Rean waved Kurt goodbye as he rode off from his horse. It was the Summer Festival and Instructor Rean Schwarzer wanted to spend his time fishing on the river. However, the mutant fish that he was supposed to pull out of the river pulled his fishing rod into the river instead.

That rod was expensive. He spent the last of his mira in his wallet for it in Crossbell, right after he bought souvenirs, and right after he bought items in which he combines into souvenirs. The money in Rean's wallet also so happens to be Class VII's budget. The entirety of it.

It is worth noting that Rean's classmates does not trust him in problems involving financial decisions.

Rean remembered how angry Juna and how displeased Altina was since it was their money too. Kurt just quietly collected money from an IBC ATM in order to diffuse the situation.

Yes, it was quite a memory.

Rean, once he recovered from the shock of losing his favorite fishing rod, called in Kurt to bring a spare from the Derfflinger. They were his older ones, in which he kept in case someone from Class VII wants to fish. Kurt brought three fishing rods instead. He really does not want to be bothered right now as today is a special day for him.

Rean casted the line into the river and waited for the monster to come. Yes… the only thing he needs to do now is to shut off his mind and let only his instincts do the work. He can feel the force of the river through the line, the pole and his palms. Fishing is now second nature to Rean.

"Caught anything yet?" a woman beside him.

Rean does not have to look at Laura to know she is there. He felt a strong presence earlier and he already knew it was the swordmaster herself. That, or it was Principal Aurelia, who was supposed to be at Heimdallr at this time.

Rean smiled.

"Caught a few big ones a while ago," he said. His mind is still focused on his palms.

Laura craned her neck at the bucket of water near his feat.

"Are they invisible?" she asked.

Rean laughed. "No, I let them free as soon as I caught them."

"Why?"

"Too small."

Rean reeled the line so that he could cast it at another location.

"Mind if I join you?" Laura asked with a smile.

"Grab a rod," Rean said. "The bait's over there."

"Oh no." Laura waved her hands. "I'm fine watching."

Laura then stood next to Rean and watched the fishing line with him. Rean noticed how close their shoulders are.

"Um, isn't this a bit dangerous?" he whispered.

Laura turned her head at him and smiled.

"And why would that be?" she teasingly asked. "For all they know, we're just too friends who just got a bit too… close. And there is no need to whisper. You sense anyone spying on us?"

"No," Rean said, smiling back. "However, one of us is the Ashen Chevalier. Civilians might see us. You know how it is. The Hero of the Empire must be someone who is liked by everyone, and that means I need to remain open. Until tonight, that is." He grumbled the last part.

There has been rumors that Princess Alfin would ask him as his dance partner as she enters into the society as a debutante, much to Rean's annoyance.

Laura chuckled. "If someone passes by, they'll see that nothing is happening to us," she said.

An awkward silence sets in. The two slowly looked back at the river. It was like molten sapphire.

"I'm sorry," Rean said, his eyes downcast. "It's been a long time since we get to talk like this, ever since you guys graduated."

"No," Laura replied. "It was my—our fault that we took accelerated courses." She shook her head. "There was surveillance everywhere, 24/7. A lot of people moved in on Trista and maybe half of them are secretly RMP or Intelligence Division. There's probably more now that Prince Cedric is attending at Thors."

She sighed sadly.

"We were pressured to leave, by him," she said.

"I know," Rean replied.

"We were too weak."

"You?" Rean raised an eyebrow. "You, who beat up every single one of Class VII all at once? Who managed to catch Fie and tied her up on a tree as punishment? Who beheaded a magic knight when Crow tried to sell its parts on Trista? You?"

Laura turned her head away to hide her blush. "You know what I mean," she said.

"It's fine, Laura." He gave her a soft smile. "I don't blame you guys for leaving. I blame him."

For a moment, anger flared over Rean's face, but only for a second.

"Would it be better if we stayed?" Laura asked, staring at the river.

"Without the spies?"

"Yes."

Rean sighed, imagining it.

"I would give up everything in the world for it," he said.

Rean felt a tug at the other end of the line. His eyes stayed at the plastic float. In the end, it was a false alarm.

"All things considered," Rean said, "I'm the one who's weak here."

"Rean…?" Laura said, looking at him.

"If… If only we stood our ground at the Infernal Castle during the Civil War—"

"You mean fighting Osborne?"

"He looks so vulnerable back then."

Laura grimaced. "I hate to admit it, but even if we all attacked at once, he must have a plan for that eventuality. He wouldn't reveal himself to us so simply. Plus, he survived getting shot in the heart."

"Even so…" Rean gripped his pole harder. "Osborne planned everything. The Civil War, the annexations, the reforms, all of it. And I helped him."

Laura wanted to speak against it, but she knew it was true. She and her classmates could barely fathom why Rean would follow Osborne's orders in the first place. Maybe the Civil War took a toll on him. Maybe it was the shock of witnessing Crow's death.

"Maybe this is how Aidios is punishing me," Rean said. "For sending me those kids."

"Have you met my students?" Rean asked with a sly smile. "One of them is a boy who lost his future because I empowered the government that stole it, and another is a girl who I stole her city by participating in its annexation."

There was a tug in the line. The plastic float sunk down, but after a while, it floated back up. Whoever bit the bait is now gone.

"That was all Osborne's doing," Laura reminded him.

"I'm not free from blame here." He started reeling. "Even you can't deny that."

He raised the hook and, as expected, the bait was gone. Lucky fish. He bent down so that he could put another worm on the hook.

"But you don't have to worry about me," he said as he stood up. "I originally became an instructor to stay in school and because it's the only allowable course for me to take. Now…"

He casted the line. This time, farther.

"I'm staying as an instructor to help these students. Those two lost so much. I have no idea how to give them their previous lives back. That's why I'll do my damndest to guide all my students to a better future. It's… the least that I could for them."

Suddenly, there was slight breeze. Rean looked down and saw his empty palms. His fishing rod was gone.

He heard reeling from the side.

"Hey!" Rean said to Laura, who was reeling in the line. "Give it back!"

Rean tried to grab the rod, but Laura leaned and turned away.

"Laura, this isn't funny," Rean said.

"This isn't funny either, Rean," Laura said as she finished reeling the line. She carried the rod over her shoulder and glared at her friend. "Honestly, Rean, you have the power to cut Panzer Soldats in half—"

"B-But that's Valimar."

"—but you have the emotional capacity of a six-year old."

"…That's harsh."

"But it is true." She raised a finger, as if she was scolding him. "Rean, how can you call yourself an adult and a swordsman if you cannot control your emotions? You should act like your age."

"Laura." Rean raised his hands. "The reason why I told you all that is because I want to share it."

Laura's finger crooked a little. "Huh?"

"I-I'm just venting!" Rean laughed nervously. "I just want to share my problems since I don't have anyone to talk to about it." He cleared his throat and smiled at her. "I trust you."

"I…" Laura blushed, but she did not turn away. Instead, she smiled back. "I'm flattered."

"Well, you are my g—" Rean immediately cleared his throat. He blushed and smiled nervously. "A special friend of mine."

"Oh…" Laura turned to the river and placed a hand on her burning cheek. "After a year of not seeing each in person, I thought you would have forgotten our… nights together."

"I-I really can't admit my feelings through the network. Someone might listen. Also, an orb-mail won't cut it. It's…" Rean walked forward and grabbed Laura's shoulder, pulling her to face him. "It's much better this way, right?"

Rean tried to touch her cheek.

"Rean!" Laura said as swatted his hand away, out of embarrassment. She laughed. "N-Not in the open. Please."

Rean smiled widely. "Want to go somewhere private then?"

"I…" Laura hesitated, but she nodded in the end. "I would like that. Oh and…" She gave him his fishing rod back. "Sorry that I interrupted your fishing."

Rean took the fishing rod and looked down at it. He smiled sadly at it.

"It's not like that mutant is going anywhere," he said, smiling at Laura.

Rean emptied the bucket of water into the river and grabbed the remaining two rods.

"My bike is over there," he said, pointing at the distance. "Let's drop these off at the Derfflinger and head for Heimdallr."

"Are you sure about this, Rean?" Laura asked. "This is your precious fishing time, after all."

Rean laughed. "It's fine! Besides, you're more precious… I mean, spending my time with you is more precious than… Hold on, l-let me collect myself here."

Laura covered her mouth to stifle her laughter.

"You said the bike is this way?" she asked. She started walking on that direction. "By the way, Rean."

"Yes?" he replied, following her.

"Will you let me drive this time?"

Rean almost tripped. He remembered his time in Thors with her, on how Laura pulled the schools power chords of the walls so that she could find the mythical horse of power that Georg described, or how Laura tried to destroy Rean's radio because she thinks that there is a person trapped inside it, or how Laura destroyed a light switch by pressing it (to be fair, that might be because of Laura's ridiculous strength.)

Laura and technology goes hand in hand like pineapple on pizza. It is impossible.

However, from what Fie told Rean, Laura has got a handle on tools more advanced than a rock. Barely, that is. Fie had to travel with Laura for two weeks straight so that she could teach Laura how to make an orb-mail. The results… showed themselves, to put it lightly.

"Rean?" Laura called. She was standing there, waiting for him by the bike.

Rean shook himself and smiled widely.

"Well, uh… Sure," he conceded. "J-Just be careful."

"I will," Laura said, flexing her bicep and giving him a determined smile. "I am always up for a challenge."

Surprisingly enough, Laura has yet to manage to crash into anything along the way. Rean was still shaking at the sidecar. While it is true that the two are not dead yet, Rean could not help but think that they are going a bit too slow. They were on a snail's pace.

Maybe she forgot how to shift gears?

He wanted to tell her about shifting gears but decided against it. He should be counting his blessings by being alive.

His ARCUS beeped. Rean read the orb-mail since this is going to take a while.

"Anything interesting?" Laura asked, who was smiling like she was riding at full speed.

"It's Juna," Rean answered. "She's asking where Kurt went."

Rean then typed a reply, telling Juna that he asked Kurt to do some errands for him. He was about to press send when he thought of something.

Weird. Rean scrunched his eyebrows. Shouldn't Juna called Kurt instead of sending an orb-mail to me?

After thinking about it, Rean shrugged and pressed send. He is probably worrying about nothing.

Later, Freddy captured the mutant fish.