"Yeowch! Stop it!"
"I'll stop when you stop being an idiot."
"Ow! Ow! Ow!" Rean howled as Fie continued to yank on him, "You're gonna rip my ear off!" The swordsman turned a panicked look towards the last member of their group... "Save me! She's a demon- Owww!" ...But was forced to look away when Fie gave a particularly strong tug.
For her part, Laura hummed thoughtfully at his plea before coming to a decision, "Sorry, Rean. I'm afraid there is no saving you at times, especially from yourself."
Rean let out a pitiful groan, "You shouldn't listen to Instructor Sara. You both know she only said that to cause a reaction!"
Laura pondered his words while Fie temporarily halted her punishment, "So you weren't looking at Emma?"
"No!" The Ymir native protested without thinking. But if there was one thing she really liked about Rean it was that he wasn't one to lie to the people he cares about, "Well, I mean..."
His backtracking was enough for the smallest of the trio to give another deserved pull, "Ow! I mean-" This time Rean considered his words, "I guess I did, but...!" The two girls waited for him to continue, "It wasn't on purpose! My focus was on you two, I swear! It's just... It's hard to not notice the other girls as well, you know?" The swordsman cringed, obviously expecting more punishment for those final words.
Fie let out a sigh, "Well, at least he's honest. And it isn't like I haven't checked out Alisa or Emma too..." She let go of his ear... "But do better next time!" ...Instead giving him a sharp poke to the side.
"R-Right. I will." He muttered while rubbing the spot she poked him, "So are we good now?"
"Hmm... I suppose so." Laura's words caused him to let out a sigh of relief, but she wasn't finished yet, "But I am more disappointed that you picked a fight against Class I without us. I would have very much enjoyed crossing blades with them."
"Wanted to fight Instructor Beatrix, too. Plus I still owe Patrick for that 'jaeger tot' comment."
Rean let out a surprised noise before taking a nervous step away from Fie, "Urk! Well... I thought it would be nice to fight alongside our friends one final time. We'll have an entire year to ourselves, right?"
Laura's glare softened, "Indeed we will. Wish I could have fought alongside them myself. Hard to believe it's almost over..."
"Yeah. I'm happy that everyone is free to do whatever they want, but-" Rean trailed off as he glanced around in confusion. Said confusion gave way to a brief trance-like state that had Laura feeling worried.
"Rean?" A worry shared by Fie as she approached the non-responsive swordsman. This time her poke held no malicious intent.
That was enough to break the swordsman from his reverie, "I... I felt something. Valimar thinks it has something to do with the Earth Veins. And it came from..."
He didn't need to finish his statement as the direction he glanced in told Laura everything she needed to know, "The Old Schoolhouse?"
Silently he nodded, causing Fie to groan tiredly, "Of course it is. Well, let's go check it out."
No more words needed to be said as the trio raced towards the abandoned building. The Old Schoolhouse had always been Class VII's responsibility, and Laura felt a particular affinity for the mysterious building – one she was sure her two companions shared. If it was acting up again then it was their responsibility to put it right.
Laura expected to see the building aglow with an azure barrier like during the festival, but to her surprise it looked exactly as it always had. She glanced towards Rean as he held the greatest talent for sensing the supernatural, but his eyes were furrowed in confusion, "I don't feel anything..." He muttered aloud, answering the unspoken question.
"Aha! There you are. Long time no see."
Laura reluctantly turned away from the building to greet the newcomer as he followed the pathway behind them, "Toval?"
"Here to meet with Sara?"
"Yup. Her and Micht." He said, answering Fie's question, "Figured I'd come see you guys too while I'm here. Heard about the deal you made with Sara. Looking forward to working with the three of you."
"As am I." Laura replied with a pleasant smile, "I hope we can be of service."
"Hah! You don't need to worry 'bout that. Getting Sara back will be a big help, but us few remaining bracers are so overworked right now. I've already got..." The laid-back bracer tilted his head thoughtfully, "...Six? Seven? A lot of requests I'm gonna send to you once your classmates graduate. Nothing from Legram yet, but I'm sure that opportunity will show up eventually."
Laura nodded gratefully and was about to thank the senior bracer- "Ah! There they are!"
Instead she and the others bore witness as their group grew even bigger with the addition of three more newcomers. Elise's presence was somewhat understandable, given how concerned she must have been about her brother, but the addition of Princess Alfin and Captain Claire was much more of a surprise.
...Although given what she knew of Princess Alfin's personality, perhaps it shouldn't have been a surprise at all. Especially as the royal terror shot her a cheeky wink while Rean was greeting his sister.
All in all it was a positive meeting, and briefly Laura forgot why they had come to the Old Schoolhouse in the first place. That changed when Celine appeared, and - after being scooped up by an ecstatic Alfin – told the group that she too had felt something off with the building, thus prompting her own investigation.
Had the cat's arrival not reminded them of their original mission, the ominous ringing of a familiar bell shortly after certainly did.
"Yep. And now it's glowing again." One didn't need eyes as sharp as Fie's to tell that the Old Schoolhouse was indeed glowing once again, just like it had been during the school festival.
As worrying as everything should have been, Laura found herself rather comfortable with the developing situation. One final trip into the Old Schoolhouse before the year's end? How fitting for Class VII.
"What in the world...?"
"It's just like the first night of the festival..."
Speaking of Class VII, Laura wasn't at all surprised to see that none of her classmates had missed the bell's ringing as all of them were now sprinting down the path towards them. Alongside them was Instructor Sara, Towa, Angelica, and George.
What little knowledge they had of the situation they freely shared with the others. While none of them – including Celine – seemed to have any idea what was going on, all of them shared in the opinion that they needed to investigate further. And while the situation was quite similar to the last time the Old Schoolhouse had done it, there was one critical difference:
There was no barrier surrounding it.
Because of this, Class VII wasn't alone as they entered the place. That Elise and Princess Alfin wanted to join them was a little worrisome, but the added presence of Toval, Captain Claire, Instructor Sara, and their seniors meant that the two girls were probably as safe with the group as they would have been anywhere else.
To say the interior of the abandoned building was different would be a marked understatement. Unlike the last time they didn't even need to seek out the elevator to continue, as the entryway itself had completely shifted. The room itself was a large platform over a mysterious body of water, but the only object of note was the elevator in the center of the room, reminiscent of the ones they encountered in the Infernal Castle.
"How big do you think this place is?" Elliot asked curiously, seemingly far less nervous than during the last times Class VII had faced a great trial, showing just how accustomed they were becoming to these unusual events.
"I-I'm not sure..." Experience which Towa and the other outsiders lacked as they glanced around nervously.
"I have an idea..." Rean muttered before raising his arm in an all-too familiar gesture. A few seconds later and his Divine Knight appeared alongside them.
Unlike Celine, Valimar actually seemed to know a little about this trial. According to the Divine Knight this place was similar to the other trials they had faced, which meant they would likely be facing some formidable foes ahead. When pressed, Valimar confirmed that he sensed four powerful enemies lying in wait before they reached whatever was waiting for them at the very end.
Hmm... Based on Valimar's analysis this place truly was reminiscent of the Infernal Castle. If that was the case... "Should we split up into smaller teams as we explore?"
"Exactly what I was thinking." Rean rewarded her with a smile, "I doubt there's enough room for all of us to battle at once, and there's no point in spending all of our last free day in here. We should divide up into four smaller teams and explore a segment in turn. If any area proves too dangerous for one group we can always retreat back here and reconsider, but for now..." He paused and scanned the massive group, "I would like to put one adult on each team, but there are only three of them..."
"In that case, allow me to offer my assistance, Master Rean."
"Sharon!?" It would have been comical seeing sixteen other individuals jump in surprise had Laura not been so surprised herself. Indeed, somehow the dorm maid had found her way into the building and was standing at the entrance with her usual smile.
The maid gave a curtsy to the group, "I saw all of you enter this place and decided to follow suit. I'll gladly offer my services against any enemy that dares to threaten my Lady Alisa or her friends."
"W-Well..." Rean stuttered as he got over his surprise, "That would be appreciated. Thank you. That makes eighteen of us. I recommend two groups of five and two of four. Everyone alright with that? Anyone with any suggestions?"
Laura found herself looking around curiously. She was fine with the plan, but who did she want to fight alongside her? The others seemed to emulate her actions, but none seemed to reach an immediate answer.
Not that Rean seemed to mind at all, "Alright, then. In that case I'll take the first team up. Elise, Your Highness, Captain Claire, Emma, Celine. would you five be willing to accompany me?"
"Yes, brother!"
"Teehee! This is gonna be fun!"
"Of course. I'd be happy to assist."
"Right! Celine and I will do our best!"
"Hmph!"
With assent, the group Rean picked made their way to the elevator before activating it and beginning their assent. Laura watched them leave with mixed feelings.
On one hand the team he picked made a lot of sense. If Elise wanted to be involved then of course Rean would want to protect her. And with her naturally came the princess. Given Captain Claire had been serving as a bodyguard for the two girls she was an obvious choice for the group's adult. Taking a fifth member was also reasonable given that while Elise and Her Highness were by all accounts well-trained fighters, neither of them had much in the way of combat experience. And having Emma's knowledge on the first team would make sure they could be better prepared in case this place held some unexpected surprises for them. All in all it was a good team.
There was just one tiny problem that was bugging her...
"So..." Drawled out Instructor Sara, "Is anyone gonna comment on the fact that Rean put himself on a team filled filled with busty babes? Kinda disappointed he didn't bring me with him. Maybe I can catch up?"
"It's alright, Lady Alisa. I'm sure you'll have your chance some day."
"Sharon!"
"I'm so jealous! Why can't it be me with all those hot girls! I mean at least there are still a few here, but... Aww. Are you pouting, my dearest Towa?"
"I-I am not!"
Laura wasn't a jealous person by nature, but sometimes Rean could be his own worst enemy, and worst of all the guy probably didn't even realize what he was doing. Even though the team he picked did make a lot of sense those mixed feelings she previously had had long since given way to bitter resentment.
Was it wrong that a tiny part of her was looking forward to graduation just so Rean wouldn't continue to have the tools needed to keep making a fool of himself?
Her eyes locked with those of Fie, and she was pleased to see the same annoyance there that she herself was feeling. It was a good thing that Aidios blessed humanity with two ears, because that meant that she too could partake in Rean's punishment as soon as the swordsman returned from his exploration trip.
"Just how much did we miss, anyways?" Fie asked, earlier annoyance faded as she listened to Rean recount the tale of everything that had happened while she and her team – consisting of Laura, Elliot, and Toval – had taken their turn to explore the second section of what Valimar was now calling the Reverie Corridor.
Their trip through the mysterious trial had been a relatively simple affair. Sure all the monsters seemed to be pretty damn tough, but given the basic layout of the floors and the fact the place was open enough that they could see their destination no matter where they were it was a simple affair to just go around anything they didn't want to fight.
The cryptid at the end was a different story, however. On paper it was probably one of the tougher cryptids they had faced, but there was one little problem with it that turned the fight into a relatively simple affair – it was almost completely identical to the one they had fought at Lohengrin Castle when she and Toval went to find Laura. Sure this version was a lot meaner, but it still basically used the same attacks. Only Elliot lacked understanding of its moves, but as he was the one in the rear flinging support arts it didn't really matter much.
Even though they had less members in their party it was even more of a one-sided affair than the first encounter. As good a sign as any at just how much they had grown since the war.
With their turn complete she and Laura had left in search of Rean, who wasn't waiting for them in the bottom of the Reverie Corridor. Fortunately they didn't need to travel far before finding the swordsman as he was walking towards the Old Schoolhouse. Apparently his simple mission of showing Elise and Alfin around had spiraled into something completely different.
"So that Anton guy has a crush on Sharon?" She repeated in disbelief, "I guess it's not that surprising considering the guy would probably have a crush on any girl that looked at him, but still..."
"Not sure I would call it a simple crush..." Rean replied. He opened his mouth before pausing and shaking his head, "...It's definitely something."
Fie had a suspicion that if wasn't a nice guy he might have said something a lot different there. Politeness was so dull.
"And...?" Despite her efforts to hide it it was painfully obvious that Laura was invested in the outcome of this story, "How did Sharon react?"
Rean let out a thoughtful hum, "Not... terribly? I mean she didn't outright reject him, but I'm not sure she was too interested either."
"Makes sense. She's a weirdo super maid with a sadistic streak who's also an Ouroboros enforcer on vacation. And he's... a guy. It'd be like Laura's dad getting it on with Sara."
"Please stop joking about that!" Poor Laura. If only she realized her desperate pleas only inspired her further, "Still... While I'm not sure how feasible a relationship between the two of them is, I can't help but want to root for them."
"Yeah. I know what you mean. Still, that's up to them to resolve. I have no desire to be dragged into any more of his crazy schemes." Rean paused before glancing at a nearby clock, "Based on the time it took our groups to explore the Reverie Corridor we should have a little time to kill. Do either of you want to do anything?"
Laura seemed stumped at the question so Fie took it upon herself to answer, "Yup. I'm tired. Let's go to my favorite bench and rest."
"You have a favorite bench...?"
Unlike Laura, Rean seemed to consider her statement, "Would that be... the bench on the roof?"
"That's the one. You're the best." To accentuate her point Fie slid up next to the swordsman and took his arm in both of hers before nuzzling in closer. She also made a point of sticking out her tongue towards Laura, "Now c'mon. I'm tired and we don't have all, day."
"If you're in that much of a rush I can simply throw you up onto the roof." The Arseid groused.
Although her words were supposed to be a threat, Fie considered them all the same. They were close enough to the building for the former jaeger to measure the distance up to the roof with her eyes. It was pretty high up. But this was Laura, "...Think you could actually do it?"
"Hmm..." The older girl eyed the roof curiously, "You don't weigh much, but I think that might be a stretch, even for me."
"Wanna give it a shot?"
"Nobody is throwing anyone." Rean interrupted, rather rudely in Fie's opinion. "Why can't we just use the stairs like normal people?" To accentuate his point the black-haired youth began walking towards the front door of the school.
"Since when has anything about us ever been normal?" Despite her words Fie hurried to catch up with him, with Laura following suit right after.
The trip up to the roof was a quick one. They passed a handful of students along the way, but didn't really stop to chat with any of them. It was a little weird seeing everyone acting all normal while the Old Schoolhouse was being weird again, but Fie doubted any of them understood that the ringing of the bells meant something ominous was happening.
She had been hoping the roof was clear of others when they arrived, but much to her horror it wasn't. It seemed that at least two people noticed the oddity of the Old Schoolhouse as Instructor Thomas and Rosine were staring in that direction. An odd pairing to be sure, but that wasn't what had Fie completely horrified.
Instructor Thomas liked to talk. A lot. The second he noticed the three of them he would definitely go into a long speech about something or other. And odds are it was something completely pointless and tedious. There would be absolutely no way for the girl to rest if that was to happen, as the guy would definitely use up all the time they had before they would need to return.
Maybe she should lead the others somewhere else? There were plenty of good benches around campus, after all. No need for them to stick around here when they might be-
"Ah! If it isn't young Rean! Laura and Fie too! How marvelous!"
Dammit. Fie had at least been hoping that if Thomas noticed them that her shorter stature would allow her to evade his detection long enough to abandon the others and save herself. Maybe her stealth still needed more work than she realized.
Even Rean couldn't quite hide the tired sigh he let out before reluctantly making their way towards the odd teacher, her and Laura in tow, "Instructor Thomas. Rosine. I wasn't expecting to see the two of you together like this...?"
The eccentric teacher let out a laugh, but didn't elaborate further, but that was more of an answer than Rosine, who remained oddly silent by his side, "I take it you've finished reading those deciphered passages from the Black Records I gave you, Rean?"
Huh...? Sure Fie knew he had been collecting those strange books and that Instructor Thomas had been trying to decipher them, but this was the first time she was hearing that he had finished. Given the perplexed look on Laura's face it was obvious the other girl was equally surprised.
While she wasn't the biggest fan of history she couldn't help but be a little curious about the strange book collection they had found during the war.
"Sorry." Rean muttered with a sheepish look as he glanced towards them, "He only gave me the translated versions a few days ago." Thomas had a knowing smirk as Rean turned back to him, "Well, sure, I looked through them, but... why do you ask?"
The teacher let out a creepy giggle, "Questions, questions. So many questions! Please, allow me to elucidate."
Yup. Here comes the moment Fie was dreading. Thomas was about to start rambling on and on about something completely insane and they would be stuck there for what would feel like hours. The lithe student braced herself for the worst.
She wasn't sure why he was raising a hand to snap his fingers-
...What the hell!?
"What's going on?" Oh good. Laura was seeing this too, which meant Fie wasn't going completely delusional. That was the first explanation that came to her mind when the roof of the schoolhouse suddenly transformed into an otherworldly space with just the assembled group inside it.
"To put it simply, I've created a 'partition' of sorts. The five of us standing here within are the only ones who can even sense it. Meanwhile, those outside remain blissfully unaware of its existence."
At least Thomas answered that question, but in the process created so many more in her head, "Who the hell are you?" She asked warily with both hands hovering near her weapons, "You too, Rosine."
Sure they had all witnessed Thomas' skills with an orbal staff before, but never had Fie felt intimidated by the quirky teacher. Not until now, at least. Especially as the man let out another merry laugh, all but confirming he saw them as no threat.
"My formal ties are to the Septian Church as a member of the Gralsritter." Although his voice remained the same his tone was a lot sharper. Was the rambling insane history teacher just a front? If so then she would freely admit to have been completely fooled. "Second among the Dominion, in fact. I stand at the right hand of our leader and am known by some as the 'Partitioner.' But you already know my real name, of course. I've never hidden that from you. I am and shall always be Thomas Lysander!"
"I'm a squire, tasked with supporting him in the execution of his duties. You could say I'm an apprentice knight of the Gralsritter."
"We're a secret sect of the congregation. An unseen face. Our organization's existence isn't known to the wider world... nor should it be."
Thomas being a member of some super secret church organization was crazy, but the more Fie thought about it the more it made sense. The guy always seemed to be in the right place at the right time, like when he managed to help them pass through the Twin Dragon Bridge during the war. At the time she had simply passed it off as a coincidence, but now...
Rosine being an apprentice of the same organization was even more of a surprise, however. The girl had never been anything but kind, polite, and wholly unremarkable since their first day at Thors. The jaeger had had few real interactions with the nun, but she was nice enough to let her sleep in the church on occasion, so she must not have been a bad person.
"So why have you decided to reveal the truth to us now? Does it have something to do with the Old Schoolhouse?"
"Perish the thought." Thomas answered Laura, "What happens in the Old Schoolhouse is out of our jurisdiction. Always has been. After we're done here, I'll be glad to let you tackle that on your own. Me? I'm only here for a little talk with you."
"After all, Rean is an Awakener, possessor of a fragment of the Great Power. And that means we have plenty to discuss."
None of them were really surprised by his reason, and so they kept their silence for him to continue, "This should come as no surprise, but the trouble facing this land is far from over. Oh, it may seem to have passed for now, but this peace is merely a simple respite. The most crucial moment stands silent in the wings, waiting to unfurl before us."
"The chancellor never stops spinning his webs, and while he may have repelled Ouroboros for now, they will be back. Mark my words. And there's not a doubt in my mind that you'll have an important role to play in what's to come. That's why I thought it'd be worthwhile to make a formal introduction and ask for your cooperation. So, what say you?"
This time it was Rosine who stepped forward, "Rean, I want you to know we're not here to scare you or to make an enemy of you. We don't mean to pressure you into a response, either. For now, our intent is just to remain here and keep an eye on things. So if there's ever anything you need our help with, we're here for you. Just ask and we'll do whatever we can."
It was hard to say if her words were an act to make Rean a little more trusting of them, or if Rosine was truthfully that nice, but it definitely did its job. At the very least Fie was confident that these two weren't there enemies for the moment, at least not in a world where the likes of Osborne and Ouroboros are running amok.
But there was one question nagging at her mind, "So why tell us that? Rean I get, but Laura and me? Doesn't really fit the whole secret group thing. Why not the rest of Class VII in that case?"
"Haha! Astute as ever. The Gralsritter aren't usually in the habit of announcing ourselves to outsiders unless the situation calls for it. Truthfully I was originally only planning on telling Rean here, so why you indeed? Perhaps it's simply a show of good faith? Or perhaps this is a warning that if you continue to tie your fate to Rean that you too will find yourselves facing a dangerous future?"
"While the warning is appreciated, it is wholly unnecessary. We understand quite well that the future might be difficult, but it a future I refuse to look away from."
"Yep." Fie found herself voicing agreement to Laura, "It's probably gonna be a pain, but it beats sitting around doing nothing. Plus, having people keep warning me against doing something is only gonna make me want to do it more."
"Haha! Excellent! Truth be told I was hoping you'd say that. Both because I'm personally rooting for you guys and because otherwise I'd be forced to erase your memories of this encounter and remove you from this school!"
That he said all that with such a cheery look on his face was rather unsettling. Should she be more wary of him for claiming to have such power, or should the fact he freely admitted to it make him more trustworthy?
Fie's head hurt. She almost wished this had been another standard insane Thomas speech instead.
"But to return to an earlier topic, those Black Records you found are actually of particularly interest as historical artifacts. As far as I can tell, their purpose was to record the true history of the Divine Knights. Given that recovering artifacts like those is our job, well... if you happen to find any more, do pass them along to us, would you? I'll give you transcripts of everything I can decipher, of course. Given what you've read so far, I'm sure you must be curious."
"...I'll give it some thought."
Rean's quiet answer must have been enough for the Dominion as with a snap of his finger they found themselves back on the roof as if nothing had happened, with only Rosine's sympathetic smile letting Fie know that hadn't just been a crazy dream. Even Thomas' expression had returned to his usual deranged, "Well, do take care, everyone! I'll be praying for you!"
"W-We should be getting back to the Old Schoolhouse." Laura muttered after that obvious dismissal. Neither Fie nor Rean saw any reason to protest and the three of them beat a hasty retreat from the roof. It was only after they had put some distance between themselves and the church agents that Laura paused before affixing Rean with a nasty glare, "You will be showing us those Black Records tonight."
"Y-Yes. Of course."
Fie shook her head tiredly. Just when she thought things were finally starting to settle down, stuff like this kept happening. It really was beginning to feel like Rean was at the center of everything going on in this country. Even the upcoming final trial in the Reverie Corridor was starting to feel rather tame compared to the crap they were going through on a near daily basis.
And all of this happened cause she wanted a nap on her favorite bench, something which she didn't get. Karma was a cruel mistress.