to the previous day. "Things could've ended a lot worse yesterday if not for Valimar's help. I can't even imagine the ways Ymir would've suffered if we didn't stop that Magic Knight. I'll need to thank him when he wakes up-"

"That will not be necessary." Apparently the robot in question was less asleep than they had realized as it was quick to refute his idea.

Both he and Toval were startled by the announcement, but Celine seemed to have been expecting it. "I suppose one night was enough for you to recover a little bit of your mana. Not enough to freely move around, though, I'm guessing."

"Correct. Further rest will be required in order to return to full capacity."

"Okay. Get as much rest as you need. We'll call on you if anything else happens, okay?"

"Acknowledged."

Toval watched the conversation between cat and machine with amused interest. "Wow. Easy enough to communicate with him, huh?" The bracer seemed to be deep in thought about something, but when Rean questioned him about it he simply waved it away as unimportant.

"I sense a change has occurred in your group since I last entered a state of inactivity." Valimar noted. "Confirming the absence of the waveform of one member... Assuming that some form of irregularity has occurred."

Absence of a waveform...? Toval was slightly quicker on the uptake. "Wait. Is he talking about Elise?"

"Maybe." The cat agreed. "He appears to be aware of what's going on around him to an extent."

Thinking about Elise's kidnapping caused an ache to go through Rean's heart, but it was one that only hardened his resolve. "Valimar, we're going to be leaving this region for a while. My sister and the princess have been taken away, and we're going to rescue them. Plus, I need to find and reunite with my classmates, too. So take this chance to recover as long as you need, okay?"

"Classmates? I assume that this word refers to those who had aided you in overcoming the trial to become an Awakener."

"Yeah." He answered the odd question. "Is that a big deal or something?"

Celine too seemed bewildered. "Valimar?"

"Confirming waveform locations..." Wait, what? "Excluding the Awakener of Azure, the remainder appear to be located in three different regions. All vital signs are normal."

Suddenly breathing got a lot harder for the swordsman. "Does that mean you know where all of them are?!" He croaked out in a rush. There was no way...

"I see now..." Rean was not happy that Celine chose that moment to interrupt. "Do you remember when you overcame the trial to become Valimar's Awakener? Well obviously, you weren't alone when you did that – you were with the rest of Class VII. And it sounds like, thanks to them being there with you, they've all been recognized as secondary contractors at the same time."

"Oh...! So that's how..." The explanation was appreciated, but Rean really really needed his question answered. "Please, Valimar! Tell me where they all are!"

"Detecting approximate locations using geographical database... Three are to the southeast, in the Celdic region. Three are to the northeast, in the Nord region. Three are to the south-southeast, in the Legram region. This concludes a list of the locations of all nine secondary contractors. All vital signs appear normal."

The sense of relief was so palpable that Rean was barely able to remain on his feet. "They're all okay... They're really okay..." So much of the tension accumulated in the last few days faded away as if it were nothing. To have confirmation that his friends had managed to escape and were now waiting for him... It took all of his willpower to not sob in sheer relief.

Something which the others noticed. The bracer smiled gently at him as he placed a hand on Rean's head in a comforting gesture. "...I'm really happy for you. Though, I sure wasn't expecting us to get confirmation of their safety quite like this."

Celine, meanwhile, let out a sigh at their display. "Look at you, crying away. And you call yourself a man."

The words might have sounded harsh, but Rean thought he was starting to understand that that was just how the cat operated, and there was little actual heat behind them. "...Quiet, you."

"Aww, come on. You can't pretend you aren't breathing a sigh of relief right along with us. This means Emma's safe, too, you know." Toval pointed out. Celine merely looked away with a huff.

With a deep breath Rean managed to somewhat regain his composure. "I, for one, am definitely breathing a sigh of relief. Still, all three locations are a ways away from Ymir." With the train network unavailable it would take days to reach any of those locations under the best of circumstances.

"Yeah. I'm pretty sure the Noble Alliance's got control of key locations all over the country on top of it all. On the plus side, they're all on the eastern side of the Empire. But getting to them ain't exactly gonna be a walk in Mater Park." Just Roer alone being under control of the nobility made leaving Ymir safely a dangerous proposition. Getting to any of those locations would be extremely dangerous.

"Oh, hey! Wait!" Celine interjected in excitement. "Valimar, can't you use the Spirit Path?"

"Affirmative. Doing so would consume all of my current mana, however."

Rean and Toval shared a glance, confusion plain on both their faces. Seeing that, Celine chose to elaborate. "It's the name given to a really old means of travel. Using it will allow us to travel instantly to even distance locations."

"How?! That sounded way too good to be true.

"You know how there are still remnants of animism all across Erebonia, right?" Celine's question was pointless considering they were standing in front of one such monument. "Well, places like that are connected to one another by spirit veins – septium veins, in other words. And Valimar has the ability to use those veins to travel."

That explanation still didn't make much sense to Rean, but fortunately for his pride Toval looked just as confused as he was. "Yeah, that's kinda goin' over my head, but basically, you're saying it's like an invisible road that connects places like Legram to here or wherever else?"

"Exactly. The Spirit Path can only be used between areas where animism had a hold, though. The other drawback is that taking it will use up what little mana Valimar's been able to recover. Which means that until he's recovered enough to travel again, we won't be able to come back here."

"I see..." Those were drawbacks, but at the same time it wasn't as if Rean had any intention of storming the area inside of Valimar and taking down the Noble Alliance by himself. Not being able to return to Ymir for a couple of days was more of a risk, but given how vast the areas were it wasn't as if he expected to find his classmates instantly. "Personally, I can't think of any better options." He turned towards the older man. "I think we should give it a try. What do you think?"

"It sounds worth a shot to me." He agreed easily enough. "Now all that's left is to pick which place we should head to first."

A part of Rean wanted to answer Legram without any hesitation, as there was a very high likelihood that Laura would be in any group there. But he stopped himself short as this decision wasn't only affecting him. "Celdic, the Nord Highlands, or Legram..." From his discussions with his father he knew that Legram was like Ymir and still outside of the Noble Alliance's sphere of influence. The Nord Highlands too should be relatively safe considering they weren't in Erebonia. The group in Celdic, meanwhile, were almost certainly right in the thick of things and were probably in the most danger. "Let's go to Celdic." He answered at last. Not to mention it was closest in case something went wrong.

"Celdic, huh? I'm down. Should make a good test run for this whole Spirit Path deal."

"All decided?" Both he and Toval nodded affirmatively towards Celine's question. "Come with me, then." The cat led the two humans closer to the old monument. "Hmm... This seems like a good enough spot. Are you both ready?" Again they agreed, this time verbally. "Valimar! Open the Spirit Path! Our destination is Celdic! I'll lend you all the support I can, too!"

"Acknowledged." The robot rose to his feet and approached the group. "Activating Spirit Path..."

The machine began to glow azure, which soon spread around it to encompass all of them. "Whoa, hey! They ground's glowing!"

"What's this...?"

Naturally Celine chose to ignore his question. "All right! Here we go!"

With a flash of light the snowy confines of Ymir vanished and the group found themselves flying through an area almost indescribable. It was like a kaleidoscope of colors and lights. Rean wasn't sure what he expected the Spirit Path to look like, but it certainly was not this. Despite the freaky surroundings, he found himself at peace as they soared to their destination.

As the two humans, one cat, and one giant robot approached the literal light at the end of the tunnel, Rean reflected on the events of the past few days. It had undoubtedly been a whirlwind of emotions, mostly negative, but things were finally starting to get better. He knew that his friends were alright and that three of them were somewhere ahead waiting for him. He would find them, and he would find the others. And once that was accomplished and all of Class VII was back together it would be time to figure out how they should move forward together.

Soon they reached the end of the tunnel and all was encompassed by light. He felt the change in scenery with his feet long before his eyes recovered from that experience. Valimar, having used up what little energy he had, once again slumped down into the clearing in the middle of the forest they were in-

Wait. Forest? Both Rean and Toval glanced around at their surroundings, but only the eyes of the student lit up in realization. "Oh, hey! I know this place!" Despite it only having been a half year, the memories of Group A fighting a large monster in the depths of the park during their first field study felt like a lifetime ago. Still, it wasn't as if it was something he could ever forget. "It's Lunaria Nature Park!"

"Ah, so that's where we are. I knew this place looked kinda familiar. We must be in the deepest part of the forest, too." He shouldn't have been surprised that one of Erebonia's few remaining bracers had been here before. "If I recall correctly, the nature park's about northwest of Celdic, right?"

Rean briefly recounted the details of that field study to the older man before glancing around. "I'd forgotten how many stone monuments there were here..."

"They're vestiges of old animism." Celine answered for him. That would explain why Valimar teleported here. "Anyway, nice to see we made it here safely enough. It's a nice hiding spot for Valimar, too. I doubt anyone will find him here." The group looked at the slumped robot. "Getting us here must have used up his remaining mana. My guess is, it'll be two or three more days before he wakes up again."

It was something that they already knew, but not having any potential escape plan in case things went badly was slightly disconcerting. "As far as I'm aware," Toval stated, "this region's under the complete control of the alliance, too. We're gonna need to stay alert."

That lined up with what his father had told him about the region. "Yeah. Well, no time like the present, as they say." Despite the danger, Rean was very eager to get started with the investigation. "We should start looking for any kinds of clues relating to my classmates."

"Got it. Let's make our way outta the park, then."

Once again Toval ceded the lead to Rean and the student did his best to not let him down by wracking his brain as he attempted to recall the correct path through the dense nature park. He thought he had the right idea where to go, but something about the place just felt... wrong to him. He had no idea what it was, but it felt both dangerous and familiar.

"You've noticed it, too?" The haughty cat must have noticed his confusion. "The higher elements seem to be present here."

That phenomenon again? "Like in the old schoolhouse!" But that didn't make any sense. The last time Class VII was in Lunaria it was nothing like that. He shared a glance with Toval. Although the older man seemed to understand the ramifications, he too was clueless as to why it was happening and directed that question to the cat.

"Who knows?" Who of course was absolutely no help. "Something's clearly out of balance, but beyond that, I couldn't say."

That was unfortunate. Rean had been expecting a fairly simple walk in the park as the group made their exit, but if the higher elements were present that meant it was no longer the case. From experience he knew that otherworldly enemies might be present and even the local fauna would be more aggressive.

Those worries, unfortunately, proved to be quite true, as almost immediately after setting forth the two were beset by normally docile monsters. There were also purple alien menaces amok in the forest. All combined it turned the nature park into a very dangerous area that would have been very hazardous to the four members of Group A that had previously navigated the area.

And yet, while dangerous, it wasn't nearly as bad as Rean had feared. Fighting the same enemies that he had half a year prior made his growth as a swordsman all the more apparent. If he recalled correctly, he had just begun practicing the stance of the second form around that first field study and now he was gracefully cleaving through an entire pack of Sasa Pandas with a single Gale. As a warrior he couldn't help but feel great satisfaction at seeing his improvements made obvious.

With another encounter dealt with he shared a glance at the second reason this wasn't difficult. Obviously anyone who worked alongside Instructor Sara would be quite skilled, but what had surprised Rean about Toval the most was just how trustworthy the bracer was. It was something he had first noticed back in Ymir, but hadn't really considered until now. Perhaps it was the older man's easy-going attitude, or maybe it was his profession as a bracer, but Rean found himself trusting the man almost immediately. And given that the ARCUS link they shared was nearly as strong as the ones he had with his classmates, that feeling appears to be reciprocated.

With his enhanced skills, trusty partner, and a brain that successfully recalled the layout of the park, it wasn't long until the three of them neared the exit. Outside of a few minor scrapes and bruises the two warriors were still relatively fresh. With their destination in sight the group couldn't help but relax ever so slightly.

Naturally, Aidios had her ways of punishing mortals for their hubris. In this case, it came in the form of a roar that was vaguely familiar to Rean.

The reason why soon became obvious as a massive enraged baboon appeared in their path. The ruler of the forest. "We fought that thing during our field study...!" Grunoja was its name, if he recalled correctly. The four Thors students had driven it away after a lengthy battle, and it seemed to remember that based on the way it was bellowing in his direction. Nothing more was said as the beast charged and battle began.

The student and bracer scattered to avoid the initial charge, leaving the massive baboon stuck squarely in between them. Either it lacked the intellect to care about the disadvantageous position or simply didn't care as it simply turned and once again charged at Rean. The hasty Arc Slash he launched in retaliation did little to slow it down, but it bought enough time for Toval to finish his initial cast, causing a far more damaging impact of Golden Spheres that did halt the beast.

In response to the attack Grunoja bellowed so loudly that the entire forest probably heard it. The two men couldn't help but wince and try to cover their ears as the volume was almost as loud as a flashbang grenade and just as disorienting. Still, the young swordsman had had plenty of experience fighting against someone who utilized such tools and knew how to fight while impaired. He proved that point by using an Autumn Leaf Cutter to both score some slashes on the monster's hide and to reposition himself where it had originally attacked from. Not wanting the dangerous human in its rear Grunoja turned to face him, inadvertently giving the arts specialist the chance to safely recover as well.

With the opening present Toval darted forward to shock the beast with his stun baton. Although he made impact with his swings multiple times, the electric shock didn't seem to do much damage and he was forced to back away when the enemy tried to kick him with its hind legs. The bracer shook his head with a grimace after the failure of his attack.

Still, the opening it presented was enough for Rean to commit to his most powerful attack. "Flames, gather on my blade..." It was his Flame Slash that was responsible for lighting its fur on fire and putting the lord of the forest to rout the first time Class VII fought it and he had no reason to believe his enhanced version would be any less capable.

Unfortunately, it seemed that Grunoja also remembered that painful experience with fire as the instant Rean started preparing for his attack the baboon immediately began charging at him, head down and horns out, clearing not intending on letting him get the attack off. It was a test to see which of the combatants would flinch first, and inevitably it was Rean who first aborted his attack in order to reposition away from the rampaging creature.

Although he was a fair distance away from Toval, he could heard the bracer's question through their combat link. 'Keep its attention a little longer!' He suspected the older man was preparing a higher level art spell, but didn't dare glance in his direction lest he give away the intent. Instead he hurried to comply with the frantic request.

Grunoja was still coming after him and trying to repeat his signature attack would be impossible like that. Still, if fire was a danger to it than he had other tools to rely upon than just his Flame Slash, didn't he? A certain technique, while a lot weaker, could do the trick a lot quicker. And as an added bonus, it was one he did not possess the first time they fought so it would be unexpected to this old foe.

This time, when Grunoja charged at him he held his ground, instead adopting the third stance of the Eight Leaves. His timing needed to be perfect lest he get overrun by the much larger foe. As soon as Grunoja got close enough that he could smell the stench of its breath he brought his sword down with his powerful Flame Impact. Fortunately he was right on the mira with his timing and he felt satisfaction as the flaming strike honed in on the monster's face.

It reared back, screeching in agony as its fur caught alight thanks to his strike. Sadly for Rean, despite the fear and pain it must have been going through it still maintained enough concentrated to pull back its arm and send it towards him as a mighty blow. Desperately he parried the attack with his tachi, but the force was enough to send him rocketing backwards many arge, before a painful collision with a tree ended his surprise trip.

"Cross Crusade!" Oh, it seemed that his distraction was successful and Toval got his art off in time. Hurray. Through the haze of pain he looked up from his spot on the ground to see the results.

Grunoja looked positively ghastly. All of the fur on its upper half was burning away thanks to his attack, and blood flowed freely from dozens of injuries littering its body thanks to Toval. This level of injuries would have been enough to force the intelligent beast to retreat in formal times, but either thanks to the higher elements or its simple desire for revenge the badly injured monster stood its ground and focused entirely on attacking Toval. Clearly it didn't see the injured swordsman as a threat any longer.

Despite the agony of it all, Rean slowly forced himself to his feet. He would not allow his new friend to fight alone. Not to mention his pride as a swordsman stung at being ignored so. Luckily it didn't feel like anything in his body was broken, but he knew he would be nursing plenty of cuts and bruises for the next few days.

Once on shaky legs he knew exactly what he needed to do. While the monster was smart enough to interrupt him the first time he tried it, now that it was entirely focused on smashing a desperately evading Toval into the ground it had no way of stopping his Azure Flame Slash. To its credit it sensed the danger and realized its mistake as soon as his blade lit up and he took his stance, but by that time it was far too late.

As far as finesse was concerned, the swordsman's attack was an absolute failure. Shaky legs could only carry him so far so quickly. Despite that, forward momentum carried him the rest of the way. So even as he stumbled and gravity carried him to the ground his blade connected with the target, slicing all the way from a hind leg through the body of the beast, nearly cleaving it in two. Gracelessly Rean landed in a heap, but turned and watched as the king of the forest let out one final agonized roar before collapsing to the ground once and for all.

"Phew. Nice job, Rean." An exhausted looking Toval muttered as he approached the downed swordsman, ARCUS at the ready. Behind him, trotting along as if nothing had happened, was Celine. The young noble let out a sigh of relief as a cast of Tear from the bracer began to close his wounds and reduce the pain. Once that was finished he sat up and allowed him the chance to cover up some of the more serious cuts with standard first aid.

Once finished the group looked further down the path where the light from outside could be seen. "Come on, we're almost out of here." As much as Rean thought the nature park was a beautiful place, he so badly wanted to be done with that place. As far as he could tell, it was still early afternoon so they could at least reach the town by day's end.

A few minutes later and the three of them were finally free of that dense forest. But this also meant that they were now in the open in enemy controlled territory. Toval suggested that they scope out information before entering Celdic proper, and if Rean recalled correctly there was a nearby farmhouse where they could accomplish just that. Decision made the two men and one familiar once again set forth.

The farmhouse in question was just down the road and soon the two were chatting with the farmers who lived there. Toval, showing the resourcefulness and quick thinking that made him Instructor Sara's peer, was quick to come up with the alibi that they were simply a pair of traveling merchants new to the area.

Although neither of the farmers knew anything about any students around, they did freely answer what questions they could. Celdic, due to its close proximity to Bareahard and important strategic position on the transcontinental railroad, had been occupied almost immediately once the civil war broke out. The Imperial Army, caught completely unawares, hadn't been in position to contest the move and retreated eastward without any bloodshed. Thus the region had been spared the scars of war.

That wasn't to say that life hadn't changed. The restrictions the Noble Alliance placed on the railway meant that trade, the livelihood of the market town, had almost completely dried up. The markets were in a sorry state as goods could not be imported and few people were around to make purchases. To add to their troubles, the army had been requisitioning food and other necessary supplies from the locals and hadn't been compensating fairly. All in all, it sounded like the town was in a pretty sorry state, even if the residents were safe.

Still, if nothing else, the quick peaceful occupation meant that the local garrison probably wasn't all that attentive, especially as, while reduced, the town did still see the occasional visitor. Even if they knew to be looking out for fugitive students it was unlikely that any of them cared enough to identify Rean. Thus Toval was confident that the two of them could enter the town without drawing undue attention to themselves. The three left the farm and continued down the road.

A few minutes later and the group arrived at a junction in the road. Rean couldn't help but hesitate, causing the others to stop and glance at him. On one hand, Celdic was almost in sight, but the western path was tempting. It was the route to Trista, after all.

Celine was unimpressed by the distraction, but the bracer encouraged him to investigate if he wanted, even if the detour would cost them a couple hours. It was a tempting offer to be sure, but after a brief mental deliberation Rean shook his head. As curious as he was about what had happened at Thors, his desire to reunite with his classmates as soon as possible exceeded that. Mind made up he began down the eastern road towards Celdic, the others behind him.

Celdic, as Toval had predicted, was almost laughably easy to enter, as there wasn't a single guard present at the gates. In fact outside of a couple armored cars parked at the local guardhouse the security didn't look any different from when Class VII had their field study here. Still, Rean was a wanted man so he needed to keep his head down while the two humans investigated and Celine kept her mouth shut.

Little did they know that there actually was someone watching them as they entered, but that person was not affiliated with the occupiers. Instead they darted off, intent on informing their benefactor that one of the people he was looking for had just been spotted.

Fortunately the town was fairly small and Rean was familiar with most of the residents already, so they were able to go around without arousing any suspicion. Still, the odds of them quickly finding someone with information about Thors or Class VII seemed doubtful-

Or at least that was his thought until they almost immediately ran into Becky from Class V. After some initial surprise at the encounter the group moved to her family home so they could converse privately. After Rean gave a very abridged version of the story of how he was separated from his classmates the young merchant gave her own story. Apparently she and another student, with help from Hugo, had made their escape from the academy and were in Celdic. Although the Kreuzen Army knew they were there they didn't do anything about it, presumably content to simply keep an eye on the students.

Sadly she knew nothing about any members of Class VII in the area, but that was enough for Rean. He hadn't really considered what had happened to his friends in the other classes, so knowing that some of them were out there was an unexpected relief. He would need to check in on this other student and keep an eye out for any other Thors members that they might come across.

Rean thought about visiting Otto, the market manager, as that man was a friend of the principals and had helped Class VII out before, but peeking his head inside that house revealed the man to be deep in a meeting, and he didn't want to interrupt. He could only imagine how busy the old man must be with the situation what it was.

Although they had already heard about the struggles of the place, seeing the market in person was a miserable experience. Although the merchants were still there and doing their best, the lack of buyers made it a fruitless experience, especially with stock so limited thanks to the war. As Rean and Toval passed through the area they felt the gaze of every merchant on them, like a pack of starving beasts eyeing oblivious prey.

The sound of a commotion at the other side of the market drew their attention away from the merchants, however. Two soldiers, with one looking completely inebriated despite it being the middle of the day, were pressuring a nun to go with them. It was a despicable sight and Rean was ready to charge in, tachi drawn, even if it would completely blow their cover, but Toval placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder before donning an easy-grin and approaching the group.

Slipping into his merchant persona the bracer began to converse with the two soldiers. Although initially not interested in his antics, they soon began to sing a different tune when he slipped a large amount of mira into their hands as a bribe. It was most of the mira they had on hand, but if it resolved the situation peacefully it was a worthwhile expense. Thankfully it seemed to do just that, as the soldiers soon realized they were causing a scene in the middle of town and beat a hasty retreat to spend their ill-gotten gains, leaving the two fugitives with the sister.

Which Rean was shocked to discover was actually the other student from Thors, Rosine. The pretty nun led the two towards the church where they could converse without the risk of any more soldiers approaching. As they had with Becky, Rean relayed their story and Rosine in turn provided what little info she could.

Although Celdic wasn't her home, the people there had gladly taken her in and she had chosen to repay that debt by working at the church. Sadly, like Becky, she too had no knowledge of any other students in the area. Still, thanks to her they got a good insight as to how lax the garrison was as apparently incidents caused by drunken soldiers weren't all that uncommon. Although they weren't overtly violent, nobody could dare oppose the soldiers as they went around harassing people and taking from merchants.

"Well, it's good that she's all right, but we still have no leads to go on..." Rean muttered as the two exited the church after biding Rosine farewell.

"True, but given the sorry state of security they are probably fine, wherever they are. Wanna hit up the inn and see if Margot knows anything?"

Toval's idea was a sound one. Like the market manager, the innkeeper, Margot was a friend of Class VII and might know something. And it wasn't like there were many other places in town left for them to check. Decision made the two humans and one silent cat made their way towards their next destination, unknowing that their presence had already been noted and the answer they sought would soon present itself to them...

Bah. If you had asked me a month ago I would have guessed that the CS2 prologue would be 2 chapters, 3 at most. I really need to learn to stop underestimating the extremely wordy sections in the games. Still, we're finally there! ...Mostly. Might be a quick detour before we finally get the first reunion. But I promise it will happen soon enough!