Trista hadn't changed at all from how they last remembered it and that was a good thing for the duo. It meant a true return to the normalcy that had left their lives that day when Rean had left. Now that they were home they could finally begin to move on with their lives.
Well, eventually, that was.
The first day back they decided to accomplish a whole lot of nothing. It was wonderful. That being said, news of their return had spread like wildfire and they spent much of the day entertaining visits from people around town. While it was tiring work, it wasn't all bad as they weren't treated like returning heroes and instead merely neighbors who had been gone for two weeks. Even Fie couldn't deny that it was a somewhat pleasant experience.
She was also pleasantly surprised to discover that the garden she had started hadn't withered and died in her absence. She had completely forgotten about it with all the events that had happened, but it appeared that someone had taken the time to visit each day and keep the plants watered. Her suspicions as to whom the culprit was was proven correct when Jane from the flower shop stopped by and admitted she had done it. Technically it was illegal trespassing, but it was for a good cause and Fie was grateful for her unexpected assistance. She would need to remember to hire the woman on a more permanent basis to care for her plants whenever they were away on bracer business.
The second day, in Fie's humble opinion, completely and utterly sucked. Rean had promised his family that he would give them a true visit once he was out of the hospital, and it was a promise he made good on. Although he had offered to go by himself, Fie refused. Maybe it was a bit of paranoia, but she wasn't about to let him make the trip to Ymir and back on his own after what happened the last time. So that meant the majority of the day was spent on long train rides. But that wasn't the part that sucked.
No, the part that sucked was the fact that Elise had decided that that would also be a great time to introduce her first boyfriend to her parents. If anyone had told the Fie of four years ago that she would spend most of her day defending the pompous noble jerk who once verbally berated Rean and called her a 'jaeger-tot' from Rean himself she wouldn't have believed it one instant. And yet there she was, constantly reminding him that he gave his blessing and keeping a firm grip on his hand the entire time lest he slip away and cause all kinds of chaos.
On the positive side it was pretty hilarious to spectate. Either Rean was very good at keeping his palpable aura of death focused entirely on one being, or the Schwarzers had just become adept at ignoring it, but watching Elise and his parents chat as if nothing was happening while Patrick looked about ready to wet himself under the fierce glare of his so-called rival was a spectacle she enjoyed greatly. Fortunately he was smart enough to not do anything that could potentially set off Mount Rean and thus managed to survive the ordeal with his life. Still, she pitied the noble couple. There was a very real chance that they would both be dying as virgins if the Ashen Chevalier had his way.
But now that all of that was finished they could continue on to their next step. "So I take it you want to go train somewhere?" She asked him on the morning of the third day. Although he had spent some time in the evenings swinging his tachi around, a habit he continued from his school days, there was a vast difference between that and actual combat.
"I do." He agreed without hesitation.
"Hmm... Wanna spar?"
He shook his head at the idea. "Maybe eventually, but right now that might not be the best idea. I know you would never hurt me, but if I truly have lost a step there's the chance of an accident happening..."
She hated to admit it, but he was right. They sparred against each other quite often and it wasn't a stretch to say they knew what the other was capable of more than they themselves did. If she fought Rean she would instinctively fight against the Rean she knew and not the Rean that currently is. The mere thought of her hurting Rean, even if by accident, was more horrific than she cared to consider.
"Monster hunting is probably a bust. Nothing around here is remotely threatening and traveling across the country just to train in the wilderness sounds dumb." The army routinely swept through areas around major settlements to keep the monster populace low, and the rare dangerous monster was usually handled by the bracers, so there was very little of note in the Heimdallr area. These were the monsters that they routinely fought during their first year as students, after all.
"I'm sure if I asked we could get permission to use Einhel Keep, but..."
When it became clear that he was lost in thought and not finishing his statement Fie got annoyed. "But?" She repeated with heat in her tone.
"Sorry! I was just thinking about it. We could definitely get permission from the principal, but I can just imagine what she would want from us in return."
While Fie obviously didn't know the intense woman as much as Rean did, even she had an idea of how Aurelia Le Guin would react.
'Of course I will allow you to reforge your body in the Keep! As a matter of fact, once you feel like you have sufficiently regained your strength I will personally assist you the rest of the way. After all, what better way to train your body than a duel with no restrictions? Claussell can assist too as I want to see if your time as a bracer has made the two of you more formidable since our last encounter.'
"Oof..." Fie enjoyed a good scrap. She really did. But she had no desire to risk life and limb at the hands of an overzealous lady with a stupidly large sword. Laura was bad enough. "Oh. I got it. I'm sure Emma will let us use Saint-Gral Labyrinth if we ask. It worked for the rest of us after we lost you at the Gral."
"That's the place outside of Eryn, right?" Rean had visited the labyrinth a couple times with his students to assist with some tasks during the Twilight, but he didn't train in the place like the rest of Class VII supposedly had.
"Yup. And they even have those magical hot springs you li-"
"Sounds good to me, let's go."
It never ceased being funny to her just how obsessed he was with hot springs. But it wasn't like she could blame him this time, as the water in Eryn was simply divine. Plus she had some good memories associated with the place. "We still need to talk to Emma, you know?" Technically they didn't, as all the members of Class VII old and new possessed pendants to allow them entry to the hidden village, but even Fie thought it would be kinda rude to just barge into that place without warning anyone.
Fortunately for them, contacting the wandering witch was an easy task as Emma was not the kind of person to ever forget her ARCUS or mute it without good reason. After explaining their request to her she was receptive to the idea. "Of course you can. And I'm sure Grandmother will be overjoyed to see the two of you. It's been a few days since I was last home so I think I will accompany you there. We're not far from Trista, so we'll see you in a few hours. Bye!"
"So I guess we wait... hey! Where are you going?" She asked as Rean proceeded to turn around and march deeper into their house.
He didn't answer at first, instead digging around for a second before turning around, this time holding his fishing rod and bait. "Thought it might be nice to catch a fresh fish for Celine."
"Hmm..." Fie muttered in thought. "You're not wrong, but perhaps you should let me handle it." She challenged as she proceeded to grab her own fishing rod.
That caused Rean to narrow his eyes dangerously. "And why is that? Lest we forget, I am still the superior angler. My injuries haven't changed that fact."
"Perhaps." It pained her to admit that that fact was still true... for now at least. "But you've never been good at reading a woman's heart. I'm sure I can find a better fish for Celine."
"First of all, I'm not trying to 'read her heart', I'm trying to feed her stomach. And second, she isn't even a woman, she's a magical cat familiar. I don't think you're a subject matter expert on those either." Actually, she always did have an affinity towards cats, but that was for normal cats and not moody haughty familiars like Celine.
The young woman shrugged her shoulders with a smirk. "Doesn't matter. I'll still find a better fish for Celine."
Alright, he tried to give her an opening to back off, but it seems she still hadn't learned her lesson. "Fine, but don't be surprised when you lose!"
"Um..." Emma muttered nervously as she and her familiar gazed upon the bounty presented before them.
Fie grinned happily at the newly arrived pair. "Don't just stand there. Go on. Dig in. We might have gone a little overboard, but you can just pick out the fish you want. Just as long as it's one of mine..." The last part was spoken in a quieter voice.
And she was right. They did go slightly overboard. Due to the odd ecosystem of Trista, the river had become somewhat famous for the surprising abundance of different fish species and the duo had had a very successful fishing trip. There were almost a dozen different species of fish sitting there in front of the cat and they had tossed back many duplicates that they fished up in the process.
Celine remained unmoving, so it fell to Emma to point out the one major flaw in their action. "Well, I'm sure Celine appreciates the gesture, but, um... We just ate before we came here."
"So. Much. Fresh. Fish." The cat muttered with horror in her voice, clearly torn between her desire to rush over and start scarfing down and the sad reality that she had absolutely no appetite in the moment. "And I can't eat any of it! Damn the two of you!"
"It was all Rean's idea." Fie replied quickly.
"I was just going to get one fish. It was your idea to turn it into a competition!"
"Still your idea!"
The young witch watched the byplay with amusement. "While she probably can't eat anything, I'm sure she would love a bowl of milk if you have any?"
Rean sighed, but quickly stood from his seat. "I'll get it. Would you like some tea while you are here?"
"Oh! Yes please!"
Fie was a bit surprised that Rean scurried away so quickly to get drinks, but realized his reasoning when she remembered that there was still a pile of dead fish on their floor that needed to be cleaned up. "Damnit..."
They didn't stick around the house for long, but it was enough to offer the two visitors a tour of the place and to visit the town. Emma was delighted for the chance to experience Trista again, albeit in a very brief capacity. Celine of course complained the entire time, but they knew her well enough to know that she was just as curious as she padded along next to her master.
The two bracers had initially believed that they would need to get closer to the Isthmia Great Forest in order to enter the hidden village, but Emma waved off their fears as Eryn was a big magical beacon to witches and thus could easily be teleported to by any decent magic user. Which she proceeded to do, chanting an incantation that was both familiar and completely alien to the pair. With a flash of light the trio of humans and one cat were consumed by blinding light.
The term 'a place out of time' is used freely to describe a lot of places, but in their mind the absolute true definition of that phrase would be Eryn. While it had only been about two years since they last visited the magical town, you would normally expect to see some change, no matter how minor. Not Eryn, however. The village looked exactly the same as it had since the Great Twilight.
The few villagers they spotted as Emma led them to Rose's Atelier weren't much of an exception either. For a village of that size births and deaths were few and immigration was basically null. A couple of the children were a little older and it seemed that the village had continued the trend of bringing in some modern clothes from the outside world, but beyond that they were exactly like they remembered them. A few waved towards them, having been drawn by the curiosity of outsiders before recognizing the duo from the group who helped save the world.
"Oh. It seems that Grandmother is entertaining a guest." The witch of the group muttered with a conflicted expression as they got close, causing the two bracers to share a look while Celine merely rolled her eyes in exasperation.
They didn't need to wait long to have that question answered as they had clearly been expected and were greeted at the door. The first person was, of course, the diminutive witch known to most as Crimson Roselia. And beside her...
"Hello Grandmother, Vita." Emma greeted coolly. Sure enough, the Second Anguis of Ouroboros was present alongside the elder.
"You're early." Rose complained petulantly before allowing her gaze to wander over to the two guests. "Although I suppose it's understandable given your company. Hello again, Ashen Awakener, Claussell."
"My, I wasn't expecting to see the two of you. Hello Rean, Fie. And why the cold reception, Emma?"
That just seemed to make the younger sister angrier. "You know why! I might have grudgingly accepted your loyalty to Ouroboros, but not when it ends up with innocents being killed and my friends endangered!"
It was an odd relationship, in Fie's mind. On one hand there was Emma who was a proud member of Class VII who believed alongside the rest of the class that Ouroboros was a threat that needed to be stopped for the good of the world. On the other side was Vita, who was one of the highest ranking members of that mysterious organization. And yet the two had managed to patch their relationship to the point where they could meet freely and have civil discussions.
Although it wasn't like she had much room to judge given her own relationship with Xeno and Leo. Why was it that only the baddies had the coin and lack of ethics to freely hire jaegers like Zephyr? It sucked having to constantly fight the last remnants of her old family!
"Um... Hi Rose, Vita." Rean didn't seem nearly as bothered by the whole ordeal as Emma did, despite being the one most victimized by it, but he still looked a little awkward as he greeted Vita. Come to think of it, now that there was an Anguis standing right in front of her Fie realized she was actually quite annoyed by herself. Not so much as to attack the witch, but at least enough to let her feel justified in skipping any sort of a friendly greeting, instead opting to stare at the azure figure with an unimpressed look.
"Well,l I guess I can't be surprised by that attitude. I suppose I should at least offer you my apologies, Rean, for all the trouble you had to endure. When we sent Cedric into Erebonia it was for the purpose of spreading chaos and confusion in the country, not to unify it by turning a hostage situation into a grand spectacle. You may rest assured knowing that he has been punished for his failures."
Fie glanced at Rean. Rean glanced at Fie. The two held a silent conversation with their eyes. Neither of them were pleased at the idea of 'chaos and confusion,' and as bracers that all but ensured there would be more conflicts with the secret society in the immediate future. That being said, Vita's apology did appear to be somewhat genuine.
Decision made, the two turned back to the Azure Abyss. "That's... fine." Muttered the B-Rank of the pair, answering for her beloved partner.
"It is true, though. We might be enemies, but Rean is a dear friend to both Emma and Crow, so I am genuinely rooting for you to survive the coming storm."
"You say things like that so casually, but I'm sure you aren't going to tell us what this coming storm entails, are you?"
Rose slouched after hearing the cat's complaint. "Trust me, I have been trying to get her to let something slip ever since she arrived here, but she fully intends to remain all evil and secretive. It's really annoying!"
"Well of course. A lady has to keep her secrets, after all. Oh, how about this? While my status as an Anguis and your role as the leader of Class VII and a bracer means we are destined to be enemies, right now I am simply a witch of the Hexen Clan. So how about I pay you back for all the troubles you went through. As the most powerful witch alive I could assist you with an enchantment or hex someone who bothers you? So go ahead Rean, ask me anything and I will do all in my power to service you. And I mean anything~"
Fie couldn't lie, hearing the witch make a statement that suggestive upset her more than her complicity in the attack on Rean. Like hell was she gonna let that woman cast a spell on her man, not when it could be something shady.
"Vita!" A red-faced Emma cried, clearly of a similar mind.
"The most powerful witch alive, she says..." Rose seemed to be more focused on the shot to her pride.
Celine didn't have anything to add, as the entire conversation bored her and she was more focused on licking her fur at that moment.
"Actually, if you truly are offering..." Fie was shocked. Rean wasn't actually considering it, was he? She had assumed he knew better! "Could you please restart Abend Time?" Never mind. Rean was just being a dork like usual. For some reason that made her happy.
Vita blinked in surprise. "Abend Time? That... actually doesn't sound bad. I might have to prerecord a few episodes in advance with things starting to heat up, but that shouldn't be a problem... You know what? That's a great idea. I think I will do just that. Thanks, Rean."
"Getting back on topic." The true ancestor of the vampire race interjected, either trying to be the responsible elder of the group or just upset that she had been usurped as the center of attention by Vita. Fie strongly suspected the latter. "I assume the two of you have a reason for visiting this village?"
"Uh, yes. I was hoping to use your village and Saint-Gral to recover my strength, if that's alright with you?"
Rose nodded after hearing the swordsman's request. "I suspected as much. Very well, I will allow it. But on one condition! I want Emma to accompany the two of you in your trips to the Labyrinth."
"I was already planning on that, assuming they were fine with my company, but that's an unusual thing to ask. Surely you know that they can handle themselves?"
It was Vita who answered the question of her younger sister. "She's just bored and wants you to hang out with her for a few days." She easily ignored the petulant shout and stomping of the foot by the eight-hundred year old witch. "I think she's going to regret that decision once you discover how much of a mess the atelier is. I don't believe she has touched anything but junk food in the past week."
"Grandmother!"
"That's not true! Well, not entirely true... Um, actually, I've changed my mind, you're right, they can take care of themselves. Go back to your trip."
"Not happening. You need to be eating better. I am going to prepare you a salad for dinner while you clean up the house." The class president paused, as if she just remembered that her two friends were there. "Um, you guys can go get situated in the guest room. Just let me know when you're ready to head out and I will be there to assist you." Even though she was a far more powerful individual, Crimson Roselia didn't resist as Emma pulled her by the ear into her house, although she did protest loudly the entire way.
Celine couldn't help but sigh loudly at the antics of her master and her creator. "I swear..."
The two bracers couldn't help but share a look. Seeing the supposedly ancient and wise being as a lazy slob who constantly butt heads with her overbearing granddaughter was something that never got old. Fie was the one to turn to the final member of their group, who was currently giggling behind her hand as she watched the others depart. "And what are you gonna do?" She asked Vita suspiciously.
"As entertaining as this has been, I do think it's about time for me to return to the Grandmaster. You know how it is, schemes to hatch and chaos to sow." She was definitely trying to goad them with a response like that and unfortunately it was working as she couldn't help but glare at the diva. Rean actually fared better, merely shaking his head in exasperation. "It was nice seeing the two of you, and I will make sure to let you know when Misty will be back on the air." With her piece said, the witch of Ouroboros vanished in a flash.
And now the group was down to just the two partners and one cat. "She's going to be a problem for another day, isn't she?" Rean asked rhetorically. "Not like there's anything we can do about that now, so let's just do what Emma said and find our room. Hopefully we'll only be here for a couple days..."
"You go do that. I am going to go find a nice warm place to lay down and take a nap until Emma calls for me." Privately Fie thought that was actually a great idea, but she suspected if she just abandoned Rean to go sleep somewhere she wouldn't hear the end of it for a long while. Not worth the hassle.
A few minutes later and the group of three humans and one cat found themselves standing in front of the ancient training ground. Although Rean had spent the past couple days doing practice swings with his tachi, holding it in his hands with the imminent prospect of combat felt far more natural to him.
It was a feeling that he originally struggled with, but had long since come to accept. Rean Schwarzer liked fighting. He would never delight in the suffering of others, but standing on a battlefield felt good to him. Whether it was a duel against a skilled opponent, or simple monsters that needed to be exterminated for the safety of others, fighting was one of his favorite activities. Especially when it occurred with trusted friends and comrades at his side.
"I've set the Labyrinth for the fourth floor to begin with." Emma stated as she looked to her companions. "We'll let you take the lead, Rean, but I will support you as needed with arts and magic."
Fie didn't say anything, but she took her favorite position at his side and allowed the familiar sensation of a combat link speak for her.
"A shame we don't have a fourth person to make a full team." He mused, before his eyes and those of everyone else turned to the cat of the group.
Celine bristled. "Nuh uh. It's not happening! You don't need me to transform to help you against the weak monsters in here!" Rean continued to stare. "If you don't look away I swear I will claw out your eyeballs! There's absolutely nothing you can say or do to convince me to use my human form!"
Celine yelped miserably as she flung herself to the ground to avoid the clawing attack of a humanoid phantom creature. Normally she would have no problem dodging such an attack, but it was an annoying task currently as she was stuck in her human form.
Fortunately for her the monster was dispatched by the annoying bracer girl. "You know, for a cat you sure aren't agile." She teased as she shifted her focus to the next monster.
Celine growled in frustration at that remark. Of course a girl like that would end up mating with her least favorite human ever. They were determined to make her life into a living hell!
"Now now." Emma piped in. "Be nice to Celine. She isn't very experienced using that form."
Nuh uh. Emma didn't get to play the role of kind mediator. Not after she so brutally and mercilessly betrayed her back at the entrance. She had expected her useless master to defend her from the twisted perversions of the sword user, but instead the witch had just giggled at her expense while abandoning her to her fate. She would never forget that action for all of her nine lives!
And of course, there was the last member of the group. At least he had the good graces to actually appear focused on the horde of monsters that had attacked them. With no immediate threats around she chose to focus her attention on him, and it wasn't because she was worried about him! Unsurprisingly the last few enemies went down quickly under his swings.
"This is a waste of time. You don't seem to be any weaker to me. You're the same as you were during the Twilight." She muttered after the battle had ended.
"No, he's definitely a bit slower." Fie countered. "You haven't really seen him fight recently so you probably haven't seen the difference. Still, you're probably right in that he's fighting about as well as he did two years ago."
"Hmm..." Rean hummed thoughtfully. "I definitely feel a little slower with my actions, but I was worried it would be a lot worse. I still intend to practice until I am at full strength, but if you two are saying I look the same as I did during the Twilight that at least means I shouldn't be a liability."
Fie rolled her eyes. "Ah yes, the Divine Blade who beat an ancient evil... thingy known as Ishmelga. A total liability."
"It was a Divine Knight corrupted by the malice that resides in human kind before using that same malice to create a curse that affected all of Erebonia."
"Thanks Emma." She muttered sarcastically. "Like I said, a thingy."
Rean looked between the two of them before shrugging his shoulders. "Thingy aside," Emma couldn't help but pout slightly as the younger girl shot her a victory sign with her fingers. "I think we're done here for today. Let's head back."
His words were true. They had completely cleared the floor of monsters. While they could always go to a different floor it wouldn't really do anything to assist in his recovery outside of giving him extra reps with his sword swings. With no words of disagreement the three humans and one cat who had transformed back into her furry form made their exit.
Once back in Eryn Emma was quick to offer them a meal at the Atelier. While normally they would be quick to accept such a thing from a dear friend, the fact that she was clearly going to be preparing something overly healthy and bland for Rose to eat meant that Fie refused before Rean could do the polite thing and accept. Emma, bless her heart, appeared to understand why she refused and just gave an amused smile before promising to see them soon.
Now back to just the two of them, they set forth to the only place that served food in this town, Lux Lunae. There were a few locals there, but since the village didn't see many guests from the outside world it was still pretty empty. This meant that they didn't need to wait long to have their orders taken.
While Fie would by no means consider herself an expert on magical cuisine, the few weeks she spent in the village dwarfed the mere days Rean was there by a considerable margin, so it was to her he looked for advice. Something which she was obviously more than pleased to offer. Especially as she was able to keep a straight face as she successfully convinced him to choose the Mandrake Soup. The look on his face as he took the first bite of that extremely bitter dish was precious and she regretted not having her ARCUS out for it. Still, he was a good sport about it and suffered down the entire dish, especially after she explained the medicinal benefits of it.
With dinner finished the duo decided to waste no further time before heading to the Fairy Springs. It was, after all, the best part of the trip in Rean's mind (Fie too, but she would never admit it to her obsessed companion lest she suffer his insanity for all eternity). The two quickly changed and entered the water, but not before Rean insisted they wear towels, much to her annoyance, as he claimed that it was still a public bath and someone could enter at any time.
A statement that proved to be painfully correct as just a few minutes later Rose barged in wearing her own towel and a big stupid smirk. Behind her was an apologetic towel-clad Emma and a completely apathetic Celine with no towel as she was in cat form. As much as Fie wanted to shoo them away she couldn't as they were the guests in the village. Didn't stop her from petulantly glaring at the vampire, however.
"Oh my, I wasn't expecting to find the two of you here." None of them believed the elder witch even the slightest bit.
"I'm really sorry about this! You know how grandmother gets when she's bored."
"Hey!"
"It's... fine." Rean sounded as conflicted as she felt. "It's been a while since we got to hang out and relax like this without the end of the world imminent."
That much was true, at least. As annoying as she could be, Fie did like the immensely old and powerful child now sitting across from them. Her dysfunctional dynamics with Emma were pretty hilarious to observe. And it wasn't like she didn't spend most of the time alone with Rean anyways...
"You seem the same as always. Although I guess that makes sense when you are that ancient..." Of course liking the witch just meant that Fie felt alright teasing her.
"Hey! Just because I'm eight-hundred years old doesn't mean I can't be cool and hip like all you youngsters!"
The former class president of Class VII shook her head sadly. "Oh Grandmother..."
"I don't need your pity! You were supposed to be the one to keep me up to date on modern trends after Vita left. Any failings on my part are your fault!"
"Well that's your problem." Fie was in her element right now. "You're relying on Emma to be cool when she's anything but. In a class filled with idiots, people with enough emotional baggage to crash an airship, and a useless teacher who provided absolutely no help, Emma was the one who filled the role of class mom. That didn't leave her much time to be anything but the boring girl with perfect grades in the nerdy book club."
Said woman couldn't help but glower at such a description. Fie just responded with a cheeky grin. Despite the unimpressive description, as one of the people with enough emotional baggage to crash an airship she really did appreciate the class mom and probably wouldn't have turned out nearly as well without her.
Rean on the other hand pinched the bridge of his nose in exasperation. "Fie, please don't get us kicked out of here... Or hexed."
Rose looked panicked. "Why didn't I notice this sooner. I should have realized that she was a great bore and to do the opposite of what she does. I've seen the underwear she wears-"
Before being stopped by a thoroughly flustered Emma. "Grandmother!"
"Please, you have to help me! You seem to be pretty popular, right? I need advice! How should I dress? What should I be eating? Should I act differently?"
Rean opened his mouth to interrupt, but Fie stopped him with a deadly glare. This was her moment of glory and she wasn't going to let him ruin it! Scooting over to the panicked vampire the silver-haired young woman wrapped an arm around her. "Don't worry. Just listen to me and everything will be alright."
Now alone, Rean watched the display with a mixture of exasperation and amusement as his lover did his best to corrupt the ancient being while their horrified classmate tried to stop her. Celine, who had been silently listening to the display from outside of the water padded over to his side of the bath. "You know I blame you for anything that comes from this, right?"
He wanted to argue that, as he had nothing to do with Fie's penchant for chaos, but held his tongue as he knew that nothing he said would convince the snarky familiar.
The next three days passed quickly enough. The days were spent in the dungeon while the evenings were spent relaxing in the magical village. It was a simple routine, but one that was finally ready to end.
While he still wouldn't say he was in peak condition, those days spent fighting monsters had helped immensely and now he was certain that he could fight well enough to not be a liability to Fie on their bracer duties. Any lingering issues would be resolved in due time.
Thus, it was decided that after today's trip through Saint-Gral the duo would return home. As always they were accompanied by their dear witch friend and her grumpy familiar, although the latter had refused to transform after that first day. They and Fie definitely seemed more inclined to leave most of the work to him, not that he minded at all.
It was halfway through the floor that Celine stopped them. "Figures... I sense a powerful being at the end of the floor waiting for us."
Emma sighed, knowing exactly who it was. "I knew Grandmother was acting suspicious this morning, but I didn't think she would fight us."
"I remember hearing she did the same with my students and Randy, but I doubt she will be going as easy on us." Rean mused as he drew his tachi. "I guess we just have to accept it and prepare ourselves..."
"Do we?" All eyes turned to the silver-haired bracer. "I mean what's stopping us from just leaving?"
Silence. That idea was so random and alien that none had considered it before. The swordsman, witch, and cat shared glances before looking back at the stoic Fie.
"I suppose we could do that..." Emma muttered thoughtfully. "What do you think, Rean? This is for you, after all."
"I don't think I would gain much from fighting a witch. No offense, Emma." Sure there's something to be said about improving his reflexes as he dodged wide-area arts and spells, but that was about it. Maybe if she chose to fight in melee using her vampiric strength and speed, but that didn't seem to really fit the style of Roselia Millstein.
"Right? So let's just leave and go home while she's standing there like an idiot."
For the first time since they arrived, Celine actually appeared amused by the idea, not that it was easy to read the expressions of a cat. "Normally she would notice us leaving, but she's probably sitting over there thinking up a dramatic entrance or something equally asinine and won't even sense us. I think it's a wonderful idea."
"Ohhh...She's going to be so mad."
"She will." Fie agreed with the worried witch easily enough. "But why does it matter if we aren't here? I know you two were planning on resuming your journey outside once we finished, right?"
"That is true..."
Rean sheathed his tachi. "You know what? I think it's a great idea. C'mon Fie, let's go home."
Rose would spend the next few hours standing there waiting for the party to arrive. Upon realization that she had been stood up her cries of rage and calls for vengeance were loud and numerous, but nobody was around to hear them. It would be weeks later when they found out that she spent the next few days sulking around the village causing trouble for the poor residents. Poor Eryn.
