Chapter 57 - Festival Festivities: Sisters' Search

7.17.1206 - Monday (Festival Day)

"Thanks for the ice cream, Jusis!" Millium told Jusis after he handed her an ice cream cone he had gotten for her.

"You can thank me by not yelling at me that you want ice cream at max volume ever again." Jusis replied.

"Sure thing- Hey wait a minute! I said that I wanted nine scoops, I only see six scoops! Go back and get my order right!" Millium yelled.

"Nine scoops is absurd! The top ones will either fall over or melt on top of you!" Jusis argued.

"Unlikely! I'm a very fast eater, I'll have you know!" Millium countered.

"Is that why you stop to a halt once your dinner plate contains only vegetables?" Jusis pointed out.

"Yeah, because the green stuff is disgusting!" Millium answered.

"Personally, I think green stuff is neat." Jusis replied as he looked at his coat.

Altina soon found herself in Dreichels Plaza, she was able to hear the commotion going on between Millium and Jusis. Not having much to do, she made her way towards them to see what had gotten them so riled up.

"Hey Allie, what's up?" Millium greeted, which abruptly ended her argument with Jusis.

"Hello Altina, would you like to join us?" Jusis offered.

"Hello you two. Thank you for the offer, but I must decline it at this time." Altina replied.

"Hmm, is something on your mind?" Millium asked.

"I suppose so, but it's nothing that should concern you." Altina answered.

"Don't say that! I'm your big sister, which means that I have the right to be concerned about my little sister's well being!" Millium replied.
"You aren't going to leave me alone unless I tell you, are you?" Altina asked.

"Correct! I'm not going to leave you alone until I've helped you with your problem!" Millium answered.

"Best you tell Millium your troubles now, unless you wish for her to make you go deaf with all of her yelling." Jusis advised as he took Millium's ice cream and dumped it in a nearby trash can.
"My ice cream!" Millium yelled.

"You weren't even going to eat it. Plus it was already beginning to melt." Jusis explained as he took out a handkerchief with House Albarea's crest on it to clean off some of the ice cream that had melted over Millium's hat.

Altina weighed her options. She'd been trying to figure out how best to confront Rean and Towa about her behavior for a while now. However, she found it difficult to actually approach the pair whenever they were together. It was clear that she needed help to build up the courage to confront them, she just wasn't sure who's help she needed. Despite their offers, she didn't feel comfortable having Juna or Kurt help her. She also knew that it would be a bad idea to request help from either Musse or Ash. As much as he hated to admit it, Millium was the best candidate to help her.

"Fine. Jusis, I request for you to leave Millium and I alone until we are done with my problem." Altina informed Jusis and Millium.
"I knew you'd ask your big sister for help!" Millium yelled as he gave Altina a hug.
"I understand. I think I'll go see the horse races. Millium, make sure to call me if anything happens." Jusis commented before leaving the Orion sisters by themselves.

"So what's the issue? Did you eat a really bad pancake?" Millium asked.

"A-Actually, it's about Instructor Rean and Instructor Towa." Altina revealed.

Millium listened closely as Altina gave her a summary of what had been going on the last few months. She did her best not to laugh over what had happened during the pool party, which wasn't much because she started to laugh in front of her sister almost immediately after she was done telling the story.

After a few minutes of laughing at the misunderstanding, Millium was finally able to compose herself.

"Are you done?" Altina questioned.

"Yep. I think we should just go with the easiest solution." Millium suggested.

"Which is?" Altina asked.

"You go up to them, and talk to them about the situation. You can't run away from them forever, especially since you're their student. Pretty sure you see them on a daily basis." Millium explained.

"I suppose you do have a point." Altina noted.

"That's what I keep on trying to tell Jusis and the Ironbloods! I'm filled with great ideas!" Millium commented.

"I doubt that. They do say that a broken clock is right twice a day, however." Altina noted.

"So, do you know where Rean and Towa are?" Millium asked, choosing to ignore Altina's comment.

"I'm actually unsure about their current location, assuming that they are spending the Summer Festival together." Altina admitted.
"How about you call them with your ARCUS?" Millium suggested.

"Good idea." Altina replied as she took out her ARCUS.

"Do you not have their contact information?" Millium asked as Altina stared blankly at her ARCUS.

"I do, it's just that it would seem as if I had forgotten to charge my ARCUS." Altina explained.

"Don't worry, your big sister is here!" Millium responded before taking out her ARCUS, only to discover that she had also forgotten to charge her ARCUS.

The Orion sisters quickly made their way to a nearby alley and summoned their combat shells. Luckily Airgetlam and Claimh Solais had the ability to charge ARCUS units.

"That should take care of things." Millium commented as Airgetlam and Claimh Solais teleported away with their ARCUS units.

"Unfortunately, it'll take a while to get our ARCUS units charged. What do you suggest we do until then?" Altina questioned.

"We can have Jusis call them." Millium suggested, before remembering that they had sent him away earlier.

"Any other ideas?" Altina asked.

"Oh I know! We can go search for them! It'll be an adventure!" Millium declared.

"An adventure?" Altina repeated.


Altina and Millium soon found themselves standing in the middle of Vainqueur Street.

"I believe that it would be wise to start searching for Instructor Rean and Instructor Towa here." Altina noted as she eyed Plaza Bifrost.

"Yeah. With so many shops around, Rean and Towa are sure to be spending some quality lovey-dovey alone time here." Millium commented.

Before the Orion sisters could begin their search however, they heard someone causing a scene just outside Plaza Bifrost. Scared that something bad had occurred, Altina and Millium paused their search and made their way to where they had heard the yelling.

Thankfully, it was just an unruly audience member at the outdoor Mishy stage show: none other than Tio Plato.

"Randy did you see that!? I wasn't expecting such a twist! Such a big Mishy lore drop has been revealed!" Tio shouted.

Randy watched as the Mishy stage actors got down from the stage and made their way to their trailer to relax until their next show. He wasn't sure how someone's Tio's age could believe that Mishy was real.

"'Mishy lore'? Wait, there's an actual plot involved? I thought it was just some cat." Randy commented.

"Bite your tongue! Mishy is a magical creature that goes on fun whimsical adventures! Over the years Mishy has made many friends and enemies throughout his adventures! A true champion of justice and friendship!" Tio explained.

"Yeah, yeah. Like his sister Missy and that robot duplicate Metal Mishy." Randy replied as he tried to calm Tio down as all the parents and children present were beginning to stare at them.

"I'll have you know that their names are Mishette and Mecha Mishy! Also Mecha Mishy isn't just some robot duplicate, they're Mishy's brother! Ah, I have to rewatch Mishy the Movie 14: Mishy v Mecha Mishy - Battle for Remnant Island! This new twist is going to make so many scenes in that movie so painful to watch." Tio responded.

Having no clue what Tio was talking about, Randy simply smiled and nodded along as she began sharing her Mishy related theories.
"What seems to be the issue here- Oh hey Randy!" Millium greeted as she and Altina made their way to Randy and Tio.

"Oh, it's simply Instructor Randy and Tio." Altina commented.

"Hey you two." Randy greeted.

"I'm familiar with Altina. Is that blue haired one another student of yours from the Branch Campus?" Tio asked Randy.

"Excuse you! I'm Altina's older sister: Millium Orion, and I'll have you know that I graduated from Thors over a year and a half ago!" Millium proudly informed Tio.

"My mistake. I believe Alisa has mentioned you from time to time. We sometimes share stories of our respective groups." Tio replied.

"Excuse me, but you two wouldn't happen to have seen Instructor Rean and Instructor Towa, have you?" Altina asked.

"Rean and Towa? You just missed them. They were here watching the Mishy stage show earlier, then left as soon as the previous show wrapped up." Randy answered.

"Did you see where they were heading?" Millium questioned.

"I saw them get on the tram heading towards the Racetrack Plaza." Tio revealed.

"The Racetrack Plaza? I see, thank you very much for your assistance. Millium, if we're quick we might be able to catch up to them there." Altina ordered before running off.
"W-Wait for me!" Millium yelled as she followed close behind Altina.

"Haha. Looks like Mr. and Mrs. Schwarzer have their hands full." Randy joked.

"I take it that they're in a similar boat as our fearless yet clueless leader and their partner?" Tio asked.

"Oh man, where do I start?" Randy replied.


Altina and Millium stood outside the Heimdallr Racecourse as they caught their breaths after running all the way there.

"I-I told you we should've just summoned Lammy and Sammy to fly us here…" Millium commented as she caught her breath.

"It w-wouldn't be wise to fly about right now, especially with the city on high alert." Altina replied as she also caught her breath.

The sisters made their way around the plaza in hopes of finding Rean and Towa outside, since Altina determined that her instructors were unlikely to be inside the racecourse betting on the horses.

Thanks to there being a large crowd outside, the ground search was rather difficult. Both sisters had gotten too used to relying on their combat shells to help them cover more ground, so they were not used to having to walk amongst crowds.

"No sign of them. Maybe we should check inside the racecourse?" Millium suggested.

"Hey look, it's Millium and Altina! What are you two doing here?" Elliot greeted the Orion sisters as he approached them.

"Hey Elliot! Just looking for Rean and Towa. You wouldn't have happened to see them around here have you?" Millium answered.

"Rean and Towa? I can't say that I have, sorry. Oh, maybe the others have though!" Elliot replied.

"The others?" Altina questioned before three more people approached them.

Seeing as they were all free at the time, Elliot, Gaius, and their respective partners had planned out a group date to pass the time.

"Is something the matter, Elliot? Oh hey, it's Millium and Altina." Gaius greeted.

"Hey you two!" Mint greeted.

"Are you two lost?" Linde asked.

"Hey guys! Allie and I were just looking for Rean and Towa. Have any of you seen them?" Millium responded.

"Rean and Towa? Can't say that I have." Linde answered.

"Hmm… The wind tells me that they're close by." Gaius noted before turning to look at the racecourse.

"The racecourse!" Altina replied before making a run for it.

"Thanks guys! Sorry for interrupting your group date!" Millium responded before chasing after Altina.

"Hey wait, couldn't Altina and Millium just call Rean and Towa and let them know that they were looking for them?" Mint commented.

"Good idea! Wait, but it looks like Altina and Millium already got inside. Let me call Rean to let him know that they're looking for him and Towa." Elliot responded before pulling out his ARCUS.

After a minute of waiting for Rean to pick up his ARCUS, Elliot was met with Rean's answering machine.

"YOU ARE CALLING: R-Rean S-Schwarzer. It would seem that I'm unable to answer your call at this time. Apologies for the inconvenience, please leave a message after the beep." the recording of Rean informed Elliot.

"Hey Rean, just wanted to let you know that Altina and Millium are looking for you and Towa." Elliot replied before putting away his ARCUS.

"Rean seems busy with something. Any luck with Towa?" Gaius asked.

"I just tried calling Towa, but she didn't answer either." Linde informed the others.

"This is so weird. Usually those two have their ARCUS units on at all times." Mint noted.

"Perhaps Rean and Towa are desiring to have some alone time right now?" Linde suggested.

"That's most likely the case. Best we leave them alone for now." Gaius noted.

"Plus it's nice seeing Altina spending time with Millium." Elliot added on.


Jusis and Machias paid close attention to horses as the race began. The two had decided to place bets on which horse would win. Of course, neither had placed any actual money on the line. It was a simple bet between friends. If either were able to correctly bet on which horse would end up being the winning horse, the other would pay for their lunches for an entire month.
"I'm getting ready to bankrupt House Albarea. Any expensive restaurants you recommend?" Machias joked.

"Oh please, you'll hardly make a dent compared to what Millium's already done with her picky eater ways." Jusis teased.

"I asked for restaurant recommendations, not an excuse for why you'll be a sore loser and only split the bill 50/50." Machias argued.
"Hmph. Careful Machias, you might jinx yourself with that attitude of yours." Jusis joked.

"Jinx myself? Oh please, the horse I betted on is in first place." Machias gloated before said horse stopped dead in its tracks to look at a cat that had wandered into the stadium.

"What did I tell you?" Jusis teased as multiple horses galloped past Machias' horse.

"Hey wait a minute, I think I see Re-" Machias commented before getting interrupted by someone sitting behind them.

"Sucks to be you, Machias!" Sara drunkenly yelled as Fie sat next to her and Celine rested on Fie's lap.

"S-Sara, Fie, and Celine!,? What are you three doing here!?" Machias responded.

"You better not have been drinking as well, Fie." Jusis advised.

"Don't worry, I just got here. I saw Sara drunk in the lobby and brought her along with me to see the horses. Although from the sounds of things, it looks like I'll get a front row seat of Machias bankrupting the Regnitz estate." Fie explained.

"As for me, Emma went to have lunch with friends so I decided to explore Heimdallr by myself. I joined up with Fie after she woke me up from a nap I was taking on a bench." Celine added on.

"We weren't betting actual money in the first place!" Machias yelled.

"I see. Sara, what are you doing drunk at this hour?" Jusis asked.

"Oh, little old me? I was just drinking with Claire, Lechter, Toval, and Victor in the nobility seating area when I saw Re-" Sara drunkenly explained before getting interrupted.

"There you are, Jusis!" Millium yelled as she ran up to where the group was sitting.

"Greetings everyone, I apologize for Millium's volume." Altina greeted.

"Are you kidding? This is a stadium, be as loud as you want!" Sara replied.

"By the way, which horse did you bet on Jusis?" Fie asked.

"The one who's currently in first place." Jusis answered with pride.

"Betting on horses against Jusis was your first mistake, Machias." Celine commented.

"Yeah, he was in the Riding Club back at Thors. He should know a thing or two about horses by just looking at them." Fie added on.

"In my defense, my horse is close behind. It made an impressive comeback and is in second place. The race is neck and neck." Machias justified.

"You guys are betting on horses!? Jusis, don't tell me you're betting the entirety of House Albarea's wealth on a horse!?" Millium questioned.

"I would never do something so foolish! All the loser has to do is buy the winner lunch for an entire month." Jusis explained.

"In that case, it looks like Machias should be preparing his wallet right about now." Altina commented as she pointed at Jusis' horse crossing the finish line, and thus winning the race.

"Nooo!" Machias yelled as he got out of his seat and fell to his knees.
"Millium and I will let you know which restaurants you'll need to make reservations at later." Jusis teased.

"Yay, free food!" Millium cheered.

"I ain't paying for more people's food!" Machias responded.

"Anyway, now that the race is over. Have any of you seen Instructor Rean and Instructor Towa?" Altina asked.

"Rean and Towa? I can't say that I have." Fie answered.

"Oh, Rean and Towa? Like I tried to tell Jusis earlier, I saw them-" Machias tried to answer before getting interrupted by Sara.

"I saw them! I was in the nobility seating area when I saw them from the corner of my eye. They looked so shy and cute sitting next to each other. This place should have a kiss cam." Sara revealed.

"By chance do you remember where they were seated?" Altina asked.

"Nope." Sara bluntly answered before passing out.

"Well, at least we know that they're here." Millium noted.

"Rean and Towa? Well, like I was trying to tell Jusis earlier. I saw them sitting directly in front of us on the opposite side of the stadium. I don't think they saw us though." Machias revealed before pointing to where he had seen Rean and Towa sitting earlier.

Altina and Millium quickly turned around, only to see empty seats.

"It would seem that they left immediately after the race ended." Altina concluded.

"Oh well, let's keep looking. They couldn't have gotten far!" Millium responded before running off.

"Thank you for your cooperation in our search." Altina told the others before running after Millium.

"So uh… Can you guys help me carry Sara to the nearest Bracer Guild building?" Fie asked as she turned to Jusis and Machias.

"Sorry I'd love to help, but I don't have any opposable thumbs. Which means that I can't help you guys." Celine replied.


With not much to go off of, Altina and Millium decided to search for Rean and Towa in the Leica District.

"Why are we searching here of all places? Wouldn't Vesta Street serve as a better place to continue our search for Instructor Rean and Instructor Towa?" Altina questioned as she and Millium passed the Rieveldt & Co. store.

"Because the Imperial Museum is here. If there's one place those two would think is a perfect date spot for some alone time, it's there." Millium explained.

Before the Orion Sisters could reach the Imperial Museum however, they were noticed by two of Altina's classmates.

"Hey Allie, where are you and Millium off to?" Juna greeted as she and Kurt approached Altina and Millium.

"Hey Juna, Allie and I were going to look for Re-" Millium replied before Altina covered her mouth with her hand.

"We are simply making our way to the Imperial Museum to see, um. History and… other ancient stuff." Altina lied.

Altina deemed it best that none of her classmates knew about her search, fearing that they would all tease her about it.

"Hey now, they're not that old." Millium joked.

"I see what's going on. You two are looking for Instructor Rean and Instructor Towa." Kurt commented.

"To lie any further would be a waste of my breath and all of our time, so I suppose I should just be honest. Yes, I'm looking for Instructor Rean and Towa. Millium here agreed to help me search for them. Alas, we've been having difficulty tracking them down." Altina explained.

"I see you've finally decided to talk about what happened. Do you want our help? I'm sure we can divide the city between all of us! I know, let's call Ash and Musse so we can cover even more ground!" Juna suggested.

"That will not be necessary. I would prefer it if I didn't get too many people involved." Altina replied.

"C'mon Allie, let us help." Juna responded.

"I'm sure it wouldn't hurt to call the others and tell them to keep an eye out for Instructor Rean and Instructor Towa." Kurt added on.

"Actually, why don't we just call Instructor Rean? He did say it was okay for us to call for emergencies. What better emergency than Allie being lost?" Juna suggested as she pulled out her ARCUS.

"But I am not lost?" Altina questioned.

After trying multiple times, and leaving multiple messages, Juna gave up on trying to call Rean.

"What gives? He usually answers." Juna questioned.

"I think it's a safe assumption that he and Instructor Towa turned off their ARCUS units so that they could enjoy some time by themselves." Kurt suggested.

"That makes sense. I suppose this is the perfect time for two instructors to go on a little romantic rendezvous. Y'know, with the Summer Festival going on and everything." Millium commented.

"I see… Now that I think about it. It seems as if that also seems to be the case with the two of Instructor Rean's students." Altina added on before turning to Juna and Kurt.

"Good point. Why are you two in the Leica District anyway?" Millium questioned.

Juna and Kurt immediately froze up. They very much had good reason to be in the Leica District: they had tried to go on a date earlier.

"Judging by your matching red faces, you two were in the middle of a date. I apologize for interrupting." Altina noted.

"Y-You didn't interrupt anything! I-I mean, w-we were trying to have a date, b-but things sort of went off the rails!" Juna responded.

"Did something happen? Don't tell me, you guys had reservations at that nearby cafe only to get rejected at the door due to the owner being a cynical old geezer who doesn't believe in love!?" Millium questioned.

"I assure you, it wasn't anything like that. We, uh, were eating together at Lucien when suddenly she arrived." Kurt explained.

It had been a pleasant afternoon for the young couple, however it had soon become incredibly awkward when Kurt's mother, Aurier Vander, entered the cafe and was seated at the table next to the one Kurt and Juna were eating at. She had immediately realized what the two were doing and began interrogating them about their relationship until her lunch break ended and she returned to the Vander Training School.

"Kurt, I'll send a message to your instructor later to give you two permission to visit the Vander Training School. I have so many more questions." Aurier had said before leaving the pair. Those words still haunted both Juna and Kurt.

"Is something wrong? You two seem to be showing signs of reliving a traumatic experience." Altina asked Juna and Kurt.

"I-It's nothing! Jeez, I think I need to take a walk around the city to calm myself down. Good luck with finding Instructor Rean and Instructor Towa!" Juna responded before power walking away.

"I think that would be a good idea. Best of luck with the search!" Kurt added on before following Juna.

"Well then, off they go." Millium commented as she and Altina watched Juna and Kurt power walk away.
"Shall we continue our way to the Imperial Museum?" Altina brought up.

"Oh right, let's go!" Millium ordered.


In the end, Altina and Millium were unable to find Rean and Towa at the Imperial Museum. With nothing to show for their search, the two sisters made their way to the edge of the Leica District and boarded the tram once it stopped by.

Both sisters sat next to each other without saying a word.

"I apologize for wasting your time. You never even got to finish your ice cream because of me." Altina quietly told Millium.

"C'mon, you don't really think I saw this as a waste of time did ya?" Millium asked.

"What else would you see it as?" Altina questioned.

"How could I think of today like that!? I saw so many of my friends relaxing, I got to see the next generation of Class VII enjoying themselves, I explored parts of the city I haven't really spent too much time in before, and best of all: I got to spend with my sister." Millium answered before wrapping her arms around Altina.

"Surely your time could've been better spent with Jusis or the others-" Altina replied before Millium tightened her grip on her.

"Nope. I love being able to be your Big Sis Millium! Honestly, you're starting to sound a bit like how Rean used to be back at Thors." Millium argued.

"What do you mean? Were you also his sister?" Altina questioned.

"Oh right, you never did get to interact much with Rean when we were all students. Back then he talked the same way you are right now. All sad and gloomy, but not too sad and gloomy. He still talked with some confidence, even then the cracks were still easy to see. He did so much, yet never thought he was doing enough. During the school festival he spent the entire day with Towa because he wanted to desperately get on her good side. Even though she already had a special place in her heart for him, he just couldn't see it. If anything, he thought that she hated him after the school festival ended. All of us in Class VII had to knock some sense into him, literally." Millium explained.

"What does Instructor Rean's school days have to do with me?" Altina asked.

"You picked up some of his old bad quirks. You're way too worried about both of them disliking you that you're overlooking the fact that you're all practically family. Not just in the big found family sort of way like with all of us in Class VII, but y'know, like a family unit." Millium continued.

"A family unit?" Altina repeated.

"Do you need glasses like Machias and Emma or something? You don't see it? They're not going to let a few misunderstandings get in the way of them caring about you. Of course, you should still apologize to Towa for the pool incident. Family or not, trying to get someone to drown is not cool. Unless you're Lechter or Claire while on a mission, in which case it's really heckin' cool!" Millium advised.

"In that case… I'll make sure to get everything off my chest the next time I see them!" Altina declared.

"That's the spirit! Pretty sure one of this tram's stops is the Sankt District. I heard that her Highness and Elise are running St. Astraia's charity bazaar, I'll buy you whatever you like!" Millium promised Altina.

"Haha… Thank you, sis- I mean… Millium." Altina replied before her face turned a slight shade of red.


Author's Note

I hope you all enjoyed this new chapter! Apologies for the long wait time.

Hopefully Altina and Millium are able to find Rean and Towa soon.

This chapter was based on took influence from Chapter 17 - Festival Rendezvous all the way back from the CS1 Arc. I thought it would be fun to use the Summer Festival the same way I used the school festival, as an excuse to write fun smaller segments with all of Class VII and some of their friends.

If you're wondering why Rean and Towa aren't in this chapter, well um, there wound being too much content in this chapter early on when I was outline how things would play out. Taking a bit of inspiration from my friend Jarkes' fic 'Festival Fun' on AO3, I decided that it would be best to split up 'Festival Festivities' into two chapters.

So look forward to that some time soon!