Trails of Eastern Steel

by TF1990

This a rewrite of the first Cold Steel game, with some twists concerning Rean Schwarzer, the rest of the story will mostly follow canon. -Instead of training in Ymir, Rean left with his Master to travel the eastern part of the Continent. -Emphasis on Rean/Alisa -A more experienced, but still as dense and insecure (maybe a bit more than canon) Rean. -Can somewhat control his Power

20. The fourth Free Day part 1

Hello everyone here is the chapter of the story, i hope you enjoy it.

Like always some info:

Spoken words are between " "
Thoughts are between ( )

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"WHAT?! YOU HAVE A TATTOO?!"

Rean had been expecting some sort of reaction from his classmates and seniors after having admitted something like that but the sudden yells from them made him still flinch and cover his ears in reflex, "Wow, guys was it necessary to be that loud? I think everyone in Trista heard that." Rubbing his ears to get the ringing out of them, Rean discretely glanced at the rest of the table who was staring at him with their mouths wide open and disbelief written on their faces. Even Sharon and Fie who were normally capable of controlling their emotions couldn't hide their shock this time around.

"Is it really that surprising that I have a tattoo? Huh, wonder what happened to Crow and the rest?" The sound of a disconnected phone could be heard from his Arcus Unit making him wonder what happened to his upperclassmen on the other side, thinking of trying to call them again to see if everything was alright, he reached out to dial their number again, just to be stopped by Machias who had found his voice again.

"How,…..? When…? Why…? I mean, do you really have one or were you just pulling Armbrust leg as revenge for making that bet concerning you?" Stopping with his Arcus in hand, the swordsman decided that perhaps he should deal with this first before calling back, "To answer all your questions Machias in order, I went to a tattoo artist back in the East, I was fourteen at that time. It was actually a week before I returned to the Empire, as for why? You can chalk it up to a spontaneous decision of mine at that time."

Thinking that this was enough for now and the fact that a tattoo wasn't the only surprise waiting for them tomorrow, Rean started to take his plate and was going to stand up to put them away before going to his room for the rest of the evening. "Rean." Hearing his name, he looked towards Alisa who was looking at him with a gentle smile on her face, "Sit down, please." His body and mouth reacted on their own instantly recognising that he was in danger from the archer, "Yes, ma'am!"

That broke the rest out of their stupor to snicker at him and someone (Fie) called out to him, "You are so whipped." Though his focus was on Alisa who still had a soft smile but somehow that made her, to his eyes at least, appear even more dangerous, "How may I help you, Alisa?"

"You know just when I think that you can't really surprise me anymore, you just go and shatter that assumption. Though I must admit the fact that you could have possible have a tattoo never crossed my mind." The others nodded at her in support of her statement, with Fie adding her own to it, "You are normally such a goody two shoes, how in Gehenna did come up with the idea of getting a tattoo? By the way, you are off the hook for making me lose my money, this here is far better than getting the pay-out from it."

"Believe it or nor I don't even feel the slightest bit of remorse for making you lose but do you all have to make such a big deal out of this? It's just a tattoo, even Gaius has one." Amusement could be seen on the lancer face, "True enough but mine is just an old tradition in my tribe that everyone gets when they finish their warrior training. Besides it isn't like I am trying to hide it."

"Neither am I, mine is just not in a visible place like yours. The question if I had one just never came up, so I didn't mention it." Snorts could be heard from the two blondes of their class with Jusis taking it a step further, "Of course, how foolish of us. We should have thought of asking our classmates if they have any tattoos on their bodies. Better latter than never, does anyone else besides Gaius and Rean have any? Now would be the moment to speak up….no one else? Well, what a surprise!"

Rolling his eyes at Jusis over the top exclamation, the swordsman was inwardly feeling trepidation for tomorrows lesson, (I wasn't expecting them to react like that just for having mention that I have one makes me wonder how they are going react to the rest tomorrow. Though I think the worst has yet to come, I really wish I could skip those swimming lessons.)

Not knowing what was going through his head, Alisa just shook her head at him, "I have to say now you got me curious about it, mind showing it to us?" The fact that he stiffened up wasn't lost on her or the others, (Ok, now that is a weird reaction. Could it be that he doesn't want to show it? Or is there something about it that he is embarrassed about?) Before Rean could answer that, suddenly there was someone ringing the doorbell to the dormitory, not having expected that someone would come visit them at this hour no one moved besides Sharon who didn't miss a beat and went to answer the door.

"Good evening, Lady Angelica, Lady Towa, Lord Crow and Lord George. Please come inside, can I offer you some refreshments or perhaps you want to eat something for dinner. I still have enough ingredients left that I can whip up you something rather quickly."

"Really? Alright, now this is what I call service. How about…..ouch, ouch! Stop it Towa, you are twisting it too hard! Ouch. I was just joking."

"Then behave yourself, Crow! We are already intruding at this hour no need to burden poor Sharon with more work. I am so sorry for him and thank you for welcoming us at this late hour." Class VII exchanged looks with each other before joining Sharon in the lobby where their four upperclassmen were standing with Towa pinching Crow's waist but the moment he saw Rean, he escaped from her grip and stomped towards his junior.

"Rean Schwarzer, you traitor! How could you betray me like that?! I thought we were friends, pals, even bosom buddies who have spent countless hours playing Blade with each other, where I taught all my tricks and moves and that is how you repay me?!" Already somewhat used to Crow's overdramatic behaviour, Rean let him get it out his system since he had a suspicion on why he was behaving like that, which was proved shortly after. "How could you have ink on your body and not tell me about?! Do you know how much mira, I have to pay to that she-devil over there? I am going to lose everything that I own just to fork over that amount of money."

"Perhaps you should take this as a lesson to not make any bets involving money at all. Besides you never asked me about it, so I don't see how any of this is my fault." Not bothered by his accusations, the black-haired boy just let him wail for the moment until Towa couldn't stand it anymore and put a stop to it, by pinching his waist again and violently twisting it. With a sudden yell and jump the bandana wearing youth managed to escape the tiny girl's hands again to a safe distance away.

"I really am sorry for this, I really am! After hearing that he lost, Crow started to demand that you show him your tattoo as proof since he didn't really believe it and quickly ran out of the Union Building towards here. I tried to stop him, but he was just too fast for me to catch up before arriving here. I am sorry!"

Watching the student council president bow her head deeply towards him, Rean waved her apology away, "No need for you to apologise Towa. I know that this isn't anybody fault besides Crow's….."

"Putting aside whose fault this is, I need to see some proof before I give her any of my hard earned mira. So, show me that tattoo of yours or Gelica won't see a single mira from me." Judging by look on Towa's face he didn't seem to realise that he was getting closer and closer to a beat down from her and looking at the faces of George and Angelica they were also aware of it but didn't make any moves to stop it from happening, heck even Rean was curious to see that.

Though Angelica did step towards Rean with a wide grin on her face, "While I am happy to get this amount of money from that loser over there, I have to say I have never expected that I would win this bet, I had made it on a whim so that he would stop complaining about the fact that I don't support his business endeavours and so on. Guess I shouldn't judge a book by his cover, huh. Rean Schwarzer, the newest delinquent at Thors Military Academy. Who would have thought that under that serious facade was a bad boy."

"I didn't know that having some ink on your body made you a delinquent."

"I am just having some fun with you, though perhaps you could show it to us. Because I can assure you that he isn't going to stop until he has seen it with his own eyes, besides you were going to show it off tomorrow anyway. Why not giving us a little preview here, this way you will have him off your back."

Rean took a moment to mull over Angelica's suggestion and with the way the eyes of the rest of the room were filled with curiosity at him, he just sighed and agreed to it. He took some steps forward while starting to take of his jacket and undoing the buttons of his white shirt, "Ehh, Rean? What are you doing?"

Looking back at Alisa while he continued undoing the buttons, "My tattoos are on my back."

"Oh, I see….wait how big is it if it is on your back and did you say tattoos as in plural?" Chuckling he just took off his shirt and showed it to her and the rest as an answer which caused them once again to drop their mouths wide open when they got a good look at it. Rean's tattoo nearly covered his entire back, along the length of his spine was an image of his blade on the left side and an image of his sheath to the right.

Every detail of these two tattoos was the same as the original one and it didn't end there, surrounding the tachi were eight green leaves with different symbols in each of them, together they formed a circle with the blade and sheath on the centre of his back, below that were several symbols in two rows that were similar to the ones inside the leaves. For several minutes no one said anything as they looked at what was being displayed before them.

(Well, they are reacting the same way Mom, Dad and Elise reacted back then though hopefully I won't get chewed out and grounded for six months this time.) Rean didn't say anything and just let them get over their shock to his surprise it was Gaius that regained his speech first, "Wow, whoever did these was a true master of their craft. Be it the leaves or the blade they show a lot of details that make them almost lifelike. Honestly, I would love to get that good with my paintings, any chance I could meet the artist who did this?"

"If you don't mind making a trip deep into the eastern part of the continent then sure I can introduce you to him." Recalling that Rean had told him that he got it when he was in the East Gaius chuckled at the idea, "Perhaps one day I will take you up on that offer, my friend." With that done the lancer turned his focus back on the images on Rean's back giving the others a chance to express their opinion of what they were seeing with their own words.

"Why am I not surprised that you chose to have a tattoo of your tachi inked on you? I take it the leaves represent the eight forms of the Eight Leaves One Blade School?" Glancing back at Alisa who looked at him with fond annoyance in her eyes, Rean nodded, "Got it in one. Each leaf represents a form going first from Helix to the eight form of unarmed combat."

"And what do the symbols below them mean?" At that Rean fell quiet since he didn't want to tell her what they truly meant, (Besides me, master and the artist no one knows what they mean not even my family, it isn't like I can tell her that these symbols represent the oath that I swore to myself after what happened back there. Besides forget scolding me if she ever finds out what these mean she will most definitely beat me up.)

After waiting for a bit for his answer she noticed that he remained quiet, she was going to follow up on that question when Angelica spoke up, "I think these are from a kind of old eastern language, my teacher back then showed me a few such symbols and taught me their meaning, but it has been a while since I last saw these characters. But I think the first ones mean…. "

Angelica didn't get to finish her sentence because Rean turned around abruptly, "You can read them?!" making the others for the third time this evening speechless, when they got a good look at his torso. Unlike his back there were no tattoos, but his front torso was covered in several scars but the biggest one was the one his chest right over his heart. That one caught the attention of the others the most though their attention soon turned to the rest of his scars.

"Wow, you are full of surprises this evening, Rean. First your tattoos and now these scars, someone has been a busy boy back in the East, huh?" Looking at Angelica change of interest the swordsman heaved a sigh of relief inside him, he would take this situation anytime over the possibility that she may have managed to read the oath on his back. Even if it means having to explain to his friends how he got these scars and given the looks he was getting from Alisa he was sure that he wouldn't be able to wiggle out of this situation, so explained how he got each scar.

"Well, let's just say that I got over my head a few times back there that resulted in me earning these. For example, these three I got from the same monster, its claws nearly gutted me at that time." Pointing at three scars on his abdomen that went from one side to the other, "And these two are from separate monsters who got a sneak attack in when I wasn't looking and this one was from nearly being impaled by the horn of a monster, I got lucky at that time it nearly went through my body." With each explanation he pointed at the scars leaving the onlookers even more stunned with each explanation.

(I just can't believe him, he said that he travelled the East when he was eleven until he was fourteen years meaning he was still a child when he got those scars! What kind of master lets his student get hurt like that in the first place?! I should give that so called Sword Hermit a piece of my mind….Now wait a moment….. normally he would avoid talking about anything dangerous that he did back there, so why is he explaining this now without any prompting?) Alisa tried to come up with an answer for this situation when she noticed that both Sharon and Instructor Sara were staring at the biggest scar on Reans chest with confusion and dread in their eyes.

Done with explaining the origins of most of his scars, Crow suddenly let out a cry, "Wait a moment just wait a goddamn moment! How many scars in total do you have?!" Knowing what had his senior so scared, Rean let him stew for a bit before he calmed him down, "Luckily for you Crow, I have seven scars in total. If you had given the option that I had more than five scars in your bet, you would have had to pay a lot more money than the amount you are going to give to Angelica." Crow wiped away the sweat that had begun streaming down his face as he imagined how much money he would have to fork over if he had truly given that option though the look on his face changed to pain as Towa once again pinched his waist with a scary look on her face.

Amused at that Rean was going to put his clothes back on while making sure to that Angelica didn't get another look on the symbols on his back when his instructor called out to him, "What about that scar? You gave each one a story but not that one." Sara was pointing at the biggest scar on his body and given the looks he was getting form her, Sharon and with Fie joining in when she got a closer look at it, he understood that they had figured out what was wrong with it. "That is because I have no idea on how I got it."

Seeing the looks of confusion on their faces, he explained it further, "Since I can remember I have always had this scar so I can only assume that I got it when I was far too young to remember it, hence I really have no idea on how I got it, (or how I am still alive despite having it)." The last part wasn't spoken out loud, but it got the message across to those three while the rest seemed to accept his explanation though the archer was looking between the four of them with suspicion in her eyes. After that Towa apologised again to Rean for Crow actions on using him for a bet and promised to punish harshly during the coming days while the bandana wearer was pleading for leniency in the background. Done with that they left the dormitory allowing Class VII to go back to their usual routine for the evening while trying to get some more details out the swordsman regarding his tattoos and scars.

The next day was the beginning of their newest class and the day where they could put on their short-sleeved shirts instead of their jackets which was a good thing since the heat had begun to rise during the last few days. Inside the swimming pool after having changed into their academy issued swimsuits Class VII went through some warmups before assembling before their instructor, "I am supposed to remind you that these swimming classes here are meant to teach you skills relevant to military service. You know how not to drown if you wind up in the water, how to save others from drowning, CPR that kind of stuff. In fact, CPR is a pretty vital skill on any battlefield. How about Rean and Alisa give us a live demonstration on how it works?"

The smirk on her face made it clear that she was just teasing them though it got wider when she saw Alisa glare at her for even suggesting something like that, "Just kidding. The point is CPR is still an important skill that you should learn and that you shouldn't hesitate to use in case if it is needed. So please pay attention to my explanation of it or else I will give you the task of demonstrating it before the entire class and I may or may not pick two people of the same gender for you to practice on".

After that Sara made them swim laps in the pool to get their times with help from Laura who had experience with these things thanks to being a member of the swimming club, done with their turns Alisa and Rean stood on the side of the pool watching their classmates swim, "Wow, Gaius is pretty fast. I heard that he used to swim in that lake by your grandfathers cabin every summer when he got the chance, and it shows on his time."

"Emma is also a lot faster than I thought she would be too, though it is not so much her swimming ability that I envy…." Following where Alisa was looking Rean suddenly understood what she meant as her eyes were fixated at a certain part of Emma's body when she got out of the water, "Ohhhh, I get it."

That earned him a glare from the blond, "You don't need to get it! Anyway, what are you doing just staring at girls in swimsuits?!"

"I am not staring; my eyes are just pointed in that general direction but if it makes you feel better, I can just close my eyes for the duration of the class. I don't want to make you or the other girls uncomfortable with me looking at you." A bit surprised at that Alisa didn't know how to react to his offer, "You don't have to go that far just try not to linger too long on our bodies and you will be fine, besides it isn't like I am not enjoying the view myself….I mean I am…I am…." Alisa had gotten distracted when she had gotten a good look at Reans body, yesterday revelations had distracted her from looking too closely at him but now that she had the opportunity, she could really appreciate the amount of training he had put into his body.

When he wore his uniform Rean body appeared kind of slim but outside of his clothes, he had what Alisa could only describe as a warrior's body. His body was lean and toned with just the right number of muscles in his upper body, the scars and tattoos only added to his alure, in her opinion, making her nearly drool at the sight. She was saved by the fact that she wasn't the only lost in admiration, Rean too had stopped for a moment when he first got a good look at Alisa in her swimsuit making his heartbeat getting louder with each second that he gazed at her. He had snapped out of it thanks to Sara calling the class for their warmups since then he had avoided looking directly at her body in fear of making her feel uncomfortable, making him miss that she was doing the same thing to him now.

Alisa was snapped out it by the bickering of Machias and Jusis who had finished at the same time though looking at Emma sly grin the archer knew that she was busted but choose to ignore it when Sara called them for a last round of swimming in the form of a head-to-head competition. The students chose each a partner to compete with that had similar times to them while Sara handpicked Rean to swim against here. The groups were as followed Elliot vs Gaius, Jusis vs Machias, Alisa vs Emma, Rean vs Sara and Fie vs Laura. The last one caused some uneasy, but the rest couldn't do anything about it besides hoping that this little competition wouldn't worsen the situation between the two girls.

The first rounds ended with Alisa, Jusis and Gaius winning their races though they were surprised when Rean managed to beat Sara, who seemed even faster than Laura at the beginning, by a second during their contest leaving only Laura and Fie to compete. "Fie, how about giving it all you have got this time?" The others besides Rean and Sara were surprised at what Laura was suggesting while Fie had her usual stoic look.

"What if I already did?"

"I know that you didn't, I could tell with just one look at you. Don't make light of me, your earlier time was certainly not the best you are capable of." Fie didn't have any visible reaction to Laura provocation until Sara chimed in, "Well, it isn't very polite to hold back against your opponent. This isn't like the battlefields you grew up fighting on, it's a place where you can grow and better yourself by challenging others. Deep down I know that you realise that."

Deciding that perhaps Sara was right the ex-jaeger decided that perhaps it wouldn't be a bad idea to go all out for once which she confirmed with a nod at her rival, thankful for Sara assistances Laura started to get ready. Both girls stood on the platform ready to begin, a whistle later both were racing across the water leaving the rest in a daze when they saw how fast they were, the race ended with Laura's win, but it was attributed to her having the longer reach. Rean noticed that they seemed to talk about something while in the water though he was too far away to understand what they were talking about though he could see that whatever Fie had said it caused Laura to frown at the younger girl a fact that wasn't lost on the rest of the class.

After their swimming lesson was done, they returned to their homeroom where Sara told them about some of the details of the upcoming practical exam where they would be told the location of their next field study the coming weekend which coincided with the Summer Festival in the capital. Finished with her work for the day Sara released them and skipped away in high spirit towards the next bar filled with alcohol leaving her students to chat among themselves except for Laura and Fie who disappeared from the classroom as quickly as they could.

The rest talked with each other what they could about them, but their conclusion was that perhaps they should leave it to their resident problem solver aka Rean, leaving the swordsman to roll their eyes at them, after making some more good-natured fun of him, they also began to leave the room to go to their clubs meeting. Leaving Rean alone with Alisa who had a free afternoon from Lacrosse practice, "So got any plans for now or you going to do your usual rounds as a gopher?"

"I was thinking of going to visit George to see if could make me some new quartzes for tomorrows investigation of the old schoolhouse. What about you?"

"Already got mine from him yesterday and my Orbal Bow is ready for whatever the schoolhouse throws at us, but I guess another look at it couldn't hurt, mind if I tag along?" Not having a reason to decline though he was sure that checking on her bow wasn't the only reason she wanted to come with him, he just nodded. "Always happy to spend time you, Alisa." That earned him rolling eyes from the archer but secretly she was also of the same opinion as him, "By the way, if you have anything to ask me just ask and if the answers won't get me into trouble, then I won't mind answering." Ending that sentence with a wink at her, he opened the door that would lead outside of the building for her.

"Oh, was I that obvious?"

"Not really but after living and spending so much time together, I think I may have picked up a thing or two about you." Grinning at him Alisa flicked him on the nose to dispel the smirk he was giving her, "Now, now don't get a big head just because you were able to see through my intention to question you but don't forget that it works both ways, I was also able to pick up some things about you." Both teenagers grinned at each other while making their ways towards the engineering building where they found George just leaving to handle a request from the people of the town to repair their orbal machines. Deciding that he could ask for those quartzes tomorrow morning, Rean decided to keep Alisa company while she worked on her bow.

Inside the building Alisa made a direct line towards the table where the necessary tools were, the familiarity with her moves showed how often the archer had been here while getting ready she decided to go straight at it with her primary goal, "Since you already know about it, I will be direct. I have only two questions. First what was up with your reaction when Angelica tried to read those symbols on your back and second why was it that Sharon, Fie and Instructor Sara seemed to be filled with dread when they looked at the scar on your chest?"

"Wow, you didn't waste any time, did you?" Having already expected something like this Rean had already thought on how he should answer her, "Let's start with the first one since that one is easier to explain. These symbols represent an oath that I swore four years ago, some cultures in the east believe that having an oath inked on your back makes it easier for the person to follow trough it since the weight of that promise is always present on them."

Alisa had already started on working on her bow but stopped when she heard the serious note in his voice to look at him, "I panicked because that oath is extremely personal to me, besides me and two other people no one else know about what I swore to myself on that day, not even my family knows about it. So, when Angelica tried to read it, I panicked and turned around so quickly because I didn't want her to know. To be honest, one of the reasons I chose to use those symbols is that besides some eastern schools and cultures there aren't that many people left that can read them, imagine my surprise when I found that she could read them somewhat, makes me wonder who her teacher is."

"I see…Since it seems to be so important to you to keep it a secret, I won't ask what kind of promise you made to yourself though I get the feeling whatever it is that I won't like it at all, won't I?" The look and smile he gave her in return seemed to confirm her words, but like she said she wouldn't ask about it, "Now for that second question."

Sighing Rean motioned at her to sit down, "That one is a bit more complicated, and I think it would be better if you sat down for that one." Already not liking where this was going, she followed his advice and sat right in front of him while crossing her arms while she waited for him to beginning, "First let me start with this, I don't have any lingering health problems thanks to it and neither does it affect me in my day-to-day life, so you don't have to worry about me, ok?"

"If you were trying not to make me worry, then this just had the opposite effect." Chuckling at that remark, Rean tried his best to explain it without making her more worried but was side-lined when he thought about something else, "Actually now that you mention her, I do wonder how Sharon noticed it? Fie, I can understand since she worked with Jaegers while Instructor Sara seemed to have a seen her fair share of battles to notice it but Sharon? No idea how."

"After living with her for so long I stopped trying to understand how she is so good at so many things that don't have anything to do with the usual skills associated with maids, but you are getting side-tracked, Rean." Chuckling at the pointed look she was giving him, he decided to answer her question, "The reason why they starred at that particular scar was because by all logic I shouldn't be alive after getting it."

It took Alisa a moment to let his words to sink in but after she was sure that he really said what she had heard, she immediately stood up and looked at him with shock and horror on her face, "What exactly do you mean that you shouldn't be alive after getting it?" Following suite Rean also stood up and walked towards her to try and calm her down.

"Easy there, Alisa. Remember what I said, I am fine and healthy. Despite, in your words, trying my best to jump into any dangerous situation that I come across no matter how reckless it is." His poor attempts at making a joke didn't go over well with the archer but was enough to calm her down a bit. "The scar should have come from having been stabbed in the chest."

"And what does that have to do what with the fact you shouldn't be alive after getting it?" He pointed at the location of his scar to make her understand, it took her a minute to get what he meant but as she it did her face turned pale while the horror returned, "Oh Aidios…...If you were stabbed there with such force that it leaves a scar like that how wasn't your heart hit?! Aidios, how are you still alive?!"

Rean hadn't thought that she would react like that but as he saw the look of fear on her face he acted purely on instinct and took her in his arms hugging her directly to his chest, "Hey, everything is fine. While I don't know how or when this happened it doesn't change the fact that I survived and am still right here with you. There is no need to worry about it either, I don't have any lingering problems because of it, and I am fit as a horse. If you don't believe me how about asking Instructor Beatrix for confirmation, remember the physical and health tests we took before entering the academy? There is your proof that I am healthy."

Turning her head to the side so that she could press her ear to his chest to hear his beating heart Alisa put her arms around his back to hug him back while trying to get the image of Rean dying by being stabbed through his heart out of her head. Hearing his words and feeling him rubbing her back in a soothing manner with his hands allowed her to slowly regain her calm though neither could tell how long they remained like that. After she got her bearings back, she still didn't move from her spot, Alisa went through everything in her head with what she had just heard while replaying every encounter she had with Rean until one stood out to her.

"Then what about that time in Nord, when you got dizzy in front of the guardian at that moment you grabbed your chest right where your scar is."

"Oh, that. From time-to-time some scars itch you can ask anyone that has one to confirm it. (Though in my case it also heats up when I use my power, but I don't think that I should mention that now or ever.) Besides think about it if I truly had some health problems because of it do you think my parents would have let me study here or even train with my sword."

Relieved at that Alisa started to gradually accept that everything was fine with him though it also made her aware of the position they were in causing her to stiffen up for a moment. That didn't go unnoticed by Rean who had realised the same thing and was going to let her go but at that moment Alisa hugged him more tightly while whispering to him, "I am sorry, but can we remain like this for a bit more?"

A part of him, the part that he had ignored for most of his live the one that he considered as his selfish part reared his head in approval of the archer's request, deciding that for one moment just this one he could listen to it, he put his arms again around her. Time passed while the two remained in the same position just the two of them in each other embrace enjoying the other's presence no one said anything in fear that the moment would disappear but unfortunately the moment passed when Reans Arcus Unit began to ring. Causing the two to separate while blushing as Rean answered it, "Rean Schwarzer speaking."

"Hmm? Something wrong Rean? Your voice sounds kind of funny." Taking a deep breath to calm himself Rean tried not to show how flustered he was at the moment but the selfish part of him wanted to hunt down his instructor and beat her up for having destroyed the moment between him and Alisa. Coughing into hand to ignore that urge and get his voice back to normal he answered her, "Sorry Instructor Sara, my Arcus surprised me just when I was drinking some juice, and it went down the wrong way. How can I help you?"

"Oookkk? Anyway, I have talked with the principal regarding your request for me to come with your group as a safety measure in case you run into another monster like that Ice Wolf from last month. We also got the approval of the royal family for that, but we also got some new rules to follow which are that I am not allowed to interfere during your investigation unless you students are in danger of dying and if that happens, they will put a permanent end to your monthly investigation into the old schoolhouse. I will leave it you to explain to the others why I am coming with you from now on, have fun with that one. Ciao."

On one hand he was relieved that Sara would come with them since that means the others wouldn't be in too much danger in case another Spirit Class monster appeared but on the other hand, he now had to explain to his classmates why their instructor had to come with them tomorrow, (Oh well as long they are safe it doesn't matter if they are angry with me for not telling them of my request and what kind of danger a monster like that wolf really represented.)

Closing his Arcus and putting it back in his pocket Rean turned around to see that Alisa was avoiding looking at him though he could see that her ears were red, (Sigh, now what am I going to do now? I really shouldn't have been so selfish and enjoyed having her in my arms. She was just shocked and worried about me and needed to be comforted, so why are you feeling so selfish that you want to have her back in your arms, Rean Schwarzer?!) Berating himself in his head for a while, the swordsman didn't notice that the archer was slowly calming down from having an internal crisis herself.

(Why did I do something like that?! I mean it was nice and comfortable….Stop! Don't go there! Ugh! I told myself that this was just a itsy bity crush and….. No, calm down Alisa! Everything is fine, nothing happened we just hugged each other and nothing more.) Glancing at him the archer's face turned once again bright red but what caught her attention was the fact that Rean himself seemed also to be blushing. Rean Schwarzer blushing was a fact that somehow managed both to calm her down and made her feel joy at the sight though she didn't show it instead she sealed that joy inside her while turning around fully to face him, "Anyway, what did Instructor Sara want from you? Does she need her gopher for something that she doesn't want to do herself, like doing her paperwork or going to the store to buy some more cans of beer?"

Falling into their usual banter with each other was enough to break Rean out of his thoughts, "No, she doesn't need me for anything right now and how many times am I going to tell you that I prefer the word helper?" Smirking at him now that they had put what happened just now behind them, for the moment at least, she would freak out about this later in her room, Alisa returned to the workstation, "Tomato, tomahto, Rean. I know that you said that everything is fine health wise so I will believe you for now but…" At that she pointed her index finger at him, "I will keep my eyes on you, Mister. The moment I think that something is wrong I will drag you to Instructor Beatrix myself and get you checked out thoroughly, do you understand?" Having already expected that she would say that Rean just gave her a smile, "I do. Don't worry, I am fine."

Rolling her eyes at him she fixed her glare at him, "Your version of fine is different from most people, Rean. So, forgive me if I don't fully trust you when you say that. Regarding that scar you really don't remember how you got it?"

"No, my earliest memory is waking up at my parents' house and at that time I already had this scar on my body. Believe me, I am also curious how I got it especially how I survived the wound from it?" The moment he saw her flinch at that reminder, he regretted his words instantly making him blurt out the first that came to his mind "By the way, Instructor Sara is coming with us tomorrow for the monthly investigation in the old schoolhouse?" That managed to get her thoughts away from the earlier subject but opened another can of trouble for him.

"Wait, what? Why is she coming with us? Didn't she always say that the old schoolhouse is a good training place for us and that her chaperoning us would take away the purpose of it. What happened to make her change her mind?"

"That would be my fault. After our run in with that wolf last month, I asked the principal if she couldn't come with us the next time, we would do the investigation just to be on the safe side." Seeing the curious look on her face, Rean started to explain how dangerous that Spirit Class monster had been and that they had been lucky that it had been a weak one, compared to the ones he had seen and fought against back in the East, contrarily to his expectations Alisa didn't seem mad that he hadn't explained until now how dangerous that fight could have been, if nothing else she looked impressed with him.

"Well, I will be. You knew that the next floor could be even more dangerous than the last one and instead of trying to resolve it on your own and acting reckless like you so often do, you went and asked for help. Colour me impressed, Rean." The tone in her voice made it clear that his actions this time had really surprised her and for once in a good way, "I wouldn't go that far, I did what everyone else would have done and since you guys have decided to make me team leader in each investigation down there, I have a duty of keeping you all safe no matter what and if that means that I have to ask for help, then that is what I will do."

Frowning a bit at his word choice, the archer starred at him, "I knew it was too good to be true but then again, the fact that you asked for help is already an improvement. I would have been more impressed with you if you had also included your own wellbeing into the category of people you should protect and not just us. Anyway, I will take this as a sign that you can be taught after all, though the road will be a long and windy one." Not understanding why, she changed from impressed to mild annoyance with him, he wisely kept his mouth shut while he watched her work on her bow again.

For a few moments no one said until Alisa thought of something else that Rean had just let slip regarding these so-called Spirit Class monsters, "By the way, how truly dangerous are those Spirit Class monsters? I mean you already explained how they are different from the normal ones but on a scale from one to ten how would you rate them?"

"That would depend on the monster but normally I would rate them at a solid eight in general. If possible, you should avoid fighting against them and just concentrated on escaping in case you meet one which is one of the reasons why I asked for Instructor Sara as backup. Despite her usual behaviour and character, she is very strong in a fight."

"Yes, I can't deny that especially after she trounced you, Jusis and Machias so easily last time. So, you would rate them eight out of them, huh? Which begs the question how many of those did you fight back there?"

"Hmmm, I don't think it was too many perhaps around tw…uhh, I mean." Having caught himself from answering that at last possible moment though from the way her eyes were narrowing at him, he knew that he had once again gotten himself into trouble. "No need to stop there, Rean. How many times exactly did you fight those monsters that you, Mister Reckless, would give an eight on the danger scale? Come on, don't be shy."

Slowly backing away from her, Rean tried to come up with something that would get him out of this, luckily his salvation just opened the door carrying some boxes in front of him, "Hey you two. Sorry for leaving like that but the orbal stove of the inn had broken down and they needed me to fix it as soon as possible since the evening rush is going to start soon. Got these boxes full of sweets in return but they are too much for just one person. Rean could do me a favour and give one of these to Angelica? She should be at the academy field talking with Jusis regarding something concerning their families, I think."

Seeing this heaven-sent opportunity Rean didn't hesitate to quickly take one box and make his exit, "Of course, I can do that for you George, I will even go right now. See you later at dinner Alisa." Not bothering to wait for her to react he left the building so quick you could barely see him move, stunned at that George put the rest of the boxes down and looked at the archer who had a vein throbbing on her forehead, "I take it that I interrupted something just now?" Releasing a deep breath, Alisa gave her senior a shake of her head, "Nothing to worry about, just Rean being Rean."

That was enough for him to understand, having heard enough about the black-haired first year to know that he was somewhat reckless with his wellbeing, though he couldn't help but wonder what he had done this time around while glancing at Alisa who had resumed her work while muttering under breath, "One of these days, Rean. One of these days!"

Having escaped momentarily from Alisa's questioning, though he knew that she would add this to her ever-growing list of his reckless stories, Rean made his way towards the field where he found Angelica and Jusis at the horse's stalls talking with each other. After having dropped the sweets off, he was going to leave and go to the dormitory now but the moment he passed the hut containing the sports equipment he heard voices coming from the back.

"I don't know. He showed a reaction to the remains, but I am not sure if that can count as having the potential or not."

"Hmph, I knew I should have gone with you, nonetheless if he showed a reaction then it seems likely that he is a 'key'." Finding one out of those voices familiar, Rean made his way towards the back though he did step on a twig alerting the voices of his presence, "Who is there?! / Who is there?!" Appearing from behind the crates Rean saw both Emma and that black cat (?) from the town starring open-mouthed at him, "Sorry if I startled you, I was just passing by when I heard voices, and my curiosity got the best of me. Sorry if I interrupted you …two…? Weren't you talking with somebody, Emma?"

Flustered Emma exchanged looks with the black cat (?) before a light bulb lit up inside her head, taking out her Arcus, she showed it to him, "I was talking to a friend on my Arcus! Yes, that was the other voice you heard! Th-that communication functionality sure is convenient, isn't it?"

Sweat dropping at his class president flustered acting the swordsman didn't know how to react so he played along, "You are right, it is very convenient. Sorry if I interrupted you, then. I will get out of your way if you want to 'call' them back. (Though I am curious who her so called friend is, I didn't pay attention before but right now I can only sense her and this cat(?), I may have seen it around town more often, but I still can't understand what my senses are telling me regarding it.)"

"There is nothing for you need to worry about. Nothing at all!" Seeing her so flustered Rean was a bit amused, but his attention soon returned to the cat(?), "Still…. you really do know that cat…wait, it isn't your cat, right?"

"Oh no, no. It is not quite like that; she is more like a supervisor…I meant friend! Yes, the two of us have a real connection! Back when I first came to the academy, we kept running into each other and after a few offerings of milk and cheese, we eventually struck up a friendship…Ahaha."

He noticed that the more they talked the more flustered Emma got, so he took pity on her and prepared to really leave this time after asking one more question regarding the feline(?), "You wouldn't happen to know its name, would you? I mean if you run into her so often you must have at least an inking to what she is called right?" Glancing at the cat(?) with a bit of mischief in her eyes Emma told him, "Her name is Celine." Rean was sure that he didn't imagine the way it glared at Emma, but he had got at least an answer concerning it, the rest he could figure out later.

After bidding goodbye to his class president, he made his way towards the school gate, (Still, it makes me wonder who Emma was talking to, I mean it was obvious she wasn't talking with someone on her Arcus since the only people with one are the members of Class VII and some of the instructors, besides the range isn't that far-reaching meaning that she couldn't just call home. Maybe she was talking to that cat(?)….no, I know that there are beings out there that one wouldn't exactly call normal but a talking cat? No way that is something straight out of a fairy tale…then again, I am not exactly normal myself so perhaps….)

"Retiring for the day, Schwarzer?" Hearing someone call out to him woke Rean up from his thoughts to see one of his instructors approaching him, "Instructor Neithardt? Yes, sir. Are you heading out too?" Stopping in front of him, Neithardt nodded at his question, "Indeed. I have some business to take care of within my division, so I will be returning there tomorrow morning. With that in mind, I thought it wise to finish my work as soon as possible."

(Right, Instructor Neithardt was sent here from the Imperial Army to teach the students about military tactics and so on.) I imagine that it isn't easy to travel constantly between the Army base and the academy."

"Correct, it also makes it difficult to keep a regular schedule here. Anyway, while I am here, I want to acknowledge the work you did during your field study last month. Reading the army's report, it seemed that armed conflict with the Republican Army was a real possibility and while the Intelligence Division no doubt had a hand in resolving the conflict, you and the other members of your group played an integral part in averting a war. You deserve credit for that."

Standing a bit straight at his praise, Rean thought about asking something else, "Thank you, Sir. If you don't mind me asking, you haven't been able to find out anything more about that man with the glasses, the who called himself Gideon or G., have you?"

"The one who hired the mercenaries and planned to use the Nord Highlands to start a war? Regrettably no. The Intelligence Division is looking into his identity, but they don't appear to have found anything yet. Though personally, I wouldn't be at all surprised if they HAD discovered something already but chose not to share it with us."

(Well, looks like the army is also coming up with nothing. After coming back, I asked Micht if he could investigate Gideon himself but until now there was nothing noteworthy besides that the fact that G. is rumoured to have appeared in several locations in the underworld looking for hired muscle before he went to the Nord. I know that I should leave this to the army, but something tells me that it won't be the last time I ever see that man.) Falling quiet Rean didn't notice Neithardt looking at him before he cleared his throat to get his attention.

"Schwarzer, I will be the first to admit that you and the others have performed admirably out there but I assume you are aware that luck played a large part in your success? Reading your report, the number of arbitrary decisions stood out to me while now that it is over those decisions don't seem like bad ones but that is only because you succeed in your mission." Neithardt let that sink in for a minute and after making sure that he had his student attention he went on.

"For an army to function, its members need to work together as a group united under the will of its commander. As an organisation, it can't perform at its best if its members disregard authority and act on instinct. I believe we have already been over this class?" Understanding what Instructor Neithardt was saying, Rean replied, "Yes, Instructor. I realise now that our actions were rash, and they also made things harder on the Lieutenant General and if we hadn't stumble upon Millium Orion we also wouldn't have been able to find out the hiding place of Bugbear and G."

Nodding at the swordsman, Neithardt acknowledge his answer, "If you can understand that I have nothing further to say on the matter. It is not my intent to belittle your efforts, your report indicates that you were forced to make several split-second decisions, and, in the end, you did manage to avert war. I am not suggesting that there is no place for flexibility and independent thought in an organisation like the army, but it is vital for you to understand the reasoning behind and the importance of that structure and to respect it."

Stopping there Neithardt couldn't help but sigh at the reason why a student like Rean hadn't been taught that yet, "Teaching cadets to respect and work within that system should be the job of their homeroom teacher, though considering her background, it was foolish of me to expect that of her." His curiosity was once again roused at that bit of information, "Her? You are talking about Instructor Sara?"

"Indeed. Granted, she is quite skilled, but she lacks the disposition and diligence of a soldier. I understand she didn't come from an army background, but with her position, one would hope she would pick up on the basics." Now he was definitely curious, "Oh? Do you happen to know what Instructor Sara did before she became an instructor here?" A bit surprised at that question, Neithardt couldn't help but ask in return, "Oh? Is she keeping quiet about that? I had just assumed you were already aware of her background. Before she came to Thors, Sara was…."

"Ah-ah-ah. It is not very becoming of a gentleman to go around broadcasting a lady's secrets, you know." Both men looked at the direction where the voice had been coming from to see Sara walking towards them with a grin on her face, "I totally understand where you are coming from, Rean. You meet a beautiful, captivating lady and you want to know more, but it is not alright to go digging around a lady's past. I am willing to overlook this as long you don't let hard-headed officer types like our friend here rub off on you too much, got it? You always play by the rules, and you will find yourself in a jam someday when you encounter people who don't play by them."

Already used to the fact that these two don't get along Rean keep quiet when Neithardt responded back to Sara's quip, "Hmph. You are one to talk. I hardly think a capricious Instructor who leaves everything to chance is incapable of guiding our cadets to greatness." Not one to back down from a fight Sara returned tit for tat, "Well, of course I couldn't do a better job than the ace of the fourth Armoured Division. Or was that the provincial army? I mean you have got the whole 'tradition and status is everything' mindset nailed down perfectly."

Making sure that they didn't notice Rean slowly stepped away from the bickering adults, (These two really don't get along. First Sharon, now Instructor Neithardt. Instructor Sara almost seems like she is spoiling for a fight lately. Normally I would try to calm them down but I get the feeling that this is about to get a lot worse so I should make my escape as soon as possible.) As if to prove him right a carefree voice drifted its way to them, "Who do we have here? Well, if it isn't Instructor Sara and Instructor Neithardt! Ah, and young Rean is also with you! Simply marvellous!"

From inside the academy Instructor Thomas joined the trio, though judging from the short grimaces on their faces neither instructor was happy to see him, "It looks like you all are having a downright jolly time! Would you mind if I joined you?" From there Thomas managed to rope his two colleagues to join him at the inn for some quality bonding time as members of Thors faculty, thankfully Rean had managed to escape from that by insisting that he wouldn't want to intrude on their time any longer, leaving a betrayed looking Sara loudly screaming at him as he ran away to his dormitory. Later that evening Rean found a drunken Sara lying on the couch reeking of alcohol much to the displeasure of their maid Sharon who looked like she wanted to do nothing more to throw the drunken woman outside, also wisely avoiding that situation the swordsman spent the rest of the evening inside his room.

The next day after breakfast Rean opened his mailbox to find three requests from the Student Council, one of them was the usual request for investigating the old schoolhouse, one of the other two was a request from a noble who seems to have trouble speaking with a childhood friend and the last one was from the Photography Club who asked for his help on an inside matter of the club. Like always he put the request from the principal for last and decided that he would begin with the request from the noble and then make his was towards the Photography Club.

Going to his room to get his stuff for the day, Rean crossed paths with Gaius who apparently was going to practice his sketching skills in his room this morning. Asking if he could help him out with anything, Gaius took his offer and just like that Rean spent the next thirty minutes sitting completely still in the lancer's room as he tried to sketch Reans form. Thankfully for the swordsman Gaius was skilled in that area and since this wasn't a full painting, the sketch was soon finished with Gaius thanking him for his time and patience.

Outside the dorm Rean enjoyed the rare refreshing breeze that went through the town while noticing that the habitants of Trista were already awake and doing their works and chores, taking a moment to bask in this serene moment Rean nearly missed Alisa and Sharon entering the boutique Le Sage. Remembering the events form the day before and how Alisa seemed to be slightly annoyed at him during dinner yesterday, (Perhaps I should see if I can help her out with her errands to make up for yesterday, though she does have Sharon at her side for that. What to do?)

Uncertain on what to do, Rean decided first to see if he could help her or if she even wants his help at all, if not he would just spend some time window shopping for clothes he could buy for his family, having made his decision he entered Le Sage and found the pair standing in the men section. Noticing his arrival Sharon seemed to think for a moment before a mischievous twinkle appeared in her eyes as silently called to him with her hand, a bit wary of that twinkle he approached them while Alisa was unaware of his presence, "Hmm… What kind of clothes would he like?"

"(Clothes? Could she be shopping for someone else? Since she is looking at men's clothes could it be for Gwyn?) Are you getting something for your grandfather?" He would never admit it out loud but there is something endearing watching the archer nearly jump in surprise when she heard his voice, "Ahhh, Rean! How many times do I have to tell you to stop sneaking up on me?!"

"Sorry, sorry. To be fair, I didn't sneak up on you, I just walked normally. You were just too engrossed in looking at the clothes that you didn't notice me." Still glaring at him, Alisa conceded that he had a point but didn't say it out loud, "Anyway, you are right. After I was lucky enough to meet with him during last month's field study, it only feels right to send him a little gift in form of some clothing."

"That is really nice of you and probably pretty practical, too. The highlands seem like they will get cold once summer is over."

"Heehee. Master Rean is right, and they should arrive in just in time if we send them in the next few days. Unfortunately, for me and Lady Alisa we are just not sure what to send him since neither of us are well versed in choosing clothes for gentlemen, if only we could get some male perspective that would help us out immensely." The unspoken question that the maid was saying was heard clearly by both teenagers and already was Alisa gearing up to scold Sharon for it but was interrupted by Rean, "Would like me to help you pick something? I mean, I am a guy and I wear clothes, so…."

Snorting at his word choices Alisa could help but tease him, "Really? You are a guy who wears clothes? How come I didn't notice that?" Even Sharon couldn't stop herself from giggling a bit but remained silent nonetheless, rolling his eyes at her, Rean just waited for her answer, "Are you sure that you have the time to help me out with this? Don't you have the usual requests from the Student Council?" Waving her concern away the swordsman replied to her question, "Don't worry, I have enough time to help with this. Does that mean you will accept my help?"

"Thank you for your help then. A more masculine perspective would be much appreciated but I am going to make sure that we don't spend much time with this, one hour at most. If not, I can already imagine you running around trying to finish your request as quickly as possible and since we have the old schoolhouse investigation in the afternoon, I should make sure that you are in good condition for it." Rean for the sake of his pride ignored her jab at him and waited patiently for her to start while Sharon grinned in the background.

The next thirty minutes were spent with the trio going through the men section in search of a good gift for Gwyn, but nothing seemed to fit their criteria since either Rean or Sharon gave her counterarguments on why Gwyn couldn't use this or that. That is until they arrived at the hat section for outdoor clothes, "I think he would look good in a hat, and it would be pretty practical since he spends so much time outside."

"You are right, let's look at what they have over here." Glad to have finally found a possible gift, Alisa grabbed Rean by the arm and dragged him to the hat selection, both teenagers didn't notice that Sharon chose that moment to disappear from the store leaving the two alone to go through the various hats on display, "How about this one? Do you think it would fit him?" Taking the hat that she was pointing at, Rean went over it, "Looks good to me. The design on it is nice and it seems sturdy enough to wear for fishing and hiking too, so I think that he will like it."

Grinning brightly Alisa took it from his hands and turned around, "Great, we finally have our gift. Sharon could you please …..? Sharon? Where did she go?" Looking around they couldn't see the maid anywhere inside the store, after a moment something clicked inside Rean, "Something tells she disappeared while our attention was on those hats, maybe she was trying to give us some alone time?" That brought a slight blush to Alisa's cheeks, and she tried to look anywhere else besides Rean, "Dang it, Sharon! Was there any need do this?"

"Perhaps she wanted to give us the opportunity to talk since you seemed to be annoyed at me yesterday." That managed to get her to look at him, "I wasn't really annoyed at you yesterday perhaps a little miffed but that is nothing new when you drop hints like you did yesterday."

"Fair enough but in my defence, I don't think I did something reckless since most of my fights against Spirit Class monsters were out of my control."

"The keyword in that sentence is 'most', Schwarzer which tells me that you have looked for them out of your own volition just to fight against them." Raising his hands, he conceded that point, "Ok that is true, but it was just one time, and I don't regret what I did back there though I got some pretty heavy scolding from my Master and everyone else back then." Something in his voice made Alisa heart clench though she didn't know why, "And that tells me you were trying to protect someone or something from that monster, is that perhaps where you got one of your scars?"

The archer didn't miss the way he suddenly became still or how controlled his voice sounded, "You.…. would be correct with that, it seems like you are getting better and better at seeing through me. I really need to keep my guards up against you don't I, Alisa? (Or I will let it slip that I got every single scar on my body in that fight which I can already tell would lead me into hot water with you.)" Alisa struggled with herself for a moment or two before coming to a decision and grabbed his arm to make him look at her, "Look, I know that I can be pretty overwhelming when it comes to scolding you when you do something reckless or when I find out about it but I …"

Seeing where she was going with this Rean used his free hand to pat her hand holding his arm, "Alisa, please. There is no need for you to explain, I know that you are only worried about me when you scold me, and I can understand that. If you or anyone else in our class did the same things I did, I would also be mad and worried. I am glad that I have a friend like you to watch my back." She was definitely blushing now but didn't move away from him like she would usually do, "Hmph, good that you know. Does that mean you will stop being so damn reckless from now on?"

He made a show of him thinking about it, "I…. don't think so." At that she narrowed her eyes at him but before she could say he went on, "Since from my point of view I don't really consider myself reckless. Think about it, after all those supposedly 'reckless' things I did, I am still in one piece, no?" Taking her hand out of his she crossed her arms to glare at him, "The scars on your body tell a different story, Mister and don't try to convince me otherwise. Since you said that I am getting better at seeing through let's see if I can find out why you are like this. I know that you are far too kind for your own good, that you don't mind helping people out no matter what they need help with, and you tend to put the wellbeing of others before yours."

Amused at that Rean waited for a moment to let her gather her thoughts, "There are more examples that I could say but each one lets me believe that something happened to you when you were younger making you question your own self-worth." She stopped at that when she saw the surprised and somewhat scared look deep in his eyes but it didn't stop her from putting the hat down and grab both his hands in hers, "While I don't know any details about what happened to you or perhaps I am wrong about it but I think that during the next two years that we are here at the academy, I will make it my mission to make you realise that you matter more than you seem to think about yourself and I am sure that our classmates will help me out with this."

Remaining still to let her words sink in no one said a word for a while until Alisa took the hat back form the shelf and made her way towards the counter to pay for it leaving a stunned Rean behind her, not knowing what to say to her after that. He could just watch her in silence as the shopkeeper warped the hat up and gave it to Alisa, outside the store the pair was still surrounded by silence before it was broken by Alisa, "Since you helped me out with this, perhaps I should also buy something for you in return? Got any clothes that you need?" Deciding that perhaps she didn't any response to her declaration back there, he put it on the back burner for now and shook his head at her, "Thank you for the offer but there is no need for that and before you say anything, do remember that we are obligated to wear our school uniform as long we are on campus."

"Sigh don't remind me. Nothing against our uniform but always wearing the same looking clothes does get a bit boring after months. This is one of the reasons why I can't wait for Laura and Fie to patch things up." Seeing the confusion on his face she went on, "Can you believe that besides our uniform and some training suits Laura and Fie have no causal clothes or dresses?! Emma and I already talked about perhaps going on a girl's shopping trip in the capital after they have made up, which reminds me good luck with them on the next field study and getting them to make up with each other."

Now he was even more confused, "I am sorry, what are you talking about? We don't know the roster for both groups and why do you think that I will manage to get them to make peace with each other if you and Emma couldn't?" Eyes twinkle in mischief she gave him a small smile, "Because I am sure that Instructor Sara is going to take you out of our group into theirs hoping that you will do the same you did back then with Machias and Jusis."

"Come on, even Instructor Sara isn't that lazy! I doubt that she is going to something like that and if, and that is a big if, I get into the same group as these two I will try my best, but I can't promise anything." Spotting an opportunity to get some payback on him for last month, Alisa tried to lure him into her trap, "Are you sure about that? How about this then? I will bet that the groups for the next field study will be the same minus that you will be on the other one." Eyeing her carefully Rean thought about it for a moment before concluding that even someone like Sara Valestein wouldn't be that lazy, "I will accept that bet then, what are the stakes?"

"(Got you.) If you win you can choose one time that I won't scold you for your usual recklessness and if I win ...hmmmm… let's, see you will tell me about a story of you during time in the East that includes everything no matter how dangerous it was, deal?" Stretching her hand out for him to shake she waited to see if he was going to accept it or not, "Can I choose which story, or will you choose it?"

"Hmmm… I will get to choose the story but in exchange you will choose the time and place where you will tell it."

"Alright, that seems fair. You got yourself a deal, Alisa." Shaking her hand to seal it the two parted ways afterwards Alisa to the dorms and Rean to get started on his requests. Outside the nobles dormitory he managed to convince the maid overseeing the dorm to call the request giver out, it turned out to be the daughter of a baron who somehow had become estranged from her childhood friend that was a commoner, the reason for the request was to find out why Allan's behaviour towards her had changed during the last months and if it was something that she had done, she wanted to know what and to apologise for it.

After getting all the details that he could he tried to track down her childhood friend Alan though it wasn't easy since he hadn't appeared at the fencing club practice. There Rean found out that Alan had apparently fought against Patrick Hyarms in a sparring fight but was totally defeated and humiliated by the latter regarding his fencing skills. Asking if the members of the Fencing Club knew where he could be, they pointed him in the direction of the academy field. He discovered someone practicing fencing moves in the shadows and from the descriptions he was given he seemed to be the one Rean had been searching for.

While walking towards him Rean made sure to make some noise so that Alan wouldn't think that he was sneaking up on him, noticing the black-haired boy he stopped moving and put his sword away, "You are that guy from Class VII, right? Do you have some business with me or something?" Noticing the wary look, he was giving him, Rean thought that perhaps it would be better to make some small talk first to get him to relax a bit, "No, nothing like that. I saw you training out here and was pretty impressed, that's all. That said, you seem a little hesitant and it's getting in the way of your form." He thought that some well-meant advice would break the ice but to his surprise it had the opposite effect.

"What makes you think that you can just show up out of the blue and just criticise me?! Is it because you are a noble?! Should a high and mighty noble like you even talk to a lowly commoner like me?! Or do you get a pass when it's condescension?!"

"That stuff has never really bothered me. (It seems like this guy has a noble shaped chip on his shoulder, reminds me a bit of how Machias was at the beginning.) Putting your baggage aside for now, you came here to train, didn't you? How about you join me for a while?" His nonchalant reaction to the provocation and his offer seemed to throw off Alan since he hadn't expected anything like that, "Me, train with you? Why?"

"Yeah, it is a chance to practice in a way you wouldn't normally. I am sure you would find it beneficial. What do you say?"

"Well…. I don't know what you are planning but if it will make me stronger, then I am on board. Besides I wouldn't say no to some big fancy noble who took the time out of his busy day to ask me, anyway."

"(Definitely a watered-down version of Machias at the beginning of the year, could the reason why he has become estranged from Bridget because she is a noble? But then again, they are childhood friend perhaps there is another reason.) Okay, I will go get everything ready. (I wonder if Instructor Sara will let me borrow the combat shell?)" A short call later the two first year were standing before the combat shell while fighting against it together and since they weren't using the combat links their teamwork wasn't what one would call good, but Rean had adopted a supporting role for Alan. That way he could make sure that Alan wouldn't get knocked out and that he could guide the fight so that the other first year could get the finishing blow against their opponent to build his confidence since that seemed to be his biggest problem with his swordplay at the moment.

The fight went on for a while with a few close calls for the fencer but nonetheless he gritted his teeth and pulled through by defeating the shell with a thrust. Out of breath Alan looked surprised that he managed to defeat it, "D-Did we win?"

"You bet we did. Not surprising after that last attack of yours, that was a sight to behold." Looking between his sword and Rean, the fencer let out a big laugh after confirming that he had really won, "I feel like I have got my confidence back now, at least a little bit of it." But his joy didn't last much longer after looking at Rean once more, seeing that he was struggling with saying what was on his mind, Rean started to clean up the Combat Shell to return it to the armoury giving Alan enough time to come to terms with whatever he was thinking.

"…Oh, uh, I am sorry. I feel bad about all the flak I gave you earlier, especially after you were so kind to help me out with my training. Calling you all that high and mighty noble stuff and so on. I am truly sorry." Chuckling to himself Rean waved away his apology, "Don't worry about it, no harm done. But if you don't mind me asking is there some reason why you got so caught up in that?"

"…It's embarrassing to say out loud, but…..envy, I guess. I used to be awful at almost everything I did sports, studying, anything you can think of. Still am, really. But I knew this noble who was basically my opposite: she could try her hand at anything and do it flawlessly. I was always so frustrated by that. All I wanted to do was be her equal, but no matter what I did, couldn't manage it. Haha…that is a pretty lame reason, huh."

"No, not at all. But the noble you are talking about, it is Bridget, isn't it?" Shocked that Rean had managed to guess who he was talking left Alan tongue-tied, seeing that Rean decided to come clean on why he had been searching for the fencer, by telling him of Bridget request. The shock left Alan's face but in its place there was now shame, "So that is how she felt…..Thinking back now, I really have been acting like a jerk to her the entire we have been at Thors."

"In your defence, I can sort of understand why you acted that way. Nobody wants to show their weakness to someone they look up to."

"It is not even that I look up to her so much as I want her to just look at me …. I mean, I …."

"Huh? What do you mean by…..Oh!" Even dense Rean understood now the true reason why Alan had been so desperate to improve himself by thinking back on what he said and judging by how much red his face was now while he tried to hide it, he was right, "Gaaaah! Nothing! Forget I said anything at all!" Though judging from the grin on Rean's face, Alan knew that it was too late for that so tried a different tactic, "A-anyway, if that is what she sent you here for, I will go talk with her. Besides, I owe her an apology after how I have been behaving, she needs to know that my issue was with myself, not with her. In fact, I will go do that right now!"

"That is a relief, I hope the two of you can smooth things over. By the way, I may be no expert on these things, but I think that if you can explain to her how you are feeling I think that will make her understand why you behaved like that more easily. As for the rest that will be up to you solider, though I wish the best of luck in that regard." Still red in the face, Alan thanked him and left the field running, Rean hoped that he would have success in his pursuit of Bridget.

Deciding that he was done with this request, Rean made his way towards the Student Union Building where the Photography Club was to work on his second request of the day on the way there, he spotted Jusis sitting alone in the cafeteria. "You are looking pretty comfortable; have you been coming here often lately?" Putting his cup of tea down Jusis gave him a short nod in return, "You assume correctly, the tea here is of considerable quality after all. Though unfortunately I have been caught up in some bothersome circumstances, as it were."

"(Oh? I wonder what is going on. Maybe I should ask him…) You know you can always come to me if you have got something weighing yon your mind, Jusis. I am willing to listen and to help you out no matter or whatever you need." Sighing Jusis should have already expected something like this the moment he admitted to the trifle of a problem he was having, "I know that, Rean. You have made it perfectly clear that you are willing to help other people out but not yourself."

Jusis had at least the small satisfaction of seeing Rean sheepish looking away from him since both knew about what he was talking about, "But that said, having you around may make things easier on me when they arrive." With that Jusis invited Rean to sit down while he went to get another pot of tea and together, they enjoyed some moments of peace while talking about their recent views on matters of their schoolwork and their martial arts training.

"Ahhh….. nothing is more relaying than a good cup of tea. I am kind of surprised you treated me, though."

"Think nothing of it. You can consider it an…advance payment of sorts." Before Rean could ask what, he meant by that, he saw two seniors wearing the white uniform approaching them, both looked at him with disdain before ignoring him and addressing Jusis, "Good day, it appears our paths have crossed once again Jusis Albarea." The slight against his friend didn't escape Jusis eyes, "…If you have business with me, I would appreciate it if you made it brief." The cold look they were getting seemed to unnerve them somewhat but they forged on, "Well…..how to put it? We just wanted to ask you once again if you would be interested in accompanying us to the saloon."

Taking a sip of his tea, Rean finally understood what was going on, (Oh, now I get it. That would also explain what Jusis is planning…) Glancing at the blonde, the swordsman didn't have to wait long before Jusis confirmed his thoughts, "As I have told you before, I am afraid I have little interest in spending the day being pampered and as you can see, I have a prior arrangement with a friend of mine." The nobles were clearly taken back as they couldn't believe that a scion of one of the Four Great Houses would rather spend his time with something like the false noble Schwarzer instead of them the true nobility of Erebonia, though it didn't take long before their ire was directed at Rean. But they had at least enough self-control to not say anything while Jusis was looking at them as if to dare them to insult his friend.

"That is a shame, but I believe that soon you will realise that certain people aren't worthy of your time or presence." Not willing to remain here any longer both seniors stormed off without looking back, "I see people have started inviting you up to the salon again."

"Indeed. While I was able to dissuade them for a while, it seems as though they have all steeled themselves for another salvo. I have found that the haughtier the noble is, the easier and more satisfying it is to reject their invitation and I admit that using you as a reason is even more satisfying."

"Always happy to help, Jusis. But to do you really think that I don't know the other reason why you are 'using' me?" The noble stopped moving for a moment before putting his cup down and sighing, "Can't say that I wasn't expecting you to see through it, however I had hoped that it would take a while or at the very least when my little plan would bear fruit." Smiling at his friend Rean didn't say anything for a bit just enjoying the company and the tea, "Do you truly think that your little plan will work?"

"Hmmm, I think after a while they will have no choice to also invite you to the saloon along with me if they want me to ever set foot in there. Besides while I don't think that it will quell those asinine rumours about you, it should at least calm them down a bit. Which reminds me thanks to Armbrust stupid bet, there are now new rumours circulating about your scars and tattoos around Thors and Trista and from what I heard they even got some proof in form of photos."

"Yeah, there was someone taking them yesterday during our swimming lessons, but that person didn't remain long there after Instructor Sara glared at them. Speaking of photos, I still have a request with the Photography Club to do this morning." Finishing his tea Rean stood up and was going to leave but stopped when Jusis spoke to him, "Just a reminder for you, Rean. I am keeping an eye on the situation and if I deem it necessary, I will inform the others about the reason why you don't mind that the rumours are focused on you."

With that done Rean went upstairs to speak with Fidelio who was the head of the club, apparently one of the newest members, a first year called Rex, had been taking photos of girls without their permission and was selling them on the school grounds and every time Fidelio tried to talk to him about it, Rex either denied it or evaded the questions. He also didn't have any luck catching him in the act of selling them because every time he approached the location Rex called the sell off and went someplace else to conclude the trade. Without any other option Fidelio turned to the Student Council for help but without telling them about any details on why he needed their help since if this came to light Rex could be suspended or even expelled from the academy. The upper-class man wanted to try and deal with this as an intern matter of the Photography Club without alerting the teachers.

After giving Rean all possible locations, that Fidelio knew about that Rex may be at and warning him to tread lightly since the first year had good instincts regarding being watched, the swordsman left the building and tried the nearest possible location which luckily for him Rex and another first year were present at, doing exactly what Fidelio had feared. What was unluckily for Rean was the fact that Rex had managed to divert his attention with using the idea that Alisa was nearby wearing a risqué swimsuit long enough for him and his buyer to escape the place.

Grumbling to himself that he had fallen for such an old trick, Rean vowed that he would make sure that no one ever found about it while trying not to think about the fact on why the imagination of Alisa had been enough to divert his attention. The next two locations were also a bust, one was deserted and in the other they had once again managed to give him the slip, at the next one he managed to corner one of them, the buyer. Who showed him the photo that he had just bought, against his presumption it was just a normal photo of Towa working in the Student Council. After making sure that the buyer understood the consequences on what would happen if he was caught again buying illegal photos from Rex, he let him go and focused on hunting down the photographer which didn't take long since he had been hiding nearby, hoping that Rean would overlook him somehow.

After dragging the gloomily looking first year in front of Fidelio, the swordsman watched how the upper-class student scolded him for taking photos without permission from the girls. At any rate there were two points that spoke in Rex's favour, the first was that the photos were, against Fidelio's exactions, just normal looking ones and not the more risqué ones he had feared, the other point was that Rex hadn't sold them for mira just in exchange for magazines. With that Fidelio gave Rex another chance to stay in the club as long he properly asked for permission from his models, of course that was after he had made sure that Rex collection of photos didn't survive.

"Now the only request remaining is the investigations of the old schoolhouse, but that one will be only in the afternoon meaning that I now have over two hours of free time, what to do?" Stepping outside of the Union Building Rean thought about what he could do until it was time as his Arcus suddenly rang, "Hello, Rean Schwarzer of Class VII speaking."

"It's Neithardt. Are you free at the moment, Schwarzer?"

"I am, did you need something, Sir?"

"Good. As it happens, I have a little proposal for you. If you have a moment to spare, come speak with me in the facility lounge. I will give the details in person." This arrived at the perfect moment since he didn't anything to do now, so after affirming that he was on his way into the main building to his waiting instructor. "Hello, Schwarzer. I can assume by your prompt appearance that you finished assisting the Student Council?"

"Yes, Sir. The only remaining request concerns the old schoolhouse but that one is scheduled for later, by the way I was under the impression that you would be returning to the military today. Was there a change of plans?"

"I resolved my military business in record time, and I got back not too long ago." Looking at Reans wide eyes as the implication on what he had just said began to daw, Neithardt cut him off before he could, "I am beyond exhausted and to make matters worse, Instructor Thomas roped me into drinking with late into the night thanks to the goading of Valestein but the moment I laid eyes on this my exhaustion disappeared." To Reans confusion the paper showed only the times of Class VII laps during the swimming lessons yesterday, "Sir?"

"This here tells me that the men of Class VII suffered a truly humiliating defeat, thanks to Arseid and Claussel. From these times I can tell that these two swam circle around you men or maybe I should say boys, men of the Empire would NOT stand for this! For the sake of all masculinity in the world, please tell you at least felt a TWINGE of frustration at this defeat!"

"(That was the last thing I was expecting to hear when I came over though to be honest, I wish that I had achieved a better time yesterday.) Certainly, a twinge but…." The older man didn't even let him finish, "Then there may be hope for you yet. Listen well, Schwarzer. If you have got the time and the guts, I would be willing to teach how MEN swim. Us army men undergo a specific training in order to learn how to swim quickly and efficiently, no wasted movements, no wasted breaths and I would be willing to pass this all on to you to keep from being shown up by those two girls again. What say you Schwarzer?"

The sudden proposal left Rean a bit disorientated, but he wasn't one to waste a good training opportunity, this was how the boys of Class VII found themselves at the swimming pool for an impromptu lesson. "I still don't get why we needed to assemble so quickly just for some swimming lessons." Jusis didn't miss the moment to needle Machias, "If it's such a pressing issue for you, I can't imagine any of us would mind if left us and went back to whatever it is you were doing." Like usual the two fell into their routine bickering with each other though it didn't last long because Instructor Neithardt directed their attention to him, "Cough, we will begin with warmups, done in accordance with the Manway Method."

"The Manway Method? Did you just make that up?" Dodging Reans question, Neithardt tried to get them to focus on the upcoming exercises, "The name is not important. The method, on the other hand, is. You will be racing each other one on one. Nothing gets a man motivated like some sweaty competition! Now Schwarzer and Worzel you are the first ones up, get into the water and start racing." That was the start of several races between the boys, challenging each other to see who was faster until they had swum with everyone.

"Whew….Four races in a row really takes its toll on you." Even Rean with all his training was somewhat out of breath after all that exercise, with the others joining in, "You are telling me…..I am exhausted."

"Perhaps you should work on your stamina more instead of spending your days reading books and studying."

"Come now, Jusis. We are all tired after this, even back in Nord I didn't swim this much in one go."

"Yeah… Think we are about done for the day? I am ready for a nap." The four looked at their instructor who had a sardonic smile on his face, "How naïve. You are all naïve, every last one of you. You boys think that you are ready to learn anything after a wimpy little warmup like that? Oh, we still have a long way to go which leads into out next exercise of the day: limit breakers." Poor Elliot seemed to go paler the longer he listened, "I am not the only one panicking about the word 'break' being in the name, am I?"

Gulping loudly Machias dared to ask the question that was on everyone's mind, "…What are those, exactly?"

"There is no such thing as a dumb question, Regnitz, but that one came awfully close. As the name would suggest, this exercise has you swimming to, then through the limits of your endurance. Now, I know what you are thinking: 'Oh, no, Instructor, this a sure-fire way to drown. Don't do this to us!'" At that point his sardonic smile turned into sadistic grin, "But don't worry, I will give you thirty whole seconds to rest for every length of the pool you swim." Ignoring the shocked faces of his students Neithardt started to shout at them to beginning, forty-five minutes later the boys stood outside of the pool gasping for breath and completely exhausted, satisfied with this display the older man started to talk, "It seems as though each of you has expended all your reserves of energy by now."

"By all due respect, Sir. Was there any point to this?"

"Heh, you still doubt me, Regnitz? I would suggest taking a look at your times from those last laps. I am sure you will find yourselves impressed." They checked their times and to their surprises they had improved a good deal, enjoying the confusion on their faces on how that was possible Neithardt waited for a bit before explaining, "Once you reach your limit, your body dedicates all its energy to swimming, not wasting an ounce on anything else. This the method I told you about, keep swimming like this and you will be able to cut your even further. This method doesn't only apply to swimming but to all types of training."

"So that is why you pushed us so far. (Hmm, now that I think about it this method is quite like the ones my master told me about perhaps it wouldn't be a bad idea to use one of those in my training regime in the future though I better be alone doing it, no way Alisa would allow it if she knew about it.)" Rean analysed this method while the others expressed their admiration for their instructor, "You all have performed very well but you may want to use these to recover from your training since you all still have the investigation to do. I hope that you will keep this training so that you may prove yourself worthy men of the Empire."

After handing out some high ranked healing items to them, Neithardt left them to their own devices in the changing room they applied the items and recovered a good chunk of their stamina back the rest they would have to recover through resting, thankfully they still had around an hour before they had to meet in front of the old schoolhouse.

Parting ways for now Rean went to George to see if he had already completed his order of new quartzes, the engineer had unfortunately been swamped with work in the morning so that he had only managed to do just half of the asked quartzes, nonetheless these should be enough deal with most unexpected surprises in the underground area. The swordsman grabbed a sandwich from the cafeteria and went to the meeting place on the way there he crossed paths with Patrick T. Hyarms, not expecting anything he nodded to him as a form of greeting before continuing his way.

"Schwarzer, wait a moment…..please." Surprised Rean turned around to see Patrick starring straight at him, "Is there something that I can help you with, Patrick?" He watched how the noble opened and closed his mouth several times, not understanding what he was doing, Rean waited with patience until Patrick took a deep breath and bowed his entire upper body in a ninety-grad degree, "I am sorry for what I have said last month against you and your classmates!" Slowly blinking, Rean thought that he must have misheard him, using the silence Patrick went on, "Thinking back on what I have said, such words were far beneath one of my station and should never have left my mouth, I let my pride and anger get the best of me and of for that I am sorry!"

Regaining his wits after this unexpected surprise, "Patrick, I …" Not giving him a chance to speak further Patrick interrupted him, "However, this does not mean that I have given up on beating you and the members of VII in both the academics and on the battlefield to prove that Class I is rightfully the best class at Thors Military Academy. I simply wanted to apologise for my behaviour that was unfit for a proud member of the Four Great Houses and of course I will also apologise to your classmates that I have offended. Goodbye." Done with speaking Patrick walked out of there as fast as he could leaving a both amused and confused Rean behind.

"Ok, that just happened. I did notice that he had been of looking at Class VII lately didn't think that it was because he wanted to apologise, can't say that I don't appreciate his effort and if he does apologise to the others and meant it then perhaps, I had pegged him wrong, who knows we could even end up as friends if this goes on." Not really believing that something like that would ever happen, he put this event for latter and went on his way. Since he still had more than half an hour until the others arrived, he passed the time by adopting the meditation pose his master had taught him.

Spreading his perception around him he sensed everything in the small area while trying to deepen his knowledge about the Seventh Form 'Void', (Emptiness is Form and Form is Emptiness.) Rean thought off every possible application that he could think of to see what the best way was to hone his technique in the seventh form further and how he could use it to surpress the ogre more until the point where he had completely control over it. Like every attempt he had mean during the last months this one didn't give him much progress, (Sigh, no matter how I try to simulate it, the fight against him always ends in a draw. Well, at least a bit of progress is better than no progress at all.) At that moment the others appeared including Laura and Fie, given recent event with these two he hadn't been sure that they both would come, he had thought that either, only one would come or neither.

(I guess no matter their differences at the moment they still are curious about the weird ongoings inside the building, can't blame them for that since I am not better in that regard.) Besides Alisa, the rest were surprised when Instructor Sara showed up and told them that she would accompanying them during their investigation, but she would be just a spectator unless one of them was in mortal danger only then would she act.

"Let's have a look at the elevator panel first, I am betting that we will be able to go down to the fourth floor now." Opening the doors with his key, Rean led the group inside in the direction of the elevator with Alisa walking beside him, "Are you referring to those rules you hypothesized last month? I honestly don't know how it's possible, but I have a weird feeling your theory is probably right. However, we should brace ourselves, who know what kind of surprises there are here now." Everyone, including Sara nodded at Alisa's suggestion and entered the next room.

Like Rean had expected the panel showed that the light for the fourth floor was on and available for exploring, "Can't deny that I am looking forward to seeing first-hand what those so-called floor booses can do, I mean I was only able to explore these new floors after you lot were done with them. Still don't forget I am only here as insurance in case things get out of hand, just treat me as air while you are here since I won't say or do anything at all." Glancing at Sara, Rean just inclined his head in understanding, "Don't worry, Instructor. We would still be careful regardless of your presence here or not."

That got you the rest of the class to snort at him, turning around to face them he raised an eyebrow as if to ask what was so funny, the others looked at Alisa as their representee for their answer, "I think that everyone here is in agreement that 'we' would be careful, you on the other hand well do I really need to say it out loud or even give examples?" Rolling his eyes at his grinning friends, Rean tried to defend himself like usual, "Hahah, very funny, guys. I am always careful when I am….here…with you…"

The moment the elevator stopped on the fourth floor Rean stiffened up as his senses picked up a big difference between this floor and the first three, "Ok, I will admit that this is a bit unsettling, what the hell happened here or rather how is this possible?!" The others picked up on his discomfort and got ready to fight while drawing the weapons out and turning on their combat links, nodding inwardly at her student's actions, Sara first looked around but couldn't find anything out of the ordinary compared to the other floors besides a certain feeling in the air, "Care to explain what got you so agitated, Rean? I don't see any danger here."

The others also looked around but couldn't anything different though they kept their guard up, before they could also question Rean's actions, Gaius was the first one to discover what was so different here, "Uhm, Rean? Didn't you say that this is only possible in places where the Spirit Veins are extremely active or in ancient ruins?"

"Normally that is the case but then again, this place here has thrown what is normal so far away that it can apparently create its own rules. For the others who weren't with us in the Nord Highlands, welcome to your first experience with the Higher Elements." That throw the rest of Class VII for a loop since this was the last thing, they had expected to find down here, especially the members from Group B.

(Alisa was right we better brace ourselves for whatever is going to happen here at least we have the instructor for insurance in case this goes sideways.) Rean looked straight at the wooden door that was separating them from the monsters roaming on the other side, not expecting that the Higher Elements wouldn't be the biggest surprise that he would find himself facing on this day.