Hello everyone here is the first of the fourth field study, I hope you all enjoy it and I hope you all had a good start into the new year !
Like always some info:
Spoken words are between " "
Thoughts are between ( )
After leaving the academy Rean went straight towards his room in the dorm to see if he had enough tea leaves for his plan, luckily for him and unluckily for a certain instructor he had enough for what he had mind, (Now how to put it in motion? I warned her that I don't mind helping with workload but if she thinks that she can just dump Laura and Fie onto me an expect me to resolve the tension between them without even asking me, then she has this coming. Besides I don't think that her liver will be that upset from not having to endure that unhealthy amount of alcohol for a few days, now I just have to see if Instructor Beatrix is on board with it. Given the tension between Instructor Sara and Sharon, I don't think that it is a wise idea to let her know about how to brew this, besides all things considered she is still my instructor, so a little bit of a safety net in form of Instructor Beatrix should be a good idea.)
Walking down the stairs and looking into the kitchen, he found the maid already preparing their meal for the evening, "Hello, Master Rean. You are a bit earlier today it will still take a while until dinner is done. Should I prepare some light snacks for you?"
"Thank you, Sharon but I am not peckish yet. You know, I just found out that our next field study is in Heimdallr and that I only changed groups this time." A slightly raised eyebrow was the only visible reaction form the maid, "I take it then, that Lady Sara is planning on having you try to resolve the tension between Lady Laura and Lady Fie, like you have done for Lord Machias and Lord Jusis, but she didn't bother to talk to you about it and just dumped it on you, am I right?" The sardonic smile on his face was enough answer for the maid who had quickly grasped the situation, causing her ever present smile to appear a bit more strained.
"Yep, that seems to be the case. Anyway, I still have some things to do so I will see you later, Sharon." With a slight bow from both sides, Rean left the dorm in the direction of the academy to meet up with his, hopefully, partner in crime for this little punishment. Luckily, she was inside the infirmary and a quick scan with his senses told him that she was also alone, "Hello Rean, is there something that I can help you with?" Greeting him with a warm smile, Beatrix gestured for him to sit down, "I wasn't aware that we had a meeting scheduled for today, is everything ok?"
After their fight against the Ice Wolf last month's Instructor Beatrix had talked with each member of Class VII to see if they were alright in terms of mental health which thankfully was the case and as a bonus the fight motivated them to strengthen their training regime even more. Rean had thought that he wouldn't have to do the same in terms of talking with the nurse but Beatrix was relentless to make sure that he was also alright, form there the two had developed a routine, they meet at least once a week to talk with each, the older woman knew that compared to his other classmates there were some concerning small issues with him, mainly his reckless drive, his need to help people, the lack of confidence he had and so on which a certain archer had talked about with her in confidence.
After talking with him once she decided on a different approach with him, in the form of these weekly meeting until she could start helping him out, unfortunately Rean had noticed what she was doing and tried to assure her that everything was alright but that had the opposite effect on her, so they had reached a compromise. She wouldn't try to help him until he came to her himself asking for it, but he would come to the infirmary to talk about anything and everything once a week. They found out that they shared a love for tea, though Rean was used to both western and eastern teas while she had only tasted western ones until now from there it was an easy step for him to introduce her to the various eastern ones, she was especially interested in teas with healing properties.
Putting the container holding the tealeaves on the table he started talking, "Something happened today that reminded me that I still have these special tealeaves, they are quite popular with a certain type of people who let's just say likes to drink all day. They make for a good hangover cure too but if they are prepared in a certain way, they can also be used by people who want to either reduce their alcohol intake or completely stop drinking it." He could see the question in Beatrix's eyes during the first half of his explanation but in the end, he could have sworn he saw her smirking for just a moment before she returned to her usual smile, though the mischief in her eyes couldn't be concealed as she understood what he was implying.
"I take it then that Sara didn't ask for your help and just put you with Fie and Laura?" After nodding, he spoke before she went on, "Sigh, I know that Instructor Sara has our best interest at heart. While it may appear that she is lazy and irresponsible in teaching us, I know that it is because she wants us to grow on our own. She teaches us the barest minimum, but that amount has the basics of the subject that we need to study and develop the rest by ourselves which from a certain is far more effective than having her teach us everything from the start, this way we aren't dependent on her and memorize it better."
"Seems like you have seen through her teaching methods completely but let me confirm it for you that you are correct. Sara proposed this method before we started the school year, you can imagine the backlash from both Instructor Heinrich and Instructor Neithardt but in the end the principal allowed her to proceed on the condition that if it became clear that her method didn't work that she would change it to the normal ones." Standing up Beatrix took two cups out and started preparing some tea, "Though I can understand that you are somewhat annoyed that she seems to use you the most to do her work for her, which is why you have come to me with those leaves, am I right?"
A sheepish nod from Rean was the answer, from there he explained how exactly these leaves were used while Beatrix listened to him with fascination, "Truly amazing, I didn't expect that eastern tea would have so many different uses. Normally I would abstain from taking part in something like this but as a nurse responsible for the health of both students and instructors, I would be remiss in my duty if I didn't test this. Besides I think that a break from her usual intake would do her and her liver some good." Though it wasn't anything visible Rean got the feeling that Beatrix was going to enjoy this, but unlike the older woman he didn't bother concealing the smirk on his face, "Of course, as her student I am also quite worried about her health, the question now is how to get her to drink it without her knowing, I mean of course having her drink it voluntary."
"You can leave that part to me, Rean. Though if you don't mind could you please explain to me how this method exactly works, since this is the first time, I have heard of this type of effect from just some tea?"
"This here is a variant of green tea, normal green tea can be used against the effects of alcohol on the liver, of course it doesn't reduce the damage one hundred percent, but it reduces the impact. This variant however takes it in another direction, the taste is normal like a green tea but the moment it enters your mouth it leaves certain particles behind that are without any taste. You don't even realise that they are there, but they can remain in your month for some hours, of course that is if you don't it wash away directly afterwards after consuming it, water works best for that. But the moment it encounters alcohol well then things get interesting, the bitter tastes of alcohol become a sour taste, so sour in fact that most people who aren't prepared for it spit it out immediately."
"Oh my, how interesting. That does sound like a good method to stop people from drinking too much, just have them drink this tea and then they can't drink any more for hours. But how long will that effect last after they drank it?" Beatrix was now writing down some notes waiting for him to go on, at that point his smirk became even wider, "That is the best part of this tea, the moment it touches alcohol the taste remains for at least 24 for hours inside your mouth, of course if the person drank another cup of this special tea then it can be further extended for a day or if they try watch the taste away with more alcohol the more sour it will become. The best way to get rid of it is to drink plenty of water for the next day or drink another tea that contradicts those particles."
He could practically see the gear turning inside Beatrix's head with this new information Rean had provided, from there it didn't take long until these two had worked out the finer details of their plan, Rean would prepare a batch of the tea and the instructor would do her part in making Sara drink it, just to be on the safer side Beatrix would also make an appearance in the Class VII dorm to make sure that Sara didn't suspect that Rean had somehow a part in this. After brewing the tea, the two chatted with each other for a bit before Rean said goodbye and left the infirmary, filled with anticipation for the evening he whistled some happy tune. Remembering that it had been a while since he got an update from Micht regarding his friends, he made a brief stop in the Pawnshop. Inside he found Fie browsing some of the wares while the owner wasn't nowhere to be seen, "Hey, Rean. Micht is in the back of the store getting my order."
"Oh? Does that order include some plastique explosive?"
"Along with some Flash Grenades, Special Bullets and some regular bullets." Sighing Rean joined Fie in browsing while making conversation, "I know that Alisa and I have already talked about this with you, no matter how experienced you are with such things, please be careful that you don't hurt yourself. No need to roll your eyes like that, Fie. We know that you're more than capable of taking care of things like that, but it doesn't mean that we won't worry about you." Silence followed that until it was broken by Fie, "Why do you guys care about me like that? We are just classmates and nothing more, as long as I can help you during fights that should be enough, no?"
Rean stopped moving when he heard that question, eyes narrowed he looked straight at her, "Now where is that coming from? I thought it was clear that me and the others treat you like a friend and comrade, as such it is normal that we care about your safety and wellbeing. We don't keep you around just because you are good in a fight, which makes me wonder what made you think like that. Did someone say something to you?"
"No one said anything to me, no need to pull out the 'big brother' card, you should reserve that one for Elise, I was just wondering why? I mean, I am just an ex-jaeger dropped here by Sara, I don't think anyone expects me to fit in besides in combat situations."
Frowning Rean took a moment to choose his words carefully while absorbing what she said, "(So Instructor Sara is the reason why she is here, though I think I am beginning to see why she did that.) Let me say this first, as far I and the others are concerned you are a valuable member of our class and friend. Even Laura would agree with me here." Having noticed the doubt in her eyes, he understood that she was thinking about the blue haired swordswoman of Class VII, "I know that right now the two of you aren't on the best terms, but I think that you will resolve this sooner than later. Anyway, Emma is always helping you out with your studies, Alisa makes sure to include you in everything that she and Emma do, the others also try to do the same. We appreciate you for who you are as a person and not because you are good in a fight."
There was still some doubt in her eyes but Fie just shrugged her shoulder and continued looking at the wares in front of her, deciding that perhaps another push wouldn't hurt Rean went on, "Fie, do you know why Instructor Sara decided to enrol you here at Thors?"
"Because she didn't want to deal with me and since she couldn't exactly throw me out, she just put me here so that I can bug other people."
"I am starting to think that woman needs to learn how to explain her intentions better but that is a matter for another time. I don't know much about your past and given how I am with mine, I won't pry into yours, but I think that I can assume that you didn't have many people to interact with that were around your age." The young girl stopped moving giving him the affirmation that his theory was correct, "I think one of the reasons why Instructor Sara put you here is to learn how to interact with people our age and perhaps she wants to give you also a good education for later in life. I can be mistaken of course who knows, anyway you are Fie Claussel of Class VII someone that I consider a good friend and comrade that is just my opinion. But I am sure that if you ask the others, they will say the same thing so you don't need to keep your distance from us, if there is anything that you don't understand or know, you can always ask us."
Turning around to face him, he could see her usual stoic face, but something told him that she was forcing herself to appear like that, "I bet you can't go one full day without giving a corny speech, how Alisa puts up with that I will never understand." She seemed to hesitate to continuing speaking, luckily for her Mitch chose to appear at that exact moment giving her the opening she needed to leave the store. Quickly snatching the bags from his hand, she said goodbye and was out of the door before the grumpy old man could reprimand her. Shaking his head at her behaviour, he turned his attention to Micht who was muttering something under his breath that sounded suspiciously like, "Brats nowadays have no manners at all…."
Coughing loudly to get his attention, Rean greeted him, "Hey there Micht. How are you on this fine day?"
"Hmph, what do you want, you brat? You know the rules, either buy something or get out." He grabbed his newspaper and started ignoring Rean, rolling his eyes at the man the swordsman spoke why he came here, "I wanted to see if you got any news regarding the four bracers from the East?" Sighing out loudly at being interrupted from his reading, he glared at the boy before adopting a serious face, "I just got something new in this morning about them though I didn't have any time to check it out and that info doesn't add much more to what we already know. They are apparently searching discreetly for someone, but it isn't known who, just that the person in question seems to be here in the West and before you ask, I don't know if the other groups form the East are after the same thing or not. Whatever their goal is they are making damn sure that no one finds out about it, makes me wonder who it is."
(So, they are apparently looking for someone but who and why are they on this side of the continent? I don't think that the Bracer Guild is so understaffed that they need to get people from the East to help out with this matter, meaning that the request must come from the guilds in the East but still who are they after? A criminal? No, if that was the case, they wouldn't be just four people here, perhaps an important person has gone missing? An important person?...Wait a second….Could it be?! That would explain why they and the other groups are here in the West and I can totally see that she would pull something like this just for her own entertainment.) The more he thought about the more plausible it sounded which didn't go unnoticed by Micht, "Looking at your face, I can assume that you figured something out, so let's hear it."
"I don't know if I am right or not, I will have to check with someone else to be sure. For now, I think it is best that I don't say anything, I am sure that an Information Broker of your level knows how much damage unverified information can do." Narrowing his eyes at him, Micht knew that he was right, still he had been after the reason for the presence of those four and the others in the Empire for months now, "I don't need you to teach me that, just tell me what you came up with and I will follow it up on my end, unless you have another broker to go to?"
Shaking his head at that question, the swordman explained why Micht couldn't help him with this, "In the Empire you are the only Broker that I know, but unless you have very deep connections in the centre of the eastern continent and I really mean deep ones, then you can't help me out. I think a certain important person has disappeared from there and the reason why we have so many groups in the West could be because of that."
"You mean, someone kidnaped a key person and escaped to this part of the continent to evade their pursuers? I see that would match their behaviour so far, so how are you going to verify this?"
"If I am right, that person disappeared on her own since I doubt someone is crazy enough to try to kidnap her. As for how I am going to confirm this, it's easy. I am going to ask those four directly and for that I need you to pass them a message, here is the rest of the money I promised you. Can you pass a message to them that Rean Schwarzer wants to meet them?" He could see that Micht was a bit confused by his actions, but he took the money regardless and gave him a short nod, after asking if he had more info on the mysterious Gideon, he left the pawnshop and made his way back to the dorm, to train his technique in his room until he was called by Sharon for dinner.
Coming down the stairs he met Alisa who still had the same smug expression on her face from the practical exam, rolling his eyes at her he was going to try and find out in which story she was interested in but before he could say anything they heard the sound of someone spitting something out coming from the kitchen followed by coughing and a scream, "What the hell is this?! Who messed with my beer?!"
He couldn't stop the smirk appearing on his face though he tried to hide it quickly but given the look that Alisa was sending him, he wasn't entirely successful, willing the smirk away since he didn't want any of Sara's wrath directed at him, he opened the door just in time to see his instructor opening another can of beer and drink it one go. In the next second she repeated the same motions as before spitting it out, at least she managed to aim for the sink that was near her and not at the ground. Steeping inside he saw that the rest of Class VII was already there looking with confusion at their teacher, "Can somebody explain to me why my beer tastes like this?! I just bought this at the store, did Gordon sell me beer whose expiry date has passed?!"
With just a raised eyebrow, Sharon took a small sip from one the opened cans, "Are you truly alright, Lady Sara? This beer tastes normal to me, could it be that after drinking so much alcohol, it has destroyed your sense of taste?" Glaring straight at the maid, Sara didn't say anything and took the can that the maid was holding and took also a sip but with caution, scrunching her face she also spit that one out, "Are you joking with me?! How does that taste normal?!" Judging by the sharpened glare on her face, Sara was about to go ballistic but before she could say anything else someone knock on the door, without a word Sharon went to open it to let Instructor Beatrix inside, "Good evening, Lady Beatrix. Please come in, may I interest you in joining us for dinner?"
"That is kind of you Sharon, but I will have to decline. I came here to check on something and given the look you are wearing Sara; I can assume that my guess was correct. Seems like I owe you an apology, I should have been more careful." Feigning confusion with the others Rean watched how this was playing out, though from the glances Alisa was sending his way told him that perhaps he hadn't been really successful with his acting, "Instructor Beatrix why would you owe me an apology?" Putting her beer down, Sara watched how the colonel entered the kitchen with an apologetic look on her face, "You must have come to the infirmary today when I wasn't there and drank some of the tea that was on my desk, am I right?"
A short nod came as an answer but before Sara could ask what that has something to do with her apology, Jusis cut in with voice coated in disdain, "Really? You went inside someone's office and drank their tea? Have you ever heard about the word manners?" The rest of the class agreed with Jusis on this but to their surprise it was Beatrix that defended Saras actions, "Now, now, Jusis. She didn't do anything wrong; I always have some tea ready for visitors when they come see me and when I am not in the infirmary, they are more than welcome to drink a cup of tea if they want, even the other instructors do the same from time to time. Though this time it would have been better if you hadn't drunk it all, this is really my fault I should have put it away before leaving."
Sara gave her students a triumphant look at the beginning when Beatrix spoke, but confusion returned when she heard the rest, "Ma'am, perhaps you should start from the beginning, why is it a bad that I drank that, I mean it was a tad bitter but besides that it tasted like normal tea?" Releasing a sigh, Beatrix looked at her colleague, "As you are aware, Rean and I meet sometimes to talk about the medical effects that eastern teas are said to have, just recently we were discussing about a special variant of green tea and today he received some of those and gave them to me to test…."
From there Beatrix stopped talking and looked at Rean who played his part in this little show, "Oh….ohhhhh! So that is why, at first, I had been wondering why Instructor Saras complains sounded so familiar. I guess I should also apologise to you Instructor for my part in this but perhaps this is a sign of the goddess to take it easy?"
Looking between the two wearing a remorseful look, Sara was starting to get a very bad feeling about this situation and when she heard the explanation of what exactly that tea does, she nearly fainted on the spot, grabbing a chair as not to fall, she looked at her student with wide eyes, "What in Gehenna are you doing with something that dangerous?! Are you trying to kill me?! Huh, is that it?!" Placing a hand on her shoulder Beatrix tried to calm her down, "Now, now Sara. No need to react like that, poor Rean didn't know that this would happen. He just wanted to help me with my curiosity besides who would have thought that you would go into my office and drink that particular tea while I wasn't there? Perhaps Rean is right, and this is a sign of the goddess."
Looking like the world was ending Sara just starred at the ceiling with lifeless eyes, (Wow, I wasn't expecting that she would take it this hard and that Instructor Beatrix was this good of an actress, I guess I can't really underestimate any of my instructors.) To make sure that Sara didn't have any suspicion about his intention with giving those leaves away, he tried to explain it to her that the effects weren't permanent though that didn't mean that he couldn't exaggerate some aspects of it, he nearly couldn't hold himself back form laughing when he told her that it would take around a week until the effects disappeared and if she tried to drink anymore alcohol during that time, the longer it would take for them to disappear. From there Instructor Beatrix took over, "Perhaps this isn't a bad thing at all, this way you can help me out with testing the medical view of this leaves and you can give your poor liver a chance to recover. Come now since this is somewhat of my fault, I will invite you for dinner while we discuss the schedule for the following week."
"What a splendid idea, Lady Beatrix and don't worry I will talk with every merchant in town about Lady Saras situation so that they won't sell her any alcohol during this time, this way there should be less temptation for her." One look at Sharon face and they could see that despite her usual smile she was quite amused at this situation though she at least tried to hide it, the rest of Class VII couldn't hide their smiles, grins or smirks at their instructor misfortune. Taking Sara by the shoulders the older woman guided out of the dorm in the direction of the inn for their meal, the moment the door was closed behind them Sharon looked straight at Rean, "Master Rean do you have perchance…."
"Nope! Sorry Sharon, but I gave every tea leaf of that kind to Instructor Beatrix and since my mother sent me every one of those leaves that was back home, I have no way to get anymore." Before the maid could voice her request, Rean cut in, a disappointed look showed on her face for a moment before it went away, "What a pity, I was quite interested in the medical effects of those leaves myself perhaps I could convince Lady Beatrix to give me some? However, I can't remember you receiving any packages during the last few days, Master Rean."
"(Ops, guess I didn't manage to fool her completely.) Perhaps it came when you weren't here? Anyway, we have waited long enough to start eating, if we wait any longer than our food will soon be cold. Let's eat, guys." With Sharon's remark the others caught on what the maid was implying, realising that perhaps this hadn't been a coincidence at all the others looked at him, but no one said anything though the grins on their faces were enough to tell him that they wouldn't say anything to Sara, though Fie couldn't help herself from giving him a two-finger salute before starting to eat.
The following days were filled with amusement for the residents of the dormitory at the sight of a grumpy Sara drinking water or juice during their meals, normally she would have tried to avoid this but her fear that the effects could be prolonged combined with the fact that Instructor Beatrix was keeping an eye on her left her with no choice but to follow through with the routine the head nurse had given her. The day for their field study had arrived, after following his usual morning routine and breakfast Rean waited with Elliot and Machias for the last members of their group to arrive, "All right, this is our chance to discuss what to do before they get here, but to be honest, I don't really have any good ideas. How about you guys?"
"I can't say that I do, Elliot. Unlike me and Albarea, at least Laura and Fie understand each other to some degree. Our group's performance in last month's field study wasn't amazing, but there were no actual conflicts or anything."
"Yeah, I read your reports besides not making a combat link with each other, they were fine. That is all the more reason why I feel like we shouldn't step in and do something that may actually cause the opposite. From what Alisa and Emma have told me, it seems like they have trouble connecting with each other, though I have no idea why." Elliot nodded at Rean's analyse, "It's not like they hate each other, they are just having trouble coming to term with their differences."
"On one hand, we have the daughter of a noble military family, a knight in shining armour, as it were while on the other, we have a girl who spent her childhood on the battlefield running with jaegers. Their upbringings couldn't be more different, when you think about it, maybe their values, too." Before they could continue discussing the matter, Rean sensed that someone was coming down the stairs, making a sign to stop talking the other two fell silent while looking at the stairs.
"I apologise for the delay." Fie and Laura soon appeared though they hadn't heard what the boys were talking about, it wasn't difficult to surmise that it concerned them, "…You needn't worry about us. We have no intention of causing trouble, and we are prepared to do what we can to form a combat link as soon as possible. It is not our intention to be confrontational towards one another, is that not the case, Fie?"
"….Yup! Don't worry, we won't bring the group down during the field study." A bit uncomfortable at being caught, Machias could only reply with, "Well, if you say so…
"Anyway, we should finish up our preparation and head to the station, I will bet Group B is waiting there for us already." The others agreed with Rean and left the dorm, in Reans case he went to see George to pick up his order of quartzes and EP chargers with the others following him, on the way there he meets with the 'cat' Celine who somewhat looked down, "Hey there, Celine. Huh? You seem kind of….. meeker than usual today. Did Emma caught you clawing some furniture or something just to scold you?"
Turning her head away in a fashion that reminded him of his sister pouting, he just chuckled, "Haha, I guess it is none of my business." To his surprise Celine went near him and rubbed her head on his legs, (Why do I get the feeling she is apologising to me?) Not sure what was going on, he bent down and petted her for a moment before she meowed loudly and disappeared, Fie looked somewhat disappointed that she didn't get the opportunity to play with her, shrugging this event off the resumed the walk to their destination.
After they got everything, they needed from George, they made the train station their next stop, though this time they also ran into somebody else, namely Patrick who wore his training outfit and was on his way to the gymnasium, "It's rare to see you up this early, Patrick. Going to get some morning training in?"
"None of your business, Schwarzer…..Come to think of it, you are all going to Heimdallr, aren't you? I will be attending the garden party the day after tomorrow, myself. Which bring a question to mind, will Lady Elise be in attendance, Schwarzer?" The morning air seemed to be a lot colder all of the sudden despite the summer heat, looking at the source they found that Reans eyes had become quite emotionless, "…..Patrick, I think the two of us need to sit down and have a little talk." Though that expression didn't last long and was replaced with a smile however that smile was far more terrifying than his eyes had been, "Then you can give me a nice, detailed explanation on why you would ever need access to that sort of information."
Taking several steps back, Patrick tried to defend himself, "I-I just found myself curious! I didn't mean anything by it!" Watching this play out even Machias with his distaste for the noble couldn't help but pity him now with Fie commenting on Reans behaviour, "She is going to die single, isn't she? Poor Elise." Looking at the time Group A decided to drag Rean to the station who had wanted to 'talk' some more with Patrick. Inside they were greeted by Alisa who had been talking with the other members of Group B, "Oh, you are all here. Did something happened, you look like you want to hit somebody, Rean." Fie explained what had happened on their way here much to the amusement of Group B, though Alisa couldn't help herself from teasing him some more, "Really, Rean? Weren't you the one who said that Elise should marry a good man to succeed your father? What happened to that?"
"Hmph, I may have said that but that doesn't mean that I will let her marry anyone. The person who marries her must earn my approval first or else…." Shaking her head at the display of his overprotectiveness, Alisa could see that Elise would have some trouble in the future if she wanted ever to date, (I may find this funny now, but I can already see that there will be a lot of terrified suitors for Elise in the future.) The others teased him some more but stopped when the train for the capital arrived, on the way they talked about their knowledge of Heimdallr, "I visited it sometimes when I went shopping there but besides that I didn't visit the rest of the city much."
Seeing the chance for some payback for her teasing just now, Rean couldn't help but shot her a quip, "You mean the times you went through a shopping spree by buying too much?"
"What?! When did I do that?!"
"I can remember that there were a lot of bags with you last time and going by what Sharon said, I can just imagine how much clothes you must have bought." Remembering what day he was talking about combined with the grin on his face made Alisa's hand twitch for her bow but she held back since she realised that he was paying her back for teasing him about his sister, not continuing with the conversation she looked at the others who were watching them with grins on their faces, "Anyway, since we have Machias and Elliot here who live there, we should listen to them about what we can expect." The redhead was going to say something along the lines 'That they had time for that later, please go on you two' but one look into the archer's eyes made him reconsider that and so he started imparting his knowledge about the capital with Machias adding some more details.
Upon arriving at their destination, they exited the train while listening to the two Heimdallr natives for more information until a female voice called out to them, "Exactly on time, Class VII." Looking at the direction of the voice they found a familiar face waiting for them with only the members who went to Celdic recognising her, "You are from the Railway Military Police, if my memory is correct. Captain Claire, was it?"
"That is right, I am glad you remember me, Miss Laura. To the ones who I haven't meet before, I am Captain Claire Rieveldt from The RMP, it is a pleasure to meet the rest of the Class VII who I have heard so much about." Those that hadn't meet her until now introduced themselves though Jusis remained on guard against her, "Since you are here Captain, does that mean you are going to be the one assigning our tasks for this month's field study?"
"No, I am just here to provide a place for you to talk with the person who is. He should be here any moment now. Ah…..here he comes."
"Seems like my timing here is pretty good." Visible reacting to that voice, Machias and the others watched how a middle-aged man with a striking resemblance to their Vice President approached their group, "DAD?!" With that outburst it was easy for the rest to know who just appeared before them, Imperial Governor of Heimdallr Carl Regnitz. "Haha, not how I am usually introduced but let me make a proper introduction then. I am Carl Regnitz, Machias father, the governor of Heimdall and the head of the local government. It is a pleasure to finally meet you ladies and gentlemen of Class VII." Another round of introduction done they followed both the governor and the captain to a room belonging to the RMP headquarters, after everyone sat down Carl didn't waste any time and started with the reason why he was here, "Regarding the matter of your assignment and lodgings….."
"H-Hold on a minute, Dad! How did YOU, of all the people, end up being the one to sort out our lodgings and tasks? It seems a little too convenient!" Just to be interrupted by Machias who raised a good point, the others were also curious how this came to be, besides Rean that is who looked at Carl with a knowing look on his eyes, noticing that Carl grinned for a bit before he answered, "My apologies, I probably should have explained a little more first but I am curious to see if Mister Schwarzer over here has managed to find out the reason."
Feeling the other looking at him, Rean couldn't help but notice that Machias father was a little playful, "I could be wrong, but I think the reason why you were chosen is because you are the last member of the board of directors, am I right?"
"My dad is WHAT?!" Ignoring his son and the others stunned looks, Carl looked at Rean while clapping his hands "Well done, you are, of course, correct. Though if you don't mind me asking how did you find out? I rather doubt that you were told this by your instructors at the academy since we asked that this information be kept a secret from you, because we wanted to see your reactions to our reveals ourselves." A strangled noise escaped the gunners throat at that info, "Well, the first director that we meet was Rufus Albarea who is the heir to one of the Four Great Houses, the next was Irina Reinford the chairman of the Reinford Group. With that it was obvious that the remaining director was someone belonging to the Reformist Faction though I didn't know who it was until we meet today, Sir."
"I see, in hindsight it is rather obvious. We have my brother representing the Noble Faction, Governor Regnitz representing the Reformist Faction and Chairman Irina is neutral in the conflict between the two factions. This balances the board of the direction of the academy quite nicely making sure that no faction has the upper hand in guiding the students in the direction that they prefer."
"Though a rather grim way for looking at this, it also isn't wrong. Though Mister Albarea, I can assure you that the wellbeing of the students is foremost on our minds in the way we want to run the academy. Anyway, we have strayed quite a bit from the reason for this meeting, I am also short on time so I am afraid I will have to keep this brief." Adopting a serious look, Carl took out two envelopes and keys, "Your field study will take place over three days, of which this is the first. As such, the third day will coincide with the start of the Summer festival, each group will be assigned half of the city and tend to a list of needs I have drawn up for you. I have assigned Group A's tasks so that will cover the area east of Vainqueur Street while Group B's tasks are focused on the area west of that street. Now I would like to give each group one of these, they contain both your tasks and the address for your lodgings inside them, you can open the doors with these keys."
After that Carl told some more information of their stay at the capital, done with that he had to leave thanks to his busy schedule but not before pulling his son aside for a brief hug and some short conversation, Class VII also left after they thanked Captain Claire for 'lending' them a room, outside of the station Emma and Gaius, the only ones that hadn't had a chance to visit the capital were amazed at the sight that greeted them. Letting them enjoy the beauty of the capital the others also looked around, "It only starts to sink in that I am in the capital after I see an orbal tram zipping along." Following the direction Alisa was looking at Gaius saw some vehicles, "Is that what those little train vehicles are?"
"I have never had the opportunity to ride one, bit I believe they are used to ferry people around the city more easily." Seeing the curiosity in Gaius eyes, Laura started explaining the orbal tram to him with Machias adding some the details, "Yeah, they are the main form of public transportation here. They link all sixteen of the capital's main districts together. They are something of an icon here in Heimdallr." With that done they opened the envelope containing their addresses one was in Alto Street to the east and the other one was Vesta Street to the west, Elliot explained to the members of Group B the shortest way to their destination, afterwards Class VII split up to begin their field study for this month with the promise to contact each other in case they needed help.
Group A took the tram that would lead them to their destination which Elliot told them was also the place where his house was, steeping out of the tram they found themselves in Alto Street, the first impression they got was that it was a comely looking street with a café and houses in it. Before they could start looking for their lodgings, Rean took a glance at Elliot who was looking further down the street, "You live around here, right? Why don't we drop by your house first and let you say hello?" The redhead seemed torn between his desire to see his family again and to start with their tasks, unexpectedly it was Fie who convinced him, "That does seem like the natural thing to do, besides I kind of want to see it."
Not having another choice Elliot after seeing the curiosity inside the silver haired girl's eyes, he led them to his house where they met his elder sister who after one look at him started to get teary eyes and hugged the life out of him while sobbing his name, with his face as red as his hair the musician tried to calm her down while ignoring the looks from his classmates at the same time. Finally, he managed to get out of his sister arms to let her make the introduction for them all, "I am Elliot's older sister, Fiona Craig. I hear you have been saving my brother's skin at school, I am so glad to finally meet all of you."
"Not at all, is the other way around. Thanks to Elliot attentiveness and healing arts he saved us more times than we can count." Hearing Rean praise her brother Fiona nearly glowed with pride, seeing where this was going Elliot asked his sister a question before she could start gushing about him, "You are not teaching any piano classes today?"
"As it so happens, I have the day off and none of the children have come by either, so you picked a good time to visit."
"You teach the piano and Elliot is in the Wind Orchestra at the academy. Is everyone in this family a musician?" Sharing an amused look with each other, it was Fiona who answered Machias question, "Well, almost everyone. Our dad is not really the musical type, he couldn't carry a tune in a wheelbarrow. I would love the chance to go to a concert as a family occasionally but given how busy he is with work; I don't see that happening anytime soon."
"What does your dad do, anyway?" Fiona was a bit surprised at Fie's question, "Oh, have you not told them?" Elliot could only sigh at this point though he could see that his classmates wouldn't push him if he didn't want to say it, but now was perhaps a good time as any, "My dad is in the Imperial Army, more specific in the fourth armoured division. No way you would guess that looking at me, right? I didn't exactly inherit his physique." Now he watched how the others started putting two and two together as they made the connection with the name Craig and the red hair.
"…..Wait. You father wouldn't happen to be Olaf Craig, would he? THE Olaf Craig, decorated lieutenant general of Erebonia's armed forces, also known as Craig the Red?" Nodding at Machias question, Elliot watched as Machias went on, "Wow, Craig the Red leads the fourth Armoured Division which boasts the greatest firepower in the entire army."
"Come to think to think of it doesn't Instructor Neithardt come from the fourth Armoured Division too?"
"Yeah, I meet him through Dad before coming to the Academy. Sigh, well, I am not surprised you didn't peg me as Olaf Craig' son, I was kind of hoping you wouldn't find out….." Seeing Elliot look so downtrodden it didn't take much for the others to see that something was going on between father and son but before they could say anything he spoke, "Uhm….sorry, I didn't mean to make thing all awkward like this. Just don't worry about it, ok? By the way Fiona do you happen to know where this address is? This should be where are staying but I don't recognise it."
"What?! You are not staying here?!"
"Well, we are in town for our field study, besides there aren't enough beds here for all of us."
"B-but is has been so long since I last saw you…Sniff, I guess you have finally reached that age when it is not cool to give your sis big hugs anymore…..I feel a little sad, but I guess we all grow up. I will still be watching over you though."
The others could only watch as the two Craig sibling talked with each other though it was amusing to see Elliot being so flustered by his big sister attachment to him, but after Fiona made him promise that they would come to dinner tonight, she told him that the address was where the Bracer Guild had been stationed after thanking her for helping, Group A left to finally find their lodging. With Fiona's direction it didn't take them long to arrive there, "I didn't think we would end up staying in an old guild branch. I am guessing that Group B was fixed up in the other one, then."
"I didn't know that the Capital had two guild branches."
"Yeah, back when the guild still had a presence in Heimdallr, there were two branches. The guild pulled out of the city over year ago, though, so not many pay much attention to these buildings now."
"Is that so? The guild still has an active branch in my hometown, Legram."
"Really? That is more the exception than the rule these days." Laura took a closer look at the building while Machias spoke, "Considering that guild has been gone for over a year, it looks surprisingly new." This time it was Elliot who answered, "Oh, that. That is because there was a big fire that swept through here about two years ago. They rebuilt the building after that, but they all ended up being shuttered when the guild left town anyway. No one knows for sure whether the fire was an accident or not. Some people still think it was set by terrorists, though it is just a rumour nowadays."
Recalling what she heard about what had happened here when she was still a jaeger, Fie murmured under her breath, "Must have been that operation." Though her voice wasn't low enough that Rean and Laura who were standing next to her couldn't hear it while Laura was curious about it the swordsman knew exactly what she was talking about "(Wasn't expecting Fie to know about that makes me wonder if the jaegers who attacked the guild back then were famous in their circle.) Anyway, how about we go inside to put our stuff down and get started on those tasks?"
The rest followed to find out that despite the building not being used for a year it was still clean, there were rooms with beds upstairs giving one room to the girls and one other for the boys, they opened the envelope containing their tasks, this time there were four. One was a monster extermination, one was to find the owner of a lost hat, one was to help a journalist of the Imperial Chronicle with preparing a tourism piece and the last one was about finding an old music record.
Thanks to Machias and Elliot help they were able to plan their travels through the capital so that they could gain as much time as possible, luckily for them the request for finding a music record came from the café in Alto Street where they are right now. After going one more time over their travel plans, they left the old guild branch in the direction of the café.
Meanwhile on the other side of Heimdallr, Group B had also manged to find their abode for this field study after having asked some people, though they hadn't expected to run into two people outside of it when they were going to leave. Opening the door, they saw two women standing outside the building looking at it, Group B weren't the only ones that were surprised the other two were also stunned that the guild branch that was supposed to be empty had people inside. For a moment no one spoke until Alisa recovered, "Hello, is there something that we can help you with?"
"Ah, sorry! We are just tourists that are going around Heimdallr to see the famous sites here, we just heard that this building had been a guild branch and thought why not check it out, though we weren't expecting that such young people like you were living inside it now." The one that answered one of the two women, she had brown hair that was in the form of pixie cut, with brown eyes and was wearing clothes that were clearly used for travelling, she was a bit taller than Emma and going by the looks of her she was also older than them by at least two to three years.
"Tourists? I see, well this building may have been a guild branch but for now it serves another purpose, I hope that answers your question." Jusis has answered her unspoken question but didn't give any more information while the woman before them had an accent that proved that she wasn't from Heimdallr, something about them struck him as odd. Glancing at his friends he saw that while the other two didn't appear suspicious, they had still kept their guard up, though Alisa also looked pensive as she looked at them. The other two exchanged curious looks with each but shrugged it off since this had nothing to do with them, "Is that so? Well then, I apologise if we disturbed you. I wish you a good day, then. Bye."
They turned around to leave but were stopped by Alisa as she looked at the accessories both women were wearing, one was wearing a hair clip that had the shape of a maple leave and the other had some earrings with Sakura petal hanging from them combined with the accent made her remember why those seemed familiar to her, "Sorry but could you please wait a moment?" Both women stopped moving and looked at the archer, "Yes, is there anything we can help you with?"
Taking a moment to compose herself, Alisa ignored the curious glances from the others and focused her attention on the women in front of her, "Perhaps, I am mistaken but are your names by any chance, Yui and Akari?" The moment the question left her lips, it raised the suspicions in their eyes and subtly changed their stances from unprepared to prepared in case they were going to fight, "Who are you and why do you know our names?" This was the first time the second woman talked; she was of similar height and wore similar clothes as the first one, but she had black hair with green eyes. Group B noticed the slight change and were going to respond in kind until Alisa stopped them and looked at the now cautious women in front of her.
"No need for that, you and two boys stayed at the Weathercock Inn in Celdic a few months back, me and my friends also stayed there apparently you left quite an impression on Margot the innkeeper and she mentioned your group to us." Exchanging a look with each other, they did indeed stay at that inn back then though that wasn't enough for them to relax their guard, "Your accent and accessories seemed familiar to me, but I couldn't put my finger on why until I remembered Celdic."
"Let's say we believe you, is there something that you want from us, or did you just stop us out of curiosity?"
"Well, to be honest it was mostly because we have a mutual acquaintance here in Erebonia and I thought that you would like to meet with him after not seeing him for over four years?" Another look was exchanged, "And who would that 'acquaintance' be?"
"Rean Schwarzer of the Eight Leaves One Blade School." Looking at their stunned faces they clearly weren't expecting to hear that name here of all places, to make sure that they believed her she told some more details about what Rean had told her of his travels with each example they believed that the blond girl was telling the truth, "Rean, huh? I didn't think that we would hear his name here, so how is that little troublemaker doing?"
"Troublemaker? I don't think that he has changed much, he still as reckless as ever and always helping people out when he has the chance." Chuckling both women, could clearly see that their old friend hadn't changed much, "It is a bit late, but I am Yui Tanaka and this one is Akari Sato." The brown-haired Yui introduced both herself and Akari, following suite the members of Group B did the same and after exchanging pleasantries some made plans to meet later in the evening to talk some more, though Alisa couldn't stop herself from making a tiny request to make, "Would it be too much trouble if you told us some stories about what Rean did back then, he is really tight-lipped about some aspects from his travels."
Jusis couldn't help but snort at that, "That is the understatement of the year!" Grinning at that Gaius couldn't help but try to defend his friend somewhat, "Can you blame him? He is really scared of Alisa."
"Hey! I am not that scary, if I was truly so scary perhaps, he would stop being so damn reckless all the time!" Emma tried to appease the archer though she couldn't stop the smirk on her face, "It could be that he just doesn't want to worry you with his past behaviour since the both of you are so close?"
Red started to appear on her cheeks but before she could defend herself someone else butted in, "Wait a second! Are you telling me Rean, that Rean Schwarzer who once jumped down a waterfall that was around fifty arges tall just to catch a jewellery box, is afraid of a cute thing like her?!"
"HE DID WHAT?!" Yui and Akari were now more inclined to believe that their old friend was truly scared by the blond after seeing her glare at them, "Well, one time we were escorting some merchants and were attacked by some monsters, in the end we easily killed them but one managed to hit a wagon sending its contents flying. Inside was also a jewellery box belonging to the daughter of one of the merchants that landed in a river, the poor girl was heartbroken by it. So, without even thinking about it, Rean jumped into the river to retrieve it, but that particular river ended on a waterfall that is said to be about fifty arges tall, not caring it about he managed to retrieve the box and while he did indeed fall down, at the bottom was a lake so he didn't get hurt much. I tell you, me and the others nearly had a heart attack at that time."
"Though that girl had been grateful for his action and wanted to repay him but like usual Rean was so dense that he didn't even notice that she had developed a crush on him. (Would you look at that, seems like it wasn't just his usual reckless behaviour that didn't change but also his unconscious tendency to capture hearts left and right.)"
Akari and Yui noticed the slight jealousy in Alisa's eyes but didn't comment on it, though it didn't escape their notice that Emma had also hinted that Rean was quite close to the blonde, making them wonder if spring had finally come to the densest man in Zemuria. Suppressing their curiosity since there was time for that later they left the students on their own while confirming their plans to meet later this evening, thinking that they couldn't wait to tell Haru and Itsuki about this they hastened their steps.
Back to Group A, Rean had suddenly a bad feeling though he couldn't explain why that was, looking around he couldn't find anything that would explain what caused it, so he focussed more on the conversation between Elliot and the owner of the café that had given them the request. The task was an easy one on paper find a record containing an old song, the owner had an old friend coming over who always enjoyed listening to the classic 'Amber Amour' while drinking his coffee, unfortunately the record containing the song was broken as he let it fall to the ground.
The owner asked them to search the capital for it, Group A decided to pay Fiona another visit to see if she knew any store selling that particular song. Her advice was to go to Vainqueur Street where Plaza Bifrost is, since if they didn't have it, they could contact the others stores throughout the city, that way Group A wouldn't have to look around without a clue. Thanking her for the advice the took the tram at and arrived at the famous street, immediately after steeping out of the tram, Rean noticed the many people moving around, "So this is Vainqueur Street, it sure is busy."
Chuckling at the amazed look the others were carrying besides Machias, Elliot added some more info of the street, "Of course, it is the busiest street in Heimdallr. There is more to it than just Plaza Bifrost, too, which means you all will see lots of different types of people and different types of orbal vehicles." Nodding at that was Machias, "That is partly due to the Imperial Transportation Act that came into effect last year. Since we probably will come here often you three should try to familiarise yourself with the stores here."
"That is a good idea, on the way to the plaza we can look around and pass by the Imperial Chronicle to see what their request is about. Which if I am seeing this right is that building over there, what do you say guys?" No one objected to Reans suggestion so they went into the biggest news publisher of the Empire, once inside Group A was led into another room where they would meet the person who requested their help. To the swordsman surprise it was Norton who came inside, "Hey, nice to meet you. I am Norton, a cameraman here at the Imperial Chronicle. I have actually met Rean here before, though. Glad to see you are keeping well."
"Likewise, nice to see you again. Didn't expect I would run into you like this, though. So how did that article of yours turn out?"
"Not bad at all, to be honest. I really owe you and your friends for everything you have done for me; I probably wouldn't have gotten pictures as good as I did if it weren't for you and the others. It is to the extent that I wouldn't mind having you folks with me the next time I head out. But enough of my hopes, let's talk about the details of this request."
Norton asked them to go around each store in Vainqueur Street to get their comments and photos so that the Imperial Chronicle could make a pamphlet out of them for the Summer Festival that was going to begin soon. Norton gave them an Orbal Camera with explanations how it works the group decided that since Rean already had some experience with cameras, he should be the one in charge of taking the pictures. Before they could leave the older man remember something and called out to Rean, "I nearly forgot, how did you like the photos I sent you, Rean?"
"I beg your pardon, what photos are you talking about?" Reans confusion was soon mirrored by Norton, "I am talking about the ones Jusis asked me to take back there in Nord and sent him the finished ones. Didn't he show them to you?" Rean tried to recall if Jusis had ever shown him some photos, but nothing came to mind, "No, he didn't. I wasn't even aware that he had asked for some. We have been somewhat busy for last few weeks perhaps he has just forgot about them?"
"I still should have the memory quartz from back, how about I give you them as a bonus to you after this request?"
"Sure, I don't mind. Now I am curious to see what type of photos they are, see you soon Norton." Done with that he re-joined his friends, and they made their ways through the stores to get every comment and pictures for their request which had the nice effect that they could familiarise themselves with them while completing their task at the same time, their last stop was Plaza Bifrost where they asked about the 'Amber Amour', the Plaza didn't have the record they wanted and had to ask at others stores, luckily for them they found one in a Second Hand Store in the Ost District which happened to where Machias home was and he even knew the owner of the store.
Done with their request for Norton, the returned to the Imperial Chronicle to give him their results, it didn't take long before Norton returned to them with an excited grin on his face, "Nice work out there! Just had the photos you took developed too and gave them a once-over. You took some nice shots, Rean. They are just right for this; with a bit of training, you could have a career as a cameraman. How about it, do you want me to talk with the boss to see if you can start an internship here?"
"Thank you very much for the offer but I think I got rather lucky with those." Rean tried to downplay them just as a being lucky while the others teased him about it, grinning at this Norton went on, "Now all we got to do is to plan out the pamphlet's layout and we will be done. Thanks guys, I really appreciate it, you all did a great job here. Oh, right can't forget to hand over your reward. Here you go and like I promised these photos are for you Rean, I hope you like them."
The cameraman gave each of them around five hundred Sepith Mass as a reward for their work while also giving Rean an envelope. Seeing the curious look on their faces, Norton explained the same thing to them as with Rean before, opening the envelope he took them out to get a look of them.
To his complete surprise these photos were of him and Alisa back in the Highlands more specific when Rean had decided to lay down as Norton took pictures of the guardian, he clearly remembered that Alisa had knelt beside him and taken his face in her hands to make sure that he was fine while he in turn had put his hand over hers to give her a gentle squeeze, back then he didn't think much about it but now looking at the pictures in front of him, he could feel the heat slowly climbing on his face, "They are…..v-very nice ones, Norton. You said Jusis asked you to take them?"
"Yes, he even wanted to pay me for them but given all you students have done for me I gave him these for free. You look a bit red in the face, don't be embarrassed I think that the two of you make quite a cute pai.-…" Quickly willing the heat away from his face, the swordman stopped Norton for saying anything further, "I see thank you very much for them, I will make sure to give Jusis my 'thanks' for them as well."
Putting heavy emphasis on the word thanks, Rean swore that the next he sparred with Jusis he would repay him for these, looking at the young man trying to hide his embarrassment Norton stopped saying else and just wiggled his eyebrows at him before saying once again thanks and leaving to resume his work leaving him with three very curious friends and one Fie who recognised an opportunity for teasing the swordsman, making sure to not giving anything away, she slowly made her way to his side while he was deflecting the questions from the others.
Before she could try to snatch away the envelope, Rean acted quickly and put it inside his breast pocket though he gave her look that told he knew what she had been planning, Fie nearly pouted at the missed opportunity but recalled that Jusis had received the same ones, perhaps she could try to see what had the usual composed Rean go red in the face. Ignoring the look on Fie's face, he walked towards the tram to go to the Ost District, but Machias made the proposal that perhaps it wouldn't be a bad idea to the Dreichels Plaza to get started on their last request for the day.
Thinking that he was right the others supported it and made their way there, the moment they saw both the statue of Dreichels The Lionheart together with the Valflame Palace as a background, a feeling of awe appeared inside them. Approaching the statute, they read the inscription and paid their respect to the founder of their academy, afterwards they approached the entrance to the palace to take a better view of it.
"Oh, you are all here too?" Looking back, they saw Group B approaching them, prompting Machias to speak out, "Wait, what are you all doing here? Isn't your group supposed to be focussing on the western half of the city?"
"Is just a coincidence, it is not like we planned to run into you here. I think that is the place where our areas overlap, which begs the question why you a long-time habitant of the capital didn't know about this?" Smirking at Machias, the fencer was going to continuing teasing him, but he noticed that Rean was staring at him with his eyes narrowed, "Do I have something on my face or is there another reason why you are looking at me like that Rean? If I didn't know any better, I would say that I have done something to earn your annoyance at me?"
Not giving Rean any chance to get his hand on the photos in the blonde's possession, Fie made a beeline towards him, "Forget about that, how about you do me a favour and show me…Woah." Just to be stopped by Reans hand on her shoulder, "Fie, don't even think about it." Looking up at him she decided to cut her loses for the moment, but deep down she thought how to sneak away later to reach her goal, bewildered Group B could only stand there not understanding what was happening meanwhile the others looked on with mild amusement but were nonetheless as curious as Fie what was on those pictures.
"Say Jusis, one of our tasks was to help the Imperial Chronicle and imagine that we ran into Norton there who asked how I had liked the pictures that you had asked from him. Does that ring any bells?" The confused look disappeared from Jusis as he understood what was going on, he even had the audacity to smirk at his friend, "Oh, that. Well, I have to say that he did quite a good job of capturing that moment wouldn't you say, Rean?"
A vein twitched on his head at that remark, deciding that perhaps he shouldn't wait any longer, "So help me Albarea if you show that picture to anyone, I am throwing you into the river in Trista and I will make sure that you are tied up in chains when I do." Still smirking even at that threat Jusis calmly retaliate, "You wouldn't dare to do that, Schwarzer."
Snorting at that Alisa butted into their cryptic conversation, "Please, he even dared to jump of a waterfall that was over fifty arges tall just to get a jewellery box to impress a girl, so the question should be what wouldn't he dare to do?"
"Alisa is right since I dared to…wait, how do you know about that?!" Rean nodded at Alisa remark until her words registered in his brain making him whip his head at her direction to stare at her in shock just in time to see her glare at him for a moment before turning her head away from him making it clear that she was ignoring him.
"Seriously, you jumped off a waterfall just to impress a girl, Rean?!" Now it was Group A that looked at him in shock while the other members of Group B looking at him with amused disapproval, not paying the others any mind he approached Alisa to get the bottom on how she knew about that since it had happened when he had been thirteen and traveling in the East, "Alisa? Who told you about that?"
He tried to get her to look at him, but she always turned away from him until he stopped her with his hands on her shoulders, looking at him with disdain in her eyes she questions him in return, "You didn't care about your wellbeing at all just to impress her, she must be pretty important to you." Taking a step back with his hands in the air he tried to defend himself, "Whoa there, that isn't what happened at all. First off, that jewellery box had been a gift to her from her deceased mother and it was kind of my fault that the monster managed to knock off one of the wagons away. Second, I just saw her that one time, afterwards I never met her again and third this is the most important point, I didn't even know that there was a waterfall at all. After jumping into the river, the currents took me by surprise and manged to drag me with it but before I could get out, I was already too close to the waterfall to avoid it. Believe me if I had known about it, I would haven't jumped into the river but made my way down by walking to retrieve the box from the lake."
A bit mollified at that Alisa was going to just scold him for not paying attention to his surroundings before he did something dangerous but stopped before the words could leave her mouth, (Geez, am I really acting like this just because I thought that he had done that to impress some girl? It is like I am jealous which is utterly ridiculous…Who am I kidding, I was jealous at least I should be honest with myself even if I can't be honest with him about this. I thought I had decided to be his friend foremost and just not pay attention to my tiny crush towards him, but it did hurt when I heard about it the first time.)
Looking at him as he nervously waited for her reaction to his explanation, made her smile inside though she maintained a stern look on her face as she let him off, for now. "You are always telling me and the others to pay attention to our surroundings no matter where we are, and you do something like that?"
"To be fair, I was only thirteen at that time." He could literally feel her glare and the others bore into him at that admission, "That isn't really helping your case right now, Mister." After being subjected to her glare for a few moments she stopped and let him off with a warning not to do it again, "Got it, no more jumping off waterfalls, though could you please explain to me how you know about that?" Smiling brightly at that question she just approached him to look into his eyes, "I have my sources, Mister. Don't you worry about it."
"Is that why I have a feeling that I should be terrified right now?" Smiling brighter at that she just patted his cheek with her hand, "Well, to be honest you probably should be, Rean. You really should be." After a wink she joined her group and exchanged some words with the others, but Rean was too busy thinking about where she could have heard about that and if she had heard something else, so deep into his thoughts was he that he missed the moment where Group B left to continue with their tasks. Fie poked him out of his trance while snickering about what she just happened, the matter about the photos temporally forgotten now.
Shaking his head to clear it, he and the rest approached the gelato stand where their client was waiting for them, one of her customers had left his hat on her stand and she wanted to give it back to his owner though she didn't have many details about him to give. Only that he was in his late twenties and was from the Ost District, though for Machias that was enough, "The Ost district has a strong sense of community and I know a pub owner who may help us with this, so I am sure that we will find him eventually. And we can even visit the second-hand store to get the record for the owner of the cafe in Alto Street, two birds with one stone."
Not wasting anymore time they boarded the tram to reach their next destination, "Welcome to the Ost District where I was born and raised, you will find mostly lower-class citizens and laborers living around here. The buildings may appear to be old but he city management has taken good care of them after my father and the chancellor came into power. They also managed to improve the employment numbers around here and with that the standard of living."
"And that is why they are so popular with the common people in the capital, Chancellor Osborn in particular is famous for holding his ground even against the most influential nobles." Listening to both habitants of the capital made clear how much the Reformist Faction had done for the common people, on the way to the pub they passed by the store where they bought the record they needed.
"Long time no see, Gampe." The moment they stepped inside the pub Machias went directly to the bartender to greet him, "Machias! Didn't expect to see you back so soon. Did Carl call you back to help with the Summer Festival or something?"
"Not exactly…..then again, this is my father we are talking about. That might have been his plan all along." Gampe grinned at the familiar in front of him, "Heh, guess you haven't outgrown your habit of overthinking things. Either way, glad to see you are doing well, make yourself at home together with your friends. I hope you kids stick with him, too. He is stubborn as a mule but a good guy at heart. It is a bit earlier for lunch, but I could cook you something really quick if you want."
"Thanks, but we are here for something else, do you recognise this hat, Gampe? We are looking for its owner, he forgot about it back in Dreichels Plaza." Taking the hat out of his pocket Machias showed it to him, "Hmm….. I think I do, ah…..of course. That hat belongs to Jim, his wife made it for him after they got married. The guy was crazy about it and wouldn't stop showing it off, so I tried my best to erase the damn thing from my mind." With that it was easy to give the hat back to its rightful owner who was nearly in tears because of the joy that he had it back now. Group A made a quick stop to the Gelato Stand to report their success before returning to Alto Street to drop off the record 'Amber Amour' to the café owner who insisted that they stayed for lunch after they helped him out. Seeing that it was already time to eat, Group A didn't refuse and enjoyed the lunch with gratitude.
Sometime later they arrived at their last destination with a request, the Garnier District one of the fanciest districts in the capital, home to the famous Opera House, the Casino as well as bunch of expensive jewellery stores and hotels. "I don't think I need to mention but as minors we are forbidden from taking in any art of gambling." While speaking Machias looked straight at Fie who just answered with, "….Boo. Spoilsport." Sweat drooping at that the rest didn't know how to react, "Ahaha…..I can do without the casino, but I would love to see something at Opera House someday. I mean, their operas are the face of Erebonian culture, after all."
"I would love to see one, too. Especially if I could get one of the box seats or one with Vita Clotilde playing in it, now that would be a dream come true."
"Yeah….." Both Machias and Elliot looked towards the Opera House with a dreamy look on their faces, the other three could only shrug their shoulders at the display before dragging the duo inside the Himmel Hotel where the manager was waiting for them to begin with their monster extermination task, "Welcome to the Himmel Hotel, How may I be of assistance?"
"We are here because of your request to eliminate some monster that were bothering you?"
"Oh, you came to take care of that for us, did you? Hmm, you all look a bit young, but I think I can trust that City Hall choose you for a reason. The request involves the eradication of a monster currently living underneath this hotel. Beneath this city lies a network of underground passages built during the Middle Ages and one of those passages happens to lead directly into this hotel's basement. Because of some strange noises coming from there, an employee went down there to investigate and brought back reports of a particular large creature in there as well. This is why we asked for the City Hall to help us with this matter since the we must ensure that our guests are well rested and comfortable here."
The manager gave them some information along with a map where the monster was and a key to open the gate leading underground, thanking the manager for their help, Group A huddled together to go over everything they knew about their target and location, though neither Machias nor Elliot had been in those underground passages they had heard about them. After a final check that they had everything, they needed, Group A walked towards the door leading underground. On the way there they were intercepted by a beautiful older woman dressed in dress of the colour azure that was tinted with a slight bit of green coming down the stairs, "Oh, my. Who do we have here?"
Elliot had his jaw dropped the moment he saw and Machias wasn't that far away, "Isn't that….N-NO WAY…..V….Vi…Vita Clotlide?! Whoa, I can't believe it…..it is really her! Somebody pinch me please…Ouch, what was that for, Fie?!" Rubbing his arm where Fie had indeed pinched him, she looked at him, "What? You did say that someone should pinch you, no?"
"That was just a manner of speaking, you didn't need to really do it." Coughing out loud Machias called their attention to him, "You lot! Don't just stand there staring! You are in the presence of the legendary opera singer Vita Clotilde! The Azure Diva herself!"
"The Azure Diva, huh? I do recall hearing that name at some point." Laura's casual observation stunned both boys deeply, "Wait, you don't know show she is?!" The redhead looked like he would start explaining to them just how famous the Azure Diva really was but an peal of laughter diverted his attention, "Ahaha…..I am not surprised. Opera is a world unto itself, I expect there are multitudes who have never heard of me before. So let me introduce myself, I am Vita Clotilde, an opera singer. I would be delighted if you would come and hear me sing sometime."
After Group A presented themselves in turn, Vita's eyes landed on their uniforms, "By the way, I couldn't help but notice your uniforms. You are all students, then? Did you come here in the hopes of getting my autograph, by any chance?"
"Of course, we did!"
"What other reason could we possibly have to be here?!" Seeing them react like that Rean couldn't help but roll his eyes at the stars that were in their eyes, "Oooookay, cool your jets, you two. We are all students from Thors Military Academy in Trista. We came to the capital on a field study, started making our rounds, and ended up here." Smiling softly at him Vita put a disappointed face, "Hehe. What a way to take the wind out of my sails, but a military academy, you say? Could that mean you have come to take care of the beast in the underground passage?"
"J-just leave that monster to us!"
"We will have it down for the count before you know it!"
(Wow, would you look at this two? First time, I have ever seen them this excited they must be really big fans of her. But I hope that they dial down their excitement when we are fighting, though even Laura and Fie are amused by this.) The swordsman let them have this moment, "I am relieved to hear that, I have been quite worried ever since I first heard about it. Still, you said you are here on a field study? My, schools these days certainly put their students through some challenging coursework."
"Nonsense, that coursework is just right for us! I assure you we are more than capable to handle that amount of work." That went on for a while until the Azure Diva had to leave for her rehearsal leaving Machias and Elliot starring after her like two puppies, "Wowwwwww…. She is even prettier in person than she is in the photographs!"
"Yeah, nothing compares to the real thing!...Oh, NO! We forgot to get her autograph!"
"You are right! Do you think she will still give us one if we run after her right now?!"
"Whoa, easy there you two! We have more pressing things to do than running after a singer just to get her autograph, like dealing with the monster under the hotel." Stopping them before they could run away, Rean tried to calm down while Fie teased them about their crush on the older woman. Regaining their focus both Machias and Elliot seemed really motivated to start their last task for the day, though Rean couldn't tell if that was because they wanted to impress the singer or if they were just embarrassed about the way they had just acted.
Opening the door leading to the underground stepped inside to find that while it didn't have a lot of monsters, there were some wandering around, "So, this is what the theses passages look like, I can sense a few monsters here and looking at the map our target seems to be quite deep inside. Laura, Fie. Just to be sure, you are both ready to begin exploring, right?" Both girls looked at each ither for a moment before nodding at the same time, "…Of course, if I couldn't be of help with requests like this, it would be pointless for me to be here at all."
"Same here. I have got everybody's back."
"…I think it's about time we finally formed a successful combat link, Fie. While we have different approaches to combat situations, it is on the battlefield that we show our true worth. I doubt you wish to bring further shame upon yourself, and I feel the same."
"…..That is true, I will try to match the rhythm of your breathing." Watching the two trying to work things out, Elliot and Machias promised their support for the upcoming fights, "(Hmm, I can see that they really meant what they are saying but I still get the feeling that they still aren't ready to open to each other. I will keep an eye on them during the fights and intervene, if necessary, for now let's just hope for the best.) All right…..let's go then!"
Group A followed the map given by the manager, thanks to it they managed to avoid running into any monsters on the way to their target, reaching their destination they hide themselves to observe the monster. Like they had been told it belonged to the gelatine like type that appeared on the first floor of the old schoolhouse, they only difference was their colour and their height, this one was certainly over five arge tall compared to the smaller ones from school.
"If it is anything like the ones back at Thors, then it should be weak to Slash attacks and have an elemental weakness. While I can start scanning for its elemental weakness right away, it will discover us immediately. What is your plan, Rean?"
Spreading his senses, the swordsman tried to sense if there were any more monsters in the surroundings, "Seems like the moment we start fighting we will have more company joining in, I can sense at least seven other monsters that are near us. I think we first should draw them out before we start our full-scale assault, how about this? Fie and Laura will attack first with only the two of them, meanwhile Elliot will remain hidden to analyse our target and Machias and I will provide support in cases the girls need it. This way when the rest of the monsters join in, we can launch an attack on them from behind, after that we can concentrate on our original target."
The others went over his plan deciding it was a good one giving them enough advantages in the fight, the key point was that the girls had to manage to form a combat link, "Very well, Fie and I will take the front line for this battle." The silvered hair girl supported Laura with a nod, seeing that they were ready to put their plan in action, Rean gave them the go ahead. Sprinting out of their hiding place the girls attracted immediately the attention of the big monster, while Elliot used his Craft Detector on it. The light of a link appeared between them and from the look of it, it was a strong one.
Laura immediately used her Craft Armour Breaker which Fie followed with her Sweep attack, both attacks managed to unbalance it giving them an opening for a follow up attack, for now they didn't seem to have any problem fighting together even so Rean didn't dare let his guard down. A few moments later as Elliot was finished with his analyse, the monsters in the surroduings joined in giving the boys the opportunity to catch them off guard which they did with a few well-placed Petrification Shells from Machias, combined with Reans Gale and Elliot Frost Edge Art, they managed to eliminate them without a hitch. Done with that they wanted to join the girls to help them out, but a shout from Laura stopped them, "Leave this one to us, we shall demonstrate that we can work together by taking it down."
"Laura is right, this one is ours." Respecting their choice Rean and the other two stepped back, keeping a watchful eye on the fight, initially there didn't seem to be any problems each time one of them attacked the other followed up with her own attack giving them a string of follow ups, the problem only appeared when they tried to use the Rush Ability. At that moment the link between them broke, leaving them stunned and vulnerable acting fast Elliot used his Craft Holy Song to heal them, while at the same time Rean and Machias attacked at together. The gunner's bullets tore through the monster stopping it from moving a for moment but that was all Rean needed to unleash his Flame Impact on the monster cutting it cleanly in half, that he had managed to kill it so fast was prove on how close the girls had been on beating it.
No one said anything for a moment creating an awkward atmosphere which Machias tried to dispel, "You know, maybe you should just stop worrying about trying to form a combat link with each other."
"…..No, I don't want to hold our group back more than I already have. I would like to withdraw from active combat and take a more supporting role for the duration of this field study." Laura's request stunned them until Fie spoke up, "….Don't be ridiculous, if anyone should be benched, it is me. It makes sense, when you consider what each of us brings to a fight."
"No…. it is my own immaturity that caused our link to be served. There is still a part of me that refuses to accept you and this was the result." At the swordswoman admission Fie could only look down refusing to meet anyone's eyes, "I am sorry…. I didn't think that I was this narrowminded and I apologise for the distress my prejudice has no doubt been causing you. I came to realise during my club activities that I still have a lot of maturing left to do. As such, Rean, I wish to withdraw….."
"Request denied and that goes to both of yours. Actually, I will be the one withdrawing from front-line combat." Rean arbitrary decision left the others speechless until he explained why, "During all the battles we have fought one thing has stood out to me. Laura and Fie's fighting styles complement each other perfectly. Laura is the ideal knight standing strong in the thick of the fight, dominating and cutting down enemies with her blade. Then there is Fie, the ideal vanguard, overwhelming the opposition with her speed, giving Laura the perfect openings for her attacks."
He let his words sink in, though both the boys were amazed by his analyse, the girls weren't surprised at all, "During the practical exam, Alisa and I should have had a lot more trouble while fighting you, even winning was up in the air if you two had fought together. You have enough combat experience to know and acknowledge it and that is why you keep trying to form a combat link, but there is something stopping you from connecting with each other. Whatever it is, it's been frustrating both of you this whole time, right?"
He waited until they both nodded at his question, "Since that is the case, it makes no sense for you two to just give up and withdraw from combat. In fact, considering this group's relative strengths and weaknesses, it makes the most sense for me to fall back to support you all in battle. On the way here we have managed to avoid combat situations but, on the way, back we will seek it out. This was our last request for the day anyway, so we can spend the remaining time fighting. This way, you will have more chance to work out whatever it is that's standing in your way of forming a link."
The girls accepted his offer and took the lead followed by the guys, leaving them to quietly talk with each other, "Sigh, you really can be audacious sometimes, you know. Just like you were with me and Albarea, but this is a far better way than risk injury like you did last time."
"You think? I don't really think I did anything out of the ordinary."
"Ahaha. That is so 'you', Rean, to not think anything of it. Still, thanks to you, there might be hope for them after all." Ignoring the first part of Elliot sentence, he also hoped that Laura and Fie would be able to take a step forward together.
Like they had planned on the way back they fought every monster they encountered until they arrived at an intersection, "Hmmm? Is it just me, or do you guys, also hear music coming from that direction?" The others followed Elliot's example and closed their eyes, "It is very faint, but I do in fact hear some music."
"I think I can make out a violin and flute, quite an elegant piece, from the sound of it." They followed where it came from, just to arrive at a wall, Fie scanned the wall with her eyes and noticed that one brick wasn't put properly in the wall. She tried to push it in, but the moment she did that the wall started moving backwards to reveal another corridor and without the wall blocking the sound Group A could hear the music a lot better now. "Is that a secret passage?! Then again, we are in an underground tunnel network built in the Middle Ages, I guess secret passages are expected?"
"Hmm, how about it guys? Interested to see where it leads to?" The students shared a look with each other, and it was easy to see the interest in their eyes, "Like you said before Rean. We are done for the day, and I don't see why not as long we are careful, of course. I think you are already in enough trouble with Alisa, no need to add anything more to the heap. Besides I think I know this sound from somewhere." Rolling his eyes at Elliot's remark and ignoring the grins from the others, Rean was the first one to head inside or that had been his intention. Laura took hold of his shoulder to keep him in place, "Sorry but I think Fie and I should be the first one to go in, you said yourself you are now on support duty."
Rolling his eyes yet again, Rean bowed and stretched his arm out to let them go first, "Please after you, my ladies." Laura played along with him by curtsying back, "Thank you very much, Lord Schwarzer." Causing the others to laugh at them, the new corridor let them away from the ones that the map had on, so they had no choice but to follow the music as their guide and deal with a lot more monsters than before. They didn't take long until they arrived at some stairs leading up, with caution they approached a sealed exit and searched around for a way to open it. After a bit Fi once again found a switch and after pressing it, they finally left the underground to step into what appeared to be a park.
"Ah, we are at Mater Park. Wow, we must have really deviated from course, the Garnier District is in the opposite direction from here." Machias took just a look at the park to find out where they were, "Who would have thought that those underground tunnels would lead us to a place like this? I have to say this is a beautiful park…..Elliot? Is something wrong?" With Rean remark the rest looked at the redhead who seemed to look at something in the park.
"Oh, sorry…I was listening to this sonata, then I realised that the musicians playing it over there are actually friends of mine." He pointed in the direction the music was coming from, where they saw two boys and one girl play with one flute and two violins. "How about you go and say hi, Elliot? It has been a while since you were last in Heimdallr."
"Really? You all don't mind?" With that Elliot lead his classmates to where his old friends were playing but waited out of sight until they finished, he and the rest clapped to show their appreciation for the music. As soon as they saw who stood before them, they smiled brightly and ran toward Elliot, who introduced his old friends to Group A. The musicians were students of the Music Academy in Heimdallr, a famous school who had produced a lot of famous performers, they lamented that Elliot had chosen a military academy instead of going with them to study music. Though they apologised immediately when they realised how rude that must have sounded to the others, waving their apology away since they weren't offended at all.
Group A watched how Elliot reconnect with them however it was already getting late, and they still had to report their success to the hotel manager, they had proposed that Elliot stayed with them to catch up properly, but he refused and told them that his friends were also going back to their dorms.
After taking the tram to the Garnier District they gave their report and returned to Alto Street where Fiona was already waiting for them with a table full of food, enjoying the dishes Group A lavished Fiona with praises for her cooking and after dinner they were invited into Elliot's room. Once inside they saw so many different music instruments that Elliot could easily open up a music store with them which led to some good natured teasing from them, "Ahaha….Coming in here, this must look like some rabid obsession to you guys. You know my mom was a pretty famous pianist, being raised around music like that, it is no wonder that my sister and I ended up loving it as much as she did."
"Looking at all this, it makes sense that you decided to join the Wind Orchestra at the academy."
"Still, why didn't you go the same music academy as your friends did?"
"Wait, Fie. That's not…"
"It's alright, Rean. I mean one look at this room, and anyone would ask the same question. The truth is that I wanted to go there too. My sister and I grew up listening to our mom play the piano whilw Dad was more the strong stoic type. He didn't know much about music, but he loved her deeply. Our home was filled with the sound of music, and it kept my family always smiling."
Elliot stopped there and approached the piano wearing a sad look on his face, "Seven years ago, Mom got really ill and eventually passed away. After her death and to honour her memory, Fiona and I both wanted to follow in her footsteps, she first enrolled at the Music Academy and worked towards becoming a pianist as her career. Of course, I tried to do the same, but my Dad was completely against it, he said, 'It is one thing to play music as a hobby but the thought that a man of Erebonia making his living through music is absurd.' No matter how hard I tried to convince him, he just refused to listen. He wanted me to join the military, me of all the people!"
Laughing in derision at himself the others remained quiet having the feeling that this was something that he needed to get off his chest though later they would make sure that he shouldn't put himself down like that, "Eventually, I didn't have any choice left but to give up my dream of attending the Music Academy and I hated him for it. I really did. I am not good at fighting, never was and in a real war, I wouldn't last even a minute. But after some research, I found one academy, Thors, that offered plenty of music related classes and half the graduates from there ended outside the military and I decided to meet him halfway. Unsurprisingly, he agreed the moment he saw that it was a military academy and so I went to Thors Military Academy but even there I couldn't give up on music, which is why I joined the Orchestra. Pretty pathetic right? You all have got so many great reasons to go there and then there is me."
The others remained quiet for a while, "Do regret it? Coming to Thors?" Elliot looked up in surprise when he heard Fie's quiet question, "Huh, why would I? While life at the academy keeps me busy, I still have time to perform with the Wind Orchestra after class is out and with each field study that we go on, I really broaden my horizons. To be honest, I think I get more out of Thors than if had gone to the Music academy. Honestly after spending so much time with you all and experiencing so much I am starting to understand why my Dad didn't want me to go study only Music. I think after graduating from Thors, that I will be ready to choose my path in life without someone deciding it for me or without being influenced to it. Only I can decide which path I want to take! Besides if I didn't go to Thors, I wouldn't have met you all and I would regret that far more than anything else."
Astounded at that no one said a word until Machias couldn't hold it in anymore, "How can you say that with a straight face?!"
"Perhaps he doesn't feel embarrassed at all."
"I don't think I have said anything embarrassed."
"I think most people would have at least blushed at saying something like that."
"Come on, guys. Give him a break, besides it is Elliot we are talking he can get away from saying something like that." Crossing his arms while wearing an offended look, the musician glared straight at his friend, "You are the last person that has the right to say something like that, Rean." The others teased Elliot some more about his corny speech, later he decided to take the opportunity to spend the night at home to catch up with is sister while the other four returned back to the guild building while talking however the only ones that were talking were the boys, the girls remained quiet until they reached the building.
"Listening to Elliot has finally shown me what I must do. Fie Claussel, I challenge you to a duel." Ignoring the surprised Machias, Laura looked straight at her adversary, "Okay. Tonight, right? I think the park where we just came from is a good place."
"Indeed, enough open space to move to our heart content while not bothering any people. A good choice, let's go." The two began walking towards the tram, "Are they seriously going to do this?! What are they thinking?!" Clapping his friend on the back to get him moving, Rean followed the pair, "I don't think that they will listen to us at this point, also it looks like they are finally ready to get this situation behind them. Come on, Machias, the tram is leaving soon."
Having no other choice but to run after his classmates, the gunner just wanted someone to explain to him what was going, on board the tram the only explanation that he got was from Laura saying, "Fie and I are going to fight in single combat until the winner is decided, that is all." Snorting at that description Machias could only make peace with the fact that no one was going to explain anything to him until this was over.
In Mater Park, they chose the spot where they had appeared from the underground tunnels, "All right, Fie. Here are my conditions, if I win this duel, I want you to tell me about your past, your personal history. At first, there was something about your strength that I couldn't accept, it was so far removed from the styles I knew about and was taught to respect. To add to that, you were once part of a jaeger corps and to be honest I never had any positive thoughts about them and because of that I came to believe that we adhere to opposing values which should make it impossible for me to accept you."
Rean had to stop Machias from interfering after he saw the sad look on Fie's face, with one look he asked him to have patience and Laura didn't disappoint, "However, I was mistaken. Hearing Elliot's story, I searched my own feelings carefully and I found that I had already long accepted you in my heart, it didn't matter if you were a jaeger or if I was walking the path of a proper knight, those don't matter at all. The only thing that matter is that I know that you are worthy of my trust, I was just too stubborn to acknowledge that one simple truth."
Sighing Fie couldn't help but return Laura honesty in this matter, "You weren't the only one who thought like that. You live your life so honest and straightforward. I guess somewhere along the way, I had given up on you ever accepting me. Still, what does this have to do with wanting to know about my past? Why do want to know?" Smiling Laura glanced at Rean before looking at Fie, "It is simple, because I like you." Not having expected that, Fie raised an eyebrow at that, "Ok?"
"It is nothing romantic I assure you. I find it frustrating when I am not able to understand those, I have taken an interest in or have a high opinion of. It was like that with Rean and now you, I simply want to know more about you, what shaped into becoming who you are. That said, I know that this is just an act of self-indulgence on my part, nothing more, nothing less."
"Honestly you really are something else, you know that? But taking your spoils by force is the jaegers way through and through. Is that okay with you?" Finished speaking, Fie drew her gun swords and assumed her usual stance, "Haha, it is fine since I don't think of my reward as a spoil of battle but something that I earned myself." Laura also assumed her position with her great sword in hand. Steeping between them, Rean looked at both of them, "I will be the one to oversee this duel, but I will intervene if see that it is getting too dangerous, understood? First one to land a clean hit will win….Begin!"
At his signal but fighters jumped forward locking their weapons, though a split second later Fie diverted Laura blade to the side to attack her open flank which was avoided by a hairsbreadth by Laura taking a step back. Using that moment, she brought her sword down on Fie's head, though she missed as her opponent copied her step back, while firing bullets at Laura though they were repelled by her sword.
Laura's counterattack consisted of a mighty overhead strike, unfortunately her strike was evaded and all she got was a Flash Grenade thrown at her. The bright light illuminated their surrounding the moment her opponent's eyes were closed Fie dashed forward with both weapons lowered using her Craft Scud Ripper just to be met by Laura's Earth Cleaver the two attacks cancelled each other out, however both combatants didn't stop moving they exchanged strike after strike, craft after craft until both were lying exhausted on the ground panting for breath.
"I….I….I couldn't even tell who won, what about you Rean?" Approaching both girls, the swordsman gave them both a Tear balm and some Golden Juice Machias had just made yesterday, "I am sorry to say but this duel is a draw. However, both of you did great, you were in top form, I would even dare say that this fight was your best one yet."
"Well, I suppose it is what it is. I simply just have to continue training and challenge you to another duel, Fie." Both took the offered items and used them, while trying to control their breathing, "Actually, I lost this one. Jaegers are at their best in the cover of the night where we can use our Flash grenades to their full potential, if we had fought during the day, my chance of winning would be lower than they are at night and yet this duel ended in a draw. So, this one is your win."
"…..Very well. I will accept this victory. Still, I will challenge you once again after I have improved." Both girls exchanged grins with each, "I think Machias and I are going for a walk while you two talk." Shaking her head at that Fie mentioned that both boys could stay, "I don't mind if you listen. What about you, Laura?" Getting the OK from Laura, the young girl started to talk about her past, "The Jaeger Corps I belonged to was called, Zephyr. The first memory that I can remember is about explosions and battlefields. I found myself wandering in a war-torn hotspot in some that country, I never even knew the name of. Jaegers Corps threw themselves into battle for the highest bidder every day, while I wandered alone. One day I met a man who called himself the Jaeger King who took me in, he was the leader of Zephyr."
The other three listened to her speak noticing the slight smile she had on face, "He was middle-aged, crafty, stubborn and lucky. He always seemed so carefree, but he never let his guard down but to me, he was the closest thing I ever had to a father. The other members of Zephyr had their quirks, but they were always nice to me, I started to help with tasks like cleaning, cooking, packing and so on. During my free time they taught me skills that I would need to survive on the battlefield until I was finally ready to join the combat. The boss wasn't too keen on letting me risk my life but in the end, he gave in, some years later I had even managed to pick up a nickname, Sylphid. We roamed the continent together getting in all kinds of trouble, some we weren't even sure that we would survive but we always did."
Fie stopped there gathering her thoughts, no one spoke a word until she was ready to go on, "I thought we would always be together until last year that is when the boss died. He agreed to a duel to the death with his rival, the War God, leader of the Red Constellations. They, together with Zephyr are the strongest jaeger corps this side of the continent, the battle between the Jaeger King and the War God went on for three days and three nights until they both died. From that point on, the Zephyr that I grew up with decided to disband leaving me behind, thinking on what to do next, I ran into Sara. She had been following the situation between the two corps for a while, after listening to me about what happened she insisted that she would take care of me and dragged me to the academy and the rest you know."
"That is quite a story, listening to it makes me realise how narrow my view of the world was. But thanks to it I feel like I finally know 'you'. Thanks for sharing it with me, Fie." Standing up Laura gave the shorter girl a gentle hug, "So how about we try to get our 'revenge' now?" She had been surprised at first by the hug but returned it shortly, while listening to Laura suggestion, she looked at Rean and gave him a grin, "I am up for it if you are." Both drew once again their weapons and at the same time a bright combat link flared between them, they didn't say anything but faced both Rean and Machias.
Sighing Rean drew his tachi and assumed his usual stance, "I guess I had this coming since the practical exam, huh? Very well, I don't mind fighting since I am also curious to find out how strong you both are when working together." The trio ignored the flustered Machias who tried to understand what was going, though the fight didn't happen because at that moment they heard a whistle and footsteps approaching them, "HEY! What are doing here at this hour?!" Turns out that Fie's and Laura's duel had drawn the attention of the police patrolling the area, they took the students back to their station to question them, (Oh well, at least they have patched things. Explaining this to the authorities will be a pain but it is worth it, though I can assume that Instructor Sara won't be too pleased at being called at this hour, especially since she still can't drink any alcohol.)
At the same time Group A was explaining themselves, Group B was enjoying dinner with Reans old friends, in addition to Yui and Akira, they were also two older guys who joined them, "Good evening, my name is Itsuki Wataru and this blockhead here is Haru Watanabe." Itsuki had black hair and black eyes while Haru had brown hair and dark blue eyes, both were around Gaius height while sporting a short ponytail. The beginning of the conversation was slow going since the only common point they had was Rean, but as the evening went on conversation started flowing smoother, "I have to say, I wasn't expecting to run into Reans classmates here at the capital."
"Neither were we, Mister Itsuki. Though I must admit it does present us a good opportunity to know more about Rean, he has been really tight-lipped about some details of his travels."
"No need for any Mister, Jusis. Any friend of Reans is a friend of ours, you can drop the formalities." Raising his glass of juice to Jusis, Itsuki drank it in one go, "Rean has been keeping quiet, heh? The girls here said that you are apparently so scary, that even Rean the Reckless One fears you." Looking at Alisa both guys were quiet interested in her since the swordsman they remembered didn't seem to fear anything, "I don't think that I am that scary because if I was, he would stop being so damn reckless all the time, no?
"I don't know, Rean has always seemed to have no sense of danger when he could save or help someone no matter what."
"Right you are, Haru. Do you remember that time he was being chased by the local Mafia through the Red-Light District? He tried to evade them by running into buildings but somehow managed to get even more people after him, whenever he did that. Though his face was quite red when he tried to explain to us why those people were also after him, I guess he saw something quite stimulating whenever he went into a room." The guys laughed out loud when they recalled that particular memory even the girls giggled a bit at that.
"Wow, that really happened...Oh, oh. Suddenly I feel sorry for poor Rean." Emma was surprised at first but one look at Alisa, she had the feeling that Rean would be in a lot of trouble when they saw him next time. "Don't be, he deserves the dressing down I am going to give him. As much as I would like to hear even more stories about him, there is one question that I am not sure that I should ask but…..."
Yui looked at the blond sitting in front of her, "You can ask your question but before listening to it we can't promise you an answer." The other three looked at her with interest while waiting, "I heard from Rean that you were some of the first friends he made over there, he didn't go into much detail about his adventures with you, but I could see in his face that they were some really happy memories for him."
"Oh, yes, they are, and it is the same for us. I am not sure if he told you or not but we four are bracers in the East, we didn't get to travel with him and Master Ka-Fai because we were being dispatched to various guild branches through the lands but every time we managed to meet, we always had a blast. He is like a cute little brother who gets into too much trouble, but he is our dear friend." Akira took over for Yui since she had an idea what Alisa question was, "And yet you are wondering why we haven't visit him in all the time we have been in Erebonia, right?" A nod came from the archer as confirmation the four bracers looked at each before Itsuki answered for them all.
"Because we are too ashamed to meet him…Rean has always helped us when we needed him no matter how small or how big the problem was, he always helped us and yet we….." Putting a hand on Ituski's shoulder Haru took over for him, "Yet when he needed us the most, we weren't there for him, instead we were frozen in place not sure what to do and in the end, we didn't do anything. Knowing Rean, he would say that it wasn't a big deal that our behaviour wasn't just normal. I can just see him saying that to us with a smile in his face and meant it. But how can we face him knowing that we let him down?!"
Group B didn't know how to respond to that, for one they didn't know the circumstances on what exactly happened and on the other hand they all could see the guilt and remorse they had for their inaction, the bracers looked down not meeting their eyes until a cheerful voice called out to them, "There you all are. Hello, Class VII it has been a while, hasn't it?" Turning towards the voice the saw Keiko Inari making their ways towards them, "Oh, you have company? I am sorry for interrupting them but wait aren't you four Yui Tanaka, Akari Sato, Itsuki Wataru and Haru Watanabe? You are bracers from the eastern part of the continent and more importantly Reans close friends, hmmmm perhaps there is hope after all."
Her sudden arrival managed to get the four out of their guilt for the moment through both her arrival and knowledge about them, "That is correct but who are you?" Meeting Yui suspicious eyes with a smile, she started to introduce herself, "Where are my manner, I am Keiko Inari. Currently I am the secretary of Lady Himari Sasaki, which Alisa and the others here can confirm, Lady Himari and I are also acquainted with Rean." Group B had no choice but confirm her words, making the bracers a bit more relaxed though they didn't drop their guard yet against the woman who brazenly took a chair and joined them without being asked.
"It has been a month since we last meet in Roer station, Miss Inari but if you don't mind me asking what are you doing here at the capital? I thought you and Miss Himari were still negotiating with the Reinford Group." Inari waved at a waiter to order some alcohol and snacks before answering Alisa's question, "We have finished the negotiation and signed the contract three day ago. For now, we are just enjoying visiting the capital before making our way back home, we were also going to visit Rean in Trista along the way. Anyway, as you can no doubt remember besides my secretary duties, I am also Lady Himari's bodyguard and as such it is my duty to keep an eye on our surroundings which brings me here to ask you all for a favour, luckily with these four also present, perhaps we can avoid the worst-case scenario."
"Is Miss Himari in any danger if so, how can we help?" Giving Gaius a smile she thanked him for his offer, "It is kind of you to offer your hlp but is not Himari that is in the danger but Rean." That got the tables attention pretty quickly, holding a hand up to stall any question they had she explained what was going on, "Let me start from the beginning, I don't know if you are aware but there are a lot of groups from the East like these four bracers here currently in the West looking for something, I don't know what but as long it doesn't involve Himari, I don't really care about it. Nonetheless, I try to keep an eye on them in case they get too close to my charge and one of them arrived just this morning in Heimdallr. Normally, I would have them tailed but since this is here isn't the East, I don't have the manpower for that, the only thing I can do is to protect her is by staying close. Ah, thank you."
The waiter arrived with her order, taking a sip and enjoying its taste, Inari let her audience wait while she leisurely drank the alcohol, "I am sure that our bracer friends have a heard of the Ikaruga." A collective gasp came as confirmation, "They are a high-ranking jaeger corps form East Zemuria, and it was one of their squads that arrived today. Though the problems lie not why they are here nor their affiliation but that one of their members isn't allowed under no circumstance to meet with Rean."
"Miss Inari, right? It is concerning that a squad of Ikaruga is here but as far as I know Rean doesn't have any problems with them neither does the Eight Leaves School. So, why is it a problem for that member to meet with him?" She swirled her glass as she thought how to answer Akira's inquiry, "To be honest, I am acquainted with both Rean and his Master, I also know about what Rean experienced during his travels, even at what happened in Tasogare Town."
At the mention of that name Yui and the others couldn't help but recall the events concerning Rean that happened there since they had also been present, their guilt from before returned not caring about that Inari told them the reason why she didn't want Rean to run into them, "The member I am worried about is from Tasogare Town and I am sure that he is capable of recognising Rean."
Upon hearing that no one moved until Itsuki hit the table with all his strength producing a loud bang that called the attention of the other patrons to their table, not caring about that, Itsuki and his friends looked like they were going to kill somebody, "No one, I mean NO ONE! From that blasted town has any right to be anywhere near Rean after what they have done to him! If they try, forget about the Bracer Code I will break all their bones one by one!" By the look on the other three faces, they shared his feelings on the matter, "Which is why I wanted to ask your help with finding them to make sure that they and Rean don't cross paths."
"I don't know what is going on, the only thing I am sure of is that this concerns Rean. So, you better start explaining right now!" Group B had been quiet since Inari had started talking but now, they couldn't remain quiet anymore, Gaius, Jusis and Emma supported Alisa's demand. The bracers hesitated to say anything on that matter since this concerned Reans biggest secret and trauma, Inari on the other hand tried to explain the situation without giving anything away, "Neither me nor them have any right to tell you what happened to Rean in that town, that is his story to tell not ours. But what I can tell you is that it would be better for Rean if he didn't meet that person because he will end up hurt."
Group B shared a long look with each other but left it to Alisa, whose thoughts were racing inside her head, to speak for them, "I have just two questions. The first is by hurt you mean emotionally and not physically, right? The second does whatever happened there have anything to do with his so called 'Spirit Control'?" The looks she got in return confirmed her fears, (I knew it! While I hope that he can someday opened up to me about what happened for now, I have to make sure that isn't hurt even more!)
"Hmmmm…..Seems like you are more perceptive than I gave you credit for, Alisa Reinford!" Inari looked at her with calculating eyes though Yui stopped her from anything further on the matter, "How do you know about his Spirit Control?! Does that mean he used it?! What did…"
"I got the same reaction from his sister when I mention Spirit Control, I don't know what the hell it is to make you all react like that, but I can assure that neither I nor any member of Class VII would willingly hurt Rean in any way!" Looking at the insulted faces of Group B that they thought that they would do something like that was enough for the bracers to calm down, Inari tried to get both group to focus on what was important, "We don't have time to waste if we want to be successful while this isn't the East I should still be able to get at least some photos about the Ikaruga squad tomorrow morning but can I count you all with this matter?"
Group B and the Bracers nodded at her question with determined faces, "Wonderful, I also know that you all have other things to do, especially you students, don't try to deny it if we want to keep Rean in the dark about this, we can't give him any reason to suspect anything. This is what we are going to do." Leaning forward Inari shared with them her plan, clenching her fists Alisa was consumed by the thoughts that this time she was the one who was going to protect him.
