CHAPTER 3 - IGNITION

"How are you feeling about tomorrow?"

"I'm panicking."

"You don't look very panicked to me."

"I'm just training my poker face." Morgan contorted her face and made a "Grrr!" noise, which made Emma laugh.

Classes had ended early for the day so students could be allowed extra time to study for their midterms. While the rest of Class VII had dispersed into groups of two or three to do some last-minute studying, Morgan and Emma decided to take this opportunity to grab a quick bite to eat together at the Student Union.

"What about you, Miss Honors Student?" Morgan asked, returning her face to normal. "Think you can pull another win against Machias?"

"I-It's not like we're competing for anything…" Emma insisted. "Still, I'm hoping to do just as well as I did on the entrance exam. If I feel like I've performed to the best of my ability, then that's all that matters. Whether I get first is just a byproduct of how hard I worked."

"That's a good mindset," Morgan commented. "I know that I have the resources to succeed; all that's left is to put it into practice."

"I've seen how hard you've been working," Emma remarked. "I'm sure you'll do fine. Who knows? Maybe you might outplace me!"

Morgan couldn't help but snort in response. "Now that's an impossibility if I've ever heard one. I'm determined, but I'm not tenacious like Machias. I'm not sure how either of you manage to retain all that information in your heads."

Emma giggled. "Well...I've always had a knack for memorizing things. Plus, my grandmother always made sure that I maintained a certain level of discipline when it came to academics."

"Your grandmother sounds strict."

Another giggle. "She is, but she still treated me very well. As for Machias, I personally find his tenacity to be an admirable trait, at least when it's applied in the right manner."

"Yeah, he REALLY doesn't like losing." Morgan took a bite out of her meat-and-tomato sandwich. "By the way, I've noticed you've been tutoring Fie one-on-one these days. How's that been going?"

"Rather well, if I do say so myself," Emma replied with a smile. "Fie complains a lot, but she actually picks things up really quickly. Like you said, it's only a matter of seeing how much information she decides to put into practice."

Morgan nodded. She, and likely the rest of Class VII, picked up that Fie had the potential to be very smart but was held back by her lack of general education due to her jaeger background and her general apathy towards the prospect of written exams. The only subject she seemed to perform well in was combat studies, but unfortunately, the midterms consisted only of a written portion and nothing else.

"Combat is a craft," Fie had said. "It can only be measured by doing. Bubbling the answer on a piece of paper can never prepare you for the real thing."

While the former jaeger technically wasn't wrong, they were still attending a military academy; thus, students had to be tested on the various military terms and practices now so that when some of them join the army, they wouldn't be asking questions while they were fighting for their lives. That was just how Erebonia did things; whether or not it was the most "optimal" form of assessment remained the subject of debate.

"Anyways…" Morgan continued. "I'm surprised that you can juggle several things at once and still do so well academically. You're our class representative, you're in the literature club, and now you're a tutor for Fie…"

"Well, there's a little trick to that last one." Emma took a sip of whole juice before continuing. "I understand why some people would think that helping someone else study lowers your ability to perform well. However, why do you think that our teachers are so quick to answer our questions without even looking at the source material?"

"Because they know a lot about their subject?"

"Because not only do they know a lot, their knowledge is constantly tested by people who ask them questions. When you're in that position, you get asked all sorts of questions, and the more questions you get asked, the more opportunities you get test your own knowledge. Of course, no one is perfect, but being able to stand firm and provide directions in a way that lets novices understand shows that you yourself understand the subject on a deeper level. At least, that's what my grandmother used to say."

"I see…" Morgan nodded in understanding. "That's why you're tutoring Fie in a whole host of subjects. By teaching her, you get to reinforce the knowledge you already possess while also preparing yourself for the chances of an unexpected question."

"Well, that is part of the reason," Emma affirmed. "Really, though, I just want to help Fie in any way I can." She looked down at her drink and frowned. "I know that she...likely didn't have the best of childhoods. That's why, as our class's representative, I want to help her fit in with the school as smoothly as possible. Helping with her studies is one of the ways I feel I can do that."

"Well, seeing as you got the highest score on the entrance exam, I don't think Fie could ask for a better studying partner."

Emma smiled. "Thanks, Morgan."

Morgan finished the last bite of her sandwich. After she swallowed, she reached down, grabbed her bag that contained all her notebooks, and opened it. "Huh. I thought it felt a bit light on the way here."

"Hm? Is something the matter?"

"I'm missing one of my notebooks," Morgan explained. "My military science one, to be specific."

"Did you leave it in the classroom?"

"Probably. Guess I'd better go back and get it." Morgan closed her bag and grabbed her umbrella, which was resting by one of the table's legs. "I'll see you later, Emma."

The bespectacled class representative waved her hand in response. "Right! Oh, by the way, I'm planning on meeting up with Fie in the library later. Feel free to join us if you want."

Morgan opened her umbrella and nodded. "I'll think about it."

Fortunately for Morgan, she didn't have to search very far for her military science notebook. It was in her desk, just where she expected it to be.

"I have you now!" She grabbed the notebook pulled it out of the desk. "There's nowhere left to run!"

The notebook didn't show any signs of struggling, as was to be expected, so Morgan put it inside her bag without a hitch.

"Now then…" she murmured to herself. "What to do now?"

Morgan thought about visiting her classmates to see what each of them were up to, though she was having difficulty deducing where each of them would be aside from Emma and Fie. As she exited the classroom and thought about where to go next, she found herself wandering to the music room. In contrast to the previous time she had stopped by, there was no music playing from inside. Out of curiosity, Morgan opened the door to find the music room devoid of any people.

"Guess she's not here today," Morgan remarked, thinking about the blonde pianist from the Wind Orchestra. "Totally understandable, though."

At that moment, Morgan wanted to try something. Making sure to close the door so she wouldn't terribly disturb everyone, she first set her belongings on top of a nearby table. Then, she walked over to the piano, pulled out the bench from underneath it, and lifted the fall board. Finally, she sat down on the bench and took a moment to gaze at the keyboard before placing her left hand on a few keys. She played an A flat, E flat, middle C, and D flat in that sequential order.

Morgan was by no means a pianist. In fact, she couldn't remember the last time she sat down to learn it seriously. However, there was one song that was so ingrained into her muscle memory that she didn't need sheet music to remember it, and right now, in this very moment, she was overcome with an urge to play it.

She placed her hands on their familiar positions on the keyboard. Taking a steady breath, she started to play.

…

According to her father, the piece was originally a piano and accordion duet that had been composed specifically for his and her mother's wedding day. As such, the version that Morgan was playing gave off a feeling of incompleteness, like it was missing something.

'How did it go again…?'

She tried to hum the accordion part to the best of her ability, but diverting her attention caused her to mess up some of the notes, so she gave up soon afterwards.

…

'Hard to believe two months have flown by already…' Morgan thought. 'I think I'm starting to get used to school life. Still…'

Morgan grimaced, once again thinking about the troubling events she experienced firsthand during her field studies. 'They weren't kidding when they said that it would contain a lot of dangerous work. The empire is in a greater state of disarray that I'd imagined. But on the flip side…' Her grimace turned into a small smile. 'We did become closer as a class. Closer as individuals. That's another step closer to achieving his ideals.'

Feeling that she had played enough, she reached a stopping point and held the notes for an extended period of time before lifting her fingers off the keyboard.

Then, to her surprise, she heard the sound of someone clapping.

Looking up from the piano, Morgan saw a familiar blonde girl wearing the Class II uniform. Upon making eye contact, the girl stopped, almost as if she had been clapping on reflex.

"I'm sorry," she apologized. "That was such a lovely tune, I couldn't help but contain myself."

"It's fine." Morgan shook her head. "That just means I have your approval."

"I've never heard that piece before," the blonde girl added. "If you don't mind me asking, what's it called?"

Morgan looked down at the piano. "It doesn't have a name," she finally said, "but anyone can play it if they try."

The blonde giggled at that. "That's definitely how a true musician would answer things."

Morgan lowered the fall board and stood up to give the blonde girl her undivided attention. "You're part of the Wind Orchestra, right? I saw you once last month when Elliot was playing the violin."

"Hehe, that's correct. I'm surprised you remembered." The blonde bowed slightly while placing a hand over her chest. Now that Morgan had a better look at her, she noticed that she was wearing a white headband. "Oh, but where are my manners? My name is Bridget O'Keefe, and I'm the pianist for the Wind Orchestra. I'm also in Class II, as you could tell from my uniform, but you don't have to act all formal around me."

"I'll keep that in mind." Morgan stepped away from the piano and gave a small bow of her own, though with her left arm making a curtsy motion. "I'm Morgan Daraen, and aside from helping the Engineering Club from time to time, I don't really belong to any club."

"Oh, you don't?" Bridget raised an eyebrow. "Color me surprised. You COULD join the Wind Orchestra; you can never have too many accompanists."

"Thanks, but I'm a bit out of practice," Morgan admitted modestly. "With how well you played the other day, I'm not sure I'll be able to catch up."

"Oh, you saw that?" Now it was Bridget's turn to look surprised. "That was a piece called 'The Sound of Rainfall'. It's sort of a tradition of mine to play it at least once whenever it's raining outside."

Morgan looked out the window. "Well, it IS raining now…did you come by to play it again?"

She shook her head. "Not this time, I'm afraid. I'm actually here to meet up with someone. Another girl in the Wind Orchestra, Mint, promised to help me go over math and orbal science."

"You're going to study in the music room?"

"Is that so odd? The music room is actually a great place to study during the test period. It's so quiet!"

"Well, I can't deny that…" Morgan looked past Bridget at the door. "So, where's your study partner?"

"She should be arriving very shortly." Morgan detected a bit of hesitation in Bridget's voice as she looked behind her. "I suppose that means I'll have to find something else to do in the meantime." Bridget reached down to grab her bag by her feet. "Then again, I've been meaning to go over military science for a while now…"

"Military science?" Morgan's eyes lit up. "I can help you with that, if you want."

"Oh? Are you sure?" Bridget asked. "I wouldn't want to take time out of your own studies."

"Actually, I've been meaning to review that subject myself," Morgan said. "Although, a quick word of warning: I tend to use my own terminologies to make things easier for me to understand, so if I ever say something that isn't in the school texts, let me know."

"I'm sure I can pick it up as I go," Bridget stated confidently. She walked over to Morgan's table and placed her stuff next to hers. "Before we get started, though, am I correct in assuming that your class's curriculum is the same as ours?"

"I'd say it's slightly on the accelerated side, but the content should still be similar." Morgan opened her military science notebook. "Why do you ask?"

"Well, most of my issues pertain to the exercises we were given in preparation for the midterms." The blonde pianist retrieved a worksheet from her bag. "I'm having a bit of trouble understanding how to go about achieving these objectives."

"Hmm…" Morgan took a moment to look over the details of the exercises. "Okay, so first off, how much do you know about map marking symbols?"

"You mean the rectangles with different shapes inside them that indicate different units and formations?" Bridget asked for clarification. "Like how a rectangle crossed out with an 'X' means 'infantry'?"

Morgan nodded her head. "Yup. Those ones."

"I believe I can recite all of them off the top of my head."

"Great! That saves me a lot of time to explain." Morgan motioned for Bridget to join her as she walked up to the giant chalkboard located at the front of the room. "Chalk, chalk...aha!" She grabbed a piece of chalk that was laying at the far end of the board tray and started drawing a diagram.

"Um…" Bridget voiced hesitantly. "What are you drawing?"

"...Put this guy right here, put headquarters over here...and there!" Upon putting the finishing touches to her diagram, Morgan turned to face her new study partner and pointed to the board. "Step one! Draw a diagram that shows all of the units listed on your side of the field. In situations like these, it always helps to have some sort of visual so you can take everything into account. In the case of the first problem, we have headquarters on this end with an infantry unit and armored unit stationed in the front." With each unit she listed, she pointed to its corresponding rectangle on the diagram. "You with me so far?"

"Er, I don't mean to sound picky, but there should be three infantry units."

Morgan rectified this by drawing a three in the middle of the rectangle representing the infantry units. "Close enough. Now, the next step is to fill in the empty space around your units with what you know from the problem. This can be terrain, enemy units, the weather, you name it. Once you have everything written down, it's only a matter of looking at what you have on hand and how to use all of your resources to the fullest.

"On that note, Bridget, could you read the rest of the problem? I'll give you an example first, and then you can do the next one on your own."

The blonde accompanist nodded and began reading the problem.

…

"...You weren't kidding when you said you'd pick things up as you go," Morgan remarked. "That was a pretty good run."

"I'm glad you think so," Bridget said with a smile. "I was always taught to memorize things as best I could, so creating diagrams to perform simulations is rather new to me. Now that I've repeated it a few times, however, I'm starting to see military science in a new light!"

"Well, truth be told, the parts we just covered are only going to be a small part of the midterm," Morgan admitted. "The fact that you can recite a lot of things off the top of your head is great, so don't change that. Drawing diagrams is just a way to make sure you don't miss any important details."

"So if I want to get better, I'll need to run these...simulations as often as possible?"

Morgan nodded. "Practice makes perfect, as generic as that sounds. The exercises on that worksheet are just a few of the scenarios that could happen in real life. You have to keep in mind that not everything is as clear cut as they seem; there are multiple variables that could change the outcome of a battle, like your equipment, the surrounding environment, even the temperament of your own soldiers. Learning to take as many variables as possible into account and having an answer for each of them is a must if you really want to get good at military science." She waved her hand. "Buuut, that's way further down the line. We don't need to worry about all of that right now."

"You must have practiced this a lot, I presume?"

"It's sort of a hobby of mine," Morgan replied. "Also, I don't mean to sound proud, but I learned from the best."

"Still, this has been an enlightening experience. I'll make sure to apply what I've learned here moving forward." Bridget's face lowered. "I do wish he was here to learn about this…"

"Hm?" Morgan blinked. "Who's 'he'?"

Bridget shook her head. "Truth be told, I had asked one other person if he wanted to study with me. He wants to be in the military one day, so I thought we could go over military science together, but…"

"He said no?"

She pursed her lips and nodded. "And rather bluntly, if I do say so myself. I wonder what he's doing right now…"

"Maybe he already made plans to study with someone else?" Morgan guessed.

"I hope that's all there is to it…"

Upon noticing Bridget's crestfallen expression, Morgan tried to find some way to change the subject. "You know, speaking of study partners, where did yours go?"

The blonde pianist folded her arms. "I don't know. Being a few minutes late is one thing, but not showing up for half an hour is something else."

"Is...what's-her-name always like this?"

"Her name is Mint," Bridget reminded her. "And to be completely honest, this isn't the first time this has happened. She still gets herself lost moving from one class period to the next, even though we're two months into the school year. And then there was the first time she tried playing the flute…"

Before Bridget could finish her story, the door swung open abruptly.

"Heyo! Hope I didn't keep you waiting!" a sprightly voice called out.

The voice belonged to an energetic girl wearing the Class III uniform. Her hair, tied into twin buns with bright red ribbons, was a light shade of green to go with the color of her uniform. Slung onto her back was a backpack that Morgan assumed was carrying her study materials.

"Wait, you were already studying with someone else?" she said, her eyes drifting between Bridget and Morgan. "How come you didn't tell me?!"

"I would have if you had shown up," Bridget answered, not at all amused. "Mint, where were you? Didn't we arrange to meet in the music room half an hour ago?"

"Huh? Half an hour ago?" Mint looked to the clock hanging at the right side of the room. "Oh...whoops! Guess I mixed up the time!" She sheepishly scratched the back of her head and stuck her tongue out while winking.

Bridget pressed a finger against her temple and sighed. "You can be very scatterbrained sometimes, do you know that?"

"As scatterbrained as scatterbrained gets!" Mint puffed her chest out with pride.

"Th-That's not something you should be proud of…" Bridget retorted.

Morgan couldn't help but snicker at the conversation unfolding in front of her.

"Oh, my apologies," said Bridget. "Mint, this is Morgan. She's been teaching me military science while you weren't here."

Morgan held out her hand. "Please to meet you, Mint."

"The pleasure's all mine." Mint reaches out and shook it.

"Well, Bridget, your partner's here, so I think I'll take my leave now…"

"Wha? But we just met!" Mint exclaimed. "Why don't you stay with us? You know what they say: the more the merrier!"

"But I-"

"Trust me, you won't wanna miss this!" Mint rubbed her nose. "I may not look it, but I'm actually an orbal science whiz!"

"Really?"

"It's true," Bridget affirmed. "Do you know Instructor Makarov? Mint is his niece."

"For real?" Morgan asked again.

"Realsies!" Mint said proudly. "My dad's a Reinford employee, too, so I know all sorts of things!" Almost immediately after, Mint's expression turned sheepish, her eyes wandering to the side. "Granted, I can't exactly teach for the life of me, but you can copy my notes, so that's a plus!"

If Morgan was completely honest, she felt that she was already well-prepared for midterms as is. Her impromptu study session with Crow and the gang had actually gave her enough insight on all of the subjects, including some of her weaker areas. At this point, she was retreading material that she was already made aware of.

"May I say something?" Bridget piped up, raising her hand. "Morgan, you helped me greatly in one of my weaker subjects. However, I must admit that I feel a tad guilty about not being able to do the same for you. As such, I want to take this opportunity to assist you if you have any questions at all."

But then again, a tactician could never be too prepared. "Well, I guess it can't hurt to stay a little while…"

"Great! Then it's settled!" Mint set her backpack next to Bridget and Morgan's belongings. Then, she retrieved a green notebook and opened it to a random page.

Morgan looked over Mint's shoulder and frowned. "Hey, Mint?"

"Yeah?"

"We ARE studying for orbal science, right?"

Mint looked down at her notebook to find that the page was covered in doodles and sketches of household objects. "Oh, whoops!" The green-haired girl winked and stuck her tongue out once more. "Must've mistaken it for art class!" She hastily put her notebook back and tried searching frantically for her orbal science notebook. It would have taken a few moments, were it not for the fact that all of Mint's notebooks were colored in varying shades of green.

A bead of uneasy sweat dropped from Morgan's forehead. "This is going to be a long afternoon, isn't it?"

Little did Morgan know at the time that the afternoon would, in fact, fly by very quickly.

"RIIIIING!"

"Guess that's the end of that!" Mint started packing up her things. "I'm feeling pretty good about these exams now!"

"Just don't do anything stupid like putting all your test answers in a different section and you should be fine," Morgan commented.

Bridget giggled. "That DOES sound like something Mint would do…"

"Hey, were you two making fun of me just now?" Mint pouted. "You were, weren't you?"

Morgan grinned teasingly. "If you can get above me in the rankings, maayybe I'll consider revoking my comment."

"Oh, you're in for it now!" Mint defiantly pointed her index finger at her. "Loser pays for dinner at Kirsche's!"

"Deal!" Morgan's grin grew even wider. "Now I'm a little motivated!"

"Ladies, please…" Bridget tried to sound authoritative, but even she had a smile on her face.

With that, the three of them walked out of the music room and went their separate ways.

A small part of Morgan admittedly felt a little guilty for choosing not to study with the others in her class, especially when Emma was kind enough to extend an invitation. On the flip side, however, Bridget and Mint helped to give a new perspective on certain topics that she otherwise never would have considered. Furthermore, being in teacher's role for a brief moment when discussing military science helped to test and further Morgan's own knowledge of the subject, just as Emma had advised. All in all, the study session was far more productive than Morgan had anticipated.

"They were even kind enough to help me study for medical science…" Morgan murmured to herself. "I think that checks off all of the subjects that'll be on the midterms, too."

Morgan began to count the subjects she had studied for as she descended the stairs. Unfortunately, she became so engrossed in keeping track that she didn't notice there was someone waiting at the bottom of the stairs until she bumped into them.

"Oh!" Morgan yelped. "Sorry about that!"

"There's no need for apologies," the person replied. "I should have picked a better spot to take in the surroundings than in front of the stairs."

The person was a woman who appeared to be in her early twenties. She had short, light purple hair that contrasted with her green-colored eyes and she spoke with an airy yet formal tone. What was most notable about the woman was her manner of dress, as she was outfitted in a violet-colored maid's uniform, complete with frills, a white apron, a brown corset, and a headband.

"No, I should have been paying more attention…" Morgan's voice wandered off as she inspected the maid standing in front of her. "I don't believe we've met before. Are you new around here?"

"Precisely," the maid confirmed. "I just met with the principal. It has been decided that I will assume the position of caretaker at the end of this week."

"So it'll be after midterms are over," Morgan figured. "I guess I can see the logic behind that. Start off a new part of the school year with a new person as caretaker?"

The maid smiled. "That is indeed the reasoning behind it. It would do more harm than good for the students if I were to begin my duties when the school term is at its most tumultuous, so I will withhold my debut for the time being. Still, I hope we get to interact with each other in the near future." She gave a small curtsy. "I wish you the best of luck in your studies, Lady Morgan."

That immediately sent off alarms in Morgan's head. Her expression becoming guarded, she furrowed her eyebrows and said, "How do you know my name?"

"I've simply done my research," the maid answered vaguely. "Now, if you'll excuse me…"

Morgan tried to stop her, but the maid had already turned away and started moving to the door.

'A caretaker?' Morgan wondered. 'For who? She dressed like a high-class servant, but I'm pretty sure the upper class dorms already has their own caretaker, and seeing her in the lower class dorms is a bit…' Then, a possibility surfaced in her mind. 'Is she going to work in the Class VII dormitory? Is that why she knows my name?"

Morgan dwelled on that thought for a moment before shaking her head. "Well, guess I'll find out at the end of the week," she said to herself. "Like she said, I need to focus on doing well on these midterms." She pumped her fist and snorted through her nostrils. "Dinner at Kirsche's is on the line!"

Now feeling more determined than ever, she made her way to the front of the building. Upon seeing that it was still raining, Morgan opened her umbrella.

'A maid, huh?' she thought. 'That brings me back…'

"Oh, you look positively adorable!"

"Um...why am I dressed like this again?" Morgan gazed nervously at her reflection in the mirror. She was currently wearing a black maid's uniform that, for some reason, just so happened to match her size.

"Did I not tell you already?" The blonde girl standing behind her was positively beaming. "From this point onward, you're going to be my personal attendant! But before you begin your duties, you need to look the part first! Could you twirl around?"

Morgan did as she was told. "It feels a bit...difficult to move around in."

"Oh, I'm sure you'll get used to it."

The thought of serving someone who was both a few years younger and several inches shorter than herself was amusing to Morgan, but if she were given a choice to serve anyone, she probably wouldn't have chosen anyone else.

"I'll...do my best." She took a moment to curtsy, holding up the sides of her dress. "I'll serve you as best as I can...Your Highness."

"Please, you don't need to be so formal when it's only the two of us!" the younger of the two insisted. "Oh, and one more thing: you don't always have to curtsy. Depending on the situation, a bow would also work."

"Is...that so?" Morgan questioned. "I'll need to keep that in mind…"

"Just follow Fauna's instructions and you should be fine. She's strict, but she means well." The blonde girl took Morgan's hands into hers. "Until you recover fully, let us take care of you…"

Morgan nodded. "Thank you…"

"Yo! Morgs!"

Morgan snapped out of her contemplation and turned her head to see Crow walking towards her.

"Hello, Trickster," she greeted him. "Don't call me Morgs."

"Heh. Still a stickler, aren't ya?"

"I see you have your umbrella today."

"You're not letting that go anytime soon, aren't you?"

"When have I ever?"

"...Fair enough." He motioned for her to follow him, which she did. "Tomorrow's the start of the grind. Feeling prepared?"

"More than ever," she confidently replied. "You could say that I've gained a few levels in my intelligence. And you?"

"I'm panicking."

"You don't look very panicked to me."

He shrugged. "I've just got a good poker face."

Morgan hummed quietly to herself. "Let me guess: you haven't hit the books at all ever since our study session last week."

"Did too!" Crow retaliated. "I've just been...preoccupied with other things."

"Like…?"

He exhaled. "Would you believe me if I said that a few acquaintances of mine showed up out of the blue and then we made plans to catch up at the Heimdallr summer festival next month?"

"Hmm…" Morgan pondered over her upperclassman's long winded exposition. "How come you didn't decide on Ordis?"

Crow blinked. "What?"

"The Ordis summer festival," Morgan said. "It's supposed to start this weekend, which also coincides with our next free day."

"O-Oh, right." Crow shook his head. "Yeah, we couldn't do it this month. They had their plans, I had mine-"

"Even though you're slacking off."

"But next month's a whole nother story." The second year squinted his eyes. "Also, don't interrupt me."

She giggled. "Fine, fine…"

"Well, since you're talking about Ordis…" he said, looking to change the topic. "I'm guessing you're planning on taking a day trip there?"

"Well, someone I know did invite me to come," she answered, "but it takes about eight hours to get from Trista to Ordis, and I'm not exactly sure I want spend a good chunk of my day sitting on a train." Morgan looked to the side. "Besides, Rean might need help with the old schoolhouse again…"

Crow patted her shoulder, surprising her. "You can be pretty serious, you know that? If you want to go, then go! You only have one life, right?" He lifted his hand from her shoulders and pointed his thumb at himself. "I'll even tag along and show you the place! It can be a da-!"

"I'll pass," Morgan hastily denied. "Ordis isn't going anywhere; I'm sure I'll get my chance another day. If my schedule allows it, I'll settle for going to Heimdallr's festival, but as long as I'm at Thors, Class VII comes first."

Crow scratched the back of his head and exhaled. "Yeah, figures. Well, that's fine by me. I need to help George this next free day anyways."

"George?" Morgan looked up at Crow. "What for?"

The silver-haired teen looked surprised. "You mean he hasn't told you yet? Well, I guess I'm not surprised, given how the weather's been lately, but he's getting ready to take the orbal bike for a test run."

"Oh, has he finished adjusting it?"

"For the most part, yeah. If you want, you can come and check it out. I think he also sent a request to Towa so he could let Rean have a shot at driving it."

"Huh?!" Morgan exclaimed. "How come Rean gets first dibs?"

Crow smirked. "Heh. You're pretty cute when you're angry. Maybe he'll let you when you're a bit taller."

Morgan would have been lying if she said she didn't feel a little bit of jealousy, but she also saw from the way Crow was smirking that he was deliberately pushing her buttons to gain an edge. So, instead of pressing matters further, she decided to twist things back into her favor. "Well, before any of that happens…" She peeked at Crow with one eye open. "You need to get through your midterms, young man. If I recall, a certain petite president mentioned you were in danger of not being able to graduate on time…"

Just like that, she was controlling the pace of the conversation again. "Give a guy a break…" Crow groaned. "I don't need another Towa breathing down my throat…"

"And whose fault might that be, Trickster?"

"At this rate, I'll probably just take my test and pray for the best…"

"Yeah, you do that!" Morgan lifted the hand that was carrying her bag and pointed her index finger at her upperclassman. "Pick a god and pray!"

Crow stopped for a moment. "Whoa. That sounded pretty cool. Did you come up with that yourself?"

"Hehe. You like that? That was…" Morgan's voice drifted off. "That was…"

Her pace slowed to a crawl. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Crow turning to see that she was no longer following him.

"Hey, what's up?" he asked, confused.

She shook her head. "I-It's nothing. I'll see myself the rest of the way back."

"You're not going to get dinner?" Crow pointed to Kirsche's, which was just a few paces away from where they stood.

"I'll eat on my own." Morgan waved goodbye. "I want to go over some last-minute things."

He grunted in response. "Heh, always the honors student."

"No, that would be Emma," she retorted. "See you later, Trickster."

Crow silently saluted with his middle and index fingers and entered the café.

Morgan proceeded to walk down the slope towards the Class VII dorm.

She had said those words in the heat of the moment, but when it came time to think about things critically, her mind continuously drew a blank.

'...Where did I hear that again?'

Author's note: Funnily enough, right as I'm writing a chapter about studying for midterms, I happen to be in the midst of midterm week myself. I guess that extra boost of reality was just what I needed!

Hello everyone, and congratulations on making it to the end of this chapter! For those not in the know, the third game in the series, Trails of Cold Steel III, is about to release in the West soon. Thus, I figured that now would be a better time than ever to throw out an update on this story. Will I ever reach the third game? Who knows! That'll all depend on whether I find enough time to finish the first game! (ᗒᗜᗕ)՛̵̖

At any rate, this is going to be the point where the story starts to center more around Morgan, so if you felt that there wasn't much to her aside from being the third-person narrator, I hope to make up for that with this chapter. In doing so, however, I will have to take greater risks when it comes to creating original content while continuing to make sure they line up with what we know from Awakening and the Cold Steel games. I can't guarantee that I'll be able to fulfill all of your expectations, but I'll try my best regardless. (ง •̀_•́)ง

With that said, I hope you enjoyed this update! Please look forward to more, whenever that may be!