March of Recurring Laughter
With their places in the strange new class confirmed, Instructor Valestein led them back out of the dungeon, somehow right back through the room from which they had fallen in.
"What kind of sorcery is this?!" Elisha yelled.
"Ancient," Emmet muttered blandly.
"This would be an interesting training ground," Lawrence mused, to which Julia gave an exasperated sigh.
"Urgh," Ellia groaned, falling to her knees. "Glad that's…haah…over."
"Do you need to go to the infirmary, Miss Craig?" Irene asked, rushing over to check on the smaller girl.
"I'm fine!" Ellia insisted, even as she winced in pain.
"You were hurt," Irene chided. "Healing arts can tide you over, but it's best if you get proper medical attention."
"Adrenaline can be a crazy drug," Instructor Valestein added, coming over to check on Ellia's injury. "Little miss team mom here has got it right. Let's get you to Instructor Beatrix."
'Is she going to keep calling me that?'
Julia snorted, giving Irene a teasing look. Irene glared back, but it was undermined by her flustered expression.
"You know what?" their instructor said. "Might as well have all of you checked out, even if the rest of you look fine."
And so on their first day, all of the new Class VII ended up in the infirmary. Instructor Beatrix was a kind-looking elderly lady with graying blonde hair, but the lecture she barked at Ellia made evident her past as a colonel in the Imperial Army. Instructor Neithardt yelling at Instructor Valestein did not help calm things down.
Fortunately, Julia's healing art and Elisha's dubious medicine had largely staved off any lasting injury, and the ginger girl would recover with some rest. The rest of the group also managed to escape with a few cuts and bruises at most.
When all was said and done, the day was already beginning to darken when Instructor Sara finally led them towards their dorms.
"Well, here we have the commoner dorms on the left," the fuschia haired teacher said, pointing to a largely unornamented building. "Doesn't look fancy but is actually pretty nice, though definitely not as nice as the noble dorms over there on the right."
The dorms for Class I and II were also largely unornamented, but it was clear that each room was larger, judging by the fewer number of windows.
'So that's where I might be staying if I wasn't in Class VII.'
"Now that place is pretty fancy," Instructor Valestein added, gesturing towards the building, "but there's a bunch of hoity-toity types there so it's not really my speed."
At that moment, one of the windows on the top floor slid open.
"Albarea! Arseid! Schwarzer! There you are!" A noblewoman with long blonde hair shouted, sticking her head out of the window. "I was looking for you all day! Where have you been?!"
Julia sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose in exasperation. "Oh Aidios, please not now."
"Ah! Hello, Lady Friedel!" Lawrence yelled back, waving cheerily. "I am glad to see you again, how have you been since we last met?"
"Better now I no longer have to keep searching for you lot!" Friedel called back.
"F-friedel, get down from there!" Irene cried. "That can't be safe!"
Friedel smiled, nodded, then proceeded to swing herself completely out of the window, dropping to a ledge on the second story, then launching herself outwards, skidding across the the wall around the dormitory, before flipping gracefully off the wall and landing in front of the poleaxed group of red clad students.
"There! Now we don't have to shout," Friedel laughed, eyes closed in mirth.
"F-friedel!" Irene squeaked in relief and admonishment.
"Huh, nice moves!" Instructor Valestein laughed. "Uh…who are you again?"
"I am Friedel Andechs," the blonde girl introduced herself, "and I'm here to enlist a few of your students into the fencing club!"
"E-eh?!"
"More nobles?" Masha grumbled. "Can we at least get to our dormitory first?!"
"That was…kind of cool, actually," Ellia muttered.
"Lady Friedel, what in the–oh! Lady Albarea!" Another blonde noblewoman leaned out of an open window on the second floor, this one with her hair pulled up in a high ponytail.
"Theresia!" Friedel cried, "I asked them first, wait your turn!"
"I just wanted to say hello!" Theresia objected. "Oh! Hello Lawrence, Irene!"
"Lawrence?" Margarita Dresden poked her head out the same window, pushing Theresia to the side. "Lawrence!" She cheered, waving excitedly.
"Hello Lady Theresia, Lady Margarita!" Lawrence waved back.
Spurred on by that greeting, Margarita sprung out the window dropping to the ground and dashing over and clambering onto the wall as well.
"It is wonderful to see you again–ah!" She slipped overdramatically and fell, but Lawrence caught her and set her on the ground. "My hero!"
"Oh for crying out loud," Julia muttered. Masha nodded, before twitching as she realized she had just agreed with a noble, even if it was about other nobles being weird.
"Erebonians certainly are an interesting people," Gaia observed quietly.
"Did you fall just so I would catch you?" Lawrence snorted. "You are the same as ever."
"Ohoh, how familiar!" Margarita laughed. Friedel tapped her foot impatiently, annoyed at the interruption.
"Is it always like this?" Irene whispered to Julia, receiving a flat stare from her exasperated friend.
"Oook," Instructor Valestein drawled. "As fun as parkour is, I do have to get these kids tucked in after all the work they did today."
"You have your weapons already…" Friedel observed with some consternation, "and I left my sword in my room, how foolish of me!"
"Well we did just fight a bunch of monsters," Lawrence explained. "That's why we have our weapons."
"Oh? That sounds like an entertaining day!" Friedel's eyes glinted in excitement.
"Lady Julia!" Theresia called, exiting the gate to the dorm and approaching them on the footpath, having taken the stairs like a normal person. "I apologize for not greeting you earlier. I looked for you but could not find you."
"It's fine, Theresia," Julia sighed. "I was otherwise occupied."
"Alriiight," their instructor drawled. "Why don't we at least take this meet and greet to the Class VII dorm, shall we?"
"Irene! What happened?" Bridget called, a few seconds behind Theresia.
"Geez, aren't you three popular?" Sara muttered, eyeing the noble dorms suspiciously.
"Just how many of you already know each other?" Elisha wondered.
"Everyone!" Irene chided. "Please listen to Instructor Valestein. I'm sure our dorm has a place where we can all talk more comfortably, correct, instructor?"
"Yup!" the fuschia haired women nodded, continuing down the path. "Follow me kiddos!"
And so Class VII ended up being accompanied by several members of Class I and II, much to Masha and Julia's consternation.
"W-wait for me!" Ferris Florald cried a few moments later.
"They dropped you in a dungeon, Lady Julia?!" Ferris exclaimed. "Are they insane?!"
"That seems…excessive," Theresia observed diplomatically. "Our orientation last year only included rules, schedules, and the like."
"A combat portion does not seem so bad," Friedel objected. "Though why the secrecy?"
"It've been more fun," Margarita snorted.
"The trapdoor makes this sound kind of silly," Bridget agreed.
"Great, now the students are already questioning my methods," Instructor Valestein muttered. "Oh well!"
The five girls from Class I and II sat spread across a pair of couches in the lobby of the Class VII dorm, clustering around Irene and Julia, while Lawrence leaned against the wall. Friedel, unsurprisingly, sat closest to him.
Instructor Sara observed from a distance, drinking from a bottle she had produced from somewhere.
The other members of Class VII had already retired to their rooms for various reasons, Masha practically running up the stairs to avoid the group of nobles.
"It was more an annoyance than a challenge," Julia snorted. "Aside from the one at the end, the monsters were not particularly dangerous."
"Not to us, since we have combat training," Lawrence pointed out. "They posed a threat to Miss Craig, for example."
"I would have thought the daughter of Craig the Red would be quite formidable," Friedel commented.
"She is spirited, but not trained, so it is possible her father wanted a different path for her," Lawrence suggested.
"Hmm, I wonder why?" Friedel mused.
"Passing down martial training is not always considered so important among commoners," Irene explained. "Even among military families, especially in regards to daughters."
"Indeed," Theresia agreed. "From what I've seen, Saint Sandlot seems to be more of a fairy tale to commoners than an inspiration." She grimaced. "Or a character from some questionable literature. Why did Viscount Arseid not object to some of them?"
"Eh, they didn't do anything illegal," Lawrence shrugged. "And it is not like they could pass off as historical."
"It is still quite shameful," Theresia sighed.
"I am tempted to say the same for this new special class," Ferris spoke up, eying Instructor Sara suspiciously. "Why the secrecy? And the haphazard manner in which the 'test' was conducted? Not to mention placing Lady Julia in a class with commoners. Is this some sort of insult?"
"I do not think so," Irene replied. "Everyone in the class seems quite respectable, and with all these special provisions, it seems unlikely that it is meant to be an insult."
"At the very least," Julia interjected blandly, "I will not have to share a dorm with nagging suitors."
"True, those are quite annoying," Friedel commiserated, "though did you have to take Lawrence with you as well? The suitors haven't been that absurd, have they?"
"Is there someone you need me to throw out, Lady Friedel?" Lawrence asked mildly.
"Ooh, how about me?" Margarita laughed.
"Well…not at the moment," Friedel replied with a closed eye smile, ignoring the woman sitting next to her. "And please, you may call me Friedel."
"As you wish Lady Friedel," Lawrence returned, drawing a few light laughs (definitely not giggles).
"I can not say what your classmates are like, since I haven't really met any of them," Ferris continued. "But if any of them turn out to be unsavory, at least you'll have two other nobles looking out for you, Lady Julia."
"Don't you mean three?" Bridget asked, tilting her head questioningly.
"Who else?" Ferris returned.
"That purple haired man," Bridget replied. "I do not recognize him, but isn't he a noble too?"
"Mister Millstein?" Lawrence said, taken aback. "He did not claim to be. In fact he claimed his family was of no importance."
"What?! A man that beautiful has got to have some noble blood!" Bridget sputtered.
"… 'Of no significance?'…" Ferris mumbled. "He's prettier than my brother!"
"With the fastest arts cast I've seen," Lawrence added. "Not to mention some skill with a staff."
"Oh? Faster than Julia and I?" Margarita inquired curiously.
"As much as it pains me to admit it, yes," Julia confirmed. "He may even be comparable to Princess Alfin."
"Truly?!" Theresia gasped. "But isn't it the Imperial bloodline that allows for…that?"
"Do you know who his parents were?" Ferris asked, eyes narrowed suspiciously.
"He did not elaborate," Lawrence replied. "Though I got the sense they are no longer with us, so I did not pry further."
"…Suspicious," the purple haired girl muttered.
"To be fair, the staff is more traditionally used by commoners aside from my family," Margarita pointed out.
"And it is not unheard of for there to be commoners skilled in arts," Julia added. "The bracer Toval Randonnauer comes to mind."
"Didn't your father…uh…have an interesting youth, Margarita?" Bridget asked tentatively.
"Yup," the ringlet bearing girl agreed. "But he can't be my half-brother because dad takes his marriage vows seriously."
"Please don't bother Mister Millstein about that," Irene sighed. "Even if what you are thinking is true it does not seem like a topic he is comfortable with."
"I agree with Lady Schwarzer," Lawrence nodded. "And besides, it is possible he simply does not know."
"…This is going to eat at me, isn't it?" Ferris grumbled.
"Yes, it sounds like something from a story," Bridget laughed.
"Poor young man," Theresia sighed. "I couldn't imagine what it would be like to lose a parent."
"It is no easy thing," Lawrence agreed grimly, gazing off into the distance.
Friedel and Julia shot the ponytailed noble sharp looks, causing her to flinch. "A-ah, I apologize, that was thoughtless of me."
"Huh?" Lawrence grunted, glancing over to her in confusion. "It is simply the truth, no need to apologize."
Theresia flushed, eyes dropping to her lap.
'Oh. On second thought, I haven't heard anything about Viscount Arseid's wife…'
"O-on a different topic," Friedel interjected, giving Lawrence a hopeful glance. "Are any of you three red coats interested in joining the fencing club? Theresia already managed to recruit Ferris to the lacrosse club, Bridget plans on joining the music club, and Margarita is joining the cooking club."
"Do they…uh…have a fire code?" Lawrence asked sheepishly.
"It was not my fault that building lit on fire!" Margarita cried.
"Sure…" Lawrence was unconvinced.
"Have any other first years joined the fencing club?" Julia inquired, trying to steer the topic back on track.
"Quite a few expressed interest," Friedel replied. "Of note is Patrick Hyarms-"
"No." Julia scoffed. "That boy is insufferable."
"Then think of it as an opportunity to put him in his place!" Friedel smiled.
"I'll pass," Julia snorted. "Even if that sounds tempting. I believe I'll prefer the riding club."
"Ohoh! Have your eye on Lambert, do you?" Margarita tittered.
"Perish the thought," Julia shot back, rolling her eyes.
"He's not that bad, is he?" Lawrence asked.
"Truthfully? No, but I am not interested in him that way," Julia replied. "Not to mention that any such arrangement rests in my father's hands."
The girls and Lawrence winced, and decided not to speak of such things for the moment.
"How about you, Lawrence?" Friedel asked. "Surely you'd be interested in the fencing club?"
"I was actually considering the swim club," Lawrence replied, and Friedel's face fell. "Though I would be more than willing to spar with you if you desire, Lady Friedel."
Friedel's eyes lit up and she smiled, before nodding thoughtfully. "Swimming is a good way to exercise…" she trailed off, eying Lawrence speculatively.
Theresia flushed red, looking away, while Margarita grinned almost maniacally. Bridget covered her mouth to hide a laugh and Ferris sighed and shook her head. Even Julia looked like she was blushing a bit.
'What are they all thinking about? Lawrence just wants to join the swim–ohhh...'
Irene shook her head to not think about Lawrence without a shirt on.
"Is something wrong with the swim club?" Lawrence asked, looking around bemusedly.
"No!"
"Nothing at all!"
Lawrence didn't look like he believed them, but chose not to comment. Instead, he glanced Irene's way.
"How about you, Lady Schwarzer? Have you decided what club to join? Fencing or otherwise?"
Irene stiffened a bit at being singled out. "I have not decided yet. I'm afraid I have not had a chance to look at the options–"
"She'll be working for the Student Council, most likely," Julia cut in, to firm nods from the other St. Astraia alumnae.
"I h-haven't decided–"
"You'll end up there anyway," Julia snorted.
"There's no need to pressure her," Lawrence chided. "I'm sure Lady Schwarzer will find an appropriate activity of her choosing to partake in."
"The 'of her choosing' part is the problem here," Julia countered with a smirk.
"I was not aware we would be assigned activities if we did not select one," Lawrence muttered.
"N-neither was I…" Irene agreed.
"Somehow, it will happen," Julia muttered.
"A simple way of preventing that would be to join the fencing club," Friedel cut in. "You certainly could teach the other first years a thing or two."
"Of that, I have no doubt," Lawrence agreed. "I have not had the pleasure of observing any of Master Yun Kai-fa's students in person until today, Lady Schwarzer, and it was quite a fascinating thing to see." He smiled brilliantly at her, and Irene was sure she would die of embarrassment. "I look forward to witnessing what other skills you may have."
"Eeehhhh?!'
"Another one?!" Ferris muttered under her breath. Margarita just laughed.
"Are you alright, Lady Schwarzer?" Lawrence asked, with some concern.
"I'm p-perfectly fine!" Irene squeaked, face bright red.
"Perhaps you are fatigued from today's events," he asked, clearly not believing her.
"No! W-well…yes," Irene sighed. "The orienteering exercise was a bit stressful." 'Yes, please talk about that instead!'
"Fighting a gargoyle was certainly a novel experience," Lawrence observed, rolling the shoulder he had rammed into the stone monster.
"A what?!" Ferris gasped.
"I thought they were myths," Friedel remarked skeptically.
"So did I," Julia remarked drily. "But we did fight a moving stone statue."
"I suppose I shouldn't be terribly surprised after the things we saw in Lohengrin Castle," Thereisa remarked.
"Yes, sneaking away from the group was not the wisest idea, Lady Theresia," Lawrence teased, resulting in an embarrassed flush from the lanky blonde.
"I know that now!" Theresia exclaimed, crossing her arms indignantly.
"Our excursions as Junior Eisenritters aside," Friedel interjected, eyes alight with curiosity. "How did you defeat this gargoyle? It was made entirely of stone as in the stories, right?"
"Lawrence tackled it and bashed its head in," Julia answered. "He even ended it rightly."
"Ha! You really are a brute, aren't you, Lawrence dear?" Margarita chortled.
"It was a collective effort," Lawrence corrected, looking a bit perturbed by the excited looks his way. "You and Mister Millstein slagged much of its hide, and we can hardly overlook Lady Schwarzer's deadly pirouette."
"Oh?" Friedel pressed, giving Irene an expectant look.
'Wait no! Don't talk about that! It was sloppy!'
"The gargoyle hit us with a wind art, throwing us all around, but Lady Schwarzer used it to gain elevation then fell on the gargoyle from above while we distracted it," Lawrence boomed excitedly, much to Irene's mounting mortification. "The Arseid school calls some of our techniques dances, but that was something out of Arc en Ciel! Assuming what I've heard of that is correct."
"She came pretty close to cutting off the thing's head," Julia added, "even if it seemed to regenerate right after."
Irene sank down into her seat, trying in vain to avoid the attention.
"You will have to show me that technique sometime," Friedel demanded politely, giving Irene a closed eye smile. "It seems fascinating."
"...I feel a bit bad for any uppity student who picks a fight with her," Ferris mumbled, to which Bridget giggled into her hand.
"I-it wasn't that impressive!" Irene objected, desperately waving her hands. "And I failed to stick the landing properly–"
"I'm not so sure about that," Julia cut in with a smirk. "You did land in Lawrence's arms."
"Of course!" Margarita laughed. "Happens all the time!"
The circle of noble girls nodded in unison, giving the tall man a variety of exasperated looks.
"Usually it's just children or kittens who climbed into places they do not know how to get down from," Lawrence clarified, looking mildly concerned by the way everyone else was looking at him.
"I think the number is skewed due to Lawrence being large enough to actually catch people that fall, rather than merely serving as a cushion," Julia observed drily.
"I don't think having people fall on you is a common occurrence to begin with, Lady Julia," Theresia pointed out.
"Ugh, enough of this!" Ferris scoffed. "Some of you are far too interested in swords, can we please talk of something else?"
"Such as?" Friedel asked dangerously.
"W-well," Bridget began hesitantly. "I had heard that General Craig's wife was a music teacher, do you know if his daughter is musically inclined?"
"She seemed to have a sense of rhythm," Irene offered, "she was sort of dancing to an art incantation."
"She was?" Lawrence muttered in surprise.
"I do not remember that either," Julia added, giving Irene a curious look. "Then again, you did have an aerial view."
"Hehe, yeah," Irene twirled her hair tie nervously. "It was a little unnerving, in hindsight."
"Anyway," Bridget interjected. "Do you think Miss Craig might be interested in joining the Wind Orchestra?"
"I have not spoken with her very much, so I could not tell you," Irene replied.
"You could just ask her tomorrow," Lawrence shrugged.
"If you are curious about our other classmates, I would like to point out that we only met most of them today," Julia pointed out. "So it is not as if there is much point in asking about them."
"I would also like to point out that the most effective way of getting to know them might be, well, talking to them?" Lawrence drawled.
"How bold!" Margarita tittered, hand over her mouth.
"That is a fair point," Friedel admitted. "Though none of them seemed particularly interested in the fencing club."
"That may be because you singled out the three nobles in the group," Theresia suggested with a laugh. "Though I can't imagine they would think you're a typical noble, not with an entrance like that."
"I will say, that may have been an overly hasty decision," Friedel admitted, hands clasped tightly in her lap.
"It was certainly a memorable one," Lawrence laughed. "I am fairly sure they'll remember your name after that."
"I'm sure you'll have plenty of interesting freshmen joining your club, Friedel," Irene encouraged. "Though I suppose I could help out sometime, if you need."
"I suppose I could lend a hand sometimes," Julia added with feigned reluctance. "Even if Hyarms is an annoyance."
"Excellent!" Friedel smiled.
"That said," Irene continued, clapping her hands reflexively. "We are rather tired from today, and we all have class tomorrow, not to mention maybe being too loud for the other people in the dorm, so perhaps it is time we parted for today."
At that moment, a soft snore sounded from the corner, and everyone turned to find Instructor Valestein dozing off in the corner, empty bottle in hand.
"Lightweight," Ferris snorted.
"I suppose it is getting dark," Theresia commented, looking out the window at the setting sun. "It's not healthy to stay up too late."
"Would you ladies like me to walk you back to your dormitory?" Lawrence asked helpfully.
"Oh for Aidios' sake, Lawrence," Julia scoffed. "We are at Thors, there are five of them and one of them is Friedel."
"Oh? And why should that stop him from being polite?" Friedel shot back, smiling dangerously.
"U-um…" Irene tried to get their attention. "Friedel, if Sir Lawrence escorts you back to the Class I and II dormitories, wouldn't you immediately challenge him to a duel? Then you wouldn't get any sleep."
Friedel sighed as her dorm mates giggled lightly. "As you wish, Student Council President."
"I'm not–!"
Her objections fell on deaf ears as the Class I and II noble ladies left the Class VII dorm laughing.
"I think you could do well on the student council, Lady Schwarzer," Lawrence said matter-of-factly, "But there's no need to get involved if you do not wish to."
"T-thanks, I'll keep that in mind," Irene replied, face in her hands as she tried to rein in her embarrassment.
"If I had to guess," Julia muttered, "our instructor will end up foisting a fair amount of her work into Irene."
Lawrence looked as he wanted to object, then he glanced at where Instructor Valestein was sleeping in the corner and winced. "You may have a point there. Though speaking of our instructor, are we just going to leave her there?"
"Lawrence, no." Julia barked. "You are not going to carry our instructor to her room."
"E-eh?" Irene squeaked. "We can't just leave her there though."
"Give her a blanket or a pillow if you want," Julia shrugged dismissively. "It doesn't matter to me, and she is not our responsibility."
Irene sighed, retrieving one of the pillows from the couch and using it to prop their instructor's head up.
Lawrence seemed to consider using his jacket as a blanket, but Julia glared at him until he relented.
'Speaking of his jacket…'
"Um…" Irene began. "Why are you wearing your jacket like that, Sir Lawrence? Not that it looks bad–it looks good on you!" 'Wait no!'
Lawrence shrugged the jacket off and held it up in front of himself, and Irene saw the problem. "It is too small," Lawrence explained. "But I still needed to wear it since it is part of the uniform."
"But the goddess, Lawrence," Julia sighed, shaking her head in fond exasperation."You could have simply requested one in the right size."
"I didn't want to make a fuss," the tall man scratched the back of his head bashfully.
"This is Thors Military Academy, and you are the son and heir of the Radiant Blademaster," Julia pointed out. "It would not have been an issue."
"You can still put in a request," Irene added. "I'm sure we can get that fixed."
"Really?" Lawrence wondered. "It seems a bit frivolous."
"Don't think like that!" Irene chided. "Sure, it may not be the most important, but it's still an oversight that should be fixed."
"I am starting to see what Julia meant about you and the Student Council, Lady Schwarzer," Lawrence murmured, giving her an amused look.
"Eh! N-not you too!" Irene stammered.
"That's my line," Julia muttered, eying the other two in exasperation.
"I'm merely stating the truth!" Lawrence objected. "Anyways, I suppose I may as well bring it up with our instructor later, when she's sober–more sober?" He shrugged, before covering his mouth as he yawned. "Ah, my apologies."
Irene also yawned a moment later, the fatigue from the day's excitement catching up to her.
"We should probably turn in," Julia suggested, looking fairly tired herself.
The other two nobles nodded in agreement, collectively heading towards the stairs to their rooms.
'Oh…I feel bad for making him stand the whole time. I'll have to find a way to make it up to him.'
As they reached the second floor, Lawrence turned around and smiled at them. "Good night, Julia, Lady Schwarzer."
"Good night, Lawrence," Julia replied with a nod.
"U-um," Irene dithered, twining her hair tie around her finger. "If you don't mind Sir Lawrence, may I ask you a question?"
"You just did, but you can ask another," He replied simply.
"E-eh?! Oh! Umm…Hmh!" Irene stuttered. "Is there any reason you do not use my personal name?" 'He didn't seem the type to care about that, but…'
"You did not give me permission to," Lawrence replied evenly. "Would you prefer otherwise?"
"Ah! Yes! You may call me Irene," Irene stammered.
"Well, Lady Irene," Lawrence replied, "you may refer to me as simply Lawrence if you wish. Though, if I may ask, why did you think I was addressing you more formally?"
"Um…well," Irene blundered, shuffling her feet awkwardly. "I w-was thinking that it might have to do with me being a-adopted."
Lawrence stared at her blankly. "What does that have to do with anything?"
"H-huh?!"
"I only met you today, Lady Irene," Lawrence explained. "I thought it would be overly familiar to call you by your personal name. What does being adopted matter in that regard?"
"N-nothing, really," Irene demurred, playing with her hair tie awkwardly.
"It does not appear to be nothing," Lawrence observed, tilting his head curiously. "But if you do not want to say more I will not pry. Good night, Lady Irene." With that, he turned and walked down the hallway towards his room.
"Hah…" Irene let out a relieved sigh, stumbling after Julia as they walked up to the girls' floor.
"Is…is he always so intense?" the indigo-haired girl whispered questioningly to her friend.
"When not asleep," Julia returned blandly.
"He's definitely a descendant of the Eisenritter, hehe," Irene chuckled. "If he put on a suit of armor I think he'd fit in pretty well to one of those stories."
"He was like that even as a kid," Julia sighed. "When we were first introduced, he basically decided he was going to be my bodyguard for the day since I'm an Albarea and he's an Arseid, didn't even care that I was…you know."
"I…think I finally understand you Junior Eisenritters now," Irene giggled. "It must have been some experience with him there, not to mention from what I've heard of Legram."
"Yes, it was," Julia confirmed with a slight smile. "It's a bit of a shame that you did not attend, I think you would have enjoyed it."
"Ymir is about on the opposite side of the country from Legram," Irene pointed out. "And w-well, Father and Mother had practically entirely withdrawn from interacting with other nobles around that time, for my sake." She sighed, shaking her head sadly. "Given what my first few weeks at St. Astraia were like…I am not shocked they didn't want to send me that far."
"There was a bit of tension, initially," Julia admitted, "but it was hard to focus on noble distinctions when we were training, or in the presence of Viscount Arseid and Aurelia Leguin. Some of us got tossed into the lake."
"Into the lake?" Irene gasped.
"I should not have brought that up," Julia muttered. "I wasn't very good at swimming, so Lawrence had to fish me out."
"Hehe, you sure seem fond of him," Irene teased.
"He is an absolute oaf!" Julia scoffed. "But a charming one." She smiled, giving her friend a knowing look. "And it seems that you are not immune, in faaact, you might be rather weak to him."
"J-julia!" Irene gasped.
"Hah! Good night, Irene." Julia entered her room with a wave over her shoulder.
'Wait…'
"How do you know what Lawrence is like when he's asleep?"
"Good night, Irene."
AN. Started linking pictures of side characters when they are first introduced in this story.
Given St. Astraia is listed as more of a middle school, I've made it so many noble girls go there, before transferring to Thors when they are older. It confused me when Laura and Theresia are described as choosing between St. Astraia and Thors when there did not appear to be overlap in the age ranges. As such, a few of the noble girls are already friends with Irene and Julia.
Another difference is that Lawrence ended up traveling with his dad on occasion, while Laura mostly stayed at Legram, so Lawrence has also met many of the nobles in Kruezan already. It did strike me as odd that Laura did not recognize Jusis in CSI, given that they are from the same province and his family is the ruler of said province.