30/08/1024 11:00
Crossbell City, Crossbell

All the delegations from the other countries had arrived. Chancellor Gilliath Osborne, alongside his aide Lechter Arundel, got out of the limo. Behind them, Prince Olivert Reise Arnor also came out accompanied by his bodyguard Mueller Vander, another guest in Viscount Schleiden. All of them represented Erebonia.

From Liberl, Princess Klaudia von Auslese was accompanied by her loyal bodyguard, Julia Schwarz. President Rocksmith came alongside Kilika Rouran as the representative of the Calvard Republic. Meanwhile, Grand Prince Albert von Bartholomeus was the sole representative of the Principality of Remiferia.

Since every one of note had already arrived, Mayor Dieter took the stage. "To our esteemed dignitaries... Allow me to officially welcome you to Crossbell State. I am the mayor of Crossbell City: Dieter Crois. Thank you all for coming here today and agreeing to participate in the West Zemuria Trade Conference. This would be when I officially announce the opening of the conference itself. However, before we get to that, we must first commemorate this auspicious day."

Dieter then turned his back, facing the building behind him, which was still covered in tarp.

"There is something I wish to show to you. Behind me stands Crossbell City's new City Hall. A modern landmark that symbolizes Crossbell's commitment to both trade and finance. Above all else, it is a place of international exchange for the sake of peace throughout the entire continent. It is with great pride I unveil to you the continent's first true skyscraper..."

That was the cue. The tarp was slowly uncovered with the help of an orbal-powered pulley, showing everyone in the city the culmination of several years of work to build something majestic in their city.

"...Orchis Tower!"

Dieter ended his announcement by launching fireworks and confetti.

The tower stood tall at 250 agre and had 40 floors. Now that it has been officially revealed, it holds the record of being the tallest man-made building in Zemuria.

Reactions from the people were mostly in awe at the height of the tower. Not only was it so tall, but the exterior design was also sleek and screamed 'future.'

From atop the Times department store, KeA looked at the ceremony together with the other children and Shizuku. The rooftop was packed with other people who also wanted to see the unveiling. Sensing the awe of the people around her, Shizuku tugged on KeA's arm.

"Heehee. Everyone seems so excited. Hey, KeA. Is the building really that large?"

"..." KeA didn't reply. It could even be said that her attention was caught by the gigantic tower which was being unveiled. However, what she was feeling wasn't awe like other people.

No, what she was feeling was-

"KeA...? Are you still there?"

KeA blinked. She turned her attention to Shizuku beside her. "Oh. Sorry, Shizuku. Umm... Yeah, it's totally huge! It has a pretty blue and white color, and it's super sleek and cool! But..."

"...? What's wrong?" Shizuku sensed the hesitation in the green-haired girl's words.

KeA smiled and reassured her friends. "Oh... It's nothing."

However... deep inside her heart, she couldn't dismiss the weird feeling she had upon looking at the tower.

It was her first time seeing the tower, and yet it felt like she had seen it before.

But it was impossible, right?

30/08/1024 11:00
Crossbell City, Crossbell

While everyone was captivated by the majestic tower that was being unveiled, one person did not shirk his duty for the safety of the citizen: Alex Dudley.

As the ace of the First Division, he knew that the unveiling was better used for something else. Thus, he coordinated with some other First Division members to meet with the other nations' security.

Liberl's was simple enough since the Royal Guards handled everything. Julia Schwarz led them, but she was guarding the Princess, so the meeting was handled by her subordinate. They were cooperative and reported that they had twenty members on standby in the Arseille, the airship of Liberl Royal Guards. All of them agreed to cooperate for tomorrow.

Same with Remiferia. They also brought twenty people to guard the Grand Prince, but aside from that, they also brought twenty field medics in case of emergency. It would surely be helpful if the terrorists really attacked tomorrow.

The problem was Calvard and Erebonia.

Oh, Calvard brought their army, alright. But the amount of people exceeded what they said they would bring! They reported their intention to bring fifty people when they received the invitation to the conference. But now they brought almost one hundred! Dudley had to ask for confirmation when they mentioned they brought more than what they said they would.

If Calvard brought too much army, the problem with Erebonia was the opposite. Army? What army?

That was right. The delegation from Erebonia only consisted of Chancellor Gilliath Osborne, his aide Lechter Arundel, Prince Olivert Reise Arnor, his bodyguard Mueller Vander, Johann Schleiden, and a civilian from military school, Towa Herschel.

Only six people from Erebonia landed in Crossbell.

No army. No guards. No one else. It was a stark difference from their invitation reply that said they would send fifty soldiers to guard the delegation.

Once he went back to the CPD, Dudley clicked his tongue. Erebonia was playing a dangerous game. Especially since the ILF was targeting their royalty according to the information the SSS had gotten.

Now, all his planning for personnel placement tomorrow was useless. He needed to rework it from scratch.

"Hmph. At least communication will be easier since we have the new Enigma functions."

30/08/1024 12:00
Crossbell City, Crossbell

Towa Herschel looked around in confusion. She came to Crossbell as part of the Erebonian delegation, but since she technically didn't hold any position in the government, she wasn't included in the ceremony. All she could do was just watch from the front row.

Now, that itself was not a problem for her; the problem was that her body was small, so when the ceremony was complete, the crowds herded her into somewhere she didn't recognize, and there was nothing she could do until they dispersed.

While she was familiar with the big cities since she lived in Heimdallr, this place was almost as big as Heimdallr, so the course of action she had to take was clear.

"Um... excuse me," Towa greeted some bystanders who were standing in front of a big department store.

"-Right, and don't you think Captain Julia Schwarz is so handsome?"

"Definitely! I've heard about her, but this is the first time I saw her myself! Goddess... she's so cool! Oh, but what about Prince Olivert? He's so dreamy..."

"I'm more partial to his bodyguard myself. Those muscles... yummy."

"Um..." Towa's plea went unheard by the two girls. "Thanks..."

In the end, she sat down on one of the benches, sighing. "I guess some people are not all helpful like Rean..."

"Hmm? You feeling alright?"

Towa turned her head when she heard a voice greeting her. It was from a pink-haired girl who was sitting beside her. A wooden sword suspiciously shaped like Rean's rested between them.

"Ah..."

"A tourist? Are you here because of the ceremony?" The pink-haired girl continued bombarding her with questions.

"Um..." Towa nervously looked away.

"Are you perhaps... lost? Where are your parents?"

A metaphorical thunder struck Towa's heart at the last question. "I-I'm not a little girl! I'm 18!"

The other girl looked at her from top to bottom. "Ah... my bad," she scratched her cheek while averting her eyes. "So you're older than me."

"Y-Yeah..."

The silence that fell between them was very awkward for Towa. Because she revealed her age, the pink-haired girl beside him didn't engage her anymore. Was she afraid of her? Or maybe she came off as rude when she shouted her age?

"Um..." in the end, Towa decided that she had to reach out first. "I am lost, though... can you help me, miss...?"

"It's Juna. Sure, I'll help you. But please wait for a minute. I'm waiting for my little siblings."

The girl, Juna, quickly agreed. Compared to the other girls Towa had asked before, she was more receptive to the idea of helping her. Towa let out a sigh of relief. Even if she had to wait, at least Juna agreed to help her.

"Anyway, why don't you go to the Bracer Guild? I'm sure they're gonna help you if you ask," Juna changed the topic.

Towa let out a smile. "I don't know where the guild is located. This is my first time in Crossbell."

"Make sense. So you came here alone for the ceremony?"

"Not really. I'm from Erebonia. I'm here because I got the chance to join the Erebonian delegation for the conference," Towa answered humbly.

Suddenly, Juna slid closer to her, exclaiming, "Whoa! That's awesome! How did you get chosen? Are you a noble? Gasp! Could it be that you're a princess?!"

Startled, Towa looked to see Juna being all starry-eyed at her. "N-No... I'm not a noble. I was just chosen to represent my school, Thors Military Academy, since I am the Student Council President."

Juna looked at her from top to bottom again.

"Military Academy?" she asked skeptically.

Towa went defensive. "I-I know I may not look like it, but I'm well-versed in using an orbal gun!"

"Don't worry, I believe you," Juna said assuringly.

Towa was not amused.

"It's true!"

"Alright, alright. I believe you." And yet Towa still didn't believe the word that came out of her mouth. If only she had her weapon here, she would've shown her how proficient she was!

It was then that Towa blinked. Huh? Why did she think like that? Towa looked at the pink-haired girl who was casually humming some tune that she didn't recognize as she waited for her siblings. Somehow, even after she said she was eighteen, this girl still treated him like a child. And that pushed a button that Towa didn't even know she had.

"Miss Juna... can you stop treating me like a child?"

Juna blinked. "Did I? Sorry, ehehe... you're just so adorable I can't help but think of you as my younger sister."

"Please stop that..."

"Alright... okay, Juna, treat her like you respect Tio. You can do it," Towa heard her muttered something under her breath.

Before Juna continued, their attention was taken away by the noise coming from the department store. The children came out in droves.

"Ken, Nana! Here!" Juna waved her arms, shouting for her siblings. Two pink-haired children quickly ran towards them.

"Juna! Are you here to escort us home?"

"Where's mom?"

"Slow down, slow down," Juna patted their head. "Mom went back home earlier, and she asked me to pick you up."

"Yeay!"

"Juna means snack!"

"Hey!" Juna playfully glared at them.

"Oh, it's Big Sis Juna!" Another voice joined as Towa saw a green-haired girl guiding a black-haired girl towards Juna.

"M-Miss Juna?!" Another voice, this time coming from a boy, was heard before more footsteps approached Juna.

"Hi, KeA, Shizuku!" Juna outstretched her hand for the green-haired girl to high-five her before she patted the black-haired girl's head softly. "How was the situation upstairs, KeA?"

"It was fun!" KeA, the green-haired girl, exclaimed. "Isn't that right, Ken, Nana?"

"Yeah! The tower is cool!"

"I want to visit it soon!"

KeA then had a sigh. "I just wished Shizuku could also see how amazing it is."

That was when Towa realized that the black-haired girl, Shizuku, had her eyes closed the entire time. She let out a small gasp of realization.

"It's okay, KeA. I'm having plenty of fun myself," Shizuku said in assurance, grasping KeA's hand.

The sight of a close friendship in front of her made Towa's heart melt. It reminded her of the close friendship she had with George, Angie, and Crow. She hoped they would stay close like that forever.

"Miss Juna!"

The voice from before suddenly called out as he approached the crowd. He was a boy in an eastern garb. He smiled at Juna eagerly before stopping his run when he arrived in front of her.

"Ooh, Xin! Good Afternoon!" Juna quickly patted Xin's head. "You really went and looked over the twins, huh? Thanks for that."

Xin's face reddened as he looked away from the radiant smile on Juna's face. "Oh, uhm... Of course! Anything for you, Miss Juna!"

"Did you really look over us?"

"Yeah, you just sat down with a parasol while looking at the fireworks."

The twins double-punched Xin with a strike to the heart.

"I-I do! You just don't realize it!" Xin crossed his arms with a huff.

Juna just giggled at their antics before she slowly patted Xin's head again. "Don't be fooled by their words. Those two only teased people they liked. That means they like you, Xin."

"Aah~, it's no fun," Ken pouted.

"Don't tell him, Juna," Nana said with a sigh.

Slowly, Xin looked toward the twins. "R-Really?"

Ken shrugged. "You're fun and easy to tease."

"We still don't approve, though," Nana finished.

"In any case, Xin, I need your help once more. I had to help guide a lost person there, so I couldn't escort the twins home. Can I trust you to get them home safely?" Juna pointed at her.

Xin puffed his chest. "Leave it to me, Miss Juna!"

"Eeeh, why do we have to go home~?" Nana groaned. "I wanna play with Momo."

"Ryu and Anri need me to join them," Ken dramatically declared.

Undeterred, Juna lightly chopped their heads.

"Ouch!" "Ouch!"

"Mom said you guys have to eat lunch first before playing," Juna used her authority as the big sister to stand her ground.

"Alright." "Alright."

The twins sighed.

"Okay, see you later, everyone!"

Juna then went back to the bench where Towa waited. "Well then, shall we go? Ah! I just realized... I don't even know your name, Miss."

The pink-haired girl declared as she picked up her wooden sword.

"Ah, yeah, I also didn't realize I hadn't introduced myself," Towa giggled. "My name is Towa Herschel."

"Nice to meet you, Towa! Where did you say you have to go again?"

"Um..." Towa pulled out her notebook and took a glance. "It says I need to go to Mishelam since the delegations have to stay there."

"Hmmm, make sense with how easy it is to defend people there. Let's go!" Juna exclaimed, full of spirits.

"Right."

Their walk was filled with conversations, from simple things like comparing Erebonia and Crossbell to something quite personal, like whether Towa trained in martial arts or not. All the while, Juna guided her through the city. They went to East Street before quickly turning left on the first intersection and arrived at the Harbor District.

"See, this is the Harbor District," Juna said as they continued walking towards the piers. "There should be a boat to bring you to Mishelam. At least, that was how it was usually. Maybe you'd get a chartered boat or something for the duration of your stay."

"I see. Thanks, Juna. Oh, I do see Captain Arundel there," Towa thanked the younger girl. The captain was standing, scanning the surroundings. Was he looking for something?

"Ugh... Let's just go..." Juna muttered something before she shook her head. "Anyway, how does it feel to be the Student Council President?"

Towa hummed. "To be honest, it's nothing special? Aside from having more responsibility than the normal cadets, being the Student Council of Thors Military Academy is like any other cadets. But the connections I gained from it do help me, though, like right now."

Juna stared at her for longer before she smiled. "Something tells me the connection you've gotten is more because of you rather than your position."

"Ahaha... thank you. Why are you asking me that? You want to try being one?" Towa asked back.

"Nope. I wanna be a Bracer. Don't really have the time to join a military academy, especially abroad," Juna denied. "But hearing that a military academy has something like a Student Council President sure is interesting."

"You think Thors is strict, huh?" Towa chuckled. "Well, I don't know how well-known it is outside Erebonia, but despite having the 'military academy' in its name, Thors is more like a prestigious school that offers military classes instead of a full-blown military academy. We still have clubs, and one of my juniors even took up the task of fulfilling requests from the resident of Trista, where the school is located. He really helps me out."

Juna made a weird noise at Towa's explanation.

"Juna?"

"A-Ah, nothing. I really should've expected that," she whispered.

"I'm sorry?"

"Nothing! It's really nothing! A-Anyway, we're here, Towa!" Juna deflected by pointing out that they were close to the destination.

Lechter saw them before he approached them. "Man, I was worried about you, Miss Herschel. Where were you?"

"Uh... I was caught up in the crowds and got lost... thankfully Juna here helped me, ehehe..." Towa answered sheepishly.

"Is that so? Thank you, Juna," Lechter flashed a smile at Juna but he was greeted with a scowl.

"You're welcome, Lecher."

The captain winced, "Please don't call me that in front of other people."

"Hmm? What did you say?" Juna feigned not hearing Lechter's words. "Sorry, I couldn't hear you since it's noisy."

Lechter sighed. "You really won't cut that out, huh... well, it was my mistake in the first place."

Had the two known each other before? Towa wondered. There seemed to be a bad blood between them.

"Anyway, Lechter. I can't help but notice something on the way here..."

"So when it's serious, you can use my name, huh?"

But Juna ignored the jab and continued. "I don't see any Imperial Army here in Crossbell. And when Towa was lost, you didn't even dispatch anyone to fetch her. Not to mention, the ship behind you isn't a big ship either. Logically, important people like the Chancellor and the Prince should be protected, but I saw nobody here. Not even a soldier standing guard with you."

Lechter's eyes widened, and he moved before Juna could finish her words.

"Do you Erebonians want to d- Mmfffh!"

"Can you not please say that?" Lechter requested with a groan as he interrupted Juna's words by closing her mouth. "Yeah, you're correct about all accounts. Don't blame me since this is what the old man told me to do. And I guess that also confirms your earlier guess. Are you happy now? Ew!"

For some reason, Lechter quickly released Juna. He wiped his palm using a handkerchief. "That's disgusting, young lady! You can't just lick someone's hand like that!"

"You're the disgusting one! Pervert! Lecher! Deviant! Happy? I'm furious!" Juna accused while pointing her finger at him.

Lechter grimaced before he shook his head. "There's a reason why I did that."

"Yeah, you're a perv! Lecher! You really live up to your name!" Juna quickly walked away, stomping her feet in anger.

"A-Ah, wait, Juna..." Towa tried to call her out, but she didn't answer. She quickly gave the captain a side-eye.

Lechter only sighed. "If only you understand why I did that..."

"Maybe Juna is right about your name," Towa said in a flat tone.

"Haha... the thing I do for Erebonia..." he whispered something that Towa couldn't hear. "You can say your thanks later, Miss Herschel. For now, let's just go to the provided accommodation."

Towa was ushered by Lechter to the ship but spared one last glance at the pink hair moving away from them. She hoped she'd be able to say her thanks later.

A/N: That's it. That's Calvard and Erebonia's play. Also Juna met again with Lechter. She really holds a grudge against people she dislike, huh? You know what comes after this. I hope you guys are as excited as I am. Though I still don't know what to write aside from canon talks.