Chapter 17 - Festival Rendezvous

10.23.1204 - Saturday (Academy Festival - Day 1)

Towa was pleased with how well the school festival was going. It had only started a few minutes ago, but Towa could tell that Thors was packed with students and guests alike. Before leaving to join Rean, Towa informed the other Student Council members that she'd be walking around the school festival for both days and telling them that if they needed her to just call her via their Arcus.

As Towa made her way to the front gate she saw Rean already there waiting for her.

"Good morning Rean. Should we get going?" Towa greeted him.

"Of course, please lead the way President Towa." Rean greeted as he made his way closer to Towa.

"I don't think so mister! We agreed that you would walk me around the festival, so long as we're together I'm in your care." Towa scolded him.

Both their faces immediately got red after Towa's scolding was finished.

"In hindsight, maybe I should've phrased that a bit more differently. It's not like this is a date… right?" Towa thought to herself as she tried to look away from Rean.

"Together huh? If I didn't know any better this almost sounds like a date. Good thing this isn't a date… right? Wait, was this technically a date? It is going to just be me and President Towa…" Rean thought to himself as he started to overthink the situation.

After a few minutes of silence they were both able to calm themselves down, and justify to themselves that this wasn't a date.

"S-So where to R-Rean?" Towa asked nervously.

"H-How about we visit all the outside booths first?" Rean proposed equally as nervous.

"I think that's a great idea. Please lead the way Rean." Towa answered.

Thus the two made their way to see which booth they caught their attention first.


Elise hoped that her brother would enjoy his surprise. After overhearing Class VII talk about the school festival back when they were in Ymir, she decided that it would be fun to surprise Rean with an unannounced visit. Knowing her brother, he was probably exploring the school festival all by himself. Who better to join him than his little sister? Her plan was fool proof.

Although Elise couldn't really take all the credit for this plan. Her friends Princess Alfin and Mildine gave her the little push she needed into actually committing to her plan.

She could already imagine the look on Rean's face when he sees her there. He'd probably drop whatever he was doing and spend all the festival days with her.

Now if only her train didn't get delayed.

"Please be patient Rean. You're going to be spending this festival with the person most dearest to you." Elise thought to herself as her train started to make its way to Trista.


Towa wasn't sure how she got in this situation. Just a second ago her and Rean were walking around the festival together before stopping by the Riding club's booth. She was never the biggest fan of horses, but Lambert insisted that she should ride one. Although due to her stature that was easier said than done. Unfortunately for her, Lambert had already taken one of Rean's festival tickets and tried to come up with some way to get Towa to see the "beauty of horses".

"Oh I know. Rean, can you carry President Towa again and place her on top of the saddle?" Lambert asked.

"Again?" Both Rean and Towa questioned out loud.

"Rean I saw you carry President Towa to her dorm room a few months ago, so I figured you could just lift her up to the saddle no problem." Lambert elaborated.

"Is that fine with you President Towa?" Rean asked.

"I suppose that's fine." Towa said in agreement.

After a quick lift, Towa was on the horse. Only then did they all realize that Towa was too small to properly use the horse saddle.

"So… what now?" Towa bluntly asked. She was never the biggest fan of being reminded of her short stature.

Lambert quickly answered, as if he planned for all of this to happen. "Simple, get on the horse Rean."

"Wait what?" Rean asked.

"I would help President Towa ride the horse myself, but the saddle is simply far too small for the both of us to share. Although judging by your thinner build Rean, you and President Towa can share the saddle without a problem." Lambert suggested.

After debating for a few minutes Lambert was finally able to convince Rean and Towa to share the saddle. Rean sat in front as he was more familiar with horse riding thanks to having some experience riding a horse, and Towa sat behind him and was instructed to enjoy the ride.

The booth was simple: all people had to do was ride their horse across the school yard.

For Rean and Towa this was easier said than done. Despite Lambert's claim that they would fit together on the saddle without a problem, it was clear to both of them by how close they had to sit together in order to fit in the saddle. It was clear that Lambert just didn't want to return their ticket.

In order not to fall off Towa had to hold on tight to Rean from behind.

"You said you don't mind, right Rean?" Towa asked. Hoping Rean didn't notice how nervous she was getting.

"I-I don't mind President Towa. Feel free to hold as tight as you need to." Rean said in an attempt to assure Towa.

A part of him regretted his choice of words as Towa's grip around his waist got significantly tighter. He had forgotten how strong Towa's grip could get. Although a part of him was strangely enjoying being so close to Towa.

Aside from the non-existent space between Rean and Towa, the horse ride was pretty good. Rean could tell that Lambert, Paula, and Jusis had trained the horse well. Towa herself enjoyed the sights. It was no orbal bike ride, but the slower pace was still relaxing.

Before they knew it they had ridden across the whole field. Rean got off the horse first and helped Towa get off as well. After complimenting Lambert on his club's booth, Rean and Towa walked away to see what other booths were available.

"Where to now Rean?" Towa asked.

"Oh that booth inside the Gymnasium looked interesting. Let's head there." Rean suggested.

"Then lead the way Rean." Towa said in agreement.

Once Lambert was sure Rean and Towa were out of sight he told Paula that he would be taking a five minute break.

Once he was sure he was alone behind the stables he made a call on his Arcus.

"Alright, they rode the horse together. You sure I couldn't just offer them a bigger saddle?" He informed the person on the other end of the call.

"Don't worry about it. I'm sure those two enjoyed being so 'up close and personal'. Thanks for the assistance." the person on the other end answered.

"It's the least I could do. It's thanks to you that I was able to fund the Riding club last year after all: Angelica."


Elise was starting to get worried about Rean. She had been waiting outside the front gate for ten minutes. She had sent Rean multiple messages that she was there to spend time with him at the festival. It wasn't as if her brother was too busy with something to check his Arcus for messages.

Suddenly she heard someone call her, but it didn't sound like Rean though.

"Lady Elise? What are you doing here? I'm surprised Schwarzer hasn't run all the way here to get you." Patrick greeted as he walked up to Elise.

"Oh hello Patrick, that's because I came here as a surprise. Although I've been sending him multiple messages about my arrival. It doesn't seem like he's seen my messages though." Elise greeted.

"I believe I saw Schwarzer by the front gate some time ago, maybe he started to walk around the festival by himself? If you would like some assistance, I could help you search for him?" Patrick offered.

"That would be oh so very helpful. I'm glad to see you and Rean have become such close friends that you would help his sister look for him." Elise said in response.

"Oh… well I wouldn't say we're close friends. I'm sure Craig, Armbrust, or President Herschel are better candidates for the title of Schwarzer's closest friend." Patrick admitted as he led Elise towards the school festival.

"I understand. You wouldn't mind telling more about Rean and President Herschel's friendship would you?" Elise asked as she did her best to keep her fury hidden.

"Of course. Now where do I start…" Patrick started to drone on. Unaware of Elise's ever growing fury as he told her more and more about all the things he'd seen Rean and Towa do together.


The next booth Rean and Towa went to was a piece of cake. Class V had set up a large-scale game where the participants would use a large rubber hammer to hit every Evil Mishy that popped up.

Rean was able to get the highest score rather easily. Although he didn't want to admit to Towa just how much her cheering had encouraged him. That and he wanted to get her a Mishy doll that was being given as a prize.

"Excellent job Rean! You sure showed those Evil Mishy what for!" Towa told him as he left the game stage.

"I had no idea you were such a big fan of Mishy President Towa." Rean responded.

"Oh no, my cousin Kai is the Mishy fan in my family. He just gives me the dolls my Uncle and Aunt buy for him that he doesn't want. That's how I ended up with a rather large collection of Mishette dolls." Towa explained.

"Alright Mr. High-Score, here's your prize." Munk said as he handed Rean the Mishy doll.

Now that the Mishy doll was his he knew what to do. He promptly handed it to Towa.

"Rean, I couldn't possibly take your prize." Towa said in response.

"Nonsense President Towa. What's a Mishette collection without her dear brother Mishy?" Rean said.

"Fine I'll take the Mishy doll, but on one condition." Towa declared.

"What's the condition?" Rean asked.

"He'll be our Mishy doll. I'm going to leave it in the Student Council room, so you better come and visit us frequently Rean." Towa told him.

"At this rate we might as well start living in the Student Council room together considering how much time we already spend there." Rean joked.

They both shared a little laugh before heading to the Student Union building to drop off their Mishy doll in his brand new home.


With Towa busy with Rean and Angelica being grounded, Crow and George decided to hang out next to the food stalls by themselves.

"Hard to think this is almost over..." Crow said out loud.

"You say that as if we're never going to hang out again after graduation." George responded with food still in his mouth.

While not what Crow was referring to, he decided to play along.

"The least you could do when I'm being angsty is swallow your food before talking y'know." Crow complained.

"My bad. Just because we'll be graduating soon doesn't mean we'll suddenly stop being friends." George repeated.

"I suppose." Crow said in an attempt to end the conversation.

Suddenly their view was blocked by two figures: Elise and Patrick.

"Excuse us, judging by that bandana you must Crow Armbrust correct?" Elise asked.

"The one and only, this certainly is an interesting combination. I'm sure Rean would have certain choice words if he saw you right now Patrick-" Crow answered.

"Actually speaking of Schwarzer, have you two seen him?" Patrick interrupted.

"I haven't seen him since this morning, but you can blame Towa for that though." Crow admitted.

"What did that temptress do to my brother!?" Elise asked loudly. Scaring everyone in the process.

"W-Well I probably shouldn't be telling you this, but Towa asked Rean to walk her around the festival for the whole duration of the school festival." George informed Elise and Patrick.

"Patrick, we have to find Rean before that harlot corrupts my brother's pure heart!" Elise yelled as she ran in search of Rean leaving Patrick behind.

Crow, George, and Patrick stared at each other in fear. They were worried that they had opened the gates of Gehenna.


Rean's life was at stake, no not his life but something far greater: his dignity.

Only a few minutes ago he and Towa decided to try out Class III's booth. It was a simple game of Blade. Rean wasn't the best player, but compared to Towa he was a prodigy. Even when he tried to let Towa win she somehow found a way to lose.

Maybe it was those constant victories that ballooned his ego that had caused him to challenge the booth's "Blade Master".

To his and Towa's surprise it was none other than Sharon.

Only when Sharon accepted Rean's challenge did he start to realize the grave he dug for himself. Not helping matters were Sharon's stipulations. In the event that he won she'd cook all his favorite meals for a week. But in the much more likely event that she wiped the floor with him, he would have to show Towa the contents of the box he'd been keeping under his bed. She'd known about it for months now.

The mere thought of anyone much less Towa herself seeing the context of the box was horrifying. Even if he tried to explain that it was Crow who commissioned the locket and pictures for him he'd still have to explain why he kept them under his bed. In hindsight this must've been his punishment for underestimating Sharon and hiding something so embarrassing in such an obvious spot.

He then heard someone: it was Towa.

"You can do it Rean! Show Sharon who's boss!" she started cheering. It would seem as though Towa had made herself Rean's personal cheerleader.

It would seem as if that was what Rean needed to hear, as he felt a surge of confidence.

"Well Sharon, let's start!" Rean declared.

"Enjoy this moment Master Rean, for in five minutes you'll never be able to face President Herschel again." Sharon said unfazed.

The game was intense. Sharon had started out with a strong lead. Luckily, Rean was able to make a comeback midway through the game. They were neck and neck, as both only had two cards left. Rean's only path to victory involved nothing but luck. He could tell that Sharon knew that by her smug smirk. She was clearly hiding her trump card until the very end like him. As much as he wanted to throw in the towel and beg Sharon to think of a different stipulation, he knew Sharon's goal was to embarrass him. If he really wanted to prove to her that he wasn't to be taken lightly, then he needed to win this game. He also didn't want to disappoint Towa, here she was cheering for him despite clearly being unlikely to win.

Sharon then used her trump card: bolt. Rean's current card total dropped by two. His only card that had a number wouldn't be able to help him tie with Sharon. All hope was lost.

At least that would be the case if Sharon hadn't given him the best opportunity to use his trump card: mirror.

With that Rean received Sharon's higher card total and she received his lower card total. All that was left was to see if her last card would cause a tie.

Time slowed for Rean as Sharon revealed her final card, for it would determine the winner. Her card only increased her card total by two. It wasn't enough to tie with Rean. Once Rean set down his final card which boosted his card total by three. Rean was able to claim victory.

"You did it Rean! You Won!" Towa congratulated him.

"Yeah... I did it…" Rean said in response. If he was honest with himself he still couldn't believe it.

"Congratulations Master Rean. As I stipulated when you challenged me I will be making you your favorite meals for all of next week. I apologize in advance if my tea isn't as delicious as the one President Herschel makes for you and share frequently together." Sharon said.

Rean and Towa froze upon mention of them sharing tea. It was never something either had ever mentioned around Sharon's presence, so how did she know?

"I'm honored to hear you compliment my tea Sharon. By the way, what was the stipulation if Rean lost?" Towa asked politely.

Rean froze up again. He looked to Sharon in desperation that she wouldn't tell Towa about the box. All Sharon did was smile at him, but unlike Towa's smile it only made him fear for his life.

"If Master Rean lost then he'd have to become my apprentice. I certainly see a lot of potential in him. I feel he'd certainly make for the perfect househusband some day." Sharon lied.

Rean immediately sighed in relief.

"Rean as a househusband? Honestly, with how much Rean does around the school I can see that." Towa chuckled.

"Aw, how sweet. President Herschel, are you already envisioning a future with Master Rean?" Sharon teased.

"That's enough Sharon. President T-Towa I think we should head to another booth. Class IV's booth looks interesting, shall we?" Rean said as he led Towa away from Class III's booth in an attempt to save themselves from Sharon's teasing.

"That sounds like a wonderful idea R-Rean." Towa said as she tried to calm herself down after Sharon's comment.

They could hear Sharon laughing to herself as they tried to get away from her.


Alisa, Laura, Fie, and Emma were exhausted. They had planned to walk around the school festival as one big group as Class VII, but it turned out half of the class had already made plans before they could invite them in the morning.

"Ugh, this isn't as fun as it would be if all of us were here." Alisa ranted.

"Where are the others anyway?" Laura asked.

"Last I checked Elliot asked Mint out on a date, Machias invited his friend Patiry, Gaius and Linde are on a date, Millium dragged Jusis off to see all the booths, Instructor Sara was drinking at Kirsche's Cafe & Inn, and Crow said he was planning to hang out with George and President Towa. No clue about Rean though." Fie answered.

"You don't think Rean also went on a date do you?" Emma asked.

They all immediately started to laugh at the mere thought of Rean being a girl out on a date.

"I doubt it. Any girl seriously intending to be with Rean has an uphill battle waiting for them." Laura said while still laughing.

Suddenly two figures ran up to them.

"Where did that enchantress take my brother! I need to save him before she corrupts his purity!" Elise loudy questioned, no longer bothering to properly introduce herself.

Soon Patrick caught up to Elise and explained to the others what was going on.

"So Rean and President Towa are on a date? How sweet." Emma said.

"No it's not sweet! She's dangerous!" Elise yelled.

"Lady Elise, there's no need to worry. I'm sure this is all just a misunderstanding. Schwarzer has been helping President Herschel with Student Council work since the beginning of the school year. Maybe she's walking him around the festival as a reward for his hard work?" Patrick interrupted in an attempt to calm down Elise.

"Knowing those two, that's probably the more likely case." Laura responded.

"Still, I need to find him before it's too late." Elise said as she continued her search.

Patrick excused himself and followed Elise.

"So that's what happened to Rean. Seems like him and President Towa are enjoying their date." Fie teased.

"I'm sure we're overthinking this. I'm sure it's just like Patrick said." Alisa responded.

Still the fact that even Rean was out on a date was definitely a hit to their egos.


After all the walking they've done, Towa was glad that IV's booth let them sit down and drink tea together. Not that she disliked walking with Rean. How could she? She did request him to walk her around for all the festival days after all.

Towa and Rean started to talk about Calvard. To her surprise he was also a fan, although she should've known by his sword style and preference for imported tea. They both started to drink the tea that they were given. It was good, but they both agreed that her tea was better.

They were soon interrupted by Vivi. "Sorry to interrupt you two, but would you like a fortune?"

"Oh hi Vivi, it's weird seeing you without Linde. Is she also going around giving fortunes?" Rean asked.

"Oh Linde? She went on a date with Gaius. Isn't that sweet? I can't think of a better place for a date than this festival." Vivi answered.

"Aww how nice." Towa responded.

"Anyways, do you two want some luck fortunes?" Vivi asked them.

Towa and Rean both nodded. They agreed that it seemed like good fun.

Towa read her fortune first. "Your constant dedication to your work does not go unnoticed. Continue to work diligently until you find someone who will support you that you can support in turn."

Rean then read his fortune. "The one you wish to support from the bottom of your heart is by your side. You're compatible with those with the broadmindedness to accept you for who you are."

They both mulled over their respective fortunes. They didn't really sound like luck fortunes at all, but they didn't really know what type of fortunes they were.

"Rean, Vivi said these were luck fortunes right?" Towa asked.

"She did. Although I'm not sure this gave me any indication about our upcoming luck." Rean answered.

They both started to rethink what their fortunes were about.

The more Towa thought about it, her fortune was weirdly specific. "What were the odds that a fortune cookie would know how much I dedicate myself to my work? It also mentioned finding someone who could support me. I know plenty of people who support me already; my family, Angie, George, Crow, and R-Rean…"

Towa felt her face get red upon thinking about Rean.

Rean had started to overthink his fortune, before coming to a very literal interpretation of it. "The person I want to support is already by my side huh? But the only person next to me is President T-Towa…"

Rean and Towa both sat quietly as they felt their faces get red.

They then overheard Vivi giving Alan and Bridget relationship fortunes and realized that Vivi had given them a different type of fortunes than they asked for.

"I-Is it fine if we go tie up our fortunes and say a prayer now? There was one place I wanted to take you to before it got too dark." Rean asked nervously.

"G-Great idea Rean, let's go." Towa answered immediately.

After a quick prayer together, they left the room and Rean led Towa to their final stop for the day.


Patrick was exhausted, he had no idea that helping Elise find her brother would take the entire day. They had practically gone all around the school grounds only to end up without any leads to the whereabouts of Rean and Towa. There was only one place left that they hadn't checked yet: the rooftop of the main building.

"Lady Elise, why did you save the rooftop of the main building last?" Patrick asked.

"Simple Patrick, I overheard some of the students say the rooftop is where couples went to spend time together. Apparently the view up here is gorgeous." Elise answered while trying to see if Rean was up there.

They both turned around when they heard someone call them.

"Patrick and Elise? That's not a combination I expected to see. Patrick I had no idea you had a death wish. Wait until Rean hears about you taking his sister up to the main building rooftop." Jusis greeted as he walked up to the search party.

"I-I'm simply helping Elise find her brother. According to Armbrust, Schwarzer and President Herschel were walking around the festival together. You haven't seen them have you?" Patrick explained.

"Not that I recall, I've been stuck with babysitting duty as you can see. Hey Millium you haven't seen Rean and President Herschel?" Jusis responded.

Then out of nowhere Millium appeared. "Nope. I could try looking from up here, but everyone looks like ants."

Elise finally showed some level of defeat as she sat on a nearby bench and started to rant. "Oh who my kidding, that flirt probably already took Rean somewhere we couldn't see them."

"Somewhere where you couldn't see them? Oh, I think I did see them somewhere!" Millium suddenly announced.

Elise got back up and asked Millium where Towa had taken her brother.

"I think I saw them going inside Class II's booth. It's meant to be for stargazing, but their projector broke. Pretty sure it's so dark in there right now that you wouldn't be able to see a thing." Millium answered.

"A dark room where you can't see anything? Patrick, we need to hurry! My brother's in danger!" Elise yelled as she made her way to the stairs. Leaving Patrick behind once again.


The walk in the dark wasn't so bad. Rean and Towa made sure to keep one hand touching the walls besides them to not lose their way. For the most part they weren't scared of the dark. Rean's camping trips in the woods around Ymir had prepared him for moments like this, so the dark was weirdly nostalgic for him. What did horrify him was that in order not to get separated Towa insisted they should hold hands. It wasn't as if he was scared of Towa (the opposite in fact, he usually felt calm around her), but what scared him was Towa being able to feel how nervous he was while being so close to her. There was very little space so along with holding hands they were shoulder to shoulder.

Towa was never that scared of the dark. Back when her grandfather was still alive he would take her to stargaze at night, so the dark was weirdly nostalgic for her. What did horify her was Rean. Not that she felt unsafe around him (the opposite in fact, she usually felt safe around him), but she still was horrified at the thought of making Rean feel uncomfortable.

She was starting to worry if maybe she was pressuring him to hang out with her. She doubted that they would be spending as much time together as they did today. It wouldn't have happened if she didn't request Rean to spend time with her. He probably had to cancel some other plans he had because of her. With all the people in Class VII, she was sure Rean would have preferred to hang out with one of them over her. All she wanted to do was give Rean a bit of confidence boost, but maybe she wasn't the person to do that. Someone who Rean was closer to; like a best friend, family… or even a g-girlfriend.

She might've been a little biased, but Rean was quite attractive in her opinion. Which meant he was clearly popular with multiple ladies. It was highly likely that Rean already had a girl in mind, and that she was taking time away from Rean that he could've been spending with that girl. Would he have spent the festival with her if not for her request? Was her request made selflessly with the goal of making Rean feel better about himself, or was she selfishly trying to keep Rean to herself?

Rean suddenly felt Towa stop moving.

"President Towa, is something wrong? If you're uncomfortable in cramp or dark places we can leave. The last thing I want is for you to feel uncomfortable for my sake." Rean asked worriedly.

"N-No… that's not it, I'm actually rather fond of the dark. The darker it is the more stars I can see, but this isn't about me. R-Rean… I'm not wasting your time am I? I requested you to walk me around the festival for all these days without even considering if you already had plans. I'm sure you have friends, family, or even a g-girlfriend you'd rather be with than with m-me." Towa asked nervously.

Despite the room being pitch black Rean could sense that Towa was feeling extremely nervous. He even felt her grip loosen as if she was ready to run away before Rean could answer her. He knew words alone wouldn't be enough to give her a proper answer, he needed to show her how he felt about spending the festival days together.

"President Towa… follow me we're almost at the end of the booth." Rean said warmly.

Towa suddenly felt Rean's grip get tighter as he continued walking.

Before Towa knew it she was sitting on what felt like a bench, and heard Rean tinkered with a machine she couldn't even see. Although due to the machine being so close to the bench Rean and Towa didn't bother to let go of each other's hands.

"No wonder no one else is in here, they forgot to turn on the projector. You're gonna love this." Rean said as he sat back next to Towa.

Before Towa saw as the projector turned on and lit up the room with multiple projections of stars.

They both sat quietly as they took in the atmosphere. It might've not been as great as the real thing, but they still enjoyed watching the projected stars together.

"It's beautiful, but this doesn't answer my question Rean. You don't have to worry about my feelings. I want you to be as honest as you can be." Towa spoke up.

"I thought this would've been enough, but I guess I do have to use my words then. Alright, I'll tell you how I feel about our time together. President Towa, I'm glad you requested me to walk you around the festival. Like I told you before, I don't recall making any plans with anyone, so if it weren't for you I probably would be spending the festival alone by myself. If I had to be honest, I can't really think of anyone else I'd rather be spending time with than you. I can't think of anyone who works as hard as you do. In fact, I'm glad I get to help you relax for once. You've done so many things for me like calming me down on my first day at Thors, all the tea you have prepared for me, or even helping my class come up with the idea for a concert. This is the least I could do for you." Rean answered. He was glad that the room was still mostly dark, he didn't want Towa to know that he'd started to blush while saying all that.

Towa looked at the projections as she took in everything Rean told her. She hoped the remaining darkness was enough to hide how red her face had gotten.

"Rean… Thank you." Towa said.

"Anytime President Towa…" Rean responded.

They both stayed silent as they returned to enjoy the projected stars for a few more minutes.

Soon one of the members of Class II informed them that it was closing time and that they should return to their dorms.


As Rean and Towa made their way to the front gate they started to figure out their plans for the second day of the festival.

"Rean you wouldn't mind if we have a change of plans for tomorrow?" Towa asked.

"What type of change?" Rean asked in response.

"How about I walk you around the festival tomorrow?" Towa suggested.

"No thank you President Towa." Rean answered immediately.

Towa was taken rather aback by his response.

"I have a better idea. What if we just walk around the festival tomorrow together? Instead of me walking you or you walking me, how about we can just walk around together and see where that takes us?" Rean proposed.

"Oh, I suppose that doesn't sound half bad. Should we meet up at the front gate in the morning again?" Towa asked.

"Sounds like a plan." Rean responded.

"Shall I walk you to your dorm now?" Towa asked.

Before Rean could accept Towa's offer they heard a loud vicious screech from behind them, and they sensed it getting closer. Instinctively Rean shielded Towa from the possible danger that was approaching them. As the screeching got closer Rean realized who the two figures were that were running towards them.

"Get away my brother you coquette!"

"Slow down, you're going to make a scene!"

"Wait Elise… and Patrick!?" Rean yelled.

"Rean where have you been!? I've been trying to message you, but you never responded! I was worried something happened to you!" Elise asked loudly.

"Elise what are you doing here? Also Patrick… Why are you with my sister?" Rean asked.

Patrick felt his spine shiver as he felt Rean's glare.

"I wanted to surprise you, but when I arrived you never answered your Arcus. As for Patrick, he saw me by myself by the front gate and volunteered to help me look for you." Elise explained as she finally calmed down.

"Oh no this is all my fault. I put my Arcus in silent mode when President Towa and I started walking around the festival. Elise I'm so sorry and Patrick... thank you for keeping an eye on my sister." Rean responded. He didn't want to admit that he assumed Patrick had ulterior motives, but judging how tired Patrick looked it was safe to say Elise had him running around the festival with her the whole time.

"No need to thank me Schwarzer, consider it a thank you gift for helping Celestin and I some time ago. Well, with that matter taken care of and explained I bid you three farewell. Lady Elise, President Herschel, and Schwarzer have a good evening." Patrick said as he made his way to the Upper-Class Dorm. All three could tell he was on the verge of collapse.

Seeing as it was getting darker the trio made their way to the Class VII Dorm.

Elise made her way closer to Towa to share some small talk.

"President Herschel, so good to see you again." Elise greeted.

"It is. How are things at St. Astraia?" Towa asked.

"They're going well. That's why I was able to leave without having to worry about something going awry." Elise responded.

"Oh that's right you came here to surprise Rean…." Towa responded suddenly remembering why Elise was there in the first place.

She started to feel a bit guilty about ruining Elise's plan. Hopefully Elise wasn't angry with her and Rean. The last thing she wanted was to cause trouble between Rean and his family.

Suddenly Elise whispered something to Towa. "Don't think you've won. My brother's purity will not be taken by some minx like you."

Towa stopped in her tracks and quietly. "Wait what?"

Rean noticed a definite mood shift, and it was clear Elise said something that bothered Towa.

"Elise, President Towa, is something wrong?" Rean asked in an attempt to diffuse the situation.

Suddenly Elise turned to him. "Say Rean, now that I'm here would you mind walking around the festival tomorrow? I ran around today looking for you, so I didn't get to enjoy any of the booths."

Towa knew what was going to happen now. There was no way Rean would just reject his sister's request.

Rean almost immediately responded. "I'm sorry Elise, but I've already made plans with President Towa. If you had told me you were coming to visit sooner we could've arranged something better. I'll go ask one of my classmates if they can keep an eye on you for the rest of the festival when we get inside the Class VII Dorm."

Both Towa and Elise were caught off guard by his response.

Before Elise could object to Rean's answer someone opened the door to the Class VII Dorm and joined in on the conversation. "That won't be necessary Rean. I'll gladly keep an eye on Elise for the rest of the festival in your stead."

"Princess Alfin!?" all three said in surprise.

"And her devilishly handsome older brother: Prince Olivert!" Prince Olivert announced as walked next to his sister.

"Your highness, what are you doing here?" Elise questioned.

Prince Olivert spoke up first. "Oh I can answer that. As an alumni of Thors I figured why not have a surprise visit? When I informed my sister, she begged me to bring her with me. Apparently her best friend left without her, so I decided to bring her with me."

"Elise, as your friend I couldn't just sit by and let you come here by yourself. I planned to come with you, but you left so early that you caught Mildine and I by surprise. Luckily, my brother was visiting so I asked if I could join him." Princes Alfin explained.

"Oh, I suppose I did leave rather early." Elise admitted.

Princess Alfin quickly ran towards Elise and pulled her inside the dorm. "Come one Elise let's go prepare the guest room. Instructor Sara told me there were extra mattresses in that room over there."

"Well I suppose I should go help them. Don't worry, Mueller and I will keep a good eye on them tomorrow. Enjoy yourselves, you two." Prince Olivert said before retreating inside the dorm.

Rean and Towa silently stood there taking in everything that happened.

"W-Well Rean, I should probably get going. It is getting rather cold. Have a good night." Towa said before she started to walk back to her dorm.

Towa was stopped by Rean, who quickly made his way towards her.

"Here you go, this should help." Rean said as he took off his red uniform coat and put it over Towa.

"R-Rean I couldn't. Aren't you feeling cold?" Towa responded.

"Don't worry about it. Thanks to you I'm already at my dorm anyway. It's the least I could do. Goodnight President Towa. See you tomorrow." Rean said with a warm smile.

"O-Okay Rean, thank you. I'll make sure to clean before returning it. Goodnight Rean. See you tomorrow." Towa said in response.

With that the two walked to their respective dorms to get a goodnight's rest.


Author's Note

Hope you all enjoy this chapter! Originally it was just going to be Rean and Towa, but decided it would be fun to have Elise run around the school festival and running into Rean's classmates.
Also apologies in advance, the next few chapters won't be as "fun".

I'd also like to give a long overdue thank you to the reviews. This is my first published work, so to see it receive such positive reviews makes me very happy.