Chapter 4 - Teatime

4.18.1204 - Sunday (Free Day)

The Student Union building was finally starting to feel more alive. Towa was so happy that all the clubs were able to find new members, even the Student Council accepted some new recruits. She had spent the day doing her usual duties as Student Council President. She had just finished finalizing Class VII's tasks for their upcoming Field Study. She hoped the tasks assigned to them wouldn't be too difficult, with this being their first Field Study she was worried about all the things that could go wrong. She remembered how during the Field Studies she went on last year had started off on the wrong foot when Angelica and Crow weren't able to link up during their first day. Luckily, after a while they were all able to become the close friends they were today.

She did already hear rumors about members of Class VII not getting along with each other though. Something about Jusis and Machias constantly arguing, Laura and Fie not working well in combat, and how Alisa was giving Rean the silent treatment for something that happened during the orientation.

She started to wonder how Rean's requests were going. She had dropped off the list of requests in his dorm mailbox earlier that day, some would say a bit too early. She was glad that Rean agreed to help out the Student Council. Normally she wouldn't be so eager to have someone else do her work, but with the added work of organizing Class VII's Field Studies she knew she needed as much help as she could get with the Student Council work.

Luckily, she was close to finishing that day's paperwork. Just a small stack of papers that needed a signature of approval were left. Normally after a long day's work she liked to relax by having her favorite tea. It was an import from Calvard her uncle bought for her when they went for a family vacation there. Now as she was getting closer to finishing the more, she started savoring her favorite tea.

Then there was a knock on her door.

"Oh, come in!" Towa quickly answered.

Rean walked in ready to report how his progress went for the requests. Towa could clearly tell he was tired, exploring the old schoolhouse is a pretty daunting task after all.

She noticed that after he finished his report Rean had kept staring at the stack of papers on her desk. He asked her if he could help. She was opposed to having Rean do more work, but she could tell by the look in his eyes he wouldn't be taking no for an answer. So she agreed to let him help her.

With the work split between the two of them, Towa and Rean were able to finish the paperwork faster than Towa had planned. As thanks Towa decided to share with Rean the tea she had prepared for later.


They had decided to move downstairs to the cafeteria to enjoy their drinks in a more casual area.

They began to talk about his continued involvement with the Student Council. Rean assured Towa that he was happy to help them with requests. He stated that he saw it his way to expand his horizons while at Thors.

While Towa was glad that Rean would be continuing to help her and the Student Council she was beginning to fear that Rean was beginning to overwork himself. She knew she had to tell him then and now that he shouldn't even think about overworking himself.

"Do you really need to push yourself like this?" Towa asked him. With Rean caught by surprise she continued. "Well, I mean, there's nothing wrong with doing your best and helping other people out. I'm a big fan of both. But at the same time, it's important to take the time to just sit back and rest, too. You need to have a balance. Because if you don't, there might come a time when you want to work toward something important to you, but can't…"

Towa saw Rean staring at her processing what she told him. She wasn't sure if she stepped out of line, but it was something she knew Rean needed to hear. Seeing someone overwork themselves was something Towa wanted to avoid.

The irony was lost on her.

While it was true that her and Rean had barely met, his health and safety were important to her. No, every student at Thor's health and safety were important to her as Student Council President.

Towa zoned back into reality when Rean spoke up. "Thank you, President Towa. I was kind of worried about being able to do enough while I was here, but this is kind of like a weight off my shoulders."

Towa made sure to remind him that if he ever felt tired that he was welcome to visit her. She also mentioned they could have more tea. It was rather clear to Towa that Rean enjoyed the tea from Calvard from his empty cup.


Luckily, the sun was still out when they made their way to the dorms and just like yesterday Towa walked Rean to the Class VII Dorm.

However, before they reached the dorm Rean took a detour to Brandon's General Goods. To Towa's surprise he bought her a bottle of fresh milk as thanks for the tea. She graciously accepted the gift figuring that it would be rude to say no to such a nice gesture. It also helped that she really liked milk.

Once Rean made it to the door he waved back at Towa and thanked her again for the tea. In response she waved back and reminded him there was always more in her office, she also wished him good luck for his upcoming Field Study.

Instead of heading back to her dorm however, Towa decided to enjoy her fresh milk in the park. She couldn't remember the last time she had a moment to relax like that, just herself and some milk. Maybe she should listen to her own advice from time to time.