Chapter Text
A.N. : Out of curiosity, is there anyone here who actually starts playing the game after reading this fic?
The ride to Parm is quite uneventful. We just stayed on the South Sutherland Highway, so the orbal lamps placed there keep monsters away.
Well, alright that's not quite true. We did encounter Major Michael who was coordinating the local Railway Military Police to help resolve the accident that caused the derailing. So far, the cause was concluded to be natural causes, though Major Michael also told us that in truth they're not sure of the actual causes since the rocks were broken into such small pieces to determine the cause.
Not long after, we received a call from Major Claire. The conversation boiled down to Major Claire wanting to join us and help because archaisms have been sighted, but being shot down by Major Michael, citing that she has direct order from the Chancellor to return to Heimdallr. In the end, Major Claire was convinced. We don't get her back as a guest party member, I guess.
We then continue to ride to Parm before arriving there after a while.
We dismount from the horses and hand off our horses to the stable master. Most modern Erebonia towns, such as our capital, Heimdallr, or even Leeves no longer have stables. But Parm, being a rural less developed town, still has a stable. It's also probably due to its proximity to Saint-Arkh, the capital of the Hyarms marquisate. After all, like the rest of the Four Great Houses, despite being relatively moderate the Hyarms still advocate for the preservation of traditions.
As we enter the town, I can see waterwheels everywhere. It's somewhat archaic and obsolete with orbal technology, but I suppose Parm being known as the 'The Spinning Town' wouldn't be Parm without it. The waterwheels, along with its rural aesthetic really give Parm the impression of a sleepy medieval village. It's pretty much a picturesque village in DnD.
"Wow, what a beautiful town.", Juna exclaimed as she started to look around.
Altina nods, "Parm, the Spinning Town—the southernmost most town of the Empire."
"This is my first time here too, but it's as breathtaking as I was told.", added Instructor Rean.
I notice Kurt looking around with a small smile.
"Feeling nostalgic?", I asked.
He shrugs, "Just a bit. But we're not here to sightsee."
Juna chimes in from beside him, "Aw…you don't want to visit anyone? You live here until you were about six, right? Don't want us to find out embarrassing stories from when you were a kid?"
Kurt sighs, "We still have sightings of archaisms to investigate. It's about 1400 hours right now, we should get a move on if we want to finish before nightfall."
"Eh…we still have that dye request in Parm, anyway right?", Juna retorts.
Kurt shakes his head, "It's optional. I know we agreed on trying to complete all of them, but with the archaisms situation, and the fact we need to be back at camp before nightfall, don't you think the situation has changed?"
Juna grimaces, "Eh? But helping people in the area is also part of our Special Ops mission. I think that's still important."
"If we end up not having enough time to deal with the archaisms, that would cause bigger issues for the people of Parm…I have to agree with Kurt. What do you think, Jessica?", added Altina.
I think I should pass the buck to our Instructor, "I think both arguments have merit, perhaps we can defer to Instructor Rean?"
"As I said before, outside of the archaisms investigation, the decision for other requests is up to you guys. I will add, however, that we still need to talk to people around town for information about the archaisms anyway." Instructor Rean smiles, somehow I can understand he's saying 'you're not getting out of it that easily'.
I sigh, "In that case, we should at least talk to the client. That is a basic professional courtesy. Once we have the details we could make an informed decision if it fits our schedule or not. Would that be acceptable?"
Altina nods, "Agreed. That would be the best course of action."
"Ugh…fine. I guess archaisms are a more important issue.", Juna agreed with a sigh
Kurt meanwhile, seems more reluctant, "I'd rather we just start hunting the archaisms."
I turn to him, "I understand your rationale, but as Instructor Rean said, we have to gather information, in any case. There's no harm in talking to the client, is it?"
"The more information we have about the archaisms sighting, the better. We can crosscheck them with the archaism models in our database and be more prepared to fight them.", added Instructor Rean.
Kurt hesitantly nods, "…Understood."
"Alright, in that case. As in Saint-Arkh, can I ask you to lead us around, Kurt?", Instructor Rean asked with a smile.
Kurt nods again, "I'll do my best."
"Oh, speaking of information gathering, shall we visit your family's training hall? Fighting monsters is part of the Vander School's curriculum, correct? The students there might notice something while they were out and about hunting monsters.", I asked Kurt.
He flinches, "…ah, that...might prove problematic. The training hall here closed last year."
"Huh? I thought your family's pretty famous. I didn't think you guys would have trouble finding students.", Juna asked in surprise.
Kurt grimaces, "Times are simply changing."
Juna shrugs not fully understanding what Kurt meant, "…? Well, okay then."
"In any case let's get a move on and start asking around.", Kurt suggested as he starts to lead us around Parm.
…I see. Probably got shut down due to the heavy pressure the Chancellor and the central government put on the Vanders starting last year, due to their close affiliation with Prince Olivert.
Since the central government wants to 'defang' the nobles, all martial noble households including mine are facing similar pressure, but the Vanders have it the worst.
The only one left intact is the Arseids, because the current head, Victor S. Arseid, is a household name even among those outside Erebonia and those with little interest in martial arts. It's like trying to cancel Jackie Chan or John Cena, probably even harder, because for a while the government tried their hardest to put pressure on the Arseids—especially since they are also a close ally of Prince Olivert—however, it didn't work.
"I'm gonna snap some pics with my ARCUS so I can show everyone later.", Juna said from beside me with a singsong voice as she starts taking pictures of the waterwheels.
I look at her pointedly, "Are you actually using cutting-edge top-of-the-line military equipment to take souvenir photos?"
"Why not? The function's there. The built-in camera is actually better than most cameras I know.", she retorted.
…Is ARCUS the start of an orbal smartphone? Juna definitely would've posted those pictures straight to Instagram, if it exist.
"…Wait, is it against regulation?"
"I don't think—"
"Eh…just to be safe, c'mere!"
Juna drags me into the frame and takes a selfie of the both of us.
"There. Now you're my accomplice and are complicit along with me.", she added with a smile.
I sigh, "I am quite sure there is no such regulat—"
"If you two are done playing around…? Please stop wasting our time.", Kurt said with annoyance from ahead of us.
"Oh..uh…sorry. Let's get moving.", I said.
Juna whispers to me, "Geez, what crawl up his ass?"
I shrug, "I have no idea. He was fine until we reached Parm."
"Maybe he really has something…or someone he doesn't want us to find out about here. Like…a childhood sweetheart or something.", Juna continued to whisper conspiratorially to me.
A childhood friend to eclipse the already established childhood friend, huh? Yeah, I guess I saw this trope a couple of times. I'd welcome it, anyway. But I'm probably not going to be that lucky.
After walking around Parm for a bit, I realize that Kurt is really well known here. Almost every few dozens of paces we walk, and certainly if we enter any establishment some people would approach us and go, 'Kurt, is that you?'. Which, I suppose makes sense considering Parm is a small town and the Vanders are famous.
We manage to get two leads about the archaism sightings so far—of course, we used the term 'mysterious monsters' when asking to avoid inciting panic.
One of the leads is that apparently, a rather quirky female engineer saw them with her own eyes, she's supposedly in the chapel fixing things, so we decided to swing by the chapel later on.
The other lead is more worrying. Apparently, two suspicious girls had been seen around the town. One of them was wearing black leather, and the other one was dressed like the knights of old. The one in black leather is definitely Shirley, as for the other one…
"Such shoddy spearmanship! From a Schleiden?! You insult my Lord with that kind of performance! I won't let it stand! Pick up your spear!"
"No, no, no! Relax your grip more! You won't be able to do rapid thrusts in a large swath of direction otherwise! Again!"
"Huh? What's that? I'm not in a bad mood! I'm not! And definitely not because I got bested by the Arseid girl! Most definitely not! And besides, it was six on one, you hear me?!"
Memories from the two weeks or so I spend as a 'guest' on the Noble Alliance flagship, the Pentagruel during the civil war flash in my mind. Mostly about the girl in knight armor.
One day I started practicing to keep my mind off things when this brunette in a braid and knight armor entered the training room and started insulting my form and techniques, then helping me with her harsh and strict training so I don't insult her Lord, while also having me listen to her bitching about the civil war.
Instructor Rean is probably thinking of the same person as I am, as we exchanged looks and nodded once we heard that piece of information. Duvalie the Swift, head knight of the Stahlritter, the most dangerous combat unit of Ouroboros.
Her Lord, whom the entire Stahlritter swear fealty to, is apparently really high in the Society's hierarchy, though I don't know the specifics.
At one point, since she constantly beat it to my head that my subpar spearmanship is insulting her Lord, the thought that my father was secretly an Ouroboros member crossed my mind—because that's just the sort of twist a heroine gets—so I asked her if her Lord was a Schleiden, and she said no. She seemed to be a really bad liar, so I crossed the 'my father is secretly Ouroboros agent' theory off my mind with relief.
Later on, in a discussion with one of the old Class VII, especially with Laura, we came up with the theory of Lianne Sandlot the Lance Maiden being this Lord of theirs. Laura was a bit skeptical since, well she's been dead for about two centuries.
On the other hand, I think this is the most likely theory. A legendary figure that's tied to the family of two heroines is actually alive? Especially since the heroines—Laura and I—are both quite high in the harem hierarchy, being the secondary heroine in our respective harem. Yeah, just the sort of things that will probably end up being true in a JRPG. Besides, it would explain the 'you insult my Lord' thing since my ancestor served under Lianne Sandlot.
Anyway, regardless of her Lord's identity, Duvalie is really strong and her being here is troubling.
Kurt eventually leads us to the town's chapel so we can take eyewitness statements from the engineer. Once inside, it doesn't take long for us to find the engineer.
"All righty. I swapped 'em out. You should be all set for a while now.", a short girl with bright green hair in mechanic overalls said, as she stands on top of …two chairs pressed together, as she's fixing one of the chapel's lamps.
"Oh, my. Thank you so much. You must be very skilled to have finished that so quickly.", the sister beside her replied.
"Well...not really. I mean, you're darn right! Heehee!", the girl said
…Wait, I know this girl. Man, they're really not shy on the cameos. Another one from the Courageous civil war crew?
"Mint? Is that you?", called out Instructor Rean.
The girl turns to Instructor Rean, "Huuuh? Rean?!"
She then starts waving excitedly, "Ohmigosh! Long time no see! How have you bee—WHA!"
…and promptly falls as she loses her balance.
"Owie…Oooh, right on my butt…"
This clumsiness…yeah it's definitely her. Oh god, horror memories of reading the near misses in the report when she was working on the Courageous engines start coming back. Though to her credit, she always pulled through when the chips are down.
Instructor Rean chuckles, "Haha, it seems like you're clumsy as always."
"Erm…", Juna started.
I sigh, "Before you ask, yes. She's also an old friend of Instructor Rean. And yes, she was also part of the Courageous crew in the civil war, she was one of the ship engineers."
"Oh! Hi, Jessica! You're here too?", Mint waves at me as she starts getting up.
I reply, "Hello, Mint. It's been a while."
Instructor Rean helps her get to her feet, "Never expected to run into you here. Good to see you again, Mint."
Mint smiles cheerily, "You took the words right outta my mouth! I'm happy to see you again, too! So these are your students, huh? They—"
Kurt cuts her off, "I'm sorry to cut your reunion short, but we need to ask something—"
"Man…who's this sourpuss, Rean?", Mint complained to Instructor Rean.
"E-Excuse me?"
Mint turns to Kurt, "That's right, you.", she then grins, "As a Thors graduate, I'm technically your senior y'know. Not to mention…I technically already served during the civil war."
"I-I mean…", Kurt stutters.
Instructor Rean steps in, "Sorry about Kurt, Mint. But yeah, I suppose we're a bit on a schedule here. We can catch up later, okay? For now, I need to ask you something."
Mint sighs, "Oh…fine. What d'you want to ask me?"
Instructor Rean then asks about the sightings Mint claimed to have seen. She told us that she saw three flying shadows when she was fixing orbal lamps at Old Agria Road. Though she's unsure if they're archaisms since they went by so fast.
"…Well, anyway. That's about it I guess."
Instructor Rean nods, "Thank you, Mint. Your information is a big help."
"No problem, Rean! I'm cheering on you guys as an alumnus—yes, even the annoying one.", Mint replied as she stared at Kurt.
I lightly nudge Kurt on his shoulder.
"…I'm sorry for my rudeness.", he said to Mint.
Mint waves him off, "Eh…it's good. I was just pulling your leg."
She then turns to Instructor Rean, "Anyway…I gotta get back to the orbal factory soon. So I'll be going now. Good luck, guys!"
"Thank you, good luck with your technician training too, Mint.", Instructor Rean replied
Once Mint left, we remain in the chapel for a bit to discuss her testimony. Since Mint didn't quite get a clear look, we can't decisively come to a conclusion. Though Altina excludes combat shells such as Claiomh Solais as the identity of the flying objects, primarily on the basis of the speed as described by Mint.
After marking Old Agria Road on the map, we decide to exit the chapel and head to where the client for the dye request is.
"This is the client's place."
I noticed that Kurt had stopped in front of one of the buildings. Time to do a side quest, I guess.
As soon as we enter the house, we're greeted by a jovial voice, "Hello, you must be the military students. Haha, you actually came—Wait, is that you, Kurt?!"
"Ah yes, hello, Reggie. I'm sorry to cut this short, but—"
"Wow, it's been so long since I saw you last! You've—"
Kurt cuts him off, "Sorry, but we're a bit busy here. The details of the request, if you would."
Juna elbows him from the side, "Hey, don't be rude to our client!"
…He seemed fine earlier, what is with these mood swings?
I sigh, "Please pardon us, we had a rough day. I do wish Kurt and yourself can catch up. However, he is right that we are somewhat on a tight schedule, unfortunately. May we discuss the detail of the request directly?"
The client—whose name is Reggie—though a bit disappointed, smiles, "Ahaha, don't worry, I understand. Being a military student must be rough."
He then starts detailing his request. Apparently in order to be recognized and graduate from an apprentice of a dye artisan in Parm, one needs to participate in the Spring Dye Festival. Reggie wants us to collect some ingredients for his dye—basically a fetch quest.
"I see, what ingredients do you need, Reggie?", Kurt asked.
"Well, the first is a Loess stone, there's this huge deposit along Old Agria Road. Next, I need a Rainbow Rubia, it's a rare plant but it's sold in big markets. The last one is sepiths, I need 50 of each element.", Reggie answered.
"I'm sorry, that's impossible.", Kurt replied without a second thought.
Juna elbows him again, this time I join in and kick his foot.
"Hey!"
"What is wrong with you?!"
Reggie smiles nervously, "I…uh…it's fine if you don't have the time."
I shake my head, "No, no, it's quite alright. It's simply—"
Kurt interrupts me, "We can't afford to lose time by mining for Loess stone and getting back to Saint-Arkh for the Rainbow Rubia. Also, I assume by sepiths you'd want fresh ones collected from monsters that recently died right? Otherwise, you'd just go to Dwight's shop."
Reggie smiles sheepishly, "Well, yes…the luminescence properties fade away unless the sepiths are treated immediately."
Kurt sighs, "See, killing monsters and harvesting the sepiths would take time. Especially since you need 50 of all elements. In the first place, why didn't you list these ingredients directly in the request? If you did, we could have gathered them on our way here. "
Well, he's not wrong, besides…mats farming quest is a bit…but, hold on.
Reggie looks disappointed but he eventually sighs and nods, "I see, you're right. That's unfortunate, but I understand."
"Hold it! Who says we can't make it in time?!", Juna exclaimed.
"Uh…well…Kurt did.", Reggie replied.
"Just ignore him! We'll at least try—"
"We have more important things to—"
"Shut up, Kurt!"
I decide to step in before this escalates, "Alright, that's enough, you two. Calm down."
They stop but still glare at each other.
I turn to Altina, who has been silent until now, "The map for this area is on you, correct?"
She nods and produces a map from her pocket.
I take the map from her and give it to Reggie, "Can you pinpoint approximately where the deposit is located on the Old Agria Road?"
Reggie takes the map and gives an approximate location of the deposit.
I give it back to Altina, "Altina, since we need to go through Old Agria Road to reach one of the reported 'mysterious monster sighting' areas, were we to take a detour here, how much time would that take?"
"Assuming the approximated location is correct, using the scaling of the map, and extrapolating data for our speed on horses…I would say around 15 minutes.", Altina replied.
I nod and turn back to Reggie, "Would we require a special tool or process to mine the Loess stone? Or would chipping a bit of the deposit suffice?"
He shakes his head, "Nah, just chipping it should be fine."
I turn back to Altina, but she already understood and answered before I could ask, "Claiomh Solais would be able to do it easily, yes."
"In that case, at the very least, getting the Loess stone would be no trouble.", I said before looking at Kurt.
He sighs, "Fine, we will at least get the Loess stone, as for the Rainbow Rubia and sepiths—"
I cut him off, "It could be done."
Because this is no longer a mere JRPG and I can break the questing rule limitation in a game.
I continue, "Gathering sepiths from monsters is a standard procedure. We didn't because we need to save time and cover a large area, however…Class VIII does not, and would likely collect sepiths from monsters they killed on their patrol."
I then turn to Instructor Rean, "Instructor, is it possible to collaborate with Class VIII for this one? Not only for the sepiths but to see if they could also procure the Rainbow Rubia from Saint-Arkh."
"Let me check with Instructor Michael and Instructor Randolph.", he said as he step out of the room to make a call.
"Excuse us for a moment.", I said to Reggie, before dragging Kurt to a corner of the room while signaling Juna and Altina to follow.
"What?", Kurt said as we all move to a corner of the room.
"What do you mean what?! What's up with you?!", Juna asked him before I could.
"I simply think that we should prioritize the 'mysterious monster' investigations and not waste time.", he answered.
I shake my head, "I agree in principle. However, normally you would at least hear him out and consider the request more."
"You are clearly agitated. An unstable mental state could lead to a fatal mistake during combat, if you are currently mentally compromised, I suggest asking Instructor Rean for permission to retire for the day.", adds Altina
"No!", Kurt shouted vehemently, attracting Reggie's attention.
"Uh…everything alright there, guys?"
"…Yes, everything's alright. My apologies, Reggie.", Kurt replied before turning back to us.
"…I'm fine.", he said rather harshly to Altina.
Juna looks at him skeptically, "Really? Doesn't look like it to me.", she then adds mockingly, "What's with your mood swings anyway? You have more of those than us girls."
Kurt's face starts to tense up again.
"That was uncalled for, Juna.", I said quickly.
As much as I want to applaud her for saying it as it is, not the time Juna, switch to dere mode damn it, not the tsun!
Juna looks like she wants to say something but holds back and clicks her tongue.
I turn to Kurt, "Kurt, you—"
"I'm fine.", he reiterated.
…Are we playing this game again? Really?
"Your behavior thus far does not reflect that statement. As I said, Kurt, maybe you should—"
Kurt cuts Altina off, "I am fine, Altina."
I sigh, "Kurt, perhaps Altina could have worded it better, however, you know full well that she is right. So please, if there is anything bothering you, could you not share it with us?"
He shakes his head, "You, of all people, won't underst—"
Juna steps forward and cuts him off, "Okay, that's enough. I'm done listening to this."
"Wait, Juna—"
"No, you spoil him way too much, Jessica, someone's gotta give it to him straight.", Juna said as she brushed me off and gets closer to Kurt.
"Alright, listen here, Mr. Oh-woe-is-me-no-one-will-understand…How do you think we're going to understand if you don't talk?"
"It's not that simple.", Kurt tried to retort, but Juna is not having any of it.
"No one's saying it's simple, but you gotta make some effort and not just ignores us and go, 'you won't understand'. Do you think it's simple for us to deal with your moodiness? All I'm seeing are efforts from Jessica to be understanding with you, my efforts trying to help you make up with her once you go too far, and even Allie is worrying about you in her own way. Where is YOUR effort?"
Kurt looks like someone punched him in the gut
"Sorry, who is Alli—?", Altina started saying before I cut her off and whisper, "Not now, Altina. I think it's working."
Juna continues, "It's not fair to Jessica if you just say, 'you don't understand' and you won't even make an effort to explain. I know you guys have this 'childhood friend' thing going on, but you're not entitled to her taking all the burdens of communicating here."
…I'd rather that you didn't say that childhood friend in air quotes, but…yeah! Tell him, Juna! This is why I like tsundere, they can tell the main character what needs saying without hesitation when scolding them!
I suddenly realize Kurt is looking at me, "Is…that how you feel?"
"Well…"
Juna cuts in, "Just tell him how it is, Jessica. This idiot won't get it otherwise."
I sigh, "Well…at times. You can be…frustrating to deal with, especially when you get in this state."
"…I see."
"Do you? Then apologize to her right now!", Juna immediately pressed.
"Ah…he has already apologized this morning."
"So? Don't spoil him, Jessica, he's back to being a jerk just now, didn't he?! Apologize! Actually, you were being a jerk to me and Allie too! Apologize to us too while you're at it!"
"Um…guys? Erm…should I get your teacher?", Reggie nervously said while looking at us.
"Did something happen?", Instructor Rean said as he entered back into the room.
"Ah…well…uh…", Reggie started saying not sure what to say.
Kurt steps forward, "Nothing, Instructor. Juna was simply giving me…uh…some spirited encouragement."
"That's what you're calling it?" I heard Reggie mutter under his breath.
"Is that so? Well, all right then. In any case, since the trains are running again, Instructor Michael and Instructor Randolph agreed to have Class VIII help out.", Instructor Rean said before turning to Reggie to discuss the details of Class VIII's delivery.
Kurt turns back to us, for a moment none of us said anything, but Juna is still giving Kurt a look that said, 'well, go on.'
"…Right. I'm sorry.", Kurt said before looking at me, "…Especially to you, I already said such behavior was unworthy of me, and yet I was doing it again."
I nod, "Will you talk now?"
"Yes, but…", Kurt looked hesitantly at Juna and Altina.
Juna sighs, "Fine…we'll leave, just make sure it's dealt with okay? I'm tired of this.", she then turns to Altina "Let's go, Allie."
"I'm sorry who's Allie?"
"You. I got too worked up that it just slips out, but it's cute, right? Do you mind—"
I didn't manage to hear the rest of the conversation as Juna drags Altina to the other corner before Kurt starts speaking.
"You, Prince Cedric, and Princess Alfin too. Ever since the civil war…all of you seem to be going somewhere that is beyond me."
Ah. I get it now.
He already feels stagnant in the first place, and then the civil war happened. He was the only one not involved in it, and the civil war changed the three of us both for the better and worse.
And so…he fears that his closest friends—probably the only friends he has until Class VII, at least—are being driven away from him, and he could never catch up to them, which definitely would frustrate him, exacerbating his inferiority complex.
"…Jessica? Are you not going to say anything?"
"You know, Kurt, simply because we're changed by our experience, that doesn't mean things between us have to change."
He shakes his head, "But all of you are driven by this sense of purpose ever since the civil war. You pursue your spearmanship with renewed vigor, Alfin has been taking much more interest in politics and is helping Prince Olivert where she can, while Cedric is rushing headlong with determination as the Chancellor's protégé, even if that means he has to oppose his siblings. All of you are full of conviction, giving your utmost on what you think is right. On the other hand, there's me who doesn't even know what to do, now that the Vanders have been dismissed as the Imperial Family's bodyguard. And…"
He takes a breath and seems to have something else to say, so I wait.
After a couple of moments, he speaks again, "And most of all…you're the most perplexing to me. We should have been the same. Both of us have been dismissed as something we've been preparing for almost our whole lives, our purpose was taken away. And so…at first, I selfishly was glad that you would still be here with me. But slowly, I realize you too, have changed. The civil war marked you for better and worse."
He stops again, and looks away for a bit, before looking me straight in the eyes, "That's why that time in the clearing, I snapped at you after you explained how profound the experience was. Because to me, I feel you're confirming there is this gap between us so profound that I cannot hope to cross."
I nod, "To be honest…I'm still not sure what I should be doing in the future now that I am no longer assigned to Alfin, and I would be lying were I to say that I'm not afraid when something I had taken for granted almost my whole life, is suddenly no longer a viable course of action. And I suppose it is true, that part of why I could still move forward is due to the civil war. It's nothing as grandiose as Alfin's or Cedric's desire to change the Empire to what they think is right, it's merely…after the civil war, my troubles of having my purpose taken feels insignificant in the grand scale of things."
Kurt flinches, "Right. And I don't have that. I have no such experience that gives a new sense of purpose, like Alfin or Cedric nor helps me come to terms with my aimlessness and keeps moving forward like you."
"Is that why you're adamant about resolving the current situation with archaisms and being hasty about it?"
He nods, "Yeah. It might not be the same, but I can't help thinking…that this is my chance. My chance to finally cross that gap between me and the three of you. And I'm afraid if I miss this chance, the three of you would move farther away."
"I see. Juna managed to get through to you by being as blunt as possible, so I will do the same. Is that all right?"
"Yeah."
I take a deep breath, "Juna was right. You are spoiled."
"P-pardon?"
I sigh, "What you are feeling right now…How do you think the three of us felt growing up with you?"
"I-I don't…", Kurt said in confusion.
I press on, "You don't realize how absurdly talented you seem to us, don't you? Almost everything we did, you excel at it, be it martial arts, academic, horseriding, etiquette lessons, music lessons, politics, everything."
Well except in emotional intelligence, god has to dump some stats to be fair.
Kurt smiles sardonically, "And so…? Are you saying that because the three of you have felt similarly, I should be able to grin and bear it? If that were the case, then I won't be in this situation, now would I? Besides, it's not quite the same. I told you, it's not about being better at something."
I shake my head, "No, the frustrations you are feeling are real. And you're right, it's not about being better at something, however, the three of us knew that even if it were regarding something that truly matters, nothing would change between us and you."
"You are simply saying that, you don't know that until it happened. And I've never—"
"You've been ahead of me for a long time on something that truly matters.", I said softly.
Kurt stops, looking at me inquisitively.
I sigh…It started as Juna's flag with how she's getting through to Kurt, and now it becomes my flag.
Well played, Juna, you got me, even though you probably don't mean it. Oh well, as I've said before, I'm not that heartless to just avoid helping Kurt because I'm afraid of some flags.
I take a deep breath, "As you said, we are similar in circumstances, for most of our lives our family's martial arts and protection of a royal have been our purpose. And that is precisely why, to me, you have always been a goal to reach in that regard. You have always been far ahead of me in fulfilling those purposes, with how devoted you are to your swordsmanship, which in turn serves as proof of your dedication to your duty towards Cedric. And so… I continually chase after you from behind, hoping that one day, I could catch up."
I smile, "When I first reach the intermediate level, one of the reasons for my happiness was that I was catching up to you. And I was—am able to do this because I know that you would never move so far away that you would completely leave me behind. So…can't you have that same faith?"
A moment of silence falls between us before he asks with trepidation, "…Will you wait for me to catch up then?"
I shake my head, "Not wait. As you said, all of us are moving forward toward what we believe in, so we will keep doing so. But, I can promise that I, and Alfin…and probably Cedric as well, will never be somewhere you cannot reach, no matter how much we've moved ahead."
I look him straight in the eyes, "So you don't need to rush. Take your time, and eventually, I'm sure we will reach the same destination."
He closes his eyes and nods, "I see. Thank you. And sorry."
…I think that did it. He seems to be more relieved now.
I nod back, "Right. Let's join the others, I think we've taken enough of their time."
"I thought you told me not to rush?", He asked amusedly with some sarcasm
"Hush, you. You know that's not what I meant."
"You heard everything, didn't you, Instructor?"
I ask Instructor Rean while we are walking toward the town's gate.
Instructor Rean looks at the rest of Class VII who are walking ahead of us before turning back to me, "Sorry, I can't help it. My hearing is pretty sharp.", he said sheepishly.
I sigh, "You heard everything even from when you were contacting the base camp, right? Why didn't you step in?"
"Well…I just don't think it's necessary for me to step in. I think having fights like that is part of growing together as a class. We used to have fights like that too all the time in old Class VII, most of them were actually resolved in our field study.", he replied fondly.
Ah. Right, callbacks and all that.
Instructor Rean continues, "But still…that's how Kurt feels huh? I think I understand him better now. I'll have a talk with him later."
I nod, "I think that is a good idea.", that sort of scene is a staple after all.
He smiles at me, "Glad you think so. Good job handling things, by the way. Both for the request and helping Kurt along."
I shake my head, "I think Juna did most of the work for Kurt."
"Maybe. But I think what you said was what he needed to hear the most."
"Well, perhaps. In any case, Instruct—"
"HI-YAAH!"
A loud shout interrupted me, I turn to the source of the voice and see a building with the words 'Vander Training Hall' written on it.
All of us turn to Kurt.
"It seems like there's still someone in there.", Instructor Rean remarked.
"Didn't you say it was closed last year?", Juna added.
Kurt looks at the building hesitantly, "It…should be."
We heard another yell, accompanied by sounds of wooden practice swords hitting each other.
I turn to Kurt, "That certainly sounds like people practicing."
He nods, "Yeah, you're right.", Kurt then turns to Instructor Rean, "Can we check inside?"
Instructor Rean nods, "Of course. Besides, if there are practicing students, we can ask them about the sightings, like what Jessica suggested."
Kurt nods again and leads us into the training hall.
We were greeted by the sight of students practicing their swordsmanship. It's not too many but…this training hall is definitely not closed.
Juna and Altina echoed my thought and ask Kurt about it, to which he responds with a confused, "…Just what is going on?" while scratching the back of his head.
"By Aidios! If it isn't Master Kurt!"
One of the students eventually notices us and walks over. Kurt appears to recognize the student approaching us and greets him, "It's nice to see you, Walton. Have you been well? And you know that just 'Kurt' is fine."
Walton smiles, "Haha! Of course, of course. Don't mind me. Why, I haven't seen you since we were in the capital. When did you get here? I'd have met you by the entrance if I knew."
"I'm just here as part of my studies.", Kurt replies.
"That so? Is that the same for your friends then?", Walton said as he turns to the rest of us before he stops to look at me.
"Ah! And you're…Lady Jessica, correct? How have you been?"
Shoot…I don't remember him at all.
"…My apologies, have we met?", I said carefully
Walton scratches the back of his head sheepishly, "Ahaha…well, not formally no. Sorry about that, though I remember you visiting our training hall in the capital a couple of times."
Right…usually visiting Kurt or when his mother dragged me there.
"I see…I'm sorry, I don't quite remember you. In any case, please feel free to simply call me Jessica."
He nods, "Very well. Oh, also you don't have to apologize, the Heimdallr Vander Hall branch has many students. You are quite famous among us students there, though."
I look inquisitively at Kurt. Famous? What for?
He shrugs. I guess he doesn't know the details either.
Instructor Rean interjects before I can inquire further, "Excuse me, I should've introduced us sooner."
Juna, Altina, and he then introduce themselves to Walton.
"Field exercises, huh? And to think we just happened to be one of your stops."
Walton then looks at Instructor Rean, "So how'd you luck out with THE Ashen Chevalier as your instructor?" he then adds teasingly, "Not to mention with Jessica and these two other adorable ladies as your classmates?"
"Aw…come on. We're not that adorable.", Juna started saying before being shot down bluntly by Altina, "I believe he is simply making a polite conversation."
"…Let a girl dream, Allie."
"The two of you would make a good comedy routine.", I remarked dryly.
Juna shoots back, "I don't think your take on comedy can be trusted, Ms. Super-serious-Ice-Queen."
"Okay, settle down you guys.", Instructor Rean said, before turning to Walton, "Anyway, it's an honor to witness the teachings of the Vander School."
Kurt interjects before Walton can answer, "Walton, can I ask what happened? I thought this branch closed down around the end of the year."
"It did, but it's been reopened for a limited time as of last week. Master Matteus introduced a temporary instructor."
"Really, who? Is it someone I know?", Kurt asked
"I'm almost positive it is, though she's out at the moment. She's young but her skill with a blade is incredible.", Walton replied.
Wait, a female swordsman? Considering cameos seem to be appearing left and right, is this who I think it is?
Walton continued, "This place has been rotting from the inside out since shutting its doors, but she's breathed new life back into it again!"
"You obviously think highly of her, may I know her name?", I ask
He nods
"Yeah…", he started before stopping to turn to Instructor Rean, "Oh, you probably know her, Sir Schwarzer, I think she mentioned attending Thors with you. Her name's Laura. Laura S. Arseid."
Yeah, I know it.
Looks like my predecessor is here, and not simply in the sense of an old Class VII member. But the one Jessica is supposed to be an expy of, a fellow blue-haired designated losing girl.
Throwing the past secondary heroine this early…they're really not holding back on cameos at all. Like seriously, what about people whose entry point in the franchise is Kurt's games?
I still can't believe Cold Steel 3 is actually officially advertised as a possible entry point to the franchise, lol.