Estelle and Joshua had just finished yet another request. They went back to the Guild to report things to Michel. After that was the usual after-action report they had to write, so they went to the second floor.

Juna's excitable voice easily reached their ears. Estelle smiled when she remembered that she was exactly like that when she was Juna's age. When they stepped onto the second floor, the sight of Juna talking to Arios, which was no longer uncommon after a few months in Crossbell, greeted them.

"...It's been a while since I visited Shizuku. How about we go there together after training?"

Arios frowned. "A shame that you haven't visited her recently. She misses you. Do I have to chase you around to finally visit her?"

The pink-haired girl blushed. "Oh, come on, Arios! That was young Juna being brash!"

Arios raised his eyebrow.

"...And this older, wiser Juna is not brash anymore?"

Juna avoided Arios' eyes in embarrassment. It was then that her eyes met with the two Bracers. "Estelle, Joshua! Good work."

"Thank you, Juna," Joshua gave her a smile.

"It was tiring... but the feeling of satisfaction we get trumps all!" Estelle pumped her fist before two finally took a seat.

Estelle let out a sigh before she heard Juna speak.

"Oh right, I didn't see you two yesterday, so I didn't get the chance to say this," Juna clicked her finger. "I met Renne two days ago."

Estelle gasped while Joshua's eyes widened. She immediately leaned towards Juna. If she had been more composed, she would've realized that Arios raised his eyebrow at Juna's casual mention of a meeting with one of Ouroboros' enforcers.

"Where!?"

"Are you okay?" Instead of being driven by emotion like her, Joshua instead looked at the bigger picture.

Juna scratched her cheek. "She did brandish her scythe. But I'm okay! She didn't do anything to me."

"Thank Aidios..." Estelle let out a breath of relief.

"Anyway, we had a talk, and I can conclude that she's... not yet ready to be picked up by you two," Juna revealed.

"What do you mean by that?" Joshua asked for clarification.

"Now, it's just my gut feeling-" like her usual, then, Estelle thought. "-but there must be a reason why Renne is here in Crossbell exactly when the situation is like this."

"'Like this?'" This time, it was Arios who wanted to know.

"Have you been following the SSS's exploit? Sometimes I ask Lloyd when they have free time to indulge me, and when I look at the bigger picture... well, Crossbell is heating up," Juna looked around for a blank paper and pen and wrote something.

Juna then showed the paper to everyone.

"It doesn't paint the complete picture, but here's basically it. Revache is working overtime to maximize their profit, but there has been more than one attempt in a sitting. If I remember correctly, the plot to control the Septium Mine in Mainz involved the CGF and the St. Ursula Hospital, too. That's all the important places in this city. Are they not afraid of poking around? If so, why?"

Juna let her words sink in before she continued.

"And then the newcomers, Heiyue. It is an ongoing case, so don't tell anyone about it. But apparently, it's about Arc en Ciel and supposedly involved Heiyue. I don't know if there's been a new development, but the timing is suspicious. And then we all know that Crossbell's politics is a proxy war between Erebonia and Calvard despite what people say. Combine that with the upcoming election... Basically, I think something is brewing in here," Juna finished her explanation before she blinked.

"Oh, we're going off on a tangent." She put aside the paper on the table and turned her attention back to the two young Bracers. "Back to the main topic, I thought Renne being here now must not be coincidental. There has to be a reason. Now, it's just my gut feeling, as I said. So when I heard a sighting of her somewhere, I did my best to follow the lead."

Estelle noticed that Juna was avoiding mentioning the place she met with Renne. Not to mention what kind of lead she followed to meet her.

"After a few weeks, Renne finally came. But she then threatened me to stop chasing her." Juna let out a sigh of relief. "Thankfully, we didn't come into a clash, if you could even call such a hypothetical confrontation. Aidios, that scythe was certainly terrifying. Anyway, it turns out that she is here for something else, and it's purely a coincidence that she's here while Crossbell has so many incidents. After gaining a mutual understanding, we had small talks, and I got to glean at her."

That was certainly vague, Estelle noticed. Wait, Estelle crunched her eyebrows and processed Juna's words again. "You had small talks after she threatened you?"

"Ah, yeah, Ehehe..." Juna laughed sheepishly. "Anyway, from that, I can see that something is holding her back from you two. I don't know what that is, though I have my suspicions... But I guess Renne will accept your offer once she finishes whatever that is."

Joshua frowned. "Are you really sure about that, Juna? I do not doubt that you really met her. But about her accepting our offer..."

Juna nodded.

"Definitely. But of course, it's not like Renne will fall onto your lap if you don't do anything. The two of you have to keep reaching out to her in your own way. Just treat my gut feeling as a reassurance that your effort will be rewarded," Juna finished with a smile.

"I see..." Estelle breathed out. "I'm glad that Renne is alright."

If she were standing, there was no doubt that she'd fall over because her legs gave up on her. She was...

Unconsciously, tears fell down her cheeks.

"Estelle..."

"I'm sorry, I'm just- we've looked hard for the past six months..." Estelle wiped her tears with her arms. "And I'm just really happy that now she's here..."

"Yeah... we can rest a little easier after knowing that she's safe," Joshua dragged Estelle into an embrace.

"Ugh," Estelle grumbled in Joshua's embrace when she realized something. "Hasn't Renne realized that whatever bothers her, the two of us are willing to help?! Honestly, she sounds just like you, Joshua! Is being a stubborn idiot a prerequisite to becoming an Enforcer for Ouroboros or something?"

Joshua chuckled. "Ahaha... I'm really glad that you entered my life, Estelle."

"Joshua..." The two stared at each other.

"Eugh, you're doing the thing again."

Estelle whipped her head, now realizing that there were witnesses. Oh, Aidios! Her face reddened from the embarrassment of almost losing herself in front of Arios and Juna.

"Let them live, Juna. You'd understand when you find the one," Arios smiled, addressing his student.

"Alright! Now that we got a confirmation, let's double, no, triple our efforts to find her on our own! Come on, Joshua!"

"Right. Leave it to Estelle to swing the mood from relieved, crying, annoyed, and now cheerful," Joshua responded with a smile on his face.

"W-What!?" Estelle blushed at Joshua's retort. She then looked at the other occupant of the room, Arios, and Juna, who was smiling and giggling at the two's interaction.

"Oh, come on..." she whined.

Estelle then saw Arios pick up the paper containing the mind map of Crossbell's situation that Juna had drawn before. "Now, since when are you this perceptive?"

Arios questioned his student.

"Hey! I have always been perceptive!" Juna shouted playfully, playing along with Arios. "How do you think I know when Shizuku wanted to hear you? Do you think she's the type to blurt it out just like that? As cute as she is, she's also mature enough to understand that you can't spend all your time with her. But she's also not selfish enough to ask for you directly, which is why I had to do what I did back then."

Arios looked at her. This time all traces of humor were gone.

"That and this are two completely different things. It is one thing to sense the emotion of a child. It is another thing entirely to piece things together and conclude that something will happen in Crossbell."

Now Juna knew that time for playing around was over. "Um... is it that weird?"

"Not weird. It is a testament to your skill in gathering enough information and forming theories based on the evidence," Arios shook his head. "You know my history, don't you? I was a former police officer. Your method of working on things feels really familiar to me."

Juna bashfully nodded. "Thank you..."

"Especially regarding Renne. You said that it's your gut feeling, huh?" This time, a melancholic smile appeared on Arios' face. "You remind me of my late partner, Guy Bannings."

Juna's eyes widened. "...Guy?"

Arios stood up and started to walk away. "You would make a fine detective, Juna."

Once Arios left, Estelle looked at the pink-haired girl whose face was completely red.

"Haha, I guess you still can't handle being complimented sincerely," She commented after seeing Juna's state. "Wish I had an orbal camera to take a picture of you."

"Estelle!" Juna squeaked. Cutely. Now she wanted to squish that red cheeks.

"Hehe..."

"A-Anyway, this is your first time in Crossbell, right? Next week we'll have the Anniversary Festival! You need to take a break and enjoy yourself!" Juna tried to shift the topic away from Arios.

"I've heard. I hope it's as fun as the Queen's Birthday in Grancel!" Estelle answered giddily.

And so the conversation drifted into celebrations across Zemuria that Estelle and Joshua had attended.

A/N: if you're curious about what Juna drew, just go to the Spacebattles thread. Ffn is being a bitch in including links.