Waiting in the parlor, Ais took a sip of the tea presented by a member of Astraea Familia. As she put down the cup of tea, a voice greeted her.

"Hm? Do we have a guest? Welcome to Astraea Familia!" A red-headed woman greeted her and took a seat beside her. "Are you here to join us? Please say yes!"

Ais shook her head. "I'm already in Loki Familia."

"Awww~ too bad. So what are you doing here?"

"Waiting for someone."

The woman blinked. "Let's see... Lyra is bothering the Gulliver brothers. Kaguya is visiting her blacksmith. Neze and Maryuu are patrolling the city. I think Iska is shopping. Celty is somewhere outside. Asta and Noin are with the Ganesha Familia. So it's either Ryana or Lion. And considering Lion asks to not be disturbed... but if you want to meet Ryana, you would have met her already.

"You're meeting Lion? Unfortunately, she's in her creative mode and asked not to be disturbed by anyone for the day. Maybe you can come another day," she smiled at Ais. "Oh, I haven't introduced myself, have I? You're face to face with the lovely Alise Lovell, Captain of the Astraea Familia!"

...Ais approved. Understanding the member of her own Familia to such a degree... At first, Ais wanted to persuade her trusted ally to come with her, but seeing someone like this Alise... maybe Ryuu would be better under her current Familia.

"Pleased to meet you, Miss Lovell. Thank you for your offer, but I'm sure Ryuu will come out eventually."

"No, no. I've tried it before, you know? Dragging Lion out of her room when she had her creative mode. Can you guess what happened? She made a song about all the embarrassing things she knew about me!" Alise hugged herself in fear. "That day, we all knew not to bother her."

Ais' lips curved into a smile. Indeed. Ryulu was a little unreasonable when they were disturbed by everyone else but their close friends. It just so happened that Ais was one of them. "Just keep getting closer to her, Miss Lovell. You'll get through her."

Alise blinked. "Who are you?"

"Ais Wallenstein. Pleasure."

"No, no, I mean, who are you to Lion? How long have you known her?" Alise corrected her question.

The fact that Gareth and Finn were reincarnates themselves were kept from the other members of Loki Familia. Not because they didn't trust the others, but because Gareth insisted they keep it hidden until a certain time. She had an inclination about what Gareth referred, and she had no doubt Finn also understood, even if slightly skeptical, so she played along.

Now, the problem was she didn't know if Alise knew about them being reincarnates. Being the captain, there was a big chance that Astraea, witnessing the memories herself, shared the information with the top executive of her Familia. But knowing Astraea was a Goddess of Justice, Ais doubted that Astraea would break such a trust if Ryuu did not want to share.

In the end, Ais decided to keep things vague enough for Alise to infer stuff herself. This was one of the oldest tricks in court politics. "An old friend."

At her answer, Alise snapped her finger in realization. "Ah! The one she made on her journey around the world!"

Ais neither confirmed nor denied her assumption. She just took another sip from the cup.

"Do you have stories about Lion to tell me? Pretty please? I'll treat you to something later!" Ais looked to the side and saw the red-headed woman put her hands together and beg her. "It's for a good cause, I swear!"

"That's all the madman always says."

"Ughyaaa!" Alise suddenly fell down as if she was struck. "I don't know why but hearing that from you damages me so much."

So a rather playful personality to accompany her understanding of her Familia. If she were to guess, Alise loved to tease all the members playfully, and they all loved her for it. She wondered how Alise's interaction with Ryuu would be.

"I have nothing to tell you."

"Uuuh, I just want to have fun..."

Not long after, a familiar figure entered the room. Her face was really identical to Ryulu's own. And hers to Queen Ariadne, for that matter. Maybe having identical looks was the trait shared between all the reincarnates.

"Ryuu," she greeted the newly arrived Elf bard.

"Oh my, I never expected us to meet again, Milady. To think that Sir Gareth and Sir Finn would plot to shake me up like this... Fufu, maybe I need to compose a few 'songs' about them," she smiled coldly. Ais had no doubt that she'd hear something about Finn and Gareth in the near future. Both from Alise's testimony and her memories in the court.

"How are you, Ryuu?"

"I should be the one asking you that, Milady. I have a year to adjust. I assume you have just newly arrived?" Ryuu sighed and sat in front of her.

Ais nodded. "One week."

Ais looked beside her to see the captain of Astraea Familia had her mouth gaping in shock.

"Lion! How?! Why?!"

Ryuu just smiled as she put down her hat on the sofa. "I couldn't ignore the visit of my queen, could I?"

So Ryuu had indeed told her captain, at the least. She was very sure Ryuu also had told her vice-captain now.

"Q-Queen?!" Alise turned her attention to Ais. "Oh! She's the same as you. I thought she's a real royalty."

Ryuu sighed. "Forgive my captain, Milady. Now, how can I help you?"

"Give me your report as usual."

"Hmm," Ryuu crossed her arms, thinking. "I assume everything has been explained to you by Sir Finn and Sir Gareth."

"I trust you."

"Fufu, let me tell you something that a certain someone told me, then. Right now, you are not Queen Ariadne Lakrios. The path she took should not influence your path. The same could be said of our allegiance. Despite my deep respect towards you, Milady, we are from different factions right now. Astraea Familia and Loki Familia each have their own agenda, even if it sometimes intersects. Saying 'I trust you' to someone outside your Familia like that can be said to be a sort of betrayal, you know?"

Ais nodded. "Understood. I still trust you, though."

Ryuu covered her mouth with her hat. "Fufu, I'm honored you trust me that much again, Milady. Very well, I'll give my report as usual, then."

And so, Ais got a deep look at the political situation of Orario. Two great factions were warring, and the effect could be felt even on the street level. She did not ask Gareth or Finn before this because even if she was very sure about Gareth, Finn was still someone she did not know well, unlike Ryuu.

On one side, Evilus. A coalition of criminal Familia banding together to be able to borrow the big name of the coalition to run their illegal business. On the other side, the alliance of the good-aligned Familia wanted Orario to be peaceful. Luckily for her, Astraea Familia and Loki Familia were both in the good-aligned alliance.

Ais let out a breath. No matter what the ages, humanity was all the same. It didn't help that now the Gods rallied the people under them.

Ryuu then continued her report, stating that Evilus began rising to the surface after Zeus and Hera Familia were banished from Orario by (ironically) Loki and Freya Familia.

"Sir Finn is still holding that over your Goddess' head, you know?" Ryuu mentioned it off-handedly. "He opposed the plan, citing that the loss of resources and knowledge would be too much for Orario. I think he's still regretting the fact that he couldn't stop Lady Loki, so he poured his all to combat the rising threat of Evilus."

Ais hummed in understanding. Finn always looked so busy to her. Aside from the first day when they constructed a backstory for her, she hadn't seen Finn aside from dinner time.

"So, about preparing ourselves by getting stronger?"

Ryuu blinked. "Ah, I told Sir Gareth exactly that, yes."

"What do you mean by that? What do we have to prepare ourselves for?"

Hearing that, Ryuu smiled. "I wouldn't spoil the surprise. Just get stronger, for my sake, Milady. Look, even I almost reached Level Two! Isn't that right, Captain Alise?"

"What the hell, Lion! You don't blurt out Familia's secret like that!" Alise looked scandalized.

"I'm sure you'll keep it a secret, right, Milady?" Ryuu winked.

Sometimes, she forgot how playful Ryulu was in the past. "Yes."

"Great!"

Looking at the two of them, Alise shook her head with a smile. "I always want Lion and Lyra to be closer to us. And here you are, already closer to Lion than us despite this being your first meeting."

Ais looked toward Ryuu, mouthing Lyra's name with a confused expression.

"A Knight of Fianna in her past life," was Ryuu's short reply, knowing that she wouldn't be familiar with this Lyra. She nodded in understanding.

Ais then stood up. "I think this has been a fruitful visit. Thank you, Ryuu, Miss Lovell."

She curtsied.

"O-Owaah, a real curtsy instead of just bow... a real royalty is different."

Ryuu kneeled. "The pleasure is mine, Milady."

Alise panicked that she was in the presence of royalty and also kneeled down in a hurry.

"No need to kneel, Miss Lovell. You weren't one of my subjects. And besides, I'm not royalty this time, anyway. Ryuu is just playing you."

"Eeh?!" Alise looked at Ryuu, who only grinned at her. "Lion!"

Ryuu couldn't hold her laugh anymore. Ais also smiled at the situation.

"Ugh! Ganging up on your lovely captain like that..."

"See you later, Ryuu," Ais said after the laughter subsided. "I'll get stronger."

"I'll get back to you on that, Milady."

"Miss Lovell, keep trying. I leave my trusty bard in your care."

"Of course, Milady," Alise grinned. Hearing that, Ais smiled. No doubt, her 'milady' was teasing instead of respect. But she was okay with that.

She left the Stardust Garden with a new understanding of Orario's situation. She was still seven years old. No matter what, her opinion wouldn't be heard unless it was just a talk between those in the know. In the end, Ais concluded that getting stronger was the best thing she could do in her place.