May the 29 of the Septian Year 1204
Having woken up at the crack of dawn, Rean started checking his luggage for the field study that would start today, "Tachi, checked. Arcus, checked. Quartz, checked. Items, checked. Mira, checked Seems like everything is ready, now the only thing that remains is to find a way to somehow make Jusis and Machias call in a truce, though judging from their behaviour since the practical exam, there is perhaps a tiny chance that these two will put their difference aside this time." The next day after their crushing defeat against Instructor Sara, these two had been oddly quiet, the difference wasn't noticeable at the beginning but after not hearing any heated arguments or discussions from them after the classes were done for the day caused the rest of the class to finally notice the abnormality. Confused at first about what was going on, the rest of the classes minus Fie got together to discuss this new development but any hope that these had buried the hatchet was destroyed when Alisa pointed out that while they hadn't argued at all the entire day that they still weren't willing to work together since she and Rean had seen them working separately during Combat Training in the old school building.
Though just the fact alone that they hadn't argued at all was already a big improvement compared to last month, but still not enough for them to work together. When Rean pointed out that if perhaps they could find out what had caused them to stop arguing with each other they could work on that approach to perhaps resolve their difference these two have, Emma shoot that idea down because she suspected that the reason behind their new behaviour was the fact that what had happened to Rean during their fight against Instructor Sara because now that she thought about it, she remembered Machias asking her in a roundabout way if everything was fine with Rean afterwards when the two were doing their duties as Class president and Vice president the next day.
(I didn't think that they would feel guilty about it especially since nothing serious happened to me and it wasn't like they had force me to use that technique. I did try to talk to them afterwards just to ensure them that everything was fine with me and while I could see that they were relieved about it, they still managed to act like it hadn't bothered them at all. Their pride and stubbornness are one of the reasons why they are at each other's throats; still this just proves that they aren't bad people at their core.) Done reminiscing about the events from the last days, the swordsman went downstairs into the kitchen to prepare breakfast and some rice balls in case the others get peckish during the train ride since this one will take a lot longer to reach their destination compared to Celdic.
Since Rean and Alisa had started training together, she too began to wake up earlier than usual just to train with him in the mornings when she didn't have any lacrosse training planned, despite his attempts to convince her that she didn't need to follow his training routine in the morning like that, she insisted on it with the reasoning that if he was already taking his time to help her train the least she could do was to try and keep up with him. So, after that Rean started preparing two sets of breakfast every day, one for him and one for her, after a while that developed into a routine for him and even if Alisa didn't join him for training in the morning thanks to lacrosse, he still prepared some breakfast for her.
Though Alisa tried to do the same for him, she still hadn't managed to beat him in terms of waking up earlier, so until now it was just him making breakfast for her, a fact that seemed to both embarrass and vex the archer. The moment he set down her cup of coffee and plate was the moment that she entered the kitchen, the scene before her was one that she was already used to, so after a 'Good morning and thanks for the food' they both sat down and began eating. "So, are you ready for the field study today?" Sipping on her coffee for a moment, Alisa gave him a nod, "Yeah, equipment and items are already prepared, the only thing remaining is to board the train and go to Saint-Ark. I would ask you the same, but I already know that you are ready to go, so I will just ask if you have any ideas how to get these two hotheads to work together?"
Taking a bit out of his toast, Rean just shrugged his shoulders as an answer, "Not really, I have some, but I am not sure that they will work. For now, I will just settle with trying to convince them to call in a truce during the time, we are in Bareahard, after that we will have to see how things go from there." Having expected that answer, Alisa just went back to her breakfast while thinking how she could approach another subject that she wanted to talk about, not coming up with any good alternatives, she just went with the direct approach, "To be honest, Rean, it isn't just Machias and Jusis that I am worried about."
"Oh? These two aside I don't think that Emma or Fie will be a problem and despite Fie's aloofness she does cooperate with us during class." Raising her fork, she pointed at the one that she was worried about, "These two will be fine and you are the one I am worried about." The surprise and confusion on his face that her statement had invoked caused her to roll her eyes at him, "Since I have meet you, you pulled one reckless stunt after another, Mister. Normally I would ask Emma to keep an eye on you, but she will already have her hands full just with the other two, that means that I am expecting you to be on your best behaviour and not to do anything crazy like planning on taking on the soldiers from the provincial army alone. Do you understand?"
Now it was his turn to roll his eyes, "I am not that bad." Ignoring the disbelieving look from her, he went on, "Besides, Bareahard is Jusis hometown, and he is the son of the duke, so the chances of me or the others having any problems with the army are nearly non-existent. (Though I hope that Machias being the son of one of the leaders of the Reformist Faction won't end up causing him any trouble in that city. Maybe I am just overthinking this; well at least I hope that I am.)" Not having been convinced Alisa continued looking at him for a few moments, "Let's hope that you are right and that this trip doesn't end up like last time with you being surrounded by soldiers." After that the two returned to eating the rest of their breakfast in peace until they were done, and Alisa started washing the dishes as thanks for the food that he had made for her.
Sometime later the rest of Group B joined them in the kitchen where Rean gave them some rice balls for the train ride and after some chatting; they left for the train station where they would be waiting for Group A to join them before starting their journey to the western part of the empire. Shortly after the others left, Jusis and Machias descended the stairs to join Rean in waiting for the rest of their group, for a few moments no one said anything thinking that perhaps he should start with some light conversations, but before he could Machias beat him to it "I want to make this clear from the start. Rean you are my classmate, not my friend, so I would appreciate it if you would not address me as casually as you seem wont to do."
Snorting at that statement Jusis couldn't help himself from adding his own observation, "My, our vice president is as stubborn as ever." This caused Machias to glare at him and growl, "I dare you to say that again!" (Seems like the peace from the last few days is over.) Sighing internally Rean was ready to step in to stop these two from starting to argue but the arrival of the remaining members of their group was enough to stop them. A yawning Fie was accompanied by Emma as they came down the stairs, bowing politely to the boys Emma was the first to greet them, "Good morning, everyone." the silver haired girl just waved at them as a form of greeting while continuing yawning.
After exchanging greetings Group A decided to leave for the train station, on the way there they passed by the park and on one of the benches Rean noticed the same black cat from last week, making his way over to it he still got the same weird feeling as last time, (Weird, this is the first time that something like this happened. Why does this 'cat' give me such contrary feelings, it looks like a cat, but my senses aren't sure that it is one?) Putting these thoughts aside for the moment, he tried to pet it, but the 'cat' evaded his attempts and just looked at him with what seemed like disdain for a moment. It seemed to glance at something behind him before it jumped down the bench it was sitting on and left the park in the direction of the eastern exit. Following the 'cat' with his eyes, he was interrupted from his thoughts by Emma, "Uhm, Rean do you know that cat?"
"Not really. I met it for the first-time last Sunday, but I seemed to have offended it somehow, since it tried to scratch my hand back then."
"Oh no! I am so sorry. I hope that she didn't manage to scratch you too deeply?" Surprised at the sudden apology, it took Rean a moment to respond, "No, not at all. I luckily evaded her claws in time, but do you know that cat or who the owner is?" The first part of his answer caused Emma to feel relief, but the last part caused her to become somewhat flustered, "Oh, I don't know who the owner is at all! I just see her from time to time in town and from there I became acquaintance with her which is all I know about her." Before he could ask why Emma was acting so flustered, Jusis coughed into his hand to get their attention, "I think we have already wasted enough time, this here is not a petting zoo after all. Let's go to the train station."
Seeing that he was right, Rean nodded at him, and they went the rest of the way onto the station. Inside they found that Group B had already bought their tickets and were just waiting for their train to arrive, the moment the two groups started talking with each other, Machias and Jusis distanced themselves from the rest and sat down at the opposite sides of a bench.
Shaking his head at their behaviour Rean went to the counter where the attendant was already waiting for him with their tickets for the train to Bareahard, after thanking her, he re-joined his friends who were already discussing the behaviour of their two prideful warriors after Emma and Fie told them what they had stumbled onto just some minutes ago, "This is getting ridiculous, I thought that they at the very least would stop arguing with each other during this field study since their last one was a complete disaster, I guess that was too much to ask for." Crossing her arms, Alisa shoots the sitting duo some glares which they didn't see since they were sitting there with their eyes closed ignoring each other. The archer's sentiment was shared with the rest of Class VII, "I guess, you won't have it easy this time either." Gaius gave the girls of Group A, a look full of pity before looking at Rean, "But maybe you Rean will succeed where I have failed." Not understating what Gaius was talking about, he could just raise an eyebrow in question, "I didn't manage to convince these two to work together but perhaps you will."
"I wish I had your confidence regarding this Gaius, but I will nonetheless try my best." Clapping his friend on his back while giving him a smile full of confidence as a form of encouragement, Gaius tried to speak some more but was interrupted as the speakers of the station informed them that their train to Saint-Ark was arriving shortly and that all passengers should make their way to the platform. Group B shared some more encouragement with the others before leaving to catch their train, Alisa before leaving turned around and gave Rean one last stern warning, "Alright then, we will see each other in two days and I hope that won't have to read in any report that you did something reckless this time around, Rean. So, you better behave yourselves and think before you act, ok?"
Fondly rolling his eyes at her warning, Rean just turned her around and softly pushed her forwards, "Don't worry about me, everything will be fine and if it makes you feel better than I will even think twice before I act." Giving her a fond smile, he waved his hand at her before she joined her group but not without looking one last time at him, "Fine, fine. I will believe you for now, so don't do anything that will make me lecture you again." With that last remark, Alisa left them to board the train that was just arriving which was lucky giving that she would have had a heart attack if she had stayed just a moment longer to hear Fie's remark, "I have been meaning to ask either of you but are the two of you dating?"
"Fie! You can't just ask something like that out of the blue!" Though Emma rebuked the smaller girl, she still couldn't hide the curiosity in her eyes, stunned at that unexpected question; it took Rean a moment to find his voice, "We are not dating, Fie. She is just worried about me. I can't exactly blame her for that given what she heard concerning about some of my past actions, though I still say that they weren't that bad. Anyway, Alisa is just a generally nice person that is worried about her friends nothing more, nothing less." Fie just shrugged when she heard his answer, "You do know that even if you are dating you don't have to hide it, Sara won't make a fuss about it, as long the two of you sleep in separate rooms or at least don't get caught, I think."
Done with that she just yawned and lost interest in the conversation, leaving Emma and Rean not knowing how to react to the sudden disinterest, "Well, you can't blame Fie for being curious about it, the two of you do spend a lot of time together…" Leaving the rest of the sentence unfinished, she shoots him a glance that was still full of curiosity, "Like I said we are just friends, nothing more."
"Ok, if you say so." Getting the feeling that Emma or Fie for that matter weren't really convinced but lacking the time to do so otherwise, since it was now their train that had arrived, the trio was joined by the other two and boarded the train. The group of five was sitting together as their journey towards the Verdant City began during the first twenty minutes no one said anything given the atmosphere emanating from Machias and Jusis. (This isn't good, let's try and see if I can't break the ice.)
Remembering how his group had exchanged their knowledge concerning Celdic during their ride last time, Rean thought that it was a good way was to start a conversation, "How about you tell us what you know about Bareahard, Jusis? I think it is a good idea to have some knowledge about where we are going and since it is your hometown, you have the most information about it." Opening his eyes that had been closed the entire time since he had sat down, Jusis glanced at Machias who was sitting in front of him, "Are you sure that you want my biased opinion about it? I am sure our well-read Vice-president would give you all a far better one, though I can't say if his will be unbiased or not." That got Machias motor running hot, "What was that?! Do you really think that I can't give an unbiased opinion?!"
"Like I said, I don't know if you can since it seems impossible for you to let go of your imagined slights and take your head out of your beloved books to take a look around the real world." Machias face became red from anger at that remark, "You pompous little…"
"That is enough!" Machias couldn't finish whatever he was going to say, since Rean interrupted him but he wasn't the only one who was surprised at the sudden shout from the swordsman it even caused Fie who had been dozing off to snap to attention because unlike what they were used from their mild mannered classmate, this version of him looked like he meant business, they hadn't imagined that the ever friendly Rean was even capable of sounding so stern, so their attention was transfixed on him when he spoke with steel in his voice, "If this the way the two behaved during your last field study, then you should thank the others because they apparently painted you in a better light than you deserved."
The others remained silent while looking stunned at what they were hearing, "Machias, I imagine that your father works together with nobles in matters concerning the capital?" Machias nodded weakly as an answer but before he could add anything, he was silenced with just a glare from Rean, "I don't know your father at all, but I am sure that while he doesn't like nobles, he still is capable of working together with them when it concerns the citizens of Heimdallr, yes or no?" Knowing where this was going Machias opened his mouth to speak but couldn't utter a single word beyond, a simple yes while still being glared at by Rean. Turning his head in the Jusis, Rean asked him a similar question, "Jusis, as a son of one of the four great houses you will have to work together with both nobles and commoners and I can imagine that you will find yourselves with people who have very different opinions on matters that they aren't willing to budge be they nobles or commoners but isn't it your duty as their lord to ensure that your people work together so that the territory can flourish, that the people you will one day protect and govern can live their lives in the best way that they can? Isn't that part of Noblesse Oblige?"
Even Jusis couldn't utter anything beyond a simple 'Yes' beneath the glare being sent his way, "Like Instructor Sara said no one can force you to become friends but people with your backgrounds should have enough patience to work together with other people no matter their difference, am I right?" The two young men shared an uneasy look with each other before nodding, seeing this Rean soften his stance which led them to unknowingly release a sigh out of relief, "I mean we all were put in Class VII despite our differences which naturally will lead to various opinions and I am sure that that we all have some core beliefs that we aren't willing to compromise at all and that is good because one of the reasons that this new class was created, is so that we can see, hear and learn things from different perspectives that aren't our own."
Seeing that they were nearly convinced, he tried a different approach, "Last month Group B got an 'E' on their field study, if that had been a paper exam, it would have been a fail and a low one too. Do the two of you want a repeat of that? Since the schoolyear began, I watched the two of you do your best in anything that you do, this show me that you want to improve and learn as much as you can. This leads to my last question; will your pride allow you to fail twice in a row?"
"Hmph, I was wondering where you were going with this." Jusis seemed to have caught on what his plan was but at the same time, he couldn't deny that his pride indeed wouldn't allow him to fail once again; Machias was in the same situation. Seeing how conflicted the two were, gave Rean a bit more hope that perhaps they could at least work together during this field study, so he gave them on last push, "Try to see things from this perspective, we are untied against a common enemy, Group B, and unless we want to lose to them, then we have to work together here." That seemed to have thrown them for a loop, "… I wouldn't have taken you for the competitive type."
"I care about winning and losing just as much as the next guy and get just as frustrated when other people hold me back." This made the two remember their battle against their instructor and how they had indeed held Rean back by trying to do things on their own. "I am jealous of how good your grades are, for example… all three of you. I feel I am losing the race and have to struggle to catch up and it was beyond frustrating when we lost to Instructor Sara the other day." Jusis and Machias became even more ashamed of themselves when they heard this, "She is very strong, there is no denying that, but I can't help but think that if we three had worked together from the very beginning we would have done a lot better."
"You would have." Not having expected that their ever-taciturn classmate would speak up in this situation the other four whipped their heads around to look at Fie, "Sara is only strong because she knows how to fight and you are right if you had been able to work together, you could have withstood her onslaught a lot better, you wouldn't have won but you wouldn't have lost so badly either." Though unexpected Rean was glad to have Fie support him and he could see that Jusis and Machias were reflecting on their previous behaviour, so he let them stew in their thoughts and hoped that they would put their difference aside for this trip, realising what he was trying to do Emma and Fie joined in, "Alisa, Laura and Elliot were all in the same group last time and Gaius is the type to work well with anyone." Nodding her head Fie added, "They will be a strong team." Ignoring the glares being sent their way, Rean helped the two girls out, "Yeah, exactly. They will be able to do their absolute best no matter what comes their way. Honestly, if we don't fix our own shortcomings, then their score could easily be double of our own."
"Enough! I get it already!" Having heard enough Machias couldn't help but shout, sharing a long look with Jusis the two seemed to reach an understanding, crossing his arms in front of his chest Jusis looked at the others, "I would have preferred not to go along with this farce, but I have no intention of standing by and accept defeat." Taking a deep breath Machias took over, "Until this trip is over, we will call a truce. Are we in agreement, Albarea?" After another long look between the two, Jusis agreed, "We are, Regnitz. The very notion of working under these circumstances is ludicrous, but I am more than capable of enduring such idiocy if I must." Not to be outdone, Machias said that he too could endure this which resulted in them glaring at each but unlike before it didn't seem to be that bad, sighing Rean looked at the girls and whispered, "I think this is the best we can hope for at the moment."
"Yes, it seems they might actually try to cooperate with one another this time. Compared to last month this is already a very big improvement." Stifling a yawn Fie added her own feelings to the matter, "I do feel a bit better now after seeing this." Sweat drooping at the happiness of the two girls, Rean couldn't help but think, (I thought that I knew what they went through last month, but it seems that I have really underestimated their situation if this is considered 'a big improvement'.)
After their glaring was done, Jusis started to explain about the circumstance regarding the Verdant City, "Bareahard is the most important city in the entire Kreuzen province. Its population is roughly around three hundred thousand making it relatively large even by municipal standards. The surroundings are filled with hills that are habited by countless minks which are prized for their fur. Furthermore, the Kreuzen province is famous for their high-quality gemstones that are mined there. The fur and the gemstone are regarded as Bareahard's two main specialities, we even have the famous Artisan Street which is solely focused on working with them. These are just the superficial reasons on why the city is so famous; the most important fact is something that you all are already aware, but I can't stress it enough."
Stopping for a moment Jusis looked around to make sure that everyone was paying attention to what he was going to say, "Bareahard is, at its heart, a city of nobles. What has been said about it in that regard was no exaggeration! From Artisan Street to the enormous provincial army guardhouse, to the central plaza with his giant cathedral, to the airport designed to handle the largest of airships, this city was developed with the nobility, and the Albarea household in particular, at its centre." Letting that sink in for a moment though Jusis wasn't surprised when Regnitz was the first one to comment on his explanation, "Hmph, I am surprised that you are able to discuss your family so objectively."
"There is no point in denying the truth. As long we are in Bareahard, I would suggest keeping your usual anti-noble vitriol to yourselves unless you fancy on becoming very friendly with the provincial army, at any rate."
"I-I know that! I can hold my tongue when I must."
(Is it bad that I am actually seeing this as kind of encouraging? In a weird sort of way, it feels like we are making progress.) Seeing the display of these two in front of him caused Rean to think like this, though it wasn't long before they set their sights on him, "That is everything that is important to know regarding the city, still if we want to beat our 'common enemy' there is something else that we have to decide on." Catching on what his counterpart was trying to do, Machias turned to face Rean, "I heard from Eliot that you took the position as team leader during your last field trip and from what he told me you seemed to have done a good enough job."
Getting a bad feeling where the conversation was going but not knowing what to say to stop it, Rean could just helplessly watch how the girls got the hint too, "Alisa and Laura did say the same thing, that it was thanks to your leadership that they were able to do their requests so fast and efficiently. Even during combat situations, you were able to help them out with your experience." Emma drove the nail just further in and Jusis took the moment to deliver the final strike, "Oh, in that case you must do the same for us as you did for them, since we are all bound together against our 'common enemy' Group B." Groaning internally, Rean tried his best to get out of this situation, "I took that position just because the others wanted me to take it but if any of you want to have it then please, go ahead."
"No, you are the best one for the position, or rather you are the only one suitable for it." Looking at the others, Jusis continued, "Neither I nor Regnitz should take it while we have now a truce, I think that it would be better if neither of us has a higher position than the other." A grunt could be heard from Machias as a form of agreement, "Emma could also be a suitable candidate, but I mean no offense when I say this, you don't seem that experienced in regard to combat situations, or I am wrong?" Shaking her head at Machias question, Emma answered him, "No, you are absolutely right. I think in our class I am the one with the least amount of combat experience, so I would be a horrible choice for leader. What about you, Fie?"
"Nope, don't want it. I am more used to taking orders than to give them."
(Well, I did want them to work together though I wasn't expecting that the first thing they would do was to team up against me.) "Fine, I will take it but like I told the others, if any of you have a better idea or suggestions than please speak up, just because I am the one leading, that doesn't mean that you can't give advice." Seeing the others agree with him, left Rean relieved, Machias used the following silence to speak up, "Since Albarea and I have truce for this trip, I suppose I will also call a truce with you too while I don't think that you are actually a deceitful noble sympathiser that doesn't mean that I have forgiven you yet." Thanks to everything leading until now Rean had forgotten that there was still that matter with Machias, "Got it, thanks Machias. (Yet? Huh, seems like there is a good chance that we can settle this after all.)"
A bit flustered Machias turned his head away from him and looked outside their train to see the fields passing by, "W-why would you thank me?" Chuckling softly to himself, Rean led the conservation away from Machias, "Fine, I will accept the position of field leader for now but like I said I hope that you guys will speak up in a case I do a mistake or if you have any advice to give. Since we still have a while until we arrive, we should discuss our formation for combat, we all have been paired up with each other thanks to Instructor Sara classes, so I know some of your combat styles. How about we use this formation?" The rest of journey was spent talking about their roles and positions during combat, playing some Blade, (Rean had more than one deck with him since he had planned on playing with the others) and enjoying the rice balls he had prepared this morning.
Hours later the train arrived at the Bareahard station, making sure that they hadn't left anything behind Group A exited their carriage, just to see several employees of the train station welcoming Jusis back to the city, in despite of Jusis protest that this wasn't neither welcomed nor appreciated they continued flattering him until they heard someone else tell them to stop, looking behind them the saw a blond young man accompanied by a butler approaching them, when Jusis saw who it was, he couldn't suppress his surprise, "Rufus?!". The employees too feel into line when they recognised him, stopping in front of the students, the young man gave Jusis a refreshing smile, "My beloved brother, it is a pleasure to see you again. To think that it has been two months since we last saw each other, where did the time go? I wasn't expecting to reunite with you so soon, but I am delighted with this opportunity." After his surprise passed, Jusis was able to find his voice again, "…As am I. You seem well."
"I take it these are your follow members of Class VII?" A bit surprised that this young man seemed to know them the rest didn't know how to react, using their silence the young man introduced himself, "I have read all about you from the letters my brother has sent me. Where are my manners, though? My name is Rufus Albarea, Jusis here is my younger brother, and you don't need to hide your shock. It would come as no surprise at all to learn that my brother has never once mentioned me. He is, after all, quite easily embarrassed." The smile from his elder brother seemed to unnerve Jusis even more than his introduction, seeing their normally composed classmate react like that left the rest of them quite surprised and amused, with Fie snickering to the others, "He is being toyed with." And Machias not believing what he was seeing, "I can hardly believe my eyes. What happened to the arrogant young upstart we have come to know and mostly…..tolerate?"
"Ah, but I digress. This is no time for idle chatter, I came to escort you all to your lodgings for the weekend, the car is parked outside so follow me please and once again welcome to the Verdant City of Bareahard. I hope you ladies and gentlemen of Class VII enjoy your stay here." With that welcome done, Group A followed Rufus outside where a limousine was waiting for them outside the station and went inside it. The butler went behind the wheel and started driving them to their destination, during the drive Rufus told them that he was the one chosen to select their tasks for this field study, "Normally this duty should have fallen on my father but since he was far too busy, he left them to me, please accept this."
Rufus took out an envelope that was like the one Margate had given them in Celdic and gave it to Rean, "It really is a fascinating coincidence, I would have never imagined that my younger brother would become classmates with the son of Lord Schwarzer." Startled at the sudden mention his father, Rean couldn't help but ask, "You know my father, Sir?" Smiling at Rean, Rufus answered his question, "Baron Theo Schwarzer is an old acquaintance of mine. Many years ago, I followed the Baron to a falconry competition in the suburbs in Heimdallr. He taught me much about the practice and its etiquette; I can scarcely believe that it has been nearly ten years since then. I hope he has been doing well these days?"
"Yes, he is doing well and still just as fond of hunting as he has ever been."
"Splendid, splendid!" Grinning at Reans response, Rufus shifted his attention to their green haired classmate, "You must be the son of Governor Regnitz, no?" Stunned that the man before recognised him, Machias nodded his head, "I encounter him quite often when I am taking care of official matter in the capital. Though our positions may be different, he has given my excellent advice in the past. I feel that is must be fate that you, too would end as a classmate of my brother. Please do try and get along with him." Uncomfortably Machias shifted on his seat under the expectant look of Rufus, until he spoke stammering, "I….I…I will consider that possibility…..with an open mind."
This caused Rufus to smile broadly, "Haha. Wonderful and I would be remiss if I were not to acknowledge our beautiful ladies." And changed his sights to both Emma and Fie, "I have no doubt that your presence brings a touch of elegance to my younger brother's academic life." Which caused Emma to fluster while Fie true to form didn't even bat an eyelash, Rufus was stopped from speaking further by the pleading of his younger brother, "Can we please stop discussing me? When you mentioned our lodgings, you couldn't have possibly meant…." Even though Jusis hadn't finished his sentence Rufus seemed to know what he was going to say, "Need you even ask? Of course, you are going to stay at the Albarea family mansion."
This revelation seemed to fill Jusis with dread but before he could say anything, Rufus calmed him down quickly, "Hahaha, I jest. Father's instructions were that I should do with you as I wish. So, considering the circumstances of your visit, I arranged for hotel rooms for you and your classmates. That way you should be able to concentrate more easily on your field study, no?" Jusis relief could be seen clearly on his face as he listens to his brother, "Thank you. I truly appreciate it."
"What are brothers for, Jusis? But it seems that our ride together is coming to an end, I can already see the hotel." A few moments later the limousine stopped before what appeared to be a luxury hotel of the highest class, taking their belongings Group A got out of the car while Rufus followed, "This has been a pleasure meeting you all and seeing you again dear brother, but unfortunately duty calls. So, I hope that you enjoy your field study and learn as much as you can here." After teasing his little brother some more, Rufus got once again into the car and leaving the students behind. "So, that was Rufus Albarea. I have heard rumours about him; they say that he is the Ace of the Noble Faction. Meeting him in person, I can see where that reputation originated." Emma nodded besides Machias, "He seemed like a rather charming person, projecting both intelligence and kindness."
"Yeah, he made a point of showing consideration for my dad, too, even though he is a low-ranking noble." Even Rean and Fie were impressed with him, "And most important he effortlessly thrust Jusis into the role of cute little brother." The last part caused Jusis to grumble out loud, "I would have preferred you NOT haven seen that. Nonetheless we should check in so that we can start with our tasks before we lose even more time." The others agreed with him so after putting their belongings inside their rooms; they opened the envelope holding their tasks. They had a monster elimination request from the Aurochs Fort, one from a jeweller to find him a semi-precious stone and a request for procuring bath salts for a noble.
Looking over the request one more time Emma noticed something, "One request is from a noble, one from an artisan and the other is from the army. That should certainly keep things interesting, since this seems to keep the perfect balance of things." On the other hand, Machias stared hard at the task for the noble before asking, "Putting the ridiculous request for bath salts aside for the moment, what do they mean be reporting to the Fort after we got rid of the monster?"
Putting his thoughts in order Jusis explained, "Aurochs Fort sits on the opposite end of the Aurochs Canyon. It is a provincial army base originally built during the Middle Ages, if I may, I suggest leaving that one for last since the trek through the canyon will take more than one hour to walk and that is not counting tracking the monster down and finishing it. If it takes too long, we may not be able to finish the other tasks." Seeing that the others were looking at him waiting for his opinion, Rean rolled his eyes, "Guys, I already told you that your advice is more than welcomed and since Jusis knows the region better than we do, we will leave that one for last and do the other two first. This city is far bigger than Celdic, so we will have to rely on you to find the noble and the jeweller so that we can ask them more details about their requests."
The others agreed with him, so they left the hotel following Jusis to find their quest givers, the noble they found on the terrace of a restaurant in the central plaza, his attitude was as expected for a noble in this city, arrogant and conceited, but he backed down as soon as he saw Jusis standing in the group. He explained that the bathing salts that he desired could be found in the middle of Aurochs Canyon on a cliff, after getting more details on the location, Group A decided to acquire the salts during their walk through the canyon, that left them with only one request to do in the city. Walking through Bareahard on their way to Artisan's Street, Jusis introduced them to some sights of the city before they stopped before Turner's Jewellery store.
Inside they found Bruc, and a tourist named Bengt, it turned out that Bengt had come to Bareahard in search of the perfect ring to use in his upcoming weeding but had severely underestimated the prices of said ring, in his desperation he asked Bruc what he could do to help him. That gave the jeweller the idea to use a semi-precious stone; these stones are as beautiful as the more expensive ones but are a whole lot cheaper, hence the term semi-precious. The only problem in that plan was that said stones were hard to find and that they couldn't be bought in any stores in the city. Bruc also didn't know any specific places where they could be found, only the general locations where other people had found them in the past and that is where Group A came in.
Of course, Bruc wouldn't send the students on a wild goose chase that easily could take the entire day, so he suggested them to find a 'Dryad's Tear' that was made from a very particular tree sap that hardens like stone after being exposed to the air for a long time and had a translucent shine to it that people said it was easily the equal of spetium. The 'Dryad's Tear' could be found on the trees on the North Kreuzen Highway, the students would have to check each tree carefully to find one. That was the idea the artisan came up with and after giving some tips on how to harvest the stone without damaging it, Group A was ready to leave just to be stopped by a voice, "It may not be quite the challenge our dear friend here has made it out to be." Looking in the direction the voice was coming from the students saw a white-capped man looking at them, "The innocent wood nymph's tear that you all seek. How would you respond if I were to say that I saw one with my very eyes just mere moments ago?"
Astounded at what he was hearing and the way the man spoke, Rean leaned in Jusis direction and whispered, "Is he someone that you know?" Lightly shaking his head to indicate that he didn't but before anyone could ask anything, the white-capped man introduced himself, while bowing his head to his audience "Gracious, how terrible impolite of me not to introduce myself before speaking. My name is Baron Blueblanc. It is a true pleasure to make your acquaintance. From paintings, scriptures and the finest of arts to the most delicately detailed crafts, I am a connoisseur and lover of beauty, craftsmanship and artistry in all their many splendid forms. But I thinks that is enough of myself, I couldn't help but overhear that you are seeking the Dryad's Tear?"
Though his bearing and manner of speaking were slightly off-putting/eccentric, they couldn't ignore the fact what he had just said, "You said that you saw one just moment ago, are you certain?" For a moment it seemed like the man was examining Emma when she spoke up, but the moment was so fleeting that the others thought to have just imagined it, "My dear lady, I would never dream of lying about matters of beauty! I beheld the light that you are seeking on the northern highway, of that I am certain and while I must confess that my knowledge of the surroundings areas is not so great that I could share the exact location, though perhaps that is the way it should be. After all, a brilliant light only has true meaning if it is grasped by the hands of the ones seeking it; nonetheless there is no harm in sharing the general direction at the very least."
Not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, but Rean was finding the situation a bit suspicious, "We are certainly grateful for the information but if I may ask, why are you are telling us this?" Chuckling softly to himself Blueblanc gazed at each member of the group before answering the question, "Perhaps it is the spirit of inquisitiveness that drives you to seek a beauty that mere mira cannot buy. It moves me and so being the generous man that I am, I deigned to extend an olive branch in your quest and if that isn't enough reason for my help, how about I find that your group consist of rather intriguing and interesting individuals?" Not knowing how to respond to that, Rean answered with a simple sure, but he maintained his guard and suspicions up but before he could say anything else, Fie expressed her own opinion on the matter, "We will find out if he is telling the truth or not when we search for it on the Highway. Either way we need to go there and search so we can check if this information is legit or not."
The rest saw that she was right and after thanking the man for his information, they left the store and made their way to the northern highway. On leaving the city, the group of five adopted the formation that they had discussed on the train, with Rean and Jusis as the frontline fighters, Fie in the middle for supporting the frontline with her gun swords and as a guard in case the monsters brook through the front, that left Machias and Emma who were placed in the rear to safely cast their arts. Unlike the other group this one had an uneven number of members, so they couldn't distribute the combat links so that everyone had one, it was then decided that they would switch the links after every fight, as a way of strengthening the links. No one forced Machias and Jusis to form a combat link, Rean told them that he would leave the decision to them when they would like to try it out, because no matter what kind of truce these two had ongoing, the rest knew that it was still a very fragile one.
The first few fights were a bit unrefined since the cooperation between a certain pair was still fresh, but they soldiered on and managed to find a rhythm that allowed them to fight with the others, with this Group A blazed through the monsters on their path while searching for the location of the tree Blueblanc had told them about. Not having full confidence with the eccentric baron, they didn't leave any path unexplored, even if said paths were full of monsters, they just used these encounters as training practice for their combat links and something that Rean had noticed while they were talking about their formation was that the four others had only unlocked three slots each which put them far behind the rest of their class who had opened six slots in their Arcus Unit. They had been surprised that there was such a big difference between their Arcus, unfortunately the Orbment store in the city didn't know how to unlock their slots since the new Combat Orbment was still in its test phase and its handling wasn't transmitted to the more ordinary Orbal factories, so they had no choice but to collect enough sepith and wait until they returned to the academy where, they would ask George to unlock as much of their slots as possible.
They spent the next two hour or so fighting and searching the trees until they finally managed to find the 'Dryad's Tear' and it was even in the direction that Blueblanc had pointed out, succeeding in getting the stone without damaging it, they admired how its radiance was truly the equal of septium before storing it safely in the container Bruc had given them. Noticing that Rean was still looking at the tree, Jusis asked him what he was thinking so deeply about, "Hmm? Sorry, I just find it weird that the Baron was able to discover this location. I mean it is far away from the main path and there are monsters around, that while they are manageable to us, they aren't exactly easy to handle for untrained people."
Now that Rean had brought it up, the rest found that he was right, "That baron did seem like he was, how to put this politely, rather uncommon perhaps he likes to wander around the untrodden paths of the main road." Not entirely convinced, Rean had no choice but to admit that perhaps Emma was right in her assumption, Fie saw that he was still thinking about it, "Besides the point that you just listened, is there something else that is bothering you about that man?" Rubbing the back of his head, Rean released a sigh, "To be honest, the name Blueblanc sounds familiar to me, but I can't seem to remember where I have heard that name before?"
Snorting Machias responded to him, "Perhaps he is one of the many noble that your family hangs around with and you just forgot him?" Their green haired classmate may have a called also a truce with Rean, but it seemed that he still hadn't forgiven him for his supposed 'deception', but before anyone could comment or rebuke him on that, Rean shook his head while still immersed in his thoughts, "No, that can't be it. I can count on one hand the nobles that are still willing to talk to my dad and he isn't one of them." That seemed to surprise Machias since he had expected that nobles were all about having connections with each other, but before he could ask further Machias saw that Jusis was glaring at him as if to tell him to shut up which caused Machias temper to rise.
Seeing that the situation between these two was quickly deteriorating, Emma stepped in and elbowed Machias lightly while also sending him a stern look. Recalling that he had called a truce, Machias grunted and turned away from the blond noble, "Perhaps it is presumption of me to ask, but regarding that comment, I take it that the rumours around the nobles in the academy about you are true then?"
That seemed to snap Rean out of his thoughts "Rumours? What rumours are you talking about?" This caused Jusis avert his eyes from his classmate since the question had just slipped out of his mouth before he could really think about it, "I meant no offense and it was uncouth of me to even bring it up, please forgive me." Hearing the normally arrogant Jusis apologise caused Machias to quickly turn around in surprise and he saw that the girls were also surprised at his action which caused them to look at Rean with curiosity, who still was looking rather confused at his blond classmate. Noticing this Jusis, tried to answer his question without giving too much away since this was a private matter for the Schwarzer Barony, "The one regarding Baron Schwarzer's heir….."
Understanding dawned on his Rean's face before it was quickly replaced with a grimace of helplessness, "Ah, I see. I didn't expect that it would even reach Thor's or that it would even worthy of notice for the nobles there." This left the other three even more with curiosity but the look on Rean face stopped them from asking what exactly they were talking about, soon a weird silence descended around them. Shaking his head to dispel the thoughts running around his head, Rean looked at his classmates but before he could say anything, Fie simply started walking towards the city, "How about we get a move on? We still have another two requests to do."
Not waiting for the others, she went simply her way which prompted the rest to soon followed suit while Jusis tried on more time to apologies but Rean waved his apologise away with a simple smile, during the way back the group engaged in fights to disperse the weird mood hanging around them and soon they reached the main path where they saw the newest thank models from the Reinford Company, called 'Achtzehn' making their way towards Bareahard bearing the symbol of the Kreuzen provincial army.
Back in the city they returned to Turner's Jewellers, inside they saw both Bengt and Bruc wearing weird expressions on their faces, not knowing what was going on, they approached the counter and handed over the container with the 'Dryad's Tear' inside. Not even a second later they heard a haughty voice behind them, "What is taking so long?! If you have what I asked for, then hurry up and give it to me!" Stunned they could only watch as Bruc took the stone out and gave it to a middle-aged man with a maid standing behind him, "Honestly, we don't have all day! This here is why you commoners will never amount to much in life."
After Bruc presented the stone to the noble, the maid examined before giving the middle-aged man a glass of water, not waiting a second longer the man swallowed the 'Dryad's Tear' down and drank the water immediately afterwards. The astounded group of students didn't know how to react to what they were seeing that was until Machias exploded, "What the hell do you think you are…?!" Reacting quickly, Rean put a hand on Machias shoulder preventing him from storming forward, but the noble had already noticed them, "You there, commoner. You might want to watch your tone when addressing someone of higher rank than yourself. I shall be generous this time and let it slide but if you were to truly anger me, your life could be cut short, very short indeed."
Having seen enough of this farce, Jusis stepped towards the noble, "Sigh, I think you are the one who ought to mind his manners, Count Gorti." Not having expected that someone else would dare to speak to him like that, the count looked towards where the voice came from, just to turn pale as he saw who was speaking to him, "L-L-Lord Jusis?! What are you doing in a place like this?!"
"That doesn't concern you, what should concern you is giving us an explanation to what is going here. The stone you just swallowed was one that I and my classmates when to great length to find and I am most interested in hearing what exactly gave you the right to simply take it." From there on, the count explained that he had purchased the stone from Bengt for enough mira and after confirming that that was the case, Jusis let the grovelling count leave the store. Bengt thanked Class VII for their help and left the store soon afterwards since with the money from the count he had enough to purchase a ring with a true precious stone. The group watched him leave the store before turning to Bruc to ask if they had failed in their request which he assured that they had not, since the task was to get a 'Dryad's Tear' which they had done. After giving them their reward, he left to go back to his job, leaving them with a bitter taste in their mouths, "…..I am sorry for causing a scene."
"Hmph, ineffective in controlling your temper as always." Machias couldn't deny Jusis claim since it was the truth, "I was observing, curious to see what kind of compelling drama would unfold but alas all I witnessed was a farce!" Noticing for the first time that Baron Blueblanc was still in the store, caused Rean to think, (Since when has he been standing there?) The baron approached them "I heard from the fine gentleman who works in this establishment that you are students here for a field study. I hope that you will forgive me for saying so, but I believe it is these setbacks in life which make it truly beautiful to be alive. That comedy of errors may have been difficult to endure but your resultant struggle against injustice was simply breath taking. However, I must bid you all adieu, for my search can never rest until the ultimate beauty is unearthed. I do pray that we will have the opportunity to meet again. Until such time, fare thee well, young horned lions of Thor's!"
Done with his long speech Blueblanc bowed exaggeratedly before them and left the store, leaving the others unsure on how to take this at all. Sharing a look with each other they decided to put his eccentrics behind them, since they had finished with their requests in the city, Group A decided to get a light lunch before leaving for Aurochs Canyon in a nearby café. Steeping inside the canyon for the first time left the students beside Jusis, to admire the scenery that was presented before them, done with that they set out to search for their target and the bath salts requested by the noble. Unlike on the highway they used a different line-up this time, since Jusis told them that some of the monsters inside the canyon were of the flying type they had to adapt to that change, like before Machias and Emma remained in the rear and Jusis changed position with Fie leaving her with Rean at the front, this way Jusis could attack from the middle with his arts and Fie could use her guns to shoot at them while the rear casted their arts to bring them down.
Though it was unpractically to rely on just the sixth form Scarlet Sky, it didn't mean that Rean didn't have a way to attack flying monsters which he proved during the following battles, but it was far easier if he just attracted the attention of their opponents leaving them open for the others to attack. It wasn't very noticeable in the beginning but little by little the group got used to fighting together the more fights they fought, the only snag was that until now neither Jusis or Machias had requested to form a combat link with the other, having said that the others could see that these two were getting frustrated with the fact that they were holding the rest back, making Rean think that it shouldn't be long before they would try to form a combat link.
During their march in the canyon, they investigate the side paths whenever they found one since they neither of their targets had appeared until now, it was in such a path that they fought against two giant birds that seemed determined to kill the group intruding on their territory. In that fight Rean and Fie divided the birds and keep them occupied until the trio in the back was able to cast their Arts, during the fight Rean asked them to concentrate on the bird that Fie was attacking, leaving him to deal with the other alone.
Though they weren't satisfied with that arrangement, they still followed his order and focused their efforts on just one while keeping an close eye on Rean to make sure that nothing happened to him, thanks to that they were able to take their opponent down without being hit even once thanks to Fie being able to impede them when they tried to use their arts or dodge its talons leaving it open to a counter attack which was followed up with Machias shotgun attack. Finished with their battle they turned around just in time to see Rean ending his battle too, he lured his opponent closer to the wall of the canyon until he was able to hurt it with an Arc Slash, which gave him the opening he needed to use the wall to jump higher than the bird and unleashing his application of the third form 'Flame Impact' to cut the monster from head to bottom.
The others couldn't exactly scold him since he didn't get hurt and managed to deal with the monster alone, though Emma hinted that perhaps a certain archer would be very interested on hearing about this, his reaction caused nearly everyone, safe Emma though she did try to suppress her giggling, to snicker. Ignoring his classmates' reactions, he looked around his surroundings to see if anything had escaped their notice, that is when he discovered the small pink rock embedded on the wall on the far end of this minor path that they had been investigating. "Seems like we got lucky, this here resembles the salt that the noble requested, no?" Jusis took a closer to it, "I believe so, this shade of pink is nearly identical to the one he showed us back then. Though how do we know that it is salt and not just a pink rock?" Fie stepped forward and to everyone surprise licked the rock, "It is a bit sweet for salt, but I think we got it."
"Fie, there are other ways to test this besides licking an unknown substance!" Shrugging her shoulders, she ignored Machias and started digging the rock out of the wall and gave it to Rean for safekeeping, seeing that the small girl was ignoring him, Machias stopped trying to install some common sense into her, "Since we got the bathing salt, the only thing that remains, is finding that monster and reporting to the Fort. How far along into the canyon are we?" Jusis took a moment to think before answering Machias inquiry, "We should have reached the halfway mark and since we didn't leave any stones unturned the target should be further in. I would suggest that we keep looking into the paths like this one, since I doubt the army would let that monster keep running around, if it lingered on the highway."
With that done they returned to their search, sometime later they stumbled onto a trail that led deeper into the canyon away from the direction of the fort. Putting their guard up, they followed the path leading them onto a plateau where their target was sleeping, putting some distance between them and it, they started to discuss their battle plan on how to take it on, sharing a long look with each other Machias and Jusis came to the same conclusion, "Rean, me and Albarea will form a combat link for the duration of this battle. This means that you and the girls will have to switch the links between you." Peering into their eyes, he could see their determination to get this to work, "Alright, you two. Me, Jusis and Fie will be on the frontline for this battle, Fie you link with me and will attack it from the front. Use your speed to avoid its attacks and concentrate on just counterattacking it, Jusis and I will flank it from the sides to keep it from moving too much around. Looking at its shell, we will need quite some heavy attacks to take it down that is where you will come into play Machias. We will try to wear it down but as soon as Jusis makes an opening for you, use the Rush Attack to hit its eyes from as close you think you can get. Emma you will concentrate just on support for this fight, if Machias shotgun can't take it down we will have to rely on your arts to do the job." Rean went on with things that they should pay attention to and what they should do if certain situations were to happen, done with their strategy meeting they took a short break to ensure that they were in peak condition going into the fight.
Rushing forward Group A started their attack, with Machias getting the opening shot in which hit the monster on its back, waking it up. Disturbed from its sleep, the monster looked around fixing its glare on the approaching students, using its hind legs the target pounced towards them. Luckily the monster was far away enough to give them enough time to dodge its attack, after landing it used his sharp claws to attack Fie who was the closest to it which she dodged by sidestepping it and using that to get a counterattack in. Thanks to that Rean unleashed his craft Autumn Leaf Cutter while Jusis used his Rapid Thrust to pin the monster down, who roared with indignation, but the roar was cut short by Machias Break Shot landing on its exposed throat. From there on, the students followed their battle strategy with the front line whittling the monster's health down while Emma supported them from the rear after having analysed their opponent, the only dangerous instant that had happened was the unexpected liquid attack that nearly hit Fie but was avoided thanks to her quick reflexes. The fight went on until Jusis finally managed to land a hit that gave him and Machias the opportunity that they needed to use the Rush Attack, sprinting forward Machias got ready to attack the monster from close range.
The moment when they were getting ready to attack was when their combat link was severed; losing that left the two stunned and open for the monster counterattack which followed quickly after seeing its chance. Like at the beginning the Fate Spinner pounced to attack, reacting quickly Fie pushed Machias away from the claw descending upon his head while Rean parried the attack with his tachi diverting it to the side. A quick glance was enough for Rean to see, that Jusis and Machias astonishment was transforming into their usual anger, "Fie, link up with Machias! Jusis, you are with me! Concentrate on the fight for now we will discuss this after we are done!"
The commanding tone in his voice made them put their anger for each other aside for now and they returned to the fight, sighing internally Rean could already see how this was going to end and from the looks on the girls faces they had come to the same conclusion. The fight went on with the only difference that the two boys were attacking far more aggressive than before, as if venting their anger on their opponent, the monster not having any more chances to resist was soon brought down by Jusis Rune Blade and Machias Earth Lance hitting it at the same time.
Before Rean or Fie could check if it was truly dead, Machias faced Jusis, "What the hell is wrong with you Jusis Albarea?! Why did you server the link?!" Not backing down Jusis went face to face with him, "Don't even think of trying to place the blame on me, Machias Regnitz! YOU were the one who served the combat link!" Their anger having reached their boiling point, they both grabbed each other collars at the same time, "You said that you would cooperate, but you just couldn't do it, could you? You couldn't bring yourself to stoop to the same level as a commoner! You nobles truly are beyond redemption. You are utterly hopeless, through and through!"
"You asinine little…..! Why can't you see that all of this is born form your own prejudice and narrow-mindedness?!" The both of them were roaring at each other now, fearing the worst Rean approached them leaving the monster behind to try and calm them down, "That is enough, you two!" In a rare moment of cooperation both shouted at the same time, "Stay out of this!" Letting go of Machias collar, Jusis went for his weapon, "Why don't we settle this once and for all? Let me show you how much 'better' than you I really am."
Hearing this Machias did the same and grabbed his shotgun, seeing how things were getting out of hand, Rean prepared himself to physically restraint them both when suddenly his senses picked up that the monster was still alive and was ready to sneak attack the two boys, not even pausing to think about his actions, Rean jumped forward and knocked Jusis and Machias away from the claws that were attacking them but he didn't come out unscathed the Fate Spinner managed to leave a wound on his right arm. While Rean had reacted Fie did the same but instead of helping the other two, she jumped on the monster's back and stabbed both her gun swords on its head and fired several bullets inside making sure that it was truly dead this time.
Shocked at the sudden turn of events the other three remained rooted in the places until Rean spoke, "Urgh, nice work, Fie." This one sentence made them spring into action with Emma taking the lead, "R-Rean! Are you alright?!" While the other two approached him while feeling shame and fear at what their actions could have led to, noticing what they were feeling Rean tried to reassure them, "I am fine, it is just a scratch. See, it didn't even reach the bone. With some healing art it will be good as new."
Rolling his sleeve up, Rean showed that the cut wasn't deep at all, through the way he described his injury left them flabbergasted, Emma narrowed her eyes on his cavalier attitude and grabbed her medicine kit, "I should administer first aid on that 'scratch' of yours. I am beginning to understand why Alisa is so worried about you." Taking hold of his arm, she started to examine the wound like Instructor Beatrix had taught them during their classes, taking a bottle of disinfectant Emma began cleaning the wound while Fie kept a lookout to keep any monsters from sneaking up on them. This left Machias and Jusis watching Emma treating the wound, "Rean, I am sorry. I…." Picking up from where Machias stopped, Jusis continued with the apology, "…It was our fault that led to you being injured."
Smiling at the two, Rean waved their apology away, "Oh, don't worry about it. It wouldn't have happened if I had kept my guard up, I am just glad that neither of you were hurt." This left them feeling more ashamed of their actions, done with cleaning the wound Emma started smearing some kind of ointment before warping some bandages around it, "The cut isn't too deep, and I used one of my grandmother's salves to speed the healing process up, but I strongly recommend that you rest your arm for some time. Leave the fighting to us in the meantime while you recover and Rean?" Looking at Emma's face, he found that she was looking at him with a stern look, "To be clear, this isn't really a request that you can turn down or maybe you would like for me to call Alisa to tell her about this and see what she has to say?" Realising that he couldn't get out of this and that it would only end badly for him if a certain blonde archer got wind of this situation, he could just nod his acceptance to her 'suggestion'.
"Ok, I will hang back and leave the fighting to you four. Anyway, we should make our way to the fort, to give our report to the army about the elimination of the target." The others started to leave the plateau, but Emma seized the moment that the two were alone to gently grab his right arm to apparently check if the bandage was secured, however Rean could have sworn that she had murmured something under her breath but the moment he was going to ask her if she had said anything, he suddenly felt something warm spread through his arm, that feeling was soothing and seemed to dull the pain from the injury. The moment Emma stopped touching his arm, the feeling disappeared leaving him confused if he had just imagined it, but his instincts told him otherwise.
Seeing the somewhat forced smile on Emma, he let it go for the moment and told her not to worry about him, after she had joined the others, Rean discreetly opened the bandage and saw to his surprise that the fresh injury seemed to have already healed quite nicely, (Ok, this is weird even by my standards, did she use some art to speed up the process? But I didn't see her use the Arcus and even if she had used one why wouldn't she tell me? It seems like I am not the only one with secrets in this class.) Narrowing his eyes at his class president he started to really look at her but soon stopped when he recalled his own secrets, (It doesn't matter if she has secrets or not, everyone has a side to themselves that they would like to hide from the world though I just hope for her sake that she doesn't have to deal with a demonic power like I am.)
The rest of the way was spent in silence with the occasional question on how Rean was doing, the fights against the monsters were also not a problem even if the group had only four fighters now, Machias and Jusis while they still weren't working together, the effort each one put into the fight made up for that. When Group A reached the fort, they were surprised on how huge it was and that the army had apparently modified and strengthen the older fort to an unbelievable degree, even Jusis who should have been used to it was surprised when he saw the changes and the moment they approached the entrance, a freight train was coming into the fort carrying even more tanks of the new model 'Achtzehn`.
Machias seemed like he wanted to ask something, but he put it away for the moment when he saw Jusis walking toward the entrance of the fort where two soldiers were stationed. The moment the group drew near them, a solider called out to them, "Who goes there?" steeping forward Rean introduced them, "We are members of Thor's Military Academy, Class VII. We have completed a monster extermination task on your behalf and came to give our report." The soldiers examined the students standing before them, stopping at Fie, "Oh, so you are the ones. We have been expecting you. You will have to forgive my curtness; we just didn't think you would have someone so young with you as well." A small 'hmph' could be heard from the young one in question but Emma soon drew their attention to her, "We were able to defeat the monster in question. Do you require a written report or is verbal confirmation enough?"
"Oh, don't worry, a verbal confirmation is more than enough, you just have to answer some questions regarding the target, and we are good." Rean answered the questions that were about the characteristic of the slain monster until they two soldiers were satisfied, "Not bad, not bad at all. We should have been the ones to deal with it, but it was a pretty dextrous thing, and since it wasn't strong enough to harm us while we were in our armoured cars when we encountered it, so we just let it be. But still it took quite a bit of convincing for us to ask a group of students to fight it, as you might imagine." Steeping from behind the others Jusis went forward, "Well, it provided us a good opportunity to test our skills."
After recognising who was talking to them, the soldiers quickly stood to attention to greet the young lord, "I have returned to Bareahard as part of a field study for the academy, as such there is no need for any extra treatment from you. Just treat me as a simple student and not as a member of the Albarea household, though I would like to know about the contents of the freight that just passed by, and it didn't escape my attention that the fort seems to have also been heavily fortified." That drew smug grins from the soldiers, "Ah you noticed, my lord. Our army has finally started being supplied with tanks and the forts defences have been upgraded by a good amount, now it will take more than canon fire to break through its walls and even our anti-air defences will be upgraded in the future too. This will soon become a fort that the Kreuzen province can be proud of; you can count on it, Lord Jusis!"
"I will. With our report done we should return now to the city to resume our field study; we will now take our leave." Saluting the now departing Jusis, the soldiers returned to their posts while the students went after their classmate, only when they were a good distance away from the fort was the moment Machias asked the questions that had been burning in him, the moment he saw the new thanks and the modified fort, "What is the meaning of this? I would understand if this was near the border of Crossbell or the Republic but why does the provincial army HERE need state of the art tanks?! Not to mention upgraded anti-air defences and countless other fortifications, it is utter madness! There is no need for all of this, and the reason why your father has raised the taxes throughout the province is to pay for all this, isn't it?!"
"Can you truly be so ignorant? This is the reality of the present situation within the Empire. The tensions between the Chancellor's Reformist faction and our Noble Faction grow worse by the day, though admittedly, it's been happening mostly under surface away from the eyes of the general populace. But this is just one of the many ways that conflict is manifesting itself." Knowing that he was right Machias couldn't say anything in return, "There is no doubt that it was my father that ordered these modifications to be done. I have no intention of giving any comments of my own regarding his decision but if you want to lodge a complaint, the very least I could do is listen to it. So?" Machias just let out a sigh knowing that it wouldn't change anything if he just complained, "No, it is fine. We should make our way back to the city; we still must give the bathing salts to that noble."
Done speaking Machias walked past Jusis, who was a bit surprised at his action decided to at least voice his stance on the one point that had been bothering him since he heard of it, "Concerning the raised taxes, I will say this. I don't like it either and think that if there was a need to raise them, then they should have been raised a little bit and not so high from the start." This managed to stop Machias for a moment before he resumed walking; the other three didn't know what they should say in this situation, so they just followed them back to the city. They didn't make it very far before hearing the sound of an alarm coming from the direction of the fort, looking back they saw a white flying object coming from the fort, surprised at what was happening the group could only watch as that object flew over their heads until it was just a dot on the horizon. "What was that?!" Machias was the first one to voice what they all were thinking, "Are birds like that common around here?!", his other question caused Jusis to snort in derision, "Imbecile, that was no bird." Before Machias could snap back with a remark of his own, Fie spoke first, "There was someone riding that thing, from what I could see it seemed like a child or a very small adult."
"You are right. Going by build, I would say that it was a child and while I didn't get a good look at the face, it seemed like a girl." Before the others could ask for more questions, the sounds of armoured cars could be heard approaching their location, soon enough the cars came into view. Stopping before the students two provincial solider jumped out of one, "Lord Jusis! Were you on your way back to Bareahard?" Adopting a serious look on his face, Jusis asked them what was going on, "What is with this commotion? What is the meaning behind that siren?" The soldiers looked at each other with unease before answering, "Well, we became aware moments ago that there was an intruder in Aurochs Fort, who was snooping around the archives. We immediately sounded the alarm and launched a pursuit of them." Hearing this made Machias recall what they had just seen mere moment before, "Could that have been the white thing that just flew past us?" Snapping to attention the soldiers focused on the green haired boy, "You saw it?! In which direction did it go?!"
"It flew off to the southwest mere moments ago, at a rather significant speed." Hearing this the soldiers jumped back into the armoured car bidding their young lord a hasty goodbye before driving after the intruder at full speed. The students discussed what that flying object could have been, since to their knowledge only airships were supposed to able to fly in the sky and that object had been far too small to be one. Not reaching a conclusion to that question, they decided that it was perhaps the best to leave this matter to the provincial army while still mentioning it in their report and resumed their walk, since the sun had already begun its descendant to welcome in the night they hurried towards their destination.
After entering the city, they saw that there had been no disturbance meaning that the strange object hadn't come in this direction, putting that aside for now they found the noble still sitting in the same spot as before and gave him the salts that he had requested with this they had completed all three of their requests for the day. Determining that they still had enough time to do their reports of this day after having eaten dinner, they returned to their hotel to take a much-needed shower and a short rest before going out for dinner. Just after exiting the hotel lobby, a luxury limousine pulled up to them, recognizing who the car belonged to, Jusis made his way to the window that was being lowered to reveal a middle-aged man sitting inside, "I am terribly sorry for not coming to greet you, Father. Although, I am here just for a short time, I, Jusis have returned to…"
He didn't get to finish his sentence as his father rudely interrupted him, "Enough! As I informed Rufus you may do as you wish while you are here, however you will do nothing that will bring shame upon myself or upon the Albarea name. Do take care to be ever mindful of your position and what you represent."
"Yes, Father. Uhmm, would it be too much to ask you to introduce yourself to my classm…?" Again, the Duke didn't let Jusis finish before interrupting once again, "I have no time to waste on pleasantries. If I require anything from you, you will be contacted." Done speaking the duke rolled the window up and left without even saying goodbye, leaving Jusis standing there in awkward silence which was broken by Fie's question, "What was that all about?" that prompted Emma to take the silver haired girl's hand to keep her quiet, giving Jusis enough time to school his face into his usual aloof one but everyone could see that it was forced, "That was the mighty Duke Albarea, the head of one of the four Great Houses, the lord of the Kreuzen Province and by some strange twist of fate also my father."
The last part was spoken with deep sadness, not giving the others a chance to comment on that he went on, "….I have spoken out of turn, please forgive me. Today's workload has managed to make me quite hungry; shall we proceed to find a place for dinner?" Noticing that he didn't want to talk about what had just happened the others kept quiet and gave his suggestion their approval. "Yeah, I am starving. Do you know a good restaurant around here?" giving Rean a nod Jusis told them that he knew of one place whose food was both delicious and good for one's health.
Later that evening Group A was sitting on the terrace of a restaurant enjoying the evening breeze after having eaten a delicious dinner, putting her fork to the side of her plate Emma praised the food, "This was delicious, no offense to Kirches or the academy cafeteria but this place food was far better than theirs, not to mention their use of healthy ingredients." Leaning back against his chair, Rean enjoyed the slight breeze coming through, "I can see how this place is so popular, be it the food or the ambient. Did you dine here often, Jusis?" Putting his cutlery to the side like he had been taught, Jusis inclined his head as his answer, "I did and still do whenever I have the opportunity, the chef here has been good to me since I was a child. One can even say that I was practically raised with this food."
Machias was also enjoying the breeze and as a statement to how good the food had been his remark lacked the usual bite, "How typical. Even in your dinning habits, you nobles subsist on unnecessary luxury. Though I can't deny the quality of the food." The following silence wasn't in any way unconformable but there was still a slight tension in the air, "I wonder how the others in Group B are doing right now." Prompting Rean to chuckle "Haha. We had this exact same conversation in our group last month, too. I am sure that they are hard at work over in Saint-Ark, we probably have nothing to worry about." Crossing her hands behind her head Fie looked at him, "You guys were in Celdic last month, right? So, you were thinking of us on the first night?"
"Yeah. After dinner, we were wondering how Group B was doing. Dare I ask?" The sudden quiet that followed his question was answer enough for him, but Fie decided to elaborate, "Nowhere near as peacefully as now, this here is a big improvement." Scratching his cheek Machias took over, "We are doing much better compared to last time, that much is true, and I am sure our reports will reflect that."
"It is an improvement, that much is true, but can we really say that it is good enough? I am certain that the others in Group B gave their absolute best in all their tasks today. Can we honestly say the same? That we couldn't have done better, and I am not just referring to the monster encounter but to the handling of our other tasks as well." Jusis questions managed to bring the mood down, but they were also necessary to show the group that they were still lacking compared to the others, "In that case we will just have to try and make up for it tomorrow. Besides we had the chance to catch sight of a far bigger problem."
That brought up the images of the modified fort and the new tanks to their mind, clenching his fists Machias looked right at Jusis as if to question him which Jusis gave back tit for tat, "I have no intention of denying what we saw today but you all are just looking at one side of the coin, especially you Regnitz. Exactly how much 'Achtzehn' tanks do you think the Imperial Army has under their control?" This question seemed to throw Machias for a loop, leaving it to Fie to answer, "A hundred or two, I would guess."
"Precisely. The Imperial Army's military capabilities are enormous. This nation has one of the most powerful armed forces on the continent and roughly seventy percent of it is under the chancellor's control. Tell me, how is the Noble Alliance supposed to counter that?" Never having looked at things from that angle, Machias didn't have any answer leaving him unsure what to say, luckily for him Rean saved him for coming up with one, "Considering that both sides are Erebonians it seems kind of a waste that the provincial army is bolstering their forces just to keep up with the other side."
"Ah the travails of youth! How noble and beautiful they are!" To the surprise of the entire group standing a few arges behind Rean was the eccentric Baron they had meet in the jewellery store this afternoon during one of their requests, narrowing his eyes at the sudden appearance of the man Rean slowly without being seen put his hand on his tachi, "Baron Blueblanc, I believe?" Wearing a slight smile, the white-capped man did the last steps to stand before their table, "It is such an honour that you would remember a mere baron such as myself. I see that you have already completed a hard day's work already, how splendid!" Shifting uncomfortable on his seat Machias looked at the man, "We are nearly done, how about you?"
"Alas, I have yet to be blessed with the fateful encounter that I seek. The search for beauty is filled with perils and obstacles, yet that is precisely what makes it even more beautiful." Just like before the baron over the top actions made them sweat drop, Jusis gathered his wits before stating, "Well, I hope you enjoy the rest of your stay."
"I most certainly will, though it is truly a pity that the clear air of this verdant city should be tinged, if but faintly, with the scent of steel…." This got their attention, "I had heard that Duke Albarea was a man of many interests, but I wasn't aware he counted playing with fire among them, I don't condemn him for it, though! Only if one plays with fire can there be fireworks, would you not agree my young friends?" Perhaps it was trick of light but the look in eyes seemed almost gleeful when he mentioned the fireworks, though the hidden meaning behind his word was clear to see for the students, "I don't like your implication and this whole line of conversation is a little inappropriate."
Shifting his eyes to Emma, Blueblanc bowed slightly in her direction, "Oh please do pardon me young lady! I mean no harm, I assure you. I wish you well on your remaining day in this city, may you reveal to me the beauty that I seek by its end. Be it the lovely lustre of success or the sad splendour of failure." With his farewell speech done he bowed once again and left but not before glancing in Rean's direction where he was holding his tachi hidden from everyone sight and winking at him. The black-haired swordsman eyes followed the baron until he was out of sight, only then did he put his tachi down, the others hadn't even noticed his slights movements. "Grr, who does he think he is?! This is why I can't stand nobles!"
"Hmph, I thought you might say that. If it makes you feel better, I have my doubts as to whether that man was truly a noble to begin with. His behaviour seemed so exaggerated as if he was trying to embody the stereotype of what people think a noble is like."
"And that wasn't the only thing that was strange about him, right Rean?" Fie question caused some raised eyebrows to appear on the other three, "So you noticed it too, Fie?" A nod from the small girl confirmed Rean's suspicions, seeing the confusion on the others he explained what he and Fie had noticed, "The man approached us without neither of us sensing him, if he hadn't called out to us, I am not sure that we would have noticed him standing so close to us." Raising her hand like they were in class, Emma asked them to clarify what he meant, "Uhm, Rean? What do you mean with sensing him? And why would it be strange that we didn't notice him before? I mean we were all relaxing here, it makes sense if his approach had escaped our notice, no?"
The other two seemed to support her questions, so instead of explaining he decided to give them a small example what he meant, and he started by pointing behind him, "Watch that curve there, three people will step from it and behind them will be a person with a dog." They watched the place he was pointing at; to their surprise the exact number of people appeared from that direction, "Now watch the entrance of the building of there, two people will step outside of it." Once again Rean was right leaving them even more surprised and confused on how he was doing this, he showed them some more examples all the while keeping his eyes closed and his back to the places he pointed at.
"This is what I meant when I say sensing, I was trained to sense even the smallest lifeforms around me. I don't need to rely on my eyes to know what is going around me and the fact that 'Baron Blueblanc' got so close to me without me sensing him, throws up some red flags. Of course, I can make mistakes but Fie can do the same and she didn't notice him either." Emma, Jusis and Machias turned around to face their youngest classmate who just shrugged her shoulders, "I can do the same but in a much smaller radius than you. I must admit that the range you can sense people is far bigger than I had expected." Recovering from his surprise Machias looked between the two before settling his gaze at Rean, "While this is certainly unexpected and I would love to hear the scientific explanation for your 'sensing' ability, that doesn't mean he was dangerous."
Rean smiled when he heard the term scientific explanation, Machias wasn't the first to ask that question, though he always had a hard time explaining how this sensing of his worked, since his Master just told him to mediate and try to sense his surroundings, he had just managed to do that after some weeks of training, so putting that explanation aside for the moment, "I didn't say that he was dangerous just because of this but just the fact that was able to sneak up on us means that he has some kind of training and perhaps you are right that he isn't dangerous perhaps he is just someone who loves training in the martial arts. But given his behaviour, comments and what he just said, I say that if we meet him again, that we keep our guard up against him." This time it was Jusis who asked a question, "What do you by what he just said?"
"Bruc told him that we are students who are here for a field study, but I am pretty sure that Bruc doesn't know that we will be here just for one more day, so where did he get that information?" The others just noticed that small detail when he pointed it out, causing Fie to groan out loud, "Between him and that flying white object we have been crossing paths with a lot of strange people today."
"Well, tomorrow is our last day in the Verdant City, we can't let ourselves be distracted by this. We still have a lot do if we want to 'beat' Group B." The rest of the group agreed with this and decided to pay for their food and return to their hotel to finish their report for the day. Having finished with the reports the boys said their goodnight to the girls and went into their room, to sleep. Sometime later Rean noticed that Jusis was still awake and was staring at the ceiling of the room, "Can't get to sleep?" surprised that he was still awake too Jusis turned to face him, "I could say the same to you, you aren't going to tell me that the bed is too hard for you, are you?"
"Haha, no chance. This bed here is the softest one I ever had the pleasure of laying in it. Not even back home is my bed this soft."
"And yet you are the son of Baron Schwarzer… You have not lived the life one might expect of a boy from a noble family." When he remembered his dad and family, he could only smile, "That is just how my dad is, he follows the belief that a lord should live like his people and not above them."
"I see, it sounds as though you have a good family."
"Yeah, I am very grateful to them for my upbringing." Silence fell between the two of them for a few moments before Jusis gathered his courage, "…Aren't you going to ask? I assumed that you would be curious about that brief exchange between my father and me, earlier."
"…. I wasn't sure that you would want me to bring it up. You obvious get along well with your brother, but I didn't get the same feeling with the duke. Has he…. always been like that?"
"As far as I can remember. I suppose that he would have little respect or love for a son born to a commoner." Hearing this caused Rean, to lift his upper body from the bed to stare at Jusis, who did the same, "My brother and I have different mothers. Rufus was born to my father's legal wife, a noble who is still alive to this day. My own mother, however, was a commoner and she passed away eight years. To put it bluntly I am his bastard son. The chef of that restaurant earlier was my uncle from my mother's side, perhaps that is why he has always been so good to me or perhaps he is simply compelled to treat me as I 'deserve' to be treated, being the son of the duke." Rean shook his head when he remembered the warm taste from the food earlier, "No, I don't think that is the case. I can't blame you for being a bit cynical, but there is no need to be so hard on yourself."
"…Perhaps you are right." Seeing his classmate down like that made Rean try to cheer him up, "As someone who travelled a lot, I can tell you that the food your uncle served us was prepared with great care and I am sure that he did it because he loves you as his nephew, and not because of who your father is. Beside I am sure that you have your differences, but you do get along with your brother, right?"
"I will take your word for it, and you are right, my brother treated me very well since I was taken in eight years ago. He was the one who taught me fencing and who trained me in the ways of court etiquette."
"I knew it. There is something…..honest, I guess you could say about the way you fight, that tells me that whoever taught was someone you really trusted. When we met this afternoon, I had a feeling that he might have been the one." Noticing the way Jusis was looking at him made Rean ask him, "Is something wrong?"
"Nothing at all. You just keep reminding me how unlike a noble you truly are. Not that it is bad or anything just surprising." To that Rean just chuckled, "Don't worry about it, I get that a lot."
"Is your injury from this afternoon on the mend?" Rean just lifted his right arm and showed him that the cut was nearly gone; keeping his suspicions on how it healed so quickly for himself he used the same excuse Emma had given them, "Like you can see it is fine, honestly. There is no pain or any discomfort from moving it, I should really thank Emma's grandmother for her 'salves' if I ever get the chance." Seeing that he was telling the truth, Jusis let go of the fear he had been feeling since Rean got injured though the shame that it had been his own actions that caused it in the first place remained behind. "That is good to know; still if I may be honest from where I am standing you are a danger to yourself. On the day of the entrance ceremony when the trap door opened beneath us, you jumped after Alisa to protect her without a moment hesitation. You thought that she was in danger, so you acted without considering your own wellbeing first. In most cases, one would reflexively act to protect himself, it is part of man's survival instinct. Yet you put another before yourself, not even pausing to question the validity of that decision and you did the same thing with us today. Most people would see that as an act of selflessness and praise you for it but to me it comes across as abnormal maybe even twisted."
Leaning against the headboard of the bed, Rean looked up to the celling, "To be honest, I wasn't expecting for anyone in our class to see trough me so thoroughly." This caused Jusis to snort, "Please, you think that I am the only one? I don't spend much time with you or Alisa but from the few times I saw you together I got the feeling that she had already arrived at the same conclusion I did, why else do you think she spends so much time rebuking you for your reckless actions?"
"Haha, now that you mentioned it you are probably right which means that I am headed for quite the scolding when she reads our reports, oh boy I am not looking forward to that at all." Enjoying the somewhat scared look that he was wearing Jusis tried to warn him further, "You need to be more cognizant of the effect your actions have on those around you, if not for your wellbeing, then for your reputation? That selflessness of yours can as easily be perceived as arrogance, after all."
"I know it can and you are not the first person to tell me that. My master told me the same thing countless times, 'What is the point of saving others if you can't spare even a moment to save yourself?'"
"So, you can add me to that list and perhaps if it grows big enough, you will finally listen to it?" looking at each other caused the two of them to chuckle, "I suppose we both have some things we need to work through, but for now we need to get a good night's sleep, if not it wouldn't be fair to the girls that we aren't at our best tomorrow."
"Hear, hear. Then good night, Jusis." After that the two went to sleep not knowing that their entire conversation had a third participant that had been silent the entire time they had been talking. The next day Group A woke up early so that they could get a head start on their requests to make up from the day before, done with eating a light breakfast they converged in the lobby where the hotel manager gave them their tasks for the day, "Here is the envelope Lord Rufus entrusted to me. Please take it and study its contents well. If you will excuse me, then. Should you require anything further, please do not hesitate to let me know. I wish you Lord Jusis and your classmates an enjoyable day."
Bowing the manager left the students to their tasks, "All right, let's see what my brother has given us for today." With that Jusis opened the envelope to put the papers describing their requests on a nearby table so that everyone could see its content, like the day before there were three tasks inside, one was another monster extermination on the Northern Highway requested by the hotel, one was for gathering ingredients for the restaurant where they had eaten yesterday, and one was from the provincial army to deliver some documents from Aurochs Fort to the guard house in the city.
(Maybe it is my imagination but the third one seems kind of too easy? I mean it is just to deliver some documents so why would they ask us to do that, when the soldiers could easily do that when they travel inside their armoured cars between the city and the fort?) Putting these thoughts aside for the moment, Rean looked at the others who were discussing the requests, "Seems like another well-balanced assortment of tasks, I wouldn't be surprised if my brother had predicted what happened yesterday from the start."
Glancing away from the papers, Machias crossed his arms as he thought about what Jusis had just said, "You are saying he intended to give us a first-hand look at the problems between nobles and commoners? If that is true, then I am impressed, seems like his reputation is well earned then." Struggling for moment about what he was going to say, Machias gathered his courage and looked straight at his blonde classmate, "Jusis Albarea." Catching the attention of the others who looked between the two of them, "What is it, Machias Regnitz?"
"I will not accept any more failures. Today we WILL from a combat link, as much as I may dislike you, I am ashamed that we were unable to do what every other member of our class has accomplished. Today's monster extermination request seems as good a chance as any to make up for yesterday's failure, wouldn't you say?" This left the others flabbergasted not knowing what had changed that Machias would extend an olive branch to his rival since the beginning of the year, realising what had probably happened Jusis looked back at him with amusement.
"You really are simpleminded, aren't you? I suppose you overheard the conversation between me and Rean last night and feel some kind of affinity towards me now?" Machias cheeks turned a bit red when he heard that before vehemently deny it, "N-Nonsense! I did no such thing! I was fast asleep while you yammered on about your family and Rean and….." it took Machias a moment to recognise that he had just admitted to overhearing their conversation making him shut up without knowing what to say to get out of this situation, the others didn't have that problem as they all looked at him with amusement and teasing faces, though it was Fie that closed the deal, "I think that is pretty conclusive though I am curious about what the two talked about for him to change like this."
Laughing Jusis looked straight at him, "Haha, very well. I accept. I will be happy to show you what a proper combat link looks like." Glad to see a way to end this embarrassing situation Machias responded in kind, "Hah! We will see about that. Fortunately, I have more than enough generosity of spirit to endure being paired with an arrogant noble like you! Then let's go we don't have all day if we what to fulfil these requests." Done speaking Machias turned around and fast walked towards the exit leaving his grinning classmates behind, he didn't go very far as the door opened, letting in an elderly man that the group remember seeing with Rufus when they arrived at the train station yesterday whose eyes, after looking around, found their group and began walking towards them, surprised at the sudden entrance of the butler Jusis stepped forward.
"Arnaud? What brings you here? I would have expected you to be at my father's side." Bowing to the young lord, the butler explained the reason for his visit, "I have come today in the capacity of an escort, Lord Jusis." Bewildered at that Jusis a frown appeared his face, "An escort? To where? I am sure that you are aware that I returned to Bareahard purely as part of a field study for my academy work. I neither have the time nor the patience to deal with the invitations from the other nobles!"
"But of course, however his Grace has directly requested that I escort you to the mansion this morning. So, I would be most appreciative if you would accompany me without delay." This just served to confuse Jusis even more, "Father? He showed no signs of desiring my company when we spoke yesterday."
"I am in no position to question or oppose his orders; merely to obey them. I am sure you understand that, though while I hesitate to speculate, I do wonder if his Excellency may feel some regret regarding his demeanour yesterday." These words caused Jusis face to soften and one could see a bit of hope in his eyes which didn't go unnoticed by his classmates, remembering what he had heard yesterday Machias gave him the push he needed, "Go with him. We can attempt to form a combat link another time and we should be able to handle the tasks just fine on our own, you don't need to worry about us." The rest supported Machias suggestion and soon Jusis was convinced that it would fine to visit his father in the morning and re-join the others in the afternoon, "Very well, I will try to be back as soon as I can, though I will worry as to how you will fare without me, I know you'll at least give it your best. For what that is worth."
"Hmph, of course we will. Now get out of here we have work to do." With Machias parting shot, Jusis followed the butler out of the hotel, leaving the others behind. Gathering the requests from the table Rean spoke to the remaining members of his group, "Let's get started then. We wouldn't want to give Jusis any further reason to worry now, would we?" The others looked at Machias while wearing teasing smiles on their faces which caused him to shift uncomfortably in place, "Wh-what? What is it? If you have something to say, just say it." Emma took this opportunity to step closer to him while the teasing light in her eyes got brighter, "Oh, it is nothing. Nothing at all besides the fact that I think that the worst is behind us now and it is all thanks to your eavesdropping."
Standing on her toes, Emma patted Machias head lightly which Fie followed suit by doing the same to his elbow since she couldn't reach any higher while saying 'Good boy'. Avoiding their hands by stepping away from them while the red returned to his cheeks stronger than before, Machias scowled at them, "Stop that! Rean, you do know that I still haven't forgiven you for hiding sour social status for me, don't you?! And Emma I hope that you are ready to score second on our midterms next month, because I am not about to lose to you again, but don't even think of giving anything less than your best on these exams! I intend to best you when you are in top form, after all." That did nothing to take away their teasing looks, so he turned to their youngest member, "As for you, young lady. I have been meaning to tell you this for a long time now; sleeping in class is an affront to our education! You need to start treating classes more serious, take proper notes! Raise your hand now and then!"
That just led Fie to cover her ears and turn away from him while singing, "I can't hear you." Smiling at the scene before him, Rean decided that they had teased the poor boy enough and clapped his hands to get their attention, "I think this is enough for now, ladies. We have got a lot to do, so how about we get to it? Any suggestion on where to start?" Like yesterday they left the request for the Fort as last and after making sure that Rean's arm was all healed up, Emma gave him the Ok to re-join the fighting.
They made their way to the restaurant to get more information about the ingredients the chef needed, which turned out that it was getting some fresh globby fat from the monsters and some healing herbs from the church. Getting the herbs was easy since the nuns in the church was already accustomed to the fact that the chef used them regularly for his food and to their luck the monster that dropped the globby fat could be found in the same location as their target for the extermination request. Following the direction written on their paper, the four managed to find the monster wandering about in a clearing on the highway, though it wasn't alone other monsters were with it rampaging through the clearing by following the bigger monster.
After discussing their strategy for the fight Fie linked up with Emma and Rean linked up with Machias, watching their targets movements carefully they choose the perfect opportunity catch them off guard, resulting in Fie and Rean taking three monsters down each leaving the remaining monsters too frightened to react. Using that opening Machias and Emma unleashed their arts which took the rest of the smaller monster down leaving only their target behind who had already recovered and was charging towards the casters before getting intercepted by Rean and Fie.
The Venus Mantrap was just a bigger version of the smaller Mantrap, the group had already fought enough of these yesterday when they were searching for the 'Dryad's Tear' in the woods, thanks to that experience they already knew what to expect making their fight easier on them and to no surprise they managed to defeat it using Machias Earth lance Art to pin it down leaving it immobilised while Rean used his 'Flame Slash' to send the monster to the afterlife. Done with the fight the students collected their spoils which included enough globby fat to satisfy Hammond request for them, Rean noticed that Machias had been fidgeting around but before he could ask if something was wrong, Machias beat him to it, "I am sorry everyone! I have been dragging you all down, especially you Rean. I owe you double the apology; I shouldn't have reacted like that just because you didn't tell me that you were the son of a baron and how I treated you afterwards was unacceptable. I am sorry! Please forgive me!" Seeing how deeply he was bowing, Rean used his hands to straighten him up, "It is alright, Machias. Don't worry about it, if I had been honest from the start all of this could have been avoided, so there is no need for you to feel bad or even to apologise to me. If anything, I should be the one to ask you for your forgiveness. I am sorry for misleading you."
"No, the fault clearly lies with me. We had just met that day and I asked something like that of you, so of course you wouldn't feel comfortable to tell your circumstances to someone you had just met." The girls were watching the boys make up while whispering to each other, "I am glad that these two have finally buried the hatchet." Fie nodded along to Emma before she stepped into their conversation, "Ah, youth. So, since we are on a roll with this how about you and Jusis do the same? I am sure that if the two of you could just be honest with each other, you wouldn't have any problems forming a combat link." Machias looked with horror at the younger girl as if she had just told him that coffee had forever disappeared from the world, "No, no way! My behaviour towards Rean was wrong and I full admit that. But Jusis is a whole different story, he and I are fundamentally incompatible, and nothing will ever change that! We will form a combat link have no doubt about that but you all can't forget about us becoming friends!"
Sighing deeply Fie adopted her normal deadpan face and left in the direction of the city while muttering, "Lame." This left Emma and Rean to roll their eyes fondly while following her, back in the city they gave Hammond the ingredients he had requested, as thanks he offered them to cook some soup for them, deciding that perhaps an early lunch wouldn't be so bad given that they still to travel through the canyon to reach the fort and be back for their last request of the morning. While eating Hammond told them a bit about Jusis past, bringing the girls up to speed about what they had missed last night and the history of the soup that they were eating, how Jusis mother had tried to create a dish that would negate the bitter taste of the healing herbs making them easier to digest and so on. Thanking the chef for the food and the story they left the restaurant but not before Hammond asked them to take care of his nephew and gave them the recipe for the soup so that Jusis could taste it during his time at the academy.
The journey through the canyon this time was faster since they didn't need to track down some monster or bathing salts and perhaps thanks to their trek from yesterday there weren't a lot of monsters on the road, giving the students the chance to appreciate the scenery throughout the canyon. "Uhm, Rean?" Turning his head around the swordsman looked at Machias who for some reason seemed to struggle with something but in the end, he went ahead with his question, "Please let me make this clear from the beginning, I am asking this just because I am curious and nothing more." Thanks to that it wasn't only Rean now that was looking at him but also the girls, "I heard from Gaius and Eliot that you have travelled the eastern part of the continent for your training when you were younger, so I would like to ask you some question about what you saw there, if you don't mind?"
A bit surprised that Machias hesitation had been about just asking some questions about that, Rean gave him a smile, "Go ahead, Machias. If I can answer them, then I will." Before the gunman could ask what was on his mind, he suddenly heard Emma chuckling while she looked at Rean with a teasing light in her eyes, "A shame, that Alisa isn't here for this. I am sure that she would love to have the same opportunity as Machias here." Knowing what she was talking about, Rean could only laugh nervously while scratching the back of his head, leaving the other two curious about what was going on, noticing this Emma explained it to them, "Rean here has lead slip some hints here and there to Alisa, that apparently compared to some of the stunts that he had pulled in the East were nothing compared what he has been doing since the start of the schoolyear. Alisa has tried to get him to explain what exactly he has done that made his plan to take on the gargoyle from the old schoolhouse alone or the soldiers from Celdic look like nothing, but Rean here has been tight lipped about that since then."
"Oh, really? Looks like you have a golden opportunity to score some brownie points with the mysterious Miss R, Machias. Though I must admit that now I am curious too to hear about that." Now it was Fie's turn to butt in, Machias while curious restrained himself, "Well, now that you mention it, I too would like to hear about that, but I think that thanks to my behaviour for the last few weeks, I have troubled Rean enough, so I will abstain from asking about anything that will get him in hot water with Alisa." Shooting the boy, a deadpan look, Fie resumed walking forward while Emma too seemed a bit disappointed but remained curious nonetheless, "Rean, during your travels did you visit any country where nobles ruled? Like I said before, I am just curious."
Not having expected that Machias would ask something like this, especially after this morning, but one look at him was enough for him to see that he really was just curious about it, "There were some countries like that; you can classify these countries into four different categories. The first was where Nobles were truly worthy of their title, working for their people and the betterment of their lands, the second was where nobles and commoners worked together and the third is like the current situation of the Empire with two factions fighting for supremacy."
The others waited for him to continue but seeing the dark look in his eyes, they could already guess what the fourth category was, "The fourth one was, how to put this politely, the nobles treated the commoners like slaves and let's leave it at that. Machias, you may think that our nobles here abuse their positions but compared to some in the East, believe me when I say this that there are far worse ones out there." Hearing about this the same old anger and hatred coursed through his veins, but Machias suppressed it, "Thanks for answering my question, Rean truly. But..." seeing where he was going with this Rean answered the question that he knew was coming, "Machias, it was just one country that was like that and last I heard about that place it seems like the people there rebelled against the nobles and took control of their country after fighting a civil war against them for months."
Relieved to hear about that Machias mood turned for the better and he relaxed soon after that, making him ask questions that were about the other things like the sights and so on, with Emma joining in after some minutes. It didn't take long for them to arrive at the fort, just to see a young man wandering around the entrance, curious about what was going on, they approached the man to find out that apparently, he had gotten lost after chasing after a butterfly and had ended up right in front of the fort. The soldiers didn't believe his story at all and chased him out; the man was nearly in tears since he didn't want to risk going back to the city alone in case monsters attacked him. That lead to the older man looking pleadingly at the students, knowing what he wanted, Rean and the others exchanged looks, deciding that since they were already going back to Bareahard they didn't mind if he tagged along, upon hearing this the man who introduced himself as Anton nearly went on his knees to thank them.
After that the group of four meet with the soldiers from yesterday and explained that they were requested to deliver some documents form the fort to the guardhouse in the city, a soldier went inside the fort to verify this. Some moments later he returned accompanied by an older soldier who seemed to hold a higher rank than the other soldiers, a company captain if Rean remembered his lessons regarding the ranks in the military right, after verifying their identities though his eyes lingered on Machias for some reason, he gave them a simple sealed envelope and told them to deliver this as soon as possible without taking any detours since these documents were critical for the provincial army.
Finding his behaviour a bit weird, Rean accepted the envelope and left with the others though he could still feel the soldiers gaze on their group, Anton joined the group on their way back. During the trip back, they found that Anton was traveling around to heal from getting his heart broken in both Crossbell and Liberl which explained to some degree his weird actions like yelling down on a bridge when the group took a short break on his request, putting the man's attics aside, Rean couldn't shake the feeling that something weird was going on with this request.
(No matter how I think about it, this doesn't make any sense. If these documents are truly so important, then why would they entrust them to us? No matter how famous the academy is or even if Rufus vouched for us, they shouldn't have given us these and what was also weird is that they seemed to have just expected four students to appear and not five like yesterday. They didn't even ask where Jusis was or why he wasn't present.) Putting these thoughts aside for now, Rean put his attention on the way back which was uneventful besides the fact that they had to stop Anton from wandering off again until they arrived back in the city where Anton after spotting his friend ran towards him and told him what happened after he had disappeared. The friend called Rick took the story in stride as if he was already used to hearing about his friend weird behaviour, thanking the students for their help the duo left them to return to their lodging.
Group A decided that after they were done with their last request, they would return to the hotel to wait for Jusis and to see if Rufus had left other tasks for the day. On the way to the guardhouse the students went through the Noble district where all the important noble lived and walked past the Albarea Mansion which prompted Machias to comment that apparently Duke Albarea had to have extracted too much tax money from the common people to make their mansion the biggest of them all, ignoring that the rest continued on leaving Machias to catch up when he noticed that the others had left him behind. The closer they got to the guardhouse the more soldiers Rean saw, which after some thinking was normal since they were getting closer to their base in the city, what was weird though was the fact that they seemed to close all other streets as if forcing the students to walk towards the guardhouse, it got to the point where even the rest of the group noticed that something was amiss, (Ok, this isn't normal. What is going on here? First the weird request for these so-called important documents, then this? It almost seems like that they are after something or someone…..Damn it!)
It was just now that Rean remembered that besides Jusis their group had another VIP in their mist one who the Noble Faction would love to get their hands on, schooling his face to remain calm Rean slowed his steps until he was beside Fie who looked at him with her normal stoic eyes, "Fie, take Machias and leave here, quickly! I will remain with Emma here to give them their documents but you and Machias must return to the hotel or better yet leave the city entirely and wait for me to call you on the Arcus." Rean was thankful that Fie seemed to catch on quickly about what was going on after discreetly glancing around their surroundings, she arrived at the same conclusion that he had.
Clapping his hands as if he had just remembered something urgent Rean spoke out loud, "Oh, no! We forgot to give Hammond the ingredients back at the central square. Fie how about you and Machias go back quickly and give him the ingredients, while Emma and I will wait here for you." Confused about what he was saying the other two opened their mouths to speak but Fie was already gripping Machias arm and was dragging him away not giving him the chance to speak, "Got it, Rean. I and Machias will be right back."
Unfortunately, Rean had noticed what was going too late, before Fie could go walk two steps away from the group they were blocked by a group of soldiers who spread out to surround them, Emma and Machias were obviously confused about what was going on but seeing the grim look on their companions clued them on that something was very wrong. "Ahh, you must be the students from Thor's. Young man, I would advise you not to do something stupid unless you want to be thrown into prison." Two soldiers stepped aside so that a captain ranked officer could step forward who had seen that Rean's hand was slowly approaching his tachi, so he gave him a stern warning before looking straight at Machias with a barely concealed smirk, though he walked towards Rean who was holding the envelope and snatched it away not caring if the papers inside got damaged.
"The provincial army is glad to see that the Academy continues to produce worthy students and thanks you all for delivering this important 'package' into our hands." The smirk on his face grew more when he just ripped the envelope apart, "But it is with a heavy heart that I will have to take Mister Machias Regnitz away for interrogation since there have been several charges filed against him but the most egregious is the accusation of trespassing into Aurochs Fort yesterday afternoon and stealing several important files."
"What?! I was near the fort at the time the intrusion occurred, certainly but I was there with my classmates who can vouch for me that I never even went inside the fort." Indignation clouded Machias face when he finally realised what was going on, but he still tried to explain his way out. "Among my classmates was Jusis Albarea, who can also confirm my alibi and…" Not bothering to listen anymore, the captain lifted his hand and two soldiers apprehended Machias, "Hmph, you will have to do better than that. Men take him away and put him into a cell until he can be interrogated. Ah, ah, I wouldn't do that if I were you children." The others tried to rush to Machias side but were stopped by the other soldiers standing in their way, "These accusations are completely untrue, like Machias had said he was with us the entire time and if he is suspicious then why aren't we also getting arrested?!" Emma tried to reason with the man but it was useless which was proven by the way that the captain wasn't even bothering to listen while the soldiers around them were gloating at them with their eyes, in her growing frustrations she took out her Orbal staff as a reflex to defend her friend, that didn't go unnoticed by their opponents who aimed their rifles at her and the other two, causing Emma to freeze not knowing what to do.
Rean positioned himself before Emma blocking the rifles, not caring about the glares being sent his way at all, "Do you realise what this could lead to, considering the tension between the two factions? Machias is the son of the governor of Heimdallr, no matter…."
Having lost his patience the captain just snorted, "No matter what position his father holds, it doesn't excuse the crimes that he committed which gives us the right to take him in." Glaring at Rean who seemed ready to draw his sword to attack them, the man threated him, "Perhaps you would like to join him in his cell?" Upon hearing this Machias shouted at the swordsman, "Rean, calm down! There is nothing that you can do!" Drawing a deep breath, he tried to give his friends a confident smile, "I am sure that this is all just a big misunderstanding, I will go with them to clear this up, so don't worry about me. Perhaps this won't take too long, and I can join you on the train back to the academy."
No one believed what he was saying, lest of all the provincial army who were all just smirking, clenching his fists Rean tried to come up with anything that would get Machias out of this situation be it with words or by force and he wasn't the only one, the girls too were doing the same thing but they were outnumbered and surrounded, noticing what his friends were thinking caused Machias to feel touched at their concern for him. This just reinforced his determination to keep them out of this mess, so after giving them another smile, he just started walking towards the guardhouse out of his own volition, "I think that we all have better things to do than standing here all day, so let's get going."
Rean could only watch how the soldiers took Machias away without being able to help him, as a parting shoot at the three students who were glaring straight at him, after Machias went inside the building, the captain just reinforced the fact that they couldn't do anything to change the situation, "By the way, I heard that Lord Jusis won't be able to re-join you all, certain matters are keeping him occupied in the mansion. Perhaps you will leave the Verdant City with just three members instead of the five you arrived with. Of course, that is under assumption that you three won't do anything foolish at all."
The last hope that Rean had that perhaps Jusis would be able to help them went just up in smoke, grounding his teeth he could just try to come up with something else, "Let's go back to the hotel and try to call Instructor Sara for help." Helplessly the girls followed him, just to find out that soldiers were already there searching their rooms, the hotel manager hadn't been able to stop them since he couldn't defy the army, after reassuring him that they wouldn't blame him for this the trio informed him about their success on hunting down the monster and left the hotel.
Outside they tried to call their Instructor, but their bad luck continued since their call wouldn't come through at all, "Could it be that Instructor Sara is in some place where our Arcus can't reach or perhaps, she turned it off?" Shaking her head at Emma question, Fie deny it, "Sara is irresponsible most of the time but when she is needed, she always come through, no matter the situation." Rean shared the same opinion about her, so he tried a different approach he dialled the reception of the academy, but it didn't go through either frowning he tried another number that ended in the same result as before, "This is bad. Could it be?" Dialling another one didn't change the result, but strengthened his suspicious about what was going on, to get the final evidence, he asked the girls to follow him into Christie's Galleria where they found out that apparently all communication lines were down, and that the provincial army was taking care of things, but it would take at least a day before they were repaired. Realising that they were being blocked from contacting the academy just showed how serious the army was about keeping Machias as a hostage.
"This is bad. With no way to contact Instructor Sara, so how are we going to get Machias out of prison?" Both Rean and Fie were able to stay calm but they could see that Emma was getting anxious about their situation and Machias, "How about we try going to the restaurant? Perhaps Hammond has a way to contact Jusis?" Not believing for a moment that the army didn't have that place covered, Rean could only nod at Emma hopeful eyes not having the heart to tell her the truth. Like he had expected, the restaurant was also being surveyed leaving them with no way out for the moment, patting Emma on her shoulder to calm her down, Rean directed them to Artisan Street where there were no soldiers patrolling and choose a bar where they could sit down at a table and think things through.
"They only reason that they want Machias is because his father is the Imperial governor and a key figure in the Reformist Faction. Basically, they want to use him as leverage so that the Noble Faction has an advantage in future negotiations, still if they go through with this the consequences will be enormous. I doubt that the emperor will approve of this if he gets wind of this, still they must be confident that there won't be a backlash against them." Drinking some tea and talking with the others had managed to calm Emma down, "Yes, especially if the government investigates these so-called charges against him, I just hope that they won't hurt him or anything."
"I wouldn't be so sure; the tensions are high on both sides. Worst case scenario, they might use the threat of violence to get what they want." Fie's words while cold were also a truth, "That is the worst-case scenario while unlikely it is still a possibility, so now we have to decided what we are going to do moving forward. I for one think this may fall under the scope of our field study. It may be risky but how about we try to do something about this situation ourselves? Still, I would like to hear your opinion about we should do as well." Surprised at what he was suggesting the two girls fell silent for a while, but it didn't take long for determination to fill their eyes, "I think we should, we can't just abandon him. But I would like to point out that this will be dangerous, so we must do this together if we want to succeed. I am aware that I don't know you as well as Alisa and the others do Rean, but I heard about some of things you did while talking with Alisa and after seeing what you did and how you acted after getting injured yesterday, I am inclined to believe that she wasn't exaggerating. So as your Class president and as a member of Group A, I ask this of you don't be too reckless. I know that we are going into danger, and I know that of the three of us, I am the least experienced in such situations, so I will obey your orders, but I won't hesitate to stop you if I think that you are acting too careless with your wellbeing."
Caught off guard, Rean didn't know how to respond to that declaration until Fie spoke, "Now I am getting really curious about what you did to cause such a reaction from Emma. Maybe I should take part in those meetings with Alisa and Laura if it gets me such juicy information." Sweat dropping at where the conversation was going, Rean honestly didn't mind since it managed to sweep away the oppressive air that was hanging around them after Machias got arrested, "Alright, let's put my past aside for the moment and concentrate on how we are going to get Machias out." Emma narrowed her eyes at him since she noticed that he hadn't promised to not be reckless, but let it go for the moment, "I think that the best course of action is to contact Jusis, I am sure that he would do everything in his power to help Machias out."
"I don't think that is possible. The army went so far to block us from contacting Sara or anyone else that could help us in this situation, that I doubt that they won't have the mansion under surveillance."
"I agree with Fie, besides I believe that Duke Albarea is involved in this and since he is the head of the Albarea family, even Jusis can't go against him. Though finding a way to contact Jusis isn't a bad idea, at the very least he would perhaps know a way how to get inside the guardhouse undetected." Hearing their words, Emma could see what their only solution was at the moment, "We have to free Machias ourselves, huh? Any idea on how we can accomplish that?" Fie took a moment to think, "A frontal assault isn't a good idea, we are too few and don't have the necessary equipment for that, so that leaves sneaking inside the only option that we have. We must move fast though while it is difficult to sneak inside the guardhouse, if they were to transfer Machias to Aurochs Fort then its game over for us. If we could get our hands on the plans for the building, then we could see where the blind spots are and plan accordingly though we have to take into account their shifts or perhaps we could disguise ourselves as soldiers to walk in however the only one among us who could pull that off is you Rean, neither me nor Emma can pass as a man."
Listening how their youngest classmate put possible infiltrations plans together, left the two older students unsure on how to react, "All valid plans Fie, yet we can't do any of them, because we lack either the blueprints, the uniform or the time to find out how their shifts work. Besides we must be sure that whatever we do is covert, because if we get caught it must be after Machias is out safely. We will have only one chance at this, so we have to get Machias out of the city and since the charges against him are obviously false, the army will be very limited what they can do to retaliate. They have to maintain the image that what they are doing is legal."
"How about we use smoke grenades to make them think that there is a fire in the guardhouse to draw them out and try to sneak in during the chaos?" Emma sweat dropped when she heard Fie's new idea, "Smoke Grenades? Where would we even get those? It isn't like you carry them with you."
"What fair maiden doesn't?" Upon hearing that remark, Emma nearly spit her tea out, "Seriously?! Oh, Fie. I don't even know where to begin listing what is wrong with that statement."
"I don't know Emma; I think that until now that is our best way to get inside." Eyes wide open Emma stared at Rean but before she could speak, their attention was drawn to the conversation a blonde-haired man sitting at the bar was having with the barkeeper, "Hey, Master? What are the monsters in the underground waterway like these days?"
"Been three months or so since you last went down there, huh? I am guessing the place is crawling with them again by now, though I sure as hell am not going down there to check and it seems pretty obvious that provincial army got no interest in taking care of them."
"Sigh, how can they even sleep at night knowing their beautiful city got nasty monsters crawling around underneath it? I would take care of it if only someone put a request for it."
"Haha. Well, I will see what I can do. I will talk with the other shop owners and see if we can put enough mira together for a request. It will take a week or so before we got our regular meeting but after we come to a decision, I will send a message over to Legram and let you know."
"Cheers to that, Master. All right, I would better get going. Looking forward to dropping by for another one of your famous espressos. See ya." After the blond man finished drinking his coffee, he began walking towards the exit stopping at the students table when he glanced at them, "Huh, don't see many people dressed like that around here. Those are some fancy red uniforms. You guys, students or something?" The ever-polite Emma was the one who responded, "Oh yes, sir. We are from the Thor's Military Academy in Trista; we were sent here for a field study as part of our curriculum."
Looking at each of the students more closely he saw the horned lion emblem on their uniforms, "Thor's, huh? Pretty fancy place, ain't it? I don't have any idea what they have got you doing for your field study, but good luck. Bareahard is a pretty nice city, but it is not without its fair share of problems." Done speaking the man waved at them in goodbye and stepped out of the bar; leaving the students curious about the man and his conversation with the barkeeper, especially the part about the underground waterway, deciding that this should be worth asking, Rean approached the barkeeper, "Excuse me, sir? Do you know that blonde haired man that just left?"
Looking up from the glass that he was polishing, "You kids, mean Toval? Sure, I do. He is a bracer, there used to be a guild branch here in Bareahard, but it has been closed for years. Toval just comes by train from the Legram Branch every now and then." Putting the surprising fact that the blond had been a bracer, Rean concentrated on asking what he wanted to know, "Really? By the way, I didn't mean to eavesdrop, but I thought I overheard you saying something about monsters in an underground waterway…"
Leaving the rest of the sentence unfinished created the impression that Rean was nervous after hearing them mention the monsters, the barkeeper tried to soothe his worries, "Oh, that? There is no need to worry about that. Beneath the city is a huge network of waterways, been there for a long, long time now and it is chock full of monsters. When the guild still had a branch here, the bracers would clear them out regularly but nowadays, nobody goes near it and the waterways are just sort of stagnating under the provincial army's control, because there are too proud to trouble themselves with fighting monsters, of course. Nonetheless there isn't any need to worry about the monsters there; every entrance to the waterway is safely sealed."
"How much ground does the waterways cover, if you don't mind me asking?" The barkeeper took a moment to think about, "Supposedly all the way from the east side of the city to the west. There are even rumours about hidden passages that lead from every noble house including the duke's mansion to the guard station but that is probably just one of those urban legends." After getting the info that they were hoping for and some more additional details, Rean paid for their drinks leaving a big tip as thanks for the info the man had unknowingly given them and left the bar with the girls. Making sure that they were no soldiers or persons around them, the trio sat on a bench on the outside before discussing their plan, "That was a well-timed clue and just what we needed." Rean didn't want to dampen Emma enthusiasms, yet he couldn't keep quiet, "Almost too well-timed, an underground waterway built in the Middle Ages that extends all the way to the Noble District with a possible connection to the guard house where Machias is being held. It sounds almost too perfect."
Shrugging her shoulders Fie tried to relax Rean's worries, "I wouldn't think too much about it, if it had been anyone else than a bracer then I would also worry about this being too good to be true, but the bracer are the helpers of the people, no? (That and I am sure that the reason that this Toval is here in town at this time is because Sara asked him to keep an eye on us, in case something goes wrong.)"
Rean had a feeling that Fie wasn't telling the entire truth about why she trusted that bracer, but he had to admit that she was right about bracers, so he would go along with this, "Ok, we now have perhaps a possible way into the guardhouse without being seen but we have to remember that it isn't sure that this path exists or is even accessible. So here is the plan, we will enter the waterway through the door in Station Street and once inside we will search for the entrance to the guardhouse or perhaps to the Albarea mansion and try to somehow enter in contact with Jusis there. If we have his help, then we can avoid a lot of problems if the soldiers catch us."
The group made their way into the Station Street while trying to avoid the patrolling soldiers in town, thankfully they managed to reach their goal without being seen, standing before a thick wooden door that was closed with a lock which was a detail that they had forgotten to think about, (We should have expected this, no choice but to try and cut the lock with the Autumn Leaf Cutter like back at the park. I will have to do it fast while I doubt that people will see us down here, we could still get caught if a passer-by looked down from the bridge.) Getting in the position to draw his sword, he was stopped by Emma who took out a hairpin, "May I have a try? I once read how to do this in a novel, and I have no idea if this will actually work but it is worth a shot. …Aperio (Open)" Not even ten seconds later Emma had managed to open the lock, "Wow, nice job Emma." Even Fie was impressed with their class president this time, Rean on the other hand wasn't sure what had happened, it had been just for short moment not even a second, but he had sensed something being emitted from Emma though he couldn't get a sense of what exactly.
Putting that aside for now he looked around to see if anyone way paying attention to them and after making sure that no one was he and the girls went inside and closed the doors behind them. Once inside they drew their weapons since they remembered the barkeeper talking about these waterways being infested with monsters, adopting a triangle formation with both Rean and Fie in front leaving the rear to Emma, the trio ventured into the floor leading them down the city. "This waterway is actually quite pretty, I was expecting the Verdant City to be beautiful, but it never dawned on me the same might be truth of its underground." Looking around Fie spotted something that unfortunately ruined the beautiful picture, "There are a lot of monsters here, too, though."
Rean sensed the same the thing, "We need to head west, to the part of the waterway that connects with the provincial army's guardhouse, please remember that this entire place is infested with monster so do not let your guard down no matter what. Emma you are on support duty, use your EP wisely we may have enough EP chargers to reload your Arcus several times, but we don't know that to expect down here, don't use attack arts with the smaller monsters for them use your regular attacks that should be enough, save the arts for the big ones. Fie, you link up with Emma for now both of us will draw the monsters attention and stop them from getting to Emma; use your guns if one gets through or if one appears from the rear. You are faster than me so in the case the monsters get the drop on us I will take one side and you the other keeping Emma between us, ok?" The girls agreed to his orders and so Group A started their journey through the waterway to save their friends.
One hour later the trio was taking a short break from fighting, "The barkeeper wasn't kidding when he said that there are a lot of monsters down here, we can't even go five minutes without bumping into them, thankfully they aren't that strong though they outnumber us in every fight which adds more pressure on us. How are the both of you holding up?" Looking at the girls Rean realised that their combat experiences couldn't be more different, Fie wasn't even out of breath while Emma was a bit tired, though to be fair compared to the beginning of the year, their class president had improved a lot.
Fie just gave him a simple thump up as an answer and Emma a determined look. Rean was going to wait five more minutes for Emma to catch her breath, but he suddenly sensed someone approaching them from one of the tunnels on the other side. Using his fingers to warn them to be quiet and that they weren't alone here, Rean got in position to knock the one approaching them down the moment he stepped outside of the tunnel with the Unarmed Form. The moment that person appeared he dashed forward using the momentum from his dash to unleash his Destructive Impact but the moment he saw who he was attacking he diverted his attack to the side hitting the wall, leaving Jusis startled about the sudden attack and appearance, "What in Aidioses name?!"
Registering who his would be attacker was Jusis calmed his nerves and shoot Rean an annoyed glare while the two girls steeped forward to join them, "I certainly wasn't expecting to encounter the three of you down here and I was certainly not expecting to be attacked by my classmate." At this Rean could only apologise, "Sorry, Jusis. I also wasn't expecting to meet you down here, I thought it would be a soldier from the provincial army that was patrolling here but it is good to see that that you are safe." The relief in Rean's voice softened the glare from the young noble, "Hmph. Of course, I am though, I can't say that I was expecting to be placed under house arrest the moment I returned to the mansion or that my father would arrest the Imperial governor's son under false charges in order to keep the Reformist Faction under control. I do find it hard to believe that he would attempt something so brazen."
"Were at least able to talk with your father?" Emma question just darkened his eyes with sadness before he concealed it behind his usual aloof facade, "He didn't have any intention of talking to me. Not the slightest inclination, this was all planned form the start." Seeing the concerned looks his classmates were giving him, he waved them away, "Enough about me. Thanks to my brother bringing me down here for combat training, I am familiar with the general layout of this waterway. I will lead us to the guardhouse, so that we can get Regnitz and get him out of town. Let's get moving." This surprised the other since it was clear what Jusis had planned on doing, "You were planning on saving him even if you had to do it all alone, didn't you?"
Turning away from the soft smile of Emma, the young noble tried to correct her, "Hmph. Don't get the wrong idea, I just can't condone my father's actions. Besides, he is no doubt huddled up crying and lonely in the corner of his cell right now. It is worth rescuing him just to see that." The others weren't fooled for a moment and the slight red on his cheeks proved them correct yet knowing his personality they just accepted his 'reason' and restarted their journey through the waterway with Jusis by their side. Which helped them greatly be it his help in combat or guiding them through the seemingly endless tunnels of the waterway, the numbers of fights they went through didn't change since the floor was overflowing with monsters but thanks to that the students had achieved the second link level with each other which strengthen them and made the rest of the fights far easier until they could see a big steel door at the end of the floor.
After clearing the monsters around here, they took another short break because Jusis told them that behind that door was their goal and that they had to be in top condition for their rescue mission, "I really have to start training more at least to the point where my stamina isn't so depleted that I get so winded after several fights." Emma leaned against a wall while drinking some water and cookies Rean had brought with him, before either boy could try to cheer her up Fie beat them to the punch, "I wouldn't worry about that, Emma. While you could use some more training, you have improved a lot, besides you have far more 'baggage' to carry around than either one in Class VII, including Laura who wields that big sword of hers."
This left the others puzzled since they couldn't see what baggage the young girl was talking about but before anyone could ask what she meant by that they noticed that she was staring at a certain part of Emma's body following her eyes they soon understood what sort of baggage she was referring to, quick as lighting the boys turned their heads away while Emma shrieked, "Fie!" Not caring about any of their reactions she just shrugged her shoulders "What? You do have the biggest pair in our class, there is not denying that. Or perhaps we should have a contest to see if that is true though only Alisa and Sara could be your opponents unless Laura is bandaging hers to keep them from bouncing around like yours do in a fight, while mine meanwhile…." Emma's face was bright red, and she tried to shield her breasts from Fie's somewhat envious eyes, in the meantime the boys tried ignoring everything that they were hearing, after Emma calmed down enough, she walked quickly past the boys in the direction of the door putting an end to this conversation leaving the others in awkward silence until Rean shoot Fie a reproachful glare.
"Fie, there are other ways to distract us from what we are about to do." Fie just looked at him whit a small smirk on her face, "What? You can't say that it didn't work besides be honest aren't you the least bit interested in seeing a contest like that?" Rolling his eyes at her seemed just to further encourage her, "Or could it be that you are only interested in Alisa's?" Suppressing any image that sentence had provoked from appearing in his mind, Rean shoots her another glare and pointed his finger forward, "Let's just go." Still smirking Fie skipped past him while he and Jusis followed behind her to join with Emma who was looking at the door with growing horror on her face, taking a closer look at it they found why Emma was horrified, "There is no keyhole, this means that it can only be opened from the other side. How are we going to open this one?" Scowling Jusis took a closer look at the door, but he couldn't find anything to open the door, "I had no idea the door between the waterway and the guardhouse could only be opened from the inside, now what do we do?"
Neither Emma nor Rean had any ideas either, "It looks far too sturdy for my tachi to have much effect on it. (Though I should be able to slice it open if I use my power but that would lead to a whole different problem but if that is the only way to save Machias then perhaps it will be worth it. Even if it means that I will have to leave the academy.) While Rean was thinking about using his power, Fie was examining the door more closely, "This can be overcome. Give me a minute." Fie proceed to ignore the questioning looks of the others, while taking some kind of white mass out of her bag and placing small amount of it on the hinges of the door, done with that she pushed the others far away from the door, after making sure that they were far enough, she took out her gun swords.
The rest of group could just watch in silence at what Fie was doing, "(Wait a minute, I know that smell!) Fie, don't tell me that is…" Before Rean could finish speaking, Fie had pressed a button, "Ignition." Resulting in four small explosions echoing through the chamber, as the white mass detonated, with its hinges destroyed the door fell forward followed by a loud bang as it landed on the ground, turning around to face the others, Fie just uttered a simple, "Done." Leaving Emma and Jusis to sweat drop at the nonchalant girl, "Fie, why exactly are you carrying something like that around?"
Only Rean who already had noticed what was going to happened managed to ask what the two were thinking, "You mean, the portable high-powered explosive? Again, what fair maiden doesn't? Its plasticity makes it handy for this kind of espionage work, so are we done standing around? We still have a grumpy faced vice president to bust out of prison."
"Fie, where could you have possibly gotten such a thing?" The small girl evaded Emma's question by simple saying, "Here and there." Watching Emma lecturing on how dangerous something like that was while Jusis gave his own opinion on the matter what a young girl like her was doing with something that dangerous, Rean remained silent while watching this before he came to a conclusion, "…. Fie. I think at this point, we have a right to know. What exactly is your background? I know that I am probably the last one who has the right to ask such a question given that I hid mine at the beginning of the schoolyear and I want to make this clear, that I am not forcing you to answer my question. But you have to admit that after have seeing something like this we are all curious about you and this not the only thing, the day of the entrance ceremony, I saw you dodging that trap door the rest of us fell into. Your physical abilities are not weaker than any of ours, yet you are two years younger than the rest of us. In fact, I would say that in combat situations you are holding yourself back from using your full capacity and the way you fight shows that you have a great deal of experience of fighting, add all that to what we have just seen. This indicates that you were highly trained in a specific environment since you were far younger than you are right now, I would say you were almost too young when you started."
You could hear a pin drop in the silence that followed after Rean was done, until Fie just shrugged her shoulders, "Guess you got me. Before I came to the academy, I was a jaeger. That where I learned how to handle explosives, stealth and use my gun swords, since I was…. I think I was seven when I started my training with the others. That's all."
"A jaeger, huh? I wasn't expecting that." Emma and Jusis were stunned to hear that the youngest member of their class had been a jaeger, until Jusis found his voice, "The term jaeger describes the best of the best mercenary groups in the continent. The jaeger corps are almost synonymous with the Grim Reaper. To think I would be going to school with a jaeger…." No sooner were the words out Jusis mouth then he realised what he had just said, though there was no change on Fie's face, he hurriedly apologised, "I am sorry, I spoke out of turn. I shouldn't let prejudices get the better of me, that is after all our Vice president job."
"It's fine. Are we done with this so that we can move on with our rescue mission?" Emma gave Fie a short hug, "That is right! Knowing her past doesn't change who she is now, our classmate and friend."
"Thanks for telling us, Fie. And I am sorry for prying." Fie just shrugged the apologises off, "No problem, but we should really hurry if we want to save Machias. We have already wasted enough time here and I am not sure if the soldiers heard the door fall or not, so we should get a move on." With that the group stepped inside the guardhouse while making sure that they weren't making any sound, Fie took the lead ensuring that they avoided all the detection from the army. Their infiltration was slow going, since they didn't know where exactly Machias was being held and Jusis didn't have any knowledge of the prison layout, but they preserved until they reached a part of the building full prison cells where they found their missing friend sitting inside one. A dumbfounded Machias could only stare at what he was seeing not believing it at first, "What are you all doing here? There is no way the provincial army would just let me go…. You guys didn't sneak in, did you?!"
Relieved that Machias didn't seem injured, Rean explained what was going on, "We came in through an underground waterway and now we are going to get you out of here, give me just a moment." Unlike the door from before this one had bars that Rean could easily cut through using the fourth form, giving a gawking Machias the chance to get out of his cell. Emma took a closer look at him to see if he was injured giving him a quick scan, but she didn't find anything, "We will explain everything when we have more time, right we need to get away from here before we are caught!"
The moment Emma had finished speaking, Rean sensed two presences fast approaching their location giving Rean enough time to warn Fie before dashing forward, grasping the situation in less than a second Fie followed close behind him. Two rank and file soldiers appeared around the corner, not having expected that they would find anyone here besides their prisoner slowed their reactions down enough for the students to knock them unconscious using their hand to hand combat with Rean unleashing his Destructive Impact and Fie using her small frame to quickly slide behind the back of the soldier and jumping on his back to use her legs to warp around his neck to cut his airflow off resulting in him passing out. Not wasting any time, they returned to their stunned classmates, "No time for staring we have to get out of here, now! As long we can make it back to the city, Jusis should be able to bluff our way out of any further trouble."
Responding with nods the five of them ran all the way back to the entrance of the waterway, alas their luck seemed to have ended the moment they stepped out of the guardhouse since they could hear the alarm and the sounds of roars resounding behind them, "You have got to be joking, why does that sound like monsters?!" Snapping at the grumbling Machias, Jusis dragged him forward, "If you have the energy to shout, then used that energy for running, right now!" No one was willing to wait for the soldiers, so they sprinted forward with their goal to leave the waterway as soon as possible while dodging all the monsters that were standing in their way.
They managed to reach the last intersection before the exit but that was also the moment that the beasts caught up to them, using its powerful legs one of them jumped over the students blocking their way and started to circle around them to cut off all paths of escape. The monsters looked like two overgrown dogs reaching around nearly three arges of height and the armour they were wearing gave them a fierce look. Getting ready to fight all members of Group A took out their weapons and faced the monsters, "Your family's army employs monsters like these?! What were they thinking?!" Jusis didn't take his eyes away from their opponents as he answered Machias grievances, "No one ever told me! Besides we have more pressing matters to take care of than that, like taking these monsters down so that we can get out here!"
Gathering his Ki, Rean unleashed his aura with a downward swing making the approaching dogs retreat, "Time to wrap up this month's field study. Class VII, Group A commence attack on the targets! From a group of two to face a monster each, Emma you are in the middle of the two groups, we have no time to analyse them so you can go all-out with your Arts, keep an eye on each team in case one of us needs healing! Fie, you are with me. Machias and Jusis if you wanted the chance to form a combat link and make up for yesterday then this is your chance, or do we need to switch members?!" Instead of using words, the two let their actions speak for themselves forming a combat link between them while Machias used his shotgun to give Jusis an opening to land his Craft Rapid Thrust which Machias used for a follow up attack, grinning at them Rean turned to face his own opponent.
Linking up with Fie, he dashed forward using the momentum to bring out his own craft Flame Impact to hit the monster while Fie fired bullets with pinpoint accuracy at the gaps of the armour the monster was wearing making it bleed. Thanks to their combat links each team managed to restrain their monster not giving them any chance to use their powerful bodies while Emma unleashed Art after Art greatly damaging both monsters and their body armour was nearly destroyed thanks to her. Rean hadn't forgotten the urgency of their situation fearing that provincial army would soon catch up to them; he exchanged a short glance with the others who understood his intention thanks to their links. Letting his Ki reach the greatest density that he could control, he ignited his sword with fire and struck fast as lightning at the remaining pieces of armour still hanging on the dog's body, destroying them completely.
Not missing this opportunity Emma quickly casted support arts at Fie as fast as she could while the silver haired girls pushed her speed to the maximum, shouting out the name of her ultimate attack, "Sylphid Dance!" hitting the monster in several places at nearly the same time with the sword part of her weapon, done with that she used her swiftness to shoot as many bullets as could while circling around the monster as if she was dancing. That attack was more than it could take, and it soon feel down breathing its last breaths before succumbing to deaths embrace, not willing to outdone by their classmates, the other duo also gave their all.
Using his sword Jusis wounded the beast's eye with upward swing, the pain from the injury caused the monster to raise his upper body nearly standing on two legs, sprinting forward Machias slide beneath it while firing as many shoots as he could. The force of the bullets plus the close distance between the body and the shotgun caused the dog's body to raise up leaving the floor for a moment before crashing down. Machias casted his Earth Lance Art to pin the monster down giving Jusis enough time to gather all his remaining Craft point in his sword causing it to glow brightly. After he was finished with that he charged forward where the monster was pinned down and stabbed his sword at it but before it could find its target the sword released a bright light that created a barrier that entrapped the monster inside, the barrier was pulsing with power that seemed ready to be unleashed and Jusis gave it the last push.
Quickly he slashed twice creating an X shaped energy attack that he pushed forward with another slash at the middle of it while yelling "Crystal Saber", the moment that attack came in contact with the barrier it was absorbed but it disturbed the already unstable energy balance inside causing it to explode inward with countless small slashes aiming at the monster. Soon it followed the same fate as its companion, making sure that both monsters were really death, the students meet in the middle of the room, thanks to the speed they had used to win as fast as possible everyone was gasping for breath. Though they were grinning at each other, pushing his glasses up Machias reprimanded them, "Honestly now, this is no laughing matter."
"Hmph, look who is talking. You are grinning like an idiot." Unwilling to let his rival get the better at him Machias shot back, "Not as much as you are!" The others watched this scene while continuing to grin, had this been just two days ago both boys would be at each other's throats and mean it but now it was at best just them picking at each in a friendly/rivalry way, "I don't think we could have wrapped this month's field study up more perfectly if we had tried. We were all able to form Combat Links with each other and guys?" The two boys looked at Rean while waiting for him to continuing speaking, "Very well done! You have more than made up for what happened yesterday, and I am glad that you were finally able to work together! As soon we are back at the academy, we will celebrate this, my treat. So, let's get out of here before we get company…."
A whistle could be heard as well as several footsteps approaching the group before they could react, they were once again facing the rifles of soldiers, "You have pushed your luck one step too far this time! Are you that desperate to be thrown in a cell with Regnitz?! Well then today is your lucky day! Men, arrest them!" Steeping from behind the others Jusis calmly faced the captain, "If you want to arrest us, go right ahead." The captain couldn't believe who was standing before him, "L-L-Lord Jusis?! What are you doing here? I thought you had been locked up in the mansion!" Crossing his arms Jusis stared the man down, "I chose to return to my studies. Well, what will it be? Accusing my classmates of this crime will implicate me as well."
The ordinary soldiers began hesitating when they heard Jusis speaking lowering their rifles, grinding his teeth the captain seemed to struggle with indecision before making his mind up, "Silence! Not even Lord Jusis has the right to trespass in a military facility! Much less to release a suspect in our custody, directly opposing the orders of his Grace the Duke!"
"Enough! We may not be the best of friends, but I am Jusis Albarea! I will not stand by and watch as one of my classmates is arrested under false charges and used as a tool in some political war!" Displaying the bearing of true nobility no one could their eyes away from Jusis as declared his intention to protect his classmates; the captain began to waver again before biting the proverbial bullet, "Tch! We have our orders and nothing you say will change that! Disarm them, men! Lord Jusis included! I will take this matter to his Grace myself and bear full responsibility for this!"
The soldiers started to approach them to follow their orders, what they hadn't noticed was that Fie had been using Jusis presence to draw the attention away from her, so that she could take out some smoke grenades from her bag, glancing at Rean who had noticed what she doing thanks to their still active combat links, she was ready to throw them. During the short time where the soldiers would be caught off guard, she and Rean would try to disarm as many as they could before taking the captain hostage to force the rest to surrender and leave them bound down here while they made their escape form this city. Thankfully their risky plan wasn't needed, "That will not be necessary." Appearing from the shadows was none other than Rufus Albarea, causing confusion and surprise among the soldiers and the students, "I received a message from the academy at noon today and I returned by airship as quickly as I could. With your instructor, of course."
Turning his body sideways, Group A saw Instructor Sara walking towards them with a big smile on her face, "Looks like you have all done a fine job!" Letting Sara lead her students away from them, Rufus spoke to the hesitating captain, "I have been filled in on the circumstances, more or less. I will take care of matters here, you all return to our posts at once." With a sharp glare Rufus silenced whatever the officer was going to say, "I have already informed my father, or do you intend to embarrass me further, beyond your other transgression?" Shaking his head with all his might, the officer led his company away efficiently, giving Sara the opportunity to mock them, "Oh, my! You can tell they are well trained, especially for taking and framing innocent students."
Rufus acted as if hadn't heard the last part, "The provincial army takes its training very seriously, of course. Though I resent the mere notion that it could be misused so grievously." Letting this one go, Sara faced her students who were bursting to ask her how she got here with such a perfect timing, "I heard about what was happening a little earlier from a friend of mine. As soon the news reached my ears, I shoot to my feet and got right in contact with the director here and he was kind enough to give me a ride on his airship back from the capital." Narrowing her eyes at Sara, Fie knew exactly who that friend of hers was but chose to remain silence since this wasn't her story to tell, shaking his head Jusis looked at his instructor, "Honestly, you seem to be prepared for virtually everything…. wait a second, Director?"
Noticing the small details Sara had let slip the students looked at Rufus who was looking like the cat that got the cream, "Besides helping my father with governing Kreuzen, I also serve as a permanent member of the academy's board of directors. Perhaps we will have the opportunity to meet again that capacity." The others were surprised but none more than Jusis, "The board of directors…..Why is this the first time I am hearing of this?!"
"Haha. I decided to keep it a secret so I could see the look on your face when you found out!" Clearly enjoying Jusis reaction for a moment, Rufus continued, "I am not the only member of the board, though, of course. I am simply one of the three permanent members." With that explanation they finally understood why Rufus knew so much about their class, "Still I didn't expect that my father would attempt something so foolish while I way away. He has always been an obstinate man but this time he simply went too far. As a member of the academy's board, I cannot remotely condone the unlawful arrest of a student."
Feeling that Rufus was in a way apologising for his father's action, Machias gave him a short bow, "Thank you for your concern." Done with that the group returned with their instructor and Rufus back to the surface, after a short goodbye with his brother Rufus left in the direction of the Albarea Mansion, no doubt to discuss the recent events with the duke, leaving the rest to go back to the hotel after having eaten once again at Hammonds restaurant to recharge their batteries before getting their stuff and boarding the train for Trista.
Seeing her yawning students Sara mocked them for their lack of energy, "And you call yourselves teenagers! You should be full of energy no matter the time!" Glancing at Sara, Rean just spoke to her while trying not to yawn, "Considering what we have been through this weekend, I think that we can be forgiven for being a little tired."
"Alright, that is fair enough. Group B had their fair share of problems to deal with as well, but they weren't quite as serious as yours, although they were of a similar nature." This seemed to rouse the students from their lethargic state, "What exactly do you mean, Instructor? Did they also wind up getting involved in a conflict between the two factions?"
"More or less, though none of them were arrested like you were, Machias. Saint-Ark is another territory belonging to one of the Four Great Houses, after all. So, they got themselves caught up in a bit of trouble. The four of them managed to get through it together in the end, though."
"That is good to hear. Seems like both groups will have quite the stories to tell." Feeling the tension fade from his body, as heard that his friends were alright, he leaned back on his seat while closing his eyes, just to opened them again when he heard Fie's question, "Sara, just what kind of mira did they pour into buffing up Aurochs Fort, anyway? Even by jaeger standards, what we saw was nuts." During the dinner Sara had already learned that Fie had decided to share her background with the others and she had been happy to see that the former jaeger was starting to open up to her classmates, though she didn't show it on her face back then.
"So, I have heard, and the Provincial Army isn't the only force trying to improve its armaments. The Imperial Army is doing the same with the Blood and Iron Chancellor and his twenty armoured divisions squarely at the centre." Maybe it had been Rean's imagination but when Sara had mentioned the Chancellor there had something like anger or hatred in her eyes, but it wasn't like he could just ask her about that, so he put that observation aside for now and continued listening when it was Emma turn to ask a question, "How should the military academy… No, how should WE act in a situation like this? Thor's graduates join both the provincial and imperial armies, right?
"That is nothing you all need to worry about, not right now at least. You are students; your job at the academy is to learn. That is all you should be focusing on, while you are there it is true that you may be forced to see and acknowledge some of the more unpleasant realities of Erebonia, but I believe there is something special to be gained from that. Something that you can only gain now, at this moment of time. So long as you are together with your friends and classmates, people for whom there is no substitute. Maybe when you graduate and go out to the world, much of what you have learned at the academy will have little meaning but I still truly believe that sometime, somehow what you experience as part of Class VII will be an invaluable treasure to you. It may not seem that way now, but I know in my heart that it will, someday."
Feeling proud of herself for gifting them such a moving speech and wisdom, she bathed in the admiration on their faces, that was of course until every one of them burst out laughing, "Hey! What is with all the laughing?!" Holding her stomach from laughing so much Fie grinned at Sara, "Sorry, Sara. Your words were quite touching but coming out of your mouth they were just painfully droll. You should leave this type of speeches to Rean here; he can do them without a second thought on how they sound and somehow manage to appear serious while giving them." Reans protest was drowned by the others laugh, while Sara was downright pouting at them, "You kids are awful! I was being serious, you know! Why must this instructor gig be so difficult sometimes?"
The rest of the train ride was spent with Group A resting and making fun of the instructor, a few hours later the train arrived at Trista. After asking Sara where Group B was, Rean found out that they were also arriving this evening, so he decided to prepare some green tea and some snacks for them like the last time. With the tea served Group A decided to start on their reports, enjoying his tea Jusis was full of praises for it, "I have to say that while I prefer Black Tea, this eastern one is quite good, I can feel how my fatigue is fading away and not only that the taste is exquisite. I noticed that you seemed to take its preparation quite serious too and I can nearly taste the amount of concentration and care you put into it."
Emma was already used to his tea but even the staunch believer of the supremacy of coffee called Machias could tell that this was really good, though it was apparently too bitter for Fie's taste buds preferring to drink her orange juice. "Please, my skill at preparing tea it is at best mediocre. It is a shame that my Master has already left the Empire, or you would be able to taste what a true master of tea ceremony is capable of." Having already suspected that Rean would downplay his skill, Jusis had already prepared his counter argument for it, but the words tea ceremony had gotten his attention, "Don't you mean Tea Party, Rean? What is this Tea Ceremony that you speak of?"
"In the East, a Tea Ceremony is totally different from the Tea Parties here in Empire. Let me tell you a bit about it…" For the next minutes Rean explained what the difference were between the two, Fie and Machias did listen to it but weren't much interested in it while Emma and Jusis were listening attentively to Rean's explanation, "Fascinating, I didn't know that tea could have such a profound meaning in other parts of the continent, and you say that you studied this art when you were younger."
Averting his eyes from Jusis and the others, Rean turned his attention back to his report, "I dabble a bit in, Master Ka-Fai thought that it was good idea from me to train my mental state with it but like most things I learned back then, I didn't get much success in it." This left the others frowning because the tea that they were drinking was in fact quite good for their standards, but they didn't want to open old wounds for their friend since they could notice a bit of self-loathing from his eyes.
Seeing this Machias tried to change the subject but didn't know what he could say since cheering someone up wasn't his expertise until he saw his report lying in front of him especially a certain part, "By the way Rean, when we present our reports to the other group, I and probably Albarea here will share in the scolding with you." That got Rean out of his memories and the others attention, though it was Jusis who spoke first, "What are talking about, Regnitz? What scolding and why would I take part in it?"
Pushing his report so that Jusis could read it, Machias pointed at section he had written earlier, understanding soon dawned on Jusis, "Ah, that. Of course, I will be present that was after all partly my fault that it happened." Now Rean and the girls were confused about what was going on, "Uhh, guys. What are you talking about? Why would we three get scolded and from who?"
Rean was getting a bad feeling about what was coming next, and his fears came true when Jusis explained it to him, "While Regnitz and I share the blame for this accident and what happened thanks to it, you Rean were still rather reckless with your actions. As for who will scold us that will be of course Alisa since it seems that her scolding has some effect on you and please do remember what we talked about last night concerning your habit of saving others at your own risk." Now Rean understood that were talking about their first monster extermination task and how he got injured when he pushed them away from the monster, groaning out loud he lamented his fate, "I am not really looking forward to that. Can't we just cover this part up and just move on?" He didn't have much hope that they would listen to his plea and was proven correct when he heard a resounding 'No'. In a way he was touched since they were just worried about him and his habits even if Fie just looked amused at his situation, though he REALLY wasn't looking forward to the scolding.
As if Aidios herself was telling him to just get over it, it was at that moment that Group B returned from Saint-Ark, resigning himself to his fate, Rean stood up to welcome the others but froze when his eyes fell into the very tried face of Alisa, though the others also seemed tired it wasn't to the same extent that the archer had. The moment Alisa saw him she seemed to look for any mayor injuries on his body but not finding any caused her to sigh out of relief, "Hey Rean, I hope that your field study was successful?"
Narrowing his eyes, he did the same thing to her, but he also didn't see any visible injuries and he could tell from the way that she standing that she wasn't hiding any, so he also relaxed somewhat but remained mostly worried about her, "It went well and what about yours? Instructor Sara told us that you also got mixed up with the two Factions in Saint-Ark." He made his toward the fresh pot of tea that he had prepared and placed some cups for the others alongside some snacks, taking a seat Gaius answered his questions, "Yes, but it wasn't anything too serious just a bit tiring. From what you said your group also got involved with them."
"Well, in our case it was bit more serious, but we will get to that later." Rean took another good look at Alisa who seemed to be distracted, the others of Group A had noticed the same thing, and the members of Group B were also looking at the archer with worried eyes, Class VII minuses Alisa shared looks with each before coming to the same conclusion, "I am curious about what Group B experienced in the Old Capital but before that. Alisa." Snapping to attention when she heard her name, she looked at him, "You look exhausted, how about we postpone writing our reports and exchanging them for tomorrow? Instructor Sara gave us until the day after tomorrow to turn them in and you look like you could use some sleep."
Alisa seemed ready to protest against him but after a bit of internal struggling she gave in and that in itself caused Rean's worry to spike since usually Alisa would argue against him when he tried to tell her to rest, "Maybe you are right, but…" Emma cut her off, "It is alright besides we are all tried and just wanted to wait to see if your group wanted to do the report today or tomorrow but it seems like we have got an answer."
The others supported Emma and said that they were also too tried to do anything more today, so Alisa looked at each one of them leaving Rean for last and seeing his silent plea, she stood up, "Alright then, we will do this tomorrow evening. For now, I will just take a quick shower and go to bed. Good night, everyone." After bidding them good night the archer when to the second floor leaving the others in the kitchen, sensing that she had reached her room, Rean turned his attention to the remaining members of Group B, "Okay, what in Gehenna happened during your field study?"
Gaius, Eliot and Laura tried to remember what could have caused Alisa's sudden exhaustion, "We have no idea, before leaving Saint-Ark while she was tired it was just at the same level as us but during the train ride, she seemed to worry over something leading to this and we tried to ask her what got her so worried but to no avail. It seems like you aren't the only one who likes to bottle up their feelings inside, Rean."
Putting Laura assessment of him aside, "So since you have no idea what happened we can rule out that she isn't injured and just hiding it." Taking a sip of his tea, Jusis shoot him look, "I think that in this class you are the only one who would do something like that, Rean." Since the remaining members of Group B hadn't any idea what was going on with Alisa, Rean could just wait until tomorrow to speak with her, hoping that whatever was going with Alisa he would be able to help her out. After drinking the tea and eating the rest of the snacks, Class VII went to sleep, though for a certain swordsman he did have some trouble falling asleep thanks to his worries, (Nothing that I can for now, I just have to wait for tomorrow and try to talk with her then.) Stretching his senses Rean sensed that Alisa was already soundly asleep and that comforted him enough that he also fell asleep.
