After the loss of the Twin Dragons Bridge the remnants of the Kreuzen Provincial Army were forced to pull back to Bareahard. This left the 4th Armored in control of a large swath of the province, an area which included the market town of Celdic. With the Courageous in need of resupply and Class VII deserving of a day of rest the decision to spend the day in the market town was agreed upon.

It was one that Rean was grateful for as the town was in a very celebratory mood. He recalled just how downcast the place had been when he infiltrated it with Toval weeks prior, so seeing how jubilant the people were after being freed from Duke Albarea's rule was a nice change of pace. That he and the others played no small part in everything made it an even better feeling.

"Why is everyone so loud?" The deadpan voice next to him complained. So perhaps not everyone seemed as enthused with the current situation, but Rean knew better.

"Quit complaining, Fie. They have every reason to be happy and you know it."

Said girl stared back at him with a bored expression, but the corner of her lips curved upwards. "But how am I supposed to find the time for a nap when everyone is being so noisy? I guess I could try the inn..."

"...Please tell me that you are not seriously considering a nap right now?" The exasperation from his opposite side drew eyes towards the blue-haired girl. "We don't often get days like this, so maybe you could consider being a little more ambitious for a change?"

"I'll consider it."

The swordsman rolled his eyes in amusement. Laura was right. With everything that had happened this was the first real chance they had gotten to spend time together without a mission to accomplish in what felt like ages, even if it hadn't actually been all that long. Just a nice day to themselves. Taking advantage of the opportunity he had suggested that they check out the market together, something which both girls readily agreed to.

Walking hand in hand with a pair of beautiful women at his sides was enough to draw a lot of attention, which did make him feel a little self-conscious, but not so much as to dampen his enthusiasm for the day. Especially because neither girl seemed all that bothered by the situation. The snickering of a few of their classmates as they passed the trio was a slightly different story, but he knew the future teasing would be all in good fun.

"Where shall we go first?"

He pondered Laura's question. "Want to just walk around for a while and take in all the stalls?"

"Very well. It's been so long since I was last here. It will be nice to take in everything once more."

"Lucky." Fie groused. "I was here for an entire month but didn't get a single chance to check the place out."

"Right, and you weren't with us during that field study. Parm, right? How was-" Rean trailed off at her miserable look. "Oh. Right." She was with Jusis and Machias back when they were at each other's throats. He had a suspicious feeling that her memories of that place were less than ideal.

Laura let out a small laugh at the other girl's expense, having similar thoughts as him. "Let's hope we can make some good memories for you now."

Despite the exuberance in the air the effects of the war were still noticeable as many of the stalls were devoid of life, but there were still plenty open for the three of them to check out. The first one they visited was a produce shop that he was very familiar with. The shopkeeper's eyes lit up as he witnessed the trio's approach.

"Awrite, troops, I heard all about yer little rescue mission! Cannae believe ye even chased off those provincial bampots! Pure brilliant!"

"Oh, right. You're Becky's father, aren't you?" As if the accent wasn't a complete giveaway.

"That's right! Mah wee girl's bin a' excited sin she heard whit ye guys did. Told me that she was planning on opening her ain wee piece o' th' Celdic marketplace onboard th' Courageous."

Rean blinked as he tried to parse the words. A glance at the girls provided no help. Eventually he thought he understood the meaning of his words. "She's going to open a shop on the Courageous? Should we go help her set it up?"

"Na need! She's a chip aff th' auld block. Ah bet she's already over there searching for a plook tae set up shop. Wahaha!"

"...I do not believe there is any problem with that?" Despite her words Laura had a very dubious look on her face. They could picture the confusion of those watching over the ship as a confident Becky strolled up with a cart filled with her goods demanding entry onboard. And yet that image brought a smile to his face. It was so like her.

"Bit enough aboot that! this is a day for celebration! if ye see anythin' ye lik' go oan ahead! Tis all on th' hoose today!"

Laura was quick to shake her that. "Thank you for the generous offer, but we couldn't... Fie!"

Said girl didn't seem to share that opinion as she wordlessly reached over and grabbed a juicy looking apple before biting into it."

"Wahaha! That's whit I'm talking aboot! A few apples tae some deserving heroes wilnae hurt me any! Go ahead!"

The apples did look very fresh and tempting. And since the merchant was insisting... Hesitantly he followed Fie's lead and scored a fruit for himself. With a sigh but no further complaints Laura too followed suit.

Eventually the three bade farewell to the kind man and continued their tour of the marketplace, but not before he all but forced Rean to take a large bag of fruits to share with his classmates later. They remained silent save for the occasional crunching of apple, content to bask in the atmosphere of the place. There was even a musician playing in one of the nearby rest areas and Rean wasn't at all surprised to see his music-loving friend sitting there in attendance.

"Fifty mira says Elliot eventually snaps and begins playing his own music."

"Nobody is foolish enough to take that bet." Laura was quick to shoot down Fie's challenge, causing the younger girl to mock pout.

The next stall they stopped at... "Is it only honey?"

"That's right! Honey, honey candies, and anything else honey-related that you can think of!" The female merchant didn't seem at all put off from Laura's comment.

She wasn't lying either. The stall was filled to the brim with jars and boxes of the sweet yellow liquid in many forms. "Honey is good..." Fie agreed with a dubious look, "but an entire stall of the stuff? Is that really good business?"

The merchant smirked proudly. "For most people, not at all, but my honey is different! I have customers from all corners of our great Empire and each and every single one of them knows without a shadow of a doubt that I carry the finest honey around!" She paused to pop open a smaller jar that Rean assumed was for samples. "If you don't believe me then try for yourself."

Unsurprisingly the first to take her up on her offer was Fie, who grabbed a sample spoon before scooping out some and popping it into her mouth. "Woah..."

"Remarkable." Laura exclaimed after following suit. "Father always keeps a jar in our kitchen, but I've never tried honey as... pure as this."

Rean found himself nodding in agreement. The honey was sweet, but not painfully so. In fact the sticky substance felt rather soothing in his throat. It was truly remarkable stuff.

"Hah! I told you so! My honey is the bee's knees, except not really because bees do not possess knees. What they do have are long tongues that they use to get the pollen out of-"

While her enthusiasm was commendable, Rean couldn't help but tune out the merchant as she went into a long dialogue about bee facts. He was just about to find an excuse so they can politely make their exit when she finished her lecture and focused on him with a hawk-like gaze.. "...So how about it? I have a special offer on the table for you students who helped drive out those honey-hating jerks. Just before the Transcontinental Railroad went down I was able to get a batch of the finest honey from Armorica Village, and with everything going on here and in Crossbell it may be years before the chance arises again. One jar is all it would take to earn the adoration of your lady friends."

It was such an obvious ploy to goad him into making a purchase. And Rean was confident that both Laura and Fie were both too intelligent to fall for such a ruse and too practical to ever expect him to buy something like this for them...

...So why were both girls gazing at him with expectant looks in their eyes?

He was Rean Schwarzer, intermediate level swordsman of the Eight Blades school and pilot of the Ashen Knight. He had stared down a being of great power during his trials in the Old Schoolhouse. He had conquered his inner demons. He had bested the most powerful soldats the Noble Alliance could throw at him. He had even survived an encounter with his girlfriend's father.

There was no way he was going to falter here!

Rean let out a grunt as he now found himself carrying two large bags. Who knew that a jar of honey could be so heavy? And after having carried the large bag of apples in his other arm for so long...

He felt a powerful hand pat his back. "Hehe. You're the best." ...Perhaps it wasn't all bad?

Laura however looked rather meek after the entire ordeal. "M-My apologies. I understood that that was all just a big marketing ploy, but in the heat of the moment I lost control and-"

"I totally knew what I was doing." Fie stated proudly. "But that honey was too good to ignore. We aren't sharing it with the others."

"Damn right we aren't." He had to blink at his own retort. The honey really hadn't been crazy expensive so he wasn't sure why he was so protective of it. Maybe it was because it was a special treat he had gotten for just the three of them?

...Or maybe deep down he understood that letting Millium find this large quantity of high quality sugar would almost certainly end with the destruction of the Courageous?

"Would you like some help with that, Rean?" Although Laura didn't specify, her pointed gaze towards the bags in his hands made her offer clear. Bless her kindness.

"Nah." So naturally the demon on his other side had to ruin things. "Isn't the big strong guy supposed to be nice and carry around the bags for the weak helpless girls?"

"...Pretty sure you 'weak helpless girls' are strong enough to carry me around if you wanted." Ignoring how Fie puffed up at the praise he focused his attention back on Laura. "Thanks for the offer, but I'm fine. This little bit is nothing." It wasn't exactly nothing, but he did have his own pride to consider.

She didn't look entirely convinced, but nodded anyway. "Very well, but if you change your mind do not hesitate to say so." Her gaze shifted past him to the still-grinning girl on the other side. "And you are a menace. I have no idea why we keep you around."

For her part Fie was content to let out a shrug. "You guys love me and you know it. Imagine what you two would be talking about if I weren't here. Swords or something equally boring, probably."

He shared an offended glance with Laura. Fie was probably right, but that was only because she didn't understand the intricacies of the martial schools they studied. It was all quite fascinating stuff!

The next stall they approached was perhaps the largest one in the entire market, and it wasn't hard to see why. While most of the other merchants specialized in one good or another, this one seemed to be have literally one of everything: Books, cooking supplies, tech pieces that he couldn't make heads or tails of, and more.

Come to think of it, wasn't this the stall that he originally found the first weird indecipherable book at? Combined with the one he discovered in Bareahard and the one he recently found while in the Nord Highlands that now made three different volumes in his possession. He still had no idea what they were, but there was just something to them that made him want to find them all...

Curiously they spread out to glance over everything. For his part Rean found himself drawn to the book selection. He had acquired such a good selection of books during his year at Thors, but they were all trapped at the dorm where he could no longer access them. Having something available to read on board the Courageous might be nice.

He was surprised by just how many Calvardian books the merchant had. Tensions between the two countries always ensured that commerce was rare, which was especially true right now with the Transcontinental Railroad out of commission. His eyes noticed the Gambler Jack series among the books, but that was no surprise. Those stories were always popular, even in the Empire. He had the entire collection at his home in Ymir after all-

He froze as his eyes glanced at something different. There was a Gambler Jack II now!?

Well, that made his decision easy! He had only intended on purchasing one book, but how could he resist the adventures of Jack and Hal? They weren't too expensive, but he couldn't help but groan as he realized that the combined weight he was about to be carrying was getting rather high. Still, it was a sacrifice he was willing to make.

He was just about to go make his purchase when he noticed something that put a halt to his action. Off to the corner of the stall away from the more practical goods there was a display featuring a bunch of silly accessories. The thing that really caught his attention?

A bunch of cat ear headbands.

As he gazed upon one such headband with white ears he hesitated. He knew someone that they would be perfect on. But was he bold enough to try it? A subtle glance towards his side showed that she was currently engrossed with something that looked to be a razor... with an alarm clock? Weird, but it meant that she wasn't paying the slightest bit of attention to him. Perfect.

After setting down the Gambler Jack books he grabbed the accessory. Fie turned, curious as to what had gotten his attention, but that just made it all the easier for him to place the cat ears on the unsuspecting girl's head.

Even as realization sunk in and she leveled him the most deadpan look possibly he couldn't find it in himself to have any regrets. She looked utterly adorable.

"Pffft...!" Laura, who had turned to see what all the commotion was did her best to keep in her laughter, but it was an impossible task. "Hahahaha!" She all but bent over she was laughing so hard. "S-Sorry! B-but you look so ridiculous! Hahaha!"

Her distraction was enough to cause Fie to shift her glare from him. She stood there watching as the Arseid noble tried and failed to regain her composure with a twitching eye, but eventually a sly grin came to the mischievous girl's face. Retracing Rean's steps she approached the display and grabbed another white-eared accessory.

"W-Wait! N-No!" Eyes widened as Laura realized her intentions and tried to back away, but in her current state she stood no chance against Fie's speed. Soon enough the blue-haired girl found herself sporting matching ears.

"Huh. Not bad." The original white cat nodded in satisfaction at her handiwork.

Rean understood that opening his mouth right now would be a terrible idea, as it would draw attention to himself and almost certainly spell his doom, but he couldn't help himself. "You both look so cute like that."

Sure enough, two pairs of eyes glanced at him before turning back towards each other. No words were spoken, but that didn't mean he couldn't understand the silent conversation that took place between the two girls. Thus he elected to not attempt a futile resistance when Laura followed suit and placed a third accessory – this one with black ears – upon his head.

"...We must look so silly right now." Despite her words the smile on the Arseid's face was quite genuine.

Fie too held a similar expression, although there was a hint of teasing on her face. "Shoulda known Rean would have a weird fetish like this."

"I don't have a weird fetish!" He let out quickly with a burning blush on his face. "I just... thought it would look good on you."

...Oh no. Maybe she was right? Did he in fact have a weird fetish?

"Rean's... unique tastes aside." Now even Laura was teasing him! "I think we should put these back before-"

"Wait." He cut her off just as her hands began to reach up to follow her own advice. He turned towards the merchant who had been watching their back and forth with barely concealed amusement, causing him to color slightly in embarrassment. "I'll take these." He pointed towards the stack of books he had set aside. "...And these." This time he pointed towards the ears on top of his head.

"Huh?!"

"Rean?"

He ignored their surprise as he focused on handing over the mira needed. Only once that was done did he turn his attention back to them while trying to ignore the additional weight he had just burdened himself with. "I know. It feels weird buying something as goofy as this in the middle of a war, but maybe that's the point? None of us can possibly know what the future will bring, so why not enjoy our free day doing something as silly as wearing cat ears?"

"...You're weird." Fie's flat expression couldn't hide the fact that she was making no effort in removing the accessory in question.

Unsurprisingly, Laura was far more honest with her expression as she smiled gently at him. "Perhaps you're correct. It is something to remember this day. In that case, thank you for the gift. I shall treasure it."

"...And you're a total dork!" The former jaeger interjected. "'I shall treasure it'? It's just a silly gag gift from a guy with a weird fetish!"

"Not a weird fetish."

He had no idea who started laughing first, but due to the infectious nature of it quickly spread until all three of them were chuckling freely. Trying to calm down was futile as they would inevitably drag him back in in a neverending cycle of comedy. He suspected that they must have been an odd sight to the Celdic natives and the other shoppers as they stood there laughing together with cat ears on their heads.

"I think I needed that." Laura muttered a few minutes later after they had finally calmed down after relocating to a more private area. "It has been quite some time since I was able to laugh without any worries..."

"Wish we hadn't made fools of ourselves like that, but..." A mirthful Fie let out a tiny shrug. "...Yeah."

He let out a brief chuckle – a far cry from his previous laughter. "True, but it could have been a lot worse." At their gazes he elaborated. "...Pretty sure Instructor Sara ran off to the bar the second we entered town, so there's no chance she saw us."

"Indeed." The blue-haired girl let out a shudder as she was almost certainly thinking about the teasing that could have ensued. It was silent for a moment until her gaze lowered and he realized that she was staring at the now three bags in his hand. "Are you certain you don't need our help with that – And no more comments from you!" That last line was directed towards an amused looking Fie who could only look away with a pout.

Although the weight wasn't too extreme, he would be lying if he said that carrying around a bag of apples, a heavy jar of honey, and now a collection of books for so long wasn't starting to wear him down. Still... "I was thinking about heading back and dropping it all off. I want to check in on Valimar, too." While the soldats he had faced on the bridge were no longer any real issue there had been quite a few of them. Better to make sure his Divine Knight was recovering well enough for their next battle. "Did you want to come with?"

"Sure, I don't mind-"

"Actually..." Both he and Fie were surprised when the latter was cut off like that. "There was one thing I wanted to check with Fie's assistance first. It should only take us a few minutes, so we can catch up with you on the ship."

He glanced towards the silver-haired girl, but she seemed just as confused as he was. Still, he trusted them. "Alright. I'll see you soon."

After a quick hug – which they initiated as his hands were still too full – the Ymir native reluctantly parted from the two girls. The Courageous wasn't parked too far out of Celdic so the walk wasn't too long. Just as he was about to step out of town...

"Leaving so soon?"

Turning towards the voice he was surprised at its owner. It was the same hooded man that guided them through their infiltration of the Twins Dragons Bridge two weeks prior! If he was approaching Rean now did that mean he was finally about to reveal the mystery about himself?

...That was all well and good, but hopefully he could hurry it up a bit. His arms were getting tired!

"So... I hope you have a good reason for ending our day. I was having fun, you know?"

Laura's gaze turned away from Rean's departing form to face the unimpressed looking Fie. "Would going with Rean still be all that fun? He's only planning on checking up on Valimar, is he not?"

"Sure, but that could be fun too. Don't you want to talk with Valimar?"

She blinked as she pondered the question. She had never really considered the concept before. But during the battles when she and the others were unable to provide direct assistance the only one Rean could truly count on would be the Divine Knight... "...Perhaps I would. I must admit that you've piqued my curiosity."

"Right? You think he would let us inside that thing?" Fie's next question was equally fascinating. "...I bet it would be an awesome place for a nap." ...Even if her reasoning behind it was not nearly as impressive.

Laura let out a tired sigh. "You are not taking a nap inside of Valimar." The challenging grin she received in reply was disconcerting.

"So...?" It was Fie who brought them back on track.

"Ah, yes. You told me that after escaping Trista you spent the month in a windmill just outside of town, correct?"

"Yup. Not far from where the Courageous is landed. All three of us in that tiny little-" Fie trailed off as her eyes widened in realization. "You don't want me to show you it, do you?"

Was her intent truly that transparent? "Indeed. I would like to gain a greater understanding of what you went through during our separation. Would you be so kind?"

"...You're really weird. Fine. Let's go."

As she said, the windmill was just outside of town. The younger girl was able to point it out almost immediately upon exiting the gates. With a start Laura realized that it was one of the windmills that she had passed numerous times during her field study a lifetime ago.

Sadly for her curiosity... "It's locked..." She let out a sigh. Perhaps this was for the best. This was almost certainly private property, after all. "We should head-"

"Step aside." Fie had a cocky smirk as she cut her off and approached the door. "The lock is sturdy, but it's really old and simple to trick. I learned how to get it open."

"Wait, Fie-" Her warning went unheeded as the younger girl approached the door and began working. This was definitely illegal!

And yet despite herself she didn't even attempt to actually stop her partner and after a few seconds there was an audible click. "Got it." With a flourish the door opened up.

Laura wasn't entirely sure what she expected to see as she gazed inside the windmill... but this was probably it. A very dark and very cramped looking room with little in the way of human comforts. "The three of you really stayed here?" The two girls entered, with Fie shutting the door behind them.

"Yup. Alisa and the others stayed in a big tent while you got your big mansion to live in. This... this was my home." The swordmistress winced. She could practically feel the bitter resentment emanating from her girlfriend.

"I see." Best to just ignore that one, for both their sake. Instead she did her best to picture how life here must have felt for Fie, Elliot, and Machias as they did what they could to oppose the Kreuzen Provincial Army despite being right in the midst of the battlefield. It was quite impressive. Her exploratory gaze was put on hold as she noticed a couple out of place boxes stacked neatly at the far end of the room. "Hmm?"

Fie followed her gaze with her legs as she opened the top box and peered inside. "Oh, neat. It's all the stuff we couldn't bring along with us when Rean arrived." She tilted her head in thought. "Kinda feel bad for smashing up Machias's coffee machine now... Oh well."

Laura couldn't help but blink nervously at that admission. "It should be alright if we take it back with us, yes?"

"Mmm. Sure." Fie didn't seem all that interested. Instead she seemed to be very focused on Laura herself, with a gaze that sent shudders down the older girl's body due to the intensity of it. "...I doubt anyone's gonna find us out here..." She took a step forward.

The implications behind that statement were quite clear and Laura couldn't help but take a step back in response. "W-We shouldn't! R-Rean will be waiting for us!" Her face was practically glowing already just thinking about what Fie wanted.

"...We can be quick." Naturally her worries were quickly brushed aside as Fie all but stalked towards her, like an animal hunting a particularly juicy looking prey. For her part she continued to backpedal in response.

"Oof!" ...Sadly for her this ended with her backing into the wall. She was trapped, but she knew that all she needed to do was tell Fie to stop and she would listen. She just needed to open her mouth and say something...

She gulped nervously, but that was the only sound her mouth made as her body betrayed her at that critical moment.

With a victorious smirk Fie closed the final distance between them, pulled her willing body down to her level, and kissed her. Despite her lingering reservations Laura couldn't help but melt into the action as fiery energy flowed through her body. How could something so wrong feel so right?

A chill wind caused Laura to shiver, something which she found odd considering the heat filling her body in that moment. Eyes widened as realization set in – Somehow Fie had managed to remove her coat without her noticing! She really meant it when she said they could be quick!

W-Was she really alright with this? They were inside some farmer's windmill! Everything about this was so inappropriate!

And yet even as her brain railed against the idea her body refused to take action as her excited friend continued to take charge. Already her deft hands were beginning to work their way into her clothes. Each touch caused her resistance to crumble more and more and by this point Laura was resigned to the fact that this was truly happening...

...Until the door to the windmill opened.

"Huh? That's odd. Why wasn't it lo... What in Aidios' name is going on in here!?"

Fie tried to back away and school her expression, but it was an impossible task even for someone as capable as her. There was no way they could hide what they had just been doing.

And to her horror and shame they had been caught by their friends – It was Machias who had opened the door, and behind him was Gaius and Elliot. Hurriedly she rushed to redress herself.

"Well... damn." Fie tried to sound casual, but the burning blush on her face belied her true feelings. "What are you guys doing here?"

"We... um..." She was mortified to realize that Elliot couldn't even look them in the eyes at that moment.

"What are we doing here!?" Machias fumed. "You have some nerve to ask that when you're the ones caught doing something so... indecent!"

Seeking to salvage what little of her dignity remained, Laura tried to give an answer. "We were just... We were..." Sadly, she failed miserably at finding the words.

"She wanted me to show her where we had been staying. After getting here I ambushed her."

Was Fie trying to defend her by taking the blame entirely onto herself? That was sweet. It was also wholly unnecessary. "Nonsense. You gave me ample opportunity to stop you."

Machias looked about ready to give them a well deserved scolding, but Gaius stepped forward. The Nord still had his signature kind expression on his face, even if he looked a little off-put by the entire situation. "I was rather curious about the windmills of Erebonia and they offered to show me this one." His voice was calm as he answered Fie's earlier question. "I-I think I've seen enough." ...A shame even he wavered at the end.

With the initial tension finally resolving itself Laura shared a sidelong glance with Fie. No words were spoken, but with the mood now thoroughly ruined she could see just how apologetic the silver-haired girl truly was. A reassuring smile was the best she could offer her in that moment, even as the two exited the building together.

"S-So. Um. I have a question... B-But only if it's alright to ask!" A stammering Elliot was the one to finally break the silence that had descended upon the five as they walked back to the parked airship together.

"S-Sure. I will answer if possible." Internally she braced herself for something terribly awkward.

"...W-Why are you two wearing cat ears?"