Chapter Three – Decisions, Decisions
Two weeks after the altercation between Cyrus and Patrick, which turned violent and caused collateral damage to Loggins, things at Thors had finally settled down and were starting to return to normal. Initially, people had naturally been afraid of Cyrus, not only for his volatile temper and destructive power, but also for the fact he was the younger brother of the Golden Rakshasa, Aurelia Le Guin.
Even the members of Class VII, who had been a little worried about Cyrus being a risk if he snapped again, had started warming up to him; only Jusis and Machias were the exceptions, but Jusis didn't really seem interested in being friends with anyone, and Machias refused to make friends with a Noble.
Elliot had become friends with Cyrus due to the relationship their mothers shared. Cyrus later found out that Liana Craig had died around seven years ago; almost one year before the incident with the Red Constellation near the Liberl border. Cyrus now understood why his mother was visibly upset during that time, and now realised who she was talking about when she said 'a dear friend had passed away'.
Fie was another person who had taken to treating Cyrus with more emotion than the rest of the class. While Fie was more than content to simply sleep the day away, or respond to people with either a shrug, a 'meh', or a simple one-word response, Fie would usually greet Cyrus whenever she saw him, and say more than two words to him when having a conversation.
Cyrus couldn't understand why Fie was more friendly to him than the rest of the class. The only exception was Emma, but everyone liked Emma, who was the Class President, so it made sense that Fie would feel more comfortable talking to her than the others. Cyrus decided Fie saw in him something of a kindred spirit, perhaps she too had lost her family to Jägers? Cyrus wasn't too sure, but he wasn't about to complain.
While everyone in Class VII was starting to make friends and get to know each other, Cyrus noticed that Alisa was still being unnecessarily cold towards Rean, despite his attempts to talk to her and make amends. He had been tempted to simply lock the two of them in a classroom and force them to work their issues out, but Cyrus knew better and decided to simply leave well enough alone.
Both Patrick and Loggins were slowly recovering from the injuries they had suffered at Cyrus' hands, and while both still had a long way to go before they were fully healed, at least they weren't in any danger of permanent damage. Loggins had a few bruised ribs, and as a result would find himself in pain if he attempted to overexert himself, and Patrick's jaw had been wired shut.
Normally, Cyrus would've felt bad for breaking Patrick's jaw, but Ferris had told him a few days after the incident that classes which had Patrick in them were now quite pleasant, since no-one had to listen to his constant preening about anything and everything.
That was something else that came as a surprise to Cyrus. Ferris had been trying to change everyone's opinions of Cyrus since his outburst. Most of the students had watch Cyrus effortlessly counter Aurelia's first attack when she was behind him, and how he had managed to cut her with a missed punch. They knew just how powerful General Le Guin was, and if her younger brother could at the very least counter and cut her, they were almost afraid to find out what he could have done if Instructor Neithardt hadn't come into the Gymnasium and allowed Aurelia to stop the fight.
Ferris' older brother, Vincent, who was the same age as Cyrus, had been doing the same thing to the Second Year Students. Loggins was Second Years, so the Commoners were outraged at how a First Year Student had not only humiliated him, but, in their words, tried to kill him, whilst the Nobles were upset because Cyrus' violent behaviour had left a stain on the reputation of the Nobility itself. Normally, Vincent was never willing to do anything other than chase girls and do things that only benefited him, but a plea from Ferris, and a threat to talk to their mother, persuaded Vincent to help out his sister and cousin.
For Cyrus, it was no surprise when Instructor Neithardt had approached him one day after class and sent him to a mandatory psychological evaluation with the school's doctor, Instructor Beatrix. It also came as no surprise to him when she told him that his short tempter and violent outbursts were a result of his own psyche struggling to come to terms with the fact he was powerless to stop the Red Constellation when they attacked him and his mother, and that mental inadequacy had led to him developing a short and violent temper.
Beatrix proposed that the only way to completely suppress Cyrus' violent desire for revenge was to kill the Jägers who attacked him and Mirellia, but that was far easier said than done. It had been six years since the attack, and Cyrus knew about situation within the Red Constellation; they had no leader. Last year, the leader of the Red Constellation, a man by the name of the 'War God' had gone to battle with the leader of Zephyr, a rival Corps, who was a man known as the 'Jäger King'. The two fought for three days straight before they both ended up dying.
With the death of the War God, Cyrus had no idea what the situation with the Red Constellation was. While he was off on his journey, he picked up what information he could about the current state of the Red Constellation, and came to the conclusion that the War God's brother, the man who lead the attack on Cyrus and Mirellia, the War Ogre, was now the de facto leader of the corps.
For now, all Cyrus could do was try to compartmentalise and get on with his time at Thors. It wasn't going to be an easy task, but he had come to this school for a purpose, and he knew that his explosive temper was going to be something of a hurdle for him to overcome, but he knew he could do it.
As a whole, things were largely back to normal for Cyrus now. Students weren't cowering in fear or making comments under their breath about how he was a monstrous psychopath, which he largely had Ferris and Vincent to thank for. There were still some students who vilified him and his actions, but that was to be expected considering he broke the jaw of a Noble.
Classes had carried on without much incident, and today had been the first day that Instructor Neithardt had decided to approach Cyrus after sending him for a psychological evaluation from Instructor Beatrix. As he knew it was a somewhat sensitive subject, Neithardt had asked Cyrus to remain behind so he could speak to him in private about what had happened.
Neithardt, while unimpressed by Cyrus' actions towards Loggins and Patrick, as well as his choice to try and fight his sister instead of standing down, wanted to understand why Cyrus chose to act like a man possessed instead of simply standing down. Of course, Neithardt only fully understood everything after Cyrus had explained the cause of his short temper to the young Major. To make sure the Major fully understood the lengths he had gone to in order to keep his temper in check, Cyrus also shared with him the secret that he had told Sara on the first day of school.
Naturally, Neithardt was taken aback, but he knew no-one would make such a bold claim if it wasn't true. Secrets such as those could be easily uncovered, and Cyrus knew if anyone could find out whether or not he was telling the truth, it would be Neithardt. All he'd have to do to verify the information Cyrus had shared with him would be to contact General Vander and ask him about Cyrus, as Matteus Vander was one of a tiny group of people who knew the whole truth about Cyrus.
After Military Science, Class VII returned to their Homeroom, where Sara was waiting for them with a lackadaisical smile on her face. As the ten students all poured in, they all stared at Sara with uneasy looks.
"Oh, please tell me our Instructor isn't drunk again..." Alisa muttered, holding her head in her hands.
"I... I don't actually know. Would she really be foolish enough to make the same mistake twice? Somehow, I don't think Cyrus could get her out of trouble for it a second time," Laura mused, looking over at Cyrus, who was lounging in his seat, with his feet up on his desk.
"Psh, she's not drunk. I think she just has good news to share. Though, I've been wrong before..." Cyrus shrugged as he looked over at Sara.
Sara stood up and clapped her hands together before she addressed the class. "Alright, I have some good news to share! And thank you Cyrus, for not assuming I'm drunk again. That was a one-time deal; a minor indiscretion!" Sara scowled at the class. "Any who, I'm happy to inform you that your Student Handbooks are now ready!"
"Oh, finally! Do you know how long we've had to wait for them?! What took you so long, Instructor?!" Machias snapped.
"Bold of you to assume I'm the one who was tasked with preparing them," Sara said as she looked at Machias with a raised eyebrow. "No, it wasn't me who was told to prepare them."
"Makes sense. If it was you, Instructor, I'd hazard a guess that we'd not see them until the final day of the school year," Jusis deadpanned, giving Sara a bored look.
"Excuse me, but I can be reliable when called upon!" Sara yelled.
"Really? I don't think I've seen any semblance of reliability from her, and we've been at school for three weeks now..." Rean muttered to Elliot, who simply nodded in agreement. Sara, obviously, heard Rean's comment and was less than impressed.
"Huh, alright then Mr. Smarty-Pants, I was going to go and collect them from the Student Union Building at the end of class, but after your comment, I'm delegating that job to you," Sara scowled.
"What?!" Rean shouted.
"You kinda deserved that one, Rean..." Cyrus muttered. "I know everyone is different, but you could have at least made comments like that behind her back, like everyone else does."
Sara stood there for a few seconds, looking at Class VII with her mouth agape.
"EXCUSE ME?!" Sara yelled, her face going red with anger and embarrassment.
"Ehehehe... It's kinda true..." Emma chuckled nervously.
"Yeah, let's face it; you suck," Fie stated bluntly.
"Fie! That's so rude!" Alisa cried, looking at the small girl in horror.
"Give over, Alisa, you've said the same thing about Sara too," Cyrus yawned.
"SHUT UP!" Alisa shouted, going bright red.
"Well, it is true you frequently neglect your duties as an Instructor in place of drinking and sleeping..." Laura stated, deciding to put her hand up before she spoke, although her words weren't as polite as her manners.
"C'mon, I'm not that bad, right? Gaius, help me out here!" Sara pleaded, looking at the tall Nord boy.
"I'm sorry, Instructor, but I'm not getting involved in this," Gaius responded as he held his hands up and shook his head.
"YOU GUYS ARE THE WORST!" Sara shouted as she stormed off and slammed the door to the classroom.
Everyone sat in silence for a few moments before Alisa turned around and glared at Cyrus.
"This is all your fault! Why did you have to tell her we talk about her behind her back?!" Alisa cried, glaring at Cyrus who looked at her with a blank expression.
"Really? That's what you're choosing to get pissy over?" Cyrus scoffed. "You should be more ashamed of the fact that you actually talk crap about her when she's not around. She deserved to know how lowly you think of her."
"You didn't have to openly admit it! You could have just stopped at saying Rean deserved his punishment!" Machias snapped.
"What's wrong? Little Goody Two-Shoes didn't like getting in trouble?" Fie teased. This time, it was her turn to scoff at Machias.
"Go to Hell! You weren't exactly subtle in your display of disapproval!" Machias yelled.
"Hey, don't yell at Fie! At least she was being honest and said it to her face," Emma responded, scowling at Machias.
"That's rich coming from you. Even the Class President admitted to bad-mouthing our Instructor," Jusis yawned before he added his two Mira after remaining silent for a time.
"Guys, I think we should just all accept responsibility for this," Rean stated, trying to be grown-up about the situation.
"Rean's right; you've all done it at some point. I think the best thing to do is for all of you to collectively apologise to her," Cyrus nodded.
"What about you? Or do you think yourself above apologising to others?" Jusis scoffed, looking at Cyrus with a raised eyebrow, which led to Cyrus letting out a small laugh at Jusis' comment.
"Ha! What would I have to apologise for? I've done nothing wrong," Cyrus stated.
"Bullshit! You're just as guilty as the rest of us!" Alisa shouted, standing up and knocking her chair to the floor.
"I don't actually think that's true... I've never heard him say anything bad about Instructor Sara." Laura responded as she also stood up, but did so in a more calm and graceful manner.
"Oh, please! You honestly expect us to believe you've never said anything about how bad of an Instructor she is!" Machias shouted.
"Hey, that's out of line, you dick! Sara might be a lazy alcoholic, but she's trying her best here!" Cyrus yelled, sitting up and glaring at Machias.
"AHA! You just did it there! You just said she was a lazy alcoholic!" Alisa shouted, pointing an accusing finger at Cyrus, who simply rolled his eyes and sighed.
"I've already said that to her face, and admittedly, she wasn't too pleased about it, even though she agreed with me. But at least she's trying here! This is a whole new thing, for her and us. You all need to cut her some fucking slack, and help her out once in a while!" Cyrus shouted.
The class sat in silence for several moments. Cyrus was right; the dynamic of Class VII was a new experience. It was the first time ever that Thors had made a class that combined both Nobles and Commoners, so of course Sara would be out of her depth. That, however, wasn't what Cyrus meant, but he kept that little bit of information to himself.
"I bet you're just saying all this to make us feel bad, then you're going to go running to the Instructor and tell her every bad thing we said!" Machias piped up after a few more moments of silence.
Cyrus was stunned. He sat there for a second, looking at Machias with a dumbfounded look before scoffing at him.
"How old are you? Fucking four years old? Grow up, will you?" Cyrus growled. "Now, if you idiots want to sit here pointing the finger at each other, you can do that. Meanwhile, I'll go to the Student Union Building and pick up our Student Handbooks, since I've already got business there to begin with."
"Business? What business?" Machias blustered, looking at Cyrus with wide eyes.
"Nonof," Cyrus replied as he walked across the classroom.
"Nonof?" Alisa raised an eyebrow.
"Yeah, y'know; 'None of your fucking business'," Cyrus snapped as he slammed the door behind him.
Fie immediately burst out laughing when she saw the look on Machias' face. It looked like he had been slapped by a wet fish. This, of course, only served to infuriate Machias even more and in a moment of frustration, he lunged at Fie.
Fie was far too quick for Machias, who had been restrained by Gaius and Rean, and was now flailing about, kicking his feet and shouting as Fie laughed her way over to the classroom's window and opened it, before jumping out, but not before flipping Machias her middle finger.
After leaving the classroom, Cyrus made his way over to the Student Union Building. As he crossed the courtyard, he saw a small silver streak flash across the far side of the Main Building, and recognised it to be Fie. He had no idea what she was doing, but buried the thought as he approached the Student Union Building.
Cyrus knew where he had to go, and so he quickly made his way up the two flights of stairs that led to several of the Clubrooms, and his destination; the Student Council President's Office. As he made his way down the corridor, and knocked on the door, he could hear shuffling in the room, followed by a small voice.
"It's open! Come on in!" Towa called out; her voice being muffled by the thick wooden door.
Cyrus said nothing as he opened the door and walked into Towa's office. His immediate thought was that the Student Council President sure has it sweet at Thors. Towa, as the Student Council President, had her own office with sweeping views of Thors' Campus, and Trista off in the distance. As Cyrus looked around the room, he found Towa struggling to put a book away on the top of a bookshelf, despite using a stepladder to help her. Upon seeing the sight, Cyrus couldn't help but laugh as he walked over to Towa and nabbed the book out of her hands.
"Here, allow me," Cyrus laughed as he placed the book back on the shelf.
"Oh, thank you. Now, what can I do for you today?" Towa smiled as she hopped off the stepladder and made her way over to her desk.
"I'm here to collect our Student Handbooks. I imagine you're the one who was asked to do them for us?" Cyrus asked, looking at Towa.
At Cyrus' words, Towa's face lit up as she opened a drawer and pulled out ten little black notebooks, all emblazoned with the Horned Lion of Thors.
"Ah, great! I just finished them yesterday! Instructor Sara told me she was going to pick them up though..." Towa murmured; a puzzled look on her face.
"Uhh, she... Well, let's just say she received a bit of 'unconstructive criticism' in class and she didn't take it well," Cyrus shook his head. "So, I decided I'd come pick them up. Y'know, since I was coming here to see you anyway."
"Oh, that's right, I'd almost forgot. Hehe, sorry. I've been so busy lately that I forgot you'd be coming this afternoon. So, tell me; how are you liking Thors?" Towa asked as she climbed out of her chair and walked over to a small table and started making a pot of tea.
"Well, if you exclude the little mishap with the Fencing Club from a fortnight ago, it's going well. Class VII is very... Unique." Cyrus began, taking Towa's actions as an invitation to sit down, and made his way over to the couch in her office and sat down.
"That's good. I'm sure it's more difficult for others, having to share dorms and classes with those of different Social Classes, huh?" Towa asked.
"Honestly, not really. Machias seems to have a big chip on his shoulder over the Nobility, and no-one can figure out why. Jusis loves to push his buttons, and Alisa seems to be very good at playing the class 'Tsundere', though it's a whole lot of 'Tsun' and hardly any 'Dere'," Cyrus explained, shrugging his shoulders.
"Well, I can't imagine you'd struggle to adapt. I mean, you made friends with me, Angie, Crow, and George quite easily last year, when we visited Ordis," Towa smiled as she brought over a small tray with a pot of tea and two cups.
"Yeah, but there was one thing that made things difficult for us..." Cyrus muttered as Towa poured him a cup of tea. "Thank you."
"True, Crow and Angie's refusal to work together made things harder, but that was an issue we needed to work through; you didn't have to help us out, yet you did," Towa sighed as she sipped her cup of tea.
"Sounds like it was a good thing in the end though; by the time you all left Ordis, they seemed to be more amicable towards one another. I hope that hasn't changed," Cyrus commented, looking at Towa expectantly.
"Nope. Ever since our Field Study in Ordis, we've all grown closer, and Crow and Angie have become good friends who have always got each other's backs." Towa smiled as she shook her head.
Cyrus simply offered a nod of contentment to Towa's response. He had met Towa and George once before he even arrived at Thors as a student, when they conducted a Field Study in Ordis for their class. Along with Towa and George, there were two other students Cyrus had met in Ordis.
The first one he already knew, due to him being a Noble; the daughter of Marquis Gerhart Rogner, Angelica Rogner. Perhaps the furthest thing from being a Marquis' daughter, Angelica was a very strong willed, independent woman who never used her standing as the heiress to the Rogner Marquisdom to exert power over people. She and Cyrus got along very well from the moment they met, due to the fact Cyrus was of a similar nature in regards to his standing within the Nobility.
The other student Cyrus had met was an asinine young man called Crow Armbrust. For the most part, Crow was a harmless person, who liked to show off, especially whenever there were ladies present. This was one of the reasons he and Angelica would frequently clash, as Angelica's preferences were also of the female persuasion, and this would lead to in-fighting whenever Angelica would steal the attention of a woman away from Crow. That, however, was only part of the problem. For the most part, it was obvious to Cyrus that Crow had a rough upbringing; he would frequently lash out whenever someone tried to tell him what to do, and that made for an especially rocky relationship with Angelica, who always liked to be in control and take a role of leadership within a group.
It was in Ordis, where the quartet had run into Cyrus whilst performing their Field Study tasks, when the clashing between Angelica and Crow came to a head. The group had been assigned a task by the Duke Cayenne's Chief of Staff to deal with a possible trespasser who had been seen by multiple people on the Duke's grounds. Cyrus, however, had been at the Duke's manor on behalf of the Duke himself, taking time out from his travels abroad to come back and assist Duke Cayenne on a sensitive matter involving a major figure of the criminal underworld, and had run into the two, who had started shouting at each other, swearing and throwing insults back and forth in front of what was quickly becoming a large crowd.
Angelica ended up making a comment about Crow, which he didn't take too kindly to, and tried to punch Angelica. That was when Crow found himself being planted on his behind and looking up at a very displeased Cyrus; his piercing blue eyes glaring daggers at him. Angelica just stood there in shock when it had happened; even she hadn't been able to sense Cyrus' presence until Crow had been laid out on the ground, and she was a practitioner of the Calvardian martial art known as Taito.
"It still makes me laugh at how I managed to get wrapped up in your Field Study, y'know..." Cyrus smirked as he put his cup down on the table.
Towa couldn't help but giggle at Cyrus' comment. After Crow and Angelica had drawn a crowd, Duke Cayenne himself came outside to see what was going on. When he saw Cyrus had pinned Crow to the ground, and everyone looking around in shock, he demanded an explanation.
Cyrus had explained that he was stopping Crow from hitting Angelica, which had been backed by almost everyone in the crowd. Due to Angelica being the daughter of Marquis Rogner, Duke Cayenne was less than pleased to hear of how a Commoner had tried to strike the daughter of one of the Four Great Noble Houses, and had agreed to overlook Crow's indiscretion on the grounds that Cyrus accompany the quartet during their time in Ordis, so as to prevent another possible fight, which would bring shame on both House Rogner, and Thors Military Academy.
"I guess we should thank His Grace for... Well, his grace," Towa giggled as she realised what she had said.
"Yeah, it saved Crow's arse from being thrown in prison for attempting to assault a member of one of the Four Great Noble Houses, and it allowed them to being repairing their damaged relationship. I guess the Duke can be merciful when he wants to be," Cyrus smirked.
"It all worked out in the end though; we successfully completed our Field Study and now Crow and Angie are best friends. Not only that, but it seems helping us helped you make a decision about your future..." Towa added, looking at Cyrus closely.
What Towa had said wasn't too far off the mark; before he met Towa, Angelica, George, and Crow, Cyrus was hesitant about enrolling at Thors, but as he spent more and more time on the road with his teacher, he realised that he'd have to come back to Erebonia and enrol at Thors eventually. Naturally though, Cyrus wanted to make sure all his ducks were in a row and all of his plans and business were able to run smoothly in his absence, although he knew he'd always have the ability to duck out and attend to anything that required his attention.
"How's the Club hunting coming along? Have you found any that take your fancy?" Towa asked quickly deciding to change the subject.
She could see the slowly darkening expression on Cyrus' face as he started to get wrapped up in his past. Cyrus looked up and his expression quickly changed. He smiled at Towa before scratching the back of his head.
"Hah, not really. I was actually going to take the opportunity to look tomorrow," Cyrus laughed.
"Ah, during your Free Day? That's a good idea. You'll be able to see all the Clubs in action and you can make an informed decision. That sounds exactly like you," Towa chuckled.
"Actually, on that note; what happens if you don't join a Club?" Cyrus asked.
"Oh, nothing. Joining a Club is purely optional, so there's no punishment for not joining one. Crow isn't a part of any Clubs, but that's more due to the fact his proposal for a 'Gambling Club' got vetoed almost immediately," Towa responded, shaking her head.
"I take it he still does that trick with the coin?" Cyrus raised an eyebrow.
"Yup. He's always looking for new people to try it on, and with a whole host of new students this year, he's not short of options on who to try and hoodwink with it," Towa smirked and nodded.
"Like a kid in a candy store... Anyway, I should get these handbooks back to the animals. They'll go mad if they find out I've been holding on to them all afternoon," Cyrus stated as he stood up and picked up Class VII's Student Handbooks.
"Alright, I guess I'll see you later. I hope you enjoy your time at Thors," Towa smiled as she too stood up and walked over to her desk. "Oh, Cyrus! Everyone's names are already in the handbooks; just look on the first page to see who's book it is."
"Thanks, Towa. I'll see you later," Cyrus waved before he left Towa's office, closing the door behind him.
Now that he had the Student Handbooks for Class VII, all he had to do was return to the dormitory and hand them out.
As Cyrus left the Student Union Building, he saw two boys standing over by the campus gates; one had black hair and was wearing a red uniform, and the other had silver hair and was wearing a green uniform. Cyrus groaned as he knew exactly who both people were, and what was happening. Knowing he couldn't avoid a conversation with either one of them, he sighed and walked over towards the gate.
"Alright, all you gotta do is keep your eye on the coin, and you win. It's that easy, ok?" the student in the green uniform explained as he quickly passed the coin in between his hands.
"Ok, seems pretty straightforward. Let's do it," the student in the red uniform muttered.
"Goddamn it, Rean..." Cyrus whispered as he overheard the exchange.
The student in the green uniform tossed the coin up in the air as Rean watched it closely. The coin reached the apex of its elevation and began its fall back to earth. As the coin fell, the silver haired student grabbed the coin in one of his hands and proceeded to present both to Rean, to prompt him into making a decision as to which hand the coin was in
Rean stood and stared for a minute before he picked the left hand. The boy turned his hand over and opened it up, revealing an empty palm.
"Damn... Guess it was the right hand..." Rean sighed, as he scratched the back of his head.
"Are you sure about that?" the silver haired boy smirked as he flipped his right hand over and opened it up, revealing another empty palm.
"Wha-? How did...?" Rean gasped, trying to figure out how the coin had somehow vanished into thin air.
"Look in the bag at his feet, Rean," Cyrus called out as he approached the two boys.
"Cyrus?" Rean looked at his classmate with confusion.
"Trust me; look in his bag," Cyrus nodded.
With a shrug, Rean knelt down and opened the drawstring bag at the boy's feet. Sure enough, sitting right at the top of the bag, was the coin Rean had given the student moments ago.
"Wait, what? How did you know to look there?" Rean asked, looking up at Cyrus.
"Aww, c'mon man... I'm trying to run a con here..." the student groaned.
"You went to all that trouble for fifty Mira? By Aidios, Crow... If you're that strapped for cash, you could've just asked for some..." Cyrus sighed as he looked the silver haired student in the eye.
Both Cyrus and Crow stared at each other for a few seconds before they started grinning and firmly grasping each other's hand and pulled each other in for a brotherly embrace.
"Heh, well, well, well... Look what the cat dragged it. How's it hanging, man?" Crow asked after the two broke the embrace.
"Light and breezy; you know how it is. I can't believe you're still trying to find people to dupe with that damn coin trick..." Cyrus laughed, looking at Rean, who looked really confused. "Oh, Rean, this is Crow. We met last year when he came to Ordis. He's a good guy, but he's a bit of a trickster."
"Says the guy who taught me that damn coin trick. Heh, Cyrus might be a hardass, but he'll look after you," Crow smirked, putting an arm around Cyrus' neck and pulling him down to his side.
Rean simply stood there, looking at the two boys with his mouth slightly agape. Cyrus took this opportunity to free himself from Crow's headlock, and smack the boy over the back of his head.
"Ow! Hey, I think we broke him..." Crow pointed out, noticing Rean's shocked expression.
"Here, it's your Student Handbook; don't lose it, because Towa worked hard on preparing these for us." Cyrus stated and reached into his bag and pulled out a small black book.
Rean took the book and opened the cover. On the first page, the Thors' Horned Lion adorned the page, much like the cover, and at the bottom 'Rean Schwarzer' was written. Rean closed the book and put in into his back pocket.
"Thank you," Rean nodded.
"Well, I gotta be off. These books won't hand themselves out. I'll see you guys later..." Cyrus waved as he started walking off towards Trista before stopping. "Oh, and Crow? Behave around the new students."
"Yeah, yeah..." Crow sighed as he quickly gathered up his bag and took off in the opposite direction, towards the Engineering Club.
Rean stood at the gate, all on his own for a few moments, before he realised something.
"Hey! Crow still has my fifty Mira!"
When Cyrus returned to the dormitory, he began to hand out the Student Handbooks he had collected from Towa. Cyrus opened the book on the top and saw Jusis' name on the first page, so that's who Cyrus decided to visit first.
After hearing a knock on his bedroom door, Jusis opened it and found Cyrus standing there with a little black book. Jusis knew this was the handbook Sara had mentioned in Homeroom, and took it with a nod of thanks before closing his door and returning to his studies.
The next book belonged to Elliot, so Cyrus went across the hall and knocked on Elliot's door. After a few moments of there being no response, Cyrus tried again. This time there was the sound of things being moved, and a few seconds later, Elliot opened the door. He sheepishly explained to Cyrus that he was practising writing some new sheet music and proceeded to apologise for holding Cyrus up.
Cyrus thought nothing of it and simply gave Elliot his Student Handbook, and before he left, he offered to help Elliot with his music, an offer which Elliot almost practically jumped at. Cyrus couldn't help but smile as he waved goodbye to Elliot, who returned to his room.
After looking at the next book, Cyrus saw that Fie was next. Considering he still had to give Machias and Gaius their handbooks, he opted to shift Fie's to the back. He believed it would be more beneficial to cover the boys' floor first, before moving upstairs to the girls' floor.
A few minutes later, both Gaius and Machias were now in possession of their own handbooks, so Cyrus decided to move up to the next floor and give the girls their handbooks too. Emma was first, and as Cyrus approached her door, he could hear Emma's muffled voice coming from the other side.
"I don't think so… No, I'm sure of it," Emma's muffled voice came from behind the door.
"Hmm, I don't agree, but that's not important; just remember why you're here. Don't fall into that 'picture perfect' school life you hear people talking about. That last thing you need is to be getting distracted from your real mission," the other voice responded. It sounded female, but the voice was so small, it sounded like it came from a child.
Growing curious, Cyrus knocked on the door, and caused a loud clattering sound as something fell over in Emma's room.
"Uh, just… Just a second!" Emma called out. "Hide! I don't know, under the bed?!"
A few seconds later, Emma opened the door just wide enough for her head to stick out. When she saw Cyrus, her eyes widened slightly, before she regained her composure, but she didn't open the door any wider.
"What are you doing, Emma?" Cyrus asked, narrowing his eyes suspiciously.
"Hmm? N-nothing…" Emma stuttered, looking around to see if anyone else was nearby.
Cyrus stared at Emma with an unimpressed look. She was a terrible liar, and he knew it.
"Emma, I heard voices. What are you doing in there?" Cyrus pressed, hoping to make Emma tell him.
"Wh-what? I… Nothing! Not a thing; I'm just practicing my vocal range. I want to be an actress when I leave school," Emma stated, nodding her head fervently.
"Ok, so if there's no-one in there, would you mind letting me in? There's something I want to give to you..." Cyrus stated, which really unsettled Emma.
"NO! Uhh, s-sorry… It's just… W-well..." Emma cried, looking around, her face starting to go red with panic.
"What is it?" Cyrus asked as he raised an eyebrow at Emma, who he knew was acting very strange for someone who supposedly had nothing to hide.
"I… Well… I'm kinda not wearing anything right now," Emma groaned as she looked at Cyrus with a nervous expression.
"O-oh… I, err… Ahem, I see. Well, in that case, here… Your Student Handbook. Please don't lose it; Towa spent ages preparing them for us," Cyrus responded, taken aback by Emma's declaration, albeit a very shy one.
Emma gingerly took the handbook and thanked Cyrus before quickly closing her door. Unsurprisingly to Cyrus, Emma still managed to be polite, even when slamming a door in his face. Shaking his head, he decided to move on to the next person.
Next was Laura. Cyrus could hear the unmistakable sound of heavy breathing and sword swings. Cyrus deduced Laura must have been practicing her form. Letting out a faint laugh, Cyrus placed the handbook on the floor in front of her door, and proceeded to push her handbook under her door before he stood up and walked away.
Fie was next door, so he put off going to Alisa's room, which was down the hall, opposite Sara's room. Whether that was by choice, or just bad luck, Cyrus didn't know. Either way, Cyrus ended up going to see Fie, who opened the door before Cyrus had a chance to knock.
"Hey, what's up?" Fie asked, giving Cyrus a blank stare.
"Student Handbooks are ready. Here's yours," Cyrus responded, handing Fie her little black book.
"Cool. Thanks," Fie shot Cyrus a quick smile before she closed her door, and Cyrus assumed she was going back to bed.
Last was Alisa. Cyrus knew she was a rather prickly individual at the best of times, but Cyrus had a feeling she was still mad at him for what happened in Homeroom earlier, and she was definitely one for holding grudges, so Cyrus felt like this was going to be an uphill struggle. As he reached Alisa's door, Cyrus pulled the final handbook out of his pocket, but accidentally dropped it on the floor.
Sighing, Cyrus knelt down to pick up the book and when he did, he saw the name of the intended student; Alisa Reinford.
"She's a Reinford…?" Cyrus whispered, looking at the name in shock, hoping he was just imagining things.
Cyrus rubbed his eyes, perhaps believing that his tiredness was making him read things incorrectly; it wasn't. Still, the name 'Alisa Reinford' was present on the first page. Before Cyrus could do anything else, Alisa's door swung open and there was the girl herself, staring at Cyrus.
"What do you think you're doing?" Alisa snapped. "Trying to peek on me or something, you perv!"
"Fuck off, Alisa..." Cyrus hissed, his words dripping with venom.
"E-excuse you?!" Alisa cried. She had never heard anyone speak to her like that in her life.
"Here, take your fucking handbook. That's why I came here," Cyrus growled, flicking the book at Alisa with considerable force.
"H-hey! What was that for?!" Alisa shouted, clearly confused. "Are you mad about what I said to you in Homeroom earlier?"
Cyrus said nothing as he walked off down the hall, then turned and made his way downstairs. Alisa then realised Cyrus was looking at the handbook he had thrown at her, and then she understood. Cyrus now knew her full name.
The next morning at breakfast, everyone could tell something wasn't right. Cyrus, who was usually calm and carefree despite his short temper, was sat at the head of the table, with a dark scowl on his face. The rest of Class VII couldn't figure out what was wrong, but they weren't sure if Alisa was the intended target of his ire, or if it was just mere coincidence, due to the fact she was sat at the opposite end of the table.
"Is… Is everything alright, Cyrus? You don't look like you're very happy..." Elliot asked, afraid that Cyrus was going to snap at him.
"Everything is fine, my friend. Why do you ask?" Cyrus turned to Elliot, his disposition brightening somewhat.
"Did Alisa do something wrong? You've been glaring daggers at her all morning," Fie asked through a mouthful of food.
"Fie! At least finish your food before you talk," Emma admonished the small girl.
"Tch, no… The Princess hasn't done anything to me, not personally at least," Cyrus scoffed, staring at Alisa with a knowing look.
Upon Cyrus calling Alisa a 'princess' the rest of Class VII looked very confused, and all looked at one another, hoping someone had answers. Even Alisa was confused. Why did Cyrus seem to hate the Reinford name?
"Hold on, don't tell me Alisa is actually royalty? What nation? Remiferia?" Gaius asked, looking at Alisa.
"No, no! I'm not a Princess. I don't know what I've done, but Cyrus is clearly mad at me for something," Alisa protested, looking at Cyrus, hoping he'd tell her.
"Alright, I'm done here. I've got a very busy day today..." Cyrus stood up and walked out of the room without another word.
"Hey, wait a second!" Alisa cried out as she too stood up and chased after Cyrus before running into him at the foot of the stairs. "What is your problem?! You've been mad with me ever since last night!"
"Don't flatter yourself. Let's get something straight here; you might be a royal pain in the arse, but don't think for a second that you're so significant that you'd cause me problems," Cyrus scoffed as he rolled his eyes.
"What? Does this have something to do with my family name?" Alisa blinked, beginning to fit the pieces together. "Why do you hate my family?"
"What is it your family do, Alisa?" Cyrus asked, staring directly at Alisa, his blue eyes piercing through her red eyes, unsettling her noticeably.
"Th-they… They're the biggest heavy industry company in Erebonia…?" Alisa stuttered, the question catching her off guard.
"What do they manufacture?" Cyrus responded.
"They produce many things, but something tells me the one thing you're mostly interested in is the weaponry..." Alisa replied as she started to see what Cyrus was getting at.
"Yes, and why might that be?" Cyrus nodded, still staring at Alisa.
"If I had to guess, I'd assume it has something to do with the Red Constellation?" Alisa responded carefully.
"Correct, gold star for the Princess," Cyrus said mockingly. "The weapons the Red Constellation had were manufactured by the Reinford Group. Hmph, leave it to your family company to stamp their logo on every item that leaves one of their factories. A word of advice; if you're going to manufacture weapons designed for an assassination attempt, don't brand said weapons with your logo. It just creates an evidence trail that people can follow. Although, I'm going to assume that the Red Constellation, or the one who hired them to kill me and my mother expected us to survive."
Alisa stood there, frozen in shock. Did the Reinford Group really help the Red Constellation try and kill Cyrus and Mirellia Le Guin? What would they have to gain by committing such an act? As far as Alisa knew, the Le Guin family were just a simple Noble family from Ordis; Count Le Guin never had any ambitions to overstep his bounds, so what would one have to gain by targeting his wife and son? Especially when Aurelia was such a dangerous woman, who led the Lamare Provincial Army.
"Look, Cyrus, I don't know why the Red Constellation were asked to kill you and your mother, nor do I know why the Reinford Group gave them the weapons to do so, but I can assure you, the Reinford Group would never send Jägers to kill someone who poses no threat to them," Alisa stated, getting an incredulous look from Cyrus.
"I would be surprised if they did. However, I know it wasn't Reinford who wanted me and my mother dead. Whoever it was, they obviously had the money to pay the Reinford Group to design cutting-edge weaponry that was specifically designed to counter my fighting style," Cyrus responded.
"That sounds like a huge reach. How could anyone create weapons specifically for countering a certain fighting style?" Alisa asked.
"It's been done before… Who is in charge of the Weapons Division at the Reinford Group?" Cyrus probed, catching Alisa off guard.
"Why would…?" Alisa began, shaking her head as she looked at Cyrus.
"I need to know, so I can find out who gave the order to manufacture those weapons..." Cyrus responded.
"I… I'm afraid I can't tell you that..." Alisa muttered.
"What did you say?" Cyrus growled, glaring at Alisa.
"I can't tell you, because I don't know!" Alisa cried. "The Reinford Group has undergone a radical change over the last decade… Lots of people lost their jobs, or were sent to another part of the company. The only people who would know their actual name would be Mother, or Grandfather. I haven't seen Grandfather in years; and good luck getting Mother to tell you, she's far more stubborn than I am..."
"What do you mean 'their actual name'…? Do you know something about who it could have been?" Cyrus raised an eyebrow.
"N-no… Well, the only thing I know is that the Weapons Division is overseen by someone who works with the Roer Institute of Technology; it's how the Reinford Group stays ahead of its competitors in the technology field," Alisa explained, looking downcast.
"The Institute…? Alright, that's actually a very helpful lead; thank you, Alisa..." Cyrus nodded as he turned and walked up the stairs.
"Wait, what? Did you just…?" Alisa blinked, not sure if she heard Cyrus properly.
"Yes, I did. I'm not an unreasonable man, and I've always been taught to use manners when necessary. As a display of good faith for helping me, let me say this; your secret is safe with me. That is a promise I will keep, on my honour as a Noble," Cyrus stated, his voice completely serious.
"Uh… I… Umm… Thanks?" Alisa stammered, completely taken aback by Cyrus' change in attitude towards her.
"Do not mistake my intent; this does not mean we're best friends. I still don't trust you, or your judgement," Cyrus grunted, looking at Alisa with a scowl.
"Excuse me? What's that supposed to mean?" Alisa sneered, folding her arms over her chest.
"If I hadn't stumbled across your name, would you have ever told us, or would you have simply chosen to keep your name a secret for the entire time we were at Thors, hoping no-one would ever find out?" Cyrus asked, giving Alisa an imposing glare.
"If you don't trust me, then how do you know what I told you about the Reinford Group is true?" Alisa asked, which made Cyrus laugh again.
"My dear, Alisa… Lying to me about who tried to kill me and my mother would be a most grievous error on your part..." Cyrus stated as he slowly walked down the stairs towards Alisa and placed a firm hand on her shoulder, before leaning in to whisper in her ear. "If I find out that you've lied to me about any of the information you have given me… I'll kill you before you can even utter the words 'I'm sorry'."
Cyrus' words chilled Alisa to the bone, and caused her breath to hitch in her throat. After seeing how he easily dominated the Fencing Club, and how he dealt with Loggins and Patrick, with the way he spoke to her, Alisa knew Cyrus wasn't joking. For several seconds, Alisa stood there, shuddering in fear, before a familiar voice broke her from her stupor.
"Hey, what's going on out here? Oooh, do I spy Class VII's first pair of lovebirds?" Sara teased as she saw Cyrus and Alisa standing close to one another.
"Take a hike, Sara. Sounds like you're just jealous that you're gonna grow old with a bunch of cats," Cyrus responded, smirking as he walked over to Sara.
"Hey! That was mean! I thought you and I had a good 'Student-Instructor' relationship!" Sara gasped, putting her hands over her heart, feigning a wounded heart.
"We do, but you're not my Instructor on Sundays, are you?" Cyrus replied, rolling his eyes at Sara's melodramatic response.
"Hmm, you got me there… Buuuuut, I am gonna take an Instructor's role with you for a few minutes; have you decided on a Club to join yet?" Sara asked.
"No, not yet… Hopefully, by the end of the day, I'll have made a decision..." Cyrus muttered.
"Well, let's hope you do, otherwise, I'll have plenty of chores for you to do for me," Sara smirked as she saw Cyrus grimace.
"I am not going to be your personal errand boy, you bum! If you wanna tidy up your room, do it yourself, or pay one of the kids in town to do it! Actually, scratch that last, I don't want all of Trista knowing you have more beer bottles in your room than a brewery does..." Cyrus stated as he walked off, and left the dorm.
"Hey! That's not fair! I didn't even get a chance to come back to that one…" Sara sighed. "Oh, well… Hey, Alisa? Are you alright over there?"
"H-huh? Ye-yeah, I'm alright..." Alisa muttered.
Alisa wasn't alright. She had been stood there, replaying three words that Cyrus had said to her over and over in her head. Those words filled her with terror, but she didn't want to say anything, as there'd be no way anyone would believe her.
I'll kill you… I'll kill you… I'll kill you…
Cyrus sighed in frustration. He had spent the past two hours walking around the campus, looking to see which Clubs interested him, and so far, none had really stood out to him. He would have joined the Wind Orchestra Club, but he wanted to do something different. Music was always going to be a part of him, thanks to his mother, but he decided that his time at Thors could also be used to experience new things too.
While it wasn't open at the time, Cyrus had found the head of the Cooking Club in the Home Economics room. For the most part, Nicholas was a nice person, and his love and passion for both food and cooking were second to none, and in order to spread that love and passion, Nicholas had given Cyrus his own little recipe book, so he too could write down all the wonderful recipes he came across during his time at Thors. According to Nicholas, Rean had been by the day before, and he had also given a recipe book to him too.
Cyrus had seen Jusis leave early that morning, and when he arrived at the Academy, he saw Jusis on the Academy Field, trotting about on a white stallion. Jusis was a part of Thors' Riding Club, which was headed up by Lambert, a Second Year who loved horses more than people. There was a rumour that Lambert spent more Mira on pampering his horse, Whitcomb, than he ever would even consider spending on another person. Apparently, this made it difficult for his parents to find a worthy suitor for their son.
While he had considered joining the Riding Club, if only for his experience with horses, Cyrus decided against it in the end. While he wasn't as obsessed with horses like Lambert, he did love his horse that he had back in Ordis. Leishen was a purebred Calvardian 'Blazer', which were powerful horses that had incredible endurance and stamina, but were also exceptionally kind and gentle. What made Leishen so special to Cyrus was his black hair that covered almost all of his body. While his ears and hooves were white, and there was a white lightning-bolt shaped mark on his face.
Leishen was a gift from Cyrus' father, Count Michael Le Guin. He had gone to Calvard when Cyrus was still a young boy, and got Leishen from a world-renowned horse breeder who lived in the mountains near Anchorville. This, of course, was more than a decade ago, when relations between Erebonia and Calvard were more amicable than they were during the present.
After leaving the Home Economics Room, Cyrus had run into Crow, who proposed an idea of a club they could run together. Essentially, what he wanted was to create a 'Gambling Club', and figured that having a Noble support it would mean people would join it. What Crow really wanted to do, was find new ways of trying to swindle Nobles, First Years (especially First Year Nobles), and anyone else in between out of their Mira.
Cyrus immediately shut the idea down and threatened to tell Towa about what he was up to, if he didn't promise to stop suggesting the idea as a legitimate Club at Thors. Crow, of course, sulked about it, but Cyrus' threat of informing Towa was enough to convince him proceeding with the venture would be very unwise.
As Cyrus walked down the halls of the Main Building, he heard a commotion going on in the Music Room. There were multiple overlapping voices, followed by a loud bang and a pained scream. Growing curious, Cyrus popped his head into the room, and saw all the students gathered around the piano in the far corner of the room.
"Oh? Using a piano for some Liberlian Power Metal? Revolutionary," Cyrus nodded, smirking slightly.
"No, Cyrus! I think Hibelle's arm is broken!" Elliot cried as he turned to see Cyrus.
"Who's Hibelle? Did she drop something on it?" Cyrus asked, as he walked into the room.
"No, silly! Hibelle is a guy, and he was tuning our piano when he knocked the top and it fell on his arm!" a small, green haired girl explained.
"Argh, not again!" Hibelle groaned, clutching his arm.
"Instructor Mary, I think he needs to go see Instructor Beatrix in the infirmary!" a young blonde-haired girl said, looking visibly panicked.
"Yes, Bridget, I agree. Mint, please assist Hibelle and take him to see Instructor Beatrix," Mary asked, her command coming across very calm and polite.
"Yes'um! Let's go, Hibelle!" Mint shouted, as she helped Hibelle up to his feet and escorted him out of the classroom.
"How many times has that happened to Hibelle, I wonder?" Elliot sighed as he sat down in a nearby chair.
"From what I've heard from some of the other Second Years, it's apparently the fourth time he's done it at Thors. He seems to be very danger prone when it comes to musical instruments," Bridget responded.
Cyrus had been more focused on the piano, but still overheard the conversation. After taking a look at the piano, he stood up and looked over at Elliot and Bridget.
"That's because he's fiddling with something he knows nothing about," Cyrus sighed.
"Excuse me? Hibelle is the most talented musician in the Wind Orchestra. Saying he knows nothing about music is both rude and incorrect," Bridget stated, scowling slightly at how blunt Cyrus was being.
"I'm not disputing that, but if he knew anything about this piano, he'd know it requires two stands to hold the lid open, instead of the one most common piano need," Cyrus scoffed, as he lifted the piano lid open, and dropped one stand, before moving to the opposite side, and dropping a second stand, which no-one in the Wind Orchestra seemed to know about, not even Bridget.
"H-how'd you know that was there?!" Bridget asked, sounding shocked. "I've spent my entire life around a piano, and I've never come across such a thing before.
"That's because this is a Rieveldt Company special; the Grande Prima. I have one at home," Cyrus shrugged, as he started to fiddle with the insides of the instrument.
"What?! A Grande Prima costs in excess of two and a half million Mira! How could you afford something so expensive?!" Bridget cried.
"You clearly don't know who my mother is... What exactly is wrong with this thing?" Cyrus stated, his head still inside the piano.
"Oh, umm, Hibelle was saying some of the keys were out of tune, so he was trying to tighten the strings," Elliot explained, trying to ease the situation.
"Aha, I see it… Alright, let me just..." Cyrus muttered, as he started to tune the piano.
After a few minutes of tuning, Cyrus leaned back up out of the piano and closed the lid. Without saying a word, he sat down on the stool and started running his fingers across the keys. The sound the piano made was incredibly melodic, and pitch perfect. Not even Bridget could keep her jaw from hanging open in shock.
"Heh, that's more like it… Hmm, I wonder if..." Cyrus mumbled before he started playing a tune on the piano.
As Cyrus played, everyone in the classroom immediately recognised the song he was playing. It was one of the most popular songs in Erebonia since the turn of the century. Not just for the fact it was played so elegantly on a piano, but for the raw emotion that the composer put into the lyrics of the song.
Cyrus, meanwhile, had become lost in the song he was playing and no longer felt like he was at Thors, but instead he felt like he was right back in Ordis, in the drawing room of his family home, and because of that, he did what came naturally to him, and started to sing.
I'm tired of being what you want me to be
Feeling so faithless, lost under the surface
I don't know what you're expecting of me
Put under the pressure of walking in your shoes
Every step that I take is another mistake to you
I've become so numb, I can't feel you there
Become so tired, so much more aware
By becoming this all I want to do
Is be more like me and be less like you...
With a short laugh, Cyrus decided to stop playing there, as he suddenly remembered he was not at home in Ordis, but in the Music Room at Thors. When he turned, he saw the entire Wind Orchestra, sans Mint and Hibelle, staring at him in utter surprise. Even Elliot couldn't help but look at Cyrus as if he had just met him for the first time.
"That… That was an incredible cover, Cyrus," Elliot breathed, clasping his hands together in front of his face, his eyes shining with joy.
"Indeed, I have never heard a song covered so well by anyone before in my life," Bridget breathed, a tear running down her cheek.
"Yes, well… When your mother is a world-renowned musician, you tend to pick up a few things. This song by Corvo Octavius, Liberlian musical extraordinaire, is one of their better ones," Cyrus responded.
"Ah, of course you'd know him; he's worked with your mother on a few songs, hasn't he? 'Numb' is one of the first solo songs he's done that's made him so popular in Erebonia. Although, I do quite enjoy 'Dark Night of the Soul' he did with your mother. The piano, along with Lady Mirellia's voice, makes for some powerfully emotional work," Instructor Mary responded, realizing how Cyrus would know of the composer, Corvo Octavius.
"Apparently, they've done quite a few songs that Erebonians have come to love. If you ask my cousin, Ferris, she'll tell you just how much she loves their song 'Honest'. Mother has even told me they're planning on releasing their first album near the end of the year. I think she said it's going to be called 'The Gold Experience', or something," Cyrus shrugged as he stood up.
"Oh, you're leaving?" Elliot asked.
"Yeah, I gotta keep moving. If I can't find a Club, I'll be reduced to being Instructor Sara's 'Sunday Afternoon Drinking Buddy'," Cyrus laughed. "See you all later."
With a wave, Cyrus left the Music Room, and carried on his travels.
It was now late afternoon, and Cyrus had decided to return to the Third Dormitory, his quest to find the perfect club for him unsuccessful for the time being. As he opened the door to the Third Dormitory, his nose was assaulted by the strong smell of alcohol. Grimacing at the putrid stench, Cyrus entered the building and found Sara on the couch, completely intoxicated.
"What in the name of Thanatos is this?!" Cyrus cried out as he approached Sara.
"Hmm…? Oh! Hi, Cyrus; whatcha doooooin'?" Sara asked, giggling to herself as she rolled over and found herself upside down, while staring at her student.
"I was going to ask you the same thing? How long have you been drinking for? There're almost three dozen bottles on the floor here!" Cyrus exclaimed as he started to pick up the empty bottles that were lying on the floor.
"Heeeeeey! I'm shtill ushing thoshe!" Sara slurred, as she tried to roll over onto her stomach, but only achieved spilling the beer she had in her hand.
"For what? To build a beer bottle fort to hide in or something?" Cyrus looked at Sara incredulously.
"That's a great idea! I was just going to use them target practice later," Sara laughed as she sat up, swaying slightly as she did so.
"There is no way I'm letting you use a firearm whilst inebriated," Cyrus stated, giving Sara a hard stare.
"Why not? It's my Free Day today too, y'know? Teachers need a break from their students every now and again," Sara responded.
Cyrus couldn't help but agree with Sara on that point; especially when said teacher is in charge of a group of students like the ones in Class VII. Why shouldn't Sara be allowed her own downtime, to spend however she wishes? If the rest of the school can, who's to say Sara can't either?
"Hmm, you actually make a good point, Sara…" Cyrus chuckled as he sat down on the couch next to Sara.
"Well, if that's what you think, why not join me? I'll race you to the bottom!" Sara cried as she downed the beer in her hand.
"Uhh, I'll pass, thanks," Cyrus muttered, watching in astonishment as Sara finished her bottle in under six seconds before lying back down on the couch.
"Ah, well, your loss. But I'm telling you now, you won't be able to 'pass' on anything if you wish to pass your Field Study next weekend," Sara slurred, hiccupping slightly.
"I'm sorry, my what?" Cyrus looked at Sara with confusion.
"Your Field Study? C'mon, it's basically the entire reason for this class existing. You don't see those stuck-up Nancies in Class I getting to travel all across Erebonia and exploring the finer details of different towns and cities the Empire has, do you?" Sara groaned, sitting up with a great deal of effort.
"Hey, that's my cousin Ferris you're talking about, and me too, if I wasn't in this class," Cyrus stated.
"Psh, details, details…" Sara waved a hand dismissively.
'A Field Study, huh…? Was I supposed to know about this, or does Sara just end up having very loose lips when she's drunk? I'm starting to wonder whether or not I should have told her that secret in the Old Schoolhouse on our first day…' Cyrus thought as he tapped a finger on the arm of the couch before standing up.
"Hey, now where are you going? Are you going to go look for a club to join?" Sara asked, looking at Cyrus upside down.
"Sara, it's five in the afternoon; clubs have all finished for the day, and before you ask, I didn't find one," Cyrus sighed, shaking his head.
"Ah, it's alright. I know you'll find one. You always find a way to make things work; just like you did with Angelica and Crow last year," Sara chuckled as Cyrus made his way up the stairs, only for him to stop on the third step.
"How do you know about that?" Cyrus asked.
"Why wouldn't I? They were the 'test run' for Class VII's establishment, and I was their teacher. Unofficially, they were considered Class VI, which is why you guys are Class VII. Too bad I couldn't be in Ordis when they were there; those four told me some amazing things about you… That's why I was really excited to see you'd be enrolling at Thors, and why I gave you no choice about leaving the class," Sara replied listlessly.
Cyrus said nothing as he stared at Sara. Was she really telling the truth, or was she just really good at messing with people while she was drunk? Looking at her the way she was, Cyrus had no idea what to think of everything Sara had just told him.
"Come on, clean yourself up; the rest of the class will be returning from their club activities soon, and the last thing we need is for them to see you piss drunk… Again," Cyrus stated, as he carried on up the stairs, his conversation with Sara running through his head.