Hello everyone here is the next chapter of the story, I hope you all enjoy it this original idea of mine or at least the prelude to one. Also my thanks to Cdwalkstrough and for leaving a review and liking my last chapter.

Like always some info:
Spoken words are between " "
Thoughts are between ( )


As a result of the ILF attempt on seizing the railway guns along with the attack on the Trade Conference, a sense of unease spread across the Empire, the government increased patrols of the RMP as part of their counter measures against terrorism while the Noble Faction bolstered their armies along with hiring several jaeger corps. Meanwhile like Rean had suspected before, a rumour started going around that the Noble Faction was funding the Imperial Liberation Front and to add even more trouble to the current situation during the last day of the trade conference, the Mayor of Crossbell declared their intention to gain independence from both Erebonia and Calvard in front of the world.

For the first time both factions, Reformist and Noble, had agreed on something, they both dismissed that declaration as nothing more than delusional ravings despite that the tension in the empire and across the continent continued to grow. Meanwhile in Thors on a cool autumn day the academy's prestigious board of directors had gathered for the first meeting of the year. Rumours had made their way towards Class VII that perhaps given the current situation in Erebonia with the tension so high and terrorists on the loose, their field studies would perhaps be cancelled until further notice.

"Alright, I would like to begin by taking suggestion for what our class can do during the upcoming school festival. Its duration will be two days going from the twentieth third to the twentieth fourth of the next month, we can start the setup and other preparations two days before the start of the festival. However, we should decide what we are going to as soon as possible, that way we should have enough time to prepare and plan everything we need."

While Emma addressed the class, Machias was behind her writing on the board the bullet points on what she was saying before adding his own words, "Some of our options include display, events, stage shows and cafes. They may be the usual things expected for a festival, but if we want to do something special for the festival, we should pick one of these and adapt it to what we can come up with. Does anyone have any suggestions?" The vice president looked at his classmates who seemed to be distracted before sighing out loud, "Would it kill you all to show a bit of cooperation here?"

"I know but it is kind of hard to focus right now, you do understand that right Machias?" Before the gunner could respond to Rean, Jusis cut him off, "Besides you are one to talk, standing there with your nervous fidgeting." Not deigning that remark worthy of a respond Machias just rolled his eyes and kept quiet while glancing at the door of the classroom like the others who were waiting on what kind of decision the board of directors would come to regarding their field studies.

The pensive and nervous mood was broken when Millium raised her hand, "I probably should have asked this a little earlier but what exactly is this festival you guys are talking about?" Causing everyone to sweat drop at the question, "To put it simple the students here organise and put one schoolwide festival. There are stage events, food stalls and all kind of things to see and do. Generally, it falls to each of the first-year students like us to provide the main attractions."

"Participating is optional for the second years since by this point, they should be focused on their future careers. Oh, and each club is normally involved into the events too." Millium listened to Rean and Alisa explanation causing her to grin at what she was hearing, "That sounds like fun! In that case we MUST do something, we can't just let the other classes roll over us just because we are the smallest class!"

"We can be sure that there are people from the other classes that would love to claim another nominal victory over us." The other students knew that he was mostly talking about the nobles from class I and II, "As much as it pains me to say this, I must agree with Millium here. We can't and won't let those arrogant snobs get the better of us!"

"Arrogant snobs, hahaha…hahaha… Never thought I would see the day; I will never forget this until the day that I die." Machias tried to hold back his laughter though he couldn't hide the giant smirk on his face when he heard Jusis speaking about the other nobles like that. The blonde noble ignored him and the some of the others who were snickering too, after recovering they tried to half-heartedly to discuss what they could do with their smaller numbers until the door opened and Sara walked in.

"Hey guys, I thought I would swing by and tell you that board of directors meeting has just finished and that they came to a decision…which is…" Their instructor enjoyed the looks of anticipation her students were giving her as she prolonged her sentence but just before those same looks could transform into glares she finished, "That it looks like the Chancellor isn't the only one who has a little too much iron in his system because the board voted unanimously to have you continue your field studies." Sara watched how relief spread around the room at the news with Elliot speaking what everyone was thinking, "You know, even though there are always hard work and kind of dangerous I think that I would miss them if they got cancelled."

"Considering what happened last month we will need to be especially careful this time around and I think that goes double for a certain someone." Every member looked at Rean, who rolled his eyes at both their looks and Laura comment but one look into their eyes he swallowed the protest he was going to say back down, "Still, it is like our field studies are a big part of who we are as a class no matter what happens in them." Nods of agreement were given at Gaius observation with Crow just shaking his head at them, "Seeing the hard road and the easy road but still taking the hard one anyway. That is youth for you."

"In case you want to thank them, you should hurry the directors are getting ready to leave the academy." With Sara's permission Class VII went towards the entrance to thank them in person, with Alisa, Jusis and Machias going toward their family member leaving the rest to gather around Prince Olivert who was accompanied by Mueller, "Ah, Class VII. A warm hello to you all and my thanks for your help last month, while I already gave them to Rean here back in Crossbell, the rest of you also deserve them. After all, if it hadn't been for your intervention I would have gone to see the goddess much to soon therefor depraving this world of my music and charms. Though I wish I had been able to do better at the conference but the moment the chancellor and president Rocksmith got going, I could hardly get a word in, still Mayor Crois managed to dumbfound them quite well."

"You are talking about Crossbell declaration of independence? Do you think that it stands a chance to come true?"

"Well, young Fie, as long both Erebonia and Calvard refuse to accept it, the likelihood of it actually happening is incredibly low. Crossbell is planning to hold a referendum on the issue to see if the population is in favour or not, so there will be plenty more chances for disputes to break out over the issue."

"Well, neither of them wants to lose all that sweet tax revenue from Crossbell, half of it flows into the provinces too meaning that there is a zero chance that the Noble Faction is going to take that lying down." Millium supplementing remark made her classmates sweat drop at her usual lack of delicacy on certain matters, yet Prince Olivert found her amusing, "Haha, so you are the famous Millium? Your name seems to have come up with increasing frequency lately, though I was hoping that I could see the famous Airgetlam in action. Think you can give me a demonstration?"

"Huh? Sure thing come on, Lamm…..?!" Before she could call out her combat shell Rean quickly stopped her, "Whooooooa, there! Cool your jets, what did we say about taking Lammy out during school hours." Pouting at that Millium just crossed her arms and looked away, "Laaaame." Causing the others to smile at her actions, "Honestly….it would save us all a lot of trouble if you could refrain from just saying whatever pops into your mind, too."

Coping Millium actions Olivert gave Mueller the same look, "Laaaame." Who returned it with a nonchalant look before introducing himself to the students, "To the ones I hadn't had the pleasure of meeting yet, I am Mueller Vander of the seventh Armoured Division and since I was with this idiot in Crossbell, I also owe you my thanks for saving my life. As for you Olivert since you are looking for ways to pass the time, I wouldn't mind letting you jog back to the capital. If you kept up a good sprint, I would bet you could even make it in a couple of hours."

"….You would actually make me do it too. Ah, cruelty, thy name is Mueller." Class VII watched as both men joked(?) with each other until it was time for them to leave, "Ah, I nearly forgot it. I had a small talk with the directors regarding giving you students 'extra' tasks, I may be just a figurehead of the academy, but the name of the Imperial family still holds some weight no matter what. What happened to you Rean, won't happen again you can be sure of that."

Before Rean could thank the prince, Alisa whose mother had already left beat him to it, "That is good to know, thank you ver much your Majesty. But in case it does happen again, I can assure that neither I nor the others will let him go alone even if it means skipping school." The archer gripped Reans shoulder and pressed it to the point that he could hear his bones cracking while giving him a sweet smile. The swordsman glanced around and saw the same thing in his classmates' expressions causing him to chuckle weakly at that.

"Wonderful it seems like Class VII is truly united in that regard, aren't you glad to have such considerate friends Rean?" Olivert could see that young man was still reaping the consequences of his actions from last month he wanted to add some more fire into it but unfortunately Mueller started to drag him away, "Ah, the bitterness of parting. I bid you all a fond farewell and I hope to see you all in good health during our next meeting." With that he entered the car and drove away grinning at the students, leaving Rean to rub his shoulder after Alisa had released him.

"Geez, guys. It has nearly a month since then can't you let it go?"

"Nope!" Rean would have actually been impressed that ten people managed to say that one word at the same time, if their displeasure wasn't aimed at him, "Change of topic, since we are going on a field study, we will have less time to prepare for the festival. We should really try to come up with ideas on what we can do with just the elven of us before we leave for town, at the latest we should have something by the end of the free day." The rest shared looks with each other before nodding, seeing that they still had some time left before their next lesson started, they returned to the classroom to brainstorm.

During the next few days no matter how much Class VII tried, they couldn't think of any compelling ideas that they could do with just their small numbers, time moved forward until the day before the Free Day, "Geez, I can't believe that we burned through another week already but at least it is the perfect weather for a weekend out on the town! For me anyway, you guys should start preparing for the practical exam next week because this one will be the hardest one yet." Sara grinned at the groans of her students enjoying them, "Sigh couldn't you just send us off with 'Have a good weekend!' instead of tormenting us like that?"

Giving Alisa a wink for an answer Sara continued enjoying the situation while Crow comment on it, "Well, she wouldn't be Sara if she didn't throw a little dash of torment from time to time. One of these days I should tell what she did a year ago to me and the others during our field studies."

"Now those were some fun times, by the way are you and Angelica still banned from Raquel's night clubs?"

"Unfortunately, yes. I swear that was all Angie's fault not mine so why am I being punished for it?!"

"Perhaps because you got caught cheating in the casino? Anyway, after the practical exam is done, I will tell you where you are going until then do keep guessing and you guys really need to figure out what you are going to do for the festival next month. Unless of course you want to display your field studies report as a type of exhibition for the world to see." Shivers ran down their bodies as they imagined that particular scenario happening though from the looks of it, Sara seemed at least semi-serious about it prompting the class to remain in the classroom after their instructor had said her goodbye.

"I hope that she was joking about that but either way, we need to figure what we are doing by the start of next week and even then, we will cut it close with the preparations."

"That sounds like a good idea, Machias. Especially considering we have our practical exam on Wednesday and our field study next weekend, we should make it our goal to at least have some solid ideas by the end of tomorrow."

"We also need to check out what the other classes are planning, if we ended up doing something that is the same as one of the others then we will seem totally redundant."

"Alisa, Emma and Machias are right, we should split up and start gathering some info. But remember, we need to find something that will work with number of people we have got, still I am sure that we can find something that we can use despite the other classes having double the manpower that we have. You can weigh in at any time you want Crow, you have been remarkably quiet during the last few days."

"What can I say? I already went through this last year and as your Senior it wouldn't be fair of me to deprive you of the joy the festival brings by giving you the easy answers for this problem." Looks of disbelief were sent his way, asking 'Since when do you avoid the easy way?!'

After that each student went their ways to gather information what their clubs were doing and see if they can find out what the other classes were up to, leaving Rean to wander the campus in search of inspiration and doing what Alisa calls his search for gopher duties. The swordsman despite spending an hour on wandering around, he didn't find anything so he decided that perhaps he should go into the town to see if he could find that spark of inspiration there. Rean stepped outside the academy entrance and watched as the sun was already halfway gone while listening to the sounds of the insects.

(Hard to believe I have already been here for half a year. The festival seemed so far away and now it is just next month, perhaps I should write to Elise, Mom and Dad to invite them to see it…. It would be nice to see them after six months though I did see Elsie and Mom just a few weeks ago.) Rean was woken up from his thoughts by someone calling him, turning around he saw Towa walking towards him, "Hey there, Towa! I haven't seen you out and about too much lately, the student council keeping you busy?"

"Heehee. The meeting I was in ended a bit earlier than anticipated, so I thought that was a nice point to call it a day though with regards to the festival we have so much to discuss that we have another meeting tomorrow to go over it."

"Yikes, sounds like work has really keeping you busy. By the way, if you have already figured out my tasks for tomorrow, I can take them out of your hands now."

"I am already done with sorting them out, but I don't have them with me right now, would it be alright if I put them in your mailbox like usual tomorrow morning?"

"That is fine." Towa fell quiet for a moment before looking straight into his eyes, "I know I already said this but let me once again thank you for your help last month. If you and the rest of Class VII hadn't been there who knew how that incident would have ended." At that she bowed to him, "No need for that for that, I and the others have already got your thanks before, so you don't need to keep thanking us. We are just happy that you are safe."

"I know that but that doesn't change the fact that you all saved my live. I probably will keep thanking you all for a long time, anyway I should go. I still have a lot of shopping left to do." Seeing a chance to pick her brain for what they could at the festival, Rean quickly offered his help and while Towa declined at first, she gave in when he explained that he could use some of her advice. Two hours later both took a break at the park after Towa noticed for the first time how much stuff Rean was actually carrying for her, they used this as an opportunity to talk about Class VII's plan for the festival.

"Oohh, yeah that is a problem. Because of your smaller number you can't do anything that involves large scale equipment or decorations, the most reasonable thing you could do would be a small café."

"I thought about that but me and the others want it to be as impressive as what the other classes are doing. I know that sounds a bit competitive still if we are doing something we have to do our very best." The smaller girl fell quiet for a moment before an idea came to her though her cheeks started to turn red while a look full of resolve appeared in her eyes, "There is perhaps something you all can do, last year me, Crow, Angie and George got together and pulled off a small music concert for the festival. Perhaps you guys could do the same?"

"Wait, you did that? ….Wow, that actually sounds like it would be a lot of fun. Hmm, if we put on a musical show, I am sure that Elliot would be a big help, some of us could play the instruments while other sing some songs…..Yeah, the more I think about it the more it seemed to be the perfect fit for us. What kind of music did you four do? Classical? Showtunes? Folk?"

"It is hard to describe it, but it was passionate and really modern? It was called Rock and Roll, it is a new music genre that is gaining popularity outside the empire….If you want, I could show it to you?" That last part seemed to push the red in her face into overdrive, the swordsman could practically feel the heat coming off her wondering what was going on here while he heard her murmurs, "I can't turn down a chance to help a sweet, fledgling first year, especially after how much he has helped around here. Get a grip Towa!"

Slapping both her cheeks, the student council president looked at with enough determination on her face that one would think she was going to duel someone to death, "How about this? After your exploration of the old schoolhouse is done, we can meet up in the computer room and I can show what we did to you." Seeing no reason to decline though he was curious about how she planned to show it to him, he agreed to it and after that he helped take her purchases to her dorm. Later that evening he didn't inform the others of Towa's idea to do a music concert, he wanted to first wait to see what she was going to show him and perhaps the others could come up with another idea.

The next day after breakfast Rean opened his mail boy to find four requests inside, one was the usual request for the old schoolhouse, another was from Angelica asking for a personal favour, the third one was from Mint to help with food tasting / cooking(?) and the final one came from a second year noble that Rean didn't know demanding to meet with him as soon as possible to discuss how Rean could be of use to him. (Hmmm, this fourth one seems weird. Towa normally reads through them first before passing them to me, hard to believe that she let this one pass given the way this noble is demanding for me.)

Despite finding it a bit suspicious he still decided to at least meet with the noble though he planned on doing it after having completed Mint and Angelica's request first. The other students along with Sara had already left the building, with Laura having gone with Gaius to the highways while carefully holding a lunchbox, Elliot and Fie also left together to try to find some inspiration on what they could do for festival. The others went to their clubs, (….Oh? Is there somebody left in the building besides me and Sharon?), just as Rean was finished planning his time for this morning, he sensed that someone was coming down the stairs from the second floor, curious who was still here he waited for a bit to reveal that it was Emma who froze up when she saw him.

After Rean had returned from Crossbell and the others had slowly calmed down after his disappearance for three days, their class president had recalled the remark he had made before leaving Legram causing her to be somewhat nervous around him when they were alone. Until now it seemed the only ones who had noticed something was off were Alisa and Machias, but both refrained from saying anything for now, though the archer was getting quite curious about the situation. "(Perhaps now would be a good time to resolve this, I didn't want to make her that nervous around me.) Hey Emma, I was going to the campus just now, care to join me?"

The plum haired girl couldn't come up with any excuses that wouldn't sound too fake, left with no choice she stepped out of the dorm with him and walked alongside Rean without saying anything, "Say Emma, am I that scary?" The girl stiffened up for a moment before violently shaking her head but before she could say anything, he asked her another question, "Do you think that you and the rest of our classmates treat me differently because I that that power?" That one caused her to glare a bit at him, "At this point, I am quite offended that you would even ask that question. The others would feel the same though I think that Alisa is going to take it a step further than just being offended."

Just the thought alone was enough to scare him, Rean quickly continued, "If that is the case, then why are you so scared of what I said back then? I only did that to point you in the right direction and to make it clear that you and Celine aren't that discreet, Klaus and the viscount had also noticed her presence in Legram." Emma stopped moving and looked at him with a mixture of disbelief and terrified, "…Is…is that so?"

"Well to be honest since I first met Celine, I knew that she wasn't exactly a normal 'cat'. To my senses, she appears to be a cat and not a cat at the same time if that makes any sense." Chuckling at his own words, Rean had hoped that it would at least alleviate a bit of fear from his classmates but that wasn't the case, "I see…I take it that you want answers then?" That question was filled with resignation and fear but that quickly changed to stunned when Emma heard his answer, "Nope! What is with that look, is it that surprising?"

The girl opened and closed her mouth a few times before she regained her voice, "I mean aren't you curious at all?!"

"Oh, I am curious that is for sure, but you all didn't ask for an explanation from me when you saw my ogre power the first time but waited until I was ready to talk about it. As such it is only fair that I extend the same courtesy to you too and that is only if you are comfortable with sharing, the others would say the same thing without any doubt too. I mean after what you did back in Lohengrin Castle they are also curious about you but like I said they are waiting for you."

Emma relaxed visible at that, "I see, I guess I was so far into my own head that I didn't notice something that simple." He patted her shoulders, while grinning at her, "Don't worry it happens to the best of us. If you want to talk about it, you are more than welcome, our class is pretty amazing on accepting people."

"Yeah, you are right though if things continue as they are, I will have to come forward to explain things sooner or later." Her eyes were looking towards a certain building, "The old schoolhouse, huh?" Her head swirled around at him to stare in shock before suspicious appeared in her eyes, "Are you sure that you don't know what is really going on with me, Rean? Because I have the feeling that you are just enjoying my reactions a bit too much."

The swordsman raised his hands while trying to calm her down, "I swear that I don't know anything about you or the old schoolhouse though it wasn't that difficult to think reach that conclusion by the way you were looking at it."

Emma realised that he was right before she chuckled, "Sorry about that, but you are right. One of the reasons why I came to Thors was to keep an eye on that place." He waved her apology away before telling her something else, "I don't know how you and that place are connected but just to be clear last month I threated whatever is inside that building that it could do whatever it wanted with me but if any of you was hurt because of it, I would tear that place apart brick by brick if I had to."

She rolled her eyes at him though she was also amused, "Why am I not surprised that you did something like that, how do you think that Alisa will react when she hears that you didn't include yourself in that?"

"Probably be angry with me, scratch the probably she definitely will be mad. However as long she and the rest of you are safe and sound then I will face whatever punishments she wants." Emma pointed at his hands with a smirk on her face, "That would be a bit more believable if your hands weren't shaking, but thanks for clear things with me." With a bow towards him, they went their separate ways in the Student Union Building with her going the Literature Club and Rean entered the kitchen where Mint was already waiting for him.

The next two hours went by in a blur with Rean helping Mint out by cooking several dishes for her to taste so that she can be inspired, in her own words, 'To make Uncle Makarov a super delicious and healthy homecooked meal!'

After tasting several dishes Mint seemed to have finally enough inspiration to create her own dishes though Rean made a hasty retreat when she told him that this would be her first-time cooking, (I heard that Mint is quite good in orbal science and engineering though she is also quite famous for being clumsily, should I perhaps warn Instructor Makarov about this? Better not who knows if he will ask me to eat with him.) While apologising to his instructor in his heart the swordsman made his way towards the gymnasium where Angelica was waiting for him but caught sight of Jusis who was grooming some horses.

Thinking that perhaps he could spend some time with his friend before continuing with his requests, "Hey there Jusis. Seems like you are quite enjoying your morning." The blonde stopped his hand movement to face Rean, "After dealing with Millium this morning, I welcome some peace and quiet. What about you, still doing your requests or are you getting ready for the old schoolhouse?"

"I have got two requests to finish before we can tackle whatever is waiting for us in that building this month but since I am already here is there anything I can help you with?" At this point Jusis has already given up on trying to change his friend behaviour with explanations on why he should take a break from time to time, the only thing he could do was to try and influence him little by little and keep an eye on him, "If you have the time how about you come with me taking these two horses for a short walk? The Riding Club is going to make a parkour for the people that are coming as such we have to prepare the horses to deal with unknown people." Both boys sat on the horses and took them out of Trista enjoying a slow stroll with them, "This brings back some fond memories, me and my brother used to do this when I was younger."

"I can relate to that, I used to ask my dad to take me along with him when he went hunting."

"Hmm, I would like to meet your father one day, my brother once talked about a baron who was somewhat famous in hunting circles back then. It took me an embarrassing long time to realise that he was talking about your father besides you and I have similar backgrounds and not just in the same that we are nobles, wouldn't you agree?"

"True, though the biggest similarity is that, by the noble's common sense, we aren't 'true' nobles, however I would argue that my case is a bit more complicated than yours." The blonde grimaced at that since Rean was right, "Which reminds me, the Noble Faction isn't only acting across the Empire but also here at the academy, during the last weeks I have received more invitations for meetings than I care to count. I had hoped that Thors would be spared this nonsense, but I guess that was too much to ask for."

"And you wonder why I don't want to go into politics, anyway as things stands, we may be able to continue with our field studies at the moment but that will change when the civil war breaks out." Rean didn't notice that Jusis horse had stopped moving at first but when he didn't hear anything he turned around to find that Jusis was looking at him with a shocked expression wondering what caused that he went in his head over their conversation up to the last words he said, "Oops, I wasn't supposed to say that part out loud."

"Care to explain why you think that we are going to have a civil war between the two factions?! Last time I checked the tension was high but nothing that would say that armed conflict is near. Anything else you have forgotten to share with us, Schwarzer?!" Rean could only grimace and try to come up with a diversion, the noble immediately saw trough his intentions and took out his Arcus Unit, "You have five second to come clean, Rean or I am calling Alisa and may Aidios help you then."

"I get the feeling lately that you and the others seem to think that by threating me with her is somehow going to make me scared or something. …Ok, ok, I will talk!" Jusis finger approached the call button making Rean take back his words quickly though he grimaced when he registered the fact that they were right. "(When did I become that scared of her?) In any case, I don't think it should come as a surprise that things are heading in that direction Jusis. You have heard the rumours going around that the nobles are funding the ILF, it doesn't matter if it is true or if the Intelligence Division is spreading it unless something real big happens the only way the conflict between the Reformist and the Nobles is going to end is either by one side completely surrendering or by war. The only question that remains is when because we are long past the if part."

Jusis showed several emotions while he digested what he had just heard, "I know that this isn't easy to hear but we can't avert our eyes from that possibility. We may not be able to influence anything when it happens, the only thing we can do at that time is to keep yourselves safe and perhaps help other people out when we can but not much more than that we are after all just students."

"Sigh, perhaps I had a too rosy outlook in this matter but still a civil war? Never did I think that it would be possible, still shouldn't the Emperor be able to put a stop to it if it happens?"

"Not if Jusis but when. I am not sure that he will be able to don't forget that the Chancellor has his backing and for the Nobles if they can provide a convincing enough reason for the public then I am sure that they won't stop even if he ordered it, they would simply claim that they are acting for the best of the Empire!" The blonde noble looked sharply at Rean when he caught a certain detail, "I sure as hell hope that you meant to say, 'ourselves' instead of 'yourselves' or do you really want to intervene in matters of war."

"Wow, easy there! It was simple slip of tongue Jusis nothing more!" Seeing that he wasn't convinced the swordsman tried to change the conversation, "However perhaps things won't be as bad as I think, Prince Olivert told me in Crossbell that he still had an ace hidden away to pressure both factions into behaving." Still not convinced Jusis let it go for now but thought he should talk with the others about keeping an even closer eye on the swordsman, "I thought I would be able to relax a bit before going into the old schoolhouse but now that will be impossible."

"Sorry, that is one of the reasons why I didn't share my suspicious about this with you and the rest, I didn't want you all to worry too much about something that we can't influence. Do you think we should tell the others about it?" The blonde thought about it for a moment before shaking his head, "No, I can understand your reason to keep quiet about it, for now we should keep your speculation to ourselves, but I am keeping an eye on you and telling Alisa to keep an even closer watch over you." The rest of the stroll was spent with them talking about what the effects of the civil war could be and so on until they returned to the academy and Rean found Angelica in the Fencing room practicing her stances.

He didn't say anything but waited until she was finished with them, though there was something familiar about them. Done with that Angelica took a deep breath and released it. Before she noticed Rean standing in the doorway, "Hey, thanks for coming."

"Morning Angelica, I saw that you placed a request for me. Am I correct in assuming that this doesn't have anything to do with the Orbal Bike?"

"Yeah, this one is a personal favour so no point beating around the bush. Will you spar with me?" From all the possibilities that he had thought that would come up, sparring wasn't on the list, "You want to fight? That came out of nowhere, is there a reason for this sudden urge to spar?" She grinned at him before equipping her hands with gauntlets, "Don't look so surprised, this is a military academy after all. I enjoy the martial arts as much as anyone, it is not like I spend ALL my time on the prowl for beautiful maidens to deflower."

"I am really hoping that you are joking about that but then again, I do know you. Still, this came out of the blue but since this a favour and a request from you, who am I to deny it? What are the rules for this spar?" Rean took his own stance three arges away from his opponent who grinned at his answer, "Much obliged then, Rean. How about the one to land the first decisive hit wins and we should get as many fights as possible during the next hour, that should be a good enough workout for me and give you enough time to recover for the investigation in the old schoolhouse. No need to hold back, I maybe a bit rusty, but I will give you everything that I have, so whenever you are ready."

As soon she was done speaking a lilac aura surged around her body, "(I don't see how she can call this a bit rusty, she has nearly no openings and that aura of hers seems to be quite strong.) Don't worry I won't hold back; I am planning on given this everything that I have got." Both fighters starred at each other, trying to find an opening on their opponent, after a few moments Angelica made her move by sprinting forward and aimed a sidekick at Reans leg. He avoided it by jumping up and used his tachi to attack her, she reacted quickly by raising her right gauntlet to block but underestimated the force behind that swing.

Angelica backslides across the ground but before she could recover the swordsman was already upon her, using Gale to strike. Left with no choice she once again blocked but used both arms this time, though even with that she couldn't nullify the attack which caused her to stagger for a brief moment, but that was enough for Rean to place the tip of his sword at her throat signalling the end of this fight. Sighing the second year raised her hands in surrender, "Yikes, I knew that I was rusty, but I wasn't expecting that it was to this extent. Then again you are even better than I heard, and my expectations were already pretty high given the fact that you are able to defeat Laura. Seems like I stand to gain more from this than I thought, so let's start the next round!"

Nodding at her the swordsman reassumed his stance but this time he sheathed his tachi and got ready for the next fight, once again the fist fighter was the one to make the first move but this time she started with a jab, that was dodged by Rean with sidestepping. Angelica seemed to have anticipated his move, the moment that jab was thrown she started to wind up for a kick with her aura concentrated on her foot. Wary of that Rean jumped away but caught sight of the smirk on Angelicas face, getting a bad feeling he unleashed a battojutsu strike just in time to cut the shockwave that was thrown at him.

Not willing to miss this opening the upperclassman got into close range and started a barrage of fists against Rean who tried to dodge every strike but twice he had to use his sword to block her and on the second one he managed to divert her fist upwards, creating a small gap in her defences. Using that momentum, he swirled around to doge her other fist and stopped just a few inches away from hitting her waist with the hilt of his tachi, seeing this Angelica shook her head, "Seriously, again?! My pride as a second year is taking a real beating here, I will have to take this up a few notches if I want to give you a challenge."

Once more they took their position, not willing to suffer a loss three times in a row Angelica assumed a defensive stance to try and counter everything the younger man could throw at her but that also meant she lost the initiative for this round, (I think I am beginning to understand what she meant by being rusty, just from her movements until now I can see that she has kept up with her training but either she neglected real combat practices or she doesn't have anyone to spar with. So, for this request I should try to sharpen her combat instincts which is a good opportunity to test the results from the last two weeks of modified training I have been doing.)

Since he had experienced his masters training last time, especially the last attack chain he managed before blacking out Rean had increased his training to include trying to chain the seven forms together. Of course, he didn't try to do all seven in go, the fact that he had fainted along with Tamamo's warning showed that his body wasn't strong enough to withstand those movements. For that reason, he had also upped the amount of basic training in his forms with added exercises to strengthen his body, for now the best he could do safely was combining Gale, Helix and Morning Moon together.

Taking a deep breath, he got ready and used the movement speed provided by the second form to get behind Angelica in a flash with his back turned to hers just to shift without losing speed by making use of the rotary motions from Helix to go even faster and when he turned around, he unleashed the fifth form to attack. All that added together the sword strike was the fastest one until now that he had managed to pull off, at the same time inside Angelicas head alarm bells were going off, acting on pure instinct her body threw itself onto the floor avoiding the attack but the force behind it was so strong that she felt herself freeze as the wind pressure from it flew past over her head. For a while no one said anything while Rean released the breath, he had been holding in with the second year looking at him with a hint of fear on her face as she looked at him. "What in Aidioses name was that?! Were you trying to kill me, Rean?!"

"Sorry for the scare but I have been taught that the best way to train combat instincts is to experience as much highspeed strikes as possible. By getting used to them, both your body and head will react instinctively to deal whatever is coming at you or do you prefer to train in another way?" Wiping the sweat from her forehead, she took a moment to consider his words, finding that it was a reasonable way to retrain her combat senses, though she did grimace when she recalled his previous attack, "A fair point and this way I will get some better results still how sure are you in controlling that attack of yours? While I want to get back into fighting shape, I think landing in the infirmary will be counterproductive."

Rean couldn't help but chuckle when he saw the dread on her face, "Since I am using it in a spar, I can assure you that I am able to control it fully, the last thing I want is to hurt you or anyone else with it. You don't have to worry about it, so how about it?" Angelica took a moment to think it over but, in the end, she decided to use his method, for the next hour the Rogner noble experienced several times the fear of nearly getting slashed by her underclassman but in the end despite the fact that she wasn't able to defend against it even once her body started to get more used to high-speed combat.

Both fighters were out of breath though Angelica was the one taking deep breaths while Rean took more controlled ones, "I had expected that a swordsman of the Eight Leaves One Blade school was going to be strong, but I wasn't expecting this. No offense but I will have to train myself more before I even think about sparring with you again, Rean. How do your classmates keep up with you?"

The swordsman offered her a bottle of water, "By being too stubborn for their own good, I have told them several times that they don't have to keep up with my training regime but like I said they are too stubborn especially Alisa, lately she has been really over doing it." Giving him a side-eye Angelica finished drinking before answering him, "She had always a competitive streak in her but the main reason this time around is that she thinks if she doesn't train hard enough, she won't be able to help you in case you overdo it. No need to explain to me that she doesn't need to and all that, you should tell her that not me."

Sighing he took back the bottle and put it away, "I have tried, believe me but she insists on doing the same amount of training as me even if it leaves her completely exhausted in the end, she is too stubborn." He ignored the murmurs coming from the second year that sounded suspiciously like, "The pot calling the kettle black." He chose to ignore it and focused on something else, "By the way, you are a practitioner of the Taito style, right?"

"Haha, I should have guesses you would be familiar with it. Around seven years ago, I met a lady from the East who was traveling around the Empire and due to certain reasons, I followed her around for about six months and during that time she taught me Taito. However, I am still far away from being able to give an A+ beatdown like she or Instructor Sara."

"You really are one of a kind, Angelica. Even now I find it hard to believe that you are a member of house Rogner." Grinning at him, she stood up and stretched her limbs, "Oh my, you flatterer. You are going to make me blush." The deadpan look he gave her was enough to see that he didn't mean it as a flattery, "Well we might not be as tangled up as Jusis family, but we also have our fair share of issues which is one of the reasons why my rebellious teenage impudence is still going on. Anyway, that is something for future me to worry about, for now I am going to enjoy my time in the academy. I was pretty lucky to be able to meet Towa, George and Crow last year and now I have met you guys from Class VII, life is so good right now…..Oh, I heard that you are going to spend some 'alone' time with Towa this evening, mmm?"

Rean rolled his eyes at her when he understood what she was implying, "It is nothing like that, she offered to show me what you guys did last year as a reference on what Class VII could do for the festival, so get your mind out of the gutter." Seeing the devious glint in her eyes he knew that she wasn't finished with him, "I see, my sweet little Towa is just the side dish, something to nibble on while you prepare for your true target which is Ali….."

A loud cough and glare stopped her from saying anything more though for a moment it looked like she was going to go on regardless but didn't, "Alright, alright, we will continue this sometime later. I presume that you are done with your other request and now only the investigation remains, so how about I pay for your lunch as thanks for having helped me out?"

"(How about we never have that conversation at all?!) That is nice of you to offer, but I still have one request left before I can start with the old schoolhouse."

"Hmm? Mint's request seemed like it was just to make some dishes for her, it shouldn't take too much time then."

"I already helped Mint, the one request I am talking about is for some noble."

"Did you pick that one up on your way here. Geez, you really are the same as Towa picking up even more work." Rean raised both his hands in defence, "Not this time, this one was given to me by Towa." That managed to stop whatever Angelica was going to say next as confusion appeared on her face, "By Towa? Did you run into her, and she gave you that?"

"No, I got four requests this morning from her in my mailbox, the one for you, Mint, the old schoolhouse and the one with the noble. Why?" He watched as her eyes narrowed at that explanation but didn't understand why, "Can you please show me that request?" Without saying anything he handed the paper over to her, who inspected every aspect of it but the moment she read what was written on it, she sneered, "Wow, can't believe that they would try something like this, seems like I need to make them understand that some lines aren't to be crossed."

"I take it that request didn't come from Towa."

"Judging by that look, it seems like you already had some suspicious about it?"

"Yeah, I don't think Towa would pass me a request like this where they are practically demanding my help, just out of curiosity how did you notice that something was wrong with it?"

"Because I was with her this morning when she dropped them of in your dormitory and I know for a fact that she only gave you three and not four, now how am I going to deal with this? Daring to use my sweet Towa like this deserves a special type of punishment." Rean would have felt sorry for whoever was going to face Angelica's wrath, luckily for that person he had other plans now that he knew for sure that it wasn't an official request, he could deduce what was going on, "As much as I would like to see what you could come up with, I have to insist that you wait until this is over."

That managed to wake Angelica from her thoughts, "Oh? What do you have planned to deal with this?" Seeing the curious look in her eyes, he could only shake his head, "Nothing yet, for now I am just going to see that person and see how things go from there." A flash of disappointment appeared on her face at his answer, "I don't think you should do that, who knows what that guy is going to demand of you, let me just handle this. I will show them what happens when they mess with my Towa."

"As tempting as that is, I have a feeling this is about something bigger than simply ordering me about and I think I know who is behind this though I have no idea on what he will do." Angelica would have asked what he meant by that but at this point she remembered something else, "I see, they are going to make use of that, what a bunch of idiots. In that case, I will go with you and that isn't up to discussion my dear first year. If I am right, then you are definitely going to need back up for this and it would be best if you also called Laura and Jusis too. While I am not one to play the lineage card at all, I will make an exception for this just take it as my reward for having helped me out with my request."

With that done she gave him a look that showed that she wouldn't budge on this, he would have tired to protest it but decided against it when he remembered what Jusis had threatened him with if he didn't call for him in cases like this. Suppressing a shudder at that he reluctantly called both his classmates and asked them to join him and Angelica at the Fencing Club. Sometime later both arrived, "Seeing this group I think it is safe to assume that whatever is going has to do with nobles. Just what are they up to this time?" Hearing Laura's question the swordsman explained to them the matter about the fake request though he was also in the dark about why Angelica called them, though from the way Jusis was frowning he seemed to have an inkling.

"Aidios, are they that bored? No wonder, no one takes the Noble Committee serious in the academy if they waste their time like this." Both Rean and Laura shared a confused look with each other wondering just what committee their friend was talking about, "Please, most members of that committee are just people with overblown egos. They couldn't wear their own clothes if they didn't have servant to put them on."

The two members of the great houses were obviously disgusted just by the mere mention of the people they were talking, noticing the confused look on his classmates faces, Jusis explained, "The academy has another student organisation besides the Student Council, called the Noble Committee which is only composed of nobles. But during the last decades they have completely lost their power to intervene in the workings of the academy, now it is just a place to play make believe for nobles who still think that they are in charge."

"Like he said they are completely powerless in matters regarding the school, but they are still either successors or members of powerful noble houses and the name of the noble in this request is a known member of that committee. I remember having heard some rumours that they are going to meet today to deal with something, add that together with them trying to lure Rean to them and it easy to see what they are after. Though I have no idea on what basis they are going to deal with you."

"So that is why you suggested to call us with two member of the Four Great Houses and me the daughter of a viscount to support him, no matter what they come up with it won't work. However instead of using our family names, I would rather introduce my great sword to them. At the beginning I thought that those rumours would disappear after a while but over two months later they are still going, and they are only in regards to Rean and each one is more ridiculous than the other. I really want to know who in Gehenna is spreading them…hmmm? Is there something you aren't sharing with the class, Jusis?"

Near the end of her sentence Laura noticed Jusis sharing a short glance with Rean, both boys assumed a stoic look, but she wasn't fooled one bit, putting her hands on her waist the swordswoman narrowed her eyes at them, "You two know who is behind those rumours? How interesting, Rean I am not surprised that he wouldn't share that with the others, but I am disappointed that you would do the same Jusis, looks like you are picking up his bad habits."

Jusis tried to defend himself while looking truly offended at that assumption, "Excuse me?! I didn't pick up anything like that! The only reason why I didn't say anything was because he asked me to and because while we know who it is, there is no direct proof as such any accusation wouldn't accomplish anything besides making us look like fools."

Rean rolled his eyes at him but stepped in before this got out of hands, "Laura, Jusis is right we just have some suspicious on who it is but no proof so we didn't say anything in case we are wrong but that isn't important now. I would rather not involve anyone of you with this, but I know better than try to suggest for you to back out of this. Am I right to assume that this Noble Committee while not capable on influencing matters at Thors, they can make matters difficult for me outside the school?"

Angelica nodded at his question, prompting him to think for a moment before sharing his plan, "We have no idea what they are after so we should let them make the first move. I am going to meet with this noble and see what he wants, as for you three I want you to stay hidden and follows us without him noticing. Does the Noble Committee have a specific place to meet?"

"That would be the Noble Salon on the third floor of the Student Union building, since most nobles spend their time there it makes easier to gather all the nobles of the school together when they hold a meeting. That should be the place he will try to guide you to, we three will then follow you but will remain out of sight until it is necessary to intervene, and we will intervene Rean no matter what. So do not try to shoulder everything alone and leave this matter to us."

Both Laura and Angelica nodded in support of Jusis demand, since things have come this far Rean knew that he couldn't try to keep them out of this anymore. A short time later Rean meets up with the noble and like he had expected he was ordered to follow the second year to another location where he would learn the details of his request.

On the way to the third floor besides a glance filled with contempt from the noble he didn't say anything, the moment Rean stepped inside the Noble Salon he saw that it was filled with what appeared to be nearly every single noble of the school, he recognised Vincent Florald who appeared to try to avoid Margarita who was cosied up to him and some other nobles from Class I and II. Patrick was also present, but he appeared to be rather surprised at Reans presence here before he schooled his expression into a more stoic one, with a loud bang the door behind the swordsman was closed with the noble who had guided him standing in front of it to make sure that he couldn't leave.

He couldn't help but roll his eyes at the theatrics, someone cleared their throat drawing his attention to find that Charles Noir had appeared in the middle of the room, (Thought so, can't wait to see how this will turn out, I just hope it doesn't take too long I still have the investigation in the old schoolhouse and if I am late to that, I just know that the rest of my classmates will come looking for me and then all hell will break lose.)

"Since everyone is 'finally' here we can start this meeting of the Noble Committee, this meeting was called in to deal with a matter that threatens the dignity and honour of the Noble Class. Since the dawn of our outstanding and glorious Empire we, the Noble Faction, have guided this country with a righteous and moral hand though lately it seems that some people are trying to lead it towards a path of iron and blood, however, that isn't why we are here today. On this day we are here, as much as it pains me to go through with this, to judge and if it comes down to it also punish a person whose past actions have thrown mud upon what it means to be a noble."

Done with his speech Charles looked straight at Rean making it clear who he was talking about, Rean had to admit that Charles seemed to know how to draw his audience in and manipulate their mood. First he stressed that everyone was finally here implying that it was Reans fault the rest had to wait for him to show up, second he played on the pride every noble had along with painting the Reformist Faction in a bad light and third he pointed out that it pained him to do this showing to the rest that despite this matter causing him emotional pain he was willing to bear it for the sake of nobility.

He didn't say anything and just waited since he was sure that every explanation of his would be twisted to suit Charles plan and almost immediately applause came from the others of the room for Noir while they glared at him, "It is with a heavy heart that I must accuse my fellow first year Rean Schwarzer of a most heinous crime and even though I have gathered enough evidence that says otherwise, I still want to believe in his innocence. Rean, please come forward to plead your case."

"Well, it would help to know what kind of heinous crime I have committed. I don't suppose you could shed some light on that?" Since he could see that almost everyone in the room seemed to be already against him, Rean didn't see any reason to try to shift the mood and just cut right into the heart of the matter. Either Charles didn't expect him to just do nothing, or he was just annoyed that he didn't show any panic whatsoever, though Charles comforted himself with the fact Rean question seemed to turn the other nobles in the room even more against him.

"Very well, Rean Schwarzer you are hereby accused of destroying a town in the eastern part of the continent called Tasogare. Your actions have caused countless people to both lost their homes and their means of making a living, how do you plead?!" From all possible accusations that Rean had thought that would appear, that was one he certainly wasn't expecting causing him to freeze for a moment. Seeing his shocked appearance made Charles smirk evilly though he hid it quickly, he was going to press further using the swordsman silence against him but before he could a loud noise followed by a scream drew the attention of every person in the room.

At the entrance was Angelica with her leg outstretched, it looked like she had kicked the door open causing the guy guarding it to fly forward, the Rogner heir still had a grin on her face, "Why hello my lovely kittens, did you plan a party and forgot to invite me?" With a wink at the ladies, she leisurely strolled inside followed by Jusis and Laura who looked ready to commit murder, sounds of surprise came from the peanut gallery, "Lord Jusis, I thought you were occupied today by the preparation for the school festival Lambert talked about."

"Lady Laura, didn't you say that you scheduled some training for this morning?!"

"Lady Rogner, shouldn't you be at the Engineering Club at this hour?"

It seemed like some nobles had made sure that those three were otherwise occupied while the committee tried to judge Rean, this revelation caused the Laura and Jusis faces to darken even further both stopped at their friend's side while Angelica took the rear, "You have got a lot of nerves to try something like this, Noir!" The glares being sent his way made Charles take a step back before recovering his composure, though deep inside he was cursing his rotten luck.

"(Goddamnit, I thought these two wouldn't appear here, that is why I planned all this for this day and why is Rogner also here?! Doesn't matter I still have some aces that can I use, even if it means that I have to tear down the façade I have been building with Class VII for the last months. No matter what I must make sure that Schwarzer is thoroughly discredited in this school no matter what, it would be even better if I can get him expelled. After that is done, I can deal with the fallout with Class VII, a bit of flattery here and there along with a drop of remorse should be enough to trick them.) As much as it pains me to do this, I must as not only a noble but also as an upstanding citizens of the Erebonian Empire and to get justice for those poor people who the Rampaging Demon has hurt!"

Meeting their glares head-on Charles Noir vowed to himself that he would succeed no matter what, "Justice, huh? Now that is an interesting word choice for this situation, very well then. As a member of House Albarea, I will make sure then that justice is served here."

"I would also like to see justice served for this matter as such House Arseid will take part in this."

"You two aren't thinking of leaving little old me outside of this fun, right? Especially since the Schwarzer Barony is located in the Nortia Province which is overseen by House Rogner and would you look at I am a member of that house."

Having already recovered Rean could only helplessly watch as his friends came to his defend though he wanted to say something one look form both Jusis and Laura shut him right up, (Why do I get the feeling this is going to spiral out of control?) Shaking his head he could only watch the heated debate that was going to start.