"Hewwo?" a voice boomed through the loudspeakers. "I-I mean—"

A throat was cleared.

"Greetings, students," she said, this time with a deep voice. "This is Principal Aurelia Le Guin. This morning, a… um, all instructors are on standby under the orders of the Imperial Government. It is unclear how long the standby orders will be, so, as it pains me to say it, all classes as of today are cancelled.

"Focus on doing your assignments, train if you need to, rest whenever you can, but whatever you do, please… stay away from the main building. You have ten minutes to evacuate the premises, but there is nothing to worry about. Nothing at all!"

A nervous laugh.

"Aidios, have mercy," someone mumbled in the background. Everyone could tell it was Instructor Irving.

A click.

"How did I do?" Aurelia said, with a tinier voice this time.

"Splendid!" Towa said, laughing all the while.

"Guys," Randy said. "Guys. The light is still on."

There was a mad scramble.

"Got it!" Rean shouted.

Silence.

Ash walked into the school garden.

"So this is where you've been to," he said to the boy laying on the grass.

"Ash… go away," Kurt grumbled.

They boy was covering his eyes with his arm. There was still a bit of pink on his cheeks. Ash grimaced. Yesterday, this punk was adamant on challenging Ash on a duel, which he tricked into teaching him how to play chess instead. Now, seeing his rival getting the love-sick, just makes him want to puke.

"What's your damage?" Ash asked as he stood at his side, looking down. "You got gals by the armload back at Heimdallr, but Juna makes kissy faces at you and you can't handle it."

"Getting surrounded by girls does not mean I'm experienced with romance," Kurt said, rolling to the side, facing away from Ash. "I made it clear to them that I have no interest in them. They're just young and silly… like me."

Ash shrugged. "We're seventeen now. Perfect time to grow up."

Kurt scoffed and turned head to face him. "What about you? You dated before?"

Ash laughed. "I got four girlfriends."

Kurt's face fell, in which Ash laughed even harder.

"Oh," Kurt said. "Of course." He turned his head away.

"Yeah, had to break up with the last one before coming to Thors," Ash said, squatting down. "She didn't cry. She's a strong one." He grinned. "You really never fell in love in your entire life?"

"Besides my parents… once."

Ash's face fell.

"Oh," he said.

"I asked her to marry me."

Ash laughed out loud. "Wait, I heard this before!" he said between laughs. "Ever since she rejected you, you never want to fall in love every again. Damn, I thought this crap existed in mira novels!" He laughed again, holding his stomach.

"She said yes."

Ash stopped. "What?"

Kurt sighed. "We were just kids back then. She was the prettiest girl I've ever seen and, like that, I fell for her."

Ash sat down and craned his head upward.

"So no happy in this story?" he asked.

"None," Kurt simply replied.

"You know what happened to her?"

"No," Kurt lied.

Ash looked at his rival. "And you've never seen her ever again."

"Yes," Kurt half-lied. He turned again, facing the cloudless sky. "She probably forgot me by now." His lips were drawn into a thin line.

Ash slowly shook his head. "So, what? You're just saving yourself for her, hoping that she just shows up?"

Kurt was silent. He pretended that he did not hear Ash, but in truth he could not come up with an answer… No. He knew the answer, but he was too afraid to voice it.

"What's it to you?" Kurt asked instead.

Ash rubbed his forehead. "Maybe you should just give up on her. I'm not asking you to take in Juna instead. I'm just saying that it's better to cut your losses and move on."

Kurt hummed, but he did not answer. At the corner of his eye, he saw someone. He slowly sat up and stared at her.

"I have to go train," he said before leaving Ash.

The other boy stood up and watched Kurt walk away.

Didn't even ask me for a duel. This day is getting weirder by the minute.

He sighed and walked towards the clubhouse. He has some reading to catch up.

"Milly, wait!" Musse said as she exited the cafeteria.

Altina was running around the school grounds with a cheeseburger between her teeth. She raised her arms as she ran around, pretending to be an airship.

How in Zemuria did she stay in the Intelligence Division this long? Juna thought with a grimace. Are they like wolves led by sheep?

"Milly, you're out of character!" Musse said, chasing after her. "What if someone would see you?"

With a burst of speed, she managed to catch up to Altina by grabbing her shoulders.

"Awww," Altina said, taking the cheeseburger out of her mouth. "But I wanna play."

"At least… finish eating," Musse said between huffs.

Man, Musse. You really need to get some exercise.

Altina was trying to lick the mayonnaise stuck on her cheek.

"You're a real messy eater, aren't you?" Musse said with a small smile.

She tried taking out her handkerchief, but she remembered that she used it to tie up Altina's ponytail. She patted Altina's pockets and dug out her own napkin. It was in olive green camo for some reason. Musse began rubbing the little girl's cheek, who squirmed.

"Hey, quit it!" Atltina said.

"Done," Musse said, standing straight. "Seriously, has anybody taught you any table manners?"

"But I don't see any table around."

Musse bonked Altina's head.

"Don't be cute with me," she warned. "You know what I'm talking about."

Altina was rubbing her head. "Claire, I think."

Musse raised an eyebrow. "You think?"

"I go out on missions frequently, but we don't get to hang. At least not much." She took a bite of her cheeseburger.

"Hmm…" Musse nodded. "Can you tell me more about her?"

Even though she is an Erebonian, Juna always have admired Major Claire. One part is her cool, mature and stoic personality, and the other is that she saved her when everybody abandoned her. Claire was the one who managed to protect half her credits and gave her the recommendation to go to Thors.

Yes, Major Claire has been an impact to Juna's life.

Altina swallowed. "Well, she's still hung about Rean. Don't know why though. She never tells me much."

Kurt was walking towards them while the two are talking. Musse saw him coming and her heart skipped a beat. Normally, she has nothing to worry about since she already knows Kurt. However, this will be the first time she would be talking to him with another body. She was getting nervous as he drew closer.

Wait a minute, she thought. Maybe if I play my cards right, maybe I can ask him some questions that I wouldn't normally ask, like what he—

She rapidly shook her head, her face reddening. She was about to think what he thinks about me and stopped.

Come on, Juna. He's just your classmate. There's nothing wrong about this.

"Altina," Musse said to her. "Can you play somewhere else? I need to do something."

Altina pulled her friend's sleeve.

"Are you sure you're okay with this?" she whispered. "He might get a clue on who really are."

Musse smiled. "It's fine. Don't you know I was a star actress at our Sunday School play?"

She forgot that play was supposed to be a tragedy, in which she turned it into a comedy.

After Musse waved Altina goodbye…

"Musse," Kurt called. "May I have a moment of your time?"

"Y-Yes!" Musse said. She turned around, her back straight. Her nervousness was getting the better of her and it shows. "You may!"

Damn, how does Musse do this? Juna thought with panic.

Kurt raised a brow, but ignored her sudden shift in behavior. He waved her to follow him back to the garden. The two walked in silence together.

I-Is this how nobility act with each other? This pressure… really.

Kurt usually offers idle conversation while walking, just so Juna would not get bored. This is a new experience for her.

"Have you noticed anything strange with Juna recently?" Kurt asked as they arrived at the garden.

"S-Strange?" Musse said, her forehead sweating. "Well, I think I—"

"Please," Kurt suddenly said, gesturing at the bench.

"Wha…" Musse looked at the bench, momentarily not knowing what to do. "Oh! Right…"

She sat down. The two stared each other in silence, which unnerved Musse.

What am I supposed to do here? Juna asked herself.

"Are you going to continue?" Kurt asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Huh?" Musse said.

She was like a fish out of water on this environment. This is the first time Kurt has spoken to her like this. As an equal.

"A-Aren't you going to sit next to me?" she asked.

Kurt was visibly confused.

Why, I never, Kurt thought.

Amongst the Erebonian Gentry, the host who invites must show hospitality to his guests. He would let them have the first seat. He would let them have the first sip of tea, and the first to bite whatever food he prepared. But never in Kurt's life has he been asked to sit himself. It was ludicrous! That is the prerogative of the host, and it is not something to be requested by the guest.

Are the nobility in Ordis less Erebonian than I thought? Kurt thought with disdain. Surely, her parents must have thought her some manners.

Kurt gave her a soft smile. "No, thank you," he said. He remained standing.

An icy finger ran down Musse's spine.

Did… I do something wrong?

She started praying to Aidios to let the time limit run out and make her switch back already.

Kurt sighed. "Well?" he asked again.

"Oh, right!" Musse said, remembering the original question. "I noticed something weird with Juna too." She gulped.

These noble types are really high maintenance, aren't they?

Kurt fixed his collar with one hand. "I acted poorly myself back at class. The stares were suffocating."

She thought of something Musse would say. She clasped her hands together.

"I thought you two were c-cute together!" she said. She was blushing.

What am I saying? she screamed into her mind

Kurt glared at her, which caused Musse to be driven back. She looked away.

Is… Is this how Kurt really is?

She was beginning to appreciate how lenient Kurt is to the real Juna. However…

So, it was an act all along?

"I have enough of your jokes, Musse," he said in a cold tone.

Kurt noticed that she was acting scared. Acting is the operative word. He can never be too careful around Musse.

"I know it's been a short time since we introduced each other," Kurt continued, "but if there's anything going on, you should tell me. Aren't we classmates?"

"I…"

She wanted to tell him about the artifact because she can always trust on Kurt, but she made a promise to Musse and Altina. Juna is not one to break them, even if her own bones break first.

Kurt let out a frustrated breath and crossed his arms.

"Fine," he said. "Be that way. But if someone gets hurt because of your little stunts, you only have yourselves to blame."

He turned away, about to leave. He wanted to say more but he cannot continue their conversation like this. He hoped the next time they meet, Musse would open up more a little.

He stepped away.

"A-Are you always like this?" Musse asked.

Kurt stopped and turned his head to her direction.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

Her eyes were on the ground as she gripped her skirt.

"Have you always been this… forceful?" she asked.

Kurt was confused. He fully faced her.

"Musse, you've always been obtuse with me ever since we first talked," he said. "I'm sick of you playing mysterious with me, so of course I'm going to be forceful with you. What? Playing the fragile card with me?"

Musse was silent. She figured that this was the case. The real Musse has always been an opaque character to nearly everyone in school. She has a tendency to poke her nose in someone else's business, but when you try pry at her past, she gets borderline defensive.

However…

"Wouldn't it be better if you ask nicely?" Musse suggested. She gripped her skirt tighter.

Even though it is none of her business, Juna wants to defend her friend.

"I've already tried that," Kurt said.

"Then try harder." Musse stood up, looking at him directly at his eyes. "Maybe we won't get along today, but I want to try again tomorrow. I want a do over."

Kurt blinked. This is the first time Musse has been direct to him. It is almost scary. Every cloak has its dagger after all.

"I don't know, Musse," he said.

"I'll make sure she—I mean, I behave tomorrow," Musse said. "But only if you promise to be friendlier with me, okay? Because… I want to be friends with you." She blushed.

Kurt fell silent.

Is… she sick? Does she have a fever or something?

He scratched his cheek. "Well, if you insist," he said with a tint of nervousness.

Kurt is one to give back. Eye for an eye. Pain for pain. Gift for a gift. And kindness for kindness. But only if Musse holds her end of the bargain.

Musse smiled wildly. "Th-That's great!"

She ran up to him and grabbed his hands with hers.

"We can be the best of friends!" she said, swinging their arms around.

Kurt was stunned. Not out of fear this time.

…Has she always been this cute?

"Before I leave," Kurt said, removing his hands. There is a slight blush on his cheeks. "I have a final set of question for you."

"Only if it's not too hard," Musse said as she put her hands behind her.

Kurt sighed. He combed his hair with his hand.

Here goes…

"Musse," he said as he placed a hand on his chest. "Do you remember me?"

Musse looked at him, and then she cocked her head.

"Huh?" she said.

These two… met?

Kurt tried another method. He held his ends up and used sign language. He spelled V-A-N-D-E-R.

"What are you doing?" Musse asked, confused.

Kurt blinked.

Is she really not her…?

He cleared his throat and walked up to her.

"Milly," he called with a small smile.

"But my name's Musse," Musse replied, growing even more confused.

His smile fell.

"Our promise together?" he asked. This was his last gamble.

"We made a promise?" Musse asked back.

Kurt stepped back. And then he started laughing.

"K-Kurt?" Musse called, not sure what is going on.

His laughter slowly died down. He shook his head with a smile on his face.

Yeah, I was just getting my hopes up. He looked at Musse. She looks so much like her. His smile was sad. He looked up at the sky. Milly, where are you? He closed his eyes. Well, it's not like it matters now. Maybe we'll never meet each other again. But wherever you are, I'll be sure to pray to Aidios for your safety.

Kurt chuckled and smiled at Musse. "Oh, it's nothing," he said. "Let's forget about all about that. How about… cake? Tomorrow, after school?" He winked at her.

Normally, Juna would blush at this situation. Something is not normal, however. A wave of dread fell upon her and a swirl questions spun around her head.

"…Sure," Musse said, turning away. "I'll meet you there, Kurt."

She started running away. She heard him say goodbye, but there are more important things in her mind. She needs to ask the real Musse some questions.