The region of Rolent summed up Liberl as a whole for the two Erebonians. Dense forests, large farmlands, septium-rich mountains, and a city that barely qualified as such. Still, that wasn't to say the area was bad, it was just the most stark reminder of the difference between the Kingdom and its massive neighbors.

Like most of the previous regions, the first thing they did when they arrived in Rolent was to check in at the local Bracer's Guild before going to find a place to crash in for the next few days. Unlike the other regions, however, they didn't end up in an inn, as the Brights were at the guild as promised and they insisted that the younger duo stay in the guest room at their house.

The Bright Family House was located just south of the city and had a nice homely vibe to it, but Estelle admitted the place didn't see much use since they were often out of the region for work and their father was usually down in Leiston or Grancel. Still, they didn't completely abandon it and it wasn't like it was overgrown with weeds or dust, so the place was quite nice.

It was a bit awkward for the two living with other people after being alone for so long, but Rean was quick to shut down the mischievous look in Fie's eyes and prevented the girl from doing anything that would get them in trouble. The first night passed uneventfully and soon they found themselves looking over requests at the guild.

"Hey Fie. I bet we can finish more requests today than you." Estelle challenged the younger girl with a haughty smirk.

"You're on!" the catlike girl countered competitively.

Off to the side Rean sighed in mock disappointment. "She does know that this is your home area, right..." It might have been an interesting competition in a neutral country, but here in their home region of Liberl?

Joshua snorted in amusement as he was the only one to hear the words of the war hero. "Well, it should be fine as long as you guys stay safe. I'll try to make sure Estelle doesn't get too annoying."

"Hurry up Rean! I got a whole bunch of missions for us to do today!"


Fie slumped into her seat in despair as her loss was made apparent. While they were successful in all the tasks they attempted, it wasn't nearly enough to beat the veterans from Liberl. "How was I supposed to know that forest was so easy to get lost in?" She complained.

"Well the place is called the Mistwald Forest..." Rean pointed out.

"Shut up, Rean. You're not helping."

Estelle laughed triumphantly. "I told you! There's no way you could beat us. Not in a million years!"

"I'm kinda impressed. I think we were lost a lot longer the first time we went in there. I remember Estelle just charging off into the mist and getting so confused..."

As promised, Joshua was able to immediately deflate Estelle before she got carried away. "...Shut up, Joshua."

With the day finished the group of four made their way back to the Bright family home. Estelle volunteered to cook dinner for the group while Joshua led them back outside, claiming he wanted to do a little exercise before the meal.

Once sure they were safely out of earshot of the house, the former Enforcer turned to his two companions. "I need your help."

The Class VII members shared a wary look, but didn't say anything, prompting Joshua to continue. "I remember what you guys told me back in Crossbell and I want to propose to Estelle... But I don't know what I'm doing so I was hoping for your assistance." He asked nervously.

"Uhh... Are you sure that's the best idea? Pretty sure Rean is the worst person to be asking for something like this. I mean when he did it he..." Anything else Fie was going to say was stopped as Rean covered her mouth with his hand.

"What Fie's trying to say..." He did his best to ignore the annoyed girl who had responded to his action by licking his hand. "I'm not sure we're the best people to offer advice, but we would love to help if possible." With that finished he awkwardly wiped his hand on his pants, ignoring the victorious smirk sent his way from his vindictive lover.

"Still, you did pull it off in the end, so your assistance would be greatly appreciated."

Fie shrugged, deferring the answer to Rean. "Of course." He answered for the two of them.

Any further discussion was ended when Estelle poked her head out. "Yoohoo! Dinner's ready!"


The next day the group of four made their way back to the Bracer Guild. While they didn't get a chance to discuss anything further with Joshua, the two Erebonians had concocted a basic plan and were ready to put it into action.

It was Fie who started it off. "So I was thinking. How 'bout we ditch the boys for today and have some real fun? Just the two of us."

"Ooooh! That sounds great! Let's do it!" Estelle certainly liked the idea.

Rean just sighed in mock dismay. "Fine, leave me if you want, but the bike stays with me."

Fie gasped. "Rean, baby. You wound me!" Of course Fie would be overly dramatic about it even if it was a scripted act.

"No. I'm afraid you would wound my poor precious bike with your maniacal driving." That wasn't part of the script and earned him a fierce growl from the younger girl, but he was an expert at ignoring her. "Guess that just leaves the two of us?" He asked Joshua.

Seemingly understanding what was going on, the former assassin nodded his head in agreement. "Sure, that sounds fine."

"Alright! Let's show these boys how we get things done!" Estelle cheered as she started looking through the requests. Fie shot the two males a quick wink before following after, making sure they ended up with a very large number of tasks that would take them the majority of the day. Once finished they departed, leaving the other two behind.

Once sure the two girls were gone Rean turned to his temporary partner. "Fie's going to keep Estelle busy so we have time to figure this all out."

"Alright. So what should I do first?"

"Well, it would be suspicious if we didn't do any requests." Plus they both became bracers to help people, so shirking their duty wasn't something they wanted to do anyways. "I'll let you figure out which ones we can do the quickest since I really don't want to get lost in the woods again."

"Right. I can do that much, at least."


Sure, Joshua wasn't his preferred partner, but what they lacked in synergy they easily made up for with raw skill and experience. Thus the few requests they accepted were handled with ease. But they also knew that even with their larger workload the girls wouldn't be far behind, so with their work for the day finished came the beginning of Rean and Fie's master plan.

"So I assume you haven't done any prep work for this?" Joshua gave a sheepish agreement, causing Rean to sigh. "I figured as much. Luckily Estelle seems to be a practical person, like Fie, so we don't really need to go overboard. Still... You should at least have a ring to give her. Anything less might come across as insincere." As poor as the execution of Rean's own proposal was, he at least understood the process fairly well thanks to his noble upbringing, something which the child assassin clearly lacked.

"That makes sense. Should we go do that now?"

"I would say yes, but luckily Fie reminded me that you two are really well known here, so we're going on a ride to Grancel. Even if someone recognizes you there the gossip shouldn't make its way back here for a little while." Here he was speaking from experience, as being the Ashen Chevalier was something he still occasionally struggled with, despite years having passed since he was 'awarded' that title.

With everything in order the two got on Rean's bike and began the short journey to the capital.


Fie sheathed her blades and let out a yawn as the monster they had just fought dissipated into nothingness after its defeat at the hands of the two bracers. While everything had gone smoothly, that created its own problem...

'Just arrived in Grancel. Hopefully this doesn't take long.' That had been the message she received from Rean just an hour or so ago. Unless Joshua instantly found something that met his approval it was likely that the two were still in the capital, which meant that she somehow needed to stall for more time. What a pain.

"Haha! We rule!" Estelle cheered, giving a V for victory which Fie happily returned. Despite this being a total setup she was still having fun working alongside the cheerful girl.

"Yup. We won't lose to boring monsters like that."

"Right? So you wanna head back now?"

Not really, no. But she couldn't say that without sounding suspicious. "Hmm... We passed through this area when we arrived, but haven't had a chance to check it out yet. Anything interesting over here?" Please say yes.

Estelle tilted her head in thought. "Hmm... Well, there's the Perzel Farm. It grows most of the food for the region. One of my friends lives there and I haven't visited in a while. Wanna check it out?"

That didn't really sound all that exciting, but... "Sure, sounds interesting." Hopefully Rean was having a better time of it.


Rean was not having a better time of it.

At first he thought it would be nice and easy, with the two of them finding a classy jewelry store and Joshua picking out something that caught his eye. Unfortunately, the Hamel survivor was plagued with indecisiveness and couldn't find anything that called to him. While Rean understood the nervousness, having gone through the situation himself not that long ago, being a bystander for it was unpleasant to put it mildly.

"You know this would have gone a lot easier if you had one custom made in advance..." No he wasn't bitter. Not at all.

"Sorry..." Was all Joshua could say as they wandered through West Block, looking for any small pawn shops or anything else that might possibly have what they were looking for. "Maybe we should just give up and I can try again la-"

His statement was interrupted by a terrified voice. "Help! Please! Can anybody help!?" Without hesitating the two bracers quickly identified the voice. They found him soon enough and identified him as a panicked elderly gentleman.

"Are you alright?" Joshua asked as they approached. "We're bracers, so let us help."

"Bracers? Oh thank Aidios! It's my granddaughter. I looked away for one second and she-" While he didn't finish his sentence, the way he gestured towards an open gate explained the situation well enough.

"That's the door to the sewers! That's supposed to be locked!" The former assassin was stunned that someone had made such an oversight. "We need to go after her Rean, there are dangerous monsters down there!"

"Right! Let's go!" The swordsman quickly agreed, understanding the gravity of the situation. The two quickly descended into the depths of the sewers, leaving a terrified old man and a crowd of bewildered bystanders behind.

"This place is really maze-like, so be careful. Estelle and I have gotten lost in here many times."

The two made their way through the sewers while trying to guess which direction a curious or frightened child might head in. A few monsters attacked them, but were quickly dispatched. After a few minutes of traveling they heard the sound of a frightened scream.

The two rushed in the general direction, but remained vigilant as the narrow confines of the sewer meant the direction they heard it from might not have actually been the direction it originated from, but luckily for them it was. They entered a large room to discover the child they were seeking. Unfortunately, said child was unconscious on the ground and surrounded by a flock of monsters that had cornered the easy prey.

Without hesitation the two leapt into action, utilizing their great speeds to defeat the closest monsters while forcing the rest of them to focus solely on the two threats. It was a bit tricky to fight while protecting a stationary and defenseless target, but none of the monsters were all that threatening and after a few minutes of tense struggle the duo prevailed.

"She's just unconscious. No visible injuries. Might have fainted from shock?" Joshua speculated after checking the child.

"Whew. She should be safe now. Let's get her back up to the surface."

With the child safe the two made their return journey, with Joshua leading the way and Rean carrying the girl. A few ambitious monsters tried to get at the small child, but were obliterated before they could get close. After a few minutes of retracing their steps through the dank dark sewers the two reached the steps back into the city.

The old man, along with a small crowd of concerned citizens, was waiting for the two at the surface. While initially quite worried at seeing the unconscious child, the man was reassured when he was told that the kid was fine and had probably just fainted from fright when she got attacked by monsters. After making sure the gate got locked up this time the duo carried the child to the old man's house and put her in a bed.

"Oh thank Aidios she's alright. After her parents were caught in the crossfire during the war... She's all I have left."

"Oh..." As an Erebonian Rean couldn't help but feel a twinge of guilt at that.

Which the man seemed to notice. "Don't beat yourself up over it. After all, weren't you the one who led the group that stopped the war before more innocents were lost?"

"I didn't know you knew who I was..."

The old man just shrugged knowingly. "I owe the two of you a great debt. There must be some way I can repay you?"

The two bracers shared a look. "That's not necessary. We just wanted to help."

The man didn't seem pleased by that answer, so Rean offered an alternative. "Would you happen to know of any out of the way jeweler shops or some other place where this guy can find a ring?"

"A ring? Hmm... Why don't you take a look at this." Here he walked over to a desk and from the inside pulled out a ring case. He popped it open to reveal...

"Wow." Rean found it to be an impressive ring indeed. It had a simple golden band, but the highlight was a large goldia gemstone inlaid on it.

"It's so bright..." Joshua muttered. It kinda reminded him of the sun. His eyes widened at that comparison.

"Like it? It was the ring I gave to my wife and my son gave to his wife. I want you to have it."

The Liberlian's eyes widened in shock. "What? No! I could never do that."

The old man rolled his eyes. "I insist. I can see how much you like it. To me that thing is a memento to all I have lost. I think you can get better use out of it."

"I guess... Well, if you're sure..." Joshua dragged it out as if expecting the man to change his mind, but when no refusal came he reluctantly took the ring into his hands.

"Well, today certainly didn't go as I expected, but we accomplished everything we needed to in the end. But we really need to get back before she gets suspicious." Joshua nodded his head in agreement and the two bid farewell to the man who ended up saving their skins.

"I hope Estelle says yes!" He shouted as they left, startling them, as he gave no indication he knew of the Brights.

"Gonna shoot Fie a message real quick to let her know we're coming back. Hopefully she managed everything alright..." Unfortunately for the young Schwarzer, this had been the easy part of the mission. The bike ride home would be incredibly awkward with him trying to coach the older male on what he should say when the moment arrives.


"I can't believe you! The second I went off to chat with Tio and you vanished! I thought you had gone back already, but come to find out you were here the entire time."

"Sorry, but this looked like a nice place for a nap." Fie didn't actually look sorry at all. The greenhouse was an awesome place to nap in, after all. Nice and sunny with lots of plants to keep her company, maybe she should get one herself?

"Ugh. Whatever. Sara once told me you are like a cat, and now I finally get it. Let's just head back now, kay?"

"Sure. Works for me." Considering the thing that woke her from her nap was Rean sending a message that they were finally done in Grancel, that was just perfect. They were on foot so even though the boys had a greater distance to cover they should be back before her and Estelle.

The trip back to Rolent was uneventful, although if Estelle noticed that Fie was going at a more leisurely pace she didn't say anything. Luckily, the sight of the orbal bike parked in front of the guild confirmed the success of her procrastination and they entered to reunite with their partners.

If there was one thing they noticed before anything else... "You guys stink."

Rean just gave a long forlorn sigh after giving himself a whiff and confirming that yes he did in fact smell like sewage. "I'll tell you about it later."

"So you guys ready to head back?" Estelle asked the group, even as she did her best to keep her distance from the two stinkers.

"Actually..." Fie trailed off as if debating something with herself. "I kinda want to eat out with Rean tonight." She finished with a very pointed look towards Joshua.

Understanding the gesture, the suddenly nervous looking Joshua reluctantly agreed and left with Estelle, leaving the two Erebonians behind. After making sure the others were truly gone...

"Let's spy on them." Seeing Rean open his mouth in an obvious lecture about how immoral that would be or whatever, Fie quickly cut him off. "C'mon. You gotta be curious after all the shit you went through today." There was a teasing grin there that let Rean know the pun definitely was definitely intentional.

"I..." Rean really did want to shoot down the suggestion, but couldn't deny that she was right and that the curiosity was gnawing away at him. "...Fine, but we really should find something to eat first, something tells me this is going to take a while."

After a quick meal at the local bar the two made their way back to the Bright home. Stealthily they approached and found a nice little spot under one of the windows where they could just make out words.

"We probably don't need to be this sneaky." Rean admitted with a whisper. "I remember being so nervous that I didn't even notice Vivi standing there.

Fie winced at that reminder. "I forgot about that. Can't believe I missed her too..." It actually still rankled her pride a bit.

The two settled in for their stakeout. Although they couldn't make out what was being said between the two Brights, they could at least tell a conversation was going on. So they waited. And waited. And waited even longer.

"Alright this is taking forever." Fie complained as her patience finally ran out. "Seriously, even you pulled it off quicker than this."

Rean pondered her words for a second. "In fairness I was competing with a train..." Despite his defense it was clear that even his considerable patience was starting to wear thin.

"Bah. All men are useless. It isn't that hard." She whispered, annoyed.

Rean rolled his eyes. "I didn't know you had experience with things like this."

"Don't need it. It's like a grenade. You just throw it out there and as long as it's kinda close you win." She nodded her head sagely at her Fie logic.

"Really? I distinctly remember you getting all shy and nervous when it was just the two of after we first got together..."

His comment caused the girl to flush red in embarrassment. "S-Shut up!" She hissed. "Not like you were any better about it!"

"True, but it was always cute seeing you act so docile." His compliment did little to clear her embarrassment.

This was usually the point where his lover would lash out at him, stealth be damned, but luckily for them they were interrupted by the ring of Rean's ARCUS. Not wanting to have their stakeout ruined by the cliché ringing of the phone, he used his considerable agility to answer it before it could even finish the first ring.

"Rean Schwarzer speaking."

"Ah good. It seems I got the right number." Came the deep voice from the other end of the line. "This is Cassius Bright. It's good to talk to you."

"Oh. Lieutenant General Bright. It's a pleasure to hear from you." To the side Fie listened in curiously. With how quiet their stakeout was she could clearly hear the voice on the other end of the line.

"Indeed. It came to my attention today that you were spotted in Grancel alongside my son, looking for a particular item."

"Oh..." He probably shouldn't have been surprised that the government of Liberl had been keeping tabs on him. Despite his status as a bracer he was still a high-profile Erebonian, after all.

"I do believe I owe you my thanks for helping my kids out. Still, I have to ask. Did he do it yet...?"

"That's what we are waiting on right now."

There was a brief pause from the General. Perhaps it was due to his words, or perhaps the quiet way that Rean was talking, but... "Are you stalking my children?" The voice was a lot colder then it had been previously.

Eyes widening in realization, Rean shot a panicked look towards his partner in crime who was sporting a similar expression. "Um... It was all Fie-" Did he really want to go forward with his first instinct of blaming Fie for everything? Sure making a potential enemy out of a Divine Blade who commanded the entire army of Liberl was bad, but making an enemy out of Fie Claussell was potentially catastrophic. The death glare she was sending him after she realized what he had been about to say didn't help matters any.

Luckily, for once Aidios decided to spare the young bracers as an excited cry of "YES!" rang out through the area.

"Oh, it seems like she said yes. Congratulations Lieutenant General. Sorry, can't speak any further though, Fie and I have things we gotta go do. Bye!" Without waiting for any sort of a reply Rean closed his ARCUS. "It's probably a good thing tomorrow is our last day in Liberl..."

Fie still looked completely unamused. "You were about to throw me under the bus!"

"I didn't mean to! It just kinda slipped. Force of habit and all that." That only annoyed her further. "Plus! Wasn't this your idea in the first place." Keep digging that hole Rean Schwarzer.

"Worst. Partner. Ever." Her glare lessened as the duo were subjected to very happy noises coming from the house. "...We probably shouldn't go in there tonight." She admitted.

"Right. Hotel room?"

"Yup. And you're renting the fanciest room tonight. Maybe if you are lucky I will actually let you stay in there too."

"...Yes dear." Yeah, he was going to be paying for that slip of the tongue for a while.


This was it, their final full day in Liberl. Unsurprisingly, the Bright duo had informed them that they were taking the day off, and the Class VII Bracers made sure to act surprised when they were informed of the reason. Still, this meant that most of the workload was on their shoulders for the day. Of course neither of them thought it would be much of an issue, so long as they didn't end up getting lost in a forest or sewer again.

Really the most unusual thing going on that day was Fie's attitude. While the girl always prided herself on her keen senses and constant vigilance, she was acting almost paranoid that day. Constantly scanning the area with a hand on the hilt of a gunblade and jumping at every unusual sound. It only grew more and more obvious as they went through their requests, and it was when they were on the road to Malga Mine for their final task that Rean confronted her about it.

"Alright, what's up?" She shot him a confused look, forcing him to elaborate. "You keep acting like something bad is about to happen. It's unsettling."

"This is our last day here." He didn't reply, waiting instead for her to continue. "That means whatever crisis you are bringing to Liberl has to happen today."

Was she still going on about that? "That isn't a thing! Stop making up weird stuff like that."

"It's gonna happen." She was adamant in her beliefs.

"It won't!" His reply was childish, but he didn't really care. Their conversation ceased as they arrived at the mine to find the workers in a panic. "What happened here?"

"Are you the bracers?" At their confirming nods the head miner perked up. "Thank Aidios! Our mine was overrun by mechanical monsters!"

Despite the seriousness of the situation Fie couldn't help but bask in her victory. "...Told you so."

Ignoring her, the head miner continued. "A large mechanical drill entered one of our tunnels and a kinda pathetic looking blue-haired man told us he was taking over the mine before unleashing those machines on us. We managed to evacuate everyone luckily, but they should still be down in the mine."

"A strange blue-haired man? That sounds like..."

Fie finished for him. "Ouroboros."

But that wasn't quite Rean's train of thought. "Well yes, but what I was thinking... If it's that guy than this definitely isn't a crisis."


The two descended deeper into the mine, fighting archaisms as they went along. Despite the seriousness of the situation, the conversation the two were having was anything but.

"I'm telling you, this isn't a crisis!"

"But it is! Anything related to Ouroboros is considered a serious threat! You should know that by now!"

"If it were an Enforcer or Anguis I would agree! But not that guy!"

"Rude! I'm sure Gil... Gil... Umm... Gillian? Is doing his best! He just has bad luck, that's all."

"You couldn't even look me in the eyes while saying that! You know that's a lie as much as I do."

"I was focusing on the archaisms!" That was also a lie and both knew it. These archaisms were older models like the ones they had fought at Garrelia Fortress and the pair had destroyed over a dozen of them while conversing. To prove the lie Fie fired her guns to the side without looking, slagging a machine that had been approaching from a side tunnel.

"Also your argument would be more convincing if you remembered his name."

"Oh yeah? Well what is it?"

"It was... Umm... Hmm..." Rean wracked his brain trying to remember, but thankfully a third party provided the answer for them.

"It's Gilbert Stein, you imbeciles! Regimental Commander of Ouroboros's elite Enhanced Jaeger Corp!" Sure enough, there he was, standing there in all his inconsiderable glory.

Fie graciously nodded her head in appreciation of the clarification. "Right. Dilbert. I knew that. So what's your deal this time?"

The self-proclaimed elite of Ouroboros didn't seem to notice that she messed up his name again. "Well if you must know, I have been given a most critical task to secure funding for our next glorious venture!"

"...So you decided to become a miner?" Rean knew that Fie was technically right and any plot involving Ouroboros was serious, but come on! "Couldn't you just get a real job like a normal person?"

"Of course not! Not when I have been entrusted with Ouroboros's most powerful subterranean weapon! Get a hold of this!" As he said that a large machine rumbled into view.

Technically, it was an impressive machine. A large heavily armored vehicle mounting a massive drill on the front, carried by large treads. Almost like an underground tank. It even had gun emplacements all over the structure. Still, they knew enough to understand that a weapon like that is only as useful as it's commander.

"Hahahahaha! Do you see? With this G-Digger I am unstoppable! I bet you are shaking in your boots already!"

"Yup. Shaking real hard. See?" Fie gave her foot a small shake. "Truly terrified." Only one person failed to notice the blatant sarcasm in her flat tone, and he preened victoriously.

"This is wonderful! My standing will go up so much once I defeat the Ashen Chevalier and this bracer girl! Soon everyone will know the name Gilbert Stein!"

"...This bracer girl?" Alright, Fie was actually kinda annoyed now. Sure she always liked being in the background, but surely she has earned a little bit of recognition after all these years, right?

Her partner was also a bit upset by their opponent's words. "Don't worry Fie, we all know how awesome you are. I wouldn't be partners with just anyone, you know?" On a whim he reached over and gently pat her head, causing her to happily lean in his direction.

The servant of Ouroboros was not pleased at what was going on. "Excuse me!? Are you ignoring me?" They didn't even seem to care that he was entering his powerful G-Digger!

"Shush. We're having a moment."

Sadly that moment came to an end as Gilbert got inside the vehicle and started it up, causing the two to separate as they prepared for what surely was going to be an intense battle. The drill started spinning rapidly and the machine darted towards them... at a very unimpressive rate. The two dodged to the side and observed as it tried to turn towards them, but had such a lousy turning rate that instead it slammed into a wall and started digging through. The drill quickly went to work and plowed through the wall, opening into a previously sealed cavern.

"H-Hey! What are you doing! Stop that!" Came the panicked cry of their opponent, causing them to look into the hole curiously. Apparently the sealed cavern was actually home to a nest of monsters and said monsters were currently swarming the G-Digger in an angry frenzy. While they weren't able to get past the armor, a few of them were chewing through the treads and one had perched itself right on the front, blocking the view from inside. The tank did it's best to shake off the swarm, but only really succeeded in agitating the monsters more. On and on they came, until eventually one of them managed to rip through the treads, causing it's movements to cease.

"...That was anticlimactic."

"Yeah... I don't get it. Even if they had seized control of the mine for a few days they wouldn't have gotten much from it before the army arrived. It seems like they spent far more on their machines than they would have gotten here. So why do it?"

"Because it amuses me, why else?" Came a new voice.

Fie groaned. "Great. The Fool is here." Sure enough, out of nowhere appeared the mysterious zero enforcer, Campanella the Fool.

"Why hello my friends. It has been a long time, has it not?"

'Not long enough.' Was the shared thought of both bracers, not that either of them felt the need to voice it out loud. "So why are you here? To fight, or..." A pointed look from Rean towards the disabled G-Digger finished his question for him.

"The latter, I'm afraid. As entertaining as his bumbling is, the true joy comes from punishing him for his myriad failures. I wonder what I shall do this time..."

The two almost felt bad for the incompetent idiot. Almost.

With a snap of his fingers the entire G-Digger teleported away, with the pilot still inside. "Well, it's been a pleasure, but I must take my lea-"

"Wait." Fie demanded. "Before you go, care to settle a little dispute we've been having?"

Rean gaped at his partner. "Wait, seriously. You're getting this guy involved?"

Campanella paused in his retreat and looked at the two curiously. "Oh? You've piqued my interest, so sure, tell me all about it."

Seeing as she had secured his attention, Fie proceeded to detail the debate they had been having. Not wanting to see the Enforcer agree with his lover, Rean reluctantly presented his side as well.

The Fool appeared to take this role of arbiter seriously, as he pondered their words for a good minute. "Hmm... In this I would say that both of you are correct. Or perhaps I should say that both of you are incorrect...?" Neither of the bracers were content with that answer so he decided to elaborate. "I originally had Gilbert come here to mess with Estelle and Joshua, so having the two of you come in their place was a happy accident. No worries though, I have plenty of other ways to entertain Liberl's top couple."

"That being said... Mister Chevalier here has drawn the attention of many Enforcers, so you can expect to see a lot more of us in the future. As long as it doesn't interfere with the overall mission they can do whatever it is they want. And I will admit that some of the others are pretty curious to meet you too. I know the Direwolf has been chomping at the bit to fight you, and probably will arrive in the Empire once our preparations in Calvard are finished..."

"We're never gonna be free of you guys, are we?" His only response to Fie's complaint was to grin madly at her. "Just great..."

"Haha! Well my friends, as wonderful as this discussion has been, I really do need to make my exit now. Ta-ta!" And just like that their ability to instantly and freely teleport away reared it's ugly head again, and the two were alone.

With the 'crisis' at an end, the two returned to the surface and informed the head miner of what had transpired, leaving out the specifics as Ouroboros wasn't a subject for the general populace. After that they assisted the miners by holding off the enraged monsters while they worked to seal off that cavern again.

The exhausted duo returned to the city, both to report the events of their final request and to make preparations for their departure from Liberl. The Bright duo was there to see them off, and while they tried to convince them to stick around for one more evening, the news that Cassius Bright was taking the night off to spend time with his children only reinforced their desire to get out of the country as soon as possible.

The only flights out of the country occurred at the Grancel airport, which meant the two had to take a bike ride to the capital first. Darkness had already settled in by the time they arrived, so they wasted no time in securing their ride home. It was only once they were settled in on the airship that the duo finally allowed themselves a moment to relax.

"Will be nice to get home and see everyone." Rean mused as their ride began its ascent into the sky.

"Tomorrow. Gonna go straight to bed when we arrive." Fie already looked half asleep as she rested her head in his lap.

Rean hummed in agreement, but after a second a thought occurred to him. "Wait... We don't actually have a home anymore, do we?"

He couldn't help but chuckle when his beloved partner gave a piteous moan.