It had been a few days since Rean started his new life, and thus far he had found nothing to complain about. The work had been simple and he quite enjoyed the freedom to operate at his own pace. He had even started meeting some of the Junior Bracers, and while it was somewhat annoying to be treated like a celebrity again, it wasn't anything he was unused to. The fact that some of those kids reminded him of his former students wasn't lost on him.

Of course the best perk of being a Bracer was currently sound asleep on top of him. While he had plenty to complain about with the cramped apartment they were using, the single small bed was not one of them. Instinctively he found himself stroking the girl's hair. It was such a peaceful moment and he would have been alright with it lasting a little longer.

The ringing of Fie's ARCUS immediately put an end to that moment.

Scowling at the device, Rean paused to take stock of the situation. Sure it was a call directed towards his lover, and yes the sound was causing her to stir slowly, but anyone calling this early probably had a good reason for it. Decision made Rean answered the device. "This is Rean." Of course he would make sure that the other person knew it wasn't in fact Fie.

"Rean? I need the two of you to get here as soon as possible." The curt tone from the normally relaxed Zero Artisan Bracer confirmed that something was amiss.

"Right, we're on our way." With that the call ended. Fie was fully awake by this point and despite only hearing a few words of the conversation had already shifted from Lazy Cat Fie to Professional Bracer Fie. With few words spoken the pair got out of bed and got ready to face whatever had happened. It only took a few minutes for the duo to arrive at their destination.

"What's up?" A concerned Fie asked as they entered. This time there was no Sara present, as the older woman had recently departed to assist in an operation in Calvard. It was just Toval present.

"Early yesterday a pair of Junior Bracers were sent to investigate strange monster sightings south of the city. What they found weren't monsters, but archaisms."

"Archaisms? Does this mean Ouroboros is involved?" Rean shared a worried look with his partner. Ouroboros had been keeping to itself for the past year so any news involving them was concerning.

"We aren't sure, but it seems likely. What's worse is that these appeared to be upgraded models, and in large numbers. The two were overwhelmed and defeated, but for whatever reason the machines spared them. Duke Albarea dispatched his forces to search for the machines, but they were long gone by that time. A few hours later they reappeared, this time near Legram, just to attack another Bracer."

"You think they are targeting Bracers?" This time it was Fie who asked. Sure the Bracer Guild had been the most active in opposing the snakes, but as far as she knew the last time they specifically targeted Bracers was when they had Jaegers attack the Erebonian Guild around the time of the Liberl incident.

"Again, we aren't sure, but it seems likely. That is why I want the two of you to go down there and investigate. If anyone can handle it, it is you two. The Duke and Viscount are both offering their support so you should have free reign to investigate how you see fit. We are suspending guild operations in that province until the matter is resolved, but if the two of you want to handle any of the outstanding requests down there go for it."

"Right. We can handle this." Fie wasn't alone in her confidence. Despite the vagueness of their mission, both Bracers felt confident in their ability to handle anything Ouroboros could throw at them.

"Think we should take my bike or the train?" Rean asked after they departed the guild.

"Train. I need breakfast." Fie grumbled. Being reminded of the meal they skipped in their rush inevitably caused Rean to consider his own hunger.

"Train sounds good." He admitted at last.


An hour later the two found themselves on the train to Bareahard polishing off the remains of the cheap meal they acquired at the station. It wasn't particularly good food, but it was enough to sate their hunger.

"We should probably visit Jusis and question the injured Bracers." Rean mused as the two relaxed.

"Yup. We should also check in at the Guild too. Toval said it would be shut down, but we can use it as our base and see if any requests are worth doing."

"Sure. Still, this all seems so odd. If they are targeting Bracers why are they letting them live? Sounds like they weren't even hurt badly either."

"Bait. It's a common tactic among Jaegers, especially snipers. Attack the small fry to lure an important target into the open. "

"Think we are the target?" While there was no proof, Rean's instincts told him that Fie was on the mira with her opinion.

"Possibly. If not us than the Guild in general. It's kinda annoying that we are playing into their hands like this."

"True, but not much we can do about that. They could start targeting other people if we don't play along."

Fie grinned. "You are already starting to sound like a true Bracer. Protect the civilians and all that."

"Of course. I learned from the best after all."

"And I will continue to teach you until you are half as awesome as I am."

"Huh?" Rean expressed confusion. "I was talking about Instructor Sara."

"Jerk!" Fie pouted as Rean laughed at her expense.

"Still..." Rean continued once he calmed down, "I am kinda surprised we worked out so well." Seeing her confused look he elaborated, "Think about it. We both had Sara as our mentor. Me as an Instructor and you as a Bracer. You would think that two people inspired by her would turn out so..." Rean was polite enough to not finish the thought.

"Annoying? Useless? Passed out drunk?" Of course Fie would gladly finish for him. She tilted her head slightly as a thought came to mind, "Although Sara did promise that she would take me out drinking once I turn twenty, so I guess the last one might still apply."

"Oh. I remember the first time she took me out for a drink. I was a total lightweight." It wasn't his proudest moment, especially when he found out that Sara couldn't hold a candle to the true heavyweights like Sharon, Aurelia, or Edel. "I have gotten a bit better at it in case you want some practice before Sara gets you plastered."

"You know you don't have to get me drunk to take advantage of me, right?" She grinned as Rean nearly fell out of his seat from that statement. Sure he had gotten better at dealing with her teasing and even occasionally countered with his own remarks, but she was still the master.

The trip to Bareahard continued in such a way. Despite the seriousness of their mission both knew that there was nothing more they could do until they arrived and that relaxing was the best option available. When they ran out of words they resorted to Vantage Masters to kill the time. Eventually they arrived at the capital of the Kreuzen Province.

Rean was surprised at how much the city had regressed in the past year. The previous pro-noble sentiment had returned in full force and was almost stifling in its intensity. In the brief walk from the train station to the Albarea mansion Rean counted no less than three different conversations about how Jusis and the Four Great Houses would restore Erebonia to what it was before Chancellor Osborne took power.

"Pretty crazy how they all seem to have forgotten that Rufus was the top Ironblood." Fie, as always, knew exactly what he was thinking and provided her own two mira.

"It's like the past four years never happened." Rean agreed. The fact that he had friends who held prominent roles in all four houses and knew none of them were interested in a return to the old ways made it all the more unusual.

They weren't sure if they were expected or just recognized, but the second they arrived at the Albarea manor they were ushered inside and guided to a waiting room. They did not have to wait long as a pair of familiar faces emerged to greet them.

"Isn't this something a Duke should delegate to someone else?" Fie asked with raised eyebrows while she tried to prevent a grin from forming on her face at the sight of her two friends.

"Perhaps, but not when the matter could be potentially linked to a secret Society that threatens the stability of the entire world." While the answer did make a lot of sense, not a single person believed that that was the true reason that Duke Jusis Albarea appeared in person.

"Nah. Jusis was just really excited to see you guys. You shoulda seen him grinning like a loon when he heard you guys were coming." Of course Millium was always willing to state the uncomfortable truth.

That was all Millium bothered to say before she leapt at Rean and caught him in a flying tackle hug. It reminded him of their reunion during the Civil War and he was happy to return the gesture. Breaking away from the hug the White Rabbit offered a high five to Fie, which the older girl happily returned. "Yeah! Team Tiny back together again! Although..." Millium trailed off as she looked up at the girl "You really aren't that tiny anymore." Joy turned to annoyance as she was reminded of her lackluster growth.

"Regardless, it is nice to see the two of you again. Can I assume that you will be making appearances more often thanks to your new profession?"

"You can count on it." Rean felt bad that he hadn't visited his friends much during his time at the academy, but what few free days he had were spent with Fie or his family. But now that excuse didn't apply anymore and so he vowed to make time for his classmates.

"I will make sure of it." Fie added. Unlike Rean she understood the freedoms and restrictions of the Bracer job. While the schedule was unpredictable and could often lead to them being out of the loop for a long period of time, most of their work in Erebonia took place near one of the five great cities, which just so happened to be where most of their friends resided. As long as they put forth the effort of meeting up it usually would happen.

After a few more pleasantries, the group retired to Jusis's office so the important conversation could take place with a higher degree of privacy. The room was just as they remembered it, with only a few minor changes. The one new thing that caught Fie's eye was a bowl filled with some kind of candy, almost certainly a Millium addition. Darting forward the Bracer snagged a handful of the treats for herself, which ignoring the angry cry from the younger girl.

"Ahem." Jusis cleared his throat while ignoring the crunching of candy and the complaints of Millium. "As you are probably aware, the first sighting occurred yesterday morning, about sixty selge south of the city. Although it wasn't much of a sighting as a traveling merchant only heard a strange noise, fled, and contacted the Guild as soon as they returned to the city. Two Bracers were dispatched to investigate, but..."

"Textbook ambush." Millium cut in, a rare serious expression on her face. "They were attacked by a group of Tri-Attackers backed by a few Phalanx models. While focused on them they didn't notice the Clowns coming from behind. Bam! That was that."

"After that the machines just left, leaving the two wounded, but alive and capable of returning under their own power. When I heard what happened I dispatched an armored company to hunt them down, but they were long gone. I resolved to contact the surrounding towns and that is where I heard that a similar incident had occurred outside of Legram."

"Setting ambushes, sparing their foes, escaping without detection..."

"Someone is controlling them." Fie finished her lover's thoughts.

"That is my opinion as well. I have alerted the army to be on the lookout for any suspicious individuals, but I have no doubts that any Enforcer level enemy will easily evade them."

"Right. I think we can work with this." As much as Rean would have loved to continue chatting with his friends he knew that they couldn't waste time and risk more people getting hurt.

"Yup. We will check in with the Guild and visit the injured Bracers first, but we should be ready to begin our search."

"One last thing." Jusis added before they could leave. "We will be dining at Sorciere tonight. If you have the chance I believe an exchange of information would be prudent."

"What Jusis is saying is that he wants to hang out tonight." Millium weathered the Duke's glare like it was nothing. "What? I want to hang out with them too and I don't need you scaring them away with your stuffy noble talk. They're our friends."

Jusis actually looked chastised at her words. "Right. Sorry. I have been in so many dull meetings lately that I almost forgot that you were my closest friends." He waved away the visible concern on their faces. "Don't worry about me. It is a necessary evil, and one that I will overcome. It will go a lot easier if I don't have to worry about Ouroboros on top of everything else."

While not fully satisfied with his response, the two took that as their cue to depart and begin their investigation. Questioning the Junior Bracers yielded little new information, so they instead made their way to the Bareahard Guild House. It had been locked when they suspended operations, but Fie had been granted a key at the beginning of the mission.

The two entered the deserted building. Rean went to the mission board while Fie dug out a map of the Kreuzen Province. She found a marker and used it to mark the general area where the attacks took place, completely uncaring of the fact that she was drawing on guild property.

"Anything in the area?" She asked after he had had a good minute to check the requests.

"Two. A request to find some herbs and a monster extermination." The latter actually was one as the monster had been clearly identified. Moving to his partner he pointed to the spots on the map where the requests would take them. The flowers were actually pretty close to where the first attack occurred, with the monster being a fair distance away.

"Perfect. If someone is targeting Bracers that will give them plenty of time to attack."

"Close enough to the initial ambush spot that we might as well check it out." Rean added. Just going out and using themselves as bait wasn't the most elaborate or brilliant plan, but it was all they had at such a short notice. With that complete the Bracer duo departed from the city's south gate.

Both were wary of ambushes as they traveled along the road. Thankfully the local monster populace was smart enough to realize that the two humans were the predators and had the good sense to flee at their approach. They made good time and soon found themselves in the area where both the herbs could be found and the first ambush took place.

The pair split up, with Fie handling the request while Rean investigated the battlefield and kept a lookout. There wasn't much to mark that a battle had taken place there, but Rean did find a few signs. Scorch marks from a missile explosion, a piece of metal that came from a damaged Phalanx, and what appeared to be a bloodstain in the grass. He also determined that they attacked from the southwest, with the clowns having circled around to attack from behind. It was enough to give him a general picture of the fight and confirmed the information received, but nothing concrete to assist in the investigation.

As a former member of the Gardening Club Fie was easily able to complete the request given. The client had only asked for three herbs, but she spotted five in the immediate vicinity and collected them all. She actually remembered back to her school days when Edel talked about this specific herb and the medicinal values it provided.

Having finished her task, she returned to Rean's location. He explained his findings and pointed out the direction they attacked from, but didn't seem confident in their ability to track the machines over the rocky terrain. Still, they recorded the information just in case.

"Guess we need to stick with our bait plan." Fie stated with her signature bored tone. Sure it was annoying to play into their enemies hand, but there was little they could do about it.

"Let's go deal with that monster. It should be in a clearing to the west of here."

The two journeyed off-road towards their next destination. It was slower going, but the pair still made good time. They were about halfway there when...

"We are being watched, but I can't tell from where." Fie noted. The Divine Blade extended his senses as much as possible, and while he was able to sense the same presence as his partner, he also failed to determine where exactly it was coming from.

"Whoever it is is very skilled. But at least this means we have been noticed." Throughout all of this neither member gave any visible reaction that could tip off their observer. They just continued as if nothing was amiss.

They arrived at the clearing and prepared for battle. Once ready they stepped in and looked around for the monster. Luckily it wasn't hard to spot. As they approached they made a startling observation.

"It's already dead." Fie pointed out needlessly. And sure enough, the once dangerous beast was lying in a pool of it's own blood signifying a recent death. The cause of death appeared to be from some kind of large laser. A weapon that none of the confirmed archaisms used. The only one that they could think of was...

"Zephyranthes!" Rean shouted as four of the large assault archaisms teleported into the clearing. Their attempt at an ambush was foiled as the Bracer duo quickly separated to avoid the powerful lasers fired upon them. Fie returned fire as Rean charged the closest machine, cutting through the armor before it had a chance to respond. He was unable to finish it off as the other machines started targeting him, but it didn't matter as Fie unloaded into the vulnerable section, deactivating the archaism for good.

With the first one down the fight became a lot simpler. Fie and Rean both engaged separate targets with the former also being forced to evade the slow blasts from the final foe. Despite that Rean felt a sense of unease. Even thought he was in the midst of battle he emptied his mind and let his body run on auto, while extending his senses outward. Just as he finished off his opponent he sensed another trio of targets on approach.

"There!" He shouted as he spun around and launched a quick arc slash in the direction of the new opponents before they could strike. Unsurprisingly, these were Balancing Clowns, the archaisms that specialized in assassinations and stealth. While his hastily launched assault failed to decommission any of the targets, it did let them process the fact that their ambush had failed. Turning in unison the trio of machines computed that their best bet was to focus on the one target while the other machines kept Fie busy.

Unfortunately for the machines, what they failed to compute was the fact that they were facing a practitioner of the Eight Leaves One Blade style of swordsmanship, and that said swordsman was very proficient with the second form. All they accomplished by attacking him en masse was setting themselves up for quick destruction via Arcane Gale.

A quick glance informed Rean that Fie had already finished her fight. It wasn't much of a surprise to the Chevalier, as despite being some of Ouroboros's most powerful archaisms, Zephyranthes relied on slow powerful attacks. Even outnumbered two to one the agile Sylphid had no problem evading their strikes, while her quick counters would always land on the ponderous machines.

Despite the easy victory, neither were very happy with what transpired. "These are different machines." Which meant that their target had multiple groups of archaisms running amok. That certainly made their job more complicated.

"Whoever was tailing us has vanished." Fie noted.

The two spent a few minutes investigating the battlefield. While the Zephyranthes had used their stealth technology to appear out of thin air, the Clowns had attacked normally and Fie tracked them as far as she could. It wasn't as far as she would have liked, but she was able to confirm that they came from the south. Meanwhile Rean analyzed the broken archaisms.

"These are pretty new. Faster and tougher than anything we have fought before." He admitted after his inspection.

"Really? I didn't notice any difference." Fie was skeptical of his claim.

"That's only because you have grown stupidly strong these past few years. Trust me, if we had fought these as students we would have lost." Fie was still somewhat unconvinced, but let it go as she knew that Rean was always better at analyzing things without bias.

"It's getting late." Fie observed while changing the subject. The afternoon was running late and since it was still early spring darkness wasn't far away. "What do you want to do?"

"Our best bet is probably to check out Legram, but we can do that tomorrow since we promised to eat with Jusis and Millium." Fie had actually forgotten about that, which would have been a shame since she really liked the food that Jusis's uncle cooked. Plus from a practical perspective it would be a good idea to keep the local authorities informed, especially as it seemed like this was a bigger threat than first assumed.

It was a bit of a trek, but the two made it back to the road and eventually to Bareahard. The sun was just starting to set by the time they arrived. They stopped at the Bracer Guild to complete the requests. Technically Ouroboros was responsible for the monster extermination, but neither of them seemed all that concerned with stealing the credit. While the building was still closed, Fie knew the procedures for filing away a mission completion and quickly set to work on it.

"Huh.. congrats Rean, with this you have finished enough missions to be promoted to F-Rank. Still a literal baby among the ranks, but it's a start." Sure Fie didn't have the actual authority to promote him, but the process for the first few ranks was pretty much automatic and would be handled as soon as they returned to an open Branch.

"Really? That seems kinda fast." It hadn't even been a full week since he joined the guild.

"Yup. The first few ranks go pretty fast. You will probably be D within a month or two."

"Neat, I guess." Rean didn't really care much about his rank. Sure he wanted to officially stand beside Fie as an equal, but knew the girl already saw him as such, even if if she teased him because he was such a low rank.

The two killed a bit of time checking out some of the shops of Bareahard, admiring the quality goods that the city possessed, but before long the time arrived to head to Sorciere. A staff member ushered them to the second floor, which was completely devoid of people save for their two friends.

"Yay! So glad you guys made it!" Even after all that had happened over the years Millium still had not discovered an indoor voice, much to Jusis's exasperation.

"Indeed. If only Emma were here we could have a Group A reunion." the native of Bareahard added.

"Wait, aren't we still missing someone?" Jusis was not one for forgetting such a detail, so Rean suspected it was an intentional omission.

"Did I? I know she wasn't in our Class at the time, but Millium was in the province during that field study, so she counts as our fifth member."

Fie sighed, as she usually did when faced with the rival's antics, but a seedy smile appeared on her face right after, "When are the two of you gonna make up and make out?" It was a good thing that he didn't have his food yet or else the Duke might have choked on it.

He would have retorted, but the waiter chose that second to arrive, so he settled for sending Fie the nastiest glare he could muster. She was completely unaffected of course. The four took their turns placing their orders, with Jusis working hard to prevent Millium from going straight to the dessert menu. Rean chimed in in support of the Albarea, but that was offset by Fie egging the girl on.

"Forgive me for asking, but you seemed awfully stressed out when we first arrived, is everything going alright?" Rean asked after the waiter had left with their orders.

"I wish I could say it was, but that would be a lie. With the Imperial Government mired in chaos many of the lesser nobles have been pushing for a return of the old status quo. It would be easy to refuse them, but the fact remains that with the Government as it is I have had to overstep my authority to help the people of Bareahard and the Province as a whole. This just encourages the nobles to follow suit and push the boundaries even further."

"So you need to take control to help the people, but doing so only empowers the pompous jackasses?" Fie was never one for political discussions, but her summary was pretty good all around.

"Yup. Jusis has had me investigate a few of the nobles in the area. Seems like a lot of them are going behind his back to seize power for themselves." Sure Millium acted like a kid almost all the time, but the fact remained that she was a former member of the intelligence division and an Ironblood. Of course back in the day she had...

"Did you get a replacement for Airgetlam?" A curious Ashen Chevalier asked. He knew that many combat shells were found in the Black Workshop, but last he heard George and the Reinford Group were having problems getting them to work.

"Indeed. Alisa sent us a new shell just last week. We haven't figured out how to control it at the level of Airgetlam yet, but it has proven sufficient for her missions.

"Mark my words, some day Lammy 2.0 will be the best partner ever and will beat Sammy in a duel!" The ever optimistic Millium proclaimed.

"I hope you are right." Rean replied with a ghost of a smile. He really did too. The memory of Millium and Lammy shielding him with their bodies was one that would haunt him until his dying breath, even if the girl was later restored to life.

"Regardless, as chaotic as the situation is at the moment, I at least have found allies among the other Great Houses and even the Imperial Government itself. I am not sure where exactly the final line will be drawn, but I can at least assure you that you won't have to worry about another Duke Cayenne or my father seizing control.

"Well if you ever need help with anything just let us know. Bracers aren't supposed to interfere in political matters, but rules are meant to be broken."

"The Instructor in me really should object to you being so loose with rules, but I can't really argue with you on this one. If you need us, we are there. And I'm sure the rest of our class would agree with us."

"You were never one to mind your own business, were you? And now you have corrupted Fie to your selfless ways." Despite his pointed words the young Duke looked to be more at ease than at any previous part of the day. "Hopefully it won't come to that, but I appreciate the sentiment."

"I think this is the part where you tell Jusis what we discovered today." Fie informed her lover, drawing an annoyed look in return. "What? You are practically the master at recapping stuff for other people at this point." It was annoying how accurate her words were. Almost from day one he was the only one contacted with information and was expected to share it with whatever group he was in.

With a huff, Rean acquiesced, telling the Albarea and Rabbit about their investigation and attack, pausing briefly when the food arrived. He also dutifully answered any of Jusis's questions and informed him of their plans to travel to Legram the next day. All the meanwhile Millium was stuffing her face and Fie...

"Stop stealing my food!" He complained as the mischievous girl snatched another bite from his plate. He had barely touched his meal and it was already a quarter gone. Her plate meanwhile was completely untouched.

"But your dinner looks tastier."

"So why didn't you order it?"

"Cause you already did. I figured you would be a good boyfriend and share it with me, but I guess not." The fact that she actually managed to conjure fake tears made it all the more impressive.

"That isn't gonna work on me." Of course Rean was completely immune to her efforts.

"Boo." With fake sadness she started eating her own dish, under the watchful glare of Rean Schwarzer.

"Oh Aidios, I am surrounded by children." Jusis's words were reinforced by the fact that Millium was now trying to imitate Fie by stealing food from him. However she lacked the speed and agility of Sylphid and Jusis was easily able to move his plate away in time.

Luckily for Rean the rest of the meal proceeded peacefully. Unluckily for Rean, however, dessert was a completely different story. He was just about to take a bite from the delectable slice of cake he ordered when he noticed his partner staring at it with an intense look. He watched the girl warily, and if he knew her as well as he thought she would probably strike...

'Now!' Without thinking he thrust his own fork forward, catching her own utensil with his. He sharply twisted, pulling the fork from her hand and launching it into the air. His mind finally caught up to his actions as he watched with growing horror as the utensil was launched over the railing and onto the first floor, causing a loud clank as it hit the ground and eliciting shocked sounds from some of the patrons.

Three pairs of eyes turned in unison towards a single humiliated Divine Blade. There was complete silence among the table was finally broken as Millium all but collapsed in laughter. Fie wasn't far behind, but unlike her younger counterpart she noticed a key fact about the action.

"Was... was that an Eight Leaves technique you used?" She got out in between laughs. And sure enough what he had used was a bastardized version of the Fifth Form's defensive stance. That realization only served to embarrass Rean further.

Jusis merely fixed Rean with a stare of disbelief as he couldn't believe their proud and noble leader would do something so childish. 'Still, it is nice to see him at peace like this. The old Rean would never let himself relax, even among friends. They are good for each other.' While that thought did relax the Duke slightly...

"When I said I was surrounded by children I thought you at least were the exception. Clearly I was mistaken." The mortified swordsman could only groan in despair at that comment.

Dessert passed by painfully slowly for the Schwarzer as he tried to eat his cake. Especially once Fie and Millium decided to copy him by having a utensil battle of their own. Although she lacked a fork after the previous exchange Fie seemed to be faring alright with her kitchen knife.

"Eight Leaves One Blade Fifth Form: Morning Moon!" Fie proclaimed as she used her knife to deflect one of Millium's strikes. Jusis could only shake his head in exasperation, but couldn't quite hide the amused grin as he watched the red-faced savior of Erebonia meekly eat his cake.

Once dinner mercifully finished the members of Class VII departed, although they didn't move with nearly enough urgency in Rean's mind. Luckily Jusis was ready to change the subject once they were back on the streets.

"The two of you will of course be staying the Albarea manor as my guests tonight. Please refrain from causing too much damage to the room."

"We'll try our best, but we might break the bed on accident." Fie grinned when she saw the faintest tint of red on the Albarea's face. Mentioning sex was always a surefire way to fluster her classmates.

"Ooooooh, nice." Millium, as ever, was the one exception to the rule as that girl had absolutely no shame.

Rean just smiled as they made their way to the estate. Sure Class VII were all weird and went out of their way to make his life miserable whenever possible, but they were his dearest companions and he loved spending time with them all the same. Plus he was happy because it was still fairly early in the evening so they had plenty of time to break the bed and still be well rested for tomorrow's journey.