Hello everyone here is the next chapter of the story, I hope you all enjoy it, this here is the rest of the free day that should have been posted together with the last chapter.
Like always some info:
Spoken words are between " "
Thoughts are between ( )
They didn't know how much time passed as they gazed into each other eyes but both Alisa and Rean smiled at each other and stood up, "…That was …..certainly enlightening, so what comes next?" The archer asked shyly while trying to push down the red that threatened to explode on her face, Rean gave her another smile in return before squeezing her hand a bit before letting go.
"In contrast to what everyone thinks I am not well versed in situation like this, heck I never even imagined that I would find myself in this, but like I said you are making me feel greedy. In my opinion, I don't think we have to change anything for now, we can just take it slow because I don't want to mess this up. You are too imporan…"
He didn't finish his sentence since Alias put her finger on his mouth, despite wearing a serious on her face inside she was feeling quite giddy, "If you finish that, I can assure you that I will say the same thing so if you want to take this slow then perhaps you should try to control yourself from saying everything that pops inside your head because, my heart can only take so much, ok?"
The setting sun behind her seemed to further enhance her beauty, the blonde hair that caught the light seemed to shine brighter while her eyes, shining with kindness and something that he didn't dare believe that it could be what he was thinking, seemed to draw him further in, not knowing what came over him he just gently grabbed her hand and gave it another light kiss, "But what if I want to?"
Alisa stopped breathing for a moment or two never having expected that answer from him, the teasing light in his eyes, destroyed ever rational thought in her mind, so her heart took over, by stepping closer to until their faces were mere inches away from each other, she took his hand that was holding hers, and gave it also a light kiss, "Then I would say be careful, because turnabout is fair play."
As long as Alisa was alive, she wouldn't never forget what followed next, Rean Schwarzer face exploded with red at her actions while a goofy smile appeared, closing his eyes after a minute he chuckled, "Wow…., I don't know what to say to that."
"Then don't say anything."
The grin she had showed him just how much she enjoyed his reaction, shaking his head at that he grinned back and let go of her hand, "So what are your plans for now?" Alisa decided that she had enough fun teasing him, for now at least there would be more opportunity in future and just the thought alone was enough for butterflies to appear inside her, "I already got enough information on what the other classes are doing for the festival and was going back to dorm, what about you?"
"I am going to meet with Towa, she seemed to have an idea on what we could do for the festival. Interested in coming with me?"
"Hmm, can't bear to part, huh Rean? Sure, why not, where are we going to meet her?"
Raising an eyebrow at her, though he was still grinning at her, "Why do I get the feeling that you are going to tease me a lot from now on?" The archer after the events a few minutes ago was filled with a confidence that hadn't been there before, gave him just a wink while waiting for him to lead the way, shaking his head at that he made a show how sighing loudly, but both knew that it just an act to hide how much he is enjoying this.
Sometime later both arrived at the Orbal Computer room where Towa was already waiting for them, while waiting she was going over some papers regarding the school festival, at the beginning she was a bit surprised that Alisa was with him but didn't mind it. After greeting them she started to show why she called them here, "I am going to show you two, the concert that we put on for last year's festival."
"Rean told me about that on the way here, do you have some record of it here?"
"Yes, I do. George was testing out some kind of 'orbal video camera' that was being developed by the Roer Institute of Technology and we have still got the recording here." Rean didn't understand what a 'video camera' was but Alisa seemed to have heard of it, "It captures both images and sounds, to recreate the events that it recorded but I think a demonstration would better to understand it."
Agreeing with her, Towa just started the computer and both girls watched as Rean started in amazement at the screen as it showed the video recording from last year showing Crow, Towa, Angelica and George standing on the stage holding different instruments in their hands while Towa had the microphone in her hands, "The music genre is called Rock, it is making a splash outside the empire. They use orbal audio technology to amplify guitars for it. It's a pretty bold sound, wouldn't you agree?"
Both first years seemed to share the opinion that something else was pretty bold, "The idea of a music concert is a good one, but I am not sure that I would have the courage to wear something like that." Only when the archer pointed it out did the small girl recall that detail, while Rean wisely kept his mouth shut, "AHHHHHHH, I forgot about that! Rean, d-don't look at it just focus on the performance!"
Before anyone else could say anything, they were both mesmerised by the show in the video, both the music and moves captured their attention until it ended, resulting in them applauding the now blushing student council president, showering her with praise.
Soon the first years started to talk about the possibility of also doing a similar event, "We should ask Elliot what our options are, but I think we might have a chance of pulling this off!"
"Glad to hear it, Crow was the one who planned all this out, so he should be able to help you out with putting a program together. Angie, did the choreography and George got us the instruments, I am sure that they would help you out with this in case you decided to go forward with this."
"However and I can't stress this enough if we are doing this, we are definitely having to lay down some rules regarding the clothes, because I am not wearing something like that…..not that it didn't look good on you Towa, it is just that it was a too bold for me…Rean Schwarzer are you imaging me wearing an outfit like that?!"
Alisa wanted to nip the possibility that she and the other girls would wear something like that but midsentence she noticed how embarrassed the smaller girl seemed to be, so tried to alleviate her mortification, that is until she noticed that Rean appeared to be imaging her in said outfit causing her to call him out on it.
Flustered the swordsman tried to deny it but neither girl was convinced by it, "Boys, honestly!" seemed to be what their eyes were saying to him, Towa took out a memory quartz and handed it to Alisa, "Here, in case you want to show it to the rest of your classmates and please don't feel like you have to this for the festival perhaps Class VII can do something else. I just wanted to show you this to inspire you all, I hope you can come up with something that you all will enjoy."
Done with that, Towa ignored Rean and said only goodbye to Alisa who returned it, not knowing what to do Rean just remained still while the blonde looked at him with emotionless eyes till she started giggling, "Alright, I will stop now, though I must admit I wasn't expecting that from you. Guess under all those corny speeches is still a normal teenage boy."
He groaned out loud as she continued teasing, "Aidios, what have I unleashed?! It looks like you picked up some of Sharons teasing habits, huh?" She just grinned at him while making her way towards the door, "What can I say? After having been teased by her for so long, you pick something up and I did say that I am done holding back, didn't I?"
The moment she tried to open the door, Rean appeared behind her and closed it with his outstretched hand, boxing the girl in between the door and Rean, surprised at that she looked up to him just to see the teasing light in his eyes, not having expected this counterattack, Alisa gulped loudly.
Leaning slowly forward Rean came face to face with her, for a short moment Alisa thought that he was going to kiss her, but he continued pass her mouth and spoke right beside her ear, "You also said turnabout is fair play, so be careful Alisa. There is only so much teasing I can take, before I pay you back." As if to prove his point he softly blew into her ear, causing her to blush red like a tomato and let out a loud, 'Iep!'
Satisfied with it he opened the door for her, taking several deep breaths to calm herself she gave him a glare, but it bounced right off him, "Fine, fine. I will tease you in moderation then, but only when it is the two of us. I can't imagine what the others would do if they saw us just now."
"Probably tease us until the end of time, but I agree no teasing each other unless we are alone. By the way, if I make you uncomfortable in any way please tell me directly, because that is the last thing I want to do." Rolling her eyes at that, Alisa just gave him a simple sentence, "Don't worry about that, I trust you."
After that they closed the door and walked out of the building while going over what the possibilities were for pulling off a concert, the others at the dorm had been interested at seeing the video of last year concert. They also discussed what the others first years were doing for the festival and concluded that with their small numbers a music concert was their best chance. They wanted to wait until they saw the video, but it was nearly sure that they would go forward with it; after going over everything else, Class VII went to their rooms to rest for the day.
That was Alisa's plan, unfortunately it seemed like fate had other plans for her, in form of the girls of Class VII. They had noticed that something was different between the archer and the swordsman as such they waited until she was alone, to ambush her. Alisa barely set a foot on the second floor before she was dragged inside her room by Fie and Millium with Emma and Laura bringing up the rear. Bewildered by their actions, she let them, "Ok? Did something happen?"
They didn't answer just seated her on her bed flanked by Fie and Millium while the other two took a seat on the chairs facing her, "I think that should be our question, Alisa. Somehow you and Rean seemed closer this evening than when you were inside the old school building, so did something happen between you two?"
(! How did they notice it?! I mean he and I didn't behave any differently at all, so how?!) Supressing her surprise at the question along with a blush, Alisa tried to appear confused, "I don't have any idea what you are talking about, Fie. What even gave you that impression?"
The four other girls exchanged looks with each other with Emma taking the lead, "There just seems to be something different about you two, somehow the way you look at each other seems softer?" Still maintaining her confusion, she just raised her eyebrows at that, "I can't put my finger on it, but it seems like there was a wall you both maintained against each other but now it seems to have disappeared."
"Did you confess to each other?! Like in one of those books, Emma has hidden in the Literature Club?!"
Milliums question took the spotlight aways from Alisa as Emma turned quite red at that, "How do you know about that?!" The archer released a sigh of relief at the welcomed distraction, but it cost her dearly as Fie had caught it, "AHA! Something did happen!"
With that the spotlight returned back to her and this time she couldn't hold back a groan, "Nothing happened, ok?! We just talked with each other before going to see Towa and then came directly back."
"Then why were you so relieved when we focused our attention on Emma?"
"I don't know perhaps because you ambushed me and started asking questions?"
The other four girls didn't seem to believe her entirely, so Alisa followed up with the principle that offense is the best defence, "And if we are talking about something happening, what about you and Elliot, hmm?" Fie suddenly became very still but that was enough to prove to the rest that something juicy had happened, "Now that you mention it, lately when Fie takes at nap it is always close to where Elliot is practicing his music. I noticed that the last couple of times I flew on Lammy over the school."
"Ignoring that last bit and we are definitely coming back to the fact that you searched the Literature Club room Millium, I didn't know you did that Fie. It looks like we were too focused on Alisa and Rean, soooooo do you like Elliot, Fie?" The normal stoic girl showed a rare look of panic when it was her turn to be interrogated, enjoying that for once it was her in that position Alisa slowly fanned the flames by mentioning what she had seen on the last Free Day.
From that point on the archer slowly but surely started her counterattack against the other three girls leaving Millium out of her attack range but their youngest enjoyed it immensely especially when she mentioned some juicy titbits on what she had seen during the last few weeks since starting at Thors. The three girls left Alisa room red faced and astonished on how that had turned out with Alisa and Millium being the only ones who thoroughly enjoyed this event, at the door Emma stopped and looked at the blonde.
Seeing that look Alisa knew what she was asking and no matter how much they teased she knew that they were her friends, so she only said, "Yes and no, that is all I am saying on the matter. Goodnight, Emma." Done she closed the door, leaving Emma in her thoughts, (So something did happen, but at the same time it didn't? Weird, oh well but from what I saw it looks like these two are getting closer and closer which should be a good thing, especially if I consider the upcoming trials for Rean. I just hope that the Divine Knight inside that place will allows us to help him with them, though it is weird that this time it didn't do anything to test Rean.)
Unknown to Emma and the others one floor down below, something was happening, Rean had just finished his study session when suddenly a feeling of dizziness overcame. Feeling something wrong he grabbed his tachi while spreading his senses around, ignoring the dizziness but Rean found out quickly that it was a mistake to simply ignore it.
A moment later he fell forward losing conscious, the moment he regained his conscious he found himself in a dark place, the only source of light was Rean itself, the rest was only pure darkness that seemed to have no end. He was stunned for a moment before he regained his wits, he slowly turned around but there was nothing else besides him, in this space.
(Should I say as expected? I knew that the sixth floor couldn't have been so simple, as just defeating the floor boss, still I didn't think that whatever is in there could affect me even outside of the old building. Now how to deal with this? There is no presence around like last time, does that mean I am all alone here?)
He started walking in one direction but no matter how much he walked there was no end to it, during that time his emotions started to become agitated without him being aware of it, (What is going on here?! Why is there only darkness?! Where is the exit?! How do I get out?!)
There was no sound, even when Rean called out his own voice didn't make a sound. He started to get anxious, so he ran forward until he was out of breath, (What do I?! What do I do?!), these thoughts started to consume his mind until he recalled what just happened earlier, him sitting with his friends at the dining table, seeing the concert from last year and Alisa with the setting sun as the background, along with other memories that he had made since the start of the schoolyear.
With each memory recalled he started to calm down enough to notice that something was manipulating his emotions, the moment that thought entered his mind, he immediately used 'Frozen Heart'. Now with a clear head, he started to once again analyse his situation, (During the last two times, I was tested in one aspect, first it was in combat, second it was my resolve. That means this here is also a test but what is it testing, my ability to reach the end of this place….no. If that was the case it wouldn't need to heighten my emotions like that, so what does it want from me?)
He continued to think but couldn't come up with a solution, (No matter what, I should remain calm if it is affecting my emotions, still this test should have a way to pass it but what…..Looking around there is only darkness so nothing that shows a direction, should I then remain in the same place?...Hmm, Combat ability, Resolve and Patience? Endurance? Could it be testing my ability to endure this place?)
The more he thought about it the more it seemed to make sense, (If that is the case, I should probably just mediate here, if I am correct then this should have a time limit and besides it isn't like I can do anything else for now.)
Sure, of his decision he sat down and assumed his usual mediation pose, along with 'Frozen Heart' he soon entered a state where he was devoid of any distracting thoughts. His breathing soon even out and besides the slight movement of his chest, he didn't move at all.
Time passed slowly but Rean didn't care, he just sat there and went through his techniques in his head to see what he could improve until he finally felt something happening around him, he opened his eyes to see that he was back in his room and that it was already dawn. (Good thing, I was right, and that place had a time limit. Now I have passed three tests does that mean that next month the seventh floor will be opened? Should I ask Emma about…..No, I don't want her to feel obligated to answer me, let's just wait and see.)
He stood up and stretched his muscles having spent the night on the floor, they were quite stiff. Supressing a yawn, he changed his clothes and went downstairs where Sharon was already waiting for him with breakfast, if she noticed how tried he was from technically staying up all night she didn't say anything, just prepared extra strong coffee for him. This morning, he just went for a simple run without anything else, he tried to hide it but of course the others found out about it fast and believed him that he had just a bad night.
Later in the day the full Class VII watched the video and was fascinated by it, they quickly decided who could play which instruments and left it to Crow and Elliot to come up with both the music, choreography and the costumes, though Rean was quickly volunteered to supervise Crow after the girls first heard of his suggestions.
After that the practical exam arrived quickly, as usual Class VII was at the field where Sara congratulated them on their idea, "First, congratulations are in order! Took you all long enough, but you finally decided what to do for the festival. So, another music concert, huh? Got any idea on what kind of music you want to do?"
"Not exactly, we are still debating over it. At the very least, it should be pretty easy to decide who is playing an instrument and who will be on vocals since some of us have no experience with instruments." Elliot was supported by Machias, Fie, Emma and Millium who had never touched one in their life until now.
"Rean and Crow, you are handling all the outfits, right? How is that part coming along?"
"Yup! We have got that shit on lockdown! No need to worry, Sara."
"I think you mean we have narrowed it down to the fifteen most promising outfits, Crow!" The entire class sweat dropped at that remark, "Aidios, save us all from Crow perverted mind. Rean we are trusting you to keep us from wearing whatever it is that Crow wants." The swordsman could only grimace at, "I am doing my best, but it isn't easy, Alisa!"
"What does that mean? Gasp, could it be Rean?! You want Alisa to wear something sexy for you to see!?" Following Fie exaggerated comment every student looked at him while the archer just waited what he was going to say, "Very funny, Fie. The reason why I said that it isn't easy is because he is trying to manipulate me by first giving me the most outrageous options which I immediately reject but then he follows up with others who are slightly less outrageous until he has me condition to choose an outfit that I would never approve of otherwise."
The sudden silence that followed was the reason why everyone heard Crow clicking his tongue at seeing that his plot was exposed, the only thing that saved him from every girl in the class hitting him was Saras heartfelt observation, "Honestly, I feel a little envious. If I were five years younger, I would jump right up on stage with you all and have great time!" The deadpan stares she was getting from her students made her a bit uncomfortable but that changed quickly into embarrassed anger when Fie pointed the flaw in that plan.
"You are already twenty-five years old, even if you were five years younger, graduation would still be years behind you."
"Hush, you! For us ladies, everything up to the mid-twenties is just a warm-up and men? They are like fine wines, that are better with age."
"Is that why you only like the silver foxes, Sara?" Their instructor completely ignored Fie's question and just focused on why they were here, "Cough! Aaaaaanyway, as much as I am looking forward to the festival, that is not why we are here today, are we? Not only do you have no field study next month, but you are also off the hook as far as practical exams goes. Which is why I am really turning the difficulty up this time."
Not wasting any time, Sara took her weapons and unleashed her aura towards them, "You have faced soldiers, jaeger dropouts, terrorist, true jaegers and archaism but now you will face your greatest challenge yet. An A-rank Bracer turned Combat Instructor, don't hold anything back because I am not going easy on you. Rean and Alisa are one group, the rest of you form group of three of your own choosing; to pass this test you must prove to me that you have what it takes to come out on top."
The sudden change in her surprised them but that soon turned into determination especially for a certain pair who went up first, "Geez, is there a reason why we are the only group with only two people?"
"I am taking this as a compliment Alisa, this shows just how much she thinks that we would easily take her out if we had a third person on our team." The combat link between them flared up brightly, Rean remark caused her to think for a bit, "When you put it like that Rean, it does sound like quite the compliment."
"Now those are some fighting words, you two. You have been studying and training here half a year now. I think you might finally be able to do it, but that is just a might. So, show me that I am not mistaken!" With that yell Sara launched her attack, having already anticipated that move Rean dashed forward while arrows flew past him, just to be shoot down the moment they came to close to Sara.
After that she quickly charged her sword with lighting and slashed down meeting Reans tachi head on, she had expected him to just brush her sword away but instead he locked their weapons together. Not willing to miss this opportunity she directed the lighting to pass onto his tachi but to her complete surprise it didn't work. A closer look revealed why, Rean had his tachi coated in his Ki making it impossible for the lighting pass through his weapon.
After blocking that attempt the swordman took a sidestep and not a moment too soon, since a flaming arrow just passed where his head had been just mere seconds ago. Acting on pure reflexes the older woman blocked it with her gun as a shield, using the power of that attack she let it blast her backwards away from Rean who followed up with an attack to her torso barely missing her.
(Yikes, I knew this wasn't going to be easy, but I wasn't expecting that their teamwork had improved so much. I guess it is time to take it to the next level then.) The Purple Lighting unleashed her aura to the peak, not holding anything back, in a flash she disappeared just to reappear behind Rean attacking him while using her gun to shoot at Alisa. The speed of her bullets was heighted by her Ki leaving the archer no choice but to roll sideways, but in the same movement she shoots an arrow back at her teacher.
Meanwhile Sara swords pass right through Rean, shocking her for the short moment it took for her to realise that it was just an afterimage, she nearly cursed when she saw both Alisa's counterattack and Rean attacking from afar with the sixth form, Scarlet Sky. Relying on her experience she barely deflected both attacks by staying at the same place and quickly turning around while her weapons were used to redirects both attacks.
From that moment on, Sara had to go all out just to keep up with their never-ending flow of attacks, she barely managed to do attacks of her own but by focusing on defence she hadn't been hit even once. (If the creators of the Arcus Unit were here, they would applaud these two because this must be what they hand in mind when they created the Combat Links, they are completely in sync with each other even more than they were just three days ago in the old schoolhouse….So, that is why! Well done, you two!)
Using her craft Lighting Charge to raise her speed once again, she pushed Rean back and destroyed the incoming arrows with a swing of her sword, "Once again, I must congratulate you two. It is truly impressive that you have reached Link Level 5 in just six months, the eggheads will be delighted to hear that." Gasps of surprise could be heard from the gallery, but Sara couldn't afford to be distracted now.
"Looks like the jigs is up, Rean. Does that mean we can take it up a notch?"
"Yep, no need to hold back now. How about we use that one?" Just a look was enough for her to understand what plan he had in mind, a nod later and she took out three arrows, while Rean readied himself for the next move leaving Sara flabbergasted at what she was hearing, before adopting a defensive stance, (That wasn't the limit of Level 5?!)
Alisa fired the first arrows which exploded into several smaller ones creating her Craft Molten Rain, their instructor was going to move out the range of that but Rean used Gale to both attack her and close in on her, the moment he was close enough he started an highspeed exchange with Sara, leaving her dumbfounded on that since this mean that Rean would also be hit if he wasn't careful enough.
As they continued to trade blows with each other while avoiding the falling arrows Sara saw one arrow hitting his right shoulder, thinking that this was it, she started to slow but her instincts sharpened in countless battles screamed at her not to. The short moment she hesitated on whatever to follow them or not, was enough for Rean to gain the upper hand in their fight, not believing what she was seeing, further slowed her down making her even more passive.
She looked at his shoulder but found no wound on it, instead Rean was avoiding the arrows even better than before resulting in her brain to come up with the only possible explanation, (He has the buff 'Insight'!) somehow Alisa had fired her Craft Heavenly Gift along with Molten Rain and it landed perfectly on Rean causing her to fall for their trap.
If she wasn't being suppressed right now, she would be applauding them on their teamwork and craftiness, that was the moment she remembered that the archer had prepared three arrowy and not only two. The moment that thought appeared in her head the final phase of their plan started, the energy arrows from Molten Rain were exhausted but instead of another round of it, Alisa was preparing her S-Craft along with Rean charging his Flame Slash.
Not hesitating anymore Sara countered with her own S-Craft, the three attacks clashed with each, showing just how much stronger their instructor was compared to them, their two attacks were just barely enough to match her attack. Thinking that this was enough for them to pass, Sara was going to call out to them but just like before she had underestimated them, all of this was just the preparation for their true final attack, the upgraded Rush Ability given to them thanks to Link Level 5.
Time seemed to slow even more compared to the usual use of it, along with strengthening their moves further, helplessly the Purple Lighting could only watch as her students landed two clean hits on her, signalling the end of this practical exam. Despite being astonished Sara was soon consumed by fierce pride, looking at a painting Rean and Alisa, "…..I don't know what to say besides, well done! From the start of this battle, I seem to have been dancing on the palm of your hands, though if you don't mind me asking how did you get the energy for the Rush Ability? During the entire fight you didn't manage to hit me to accumulate it, so how?"
Walking towards Rean, Alisa helped him up, "We may have sneaked into the old schoolhouse during lunch to gather that energy before the start of our practical exam, just in case we needed it for whatever you were going to throw at us." Eyes wide Sara watched how her students gave her unrepentant smirks, causing her to pout, "Hey, that is cheating! While I don't mind you trying to prepare for this, isn't that going a bit too far just to deal with me?! And I am sure that the rest of you brats have done the same, right?!"
The rest of Class VII showed the same smirks, further pissing her off, "Now that I think back your plan was a little too adjusted to deal with me to be something you just thought of! Have you been plotting on how to beat me?! For how long?!"
Rean after having regained his breathing could barely hold back his laughter, "Since we lost against you in May, Instructor Sara. I think there is no need to hide it anymore, after the second field study we started to strategize several plans against you in case we needed to fight you again. Today was just the first opportunity that we had to test one of those plans out."
"For that long?! Geez, here I am giving it my all to teach you everything that I know, and this is the thanks I get?! Being backstabbed by my own students, how cruel the world is!" No one was convinced that she was truly feeling like that, giving the huge grin she is wearing on her face, but knowing her need to be dramatic they just let her vent for several minutes.
"Putting all that aside, I am proud of you all for coming this far, which is why for the remaining fights I won't underestimated you again! So once again, show me how much grown!" With that done, the remaining groups took her on, despite having been preparing for months for this, now that Sara knew about their strategies, the fight became a lot harder for Class VII but while no one besides Rean and Alisa managed to land a clean hit on her, the rest managed to at least corner her enough to reveal their growth and teamwork.
After all the fighting was done, the students were still exhausted alongside with Sara who was lying on the ground out of breath, "Is…she…even..human? Multiple groups with multiple opponents in every group and she was still able to put up such a fight against us without taking a break in between." Jusis comment made the other agree with him, "I knew she was on a completely different level than us, but I wasn't expecting that the difference was that great. Are you sure that she hasn't reached the Master Level, Rean?"
The swordsman along with Alisa was giving water bottles to his classmates and teacher, "Not yet, though she is extremely close to reaching that level, I would say, she is just one more half step away from reaching that level. It looks like it isn't only us students who are putting in the effort to become stronger."
As if to proof his point Sara jumped up from the ground and looked like she had recovered enough to fight another battle, "While it is a point of pride for every instructor to be surpassed by her pupils, this one here isn't ready for that to happen just yet. You want to prove that you have surpassed me, then prove it by defeating me in a one-on-one, you still have one year and half to achieve that." Some were questioning her sanity to make that kind of demand, but others were more than eager to take her on it.
Waiting a bit more for them to catch their breaths, Sara took out the papers containing their groups and destination for this field study, though this one contained the usual surprise for them.
Field Study: September
Group A Location: Roer, the Industrial Metropolis
Group A Members: Rean, Alisa, Fie, Crow, Machias, Elliot
Group B Location: Ordis, the Port City
Group B Members: Jusis, Gaius, Laura, Millium, Emma.
"Interesting choices, this time around. Roer and Ordis, huh?" The rest besides Jusis agreed with Rean, "Are you out of your mind?! You want us to drag this hyperactive chatterbox straight into the Noble Faction's largest stronghold?!"
The noble glared at their instructor while the rest just now realised the implications of sending Millium to Ordis, "That place is hostile territory for her, no two ways about it. If they find her poking around there, I am sure they will burn her at the stake."
"Aww, don't be such a worrywart, Elliot! I have snuck into Ordis plenty of times without ever being caught and this time I will have you guys with me, so it will be fine."
"Tch, this is no laughing matter, Millium. The consequences of you going there could be worse than the time Regnitz was thrown into jail."
"So? If that happens, I am sure that you are coming to my rescue, Jusis along with the rest." The innocent smile on her face made the blonde blink for a bit before he lightly hitting her head, "That is beside the point! How about we just avoid that from happening in the first place?!"
Sara continued watching these two banter before coughing to get their attention, "No need to worry, we are putting several securities in place to avoid that. Still, you are not in for a laid-back field study. That much I can say is for certain and that goes for both cities."
"Gelica's old man is the ruling lord of that places along with being the head of one of the Four Great Houses. Looks like the theme for this field study is how to avoid pissing off the Great Houses, huh? Or is it the other way around?"
"Not only that, but there is also a military factory run by the Imperial Army in the vicinity. The Reinford isn't aligned with either faction, but I am sure that there are mor than a few ongoing complications and since this time Rean is with us, it is certain that we are going to get into big trouble."
"….Wait, what? Why does me being there mean that we are getting into trouble!?" The others along with Sara just rolled their eyes at that, Machias took upon himself to explain why that was the case,
"Rean, we already talked about this but every group you have been in was the one who got into the most trouble. Just look back at every past field study, in Celidc you had to deal with the provincial army, in Bareahard, getting me out of prison. Nord Highlands, preventing a war from starting, in the Capital saving both your sister and the princess from terrorists, in Legarm for heaven's sake you had to deal with literal ghosts and the possible spirit of the Lance Maiden along with the ILF trying to seize the Railway canons. So statistically speaking we can be sure that this time won't be any different."
With Machias having pointed all that out to him, the swordsman could only shallow his protests back down and remain quiet much to the amusement of the rest, "No need to worry, you won't be alone in getting into trouble we are going to be right there with you and you already know what will happen in case you try to solve everything alone, right?"
Rean was getting used that Alisa's smile were terrifying when she wanted them to be, despite that he could only nod his head much to the further amusement of the others "With the academy's annual festival coming up next month, there is no field study being planned like I mention before so this will be the last one for a while, so you all should show off all the know-how you have gained from your previous field studies. Make whatever preparations you need to and when Saturday rolls around, travel with our head held high, Class VII has done a damn good job so far. The only reputation you guys have to uphold is your own."
Seeing the pride in her face, Class VII answered as one, "Thank you, Instructor!", done with that Sara ended the class for the day letting them start with their preparations. Some went into library, some went to upgrade their equipment while some decided to train some more, despite having been through the wringer with their instructor. That is how Rean and Alisa found themselves outside of Trista doing their usual practice together, namely Alisa trying to hit Rean with her arrows before he reached her.
(Concentrate Alisa, watch his movements and anticipate his next one.) Taking a deep breath, she nocked an arrow and waited for him to move, the moment he did she fired the arrow right at the spot he was moving to, Rean avoided it by simple rotating his body without losing any speed. Several arrows followed that one and each one was barely avoided the closer he came to her position, until Alisa had only one more opportunity before this was over.
She took out four arrows and instead of shooting them one after another she nocked three at the same time and fired them, closing the directions Rean could escape to forcing him into the path she wanted. Feeling excited that she had him right where she wanted him, the final arrow was shoot but much to her astonishment before it found its target, Rean snatched right up with his right hand while the left one grabbed her waist and drew her to him.
Looking up she found him grinning at her, causing her to hit her head against his chest when she realised that she had once again lost, "Come on! Who the hell snatches an arrow, mid-air, from that close of a distance?!"
Letting said arrow fall to the ground Rean just chuckled at her pouting now while drawing her even closer to him, "Someone who knew exactly where you were going to shoot and has more than enough experience at being shoot at from you to know what to do. Anyone else and that last attack from you would have been a bullseye, no doubt about it! I am so proud of you, Alisa! You have really come far since we started training months ago."
The pride in his eyes managed to mollify her enough to return the hug, even though she tried to hide the huge grin that was appearing on her face, he could still see it, "Yeah, yeah. I would feel better if that had been a clean hit, but I guess I will have to settle for that instead." Even though he knew that she was just hiding the delight she was feeling, he didn't say anything and just held her for a while.
During the last few days while they hadn't taken that last step to become a couple, these two had been closer than ever just enjoying each other company and teasing each other. Neither of these two could remember the last time they had been so happy, though those moments were reserved when they were alone without anyone else around.
Even though outwardly nothing had changed, the rest of the dormitory seemed to sense that something was different between them and despite Fie's best efforts on trying to find out what exactly had changed, she couldn't find anything.
They found that they enjoyed keeping their friends guessing as a bit of pay back for all the teasing the months before they had to endure, though they both knew that it was just a matter of time before taking that last step and having to endure merciless teasing from their friends, for now they were just glad to enjoy these moments together.
"So should we talk about the upcoming field study?"
"You mean, if I am ready to face my mother again? No need to tiptoe around it, I know what you are worried about….and my answer is I don't know." Both had sat against a tree and were looking at the setting sun, Rean didn't say anything and just held her close against giving her the support that she needed.
"When I left home, I never thought that I would return like this, still unsure on what to do about the Reinford company and my relationship with Mother. The plan was to go back only when I was confident enough in myself to confront her but perhaps this isn't bad at all. At least, I won't be alone this time, I will have my friends and you with me."
"As long you want me around, I will be there to support no matter what you chose."
"Careful in making those promises there, Mister. I may just decide to keep you around forever."
"And that would be bad because? But seriously Alisa, me and the others will always have your back no matter what, so like Instructor Sara said you should go back with your head held high. Just remember how far you have come since coming to Thors and I am sure that you can face your mother. You may have no idea want you to do in the future but that is alright, you still have enough time here at the academy to slowly think about what you want."
(I swear, now he has to be doing this on purpose and…yet I don't mind it at all.) Not saying anything else she just cuddled closer to him, just enjoying this time where it was just the two of them. After both had returned to the dormitory and ate their dinner, Sara informed them about a change in their schedule on the day of their departure.
That is why on Saturday morning both groups were still in the dormitory lounge getting ready to leave when it was already nearly nine a.m., waiting for the last members of Group A to appear, "It looks like they nearly pulled an all-nighter working on our festival performance, any idea how it is going Rean?"
"Last I heard, it sounds like they have got a general idea of what they want, as far as style goes but they are both nitpicking the set list and all the little details of the performance itself. Which is not a bad thing since it means that Crow list of impossible outfits is slowly being reduced, honestly, I am surprised that for clothes with not so much clothing in them, there are so many varieties of them."
They let that statement sink in, not knowing what to say as the implications of it became clear, that was until Machias asked what was on everyone mind, "Just out of curiosity and no other reason, of course. How less clothing are we talking about?"
"Just lots of strings would be an example, Machias." Which just confused the rest, "Ehm, Rean? I don't think you can have an outfit that is just made of strings."
"Judging from one of Crows sketches, apparently you can Emma. And to be fair Angelica is helping him coming with the most absurd outfits that I have ever seen, so it isn't only Crows fault for them."
"Just out of morbid curiosity, could I see one example of such a dress, Rean?" Looking at their faces, it was clear that Laura wasn't the only curious about that but before he could say anything, they heard loud steps coming down the stairs to reveal the missing members they were waiting for, "Aaaah! Sorry guys, I overslept!" Elliot came running towards them while Crow calmly walked behind him, "Morning, guys."
"No need to apologise, we still have enough time left to make it to academy field if we leave now or does anyone here has to do any last-minute shopping?" Facing Rean question the rest just shook their heads, though Alisa looked at the smiling maid that was standing behind her, "I hope you are ready for my un-surprise when I see you in Roer, Sharon! Though something tells me that isn't the only thing you are preparing for today."
"Heehee, I wouldn't dream of it, My Lady. I assure the surprise this time has nothing to do with me."
"So, you do know what Instructor Sara is cooking up this time. I guess, you couldn't share it with us before we go?" The maid gave them a bow at that question, "I am sorry, but it wouldn't do for me to deprive you all of the amazement you are about to see."
Not having exacted to get any answer, Alisa and the rest just said goodbye to her and left the building to go towards their destination, just to find the maid standing right next to Sara at the field with a smile on her face. "Cooking, cleaning, instantaneous teleportation, is there something that isn't on your resume, Sharon?"
Giggling at Reans question, Sharon just smiled at him without answering, "Honestly, I am not sure she can anything more that will surprise me. Anyway, what is the reason why we are instead on already being on the trains towards our destination?"
"It looks like everyone is here and right on the dot, it is 9 a.m. As for why you are here it is because your ride is here." The moment Sara finished speaking they heard the sound of an Airship approaching them looking up they saw a huge crimson airship appear above them, leaving them dumbfounded at the sight. "Wait, doesn't it resemble the White Wings of Liberl, the Arseille?"
"Now that you mention it Elliot, it does. It looks similar to the one that Prince Olivert was in when he returned two years ago, I remember it clearly because Dad had to hurry towards the airport to welcome the prince back."
While listening to the two residents of the capital, they noticed that the ship was making preparation to land, "Don't tell it is going to park right here on the field?!" Moving the students a bit further away, Sharon answered Crows outburst, "It is 75 arge from bow to stern, it might be a bit of a snug fit, but they should be able to touch down without any problems."
Going over the math in her head Alisa was going to agree with the maid but she noticed something else, "Wait! How do you know how large it is?! Don't tell me, Reinford was the one who built this?!" Sharon just gave her a wink for an answer causing her to groan out loud, Class VII watched how the ship landed without any trouble at all while admiring how it looked.
Before anyone could ask what was going on, a young man's voice was heard as soon the motors were powered down, "Salutations, my beautiful friends! It has only been ten days last we met, but I couldn't keep myself away from you all!" On the deck it was revealed that it was Prince Oliver accompanied by Major Vander who had spoken, "Hahaha, your slack-jawed amazement says it all. It looks like this will be quite the crowd-pleaser during its grand unveiling in Heimdallr."
These two weren't the only surprise in store for Class VII, shortly after the prince finished speaking someone else followed up, "I see many familiar faces gathered here today and several I have yet to have the pleasure of meeting." Showing up from inside the ship was the Radiant Blademaster wearing a captain's hat followed by Toval who grinned at shocked expressions of the students, "This isn't quite how I expected our reunion to go, that is for sure."
Amidst the stunned silence the last few bombshells had created Mayor Vander decided to add one more, "Allow me to introduce you all, this is Captain Victor S. Arseid, who will be assuming command of this ship which thanks to the Chairman of the Board is going to use its unveiling flight as a means of transport for both groups of Class VII towards their destination."
"With that out of the way, let me be the first to welcome you, Class VII aboard the second Arseille-Class highspeed cruiser, the Courageous!" Prince Olivert welcome woke the students up, who managed to enter the ship before starting to ask their questions. Though it didn't take long before it took off and flew through the capital and its suburbs causing countless exclamation at its appearance, in the meantime Class VII was escorted to the bridge where one look around was enough for Alisa to analyse the components of the ship.
"If I am not mistaken, this airship is equipped with the Epstein Foundation's latest information processing system, meaning you managed to get the Reinford group, Zeiss Central Factory and the Foundation to collaborate for this project. I don't know what is more impressive, this ship or the fact you managed to make these three to work together."
"I suppose you would be the most well informed on matters of technology, I have caused a great many people no small amount of trouble gathering both fund and the technology to build it but, in the end, it was all worth seeing it now flying through the air."
"It's roughly twice the size of the original Arseille," Sharon started to explain the specs while ignoring the glare her charge was giving her, "Along with twenty of Zeiss Central Factory's high-performance engines. It is able to reach a top speed of roughly 3,000 SPH, while not as fast as the original Arseille's 3,600 SPH, the Courageous stands up in terms of armor and interception capabilities."
"The more I hear about it, the more unbelievable it sounds but what I don't undersdtand is why my father is sitting in the captain's seat. He is not even part of the military unless you have enlisted?"
"I can understand why you are so perplexed, but this ship here doesn't belong to any military force neither from Imperial nor Provincial Army. The owners are actually the imperial family." Prince Oliver took over for Laura's dad, "Which gives me the opportunity of creating a third faction of sorts, unconnected to the other factions. To that end, I could think of no finer captain than Viscount Arseid."
That explanation was enough for Rean to understand the true propose of this ship, "The fastest ship in the Empire, captained by the Radiant Blademaster. I don't think you could ask for a stronger deterrent than that and if I am not wrong you are intending to tour the country to try to lessen the tension that has been building across the Empire. Perhaps you are also hoping to intimate the ILF into behaving by showing that if they show up in their airship you will hunt them down."
"Right on the mark, Rean. Looks like your Unclouded Eye is progressing very well, I am sure that your master will be pleased with it. While it looks like the RMP and the Intelligence Division are holding them, a little bit of assurance doesn't hurt."
After some more explanations from Prince Olivert, he let the students explore the ship on their own, the class split into smaller groups for this exploration and it was like this that Rean stumbled upon Sara and Toval swapping information on the outside deck, "You know no matter how much Prince Olivert tries to compensate for the fact that there is no more guild here with this ship, I would rather have it back at full strength."
"Sigh, I hear you, Sara. It still frustrates me how the guild used to be an institution and now we are just barely keeping the lights on. At least the Crossbell branch sends its people over to help out when we need a hand though."
"Wenzel is one thing, but we owe Arios so many favours I have lost count."
"True enough, along with Cassius help two years ago we seem to be indebted quite a bit to the Eight Leaves…Hey Ream, ever thought of becoming a Bracer? So far, we have gotten a pretty good record with your school."
Before Rean respond to Toval offer, Sara cut in, "Are you trying to recruit my adorable student right under my nose, Radonneur? Don't listen to him Rean, you still have enough time to think about your future and what you want to do. For now, you should go look around the Courageous some more who know when your next opportunity to do this will come."
Rean could just roll his eyes at Sara but gave her and Toval a short bow before leaving, he saw his classmates looking around with curiosity safe a certain archer, who he found down at the hold with her maid, talking about something,
"I had no idea the company was involved in developing something of this scale all this time and that in collaboration with the Foundation and ZCF? Let's not forget Mother is also involved in the development of the Arcus Unit, Orbal Staff and the Board of Directors along with running the company. No matter how you look at it, it's way too much work for one person. How many projects does she have under wing right now?"
The maid took a moment to think, "Well, I am afraid that I can't give a simple answer to that but suffice to say, that chairman only knows about a small number of the projects in development by the Reinford Group. Lately, the directors have…."
Sharon didn't need to finish her sentence for Alisa to understand what she was implying but this time she didn't finish because she noticed Rean was approaching them, her charge hadn't notice him, so she remained quiet about it, hoping to see her lady jump. And Rean didn't disappoint he tapped the archer lightly on the shoulder but that was enough for her to react by jumping away from him.
The maid didn't surpress the smile at what followed next, despite appearing to be angry with him, Alisa couldn't hide the enjoy in her eyes from seeing him even though they had just parted not that long ago. (I wonder, how long until these two get together? Lately they appear to be even closer than usual, but I don't think they have taken that step yet. Still, it fills me with joy at seeing My Lady so happy when she is with him.)
After she finished scolding Rean for scaring her, she turned around to Sharon and went on as if the last minutes hadn't happened, "That means that Mother has no oversight on who is doing what. Grandfather is right, the company has gotten too big for its own good. That however is a worry for another day, I know that you won' give me the truth even if I asked but is there something going with either Mother or the company that I should know?"
"Of course not, Lady Alisa. As far as I know everything is fine with the chairman and the company, if you don't mind since Master Rean managed to find you, I will leave the two of you alone for the rest of the flight while I go over to the crew to get some feedback of the ship for Lady Irina. See you two later."
Not waiting for answer, Sharon left the two alone, "You think something is wrong with the company?"
"I already said that it is getting too big, for example those black airships the ILF uses, were made by Reinford but since there is no news going around about that fact or that the Intelligence Division hasn't managed to track down where the money for them came from, means that those ships where made from one of our division off the book….by the way, I am still mad at you for scaring me."
That last part managed to make the frown disappear from his face instead there was now a teasing grin on it, "Now, we can't have that just before we start our field study. Whatever can I do to earn your forgiveness, Lady Alisa?" She snorted at that but otherwise remained quiet letting him think that he was in trouble, "Perhaps the lady would forgive me if I gave her one of her favourite snacks that I have with me right now?"
That managed to get a reaction out of her, if the side-look she gave was anything to go by, still grinning he took it out and presented it to her just to burst out laughing when she stuck her tongue out while grabbing the snack and turning around but not enough that he couldn't see that she was also grinning.
After that they spend the rest of the flight walking through the ship while she explained some parts in more details while he simply listened that is until they were alone in the resting area, "Never thought I would see the day that I would be the one to say this but Alisa?"
She looked at him with a curious look on her face and waited for him to go on, "I think it would be pretty reckless if you were to try, to find the money trail for those black airships, especially since the Intelligence Division already tried it and I am sure that your mother won't allow it."
She stopped moving and just looked at him with her eyes wide open, "….Sigh, was I that obvious?"
"Not exactly, the possibility of you doing that just jumped into my head with our previous talk. I don't think your mother would take it kindly, if you were going through confidential documents without her permission which I am sure that she won't give you."
The archer just sighed again and slumped face down onto the table, "You are probably right, no you are definitely right but, I am still a Reinford shouldn't at least try to see if I can find something since terrorist are using Airships made by the company?"
Rean spread his senses and besides some crew members in other rooms on this floor, there was no one else so he sat beside her and took her hand into his, "Nothing wrong with that but right we should concentrate on our field study, if and that is a big if, we have the opportunity to do a little digging then we all as a group should see what we can do, ok? Besides shouldn't I be the only reckless one here? Are you trying to take my role, Alisa?"
"How about neither of us is the reckless one from now on? I could live with that and me looking through some confidential documents at the company my family owns isn't me being reckless perhaps a tiny bit illegal but nothing that Sharon wouldn't cover up, if I got caught." Chuckling he just intertwined his finger with hers and squeezed, "Of that part I have no doubt, but still let's avoid that and try to have a normal field study."
She just grinned at him, "I am sorry Rean but with you around any chance of that happening is long gone, nevertheless thanks for looking out for me." He threw his free hand in the air at the accusation and just let her laugh at him, while waiting to arrive at their destination.
