The Legend of Heroes - Trails of Azure Thunder

by DreamsOfAzureSkies

A Noble from the Lamare Province, Cyrus has arrived at Thors and is a member of the newly formed Class VII. Secrets abound in Cyrus' past, but will these secrets pull Class VII together, or tear them apart completely? A rewrite of the Cold Steel Series with adjusted lore from Sky and Crossbell to give a new story of the Erebonia Arc. Rated M for coarse language and violence.

5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five – Down To Business

After leaving Gallart's home, Cyrus and the rest of Group B headed over to 'Arms & Orbal Factory', to see the person who had lodged their first task to the Mayor. The task giver was also the owner of the store, a man called Dwight.

As it had been with Bertrand and Gallart, Dwight knew exactly who the five students were the moment they entered his shop. Upon seeing Group B, he excitedly put down the Orbal Gun he was working on and darted over to the students.

"Ooh, you must be the Thors students Mayor Gallart was telling me about! I assume you're here to help with my request?" Dwight asked, wringing his hands in anticipation.

"That's correct. We understand you're looking for Iron Sand?" Emma responded, asking Dwight for confirmation.

"I am indeed. Iron Sand is a very valuable resource to me, and will help with my work. I don't require a lot; half a kilogram would be plenty. Although, I'd be impressed if you were able to gather more," Dwight explained.

"Why is that?" Gaius asked.

"That's because Magnetite is very hard to come by in this part of the Empire. You don't want to pay an Emperor's ransom to bring it in from outside of the Empire, so you try and source it locally," Cyrus stated.

"Yes, precisely! If I were to get it from the likes of Crossbell, or even Jurai, I'd go out of business within the year. If I were working in Ordis, Heimdallr, or even Bareahard, I could charge enough to cover the fees, but in a small place like Parm, that's just not possible," Dwight responded.

"Then I think it's best we go looking for some," Emma looked to Cyrus, who nodded in agreement. "Where exactly can we find it?"

"Being a sedimentary rock, you're more than likely to find it forming in and around soft earth, usually next to a water source," Dwight explained as he went behind his workbench and pulled out a rolled-up piece of paper.

"You mean a river, don't you?" Cyrus asked.

"Exactly right. This here is a map of the area South of Parm, along an old byroad that leads towards Titus Gate," Dwight stated as he unfurled the map and put two heavy objects down on either side to stop it from rolling up.

Upon hearing the name 'Titus Gate' and seeing it's position upon a map, Cyrus went very quiet. He simply stared at the map for a few seconds before turning away, putting a hand up to his right shoulder.

"Are you alright, Cyrus?" Gaius asked, looking at Cyrus with worry.

"Hmm? Yes, I'm fine… Bad experiences, that's all," Cyrus smiled wryly.

"Are you going to be able to come with us?" Emma asked, taking notice of Cyrus' discomfort.

"Yeah, don't worry. Someone has to make sure those chuckleheads don't do anything stupid," Cyrus smirked as both Jusis and Machias glared at him.

"Alright, but just take it easy, ok? We don't want you overexerting yourself," Emma stated quietly.

"I'll be fine. Let's just focus on making sure we finish this task properly," Cyrus responded calmly as he walked back over to Dwight and picked up the map. "Can we take this?"

"Sure thing. As you can see, I've marked three possible places for you to look. I can't guarantee you'll find any, as I usually gather what little Magnetite I can find from these three places, but I'm sure if you dig deep enough, you'll find some," Dwight beamed, giving Group B a hearty thumbs up.

Without another word, Cyrus let go of one end of the map and let it roll itself before leaving the shop. Emma and Gaius both shared an uneasy look, while Jusis and Machias simply scowled at each other. Afraid of being left behind, the rest of Group B left to follow Cyrus, who was already on the far side of the town square, heading for the Southern gate, which would lead to the Parm Byroad.

---

An hour later, Group B were already close to the first location that Dwight had marked out for them on his map. Sure enough, the first location was near the edge of the river, in a rock face that looked like it had been completely picked clean.

"Well this was a waste of time. There's nothing here…" Machias moaned as he looked at the small hole in the rock face.

"Did you not listen to a word the man said? You're going to have to dig for it," Jusis snapped, rolling his eyes at Machias.

"Excuse me? I won't be digging anything, thank you very much. Even if I was to, how exactly would you propose I do it? I don't think any of us packed a shovel," Machias barked.

"Aidios gave you two hands, so go ahead and put them to good use," Jusis retorted, smirking as Machias started to growl at him.

"I AM NOT USING MY HANDS TO DIG THROUGH SHIT!" Machias yelled.

"Would you two shut up?! Are you forgetting who you're with?" Cyrus shouted, walking up to the hole.

"Oh, of course. You're just going to pull a shovel out of your arse or something?" Machias derided, getting a scoff from Jusis.

"No, but I'll put my boot up your arse if you don't shut your pie-hole," Cyrus muttered as he placed a hand in the dirt.

"What is he doing?" Gaius asked Emma, his voice low.

"I think… He's trying to pull the Iron Sand out of the earth," Emma responded, trying to deduce what Cyrus was up to.

"Oh, please. How is he going to do that?" Jusis stated, standing next to Emma, his arms crossed over his chest with an amused look on his face.

"You're right, Emma. I'm going to try and pull some of the Magnetite out of the rock face. If there's any in here, I won't even have to dig for it," Cyrus responded, not even acknowledging Jusis' comment.

"How are you going to do that?" Gaius asked.

"Simple… I'm going to magnetise it and draw it out," Cyrus stated, much to Jusis' annoyance, as he started to fire off a few small sparks of lightning from the palm of his hand.

The rest of the group watched on in silence as Cyrus worked. After about two minutes, Cyrus stopped what he was doing and turned around with a smile on his face.

"You got some?" Emma asked, sounding excited.

"You know it. Gaius, can you bring me the jar in my bag?" Cyrus asked, looking at the Nord boy.

"You have a jar in your bag why?" Machias asked, watching as Gaius went over to Cyrus' bag and pulled out a small glass jar.

"This is Parm, Machias. Not only is this town famous for its spinners, it's also the town that manufactures the most dyes in Erebonia. I can guarantee the fabric used for our jackets were dyed with pigments sourced from this very area around Parm. I anticipated one of our Field Study tasks was to collect some of these pigments, so I came prepared. Thank you, Gaius," Cyrus took the jar from Gaius and opened his palm over the top and a small amount of black powder fell into the jar.

"That's Magnetite? I was expecting it to be a rock," Jusis stated, looking at the powder.

"Well, it is called Iron Sand for a reason, you know," Cyrus muttered as he screwed the lid back on top. "Come on, maybe we'll be able to find more at the other locations."

"Hold on," Machias perked up, stopping the group. "I want to know how you managed to do that."

"I imagine you're talking about how I magnetised the Iron Sand in the rock bed?" Cyrus responded. "Through my training and the tutelage of my Master, I have learned how to control an element. It's not necessarily magic, but more of an enlightened understanding of how the elements work in the world around us. There are others who can do the same thing. My element is lightning, which is how I was able to be recognised as the Thunder Emperor by both Master Matteus, and His Majesty, the Emperor."

"You're saying there are others who can control elements too?" Emma asked, taking great interest in Cyrus' words.

"I am, and I know for a fact I have interacted with at least two in the last year alone; one of them is just not aware they have the ability to do so, but I imagine they will in a few years' time," Cyrus responded.

"Who?" Jusis demanded an answer as he look at Cyrus with an incredulous look.

"I can't tell you that," Cyrus responded, which only annoyed Jusis further.

"And why the devil not?" Jusis snapped.

"Because this isn't something I can tell you here. This is something that everyone needs to hear, much like my past with the Red Constellation, and it's not fair to let you know first, simply because you're here and the others are not," Cyrus stated calmly.

"Fine, but the moment we get back, you're telling us everything," Jusis declared.

"I had planned to the moment I nearly got hit by that train in Heimdallr Station," Cyrus replied. "Now, can we continue with our task? We're losing daylight standing here."

---

After Group B had made their way over to the second location and Cyrus had extracted what Iron Sand he could from the earth, the quintet were now on their way to their final location. Cyrus had been able to extract a considerable amount of Iron Sand from the last location, but Machias wanted to visit the third location, just to see if there was any more Magnetite to collect.

As the group walked down the road next to the river, Cyrus started to feel uneasy, and began to look all around him as he walked, something that Emma took notice of.

"Is something wrong?" Emma asked as she approached Cyrus and matched his pace.

"I don't know… Doesn't it seem a little quiet to you?" Cyrus muttered.

"Well, now that you mention it, Jusis and Machias haven't been arguing, so I guess it has been quieter than usual," Emma giggled.

"No, that's not what I meant… There's no birds in the trees. No crickets, or other creatures making noises. It's just… Silent," Cyrus whispered, his hand going to his Dao that was strapped to the back of his waist.

"Cyrus… You're starting to worry me," Emma murmured, grabbing firmly onto her Orbal Staff.

"I'm hoping it's nothing, but I've had enough experience to know that it's usually the opposite…" Cyrus responded. "Hey, keep pace you guys!"

Cyrus had looked back over his shoulder to see Gaius, Jusis, and Machias had fallen behind and were now a considerable distance away from him and Emma. With a wave of his hand, he beckoned the three boys over to him, which confused them.

"What's going on, Cyrus?" Gaius asked.

"Keep close. We're not alone," Cyrus muttered.

As the five closed around each other, they started to hear a rustling in the bushes across the other side of the footpath, and turned their attention towards the sound. A moment later, they heard a faint chattering which grew louder, and from out the bushes, a giant insect jumped out and charged towards the group.

"Holy shit! What is that thing?!" Machias shouted as he pointed his shotgun at the insect and fired a shell at it.

The insect was a giant mantis with incredibly large sickle-like arms, which it used to block the buck from Machias' shotgun. The attack from Machias did no damage, and all it managed to achieve was to piss the mantis off even more than it already was.

"It's a giant bug, so all we need to do it burn it with fire, yes?" Gaius suggested, swinging his spear to parry the mantis' attack.

"Yes, but does anyone have any Fire-Type Arts to use against it?" Jusis asked.

The sound of a collective 'no' that came from the group did little to ease their tension, as they started to look for a way to fight off the mantis.

"I might be able to help!" Emma stated as she held up her Orbal Staff as it started to glow. "Detector!"

The Orbal Staff fired a blue beam from the crystal mounted in its head and engulfed the mantis as it rose up and down the insect before vanishing. After the light had vanished, Emma was now privy to the mantis' strengths and weaknesses.

"What have you discovered, Emma?" Gaius asked as he dodged another attack and stabbed the mantis, cutting its body slightly.

"It has a slight weakness to Earth-Type Arts, and a high susceptibility to poison, which is a little ironic, if you ask me…" Emma muttered.

"Emma! Now is not the time to be philosophising over how a bug can be poisoned! Just cut the sodding beast's head off!" Jusis shouted.

"Go on then, smartarse! Cut its head off!" Machias shouted, as he fired a shot at the mantis' legs, trying to cripple it.

"Be silent, you fool!" Jusis snapped.

Jusis' momentary lapse in concentration was costly. Before he could react, the mantis was upon him and Jusis found himself being swatted away by the insect, and flew across the road and into the nearby river.

"Jusis!" Gaius shouted as he turned and ran over to the river.

"Goddamn it, Machias! Can you not go five minutes without trying to provoke Jusis?" Cyrus shouted, unsheathing his sword and lifting it up and over his shoulder, so the blade was pointing to the ground.

"Don't tell me what to do! At least I'm trying to beat this thing, unlike you!" Machias yelled as the dropped his shotgun and raised his free hand. "Earth Style; Needle Shot!"

A faint golden light surrounded Machias as the ground in front of him began to splinter and float up into the air and compress. After a few seconds, a giant arrow of stone had formed and was pointed at the mantis. Closing his hand for a second, Machias flicked his hand open and fired the stone arrow at the mantis, spearing it in the thorax, causing it to roar in pain.

"Nice one, Machias!" Emma cried, happy to see the mantis could actually be harmed.

"Gaius! Is Jusis ok?" Cyrus called out, not chancing to look back, in case the mantic attacked him.

"I can't find him!" Gaius shouted, which made Cyrus turn around.

"What?!" Cyrus yelled as he ran over to the river next to Gaius. "How long has he been down there for?"

"A few seconds, but I would've thought he'd have come back up by now," Gaius muttered, as he scanned the river, hoping to see Jusis pop up.

"Fuck, he might be unconscious. Gaius, go assist Emma and Machias," Cyrus commanded as he dropped his sword and kicked off his shoes.

Gaius knew what Cyrus was going to do, and he knew it was the right thing to do. Without another word, Gaius turned and went back to fight the mantis. Cyrus, on the other hand, hand removed his jacket and shirt before he dived into the water in search for his classmate.

When Cyrus opened his eyes, he couldn't see much. The setting sun made it difficult to see underwater, but he could still make out basic shapes of rocks and a few large fish which were unperturbed by the presence of Cyrus.

Swimming with the current that was heading South, Cyrus followed the river, keeping an eye out for Jusis. It had been less than a minute since Jusis went under, so Cyrus was sure he couldn't be too far away.

Fortunately, he was right. About fifteen metres from where he dived in, Cyrus found Jusis on the riverbed, pinned under a small boulder. From the position of the boulder on Jusis, Cyrus assumed Jusis had tried to grab hold of the rock and it ended up rolling over on him, trapping him underwater.

As Cyrus swam over to Jusis, he could tell the young Noble was certainly unconscious. With a little effort, Cyrus was able to lift the stone off Jusis and proceeded to grab his arm and start swimming back upstream with Jusis in tow.

Cyrus broke the surface of the water and let out a huge gasp as he tried to swallow as much air as possible. Swimming down to find Jusis was easy, but swimming back was the hard part, and it put a strain on Cyrus' lungs, which were screaming for oxygen.

Holding on to Jusis by the collar of his jacket, Cyrus pulled himself up onto the riverbank and proceeded to drag Jusis out and onto dry land with him. Flat on his back, Jusis wasn't breathing, so Cyrus started to perform CPR, in hopes it would help him regain consciousness.

"One, two, three, four… Come on, Jusis…" Cyrus grunted as he began chest compressions, trying to force the water out of Jusis' lungs and get him breathing again.

"Cyrus?! Is Jusis alright?!" Emma called out, after hearing the sound of water splashing when Cyrus dragged Jusis out of the river.

"Focus on the mantis! I'll take care of Jusis!" Cyrus yelled before turning back to Jusis. "Ugh, you're really going to make me do this, huh?"

After the chest compressions failed to work, Cyrus decided that he had no choice but to try using mouth-to-mouth resuscitation to try and revive Jusis. Cyrus tilted Jusis' head back slightly and pinched his nose shut as he put his mouth over Jusis' mouth and started to force breath into his airway.

The first two attempts didn't work, but on the third breath, Cyrus felt Jusis move slightly and when he looked at the Noble, Cyrus saw his eyes open in shock as he woke up and began to flail about. Cyrus sat back as Jusis rolled over and vomited up a large amount of water, and began to cough and splutter as his body tried to take in as much oxygen as possible, whilst expelling all the water and any other foreign objects inside.

"Oh, good, you're alive. Stay here," Cyrus stated as he stood up and grabbed his sword.

Jusis tried to respond, but he was too busy trying to breathe properly, and in between coughs, he watched as Cyrus walked over to the rest of Group B, sword in hand and only wearing his jeans. As Jusis watched Cyrus walk away, he noticed something on the young boy's back which completely astounded him. Rubbing his eyes, he quickly realised what he was seeing was not an illusion.

"Cyrus! Is Jusis alright?" Gaius asked as he saw Cyrus walk over towards him.

"He'll be fine, but I think the time for games is over…" Cyrus muttered, sounding very calm.

"You think this is a game?!" Machias shouted, astounded by Cyrus' lack of urgency.

"Get out of my way, Machias…" Cyrus hissed as he held his sword back at his side, as if he were sheathing it.

"What are you–?" Machias blustered as he watched Cyrus, before getting his answer.

"Scarlet Tempest!" Cyrus yelled as he swung his sword out horizontally in front of him.

As Cyrus swung his sword, the blade started crackling with scarlet lightning, and as the blade arced through the air, a roar of thunder exploded as the scarlet lightning flew through the air and collided with the mantis.

The attack didn't just collide with the mantis, but instead bifurcated and killed the insect with no resistance. All that remained of the monster were its pair of giant sickle-like arms, which were as dense as metal.

The rest of Group B, even Jusis who had seen what happened, simply looked at Cyrus with shock. Here was a boy, who was half naked and dripping wet from being in the river, had eviscerated the mantis three of his classmates were struggling with without any kind of effort whatsoever.

"How did you do that?" Gaius breathed, stunned by what he had seen.

"Easily," Cyrus shrugged as he turned and walked back towards Jusis.

"That isn't what he meant, and you know it!" Machias shouted, annoyed by Cyrus' arrogant response.

"Well, are you going to rephrase it, Mr. Vice President?" Cyrus responded mockingly.

"Fine; why didn't you do that from the beginning?! You could have saved us the trouble of fighting it!"

"I could have… But what good would it have done? I'm not here to bail everyone out whenever a fight breaks out," Cyrus stated.

"'What good would it have done?!' If you had done that from the beginning, Jusis wouldn't have almost drowned!" Machias shouted.

"Excuse me?" Cyrus whispered, turning to glare at Machias. "If I recall, it was you and your stupid comment that provoked Jusis and resulted in him being smacked into the river, where he almost drowned! I am a patient man, Regnitz, but I will not tolerate that kind of bullshit!"

"Time out, guys… This isn't really the place for this, and we need to make sure Jusis is alright," Gaius intoned, trying to diffuse the situation.

"Hmph, he seems fine to me," Machias scoffed, looking over to where Jusis was sitting.

"Be that as it may, we still have a job to do, and arguing isn't going to help us finish it," Gaius stated sternly.

"Gaius is right. I'm not going to get sucked into your childish little pissing matches, like Jusis does. I'm going to get my clothes back on and we're going to carry on collecting the Magnetite," Cyrus said as he turned and went back to put his shirt and shoes back on.

Machias simply grumbled as he sauntered over towards Jusis and sat down on a rock as far away from the two Nobles as possible whilst muttering something under his breath. Gaius began walking back towards the three boys when he noticed Emma was just standing there, starting into space.

"Emma? Are you alright?" Gaius asked, gently shaking her by the shoulder.

"Huh? I wasn't staring!" Emma gasped, as she realised what she had been doing.

"Staring? What are you talking about?" Gaius asked, looking at Emma with confusion.

"Oh! Ehehe, nothing. Don't worry about it," Emma chuckled, going slightly red at her outburst.

"Alright, as long as you're okay. Come, we're going to finish collecting that Iron Sand Dwight asked us to get," Gaius responded before he turned to join the three boys by the riverbed.

"Ugh, why'd I have to be so obvious…" Emma groaned, as she pushed her hand against her face in embarrassment.

Emma knew Gaius was not a fool. She saw it in his eyes the moment she said 'staring' that Gaius had connected the dots, and that she had been staring at Cyrus' body, which was incredibly toned after years of being a swordsman. That wasn't only one of the reasons Emma had been staring at Cyrus. Another reason was that she was astounded by the number of scars he had all over his torso. But the final reason was the same reason Jusis had been staring at Cyrus' back, as she too could not believe what she had seen.

Groaning inwardly at how she handled the situation, Emma walked over to the rest of the group, but not before picking up the mantis claws that had been left behind after Cyrus had destroyed the monster.

Cyrus, now fully dressed, approached Jusis to see if he was okay. As Cyrus helped Jusis to his feet, Jusis could only say two words to the boy.

"Your back…" Jusis muttered, still in awe over what he had seen.

"Ah, yes… I would imagine everyone saw my back, didn't they? What you saw is something that I will leave to explain another day, so let's hurry up and get back to the task at hand," Cyrus commented, as he began to walk away.

"The more we learn about that guy, the less we seem to know," Gaius whispered to Emma, who had been watching the two Nobles' exchange with intrigue.

"Agreed, but I'm sure we'll learn more about him as time goes on, like with everyone else in the class," Emma nodded.

"I suppose you are right. Come on, we should keep moving if we want to finish this task on time," Gaius stated, as he began to follow Cyrus, Jusis, and Machias.

Emma simply nodded as she too began to follow the group.

---

The final location on Dwight's map wasn't too far from where the mantis had attacked Group B, so they had arrived at the site with enough time to spare before it got dark.

"We've already found enough Iron Sand. Why exactly am I getting more of it?" Cyrus asked whilst extracting the Magnetite from the rock.

"Simple. Dwight asked us for about half a kilo of Magnetite. If we can get more, then it'll look even better for us in our reports," Machias stated.

"Hmph, Cyrus is right. Doing more work is just a waste of time," Jusis scoffed.

"That isn't what I was trying to say, Jusis," Cyrus sighed.

"Yeah, just shut up and hold the jar, will you?" Machias snapped, shoving the jar into Jusis hands.

"I beg your pardon? I will not be taking orders from the likes of you," Jusis sneered, forcing the jar back into Machias' hands.

"Come on, guys… We're almost done. Save the arguing for later," Gaius muttered.

"You should be helping too, you know! You've done nothing except almost die!" Machias shouted.

"What? If it wasn't for your buffoonery, I wouldn't have nearly drowned in the first place," Jusis growled, shoving Machias backwards.

As Jusis shoved Machias, his foot collided with a stone that was sticking out of the ground, which caused Machias to lose his balance. Machias cried out as he stumbled backwards, falling into the river.

Jusis started laughing as Machias rose to the surface, a furious scowl on his face, but Emma and Gaius had a different look on their faces; anguish. Machias had been holding the jar used to store the Magnetite, and when he fell into the river, the open jar went with him, and all the Iron Sand they had collected got washed away downstream.

Cyrus had heard a splash and turned around to see what had happened, and froze as he saw Machias climbing out of the river.

"Where's the jar?" Cyrus asked.

"You don't want to know…" Emma groaned, rubbing her temples.

"Don't…" Cyrus whispered, as he looked over at Gaius, who only nodded.

Cyrus opened his hand to look at the amount of Magnetite he had been able to extract. It was only a few shards; not even close to fifty grams, let alone half a kilo. Cyrus simply turned the palm of his hand to the side, and allowed the small offering of Magnetite to be taken away by the wind. Without another word, Cyrus started walking back towards Parm.

---

After what had happened, everyone knew Cyrus was furious. He hadn't said a word to any of them and walked at a pace that enough to distance himself from the other four. As Group B returned to Parm, Emma ran up to Cyrus and tried to talk to him.

"Cyrus, can you slow down a little?" Emma asked.

"No," Cyrus snapped, ignoring Emma's plea.

"What's the big deal anyway? We'll just tell Dwight that there was no Iron Sand to begin with; it's not like he was expecting us to return with any," Machias stated, stopping Cyrus in his tracks.

"What did you just say?" Cyrus muttered.

"Even by your standards, that plan is ridiculous," Jusis sneered, looking down his nose at Machias.

"At least I'm trying to–" Machias shouted.

"DO NOT FUCKING SPEAK!" Cyrus roared, silencing Machias. "It's your fault we're in this mess in the first place! We had all the Iron Sand we needed for Dwight, but you just had to go looking for more; and while you're at it, you just had to get into another argument with Jusis! You're the one to blame for all of this!"

"Cyrus…" Emma whispered, realising Cyrus' outburst had started to draw a crowd.

It was late evening in Parm, but there were still plenty of people milling about, who had all turned to see what was going on when they heard Cyrus shouting.

"No, I don't care how much you two arseholes hate each other; I will not abide by such pettiness when trying to complete a task we have been given. All of this is going to have to be reported to Sara, and I will not have you two idiots making the rest of us look like we're as incompetent as the pair of you!" Cyrus shouted as he turned and began to walk off before stopping and turning back. "A warning to you both; get in my way again, and I will not hesitate to kill you."

No-one said anything as Cyrus walked off and went back to the inn they were staying at. Machias and Jusis were dumbfounded by Cyrus' words, and Emma and Gaius were both shocked at how furious Cyrus was, all over the loss of a small quantity of Iron Sand.

"Tch, what a fool. Causing a scene over something so asinine," Jusis huffed.

"Scathing words aside, he's right though," Gaius stated.

"What?" Machias looked at Gaius with annoyance.

"We lost the Iron Sand because you both failed to work together. I can't understand why you can't put aside your differences, but it was those differences that resulted in us failing this task. While I don't agree with some of the things Cyrus said, the bottom line is that we failed because of you two, and now we have to report this to Instructor Sara, and that will affect our overall grade," Emma stated.

"I think we should just go and tell Dwight about what happened. He needs to know we don't have his Iron Sand," Gaius added.

"Hmph, I guess it would be improper not to inform Dwight about the outcome of the task he gave us," Jusis shrugged. "But I'm telling him it was Machias' fault we failed."

"Like hell it was! You're the one who pushed me into the river to begin with!" Machias shouted.

"Guys, come on. We've just told you that your arguing is what caused this, so why are you arguing again?" Emma sighed.

"Hey, isn't that Cyrus?" Gaius pointed as he saw Cyrus leave the inn.

"What's he doing now?" Machias asked, rolling his eyes.

"It looks like he's going to see Dwight," Emma responded as she watched Cyrus cross the town square and enter Dwight's shop.

"Hmph, let's go and see what he's up to," Jusis stated as he marched off towards the shop.

The rest of Group B followed Jusis' lead and made their way over to Dwight's store. When they entered, they saw Cyrus standing before Dwight, who had a scowl on his face. Their voices were low, so the students couldn't hear the exchange from the entrance, but as they approached Cyrus and Dwight, Cyrus handed Dwight a small leather pouch, which only served to confuse the man.

As Dwight opened the pouch and saw the contents, his disposition became much more positive. An initial look of shock had crossed his face, before a look of joy and he began to laugh.

"This is absolutely incredible! Where on earth did you get this?!" Dwight shouted.

"Crossbell. Funny story about how I got it, but that's not important. That is now yours; think of it as my way of apologising for our failures," Cyrus responded.

"You're buying his silence? Interesting tactic," Jusis muttered as he and the rest of the group approached Cyrus.

"I'm doing nothing of the sort. I already told him you two fucked the job up, but I cannot allow the man to go empty-handed due to our shortcomings," Cyrus stated, turning to Jusis and the others.

"What did you give him?" Emma asked, looking at the leather pouch with intrigue.

"Pure Iron Sand," Dwight grinned as he poured some of the contents out of the bag onto the workbench.

The contents of the pouch looked nothing like the Iron Sand Group B had collected. The Iron Sand they had collected out on the Parm Byroad was unrefined and full of impurities. Some parts had begun to crystallise and needed to be worked with if it was to be implemented into weapons.

The Pure Iron Sand looked exactly like the name suggested. As Dwight poured it out of the pouch, it looked like soft black sand. The Iron Sand Cyrus had given him had been refined to the point where no impurities remained, leaving a soft, silky material that could easily be implemented into any kind of weapon.

"It's beautiful…" Emma gasped as she poked the substance and realised it felt like silk.

"Isn't it? I've never seen such perfectly refined Magnetite. I've heard of Pure Iron Sand being worth in excess of ten thousand Mira per kilo, it's honestly astounding that someone would just carry around that much in a little bag," Dwight beamed as everyone took turns to prod and inspect the Magnetite on the workbench.

"Ten thousand?! Why the hell do you have something like that on you in the first place?" Machias shouted, looking at Cyrus.

"Because I can use it for more than just it's intended use of weapon augmentation. Watch," Cyrus sighed as he walked over to the Pure Iron Sand and placed a hand over it.

Slowly, the Magnetite began to rise up, like it was being pulled by a magnet. Dwight and the students watched in awe as Cyrus picked up the Pure Iron Sand without even touching it, and in between his hands, started to concentrate on the mineral.

The Pure Iron Sand had been a small puddle when Cyrus had picked it up, but now it started to move and take different forms. Cyrus began to use the electricity he was able to manipulate to make the mineral change shape. The Pure Iron Sand morphed into a three-dimensional star, a key, an arrowhead, and a throwing knife before Cyrus moved his top hand away, and the Magnetite fell into his bottom hand in a small pile. After his little demonstration, Cyrus put the Pure Iron Sand back into the pouch, tied it up, and handed it back to Dwight.

"Do you understand now? With a small electrical current, Iron Sand can be manipulated into any shape you want, and the best part is that when it has a fixed shape, it's stronger than steel," Cyrus stated, looking at his classmates, who were looking at him in awe.

"Incredible… I've never seen anything like it…" Gaius whispered.

"Neither have I. Yes, I am disappointed you lost the Iron Sand you collected on the byroad, but this… This is more than what I had expected of you to do. Thank you so much," Dwight smiled.

"Think nothing of it. I'm sure I'll have plenty of opportunities to get some more Pure Iron Sand in the future. I do not abide by failure, so this was a necessary thing to do in order to make sure you got what you asked for," Cyrus stated as he walked through the group of his classmates and left the building.

"Yeah, he's still mad…" Emma sighed, fiddling with her glasses.

"Well, I can't say I'm surprised; he basically just gave away ten thousand Mira; all because someone couldn't do a simple task without cocking it up," Jusis snapped, glaring at Machias, who glared back at him.

"You're the one who pushed me into the river because you thought holding a goddamn jar was beneath you!" Machias yelled.

"Hmph, think what you want, but this is your fault," Jusis scoffed as he walked off, not giving Machias the chance to rebut, which only annoyed him further.

"Don't even think about it," Emma warned as she saw Machias was about to chase after Jusis and start another fight.

"Do you think we should go back to see Gallart and tell him what happened? He is our contact here after all," Gaius suggested, changing the subject so Machias wouldn't start a fight with Emma.

"Yes, I believe that's a sensible thing to do," Emma smiled as she beckoned for Gaius and Machias to leave the shop and go to the Mayor's house.

When the rest of Group B arrived at Gallart's home, they found Cyrus already sat down with the man, who didn't look happy.

"You told him?!" Machias shouted.

"Yes. I'm not sugar-coating anything just because you don't want to admit you're at fault," Cyrus shrugged.

"Hmph, I hope Thanatos punishes you for this," Machias muttered.

"Yes, yes, you're upset. Get over it," Jusis stated as he walked over to a nearby chair and sat down.

"Well, needless to say, I am greatly disappointed in you kids. Dwight's task was simple enough, and yet you couldn't put your differences aside and work together. And before you start pointing the finger; you're all at fault. You all knew Machias and Jusis are at odds, and none of you stepped in to stop the problem. You can't hope to grow as people if all you do is stand by and let comrades fight and argue," Gallart stated firmly.

"Prolixity aside, this never would have happened if the fool just knew when to quit," Jusis snorted.

"That's not the point, Jusis," Gallart responded, holding a hand up at Machias in order to silence his attempts at protest over Jusis' words.

"Really? So, you're saying that we should have carried on, despite knowing we had finished our task?" Jusis stated, squinting at Gallart.

"Had it been another group, would you say the outcome would have been the same?" Gallart asked.

"Well, no, but–" Jusis began.

"Then there's your answer. If it had been another group, or a situation where you and Machias weren't fighting, you wouldn't have lost the Magnetite Dwight wanted, and you would have had more that he requested, and you would have come out golden, so to speak," Gallart finished.

"Gallart has a point, Jusis. Had it been Rean's group down here, they would have done exactly what Machias suggested and went to the third spot, and completed the job they were given," Emma stated.

"Counterpoint; had one of you taken the initiative to stop Jusis and Machias from fighting, we could have completed the job, and I wouldn't be down ten grand in Pure Iron Sand," Cyrus snapped. "Or, better yet, if one of you two idiots actually took the high road and not fought with one another, we would have succeeded."

"You're not free from blame either, Cyrus, and it's unfair of you to blame the rest of the group for your decision to give away something so expensive," Gallart responded.

"How is it my fault? I was the one pulling that fucking stuff out of the earth; I can't do that, and stop these morons from fighting at the same time!" Cyrus shouted, pointing at Jusis and Machias.

"Perhaps not, but you chose to lash out at your classmates in front of most of Parm, and you even threatened to kill them if they got in your way. I'm sorry, but that is not an acceptable way to deal with failure; you need to learn from your mistakes and make sure you know how to deal with interpersonal conflict with friends," Gallart responded calmly.

"Alright, fine! Maybe I shouldn't have said I'd kill you if you got in my way again, but you two need to get over whatever the hell it is you're mad at each other for. Do you want be shown up by the other group?" Cyrus looked at Machias and Jusis.

"Absolutely not," Jusis stated.

"Like hell!" Machias shouted.

"Then fucking co-operate! You don't have to be best friends, but I expect you to work together for the betterment of the group. As of right now, I can guarantee Group A has already completed their first day's tasks and will be getting along well with each other; even that little Tsundere princess Alisa will have put aside whatever shallow differences she has with Rean to work together to complete their tasks," Cyrus snapped, looking at Machias and Jusis.

For several moments, no-one said anything, they just sat and contemplated Cyrus' words. The four of them were all from different backgrounds, but they all had one singular similarity; they didn't like the idea of being second best. No-one likes the idea of being second best, and that's exactly what Cyrus had banked on; the competitive drive all humans have to be the best.

"Hmph, fine. I'll entertain this notion for the rest of the Field Study, and we'll see if your words are more than what I believe them to be," Jusis stated, looking over at Machias with a small smirk.

"Damn right! We'll crush tomorrow's tasks and beat Group A, and prove we're the best!" Machias declared, jumping up out of his seat.

Gallart sat there in silence, smiling with contentment. It seems everything he had been told about Cyrus was true; despite his short temper, he was a natural born leader, and he could unite even the most stubborn of parties. That didn't really surprise Gallart, considering Cyrus' Grandfather was once the Supreme Commander of the Lamare Provincial Army during the reign of the last Duke Cayenne; that man practically wrote the book on finding unity within a squad.

---

The following morning, Gallart had swung by the inn Group B were staying at to drop off the day's tasks for them. As he entered the inn, he had expected to see Bertrand getting ready for the day, but he did not expect to see Cyrus already up and about.

"Oh, Cyrus. You're up early," Gallart smiled as he entered the inn.

"No, I'm always awake at this time," Cyrus responded, nodding his head to Gallart.

"Really? I thought most people your age value their sleep. It is only seven o'clock, and most of the stores in Parm don't open until at least nine o'clock," Gallart stated.

"Perhaps you are right, but I've learned to follow the same sleep cycle as Matteus Vander; a twenty-minute nap, every four hours. By doing this, I can be awake for twenty-two hours, and get the most out of every day," Cyrus explained as he closed the report he had been writing.

"Is such a thing healthy for you?" Gallart asked, clearly bewildered by Cyrus' sleep schedule.

"Aye… It took a while to do, but now I can fall asleep at the drop of a hat, and wake up exactly twenty minutes later. Matteus Vander had done it for years; it allows him to protect the Emperor effectively around the clock, as twenty minutes is practically nothing in a twenty-four-hour period," Cyrus responded as he stood up and approached Gallart. "May I?"

"But of course. I was just going to leave them with Bertrand, but since you're here, I don't see why I can't give them to you. I expect you all to work together today though. No more arguments, and no more threatening to kill your classmates, ok?" Gallart stated, smiling a little when Cyrus tensed up at the end.

"You have my word; we'll do our best to get these tasks completed with minimal arguments… You also have my word that I won't threaten Jusis or Machias either," Cyrus promised, nodding his head once more.

"That's what I like to hear. These tasks are simple enough, although there is one that's a little more advanced," Gallart said as Cyrus took the folder and opened it.

"Let's see… Pigments for dyes… Ceramic forging… Fruit picking? Hmm, I suppose Machias and Jusis can try to work together on that one. Hold on, what's this?" Cyrus muttered as he read the list of tasks Gallart had given to him.

"That one came in this morning. It's from the Imperial Army's Intelligence Division… Apparently, they have intel that the 'Concierge' is moving illegal goods through the area, and need help with the scouting effort," Gallart explained.

"Really? 'He' is in Parm?" Cyrus asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Oh, you know of him, do you?" Gallart queried.

"I do… The Continent's biggest crime lord. In the last couple of years, he's taken the criminal underworld and pulled it into line under him. The man controls pretty much every facet on the black market; weapons, mercenaries, assassins, human trafficking, organ harvesting, illegal gambling, racketeering, land, air, and sea vehicles, you name it. Having dealings in all sorts of illegal activity is what got him the nickname, the 'Concierge of Crime'. If you need something, he will have the ability to provide it to you, for a price. The only thing he doesn't seem to deal in is narcotics. For some reason, he does not go anywhere near anything to do with drugs," Cyrus responded, surprising Gallart.

"You seem to know a fair bit about the man. I'm impressed," Gallart nodded.

"My sister has been hunting him ever since he set up shop in Ordis about two years ago. She despises the man. Simply because he always seems to be three steps ahead of Aurelia and her troops. The most notable example being about six months ago, Aurelia received a tip that the 'Concierge' was having weapons shipped in from Liberl via a freighter, so she locked down the entire Port of Ordis and had every inch of every ship inspected, and left no nook untouched, no cranny uninspected… Meanwhile, the 'Concierge' actually had his shipment of weapons delivered to Ordis from Calvard via airship. With Aurelia and her troops occupied at the port, he was able to collect his weapons with no resistance. When Aurelia found out… Let's just say the bill to repair her office at the Juno Naval Fortress wasn't cheap," Cyrus laughed slightly as he told the story. "Ah, kinda made returning to Ordis just for that operation worth it. But meeting Towa and the others was a nice bonus too."

"I see… Well, anyway, you'll be meeting with an Intelligence Division Officer later today to discuss what the request actually entails. Until then, you are expected to finish these other tasks as quickly as possible," Gallart insisted as Cyrus looked at him.

"I understand. Leave this with me, and I'll let the others know when they wake up," Cyrus stated, reassuring Gallart the tasks would be handled properly, and without incident from the group.

"Very good. Report back to me this evening before your train leaves. If my calculations are correct, assuming the scouting request from the Intelligence Division doesn't take too long, you'll all have a couple hours of free time before the last train from Parm departs for Saint-Arkh," Gallart smiled before taking his leave.

---

About an hour later, the rest of Group B had all gotten up and met downstairs in the inn. Bertrand had prepared everyone a small breakfast, which the group had eaten whilst discussing the day's tasks. Much to the surprise of everyone, Jusis and Machias had managed to get through the entire discussion without starting an argument.

"Alright, is everyone in agreement with what needs to be done?" Cyrus asked.

"Hell yeah! Let's show those Group A bastards that we're the best!" Machias yelled, slamming his hand down on the table.

"Hey, um, Machias… You are aware those are our classmates you're talking about, right?" Emma asked, a small smile appearing on her face.

"Err… Y-Yes! Well, what I meant to say was… Y'know, let's do our best and… And not be shown up by Group A!" Machias stammered, trying to hide his own embarrassment from his unusual outburst.

"Someone is in a good mood this morning…" Gaius whispered to Emma.

"Mhmm… It's actually quite surprising. Let's hope it carries on throughout the day," Emma smiled.

Unfortunately for Group B, Machias' good mood did not carry on for much longer than fifteen minutes after the first task had begun. The task was simple enough; a client had asked Group B to collect materials to fashion a dye worthy of being submitted to Empress Priscilla for a new dress she had commissioned. As such, selecting the right colour was vital to the commission's success.

While Cyrus, Emma, and Gaius had all agreed a deep purple was the best way to go, Jusis and Machias had other ideas. As they were heading out on the highway North of Parm to find the pigments, the disagreement continued to escalate.

"I say red is the best colour!" Machias shouted.

"Hmph, don't be absurd. It's obvious a crisp white is the most acceptable option," Jusis scoffed.

"The Arnor family's colour is vermillion! Vermillion is RED!" Machias yelled.

"I mean, it's closer to orange than it is red," Emma muttered.

"Were you not listening to the request? The dress Her Majesty is after is a casual evening dress that can be worn when not conducting official business pertaining to the Empire," Jusis snapped, glaring at Machias.

"But why does it have to be white? Like you said, it's for casual wear. Her Majesty isn't going to a wedding, or a holy ceremony at the Heimdallr Cathedral. I think red is still a suitable colour," Machias growled.

"Hey, guys… Can I just…" Cyrus tried to cut in.

"SHUT UP!" Jusis and Machias yelled in unison.

"By Aidios, these fools are testing me…" Cyrus grumbled, cracking his knuckles.

"It's ok, Cyrus. Just take a breath and try again," Emma smiled, trying her best to calm down Cyrus, who was starting to get wound up.

"Guys! Can you stop arguing for a second and listen to me?" Cyrus shouted, trying to cut over the loud shouting match Jusis and Machias were embroiled in.

"WHAT?!" Jusis and Machias shouted together, both glaring at each other when they realised they had been saying the same thing.

"Do either of you know what Empress Priscilla's favourite colour is?" Cyrus asked.

Both Jusis and Machias stood there in silence, looking at Cyrus. Neither one of them had any knowledge about the Empress, let alone what her favourite colour was. It didn't take them long to realise why Cyrus had asked them that particular question.

"Let me guess… You do?" Machias asked, rolling his eyes.

"Yes, because unlike either of you, I have actually spent time with her," Cyrus stated.

"Oh, that's right. You lived at Valflame Palace, didn't you? So that's why you didn't dismiss our idea of purple when we said it," Emma smiled, remembering what Cyrus had told Class VII about his time training under Matteus Vander.

"Actually, that does sort of beg the question; just how did the topic of dresses come up in a conversation with the Empress of Erebonia? Seems like a very strange thing to talk about, especially when you were just twelve years old at the time," Gaius commented.

"While that is true, we weren't talking about dresses. We were talking about flowers," Cyrus laughed.

"Oh, for the love of…" Machias sighed.

"Hush. Let him speak," Jusis snapped.

"At the time, Princess Alfin, and Crown Prince Cedric were just nine years old, and had presented their mother with two different sets of purple flowers for her twenty-eighth birthday. While Master Matteus and His Majesty were discussing protective detail co-ordination for the celebration, I was asked to watch the twins, and the Empress. Master Matteus' wife, Lady Aurier, was busy attending to their son, Kurt, who had fallen ill at the time, meaning that there was no-one else to watch over them, so I was asked to do it," Cyrus began.

"Is this going to be one of your long-winded tales that could easily be explained in a sentence or two?" Machias asked with a sigh.

"If you'd like, I can go into detail about the weather at the time, or the events of the day that had led up to me spending time with Her Majesty and the twins?" Cyrus responded, scowling slightly.

"Ok, ok, you made your point. Carry on then," Machias muttered.

"Basically, I ended up asking why Alfin and Cedric had both chosen to gift her with purple flowers, despite the Esmelas Gardens having a huge selection of purple flowers already. What she told me was that when she got married to then Crown Prince Eugent, she was gifted a bouquet of purple carnations by his mother. According to Imperial tradition, the mother of the Crown Prince is to present her new daughter with crimson carnations, as that is one of the Empire's colours. Empress Malisha had chosen to go against tradition and present Priscilla with purple ones, as she always believed that traditions had to change at some point, otherwise it would just become a procession that people would adhere to without knowing why. So, instead of it being crimson carnations, the tradition is now simply carnations of any colour. Her Majesty did express hope that one day, one of her ancestors would change the tradition again, even if to stop the act from going 'stale'," Cyrus concluded.

"That's actually very sweet," Emma smiled.

"Hmph, I suppose it is rather 'fluffy', but I still believe white is the best colour," Jusis stated, folding his arms across his chest.

"Alright, fine… How about this? We collect materials to create pigments for purple, red, and white dyes, take them back to the client, then choose which is the best colour after they create the dress?" Cyrus suggested.

"Hmm, I guess that's a fair compromise. Besides, by gathering three different kinds of pigment, we will make up for yesterday's mess with the Iron Sand," Machias reasoned.

"As much as I hate to agree with a Commoner, he is right," Jusis stated, shrugging his shoulders.

"Please, don't start arguing again," Gaius pleaded as Machias opened his mouth.

At that moment, it seemed that Aidios herself had heard Gaius' plea, as a train sped by on the nearby tracks, blowing its horn loud enough that whatever Machias had said to Jusis had been drowned out. Fortunately for the group, Jusis had had his back to Machias, so he had no idea Machias even spoken to him.

"Come on then, let's get going," Cyrus commanded as the group carried on with their task.

---

Group B had managed to gather the materials needed to create the three different pigments without much trouble, with the exception of the main component of the purple pigment, which was the saliva of a poisonous bat.

No-one had gotten bitten by said bat, but it's agility meant it was difficult for Gaius and Machias to hit the creature with their spear and shotgun. Even Jusis' Wind Arts had difficulty connecting with it. Were it not for Emma's timely intervention of the Silver Thorn Art that managed to inflict the creature with confusion, combined with a singular throwing knife from Cyrus, aimed directly at the head, the bat could have very well poisoned one of them.

Surprisingly, Jusis and Machias had been able to get through the scuffle without trying to insult one another, which seemed promising for future endeavours.

With enough materials for pigments of purple, red, and white, the quintet returned to Parm, and handed everything back to the client. The client was overjoyed that Group B had provided her with three different colours to trial, and in the end, both Group B and the client had decided that white was indeed the better colour, and chose to present that to the Empress.

As for the red and purple dresses, the client had given them to Group B as a thank you gift. Emma was presented with the red dress, and Cyrus had decided to take the purple one and hold on to it. He wasn't entirely sure what to do with it, but perhaps his mother might like it as a gift, or even someone else in his class?

Feeling motivated after seeing how happy their first client had been at the completion of their request, Group B threw themselves into the other requests immediately. Since the Ceramics shop was right next door to the Dye store, the group decided that it was more expedient to take that request on first.

The request was simple enough; the artisan had been commissioned to create five new pieces of earthenware for a client, but was so backed up with other orders, that he had completely forgotten about it until a couple days ago, when he panicked, and asked Gallart for assistance, which he provided in the form of Group B. Fortunately, the request was simply to create five clay vases, all of varying sizes and designs, so Group B were left to be as creative as they wished.

After an hour of crafting, the students presented their creations to the artisan, who was very pleased with all the varying styles and ideas, and thanked the group and sent them on their way as he began to put the clay creations into the kiln.

Next, they decided to tackle the fruit-picking request, which was sent to Gallart by an elderly couple who owned an apple farm just outside Parm, where they made cider that was sold at market in Saint-Arkh.

Unfortunately for the couple, age had caught up to them, and they could no longer tend to their harvest the way they used to, and with their son being drafted into the Imperial Army, and their daughter moving to Crossbell for work, they had no-one to help them out.

After hearing the couple's request, Machias challenged Jusis to a friendly competition to see who could pick the most apples… At least, the rest of Group B hoped it was friendly. Jusis originally turned his nose up at the challenge, but after being goaded by Machias (and even the odd jab from Cyrus), Jusis decided to 'show the Commoner his place' and take Machias on.

In their fervour to outdo one another, the two boys charged through the fields, picking all the apples they could find, leaving Cyrus, Emma, and Gaius to simply watch from afar. Cyrus and Gaius even made a friendly wager of five hundred Mira to see who would 'win'.

In the end, Jusis had been declared victor by the elderly couple, as his apples were all of excellent quality. While Machias had technically collected more, most of his were overripe, or damaged by the elements.

While Cyrus had originally bet on Jusis to win, and Gaius had selected Machias, Emma was the one who actually won the bet by stating that Jusis would win, but only because of his 'quality over quantity' approach. Cyrus and Gaius could only laugh as they both made Emma a thousand Mira richer.

Of course, the two boys didn't appreciate being bet on like they were prized racehorses, but Jusis got over it by making digs at Machias for taking the 'Commoner's approach' by just selecting a bunch of bad apples, hoping that enough of them would be good enough.

Emma had managed to diffuse another argument once again, by pulling Machias away and over to a bookstore as Group B returned to Parm. At this point, Cyrus and Gaius had both agreed to take a short break and sit down in the town square together, whilst Jusis went off to do his own thing.

"I have to say, today has gone quite well so far," Gaius smiled as he looked up at the bright blue sky.

"Yes, I am inclined to agree. Still can't believe Emma made a perfect call on that bet, but shit… If she can pick it perfectly like that, she deserved to win five hundred thousand Mira instead," Cyrus sighed as he stretched out on the bench he was sat on.

"So, what's left on our list of requests? A request from the Intelligence Division, right?" Gaius asked.

"Yeah, that's right. Although I don't know why we're getting dragged into a military matter; even if it does involve one of Zemuria's most infamous criminals," Cyrus muttered.

"Actually, I was wondering if you could tell me more about this person. You called him a 'Concierge'?" Gaius looked at Cyrus.

"Ah, right. I forget that you're from Nord, and there's no real reason for there to be an underworld out there in the highlands… Basically, this guy is responsible for over ninety percent of all crime in Erebonia and beyond. If you're looking to have someone killed, the Concierge will provide the best assassin for the job. If you're looking to outfit an army without the government knowing about it, he can get you the weapons you're after. Should you be desperate enough to want a new liver or kidney, for the right price, the Concierge will provide. All of his money is then funneled through various businesses in order to 'clean' it, and if one business gets shut down, he'll just find a new one to exploit," Cyrus explained.

"He sounds like a truly wicked individual, and he must be stopped. The Intelligence Division has credible intel saying he'll be moving through Parm?" Gaius questioned.

"Credible enough that they asked us to handle looking for him, but I can guarantee they won't be able to apprehend him," Cyrus stated.

"What makes you say that?" Gaius asked.

"Simple, if he can outmaneuver someone as smart as my sister, what hope do some hacks in the 'Imperial Book Club' have against the man?" Cyrus snorted.

"Well, unlike the revered General Le Guin, the 'Imperial Book Club' received a tip that the Concierge would indeed by moving a cache of weapons bound for Calvardian rebels through Parm from Liberl. I have been tracking the convoy since it left Leiston Fortress two days ago," a voice from behind Cyrus and Gaius spoke.

As the boys turned, they saw Emma, Jusis, and Machias standing a couple steps away from them, with a man in a black suit and red hair. Cyrus recognised him immediately and frowned. Gaius, however, didn't know the man, and stood up.

"I assume you're the contact from the Intelligence Division?" Gaius asked as he approached the man.

"That's right. Captain Lechter Arundel, at your service," the man spoke, bowing overdramatically as he introduced himself.

"Hello, Scarecrow. I figured you'd be the one they'd send down here. Captain Rieveldt is still pissed at you, I take it?" Cyrus grunted as he stood up and joined everyone else.

"Oh, nah, Claire and I are fine now. All it took was filling her office with a stupid number of flowers for a whole month. It's twenty thousand Mira I'll never get back, but all the money in the world is nothing when that lady is mad at you. Whoo, boy… Remind me to never go drinking with her again," Lechter laughed. "I imagine you heard about my little 'mishap' from your sister?"

"No, my mother, actually. You made one hell of a scene at one of her shows, Lechter. If you think I wasn't going to hear about your… Wandering hands and eyes, then you're a bigger fool than I thought," Cyrus muttered.

"Oh, so that's who was performing that night… Yeah, the whole thing is still a blur, but it's all water under the bridge now… I think?" Lechter mumbled, tapping his chin in thought. "Anyway, to business!"

"Do we even want to know what in blazes those two were talking about?" Jusis muttered.

"Ehh, I think I got the gist of it, but I doubt we'd get a straight answer if we did ask," Emma responded.

"Excuse me, Captain Arundel, sir, but what exactly does the Intelligence Division require of us? We're only students from a Military Academy," Machias asked, putting his hand up before speaking.

"Did Machias just call him 'sir'?" Gaius whispered.

"Lechter is one of the Chancellor's lapdogs. Lecter Arundel, the 'Ironblood' known as 'Scarecrow'. Figures Machias would be keen to kiss his arse," Cyrus muttered, scowling at Lechter. "Oh, 'Ironblood' is the name given to any individual who directly serves Chancellor Osborne."

"Yes, and with Governor Regnitz being a firm supporter of the Chancellor and the Reformist Faction, it would make sense that Machias has a great deal of respect for the Captain here," Emma added.

"Well, normally I wouldn't involve kids who are still in school, but when I heard the younger brother of Lamare's Golden Rakshasa was going to be here, I knew I couldn't pass up the opportunity to get you guys to help out. After all, it's no secret that General Le Guin despises this guy, so who better to help take him down than her younger brother," Lechter smirked.

"Hmph, good fucking luck if you think we're all capable of taking down Zemuria's biggest crime lord. These two nimrods can't even agree on a colour for a fucking dress, and you think we can stop a guy like the Concierge of Crime?" Cyrus laughed, pointing at Jusis and Machias.

"Well, for now, I'd just like to stop these weapons from getting into the hands of those rebels. Aidios knows that Crossbell will suffer if they manage to get possession of them," Lechter stated.

"What kind of weapons are we talking about? If you're mentioning rebels and Crossbell in the same sentence, it'll have to be some heavy ordinance weaponry," Jusis snapped, glaring at Cyrus for his previous comment.

"Hmm… Let's just say that, with the kind of firepower they've purchased, they'd be able to destroy one of Garellia's Railway Cannons without much effort," Lechter responded, clearly trying to dodge the specifics.

"By Thanatos… We can't let them get those weapons," Emma gasped.

"Well, lucky for us, the train that's carrying them will be heading through Parm soon. We're going to derail it as it travels along the line to Saint-Arkh," Lechter nodded as he pulled a small cylinder from his pocket.

"Are you out of your mind? You intend to bomb a fucking train, in broad daylight?!" Cyrus shouted.

"The train? Absolutely not, Cyrus. I'm a Government Agent, not a terrorist," Lechter said, looking at Cyrus with wide eyes. "This thing is only going to blow up part of the track, so that the cargo carriage at the back gets derailed."

"Yeah, no, of course. How silly of me," Cyrus muttered sarcastically. "You guys go on ahead with this idiot, I need to make a call to someone."

"Oh? Who would you need to call so suddenly?" Gaius asked.

"My sister," Cyrus stated as he pulled out his ARCUS and brought up the call function.

"Ok, well, the trap point is just a couple kilometers outside of Parm, to the North. Meet us there when you're finished, and tell Aurelia I said hello!" Lechter waved as he began to walk away with the rest of Group B.

"I'd rather spend an afternoon drinking with Sara than tell her that," Cyrus muttered as he heard the sound of Aurelia through his ARCUS.

"Speak," Aurelia commanded.

"Hello to you too, dear sister of mine," Cyrus responded. "Look, I need to ask you something; what do you know about a shipment of weapons that is supposedly being sent from Liberl to Calvardian rebels, courtesy of your favourite crime lord?"

---

Twenty minutes later, Cyrus had found the location where Lechter said he'd be, and he could see why the Captain had chosen the spot. It was a quiet place, with heavy tree cover, so no-one could tell people were present unless they were actively searching for them.

"Oh, good, you're here. Get ready, the train will be coming through in the next five minutes. Oh, I can hear it now," Lechter whispered as he heard the sound of a train horn in the distance; judging by how far away it was, the train was just passing through Parm.

Narrowing his eyes, Cyrus knelt down next to Jusis, all while staring at Lechter. One thought occurred to him after his conversation with Aurelia; why was the Intelligence Division heading up this job? Surely it would have been much easier for Captain Rieveldt and the Railway Military Police to stop the train at Saint-Arkh and have it searched there for any contraband.

"You're wondering why too, yes?" Jusis whispered as he saw Cyrus staring at Lechter.

"If you mean why Lechter is here instead of the RMP, then yes. That being said, it's because Lechter is here that I know something is amiss. He'd only be here if the Intelligence Division had an explicit reason, and a cache of weapons from the Concierge of Crime is hardly high on their list of priorities…" Cyrus responded.

The conversation came to an abrupt halt when the train horn sounded again, this time much closer to Lechter and Group B. Lechter took this as his signal to start the plan. With a wave of a hand, he made everyone take cover in the foliage, so as not to draw attention to the fact they were about to derail part of a train.

The clicking sound of the wheels on the track began to get louder and louder as the train got closer and the moment Lechter could see the train, his hand clutched the detonator tightly, as he knew he only had one shot at derailing the cargo carriage; too early and he'd derail more than just the cargo carriage, too late and he'd miss the whole thing.

Lechter, however, had already worked out the plan in his head, and all possible outcomes. The man had an IQ of one hundred and sixty, which was one of the reasons he was recruited into the Intelligence Division, and why Chancellor Osborne had selected him to be a part of his 'Ironblood Programme'; he didn't make mistakes like getting the timing for something wrong.

As soon as the penultimate carriage had passed the railway line where Lechter had set up the charges, the Intelligence Division officer pressed the detonator, and with a faint popping sound, blew the tracks up just enough that the final carriage would be derailed, and thanks to the train's coupling system being able to automatically detach in the event of extreme lateral movement, only the cargo carriage at the back of the train was derailed; all going according to Lechter's plan.

"Hmph, well look at that… You did it," Jusis scoffed as he and the rest of the group watched the train car crash on the opposite side of the tracks and land on its side with an earth-shaking boom.

"Alright, let's go retrieve those weapons!" Machias exclaimed, clearly happy to be working with one of the Chancellor's Ironbloods.

"Whoa, hold on there, buddy. Cyrus, you go get them," Lechter commanded.

"Me? Why the fuck should I? This was your op, which you roped us in to, and for what? Your plan was precise and deadly accurate, right down to the micrometre. What the hell did you need us for?" Cyrus snapped.

"I thought you were smarter than this, Cyrus. Think about it; a train carrying illegal goods will most certainly be looked after by someone, either by an agent of the rebels, or by someone who works for the Concierge. If they see me, and Intelligence Officer with the Imperial Army, at the scene of this incident, not only will they know the Erebonian Government is onto them, but they'll go deep underground, and we'll lose our chance to capture them," Lechter explained.

"Captain Arundel has a point. If he was spotted here, it could compromise his entire mission," Machias added.

Cyrus said nothing as he glared at both Machias and Lechter before turning and making his way out of the thicket and across the tracks. The railcar had been overturned in the derailment, and skidded a good thirty metres through the earth before coming to a stop. Looking around, Cyrus could see boxes and crates which had all been flung out of the cargo carriage after it had been derailed.

"Hold on… I've seen this before…" Cyrus muttered as he picked his ARCUS Unit out of his jacket pocket and called someone again.

"What the devil is he doing? Now is hardly the time for a social call," Jusis snapped as he watched Cyrus closely.

'So far so good… Now, all I need to wait for is…' Lechter thought as he heard the sound of rustling in the trees a short distance away.

"What was that?" Gaius asked, also hearing the sound.

"It's fine, as long as you all stay out of sight," Lechter mumbled, holding up a hand.

"Ah, Reginald, it's me. Quick question; you remember me telling you about that little adventure I had in Crossbell last year? Yes, the very same. Yes… Yes, I thought so. Ugh, don't remind me. Ok, that's fine…" Cyrus laughed as he spoke with Reginald before he began to kick his boots off.

"Wait, now what is he doing?" Machias asked, looking to Lechter.

"I… I don't know. This wasn't a part of the plan," Lechter murmured, watching Cyrus with confusion.

"Plan? What plan?" Jusis responded, a look of disdain on his face that showed he knew Lechter was up to no good.

"No, no… I think I know what's happened here. 'Calvardian rebels'… Ha! Gods, fuck Osborne and his Ironblood dogs. So, this was his plan all along," Cyrus grunted as he snapped his ARCUS shut and stood with his back to Lechter and the others.

The moment Cyrus closed his ARCUS Unit, two small metal canisters flew out from the trees behind him and landed on the ground with a dull clink. A couple of seconds later, the canisters exploded, setting off a loud bang followed by a flash of blinding white light.

"A stun grenade? Just what in Aidios' name are you playing at, you fool?!" Jusis shouted, his ears ringing from the sound of the grenade.

Due to the effects of the stun grenade, Cyrus had been blinded and couldn't see anything other than a bright white light. Gritting his teeth, he closed his eyes, which did nothing to seal out the white light, and waited.

Several seconds after the stun grenades had been set off, three shadows leapt out from the foliage from where the grenades had been thrown. The shadows were actually men in black outfits that covered them from head to toe. Even their heads were covered, save for their eyes.

"Cyrus! Behind you!" Emma shouted, but it was pointless. She knew Cyrus couldn't hear her.

One of the men rushed at Cyrus with blinding speed, carrying a small dagger, ready to plunge it in his back. In response to this, Cyrus dragged his bare foot across the ground, and managed to avoid the attack.

"What?!" Jusis gasped.

"He… He dodged that?!" Machias cried, knowing such a thing should have been impossible for someone who had been deafened and blinded.

The would-be assassin had not been expecting Cyrus to dodge his attack, so his momentum carried him forward and past Cyrus, leaving him wide open to a counterattack; a counterattack which did not come.

"Hmph… Looks like he just got lucky. Let's see him do that a second time! Now, Xiao Fei!" the first attacker shouted, looking to one of his comrades.

With a nod, Xiao Fei threw a knife at Cyrus, which hit its mark, right in Cyrus' left shoulder. This time, Cyrus didn't even attempt to dodge it. Crying out, Cyrus ripped the knife out of his shoulder and took a moment to inspect it with his hands. Immediately, he knew exactly what kind of knife was thrown at him, meaning he knew exactly who he was being targeted by.

"You dogs are no match for me! So, I'll give you two choices; tell your Commander to come out and face me properly, or I kill you where you stand, and force her to come out!" Cyrus shouted, tearing his jacket and shirt off to stop his blood from staining the fabric.

"There he goes again with the nudity," Machias muttered, frowning. "This is just like what happened yesterday with that mantis. Can he not keep his shirt on in a fight?"

"I feel like that's a lesser issue at the moment. I think the real issue here is how was he able to dodge one attack, but not the other? Then, there's also the fact he seems to know his assailants… Do you think this has something to do with the Red Constellation?" Emma asked, feeling uneasy.

"Perhaps; I mean, who else but a Jäger Squad would have a Commander, and be sent here to attack Cyrus?" Gaius responded, watching Cyrus closely.

"Yamato, be careful. Remember what the Commander said about him; underestimate him at your own peril," Xiao Fei warned, looking at the man who had tried to stab Cyrus.

"Heh, that just makes this all the more exciting. Wei-Lin, you stand and watch with your brother; I'll show you what it means to be a part of the Commander's Squad!" Yamato laughed as he dashed towards Cyrus, who immediately turned towards him and took up a defensive stance.

The instantaneous movement from Cyrus had caused Yamato to falter slightly, as Yamato was certain his target was still deaf and blind. After the slight hesitation, Yamato carried on with his attacks, closing in on Cyrus, ready for hand-to-hand combat.

'Six… Three… One!' Cyrus counted down in his head, and the moment he reached one, he moved in on his own.

Sliding his right foot forward, Cyrus crouched down slightly, and caught the fist that Yamato had thrown at him, which was aimed directly at the side of his head. Clutching the assailant's hand in his own, Cyrus lifted his arm into the air, leaving Yamato's torso exposed, and open to counterattack.

This time, Cyrus did counterattack, and fired off several hard, rapid punches to the ribcage of his opponent. On the sixth strike, he felt something give, and knew he had managed to crack at least one rib. The ringing in his ears had masked the cry of pain Yamato had let out.

"Lieutenant Yamato!" Wei-Lin cried as he ran over to help his superior.

"No! Stop, Wei-Lin!" Xiao Fei shouted.

'Is that…? Yes, I believe it is… Tch, damn fool. Ten… Seven… Six… Two… One!' Cyrus thought was Wei-Lin recklessly charged at him.

The moment he reached 'one' again, Cyrus moved. He discarded Yamato, who dropped to the ground with a dull thud. As he threw Yamato aside, he pulled the dagger out of its sheath that was tied to the assassin's back and brought it up to bare.

Everyone watching could see that Wei-Lin was inexperienced. He charged in without a thought, and had little to no consideration on his form as he approached Cyrus.

One would be forgiven for thinking that, due to him being an amateur, Cyrus would have simply taken Wei-Lin down with a stunning blow, rendering him unconscious. To everyone's horror, that did not happen.

As Wei-Lin reached Cyrus, he threw a very unbalanced punch at Cyrus, who shifted to one side, then speared the dagger through Wei-Lin's neck, severing his jugular. Wei-Lin dropped to the floor, a faint gurgle coming from his mouth as he bled to death within seconds.

"WEI-LIN!" Xiao Fei screamed, looking in horror as his brother died before his eyes. "YANG! YOU'LL PAY FOR THAT!"

"Got him…" Lechter whispered, as he watched the scene unfold.

"Stay where you are! I know that was your brother, Xiao Fei, but your Commander left me no choice. An example had to be made. You know that's the brutal reality of her squad; he was dead the moment she sent him on this assignment. Isn't that right, Little Bee? You knew exactly what you were doing, didn't you?" Cyrus shouted, turning to the trees, where he felt moment.

A moment later, more rustling began, and after a few moments, out from the bushes came a young woman, wearing similar black clothes as the three men, but without the head covering, and she was wearing a white coat over her outfit. The woman was Calvardian, and was very short with long black hair that had two braids in it. Despite her stature, she carried herself with incredible confidence. Everyone present knew she was a lethal warrior.

"Co…Commander…" Yamato grunted, trying to stand up before his superior.

"You're weak. How can my Lieutenant lose to someone who had been blinded and deafened? You don't deserve to be a part of my squad," the woman hissed as she pulled out her own sword, and stabbed Yamato through the heart, killing him instantly.

"Sh-she just killed her own subordinate?!" Jusis cried in disbelief. "Just what sort of monster is she?!"

"One you do not want to cross," Lechter muttered, never taking his eyes off Cyrus.

By now, the effects from the stun grenades had worn off, and Cyrus could see and hear clearly again. Blinking to allow his eyes to refocus, he found himself looking at the Commander he had called out to, the blood of Yamato still dripping off the tip of her sword.

"You disappoint me, Little Bee. Killing your own men because they cannot live up to your expectations. I'm surprised you have any soldiers left to fight for you. Or are you resorting to poaching from Warchild again?" Cyrus snorted, spitting at the feet of the Calvardian woman.

"Hold your tongue, Yang. You don't get to lecture me on how I run my squad. The only person who gets to do that is–" the Commander shouted.

"Black Cat is gone, you damn fool! She's left that life behind her, and I'll sooner burn in Gehenna than allow you to drag her back into it!" Cyrus shouted, glaring at the Commander he called 'Little Bee'.

"Xiao Fei… Fall back. Since you were the only one who landed a hit on this traitor, I'll let you live. Watching your fool of a brother die by Yang's hand was punishment enough for you," Little Bee hissed, never taking her eyes off Cyrus.

Without a word, Xiao Fei vanished, doing as his Commander bade him, for fear of her wrath if he didn't obey her. Now it was just Cyrus and Little Bee left in the clearing, the woman's coat fluttering in the wind.

"If you want to go down this path, Little Bee… I will indulge you. However, if you couldn't even best your mistress, Black Cat, in single combat, then you'll have no chance against me," Cyrus growled, pulling Black Emperor up in front of him, the blade still in its scabbard.

"Hmph, not today, Yang. Today was simply a scouting mission, to see if your senses were still sharp. But take this as a warning; I, along with the rest of my allies, have been ordered to kill you. Someone has put a price on your head, and it's a hefty sum; five billion Mira. All Squad Commanders have been given carte blanche to deal with you as we see fit. Your designation as 'Yang' means nothing. Your designation as 'Ishkur', and 'Thunder Emperor' mean nothing. In this, we are your enemies," Little Bee warned, smirking slightly as she flicked the blood off her sword and sheathed it, before disappearing in the blink of an eye.

For several moments, Cyrus stood there, looking up at the sky and watching the clouds float by in the sky. This revelation was news to him; who had put a bounty on him, and why? More importantly, who could afford five billion Mira to pay whoever was successful in killing him? Was it the same person who bankrolled the Red Constellation to kill him and his mother six years ago? Cyrus sighed, knowing he was going to have to meet and fight a lot of deadly opponents if he wanted answers.

Shaking his head, he returned to reality and looked around him. He still had a job to do, so he went and put his boots back on, grabbed his shirt and jacket and started prying boxes open to find the weapons Lechter had asked him to gather.

"Should we go help him?" Emma asked, looking at Lechter.

"Nah, it'll be fine. If he can survive meeting the Commander of a Death Squad, then he can do this by himself," Lechter smiled thinly.

"A 'Death Squad'?" Gaius raised an eyebrow.

"Oops, did I say that out loud? Heh, silly me," Lechter chuckled. "Anyway, I'm needed at Dreknor Fortress. Be a good bunch of kids and have anything you find sent to me there, ok? See ya!"

"What the hell just happened?" Machias blustered, looking from Cyrus, then to Lechter as he disappeared into the thicket and out of sight.

"Something tells me those weapons weren't what Captain Arundel was really interested in," Emma whispered as she turned her attention back to Cyrus.

As he smashed open the fourth crate, Cyrus was starting to get annoyed. The only things he had found in the wooden boxes were metal pipes and plates of what looked like armour. There was nothing that looked like a cache of weapons. Ignoring the other boxes on the ground, Cyrus climbed inside the overturned railcar to see if there was anything inside it. Upon entering the carriage, his disposition improved immensely.

Inside the cargo car, there was a massive wooden box that had been anchored down with large metal chains. Next to the box, was a small steel safe that had broken open on impact, and scattered its contents everywhere. While the documents and ledgers interested Cyrus, the large wooden box that had been chained up was far more interesting, as he was certain that's where the weapons had to be. It was the only thing secured in place, meaning it was incredibly important.

As he approached the box, he swung his boot down on the top corner, and smashed it to pieces, allowing him to look inside. At a quick glance, he could see several large black metal blades, and knew he had found what he was looking for. Standing up, he turned and looked for something to pry the top of the box off with, and found a crowbar hanging off a hook on the wall which was now the roof of the carriage.

Grabbing the crowbar, he managed to pry the lid off the box and slide the lid out from under the chains. When he finally got a good and proper look, he became very confused. The blades he saw were quite large; at least two meters in length, and the blades all narrowed inwards, and all had a small hole in what appeared to be the central point, as if all the blades were supposed to be joined together. In the crate there were at least two dozen of these long pieces of metal, but Cyrus knew they couldn't be weapons, as there was nothing on Earth big enough to wield a blade that large, and the fact it had no hilt, or even the ability to have one attached, further reinforced the fact that these weren't weapons.

Turning away from the box, Cyrus walked over to the broken safe and gathered up all the documents that had been spat out of it when the door broke open. Cyrus took a look at the papers and realised he was looking at a set of blueprints.

"What in the hell…? This is…" Cyrus breathed as he poured over the documents, as he noticed the same two words in the top left-hand corner of each page. "Project Anzu?"

The next thing that caught Cyrus' attention was the smattering of logos on the pages; there were several pages, all stamped with a different logo. One page had the logo of the Roer Institute of Technology. Another had the logo from the Zeiss Central Factory in Liberl, while a lot of technical documents carried the logo of the Epstein Foundation. What was more puzzling to Cyrus was the fact the ledger and other research notes carried the coat of arms for the nation of Remiferia.

"What the hell is a Remiferian ledger doing on a train from Liberl with documents stamped by ZCF, the Institute, and the Epstein Foundation? What the hell is Lechter planning? These items weren't bound for Calvard, but Remiferia. I'm missing something here…" Cyrus muttered as he flicked through the blueprints, ledger, and research notes. "But this… 'Project Anzu'… It concerns me."

"Hey, Cyrus! Are you ok?" Emma called out.

"Uh, yeah! Hold on!" Cyrus shouted back as he tucked the papers and ledger away inside his jacket.

"Did you find the weapons?" Emma asked as Cyrus climbed out of the carriage.

"Nope, no weapons in there. I did find some large pieces of metal, but they were stupidly large, and absolutely unusable as a weapon," Cyrus sighed as he approached Emma and Gaius.

"What the devil was all that nonsense you and that woman were shouting about before. And how in the name of Thanatos could you kill someone in cold blood like that?" Jusis shouted as he marched over to Cyrus, demanding answers.

"That's not something you need to know, as it does not involve any of you. However, if a day should come where one of you is put at risk by one of those people, then I shall tell you everything. But until then, I highly suggest you drop it," Cyrus demanded, fixing Jusis with a hard stare.

Jusis scowled as he turned away and approached another box and started to break it open. Emma was about to try pressing Cyrus for answers, but stopped when Gaius grabbed her shoulder and simply shook his head; he knew better than to try and force Cyrus to open up to them.

"Hey, guys! I think I've found something!" Machias called out after he smashed a box open with the butt of his shotgun.

The rest of Group B all walked over to Machias, who had indeed found something. When he smashed open part of the box, he found several cases of bullets, all stamped with ZCF logo on the cases. After opening one of them, Machias noticed they were black powder bullets, not Orbal bullets.

"Black powder bullets? Hmph, they're almost fifty years out of date. And look at the box. 'Seven point six two millimetre'? What kind of firearm uses bullets that small?" Jusis huffed, throwing the case back into the box.

"I think I can answer that, Jusis… Take a look at this," Cyrus called out as the rest of Group B turned and saw Cyrus sliding the lid off the final unopened crate.

Machias' find had definitely created reasonable suspicion that weapons were onboard, but Cyrus' find had outright proven it. In the final crate was a large black gun with a long barrel that had six separate chambers, and a heavy metal clamp that acted as an arm of sorts.

"What is that thing?" Gaius asked, feeling uneasy at the discovery.

"That, my dear Gaius, is a KM60 Minigun. It's a newer variant of the old VZ500 series that was manufactured exclusively for siege warfare. It has the capability to fire six thousand black powder rounds a minute, which explains why Machias found a box of them here too. But this KM60 series has the ability to use Orbal bullets too, so I don't know why it's been packed up with only black powder rounds. Curiouser and curiouser…" Cyrus muttered, tapping his chin as he looked at the weapon. "Looks like Lechter wasn't completely full of shit after all."

"What do you mean?" Machias asked, pushing his glasses up his nose.

"This KM60 is the same kind of weapon that the Concierge had delivered to him in Ordis last year when Aurelia was hunting for him. But… It's been modified slightly, and it isn't supposed to be here," Cyrus stated.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Jusis snapped, growing tired of Cyrus' perplexing words.

"I mean, this weapon wasn't supposed to be on this train. After Lechter told me that the Concierge was shipping weapons through Erebonia, I contacted Aurelia. She told me she had no knowledge of the Concierge even being active in Erebonia recently. If this weapon is here, then…" Cyrus trailed off.

"Then…?" Emma prompted.

"Someone stole this weapon from a bigger shipment, and wanted us to think it was from the Concierge," Cyrus stated. "Think about it; only one gun, on a train that could have easily carried fifty? The Concierge doesn't do things that way, as it's logistically stupid to do. Although, I can't discount the idea that someone sold this one gun from a shipment they bought off the Concierge either, but even that leads to more questions than answers… Bah, screw it."

Cyrus bent down and picked up the minigun. Despite its name, it was incredibly heavy, and the thick metal arm that had been added to it only increased the weapon's mass.

"Now what are you doing?" Machias groaned. "We should be packing that up and delivering it to Captain Arundel."

"Fuck that guy. What do you think the Erebonian Government is going to do if we tell them Liberl are shipping fucking siege weapons through our country? They'll use it as an excuse to place sanctions on them, or maybe even try starting a military conflict with them. No, this thing needs to be destroyed," Cyrus snapped.

"Hmph, and just how do you propose we do that?" Jusis snorted.

"Like this," Cyrus grunted as he dropped the gun on top of a large crate so the weapon was at chest height.

"Just once, I wish we could figure out what's going on in that head of his," Machias sighed as he watched Cyrus unsheathe his sword.

"Severe Leaf Hurricane!" Cyrus yelled as he unleashed his attack.

The moment Cyrus moved, a powerful wind blew through the area, creating a small dust storm as he moved towards his target. As the strong gust blew, Cyrus had managed to land a dozen incredibly rapid cuts, striking the minigun as if his blade were made up of sharp, tiny leaves that could be manipulated at will.

The attack was over as quickly as it started, and Group B watched in awe as Cyrus sheathed his sword just as the minigun, and the box it had been propped up on, collapsed into several sizeable chunks of metal and wood. There was absolutely no way the weapon could be put back together into a working condition now.

"By Aidios… That was incredible. That wind was so powerful; I've never felt anything like it since leaving Nord," Gaius breathed, blinking at Cyrus.

"Where did you learn how to do that?" Emma asked, equally as surprised as Gaius.

"Calvard, probably three years ago now? When I first learnt it, I could only manage one, strong cut, but now? I can manage at least fifty. That, however, pales in comparison to a man I met over two years ago; he can do this too, but he's able to do several thousand cuts, and his blade strikes have an uncanny resemblance to cherry blossoms," Cyrus stated.

"Cherry blossoms?" Emma asked.

"Yeah, every person who can master this technique has a different form. There's one I've seen that looks like rock splinters; another that looks like ice needles. Mine just happens to look like a leaf storm, despite my affinity to lightning," Cyrus explained

"I'm sorry, did you not hear what he just said? Several thousand cuts? In mere seconds? How is that possible?" Machias cried, clearly surprised at how Cyrus and Emma were acting like that piece of information wasn't a big deal.

"Eh, I guess once you've seen it several times, you get used to it," Cyrus shrugged. "Anyway, the minigun has been destroyed; let's return to Parm. I think we're all done with this Field Study."

---

After returning to Parm, Group B reported back to Mayor Gallart, who seemed pleased that the day's tasks had gone off without a hiccup. While he had been told that Jusis and Machias had still been having arguments, he was just pleased to hear that all the clients were happy with the results of the tasks Group B had been given.

Gallart's happiness changed to concern once he was told about the outcome of Lechter's task. As Group B explained to him what had unfolded, Gallart become more and more confused as to why Lechter had even given the task to Group B in the first place. Gallart didn't question it, however, as he knew both the Intelligence Division, and Lechter 'Scarecrow' Arundel, had their reasons for doing what they do, and poking around in the military and governmental affairs was a very good way to find yourself imprisoned, or worse.

Instead, Gallart signed off on the reports Group B had handed to him, and officially declared Group B's Field Study to Parm as complete. All that was left for Class B to do was gather their belongings, and return home to Trista.

As Group B returned home on the train, Cyrus decided to find a quiet spot where he could re-examine the documents he had taken from the train. As he inspected the papers and blueprints for 'Project Anzu', he became more and more uneasy. Shaking his head, he took out his ARCUS Unit again and made another phone call.

"Blackstone has been compromised; you are to shut everything down. Burn everything, and move to Cauldron Sigma. Someone has betrayed me, and you need to figure out who, before this turns ugly. Yes, I'll see what I can find out from here, but there's more; I found one of his miniguns today. We need to be very careful about how we proceed from here on out. If he's involved, we could very well be dealing with a ticking timebomb that could threaten more than just our work. Keep me posted."

With that, Cyrus closed his ARCUS Unit and put it away, along with the documents and returned to where Group B were seated.