28/08/1204 18:00
Crossbell City, Crossbell
Everyone involved in the coordination effort against the terrorist attack was invited to the presentation about the research team's results. The SSS, being a part of the CPD, came earlier than the other representatives. There was only Dudley and Mariabell inside, sitting on the table. Lloyd was a bit surprised to see Mariabell there, but his mind quickly came up with some reason. Considering that the OrbalNet project was funded by the IBC, Mariabell was probably there to oversee the result of their hard work.
"Elie, come here!"
Elie turned to Lloyd when she heard her name being called. Lloyd nodded before whispering something to Elie, to which she nodded.
"Wew, Lloyd. Never knew you and Mademois-Elie were that close for you to kiss her cheek," Randy grinned from the side.
"Y-Yeah..." A blushing Noel glanced at them.
"I think congratulations are in order. So when are the weddings?"
"Wazy!" Elie exclaimed in embarrassment.
"Ahaha... I did not kiss her, thank you," Lloyd weakly denied.
"Were you perhaps whispering sweet nothings to her?"
The embarrassed Elie decided to retreat and went to her friend, who called out to her while Lloyd was being needled even more by Randy and Wazy.
"But seriously, Lloyd, what was that?"
Lloyd looked away. "I just need some help from Elie."
As Elie was caught in a conversation with Mariabell, Lloyd led the SSS to sit down near Elie's table.
"Yo, Lloyd. You sure we should be sitting here considering..." Randy trailed off as Lloyd immediately understood what he meant. Without even glancing at his back, he could feel the glare Mariabell sent him because he sat near Elie and her.
"Elie is part of the SSS, so we should sit together."
Lloyd opened his notebook, glancing at the content. His eyes scanned the room to see if more people had come, but apparently not. Randy kept bringing him to conversations with Wazy and Noel, to which he only replied with some smile.
His mind was focused on one thing and only one thing.
"...right, Bell. Do you have any updates about my inquiry about the Rosenberg Doll?" Elie suddenly changed the topic of her conversation with Mariabell.
"...Ah, I don't think so. At least, I didn't hear about anything new from around four months ago. I do hear about a new doll being sold, but that's from Calvard and for next month," Mariabell replied.
Frowning, Lloyd wrote something in his notebook.
"I see... thank you for your help, Bell," Elie sighed in resignation.
"It's for KeA, right? If it was that guy asking, I wouldn't bother looking things up. I only did it for you, my dear Elie," Mariabell scoffed.
"Haha... by the way, I just realized that I've never asked you about it. But when I tucked in KeA, I saw a new doll in your room. It was really cute! When did you get it?" Elie casually changed the topics again.
"..." Mariabell paused. "That was a few weeks after you joined the SSS, dear. Would you like to join me in my room and see it in detail?"
Lloyd flipped back his notebook, trying to see if he had written something before.
"I would love to! ...if only we weren't in this situation," Elie ended her sentence with a sigh. "Sorry, Bell. Maybe next time."
Mariabell laughed elegantly. "Don't worry, my dear Elie. You will always have a standing invitation to come to my room."
Lloyd then saw Commander Baelz entering the room with others. He closed his notebook since the main event was about to start. Scanning the room, Lloyd found Juna sitting near the other Bracer Guild representatives. He sent her a smile, to which she replied with a wave of her hand.
"Everyone here? Good, good. Then I'll let Renne present the result of our research," Chief Roberts started, only to pass the ball to Renne.
"Come on, chief... you can do it yourself."
Roberts only grinned at the purple-haired girl, "I'm afraid I can't dumb things down for others as good as you, Renne."
"Fine," Renne sighed after hearing that excuse. "Tita, can you help me."
"R-Right!" Tita looked nervous being called by Renne. Maybe she was still inexperienced? Lloyd knew her as the granddaughter of Professor Albert Russell from Liberl and was involved with the Orbal Shutdown Phenomenon two years ago, but he admitted he hadn't been interacting much with her. On the other hand, he should've expected Renne's unusual circumstances to have molded her confidence.
Tita then operated on the terminal for a minute before she nodded to Renne.
"Alright. First thing first, we proudly present you with our newest invention: the Enigma Extension Module, or EEM, to make it short," Renne presented the real thing while the display behind presented a complete picture of the module. It was a small, keychain-like item. It was too small for Lloyd to see, but the picture from the Orbal terminal helped him understand. "Now, this is the item that's gonna change everything going forward. Why? Because with this, the Enigma I and II can now connect to the Orbal Network wirelessly."
Renne then put it back into her pocket. "But we're going ahead of ourselves. To make it easier for you to understand, I will have Tita present the whole reason why we can use the Orbal Network wirelessly. Tita?"
"R-Right," Tita's hand moved on the keyboard before the terminal displayed another thing. This time, it was a small-sized, tower-like item. Tita then rummaged below the table before putting the same item on the display near the terminal. "When we first arrived and thought about how to solve the problem of 'conference call,' it turned out that according to Mr. Mark, the researcher from Epstein Foundation collaborating with the Reinford Group, had solved it using normal Orbal phone call protocol. So the researchers here agreed to branch out to other means, in this case, using Orbal Network to make a conference call function."
Raising the item she just brought out, Tita continued, "Our first hurdle is twofold: how to connect the OrbalNet to the Enigma and how to connect the Enigma to an already existing OrbalNet. It sounds the same, but actually different. And this is the answer to the first question. This is the OrbalNet Wave Radiator. Its design and mechanism are inspired by Professor Albert Russel's design of the Zero Field Generator, but I altered some of the principles so that it will emit radio waves in certain frequencies. If you connect this device to an Orbal Terminal that is connected to OrbalNet like this one..." Tita pulled the cord from the OrbalNet Wave Radiator and inserted it into a jack on the Terminal's CPU. "The indicator lamp will light up to green, signaling that the OWR is radiating a radio wave that can be picked up by the Enigma. Renne?"
"Thank you for the brief explanation, Tita. Any questions?" Renne threw some lifeline to the guests who might not understand.
Lloyd looked around to see how everyone reacted. Mariabell looked like she understood, and Elie was beside him, thinking. But Randy, Noel, and Wazy were lost, judging from the look on their face. The others from the CPD, CGF, and the guild gave neutral looks, but one thing caught him by surprise. Juna was raising her hand.
"Anyone?" Renne asked again, missing Juna's raised hand. "No one?"
"I'm right here, hey!" Juna jumped in place, trying to get Renne's attention by shouting.
"Oh my, sorry for missing your hand. My eyes can't stand you. Do you have any questions?" Renne smiled wickedly at the pink-haired aspiring bracer.
"Nah, not a question; it's easy to understand Tita's explanation. Can't say the same about yours, though," Juna casually replied.
Lloyd sweatdropped at the two's ribbing. Renne hadn't even explained anything yet. Actually, since when did the two have beef with each other? The last time he saw them together, they seemed to get along.
"Then why would you raise your hand!?" It seemed that Renne had lost a little of her composure.
Juna shrugged. "OrbalNet Wave Radiator sounds too much of a hassle. Why don't we call it something simpler like 'router?' Its purpose is to reroute a wired OrbalNet connection to a wireless one, right?"
"That's... actually an apt summary of what it does, yes." Renne exhaled, looking a little amazed that Juna was keeping up with Tita's explanation. "Name and such can be discussed formally later. For now, we're sticking with the term we've been using for our own ease of explaining to other people. Is that acceptable, Chief Roberts?"
"I myself actually loved the term 'router.' We'll finalize everything tomorrow. For now, it is as you said, Renne; we'll be using the term we've come up with to make it easier," Roberts commented from the side.
"Alright then," Juna sat down in her seat again.
"R-Right. Moving on. This OWR device can be improved further in the future. Maybe later, it'll connect directly to the Orbal Network without needing any Orbal Terminal to power it. But this one will serve its purpose for the conference. We've produced four OWR devices to be distributed to the coordination team. Thank you."
Everyone gave applause to Tita's presentation. While Lloyd wouldn't say he understood everything, he at least understood the purpose of the OWR device they had just presented.
"Alright, thank you, Tita, dear. Now, we are going back to the Enigma Extension Module. If the OWR solves the first problem of connecting the OrbalNet to the Enigma, then the EEM solves the second problem: connecting the Enigma to the OrbalNet," Renne took over the presentation. The display behind her showed the Enigma Extension Module in more detail, as it had shown the OrbalNet Wave Radiator before. "This device contains the component to capture the radio wave frequencies emitted by the OWR to connect to OrbalNet. Let's just try to do it."
Renne brought up an Enigma II and plugged the EEM into the jack on the side of the Enigma II. Oh? Lloyd took out his own Enigma and checked the sides. The hole for the EEM was there. He wondered if the researchers thought that far.
"Once you plugged it in, there's nothing else you have to do other than wait. The EEM will automatically install software to your Enigma, and once the installation is finished, which is indicated by a beep, your Enigma will now use one of the lamps as a new indicator lamp to show your connection status."
Renne showed it, but since it was too small, Tita helped her by showing the picture of the connected Enigma. Oh, so the usual indicator lamp for no energy left is turned into an indicator for being connected to OrbalNet. It would inconvenience some Arts users like Tio, Wazy, or Elie, but it would be a fair trade-off for him or Randy, who only used Arts mostly to buff themselves.
"Now that it is connected, you can use the multiple call function. Tita?"
"Right!" Tita changed the display presented from the picture of Enigma to an Orbal application. "Since we were tight on time, we couldn't make Enigma initiate the conference call feature. So first, an Orbal Terminal needs to open a specified OP Address that will return an application to initiate and receive a conference call. We call this the Orbal Conference Call or the OCC."
Lloyd saw an application not dissimilar to Pom Pom Party in appearance, but instead of an entertainment application, this time, it was an application to communicate with multiple people at once.
"When the OCC is fully loaded, you can initiate a conference call by inserting some commands. Tita?" Renne asked her friend before Tita nodded and inserted some command that looked like nonsense to Lloyd.
Immediately after that, the display changed. There was now a list on the display, 'Terminal ', alongside another number above it. '445865.'
"The list displayed all the connected devices. Since the terminal is still the only one connected to the OCC, there is only one there. But that will change once I connect the Enigma here. How? Well... it's easy," Renne smiled. "Just use it as you would call any other Enigma and Orbal Telephone, but add a 01213 as a prefix. As for the number you input, it's that big number on the screen."
Renne then pressed the quartz slot that corresponded to the numbers and waited. Not long after, the display had a new line on the list. 'Enigma II '
"And connected. Now to test it..." Renne left the room and closed it, leaving everyone waiting for her. Tita turned up the volume of the Terminal.
"Testing, testing, hello?" Renne's voice came out of the Terminal. "Can you hear my voice?"
"Loud and clear!" Tita cheerfully replied. "Mission one is half success, Renne!"
"Right. So now anybody wants to volunteer to prove that this will connect multiple Enigma at once?" Renne asked the audience.
Juna raised her arms. "Me! Me! Pick me! I wanna try!"
"...Anybody that isn't Juna?"
"Hey!"
"Do you even have an Enigma?"
Juna fell silent at that before clicking her tongue. "Tch, I don't like it when you're right."
"Don't worry, Juna. You can borrow my Enigma to try it out," Lloyd offered to the pink-haired girl with a smile.
"Really? Thanks, Lloyd!" Juna immediately ran towards him and took the Enigma he had brought out before going to Tita. "Tita! Where's my EEM?"
In an instant, Lloyd felt people staring at him. Not only the ones from SSS but also the guild and CPD. He whispered to Randy beside him. "What's with all the stares?"
"Seriously?" Randy whispered back incredulously before he shook his head. "Hopeless. This man is hopeless."
"Fufufu, maybe I really do need to bring him with me one of these days," Wazy chuckled. "His natural charm would melt the older ladies I usually accompanied."
Lloyd ignored the commentary as he focused on Juna in the front. She enthusiastically plugged the EEM into his Enigma before she stared at it. Once the indicator lamp lit up, Juna turned to Tita, "This means it's connected, right?"
"Yes. Now you can enter the number, Juna," Tita answered.
However, instead of pressing the corresponding number, Juna just glared at the Enigma for several seconds.
"Juna?" Tita asked the pink-haired girl.
Juna didn't answer. She looked around and met eyes with him. "Llooooyd! How do you use Enigma again?" She ran towards him.
"My bad, I should've known you have never used it before. Let me show you," Lloyd chuckled a little before taking the Enigma from Juna's hand. "Here, I'll teach you."
Juna scooted closer to him, even taking some space from Randy. "Excuse me, Randy. So how do I do that, Lloyd?"
"Alright, first..." As Lloyd explained things to Juna, he couldn't help but feel more stares from everyone in the room. However, it seems that Juna didn't notice or just ignored them.
"Whoa, that sounds complicated. Why don't they just make another flip layer that contains numbers above or below the quartzes layer?" Juna nonchalantly said.
"Why didn't we think of that?!" Lloyd heard Chief Roberts shout in frustration in the background.
"Anyway, thanks for teaching me, Lloyd. I wish I could have an Enigma. Or at least a combat orbment," Juna sighed. "Arios still wouldn't give me any. He said that it'd divert my focus on training," she grumbled at him.
"Don't worry, Juna. For now, let's focus on the demonstration first," Lloyd patted her on the head. "Why don't you try joining the conference call?"
"Alright," Juna then pressed the quartzes, and before long, another row was added to the display. 'Enigma II '.
"Yes!" Juna shouted, but unfortunately, she did it near the Enigma's microphone, so the sound of her shout was amplified several times when it came out of the terminal in the meeting room.
Everyone winced and covered their ears in reflex, including him.
"Leave it to Juna to mess things up," Renne remarked with a sigh.
"Ah..." Juna looked on the ground, trying to avoid everyone's stare. "I am very sorry, everyone. In my haste and enthusiasm, I had forgotten about what we were doing in the first place." She ended her apology with a bow.
"Tch, this is why things should've been done by professionals," Dudley commented. "Bannings, guide your protege better."
Lloyd shook his head, "Unfortunately, she's not my protege. I want her to be mine, though."
Silence.
This time, not only was everyone staring at him, but they also gave him a judging glare.
"Y-You want me to be your protege, ...right?" Juna asked in stutter. Why was her cheeks blushing red, though?
"Yes? Am I not clear enough?" Lloyd turned to Elie and Randy, his closest companion. But Elie only facepalmed while Randy only snickered.
"No, Bannings. You are not clear enough," Arios answered. His eyes softened a little. "Juna is my student. If you want to take her for yourself..."
"Enough playing already. Can we get back on track?" Renne's voice cut through the situation and reminded everyone about the demonstration. "Juna, now that you're connected, try going out of the room and talking."
"Alright," Juna then left the room, and suddenly, her voice came from the terminal where Tita operated. "Test test, one two three, hello?"
"We can hear you, Juna."
"As much as I don't want to," Renne chimed in.
"Then the conference call function is a success!"
Renne and Juna entered the meeting room again, both going to their previous place. Once Renne was in front of them again, she continued talking.
"The demonstration is finished. I'll leave the next part to you, Mr. First Division Detective," Renne curtsied before taking a seat near Chief Roberts.
After that, Dudley distributed the EEM and the OWR evenly to each group. Lloyd got one EEM as he was the leader of the SSS, while he didn't get any OWR since the SSS would use the Orchis Tower's OWR. The monitoring team got one EEM and one OWR since their terminal would be the one initiating the conference call. Once everything got their part, Dudley began explaining the formation and timetables. Lloyd dutifully paid attention and even took notes on some important things. The Bracer Guild also confirmed that they succeeded in requesting temporary backups. More Bracers would be dispatched to Crossbell until the trade conference ended.
Two hours later, the meeting was finished, and everyone went their own way. Well, most of them. There was one more thing Lloyd and the rest of the SSS needed to do.
"Juna, I know it's already late, but may we have some of your time?" Lloyd approached the girl who was talking with Fran. They likely discussed things about the conference since they were both on the monitoring team.
"Ah, it's already late," Fran suddenly said before walking away. "See you tomorrow, Juna, Noey, and the SSS."
That left Juna with the SSS.
"Fran... if she wanted to help, she should've said so," Noel shook her head with a smile.
"Yeah, that attempt was too obvious," Juna agreed before turning to Lloyd. "So, what can I help you with?"
Lloyd shook his head. "We have nothing to ask you this time, but..."
He gestured to Elie, who smiled before revealing an Enigma II to Juna.
"I know it's late by around two weeks, but happy birthday, Juna!" Elie said to her. "This is the SSS's gift for you."
Juna blinked. "Huh?"
"We asked Dudley's help to procure an extra Enigma. He agreed once we revealed we want to give it to you," Lloyd helpfully explained. "We don't want another situation where you cannot contact people like during the cult debacle. That way, we can also be sure that you're safe and contactable anytime, anywhere in Crossbell."
Juna's mouth opened, but no words came out.
"Here, take it, Juna," Elie put the Enigma on Juna's hand. The pink-haired girl took it before focusing all her attention on it.
"Heh, seems like Junie's really taken by the Enigma," Randy chuckled.
"The meeting revealed clearly that it was Juna's first time getting her hands on Enigma," Noel said with a fond smile.
"Maybe she could ask Lloyd for more Enigma tutoring sessions," Wazy joined in.
"You guys..." Lloyd sighed in exasperation at their comments.
"Lloyd..." Juna suddenly said, getting his attention.
"Yes?"
Juna didn't reply. She just hugged him. Tightly.
"Juna..." Elie said softly.
Lloyd felt his clothes getting wet. Was that tears? "Ah..." He stroked Juna's hair gently. Juna looked fine on the outside, but even after several months, it seemed that she still held some fears from her experience of getting kidnapped. That was understandable. The normal reaction, even. But he had to wonder why she put up a strong front on the outside? Maybe he could ask this later after all the business with the trade conference ended.
After several minutes, Juna released her hold on him and wiped her eyes. "S-Sorry. I'm just- I..."
"It's okay, Junie. We understand. Though maybe just hugging Lloyd and not everyone might send the wrong message to Mademois-Elie." Randy winked at her.
"A-Ah... eh..." Juna averted her eyes from everyone.
"Stop teasing her, Randy..." Elie sighed. "And on that note, you too, Wazy."
Wazy was about to open his mouth but stopped and chuckled at Elie's warning.
"In any case, that's about it, Juna. I hope you're happy with the gift," Lloyd addressed the younger girl again.
Nodding fervently, Juna answered. "I'm happy! I'm very happy with the Enigma! Really, thank you, SSS. In fact, now I can use the sepith I collected from killing monsters! I'll utilize the Enigma to the best of my capability!"
Lloyd nodded. "I'm sure you will."
After all, with his brother's murderer still loose and unknown, Juna would need all she had to avoid being targeted by them. It was a possibility that crossed his mind when he realized that Juna's amazing ability to see the weight behind everyone's actions might lead her to discover who the perpetrators were.
Lloyd glanced at the smiling Elie beside him.
"..."
He needed to confirm several things to some people before he could form a theory. But if the worst case scenario happened...
1204/08/28 19:00
Legram, Erebonia
Night has fallen in the quiet town of Legram. After meeting Viscount Arseid, the man invited the group to have dinner with him. Needless to say, after such a day, all of them agreed without any fuss.
Dinner was quiet, at least, until Millium broke the silence. "Mmm! This is delicious!" She declared, raising her fork and spoon up in excitement.
"Oh, careful, Millium. You're going to drip sauce all over the table," Emma immediately put her utensils down and chided the younger girl. The bespectacled girl was really caring towards her classmate. Rean remembered how she helped Fie several times before. Emma even helped him more than once.
Rean then turned his attention towards the dishes on his plate. "So this is real Legram cuisine... I think I like everything on the table."
"You can say that again. This fatty meat has me thinking past seconds and all the way to thirds," Gaius chimed in from his seat. So it seemed that he wasn't the only one charmed by the food.
"Haha. That's roast wild boar. It's been a staple in many local dishes for generations," Laura, being the native resident, explained the food to the others.
"..." From the corner of his eyes, Rean saw Jusis, who was sitting beside him, looking at the untouched plate of food in front of him. A frown marred his face.
He wasn't the only one sensing his friend's turmoil, as their host for tonight also sensed it and called him out for it. "Is something troubling you, son of the house of Albarea? You seem to have brought your worries to the table tonight but not your appetite."
"Well..." Jusis looked at Victor before facing away. "It's just that I know my family has been causing you a lot of trouble."
"Jusis..." so he was still worried about that. Rean should've known that Jusis won't let it go that easily.
However, Victor's reaction surprised everyone, even Laura. "Haha. Oh, that? Just minor disagreements. You probably know it all too well- conflicts over taxes among the nobility are as sure as the rising of the sun. It's nothing to be so concerned about."
He dismissed Jusis' worry in just one sentence.
"...Thank you for your kind words," Jusis smiled at Laura's father.
"But come, tell me of your day. I hear you fought Klaus this afternoon, and emerged victorious, at that," Victor prompted Rean and his friends. Everyone stopped eating to look at each other before all of them stared at Laura at the same time.
The blue-haired girl let out a small, almost unheard 'Must I?' before she faced her father. "We did...though I did feel like he was holding back against us," she finished her words with a side glance towards the aging butler.
"Aha... Nonsense, my lady. You and your classmates fought with the boldness of young lions. I look forward to seeing you soar to even greater heights," Klaus deflected with some good-hearted chuckle.
"Ah, marvelous," Victor followed, "I did have my hopes that you might choose to attend that girls' school in the capital, but you seem to have made some excellent friends at Thors, so perhaps this is how things were meant to be," he nodded to himself.
"I feel the same..." Laura said with a smile.
Rean was glad that Laura had found her place in Thors. As for him...
"..."
"Rean, was it?" Victor suddenly addressed him, making him turn towards the older man. "I'm curious. I can sense fear in your swordsmanship. A certain...hesitation."
He opened his mouth, but no words came out.
"Father..." Laura tried to interject, but Victor ignored her.
"The Sword Hermit, Yun Ka-fai... In addition to being your master and the founder of the Eight Leaves One Blade school, he's also a personal acquaintance of mine. In fact, I've requested a duel with him on numerous occasions."
Master Ka-fai had faced Lord Arseid? Interesting. He had never mentioned it to him before. "If you'll forgive me for asking, who was the victor?"
"Haha. The victor has yet to be decided," Victor laughed out loud. "Pitting our respective philosophies against one another is such an engaging experience, we always lose track of time."
"To think there's a swordsman out there capable of fighting on equal terms with you... The world truly is a vast place," Laura muttered.
Contrary to Laura, Rean wondered how strong Victor was because he knew his master had unparalleled skill in swordsmanship. He tried to conjure the image of the imposing man in front of him and his master facing each other in the snowy mountainous area of the Eisengard mountain range. Victor used the Arseid-style he observed from Laura, while Master Ka-fai used the full power of Eight Leaves.
...It was no use. Rean couldn't imagine them because he was still at the bottom compared to the two.
"I can hardly imagine what a duel like that would be like," he voiced with a sigh.
"Haha. But getting back to what I was saying, the Eight Leaves One Blade school draws its influence from elements of several other Eastern schools of swordsmanship. The style's philosophy has such depth that it's not difficult to see why one who masters it is known as a Divine Blade," Victor elaborated, looking at Rean in the eyes. "But there's something about you, Rean. Something that terrifies you so much that its mere shadow pins you in place. At first, I thought it was about what Toval shared with me about the call from Crossbell, but upon further observation, yours stemmed from something else. Something... deeper than just a recent phone call."
Rean gasped. His eyes couldn't avoid Victor's gaze. So, what Master Ka-fai said was true. Mastery in any kind of martial arts was enough to elevate someone's senses. To think that Viscount Arseid would be able to see through him...
"...You have me at a loss. I never would've imagined you'd be able to tell so much about me so easily."
Rean looked at his own hands. Victor said that he sensed hesitation from him. That was indeed correct. He was unsure about his life. About the path he was taking. About whether going to Thors was the correct answer. Thus, he hesitated on everything. He hesitated to join clubs at the academy so much he only did things after Instructor Sara pushed some tasks on him. He hesitated to get close to his teammates because he feared hurting them.
"Rean..." Laura said softly.
And he hadn't even mentioned the prediction given by the SSS's informant. He was unsure whether to fully commit to things or leave things be that he and the rest of Class VII only tried doing something after Toval made up a last-minute request for them to gather the children at the church and warn them against going to the Lohengrin Castle.
Was he content with leaving things as they were currently? Was it the correct decision? Should he cast aside his fears? He didn't know.
Because he was unsure, he hesitated again.
No, Rean pursed his lips.
Nothing would change if he didn't force himself to change. The first step to improve was to acknowledge that he had something to improve upon.
"I've made up my mind," Rean murmured before looking up at the master swordsman. "My Lord... I ask of you, as the Radiant Blademaster..."
A sliver of smile made its way onto Victor's lips as he finished his words.
"Would you grant me the honor of a duel?"
1204/08/28 19:30
Legram, Erebonia
The duel lasted for a short time to Victor. But to Rean, it was an impossibly long time. He panted in exhaustion, using his sword to help him kneel because he really had no energy left after spending everything on using that.
His friends crowded him, voicing their concerns one by one. Rean appreciated all of them.
"I admit defeat," he addressed the Arseid school head. Smiling a little, Rean continued, "I'm honored to have seen the Radiant Blademaster's signature technique."
"Haha... I think you're finally starting to understand," Victor smiled before kneeling before him. "What we call power is simply a measure of one's raw strength. Without knowing how to properly apply it, it has no real meaning. However, when you deny the power you already possess, you're only shortchanging yourself."
"...You're right..." Rean nodded to himself, realizing something. "I feel like I finally get what my master was trying to teach me about the laws of nature. But...I'm afraid understanding that is only going to make me even more uncertain."
"That's nothing to be ashamed of. Stand up, dust yourself off, and step forward. Grapple with that fear each day, if that's what it takes. Uncertainty weighs on the hearts of all people, but it's far preferable to standing still."
Victor's words struck a chord within him. So he was on the right path, challenging Victor like this.
"Thank you for your words, Lord Arseid," Rean stood up and bowed to the older man in thanks.
"You're welcome. If you're still uncertain, don't be afraid to ask for Laura's help."
"F-Father?!" Laura asked in shock.
"Haha... I was just kidding. But I'm sure that you and Laura have been sparring. Does that also include you, Lord Jusis?" Victor turned towards the duke's son.
"I personally have yet to have a formal spar with either of them out of my own volition. But we did face each other in class," Jusis nodded.
"Very good. Sparring with lots of people is how you know you've made progress in your swordsmanship. Well, shall we rest for the night? You still have tomorrow's tasks to fulfill, and I wouldn't want to hold your time anymore."
Group A dismissed themselves, going back to their assigned rooms. Once inside, they made some small talk about school to kill time until they fell asleep.
However, about half an hour later, Millium burst into their room in a hurry. "Guys! I have some news! Whether this is good news or bad news, I don't know!"
Jusis raised his eyebrow, looking at Millium. "How do you not know if it's good or bad news? You should be able to determine that."
"Ehehe, it's a little complicated," Emma, who finally caught up after the running Millium, was the one answering Jusis. Behind her, Laura nodded.
"We'd better let Millium tell you about it first."
"So what's the news?" Gaius asked the spirited girl.
"I reported things to Lechter, and he said that the SSS's Informant prediction about Garrelia Fortress should be taken seriously," Millium informed before shrugging her shoulder. "I was about to call it good news before I remembered it was about an attack, so maybe it was bad news? But it ain't so bad either when you consider that the SSS's Informant gave us the correct prediction. So I dunno if it's good or bad."
"I see..." Rean put a hand on his chin to think.
"Wouldn't the bad outweigh the good in this case?" Gaius offered his thoughts.
"That's true! So I have bad news!" Millium exclaimed.
"Geez, you don't need to shout. It's already night," Jusis sighed. "But honestly, what can we do? Should we report this to Instructor Sara?"
"Definitely. But it can wait until tomorrow," Laura agreed.
"Rean?" Emma turned towards him. "What do you think?"
"I actually agreed with Millium. While it sounds like bad news, there is one good thing we can take out of it," he revealed to the others.
"Huh?"
"What is it?"
"Our decision to trust her words about the missing children is correct."
"Ah..." Laura nodded. "That's true. We heeded her words about the prediction about the missing children tomorrow and prevented it by gathering the children in the chapel and warning them about the castle being in maintenance."
"We should thank Toval as well for making it a last-minute request," Jusis continued.
"Yes... thank you for the information, Millium. ...Or rather, are you allowed to tell us all of this in the first place?" Rean asked the mint-haired girl, who only put her hands on the back of her head.
"Well~ Lechter owed me information about the SSS's Informant in the first place, so spilling some bits of his information should be okay."
He saw Laura frown from the corner of his eyes. "Millium, excuse me. But what would the Intelligence Division do to the SSS's Informant? She had given us valuable information."
Even towards a citizen of another state, Laura carried out her idealized knightly values. Rean couldn't help but smile at that.
"Dunno, but from what I gathered, Lechter wants her in the Intelligence Division. Hopefully, he succeeds. The SSS Informant sounds like a fun to hang out with."
"I see..." Laura let out a soft sigh.
So, the Intelligence Division wanted to recruit the SSS's Informant. Rean frowned a little. If that was the case, then he'd better pay her back tomorrow.
A/N: Now that the original part of Azure is done, I can finally go back to use trailsdb as guide. Hopefully I don't need to make an all-new original scene. Oh who am I kidding? If the situation calls for it of course I have to write from scratch.