"Alright, just set it right there." Fie instructed calmly. She frowned heavily as her instructions were carried out. The shade didn't quite cover it as much as she would have wanted, "Hmm... Slide it that way a few more rege... A little more... A little more... Perfect."

The two student council members who had been doing the work grumbled a bit as they finished the task, but she could care less what they thought. Ignoring the departing council members she turned to her companion, "What do you think?"

Vivi tilted her head thoughtfully as she took in the changes, before nodding her head approvingly. "I think it was a most excellent decision, Captain Fie!"

Good. She could do without being called Captain Fie, but at least her first real decision in her new role met with approval from her friend.

"...What are you two doing?"

Fie's eyes lit up as she heard the voice of Rean. That he was shooting her an extremely dubious look mattered little to the silver-haired girl, "Rean! What do you think? It's great, right?"

He glanced from her to the alterations she had made before going back to her, "You had a bench moved here? Why?"

The little jaeger nodded happily, "Yup! I'm captain of the Gardening Club now, you know? So I thought a few changes should be made. All I had to do was tell the student council that I felt like my garden would make for a good relaxing spot and that I was putting in a request for my dreams to become reality. Isn't that great!?"

Surely Rean of all people would see the merit of her decision, right? It was such an obvious thing to do. Now the masses could enjoy the beautiful flowers even more!

"I mean I suppose that makes sense..." He agreed, causing her to preen happily, "...But I'm pretty sure your motives were a lot less altruistic. Did you seriously make work for the student council just so you can have your own personal bench?"

Fie let out an awkward little giggle. She probably should have expected that. Rean knew her far too well.

Luckily Vivi was there to come to her defense, "For shame, Rean! You shouldn't doubt a woman's kind intentions like that!" She scolded, but the amusement in her eyes proved a stark contrast to her seemingly angry words, "I know my bestie isn't that selfish! I'm looking forward to enjoying this nice spot for myself too!"

Fie nodded approvingly. Vivi could enjoy the bench all she wanted... so long as Fie herself wasn't already using it.

But considering she planned on using it whenever she was there...

Rean must have been a mind reader because he sighed tiredly, "I'm worried about your club now that Edel's gone."

"Me too." Fie agreed succinctly. Just because she was in charge of the club now didn't mean she couldn't accept just how screwed they were without Edel around anymore.

"So what are you doing here, Rean?" Really, Vivi? It should have been obvious his goal based on the fishing rod held in his hands, right? "Come to sweep me off my feet and add me to your collection of beautiful maidens!?"

Ah, right. This was Vivi. She knew, but couldn't pass up the chance to tease Rean. Especially since that comment also served to annoy Fie herself.

"Hmm..." Surprisingly Rean didn't flush and stutter like she expected, instead he seemed to actually be thinking about it!? "Sure, why not?"

Wait, what the hell!?

The jerk actually had the gall to laugh at her gobsmacked expression! "It was a joke!" He insisted between chuckles, before raising his arms in mock surrender "Sorry Vivi, my life's already hectic enough as it is."

On one hand Fie could appreciate that Rean seemed to be developing a sense of humor and had no doubts that her influence was a part of that. That was good, and bode well for the future.

But did he really have to joke about this? Didn't the jerk know just how many girls out there were interested in him? Didn't he realize that his status as a national war hero meant that number was destined to increase by a lot!? It was no laughing matter!

...She would need to consult with Laura about this at some point.

The Ashen Jerk must have noticed her miffed expression as he began to back away slowly, "Kenneth actually invited me to join the Fishing Club this year, and I accepted." That was news to her, but not so surprising as to cause her annoyed stare to waver in the slightest, "I'll just be over there..." He trailed off lamely as he pointed to the nearby body of water.

With that the coward scurried away to the pond. Her deathly glare followed him the entire time, but once his lure hit the water he stopped concerning himself with her threat of imminent death, confirming the sad truth she had long since realized.

She and Laura were second fiddle to the fish in Rean's heart.

"You know..." Vivi muttered after a long pause, "I was kinda expecting him to be one of the student council members forced to help us out. Wasn't he offered a position on it?"

"He was." Fie agreed as she reluctantly tore her gaze away from Rean, "He was even offered the position of president if he wanted, but he declined. Apparently Towa was the only one on the council he really knew, and with her gone thought it'd be too awkward. Plus he didn't think it'd be fair to the others since he wasn't sure when he'd be around."

"Oh..." The pink-haired prankster winced, showing that for all of her irreverent attitude she still had the good sense to understand just how awful his situation was.

If the Ashen Chevalier was called then Rean would be forced to answer and there was nothing any of them could do about it.

"Eh, whatever..." She muttered in an attempt at shaking off those morbid thoughts, "So what do you think about the setup? Think it's enough for recruitment day?"

"Do we really gotta recruit people?" Vivi whined petulantly, "Wouldn't it be funner if it was just the two of us for the entire year?"

Fie shrugged, "If I thought you'd actually do your work and not swap places with Linde half the time? Maybe. But I already got an earful from the teachers and the student council about the importance of making the club look good for the first years. Don't need to sit through more of those lectures. Plus, more people means less work for us, right?"

The pink-haired twin nodded in a lame attempt at being sagely, "Just so, my dear captain! Hmm..." Vivi glanced around at the garden, "...Have you even done anything?"

"I had the bench moved, duh."

"...It's just a bench."

Fie rocked back as if struck. Vivi did not just say that, did she!? "Just. A. Bench?!"

"Alright, alright." The girl held up her hands in mock surrender, "I almost forgot just how much of a bench-obsessed weirdo you were."

One hand moved closer to a gunsword. Would anyone actually care all that much if she stabbed this annoying girl?

"Still..." Vivi continued on heedlessly, ignorant of her potential demise, "I don't really think that's enough to interest other people."

Fie sighed, "I guess you're right." Luckily a thought came to mind, "Oh, I know! Why don't we keep some of the daffodils in the ground for a few more days? They're bright and colorful and will draw a lot of eyes. Then on recruitment day we can hand out flowers to people as they stop in."

Of course it would be Vivi responsible for handing out flowers. Fie had a flower ready for Rean and Laura, and that was it.

"Not bad..." Vivi agreed with a thoughtful hum, before perking up as her eyes laid eyes on the pond, or more specifically, the person currently at the pond. "Why don't we advertise that this is the place to be if you want to get a good look at the famous Ashen Chevalier! I bet half of the first year girls would be lining up instantly if we told them that!"

"No."

"Aww, c'mon! I heard a ton of people enrolled for just that reason. Shouldn't we offer the masses what they want?"

"No."

"Stop being so selfish, Fie! Actually, I heard that Rex is planning on snapping a handful of pictures of Rean in order to expand his clientele. You know it's serious if Rex of all people is turning his camera away from busty babes like ourselves!"

"No." Mental note – destroy Rex's camera.

Vivi opened her mouth to continue arguing her impossible idea, but was interrupted by another voice. "I see you two are having fun."

Fie brightened at the appearance of Laura. The lithe gardener opened her mouth to greet the girl-

"Hey, Laura!" ...But was interrupted by her fellow club mate who recovered from the unexpected interruption a lot quicker, "Here to sweep me off my feet and add me to your bisexual harem!?"

"Um..."

Laura's utterly bewildered expression almost made Vivi's comment worthwhile. Seemed she wasn't as resistant to the prankster's teasing as Rean was. "Just ignore her. It's what the rest of us do. Plus, it's recycled content anyways."

"Why fix it when it keeps working?"

"Um... Alright." Wisely Laura decided to ignore Vivi's comment.

"So how was Swimming Club?" Fie asked to break up the awkward silence.

The beautiful swordswoman gave a small smile, "Busy. There's a lot of work to get done before the first years arrive, but I am certain you are already aware of that, considering you have your own club to run."

"Uh... Yeah. For sure." Vivi snickered in the background. She was promptly ignored.

"I have to admit, I am a little jealous of you." Although Laura didn't elaborate on her words it didn't take someone as observant as Fie to see that her gaze had shifted from the garden to the guy obliviously fishing away at the lake just beyond.

That caused the gardener to let out an exasperated groan, "Don't be. Sure he's right there, but he's in fishing mode. I mean he hasn't even noticed your arrival yet!"

Guy was usually an observant one, but right now he was completely deaf to everything around him! Stupid fishies.

The Arseid let out a small giggle, "Even still, it must be nice to have him around." It was, but Fie wasn't about to admit to it, "To think that our clubs are all so close together, but a single wall makes it feel like entirely different worlds at times..."

"Eh. It is what it is." Best to downplay her extra little bit of Rean time. "So you finished with club stuff today? Wanna head back home? I'm sure if we work together we can pry him away from his fishes."

"You go on ahead. I need to pay a visit to the student council to get a copy of the key to the gym and to request a few things my club will be needing for the next few days."

Fie's nose crinkled in disinterest. Normally she wouldn't mind hanging out with Laura on one of her errands, but who knows how long a dull meeting with the student council would take? "Got it. I'll see you later then."

"Of course."

After Laura left she returned to her garden. There were just a few little things that she wanted to finish up before leaving for that day, and with Vivi's help it only took a few minutes.

Luckily it was all simple things she could do without thinking, as her mind was entirely focused on the conversation that had just finished.

Laura was jealous that she got to hang out with Rean during club time.

Laura was also a member of the Swimming Club.

Rean was a member of the Fishing Club.

Laura was about to possess a key to the gym that Fie could borrow at any time without telling anyone.

On the surface those threads were mostly unrelated, but as the gears in her mind began to turn Fie created a complete picture in her mind. A way to help Laura out while still having an absolute blast in the process.

It was the perfect scheme.

"Hey, Vivi? I've got an idea. Wanna help me with it?" And best of all, she had a willing pawn to assist in said scheme!

As Fie detailed her plan the grin on the prankster's face grew more and more until it culminated in a loud laugh. A few arge away Rean couldn't help but shudder at those sounds. Anything that could cause such excitement among those two terrifying girls was sure to be troublesome.

Too bad for him that he took the cowardly approach of ignoring the situation instead of nipping it in the bud. He might have saved a lot of trouble for a lot of people had he simply done so.

"Are we doing anything special today?"

Laura shook her head as she continued walking towards the gym, flanked by her two remaining club mates. "Not today. I would like for us to clean the pool before the first years show up, but the student council didn't have any cleaning supplies on hand. They promised they would have it ready by tonight, so hopefully we can do that tomorrow."

Casper's only reaction to her answer was a grim frown, but Monica on the other side was a lot more vocal, "I knew it was coming, but still... That's not gonna be fun, is it?"

"I suspect it won't." It was a bit embarrassing to think about how long it had been since they last did it. With everything that had happened during the second half of the previous year it simply slipped their minds.

Arriving at the gym the two girls separated from Casper as they entered their respective changing rooms. In only a few minutes the two were finished putting on their swimsuits and exited the room to see their fellow club member already out.

And that was when things got weird.

"I think... we have a problem." Casper announced as soon as he noticed the two of them.

"What do you mean?" Monica asked as she approached their friend. She got her answer quickly enough once she glanced into the water, "Eek!" Hastily the girl backed away from the pool, "Was that... a fish!?"

"Multiple fish, in fact." The lone male stated blandly even as Laura approached the pool to see for herself. Sure enough the swordswoman was able to spot multiple fishy shapes darting about in the water.

"I didn't think fish could survive in treated water..." She muttered to herself. Sure enough, looking around she could see a few fish were already floating on top of the pool, dead as could be.

The entire situation was confusing. Laura could only stare at the water in bewilderment. Someone had to have manually added the fish to the pool, right?

"Who could have done such a thing...?" An equally confused Monica asked.

It would have had to have been someone with access to the gym. Someone with a penchant for chaos and the skill needed to catch multiple fish. Someone like...

Damn that girl!

This kind of prank was right up her alley, especially after the conversation they had had in the garden yesterday. To clear the fish out they would need to call a fisherman, and Rean fit that bill perfectly. This felt like the kind of stupid scheme Fie would come up with to get the two of them to spend club time together.

But if Fie thought she was being helpful with such a gesture then she was sorely mistaken!

Laura was quick to clamp down on the righteous indignation clamoring inside her, settling instead for a placid smile. She was calm and collected. She wouldn't let such an irritant get to her.

"Um, Laura? That grin on your face is kinda terrifying..."

Laura's eye twitched. Perhaps she hadn't been as successful as she wanted. Oh well, best to just resolve the situation as quickly as possible. She tried to ignore how both of her friends took an instinctive step back when she fixed her gaze upon them, "Alright, change of plans. Why don't the two of you take today off?"

"What are you going to do?"

"First I'll seek out a member of the Fisherman's Club." Rean should be just outside which would make that step easy. If nothing else Fie was right with that one. "After that. I will seek out the one responsible for this... and I will make them regret their many poor decisions."

With her piece said the Arseid ignored her gawking friends to return to the changing room. Wasting her time like this was another crime that Fie would need to answer for. With her uniform back on and weapon in hand the fuming woman made her departure from the gym.

She didn't go far, however, as her initial destination was the garden just outside. A cursory glance showed her everything she needed to know – Rean was obliviously fishing at the pond, Vivi seemed entirely focused on her flowers, and Fie was nowhere to be seen.

Ignoring Vivi for the moment she approached Rean. To his credit he sensed her before she arrived, but whatever warm greeting was on his lips died as soon as he looked back at her, "...Are you alright?" He asked instead.

"I will be..." She reassured with frigid calmness, "...once the dozen or so fish have been removed from the pool."

Laura watched as his eyebrows rose in confusion before returning to their original position with a resigned sigh, "Fie?"

"Fie." She confirmed. Behind her she heard Vivi try and fail to stifle her giggles. One quick glare from the Arseid put an end to that.

"Need me to go find her?" He asked tiredly even as he began to collect his fishing supplies.

"That won't be necessary. I am already planning on doing just that. But would you be willing to assist in getting the fish out of the pool?"

Rean's smile was enough to briefly dispel her foul mood, "Of course. That'll be no problem. In fact I'll go do it right now. See you at home?"

She returned his smile with one of her own, "Yes, but I suspect we will be a little late getting back."

The black-haired swordsman let out a mild laugh, "Got it. I'll get dinner started. Don't be too rough on her, alright?"

"No promises."

With that she watched as Rean walked the way she had just come from. With him on the job she could rest assured knowing the prank would be cleaned up soon enough. That was one task down.

Now she just needed to find the one responsible.

And while Laura had no idea where Fie could possibly be, she had a good feeling about how to start her search. While this prank had Fie's fingerprints all over it she was quite certain it wasn't a solo job. And she had a good feeling on who that conspirator was.

"Hello, Vivi."

"Oh, hey Laura. What's up?" Credit where it was due, the prankster's expression seemed honestly confused, almost to the point of making the noble girl question herself.

But in the end Laura steeled herself – Even if Vivi appeared innocent this girl was a professional. It was just an act. The Arseid donned the most plastic smile possible onto her face, "I'm looking for Fie. Do you know where she is?"

Under her intense gaze the Class IV girl flinched, but quickly recovered, "N-Nope. Haven't seen her since class. W-Why?"

"Huh? I guess I must have been wrong in suspecting Fie for the dirty prank pulled on my club. I guess the culprit must be someone else. Might it be you, perhaps?"

"Ahaha... Of course I dunno what you're talking about, but hypothetically speaking what if it was?"

Well that was an easy question, "In that case punishment would need to be handed out."

"Ooh! Fie told me all about your punishments! How kinky!"

Laura's attempt at keeping a stern visage floundered at that remark. It was just the one time! What the hell was Fie telling everyone!? That girl was in so much trouble!

But before he could gain righteous retribution against Fie she had another troublemaker to discipline. With a quick cough she did her best to recompose herself before drawing her sword, "Well... I seem to have an unexpected free afternoon, and I must admit I am a little curious as to how you fight. Perhaps the two of us should have a friendly spar? Although I do have to admit I tend to go overboard at times, especially considering I am usually crossing blades with the likes of Fie and Rean..."

"W-Wait!" The girl's teasing smirk had faded into a look of pure horror, "M-Maybe I might remember something..."

As expected. Time to secure the deal, "How about this? I swear on the Arseid name that if you are honest with me I will not hold you responsible for your actions."

Vivi swayed from one foot to the other as she considered the offer, "A-Alright. You win. It was Fie. I helped her by keeping lookout, but she was the one who came up with the idea and handled the fish!"

Laura nodded. While she had already suspected as much hearing it confirmed was a good thing, "And where is she now?"

"I'm not sure..." Even though the Arseid thought the other girl was being truthful she took a threatening step forward regardless, "B-But...!" Seems the movement jogged loose another memory in her head, "She did say one thing before she left. Something about 'A place Laura would never be able to get me'."

A place she would never be able to get her...? That excluded all the public areas. Their apartment as well...

The Old Schoolhouse? No. Even if Rean was the owner of the key he kept it in a place that any of them could access whenever they wanted. Sure the younger girl could simply take the key with her, but that would make it blatantly obvious where she was hiding.

There was always the possibility that Fie had fled town, but Laura didn't think she would do that. Despite her willingness to go above and beyond when it came to making trouble for others Fie was usually a rather laid-back person. Traveling would be too much effort for her. And it wasn't like Valimar would allow her to use the Spirit Paths without Rean-

Laura blinked as an idea came to mind. It was a long shot, but it did fit with what Vivi had said. At the very least it wouldn't be hard to confirm one way or the other.

"Alright, then." She informed the pink-haired girl who had been staring cautiously while Laura pondered those words, "I know telling you to lay off the pranks would be an exercise in futility, but I would strongly advise you choose your targets better in the future."

Vivi let out a nervous laugh, "Y-Yeah! Got it!" Vivi looked at her piteously, "S-So you're not gonna do anything to me, right?"

"Of course. I promised as much." Laura paused before giving a beatific smile, "But that doesn't mean I cannot inform your sister, correct?"

"W-Wait, no...!"

"And it would be remiss of me to not tell Fie who sold her out, right?"

"No! You can't do that! I don't wanna be known as a snitch! And Linde will kill me! Please! Have mercy!"

While Laura would consider herself to be a merciful person by nature, even she had her limits. And these annoying gardeners have long since reached them. Vivi's pitiful cries followed the swordswoman long after she departed the garden towards her next destination.

Although the Engineering Club didn't currently exist with the graduation of George and Angelica, the building itself was even busier than it had ever been during her first year thanks to the addition of the soldat hangar and all the staff needed to maintain those machines. Laura felt distinctly out of place as she entered the crowded place, but that didn't deter her in the slightest. The student did her best to ignore all the engineers and mass-produced machines as she approached her target, "Hello, Valimar."

As expected, the legendary machine awoke after hearing its name called, "Sub-contractor Laura. How may I be of assistance?"

"Fie wouldn't happen to be with you, would she?"

"..."

Valimar's silence was uncanny as the machine almost always answered any questions Rean posed to it, "Was there something confusing about what I asked?"

"...I was instructed to not answer your query."

Which meant that Fie was currently hiding out inside Valimar's cockpit! Damn Rean for instructing the Divine Knight to humor the annoying girl's whims!

Or maybe Laura was simply resentful that her polite nature made it far too awkward for her to ask to hang out inside Valimar like Fie could?

"Valimar, please return Fie to me."

"I am afraid that I cannot comply."

The daughter of Legram fought back the swell of irritation that surged forth at the machine's refusal. Since when had Fie and Valimar bonded enough for the machine to take her side like this!? In hindsight maybe she should have brought Rean along as there was no chance Valimar would have refused his own Awakener.

Fine. If the Divine Knight refused to comply with her request then it was time to try a different approach.

"Valimar, I order you to release Fie immediately. If you fail to comply then I don't care that you are a Divine Knight, I will simply carve my way through you to get to her. Neither Rean nor Emperor Dreichels, nor even the Goddess herself will stop me from getting to her. Do. You. Understand!?"

Laura found herself panting as she finished. Maybe threatening a Divine Knight wasn't the wisest course of action, but right now she simply didn't care. There was zero chance that Fie was escaping her wrath!

"..."

"..."

"...Acknowledged."

As was always the case with Valimar a ball of light exited the machine. Said ball floated down to the ground before reforming into Fie, right in front of the victorious Arseid.

Said girl looked completely befuddled as she glanced back at Rean's knight, "What the hell, Valimar!?"

"..." The silence from the Divine Knight as it went back to sleep was almost deafening.

"Coward!" With deliberate slowness Fie turned her head back, "H-Hey, Laura. H-How's it going? Gotta admit, you threatening Valimar like that was kinda hot."

"Ugh! This is so gross!" Fie complained miserably as she did her best to avoid stepping in grime, "Why am I stuck doing this?"

"Because you are a kind person who volunteered to assist my club today?" Laura responded with mocking cheer in her voice.

"Volunteered … Yeah right." The former jaeger groused before glancing around at all the work waiting for her, "You know this pool would get clean a lot faster if you helped, right?"

The blue-haired girl made a show of considering her words from her seat next to the pool, "Well... I could. Sadly I already made plans with Rean tonight. I requested a duel and he accepted. Afterwards the two of us will be eating out."

"Hey! That's not fair! I wanna fight and eat good food too!"

"Maybe you should have thought about that before you wasted my time with your stunt?" Laura stood from her spot before stepping away and exiting Fie's line of vision, "We'll bring home some leftovers for you... if I remember."

With that she was gone, leaving Fie to her lonesome. Just her and the entirety of the drained pool she was standing in. A very nasty pool that she had to clean all by her lonesome. "...Maybe I should've thought this through a little more?"

She shook her head before letting out a smile that had nothing to do with her unpleasant circumstance, "Nah. It was worth it."