Crow fiddled around with a ten mira coin in his hand. "Wonder what's taking Morgs so long…"
"Laura's dad wanted to meet her," Rean responded.
"Well, yeah, I know that. What I'm wondering is what they're talking about."
The students and Toval had just returned to the Bracer Guild, where they then filled Crow in on what he had missed.
"It's not our place to speculate. Their business is their own business."
The silver-haired student flipped his coin into the air and caught it. "Come on, Rean! Aren't you at least a LITTLE curious about what's going on in the room where it happens?"
Rean couldn't deny that he felt a LITTLE curious, as Crow put it. But at the end of the day, he knew better than to question the Radiant Blademaster. If Laura wasn't thinking too hard about it, then there wasn't any reason for him and the others to do so as well.
As for Morgan herself… Well, he did point out earlier that she was still prone to keeping secrets on a lot of things despite promising to be more honest, but looking back on it in hindsight, he felt he could have phrased his suspicions a bit better. Being someone who used to work for the Imperial family meant that she was likely privy to lots of confidential information that others weren't aware of. Maybe not to the same lengths as, for example, a government agent like Millium, but enough to warrant being careful about what she said to the average Erebonian. When he looked at it that way, the black-haired girl's shift to a more professional demeanor back at the mansion was probably her way of signifying that she couldn't stay quiet any longer. He had also heard from the other members of her group last month how desperate she acted when she found out the Imperial siblings were in danger. If her behavior was anything like that, then that probably meant that the situation had become a lot more serious than the class had initially anticipated.
"...Right. That should just about do it." Toval handed the group a folder with the Thors Military Academy logo on it. "Okay, here's your afternoon tasks."
"Thanks, Toval." Rean received the folder from him and emptied its contents out on a table for all to see.
"Hey! Not too many!" Crow realized. "This'll be a cinch!"
"Yeah, you keep telling yourself that…"
The way Toval said that reminded Rean of a certain instructor who always seemed to have an ulterior motive for every little thing she assigned to the class. "Let me guess. There's a catch."
"Bingo, Rean. See, I'm gonna be leaving on short notice, and there's no way the replacements I just called in will be able to get to the Legram branch by the end of today. And the people of this town aren't going to wait until then to ask for help…"
All the students then immediately realized what Toval was getting at.
"So that means...you're leaving US in charge?!" Emma exclaimed.
"Why not? You guys have been doing this sort of thing since school started, right? Sara even told me that if I ever had to leave town on business, I could count on you guys to fill in my shoes. You'll help, won't you?"
Even without her being in the same room as them, their instructor was continuously finding ways to make their lives more difficult. The students could picture Sara smugly cheering them on with a jug of beer saying, "Good luck, little Wunderkinds!" In the end, though, they weren't in any position to refuse, and Toval had indeed been helpful in easing them into the field study, so they accepted his request.
A few minutes later, Victor and Morgan arrived at the guildhouse. After Morgan was filled in on the situation, the entirety of Group A walked Viscount Arseid and Toval to the train station, where they bid them farewell.
"I wish you all well in your studies," Victor said. "And I hope you'll forgive me for leaving so suddenly."
"Not to worry, Father," Laura responded. "I'm used to it."
"Thank you again for your hospitality," Rean added. "And...for agreeing to a duel. I look forward to our next meeting."
The Radiant Blademaster nodded at Rean. "As do I. You show great promise as a swordsman. I hope you'll continue to devote yourself to your studies and training alongside my daughter. That extends to the rest of you as well; I hope all of you will look past her uncouth father and continue giving her your friendship and support."
The group gave their affirmation that they would support Laura, and both blademaster and bracer departed from Legram.
With the entire afternoon and the guildhouse to themselves, the students got a start on the afternoon tasks. While initially few in number, the people of Legram continued to bring request after request, keeping them busy all the way until the early evening hours. By this point in the school year, though, the students were used to such strenuous work.
"The spot where the gold salmon was sighted is supposed to be around...here." Morgan pointed to a river located in the outskirts of the Ebel Highway. "Is there anything else we need to do while we're out there?"
"Cindy wanted us to find some luminous grass in that area," Laura spoke up. "Other than that, those are all the tasks we need to do on the highway."
"Okay. Rean, you're the fishing expert here, so you should take up the fishing request. Laura, you know what luminous grass looks like, so you can go with him. Gaius is at the Arseid training hall and Emma's still helping out at the inn, so you can rendezvous with both of them once you're finished."
"Sounds like a plan. Hold down the fort for us, okay?"
"Just leave it to me!"
Rean grabbed some spare fishing gear that Toval had left lying around and left the building together with Laura.
"You know, I'm all for holding down the fort…" Crow's voice said from the back of the building. "But why does it feel like you guys are keeping me on a leash?"
"It's for the sake of public decency," Morgan replied without turning around. "Don't think we haven't noticed where your eyes have been wandering around some of Laura's friends."
"Man, you guys REALLY don't trust me, huh?"
"We don't trust you in this specific situation. There's a difference."
Morgan placed two push-pins, one blue and one red representing Laura and Rean respectively, at the location of the highway on the map. Meanwhile, a green-colored pin representing Gaius was placed atop the Arseid School training hall, and a purple-colored pin representing Emma was placed in front of the Aprikoze Inn. Lastly, a yellow-colored pin and a white-colored pin were placed at the Bracer Guild branch's location, representing herself and Crow.
"We just don't want to see you making a fool of yourself," Morgan followed up. "Toval entrusted us to look after the town while he's gone. We can't afford to slack, and we also know how much you like to slack."
Crow started to laugh to himself.
Morgan turned around and asked, "What?"
"No, it's nothing. It's just… You're starting to sound more like Towa by the hour."
"You think so?"
"Totally. Now can you come over here and help me move this thing?"
Morgan went over to where Crow was standing and helped him move a heavy crate down from atop another crate. Crow then used a tool to pry open the lid of the crate, and the two of them peered at its contents.
"Are these…?"
"…Board games?"
Morgan and Crow began examining each of the games in the crate. Some of them were basic table games like chess, checkers, and renegade, but then there were other, more obscure games that looked to be developed by larger companies. These included a strategy-based game that was billed as a form of capture the flag but with individual pieces to represent an army, a deck of colorful numbered cards with a "1" card most prominently shown on the front of the box art, and a real estate-themed game where the objective was to purchase and control the majority of the properties with a mustached man wearing a top hat as the mascot.
"Hey, I recognize some of these games!" Crow cheered. "See that logo? Brandish? They're the guys who came up with Blade."
"So these games… They came all the way from Jurai?"
"Looks like it. Oh, hey. There's a note in here, too…"
"Really? What's it say?"
Crow picked up the slip of paper from inside the crate and skimmed over its contents. But just as Morgan was about to peek over his shoulder, the silver-haired student folded the note in half and put it in his pocket. "Sounds like a good excuse to go outside!"
"What? Wait, let me see that!"
"No time like the present, right?" Crow stood up and made a mad dash to the exit. "Come on, Morgs! Last one out's a rotten egg!"
"W-Wait! Hang on-!"
Too late. Her upperclassman was already out the door.
"Oh, for the love of…" Morgan shook her head in exasperation. In a moment of lenience, Crow had, in a manner of speaking, flown the coop. Who knows what sort of trouble he was going to get himself into now?
Glancing back at the map on the table, Morgan quickly moved the two pins representing herself and Crow to just outside of the Bracer Guild building. Their destination? Who knows.
"I just can't take my eyes off you for a second, can I?" she muttered as she left to chase after her upperclassman.
…
Morgan eventually found Crow at the local grocery store, called Watteau's Store. Upon entering the building, she saw him talking to the eponymous individual at the counter.
"...Damn. Sounds like Jusis's old man really has it out for you guys."
"I would suggest against speaking ill of the reigning duke; you never know who may be listening," the man named Watteau warned him. "And it isn't as if things on the business front have halted completely; deliveries by train come through just fine."
"Is that right? Guess we should all be thankful for Mr. Blood and Iron Chancellor, huh?"
"Oh, I wonder about that…" Watteau rubbed his chin. "It is true that without the railroad, Legram would be in a much worse position economically. But in hindsight, all of the taxes imposed by the reigning duke started as a result of him being forced to allocate land for the chancellor's cause. Merchant towns like Karlorff that used to be important hubs in the Kreuzen Province are now fading into obscurity."
"Yeah. My classmates and I saw it firsthand." Crow narrowed his eyes."So in the end, it all goes back to him…"
"Well, it's nothing you young ones need to worry about. The chancellor has been known to be a rational man, provided someone can bring forth the evidence to back it up. Connecting Erebonia and its economic provinces is still an admirable goal, when all is said and done."
"Hmm…"
Morgan stepped forward. "Hey, Crow…"
Crow blinked and turned around. "Whoa! Hey, Morgs. Took you long enough."
Morgan sighed. "Well, maybe if a certain someone didn't just bolt out the door without telling where he was heading beforehand. I hope he hasn't been distracting you, Mister Watteau."
"No. Not at all." The middle-aged clerk smiled respectfully at her. "It isn't very often I talk with young folks from out of town."
"That's good to hear. By the way, I was wondering about something…"
"Hey, Morgs! You've got to check this place out!" Crow interrupted. "Old Watteau's got all sorts of stuff!"
"Crow, we aren't here to shop…"
"Like this big barrel of perfectly-preserved jerky~"
Morgan gulped. She closed her eyes and turned the other way, trying not to give in to her temptations…
"There's beef, pork, venison… Oh, and what's this?" Crow lifted up a particular bag. "Is that a pack of BEAR meat that I spy?"
"…"
"Buuuuut if you don't want it, then maybe I'll just buy some for myself…"
Before Crow could finish his thought, Morgan had already turned around, grabbed the bag out of his hands, and placed it on the counter in front of Watteau. "How much?" she asked.
"Er… Including tax, that would be 2013 mira…"
"Sold!" Morgan placed the exact amount on the counter. With the transaction complete, she wasted no time in opening the bag, taking a stick of jerky out, and taking a big bite.
"Um, young lady. I should warn you: bear meat is on the gamey side…"
"Nah, she'll be fine," Crow interjected. "Watch. Three, two, one…"
On cue, Morgan's face naturally broke into a smile. She couldn't bring herself to get mad at him, not when she was chewing on her most favorite meat in the world. "Mmm… So happy…!"
Watteau scratched the back of his head in bewilderment. "W-Well, I'll be… I never imagined a lady such as yourself would take a liking to bear meat of all things."
Crow laughed in response. "Haha! Looks can be deceiving, as they say."
The joy from eating the bear jerky left Morgan as she swallowed her bite, and once her mind caught up with her body, she began to blush profusely for acting so foolishly in public.
"A-Anyways…" she coughed in a vain attempt to regain her composure. "Mister Watteau, if we could ask a question…"
Morgan proceeded to inquire about the box of board games in the guild building. The middle-aged shop owner, however, didn't recognize the order. He noted that sometimes games would be purchased individually, but not in bulk.
"I guess we'll need to look elsewhere, then. Crow, what exactly did that note-" Morgan turned around, only to find that her upperclassman was nowhere to be seen. "Huh? Where'd he go?"
"At the other end of the store, young lady."
Morgan spotted him at the far corner of the building that dealt with weapons. This section of the store had its own clerk, a man named Duncan. And just like how she had seen him when she first entered the building, Crow was already striking up a conversation with the shopkeep.
"Okay, you really need to stop going off on your own!" Morgan called out to Crow.
"Not my fault you get tunnel vision when you're working," he replied with a shrug. "Isn't it a tactician's job to keep track of her soldiers?"
"Grr…" As much as Morgan hated to admit it, Crow had her there.
"But I gotta say…" Crow continued, turning his attention towards some of the swords Duncan was displaying." "This is some top-quality stuff. Only the best for the Arseid school, huh?"
"That's right. We just received a request for some new swords, too. Some of them got damaged during practice yesterday, and one of them even broke! Can you believe that?"
"Oh, I think I can…" Crow not-so-subtly smirked at Morgan, who in turn was trying not to look back.
"You something of a blade connoisseur, Crow?" Duncan asked.
Crow threw back his head and laughed. "Ha! I wouldn't say that. I just know good quality when I see them. Some of our classmates, though? Now those guys are some real connoisseurs!" He then turned to Morgan and asked, "Say, Morgs! Which one of these babies do you think fits me the best?"
"Huh? Hmm…" Morgan looked at the breadth of weapons in Duncan's inventory. There were swords of varying sizes and lengths alongside other melee weapons like axes and polearms, but there was also a separate section for orbal gear featuring equipment like combat orbments, orbal guns, and stun batons.
"Well, you're pretty tall, so you could work with something that's on the longer side. A longsword or even a polearm would work. But there's also that thing you did with your twin guns. You're ambidextrous, so if you put in the time and effort, you could pull off a twin short sword style like Kurt. I would say those two options would be my picks."
"So my weapon of choice would either be something long or a straight up twosome time." Crow grinned devilishly and nodded his head. "Hehe. I like the sound of that."
"Well, like they say: size isn't everything," Duncan added with a wink. "The way you wield your weapon is just as important as its length."
Crow pointed both his fingers at Duncan and winked back. "Aaayyy."
Morgan gagged in response. 'Men…'
After looking at some of Duncan's wares a little more, Morgan and Crow left the store.
"That reminds me…" Morgan said. "You handled yourself pretty well yesterday despite being a long-ranged fighter. Do you have any experience with swords?"
"Mostly just on the receiving end. You fight against one sword user in Class VII, you basically know what to do against the rest of them. Plus, I got my ass handed to me by Friedel once during inter-class training exercises last year."
Morgan remembered the captain of the fencing club. If she was as tough as Laura described her to be, then… Yikes. Anyone would learn how to be careful around swords after that.
"But that still didn't really answer my question. I was asking if you used a sword before."
"Sure I have." Crow's voice suddenly dropped an octave. "I don't follow a style or anything, but I'd consider myself an expert."
"Really?" Morgan blinked. "That's...surprising."
"Well, you know what they say: while you guys were in Erebonia, I studied the blade in Jurai. Specifically, this one." Crow reached into his pocket and pulled out his deck of Blade cards.
It took a short while for Morgan to connect two and two together, but once she did, she groaned loudly. "You've GOT to be kidding."
Crow broke into a fit of laughter, clearly amused by her reactions. "Haha! Slow on the uptake, aren't we?"
"So all that talk about swords… It was just a setup for a bad joke?!"
"Well, it worked, didn't it? Come on, you really thought that a guy like me would want to pick a basic-ass sword over these babies?" Crow swished his jacket and pulled out his orbal guns from their holsters. "I guess you don't know me as well as you thought."
"That's because… But I thought… Urgh…" Morgan felt frustrated. "Why are you always like this…"
"Looks like that's another win for the trickster, eh?" Crow snickered as he put away his guns. "Come on, Morgs. We've known each other for five months now. You should have me figured out by now."
"I really should…" Morgan sighed.
"Well, don't let it get to your head, Morgs. Just let it go and try again next time." Crow reached over and patted her on the head. "You'll get it eventually, trust me."
Crow began to walk forward to explore another part of Legram, but right as his hand left Morgan's head behind…
"I'm not sure I can…"
The second-year student blinked and turned around. "Huh?"
Morgan spoke in a louder voice, "I'm not sure I can trust you with the way you're acting now. Not if you keep misleading me like that."
"That's just how I roll, Morgs."
"Not all the time. The way you talked earlier? You only sound like that when you're serious about being committed. When you're being honest." Morgan cradled her arms together. "Like when you tried to help me last night…"
"Oh, that? You know Rean asked me to do that, right?"
"That doesn't matter. You would've done it even if he didn't ask. Remember the old schoolhouse?"
"You're giving me too much credit. I'm not that altruistic."
"Then what are you?" Morgan finally turned around and faced him. "You're always telling us to let our guards down and relax, but it never feels like you're doing the same. For all the times you act as the mood-maker, you're always quick to brush us off to keep us from getting too close, especially when it's about yourself. We didn't even know where you came from until I talked to you yesterday. Why do you keep up the tricks, Crow? What's stopping you from being more honest with yourself? And the rest of us?"
Crow looked taken aback at Morgan's sudden outburst. And on the inside, Morgan was feeling just as surprised at how freely the words were flowing out of her mouth. Something in her head just clicked, and suddenly all her emotions came loose like a broken dam.
"What am I even saying…" Morgan shook her head. "You know what? Just forget it. I need to cool off. Do whatever you want in the meantime."
"Hey, Morgs…"
"Don't. Call me. Morgs!"
Morgan dashed past him before he could say anything else. She was so flustered with herself, she wouldn't even dare to look at his face.
"...And that's the last one!"
"Great work, Emma. You can go take a break now. I'll call you over if I need anything else."
Emma nodded at the innkeeper and took a seat at one of the vacant tables. She took a long breath as she looked at the rest of the tables, all of them sparkling clean and with neatly placed silverware.
'It would've been faster if I used a bit of magic…' Emma mused in her head. 'But doing things the hard way is rewarding in its own right.'
She then heard the sound of the front door to the inn opening. Being the closest person to the entrance, Emma stood up and turned around, donning her most professional smile. "Welcome! How can I…?"
Her voice drifted off. The person who had just entered the building was a familiar face.
"Morgan! This is a surprise."
"Hey, Emma. Sorry to bother you while you're on duty."
"No worries! You're not bothering me at all. Are you doing your rounds?"
"Not really…" Morgan then proceeded to explain what she was investigating on her end.
"A box of board games?" Emma wondered. "Hm, I'm not sure. The inn already has some tabletop games for guests to play."
"I see. Guess I'll have to ask around…" Morgan sighed.
"That was a pretty big sigh," Emma noted. "Do you want to take a short break while you're here?"
"No, I'll be fine. I've faced worse. Thanks for offering though."
Morgan gave a reassuring smile, but Emma had a feeling that there was something else at play. She knew it wasn't her place to pry, but as her friend, Emma felt more inclined to help in any way she could.
"By the way, where's Crow?"
Morgan's composure faltered for a moment, though she regained it not long after. "What about him?"
"I just thought that the two of you would be together is all."
"Wh-What's that supposed to mean?!" Morgan shouted, her cheeks flushing.
"Uh, n-no!" Emma waved both her hands, her face also feeling hot. "I didn't mean it like that! It's not like I was implying the two of you were joined at the hip or anything! No, wait…"
Both girls were left in a stuttering mess trying to pick up the broken pieces of their conversation. Eventually, one of the employees told them not to block the entrance for the guests, and the two students sat down at the table Emma had been occupying. The same employee also gave them some beverages free of charge.
"Crow and I did go with each other for a bit, but we sort of...split up for now."
"Did the two of you have a fight?"
"I don't know if I'd say that…" said Morgan. "He's just been getting...difficult to wrap my head around. Every time I think I have a read on what sort of guy he is, he ends up misdirecting me when I least expect it. Eventually, I just sort of said what was on my mind in the heat of the moment, and…"
Morgan proceeded to recount what happened between her and Crow, but somewhere down the line, it began to devolve into a recollection of all her past experiences with him since the beginning of the school year. There were a variety of emotions on display, some positive and some negative, and the more Emma listened, the more she realized that Morgan was a lot more attentive towards Crow than her attitude would otherwise suggest. The details ranged from a slight drop in vocal tone indicating a switch to a more serious attitude to the number of times he blinked at a girl he was hitting on indicating how serious he was in actually going through with it.
"...And don't get me started on how much he likes to show off in combat! The way he twirls around his guns before he takes aim is just begging to be a sitting duck in live combat. And he does this routinely! Like, just because you can shoot those things and catch Fie of all people off guard whenever you want doesn't mean that you have an excuse to look like a chum the other ninety-five percent of the time!"
"Okay, I think I get the general picture…" Emma finally said. "You should probably keep it down, though."
"R-Right. Sorry." Morgan self-consciously took a few deep breaths. "Good tacticians have nothing to fear, good tacticians have nothing to fear…"
Emma let out a small giggle. "You know what, Morgan? The way you were able to speak your mind just now was amazing."
"Yeah, yeah. Go ahead and laugh. See if I care."
"I was being serious. Being able to speak your mind is something that a lot of people take for granted. After all…" Emma's expression turned somber. "When you're someone who has to keep her true self hidden from others all the time, there's a sort of distance that forms between yourself and others. Even if you try and pretend it's not there, it makes you feel that your interactions with others are...incomplete. Like you're taking more than you give."
Morgan nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I remember that feeling. It was like walking on eggshells. Both for my past with Princess Alfin as well as my skills. Anytime someone would be close to finding out who I really was, I'd panic and either try to equivocate or redirect the conversation."
"Hmm…"
"Is something wrong, Emma?"
"I could be thinking too hard about it, but…" Emma made a thinking motion. "Doesn't that describe what Crow's been doing with you?"
"What, him? There's no way that-"
Morgan stopped. Now that she was looking back in hindsight with a clear head, Emma did have a point. The way he would give small hints and teases at his true self but backing out at the last moment… It wasn't too dissimilar to how she used to evade talking about her past.
"Do you think that…Crow is also…?"
"I'm not sure. Admittedly, I don't know him well enough to say." Emma then smiled. "But I think if there's anyone who can get down to the bottom of it, it's you."
"But what if my intuition's wrong? What if it turns out that I didn't know him as well as I thought? Wouldn't I just make myself look stupid?"
The bespectacled girl hummed to herself. "I think you're looking at it the wrong way."
"How so?"
"Well, this is just speaking from my opinion…" Emma began. "But I think it's BECAUSE you know someone really well that you're able to express your honest thoughts about them. You take care in measuring all of our capabilities so we can realize our potential in combat, and because of that, you're able to tell us what we need to do in order to improve. It doesn't just stop with fighting, though; you're able to connect with people better because you tell us what we need to hear at the right time. It's how you were able to connect with Fie months ago, and it's how we were able to bond earlier today, right?"
"Right…"
"So you should keep trusting that gut instinct of yours. If the past few months have led us to believe anything, it's that that feeling has yet to fail us in a pinch. And if it turns out that you are indeed wrong, then all you can do is take a step back, look at the facts, and try to salvage something from that."
"Mmm…" Morgan let that advice sink in. She took another sip of her drink to calm herself, and she looked back on her interactions with her upperclassman with a more objective perspective. And after looking at the facts, she plotted her next course of action.
"…Thanks, Emma. Heh, now you're telling me what I want to hear."
"I just took a page out of your book is all."
The two teens shared a giggle.
"Right. I should probably leave now. Wouldn't want to get in your way."
"Okay. I'll see you after my shift's over." As Morgan stood up from the table, Emma added, "And good luck, Morgan!"
"I don't know what you're talking about!" Morgan yelled back as she ran out of the inn.
"Oh, the silver-haired teenager? The last I saw, he was playing with the children. I believe they were headed towards the Bracer Guild building."
"Guild building. Got it. Thank you!" Morgan bid farewell to the fisherman and walked back up the pier.
"This really is a nice place," she muttered as she looked back at the view of Lake Ebel from the pier. "We've been going all over the place so much that I never really let it sink in until now."
After taking a deep breath to fill her lungs with that fresh lakebed air, she returned to town.
"So the bird decided to return to his coop. What for, I wonder?" Morgan made her way to the Bracer Guild building and opened the front door. "I'm back…"
"Eins!" Crow's voice shouted. "Just one card away from victory!"
He and three other boys were seated at one of the tables in the guildhouse. Some of the other children that Morgan had seen wandering around town were standing around the table as spectators.
"Oh no!" a boy cried. "Quick! Someone change the color!"
"I got this!" The boy next to him put down a card face-up in the center pile. It was colored black and had a circular roulette in the center. "There! The color is now red!"
"Ooh… Sorry, Nico! This is the only one I have!" He put down a red card with a picture of two cards on it. "Draw Two!"
"That's alright, Julian! Because…" The boy named Nico put down one of his cards, leaving one card left in his hands. This card had the same picture as before, except it was colored green. "Eins! I also have a Draw Two!"
"Aw, are you serious?!" Crow complained. He begrudgingly reached over to a separate pile that had its cards faced down and drew four cards from the top.
"Having some trouble there?" Morgan finally spoke up.
Crow looked up from his hand. "Yo! Right on time! They're ganging up on me!"
"Which game is this one?"
"It's Eins! The goal is to put down all of your cards. First one to have no cards wins!"
"Why are all the kids here, anyways?" Morgan unconsciously cast a suspicious look at Crow. "You're not...gambling with them again, are you?"
"Why'd I have a feeling that'd be your first thought?" the silver-haired student quipped. "Nah. I don't even have my stash on me. This is just for Sunday Game Day."
"That's a thing?"
"Yup! Sunday's the best day of the week!" the boy named Julian cheered. He put down a red card with the number '1' on it.
"Yes! That's just what I need!" Nico triumphantly placed his last card in the pile, a green card also with the number '1' on it.
"Aww!" the other players complained.
Morgan hummed to herself. "So you can change the color if you have a card with the corresponding symbol."
"Pretty much," Crow responded. "Oh, and here. You wanted to see this, right?"
Crow handed Morgan the note that he had confiscated from the box.
"For Sunday Game Day with the kids," Morgan read. She could only assume that the handwriting was Toval's. "So then, the reason you went outside was to…?"
Crow shrugged his shoulders. "Figured we could knock out two birds with one stone. I get to go outside for a change, the kids get their weekly fix, everyone gets to have a grand old time! It's a win for everyone!"
"I can't deny that…" Morgan was briefly taken aback by Crow's craftiness. Sure, the approach wasn't as clear-cut as she would have liked, but at the end of the day, everything all worked out, right?
Except…
"You could've just led with that. If you had just told me from the beginning, I would've gone with you willingly, no problem."
"Yeah, well, this isn't exactly an official guild request, is it?" Crow countered. "With how serious you were in getting work done, did you really have time to do something like this?"
"Maybe I'll admit that that walk helped me to relax a little bit…" Morgan conceded. "But you don't need to baby me that much. As long as it's within the scope of our field study, Class VII will accomplish any task. And because we're filling in for Toval, that also means doing whatever duties he had planned for today, Sunday Game Day included."
"Heh." Crow smirked. "Still gotta be by-the-books, don't you?"
"Hey, I was running around the Vermillion Capital for a year having to take care of requests. Do you really think I wouldn't make an exception for something as little as hosting a game day?" Morgan put her hands on her hips and turned her nose upwards. "Frankly, it seems that you don't know me as well as you thought."
Crow arched an eyebrow when he heard that last sentence. "Oho? Now where've I heard that before?"
"Yes, I haven't forgotten about that," Morgan admitted. Thinking about their conversation from earlier made her cheeks warm up a little. "Listen, I…"
"Whoa. Hold up." Crow held up his hand. "It's fine. You can spare me the heartbreak."
"But I… Wait, heartbreak?"
"Well, yeah. In the past, that expression has a tendency of preceding a big confession and then a rejection."
"Y-You can't be serious…"
"Yeah, yeah. I know. You're not the first girl to fall-"
"No, I mean, you've received confessions before?!" Morgan gasped loudly.
"Come on! Is it really that hard to believe?"
The shocked expression on Crow's face had Morgan trying (and failing) to keep a straight face. "Well… Yes?"
Crow didn't look nearly as amused as he did before. "Ouch. I'll have you know, my personality is popular with the ladies."
"Oh, yes. Your 'personality'. And by that, we mean the one where you act like a goofball and then attract other people's attention the moment you break character." Morgan put a finger to her lip. "Just how many hearts have you broken with that trick of yours?"
"What can I say? All's fair in love and war, and psychological warfare takes the best of both worlds. If it ain't broke, don't fix it, am I right?"
"Psychological warfare…" Morgan muttered to herself.
Off to the side, the children were getting riled up again. The first Eins of the game had been played.
"Wanna give it a shot? Next one's gonna be the last one."
Morgan thought about it for a moment. "You know what? Sure. Why not?"
"Now there's the Morgan I remember!"
Morgan had to do a double take after hearing Crow call her by her full name and not the nickname he had coined for her. By the time she realized it, though, Crow had already moved over to the table to get in on the action.
…
"Eins!" Morgan put down her second-to-last card, which was a black card. She now had the choice of choosing between either one of the four main colors. "I choose...yellow!"
"Yellow? That means her last card's gotta be yellow, right?"
"Who's got another wild card?"
"Hey!" Morgan complained. "No team-ups allowed!"
"Must be nice to have that sort of luxury, huh?" Crow quipped.
"It does! Thanks for asking. How are you handling those twelve cards of yours?"
"Well, you know. My hand was getting pretty empty anyways…"
Crow narrowed his eyes at the absurdly large collection of cards in his hand. He had been close to winning until a series of Draw Two cards went around the table and unfortunately ended at him. As a result, his number of cards went from two to twelve in a single turn.
"I don't have a Wild, so I'll put down a 5!"
"Ooh! Nice! I'll change the color to green with another 5!"
"My turn now…" Crow put down a green card with two arrows pointing in opposite directions. "Reverse! Now we're going in the opposite direction. Sorry, Morgan, but you're gonna have to wait."
Morgan shrugged. "That's fine."
"I'll put down a 9!"
"And I'll put down a Skip!" The boy to Morgan's left put down a card with a picture of a circle with a slash going through it. "Back to you, Crow!"
"Got another Skip!" Crow put down a red card with the same symbol on it. Morgan's eyes lit up.
"And...0!"
Finally, it was Morgan's turn. "Red, huh?"
"It's not yellow, that's for sure," said Crow."
Morgan giggled in response. "Teehee! You're right! It isn't. Such a shame…"
Crow gulped. "I don't like the sound of that."
Morgan grinned at him and said, "Checkmate." She put down her final card: a red number 7.
Everyone was understandably befuddled. "Whaaaaat?!"
"And that's a wrap for this week!" said Morgan. "Thanks for coming, everybody! Sunday Game Day is officially over!"
She, Crow, and the children all helped to clean up all the games and put them back in the box. The children then left the building, leaving Crow and Morgan alone with each other.
"Okay, what the hell was that last move?!" Crow finally spoke up. "Don't tell me...you were bluffing that entire time?"
"Mhmm!" Morgan winked at him. "Thanks for turning the color to red~"
"Oh, you sneaky little…!"
"Hahaha!" Morgan laughed. "What do you think? All's fair in psychological warfare...or something!"
Crow sighed. "Alright, you got me that time. Damn. Forgot how scary chicks can get when they want to."
Morgan put her hands behind her back. "Hey, Crow…"
Before she could say another word, the door to the guild building opened once more. Morgan pouted for a second before returning her expression to neutral so she could face the newcomers. But where she expected to find one or more of her classmates, she instead found two of the children who had just left the building a few ago.
"Um, hey, you guys?" one of them asked. "Are you still open?"
"You two were Julian and Karno, right?" Morgan remembered. "Did you forget something?"
"No, we didn't," the one named Karno said. "We were just wondering about something we overheard from earlier…"
The one named Julian then held up his hand. "You said that your class will accomplish anything if it's related to your field study, right?"
"That's right…"
"And since you're filling in for Toval, that means you have to do bracer-related things, right?"
"That's also right…"
Julian and Karno grinned at each other before the former continued. "We want to submit a request to the guild."
"You two?" Morgan was puzzled. What could be so important that two children would come to the Bracer Guild as opposed to asking one of the adults around town? Or maybe she was just overthinking things. These were just children, after all.
Regardless, it would be remiss of them to turn the boys away as replacement bracers, so Morgan leaned down to their eye level and said, "Okay. We're listening…"
"So the thing is…" said Karno. "We want to go to Lohengrin Castle."
"The castle on the other side of the lake?" Crow raised an eyebrow. "Isn't it dangerous for kids to go there all on their own?
"Yeah…" Julian admitted. "But that's why we're enlisting your guys' help! We want you to be our escorts!"
"Hehhh…" Crow looked like he was half-intrigued, half-amused. "An escort mission, huh? So what's the occasion? I'm guessing we aren't going there just to collect rocks."
"We're just doing our duties as Junior Eisenritter!"
Morgan had to bite back the urge to snort. "J-Junior Eisenritter?"
"Huh. Wasn't aware that was a thing."
"That's cause Julian and I formed it while Laura was away!"
"Yeah! We live to serve St. Sandlot! And in order to do that, we need to make sure her stronghold is safe and secure!"
"I'm guessing that makes Laura their St. Sandlot," Crow whispered to Morgan.
"Sure looks like it," Morgan responded. "Let's just hear what they have to say first."
The two boys proceeded to explain their request in full. Supposedly, there was an old story that told that on certain nights, Lohengrin Castle would emit an ethereal glow and the sounds of a bell ringing could be heard coming from the castle's bell tower. Whenever the sound of the bell was heard, it meant that there would be fog the following morning. Julian and Karno were curious to see if the old legend was true, and so they decided to stay up late one night to see if the castle would glow. To their surprise, the castle did seem to have a faint light surrounding it, and while the children weren't close enough to hear the sound of a bell ringing, the following morning, a blanket of fog had covered the town, just like the story said. The other children, however, didn't believe them; after all, access to the bell tower had been sealed off some time ago, so who could be ringing it? Thus, the Junior Eisenritter's next course of action was to go to the castle directly and find proof that there was indeed something going on inside of the castle. Naturally, this idea was shot down by their parents, and with Viscount Arseid out of town, that only left the Bracer Guild as their only means of help.
"Normally, I'd chalk that up to some sort of old myth, but…" Morgan put a finger to her chin. "Legram's all about the myths and legends right? There could be some truth to it after all."
"You mean you believe us?!" Karno exclaimed in delight.
Truth be told, Morgan still had some cautious skepticism about the whole thing, but given what she knew about witches and magic, the whole legend about the castle and its connection with the fog sounded very suspicious. Plus, it wasn't like she was any stranger to castles.
She turned to her upperclassman. "What do you think, Crow?"
"Sounds like a fun time! Let's do it!"
"Not even a moment's hesitation…" Morgan sighed. "We don't even know what's in there. It could be dangerous."
"Bah, it's just an abandoned castle! And Toval wrote down that he's done regular maintenance in the past, so there's no monsters there! It'll be fine!"
"Well…" Morgan looked to the side. "It's not that I'm against it personally. Honestly, we can treat this as a good excuse to get a better look at Lohengrin Castle."
Crow nodded in approval. "Right? Now you're starting to think like me!"
"Don't get used to it. It's just that…" Morgan looked at the giant map on the wall. The pins representing their classmates hadn't moved since the afternoon. "I'd like it if everyone else were with us. The chance is too good to pass up, not to mention Laura probably has a better lay of the land than any of us. Do you think you two can wait until we're all here?"
The boys started to fidget a little. "Well, um… You see…"
"We're not allowed to go out after sundown."
"That's…" Morgan looked at the clock that was hanging on one of the walls of the building. "Coming up soon. I'm not sure how much ground we'll be able to cover in one sitting."
"We also need to file today's reports for Toval, so it's safe to say we'll be tied up for the rest of the evening," Crow added. "We'll be gone by tomorrow morning, and there's no telling when Toval will be back, so that means the only time to do this is…"
"...Right now."
Morgan looked at Crow, then at the two boys. Each of them cast expectant, pleading gazes towards her. All of the cards were basically aligned perfectly so that this expedition could occur at this moment. Surely she wouldn't cave in to such a childish and reckless request, would she?
"...Now remember, everyone! We're only staying here for an hour! Stay where we can see you, and if anything dangerous happens, we're leaving immediately. Are we clear?"
"Okaaay!" Julian and Karno wasted no time in rushing headlong into the castle and running around the entrance hall.
Crow grinned devilishly at Morgan. "You caved."
"Yes. I caved."
"Never would've figured that you could buckle under peer pressure."
Morgan looked at the faces of their two escorts. They were thrilled. Excited. Happy.
"They reminded me of Princess Alfin and Prince Cedric," she said softly. "Children don't always get to go on adventures, and it hurts even more when an entirely different world is just out of your reach. Sometimes you just have to take that chance, Crow."
"Ah…" Crow nodded. "Well, when you put it that way, guess I can't argue."
As expected of the former stronghold of the St. Sandlot and the Eisenritter, Lohengrin Castle was massive. The entrance hall alone was a testament to that, reminding Morgan of the kind she would see at Karel Imperial Villa or Valflame Palace. It was symmetrical, with a central staircase leading up to the second floor and dividing part way through to separate the left and right wings. There were also small pillars built around the main walkway and some suits of armor placed on display around the hall. According to the layout that they were given, the right wing was the one that led up to the top floor, so the group made their way up the central staircase, turned right, and reached the end of the walkway on the right side. Upon pushing the entrance to the right wing open, the group was met with a twisting staircase that seemed to go as far up as the eye could see. With no other way to go but up, the group began their trek up the flights of stairs.
"You know…" Crow said. "I don't think I've ever heard you call me 'Trickster' ever since this morning."
"Oh? Don't tell me you miss it already, do you?"
"About as much as you do with 'Morgs', I'll bet."
"I don't miss it at all, thank you very much!"
"How come you dislike it that much? Or is it just a problem with me?"
"It's not a problem with you…" Morgan looked away. "It's just...complicated."
"Complicated...how?"
Morgan breathed in. "Whenever I hear that nickname, it reminds me of someone I used to know. Someone else who used to call me Morgs."
"Really? Huh. What are the odds…"
"Yes. Morgs is a really common nickname, apparently."
"Hmm…" Crow leaned into Morgan's field of vision. "So this someone… He your boyfriend?"
"Wh-Why'd you have to go and assume that right off the bat?!"
"Then your girlfriend?"
"That's even more off the mark than before!" Morgan crossed her arms and pouted. "They're not here in Zemuria. They're from my past."
"I thought you didn't remember your past."
"I remember some parts! This just happened to be one of them."
"Well, then that's all the more reason for me to keep calling you that, right?"
Morgan tilted her head. "What do you mean?"
"You want to remember more about your past," Crow reasoned. "If I keep calling you Morgs, then maybe that might help trigger something in your memories. Better than doing nothing, right?"
"I guess you have a point…" She couldn't deny the logic in his proposition. After thinking it over, however, Morgan shook her head. "But no. That's not how I want to do it."
"Why you gotta be so stubborn now?" Crow asked, a bit exasperated.
"Hey! What are you two talking about back there?" Julian called from ahead of them.
"J-Just some small things!" Morgan called back. "Come on. Let's pick up the pace."
"Sure, sure."
The two students rushed to catch up to the children. Eventually, they reached the top of the staircase, and after taking a moment to catch their breath, they proceeded further into the castle. After passing through a corridor that connected to the left wing of the castle, they stopped at a room with another staircase that led further up.
"Let's take a short break here," Morgan advised. "We've gone pretty high up."
"Not much longer till we reach the top, huh?" Crow remarked. "Might as well be as good a time as any to finish up that discussion from earlier."
"Right…" Morgan sat down with her back touching a wall. Crow sat down beside her. Julian and Karno, however, were still filled with energy and continued running around without a care in the world.
"You and my old friend have a few similarities," Morgan said. "Actually, more than a few. You both like to talk and hang out with others, you both like to lighten up the mood and get people to open up so you can help them better, and you both have a propensity to flirt with women."
"Wow. You sure you're not describing me?"
"I'm positive. It's the same thing with my mother and Laura. They share so many similarities. But that's just it." Morgan shook her head. "They're similar, but not completely the same."
"And what's wrong with that?" Crow asked. "You get to stick around with a crowd you're familiar with."
"Maybe. But if I got closer to people because of that, then all my reasons for being friends with the rest of the class would just feel shallow. I'd only ever look at what they are on the surface without seeing all the little things that set them apart from the rest. That was the decision I made for myself back when I decided to come to Thors: I won't let my previous life dictate how I live my current life in Zemuria. If I did, I'd be doing everyone I've met up to this point a huge disservice."
She looked at her upperclassman. "You're your own person, too, Crow. That's why I want to get to know you better. Who you really are under the tricks."
Crow hummed to himself. "And how come you're so sure that there's more to yours truly than meets the eye?"
Morgan put a hand on her chest. "Because I used to act the same way that you did not too long ago. As much as I wanted to make friends and enjoy a normal school life, I still had to keep my past and my skills a secret in case someone wanted to take advantage of me. I had to continuously dodge questions about my past, tell white lies, change the discussion at the last minute, do whatever it took to not draw suspicion to myself.
"You, on the other hand, take a different approach. You try to lower people's expectations right from the start with your playing hooky and gambling habits. You're deliberately not giving others a chance to get to know you on account of your behavior, and even if you manage to gain some acquaintances that way, they're not close enough that you're comfortable with sharing secrets with them. Towa, Angelica, and George are the exceptions, but even then, the only reason those three got so close anyway was because you were forced to by Instructor Sara."
Crow rubbed the back of his head. "Gelica told you about that, huh?"
"You were even more of a lone wolf back then, according to her. And it took a fistfight to get you to cooperate."
"Sums it up, pretty much." He rubbed his cheek. "I can still feel that right hook to this day…"
Morgan giggled. "That just proves that there are people who genuinely want to get to know you. Although, the one area I'm still trying to figure out is why you would go to such lengths in the first place. You're keeping all your cards close to yourself, so what are you waiting to use them for?"
Crow let out a small chuckle.
"Funny?"
"No, no." He half-grinned at her. "That's not too far from the truth actually."
"So then…?"
"Tell you what, Morgs. Why don't we play a little game? Just between the two of us?" Crow snapped his fingers so that he was now aiming a finger gun at Morgan. "Starting now."
"A game?" That proposition came out of nowhere. Morgan wasn't sure what to expect, but she had a feeling that any sort of game that involved Crow usually implied disastrous consequences for the losing party, if Rean losing fifty mira was of any indication.
Crow was now grinning in full. "Let's say I give you the benefit of the doubt and that I am, in fact, hiding something. What do you think is my deep, dark secret? If you can correctly guess what it is before I graduate, I'll do any one thing you ask me. But be careful! If you guess wrong…" He winked flirtatiously. "Well, let's just say you owe me a special favor~"
Judging from the angle of his grin and the way he winked at her, Morgan guessed that he probably wasn't thinking of anything good. Whether he was actually serious about it or was just saying that to mess with her was anybody's guess; knowing Crow, she could have made a strong argument for either option.
She briefly weighed the risk versus reward ratio in her mind. Putting aside the (potentially) terrible outcomes that could await her if she failed, the odds did not look well in her favor. If she ever wanted to have a fighting chance against him, she would have to really dig deep into Crow's background, and knowing him, he probably made sure to cover up the tracks as much as he could already. For all intents and purposes, he was basically toying with her at this point. If she accepted, she would just be playing straight into his hands. But if she refused…
Morgan swallowed. If she backed down now, she would just be going back on all the brave things she had said beforehand. Crow knew this as well, hence why he posed the question. Suddenly, it felt less like he was toying with her for fun's sake and more like he was testing her. When she focused on that outcome, the conclusion was obvious. After all, Morgan Daraen was amazing at taking tests. She would figure something out, even if the odds were stacked against her. That was what her father would do, right?
"…Alright then," she said defiantly. "I'll agree to those terms."
"Attagirl!" Crow slapped her on the shoulder. "Nice to see you haven't lost that spunk of yours."
"Just don't start complaining when I win."
"Don't you mean IF you win?"
"I didn't stutter."
Morgan smirked at Crow, who wordlessly responded with one of his own. The two of them remained like that for a moment. Despite him looking down on her, she was staring back with twice as much intent.
But all good things had to come to an end, and their moment was interrupted by a young voice calling out, "Ow!"
Crow and Morgan broke eye contact and looked across the room. Karno had tripped and was now seated on the ground, clutching his knee.
"Hey, you okay?" Crow asked as he ran over to the boy.
"I just fell down is all!" Karno responded. "Don't worry!"
"Let me see that." Crow moved the boy's hand down to reveal a bruise on his kneecap. "That's a pretty noticeable bruise. We should get that looked at ASAP."
"Don't worry, Crow! It's just a small bruise!"
"Hey, don't go pushing your luck in these parts," the silver-haired teen warned. "The dust in here is fine. Even with orbal technology, we don't want to risk an infection."
"I think I'll have to side with Crow on this one," Morgan agreed. "It's a bit early, but I think we should go back down."
"And after we've come so far…" Julian whined.
"Knowing when to quit is just as important as making it to the end," Morgan consoled him. "It's the guild's responsibility to see each request through to the letter, but it's also our responsibility to take care of the clients. You wouldn't want your fellow Eisenritter to fall ill, would you?"
"Okay…"
"I'm sorry, everyone."
"Better safe than sorry, I always say. Here!" Crow leaned down with his back turned towards Karno. "I'll give you a boost!"
"Ooh! Cool!" Karno's excitement returned to its original level as he clung onto Crow's back. The boy's eyes were practically twinkling as Crow stood up and hoisted him up on his shoulders. "Haha! You're all so small from up here!"
"I wanna try too!" Julian looked towards Morgan.
"Ohhh no!" Morgan waved her hands frantically. "I don't think I'm big enough to carry you all the way down those stairs."
Crow smirked. "Yeah. Definitely not big enough."
"Hey!"
"Why's she getting angry all of a sudden?" Karno asked innocently.
Crow chuckled in response. "You'll understand when you get older, kid."
"...Hey, did we close the doors when we came in?"
"I don't think we did."
"So then why are they closed now?"
"What's so weird about it? The wind could've closed it."
"But they're so huge!"
As Morgan, Julian, and Karno debated over how the castle doors closed without them knowing, Crow remained silent, his bangs covering his eyes.
"You know…" Crow said. "It could be that there are ghosts haunting the castle."
"G-G-G-Ghosts?" Karno stammered.
"There's no such thing as ghosts!" Julian exclaimed.
"What, you guys don't know?" Crow's mouth crept into a grin. "The spirit of the Lance Maiden haunts Lohengrin Castle to this very day, punishing anyone who dares to trespass her stronghold! And right now, we've already walked directly into her trap!"
"Y-Y-You just made that up!"
"Really? Even though she's…" Crow pointed his index finger at Julian. "Right behind you?"
Julian screamed and turned around, but instead of a ghost, there was only Morgan looking in the opposite direction. He then turned back and yelled, "Hey!"
Crow laughed. "Haha! Works every time. Don't worry. I'm just joshing with you. There's no way the Junior Eisenritter would be scared of a few ghosts, right?"
"Of course not!" both boys shouted.
Unconvinced by the children's show of bravado, Crow turned his attention towards his classmate. "What about you, Morgs? You scared of ghosts?"
Morgan didn't respond immediately. She had been looking back at the way they came. "Is it just me, or does the air in here somehow feel…different?" she eventually said.
"Different how?"
"I don't know. I can't explain it."
"It's probably just you. Come on. Think you can take that side?"
Morgan complied with Crow's request and walked over to the left door. Meanwhile, Crow stood by the right door. But right as they were about to begin pushing…
*RING* *RING*
The quietness was shattered by the sudden ringing of a bell.
"Was that the castle bell?"
"But who's ringing it? We didn't see anyone else, right?"
"Maybe there really are ghosts?!"
"Th-There's no such thing as ghosts!"
Morgan felt a cold chill run up her spine, the same one, she realized, that would always come up whenever her curse activated. But whereas it was usually formless, this time she felt that there was an additional meaning to it. Like there was something inside her that sensed that she was in danger. Right now, all of her instincts were telling her to run.
"Crow! Get the door open now!"
"On it!" He began pressing his weight against the right door. "Damn! Why's it always gotta be the old doors?"
Morgan tried pushing the left door. For some odd reason, the doors had a far greater resistance now than they did when she and Crow first opened them.
'If that's the case…'
Morgan took a deep breath and called upon her power. Feeling a warmth from within, she began pushing the left door again. Her plan was to use her magical energy to give her some added strength.
"Wh-Whoa!"
"Did she just set herself on fire?!"
Morgan paid the boys' reactions no mind and continued pushing. Slowly but surely, the door was beginning to give way.
"Just a little...more…!"
A taller figure stood behind her and placed its hands next to hers.
"Crow?"
"Keep going. I got your back," he spoke reassuringly.
"Crow…" With her upperclassman's support, Morgan felt a peculiar resurgence in her energy. She began channeling all of her magic towards her hands. "Come on! Open!"
Finally, their efforts bore fruit. The left door swung open.
"Nice going!" Crow called out. "Alright, Julian! Karno! Let's get out of here!"
"Right!" "Y-Yeah!"
But the castle had other plans for them. All of sudden, both the entrances to the left and right wings were covered by strange glowing circles, barring entry into either of them. A pale haze then began to envelop the room, descending from above like a blanket. The air in the entrance hall began to grow thicker, and the temperature seemed to drop several degrees.
"Wh-What the heck?!" Karno coughed. "What's going on?"
Morgan heard a strange sound coming from above them. She looked up and gasped. The same glowing circle was now hovering in front of the castle doors. Furthermore, there were traces of glowing chains trying to cover the entrances.
"Oh no, it's trying to lock us in!" she realized. Hurriedly, Morgan pressed her weight against the left door, with Crow following suit. As she had suspected, the door was trying to close on its own volition. Had she not already been using Ignis to bolster her own strength, the door would have closed then and there.
"Keep going!" she shouted to Julian and Karno. "Don't look back!"
"O-Okay!" Julian, while thoroughly spooked, took Karno's hand and led him past Morgan and Crow.
"Crow, you go, too!"
"No way! Ladies go first!"
"This is NOT the time! I'm the one who's doing most of the pushing here anyways!"
"Do you really have to sound so proud of that?"
Their bickering came to a halt when a clanking sound came from behind them. Turning their heads around, Morgan and Crow widened their eyes at the sight of one of the suits of armor removing itself from its display.
"I thought you said you were kidding about ghosts!"
"I was!"
The suit of armor noticed them and slowly began moving towards them.
"Crow, we don't have much time," Morgan spoke. "Just go outside and hold it from the other side. I'll catch up with you later."
Crow looked back at the suit of armor that was still advancing towards them and then back at Morgan. Eventually, he nodded his head and stepped outside, keeping one hand on the door.
"Okay. I'm out. Now come on-" Crow stopped mid-sentence. "Morgs…?"
His reaction was justified, as Morgan had already stepped away from the door. Her hands were holding her orbment and weapon. And she was also smiling at him.
"Try not to keep a lady waiting," she said while winking.
"Wait, Morgan!" Crow tried his best to keep the door open, but it was a losing battle. Without Morgan to push it from the other side, it had an easier time closing on its own.
"Don't make me say it twice!" Morgan held her orbment in front of her and channeled her magic into it. "Wind!"
A small gust of wind blew from her orbment. Though it wasn't strong enough to deal damage, it was enough to blow Crow away from the door and knock him flat on the ground. The door sealed shut and the glowing circle reappeared, signifying that the entrance was blocked off.
"That's right. No looking back."
Morgan took a deep breath. She could feel that her Ignis was on the verge of running out, but she still gripped her orbment tightly. She was NOT going to fall here.
"Now then…"
She turned around to face the suit of armor. It was currently unarmed, but Morgan surmised that that didn't make it any less formidable in combat.
"Watch over me, Father."
Morgan poured the rest of her magic into her orbment. She hoped that if the spirit of St. Sandlot did haunt the castle, she would forgive her for starting a fire within her stronghold.
She raised her orbment above her head, poised to cast her spell. "Elfire!"