Chapter 46 - On the Air
6.11.1206 - Sunday (Free Day)
Rean went about his Free Day as usual. He had already finished all the tasks he had been assigned that day, so he decided to take a stroll around Leeves to clear his head.
"Hey Rean! How's your afternoon been?" Towa greeted as she stood outside the Radio Trista Station.
"Hey Towa. It's been good. I just finished all my tasks actually. What about yours?" Rean replied.
"That's great to hear. Oh mine? It's been going well, I finished all of my work early so I could get here on time?" Towa answered.
"Here?" Rean repeated as he realized that they were standing outside the Radio Trista Station.
"Didn't I tell you? Munk asked me for a quick radio interview." Towa revealed.
"Really? That sounds great!" Rean replied.
"Y-You think so? I was a little nervous when he asked me for an interview for one of his shows." Towa explained.
"Ms. Herschel, there you are." Munk greeted as he opened Radio Trista Station's front door.
"Good afternoon, Munk. I'm here for my interview." Towa greeted.
"Good afternoon, Munk. Don't mind me, I was just taking a stroll around Leeves." Rean greeted.
"Heh, so the rumors were true after all." Munk commented.
"W-Which rumors?" Towa asked.
Towa and Rean had been doing their best to keep the general public out of the loop about their relationship. So if rumors were starting to spread, then it was only a matter of time before the press and tabloids discovered who exactly the famous Ashen Chevalier was courting.
"Back when we were all students at Thors, everyone at the Lower Class Dorm joked about wherever Ms. Herschel went, Rean would always be close behind." Munk explained.
"O-Oh… Haha. O-Old habits die hard, I suppose." Rean replied.
Rean and Towa breathed a sigh of relief. Nothing more than just their former schoolmates misunderstanding the fact that Rean was always helping the Student Council back then. It was nothing newsworthy like they feared.
"Let me finish setting up the equipment. You two are more than welcome to come and wait inside if you want." Munk informed them as he returned inside.
"So, what's the show called?" Rean asked as held the door open for Towa.
"It's called 'The Dawn of the Working Woman'. It's a show that focuses on women working in many different industries. It's one of our most popular shows. Our first episode featured Major Claire when she first became a captain." Munk explained.
"Oh, Major Claire made a guest appearance? And now you're going to be on it, Towa?" Rean replied.
"Teehee, I declined at first actually, but he was really persistent. I'm getting a little nervous. I hope I don't fumble my words." Towa admitted.
"Haha. Ms. Herschel, you'll be just fine. Let's make this a great show!" Munk assured Towa.
Rean quickly noticed that Towa was looking at him. It was clear to him that she wanted him to stay there to calm her nerves during the interview.
"Munk, is there anything I can do to help? I'd like to witness her moment in the spotlight." Rean asked.
"Rean… thank you, having you here is reassuring." Towa commented. She was relieved to have him there to calm her nerves.
"Haha, I could always use a helping hand around here. Especially since my receptionist Linley took an extended lunch break, without asking. We have a few moments before it's time to start… Mind if I explain the equipment to you for a bit?" Munk responded.
"Yeah, that'd be great!" Rean replied.
"Let's do a quick sound test. Hey Rean, can you attach Towa's microphone for me?" Munk asked as he handed Rean a clip-on microphone.
"Wait, what about all those microphones on the table?" Rean asked.
"Oh those old things. They're just for display." Munk explained.
"Oh, I see." Rean replied.
Rean then made his way to Towa, who was already sitting down for her interview, and attached the clip-on microphone to her uniform's collar.
"Thank you again, Rean." Towa whispered as she turned on the clip-on microphone.
"Sounds clear." Munk commented as he checked the audio.
Rean quickly exited the recording room, so the interview could begin.
"You'll do great." Rean assured Towa before closing the door.
"Welcome to 'The Dawn of the Working Woman'. Today, we have a guest from Thors' recently-established branch campus in Leeves." Munk greeted the audience.
"Hello. My name is Towa Herschel. I'm the homeroom instructor of the branch campus' Class IX, Military Finance. I'm a little nervous, but I'm happy to be talking to you today." Towa greeted the audience.
"Haha, thank you, Ms. Herschel. We'd like to start off by sharing a few things about Instructor Herschel." Munk continued.
"She's doing pretty well, considering how nervous she was. I guess she's done a few interviews before… There's probably nothing to worry about." Rean thought to himself as he looked at Towa through the window into the recording room.
"While still a student, Instructor Herschel was appointed to a very important role during the civil war two years ago. She was the acting captain of the Crimson Wings aboard the cruiser, Courageous, bringing hope to many people during the war." Munk informed the audience.
"You make it sound more impressive than it was. There were many extenuating circumstances. And many of my fellow students helped me get through that situation." Towa replied.
"You don't have to be so humble. I heard you were highly commended, and that many places contacted you after you graduated. Not to mention, as the Student Council President, you were highly regarded by many of your fellow students. You were immense help during the terrorist acts on the capital, and you were chosen to attend the trade conference in Crossbell. I'm sure all of your fellow students couldn't be prouder of you." Munk responded.
"Munk? I don't remember this being in the script…" Towa whispered as she covered her clip-on microphone.
"Well, these are all facts. I'm sure Rean would agree." Munk replied as he covered his clip-on microphone.
Towa quickly turned to look at Rean outside the recording room. All Rean did in response was nod in agreement with Munk.
"A-Ahem… Thank you for the kind words, but I'm not that big of a deal. I was only able to accomplish all of those things you listed because everyone who helped me. My fellow students, my instructors… my fellow classmates who I made a bike with that one time… and in my last year, the underclassmen of Class VII... Especially their leader, who helped me out tremendously..." Towa responded as she turned to Rean.
Towa made sure to look at Rean during her last comment to see his reaction. Much to her amusement, she left him a blushing mess by her comment.
"Which is why I want to do my best at the branch campus. We instructors work together to support our students." Towa continued.
"I see… That's a wonderful aspiration! We here at Radio Trista would like to continue to support Thors' branch campus." Munk commented.
"Teehee, thank you for having me." Towa replied.
"Pleasure to have you. Best of luck with all your future endeavors. Be it professional, or personal. Stay tuned, Eternal Neun will begin after a few words from our sponsors." Munk concluded the show.
Once Munk made sure they weren't live anymore, Towa quickly excused herself and made her way to Rean outside of the recording room. Completely forgetting to return her clip-on microphone to Munk, and the fact that it was still on.
"Good work, Towa." Rean greeted her.
"Y-Yeah… Thank you. Ugh… Munk got me all riled up, I feel like he exaggerated some details. That was broadcasted to the entire Empire, right?" Towa replied.
"Haha, it's fine. I think you did wonderfully. And the way you described what we're doing here really touched me." Rean assured her. He would've bent down to kiss her for extra measure. But Munk would still be able to see them through the recording room's window, so decided to save the kiss for later.
"Oh, teehee… This is embarrassing. I said it on the radio, but let's work together… All of us instructors, for the students. In our case, not only as coworkers, but also as lovers." Towa declared.
"Yes, of course!" Rean replied.
"Would you mind if I join you on your stroll?'' Towa asked.
"I'd love to have you by my side, Towa." Rean answered as he led Towa to the door.
"Hey, wait!" Munk yelled as he ran out of the recording room?
"Is something wrong?" Towa asked.
"Yeah, I forgot to take back your clip-on microphone." Munk explained.
"O-Oh that's right. S-Sorry!" Towa replied as she returned the clip-on microphone to Munk.
"No worries. Have a good afternoon you two." Munk replied. Not realizing that he unknowingly recorded Rean and Towa's private conversation.
"Have a good afternoon, Munk." Rean and Towa said together before exiting the Radio Trista Station.
"I'll have Linley look over the recording when she gets back later." Munk said to himself before turning off the clip-on microphone Towa had been using.
Later that evening, Munk had Linley look over that day's recordings while he prepared next week's schedule in the recording room. They usually each day's recordings at night to make sure their archive was filled with proper recordings.
Linley sat bored as she listened to Munk's recording of his interview with Towa.
"Why do I have to do this every evening? I swear I'd be able to leave a few hours earlier if we just threw the recordings into the archive. Not like our equipment has ever failed, so this is just pointless." Linley ranted to herself.
Once the interview came to a close, Linley was ready to swap out the memory quarts and play the next thing they recorded for that day. But to her surprise, the recording kept on going. It seemed as if they recorded more audio from Towa while they were airing their sponsors' commercials live instead of their audio.
"Just Herschel talking to that Schwarzer guy, I should probably cut this-" Linley said to herself, before the recording got to the interesting part.
Linley froze as she listened to Towa refer to herself and Rean as lovers.
Speculation and rumors on who the Ashen Chevalier was dating had been rampant ever since word came out about his exploits during the Northern War, and word getting out about him visiting his lover upon returning.
Multiple tabloids had been keen on figuring out first who Rean was dating so they could put in one the front page. Many interviewed past schoolmates to see if they knew anything, but no real info was gained. Although, all of those interviews pointed the tabloids in a few directions. His female classmates from Class VII, Alisa Reinford, Laura S. Arseid, Fie Claussell, and Emma Millstein were some of the ones deemed most likely to be his special someone. Many also theorized Princess Alfin Reisse Arnor of being a strong contender, citing an anonymous tip from someone who claimed to be a friend of hers. They claimed that Alfin would privately gush about the Ashen Chevalier to her close friend, Elise Schwarzer.
Ironically, Towa was dropped from every tabloid's speculation list after word came out about her going on a date with an unidentified man back in December. Not that she ever ranked highly on those lists in the first place.
Even the press got involved. Deeming the Ashen Chevalier's love life something of national importance due to his status as a national hero. Alongside the fact that the heiress of the Reinford Group, daughter of Viscount Arseid, and a member of the royal family were potential lovers.
"Munk, get over here! We've got breaking news!" Linley yelled as the recording stopped.
"What happened?" Munk asked as he exited the recording room.
"Herschel forgot to turn off her clip-on microphone and recorded herself referring to Schwarzer and herself as lovers. The Ashen Chevalier has been dating some teacher this entire time." Linley revealed as she replayed the audio for Munk to hear.
Linley couldn't help but start thinking about what she would do with the money their boss would give her and Munk as a bonus for getting such a big scoop.
"I see..." Munk said to himself. In hindsight, it was rather obvious considering how Rean and Towa behaved back at Thors.
"I'll call the boss right now-" Linley said before noticing that Munk had snatched the memory quartz that contained the recording of Towa's interview.
Linley followed Munk outside the Radio Trista Station. Just in time to watch him throw the memory quartz into the nearby river.
"Why did you destroy our only copy of Herschel outing herself and Schwarzer!? That could've gotten us promoted to a better location!" Linley yelled.
"Have you no honor?" Munk asked.
"Wait, what?" Linley questioned.
"We have no authorization to publicly release that recording." Munk revealed.
"What do you mean? Herschel agreed to give us permission to do whatever we wanted with the recording of her interview when she agreed to do it." Linley noted.
"Yeah, but Rean didn't. You could clearly hear him talking to Ms. Herschel when she referred to themselves as lovers. While clearly a big scoop for us, we can't do anything with the recording due to Rean being audible. So I destroyed it to make sure it doesn't leak to the public. Best to save ourselves from a potential lawsuit from Rean and Ms. Herschel." Munk explained.
"Y-You idiot! I-I'm leaving early!" Linley yelled before storming off.
Munk then turned to look back at the river he threw the memory quartz into. As a cost saving measure, the memory quartzes they used to record their shows weren't waterproof like the ones they use for their archive. So even if someone stumbled upon the memory quartz, it wouldn't work.
"Heh, so it was Ms. Herschel who stole Rean's heart all along. No wonder they're both teaching here. Maybe I can get them to do an interview together once they go public. I could probably ask them during the interview for their permission to play this audio live." Munk said to himself as pulled out the back-up memory quartz he had of Towa's interview.
Munk always made sure to secretly use multiple memory quartz to record his programs, just in case anything ever happened to the original. Such as getting thrown into a river.
Author's Note
I hope you all enjoyed this adaptation of Towa's Bonding Event!
Always fun to write Rean and Towa doing a poor job of keeping their relationship a secret from the public.
