As silent as could be, the white-haired woman opened the window, her movements slow and cautious. She could hear the sound of one of her conspirators out front, alongside some voices she couldn't recognise; in other words, his distraction was going just as they had planned. With a coy smile, the woman slid through the window with all the grace and elegance of a cat.
In comparison, her partner in crime had all the grace of a dog. In an embarrassing display, the boy accompanying her fell face first through the window with a loud thud, spooking the white-haired woman with the noise.
"Masque! Are you ok?" The woman exclaimed, kneeling down to check on the boy now known as Masque.
"Y-yeah…" Masque replied, scratching the back of his head. "This isn't exactly my specialty, K—Ahem. Arsene."
"As long as you're ok." The woman now identified as Arsene replied, her blue eyes shining from behind her mask. With a small grin on her face, she helped Masque to his feet, brushing off his shoulders and setting his posture straight. "I'll take point! You just cover our butts, alright?"
"Right." Masque replied. With that issue resolved, the two set off down the long, dark hallway, Arsene leading the way with their handy map in hand. The surprisingly accurate details had been provided by their third, the conspirator who was distracting the guards at the front door. "So… Arsene." Masque spoke, his voice little more than a whisper.
"Yep?" Arsene replied, not quite so softly.
"Why exactly are we doing this again?"
"What do you—Masque, did you really forget?!" Arsene stopped and looked at him with an upset expression. Masque averted his eyes, the small gesture hidden behind his own mask as Arsene peered at him through her own.
"…Maybe a bit." He said with a bitter smile. Arsene responded with a quick chop to his head, not hard enough to hurt, but enough for Masque to flinch from the blow. "S-sorry…" He bashfully scratched the back of his head, an apologetic smile on his face.
"Jeez, Masque." Arsene couldn't help but sigh at the young man. "Honestly… we're taking back the money the priesthood has been extorting from the common folk!" Like a light breaking through the darkness, Masque suddenly recalled everything; Arsene meeting a certain playwright, the priests overtaxing to pay for their failed crusade, and Arsene coming to ask for his help in taking said money back. "Oh? Seems like you remember, now." Arsene smiled, before promptly patting the young man's head to Masque's annoyance. "Ahem. Back to our mission… the chamber we are searching for should be… right here, actually!" Arsene motioned to the closed door to their right.
"…R-really…?" Masque raised an eyebrow. "…This seems way too easy." No guards at all?
"Simply God's blessing, Masque." Arsene said with a grin, before casually pushing open the doors without a hint of caution.
"Arsene!?" Masque exclaimed, but she had already made her way inside. He quickly checked down both hallways to make sure no one was approaching before following her inside. He quietly closed the doors as Arsene began poking around the room in search of the taxes. "Shouldn't we be a bit more… stealthy?" Masque asked, giving an exasperated sigh.
"…Are we not?" Arsene asked, as if genuinely confused by his question.
"…I guess we are." Masque replied, unable to tell her otherwise.
"You can be very strange at times, Masque. Anyway, hasten up and help me look! Time is of the essence!"
With a shrug, Masque started helping Arsene search the room. Thankfully for the 'phantom thieves,' it didn't take them long to find what they were searching for. Her efforts rewarded, Arsene held up a heavy chest filled to the brim with coins, her smile bright and confident. Masque watched with a mildly concerned expression as Arsene lifted the heavy chest with hardly any effort.
"T-that's a lot!" Masque exclaimed, deciding to not comment on Arsene's superhuman strength.
"Far too much! Imagine how many unfortunate souls have been unfairly extorted to get this, Masque." Arsene harrumphed at the sight of it, setting it on the desk to get a better look at the contents inside. Quietly, she began to fiddle around with the chest's contents, inspecting the different colored coins one by one. "Let's see… this one was…"
"A Ducat."
"At least let me try to guess!" Arsene glared at him, her lips curving into a pout.
"Sorry, sorry." Masque chuckled as Arsene glare sharpened, before she promptly turned back to the chest.
"This was… a Florin?"
"Dinar."
"Wha—But I was so sure!?"
…Maiden really does spoil her. Masque couldn't help but think as Arsene continued to mess around with the coins inside. This is what happens when you never let her pay for anything. He shook his head as the girl continued struggling to name the various coins, her many years of being spoiled by Maiden showing clearly.
Without warning, the doors to the office swung open. Arsene and Masque shot to attention as a familiar priest stepped through the doors, accompanied by two guards on each side. His expression was equally cruel as it was smug as he looked at the two thieves.
"Like moths to a flame." The priest spoke, his voice haughty as the two guards readied their weapons. "Were you really not expecting a trap? Considering you were kind enough to let us know of your heist in advance." As he said this, the priest pulled a letter out from his robes, the very same letter Arsene had nailed to his door the other day. "It was easy to prepare thanks to this foolish little flaw. And really, Kaslana, did you not think to hide your hair? Only you have hair of such a color!"
Masque glanced at the silver-haired phantom thief to his right. Judging from her tense posture, the young man figured that she was trying to think of some way out of their situation. He grinned.
After all, it was for this exact reason that Masque had come at all.
"Oh, lonely knave!" Arsene exclaimed in a deep voice, throwing out a dramatic pose reminiscent of a certain playwright. "What worth is gold—"
Ok, stopping that right in its tracks. Masque thought with a bitter grin. "Ahem!" He coughed, drowning out Arsene's voice. "Gentlemen." Masque mimicked Arsene, putting on a deep voice as he gave a coy grin. "Come now. We don't have to get violent now, do we?"
"…Come to think of it, I don't recognise you." The priest said as he looked Masque up and down. "No matter. Guards! Take them both in—"
"I don't think you heard me." Masque extended his arms and did a small curtsy. "I said… No need to get violent." The air fluctuated with Masque's voice for just a moment, an invisible wave of sound flowing out and over across those present.
"Hmph. I heard you the first time—" The priest paused mid sentence. Both he and the guards suddenly relaxed from their tense posture, lowering their weapons and standing down in response to Masque's words. "No, no, you're right, my friend. My apologies."
"Right?" Masque leaned against the desk to his right, taking on a casual posture as he addressed the trio before him. "Now, if you don't mind, Arsene and I are going to take all this money back to their rightful owners. You don't have an issue with that, right?" The trio shook their heads. "Wonderful. So… kindly forget everything that happened here tonight, would you? Oh, and… if you wouldn't mind, don't try and take it back. It's not your money, after all."
"Of course, my dear friend. Anything for you. I hope you have a wonderful night." The priest and the two guards bowed their heads respectfully, before turning and leaving Arsene and Masque to their own devices. Masque's grin widened as he waved them goodbye.
"That was close." Masque sighed in relief, placing a hand over his beating heart. His throat stung a bit after that, but… otherwise, he was unharmed. He turned to Arsene only to see the silver-haired phantom thief storming towards him, her expression clearly upset.
"Masque… You didn't have to do that!"
"Arsene, we can't exactly risk them finding out who you are."
"But…"
"It's fine. It was only a little bit, anyway. Won't do me any harm." Masque massaged his throat. "Just a bit sore. No issue here."
She was clearly unhappy with him… but simply responded by shaking her head. "…Good grief! I had a plan ready! It was a fantastic plan, too!"
"Right." Masque raised an eyebrow, further upsetting Arsene.
"I did!" Despite her insistence, Masque couldn't help but doubt the 'fantastic' part of her plan. "I wanted to use a smoke bomb, and everything!" Masque found himself nodding along as Arsene began explaining the many 'intricacies' of her plan, and how it all would have worked out perfectly had Masque simply gone along with it.
With all being said and done with, the pair lifted the chest and went on their merry way, with no further incident as they escaped the building. Once outside, they made their way to their meeting spot with Maiden, arriving before the aforementioned conspirator, just as the sun began to rise. They took the opportunity to count out the total amount of coins they had collected, with Masque taking the opportunity to… "educate" Arsene on the value of money.
They didn't have to wait long. "It seems the operation was a success." Spoke the voice of the man known as Maiden. Arsene shot to her feet with a wide smile, dashing over to Maiden's side. Masque, on the other hand…
That voice… why… Masque pulled off his mask, dropping it to the ground as the world around him faded into obscurity. The only thing Shido could see was that shockingly familiar face; long, blonde hair, a face equal parts handsome as it was beautiful. Shido remembered now, having met this man once before. A man only known as the Overseer of Schicksal. A man Shido knew as…
…Otto… Apocalypse…?
Shido shot up from his bed, pulled back to reality by the arrival of the blonde Overseer. Panting heavily, Shido covered his face with his hands, trying to focus his thoughts on the dreams' fading memory. After a moment, he realized something; Origami wasn't in bed with him. Glancing at the alarm clock, he could quickly figure why. It was only a few minutes before Shido himself was supposed to wake. He shook his head and began to massage his temples, recounting the events of the dream once more.
Another dream? Everything felt so much more real this time… Shido recalled the face of Otto. I don't understand… Why… Why was he there? Who was Arsene? Was that the paladin? The harder Shido tried to comprehend the dream, the more frustrated he became. At that same moment, he was pulled away from his thoughts as a strange ticklish sensation ran up his back. With an angry sigh, Shido scratched his back until the feeling went away. Satisfied, he returned. Should I ask someone about her? About him? This is the second time now… I—
"Shido?" He turned to see Origami standing beside the bunks, looking up at him from down below. She had returned without him even noticing, her expression filled with concern. "You're awake. Is something wrong?"
"… Maybe." Shido replied after a moment. He held up his hand just as Origami made to ask. "I'll tell you later. Right now, I wanna clear my head." Shido slid off the bed as he made his way towards the bathroom, continuing to massage his temples. Origami watched him go with a frown, but said nothing more as the door closed behind him. He turned on the faucet and took a deep breath before splashing his face with the cold water, shuddering as the frigid liquid trickled down his face.
For now, he would let the dream rest in the back of his mind. Thinking about it now would do him little to no good, after all. Maybe I'll ask Ana about it later. He decided. She seems knowledgeable about that kind of thing. With a curt nod, Shido began preparing for the day ahead of him.
"W-whoa!" Shido exclaimed as the dull blade barely swished past his head, nervous sweat running down his neck as Rita casually spun her scythe in the air in preparation for her next attack. Training weapon or not, Rita hit hard and fast, to the point it took everything Shido had to avoid even a single strike. Even worse, he could tell she was holding back quite a bit as she faced the young man. Though she wasn't anywhere close to Durandal's speed, he wouldn't be surprised if the Valkyrie-maid could even manage to keep up with Ellen, if not downright outspeed 'The World's Strongest Wizard'. He sloppily deflected a sudden attack with his training sword, only for Rita to kick out his legs from underneath him.
He hit the ground with a thud just as Rita stopped her dull blade a mere few centimeters away from his neck. "I understand my scythe is frightening, Shido-sama, but do not forget that I have other forms of attack." She said, winking as she pulled away her blade. She offered her hand, which Shido gratefully took.
"Right…" He said with an exhausted sigh. Shido had learned the hard way that yesterday's patrol had been Durandal's way of easing them into life here at Babylon II. In comparison to yesterday, this day was off to a sudden start with a jog before the sun had even risen… That is to say, Durandal's equivalent of a jog. The Valkyries of the Immortal Blades—and Origami, for that matter—could hardly keep up behind Durandal, and Shido, being the normal human that he was, struggled to keep up with even them. It got to the point where Shido had to swallow his pride as a man and asked to be carried, his legs and body nearly failing him just from the effort of trying to keep up. Even worse, Shido received many an envious glare from the Valkyries as Durandal herself offered to carry him… in a bridal style, despite his complaints.
Shido didn't see Origami's expression when Durandal did that, but the young man was almost certain that her glare would have killed any woman less than the Strongest Valkyrie. Of course, that hadn't been the end of it. When they finally returned back to Babylon II after their morning run, Shido had been given hardly an hour to rest before being dragged off by Rita.
"Durandal-sama had an important task she had to attend to." Rita had explained as Shido limped behind her. "While she is absent, I shall be the one in charge of your training, Shido-sama."
"W-we're starting that already…?" Shido asked.
"Worry not, Itsuka-sama." Rita giggled. "I am not quite as powerful as Durandal-sama." She had reassured.
But now, back in the present and moments after facing Rita Rossweisse in a sparring match, Shido found himself having an epiphany, of sorts. Though there was a great difference between a lake and an ocean, the difference mattered little to one who was nothing more than a droplet in the vast bodies of water. "H-how'd I do…?" Shido asked, massaging his bruised ribs.
"… Not bad." Rita replied. Shido's eyes lit up. "For a normal human, that is." And just as quickly, the light disappeared. "But all things considered, you did well. You did manage to catch me off guard when you deflected my attack."
"Eh? Really?" Sure didn't feel like it… Was Shido's bitter thought…
"Indeed. But a skilled warrior does not show weakness, Shido." Rita placed a hand to her chin. "Which, admittedly, your reactions are one of your biggest flaws, Shido-sama. Not your reaction speed, mind you; simply the way you show emotion when something unexpected happens. Fear, anger, shock, it all shines bright within your expression and your body language."
"…So you're saying you can read me like a book, basically?"
"Precisely." Rita said with a smile, earning a tired sigh from Shido.
"Great…"
"Don't be disheartened. Such a skill simply comes with experience; that is, the ability to hide one's emotions. You only need keep it in mind as we fight." Rita paused. "While we are on that topic, I must say; you were too focused on my blade, never taking a moment to consider how I might attack next… or where. This allowed me to control the fight from the very first moment we started. In other words, I suppose you could say it was less reading a book and more like… writing it."
One moment she says not to be disheartened, and then the next she says things like that. Shido's expression turned bitter as his eyes fell to the ground. Rita noticed his dissatisfaction, and promptly patted his head.
"Fufu, no need to get upset. That's why Durandal-sama is having me train you, after all." Rita lifted her blade once more, returning to the other side of the training room. "Now then, Shido-sama. Another bout, shall we?"
"Right!" Shido said, lifting up his blade. It was a bit heavy for his liking, but… at least he had an idea how to use it, thanks to his experience with Sandalphon. He had yet to actually try the fully powered weapon, however.
"Begin." Rita said, and Shido hoisted his blade. He charged forward, intending to control this battle from the get go as Rita had done before.
Three matches later, Shido found himself sitting off on the side with Origami dabbing a cotton ball against his bruised cheek. Unsurprisingly, Shido had been completely bested in every way by the far more experienced Valkyrie. The maid in question had stepped away in the meantime, having promised to bring some tea and snacks as a reward for Shido's efforts… and yet, the young man couldn't help but feel that it was anything more than pity. Origami had found her way over in the meantime, having prepared a first-aid bag once she heard about what was happening.
"How are you feeling, Shido?" Origami asked, her voice filled with concern as she pulled away the cotton ball.
"…Beaten, but not broken." He said with a grin. "How are you after that run?'
"Fine. Only a bit winded."
"Figures… I see what Ana meant now." Shido sighed, laying his head back against the wall. Origami nodded in agreement, though her expression told Shido that she didn't actually mind. "Hey, Origami… how do you think you'd compare?"
"What do you mean?"
"To Durandal and Rita."
"…I don't know Rita's skills well enough to say." Origami replied, taking a moment to mull over his question. "But against Durandal? Not a chance." Origami hesitated. "…She could likely beat Ellen with little issue, speaking honestly."
"Really?" Shido replied, his eyes wide. Origami nodded. "…Well… I guess I can't say I'm surprised. I never saw Ellen tear a sandbag in half with her bare hands, after all." Origami nodded in agreement. "…So. What do you think of Schicksal?"
"… I haven't seen enough to form an opinion, yet." Origami replied. "But some of them are good people. I don't know if I trust them enough yet to leave you in their care, though."
"Heh. Fair enough."
"Ana… well, you know how I feel about Ana." Origami said, her lips curving into a slight smile. "Durandal… Strangely reminds me of Tohka." Origami continued, earning a confused look from Shido. "She's earnest, but… tactless. Not quite naive, but close. Headstrong, but kind. Rita was correct when she said she was nothing like Ellen… She also has a similar appetite."
"Huh?"
"I caught a glimpse earlier." Origami extended her arms out. "A table this long and piled high with food. Tohka would have been jealous."
"…Well, I guess she has to fuel that strength somehow." Shido said with a grin. Origami nodded in agreement before helping Shido to his feet.
"Speaking of food… Shido, have you eaten?"
A quiet grumbling noise was Shido's response as his stomach answered for him. Origami glared at him, before snatching his hand and dragging him out of the training hall. "Origami?" Shido exclaimed. The Wizard said nothing in response. "Origami?! Rita is—"
Origami didn't respond as she dragged him towards the cafeteria. Paying his complaints no mind, Origami failed to notice Rita as they rushed by, holding a tray of tea and snacks as she watched them go.
"…Oh, dear." The Valkyrie-maid muttered, placing a curious finger to her lips.
"Ana?" As Shido and Origami made their way inside the cafeteria kitchen, they found the Schariac girl herself as she browsed the pantries and cabinets alike. The vanilla-haired Valkyrie flinched as she heard Shido's voice call out, quickly spinning on the spot to confront the newcomers with a flustered expression.
"No, wait, don't misunderstand—Oh." Ana paused upon seeing Shido and Origami. "Thank goodness, it's just you two…" Ana relaxed, releasing a relieved sigh as she leaned against the counter she stood beside. "Rita always pokes fun when she finds me in here alone… it's embarrassing." She scratched the back of her head with a nervous laugh.
Poor choice of words with Origami right here, Ana. Shido thought, glancing at the Wizard to his right. He could already see her getting ready to act in Rita's place. "So!" Shido spoke up first, hoping to save Ana from Origami's teasing. The Wizard in question glared at Shido as he continued. "Did you ever eat last night? We saved you a plate when you vanished."
"…N-no, I didn't." Ana muttered, scratching her cheek bashfully. "…Um… sorry for disappearing. I—" Shido lifted a hand, waving away her concern.
"Don't worry about it. Want me to warm it up for you?"
"Huh?! I-I couldn't ask you to do that!" Ana flailed her arms around in a panic, earning a sheepish grin from Shido. "Don't worry, I can handle it myself!"
"It's fine. I was planning on making some food anyway." He gave the vanilla-haired Valkyrie a big thumbs up.
"…F-fine…" Though Ana was clearly reluctant, she finally gave into Shido's demands.
"Shido. Do you need my help?" Origami asked. "You're still sore, aren't you?"
"Funnily enough, I'm feeling great now." Shido flexed his arms, a confident grin on his face. "I think being in this super kitchen healed me back to full." His confidence faltered, however, as both Ana and Origami looked at him strangely. With a sigh, Shido opened the fridge and began cooking his own meal while simultaneously warming up Ana's leftover curry.
When he finally finished, the three found themselves sitting in the cafeteria, with Ana blowing on a hot bite of curry as Shido snacked on his own omelet. Origami sat beside Shido, resting her head on his shoulder as she watched Ana take the first bite, an amused smile on her face.
"…W-wha—!?" Ana exclaimed through a mouthful of food, before quickly covering her mouth as her cheeks turned red and swallowing down the bite. A moment later, she slammed her hands down on the table as her eyes shined like stars. "It's so good! This is curry!?"
"…Yeah?" Shido raised an eyebrow.
"I-I've never tasted curry this good! W-what kind of god chef are you, Shido?!"
"Let's just say I've had a lot of practice." Shido chuckled. "Although, hasn't Rita cooked for you guys before? Even I'd admit she's the better cook."
"Yeah, on special occasions. But…" Ana placed a finger on her cheek. "It's like… a fancy restaurant dinner versus a nice, homemade meal. Sure, the first one is made by a super awesome chef, but you can always appreciate coming home to a nice stew! …Or in this case, curry, I guess." Ana gave Shido a thumbs up. "A+, Shido!"
"…Heh. Thanks." Shido took another bite of his omelet, chewing the bite slowly as his mind wandered. Origami took note of his troubled expression.
"Shido? Is something wrong?"
"…No. Well, not wrong, just…" Shido sighed. Well, I guess there's no time like the present. "I had a dream." Ana perked up her ear as Origami sat up straight.
"…A nightmare?" Origami asked.
"No, just a dream. It's just…" Shido turned to Ana. "Ana. This may sound a bit weird, but…" Shido paused. "…Do you… know how old the Overseer is?"
"Huh? Me?" Ana asked, surprised. "Um… I don't know exactly how old, but definitely a lot older than he looks. He's been around a long time, I know that much."
"…Would you say as far back as the Medieval period?" Ana's eyes widened.
"What? No way! Sure, there are some ways to prolong your life with Schicksal, but that long? You'd have to be something more than human at that point!"
"Right. That's fair enough." Shido replied with a sigh, massaging his temple. …I guess that's true enough. It's only a dream, anyways.
"Why'd you ask?"
"Uh. Let's just say that, for whatever reason, he was in my dream." Shido gave an awkward smile. An equally awkward silence suddenly filled the air as Ana and Origami once more gave the young man strange looks.
"…Shido." Shido turned to see Origami looking at him with her brows furrowed. "…Are you sure you aren't into men?"
"W-where is this coming from!?".
"You were dreaming of the Overseer. Then there's Tonomachi. Not to mention, Bel—"
"That's not canon!"
Ana watched their exchange with a curious expression, casually stuffing her mouth full of curry as Shido hung back his head, a sigh leaving his lips. Though Origami's expression told him that she was clearly unconvinced, Shido decided to pay her mind no longer. There were more important matters to attend to.
"Next question, Ana." Shido's thoughts turned to the mysterious yet playful girl that had worked beside him in the dream. "Do you know of a girl calling herself… 'Arsene,' that was ever a part of Schicksal? Same time period?"
"Arsene? Isn't that a thief from a book?" Ana tilted her head. "…Yeah, it is! Arsene Lupin. I remember one of the others telling me about it. I didn't realize you were into 20th century stuff, Shido."
"…Err." Shido scratched the back of his head. Come to think of it… he remembered finding that name back during his… 'dark past.' "Nevermind, then…" Shido muttered, wanting to quickly move on from that. "…Actually, wait." He remembered another name, the name the priest had used in regards to Arsene. "What about the name, 'Kaslana'?"
"Kaslana? That's a big one!" Ana replied. "Where'd you hear about them?"
"Them?"
"Yeah, the Kaslana family. They're one of the big ones besides us Schariacs. It was actually a Kaslana that Cecilia married, if you remember me talking about her."
"Kaslana…" Shido tested the name, speaking it aloud. With that name, he was one step closer to answers. Feeling his spirit renewed, Shido listened intently as Ana continued.
"So a Kaslana appeared in your dream even though you've never heard of them before?". Shido gave another nod. "Huh. I can see how that'd trip you up."
"Yeah, she was in the dream there with Otto and me. Were there any Kaslanas during that time period? The Medieval period, I mean?"
"Oh, absolutely." Ana replied. "Kallen Kaslana. She was a pretty big deal too; a famous paladin who wielded the Oath of Judah, and one of Schicksal's strongest Valkyries. If she were around and kicking right now, she could probably contend with Bianka for the title of strongest Valkyrie."
Shido's eyes widened. Kallen Kaslana. Shido felt a strange tingle run up his spine as he recalled her name. He shuddered from the strange feeling, a gesture that did not go unnoticed by Origami. However, she was given no time to act on it as Ana spoke up once more.
"And you said you had a dream about her… How weird!"
"…T-two, actually." He received yet another strange look from the two girls as he began to explain. "Just before I came here, I had another one where she was about to be executed as a traitor. Or… I think it was her, anyway." Shido decided to avoid going too far with the details of that particular dream.
"…That'd match up. She started having conflicts with the Church, though I don't remember exactly what it was about." Ana set aside her silverware as she finished eating the last bits of her curry. "That's so weird! And you've never had these kinds of dreams before?" Shido shook his head. "Huh. Wanna bring it up with Bianka and Rita? I don't know if they'd be able to help, but it's worth a shot isn't it?"
"…Maybe." Shido replied with a sigh. "I don't know. I'll see if I can't figure things out on my own, first."
"May I be of assistance?" Shido flinched as Rita's voice filled his ears, as if the devil herself had come to see who had spoken her name. "Good afternoon, Ana, Origami-sama."
"Oh, hey Rita." Ana greeted in a casual manner as Origami bowed her head to the Valkyrie-maid.
"…" Shido said nothing as a cold sweat began to run down the back of his neck. He tried to make himself seem small, as if somehow in doing so, Rita would lose sight of the young man and leave him be.
"Is something wrong, Shido-sama?" It seemed that his attempts to hide failed, as Rita looked down at the young man.
"…I-I swear I wasn't trying to run from training!" Shido almost slammed his head against the table with how hard he bowed his head, his heart pounding in fear at the sight of the maid Valkyrie before him. Rita fell back a step at the sight of his intense apology, completely caught off guard by his response. "I swear!"
"…I am aware of what happened, yes." Rita said after a moment. "You two passed me on your way. I've brought some snacks, but… it seems you've already eaten."
"…O-Oh. Right." Shido felt the adrenaline fade out just like that as he collapsed back onto his seat, earning a quiet laugh from Rita. She stepped aside to reveal a small tray of snacks and a pot of tea set on a cart behind her.
"Origami-sama, Ana, feel free to help yourselves as well. There is plenty to go around, after all." Rita waved a hand over the variety of snacks. Without hesitation, Ana shot forward and started grabbing a few off the cart, her eyes sparkling with childlike joy.
"Gladly~ Thank you, Rita!" Ana exclaimed, before promptly stuffing her face full as the other three watched with a variety of expressions. With an amused smile, Rita turned back to Shido, the young man in question watching Ana casually snack with a sheepish smile.
"Once you're finished here, Shido-sama, do you think you're well enough to continue our training session?" Rita asked.
"…Yeah. I think I'm rested enough." Shido said with a sigh.
"Lovely. We can start whenever you're ready, then."