Chapter Text
A young man with ravenish hair sat on the moving train, head leaning against the window as he watched the trees rushing by. In his hands was his trusty tachi, which he restlessly fidgeted with, passing it from one hand to the other and occasionally spinning it in place.
By all accounts, Patrick Hyarms, his travel companion, found it very irritating. “Can you stop that?”
Rean turned to him with a bit of a surprised look before looking down at his hands and gripping the handle of his sword firmly.
“Sorry about that. Were you saying something?”
“Just that you look ridiculous.” That wasn’t what Patrick had been talking about but it needed to be said all the same. The swordsman sitting in front of him was wearing a gray hoodie pulled over his head and a pair of sunglasses to hide his face, which ironically made him the most suspicious person on the train.
“Whatever, it keeps people from bothering me.”
“But in turn I am the one feeling bothered by being seen traveling alongside a hoodlum. I swear, you look like you’re about to announce you’re commandeering the train instead of going to your new job as a teacher.”
Rean sighed, there was some truth to Patrick’s words. He had felt the look of suspicion upon him many times during the ride.
“Nobody forced you to come with me. You know that, right?”
“Well, someone had to otherwise you’d be cooped up inside Valimar’s cockpit for the entirety of the trip, just like you used to sneak out of the dorm to his temporary hangar at the old schoolhouse where you’d spend the night.”
Up until now not really looking at Patrick, Rean turned to him with an owlish look from behind his glasses.
“You knew?”
“And not just me. Normally I don’t think you would be so careless but you were so off your game back in Thors that multiple students in the noble dorm were aware of your escapades. Thankfully Celestine spotted you before gossip started to spread and I managed to track down and persuade the students that had already seen you to keep their mouths shut.”
How embarrassing. Although part of him wouldn’t mind some of the gossip if it helped dispel some of his image as the “Ashen Chevalier”, he owed Patrick for the save. Just another addition to the list of ways the third son of House Hyarms had helped him during his last month in Thors.
“Thanks, I owe you one.”
“Don’t mention it. What are friends for, right?” Patrick said with a grin that Rean reciprocated in kind.
“Right.”
That little chat was a nice distraction but soon came a lull in the conversation and Rean felt his fingers beginning to fidget with his tachi but thankfully something else caught his attention.
“I’m going to check on Valimar.”
“We’ll be arriving in ten minutes, is that really necessary?”
“He’s got company.”
“And look, Agate, the platting is certainly made out of zemurian ore but the process is visibly different from anything I’ve ever seen!” The excited voice of a young girl echoed through the cargo car as she looked at Valimar. She quickly darted from one side to the other, poking her eye at every nook and cranny of the Divine Knight as if undecided where she should look first.
“That’s cool and all, Tita, but you shouldn’t get too close to it.” Standing behind her was a tall, redheaded man with a scar on his cheek. Though he voiced disapproval with her actions, he couldn’t hide his amusement. “And definitely don’t touch it.”
Having heard that, Tita’s index finger stopped one rege away from making contact with Valimar.
“Oh come on, Agate, what’s the worst that could happen?”
“Nothing, but I’d still appreciate it if you didn’t. Fingerprint marks are a pain to remove.”
Both jumped at the sudden third voice in the cargo car with Agate taking on a defensive stance since he hadn’t felt the approaching presence at all, but he quickly dropped it once he realized the owner of the voice didn’t show any aggression, instead he just stood there with an easy going expression on his face and hands on the pockets of his hoodie.
“Sorry for the scare,” Rean said.
“N-no, no! I am the one who should be apologizing, I really shouldn’t be getting too close to a panzer soldat without permission to begin with,” Tita quickly backed away from Valimar, her face flush with embarrassment.
“Yeah, and I should be doing a better job of keeping you out of trouble,” Agate said to the girl before turning to Rean. “Sorry about that but she gets really excited about machinery. So if that’s the famous Ashen Knight that’s all the rage in the news everywhere, then I gather that you are the one they call the Ashen Chevalier.”
The so-called Chevalier’s jaw tensed upon hearing that name. “Name’s Rean Schwarzer. Just Rean is fine.”
As he said that, Rean noticed the older man was sizing him up. It was not the same way in which most people did, as some awestruck civilian seeing him as the hero figure he had become, but analyzing him as a warrior would. Considering that and his reaction earlier, it was easy to tell he was a seasoned fighter.
“Alright, Rean Schwarzer,” Agate said, doing a good job to hide his unease, probably for the sake of his companion. “Again, sorry for the trouble. Tita, let’s get back to our seats.”
“Uhm, right. Sorry for bothering you, Mr. Schwarzer,” the young girl said with a slight bow of her head before following her companion.
The second that the two left, Rean sighed and his shoulders sagged. “Did I mess that up?”
“I believe you’ve handled the situation well,” Valimar responded. “I can picture a more heated exchange mere six months ago.”
“Thanks,” he replied, approaching his companion and leaning his back against his metallic leg. “Good thing too, since that girl’s on the roster of branch campus students. First impressions and all that.”
“And we are all aware of how good you are at those.”
Rean laughed out loud. Valimar’s occasional snark always lifted his mood. “Excited for our new home?”
“I am fine with any location. What about yourself?”
“Nervous but excited. Mostly nervous. I’m still not sure this is the right path for me but it’s better than nothing. I just hope I don’t drag down any of my students.”
“Hmm…”
There was a hint of disapproval in Valimar’s voice that made Rean cock an eyebrow and turn around to him.
“I believe you made a promise to not put yourself down in such a manner,” the Divine Knight responded.
“How do you… You and Laura have been talking behind my back!” How outrageous.
“We both simply care about you.”
Sheesh. Way to make a guy feel loved, Rean thought to himself, not able to hide the small smile forming on his lips.
The train soon arrived at its destination, the town of Leeves at the western suburbs of Heimdallr, and made a brief stop for the passengers to disembark. Not a lot of people were staying at the town but among them Rean saw one of his future students, Tita, with her companion, who was left carrying not just her luggage but also a heavy looking crate over his shoulder, alongside with a massive sword on his back. A seasoned fighter indeed.
Considering she’s from Liberl I guess her parents got a bodyguard to accompany her for the trip, makes sense. A bracer maybe? I wonder why she arrived so early though, school doesn’t start for another five days.
Meanwhile, Rean couldn’t help but feel a bit smug that he only needed to carry his tachi, leaving the rest of his luggage inside Valimar. Talk about convenience. On the other hand, he had to deal with the station personnel attempting to “unload” the Divine Knight, as he watched two men in uniform scratching their heads while looking at Valimar through the opening of the cargo car.
“It doesn’t have the support parts for us to hooking in the crane like a regular panzer soldat, how are we-”
“He’s a big boy, he can go by himself,” Rean said and Valimar moved by himself, walking out of the train and into the storage warehouse of the station. Ever since Chancellor Osborne’s return to power every train station had been remodeled to or was in the process of being able to store at least five panzer soldats for quick deployment by the army.
The display, of course, drew the attention from some people and the workers stared at Rean with eyes the size of dinner plates, all of which he ignored as he walked towards Patrick, who was standing close to the train’s door.
“Well, I guess this is it, huh?”
“Yes, by all intents and purposes your new life as an instructor starts now. Try to not embarrass yourself too much, you’re representing our school year after all.”
“Hah, I’ll try. You gonna be okay in Ordis?”
“I’ll strive to do my best to honor House Hyarms in the upcoming provincial council.”
“Right, but if you run into some problem and need a hand, don’t hesitate to give us a call, alright?” Having said that, Rean extended his hand for a handshake.
“Right. Thanks, Rean,” Patrick replied, shaking his friend’s hand. He couldn’t help but laugh whenever he thought about how things between them had turned out, starting as rivals then eventually becoming friends, sharing in mutual respect for one another.
“Dear passengers, the train will soon be leaving. Please, return to your seats.” The warning came from the train’s speakers.
Having heard the message, Patrick said a final farewell to Rean and stepped back into the train but turned around once the swordsman called out to him.
“I really owe you a lot for all the support you gave me, Patrick. You helped me out a lot in Thors after everyone in Class VII went away, so much so that…” Rean paused dramatically for a moment, letting the blonde catch up to his words. “So much so that you have my approval.”
“Approval?” Does he mean Elise!? “T-truly, you really mean it?” Is this real? Wait… “Approval for what exactly? Give me a clear answer! Is this about-”
The train door closed on his face.
“See ya, Pat!” Rean said with an easy going grin, waving to a very irritated Patrick as he was slowly taken away by the moving train.
“Approval for what!? Answer me, Schwarzer!”
With that last bit of fun done and his mood a little bit better, it was finally time to get the show on the road. Walking through the train station, Rean felt some people looking at him and heard a few whispers from those who had seen him commanding Valimar earlier, though nobody approached him. It seemed his outfit had successfully worked in making him unapproachable at least.
Despite its effectiveness, however, Rean couldn’t help but remove his sunglasses to admire the town. Right off the bat it was a charming place, cozy, not that different from Trista with its own trees of lino flowers blooming, hitting him with an awful sense of nost-
“Ouch!”
Someone had collided with his back, stumbled and fell. By the sound of her voice it was a girl and judging by their size probably a child. He turned around to help the little girl out and froze once he saw her face.
“Oh I’m sorry sir, I should be more careful of where I’m going.”
“Towa?”
Looking up, the short young woman squinted her eyes upon looking at the person in front of her against the sun, still not recognizing her former school council assistant until he pulled back his hoodie and lowered himself to help her up.
“Rean? Rean!” Taking his hand, Towa lifted herself up and dust off her clothes. “I knew you’d be arriving today but I didn’t expect to meet you like this.”
“Yeah, I just… You knew I was coming? Wait…” Looking at Towa and just now noticed she was wearing a uniform. “You’re working at the branch campus too.”
She giggled. “That’s right, I guess you aren’t on par with who your coworkers might be. But yes, I’ve been here since last week assisting principal Le Guin with the final touches so the school year can start next week without a hitch.”
“Well, it’s great to know there’s a familiar face here.”
“Agreed, I was really happy when I learned you would be joining us. I guess you were going to the campus? I was on my way there too, let’s go together so we can catch up.”
“Sure.”
And so they went, catching up with some of the stuff they had been doing since the last time they saw each other and tip-toeing around other subjects neither would like to talk about.
“But I have to say, Rean, I really couldn’t recognize you. Your disguise is very effective. Also, it looks like you grew up a lot this past year.”
“Oh yeah, a bit. And you…” He turned to Towa and noticed her looking at him expecting a certain answer. “You got a little taller too.” He lied.
“You really think so?” She said excitedly. “I knew I still had some rege of growth in me!”
“Anyway…” Best to move away from that subject fast, Rean thought. “What about our co-workers? I’m still in the dark about everyone who isn’t the principal. Anyone I’d recognize?”
“Aha, well…” Towa let out a nervous laugh, scratching the back of her head in a way that worried her friend. “Professor Schmidt will be working with us in the soldat program and the special training facility.”
“Oh great,” he groused.
“We also have Major Irving from RMP, he’ll be acting as vice-principal. He is very diligent and has been a great help with getting everything ready.”
A far cry from Schmidt then, that was good to hear. Maybe things would be good there.
“And there’s Class VIII’s instructor Randolph Orlando. He is a former member of Crossbell’s Guardian Force before moving to their police’s Special Support Section and- Rean?” A bit distracted so far, Towa looked to the side to see him looking down, pinching the bridge of his nose with a pained expression.
One of Lloyd Bannings’ partners. I can’t have anything be easy for me, huh?
The next five days were spent getting acquainted with the school, the town of Leeves and the dorm that would be Rean’s new home for the foreseeable future, as well as getting ready for the inauguration of the branch campus which was much harder than Rean had expected. The few tips Thomas had given were not enough to prepare him, though the intensity of the work was boosted by the fact this was a brand new school, but Rean welcomed it since it kept him busy. Better than doing nothing, better than wallowing in self pity and dragging others down with him.
Hard work aside, his co-workers presented another kind of difficulty. Towa was an angel, of course, the problem was everyone else. While Randolph, or Randy how he insisted on being called, was a pretty easy going type, there was the obvious elephant in the room and both him and Rean were guarded around each other. Major Irving was straight laced and as military as they come so Rean thought things would be fine with him but it seemed that he had taken the rumors about the Ashen Chevalier’s attitude very seriously and frequently called him out to not rest on his laurels. It ticked Rean off but he just bit his tongue, he had brought it on himself after all.
Schmidt was surprisingly easy to work with in the sense that in no point Rean had to interact with him as the scientist was busy working on his building, the Einhel Keep, to bother with anyone. It did sting that after all this time the professor never even thanked Rean for that report on Valimar’s self-repair ability, he had worked hard on that. Interestingly enough, Tita was there under an apprenticeship with Schmidt, which solved the mystery as to why she arrived earlier than other students. Rean pitied the poor girl.
And Aurelia Le Guin was Aurelia Le Guin. She gave 110% to everything she did and expected nothing but the same from everyone else and at the moment she was giving a speech to their recently arrived students and Rean couldn’t contain a snicker when the general turned principal called the branch campus a trash bin, for which he earned a stink eye from Irving.
With shock and awe sufficiently delivered by the Golden Rakshasa to their students, it was time to begin the school year for real and Major Irving begun with a short explanation of how the classes would be divided and how students would be distributed: “Class VII will be Special Operations, taught by instructor Rean Schwarzer.”
The crowd of students exploded in murmurs.
“The Ashen Chevalier himself!”
“Ugh, seriously?”
“It would be an honor to be taught by an alumni of the original Class VII.”
“Whatever.”
“Oh man, that’s sure to make me popular with girls.”
Rean wasn’t sure about that last one but he expected the other reactions.
“Silence!” The RMP major shouted. “Continuing from where we left off…”
Class VIII would be Combat Operations, taught by Randy, and Class IX would be Military Logistics, taught by Towa. And from there the instructors began calling the names of their students, going in reverse order starting from Towa then Randy and finally Rean.
Though the answer was already obvious, the newly appointed instructor picked up his sheet of paper and started calling the names of his students, going by alphabetical order.
“Carbide, Ash.”
Guy already looks annoyed. Great start there.
“Crawford, Juna.”
“Damnit.”
From her profile photo I already feared as much but it really is the same girl from back then. She looks pissed off which is understandable and I don’t expect a thank you either.
“Egret, Musse.”
“Oh my heart might just explode from hearing you say my name, instructor,” the mint haired girl said with a delighted giggle and everyone looked scandalized at her.
… What?
“Orion, Altina.”
“Present and ready to begin my mission.”
Rean sighed. I still can’t believe she’s here.
“Vander, Kurt.”
The young Vander nodded and smiled at Rean. “It is a pleasure to see you again, instructor Schwarzer.”
Not wanting to display any favoritism, Rean simply nodded back.
Well, at least he doesn’t seem to have changed since that day, not that I expected it.
With roll call over, Classes VIII and IX were led to the main building while Rean guided his class towards the Einhel Keep. The atmosphere behind him was tense as the idea that they would be in a special class put the students on edge. It was nothing like when Sara had guided him and the rest of his classmates to the old schoolhouse as they chatted amongst themselves wondering what awaited them. Rean had thought of emulating Sara’s demeanor to break the ice but quickly realized he could not pull it off.
“Well, here we are,” Rean said once they finally arrived at the entrance hall of the Keep, as he and the students stood in the center of it. “I know I already called out your names but do you guys want to make introductions or…” He winced as Ash and Kurt looked at him like he was an idiot and Musse giggled. Not a good start, this was more awkward than he had expected.
“Can I start by saying I was never told I would be in some shady special ops program? And why is there a child here, how old is she even?” Juna spread her hands towards Altina, who gave the other girl a quizzical look.
“Technically, since I am 14 years old, I am designated as an adolescent and not a child. Regardless, as a member of Erebonia’s Intelligence Division, my age does not affect my capacity to participate in any given mission,” Altina responded plainly.
Kurt frowned while Ash asked if she was even allowed to say that. Nobody paid attention to Musse’s lack of reaction.
“A slip of the tongue, think nothing of it,” Altina replied, managing to sound snarky through her monotone, something she had picked up from Rean.
Raised eyebrows turned their gaze towards their new instructor, who shrugged. “Don’t worry about it.”
“Ugh, whatever, that’s beside the point. Bad enough I got dragged to Erebonia, on top of that I got to follow his orders?” Juna pointed a finger at Rean, who internally winced.
Kurt raised an eyebrow at the pink haired girl. “You seem to have a personal problem with our instructor.”
“Damn right I do. Any proud Crossbellan has a problem with the Assen Chevalier.”
“Pff, good one,” Ash snickered.
“Thanks.”
“I was being sarcastic, that was lame as shit. Also, if you and other ‘proud Crossbellans’ have a problem with getting taken over maybe you should’ve tried to fight, like, at all. North Ambria was starving and they at least tried to put up a fight against our dear principal, what’s your excuse?”
“Wha-” Juna’s grew wide at the audacity of someone saying that but before she could explode at Ash’s smarmy face, Musse walked between the two.
“Now now, everyone, in-fighting is a terrible way to start our first day of school,” the mint haired girl said with a placating voice. “Besides, you are being rude to both your fellow students and our dear instructor by delaying our introductory class. Even if some of us don’t want to be here, others might.”
Ash clicked his tongue and seemed to immediately disengage while Juna took a moment to look around everyone and grew a little embarrassed to be causing a scene on her first day there, muttering an apology. Rean was a bit impressed by Musse taking the initiative, aside from what she had said earlier during roll call she seemed to have a good head on her shoulders.
Suddenly, the speakers flared up and from them came the voice of Professor Schmidt, sounding as annoying as ever. “Are all of you done wasting my time with pointless bickering? The test was supposed to begin ages ago!”
“Professor, please, we are just two minutes behind schedule.” And along could be heard Tita’s pleading voice. “It’s understandable considering their circumstances.”
“Exactly, two minutes in which I could be doing something actually productive but instead I’m here waiting for the sign for us to begin.”
There was a heavy sigh from Tita. “I’m sorry, instructor Rean, but I guess you guys should pick things up. The professor has already increased the danger level of the test once.”
“Don’t act as if you are sensible. You’re Albert’s granddaughter for Aidios’ sake, I’m surprised that this facility is still standing!”
With a click the speakers shutdown, leaving the aging engineer to continue bickering with a teenage girl. Everyone must be getting a great impression from their first day at Thors, Rean thought.
Alright, let’s pick this up. I can’t be Sara or Laura or Crow, I can only be myself, whatever that entails. A little sincerity can go a long way.
“I understand this is a lot of throw at you guys on your first day of school, I felt the same back during my first day as well.” That was only two years ago, why do I feel like an old man saying it? “Speaking from personal experience, my time in Class VII made me the person I am today, not just through its curriculum but the bonds I made with my classmates. I’m not going to sugar coat it though, Class VII’s curriculum is a big part of it and will be a lot tougher than that of the other classes’ but I promise that what you will experience here will be unlike anything else Thors or any other school in Erebonia has to offer.
“So I ask that you give this class a chance and me as your instructor as well to show what we can offer. However, if by the end of today’s introductory class, any of you still aren’t satisfied with what you see, I will see what I can do to get you transferred to another class.”
Taken somewhat aback by Rean’s words, the older students exchanged a few glances between each other and soon came to a silent agreement to at least see what he had stored for them to the end.
“Great, I’m glad to hear. So, without further ado… Welcome to Class VII.”
And with the snap of his fingers, the floor gave up under their feet and four of the room’s occupants tumbled down into the darkness below.
“Now I know why Sara did this,” a very amused Rean said to himself, his stance shifted so he would slowly slide down the slope after his students. Turning his gaze to the side he saw Altina, sitting on the arms of her artificial companion as they both followed him down. “I guess you had Claiomh Solais previously scan the area, huh?”
“Correct. I’ve read a report on the original Class VII’s activities and imagined you would try to emulate some of its aspects due to your questionable sense of humor. Personally, I find that this is not the most proper way to start our classes.”
“Well, it’s Class VII tradition at this point.”
“Can you really call it a tradition when it’s something that was only done once before?” The girl asked with a judgmental look, which Rean ignored.
“It’s also part of the test to see how they act when thrown in unexpected situations. Once I get down there, I’ll check on everyone and see how they handled it. Besides, what’s the worst that could happen?”
Feeling like that statement wasn’t worthy of an answer, Altina kept her disapproving gaze and simply continued her descent along with her carefree instructor.
“See, they are even laughing,” Rean pointed out as they approached at the bottom though his words failed to make Altina any more approving of the situation, specially because only one person was laughing, the one called Ash.
Finally reaching the bottom of the trap, Rean could not believe his eyes. Lying with his back on the floor was Kurt, with Juna on top of him, pressing her chest against his face. Meanwhile, Ash was laughing his ass off and not helping matters. Musse, who seemed to have fallen on her butt and remained sitting down on the floor, also found the scene very amusing though in a much less scandalous fashion, as she only let out a single giggle.
“How… How did this happen again?” Rean quietly muttered to himself in utter disbelief.
“I suppose this is also a tradition of Class VII,” Altina unhelpfully added.
“How do you even know about that?”
“Millium has told me of your uncanny luck to be put in this sort of situations. She thought it was funny.”
With a yell, Juna jolted away from Kurt, who, credit where it was due, maintained his composure as he got up.
“That was certainly a compromising position for both of us and I apologize for any embarrassment I have caused you. If you feel so inclined you may slap-URK!”
She punched him in the gut and, fuming, stomped away to an empty corner of the room, leaving Kurt keeled over. Ash also keeled over but from laughing.
“This is the funniest shit I’ve seen!”
Rean wanted to groan again but held that in, he had to at least try to look composed. “Altina, could you please go see to Juna?”
“Certainly.”
After that, Rean turned to Musse, still down on the ground and looking at him expectantly. She was from a noble family so probably she expected him to do the chivalrous thing and help her up, something that normally wouldn’t fly in a military school but Rean had felt he messed up enough right out of the gate, so maybe he should at least try to make up.
“Here, let me help you.”
“Oh, thank you, instructor,” she replied as soon as Rean extended his hand and he had barely grasped hers and the girl jumped up, throwing herself onto him and getting too close for comfort.
What the hell!?
His swordsman’s instincts activated in an instant, akin to a combat situation, and Rean pushed the girl off away then took a long step back, the contact with her body lasting less than half a second. For her part, Musse simply chuckled innocently.
What did I get myself into?