"The current Governor General of Crossbell is Rufus Albarea." Altina explained to Fie as the group meandered down Ursula Road towards the massive skyscraper in front of them.
Fie hummed thoughtfully, "I've heard the name before... So what's so special about the guy that can make even someone like Rean dislike him?"
"He is the leader of the Ironbloods." Fie furrowed her eyes. Again she felt like she had heard that name before, but she couldn't remember where, "...They are a group of hand-picked individuals who serve the chancellor directly. Major Rieveldt and Millium are two of its number." Altina tilted her head in contemplation, "That information is classified, by the way."
"...I find it hard to believe that any group can be that dangerous if it has Millium in it."
Altina did her best to stifle the snort that escaped her mouth. She failed miserably.
"So he's a big deal, yeah? Still doesn't explain why Rean seems to dislike the guy so much."
"There was an incident near the end of the Civil War involving the two of them. I was currently working under the employ of Rufus Albarea at the time and bore witness to it." Fie opened her mouth to reply, but Altina shook her head, "...That is a discussion that I am unwilling to share." Huh. So Altina could be discreet when the situation called for it. Annoying, but she could respect that.
"Yeah, well, I think the guy's a total jerk!" The two girls must not have been very subtle with their conversation as a fuming Juna approached, "What gives him the right to show up and act like he rules Crossbell like that!?"
Fie considered enlightening the pink-haired girl that that was usually what happened in war, but decided to use tact and hold her tongue. She was pretty sure the Crossbell native wouldn't take that answer very well at all.
"Nobody is saying that you need to like or even respect the Governor General," Rean warned the group, "but we still need to go see him for our special operations missions. No matter what happens, don't pick a fight with him Juna."
Said girl scoffed angrily, "I-I know that, instructor!"
"Good." The teacher turned his gaze to the girl standing next to Juna, "Altina, please don't let slip any classified information, even if his clearance level far exceeds our own."
"...Rude."
"Fie..." Rean winced, causing the former jaeger to narrow her eyes dangerously, "Would it be too much to ask that you keep your mouth shut during the meeting?"
"Wow..." He really just up and said that, didn't he?
Sadly for her he looked away before she could immolate him with a furious gaze, "Kurt..." He paused before trailing off with a shrug, "Actually, I've got nothing to say to you."
The Vander didn't speak, but the smug grin on his face was entirely too punchable for Fie's liking.
"And here I thought a teacher wasn't supposed to have favorites." She grumbled aloud.
"I don't have favorites!" He protested too quickly, "It's just-"
"Sexism, perhaps?" Altina's comment was enough for the hero to sink his head in despair. Fie and the rest of Class VII watched with varying levels of amusement as the miserable looking man continued trudging towards the now-visible city gates.
Before long the group of five had reached the city. As they entered the former jaeger glanced around curiously. Her memories of the place were vague at best, but she was pretty sure that the city had changed drastically since the last time she had been here. Still, despite how modern and new everything looked, at the end of the day it was just like any other metropolis in her eyes.
Juna however was a different story entirely.
The earlier tension was still there, Fie was pretty sure, but that no longer seemed to be the dominant emotion in the girl. Juna was practically bouncing around in excitement as they walked down the street towards the central square.
"That's the busiest train station on the intercontinental railway!" She exclaimed as they passed said building, "And that staircase leads to a vast underground network known as the Geofront that is vital to the city!"
She didn't stop once they reached the central plaza, either, "Genten is the best orbal store in Crossbell! We definitely gotta stop there at some point! Oh! And that restaurant is really tasty!" The excited girl rotated counterclockwise before pointing at an old rundown building off to the side, "And that place is-"
She paused, frowned, and lowered her arm sadly. Curious.
Fie wasn't sure what was responsible for the change in mood, but Juna being down was so unlike the girl. Time to change the subject, "...Lots of cars on the road." Personally she found the place to be a chaotic mess as the city didn't seem to have enough space for both roads and walkways, causing both groups to use the same road. Fie wondered how disastrous the arrangement would have been were it not for the many cops controlling traffic.
"Yep." Juna replied, her earlier cheer back in full force, "I don't think anywhere in Erebonia is a match for this city when it comes to modern technology and orbal cars."
"...Perhaps, but the capital also has plenty of orbal cars. The main streets are always so congested, the only way to get anywhere is to take the trams."
Kurt's comment caused Juna to flounder and she opened her mouth to respond- "Population-wise, the capital is 880,000, and Crossbell is 530,000." Altina blandly stated, "In terms of modernization, Roer is a very technologically advanced city as well."
"..."
"..."
"Wow." Fie muttered as she glanced between the about to erupt Mount Juna and the facepalming Rean, "And here I thought I had no tact."
Altina she could understand, but Kurt? Really?
Maybe it was just something she wouldn't understand considering she wasn't from Erebonia. To her it seemed like the Empire had instilled a sense of nationalism among its citizens beyond that of other countries.
"Oh!" The younger swordsman exclaimed with widened eyes, "I-I didn't mean anything by that, I was just..." He trailed off pitifully, doing little to calm the native's temper.
"I'm sure they will understand better after they've seen the city." The older sword user had far more success at calming Juna down, "For now, however, the governor general is expecting us so we need to head to Orchis Tower now."
With that they set out once again with Rean and Juna leading the group. It was a pointless gesture considering their destination completely dominated the skyline, but Fie wasn't one to complain. She liked hanging in the back of the group, after all.
Soon enough they reached their destination. Standing in front of the tower made the lithe jaeger understand just how gargantuan the building really was as trying to look up to see the top of it caused her neck to hurt, "...Why does Crossbell even need a building this stupidly big?" She groused.
"The lower floors serve as Crossbell's administrative center." Their teacher informed as he opened the door and led them in, "They also house a lot of private enterprises. Even the International Bank of Crossbell moved their business here after terrorists destroyed their headquarters a couple years back."
Fie snorted loudly. The Red Constellation definitely counted as terrorists in her books.
"...The top few floors house one of Zemuria's grandest conference rooms." Rean ignored her in order to finish.
The group of five were led to an elevator by a waiting secretary before informing them their destination was on floor twenty, a button which Fie managed to push before Juna could, much to the pinkette's chagrin. As the elevator began rising a thought came to mind, "What about the middle floors?"
"Huh?"
"You said the lower floors were all administrative and the top had a conference room, right? Well what about the middle?"
"Floors twenty-one through thirty consist of..." Altina's answer was interrupted by Rean clearing his throat loudly. The little girl shot a flat unimpressed look at the Chevalier before continuing, "...Empty rooms consisting solely of extra structural support to keep the tower upright."
Yeah. That was a lie. She wasn't sure if Altina had been about to provide a different answer or not, but Rean's reaction gave it away. A glance towards Juna confirmed that the Crossbellian was just as confused and intrigued by those revelations as Fie was.
The ding of the elevator signaled their arrival on the twentieth floor. Come to think of it, twenty was just below twenty-one, which was the first of the unknown floors according to Altina. She gave the nearest window a contemplative look.
...She could totally climb that.
"C'mon, Fie. We need to hurry." The way Rean singled her out was telling. Did he know what she was thinking? That was a scary thought.
Fuming, she followed the others down the hall to a nondescript office. After an annoying security check Rean announced their presence to the person inside the room. Once permission was given he entered, with the rest of Class VII in tow.
With a warm smile Rufus Albarea rose from his desk to greet them all. On the surface he looked every bit the part of a charismatic young ruler. She could instantly see why he was considered such a popular person in Erebonia.
But given what Fie knew from her classmates she could piece together that this was a dangerous man. The smile on his face and the moves they made... none of it seemed genuine. If the others were right then every act was carefully calculated from the shrewd man that had seamlessly seized control of this occupied territory.
She listened quietly as the governor general greeted Rean and Altina, something which made sense given their past history. Rean's reply was just as friendly and fake. Altina of course said something blunt, which made the man give a laugh in response.
Fie stiffened when his gaze shifted towards the rest of them. Thankfully she was standing at the far end so he started with Kurt. The swordsman was his usual formal self, but he did seem a little surprised when Rufus mentioned his dad.
She really needed to ask him about his father at some point. He seemed like a big deal.
Once he shifted his attention to Juna the tension in the air grew thicker, not that the man in charge seemed to notice. On the surface Rufus' words to the girl seemed friendly and genuine, but all the crap he was spouting about how going to Thors was good because it gave her a 'blend of the perspectives of both Erebonia and Crossbell' was definitely designed to rile up the girl.
After Kurt and Juna was... dammit. Well, if Juna could keep her cool so could she, "Fie Claussell." She greeted blandly.
"Ah, yes. I can only imagine how difficult the transition from jaeger life to a military academy has been. I do hope you are adjusting well enough."
Damn. This guy was good. "It's been alright."
"That's good to hear. I must admit I was surprised when I heard that the Jaeger King had returned. I wonder if he would be willing to accept a contract to assist me with some ongoing projects? Both Leonidas and Xeno proved themselves to be most capable allies during the war and I can only imagine Rutger Claussell must be even more skilled."
"...He definitely is." She muttered quietly. As much as Fie hated to admit it, this guy had managed to get under her skin by teasing his connections and knowledge about her former family so easily.
And yet compared to her Rufus seemed completely unruffled as he turned his gaze back to Rean as the teacher went through the formality of announcing that they were commencing their field exercise – something which Fie found to be pretty stupid considering that should have been obvious enough with their presence.
Surprisingly the governor general adopted a rather grim expression as he handed their Special Operations missions to Rean. According to him the society had been present lately in Crossbell and a cryptid had recently been sighted. Neither of which looked to be a coincidence given the high-profile inspection mission that was supposed to arrive that evening.
Mentally Fie agreed with that sentiment. One coincidence was always possible, but two? There was just one problem she needed correcting...
"What's a cryptid?" It was nice of Kurt to ask the question she was about to.
"Cryptids are extremely powerful monsters with mysterious powers. During the civil war, a number of them appeared around the Empire." Rean frowned thoughtfully, "But they're showing up in Crossbell now?"
Huh. Now that Fie thought about it, she did hear rumors of particularly nasty monsters shutting down roads and other places during the war, but given that many monsters at the time were being rather aggressive she simply chalked it up to some angry Gordi or something similar. Maybe she should have listened to those stories a little more?
"It seems one was spotted just the other day on the mountain path to the north. But I'm told this isn't the first time they've appeared in Crossbell. Have you, perchance, heard about them before, Juna?"
"...Yes." The girl answered reluctantly, "I didn't know they showed up in the Empire, too, but... I heard a few of them appeared after the declaration of independence a year and a half ago." The same time as the war, Fie noted silently.
Altina tilted her head in thought, "Could it have something to do with the society?"
"Given their actions in Sutherland, they should most definitely be our top suspects." Rufus answered, "I hope I can ask the branch campus to be on the lookout."
"...Understood. I'll relay your message to the others. Do we need to investigate the cryptid on the mountain path as well?"
To Rean's question the ruler shook his head, "No, that one has already been defeated... I'd like for you to investigate other areas in which they were seen."
"I guess the army took care of it?" Fie knew from experience that while the army wasn't as good at monster exterminations as the bracers had been, they made up for it with sheer numbers and equipment. It was part of the reason why she got caught and ended up in Thors, after all.
"No. A certain... wanted fugitive took care of it." Outside of Kurt all of her friends reacted in some way. It annoyed Fie being out of the loop like this, but prying info out of them once they had left this room wouldn't be too hard, "However, it wouldn't do to keep relying on a wanted man to clean things up for us. Therefore, I expect good news from all of you in regard to this task. And with that, I bid you all good luck – Ashen Chevalier and members of the new Class VII."
The dismissal was obvious and the former jaeger was more than happy to escape from that office. She excelled on actual battlefields, not verbal ones. The flight of Class VII from that room was delayed briefly as it seemed that Rufus had more to say to their teacher, but by the time they realized Rean wasn't behind them that conversation was already over.
Once back on the elevator Rean told them that that last exchange had been about Jusis Albarea – Rufus' younger brother and surprisingly another member of the original Class VII. How come that group was so much larger than the one she was in?
Instead of dwelling on stupid things like that she asked the more pressing question, "So about that fugitive guy...?"
"He's the true hero of Crossbell!" Juna gushed, mood doing a complete turn, "He beat down an evil cult and arrested the dictator mayor!"
Fie glanced at Kurt and was pleased to see the same befuddlement on his face, "Excuse me?" The Vander questioned blandly.
"Before the annexation, the Crossbell Police Department had a division called the Special Support Section. The man we're talking about was its leader. He and the other members overcame so much together. And now he's a fugitive in his own home."
Some of the words Rean just used were familiar to Fie and it only took a second to piece it all together, "That was Randy's old group, right?" A nod gave her her answer, "Makes sense, I guess. New regime doesn't want people seeing famous figures from before the annexation." The sound of Juna gnashing her teeth made her backpedal a bit, "Still pretty awful."
"You're right. He couldn't be any farther from being the 'dangerous fugitive' they've painted him as."
"W-Wait. You know him?!"
The instructor nodded to Juna's shocked question, "Yeah, we fought him back before he was branded a fugitive. Each of us refused to back down, but in the end, he came out on top. The weight of what he was shouldering, his flawless teamwork..." Rean seemed surprisingly wistful as he thought back to that encounter, "I told him it was a tie at the time, but looking back, there's no question I lost."
"Well, I beg to differ." Fie was pretty sure that Altina's comments were intentional at this point. She was weaponizing her tactlessness!
...Perhaps she should be taking notes?
Juna smartly ignored Altina as she giggled at the teacher's words, "You get it, Instructor! There's no doubt he and the rest of the SSS are Crossbell's true heroes! Way more than a certain chevalier I could name!"
"Eh. I dunno about-" Fie cut herself off. Was she really about to defend said chevalier like that? The same annoying guy who pestered her constantly and was responsible for almost every major headache had suffered through in the past two months?!
...Something was really wrong with her.
Luckily for her deteriorating sanity it didn't seem like anyone noticed her near slip-up, "But that doesn't change the fact he's a criminal..."
For a second Fie thought she would be treated to the entertaining sight of Juna decking Kurt in the face. Much to her disappointment Juna seemed to reign in control at the last second and settled for glaring death at the Vander.
The tension was broken by Rean letting out a short laugh, "Like I said, I don't see him as a criminal at all. Though the governor general certainly seems to." He fixed his gaze entirely on the Crossbell native, "I know you don't want to hear this, but don't even think about going to help him out, okay?"
"I-I know that!" To her credit Juna seemed pretty confident in her statement, "Even Randy's holding himself back..." She frowned briefly before giving a determined nod, "So I'll give these Special Operations missions my all! Since Randy isn't allowed to go anywhere, I'll help lessen Lloyd's burden for him.!"
"Mmm. I'll help. Been wondering how this place was able to make the Red Reaper of all people fall in love with it." At least Juna seemed back to her usual self as she nodded energetically in support of Fie's statement. That had to count for something, right? Further conversation was put on pause as the doors to the elevator opened and they all stepped out.
...Was it just her, or had that been an insanely long elevator ride? That conversation had taken minutes and yet the door didn't open until just after they finished!
Shaking off those random thoughts she followed her classmates and teacher as they headed towards the exit of Orchis Tower. She would never admit it, but she was kinda curious as to what their tasks for the day were gonna be. Just a few more seconds and they would be out of the way enough to check out the list in peace...
"Well, fancy meeting you here, Rean." …Or that had been her hope until they were interrupted just a few arge away from the door. Dammit.
The newcomer wasn't the most impressive looking person at first glance, and Fie was perfectly content to ignore the now ongoing conversation between Rean and this person. That thought changed once she found out that this guy – named Machias Regnitz – had also been a member of the original Class VII. That news caused her to give him a second glance. He still didn't look like much, but she had thought the same about Elliot in Sutherland and the musician had been able to hold his own against the likes of Shirley. Perhaps this guy would surprise her as well?
...And she was starting to have a big suspicion that the constant appearance of their predecessors in random places was no coincidence.
Fie listened with only half an ear as the guy started talking about his inspectorate duties. The idea of someone opposing the behemoth known as the Imperial Government almost by his lonesome was kinda cool, but the fact he was doing it with paperwork and inspections was entirely too lame for her. It was a futile gesture and everyone seemed to know it.
Still, respect for at least trying.
Luckily for the bored jaeger Machias' coworker arrived to pull the bespectacled inspectorate away. Fie had a feeling she would be seeing him again – and probably in not such a dull setting – but for now she could put him out of mind. He could do the paperwork while she did whatever tasks awaited them. Eagerly she listened as Rean announced their tasks-
And the first one he listed was an audit requested by the police department. Dammit all to Gehenna.
The second request was the Epstein Foundation seeking help with some technical matter. That didn't sound too much better.
At least the last request asking for help in an upcoming bake-off sounded a lot more interesting. As the resident Cooking Club member of Class VII any request to cook something would be her responsibility...
Fie couldn't help but notice that the prospect of cooking for random people made her more nervous than the threat of Cryptids did.
Speaking of, she listened silently as Rean read off the details of the cryptid investigation. Rufus wanted Class VII to investigate two spots where they had previously appeared in the past – One down on the beach near their camp, and the other just off the East Crossbell Highway. Simple enough requests, but given they would need to travel a long distance Juna's suggestion to do the local requests first was an obvious one.
With Juna leading the way the five members of Class VII began their tour... patrol of Crossbell City, starting in the Harbor District. Fie glanced around curiously. Even though she had been in this place before everything was so much different then it had been in her memories. Most of the buildings were new and nothing was like she remembered-
Wait. That wasn't true. There was one thing that stuck out to the young girl.
Ignoring her friends Fie approached the park in the middle of the district. The food cart and the guy running it... It was just like back then, "Fie?" Juna asked as the others caught up to her.
"Sorry." She muttered, "It's just I remember Boss treating me to some noodles the last time I was here. They were pretty tasty." She couldn't quite keep the fond smile off her face.
Her words hadn't been as quiet as she intended as the noodle man broke off from the conversation he was having with his only other employee and squinted his eyes as he gazed at her, "Hmm... The last time you were here...? Would it have been four years ago?"
"H-Huh?! Y-Yeah. I think so. Why?"
"I never forget a customer." He replied proudly, "I hope you enjoyed the Champion Noodles you ordered."
"..." Fie could only stare in mute shock at that comment. He seriously remembered her dish from way back then?! "...Rean. We're eating here at least once."
"Y-Yeah."
With that little nostalgia trip out of the way Fie didn't protest when Rean led her and the others into the massive Reinford Building just north of the harbor – even if the building looked a little wimpy being placed so close to Orchis Tower. According to Rean and Juna the Epstein Foundation had an office in that building which would make it the place to go for one of their requests.
Annoyingly, however, the front desk simply told them that the person they were waiting for wasn't available at the moment. On one hand making a request but being too lazy to be around at the right time was totally the kind of thing she would do so she technically couldn't complain much, but being on the receiving end kinda sucked and she was feeling mildly perturbed when they left, even after the receptionist promised to call them once the person was available.
Instead they returned to the Harbor District. Technically they didn't have anything else to do in that area, but the arrival of a large ferry drew their interest. Approaching they watched as a handful of passengers disembarked under the close scrutiny of some Crossbell and Railway Military Police before another batch embarked. Fie turned her curious gaze towards Juna who puffed up before proudly explaining, "The ferry is taking them across Lake Elm to Mishelam Wonderland!"
"...Mishelam Wonderland?" She asked while testing out the name on her tongue. How weird.
"It's only the greatest place in Zemuria! It's a high class resort and a theme park. And most importantly, it's the home of Mishy!"
Well, Fie didn't know much about Mishy save for the ones sold in store or on Juna's side of their shared bedroom, but 'greatest place in Zemuria' was good enough for her. Sadly she was only able to take two steps forward before a firm arm grabbed her shoulder, "...We aren't going to Mishelam." A tired Rean stated.
"It might be important to our cryptid investigation." She countered immediately.
"You aren't going to find any cryptids in the theme park."
"...The last cryptid to be spotted in Mishelam Wonderland was during the crisis a year and a half ago, which was also the last time the ones we are investigating had appeared. While technically outside of our mission boundaries the possibility of a cryptid appearing there at some point is quite high."
All eyes turned towards the speaker, "Thank you, Altina." Rean looked ready to smack his head on the nearest lamp post. Fie would have felt bad for him if it wasn't so damn funny.
"You are welcome." What made it even funnier was how Altina didn't seem to notice the effect her words had. Or she just didn't care. Both were pretty good options in Fie's opinion.
"Still..." Leave it to Kurt to put them back on topic, "Isn't this a lot of security?"
Indeed it was. The fact the officers on duty only seemed interested in the passengers getting off the boat was kinda suspicious, but since Rean was being quiet about it so would she.
Since they weren't going to the theme park – which was a travesty in her opinion – the group of five made their way out of the Harbor District headed south. As they exited the buildings began to appear more eastern in design, which was fitting for the Eastern District. Their teacher wanted them to continue directly to the Central Square where they could get info on their other request, but something caught Fie's eye and this time she was nice enough to ask permission to check it out.
Neinvalli Exchange. She had expected to see the shop in the Downtown District, but clearly it had moved since her last visit to Crossbell. Curious, she led the others into the main branch of Leeves' best store.
"Well, well. If it isn't the Ashen Chevalier and Sylphid. I heard that Thors Branch Campus was in town. What can I get for you?" Yep. That was Ashleigh all right. Even if the store had moved it was nice to see that some things never changed.
Both Kurt and Altina seemed rather surprised that a black market business was operating in the open like this. Juna tried to act all cool about it until Fie reminded her that it was only due to the jaeger showing her Jingo's shop that she knew some place like this existed, causing the local to deflate. Sulkily the girl began to browse the shop alongside their other classmates.
"Hey, Sylphid." Ashleigh's call stopped Fie from joining her. Curiously she glanced at the illegal arm's dealer, "I heard some crazy rumors that the Jaeger King had somehow left Gehenna. Know anything about it?"
Fie couldn't help but wince slightly as the question poked at some raw spots for her, but after having lived with that impossible news for a month she was able to recover quickly, "Yep. Dunno how he did it, but I saw him myself in Sutherland last month. He was just the same as I remember."
"How interesting..." Once again Fie was reminded of the rumor that Boss and this woman had had a thing in the past. Seeing the interest in her eyes made the girl think there was something to it, "Well, that's good info to have. Tell ya what, between that intel you just gave me and the stories I've heard from Jingo about you helping out at her shop I'll give you a special deal. I'll let you take something from my shop, free of charge."
Fie's eyes widened in surprise and delight. A free item? As far as she knew Ashleigh wasn't someone to give out sweet deals like that.
She would need to be really careful when deciding what to select. Should she look into a new grappling hook to replace old reliable? Maybe some of the electromagnetic grenades that were becoming popular with the rise of archaisms? Or possibly...
"Instructor Rean, check this out!" Juna's cry drew all eyes to her. "It's a Retro Mishy strap! Just like the one Louise was looking for!"
Sure enough, in her hands was that adorably hideous cat mascot figure hanging off a strap. Fie wasn't sure what was the difference between Mishy and Retro Mishy, nor was she sure why Louise wanted one or why her classmates wanted to get it for her.
"We should, but I'm not sure if I have the mira for it..." Rean frowned heavily. Fie felt alarm bells going off in her head. She had a feeling about where this was headed.
"Just use Sylphid's discount." Dammit, Ashleigh!
Suddenly she found herself the center of attention. That Juna was practically pleading with her eyes was bad enough, but Rean too?! Kurt and Altina seemed more amused than anything, so they were no help at all.
"No. Just no. There's absolutely no way I'm wasting my free selection on a stupid Mishy strap." Neither her friend nor her teacher seemed deterred by her words.
She dug in her heels. There was no way this was about to happen!