"...And that covers the basics! Think you can get this done?"
"Yeah! Leave it to us!"
It was now past noon in Heimdallr, and that meant it was back to business for Group A. They had just met with Group B and exchanged information over a small lunch, learning more about the districts on the east side of Heimdallr as well as the fact that Elliot's father was a famous general in the Imperial Army. Furthermore, Group B had taken up residence in the Bracer Guild building on Alto Street, as Morgan had surmised.
After parting ways with their male classmates, the girls made their way to Racecourse Plaza, where they were tasked to put up flyers in and around the area outside the Heimdallr Racetrack. They met with the ticketmaster, who handed them each a small pile of pamphlets.
"Let's split up to cover more ground," Morgan suggested. "Remember, we just need to hang them up inside the plaza, so there's no need to go outside of it. Once you're done, meet back up here at the booth."
"Sounds like a plan." "See you later!"
With flyers in hand, the girls each dispersed to a different section of the plaza.
"Are you feeling alright, Morgan?"
Morgan blinked at Emma. They had decided to take on the east side of the plaza and were walking to their respective sections. "Um, yeah? Why wouldn't I be?"
"Well, you still look rather winded from where I'm standing. Miss Aurier wasn't too rough with you, was she?"
"Don't worry, Emma. I got enough rest on the way here, and Lady Aurier doesn't dish out what we can't recover from."
"If you insist…" Emma came to a stop. "Well, I'll be over on this side if you need anything. I'll see you later."
Morgan nodded and waved goodbye to her classmate for the time being. Then, she picked a random billboard and put up her first flyer.
"Form of Silence...Lulling!"
As Morgan called out the name of the technique, she leapt into the air while spinning. Twirling her weapon, she thrust it into the ground.
'I think I did it right that time!'
She looked to her teacher for confirmation.
"...Remarkable," the blue-haired Vander was muttering to herself. "I had heard from Fauna that you learned quickly, but this…"
Morgan stood up straight upon hearing that. "Fauna? You talked to her? When?"
Aurier cleared her throat. "I should explain. This happened not long after we were first formally introduced, so you probably do not recall this. Fauna mentioned offhandedly that you were able to learn cleaning and cooking techniques exceptionally quickly from observing others. Since you have watched some of our training sessions before, I had wondered for quite some time if the same could be applied to combat, but I never found the right time to approach you."
"I learn things quickly?" Morgan tilted her head. "I don't think I do…"
"To put it to perspective, it usually takes one of our best students a few hours at the least to master one of our techniques. You are not a student by any means, yet you were able to replicate those same motions perfectly in just a few repetitions."
"But I still messed up the first few times. Anyone can do it if they try-"
Aurier slammed the butt of her spear onto the ground, grabbing Morgan's attention. "Morgan, listen to me. You have a special gift. Your greatest strength is the rate at which you teach yourself through experience. First, you absorb information from observing the examples of others; then, you confirm that you've learned it by doing it yourself. The more you practice, the faster you are able to ingrain those skills into your muscle memory. Do you not see it? The only limitation you have is your own self-doubting; see past the storm of uncertainty, and you will find infinite possibilities."
Suddenly, Morgan realized the angle that Aurier was coming from. "Is that what you're trying to do?" she asked. "You want to see how many skills I've learned from watching that demonstration from earlier."
Aurier nodded. "If you truly wish to continue moving forward, I would advise that you learn how to take advantage of your unique gift. We don't have much time left, so allow me to demonstrate another technique for you. Are you prepared?"
Morgan responded by assuming a battle stance. 'Lessons from the Stormwatcher herself… Laura was right. I better make the most of this!'
"...And that takes care of that!" Morgan wiped the sweat from her brow as she finished putting up her last flyer. "Now what should I do… Should I head back? Or maybe I should see what the others are doing…"
As she was mumbling to herself, a voice from behind her said, "Judgment."
Morgan nearly jumped out of her shoes.
"Wh-Whoa!" she exclaimed, turning around in a panic. "Don't scare me like-!"
Morgan let her comment go unfinished, for she was now face-to-face with a very familiar figure. "Wait, you're… Holly?!"
Indeed, it was the mysterious fortune-teller she and the others had encountered at Bryonia Island. She still wore the same red dress, purple hood, and thin veil as she had the previous month, which made her stand out against Heimdallr's urban backdrop. Despite the sun shining overhead, her gold-colored eyes shimmered underneath her hood. Cradled in her arms was the crystal orb that she used to read people's fortunes.
"A pleasure to see you again, Morgan Daraen." The fortune-teller bowed respectfully. "My apologies for startling you."
"Y-Yeah…" Morgan took a deep breath to calm herself. "I didn't expect to run into you here! What are you doing in Heimdallr?"
"The Summer Festival, of course. Such a momentous event brings in crowds, and crowds bring many opportunities for me to practice my craft."
"Ohhh." Morgan nodded. "Right. Totally understandable. So you've set up shop around here?"
Holly pointed to a familiar-looking tent located on one end of the plaza, though it appeared smaller than Morgan had remembered. "I just began setting up not too long ago. I'm not quite ready for customers yet, but should you have time later, you can come visit me for a reading."
"Is it just me, or does it seem...smaller?" Morgan wondered aloud. "Uh, no offense."
"'Tis the downside of being a wandering seer," Holly explained. "Though the materials used for my tent are the same, I must collect the rest from scratch. Manager Tom was very accommodating in terms of space and materials. The tight corners of Heimdallr, however, aren't so forgiving."
"I see…" Morgan said. "Well, I'll definitely drop by when I can. Does this mean I have to pay full price for a reading, though?"
The fortune-teller smiled serenely. "Nothing personal, Miss Daraen; that is simply how it goes with business."
"Again, totally understandable." Morgan then remembered something. "Though if I can ask you one thing right now, what did you mean when you said, 'Judgment'?"
"I am referring to the Major Arcana of Judgment." Reaching inside her dress (Morgan could scarcely imagine how that worked), Holly brought forth a card that she held in between her index and middle fingers. "I performed a reading this morning and this card came up. Naturally, I was curious, so I decided to explore the plaza. Before too long, I found you."
Morgan inspected the card more closely. It contained an image of an angelic figure at the top blowing a trumpet downwards, where several figures at the bottom of the image were shown rising from their graves. "That's a rather...morbid picture. Does it stand for anything?"
"The Judgment arcana is indicative of the need to make a life-changing decision when on the crux of a new stage in life. The choices you make could shape your life forever. I found it to be a rather fitting card for you, considering the fortune I read for you last month."
Morgan mouthed the word "Ah." What was initially an attempt to ask for another person's opinion on how to go about solving Fie and Laura's feud eventually took a personal turn for Morgan. On top of revealing that there was little Morgan could do about the whole situation, Holly had foretold that Morgan would face a trial by fire that would remind her to rely on the relationships she made. As was the case with Holly's fortunes, the things she predicted came to pass, though perhaps the trial by fire had been taken quite literally in Morgan's case; to mark her change towards being honest with herself and others, she rode atop a fire-breathing wyvern and revealed the skill Ignis for the first time to her classmates.
"And yet…" Holly continued. "I can see from first glance that the air around you seems to be a bit clearer. If I were to guess, you have already made your choice and entered that new stage."
"...I have." Morgan nodded her head. "Your fortune helped me make my decision. I didn't thank you last month, so...thanks for last month."
Holly smiled and bowed again. "Everything is the work of fate; I merely played my part. However, you should also take care to not be led astray."
"Of course."
"Morgan! I just wanted to tell you that I'm finished…"
Emma was running towards Morgan, intent on notifying her of her progress, but she stopped when she saw that she was with someone else at the moment.
"Hey, Emma!" Morgan made a beckoning gesture with her hand. "Nice work. Come on over and say hi!"
"Another one of your classmates?" Holly asked.
"Yep! This is Emma. She's our class representative and the smartest student in our grade. Emma, this is Holly. She was one of our clients back at Bryonia Island, and she's a fortune-teller!"
"A fortune-teller?" Emma studied Holly intently, to which the fortune-teller simply smiled in response.
"Are you interested in fortune-telling, Miss Emma?"
"I've...dabbled in it," the bespectacled student answered cautiously. "If I may ask, how do you practice your fortune-telling?"
"With this." Holly pointed to the orb that she was holding. "This crystal orb I received from my master allows me to focus my sight on a particular event that will occur in the future. The more information I have on the person I am conducting a reading for, the clearer and more precise the vision I will receive."
Emma's expression remained impassive as she took in the information, which Morgan found rather odd. "I see. And was your master a fortune-teller as well?"
Holly bowed. "With all due respect, Miss Emma, I don't believe we know each other well enough for me to tell you that."
Emma blinked. Having realized her prying behavior, she hurriedly returned the gesture with a bow of her own. "Oh, yes! Of course! I'm sorry for prying."
Morgan snickered to herself. "Never pegged you as the type to be interested in fortune-telling, Emma. You're almost the opposite of Machias in that sense."
"It was commonly practiced where I come from," the bespectacled student explained.
Eventually, the rest of Group A came over to join Morgan and Emma. Fie and Laura exchanged pleasantries with Holly, and Alisa became rather hooked onto the idea of having her fortune read. Holly then said that she needed to get back to setting up her tent and promptly excused herself. The students promised that if they were ever in the area and had a bit of free time, they would definitely come visit her.
Before the students could decide on their next course of action, Morgan heard a ringing sound coming from her personal orbment.
"Excuse me for a sec…" She stepped away from the group for a moment to pick up her call. "Yes? Who is this?"
The person on the other end gave their reply.
"Oh! Old Ma-!" Morgan stopped herself from saying the full nickname. "Uh, Omar! What's going on? Is your shift over? ...Okay. On it. See you there."
Morgan hung up and returned to her classmates. "That was my friend. Mind if we swing over to Westen District right now?"
"If I recall, Westen District is close by," said Emma.
"We're closer to Westen than we are to the highway where the monster is," Fie followed up. "We can just walk there."
Alisa and Laura also voiced their approval. After checking in with the person who handed them the flyers, Group A made their way back to Westen District by foot. Morgan led the way through the tight urban spaces to a house on the far end of the district.
"This is where he lives." Morgan knocked on the door. "Hellooo! Omar!"
A few seconds passed by, and not a single sound came from inside the house.
"Is he still not home?" Alisa wondered.
Morgan tried turning the doorknob just in case. To her surprise, it was unlocked. "Oh! The door's open."
"I do not think it is wise to enter someone's residence without their permission…" Laura warned, but Morgan set foot in it anyway. After exchanging a cautionary look amongst themselves, the rest of the group followed suit.
Fie looked around at the living room. "For an old building, it looks better on the inside."
"Omar likes to keep things nice and tidy up top. Makes things easier to access that way. On the bottom, though…"
Morgan looked to her left. Just past the entryway, there was a staircase leading downwards into the basement, which was blocked by a metal door with no handle and a singular circular window. The group followed Morgan down the stairs. Once they reached the bottom, Morgan used both her hands to push the metal door open.
"Whoa…"
Alisa's sentiment was shared by the other girls, sans Morgan. The basement had been refurbished into a workspace that resembled a mechanic's garage. There were several workbenches and tables dotted around the edges of the room, and each of them had something different sitting on top of them from miscellaneous gadgets to raw sepith to project plans with illustrations. At the far end of the basement, there was what was essentially a downsized orbal factory, complete with various orbal contraptions, tools, and even a small forge for non-orbal equipment. Located next to that was a wide bookcase filled to the brim with books about orbal technology and other related subjects.
"It's an entire workshop down here!" Alisa muttered to herself in awe.
"If I connect the circuit here, then output should increase. However, we can't ignore the risks that might come about when under extreme conditions…"
On the side opposite to the factory was a man mumbling to himself in front of a whiteboard. There were more drawings and rough sketches posted along the edges of the board with tape and magnets. Clearly, whatever the man was looking at had him so engrossed that he didn't notice the five girls that walked in unannounced. To solve this, Morgan walked a few steps back to the entrance of the basement and knocked on it loudly.
The man turned around, revealing a middle-aged face full of facial hair. Despite his face appearing elderly, he possessed a wide, muscular frame that was contained by a jumpsuit.
"Ah, Morgan!" the man called out. "I see you've already made yourself at home."
"Wasn't exactly hard, seeing as you left the front door open."
"Did I now?" The man scratched the back of his balding head. "I must be getting forgetful in my old age. But no matter. I see you brought guests as well! Pardon the mess. Judging from the uniforms, I presume you ladies go to the same school as Morgan?"
"They're my classmates, actually. From left to right, that's Alisa, Emma, Fie, and Laura."
"A pleasure to meet all of you. My name is Omar Viridian, and I like to consider myself an underground inventor. As you can see here, this is where I work."
"This workspace is rather impressive," Laura remarked. "What exactly is it that you invent?"
"Whatever happens to strike my fancy, so to speak. Although, there is one area that is of particular interest to me."
"That being…?"
Omar chuckled to himself. "I think it's best if we give you a practical demonstration. Well, Morgan? Shall we get right down to business?"
Morgan nodded eagerly. "Ready whenever! You got the goods?"
"Right over here…" Omar hobbled over to the forge and grabbed a peculiar-looking lance that had a wind quartz embedded into where a speartip was attached to the shaft.
"It looks like my orbal staff…" Emma remarked.
"Oh? You have one?" Omar raised an eyebrow. "I thought they'd take at least another year to come out."
"Me and one other classmate currently have a prototype. But wait, how do you know about it?"
Omar scowled. "Because I used to work for the person that proposed the idea in the first place."
"Really?!" Alisa exclaimed. "Then...you work for the Epstein Foundation?"
"USED to work for, young lady," Omar harshly corrected her. "I left of my own accord years ago."
"Why?"
Omar held up the lance in his hands. "Because of this. I had been trying to make a weapon that could combine the strengths of both regular weapons and battle orbments for quite some time. It was my passion project, but such a thing was rightfully looked down upon in an environment built around orbal technology. One day, I woke up to find that all of my blueprints had been stolen and repurposed into something different, which you now know as the orbal staff. I left the foundation not long after that."
"That's horrible…"
"Such is the corruptness of corporate society," Omar agreed. "But no matter! To make a successful invention, you have to accept that you will experience a number of setbacks along the way, and my efforts are finally coming to fruition!"
Morgan cleared her throat.
"Ah, yes. I meant to say OUR efforts. My apologies."
"What exactly do you do, Morgan?" Fie asked.
"For the most part, I'm basically his guinea pig. There weren't any other people around town who were available at the time, so I basically jumped at the opportunity. I also helped with gathering the materials. But most importantly…" Morgan's voice trailed off. "I can't explain it, but as soon as I heard the concept from Omar, I felt like I had to see this through no matter what."
She took the orbal lance from Omar's hands. Then, Omar motioned for the girls to follow him. He made his way over to the bookcase and pushed it from the right side, revealing a hidden passageway.
"A hidden door that leads further in?" Laura gasped. "But to where?"
"Heimdallr is built on top of a network of underground passages dating as far back as the Middle Ages," Morgan explained. "And it just so happens that one of them leads to Omar's basement."
The group followed Omar through the underground tunnel until they reached another metal door. Omar unlocked the door and opened it to reveal a large open space that was barred off from the rest of the underground passageway by an iron gate.
"The door's been reinforced with steel…" Alisa muttered to herself as she inspected the area around her. "And those lanterns by the gate… They're like the ones we saw in Celdic. This is to protect against monster attacks, right?"
"You've got a good eye, young lady!" Omar commended Alisa. "The Heimdallr police go through this part of the passageway for their weekly patrols, but you can never be too careful. That's why I asked permission to install some of my devices when I first moved into this house. It was the cheapest one in the district, but of course it came with a catch."
The rest of the group was watching Morgan taking a few practice swings with the lance.
"Her movements…"
Fie looked up at Laura. "What about them?"
The swordswoman had a discerning look in her eyes. "They appear to be more refined than they were before."
"Form of the Sigil: Tempest!" Morgan let out a flurry of precise stabs followed by a roundhouse swing. "Good. Remembered that one."
"What do you think, Morgan?" Omar called out. "How does it feel?"
Morgan looked at the lance. "Feels a bit on the light side, if I'm being honest. Maybe it's because I'm so used to swinging the trick weapon."
Next was the arts test. Omar set five barrels lined up in a row and asked Morgan to attack each one of them from a distance. Morgan held the lance close, and an orbal aura began to emanate from the quartz placed on it. A second later, she raised the weapon up high, causing a bolt of lightning to be launched towards the leftmost barrel and breaking it instantly.
"Lightning?" Laura questioned.
"That's the orbal art 'Spark Arrow'," Emma recognized. "If I were to guess, the quartz embedded into the lance has that art inscribed into it."
Morgan blasted away three more barrels, leaving one barrel left. "It's more responsive than the last model," she noted. "Still a bit of a delay in between casting, though. Have you tried fixing that?"
"I have told you before…" Omar responded. "It is difficult to isolate a particular identity when you're working with wind quartzes! The art needs time to materialize or else there'll be wind instead of electricity! That is the most I can do."
Morgan looked at the last remaining barrel. "Hey, can you guys stand back? There's something that I want to try."
Everyone took a step backwards as Morgan readied the weapon by her side. As the lance started to glow with an orbal aura, she leapt upwards while spinning around. Then, she thrust the lance downwards towards the barrel as the lance reached its full charge, causing the head of the lance to be wrapped in electricity.
"Form of Silence: Lulling!"
The weapon struck the barrel, which caused the barrel to explode on contact. In doing so, however, the energy that was being generated became too much for the lance to handle, and about a second later, the upper half burst apart.
"...Whoops."
"Y-You broke it!" Alisa exclaimed. "Morgan, you need to be more careful!"
Laura frowned. "And it was looking so promising, too…"
"At least it looked flashy in its last moments," Fie quipped.
Despite having just witnessed his passion project being broken to pieces, Omar was strangely calm.
"Um…" Emma was hesitant to ask the inventor's opinion. "Are you alright, sir?"
"...I would be lying if I said I wasn't disappointed," Omar replied honestly. "But considering that the framework was light according to her, I shouldn't be too surprised that this was the end result. Such setbacks are par for the course, I'm afraid."
Morgan gathered the broken pieces of the lance. "Guess it's back to the drawing board."
"Frankly, I don't know how you do it, Morgan. Every time I think of a way to reinforce my new models, you find some way to break them again!"
Morgan rubbed the back of her head. "Ahaha… Just doing my job!"
"How exactly would breaking stuff count as a job?"
"Look at it this way, Emma…" Morgan said. "The more stuff we try now, the less problems we'll run into once the product is finished! That's why we need to use it in as many different ways as possible, even if it breaks!"
Laura hummed to herself. "The worst that can happen to any weapon is that it breaks during a crucial battle. Ensuring that a weapon's durability can last through all sorts of hardships, regardless of how nonsensical they may seem, is a must for any smithy."
"A small decision in the forge can save a life in the field," Fie agreed.
"I suppose you're right…" Omar took the broken parts. "Well, no matter. I'll work on reinforcing the upper half so that it can withstand the voltage. How long will you be in Heimdallr for?"
"Two more days after this, I think. Basically until the first day of the Summer Festival."
"Yes, although…" Emma raised a finger. "Classes don't run back at the academy during the Summer Festival, so if you wanted, you could come back to help during that time."
"Great! That's even better!" Morgan said. "What do you think, Omar? Think you can fix it by the end of the festival?"
Omar grunted. "It's almost like you've forgotten who it is you're talking to. Just you wait; I'll make a new model by tomorrow!"
"That's what I like to hear! Just let me know when you're ready and we'll swing by. Oh, but can I ask for one more thing?" Morgan brought out her axe. "Since I'm here, could you maybe do some quick maintenance on this?"
"Oh?" Laura's eyes widened. "Could it be that the person who made your weapon is…?"
"You presume correctly," Omar confirmed as he inspected the weapon. "This trick weapon was one of my first successful creations. Morgan helped me gather the materials for it; thus, it was only fitting that she was the one to keep it."
"Well, that and the fact that I needed a weapon for Thors," Morgan added. "I basically commissioned him to make it for me."
"If I might ask: why an axe that turns into bardiche?"
"It's 'cause of the weapon triangle!"
"Weapon triangle?" Alisa echoed.
Emma looked at Laura. "Do you know about it, Laura?"
The blue-haired swordswoman shook her head. "No, actually. I've never heard of it."
Morgan realized her choice of words. "Oh, that's right. You wouldn't know about it. Basically, swords beat axes, axes beat lances, and lances beat swords. If you have something that could cover two of them, you have double the chances of coming out on top!"
"Did your dad say that?" Fie asked.
"Yep! How'd you guess?"
Fie rolled her eyes. "THAT would explain why no one's heard of it before."
"Your father sounds like a remarkable individual," Laura commented. "I'm sure he would be proud to call you his daughter."
Morgan smiled softly in response. "I sure hope so…"
"Alisa, switch with me!"
"Okay! Morgan! Fall back! You're on arts duty!"
"Got it!" Morgan severed her link with Alisa. "Keep it surrounded with the Triangle formation!"
The monster that Group A had been tasked with defeating was a reptilian creature called a Grass Hydra. As the name implied, the monster had green skin that allowed it to blend in with its grassy surroundings, but what made it especially dangerous was that it possessed four heads, allowing it to retaliate from more angles than what was normally possible. The students resorted to keeping their distance and attacking it from afar so as to not risk getting bitten by the hydra.
"Say, Alisa? Do you remember that book on Erebonian folklore I lent you?"
"Emma, I don't think now's the best time for storytelling!"
"Just listen! One of the myths in that book talked about how a hero slayed a multi-headed beast. For every head the monster lost, two more would grow back. To counteract this, the hero set his sword ablaze so that when he chopped off a head, the flames would burn the neck."
"A flaming sword, huh?" Alisa's mouth crept into a grin. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"
Emma nodded. "Let's show them our combined strength!" She closed her eyes and muttered a few words, causing her orbal staff to emit a mystical glow. "O gleaming blades…"
Alisa pulled her bow's string back, notching an arrow brimming with red energy. "Turn to flame!"
Both Emma and Alisa's ARCUS units began to glow, signifying that they were attacking in unison. Alisa aimed her arrow up and let it loose so that it flew directly above the monster. Emma then raised her staff, causing an insignia to appear in the sky where Alisa's arrow was.
"Blistering Blades!" they both yelled.
The two objects made contact with each other and began to converge, creating a storm of flaming swords that rained down on the monster. The onslaught of attacks caused it to writhe in agony.
"There's an opening!" Laura said. "Fie!"
Her partner nodded. "Right!"
Now it was Laura and Fie's turn to strike. Their ARCUS units shining, Laura began by holding her sword horizontally above her head. Fie jumped on top of Laura's sword and kicked off of it to leap high into the air, where she assailed the Grass Hydra from above with a volley of bullets. With the monster pinned down by Fie's aerial assault, Laura knew that the enemy had no chance of escaping her next attack.
"Behold! Our Seismic Shower!"
Raising her sword up high, Laura slammed it into ground, sending forth a shockwave that split the earth beneath the monster.
Laura's eyes darted towards the last member of the group, whose body happened to be engulfed in flames. "Finish it, Morgan!"
Morgan grinned. Having anticipated that her teammates would attack first, she had taken the opportunity to store a magical charge in her orbment with Ignis. Now that the enemy was unbalanced, it was time to show off her new attack. "Wait til' you see this!"
Her body moved just as it did when she rehearsed it. Stab with her axe to hold the enemy in place. Trap her target in a sphere of turbulent wind before throwing it up into the air. Use Dolphin Slash to leap into the air and slice the sphere in two. A funnel of wind roared around both her and the monster, keeping them suspended in the air.
"This...ends...HERE!"
Pouring the rest of her magical energy into her weapon, Morgan dealt a decisive blow to the Grass Hydra, decapitating all four of its heads at once. The monster's corpse plummeted back to the earth, where its remains decomposed and revealed a bounty of sepith.
Morgan floated back down to the ground and flashed her teammates a thumbs-up. "I'd call that a success!"
Laura sheathed her sword. "That was a spectacular finish."
"Woohoo!" Alisa cheered. "We are awesome!"
The five of them shared a group high-five. Then, they each helped to gather the sepith that spawned from the monster. Once all the sepith was safely stored in Morgan's pouches, the group made their way back to Heimdallr.
"By the way, Morgan?"
"Hm? What's up, Emma?"
"It's about that last attack of yours. I will be the first to say that it was very effective, but it's… How should I explain this…"
"Oh, there's no need to worry!" Morgan lifted up one side of her skirt. "I'm wearing shorts underneath!"
Emma's face flushed. "Th-That's not-!"
"Shame." Fie almost looked disappointed. "I was looking forward to seeing how the boys would react."
"Fie, a woman's modesty is no joking matter!" Laura said disapprovingly. "Especially when it pertains to those of the opposite sex!"
"Possible affronts to public decency aside…" Alisa hastily tried to steer the conversation in a different direction. "Did you come up with a name for that move yet? I don't think I heard you say it."
Morgan hummed to herself. "That's because I haven't yet."
"Seriously?" Fie raised an eyebrow. "And here I thought you were the one handing out names like candy. This an off day or what?"
"It's not that." Morgan shook her head. "It's just… It doesn't feel complete yet. Instructor Sara helped me to refine it, and I can use it in battle just fine, but I can't shake off the feeling that there's something missing. It's sort of like how you're this close to remembering something but you just can't quite piece everything together."
"Morgan…"
The other four girls looked on in sympathy. Having been aware of Morgan's struggles regarding her memory loss, they promptly understood where she was coming from.
"Basically, until I figure out what that something is, I'm holding off on naming it," Morgan finished. "It doesn't feel right naming something that's unfinished."
The group walked along the highway in relative silence, taking in the scenery now that they weren't chasing after the Grass Hydra. Eventually, they came to a fork in the road that they had previously neglected.
"Hey, where does this lead?"
"Oh yeah. We passed it on our way over."
Everyone turned their gazes expectantly towards Morgan.
"I didn't think it was worth mentioning since we were busy looking for the monster at the time…" She pointed down the path. "That way leads to Karel Imperial Villa. As the name implies, it's a vacation house that's used by the Imperial family."
"The Imperial family gets their own vacation house?" Alisa gasped.
"It also acts as the place where important treaties are signed," Laura followed up. "It truly is a sight to behold."
"It's open for tourists throughout the Summer Festival season," Morgan added. "Wanna go take a look? We should be able to spare a detour."
"Will they be able to let us in?" Emma squinted her eyes. "I think there's a gate up ahead."
"Students from Thors get a free pass since the academy was founded by Emperor Dreichels. If we show them our student handbooks, they should let us in."
Fie whistled. "Talk about privilege."
Morgan laughed. "Thors isn't one of the most prestigious academies in the Empire for nothing."
Alisa looked up at the sky. "The sun's about to set. We've finished all our tasks for the day, so I say we go for it!"
"This'll be a good way to wind down after the fight we just had," Emma added.
"We probably won't get another chance like this," Laura agreed. "Let us strike while the iron is hot, as they say."
…
"It's gorgeous…"
After being granted entry into the villa, the girls were met with a picturesque view of the surrounding landscape. Karel Imperial Villa was situated in the middle of a small basin with mountains surrounding it on all sides. The building itself was three stories tall and had a dome ceiling. To the west of the villa was a small pavilion situated above a body of water and next to a set of waterfalls.
"Look down there!" Alisa excitedly pointed in the direction of the waterfalls. "The spray from the water is creating rainbows!"
While the rest of the group gathered around her, Morgan looked up at the villa itself. She took a deep breath in and then exhaled. "Hasn't changed in three years…" she muttered to herself.
Fie turned around. "What'd you say?"
Morgan shook her head. "Mm-mm! It's nothing! Come on! Let's head further in!"
The girls made a long trek up the winding slope to reach the entrance of the villa, marked by a large set of double doors. Unfortunately, only the foyer and the pavilion they spotted earlier were open to the general public, but that was enough for the students to understand what sort of place it was.
"This place is about as extravagant as I had expected," Emma remarked as they stepped out the left side of the building towards the pavilion.
Morgan nodded. "Only the best for the Imperial family."
"I bet the boys would be so jealous if they heard we were here right now," Alisa remarked.
Laura chuckled. "I am certain that Gaius would love to capture this view in a painting. On a side note, what do you suppose they are up to right now?"
"Assuming that Machias and Jusis aren't at each other's throats again?" Alisa said jokingly. "I'm guessing they're just about wrapping things up on their end, same as us."
"What's there to do on the east side, Morgan?" asked Fie.
"Let me think…" Morgan crossed her arms. "There's the Crystal Garden in the northeast corner of the city located in Mater Park. It's a popular destination for couples. There's also the Garnier District, home of the famous Heimdallr Opera House."
"Garnier… There's also a jewelry store with a branch in the Garnier District, if I recall," Alisa added. "I know that since they're using the Reinford Group's security system for their display cases."
"San Corries Jewelers," Morgan remembered. "They have the famous Crimson Tiara on display. It was made in the Middle Ages, and it's estimated to be worth around 50 to 100 million mira."
"Sounds pricey. It'd be a shame if someone came in and stole it."
Laura flashed a look of warning. "You'd better not be getting any funny ideas, Fie."
The former jaeger shook her head. "Please. Even I know not to mess with Alisa's family."
A loud gurgling sound came from Morgan's direction.
"...Or with Morgan's appetite."
"S-Sorry!" Morgan covered her stomach in embarrassment. "I can't control the beast within me!"
"I suppose that is a better cue than any to return to the city," Laura said with a chuckle. "Do you know any restaurants where we can eat dinner, Morgan?"
"That depends. Do you guys want anything in particular?"
"I think it's best if we leave that to you," Emma suggested. "You're the one who is most familiar with the city, after all."
"Are you suuuuure?" Morgan dragged out that last word in a mischievous manner.
"Yes…?"
Morgan's face broke into a toothy grin. "Then I know just the place!"
"Now arriving at...Kunst District."
The tram pulled into the stop and opened its doors. Group A stepped out of the car and onto the sidewalk.
"The Kunst District, otherwise known as the arts district," said Morgan. "This is where people hone and display their crafts. Of course, art is a pretty broad category, so you can find a whole bunch of stuff here, but make no mistake. Just about everyone here is an expert in at least something."
"Kunst District…" Fie recalled the discussion from earlier that morning. "This is where you live, right?"
Morgan nodded and pointed to a tall rectangular building on the rightmost side of the district. "See that red building over there? That's where my apartment is. The place we're looking for is on the other side, though, so we can save that for later."
With Morgan leading the way, Group A made their way through the streets of the Kunst District. Compared to some of the other districts they had been to, there were a lot less people roaming about the Kunst District. However, that wasn't to say that it wasn't lively. Just about every store and restaurant they encountered on the way to their destination had their lights on and a sizable amount of customers inside, and there were even some street performers and artists situated around the sidewalks.
Morgan came to a stop in front of a rectangular building with a low, square-shaped porch roof and a glowing sign above the door.
"Don T's Pizzeria?" Emma read.
"Pizza." Fie snorted. "Why am I not surprised?"
"Well, you DID say it was my choice," Morgan reminded her.
Alisa snorted. "I think we've figured out where Morgan got her love of pizza from…"
Morgan opened the wooden door, which caused a vintage shopkeeper's bell that was placed on it to ring. Stepping inside the parlor revealed a pizza display counter to the right and a modest-sized seating area to the left. Hunched over by the counter was a man rolling a fresh piece of dough with a pin. When he heard the bell chime, he looked up slightly, revealing a crew cut and a chinstrap beard.
"Welcome!" the man said in a loud voice. "What'll it be today?"
Morgan raised her hand and yelled back, "Table for five, please!"
The man did a double take when he heard Morgan's voice and straightened his posture. "Well, well, well! It's the little lassie!"
"Hey, Don! I'm back!"
Morgan moved in close to shake the man's hand, but he preemptively reeled them back. "Whoa, hold up! Got flour on the hands!"
"Right! Sorry!"
The man washed off the flour from his hands and wiped it with a nearby towel. Only then did he reach his hand over the counter, which positively dwarfed Morgan's in terms of size.
"These your classmates?" the man guessed, looking at the other members of Group A. "Nice to meetcha! The name's Donovan Tennant, but everybody here calls me 'The Don'! Take a seat anywhere you like."
The girls chose to sit at a large circular table covered in a plaid red-and-white cloth.
"So did you just come back or what?" The Don asked as he handed each girl a menu.
"Uh-huh! Just came back today! Figured since I was in the neighborhood, I'd come and visit for old time's sake."
He let out a large guffaw. "Gwahahaha! Well, The Don is glad you did! Will you be ordering the usual?"
"No, I'm in the mood for something different this time!" Morgan didn't even bother looking at the menu. "Remember how you said you'd treat me to the house special the next time I was here?"
"Is that right?" The Don scratched the back of his head. "Did The Don really say that?"
"Well, technically you didn't say it; you wrote it in the card you sent me for my birthday. You know, the one that came with the bear jerky?"
The Don snapped his fingers. "OH! Now The Don remembers! Yup, The Don hears you loud and clear! One house special coming up. And how about the rest of you lassies?"
Alisa raised her hand. "Um, you wouldn't happen to have anything that's on the light side, would you?"
"Gwahaha! No need to worry, missy. If it's calories you're concerned about, there's a salad bar right over there."
He pointed to a table with assorted greens and store-bought dressing that looked like it hadn't been touched since the beginning of the day. There were even a few flies buzzing around the vegetables; whether or not they had appeared before or after the food was brought out was anybody's guess.
"...I'll take a gluten-free cheese, please."
"Good choice, missy."
The other girls placed their orders as well. With five tickets ready, The Don immediately went to work, taking out five pieces of dough and rolling them evenly. Then, The Don took one disk of dough and started spinning around his fingers before tossing it into the air and catching it as it fell down. Eventually, he started getting more creative with the ways he would toss and catch the dough. The girls held their breath every time he threw a spinning disk into the air and were subsequently relieved whenever the dough safely landed on his hand.
"He's quite talented at his craft," Laura commented. "I would imagine that requires an incredible amount of dexterity."
"The Don believes that watching your food get prepared is part of the customer experience," Morgan explained. "Ooh! Here comes my favorite part!"
The Don rotated the hand that was spinning a piece of dough, causing it to briefly travel all the way around his hand. Then, he quickly transferred the spinning dough to his other hand and tossed it lightly so that it cleanly rolled over his shoulders and into his open palm.
"Amazing!" Emma praised. "I didn't know you could do it like that!"
"So he does this every day?" Fie asked.
"Pretty much," Morgan affirmed. "He's basically just showing off right now, though."
The last circle of dough landed safely on The Don's finger and was steadily lowered onto a wooden peel. The students couldn't help but give a round of applause for the performance.
The Don gave a small bow and called out, "So what'd you think? What's The Don's rating today?"
"An 'S', as always!" Morgan gave a thumbs-up.
"An 'S'?" Laura wondered.
"The grade that surpasses an 'A'," Morgan explained. "In this house, 'S' stands for 'Stylish'!"
"Thanks again, Don!"
"Gwahaha! Till next time, little lassie!"
After witnessing an entertaining performance courtesy of The Don and eating enough carbohydrates for the weekend, Group A left Don T's Pizzeria feeling very fulfilled.
Morgan stretched her arms. "Whew! That was great!"
"Ugh, I think I ate more than I should…" Alisa grumbled. "But I can see why you're so addicted to pizza now, Morgan."
"Isn't it the best? I always used to drop by every other night for a slice. Always hits the spot after a long day at work."
"Seriously? Every other night?" Alisa looked on with envy. "I'm jealous of your metabolism."
"Well, we did do a lot of walking around today," Emma noted. "Not to mention we still have two more days ahead of us. We should be able to burn off what we ate tonight in due time."
Up in the sky, the sun had mostly set, signaling that it was time for the students to return to their lodgings. They went back the way they came, but upon reaching a branching path, Fie stopped.
Morgan was the first to notice the straggling member. "What's up, Fie? Did you forget something?"
Fie put her hands behind her back. "...You're not gonna stop by your home, Morgan?"
"Ah…"
"She has a point." Emma backtracked to join the two. "We're here anyways, so we might as well."
"I mean…" Morgan hesitated. "We could? But I don't think there's a reason to. We really need to start working on those reports."
"I must concur with Emma," Laura spoke. "It would be remiss of you not to pay a visit while you are home."
"Yeah, and besides…" Alisa chimed in. "I'm sure your parents would want to see you."
"..."
An uncomfortable silence hung over the students' heads for a brief moment.
Alisa started to fidget uncomfortably. "Did I...say something funny?"
"...No, you're right," Morgan eventually replied. "I did say that we could stop by after we had dinner. Come on. It's this way."
For the second time that evening, Morgan led the group through the streets of the Kunst District. Most of the street vendors had long since packed up their belongings and went home for the evening, leaving only a few pedestrians left.
The students soon came to a stop at the rectangular building they saw when they first arrived at the district. Morgan opened the doors to the lobby area, which consisted of only a few benches surrounding a central elevator area and a check-in counter to the side. Standing behind the counter was a young teenage boy wearing a uniform and a small round cap.
"Hop!" Morgan greeted the boy. "Long time no see!"
The boy widened his eyes. "Whoa! That you, Morgan? When did you get back?"
"Just today. I've been showing my classmates around the capital, doing the usual rounds."
The young concierge gave a tip of his cap to the other members of Group A. "Well, y'all know my name. I'm Hop. Hope Morgan hasn't been too much of a handful at the academy."
"Hey!" Morgan pouted. "I'll have you know I've been pulling my own weight, thank you very much!"
"It's true," Emma spoke up. "Morgan has helped us in more ways than we could count."
Hop raised both his hands. "Okay, okay! I get it. I was just jokin'. So? What brings you here? Just wanted to stop by?"
"Yeah. Just a quick stop."
"Gotcha. Lemme go get your keys. Be right back."
The boy disappeared behind a wooden door for a few seconds before returning with a key ring that had two keys on it. "Been nice seein' ya, Morgan."
The group followed Morgan into the elevator. She pushed the button for the top floor, and the elevator doors closed.
"So you live at the top, huh?" Fie queried. "What's the view like?"
"Pretty good, if I do say so myself," Morgan responded. "You can see most of Vainqueur Street from the window, and on a good day, you can see Dreichels Plaza and Valflame Palace in the distance."
The bell in the elevator chimed and the doors opened. Morgan stepped out of it and immediately turned right, walking all the way to the end of the hallway and stopping at the door right next to the emergency staircase. Plastered on the front of the door were the numbers "807."
Morgan took a deep breath before inserting the first key into the top lock and twisting it. She then inserted the second key into the bottom lock and twisted it again. With both locks undone, Morgan opened the door to her apartment for the first time in four months.
"Well, make yourselves at home, everyone. It's not much, but…" Morgan's voice trailed off into a small chuckle. "Heh. Okay, yeah, it's not much."
Despite her words, the place that Morgan called home had all the essentials that a person could need in a home. It was a one-bedroom studio apartment that consisted of a kitchen area, a small but well-furnished living room with a door leading to a balcony, and a separate hallway with doors that led to the bathroom and bedroom, respectively.
"It's pretty clean," Fie remarked. "I was expecting it to be a bit messier."
"Are you implying that I'm naturally a slob?" Morgan asked with a raised eyebrow.
The silver-haired girl shrugged her shoulders. "No, but you just did."
"It DOES feel very homely, if you know what I mean," said Emma.
Laura opened the curtains to reveal a sprawling view of the Kunst District and Vainqueur Street. "The curtains have less dust than I had anticipated."
"I'm guessing the Vanders must've cleaned the place while I was gone," Morgan surmised. "Or maybe it was…"
Alisa's jaw dropped. "Wait, you let people come into your home?"
Morgan was amused that that was what Alisa had chosen to focus on. "Well, yeah! They're the ones who set me up with this place."
That sent a wave of surprise through the other girls.
"The original owner of this apartment is a close friend of the Vanders," Morgan began to explain. "Way back when, he would always use this space to stay in the city whenever it was the opera season. However, there was a period of time a few years ago where he was out of the country, and so this apartment became vacant. I happened to be looking for a place to stay at the time. One thing led to another, and they allowed me to stay here with a loan. It took over a year to work it off, but I managed to pay them back before I left for Thors."
"So that means...you own this apartment?!"
Morgan puffed her chest with pride. "Uh-huh! No need to worry about rent or anything! But back to the Vanders, I only saw it right to let them use this space whenever they needed it, and it's not like I'm at home these days."
"I'm...having a bit of trouble comprehending all of this." Laura shook her head. "But what you're saying is that you have been living as an independent for the past two years?"
"One and a half, technically. I first moved in in late 1202."
"How were you able to get the money to pay off your loan?" Emma wondered.
"I think we've got a pretty good idea already," Fie chimed in from the living room. To no one's surprise, she had chosen to lie down on the couch. "Look at all the things we did today. I can't do the math, but if you were paid for at least the bare minimum for doing those kinds of odd jobs, then multiply that over a year, you could easily get enough dough for a place like this."
The girls steadily shifted their gazes back to Morgan, who simply responded with, "Follow me."
She walked down the hallway and opened the first door on her right to the bedroom. As Morgan had moved most of her belongings to her dorm room at school, the bedroom felt emptier compared to the rest of the apartment. Morgan opened the doors to her closet, revealing several long robes and coats hanging from hangars and, to the initial confusion of her classmates, a lute that was resting on a stand.
"Let me guess: that's what the lute case is for," Fie eventually realized.
"Clever girl." Morgan smirked. "Now where did they put it again… A-ha! There we are."
Morgan pulled out a medium-sized mailbox shaped like a rectangle. It was colored purple, and painted in the center of the top lid was a peculiar tear-shaped insignia.
"This is…"
"...A mailbox?"
"This was how I got my requests," Morgan said. "People fill out a request form and put it in here. Every morning and afternoon, Hop or some other employee would go out to the mailbox and check to see if there were any new requests."
"Requests… A mailbox…" Laura muttered those words to herself. "So it's true, then? This so-called Vermillion Deliverer that we keep hearing about is none other than…?"
Morgan nodded her head. "It was the Vanders who suggested that I make a separate mailbox for the request forms. You know, kind of like the one they had at the guild building. Put the name of the building and the mailbox together, and you get a Vermillion Deliverer. Of course, it wasn't my intention of becoming a celebrity."
"How did it all start?" Alisa queried.
"Well, you remember how I said that the Bracer Guild pulled out of the city two years ago?" Morgan began. "There were talks of turning the abandoned guild buildings into government branches, but the townsfolk didn't want any of that. They decided that they would be able to solve their own problems, but it became clear that everyone was in disarray. Without the Bracer Guild keeping everyone together, most of the city's populace was segmented off from each other. Connections are everything in a place as big as Heimdallr. That's when it was-"
Morgan stopped for a moment and shook her head. "When I decided to start connecting everyone again, bit by bit. First, I started by taking on several odd jobs around the city to establish my presence. In doing that, I was able to get a lot of reference points. After that, if there was ever a job that I felt could be done better by someone else, I'd send that person's contact information. I did that enough times, and, well… It basically became my full-time job."
"What sort of things did you do?" Emma asked.
"Mostly miscellaneous jobs. A delivery from Point A to Point B here, fill in for a missing employee there. Retrieve Object X from these locations, help a civilian find Object Y…"
"So, in other words…"
"Basically what we've been doing in our field studies," Fie said, finishing Emma's statement. "Minus the monster extermination, you were working as the neighborhood's replacement bracer."
"If that's the case…" Alisa cupped her chin. "That explains why you were so quick to adjust to our field study tasks. You've had over a year's worth of experience doing just that for basically the whole city!"
"Ahaha…" Morgan laughed sheepishly. "You weren't too off the mark in Celdic."
"I think we all have a better idea of the kind of life you've lived before you arrived at Thors," spoke Laura. "In terms of experience, you outrank Rean by a significant margin."
"But that does beg the question…" said Emma. "Why is it that you deflected those questions on the train ride over? You could have just told us, unless you really wanted to keep it a secret."
Morgan set the mailbox aside. "I guess I just didn't see a gain in it. Most of the things people talk about are just stuff the press exaggerated for the sake of getting a new story. Machias even said so himself; the Vermillion Deliverer as a concept is more like an urban legend, when in reality she's just a delivery girl who's too self-driven for her own good. The people in the Kunst District helped to make sure that it stayed that way, and I feel like I'd be betraying them if I started telling everyone who I was or what I did."
"Is that why you came up with that catchphrase?" Fie wondered. "To indirectly confirm everyone's suspicions while keeping your background a secret to everyone?"
"...Yeah." Morgan held a finger to her lips. "And now you all know my secret, too! That said, think you can promise to keep it between us for now?"
Her classmates didn't hesitate in voicing their decision to comply, much to Morgan's delight. "It's a promise, then!"
"Hey, Morgan?" Alisa raised her hand. "I've been wondering about this for a while now. It's great that you're being so independent, and I'm honestly a little jealous of you for it, but…" She took a hesitant breath. "Does this mean that you live away from your parents?"
"..."
There it was again. That same silence from earlier. Fie and Laura were understandably quiet. Emma looked like she was about to say something, but after looking at the former two's reactions, she hushed herself.
Alisa's eyes gradually widened in horror. "Oh… Oh, god. Morgan, I'm so-"
"I'm pretty sure I told you all before, right?" Morgan interrupted her. "The only other thing that I remembered aside from my name was the names of my parents. The thing is, no one has been able to find anyone matching those names in Erebonia to this day."
"Then…" Emma started to say. "Your last name…"
"It's fake," Morgan admitted. "I picked it from a list of aliases that my father had stashed in his old book on tactics. That's the only thing I have left of him now. And as for my mother…" She shook her head. "I don't remember what ultimately became of her."
"...What about that other family?"
Laura hummed to herself. "Fie is right. You were found by a local family and worked for them for a year. After that period of time, you were set up with some friends of that family. Based on what you have told us, are we correct in presuming that the Vanders are those family friends?"
"That does explain why they were willing to lend you this space."
"Not to mention why you acted so familiar with Miss Aurier at the training hall."
Morgan nodded. "I don't have any blood relatives here with me today, but I've established connections with a bunch of people all over Heimdallr. I was lost and confused, but they helped to raise me all over again. That's why this city is important to me, and I was fortunate that of all the people that found me on that day, it was them."
"And those people are…?" Fie asked once again.
"They are…" Morgan's voice trailed off. "You know what? I think it's best if we saved this discussion for another time! We should head back to Vesta Street while the trams are still running."
"Wha-Come on!" Alisa shouted with disappointment. "You're really just going to leave us hanging like that?"
"Sorry!" Morgan clasped her hands together. "But if I told you now, I'd have to explain a lot of things, and that would take a REALLY long time! So hurry up! Out! Out!"
The girls yelped as Morgan herded them all out of the apartment like cattle and into the hallway before closing the door behind them.
"I can't say I'm fairly fond of cliffhangers…" Emma muttered.
"And she dodged Fie's question as well…" Laura sighed. "Truth be told, I have my own suspicions as to who this other family is, but I will wait a little longer before I cast my judgment."
Fie looked up at the ceiling. "To be continued…"
Author's note: Sorry for the delayed update on this one, but given that there was a period of time during the last update where the Fanfiction site was down and prevented everyone from seeing new chapters, I figured it was for the best to wait at least a few more days so people could catch up. It was a good thing too, since this chapter is one of my longest ones yet. I took the time to introduce some new characters that were briefly mentioned in the first intermission chapter, as well as provide some more exposition on how Morgan achieved her nickname. Not much else to say except see you next time! Stay safe and stay healthy, as always! （⌒▽⌒ゞ