The SSS had just finished their requests for the day. Who would have thought that Mayor Crois would give them a new Orbal Car made by the Zeiss Central Factory? Certainly not Lloyd. He would take it, though. Using a car would make navigation around Crossbell easier, and it would help avoid the monsters on the highways. The giddy feeling that the group felt even overshadowed the fact that they met another Red Constellation member who looked really strong and dangerous. Thankfully, Lloyd's observation training bore fruit when he managed to guess the number of passengers inside a moving train after a glance. He didn't know what would happen if he guessed wrongly.
The four of them were now walking towards the cathedral, intending to get KeA.
"After all that work we did today, the last place I wanted to go was the church," Wazy sighed.
"You're not the worshipping type, are you, Wazy?" Noel engaged him in a conversation. At the least, it would beat any more complaints from Wazy.
"It's not that I have a bad relationship with Aidios. I've just never really meshed with the churchgoing crowd," Wazy dodged the question. "And don't churches themselves feel creepy to you?"
"That's a little strange coming from someone who named their street gang after the Testaments," Lloyd retorted.
"Weren't all of you referring to your fights with the Saber Vipers as 'crusades'?" Elie also questioned the green-haired gang leader, who only smiled.
"That was mostly Abbas' idea."
Lloyd did not believe it one bit.
"Excuse me," their conversation was interrupted by a voice from behind them.
Turning their heads, the SSS saw a pink-haired woman in a Sister getup. She had a big suitcase on the ground beside her.
"Sorry to bother all of you. Is this the way to Crossbell Cathedral?" She asked them.
"Yes, it is. In fact, we're going there."
Elie squinted her eyes. "R-Ries?!"
The Sister widened her eyes when she recognized Elie. "Elie... it's been so long. That's right, I do remember you saying that you were from Crossbell..."
"Right!" Elie immediately ran towards her, grabbing her hand. "Heehee, I never expected to run into you today, Ries."
The other approached Ries.
"You know her, Elie?"
"Yes. You recall that I studied abroad before joining the SSS, right? I met Ries while in the Holy City of Arteria two years ago. She took really good care of me," Elie explained.
"Arteria..."
"Isn't that the location of the High Seat of the Septian Church?" Wazy questioned, to which Ries nodded.
"Yes. That's right. My name is Ries Argent. I was recently appointed to a position at Crossbell Cathedral. It's a pleasure to meet all of you," Ries bowed a little.
"Likewise. Lloyd Bannings, Special Support Section of the Crossbell Police Department."
Lloyd didn't miss how Ries' eyes widened a little when he mentioned his affiliation.
"So, you're going to be working at Crossbell Cathedral now... But I thought you were..." Elie trailed off before Ries whispered something that nobody could hear. Lloyd saw Elie nodding for a bit before the two separated.
"I still have to report on my arrival to the cathedral, so please excuse me. Do you all have business there, as well?"
"Yes," Elie answered. "We came to pick up a girl from Sunday School. She was supposed to go home earlier, but according to her friends, she's still at the cathedral."
"Oh, I see... Then I should leave you to it."
"How about we go there together? Elie looks like she wanted to catch up with you," Lloyd offered.
"Oh, if you wouldn't mind..."
The five of them continued walking towards the cathedral. Elie was in animated conversation with the coolheaded Ries. Lloyd turned to Wazy.
"Something wrong? You're kind of staring off into space."
"It's nothing," Wazy smiled, shaking his head.
"Speaking of Arteria, Noel and I actually met a priest back in Altair," Lloyd off-handedly mentioned to Wazy, Elie, and Ries.
"That's right. Father Kevin!" Noel chirped in.
"It was honestly surprising to meet someone from Estelle's story. But he really is as amazing as Estelle said. I'm glad I met him." Lloyd smiled, recalling his conversation with Kevin. "That's right, I'm sure Juna wants to hear about Father Kevin's side of the story. How about we invite Juna for dinner?" Lloyd asked the others.
"Sure," Noel nodded. "I wanna get familiar with Juna, too."
"More chance for me to tease you and her," Wazy grinned. Was it too much to say that his grin felt really evil?
"Lloyd... I see... then KeA and I will prepare the best dinner," Elie nodded to herself. "Sadly, Tio and Randy are still away."
"It might be true," Lloyd closed his eyes. "But distance is just another barrier that we have to overcome. Let's call them. They might not have our dinner, but we will still have the camaraderie."
Everyone looked at Lloyd.
"Fufu, you really are amazing, Lloyd," Wazy was the first one to break the silence.
"R-Right. That speech is... wow..." Noel was once again amazed at Lloyd.
Elie exhaled, "I feel obligated to take Randy and Tio's place and say that your speech is as cheesy as ever."
Ries did not say anything; she just stared at him, a strange look on her face before she smiled.
"You seemed like a rather tight group. May Aidios bless your group."
Lloyd gave Ries a grateful nod. "Thank you, Sister."
The five of them then entered the vicinity of the Crossbell Cathedral, with Ries bidding her goodbye, and went to see the archbishop.
Meanwhile, the SSS waited until the class was finished before entering the room.
"KeA," Lloyd greeted with a warm smile on his face.
"Oh, everyone. What are you doing here?"
Lloyd exhaled before explaining. "Well, since you were late, we came to pick you up."
"More importantly... KeA, why were you in the senior-level class? "
"Oh.. um, well..."
KeA felt a little hard to find words for her explanation. Marble gave her a small help, "Have you not told Lloyd and the others, KeA?"
The green-haired girl shook her head with a frown.
"KeA asked to attend senior classes. Juna also endorsed her decision. So I let her. My only condition was that it be for mathematics and natural science only." Marble explained. "Turns out little KeA is as smart as little Juna back then!"
"So that's it..."
"KeA never ceases to amaze us," Elie smiled at Marble's compliment.
"Umm... I'm sorry that I didn't tell you... I know I'm still a kid, but I study math a lot and..."
"Haha, you don't need to apologize, silly," Lloyd chuckled, patting her green head. "If that's what you're interested in, that's fine. We won't stop you, KeA."
"Right. It's a good thing you like studying and exploring your academic curiosity. I'm in favor of it, as well."
KeA smiled. "Really?!"
"But you have to promise to keep taking classes with Ryu, Anri, and the others, too, okay? You gain more from Sunday School than just knowledge, you know," Lloyd lectured.
"I agree, KeA," Marble joined in the lecture. "Your mind is as sharp as Juna, I'm sure of it. But Juna is just..."
"Mind-blowing?" Elie offered a word. "I think I remember seeing her in my Sunday School class for about a week before she was moved to an even further class."
"That's right. Mine, too," Lloyd agreed, remembering his neighbor's apparent genius. Juna appeared one day in his class and next week she was gone because she was put in the senior class. If he remembered correctly, he was twelve at the time, putting Juna at around nine years old.
"Yes, but not just that. As you said, Lloyd, Sunday School is also important for making friends. Juna excelled at those. Anytime she was moved into a new class, she made friends with them quickly. That's the aspect that I think Juna has over KeA at her age," Marble patted KeA on the shoulder.
"...The more I heard about Juna, the more impressive she is," Wazy hummed.
"It contrasts greatly with what I saw from her..." Noel trailed off.
"Big Sis Juna is great! If it weren't for her, I wouldn't have the courage to ask Sister Marble to take more advanced classes," KeA cheered happily.
After that, the SSS thanked Sister Marble and went home.
Ries had just settled her belongings inside the shared room. Exhaling a little, Ries looked at the corner of the room given to her. This was an undercover mission, so she didn't bring much to avoid scrutiny. The meeting with the SSS was a welcomed surprise. Thank Aidios that she was met by the SSS. She didn't expect to see a familiar face with them. Thankfully, Elie promised to not let the others know of her real occupation as the squire of the Gralsritter. Although... her mind went to the blue-clad member of the SSS.
"Sister Ries. Welcome to our Cathedral. Please be at ease for the duration of your time working here."
She was broken out of her musings when a senior Sister called out to her. If Ries remembered right, the one greeting her was Sister Marble, an older Sister who usually taught the Sunday School.
"Thank you, Sister Marble. Are you here to give my assignment?"
Marble shook her head with a smile. "It's the archbishop's authority, not mine. I'm just here to ask you something. A little while ago, a former student of mine pointed out that a girl who spent most of her life in the hospital because she lost her eyesight hadn't gotten her Sunday School education appropriate for her age. My former student requested me to teach her, but I have an obligation to teach all the other children. If you don't mind, would you spare your time to personally teach the girl?"
Ries thought for a while. If she accepted, would it eat so much time she couldn't look around? On the other hand, accepting it would mean it wouldn't be out of mind to see her walking around in the city. So it was all about how hard Eralda would assign the usual sisterly tasks to her.
"I wouldn't mind." In the end, she accepted it, not because of the cost-benefit assessment. She just wanted to do it to help a girl who lost her eyesight.
"Great!" Marble clapped her hands. "Then, tomorrow, I'll introduce you to Juna, who can tell you more about it."
...Juna?
"If you really need some help without revealing yourself, try the Special Support Section or look for Juna Crawford. That's Estelle's message when I asked about Crossbell off-handedly."
"That's right. I'm sure Juna wants to hear about Father Kevin's side of the story. How about we invite Juna for dinner?"
So, the Juna Lloyd mentioned was indeed the same Juna that Estelle told Kevin. She was interested in her after what Kevin said, and now a chance fell into her lap. Unconsciously, Ries smiled. Aidios helped those who helped others, indeed.
It turned out that Tio had called them first to inform her of late rejoining because of some things in the foundation. She expressed her dissatisfaction that she couldn't join them for the later talk. As for Randy, he did not pick up the call after being called three times, so with a heavy heart, they had to talk without him, too.
Dinner made by Elie and KeA was plentiful but not as lavish as the upper class usually had. Lloyd had come to Juna's house but found only her mother and siblings while Juna herself was still not home. He didn't understand why Lina looked so excited when he formally invited Juna to dinner with him, but she nodded fervently. She then said she would direct her daughter to have dinner in the SSS building.
Soon, Juna entered the building and greeted them. "Good Evening, SSS!"
After the occupants of the building greeted Juna back, she turned towards KeA.
"So, KeA, how was the advanced class?" She asked as she sat at the table.
"It's tough, but I think I can follow the lesson. Sister Marble is a good teacher," KeA answered.
"Yes," Juna nodded. "Sister Marble is amazing! If it wasn't for her, I wouldn't be able to graduate early."
That was news to Lloyd. But Sister Marble really was amazing for consistently teaching new generations of children in Crossbell.
"Anyway, let's just have dinner first," Elie offered.
"By the way, Juna. I met Father Kevin Graham in my mission. Yes, that Kevin Graham."
Lloyd said, only for Juna's eyes to shine.
"Tell me more!"
Lloyd and Noel recall their meeting with Kevin and the tales Kevin shared with him.
Dinner ended without much fanfare. And so after He and Elie put everything in the sink, they returned to the table to have a serious talk with Juna.
"So, what do you guys need me for? Another 'consultation?'" Juna started. Everyone could hear the emphasis on the consultation part.
Sergei puffed his smoke.
"Lloyd's the one who arranged for this. It was supposed to have Tio and Randy, too, but we can't contact both at the moment."
Juna furrowed her eyebrows.
"I think I have an idea what this is about, but I need to think first."
Oh? Lloyd couldn't help but smile. As Randy put it, Juna was about to 'pull a Juna.' It could be better for Wazy and Noel to see rather than being explained about what Juna could do.
"That's fine," Lloyd answered her. "Just tell us what you think."
Juna hummed, tapping her finger on the table repeatedly. He looked around to see Noel looking back at him in confusion. Wazy observed Juna casually, his gaze switched between Juna and him. Lloyd sighed internally. It seemed like Wazy was determined to tease him and Juna again.
A few seconds later, Juna sighed. "I can only conclude that you encountered a trouble. But I don't know which one you met between the Red Constellation or Guy's murder case. Still, I'm leaning on Red Constellation. Does Randy already know?"
Noel was speechless, while Wazy only chuckled.
"Spot on as usual," Elie shook her head in amazement.
"That's right. I have some idea about what the Red Constellation's presence in Crossbell means, but I want to ask you for confirmation," Lloyd revealed before he answered Juna's question. "Randy didn't pick up the call, so I decided to inform him later once he picked up."
"Lloyd, you already have an idea about what the famous Jaeger Corps are doing, but you haven't told your teammates yet?" Wazy playfully shook his head. "Despite that, you're spilling your ideas to Juna easily... it's sad to see that we're just an afterthought."
"C-Come on, Wazy..." Noel tried to placate him.
Lloyd sighed. "I know you're just being playful, Wazy. I just don't want to assume without confirmation."
He then turned towards Juna.
"We met two members of the Red Constellation on our patrol today. One is Shirley, a girl your age who called Randy with the nickname Dolphy. The other is an intense man with a frightening aura around him," He explained. "We met Shirley when we were chasing Lechter Arundel from the Empire's Intelligence Division. The two were familiar with each other, with him buying Shirley a ticket for Arc en Ciel. At first, I didn't have any idea about what the Red Constellation was doing, but later, I thought of one interesting point: The West Zemuria Trade Conference."
Noel whispered to Elie, but Lloyd's ear could still pick it up. "Western trade what?"
Ignoring Elie, who explained things to Noel, Lloyd patiently waited for Juna to come to a conclusion.
A few seconds later, Juna nodded. "Oh, definitely. One hundred percent sure they're here for that. Maybe they were hired by the Erebonian representative for something. Whether it was to protect them or to potentially scare the other party, I don't know."
Lloyd winced. His fear was confirmed. The Red Constellation was indeed hired by the Empire for the West Zemuria Trade Conference at the end of the month. But even Juna couldn't guess whether it was for defense or offense. They needed more information.
"Eh? How did you come to the conclusion?!" Now that Noel got the explanation about the West Zemuria Trade Conference, she realized the logical leap Juna had to arrive at the conclusion.
"I'd be interested to hear that, too," Wazy joined in. "Especially how you initially narrowed the problem to the Red Constellation."
Lloyd stared at Wazy for a while before he shook his head, waiting for Juna's explanation.
"Hmmm, you two are new, so you didn't know. But well... I'm very certain that the Red Constellation will come to clash with the SSS. I said that much to Lloyd a few months ago. As to how I guess it now, well... it's obvious that Lloyd approached me first, which means he wanted my help," Juna winked at him, who sheepishly laughed at being caught. "But that's okay, I'm happy to give you my help. It's just really easy to see. And considering what I said to him before... I'm leaning toward the Red Constellation problem."
Wazy was about to dig more, but Lloyd shook his head. Wazy probably wanted to know why Juna was very certain about the Red Constellation, but he'd brief him later. Thankfully, Wazy backed down.
"Then, what's our next move, Lloyd?" Elie asked after several seconds.
Lloyd contemplated the situation. If they really were hired by the Empire, then there was nothing they could do to prevent them from entering and exiting Crossbell City. It seemed that Elie also came to the same conclusion. Assigning police watchers would also be counterproductive to the preparation and the actual event itself.
Sergei put out his smoke. "We're one step too late to try doing anything to them."
That was correct.
Lloyd sighed in disappointment. There really was nothing they could do if Erebonia hired them.
"Well, I can ask the guild if they know anything about what happened in the west," Juna offered. The guild... That was right. The flow of information from the Bracer Guild transcended borders because of how it was structured.
"Aren't the Bracer Guild in Erebonia..." Elie trailed off, knowing the news from two years ago where the majority of the guild's branches in Erebonia were closed after assaults from a Jaeger Corps.
"Well, Michel said there are some branches still operating, but it was only in some areas," Juna answered.
"Will they share information, though?" Noel asked. She was a soldier, so while familiar with what the guild did, Noel probably didn't know how it worked from inside.
"The guild is not beholden to any nations, so supposedly even cross-nation branches can coordinate easily," Wazy answered. For a former delinquent, he was really informed about a lot of things.
Hmm, wait.
"Do you want to ask for the situation in Erebonia to determine why the Red Constellation was hired?" Lloyd looked at Juna in amazement. He only questioned why Juna wanted to do it when he thought about everyone's reaction to Juna's offer. None of them questioned why Juna wanted to do it, and that's when Lloyd realized what Juna wanted to do.
"Yes. I mean, we can try looking for news from the media, but I'm sure they're gonna censor what's shown to the outside world. Gotta appear strong to Zemuria!" Juna faked a punch to the air. "So the next best thing is to look for insider information from the guild branches in Erebonia, or what's left of it, anyway."
Juna then turned serious, "There are two possible reasons why Erebonia hired the Red Constellation, as I said before. Either they want to intimidate others into cowing for them by a passive-aggressive act, or they want to protect themselves from outside threats. Therefore, we need to know the recent news in Erebonia."
"Ah, it's to feed you info so you can guess what will happen!" Elie finally understood.
"That's right," Juna confirmed Elie's guess. Juna's specialty was getting deep insight from limited information. There were lots of proof of her ability that the SSS had witnessed before. This one should be no exception. Getting information about the situation in Erebonia meant Juna could possibly deduce the reason behind Red Constellation's appearance at the West Zemuria Trade Conference.
However...
"If possible, don't tell anyone except Michel about this, Juna. Well, if Michel doesn't ask, then I hope you can keep silent. As Chief Sergei said before, we were one step too late to try doing anything about them. But with you here, we can one-up them and prepare ourselves accordingly," Lloyd requested.
Just like with Joachim, they kept their information closed at hand. What caught the SSS off-guard with Joachim was Lloyd and Elie's conversation being overheard. He did not want to repeat the same mistake. It was why Lloyd told everyone to wait until they were in the SSS building before explaining how he knew Shirley was from the Red Constellation. He did not want anybody to overhear him anymore, especially inside a shady place like the casino.
The same applied in this case. Controlling who knew the information would do much to prevent any information leakage.
"Lloyd... are you still angry at yourself for letting Juna's ability leak to Joachim?" Elie understood him, so he unashamedly nodded at her with a bitter smile.
"Hm? I smell some unresolved tension," Wazy pounced after seeing some opportunity.
Unfortunately for him, his target this time was Juna. The ever-spirited girl.
"Ahaha, come on, Lloyd. I've forgiven you for a long time for that. In fact, I've gotten more clues about the underlying plot in Crossbell because of it."
"Underlying plot?" Noel asked out loud.
What Juna meant was the yellow butterfly. He and Juna still didn't understand what it signified, but they noted the yellow butterfly nonetheless.
"Ahaha... maybe later we need to catch everyone up to speed," Lloyd diverted their attention.
"It was supposed to be tonight, but Randy and Tio couldn't join," Elie sighed.
"In any case, please ask the guild about it, Juna, and don't forget to keep it under wrap."
"Roger!" Juna saluted. "Is there anything else?"
Lloyd looked around him to see if there was anything else they could discuss with Juna. It seemed like there was nothing else. However, before Lloyd could say anything, Wazy opened his mouth.
"Right, I think Lloyd didn't say this, but he actually revealed his knowledge about Shirley being in the Red Constellation for you, Juna," the green-haired former delinquent grinned at the chaos he was about to unfold.
"...Huh?" Juna raised her eyebrow.
"Wazy!" He tried to stop the former gang leader, but it was futile.
"You realized from Lloyd's story that Lechter Arundel was also there, didn't you? He diverted Lechter's attention from you to him by revealing his hands. I think he did the same back in the Schwarze Auction."
"Oh..." Juna's cheek had a smidgen of blush before she looked down, not keen on being observed. "Thank you..."
"Y-You're welcome, Juna. You're important to us. And a slight misstep had resulted in you being taken away. I don't want that to happen again to you," Lloyd smiled at her, though she didn't look at him.
"..." Elie eyed him from the side. What?
"I-I see..." Noel awkwardly laughed because she didn't know what to say.
Sergei hummed. "That's enough embarrassing them, Wazy. It's already late. Lloyd, why don't you accompany Juna home?"
"No need!" "Chief!?"
"Hahaha, you're quite fun, Chief," Wazy laughed at the setup from Sergei.
"I-I can go home alone! It's not far, anyway," Juna raised her voice to drown Wazy's laughter.
"R-Right," Lloyd nodded. "But I think I want to do it, anyway."
Juna gaped at him before she averted her eyes and sighed. "O-Oh... okay..."
Thus, he and Juna left the building through the west exit. As Juna said, it was a close walk. Juna brought her weapon, too, so he did not need to do it. But Lloyd wanted to, anyway.
The two walked silently under the night sky of West Street, illuminated by the orbal lamps placed all around. The street was already empty; all of its usual occupants went home earlier. All in all, the atmosphere was silent and serene.
"Um... Juna?" He tried to start a conversation. "I'm sorry about Wazy. He looks like he is testing the water about what he can freely say. If you're feeling uncomfortable, forget what he said earlier."
This was one of the reasons why he wanted to walk Juna home. He wanted to clear the air of awkwardness between them.
"I can't," Juna replied. "Forgetting Wazy's words means disregarding what you've done for me. Even though I want nothing but to forget them, I can't do that to you and your resolve. Instead, let me say this, Lloyd."
Juna ran in front of him and turned back.
"You're even walking me home because you want to say those words, right? Don't worry. I understand and take no offense. But as I said before, I can't forget them. So, thanks, Lloyd."
She finished with a smile and a tilt of her head. The dim light from the orbal lamps failed to hide the brightness of her smile.
For some reason, Lloyd can't look away.
"A-Ah... yeah. You're welcome, Juna."
Juna then ran towards the entrance of Bellheim Apartment, leaving him alone to ponder what Juna had just said.
"Forgetting Wazy's words means disregarding what I've done for her, huh..."
Unconsciously, Lloyd smiled as the door to Bellheim Apartment was closed once Juna entered the building. He then returned to the SSS building only to face Elie's flat stare and Wazy's delightful laugh. Haha... Lloyd kind of missed this closeness when he was with the First Division. Wazy and Noel were new, but they slotted in nicely.
He couldn't wait until Randy and Tio were back.
A/N: The meeting with Ries! There is actually not much divergence here except that the SSS don't have plan to have dinner together with Randy and Tio. But well, meeting Ries here actually reminded Lloyd that he hadn't told Juna about his meeting with Kevin and it diverged into inviting Juna for dinner. What a funny coincidence, right? I mean, there is definitely no relation between this new Sister who came to Crossbell and Kevin except that they're both from the church, right?
Of course, Lloyd also used the chance to confirm his hypothesis about Red Constellation's arrival in Crossbell to Juna. Unfortunately, they don't have any more information since Randy is uncontactable in his training camp. Probably looking at the night sky with Mireille beside him or something. N-Not that it meant anything! She just wanted to talk about the trainee! - Mireille, probably. And I really can't resist to put the shiptease for LloydxJuna there. Xanaduverse shippers be crazy about this one important mandatory event between Lloyd and Juna. Lloyd told Juna to forget Wazy's words, but Juna doesn't want to because it would mean she need to forget about Lloyd's effort to protect her from Lechter. A heartfelt gratitude that Lloyd won't forget anytime soon. By the way, this mandatory event will raise Juna's hidden bonding points. Whether Juna will have a Final Bonding Event as a main character, or just giving the SSS a special equipment, even I still don't know. But Max DP Lloyd will Max DP Lloyd and do his best to max all the bonds.
Also, it's a little bit unrelated, but I just finished watching Precure All Stars F (I held back from posting this for one and half hours to watch it first) and I cried. It's literally a masterpiece. It's worth the wait! The fight scene there is honestly better than most shonen anime. AND IT EVEN INCLUDES MY FAVORITE SCENE FROM GO!PRINCESS PRECURE AAAHHHHHHHHH!