"Will you cut that out already?" Machias asked with a particularly venomous look. Rean blinked. That look was directed towards him. But why was he-

No, wait. Machias wasn't glaring at him, per se, but instead at his hand which had been nervously tapping the conference room table for the past few minutes. "...Sorry." With great force of will he calmed the twitchy limb.

The bespectacled student shook his head in annoyance. "Why are you so nervous anyways? It's only been a few days."

"Are you that daft, Regnitz?" Jusis let out a sigh, but the mocking smile on his face told the true story. "Although it can't be helped, I suppose. You aren't the kind of person to worry others when you get kidnapped. Aidios knows I felt nothing but elation when I found out you were taken prisoner during our field study."

"...It was pretty funny." The Albarea sent Fie a nod of gratitude for her support, much to the consternation of their victim.

"I was quite concerned for you."

Machias looked gratefully towards Emma. "I am glad that someone here actually cares."

"Meh. You kids get in trouble every other day. It's hard to keep caring." Their class instructor was truly the responsible adult role model.

"Jusis is correct..." Gaius paused, before quickly amending his statement. "...The part about worrying others, at least. The last time Rean was in Ymir was during the battle. Sure a message was sent there after the rescue to inform everyone he was alright, but this will still be his first time back there in person since that day.

The swordsman in question could only nod in agreement. Sure it was a bit silly, but confronting his parents was sure to be awkward. Still, it was something he was glad to finally do. There was no orbal network in Ymir and he had no desire to send the entire ship on a flight to his hometown for a personal visit, so the chance hadn't come up before.

Needless to say seeing his hometown mentioned in the most recent batch of requests sent from Prince Olivert had been a very welcome surprise. Class VII was needed to investigate some sort of disturbance in the hot springs, which meant he finally had a chance to go home and reassure his parents that he truly was alright.

"Happy reunions aside, I'm glad for this vacation!" Millium cheered happily.

"...Didn't we just spend yesterday in Celdic?"

Naturally, Jusis' words were unable to dampen her enthusiasm. "Sure, but that barely counts. We worked hard today. I'm bushed!"

She wasn't entirely wrong, either. This trip to Ymir wasn't the only mission the prince had sent them. The entire day had been spent completing requests, fighting monsters, and searching for more students that Olivert had somehow acquired the locations of. All in all it she was right to feel exhausted.

But it had been quite profitable work. Munk, Alan, Paula, Loggins, Fidelio, and Dorothee had all joined the ranks of the Courageous, alongside Becky who had invited herself the previous day. Nearly all the important positions on the ship were now being run by his fellow students. It was finally starting to feel like a true Thors mission. And as much as he wanted to forget about it, Instructor Thomas was now on board as well. While he didn't help out much around the ship, he had taken it upon himself to start translating those mysterious books Rean had been finding...

For his part Rean had been subjected to a very unusual request from Instructor Neithardt. It seemed that during their retreat from the bridge the Kreuzen Army had left behind a nearly pristine Spiegel. Something which the 4th Armored had been very keen to study so as to prepare better countermeasures during the next battle.

It was Neithardt who had taken up the task of learning the machine, and it was something he did with the same intensity he did everything else. After only a couple of days piloting the Spiegel the creator of the Manway Method had felt confident enough to send Rean a personal challenge. A one on one battle with their respective machines.

On paper Rean would have assumed he held a massive advantage in such a fight. He had fought and bested plenty of Spiegels by this point and knew just how much of an advantage Valimar held over them. Surely a battle against someone who had been piloting one for only a couple days would be an easy one.

It turned out to be quite the opposite, in fact. While he was the more experienced pilot, Neithardt the Mighty was still the more skilled warrior by far, and that was an advantage that carried well into their battle. His machine might have been weaker and slower, but his precise skilled blows made up the difference.

Although he ended up winning, Rean found it to be a somewhat humbling experience. He was sure that he was getting better, but clearly he still had a long way to go, especially if he wanted to best Crow in his own Divine Knight. His rival's parting words still rung loudly in his ears: He needed to somehow find a tachi for Valimar. Only with his Eight Leaves One Blade training could he hope to match up against skilled enemies that he couldn't simply overpower with Valimar...

After that battle he and the rest of Class VII had split up across the country to tackle the requests and recruit their peers from the other classes. He himself had gone to Garrelia Fortress at Laura's request to talk to Munk, as his fellow sword user felt that he was the only one with the rapport needed to convince the radio enthusiast to join the cause. In the end she had been right, and after a somewhat lengthy and pointless adventure involving a lost sticker had finally completed his mission.

All told it was already evening by the time they had finished with all that, so Sara suggested that after since their final request would take them to Ymir that they should stay the night and relax. It was a sensible suggestion so nobody declined. It made him happy to see that everyone else was becoming as fond of Ymir and its hot springs as he was – even if personally he doubted that their passion could ever compare to his.

"We're coming up on Ymir now. Ground team, prepare to disembark!" Came the voice of Captain Towa over the intercom system. Rean felt bad that the entire Courageous crew couldn't spend the night in his home, but Towa had assured him that it was fine. Class VII was there on a mission, after all, so it only made sense that they remain down there while the rest of the crew remained on standby.

While Towa's words made sense, the annoyed pouty look from Vivi after those remarks made him worried that the second year girl was setting herself up for a nasty prank or two.

And yet, even as Class VII got ready for landing they were approached by another figure and Rean couldn't help but smile – it seemed they weren't the only ones visiting Ymir. "You're coming too, Your Highness?" Jusis asked the approaching princess.

"Yup!" The young girl nodded cheerfully. "It has been a while since I last saw Aunt Lucia. Not to mention Uncle Teo..."

Of course. She too had been abducted from Ymir against her will. And it was worse for her as her last visage of Ymir was his dad lying in a pool of his own blood. While he was sure that someone in the alliance had informed her of the baron's survival at some point, that still didn't change how painful those memories must have been during her captivity. "You're more than welcome to join us. I'm sure my parents will be delighted to see you."

"In that case, perhaps you should escort the princess to your home while the rest of us inquire about the request?"

"H-Huh?" He looked towards Laura wondering if he had heard her correctly. "I was going to help out first before seeing them after-" He was met by ten pairs of bemused eyes plus one more that belonged to a very amused princess. "W-Well, alright, but I'm still going to come back as soon as I've greeted them." While he certainly had nothing against seeing his parents sooner he still felt a little guilty leaving the others with all the work.

After touchdown the group entered Ymir together before separating with the others headed towards the Phoenix Wings while he and Princess Alfin made their way to the mansion.

Alfin let out a tiny giggle as she waved back to an excited Alf and Kiki. News or their arrival must have proceeded them, as it seemed that half the town was out to witness the return of Rean and the princess. Not that she seemed to mind any as she was all smiles and cheerfulness as she returned each and every greeting in kind. She truly was Erebonia's princess. "I'm so happy to see this place back to normal!"

"Haha... Me too." Unlike Alfin he couldn't help but feel a little self conscious under all the attention, but it still left him feeling good. Ymir truly was a resilient place and he loved it quite dearly.

Before long the two reached his home and entered. He wasn't at all surprised to find his parents already waiting for them. Nor was he surprised when his mom barreled forward at speeds no civilian should move to scoop the two of them up in a big hug. "Rean! Alfin! I'm so glad to see you both safe and sound!"

"Sorry for making you worry, Aunt Lucia."

"Not at all, dear. I knew you would be fine. They didn't mistreat you at all, did they?"

The swordsman was able to free himself from Lucia's grip while the older woman fussed over the princess. He didn't begrudge either of them for hogging the attention of the other. In fact it just reinforced the idea that the princess truly had become his younger sister, like she had previously teased.

"Good job, son." He couldn't help but blush slightly under the proud smile his father sent him. "I'm proud of you."

"Thanks, dad. It wasn't all me, though. Without my friends..."

"No one is capable of handling everything on their own, but even still. Take pride in the fact that you've befriended such wonderful people who are willing to fight hard for your sake. And with their help you were able to accomplish one of your goals in this war."

They spared a glance towards the princess who was still happily conversing with his mom. "I guess so..."

Still, she was only one of his reasons. Elise was still out there in captivity. His fists clenched at the thought.

"You'll find her." Teo read his mind plain as day. "We believe in you and your friends."

"I know. I won't give up on her." Shaking himself from those morose thoughts the young swordsman noticed something positive. "You're looking better, dad."

His comment caused Alfin to look over at the two. "He's right! I'm so glad that you're okay, Uncle Teo! I was so worried..."

The older man let out a deep chuckle. As you can see, it'll take more than a few bullets to put me down for good. Father Bernard has given me a clean bill of health so I can finally start doing what needs to be done around here."

"He just wants to go out on a hunt with Arthur." Mom whispered conspiratorially.

Teo let out an easy shrug. "Can't deny that. Ymir's running low on food and I really want to get out and stretch my legs a bit. Sounds like a good deal to me."

It was such a relief to see his father back to his old self that Rean let out a small laugh. "Alright, but take care of yourself, alright? Things have gotten pretty dangerous out there."

"I might be old, but I still know what I'm doing." Dad gave an expression of mock hurt. "To think the day would come when I would find myself getting lectured by my troublesome son. That same son that keeps finding himself in dangerous situations if the stories in the Imperial Chronicle are anything to go by!"

There was a round of laughs at his expense, something which he freely joined in. "Alright, alright, I get it. I guess being reckless is in our bl- is a Schwarzer thing."

He was sure that they noticed his near slip, but none chose to make comment of it. It was such a warm atmosphere and he didn't want to leave it, but at the same time...

"Go, Rean." He was surprised at his mother's words. "We already know about the troubles at the resort and how your class was asked to help out."

"Indeed. I am quite certain that your classmates are more than up to the task of handling it themselves, but you aren't the sort of person to keep yourself out of it, are you? As both the baron of this town and as your father, you have my full support in the matter."

Having the support of his parents – even for something as trivial as this – felt amazing. "Alright. I'll be back as soon as we've taken care of the problem." No need to rush things through, however, as he was sure that Princess Alfin would keep them plenty of company in his absence.

It didn't take long for the lone swordsman to cross the familiar confines of his hometown and soon enough he was inside the resort where the rest of his companions had gathered. "Were you guys able to get details on the request?"

"Indeed." Gaius nodded after giving a short greeting. "It appears that someone or something has been prowling around the baths at night, causing a disruption to the occupants."

"And yet nobody has been able to spot our mysterious voyeur." And yet for some reason Jusis was smirking in a very alien manner. "It's almost as if it is a-"

"Don't say it!" Millium shouted with a pale expression.

Something which only caused him to grin wider. "...A spooky ghost."

"Noooo!"

He felt bad for laughing alongside the others at the poor terrified girl, but he couldn't help himself. It was fun when he wasn't the one being teased by the others. Still, while this wasn't the most dangerous situation in the world, it was a very serious one. The Phoenix Wings were the lifeblood of Ymir, and if it acquired a bad reputation because of some miscreant than the entire village would suffer badly. "So I take it we're going to use the baths to try and draw our target out?"

"Yes." Emma confirmed with a nod. "I believe we will have a much better chance at detecting and apprehending whoever is responsible for this. Are you alright with the guys taking the first shift?"

Seeing as how none of the other boys were voicing any objection he nodded along to the witch's suggestion. "Sure, that sounds good to us."

"Pretty sure he would agree to any idea that ended up with him in the baths 'cause he's an obsessed weirdo." He mock glared at Fie for that unnecessary commentary, but as always she was completely unaffected.

"He might be a weirdo, but he's right. Those waters are so relaxing. All my aches and pains go away in an instant. You guys better hurry up so we can have our turn!"

"...Are you sure that all your 'aches and pains' aren't due to your rapidly advancing age, Instructor?"

A stunned silence permeated the room for a long second. "Wha!? Laura!? After all the kind support I offered you!?"

"I'm afraid I have no recollection of what you are talking about, Instructor Sara." Her deadpan response was oddly reminiscent of someone else. The high five the Arseid shared with Fie only made the comparison clearer. Should he be worried that they were starting to rub off on each other like that?

...Probably, but he wasn't. Picking up Fie's twisted sense of humor was a small price to pay for the closeness they were now sharing.

"Alright everyone!" He clapped his hands together, excited at the prospect of a nice warm soak. "We all know what to do, so let's get to it!"

His proclamation was met by many flat stares, causing him to wilt slightly. He definitely made his excitement a little too noticeable there, but he couldn't help himself! There was nothing in the world like Ymir's hot springs!

"I don't think I will ever get used to water like this." Gaius commented with a blissful sigh as he and the other boys of Class VII settled into the warm waters.

Machias let out a groan as he stretched his legs out. "At the risk of sounding like our unreliable instructor, this bath really does make you feel better. It's like all the fatigue I've acquired after a hard day like today is gone in an instant."

"You? Put in a hard day? Surely you jest."

"Can it, Albarea!" Came the immediate retort. "Having to put up with the likes of you every day is enough to drive any man to exhaustion. And then there's Fie..."

Rean arched a curious eyebrow. What did Fie do while he was gone? Elliot – who was sitting next to him – noticed his confusion. "You remember those two friends of Machias we met during our study in Heimdallr?" He nodded, completely ignoring said boy's protests that they weren't his friends. "Well, we were all surprised to find out that Kargo is in Ymir right now. Apparently he and Patiry got separated while fleeing the capital after the surprise attack..."

"And that was when Fie casually announced that she already met her during her visit to Legram!" The fuming shotgun user yelled out. "And when I demanded an explanation as to why she never said anything before..."

He could picture it clearly. She probably let out a shrug before casually admitting that she forgot about it. Maybe an added yawn to antagonize him up even further.

"Her ability to constantly rile you up is nothing short of impressive. It is a shame that she is so enamored with Rean, as such a talent is too good to ignore."

It was only because Jusis was clearly jesting that Rean was able to swallow the tinge of annoyance at that comment. It was his solemn duty as a good boyfriend to keep other guys away from both Fie and Laura, after all.

"Grr...!" Machias naturally had no such restraint. "You think you're so sly, don't you? Well too bad for you I know about the sweets you picked up from Celdic. It would be a shame if Millium were to find out about it, now wouldn't it?"

"You wouldn't dare!"

"Wouldn't I?"

Elliot let out a quiet laugh. "Is it wrong that seeing them like this makes me happy?" He whispered as they witnessed the ensuing argument.

"Not at all." The wise Nord agreed. "It's nice knowing that some things can remain the same no matter how much has happened. Perhaps it's a sign that this war doesn't have to ruin what we consider to be our normal lives."

"Normal, huh...?" It was a nice thought, but was it really possible? His definition of normal was Class VII back at Thors together. All of them.

As naive as he was even he understood that that might not ever be possible again. Not when he still considered Crow to be one of them.

Best to not dwell upon that now as he needed to get a lot stronger before they could even consider a possible return to normal. For now he needed to focus on the present. That meant keeping an eye out for whomever was prowling around the-

There! He could sense a presence rapidly approaching. Hastily he reached for his tachi only to remember that he was in the bath.

"Hey-hey-hey! You can't hog the bath all night, guys!" Fortunately – or unfortunately? - the presence he sensed was merely Millium, who had arrived in her towel, much to the consternation of Jusis and the rest of them.

Their attempts to chastise the girl were a failure as she rightly pointed out that their shift had ended and it was supposed to be the girl's turn in the baths, something which none of them had noticed. With great reluctance he and the others were forced to vacate the warm waters. After changing up the five of them settled onto a pair of couches in the lounge.

"Well that was a disappointment." Jusis muttered darkly.

"Rean, Gaius. Were the two of you able to sense anything?" Their bespectacled comrade glanced between the two as he asked that.

Gaius hummed in thought. "I didn't hear anything on the wind, no." Rean for his part remained silent, but nodded in support of his friend's observations.

"Maybe whoever we're looking for knew we were in there and chose to stay away?"

"It's possible." Machias supported Elliot's theory. "It's also possible that we aren't the kind of people they are targeting.

The words were unspoken, but the thought of a pervert in Ymir targeting girls was an enraging one. If such a person truly was around... Rean tensed himself. He was prepared to move at a moment's notice to protect-

"Eeeek!"

His legs were moving before he fully comprehended what he was doing. That was Alisa's scream, which meant that trouble was afoot in the baths. Was it the target? Were the girls in danger? All sorts of questions were going through the swordsman's head as he raced towards the baths, hand on the hilt of his tachi.

"Rean, I really don't think that's a good idea...!" Elliot's voice trailed behind him. Why were the others hesitating at this crucial moment!?

Bursting into the outdoor area he was quick to take stock of his surroundings. There! Standing at the edge of the hot springs were a pair of Creepy Sheep monsters. Were they the ones responsible for everything? They must be, considering the only other living things in the area were-

Oh.

Now he understood why Elliot and the others were so hesitant on approaching. As his unblinking gaze rested upon the towel-clad figures of the females of Class VII they stared back at him in shock. Rean understood that he had messed up badly. And yet despite himself he couldn't tear his eyes away from the sight. S-Sure he was already in a committed relationship, but that didn't mean he couldn't admire the beauty of Alisa, Emma, and Instructor Sara, right?

The sound of Laura facepalming hard was enough to shake him from his stupor. "Honestly, Rean..."

"They're getting away." Fie's voice carried absolutely no emotion as she pointed out that the monsters were escaping.

"As funny as this is..." Instructor Sara was the only one who seemed to hold that opinion of the current situation. "...we should go catch that monster first. Rean's punishment can wait."

The red-faced swordsman could only look away in shame. "...Understood."

The pursuit of the two monsters was an unusual one. At first he – after linking up with the other boys – had pursued the sheep to the best of their abilities. The monsters were quick, but they were able to keep up with them long enough for the girls to quickly change and rejoin the group, making their pursuit twice as effective.

Something which the Creepy Sheep seemed to understand as they began to flee down the mountain at a speed that was too risky for humans to keep up. Luckily for Class VII he was still Ymir's Champion Snowboarder – a title he came up with for himself – and set out in pursuit of them that way. With Millium lending her support on Airgetlam the two were able to corner the enemies until the others were able to safely catch up.

It was a fortunate thing, as the two sheep weren't alone. Come to find out that there was a third sheep, with the last one being far larger and meaner than the others. Even with Millium's support he wasn't sure it was an opponent he could easily best, but with the rest of Class VII on hand the encounter – despite its oddity – wasn't all that difficult.

After driving away the monsters responsible for the disturbance Class VII made the long trek back up the mountain to report mission success. Even if they or other similar monsters were to appear Manager Baggins was confident they could better respond to the situation now that they knew what was going on.

And yet for all the work they had done Rean knew that the Phoenix Wings would continue to struggle in the near future. Not many people were traveling the country during the current climate. Just one more reason for him to want this war to end as soon as possible.

But Ymir's problems soon found themselves tucked away in the back of his mind as he found himself facing a far more grizzly situation... his own current problems. "You do know why you are here, correct?"

"...Yes." Currently he found himself sitting in the lobby opposite of a very stern looking Laura and Fie. "It's because I charged into the girl's baths without thinking." He felt like a child shying away under the stern gazes of his parents.

Fie giggled. "When you say it like that it makes me wonder if you are actually a perv who hides it well. It's either that or you're just an idiot, I guess."

Out of those options? "I'm an idiot."

"Fie!" Laura looked torn between being offended and amused. "None of us think you are an idiot, Rean." The blue-haired warrior expertly ignored the doubtful sound Fie made. "In fact I think the way you act decisively is one of your most admirable traits... Usually. Right now, however, I find your impulsive nature to be quite vexing."

Ouch. He considered Laura to be one of the most forgiving members of Class VII. The way she calmly stated that stung far more deeply than Fie's relentless teasing. "I know. I am so very sorry!"

"I know you are." Laura smiled warmly at him. "Just strive to do better next time. And I would advise apologizing to the others in the morning."

"Oh yeah." The silver-haired girl nodded in agreement. "Alisa was fuming. Pretty sure she was gonna beat you up before we convinced her that we'd handle it. Emma... Well, we all know that she's too kind to do something like that, but I bet she knows some crazy magic hex or something to use if you embarrass her too much."

"I promise I will." He reassured the two. He resisted the urge to let out a sigh of relief. This had gone so much better than he had feared. He was actually somewhat expecting the well-deserved beating for his actions, but cooler heads had prevailed to stave off his execution.

At least those were his thoughts before Fie grinned in a way that meant trouble for him. "Sooo... Since you got a good look and all, who were you staring at the most?"

"...Huh?" It was the only thing he could get out. She didn't just say what he thought she had said, had she?

"Your actions were regrettable, but since they cannot be undone... I find myself a little curious as well."

This was definitely a loaded question. "I didn't really look, sorry. I was focused on the monsters."

"Lying isn't very becoming of you." Once again Laura's calm response was as sharp as a well-honed blade.

"Plus, we all know how observant you are. I saw the way you were looking. You were practically drooling." ...And Fie's teasing nature followed it up. "C'mon, who was it. We won't get mad, I promise."

She said that, but the swordsman wasn't entirely sure he believed it. Time to use a little tact. "You two are the most beautiful women I've ever met."

His tactic was at least somewhat effective as Laura glanced away shyly. Fie however kept her narrowed gaze fixated on him even as she gained a small tint of red on her face. "That didn't answer the question, but whatever. If you don't want to answer then fine." The younger girl hummed thoughtfully. "I still can't believe Emma's boobs were floating in the water like that. So annoying..."

"But they weren't floating!" He protested immediately before freezing up. "Oh..."

Laura giggled while his personal devil smirked victoriously. "Knew it. Perv."

"There, there." He was sure that Laura was trying to be comforting, but the way she patted him on the head felt more condescending than anything. "See? It's like she said. Neither of us are angry."

The other girl bobbed her head in agreement. "Of course if you had been staring at Sara I would have dumped you on the spot. Can't fix someone that messed up, after all."

The Ymir native glanced between the two nervously. Both were silent. "Are you finally done teasing poor Rean?"

"Hmm..." Fie nodded her head in thought. "I dunno. I kinda want to keep going. How 'bout you?"

"While I admit this has been quite the entertaining experience..." His head slumped in defeat. "...perhaps we should consider retiring for the night? I have a feeling we will be quite busy tomorrow."

He laughed nervously. "Our track record hasn't been good, has it? Still, the war seems pretty calm now. Maybe we'll get a break?" His words were greeted by a flat unimpressed stare that was completely on home on Fie's face. The only problem? It was mirrored on Laura's. "...I just jinxed it, didn't I?"