Chapter 44 - Birthday Chevalier

5.6.1206 - Saturday

Rean quietly made his way downstairs to the Branch Campus Dorm's entrance. Him and Towa had made plans to meet with everyone at Barney's Tavern and Inn that night. Seeing as it was his birthday, Towa had ordered him to stay in his dorm room after their classes concluded that day until she could finish setting everything up at the inn.

"I'm ready now." Rean read to himself as he looked over the text that Towa had sent him.

"See you there." Rean texted back once he reached the front lobby.

"Oh Instructor Rean, did you come down to have some dinner?" Juna asked.

Rean quickly turned around and saw his students sitting around a table filled with homework.

"Haha, I suppose you could say that. I'm actually going to eat out tonight." Rean answered.

"Is today a special occasion?" Kurt asked.

"Not really. I just wanted to try something new tonight." Rean lied. He had chosen not to tell his students about it being his birthday, as he wanted to keep the celebration small to just his close friends.

"I see…" Altina commented as she saw right through Rean's lie. She knew that he was going out to drink for the first time now that he was 20 years old, but decided to entertain his belief that he was being subtle about his impending hangover.

"Remember to go to bed at a reasonable time. I know tomorrow is a Free Day and all, but make sure you get enough sleep tonight." Rean advised.

"Ugh. Don't worry 'Dad', we'll go back to our dorm rooms in an hour or two." Juna teased.

With that, Rean wished New Class VII a good evening and left the Branch Campus Dorm.


Juna, Kurt, and Altina quickly returned to working on their homework, when suddenly someone else joined them in the front lobby.

"Good evening, Class VII. You haven't happened to see my instructor walk by, have you?" Musse greeted as she exited the kitchen.

"Instructor Herschel? Can't say that we have." Kurt answered.

"What a shame. I haven't seen her since our classes ended earlier." Musse responded.

"What was it that you wanted to ask her?" Juna asked.

"Oh, I was just having trouble with a homework assignment. Oh well, I suppose I could go ask Instructor Schwarzer about it." Musse answered.

"Instructor Schwarzer just left to go eat dinner outside." Altina commented.

"Maybe I should join him." Musse replied.

New Class VII all quickly stared at Musse with judgement. Something told them that she had no intention of going to see Towa in the first place.

"Don't bother. Pretty sure Schwarzer and Herschel are spending the night together." Ash commented as he entered the Branch Campus Dorm.

"Oh you saw Instructor Herschel outside?" Kurt asked.

"I was minding my own business at Barney's Tavern and Inn when I saw Herschel enter and start talking to the innkeeper about something. Then I saw Schwarzer join her a minute ago, so I booked it before they saw me." Ash revealed.

"Why do I feel like 'minding my own business' is code for you drinking while still underage?" Juna asked.

Ash stood silently as everyone waited for him to confirm or deny Juna's accusation.
"Your silence speaks volumes." Altina commented.

"Anyway, so Instructor Schwarzer and Instructor Herschel are out dining together tonight?" Kurt asked.

"Yeah, I saw Schwarzer take a seat next to Herschel at a large empty table before I snuck out." Ash revealed.

"Oh well, I suppose I'll ask Instructor Schwarzer to look over my notes tomorrow." Musse teased.

"Unlikely." Ash replied.

"What makes you say that? I'm sure our instructors will be back before curfew." Altina asked.

"When Herschel arrived, the innkeeper handed her the keys for one of the rooms. Something tells me that they'll be there for more than just dinner tonight." Ash revealed.

"You know what? That's none of our business." Juna commented as she tried to focus on her homework.

"You say that as if they aren't our instructors. Surely they aren't keeping any secrets from us." Musse responded.

"Wait, are Schwarzer and Herschel actually a thing?" Ash asked.

"I don't think their relationship status is of any relevance to us." Kurt answered. He quickly thought back to that time he spotted the two on a date together in Heimdallr a few months ago.

"You guys say that as if you aren't even a little curious." Musse teased.

"Why should we care if our instructors are dating?" Juna asked.

"It's not even a question, they are not in a relationship. Instructor Herschel has little compatibility with Instructor Schwarzer." Altina added on.

"Looks like someone already has an opinion on the matter." Ash noted.

"What makes you say that?" Kurt asked.

"Oh that's right, your older sister was one of Instructor Schwarzer's classmates during his and Instructor Herschel's time as students. Has she given you some gossip about those two?" Musse responded.

"Millium has told me nothing about Instructor Schwarzer and Instructor Herschel's history. My opinion on the matter is formed purely on what I myself have seen." Altina replied.


Altina quickly remembered her time working with Rean in Crossbell and North Ambria. She understood that in both cases Rean had easily become homesick, but the way he acted when he thought about Towa concerned her. Rean always seemed more depressed whenever his thoughts became of his former Student Council President and Captain.

Altina recalled how one night while they were in Crossbell, she walked into the kitchen to get herself a late night glass of milk and saw from her corner of her eye that Rean had left his bedroom door open just enough for her to see him sitting at his bedside crying while looking down at a locket. She couldn't see who the picture inside the locket was, but she could hear Rean mutter Towa's name.

It was a similar case while in North Ambria. Altina would often be able to hear Rean crying as the other soldiers such as Sara, Claire, and Aurelia went to sleep each night in the sleeping quarters. It was a similar sight as in Crossbell, with him holding on to his locket while muttering Towa's name.

It was clear to Altina that Towa had hurt Rean in some form after the incident inside the forest outside of Celdic during the Civil War.

Altina was hesitant to help lead Rean back to Towa's grasp when they all arrived in Heimdallr after the Northern War, but she had to do it seeing as Claire still held seniority over her.

It was then and there that Altina decided to do her best to keep Rean safe, and make sure there was enough distance between him and Towa so she wouldn't be able to hurt him again.

There was little room for misunderstanding.


"Anyway, it's getting pretty late. I think I'm going to hit the hay now." Juna said as she picked up her homework.

"I think it's about time I get some shut eye as well." Kurt added on as he picked up his homework.

"Let us meet again tomorrow to finish these assignments." Altina said as she snapped back into the present.

With that, New Class VII left Musse and Ash alone in the lobby as they retreated to their dorm rooms.

"I suppose we'll have to wait and see what happens to our instructors tomorrow morning." Musse said as she and Ash made their way upstairs.

"You can do that by yourself. I'm sleeping in." Ash replied as made his way to his room.


"Sorry I'm late." Rean greeted before giving Towa a kiss on her head and taking a seat next to her at the table she had gotten for them and their friends. It was a miracle that she was able to get a table for 15 people.

"Don't worry, you still arrived before the others." Towa replied.

"Shall we order everyone some drinks while we wait for them?" Rean asked.

"Sure, just remember to order soda for Elliot, Fie, and Millium. They still have a few years to go before they can drink like us." Towa replied.

With that, Rean ordered drinks for everyone. Some soda for Elliot, Fie, and Millium. Along with some beer for himself, Towa, Alisa, Gaius, Laura, Machias, Emma, Jusis, Sara, Angelica, and George. He also ordered an extra bottle of beer for Crow.

Soon one of the waitresses returned with all of their drinks and placed them around the table for everyone to grab once they arrived.

"We should probably wait for the others to arrive before we start drinking." Rean noted as he eyed his bottle of beer.

"Good idea." Towa said as she looked around the table.


Rean and Towa talked to each other about work as they waited for their friends to arrive, but after an hour they began to question if something was keeping all of their friends busy.

"I think I'll text Angie and George real fast, maybe traffic is holding them up." Towa said as she pulled out her ARCUS II.

"I think I'll do the same with the others." Rean replied as he pulled out his ARCUS II.

They both quickly messaged their friends, only to get met by messages from all of them apologizing about having to cancel at the last minute. Or in the case of Gaius and George, no response at all.

"Angie said that she's still out of the country, and George hasn't responded to my message." Towa informed Rean.

"Alisa said that she's being held up at a meeting. Laura said that she had to help her dad with something. Jusis is too occupied with his duties as Duke. Millium is on a mission right now. Machias is doing an inspection right now. Elliot forgot to tell us that he's still on tour. Emma and Celine are busy with something witch related. Fie and Sara are both off on Bracer business tonight. Oh, and Gaius also hasn't responded to my message either." Rean informed Towa.

"I see…" Towa replied.
"Looks like we'll be the only ones celebrating tonight." Rean joked as he looked around the empty table.


Rean and Towa awkwardly gave a toast before they started drinking their beers.

"Boy that's strong." Rean said after taking his first sip of alcohol.

"Rean, this stuff is actually pretty weak." Towa revealed.

"Huh?" Rean questioned.

"I hope you don't mind, but I told the innkeeper to only serve us the weak stuff tonight. I'd rather avoid having you getting a hangover after your first night drinking." Towa explained.

"Oh, haha. Man, that's probably a good call." Rean replied as he inspected the beer he'd been given. It had just enough alcohol to be considered a beer, but still more or less a soda.

"Thank goodness." Towa responded before taking another sip of her drink. She decided to also ask for something weak.

The only hard stuff present was Sara's bottle, but Rean and Towa knew that it would be a bad idea to drink it themselves.

"So, what should we do with everyone else's bottles?" Rean asked as he finished his first beer.

"Why don't we take them up to our room?" Towa suggested.

"O-Our room?" Rean responded. He knew that Towa had been thinking about asking Aurelia to let them share a dorm room, but he didn't actually think that she would do it.

"Wait, did you think that we were going to celebrate your birthday out here? I rented all of us a room upstairs to celebrate privately with everyone. Although I guess it'll just be the two of us tonight." Towa explained.

"So that's what you were preparing while I was in my dorm room." Rean replied.

"Don't tell me that you thought I spent all that time over here only getting us a table did you?" Towa teased.

"Haha, maybe." Rean replied as looked away from Towa.


Rean and Towa soon made their way to their room after paying the innkeeper for all of their drinks.

"Wow, this looks great!" Rean commented as he saw all the decorations that Towa had put up.

It was fairly basic things like a banner that read "Happy Birthday Rean!", along with a few balloons.

"Glad you liked it." Towa replied.

The two quickly put all of their friends' bottles on a small table, before taking a seat to think about what to do now.

"I say we drink them in their absence." Rean suggested.

"We can't do that, Sara's way too strong for you." Towa warned.

"You could drink it then." Rean responded.

"I'm not drinking that." Towa replied.

"Fine then. I think I know how to handle this." Rean said as he stood up and picked up all the bottles.

Towa watched as Rean bent down and lined up all the bottles one by one. Starting with the non alcoholic drinks, and finishing up by putting the heavy stuff all the way in the back.

"What are you planning?" Towa asked as got up from her seat and made her way towards Rean.

"Simple, we take turns grabbing a bottle, spinning it, and whoever the bottle lands on has to drink it." Rean explained.

"I see…" Towa replied.

The two quickly sat down on the floor, before Rean grabbed one of the non-alcoholic bottles and spun it around.

Rean and Towa watched as the bottle spun in front of them, before it stopped on Towa.

"Looks like I'll start then." Towa said as she grabbed the bottle and started drinking it.

Once Towa was done with the bottle, she put it aside before grabbing the next bottle and spun it around. This time it landed on Rean, who started drinking the bottle, before putting aside when he was done and grabbed the next bottle. The pair continued to spin and drink all the bottles as the night continued, which resulted in them getting more drunk as time went on.


Soon Rean got to Crow's bottle, but he couldn't bring himself to even dare spin it.

"I don't feel comfortable drinking Crow's bottle." Rean admitted.

"I don't feel comfortable either, why don't we leave it open outside? I'm sure it'll reach Crow that way." Towa suggested.

Rean carefully stood up, before extending his hand to help Towa stand up. Admittedly they were a bit woozy from all the alcohol, but they still managed to walk downstairs and outside the inn.

"Here you Crow." Rean said as he opened Crow's bottle and placed it on the ground.

"May it reach you." Towa added on.

The two said a quick prayer together before going back inside and into their room.


Rean and Towa sat on the ground as they slid back and forth the last bottle to each other, as neither wanted to be the one who had to drink it. That bottle was meant for Sara, which meant that it was the strongest one. They were already drunk, but not drunk enough to forget that it would be a bad idea to drink it.

Unfortunately the Innkeeper called it a night and closed up shop, so they couldn't go and return it. One of them seemingly had to drink it in order to get their money's worth.

"I used your money to pay for all of this, you drink it." Towa suggested as she slid the bottle back to Rean.

"You have more drinking experience than I do, you drink it." Rean replied as he slid the bottle back to Towa.

"Just because I have a year head start from you doesn't mean I drink like Sara. I only do it for special occasions, like today. So you better drink up, birthday boy." Towa explained as she slid the bottle back to Rean.

"Oh, so I'm the birthday boy then? Fine, as the birthday boy I say that we split the bottle. It can't be that strong if we only have half of it right?" Rean ordered.

"If that's what the birthday boy wishes." Towa teased as she scooted closer to Rean.

Rean carefully opened the bottle before taking a sip of it. He immediately felt the hard alcohol go down his system as he passed the bottle to Towa. Towa quickly took a sip as well, and handed it back to Rean as she felt the hard alcohol go down her system.

Rean and Towa continued to hand each other the bottle as they took turns taking more sips of it.


"T-This stuff... sure makes me feel great..." Rean noted as he drunkenly laid on the floor.

"Y-You're telling me…" Towa said in agreement as she drunkenly snuggled up close to Rean on the floor.

Rean knew that the alcohol was supposed to make him feel great, but he couldn't help but start thinking about his friends. He wanted everyone to be there. Not necessarily so they could watch him and Towa get drunk, but because he wanted them to also relax. It was never about having them visit on his birthday, he just wanted to see them all again together. But in the end it was just him and Towa there. He didn't have a problem with that, he couldn't think of a better person to spend his birthday with. But he couldn't deny how fun it would have been to have been drinking with all of them.

"T-Towa… D-Do you think that… you'd be here to celebrate my birthday with me… Even if we weren't working here together?" Rean asked as he turned to Towa.

"R-Rean…" Towa replied as she thought about Rean's question.

Towa felt guilty over not being able to immediately tell him that she'd still be there, but the more she thought about it, the more unsure she became. She'd be lying if she said that working at the same location had made balancing their relationship and professional lives much easier. So if things were different, like if Rean was sent to work at Thors' Main Campus instead of the Branch Campus, then balancing those things would become much more difficult. Not impossible, but difficult. No amount of space or difficulty could truly separate them.

"R-Rean… I don't care how far apart we are… I'll always make it a priority to spend time with you…" Towa drunkenly answered.

"T-Thank you Towa… If we're ever separated… I'll call Valimar a fly across the entire Empire until I find you…" Rean drunkenly replied.

Despite both of them being drunk, they both meant every word they said.


After a few minutes of cuddling on the floor, Rean and Towa decided that they were getting sleepy.

Rean slowly stood up, before carefully lifting Towa up from the ground and carried her as if she was a princess off to the bed that came with their room.

"R-Rean… I'm not sleepy yet… I still haven't even given you your present..." Towa drunkenly ranted.

"T-Towa… T-There are better places to sleep than on the ground you know… Y-You can give it to me… tomorrow…" Rean drunkenly replied as he carefully placed Towa on the bed.

Towa watched as Rean walked over to the edge of the room to check if the door was locked before turning off the lights and walking back to join her in bed.

"G-Goodnight… T-Towa…" Rean said as he snuggled up to Towa.

"G-Goodnight R-Rean… W-Wait… H-H-Happy b-birthday!" Towa yelled before giving Rean a kiss on the lips.

It wasn't a long kiss, but it was still a passionate one.

"H-Haha… T-Thank you...T-Towa…" Rean said as they both drifted off to sleep.


5.7.1206 - Sunday (Free Day)

Rean and Towa slept through the entire morning. They probably would've stayed like that if Rean hadn't been rudely woken up by his ARCUS.

"H-Hello…" Rean answered as he slowly woke up. He was still too tired to move from how he slept, so Towa was still wrapped around his arms as he set his ARCUS to speaker mode.

"Schwarzer, where are you? For that matter, is Herschel with you? I understand that yesterday was your birthday, but that doesn't mean you're allowed to sleep outside of the dorms without notifying me or Principal Le Guin." Michael answered.

"O-Oh, right… Yeah, T-Towa's with me… I-I apologize, I should've asked for perm-" Rean replied before Aurelia joined in on the call.

"What are you talking about Schwarzer? I recall giving you two permission to sleep out for the occasion." Aurelia lied.

"I see then. Understood, Principal Le Guin. Instructor Schwarzer, I wish you and Instructor Herschel a good day." Michael responded before awkwardly hanging up.

"Thank you for covering for us Principal Le Guin. I'm not sure I was ready for a scolding from Instructor Irving first thing in the morning. How can I repay you?" Rean asked.

"You can start by staying in bed with Herschel for a few more hours. Aidios knows how much more sleep you two need." Aurelia answered.

"Wait, how did you know that Towa's in bed with me? She's still asleep and didn't hear my ARCUS." Rean questioned.

"You forget Schwarzer, I am the Principal of the Branch Campus, which means I have admin privileges over all school equipment. That includes the school issued ARCUS IIs I gave all the faculty and students. A fun perk is that I can automatically turn any call I want into a video call. Herschel certainly looks comfortable wrapped up in your arms like that." Aurelia revealed.

"I-I see…" Rean replied. He was suddenly glad that things didn't get too intimate between him and Towa the previous night and that they had slept with their uniforms still on.

"I've teased you enough for today. Rest well you two." Aurelia said before hanging up.

Rean quietly put away his ARCUS so as to not wake Towa up, but alas it seemed as if she was woken up by Michael and Aurelia's call after all.

"Who was that?" Towa questioned. Unlike Rean, she was wide awake.

"Good morning Towa." Rean greeted Towa as he gave her a kiss.

"Who was that?" Towa repeated once Rean finished.

"Oh, Instructor Irving was ready to scold me for not notifying him or Principal Le Guin about us staying here at the inn. Luckily, Principal Le Guin covered for us. By the way, it turns out she can turn any call into a video call. We should probably ask George if he can find a way to disable that feature." Rean answered.

"I-I see. Haha." Towa replied. She wasn't exactly sure what had gotten over her. It's not like she was getting worked up over the fact that Rean was speaking to someone else.

"Is something wrong?" Rean asked. He could tell that Towa was being troubled about something.

"N-Nothing! I was just thinking about what we could do to pay back Principal Le Guin for covering for us." Towa lied.

"Well, she told me that we could start by resting up for a few more hours." Rean replied as he snuggled up to Towa. He knew that something was on Towa's mind, but decided not to press her about it at the moment.

"If you say so- Wait, your present!" Towa responded before jumping out of bed.

Rean watched as Towa dug through a bag she left in the room while she prepared it the previous day.

Towa soon returned with a small box in her hands and took a seat on the bed next to Rean.

"H-Here you go, Rean. H-Happy birthday!" Towa announced as she handed Rean her gift.

"Thank you, Towa. This really means a lot." Rean replied as he slowly opened Towa's gift.

Inside was a picture. It was a picture of Towa in front of the Branch Campus' front entrance.

"Hmm? Wait, isn't this from school picture day?" Rean asked as he inspected the photo of his girlfriend.

"It is. I asked the photographer if he could give me spare copies of our pictures. I figured since, you know, we're an actual couple now, that it would be appropriate to update the photos in our lockets." Towa explained as she pulled out her locket from underneath her shirt. She opened it to reveal the matching picture of Rean inside. The previous photo was also underneath the new one, as she didn't have the heart to even throw away a photo of Rean.

"Towa… That's a wonderful idea." Rean replied before pulling out his locket from underneath his shirt. He always made sure to have it on before leaving his dorm room each morning.

Towa watched as Rean put the new photo of her on top of the previous photo of her from when they were students like she did.

"It's beautiful, Towa. This photo does a great job capturing your smile." Rean commented as he inspected his locket.

"I'm glad you liked it. This photo of you also does a great job capturing your smile." Towa replied as she inspected her locket.

"Well you heard Principal Le Guin's orders. Let's rest for a few more hours. Don't think I haven't seen you pull all those all-nighters grading the kids' homework." Rean suggested as patted the pillow next to him.

"Fine Rean, I'll rest. But on a single condition." Towa replied as she laid down next to Rean.

"What is it?" Rean asked as he placed a blanket on top of the both of them.

"You rest up with me. Don't think I haven't seen you hang around the main lobby all evening asking if the kids need help with their assignments." Towa answered as she wrapped her arms around Rean and snuggled up to him.

"If you insist." Rean replied as he wrapped his arms around Towa and snuggled up to her.

The pair soon fell back asleep thanks to the warmth brought on by the other's embrace. It wasn't until that evening that the innkeeper decided that enough was enough, and woke up the pair and sent them back to the Branch Campus Dorm.


Author's Note

Looks like all of New Class VII has finally shown up, may they have mercy on Rean and Towa.

I should probably add the disclaimer that Rean's birthday isn't May 6th. All that is noted by the wiki and games is that Rean's birthday is in early May. I went with May 6th since it was the Saturday before anything story related happens. Which meant I could have Rean and Towa sleep in the next day without any worry.

Update - I added a new scene at the end of this chapter. I hope you all like it!