Randy and Juna were sitting at the bus stop on Mainz Mountain Path. They were waiting for the bus to come. Considering that they were going to the Rosenberg Mansion, they decided that fighting their way from the start would be too tiring, especially since Juna was still a beginner in fighting monsters. Sure, Randy could handle them, but in the end, it was better for them to go halfway there with a bus. After that, Juna could use the exercise against monsters to sharpen her skill with Randy's supervision.

"Hey, Juna," Randy called out to her after a few minutes of consideration. He wanted to breach a topic but didn't know how to approach her for it. In the end, he settled for giving Lloyd a mention. The two were closer than Juna was to the other SSS member, after all. "Lloyd said to me that you know something about my past."

Juna glanced at him from the side. "What? Your past?"

Randy blinked in confusion.

"You mean you didn't know about my past? Why, then, when I talked to the SSS about it, Lloyd said that you mentioned knowing my past?"

"Hmm..." Juna hummed. This was her usual stance when she was thinking. "Oh, don't tell me..."

She sighed.

"I think there is a misunderstanding. I did say something about the SSS's past to Lloyd, but it's not you."

"Not me?"

"Yeah, it's Tio's. I dunno if Lloyd noticed it, but after the Renne fiasco, I noticed something when we were having fun in Long Lao and told Lloyd about it. Since I don't want to distract you guys, I just mentioned something vague, including whose past it was I noticed," Juna exhaled. "I didn't know that your past would come up exactly one day later."

Randy gasped in surprise.

Did... Did Lloyd misattribute Juna's warning, which was only about Tio's past, to him? He chuckled. What were the chances, really?

"I guess you were telling the truth when you said you are not a seer."

"Exactly! I connected the dots about Tio's past and warned Lloyd about it, and the next day your past came up. What the heck?! I don't even know anything about your past!" Juna shouted before she mumbled something that Randy couldn't hear.

She then sighed.

"Now that this topic has come up, do you mind if I know what part of your past is troubling you? It's okay if you don't want to. I just... ugh. It's hard to tell you because I want to keep Tio's privacy too. I want to know because maybe I can connect your past to something else for the future."

"It's fine. The part of my past that I kept secret from everyone in the SSS for the past months before it suddenly came up last week is that I'm formerly a Jaeger. I was part of the Red Constellation Corps before I ran away several years ago. Couldn't stand the business, y'see."

Juna crunched her eyebrows. "Jaeger... but... Is it possible? Sequel... Joshua too..."

Seems like her ability was at work, considering her murmurs.

"Randy. Have you and Lloyd discussed his motivation to return to Crossbell? I always thought he was not coming back here after moving away to Calvard to live with his relatives," Juna suddenly threw a curveball at him, asking something unrelated to his past.

"No. Not really. But..." Randy's mind remembered one interesting fact. "I saw Lloyd perusing the old case of Guy's death. You know him, right? Lloyd's brother." Randy didn't know much about it himself, but Guy was murdered three years ago, and the trail went cold before the murderer was found. There were rumors that Revache sent an assassin after him. "Maybe Lloyd came back here to look for his brother's murderer."

Juna let out a long breath at his words.

"Crossbell is really in a pinch, huh."

"...is this you jumping at the conclusion again?" Randy brought out his notes. Lloyd asked him to take notes whenever Juna used her ability, so he was going to fulfill it. "Can you elaborate?"

"I'm one hundred percent sure that Tio's past is gonna come up, and the four of you have to face them. And then suddenly, you revealed that part of your past came up. It made me think that sometime in the future, the Red Constellation will clash against the SSS."

Randy sucked a breath, and his pen was frozen in his grip. Slowly, a frown formed on his lips.

"Hey, Juna. Are you serious?"

"I'm not one hundred percent sure about it, but there is a big chance that my prediction will come true. And the same goes for Lloyd. No, I am one hundred percent sure that the truth about Guy's murder case will be revealed in the future."

Randy unconsciously gripped his pen tighter. His Old Man... Uncle and Shirley... his junior in the Corps... did he really have to face them in the future? Juna's words weren't a hundred percent certainty, but they had never led the SSS wrong before. So Lloyd always considered her words in high regard. Because they once dismissed Juna's prediction and later it came true, the SSS's policy about Juna's words was 'correct until proven wrong.'

Perhaps sensing the tumultuous conflict hidden within Randy's stoic expression, Juna backpedaled.

"Well, it's not always physical confrontation. There is a chance that the Red Constellation will try to take you back, and you will face a personal conflict of choosing between your past and your present."

Randy shook his head. "No. I will never come back to my old life. You can be sure about it."

"...taking that into consideration, physical confrontation it is," Juna ended with a sigh.

Gathering his composure, Randy noted Juna's prediction for both the Red Constellation and Guy's murderer. "So, how did you arrive at that conclusion? Lloyd asked me to take notes, by the way."

Juna blinked. "Oh. Right. Remember how Elie's past came up when you told me about the attack on Mayor MacDowell? And then I noticed something about Tio's past that will definitely come up in the future. Taking that into consideration, only the two of you are left. So Lloyd's and your past will come up too."

What? Randy stopped writing. He turned to the pink-haired girl who said something outrageous so casually.

"How does that even make sense?"

Why did Elie's past and Tio's become a sign that his and Lloyd's would come up?

Juna's expression was awkward as if she wanted to say something but couldn't. "Ahaha... it doesn't make sense if you're not me."

"Alright. I'll just quote you on that," Randy said as he continued writing Juna's explanation. "Still, I'm sure that Lloyd will be grateful when he hears that Guy's murder case will become clear."

Randy mused.

"Yeah, I hope that Lloyd and Cecile can get their justice."

Soon, the bus came, and the two entered the bus. It took the bus around half an hour to arrive at the intersection to the Rosenberg mansion. Randy and Juna got off the bus here.

"Well, here it is, Juna. Are you ready?"

Juna unsheathed her sword, a nervous smile on her face. "Right. We will not be going for stealth this time, huh?"

"Hmm, right. You came to the Rosenberg mansion alone before, didn't you?" Randy asked when he remembered that Juna had come here to investigate Renne before. "Were you avoiding the monsters?"

"Yeah, and I only faced those that I can't escape from," Juna nodded in affirmation.

"How does it feel?"

"Scary," Juna admitted with a breath. "I can see why people who haven't trained since they were little want little to do with monsters. I was included in that category until recently."

Randy hummed, "That's right. What makes you want to join the Bracer Guild, anyway? To the point where you declined Lloyd's invitation to join the SSS."

Juna did not want to join the SSS when Lloyd invited her last week. Sure, they could wave it as her being more attached to the Bracer Guild. But seeing how she was still green at facing monsters because she hadn't even hit the one-year mark in being trained by Arios if what she said was true. And yet that spawned a new question; why was she so determined to become a Bracer after her internship in the hospital?

But Randy had to put a hold on that as several monsters approached.

"Can that wait?"

"Sure," Randy's hand gripped his battle axe. He'd let Juna handle the monsters and would only intervene if she needed it. "Go wild, Junie."

"Roger!"

In the end, Randy had to bail Juna three times. All of them because Juna insisted on taking care of the monsters when she was tired instead of resting. Aside from that, Juna was actually decent. She left huge openings when facing a crowd, which was kind of strange because Arios was infamous for being able to handle several monsters at once with his Eight Leaves One Blade technique. Maybe she needed more training? Randy didn't know. But aside from that one flaw, she was honestly as good as the newbie in the CGF that Randy had to supervise once.

"You're actually better than you said you were, Junie."

"Really?" Juna blinked. "I don't think I'm that good. I've only been at this for several months, after all."

Randy had to stare at how casually she downplayed herself. Could it be...

"Junie... are you sure you're not comparing yourself to some exceptional people like, say, Arios?"

Juna let out a sheepish laugh. "No way, even I know Arios is amazing. But yes, compared to the younger Bracers, like Estelle and Joshua, I'm really lacking in the martial department."

"...You're still comparing yourself to the daughter and adopted son of a Divine Blade. Lower your standards a bit, will you?" Randy sighed. "Your flaws are nothing that experience can't cover. Maybe ask Arios for more monster extermination exercises?"

"Alright! Thanks for the tips, Randy. Let's continue!"

Juna raised her hand excitedly even though she was almost hurt from the previous bout.

"Speaking of, can you answer the question from before? Why do you want to become a Bracer?" Randy asked again, now that the situation was calm. This wasn't just for his curiosity. Sure, Lloyd understood Juna's decision not to join the SSS, but Randy knew that his buddy was disappointed that Juna wouldn't join them. If he knew why, then maybe he could at least relay the answer to Lloyd.

Juna sheathed her sword. They were near the Rosenberg mansion, and her eyes saw no monsters in the vicinity. Once she sheathed her sword, Juna didn't release her hand from the handle. Juna looked up to the sky, thinking about how to answer.

After several seconds, Juna released her hand from her sword.

"After I was admitted to the St. Ursula Hospital as the youngest intern, I was happy that I could do something useful with my 'above average intelligence.' I did everything I could until something happened with a doctor there. Long story short, I resigned from the internship and found myself having nothing to do. I felt restless. I wanted to do something. Arios then visited Shizuku and offered his thanks. It was then that I knew what I wanted to do. I want to learn swordsmanship from him and become a Bracer. So, yeah. There's nothing groundbreaking about it. My decision was something that came suddenly, though I don't regret it one bit. After that, I was introduced to everyone at the Bracer Guild and grew attached to them. So I feel like if I accepted Lloyd's offer from last week, I'd betray everyone in the Guild. I know it's irrational, but that's how I feel. Sorry, Randy."

...so she was perceptive enough to see why he asked her. Randy sighed.

"You caught me. Lloyd was really disappointed you didn't want to join us."

"Ahaha... but we can still work together once I officially become a Junior Bracer," Juna gave a thumbs up.

Soon, they arrived in front of the gate of the mansion.

"Right. So we're here. What are you going to do now?"

"Mr. Rosenberg! Renne! Are you there?!"

Randy let out a chuckle, seeing how Juna just straight-up shouted instead of doing something else.

The door and the gate to the mansion were opened.

"Good Afternoon, Juna, Randy," Renne curtsied. "To what do we owe the pleasure? Also, Juna, Gramps said that your shouting distracted him."

"Good. That was my intention. Otherwise, he'd just ignore me."

Renne giggled at Juna's answer. "That kind of reasoning is why Gramps doesn't like you, Juna. Anyway, why do you come here? Is it because of the commotion at the Schwarze Auction?"

Randy exhaled. "I shouldn't be surprised that you know that information. You're the one giving us the ticket in the first place."

"That, or she hacked the info out of some poor schmuck's Terminal," Juna chimed in. She then turned towards Randy. "See what I mean with Imelda? If she knew something, she'd gloat about it like Renne just did."

"Hold on. You're comparing me to Imelda? I admit she's a crafty one. But she's too tight! I'm way more fun than her!" Renne whined at being compared to the old crone.

Randy couldn't resist joining in on the fun. "...yeah, I can see it. Renne could grow up to be like her."

"You stay out of this!"

"Not exactly one-to-one, but I can see you grow up to be a bitter old crone like she is," Juna playfully smirked at the younger girl.

"Grrr... Hmph. See if I care enough to help you after that remark," Renne crossed her arms and pouted.

"Oh, okay then. Please excuse me."

"Wait, what are you doing?" Renne stopped Juna from entering the mansion.

"You said you won't help us, right?" Juna shrugged. "Might as well go directly to Mr. Rosenberg to get our answers."

"You definitely can't just ignore me after that!"

Seeing the two interact, Randy couldn't help but smile. Renne looked like a child having fun being needled by Juna like that. It was a far cry from the last time he saw her.

"Anyway, so you do know about what happened at the auction, then. Do you know that they swapped the 'supposed' Rosenberg doll with a living, breathing girl?"

"Oh, I know," Renne smirked.

"What seems to be the matter that you approached the mansion?"

"Do you know if Mr. Rosenberg really sent a doll and not the girl? If so, can we know the recipient?"

It seemed that Renne did not expect Juna to ask about the doll instead of KeA. Her face lost its smirk for an instant before Renne covered it up with a blank expression.

"I did not see it myself, but I think you can guess the answer to the first question. Gramps is a consummate professional. There is no way he wouldn't fake an order for his creation."

Randy saw Juna sigh. "As expected. I just want to confirm it. Then, what about the second question? Who was the recipient of the doll? Because Gramps sending a real doll means that the one smuggling KeA in was the recipient of the doll."

"I don't think he would reveal that," Renne sighed. "Gramps is uptight about client confidentiality. That's why everyone trusts him. I don't think he'd even reveal what the doll he sent in that package looked like."

"Argh, damn it. We came here for nothing," Juna grumbled.

"Don't say that, Junie. At least we know that somebody switched the Rosenberg doll with KeA. Our next move is to identify who did that," Randy assured the pink-haired girl that her effort wasn't futile.

Juna shook her head before she spoke. "My bad. You're right, Randy."

She turned towards Renne.

"Renne, thank you for answering our questions."

"Hmph. You just used me as a confirmation, anyway," Renne replied, to which Juna only laughed. "Anyway. I don't know much, but there is one thing you need to think over about all this."

"The reason why the culprit switched the Rosenberg Doll with KeA, right? I did consider it. But I figured it's too broad of a chance to pinpoint the motive from that, so I tried approaching it from another angle," Juna revealed casually.

"Tch. Your mind is as sharp as ever," Renne clicked her tongue in frustration.

"Why, thank you. Oh well, I'll just leave the real investigation to the SSS, then. I'm sure you guys will be able to solve it," Juna shrugged.

"It's nice to see people putting their faith in us," Randy grinned.

"Well, if there's nothing else, we'll excuse ourselves, Renne. Give my thanks to Mr. Rosenberg, will you?"

"Sure. See you later, Juna."

"See you later, Renne," Juna waved before the two of them descended the hill to go back to the city.

Entering the SSS building, Randy and Juna saw Lloyd and Elie were already home.

"Good Evening, everyone."

"Yo."

Juna and Randy greeted the two.

"Juna, Randy. Good Evening. How was it?"

Juna then plopped down on the sofa with a sigh. "It's no use. The lead I tried to follow is going nowhere."

"Junie tried to investigate where the real doll is to see if she could determine the perpetrator from there, but Imelda didn't know anything, and Joerg Rosenberg is a professional who wouldn't tattle his customer. Unless there's a warrant, both Junie and I think it's a dead end. But we're tied down on that front," Randy explained. The root of the problem was the police taking the 'olive branch' offered by Revache. If it weren't for that, Randy was sure they could have more freedom to look around for information.

"By the way, where's KeA?"

"KeA is with Tio. She wants to hog KeA because we're the ones spending time with her today," Elie explained with a resigned but fond sigh.

"I see... so that's the angle you're going for. Certainly, if we know who's the one ordering the doll in the first place, then we can trace the perpetrator of KeA's smuggling," Lloyd hummed at Juna's approach.

"Yeah," Juna nodded, a little disappointed. "Though, it's not all bad. Even if this won't answer anything, at least our talk with Renne confirmed several facts. First, Mr. Rosenberg really sent the real doll. That means whoever ordered it and put it in the auction is most likely the one who had KeA."

"True. That's why you went to confirm to Mr. Rosenberg, right?" Lloyd asked for confirmation.

"Yup. Second, now that we established that somebody switched the real doll with KeA, we arrive at the fact that the real doll is still missing out there."

"Meaning that there are two possibilities. Either the perpetrator will sell it again in the black market, or they put it as a collection."

"I can ask Bell if she hears anything about a new Rosenberg Doll in the underground," Elie said. "The perpetrator will most likely wait for several months before they try to sell it to throw suspicions away, though."

"Thank you, Elie. I don't think I'll get a positive response from Mariabell if I were the one to ask her," Lloyd said with a grimace.

"Mariabell?" Juna suddenly looked at Lloyd in confusion. "As in Mariabell Crois, the daughter of Dieter Crois, the CEO of International Bank of Crossbell?"

"Yeah. She and Elie are friends. Oh, and she hates Lloyd," Randy answered with a chuckle.

"I don't even know why she hates me," Lloyd nodded with a lost expression while Elie just facepalmed. The dense babyface lady killer didn't even realize that Mariabell hated him because of his dense babyface lady killer tendencies, Randy mused in his mind.

"So why do you think Mariabell Crois can help trace the missing Rosenberg Doll?"

Juna's question brought them back to the matter at hand.

"Bell is a collector of Rosenberg Doll. If anyone knows the latest news of them, it's Bell," Elie explained.

"I see..." Juna trailed off at Elie's answer. "Anyway, back to the topic. The third fact we know is that they must have released KeA from their hold for a reason."

Juna looked left and right before she lowered her voice to a whisper. "I think KeA is deliberately planted there at the auction for a greater purpose that we still don't know."

"Greater purpose?" Randy couldn't help but ask. What did Juna mean by that?

"Is this related to what you told Lloyd this morning?" Elie asked the pink-haired girl.

Juna nodded. "Yes. I said this to Lloyd this morning, I suspect KeA is really important for Crossbell's future. I still can't explain how or why, but if we look at the possible reason why KeA is planted there at the auction... I can't help but think that the perpetrator put KeA there because they wanted her to be found by you guys or other elements in Crossbell. For what reason? As I said, we still don't know. But it might be related to her missing memories."

"Related to KeA's amnesia?"

"That's right. It's... there's no factual basis for this suspicion of mine, but please keep that in mind if you can," Juna finished with a sigh.

Lloyd looked like he was in deep thought. After several seconds, he opened his eyes and looked at Juna with frown.

"...are you saying there's a possibility of the perpetrator coming for KeA when her memories recovered?"

What? Randy didn't understand how Lloyd came to that conclusion. But apparently, that was the correct conclusion because Juna's face lit up into a big smile.

"Exactly! That's why... keep her safe and close, okay?"

"As I said this morning, we definitely will," Lloyd nodded. "Isn't that right, Elie, Randy?"

"Yes."

"Don't worry."

"And I'm sure Tio will also do her best to keep KeA safe."

Juna replied with a smile. "Thanks for not dismissing my gut feelings, guys."

After that, the conversation became lighthearted before Juna went home for the evening.


A/N: Intermission chapter complete. Haha, isn't it funny exactly one day after Juna said something about the SSS's past, it really came up? Unfortunately for Lloyd, he couldn't be more wrong since it was Randy's instead of Tio.

By the way, if you still don't get it or have not read the main story, The SI-ed Juna here has a 'special' ability to read tropes, but the catch is that the game's cast have mental block to not be able to recognize tropes, hence Randy's confusion at Juna's conclusion that since Elie's past has come up and Tio's past definitely would come up, then there's a chance Lloyd and Randy's past to come up, too. Juna can conclude that but Randy and everyone else cannot. ...well, except for Full Detective Point Lloyd Bannings. We're starting to see that he began to grasp the underlying mechanism that Juna exploits by his conclusion this chapter.