Maelstrom of Cold Steel

by MercenaryGrax

Arriving in a new world with no memory of how he got there, Naruto is taken in by Rutger, the Jaeger King, & given a place to belong. Eventually he winds up in Class VII with his closest friend. With all the chaos in the country of Erebonia & the social divide & massive corruption throughout the country, Naruto will certainly have his work cut out for him in this new world.

13. Chapter 13

A/N - Aaaand here's chapter 13 of this story! Yaaay! lol. This chapter is shorter than the previous two, coming in at 23,390 words. Sooo, quite a bit shorter. lol

Anyways, a lot does happen in this chapter. I had a LOT of fun writing some of the scenes you'll read in this chapter. Especially the confrontation between Naruto and Duke Albarea. That one was a fun scene to write.

Anywho, some people have expressed some concerns about a few things. One of which is the fact that Naruto isn't just steamrolling everything. Thing is, he knows he can demolish pretty much anything and everything in Zemuria. He wants to give his friends the chance to grow and become more powerful themselves. If he just goes around destroying everything that they come across, they'll never get that chance. If this seems 'boring' to you, then maybe this just isn't the story for you. *shrugs*

Alrighty, can't think of anything else to say right now, so read on and enjoy the chapter! Hopefully! lol

---

Chapter 13 – Bareahard Field Study – Day 2

"Excuse me. We've come to ask for some more details on the monster that we've been asked to exterminate…" Rean said to Richelieu after they approached the counter.

"Certainly. Allow me to tell you what I know. The monster is situated on the North Kreuzen Highway and was first spotted by the provincial army. Their report described it as resembling a large, carnivorous plant." The general manager explained.

"Well that sounds like it's going to be a fun one to fight." Anko said.

"That sounds…rather terrifying." Emma said.

"Hmph. Does it really matter what kind of monster it is? We just need to hurry up and exterminate it." Machias said.

"Incidentally, you will find it on top of a stone bridge on the highway, which can be reached by heading straight out of town. Please, do be careful." Richelieu finished explaining.

"Thank you." Naruto said. "We appreciate the information and will act accordingly. Have a good day, Mr. Manager."

"You as well, Prince Naruto. All of you be well and be safe."

Deciding that it might be a good idea to chat with the locals again, they went upstairs and proceeded into one of the rooms. Inside, they saw a young boy looking through some books. Approaching him, he obviously heard them as he turned around and greeted them politely. Then… "Prince Olivert happens to be popular within Heimdallr lately. He wasn't all that widely known at first thanks to his mother being a commoner…but he's started appearing in the news more often as of late, always up to something interesting. Heh…I can't help but look up to him. The prince is quite easy to relate to, as well. Perhaps because of his common birth. He seems to be a really interesting person, so I can't help but look up to him."

Naruto smiled and nodded his head in agreement. "I have to agree with you there. From what I've heard about Prince Olivert, he seems like a pretty cool guy. It's hard NOT to look up to him as a person and a role model. You know, when I first came to Erebonia and I heard about Prince Olivert, I knew that he was a guy I just had to meet. I'd like to be good friends with him. Wouldn't that be cool?"

Conan nodded and said, "It really would be! I bet he's really nice! And smart, too!"

Naruto chuckled a bit and said, "I bet you're probably right about that. Anyways, we have to get going. We have important stuff to do today. So you take care and have a very good day, okay, little guy?"

Conan nodded and said, "You, too!"

After leaving the room, Anko decided to poke a bit of fun at him. "You really do like kids, don't you, Honey?"

Naruto shrugged and said, "Some of them, yeah. Others? Not so much. It really just depends on the kid. Everyone is different, after all. I'm definitely looking forward to having children of my own. I'm still nervous about it, of course, but I'm looking forward to it."

Afterwards, they talked with the maid for a bit to see what she had to say, but she simply expressed her concerns for Lord Jusis and the pain he must feel in regards to his family situation. So, bidding her goodbye, they descended the stairs and left the hotel.

Once outside, they approached a woman walking around the small fountain area. Her name was Previa, and after greeting her, she said, "I've heard that Marquis Rogner of the Four Great Houses, who lives to the north, has quite the temperament. He always resorts to brute force when anything happens within his province. Meanwhile, Marquis Hyarms, who rules the Sutherland province, is relatively gentle. He's quite flexible in his policymaking, and the province's residents seem to have very little issue with him." Giggling a bit, the noblewoman then said, "Of course, he does act with the dignity one would expect from a member of the Four Great Houses. The Four Great Houses may generally be discussed as a unit, but they each have differing viewpoints on various matters. They seem to be on the same page when it comes to dealing with the reformists, however."

"Hmm. I can imagine Angelica Rogner and her father must have their issues with one another. They may share some similarities, but at the same time…" Shaking his head, Naruto then said, "And Patrick's father sounds like a reasonable man. His son is a bit on the arrogant side, but Marquis Hyarms…hmm. I guess I'll have to meet with the two of them someday and get a feel for their characters at some point. And it's interesting to hear that they aren't quite as united as people would expect. They may share a common 'enemy' in the Reformist Faction, but beside that, they aren't exactly united, as you said. I hadn't quite expected that."

Previa stared at him quizzically for a moment before her eyes widened in realization. "P-Prince Naruto?! I wondered who you were and why you were talking about them in such a way, but to think… Oh dear."

"Don't worry about it." Naruto said with a smile. "You've given me something to think about. I appreciate it."

"O-Of course! Umm, have a good day, Prince." The woman said as she watched the members of Class VII walk off.

Then, when they saw Baron Henzel approaching them whilst on his morning walk, they smiled awkwardly when he began speaking to them. "While Duke Albarea certainly acts like a duke should, it makes him a rather difficult person to deal with. Not even those close to him are allowed to have a say in his decisions. None except Lord Rufus, of course. Things must be difficult for him."

Naruto frowned and said, "That doesn't sound good to me. Now I'm really suspicious about what the heck he wants with Jusis today. It sounds like he really doesn't care much for his son. And if he truly feels that way, I doubt he'd listen to me, either. He might show me some respect on the outside, but I doubt he'd be interested in hearing my opinions on anything. That's kind of disappointing in a way."

Henzel blinked a couple of times before taking a good look at Naruto's face. "Ah, you must be Prince Naruto. Pleasure to make your acquaintance, dear boy. Yes, I suppose you might be right about that. Now, if you were Prince Olivert or Emperor Eugent III, he would likely listen to you then. But I can't imagine he would listen to the ideas and concerns of a foreign dignitary. Shame, that."

"Indeed. Oh well. You have a good day, Baron Henzel. It was nice meeting you." Naruto said before they bade each other goodbye.

As they passed by the Sorciere restaurant, they chanced a glance at Hasan and Udiro, but decided against talking to them today. They didn't want to deal with that mess again. So, proceeding into the restaurant, they glanced around, but decided not to bother anyone today. So instead, they approached Hammond and greeted him politely. Smiling at the five of them, the chef said, "Greetings and welcome."

"Hello, Hammond. We're here to take up your request, but I'd like to thank you for that delicious meal last night first." Rean said.

"It was pretty delicious. Thanks a bunch, Hammond!" Anko cheered.

"Oh? I'm pleased to hear that. Might I ask where Lord Jusis is, though?" Hammond questioned worriedly.

"He was called back to the mansion, I'm afraid." Emma explained.

"We have plans to meet up with him in the afternoon, however." Machias said.

Naruto nodded and said, "I don't want to worry you, Mr. Hammond, so I'll keep my opinions on the situation to myself. But I will admit to being suspicious of Duke Albarea's intentions. He called on me as well. I declined the offer, but I can't imagine he's taking it too well."

"Is that so…?" Hammond questioned with a deep frown marring his face.

Rean frowned as well and thought, It's too bad Jusis isn't here, considering this is a request from his uncle… Sighing softly, he shook it off before smiling at Hammond again and saying, "Anyway, about your request…"

"Ah, yes. As you read, I would like you to gather some ingredients for me. Are you all currently free? If so, I will explain the details of what I need." Hammond said.

"Yes, we can take it up now. Please go ahead and explain." Rean replied.

"The request mentioned something about making a nostalgic dish…" Emma said curiously.

"Correct. Said dish isn't on our menu, but it's one that I would like you all to try." Hammond explained.

Naruto hummed in thought and nodded his head once in understanding. However, he didn't say anything yet. Instead, he listened as Machias said, "I assume it's a rather special dish, then. There's no doubt about how delicious it'll be if you're making it, at least…"

Anko smiled at Naruto and knew he had figured it out, too. Turning back to Hammond, she said, "I bet it's something special you made for Jusis growing up, huh? What kind of dish is it?"

The owner chuckled a bit and nodded his head. "Indeed it was. But perhaps 'soup' is the best way to describe it. I plan on making enough for you all to enjoy, so please look forward to that."

Emma giggled a bit and said, "How could we not?"

"What is it you need us to gather, then?" Rean questioned.

"There are two types of ingredients I'd like to ask you to gather for me. The first is Globby Fat, which can be collected from monsters on the highway. I need five of those, to be exact. The other is an herb used by the Septian Church to synthesize medicine, called a Healing Herb." Hammond requested.

"So five piles of Globby Fat and a Healing Herb…" Machias noted, jotting it down in his notebook.

Naruto looked into Hammond's eyes and asked, "Where do we get the herb from, exactly?"

"You'll want to speak to Sister Tatiana at Bareahard Cathedral. I'm sure she'll be willing to part with one. Just tell her I sent you." Hammond said.

"All right. That sounds easy enough." Rean said.

"Shall we start on the task at hand?" Emma asked.

"Yeah. Let's head to the cathedral first." Machias suggested.

"Of course. We've already got all the Globby Fat we need anyways. All we need to do is pick up the Healing Herb and we're set." Anko said.

Bidding Hammond goodbye, they left the restaurant and proceeded to enter the nearby cathedral. Deciding to check on the clergymen first, they approached Father Oswald and listened as he said, "Archbishop Amon has made many appeals to Duke Albarea in regards to recent events. He doesn't seem to be willing to lend an ear, however. To make matters worse, he's stopped attending mass recently, too." Sighing to himself, the Father shook his head and asked, "Whatever should we do about this? Duke Albarea seems completely unwilling to listen to the people's pleas. Oh, Aidios, please guide us through these troubling times…"

Damn. If he's not even heeding the Archbishop's advice, then things really are pretty damn bad. This is definitely not a good thing. Naruto thought to himself. Depending on what he decides to do today, we may need to have a little 'talk'. I do hope the moron will listen when I confront him later.

Deciding to leave the Father to his prayers, they approached the archbishop and listened as he said, "I've been receiving many letters from every church in the Kreuzen province ever since the tax increase began. Each and every one of them detailed the negative effects said tax has been having and how the people are suffering for it. I've also heard talk that Aurochs Fort is strengthening its armaments, too. Perhaps Duke Albarea needs to be reminded that Aidios' one desire is for us to be at peace." Shaking his head sadly, Amon said, "There have been many unsettling rumors here in the Kreuzen province lately regarding everything the duke is doing. If only there was something we could do. Dear Aidios, please hear our prayers…"

Bidding the archbishop a good day, the party returned to the entrance and ventured into the nearby room where Sister Tatiana was busying herself with her tasks again. Upon seeing them, she said, "Oh, good day. Is there something you need from me?"

"You must be Sister Tatiana, I assume. Could we trouble you for a Healing Herb, by any chance?" Rean questioned hopefully.

"Hammond from Sorciere told us that we'd be able to procure some here." Emma explained.

"Oh, is that so?" Tatiana asked. "I see. Would you mind waiting a bit while I prepare one for you?"

As the Sister walked off to go and prepare a Healing Herb for them, Naruto chuckled a bit and looked at Rean. "You're lucky Emma explained, otherwise she'd probably have turned you down flat."

Anko giggled at his expense and said, "Yep. Oh well. We've got it taken care of."

Rean sighed and hung his head. "I wasn't thinking. Sorry."

It was at this point that Tatiana returned and approached them again. "Here you go."

Accepting the Healing Herb from the Sister, Naruto bowed his head in thanks to her and said, "We greatly appreciate this, Sister Tatiana. We will deliver this to Hammond at once. I'm sure he will make excellent use of this herb."

Machias frowned in thought for a moment before asking, "This is an ingredient used for making medicine, isn't it?"

"I assume it's safe to use it for food, too?" Anko questioned, just to be sure.

"Of course. It's a very healthy ingredient when used for food. The only issue is that it is very bitter, so some inventiveness on the part of the chef is required to hide that." Tatiana explained.

"I see. Hammond must have some way of doing so, then." Emma said.

Naruto smirked and said, "Have to admit, I'm curious to learn how he does that."

"Likewise." Machias agreed.

Rean chuckled a bit and said, "Same here. Well, thank you again for the help."

Tatiana giggled a bit and said, "You're welcome." Then, when they turned to leave, she looked directly at Naruto and said, "We people are but ephemeral and powerless. However, we must continue to pray on regardless of this. There are many children in Bareahard who are not as fortunate as others. My wish is to provide those children with hope for the future. We of the cathedral carry out charity activities multiple times per month. The tax increases have certainly made things rather difficult here, but I still wish to do what I can for the people. I assume you want the same, Prince Naruto?"

Naruto turned to look her in the eyes and nodded his head. "Of course I do. Depending on how today goes, I might have time available to me to have a chat with the duke. I just hope I can talk some sense into him somehow. As for the children…do what you can for them, Sister. Once I am able, I will do whatever I can for them and the people of the Kreuzen province. I just hope it will be enough."

"Of course, Prince Naruto. You have a good day. May Aidios always watch over you." Tatiana said before watching as they left. Aidios, please continue to watch over that man. He walks a difficult path, but I am sure he can make a real difference in this world.

Sorciere Restaurant

"Hello again. I presume you've collected all the ingredients, then?" Hammond questioned hopefully.

"Yeah, everything's here and accounted for. Here you go." Rean said before handing over five Globby Fat and the Healing Herb.

"Much obliged. Please make your way over to the table. I'll begin preparing the dish immediately." Hammond said.

After the meal

After they had finished their meal, Hammond smiled at them and asked, "How was it? I call this dish Deluxe Herb Chowder."

"It was beyond delicious." Rean said.

"Mmm, I feel a sort of comforting warmth throughout my body after eating it." Emma said with a pleasant smile on her face.

"I wouldn't mind having some of this if I ever catch a cold." Anko said.

"Indeed. I almost feel like a bowl of this might cure it outright." Machias agreed.

"Heh. I'm pleased to hear that." Hammond said with a smile.

"You did mention that this was a rather nostalgic dish. I assume Jusis had it often?" Rean asked.

"That's correct. It was one of his favorite dishes, even. To tell you the truth, the one who created this dish was none other than my sister herself. In other words, Lord Jusis' mother." Hammond explained.

Naruto smiled and nodded his head. "I kind of figured as much. Don't get me wrong, I loved it and I know Jusis does as well, but I got the feeling that someone else invented the dish specifically for Jusis. Nice to hear my hunch was right."

"I assume that would make you his uncle?" Emma questioned, just to make sure.

"Oh, oops. We didn't tell you about that, did we, Emma? I figured Anko already knew, but I forgot that you might not. Sorry, Emma." Rean said apologetically.

Hammond frowned for a moment before saying, "My apologies. I was under the impression that you were all aware."

"I wasn't expecting his mother to be the creator of this dish, though." Machias admitted.

"His mother must have been skilled at cooking if she could think of a dish this delicious." Rean said.

"She was indeed. She would even come by to help out here from time to time. The first time she made this soup was when Lord Jusis fell ill during his younger years. She went to the church to ask for medicinal herbs. After which, she set about inventing a dish that would be both easy for him to digest and enjoyable to eat. Lord Jusis was always at the front of her mind." Hammond explained with a fond smile on his face.

"It really does sound like she cared deeply for him." Emma said.

And yet he lost her eight years ago… Sounds like he hasn't had such an easy life after all. Machias thought with a frown on his face.

Anko smirked as she watched Machias for a moment. "Looks like someone's thinking about dear, Lord Jusis. Missing the love of your life already, Machias?"

Machias groaned and let his head hit the table. "I was not! And stop saying things like that!"

Rean couldn't help it as he began to chuckle. Soon enough, the others joined in as well until poor Machias felt like curling up under a rock and hiding for the rest of his life. When they finally calmed down again, Hammond said, "Ah, I've probably said too much. I was hoping that Lord Jusis would be here to enjoy this too, but…" Shaking his head to rid it of such thoughts, he said, "At any rate, I'm happy that I could talk to you all about this."

"We got to learn a bit more about Jusis, so likewise." Rean said.

Hammond chuckled a bit before saying, "Well! That brings my request to an end. Thank you all for your help. There's plenty of soup left over, so feel free to take it with you." Smiling thankfully at Hammond, they gladly accepted five helpings of Deluxe Herb Chowder to go.

"Oh, thank you, sir." Emma said gratefully.

"This is the least I can do for Lord Jusis' friends. And before I forget, let me teach you the recipe for Creamy Chowder so you can start experimenting with the dish yourselves." Hammond said before accepting the recipe book from Rean and writing down the recipe. Afterwards, he said, "Goodbye, then. I wish you luck with your future endeavors." Then he returned to his work behind the counter.

Deciding to leave the man be, they left Sorciere and proceeded to venture to Station Street in the hopes they could get a move on. It didn't take long for Naruto to notice one of the men from yesterday, a blond fellow named Ricky. Finding it odd that his friend wasn't with him, Naruto ascended the stairs with his team and approached the man. Before he could ask where his friend was, Ricky said, "Man, Anton's taking his time. Feels like ages ago when he said he was going to walk over towards the canyon." Yawning, Ricky rubbed his eyes for a moment before saying, "Man, I sure am tired. Guess I'll take a nap until Anton gets back."

As Ricky began to doze off, Naruto facepalmed and shook his head in disbelief. "Guys, we're going to need to take a slight detour. I want to talk with a few more people here, but then we need to head to Aurochs Fort. I have a feeling I know where this Anton guy is."

Machias blinked and asked, "What makes you think Anton really went all the way to the fort?"

Anko massaged the bridge of her nose and said, "Trust me, if Naruto says he's there, then he's there. Looks like we've got quite the walk ahead of us again. What a pain in the ass."

Rean sweatdropped, but didn't argue with their logic. "Very well. It sounds like Anton might need some help anyways. Might as well go check on him."

Approaching the children from yesterday, who were once more sitting in the shade of a tree near the exit to the North Kreuzen Highway, Naruto greeted Anette and listened as she said, "I planned on reading this book to Raby since it's popular, but… He won't let me read anymore of it because there was a scary part in it." Giggling a bit, she looked up at Naruto and said, "Well, we won't be using it anymore, so perhaps you might like it instead." And with that, she gave Naruto Red Moon Rose – Chapter 5.

Thanking Anette, Naruto bade goodbye to the two children before he led the party out onto the Aurochs Canyon Path. Stretching to loosen himself up, he looked at the others and asked, "Ready to get moving? We've got quite the walk ahead of us."

Machias sighed and nodded his head reluctantly. "If Anton really is all the way over there…I might just hit him."

Anko laughed for a moment before saying, "When we find him, we're probably going to have to escort him back to the city. Let's just hope he doesn't turn out to be a giant pain in the ass. Guess we'll just have to wait and see, though."

Rean nodded and said, "We might as well get a move on. We've still got to kill that Venus Mantrap on the North Kreuzen Highway, after all. Might as well get that done before noon, if we can."

"Sounds good to me. Let's get moving." Naruto said before he began leading the way along the canyon path. For once, I hope I'm wrong and that he's just gotten lost somewhere on the road. But we'll see.

Aurochs Fort

After half an hour of walking and sticking to the main road, they finally reached the fort. As they proceeded forward, they saw a man standing there staring down at the fort. Machias' eyebrow twitched madly and he said, "You were right, Naruto."

The blonde sighed and said, "I usually am. Sadly. Oh well. Let's just get this over with."

As they approached Anton, they heard him talking out loud to himself. "So, this is Aurochs Fort. Er, wait! How did I end up here?!" Sighing heavily, the brunette asked, "Why do these things keep happening to me?"

"Umm… Is something the matter?" Rean asked hesitantly.

Turning around to face them, Anton asked, "You're… You're my messiahs, sent by Aidios to save me, aren't you?"

Rean and the others sweatdropped before he asked, "I'm…not quite sure how you reached that conclusion…"

"Uhh… You don't seem like you're part of the provincial army, are you?" Emma questioned, just to make sure they had the right guy.

Anko frowned as she looked at him and asked, "So why the heck are you all the way out here, anyway?"

"I'm lost. Completely lost! I'll be fine, though. No worries." Anton said.

Once more, there was a collective sweatdrop before Rean said, "That's…a rather positive outlook for someone who's 'completely lost'…"

Machias whispered to the others, "This is Anton, right? Just talking with this man is making my head hurt…"

Anton chuckled a bit and said, "Well, at times like this, it just seems logical to try and stay positive, no matter what. I think I may have reached my limit to that end, however."

"Th-That's…unfortunate…" Rean said awkwardly.

"How did you get here to begin with?" Emma questioned.

Anton smiled brightly at them before saying, "Well, I'll happily tell you, but fair warning: it's a truly moving tale of hardship and woe. I hope you've got some boxes of tissue handy! Shall I begin?"

Naruto sighed and shook his head in disbelief. "I think we'll pass on the sob story, thank you."

"Aww, come on…" Anton whined.

"Umm… Is there a short version?" Rean asked.

Anton sighed again, but said, "Fine. I'll see what I can do. Actually, to tell you the truth, there's really not much to say. I wandered out onto the highway for a bit of a change of pace and happened to spot a rare butterfly, so I chased after it…and suddenly, I found myself halfway along the canyon path, surrounded by monsters! So I ran, barely escaping with my life…and turned up here. The end."

Naruto smirked at his friends and asked, "Anyone need some tissues?"

"Haha. Very funny, Naruto." Machias said.

"I-I see…" Emma said.

"That sounds like quite a predicament." Machias said sympathetically.

Rean looked at his friends and whispered to them, "As weird as this guy is, I don't think we can just leave him here like this, in all good conscience…"

"True. Besides, Ricky's waiting on the guy. Might as well get him back to Bareahard." Naruto said with a shrug of his shoulders.

Looking back at Anton, Rean said, "Umm… If you'd like, we'd be willing to escort you back to Bareahard…"

"R-Really?! You would?! Oh, thank you, thank you! You're such nice people! I wish those nasty provincial army soldiers were more like you!" Anton exclaimed thankfully.

Anko raised a brow quizzically and asked, "Did something happen we should know about?"

"Well, I went over and asked if one of them could escort me back to the city…but they just said that if I made my way here, I could get myself back the same way. Some people are just so coldhearted, aren't they?" Anton explained.

"Guess I shouldn't tell him I was thinking the same thing…" Rean said to his friends as he gave Anton an awkward smile.

"I believe we all were." Machias said.

"It looks as though the Goddess hasn't abandoned me after all, though! Not if She was kind enough to send you my way." Anton said.

All Rean could do was chuckle awkwardly to himself in response. This guy kind of worries me.

"Umm… Should we be going, then?" Emma suggested.

"Of course! Bareahard, here we come!" Anton exclaimed joyfully as he began to follow Class VII back along the Aurochs Canyon Path.

Shortly before reaching the path that led towards the cliff where they fought the Fate Spinner, Anton said, "Hold up, please. I'm sorry, but would you mind giving me a moment?"

Rean smiled at the man and said, "Not a problem at all."

"Are your legs getting tired?" Emma asked.

"Oh, no. That's not it. I was just gazing at the valley beneath this bridge…and I thought this might be a good opportunity to calm myself down a bit." Anton explained.

"What exactly are you planning to do?" Anko questioned curiously.

"You just let me worry about that. It'll only take a moment, I promise! I might make a bit of noise, though, so please don't panic." Anton said.

"I-I see…?" Rean said unsurely.

"What is he planning on doing?" Machias asked.

They then watched as Anton climbed onto the edge of the bridge before saying, "All right, then…" Glancing down below, Anton's eyes widened and he exclaimed, "Wh-Whoa! How far down does this valley go?!" Shaking his head, Anton said, "No, no. I'm not going to let that scare me! Perish the thought!" Taking in a deep breath, he soon glared forward and shouted, "I HATE ANNIVERSARY FESTIVALS!" Then, he released the loudest scream he could to release all of his frustration and anger. "FAREWELL, MY YOUTH!" Once he was done, Anton took another breath in before releasing it slowly. Turning around to face Group A, he smiled pleasantly and said, "Much better. Shall we be off, then?"

"Umm… Did I mishear you when you said you were going to 'calm yourself down'?" Emma questioned.

Naruto sighed and shook his head. "Best not to question it, Emma. I think the best thing we can do right now is just pretend it didn't happen and continue on our way. This whole situation is giving me a headache."

"You have a point." Emma said. "Right. Let's get moving, then!"

Bareahard City

Upon entering the city once more, Anton cheered out, "I made it…I actually made it back alive! Thank you so much for this!"

Rean chuckled a bit before saying, "You're welcome."

"I really have no idea how to make this up to you all." Anton said. Then he noticed his friend, Ricky, sitting outside of the train station. "Oh, if it isn't Ricky! Hey, come and let me introduce you to my good friend Ricky!"

Upon approaching Ricky, the blonde stood up and looked into Anton's eyes with a deadpan expression on his face. "Hey, Anton. You sure took your sweet time."

"You'll never believe what happened to me. But tragic as my story is, I made it back here all thanks to the help of these guys here." Anton said.

Ricky closed his eyes and massaged his forehead tiredly for a moment. "Right…I think I get what happened. Something terrible happened shortly after you left town, at which point these people came along and helped you."

Anton laughed for a moment before saying, "I knew you would understand, old buddy."

The party collectively sweatdropped at the strange interaction. "This Ricky person doesn't seem exactly normal, either." Rean said.

Emma giggled to herself before saying, "They do say that birds of a feather flock together."

"I'm more amazed at the fact that they both seem completely calm despite all that's happened." Machias admitted.

Anko chuckled for a moment before saying, "It is kind of amusing to watch, though."

Both men turned to face Group A at this point. "You guys really are a bunch of good Samaritans, aren't you? Allow me to thank you as well. It takes some real guts to stick with him the whole way." Ricky said.

"You guys really are my saviors. Oh, I know! Let me give you this for all you've done for me. It's really popular over in Crossbell!" Anton exclaimed before handing a stuffed animal known as Napping Mishy to Naruto.

Naruto grinned as he held the stuffed animal. After returning his gaze to Anton, he said, "Thank you, Anton. I know someone who is just going to LOVE this. I really appreciate this."

Emma smiled at the duo and asked, "I assume the both of you are traveling together, then?"

"Did you come from Crossbell?" Anko asked.

"Nah. We're from Liberl." Ricky said. "We were just staying in Crossbell for a while as part of our trip."

"Yeah. We've both been traveling for a few months now. We only got here to Erebonia about a week ago. Now we're planning on making our way to a new destination." Anton explained.

"R-Right…" Machias said.

"So you'll be resuming your journey throughout Erebonia?" Emma asked.

Anton nodded. "Yep! That's the idea. But that's not all! ONE DAY! One day, I will find my true self after all this traveling!"

"Or so he says, but he's almost out of money to actually do any traveling. He'll have to prioritize searching for a job over searching for himself soon." Ricky said.

"W-Well, that's true, but…" Anton said, not quite able to finish his thought.

Once more, the party sweatdropped before Rean whispered to the others, "Are these two actually friends?"

"A-Anyway, thanks so much for all your help." Anton said.

"We'll catch you later." Ricky said.

Taking a moment to think on it, Naruto eventually let out a sigh and reached into his jacket. Unsealing a bag of mira, he got Ricky's attention before depositing the bag into Ricky's hand. "There. That's 10,000 mira. I'm not sure if that will cover the cost of food and lodgings, but I hope it helps. If you need more…"

Ricky blinked in shock before smiling at the kindhearted student. "This is more than enough. Thank you so much. Wait…"

"What is it, Ricky?" Anton asked his friend.

The blonde looked at Naruto's features closely for a moment before chuckling a bit. "I've been hearing about you a lot recently. You're Prince Naruto, aren't you? You're a really nice guy. Thank you so much."

Anton's eyes went wide and he looked at Naruto in awe. "Th-Thank you so much, Prince Naruto! I had no idea! I really owe you more than just my life now, don't I?"

Naruto chuckled a bit and said, "You've already given me more than enough, Anton. This Mishy will make someone I care about very much really happy. She adores things like this. Now, we really must be on our way. You two take care and have a safe journey. I'm looking forward to seeing you both again."

Ricky nodded and said, "Thank you again, Prince Naruto. We won't forget this."

"Yes! You're a really good guy! Just like Princess Klaudia and Prince Olivert!" Anton said with a bright smile on his face.

Pausing, Naruto glanced back at the duo and smiled thankfully at them. "Thank you. That means more to me than you could know. Please, stay safe." And with that, he followed Rean and the others out onto the North Kreuzen Highway. Good people.

As they walked along the highway towards their destination, Rean looked at Naruto and said, "You know, you aren't technically a charity, Naruto. If you keep handing out money willy-nilly like that, people are going to start taking advantage of you. You know that, right?"

Naruto sighed softly again and nodded his head. "I know. It's just…that noble yesterday really ticked me off when he hurt Bengt like that. I had to do something for the poor guy. And those two are foreigners in a strange new land. I'm not sure if they even can find work in Erebonia, all things considered. I could have given them far more money than I did, but I didn't want to make them overly dependent on it. I want them to have the opportunity to find their own way on their journey. I just can't stand by and watch as people suffer and struggle through life. It reminds me far too much of…" Shaking his head, he said, "Never mind. Let's just deal with this monster and turn in the request. Hopefully Jusis will be able to join us for lunch afterwards."

Anko frowned sadly and stepped up next to her beloved. Stopping him, she hugged him tight and said, "It's okay, Naruto. I understand. Are you going to be okay to fight?"

The blonde hugged his girlfriend back and said, "Yeah. Thank you, Anko."

"Good. Let's go." Anko said before she began leading the way again, her mate right beside her.

As they watched this and began to follow their friends again, Emma whispered to her friends, "Just what has he been through in the past to cause this?"

Rean shook his head and said, "I really don't know, Emma. But they're right. We need to focus on removing that monster and then turning in the request."

Machias nodded and said, "Right."

Upon reaching the monster at the bridge, they saw that the Venus Mantrap was indeed a rather big plant-like monster. It also had three heads with large mouths full of razor-sharp teeth. "Well…this should be fun." Naruto said as he stared at the strange creature in awe. "Never seen anything like this beastie before."

Anko nodded and said, "It's certainly ugly. It looks just as strong as yesterday's monster. I doubt we'll have any problems, but still…"

Emma nodded and said, "That means we'll really need to be careful, considering Jusis isn't with us today."

Machias looked at Rean and Naruto for a moment before saying, "Rean. Naruto. I'm ashamed of what happened yesterday." Focusing on Rean this time, he said, "I know we've had our share of differences, but…well…I…"

Emma giggled quietly to herself as she watched the vice president of Class VII struggling to say the words he desperately wanted to say. Anko, on the other hand, simply smirked and whispered to Naruto, "Aww. He's embarrassed. So cuuuute."

Naruto snickered a bit and said, "It is kind of funny."

Machias sighed and shot a quick glare at the three of them. May not hear what those two are saying to each other, but I just know they're making fun of me.

Rean looked at Naruto for a moment before focusing on Machias again. "If not for Naruto, I would have caused my share of problems for the group, too. If he hadn't done what he did, I'd have been injured far worse, most likely. I never wanted to cause anyone any worry. I just…wasn't thinking about what could happen."

When all eyes turned on him, Naruto rubbed the back of his head for a moment and said, "Yeah, I'm sorry, too. Didn't mean to worry you guys so much."

Rean shook his head and chuckled a bit before turning his attention to Machias again. "Hopefully, by giving this fight everything we've got, we can make up for this whole mess. Together. We're counting on you, Machias."

"I won't let you down!" Machias proclaimed. And with their resolve strengthened, the party confronted the monster and began a fierce battle with the large creature.

While Rean and Machias formed a combat link together, Anko and Emma did the same. This left Naruto without a link, but they honestly weren't worried about that. It had a number of Mantraps with it as allies, but they fell fast to Naruto's shadow clones. Then, as they fought the large creature, they had to be incredibly careful of not just its snapping attacks with its three gaping mouths, but it was also attempting to cast arts and even spit some kind of acid at them. It wasn't the easiest fight ever, but the five of them worked together well, and Naruto made liberal use of his shadow clones to protect the others from any truly dangerous attacks. Then, at one point during the battle, when the creature began to try and cast an art again, Naruto unleashed his craft, still without a name, and not only canceled the monster's art, but ripped off two of its three heads as well. Afterwards, Rean and Machias worked together to finish it off.

"W-We won!" Machias exclaimed excitedly.

"We sure did. And in doing so, I believe we've successfully redeemed ourselves for yesterday." Rean said, smiling at his friend.

"Good work, everyone!" Emma exclaimed.

Anko smirked as she holstered her weapons. "No problem! Good job, guys."

Machias chuckled in relief for a moment before saying, "I-I'm sorry, everyone. I've been dragging you all down. Especially you, Rean. I owe you double the apology. I'm sorry! Please forgive me!"

When the green-haired teen bowed to him at the waist, Rean chuckled nervously before saying, "It's all right, Machias. Don't worry about it! If I'd just answered you honestly from the start, all of this could have been avoided. So if anything, I should be the one apologizing. I'm sorry for misleading you."

"No, no…" Machias tried to protest, only for Rean to speak up again.

"Anyway, it's all in the past now. I'm glad to have you in our group, Machias."

"The same to you!" Machias exclaimed with a smile on his face.

"Heh. And I'm glad the two of you were finally able to make up!" Emma said happily.

Anko smirked and said, "Ah, youth. How wonderful a thing it is."

Naruto snickered a bit and nudged his mate. "Your youth has been restored too, y'know? But I get what you mean. It's so cuuute." He teased.

"Hey, don't make fun of us!" Machias protested.

Rean chuckled a bit before saying, "So, as long as we're on a roll here…why not use this chance to make up with Jusis, too?"

"What?!" Machias questioned in shock.

"If you could just be more honest with one another, I'm sure even combat links wouldn't be out of the—" Rean tried to say, only for Machias to interrupt him.

"Not a chance! My behavior toward you was wrong, and I fully admit that. But Jusis is a whole different story! He and I are fundamentally incompatible, and nothing any of you do can change that!"

Emma giggled awkwardly for a moment, not quite sure what to say in response to that. Anko and Naruto, on the other hand, simply sighed in exasperation. They're never going to change. They thought as one.

I guess getting those two to accept one another is still a long ways off… Rean thought to himself before shaking his head. "Umm… Well, we should probably head back to town, don't you think?"

"Yes, that sounds like a good idea. Jusis should be back soon too." Emma said.

Anko stretched out and said, "Despite the fact we had that soup earlier, I'm kinda hungry. I'm looking forward to getting something yummy to eat."

"H-Hmph… Fine. Let's go." Machias said before turning and beginning to lead the party back towards Bareahard.

Sadly, upon entering the city a few minutes later, they paused when they heard someone shout, "Hold it right there!"

When two provincial army soldiers ran up to them, Naruto narrowed his eyes and thought, Oh boy. This can't be good.

"The provincial army?" Machias questioned, not quite sure what they could possibly want with them.

"You're those students from Thors Military Academy, aren't you?" the first soldier questioned.

"The ones who've come for a 'field study'?" the second one asked, just to be sure.

"Yes, that's us…" Rean confirmed, not quite sure what was going on.

"Is there some kind of problem?" Emma questioned.

It was at this point that the soldiers focused their gazes on Machias. "He's a perfect match for the photo."

"How convenient for us." The second one said.

Naruto narrowed his eyes at the soldiers and moved Machias behind him. It was at this point that the first soldier turned and blew into a whistle to signal his comrades.

"Wh-What are you doing?!" Machias questioned in shock.

The soldiers then focused on Machias again before saying, "First-year student Machias Regnitz, correct?"

"You're under arrest. Don't try to resist, if you know what's good for you." The first soldier said. Then, the soldiers focused their attention on the prince and said, "Please move out of the way, Prince Naruto. We have our orders."

"Under what charges are you planning to arrest my friend?" Naruto demanded to know.

Machias was stumbling over his words, unable to even ask what the hell was going on now. When he felt Anko's hand on his shoulder, he turned to look at her, only to see her shaking her head at him. Frowning in confusion, he then heard Emma shout, "What's going on?!"

"Wait!" Rean shouted. "This has to be some kind of mistake! I would like to know why you're trying to arrest him, as well. So?"

Never turning their gaze away from the prince, the first soldier said, "A number of charges have been filed. But the most egregious is an accusation of trespassing into Aurochs Fort yesterday afternoon."

"W-Wait, do you mean…?" Emma tried to ask, only for her confusion to prevent her from finishing her question.

"You're talking about that silver thing that flew away from the fort, aren't you? This is bullshit and you know it! We're here on a damn field study! One of our requests took us out that way!" Anko said angrily.

"Y-You can't be serious!" Machias shouted in disbelief. "I-I was NEAR the fort at the time the intrusion occurred, certainly…but I was there with my classmates! If you aren't going to believe their testimony, then why am I the only one under suspicion?!"

"Every one of us here can vouch for him." Rean confirmed.

"And not just us—Jusis Albarea was with us at the time, and can personally verify that what Machias is saying is true." Emma stated.

"Hmph. You'll have to do better than that." Another soldier said as a number of soldiers quickly surrounded the party.

Without a word, Naruto formed a hand seal that was familiar to his friends and summoned six shadow clones to surround and protect his teammates. Narrowing his eyes at the first soldier to speak to them, he said, "They're not going to listen. This is because Machias is Governor Carl Regnitz's son. This is an attempt to get to him. This has nothing to do with Machias himself." The others' eyes widened at the sudden revelation. However, Naruto continued speaking. "This is Duke Albarea's attempt to strong arm the governor into backing down if he wants to protect his son's life."

When the soldiers went to speak, Naruto suddenly appeared in front of the first one with a kunai poised mere inches from the man's left eye. "I am Prince Naruto Uzumaki, here on a mission of peace between my kingdom and the Empire of Erebonia. I am scheduled to meet with the royal family in a couple of days to discuss matters of vital importance. Under my authority, I demand that you cease this foolishness and return to your posts. If you refuse to do as I have said, then I WILL be taking this matter up with Duke Albarea. I will not tolerate the duke's foolishness, nor will I let this farce continue. Now, I am going to give you to the count of three to back off and leave us in peace. Should you refuse, I will take action. Do you understand me?"

The soldier he was threatening began to sweat nervously and suddenly found it very hard to try and say anything. So instead, the second soldier said, "You may be right, Prince Naruto, but we are simply acting under the duke's orders. We received these orders earlier this morning. It is not our duty to question them, but to enforce his will. B-Besides, Duke Albarea informed us that you might say something like this, but we were also informed that you have no real authority over us. We are to follow his orders over yours. I-I'm sorry, Prince Naruto. Please try to understand!"

Before Naruto could say or do anything more, he heard Machias say, "I-It's okay, Naruto. I'll go with them. Just…promise me that you'll figure out some way to set me free. My life is in your hands, Naruto."

Naruto frowned deeply and slipped away his kunai. "I promise, Machias. You won't be locked up for very long. One way or another, we're dealing with this."

The soldier he had been threatening breathed a sigh of relief, only to suddenly feel all the air leaving his lungs. When he was sent flying down the street before finally hitting the ground, he wasn't sure what the hell had just happened.

Meanwhile, the other soldiers stared at Naruto in horror. When he turned to stare at them, he said, "I can do the same to the rest of you if you continue to test my patience. Now do your jobs and get lost. Just looking at you is pissing me off."

Once Naruto dispelled his shadow clones, the soldiers gulped nervously before quickly taking Machias and marching him off. Once they were gone, Naruto clenched and unclenched his fists repeatedly for a time as he tried to rein in his temper. Those damn assholes! Duke Albarea, you WILL pay for this!

It was at this point that Naruto and Anko heard a young man's voice say, "Oh, man… Looks like she was right on the mark. Glad I came here from Legram for this. But the question is, what's the best way to handle this situation?"

Turning their gazes on the man, they saw he was a blond who had a long, white coat draped over his back. Frowning for a moment, they watched in silence as the man walked off to do who knows what. That man… Naruto thought to himself before quickly shaking the thought off.

"You really don't hesitate to beat the shit out of these kinds of people, do you?" Anko asked with a giggle.

Emma blinked a couple of times before saying, "One punch… Wow." Shaking it off, she looked at Naruto worriedly and asked, "Is that smart, though?"

Naruto shook his head and said, "Maybe not, but if it gets my point across, then whatever. Let's go have a chat with the captain at the guardhouse. Then we should go inform Richelieu that we've slain the monster. Then we need to figure out what the hell to do. I could go and have a chat with Duke Albarea, but I doubt he'll actually listen to me. No, I'll deal with him later. Come on."

Rean frowned for a moment before nodding in agreement. We're trusting you, Naruto. I know you'll help us set Machias free.

Provincial Army Guardhouse

"As I keep telling you, Machias couldn't possibly have committed the crimes he's accused of! He's been with us ever since we arrived in Bareahard yesterday afternoon! He's never left our sight!" Rean tried to explain.

"Umm… So if you really believe he was responsible, shouldn't you be arresting us as well?" Emma asked.

"You're wasting your breath. Machias Regnitz will be kept in our custody until he's been cleared of all charges against him. We've already contacted the academy to inform them of this. You kids should just focus on your field study or whatever it is you're here for, and let due process take its course." The officer said. Then, looking directly at Naruto, he said, "Besides, we cannot arrest Prince Naruto. He is a foreign dignitary here on a goodwill mission. It would not look good on our part, nor the duke's, if we were to arrest him."

Naruto sighed and shook his head. "So, you won't even listen to my words when I say that Machias had nothing to do with any of the things you're accusing him of? Officer, you know that this is a sham. You know that Machias Regnitz did none of those things. Are you really so afraid of going against one of Duke Albarea's orders to do the right thing? You have to know that this is wrong!"

The Provincial Army Officer frowned and shook his head. "I am sorry, Prince Naruto. But the duke's orders are absolute. We cannot go against him."

"Tch. Doesn't that just figure?" Anko said, clearly displeased with these assholes.

"I should also mention that Jusis' business at the duke's estate will take longer than expected to complete. I'm afraid he'll be unable to rejoin you." The officer explained.

"Th-That…can't…" Emma tried to say, but she couldn't find the words.

"So I was right." Naruto said. "Did Jusis tell you this himself? Or was it Duke Albarea?"

The officer shook his head and said, "I couldn't tell you. I'm just relaying the message given to me by the Albarea household." Then, looking at Naruto, he said, "And I'm sorry, Prince Naruto, but meeting with Duke Albarea at the moment is currently impossible. He is a very busy man and we were informed that nobody was to be allowed in to see him. Not even you, I'm afraid."

"I see. Then I'll just have to pay him a visit later. We'll get out of your hair now, Officer." Naruto said before leading the rest of Group A away.

Once they were away from the guardhouse, Rean scowled and shook his head. "I think you're right, Naruto. They've had this whole thing planned out since yesterday. Which means the reason Jusis got called away…"

"is because they knew that if he were here, he may have been able to prevent Machias' arrest. I assume that's what you were going to say, anyway." Emma concluded.

Anko nodded and said, "It makes the most sense, considering the situation we've found ourselves in. They were just looking for any excuse to pull this stunt of theirs. Naruto's right, Jusis was called away to prevent him from interfering. And I'm willing to bet that's the reason he tried to summon you to the mansion as well. And when that failed, he made sure to inform the soldiers that you have no real authority here. Dammit."

Rean nodded and said, "Indeed. Anyways, it's past noon already. We should head back to the hotel. If Jusis hasn't left a message for us, we're going to need to start thinking about…other ways to handle this."

"Agreed." Naruto said before they ventured off to return to the hotel.

Sadly, as they walked through the doors, they immediately spotted soldiers standing outside the boys' room. Scowling at this, Naruto approached Richelieu and asked, "What the hell is going on here, Richelieu? What do they want with our belongings?"

The general manager bowed to Naruto apologetically and said, "I-I'm terribly sorry, Prince Naruto. They insisted on conducting a precautionary search as part of their investigation. I believe they'll be leaving by this evening, but I'm afraid that's all I know."

Naruto scowled and said, "They're planting evidence to support their case against Machias. Likely on the Duke's orders. Typical."

"I-I see…" Emma said.

They watched as one of the soldiers walked over to the railing on the second floor and peered down at them. Glaring hard into the man's eyes, Naruto suddenly hit the soldier with a small sample of his killing intent. When the soldier collapsed seconds later, the others quickly hurried to their comrade's side.

Deciding not to question it, Rean looked into Richelieu's eyes and said, "We're very sorry for the trouble. I think we should go."

When Naruto went to take a step towards the stairs, Anko grabbed his hand and shook her head at him. "Rean's right, Naruto. We need to go."

Naruto sighed and nodded reluctantly. Emma spoke up at this point. "Yes, I agree."

"Before you go, please take this. It's your reward for slaying that monster." Richelieu said before handing over an Earth Bell quartz.

Thanking the man, they left the hotel and prepared to head across the street to the Sorciere restaurant in the hopes they could get something to eat. However, soldiers were there as well, so they decided not to bother. So, remembering the bar they visited yesterday on Artisans' Street that served the amazing espresso, they decided to go there and plan their next move if they could. After ordering a meal for themselves and some of the espresso, they began to discuss their current situation.

"So, as we've already concluded, the reason Machias was arrested has nothing to do with the incident at the fort yesterday. They just wanted him because his father is the Imperial governor and a key figure in the Reformist Faction. Basically, they wanted a hostage so they could have an advantage in future negotiations." Rean surmised.

"That does seem to be the most plausible explanation. Th-They wouldn't hurt him or anything, though, would they?" Emma asked worriedly.

Anko shook her head and said, "I wouldn't be so sure about that, Emma. Tensions are high on both sides, and they aren't above doing whatever it takes to get their way. Worst case scenario, they might use the threat of violence to get what they want."

"That's awful…" Emma said sadly.

"This may well fall under the scope of our field study, though. It may be risky…but how about we try to do something about this situation ourselves?" Rean suggested. Then, looking at Naruto, he said, "If they refuse to listen to our prince, and we can't get in to see Duke Albarea at the moment, then we need to find an alternative."

"I think we should. We can't just abandon him." Emma agreed.

"Of course we're in." Anko said as she smiled at her mate.

"Thank you. All of you." Rean said gratefully. "I think our best bet here is to track down Jusis. There's no way he could possibly have been in favor of arresting Machias."

"Yes, I agree. This had to have been a decision made by Duke Albarea himself." Emma stated.

"Unfortunately, Jusis is locked up in that damn mansion right now." Naruto said. "If we could get in touch with Rufus, I'd say we make use of him, but he's currently away on business. So that's not likely to help us."

"Although, he did have a pleasant demeanor when speaking with Machias yesterday, so he just might help us. If he does return soon, we might be able to request his help with this." Rean said. "Sadly, I don't see that working out for us right now."

Anko nodded her head in agreement. "Right. Seems like the only option left to us is to break Machias out of jail ourselves. We can do that easily."

Rean and Emma sweatdropped before the latter asked, "A-Anko…?"

"That's a little…excessive, don't you think?" Rean stated unsurely.

Naruto shook his head and said, "Think about it, you two. If we don't act quickly, there's no telling what could happen to Machias. And if they take him to Aurochs Fort, then we lose our best chance at breaking him free. Now that I think on it, though…"

Rean frowned in confusion before turning to Naruto. "What's on your mind, Naruto?"

The blonde frowned for a moment before saying, "Remember those underground waterways Kenneth told us about? I can't help but wonder if one of those would take us right underneath the guardhouse."

Rean nodded in understanding and said, "You might just be right about that. I think it's worth a shot."

Emma frowned for a moment and said, "This has to be a covert operation. If we get caught, it has to be after Machias is out safely. If it's before that, there's no way we can talk our way out of this. Not even with the prince's help. But the charges against him are obviously false, so if we can get him out safely, they'll be very limited in what they can do to retaliate."

"Yeah…and the provincial army isn't going to want to do anything that will hurt their image, either. If we can mange to get out of Bareahard, we're more or less home free." Rean said optimistically.

"So nothing big and flashy then. Got it." Anko said with a grin. They knew she was just teasing them a bit, but they still couldn't help but chuckle awkwardly.

Naruto frowned and rubbed his chin for a moment. "I think our current problem is the fact that we don't know how to enter the underground waterway, or even which one would lead us to where we need to go."

It was at this point that Naruto and Anko heard a familiar voice. "Hey, Master?" Glancing over their shoulders, they saw the same blond man from earlier talking to the owner. "What're the monsters in the underground waterway like these days?"

"Been three months or so since you last went down there, huh?" Giolamo asked. "Guessing the place is probably crawling with them again by now. Though I'm sure not going down to check! And it seems pretty obvious that the provincial army's got no interest in taking care of them."

The blond man shook his head and said, "How can they even sleep at night knowing their beautiful city's got nasty monsters crawling around underneath it? I'd go take care of 'em myself if someone put a request in…"

The owner chuckled and said, "Well, if I hear anything of the sort, I'll send a message over to Legram and let you know. Sure it'd make you some good scratch."

"Cheers to that, Master. All right, I'd better get going. Looking forward to dropping by for another of your espressos sometime." The man replied.

So that's your deal. You're a bracer. I wonder… Naruto thought to himself with a wicked grin on his face.

"Sure. I'll see you on the way back if you can make it." Giolamo said.

As the blond man walked towards the door, he suddenly paused and looked towards Class VII. "Huh. Don't see many people dressed like that around here. Those are some fancy red uniforms. You guys students or something?"

"Oh, yes, sir. We are. We're from Thors Military Academy in Trista." Emma explained.

"We were sent here for a field study as part of our curriculum." Rean finished explaining to the man.

"Thors, huh? Pretty fancy place, ain't it? I've got no idea what they've got you doin' for your field study, but good luck. Bareahard's a pretty nice city, but it's not without its fair share of problems." The man said.

As the obvious bracer went to leave, Naruto spoke up. "Excuse me, Mr. Bracer, but I've got a suggestion. How about you let us take care of the monsters down there? We've got some business down in the waterway anyway, so we might as well handle it for you. Just tell us where the entrance is and we'll leave you alone."

The man chuckled a bit and said, "You really are as perceptive as they say you are, aren't you, Prince Naruto? Yeah, the entrance you're looking for is at Station Street, down some stairs across from the shopping mall. I'd be careful down there, though. Never know just what you'll find down there. And good luck. You're gonna need it."

Naruto grinned and said, "Thank you, Mr. Bracer. You have a good day."

"You as well, kiddos. I'll be rootin' for ya." The blond man said before leaving the bar.

Rean and Emma stared at Naruto with wide eyes. When they went to ask him a question, Anko spoke up. "Don't ask. We ninjas pick up on things like that pretty easily. Naruto especially. It was obvious as can be that that guy's a bracer. I'm not as familiar with them as you guys probably are, but even I could tell that much."

Rean nodded in acceptance before he led the group over to the counter. "Sir, can you tell us more about that man, please?"

"Oh, Toval?" Giolamo asked. "Sure. It's just as your friend said. Toval's a bracer, and a good one at that."

Rean nodded and said, "I haven't seen a bracer in a long time. Probably because there just aren't that many around anymore…"

The owner nodded and said, "Yeah. There used to be a guild branch here in Bareahard…but it's been closed for a couple years now. Toval just comes up by train from the Legram branch every so often."

"Really?" Emma asked.

Rean brought a hand to his chin and thought it over for a time. "We're going to need to thank him if we see him again. Without him, I don't think we'd have had much luck."

Giolamo nodded and said, "So I could tell. Not sure what you want down in the old waterway, but when the guild still had a branch here, the bracers would clear 'em out. But nowadays, nobody goes near it, and the waterway's just sort of stagnating under the provincial army's control. Because they're too proud to trouble themselves with fighting monsters, of course."

"How much ground does the waterway cover exactly?" Anko questioned, hoping to get a bit more information.

"Supposedly all the way from the east side of the city to the west. So…from the station to somewhere under the Noble District, I'd guess. Heard a rumor a while back that it even goes under the duke's mansion, but that's probably just one of those urban legends." Giolamo explained.

"Thank you for the information. We'll be sure to put it to good use." Naruto said with a feral grin on his face. Duke Albarea, I do believe I've found the perfect way to sneak in and have that 'chat' with you.

Once they left the establishment, they paused in the street before Anko said, "That was rather convenient timing. What do you think, Naruto?"

Naruto smirked and said, "If I had to guess, I'd say Instructor Sara probably contacted him to help us out, just in case we needed it. She used to be a bracer herself, after all. The famed Purple Lightning." When Rean and Emma turned to look at him again, the blonde smirked and said, "I used to be with Zephyr, remember? Not hard to get information like that."

Rean sighed and nodded his head. "Of course. I think we just need to accept that you know a lot about a lot of things and leave it at that for the time being." Chuckling a bit, he then looked around at his teammates before saying, "An underground waterway built in the Middle Ages that extends all the way to the Noble District… It's almost too perfect. Seems likely it's connected to the provincial army's guardhouse where Machias is being held, too."

"The guardhouse itself was probably built in the Middle Ages, too, so that would stand to reason. If we use the waterway, we may be able to rescue him without being discovered." Emma stated.

"All right. Let's give it a shot. We just need to find the entrance Toval told us about and let ourselves in." Rean said.

Emma nodded in agreement and said, "It's bound to be dangerous down there, but with the four of us, we should be able to handle anything that we come across. I just hope we really can get into the guardhouse from down there."

"Only one way to find out. Let's make our way to Station Street and enter the waterway. It might be a bit of a walk once we're down there, but we need to hurry. We promised Machias that we'd find a way to free him." Anko said.

"Yep. Just hang on, Machias." Naruto said before they began their walk to Station Street.

Station Street

Upon finding the stairs leading down in Station Street, they proceeded down them and along the small walkway to the door leading inside. "Could this be the entrance to the underground waterway?" Emma asked.

Naruto nodded and said, "Yep. I can feel a slight breeze from inside. Seems like it's pretty spacious down there. This is definitely the right place."

"Good. Now we just need a way to unlock it…" Rean said. Then, glancing up at the bridge overhead, he frowned and thought, Probably not a good idea to draw my sword in the middle of a city…

Before Naruto or Anko could say anything, Emma asked, "May I have a try?"

Rean and the others frowned in confusion before watching Emma pull out a hairpin and approach the door. "A hairpin?" Rean asked.

Naruto smirked as he realized exactly what Emma was doing. Looking at his girlfriend, he saw that she realized it as well. The hairpin is a ruse. She's doing something else.

Emma giggled nervously before saying, "I have no idea if it'll actually work, but it's worth a shot, right?" Then, quietly so that Rean couldn't hear, she whispered, "Aperio." ('Open.')

When they heard a click, signifying that the door was now open, Rean's eyes widened and he said, "Whoa. That was really impressive!"

Giggling to herself again, Emma said, "I remembered reading how to do it in a mystery novel once. I'm so glad it actually worked!" Glancing at Naruto and his mate, she saw the two of them smiling supportively at her. Nodding her head, she mouthed, "Thanks." to them before returning her attention to Rean.

"Nice job, Emma. We should be able to get inside now. Let's get all our things in order, then head on in and pray no one sees us." Rean said.

"Roger that." Anko said before walking up to Emma and whispering, "That's a pretty neat trick you just pulled there, Emma. Color me impressed."

Emma giggled a bit and said, "Thank you, Anko. I promise, I'll tell all of you about it later sometime. I'm…not ready to yet."

Naruto patted her atop the head and said, "It's fine, Emma. We understand. Take all the time you need."

Emma simply smiled thankfully at Naruto before she turned to Rean and said, "That sounds good to me, Rean."

Upon ensuring that they were all set, Naruto pushed open the door and led the party inside. Walking down the stairs directly in front of them, they proceeded out into the open area and marveled at not only the sheer size of the underground waterway, but its beauty as well. "This waterway is actually quite pretty. I was expecting the 'Verdant City' to be beautiful, but it never dawned on me the same might be true of its underground." Emma said.

"Don't forget that there's some nasty little monsters down here, too, though. We need to be careful." Anko said.

Rean turned to face them and said, "We need to head west, to the part of the waterway that connects with the provincial army's guardhouse. Once we're there, we have to find a way inside so we can rescue Machias."

"Right!" Emma agreed.

"Of course." Naruto said. Afterwards, they chanced a glance at the gate preventing their passage into the next area. So, realizing that there was only one way to go, they turned to the right and began proceeding along the path.

As they followed along, they slew a number of monsters and circled around to the other side of the room. Once on this side, they opened a nearby treasure chest for a Zeram Powder before continuing along the path. It didn't take them more than a matter of seconds to approach a contraption nearby that had a lever in front of it. Pulling the lever, they watched as the contraption went to work and the gate that was barring their path lifted up, granting them passage into the next section of the underground waterway.

"Heh. That's just the kind of thing I'd expect from an old ruin like this." Anko said.

"Do you think it's powered by the water flowing through here?" Emma pondered.

"Might be. We don't have time to dwell on it right now, though. I'd love to see how it works, but…" Naruto said with a frown. Shaking it off, he returned to the entrance with the others and made use of the orbment charging station before proceeding with his team into the next area.

Seeing that the small path to the right led nowhere, they took a left and continued to follow the linear path. After slaying a few more monsters, they proceeded into a wide open area and paused. "I sense someone approaching." Naruto said.

"I certainly didn't expect to encounter the four of you down here." Jusis said as he approached them.

"Wha…?" Rean asked as he stared at his friend.

Anko chuckled a bit and said, "Heya, Jusis. Welcome to the party!"

"Jusis!" Rean exclaimed happily.

"I'm so glad you're safe!" Emma said. She was relieved that her friend was still well.

"Hmph. Of course I am. Though, I can't say I was expecting to be placed under house arrest the moment I returned to the mansion." Jusis stated irritably.

"So that's what happened…" Rean said.

"So, I assume you know what's going on?" Anko asked, just to make sure.

"Unfortunately. Arresting the Imperial governor's son under a false charge in order to keep the Reformist Faction under control…I find it hard to believe my father would attempt something so brazen. He didn't have any intention of talking to me. Not the slightest inclination. This was all planned from the start. It's a good thing you didn't come with me, Naruto. He would've attempted to contain you as well." Jusis explained.

"I kind of figured. And unfortunately, I can't use my influence to convince them to release Machias. So breaking him out is really our only option." Naruto said. "I'm going to be paying a visit to your father once this is all over, Jusis. I won't hurt him. We're just going to have a nice, long talk. And if he's smart, he'll listen to me and take my advice. As much as I dislike the bastard, he is still your father. I would rather try to settle this diplomatically if at all possible. And if he refuses to listen…" Shaking his head, Naruto said, "Hopefully I can convince the emperor to handle this matter then."

Before Jusis could reply, Emma said his name sadly. Shaking his head, he said, "Enough about me. Thanks to my brother, I'm familiar with the general layout of this waterway. I'll lead us to the guardhouse. Let's get moving."

"You're…actually…?" Rean started to ask.

"You were planning on saving him even if you had to do it alone, weren't you?" Emma asked, a soft smile on her face.

Anko smirked and said, "Look at that. Nothing like last month's field study."

"Hmph. Don't get the wrong idea. I just can't condone my father's actions. Besides, he's no doubt huddled up, crying and lonely in the corner of his cell right now. It's worth rescuing him just to see that." Jusis said.

Emma simply giggled knowingly to herself. Anko was smirking at him, and Naruto was simply shaking his head in amusement.

"All right, let's get moving!" Rean said.

"Before that…" Jusis said before looking hard at Naruto. "Do you really think the emperor would listen to you? You may have influence, but I can't imagine the emperor getting involved in the duke's business like that. Maybe if you were a part of the royal family, you could intervene somehow, but Emperor Eugent has his duties and his position to think about. I'm sure that's why Prince Olivert hasn't taken action as well."

Naruto shook his head and said, "At this point, I'm honestly not sure. I'm hoping that my meeting with them goes well. I'd love to have them as allies. It would certainly help."

Jusis nodded in understanding before saying, "For what it's worth, I hope it goes well, too. Anyways, we need to get moving. Come on. The entrance to the guardhouse is to the west. We should hurry."

"Wait. Before we proceed any further towards the guardhouse, I want to check something down the path you came from. Please." Naruto requested.

Jusis frowned in confusion, but nodded his head. "All right, Naruto. If you insist."

"Thank you." Naruto said before he began leading the party along the north path, where Jusis had come from. As they came across a small path leading to a door, Naruto asked, "Is that where you came from? Does it lead to the mansion?"

Jusis frowned further and nodded his head in confirmation. "It does. Just what are you planning, Naruto?"

"At the moment? Nothing. Later though? Just leave that to me." Naruto said before he turned and began leading them along the path once again.

As they followed him, Rean and Emma looked at one another and frowned in confusion and worry. "He's planning something big. I hope he knows what he's doing." Rean said.

"Same here. I don't want anything bad to happen to him for opposing the duke." Emma whispered back.

Passing by a ladder leading up, they went to the dead end and killed a few Ice Dromes before opening the chest for a La Crest quartz. Giving it to Rean to equip, they returned to the ladder and proceeded to climb it. "I wonder where this goes." Anko said curiously. Afterwards, they ascended some stairs and exited the waterway.

Upon realizing where they were, Naruto glanced to the right and saw the red treasure chest they couldn't reach before. Walking to it, he opened it and retrieved its contents: a Teara quartz. Giving it to Emma, they proceeded to reenter the waterway and made their way back to the large, open area where they had reunited with Jusis. "Okay, now that we're back, let's get moving." Rean said.

As they walked along, they noticed a really long ladder to their left that led up to a raised platform. Sighing, Naruto led the way to it and began to climb the ladder. Best that we go first. I highly doubt the girls would appreciate us looking up their skirts.

About halfway up the ladder, they heard Emma panting. "Why is this ladder so long?"

Anko chuckled a bit and said, "I know how you feel. Kind of hard to climb ladders when you've got breasts as big as ours, huh, Emma?"

"A-Anko…!" Emma exclaimed in embarrassment.

While Rean and Jusis blushed in embarrassment once they reached the top of the ladder, Naruto shook his head in amusement. Never change, Anko.

Once everyone was up top, they turned to see a trapped treasure chest. Sighing aggravatedly, Naruto said, "Here goes nothing. Going to be kind of cramped up here, but we might as well do this and see what's in there." And with that, he opened the chest, springing the ambush.

Once the trap was sprung, eight Platinum Bugs surrounded them and went on the attack. They were outnumbered, but that didn't matter to the five of them. So, working together and making excellent use of their combat links, they slew the eight bug monsters before collecting their reward: an Invigorate quartz. This particular fire quartz allowed the user to cast the Impassion art. But, its main draw was the fact that, for whoever equipped it, with every attack they made against the enemy, it would restore their stamina a bit and put them closer to being able to use their S-Craft: their ultimate techniques.

At this point, they began to descend the ladder, though Naruto made extra sure not to look up as Emma and Anko were following immediately after him. Must not look up. Must not look up! Once they had reached the bottom, they continued along the path leading to the guardhouse. Normally, I would have denied being a pervert, but these days? I kind of am. Then again, everyone is on some level, I suppose. Naruto admitted to himself.

At the next fork, they glanced to the right and saw a treasure chest at the end of the path. So, venturing over to it, they collected the Celestial Balm that was inside before returning to the main path and continuing on their way.

Once they entered the next section of the waterway, they walked forward and frowned as they saw another large, lattice door blocking their way. "There's another lattice door…" Rean mumbled.

"There should be a mechanism to open it somewhere nearby." Jusis stated before they glanced at both paths available to them. Shrugging, he pointed down the left path and said, "Let's look in that direction first. If it's not down that path, we know which way to go then."

At the end of their chosen path, they fought a couple of Ice Dromes and a Platinum Bug before coming across a lone treasure chest that contained an EP Charge II item. Pocketing it, they returned to the lattice door and proceeded down the correct path. Upon reaching another fork in the road, Naruto ascended the ladder directly in front of them and collected a Silver Thorn quartz from within another red treasure chest. Afterwards, he hopped down and glanced down the two available paths. "Hmm…" With a shrug, he led them along the north path.

After killing a few more monsters in their way, they opened the chest at the dead end for a Curia Balm. Finally, they proceeded down the other path and flipped the lever at the end. When the lattice door lifted, they grinned to themselves before they began making their way back towards the now open passageway.

When they hit another fork, they proceeded forward to another large ladder leading up. Proceeding to climb up it, they opened the chest at the end of the path for a Cast 1 quartz. Then, Naruto said, "Why don't you head down first, Rean? The girls will follow and Jusis and I will bring up the rear. Sound good?" Inside of his head though, he was snickering to himself. I want to see what happens if you look up. Just for giggles.

As they were climbing back down the ladder, Emma breathed out an exhausted sigh and said, "I'm exhausted…"

Anko smirked down at her and said, "Like I said, big chests will take it out of you."

Rean glanced up to reprimand her, only to blush as he ended up looking straight up Emma's skirt. Quickly looking back down, he said, "Okay, Anko, that's enough of that."

Jusis shook his head and said, "Honestly."

Naruto smirked down at Anko, who flashed him a peace sign as she reached the bottom of the ladder where Emma and Rean were now waiting. Now to watch the fallout.

When Emma saw the small blush on Rean's face, she went wide-eyed before shouting, "Rean! You…did…did you peek up my skirt?!"

The black-haired noble blushed worse and shook his head. "It wasn't on purpose! I got distracted and wasn't thinking and I…"

Emma's face erupted in a blush and she said, "You…" Sighing heavily, she shook her head and said, "Let's just go. We still have to rescue Machias. But we ARE talking about this later, Rean!"

"Yes, Ma'am." Rean said dejectedly.

Naruto chuckled a bit and patted Rean on the shoulder. "Tough luck, Rean. Sounds like you're really in for it later, huh?"

It was at this point that Rean's eyes widened in realization. Looking accusingly at Naruto, he said, "You planned this! Why?"

The whiskered teen patted Rean on the head and said, "I couldn't resist a bit of fun. Sorry, Rean. She is right though; we need to save Machias. You can lecture me later."

Rean hung his head and said, "You're evil sometimes, Naruto."

As they reached the path leading up into the guardhouse, Jusis was shocked. "A-A door…?!"

"It looks to be made of iron, but…" Emma said as she stared at the door.

Anko frowned and said, "There's no keyhole. Looks like it can only be opened from the other side."

"Could this be the path that leads to the guardhouse?" Rean asked, just to be sure.

"It is, indeed. This path connects the waterway with the building's lower levels. I had no idea the door between the two areas could only be opened from the inside, however." Jusis said.

"H-How are we supposed to get through? I can't pick the lock if there's no keyhole…" Emma said dejectedly.

"It looks far too sturdy for my sword to have much effect, either." Rean said.

Naruto shook his head and stepped up to the door. "This is no problem. Just give me a moment."

"Naruto?" Rean asked, not quite sure what his friend was going to do.

"What are you going to do?" Emma asked.

"Just stand back and watch." Naruto said as he dropped his illusion and revealed his true form to his friends.

After the others had stepped away, Jusis frowned at Naruto in confusion and asked, "What are you doing? Explain yourself, ple—"

Anko simply smirked while the others watched in shock and fascination as Naruto reared back his fist before launching it forward at a speed invisible to the naked eye. When his fist made contact with the large door, it flew off its hinges and crashed into the floor on the other side. Taking a steadying breath, he turned to the others and gave them a thumbs-up. "Aaaand we can go in. Cool, huh?"

"Wh-Wha…?!" Jusis exclaimed, not quite able to figure out what the hell just happened.

"What…?!" Emma exclaimed in shock.

"That's it! I give up trying to make sense of the things you can do, Naruto!" Rean exclaimed, his eyes still wide.

Jusis' eyebrow was twitching as he muttered, "He used sheer brute strength…to smash down the door… Unbelievable."

Emma giggled awkwardly and said, "I didn't think anyone could possibly be so strong. But you continue to prove me wrong, Naruto."

Anko giggled a bit and said, "He didn't even have to enter Sage Mode to do that, either. Trust me, when he's in Sage Mode, his strength becomes truly unbelievable."

"You mean he can get even STRONGER?!" Jusis asked in shock.

Rean looked like his brain had just been fried. "Yep. I'm done. Can we please just go save Machias? I'd like to get out of here and figure out how to reboot my brain. This is just crazy."

Naruto chuckled and reapplied his illusion before leading the party up the stairs and into the guardhouse. That was fun. I wasn't expecting such great reactions!

As they proceeded along the path, they used the orbment charging station to recover before continuing to follow the path, climbing a series of small staircases until they came across the jail cells. Once there, Rean said, "This looks like the place."

"Looks like an underground prison, all right." Anko said. "Now to find Machias and set him free."

"Indeed. He must be here somewhere—" Jusis started to say, only for them to suddenly hear Machias' voice.

"Am I hearing things…?" he questioned from a cell a little ways in.

"Machias!" Emma exclaimed quietly.

"And still in one piece, by the sound of it." Jusis said.

Hurrying forward, they saw Machias standing at the bars watching them. "You really came for me. Thank you." Then, when realization struck him, he looked at Naruto and Anko pointedly and asked, "You guys snuck in, didn't you? You could get in very serious trouble for this."

Naruto smirked at him and said, "We got a tip from a friendly bracer. It led us to the underground waterway, and now here we are. We need to get you out of here, Machias. Anko, mind picking the lock?"

"Not a problem, Sweetheart." Anko said before she went to work on the lock.

When the cell door swung open a moment later, Machias couldn't help but blink in stupefaction. "You five…are really bold. Or crazy. You know that, right?"

Rean chuckled quietly before saying, "Right now, we need to get away from here before we're caught!"

"As long as we can make it back to the city, we should be able to bluff our way out of any further trouble." Jusis stated.

"Right!" Machias said. Stepping outside of the cell, he smiled gratefully at his friends and said, "Thanks. I'm really glad you came for me. And…thanks for keeping your promise to me, Naruto. Though, I must admit, I'm surprised you of all people would come to my aid!" he finished as he turned to Jusis.

"Hmph. I only came to get a glimpse at your tear-stained face. Plus…I thought this might be a good opportunity to pay back my father." Jusis said.

"I…see…" Machias said.

Anko scowled and quickly grabbed a few smoke bombs before throwing them down. When the others went to ask her what she was doing, she simply hissed at them, "Run, dammit!"

As the five of them began to run, Naruto remained behind. Slipping in behind the two guards that had nearly caught them, he knocked the both of them out and scowled down at them. They'll be sending reinforcements soon enough. We need to hurry. And with that, he turned and dashed off, easily catching up to his friends. "We really need to move guys. Once they realize Machias has escaped, they're going to send someone or something after us. We need to be far away from here before that happens."

Machias and the others nodded in understanding. "Of course. Still, this should never have happened in the first place."

Rean shook his head and said, "There wasn't much you or the rest of us could've done."

Emma giggled a bit and said, "I'm just glad you're all right."

Once they were partway through the underground waterway, a short distance from the guardhouse entrance, they heard some kind of roar behind them. "What was that?!" Rean shouted.

"It came from the direction of the cells!" Emma exclaimed in worry.

"Whatever it is, that doesn't sound good. We need to hurry!" Anko exclaimed as she turned and began leading her teammates back towards the Station Street exit.

"Gah, you've got to be joking!" Machias exclaimed as he turned and hurried to keep up with her.

"If you have the energy to shout, you have the energy to run!" Jusis shouted as he and the others picked up the pace as much as possible.

Glancing over his shoulder as he ran at the back of the group, Naruto scowled and muttered, "The others aren't fast enough to escape these things. We need to get somewhere where we can fight these things." Looking forward, he shouted, "Let's get to the area where we met Jusis! We can't outrun these things. Jusis, Machias, I hope to Aidios you can pull off a combat link this time. Now's the best chance you're going to get to prove yourselves!"

Rean scowled to himself and said, "There are two of them…and they're big!"

Anko scowled as well and said, "And fast, too. Naruto's right, we can't outrun these things. Our best bet is to stand and fight. Emma, form a combat link with me! Rean, Naruto, we're counting on you two!"

"Not good. Hurry, everyone!" Jusis exclaimed as he continued to run with the rest of Group A back along the path. Damn! What the hell are you thinking, Father?!

"R-Right!" Emma exclaimed as she did her best to keep up with the others.

"Gah. This is the worst day ever!" Machias exclaimed as he took hold of his shotgun and continued running along, preparing himself for the upcoming fight.

Once they reached their current destination, they scowled further as one of the beasts, the two of them known as Kazakh Doven B and Kazakh Doven R, quickly cut off their escape routes. "We're surrounded!" Rean said.

Anko looked at the two creatures and said, "Whatever these things are, they're very well trained."

"Cats? No, no, dogs. They're like dogs!" Emma exclaimed.

"Doesn't matter what the hell they are. We're in for a rough fight here!" Naruto exclaimed.

"Y-Your family's army employs monsters like this?!" Machias exclaimed as he shot a quick glare at Jusis.

"No one ever told me!" Jusis shouted back.

"They aren't going to let us past, are they?" Emma questioned.

"Grk… They're pretty smart, for beasts." Machias said as he eyed the creatures warily.

"We're just going to have to take them down." Anko stated.

"Indeed. Bad dogs require stern discipline." Jusis agreed.

"Time to wrap up this month's field study. Class VII, Group A… Commence attack on the targets!" Rean ordered.

"All right!" everyone shouted.

"Rean and I have the one in the gold armor. The rest of you take the one with the blue armor. Work together and crush these damn things!" Naruto exclaimed before he and Rean went on the attack.

While the other four fought the Kazakh Doven B, Rean and Naruto quickly found out just how smart the monsters were. The Kazakh Doven R would quickly use abilities and arts to buff itself and the other military beast up, increasing their physical capabilities. Scowling at this, Naruto activated the chainsaw blades of his weapon and shouted at Rean, "I'm going to knock this damn thing off balance! When I do, get in there and finish the damn thing off! We have to help the others!"

Rean nodded in confirmation and watched patiently as Naruto dashed forward before suddenly appearing behind the Kazakh Doven R. When one of its legs went flying and it collapsed on its side, Rean took that opportunity to unleash one of his Eight Leaves, One Blade techniques and split open the creature's belly. As it slowly began to die, he said, "I'm sorry." to the creature before he and Naruto hurried to help the others.

When Rean and Naruto rejoined them, Anko and Emma smiled at the two of them before the latter said, "Machias and Jusis are fighting very well together. I think we've got this!"

"Glad to hear it. Let's give them a hand." Naruto said before he and the others went on the attack again. They eagerly took advantage when Machias' shotgun blast knocked the Doven off balance, allowing Jusis to dash in and get a good blow in on the beast. Afterwards, Anko tripped it up again and allowed Emma to attack it with her orbal staff. Then, to finish it off, Rean and Naruto nodded to each other before they dashed forward in an X formation and sheathed their blades. Everyone watched as the creature fell to pieces before quickly fading away.

Once they were both dead, most of them breathed a sigh of relief. However, Naruto and Anko kept a careful watch in the direction of the guardhouse. They're exhausted. I don't think we can escape as easily as we had hoped. Naruto thought to himself.

While Emma panted in exhaustion, Rean said, "We did it…"

"That was tough, but you seem to be forgetting something." Anko said, getting their attention again.

Turning in the direction she and Naruto were facing, Machias scowled and said, "And here I thought that the worst was finally over. I honestly thought we were done for there."

"Hmph. I have no intention of letting filthy beasts get the better of me, trained or otherwise. But they're right. We're in some serious trouble right now." Jusis said. He knew that the four of them were too exhausted to continue, so they hoped that Naruto and Anko might be able to get them out of the situation they now found themselves in.

"Damn." Rean muttered as they heard the whistles and saw the Provincial Army Soldiers hurrying towards them.

"We're not through the woods just yet, it would seem!" Jusis exclaimed shortly before the soldiers surrounded them.

"Well, this looks familiar." Muttered Naruto to Rean. All Rean did was nod in response while watching the soldiers warily.

"Looks like the end of the road." Machias said.

It was at this point that the officer they had spoken to before walked up to them with a fierce glare on his face. "You've pushed your luck one step too far this time! Are you that desperate to be thrown in a cell with Regnitz?!"

Jusis stepped forward to confront the man at this point. "If you want to arrest us, go right ahead."

The soldiers were shocked to see Jusis there and quickly made it known. "L-Lord Jusis?!" the officer exclaimed. "What are you doing here? I thought you'd been locked in the mansion!"

"I chose to return to my studies." Jusis said before narrowing his eyes on the man. "Well? What's it to be? Accusing my classmates of this crime will implicate me as well."

One of the soldiers began to hesitantly say, "W-We…"

"W-We couldn't possibly point our rifles at Lord Jusis…"

"Silence! Not even Lord Jusis has the right to trespass in a military facility! Much less to release a suspect in our custody, directly opposing the orders of His Grace the Duke!" the officer exclaimed angrily.

"Enough! We may not be the best of friends…but I am Jusis Albarea! I will not simply stand by and watch as one of my classmates is arrested under false charges and used as a tool in some political war!" Jusis shouted angrily.

"L-Lord Jusis…" another soldier mumbled.

"Jusis." Rean said in shock.

"Tch! We have our orders, and nothing you say will change that. Disarm them, men! Lord Jusis included!" the officer exclaimed.

Naruto narrowed his eyes at the man and asked, "You would really try to arrest a man that the Emperor himself invited to this Empire to discuss important matters between our nations? On the orders of a corrupt Duke?! What are you thinking?!"

The officer began to stumble over his words before glaring fiercely at Naruto and saying, "E-Even you, Prince Naruto! You are not above reproach! The Duke's orders are absolute! We simply have to do as he says. Please don't resist."

"That will not be necessary." Rufus' voice could be heard saying.

"Wha…?" the officer asked as he turned around to face Rufus.

"Impossible!" Jusis exclaimed in shock.

"L-Lord Rufus?!" the officer exclaimed in shock. The soldiers weren't faring any better. Everyone was shocked at Rufus' sudden appearance.

"W-We'd heard you were in the capital…" one of the soldiers stated unsurely.

"H-How? Why are you…?" Jusis tried to ask, clearly too shocked to put his thoughts into words just yet.

"I received a message from the academy at noon today. And I returned by airship as quickly as I could. With your instructor." Rufus explained.

"What?" Jusis asked.

"Looks like you've all done a fine job!" Sara exclaimed as she walked up to stand beside Rufus.

"Instructor Sara?!" Rean shouted in shock.

"What are you doing here?" Emma questioned curiously.

"I've been filled in on the circumstances, more or less. I'll take care of matters here. You all return to your posts at once." Rufus said.

"B-But, Lord Rufus, with all due respect…" the officer tried to protest.

"I've already informed my father. Or do you intend to embarrass me, beyond your other transgressions?" Rufus questioned, aiming a pointed glare at the officer.

"O-Of course not!" the officer exclaimed before quickly turning to his soldiers. "Second company, withdraw!"

"Sir!" one of the soldiers exclaimed.

"P-Please, excuse us!" another soldier said before they all quickly retreated back towards the guardhouse.

Watching them go, Sara said, "Oh, my… You can tell they're well trained, if nothing else."

"The provincial army takes its training very seriously, of course. Though I resent the mere notion that it could be misused so grievously." Rufus stated.

"I'm sure you do!" Sara said.

When Sara approached her students afterwards, Machias asked, "S-So, what brings you here, Instructor? Seriously, why are you here?!"

Anko smirked at her and said, "Your timing is a little too convenient, Instructor Sara. Almost like you knew this was going to happen."

"Did you come after receiving word from the provincial army?" Emma asked.

Sara shook her head and said, "Nope! I actually heard about what was happening a little earlier from a friend of mine. As soon as the news reached my ears, I shot to my feet and got right in contact with the director here. And he was kind enough to give me a ride on his airship back from the capital."

Naruto chuckled a bit and said, "I see. That would certainly explain it."

"I don't know what to say…" Rean said.

"Honestly, you seem to be prepared for virtually everything." Then, as if they just realized what Sara said, they turned to Rufus and he exclaimed, "W-Wait a second…"

"'Director'?" Emma asked.

"Oh, you don't know yet, do you?" Sara asked.

"I also serve as a permanent member of the academy's board of directors. Perhaps we'll have the opportunity to meet again in that capacity." Rufus explained.

"The board of directors…" Machias said in shock.

"Wh-Why is this the first I'm hearing of this?!" Jusis asked.

Rufus chuckled a bit and said, "I decided to keep it a secret so I could see the look on your face when you found out! I'm not the only member of the board, though, of course. I'm simply one of three permanent members."

All Jusis could do was gawk at his brother in shock. Rean spoke up instead. "That explains why you knew so much about Class VII."

Anko shook her head in disbelief and said, "You were way too well prepared for this."

"Still, I had no idea my father would attempt something so foolish while I was away. He's always been an obstinate man, but he's simply gone too far this time. As a member of the academy's board, I cannot remotely condone the unlawful arrest of a student." Rufus said in disappointment.

"Rufus…" Jusis breathed out in awe.

"Thank you for your concern." Machias said gratefully.

Rufus then turned his gaze on Naruto and said, "Silent Shadow. I am glad you didn't have to resort to violence this time around. That would not have looked good on you."

Naruto shook his head and said, "I will always act to protect my friends and comrades, Rufus. But, for what it's worth, I'm glad you and Instructor Sara arrived when you did."

Rufus nodded in understanding before asking, "I assume you wanted to meet with the Duke?"

Naruto nodded in confirmation and said, "I want to have a little talk with him about his actions today. Don't worry, I'm not going to hurt him. I just want to make sure my message gets through to him. What he's been pulling cannot be forgiven so easily."

Rufus nodded in understanding and said, "Then come with me. We will see him together. Sara, I entrust the other members of Class VII to you. Do not worry, Prince Naruto will be perfectly safe in my care."

Sara frowned worriedly, but nodded her head in understanding. "Oh, very well. Take good care of him, Rufus. The rest of you, follow me. I'll escort you out of here and then get you back to the hotel. It should be safe now for you to rest and relax for the night."

Anko frowned at her mate and said, "Be careful, Naruto. Don't do anything foolish, okay?"

"I'll be good, Anko. I promise. No violence, no threats, just a simple conversation between two adults. That's all this is going to be." Naruto said, smiling reassuringly at her and the others.

Anko nodded and said, "Good. We'd better see you back at the hotel later. We definitely need a good night's sleep after everything that's happened today."

"Agreed." Naruto said before he turned and walked off with Rufus.

As they watched him go, Emma asked, "Instructor Sara? Is he going to be okay?"

Sara shook her head and said, "Hell if I know. The fact of the matter is that Duke Albarea and his soldiers were threatening the prince of a foreign nation. That is NOT going to look good for him. I think Rufus and Naruto are simply going to make him realize that. But I guess we'll find out."

Albarea Mansion – Duke's Office

Duke Albarea wasn't sure how to react when Rufus walked back into his office with the prince, of all people! Looking between his son and Naruto, he became increasingly worried when he saw the glare present on the younger blonde's face. Motioning towards one of the chairs, he nervously stated, "P-Please, have a seat. It would seem we have much to discuss."

Without speaking a word, Naruto took the offered seat and stared coldly into Duke Albarea's eyes. When the man went to speak up again, Naruto spoke up. "Please be quiet, Duke Albarea. I'm going to speak, and I hope that you are going to listen and listen well."

The Duke sweated nervously and slowly nodded his head. Seeing this, Naruto began to speak again. "I will freely admit that, at the moment, I don't have the kind of political influence here in Erebonia that I would like to help make a real difference. If I did, I would try to help settle matters between the Noble Faction and the Reformist Faction before anything drastic has to happen." Shaking his head, he said, "Duke Albarea, you're a despot. You are terrorizing your own citizens and I don't understand why. Is it greed? Selfishness? Or some other sin that drives you? I can't wrap my head around it."

The Duke scowled and went to speak, only for the younger blonde to interrupt him. "Duke Albarea, I know that technically, you don't have to listen to me or heed my advice. However, for your own good and the good of your people, I ask that you rescind your decision on these tax increases you're imposing upon your people. And last month in Celdic showed me just how deplorable your actions have become. You are trying to force your people to submit to you and stop protesting your decisions. You caused a situation there that could have gone very badly had it not been for the RMP's timely arrival. I have personally spoken with a number of people throughout the Kreuzen province, and I have seen how they are suffering as a result of these taxes you're imposing upon them."

Sighing softly, he shook his head again and said, "I have also seen how corrupt your Provincial Army really is. They are willing to do some truly terrible things in your name. They willingly choose to ignore crimes taking place right in front of them. They arrested Governor Regnitz's son on false charges under your orders. They absolutely refuse to help the people of your province! And finally, they refused to listen to either of your sons! Only when Rufus told them that he had spoken with you did they finally obey and leave Class VII in peace. I don't know if it's slothfulness, greed, or something else that drives their actions, but it infuriates me to see such injustices being done in YOUR province!"

"They were going to arrest Jusis simply for protecting Machias. It did not matter that he has a direct relation to you, common birth or not. Again, under your orders. And, despite admitting that it was a foolish thing to do, they planned to try and arrest ME as well. I do not take kindly to such transgressions, Duke Albarea." Naruto said, continuing to glare hatefully at the man before him.

"I also realized right away what your goal was in calling Jusis and me to your mansion. You wanted to keep us locked up in here so your plan could be put into action. You would have tried to confine and imprison a foreign dignitary, Duke Albarea. That is quite the serious crime and I take GREAT offense to it. I WILL be informing Emperor Eugent III about what you've done, Duke Albarea. Even if he doesn't punish you for your actions, I still felt it fair to warn you, just in case. At least that way, if something does come of it, you'll at least be prepared to face the consequences of your actions." Naruto said angrily.

"It is my suggestion, Duke, that you thoroughly rethink your actions as of late and act in the appropriate manner from now on. As it stands, you are a disgrace to the very notion of nobility. Your crimes cannot be so easily forgiven. And keep in mind that this is me being nice. You have been warned, Duke Albarea." Naruto finished before he stood up and approached the door where Rufus was waiting for him.

While his father sputtered and tried desperately to collect himself and say something in his defense, Rufus simply smirked at the ex-jaeger and said, "You enjoyed that. Come, let's get you back to the hotel. I'd say you've earned some rest today, Naruto Uzumaki." Turning to his father, Rufus said, "I will be seeing you again soon, Father. Do think over everything the dear prince has just said to you." And with that, he guided Naruto out of the office and towards the front entrance of the mansion.

Left alone in his office, the Duke buried his face in his hands and thought, This is bad. Really, REALLY bad. Now what the hell do I do?!

The Next Morning

After getting a well-earned, good night's rest, the party was outside with Sara and Rufus. While the rest of Class VII were having a brief conversation with Rufus, Naruto was simply watching him intently. Finally, when the man turned towards him, Rufus said, "I wish you luck in your meeting with the royal family, Naruto Uzumaki. May Aidios favor you."

"Thank you, Rufus. That is much appreciated. Don't let us keep you any longer, though. You're a busy man, I'm sure. Do take care and be well." Naruto said respectfully.

Rufus smiled at the younger man and said, "Of course. Be well, Prince." And with that, he climbed into his orbal limousine.

As the car drove off, Naruto closed his eyes and shook his head. "Dammit. All of this is just so fucked up."

Sara frowned and said, "Agreed. Come on, we need to get to the train station. Don't want to be late." As they walked along, the redhead glanced at Naruto and asked, "So what did you say to Duke Albarea yesterday, anyway?"

Glancing around at the other members of Group A, he smirked as they all seemed interested in his answer. Shrugging, he said, "I simply made my displeasure with his actions known. I didn't let the Duke say a word in response. I told him that I would talk and he would listen, and listen well. I didn't threaten him. I didn't harm him. I didn't even blast him with my killing intent. I simply intimidated him and laid out all of his crimes before him. I gave him some advice and informed him I would be talking with the emperor about his actions of late. I don't expect Emperor Eugent or his family to really do anything in response, but Duke Albarea deserves to feel some true fear for once in his life. He now knows how very serious I am. If he continues on this path he's going down…he'll regret it."

Anko smirked wickedly and said, "I would have loved to have seen the look on his face after you were done tearing into him. I bet it was priceless."

Jusis' eyes were wide as he stared at his friend. "Did…did Father say anything afterwards?"

Naruto shook his head as they entered the train station. "No. Duke Albarea looked terrified, and rightfully so. Rufus and I left after that. I think your father has a lot that he needs to think about now. I just hope my words got through to him."

"Wow. To think, you successfully cowed my father with nothing but your words. Amazing." Jusis said in awe.

While Machias blinked in disbelief, Rean found himself chuckling a bit. "And to think, his soldiers wouldn't listen to you yesterday. I think Duke Albarea might have realized just how big a mistake he's really made this time. I guess we'll have to wait and see if the lesson sticks."

After paying for their tickets, the party of seven boarded the train and took their seats. Sara, Naruto, and Anko sat together, while Rean, Machias, Jusis, and Emma sat across the aisle from them in their own seats. Leaning back and letting his head rest against the soft cushioning behind him, the whiskered teen closed his eyes and smiled as his mate leaned against him. "I wonder how Fie and Laura are doing now. I hope they finally made up."

Anko snuggled against him and said, "I'm sure they have. I'm sure everything will return to normal for the four of us soon enough. I'd love to just rest for a while, but they're coming to meet you on Wednesday, aren't they, Naruto?"

The blonde nodded slightly and said, "Yes. I'm still trying to figure out exactly what I should say to them. I don't know what to expect or how they'll react to everything I have to tell them. I just hope my decision doesn't come back to bite me in the ass afterwards."

"I'm sure everything will be just fine, Naruto." Sara said, smiling as she watched the happy couple. "Just need to stay optimistic, okay?"

"Heh. Thanks, Instructor." Naruto said as he held Anko snug against him.

Machias and the others watched as the happy couple just held each other with their eyes closed. They weren't sleeping, but it was obvious they were all still exhausted after the events of their field study. After a moment, Machias stretched a bit and let out a yawn. The others with him couldn't help but mimic the action, each of them yawning in turn.

Sara chuckled a bit and said, "And you call yourselves teenagers! Unlike me, you actually get to go to sleep every night. You should be full of energy by this point in the day!"

"Give me a break…" Rean said exasperatedly.

"Considering all that's happened this weekend, I think we can be forgiven for being a little tired." Emma said.

"Well, that's certainly true enough. Group B had their fair share of problems to deal with as well, but they weren't quite as serious as yours. Although they were of a similar nature." Then, looking at Naruto and Anko, Sara gave them a smile and said, "But you two should be happy to know Laura and Fie seem to have made up. Things aren't perfect yet, but I think you'd be real proud of them."

"Glad to hear it." Naruto said and lightly nuzzled Anko. "Love you, Anko."

Anko simply giggled a bit and listened as Jusis asked Sara a question. "What do you mean, exactly?"

"Did they also wind up getting involved in a conflict between the two factions?" Machias asked.

"More or less. Saint-Arkh is another territory belonging to one of the Four Great Houses, after all. So they got themselves caught up in a bit of trouble. The five of them managed to get through it together in the end, though." Sara explained.

"Well…that's good." Rean said.

"That's a relief, yeah." Emma agreed.

Anko opened one of her eyes and asked, "Instructor Sara, just what kind of mira did they pour into buffing up Aurochs Fort, anyway? What we saw was just insane. Naruto was just about ready to demolish the place with a good ol' Rasenshuriken. I managed to talk him down from it, but…"

Sara blinked and looked at Naruto curiously. "Rasenshuriken? What kind of technique is that?"

Naruto smirked and said, "It's a very loud one. But it's also so powerful it can shred the tiniest of molecules. And, once it hits something, it creates a rather large explosion of power and wind, engulfing everything in a huge area. Very few things are capable of surviving an attack like that. Just one of those attacks could easily demolish Aurochs Fort. But it would also likely kill everyone inside. Anko had to remind me of that fact."

"And that's not even his most powerful attack." Anko informed them. "He's got attacks that are MUCH stronger. Naruto's what you'd call an army killer. If he wanted to, he could wipe out entire armies by himself."

"Now I'm REALLY glad you didn't go all out in that spar." Sara said with wide eyes. Soon shaking it off, she looked around at all of her students before saying, "You wanted to know about Aurochs Fort. Well, I heard about the fortifications. I'm afraid the provincial army isn't the only force trying to improve its armaments. The Imperial Army is doing the same. With the Blood and Iron Chancellor and his twenty armored divisions squarely at the center."

"Really?" Rean asked.

Naruto frowned deeply and said, "Sorry guys, but I REALLY don't like Osborne. Not exactly fond of certain members in the Noble Faction either, but Osborne's a damn creep."

The others were silent for a time before Emma asked, "How should the military academy… How should WE act in a situation like this? Thors graduates join both the provincial and Imperial armies, right?"

Sara shook her head and said, "That's nothing you need to be worrying about. Not right now, at least." When her students looked a bit shocked, she decided to clarify. "You're at the academy to learn. That's all you should be focusing on. While you're there, it's true that you may be forced to acknowledge some of the more unpleasant realities of Erebonia…but I believe there's something special to be gained from that. Something you can only gain now…at this moment in time… So long as you're together with your friends and classmates. People for whom there is no substitute. Maybe when you graduate and go out into the world, much of what you've learned at Thors will have little meaning…but I still truly believe that sometime, somehow, what you experience as part of Class VII will be an invaluable treasure to you. It may not seem that way now, but I know in my heart that it will, someday."

Naruto chuckled a bit and said, "Good advice, Sara. Sadly, I have to deal with even more than my studies right now. I have that meeting with the royal family coming up in a couple of days. And…" Opening his eyes again, he stared hard into Sara's eyes and said, "We met Bleublanc, or Phantom Thief B as he's otherwise known. And we learned that his boss is interested in me for some reason. I'm sure you know more about that particular situation than we do."

Sara's eyes went wide again and she said, "That is NOT good. You don't want Ouroboros after you, Naruto. They're bad news. And if the Grandmaster is interested in you, I highly doubt it's for anything good. Naruto, when you meet with the royal family on Wednesday, tell Prince Olivert about this. He has dealt with Ouroboros, and Bleublanc, in the past. He will know how best to help you."

Naruto frowned deeply to himself and said, "Thank you, Sara. That's more information than we had. It's not much, but I appreciate your advice. Then there's this whole prince thing that's somehow spread throughout Erebonia. You wouldn't believe how many people were trying to kiss my ass in Bareahard. I know I said I wouldn't, but I think I need to prank Elliot or something. This whole situation is just ridiculous."

Sara giggled a bit and said, "I can only imagine. Anyways, what do the rest of you think? Pretty good speech, huh?"

Rean and the rest of Class VII, Naruto and Anko included, couldn't help but laugh as they remembered her rousing speech. Machias took a moment to calm down before saying, "It was a good speech, but I can barely believe it."

"That was honestly the last thing I ever thought I'd hear from you." Jusis admitted.

"H-Hey! Why are you all laughing like that?! I worked really hard on that speech!" Sara exclaimed.

"I-I'm really sorry. Your words were quite touching, but…" Emma said apologetically.

"coming out of your mouth, they were just…" Rean continued, barely able to control his laughter.

"As Fie would likely say, 'painfully droll'." Anko said with a grin. "Good speech, but coming from you, it just didn't have the kind of effect you were hoping for. It was pretty funny, though. Still, thank you, Sara. We appreciate it."

Deciding to poke a bit of fun at their instructor, Jusis said, "Something we can only gain now, at this moment in time… So long as we're with our friends and classmates…for whom there is no substitute…" At this point, the noble could barely contain his laughter.

Machias was having no such luck, however. Chuckling, he soon exclaimed, "S-Stop that! Are you trying to kill me?!"

"You kids are AWFUL! I was being serious, you know! Why must this instructor thing be so difficult sometimes?" Sara asked with an adorable pout on her face.

Naruto snickered a bit and said, "You're doing a fine job, Instructor Sara. We're just messing with you a bit. Now, why don't we just relax for a while until we get back to Trista, huh? Maybe a nap would be nice?"

Sara sighed, but nodded her head in understanding. "Of course. You kids get some rest. You've been through a lot lately. Just remember, I'm expecting you to turn in your reports when we get home. I want to know everything that happened."

"Sure, Sara." Anko said before letting out a yawn. "A nap sounds really nice." Snuggling against her mate, Anko drifted off to sleep with a happy smile on her face.

As the others all began to doze off as well, Naruto opened one of his eyes and looked at Sara. "I hope you're right, Sara. I hope Prince Olivert can help me somehow. I don't want to go into this situation blind. I've done that before and it was always rough. Anyways, let's get some rest." Offering her a smile, he closed his eye again and began to drift off to sleep.

Once he had fallen asleep, Sara frowned deeply and thought, I won't let you harm my student, Ouroboros. Whatever you want with him, you're going to have to get through me.

That night

All the members of Class VII were seated in the dining room of their dorm again. They were enjoying another meal cooked by Naruto and Emma. As they ate, they began to discuss what happened during their field studies. After discussing what happened in Saint-Arkh, Fie grumbled a bit and said, "Naruto has fangirls in Saint-Arkh. They don't even know him, but somehow the rumors have been blown so out of proportion about this mysterious new prince. Seems everybody wants to meet Naruto for one reason or another."

"It was a little bizarre. Naruto was a VERY popular topic of discussion amongst the people there." Alisa said. "I can only imagine how chaotic it would have been if Naruto had been sent with us."

Laura nodded and said, "It was…aggravating. All anyone has heard about you are rumors, but people have already made all kinds of assumptions about you, Naruto. Thankfully, most of them are good."

Deciding to get off of that topic, Elliot smiled at the members from Group A and asked, "So, how did things go in Bareahard?"

Jusis motioned towards Naruto and said, "Ask Mr. Prince. Almost everyone there were trying to please me and Naruto. The first day was hectic, to say the least."

Rean nodded and said, "The requests were simple enough. A monster extermination request that took us all the way to Aurochs Fort. Then there were a request to get something called a Dryad's Tear for a man named Bengt."

Machias shook his head and said, "Our resident prince flaunted his wealth the first day. He spent over 1,000,000 mira in one day!"

Group B's eyes widened in shock at what they just heard. So, rubbing the back of his head, Naruto decided to explain. "I decided to be generous at a clothing store and ordered some custom outfits for myself and my mates. They'll probably be arriving in a few weeks. I also bought plenty of souvenirs and a few new books. Aaaaand then we had a problem with a count who decided to EAT the Dryad's Tear."

Alisa's eyes were wide and she asked, "But you went through all that trouble to get it! Why would some count just take it and eat the thing?!"

Emma shook her head and said, "It confused us, too. Apparently, he was convinced that it would promote good health and keep him young."

Anko scowled at the memory of what happened and said, "He mocked Naruto and disrespected him. So Naruto dismissed him as if he didn't matter. Once the bastard was gone, Naruto bought a new wedding ring for Bengt to give his fiancé. Dang thing cost 600,000 mira. But our dear prince gave Bruc 700,000 mira instead. So he cut Naruto a really good deal and gave him a lot of items for free. He's even got some new jewelry for us!"

Laura smirked and said, "As generous as he always is, I see."

Alisa shook her head in disbelief. "I would question how you have so much money to spend, but I remember that you're a world-famous author. You probably have more money than you know what to do with."

Naruto nodded and said, "I don't usually spend a lot, so I kind of just collect it. I give some away to various charities, though. And I try to help people out where I can. I try not to give too much, otherwise people may become overly reliant on me and expect me to just hand out money willy-nilly. But, I wanted to help that man. And I felt like splurging a little this time."

Fie shook her head in amusement. "Still as sweet as ever, Naruto."

Rean looked at Jusis and Machias apologetically at this point before saying, "These two were still having…problems. When we defeated the Fate Spinner, some of us didn't realize that it wasn't dead. Jusis and Machias failed to form a proper combat link and were blaming each other for it. The monster got up and went to attack them…but I leapt in the way to protect them. However…"

Fie's eyebrow began to twitch as she looked at her mate. "Oh, so he took the blow in your place, did he? How bad was it this time, Naruto?"

Before Anko could stop her, Emma said, "His shoulder was badly wounded. It…kind of ruined his jacket. He's going to need to get it replaced. I tended to his wound, but…"

Fie's eyebrow was twitching even worse as she turned and smiled sweetly at Machias and Jusis. "Remind me to kill you two later, okay?"

Laura frowned deeply at the two of them and said, "I am most displeased as well. If our mate wasn't so sturdy, I assume the wound could have been far worse. I hope you two are ashamed of yourselves."

While Machias and Jusis looked absolutely terrified by what they had just heard, Naruto facepalmed before saying, "Fie, Laura? It's fine. They've kind of patched things up between themselves and they've proven that they can work together now. They may still have their problems, but…"

"Doesn't. Matter." Fie ground out. "We told them that they were going to get somebody hurt someday. But they didn't listen. If it makes you feel any better, I promise I'll only rip off two limbs each."

At this point, Jusis and Machias looked at each other and shared the exact same thought, We need to hide in our rooms and barricade the doors!

Anko giggled nervously before saying, "Fie, Laura. It's okay. We're all okay. Please don't hurt them. Besides, we've left those kinds of lives behind us for now. Remember? That, and killing your classmates would probably get you kicked out of Thors and arrested. It just wouldn't look good on you."

Fie pouted cutely and said, "Dammit. You have a point, Anko. I'm not happy about this. And I reserve the right to torture them a little. And nothing you say can stop me from making them cry!"

Naruto chuckled nervously and said, "Noted. Umm, anyways…" Coughing to try and compose himself, he smiled apologetically at Jusis and Machias before he looked back at the others. "Anyways, as per their request, I stayed out of any battles for a while. When we got to Aurochs Fort…"

Jusis grumbled a bit and said, "It would seem my father has paid a great deal of mira to heavily fortify Aurochs Fort. And they've got a number of Achtzehn tanks now."

Alisa's and Fie's eyes widened considerably before the former mumbled, "That's not good."

Anko looked at her boyfriend and said, "I had to convince Naruto not to destroy the fort with a Rasenshuriken. Not only would it have wiped Aurochs Fort off the map, but he would have killed everyone inside the fort. We couldn't have that weighing on his conscience."

Fie's eyes widened before saying, "That wouldn't have been a good thing. That technique is INCREDIBLY destructive. Nobody can survive something like that."

The rest of Group B's members were confused, even Laura. Frowning, Alisa asked, "Do we even want to know exactly what this Rasenshuriken technique is?"

Fie shook her head and said, "If you ever see it, just know that someone has made Naruto VERY angry. I would recommend getting as far away as possible. And it's not even his strongest attack. Then there's his Sage Mode. Naruto hasn't had to get serious against anyone in a very long time. But, if Beryl's prediction comes true, whoever this 'man of blazing fire' is can challenge Naruto. I doubt he can beat my mate, especially if he makes Naruto angry. However, I would recommend we try to stay far away from any fights he has with this mystery man. It's bound to be INCREDIBLY destructive."

"I get the feeling that if we ever see Naruto go all out…" Gaius started to say, only to pause.

"…whoever pushes him to that point will be a dangerous foe indeed." Laura said. "I doubt my mate would lose such a fight, but the mere thought sounds terrifying."

Naruto shook his head. "Enough about that, though. When we returned to the hotel to relax for a while, Duke Albarea approached us. He lectured Jusis for a while…and wanted to talk to me as well."

"Still have no idea how Naruto managed to keep so calm and talk to the damn guy without bashing his head in or something." Anko said. "He wanted to remind Naruto of his position and instructed him not to forget that he's a prince and should hold himself to a higher standard and all that. It was kind of annoying."

"And, before we forget, we encountered Phantom Thief B." Machias said. "It seems his dear boss has taken an interest in Naruto. No idea what this Grandmaster wants, but I doubt it's anything good."

Sara nodded and said, "I've advised Naruto to inform Prince Olivert about this particular encounter and what Bleublanc said to him. If anyone can help him prepare to face Ouroboros, it would be the prince."

Alisa said, "I'm not even going to question how you could possibly know that." Turning to face the members of Group A again, she asked, "How did the second day go?"

Rean shook his head and said, "The second day was so much worse. Jusis was called back to his family's mansion…and essentially placed under house arrest. So the rest of us had to handle our tasks for the day. We did meet two interesting people named Anton and Ricky, though."

Machias looked pointedly at Naruto and said, "And Naruto gave them 10,000 mira to help them on their way."

Elliot chuckled a bit and said, "Perhaps you're a bit too generous with your money, Naruto."

Naruto simply shrugged and said, "Maybe. But it's what happened after our required task for the day that really set us off."

Emma frowned deeply and said, "The provincial army arrested Machias on false charges. All on the orders of Duke Albarea. We tried to convince them to release him…but they wouldn't even listen to Naruto."

Anko said, "We decided that we'd simply have to break Machias out of prison. At first, we had no idea how to do that. Then Naruto remembered something we heard from Kenneth before we left for Bareahard."

Rean nodded and said, "There's an underground waterway in Bareahard that extends from Station Street all the way to the Noble District, where the guardhouse was. Problem is, we weren't quite sure where the entrance was at first."

Anko smirked and said, "That's when a friendly bracer named Toval helped us out. Thanks to him, we found the entrance and made our way through the underground waterway."

"That's when we met up about halfway through the waterway." Jusis said. "Together, we made our way to the guardhouse entrance…but…"

Rean sweatdropped at this point and said, "There was a large, iron door blocking our path. It could only be opened from the other side, so we had no way to get through. Then…" Looking at Naruto, he said, "Naruto just punched the door once and sent the door flying. And apparently that's not even his full strength."

"How…?!" Alisa tried to ask, only for words to fail her.

Fie simply shrugged and said, "I would have simply used some explosives. It might have been a bit quieter, but it would have certainly gotten the job done."

Elliot chuckled nervously and shook his head. "I think it's probably best that we just don't question it."

Rean nodded in agreement. "That's what we decided, too. Anyways, we freed Machias…but as we were trying to make our escape, we were surrounded by dog-like military beasts. They were powerful and incredibly fast as well. The good news is that Jusis and Machias managed to form a solid combat link and made a pretty good team. It was incredible to watch."

"That is some wonderful news." Gaius said with a smile. "Though, I get the feeling you weren't quite able to escape, were you?"

Anko nodded and said, "You're right. The fight took a lot out of these four, and we just didn't have the energy needed to escape before the provincial army caught up to us. They wouldn't even obey Jusis and were planning to arrest all of us, Naruto and Jusis included. Thankfully, Rufus and Instructor Sara arrived just in time and saved us. Thankfully, Naruto didn't have to bash in any heads this time!"

Elliot breathed a sigh of relief and said, "I'm glad to hear that. But, what happened next?"

"We learned that my brother is one of three directors of Thors Military Academy. Then, Rufus took Naruto to meet with my father. We still don't know what was said between them." Jusis said, looking at the prince.

Naruto shook his head when everyone turned their gazes on him. "I didn't threaten him and I didn't hurt him. I didn't let him get a word in. I just confronted him about his actions and the fact he's been hurting his people and abusing his power and authority. Hopefully the Duke will think twice before doing anything foolish in the future. We will have to wait and see."

Laura nodded and said, "I can only imagine how that conversation must have went. Duke Albarea's orders threatened the prince of an entire nation. That won't look good for him."

"You have a good point there." Machias said. Then, looking at Naruto again, he said, "Now he just needs to figure out what to say when he meets with the royal family. I hope that meeting goes well."

"I think we all do." Rean said, nodding in agreement.

"All I can do is be honest with them about whatever I can be. I just hope they understand what I have to tell them." Naruto said. "For right now, I just want to relax a bit before we resume classes tomorrow. I have to admit though that I'm pretty nervous about meeting them. No matter how much I prepare for it, the fact is that I'll be in the presence of the Emperor of Erebonia and his family. I honestly never thought they'd want to meet me, nor did I know what I'd be able to say to them if we did meet. This is definitely uncharted ground for me."

Laura smiled at her lover and said, "You'll be just fine, Naruto. I know it. Just believe in yourself and stay calm when you talk to them. I'm sure they will understand."

"Yes, yes, I'm sure you're all very thrilled about what's coming in the next few days. But right now, we all need to get some sleep." Sara said, getting their attention. "And don't forget that you need to study for your midterms! I believe in you kids. I know you'll do great."

"Thanks, Instructor." Rean said with a smile. "Let's finish eating and clean the dishes. Then we'll get some sleep. I'm looking forward to a good night's rest."

"As am I." Machias stated. "I still refuse to lose to you, Emma. I swear I'll score higher than you on the midterms!"

Emma giggled a bit and said, "We'll see, Machias. I won't make it easy for you."

Everyone chuckled a bit before they went about finishing their meals. They were all looking forward to getting some rest. And they were all concerned about Naruto, hoping his meeting would go well.

Wednesday

Naruto had decided to postpone his talk with Rosine that he had planned. He wanted to focus on schoolwork and the upcoming meeting as much as possible for the time being. Right now, however, he was enjoying the history lesson he and the rest of Class VII were sitting through with Instructor Thomas. It was actually rather thrilling and educating, though some of the others appeared to be rather bored.

Sadly, Thomas was forced to pause his lecture as none other than Principal Vandyck entered the classroom. Smiling at the prince, he said, "Naruto, I need you to come with me. It's time. Can I count on one of you to take notes for any classes that Naruto might miss today?"

Three members of Class VII volunteered to do so: Emma, Alisa, and Laura. Giggling a bit, they smiled at each other and Alisa said, "We'll all do it. Wouldn't want our resident prince to fall behind."

"Thank you, girls." Naruto said with a smile before he packed up his things and approached the principal. However, as he moved to walk by Thomas, he had a thought. So, turning to the Instructor, he bowed and said, "My apologies, Instructor Thomas. I was enjoying the lecture. If I have any questions, I can come see you later, right?"

Thomas smiled at his student and said, "Of course! It's perfectly fine, Uzumaki! Please, come see me should you ever require my assistance. I would be more than happy to refresh your memory on everything and anything you might be wondering about."

Chuckling a bit, the blonde said, "Thank you." Turning to the others, he gave them a smile and said, "See you guys later." And with that, he left the room with Principal Vandyck.

Looking at Naruto, the principal said, "You look a little nervous, Naruto. Calm yourself. Everything will be just fine."

The younger man chuckled again and said, "I'd be lying if I said I wasn't. But thanks, Principal. I suppose I'll show you what I can, as well. It's time for you to meet Kurama, too."

Smiling at the prince, Vandyck said, "Thank you, Naruto. Now…" After descending the stairs, they approached his office and the man asked, "Are you ready for this?"

Naruto nodded and said, "I'm as ready as I'll ever be. Let's do this."

Vandyck nodded before opening the door and stepping inside with the teenager. Smiling at the members of the royal family, he said, "I have brought him to see you, as per your request. Meet Naruto Uzumaki, prince of Uzushiogakure."

Emperor Eugent smiled and motioned for Naruto to take a seat. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Prince Naruto. Sit. We have much to discuss."

Naruto nodded and took a seat with Principal Vandyck sitting beside him. Here goes nothing…

---

A/N - And that's the chapter. Yaaay! lol. As I said, it's shorter than the last two chapters.

As you can see, a lot of stuff happened in this chapter. And in the next chapter, we see Naruto's meeting with the Emperor and his family. That's going to be a fun chapter to write and I hope you're looking forward to seeing what I have planned. It's going to be fun. :D

Anywho, I've been discussing a variety of things with some friends of mine, such as my plans for this fic, what's coming up next, and so on and so on. I've already made up my mind about a number of things, and I'm really looking forward to writing those parts. I just hope you're all looking forward to it and are excited to see what comes next.

Also, I wanted to inform you all about something. My laptop that I'm using right now is LITERALLY falling apart and has been for a while now. You can literally just pull it apart and see all the circuitry inside of the base. x.x The mouse gets kind of screwy at times, and the keyboard sometimes doesn't register when I'm typing. So most of the time, if you see typos or something in my chapters, it's because I don't notice it when my dang keyboard fails to input a letter. x.x Other times, it's definitely because I made a mistake, though. lol. Such as writing a different word or sentence than what I meant. XD Fun stuff, huh?

But yeah, I'm saving up as much money as I can to get myself a new laptop that will work better than this one. Seeing as this is my only means of writing and accessing the internet and whatnot, I have to make do with what I can right now. So bear with me, okay people?

Aaaand I can't really think of anything else to say. I'm REALLY excited to write the next chapter! I hope you're looking forward to it! For now, I'm going to relax for a little while and get to work on it later probably. Most of the next chapter is prooobably going to be more original content and not stuff in the game itself. Sooo, we shall see how that goes. :)

Oh! And, as you can see, Naruto has NOT had that talk with Rosine yet! That will happen, I assure you. It should be fun to write. Hope you're looking forward to it!

Have a good day everybody!