Finis was confused by this strange-man. He did not seem particularly religious for a person in a temple. He moved his hand downwards towards his hip, closer to his dagger. Though, it would be a shame to spill blood on consecrated ground.

Finis walked towards the wall, and but his back to it. He decided to tell him his family code, however that might not be favorable to him at the current moment. He was not sure if his plan would work, however he had seemingly disregarded due to his youth, there was a possibility he could exploit that to his advantage.

He coughed a bit, tuning his voice to softer and less authoritative, he purposely tried to break his normal pattern of speech which took him another moment of thought. "Oh, hey. You seem to travel around. I move around to with my family. They told me to come here and give my respect to the priest. And yes, I have been good. Though, some locals were talking about ghosts. Do you know anything about that? You seem like you could take on a ghost. Oh, though, do you know where the priest is?"

Tzi Ti'amtum was having a good time.

To be more precise, if one were to create a scale from 1 to 10 where '1' was defined as 'could do with some more sauce' and '10' as 'bloody awesome stuff, mate', then the young Imperial cadet's experience could be solidly placed as a '10'. He had an incredibly high opinion of this evening, but for those who knew him well, it wasn't too big of a surprise to know that he was enjoying it to such an extent. The generosity bestowed upon them by Her Imperial Highness had allowed him the chance to partake in Orello's signature dish, and as a guy who loved his food, he simply couldn't be happier (unless there was a good fight going on, of course, and with some crazy monster hanging around somewhere that they were supposed to hunt, that meant said good fight wasn't too far away).

"This is some good stuff," he murmured to himself after finishing off a bite of the lamb served by the Golden Sheep. "Gotta give those compliments to the chefs."

No wonder Orello was so famous for its lamb when it was this good. The flesh was tender and succulent, with the flavour simply melting in his mouth. There was a light char to the meat, giving a crust that he found pretty enjoyable. The texture was just right, and he couldn't help but chew away at every piece. Those chefs seemed like they had a solid technique going on from what he could identify, especially given the other flavours present inside. There was a bit of seasoning to it, maybe some garlic and rosemary that would've been added during the salting process? He wasn't too sure, but he could dig it. They'd definitely managed to trap a good amount of the fat inside too, and that was really helping with the taste.

If he had to give a complaint though, Tzi wasn't too big of a fan of how much beer sauce was used. It was really more of a personal preference thing, but it did overwhelm the flavour of the lamb itself a bit. Not that it was a real issue, when the sauce certainly complemented the taste, but it could've been dialed back just a tad.

Still, this was definitely one of the best lambs he'd eaten.

The young man, once again naked in the upper body with the exception of his mantle (and eyepatch, if that was counted as a form of clothing), glanced up from his meal for the moment and turned his attentions back towards his captain's explanations. He gave a casual wave in greeting to the newcomers, and the info on what he and all the other cadets were doing in Orello was pretty interesting. Fighting alongside Her Imperial Highness against some big monster? That only brought a massive grin to his face. It sounded real fun.

Though, using their expedition as bait ... he wondered if it'd go alright.

He'd just have to wait and see. Right now, he just had to eat.

"Aye aye, I'll try not to break anything," he replied cheerily to the captain, before once more returning to his food.

Hey, it was good stuff.

The former thief sat silent through the Captains introduction except for a single nod at her own name. She continued to eat after the others started leaving. Her meal, however, was absent of any alcohol. Szeren had seen enough of what drink did to people and wanted no part of it.

At the very least she should participate in some way. It would be a waste of an evening to simply eat and go find a place to sleep. So shortly after leaving the tavern herself, Szeren found herself walking into the hot spring where several other cadets had already arrived.

Seeing the others, she touched her cloak that was laid over her arm with the towel and covered her body in impenetrable shadows before slipping into the water.

Althea was glad Grandon was OK apart from some slight concussion he’d need rest to recover from. If he was still in pain in the morning she would see if she could make him some light painkillers or get some from the pharmacist.

After checking on him she joined the others for dinner and found out about the expedition they were going on. Monster hunting apparently. Something they were not experts in in the slightest, she hoped the princess had someone to track it because poor Wagnil was still out of it.

Speaking of which, while the other girls all headed of to wash each other's backs in the hot springs (with none of the men so far joining them it looked like they wouldn’t be needing those contraceptives she had in her medical bag) she decided to ask the captain a few questions.

“Did you find out anything related to ze things Wagnil saw? Should we really be out monster hunting with that on the way or has it already been dealt with? Is this monster related to that?”

She was referring to the mysterious convoy and their coach holding a special cargo who had been heading for Orello. Wagnil had almost died for that information and the cadets attacked by warriors from an unknown faction, whatever it was must have been important.

She tired to be vague as a result of their public setting, but she was rather curious as to what was up with all that and what the captain had mentioned about the prime minister in relation to the journal’s notes. She had been meaning to ask for some time, but there really hadn’t been an opportunity to do so till now.

---

Esther's relaxation was soon disturbed by Leblanc and Szeren, who joined her in the hot spring. It took her a while to notice them however, as she only opened her eyes when Szeren had entered as well.

"A-ah, Leblanc?" she said to the girl who was bathing a few feet near her. "S-sorry, didn't notice you coming in. I was caught up in how relaxing this water is. Isn't it great?" she asked to her with an awkward smile. And when she saw Szeren there as well, she said to her, "You too, Szeren? Welcome! We're really lucky that this place is empty, huh? I certainly wouldn't be able to be relax this much if we have men here. You probably can though, what with you having those shadows over your body."

Well, this suddenly turned awkward..., Esther thought to herself. Should we even supposed to be chatting with each other in the bath? I've never really been to a public bath before...

@TheFake@Lonewolf685

Leon Brandeau

Although he hadn't received the answer earlier, it turned out that the captain had indeed known all about the princess, the review, and had brought them all up here in the dark to surprise them. She called it a "reward", but Leon didn't exactly feel rewarded. He supposed he should consider it an honour to be chosen for a mission involving the imperial princess, but he wasn't remotely happy to learn that the captain hadn't been upfront about what they were doing. The others might not have cared, but the Brandeaus valued honesty, and even if nobody was hurt by this, he didn't like it. Now he was going to have to second guess whatever the captain told him; if she was going to keep things like this under her hat, who knew what else she would keep from him?

Putting that aside for now, Leon decided to join Althea in her questioning of the captain. He had nothing to speak up about just yet, but Althea's questions were important ones, and he wanted to hear the answers too. He wasn't interested in bathing or horsing around the village, especially not when they supposedly had an important mission on the horizon. Not to mention Wagnil, their good comrade who Leon personally helped to haul across the fields of the north to safety, had almost died for the information related to these questions, so it wouldn't do to neglect to pay attention to it.

@KoL @DracoLunaris

So far the life of a cadet hadn't been entirely what Anne Avery Scot had anticipated. From the first unexpected 'encounter' to their rather lax Captain (yet still nothing compared to the "captains" back home) to the village of Orello itself, nothing had fit the world she had known. It amazed the young lady how cold the everything was; even the docks back home, with their salty breeze, couldn't match the standing temperature in the village. Speaking of the docks, the cadet couldn't help but notice the lack of flowing water. In Orello the sea had been replaced by a lake enclosed by mountains. She had thought the academy was worlds apart, but here in the mountains everything was so peaceful, so tranquil compared to the fast paced life she knew.

And Anne Avery Scot wouldn't have had it any other way.

She had always been a curious girl by nature. Thus to be in a place so starkly different to anything else she had ever known was a godsend. To make matters even better she had seen the Princess today. The essence of nobility had stood in front of Anne Avery Scot and the young woman did not waste any time. An eager student in the ways of the nobles, she quickly became a silent observer. She noted down everything from the stern gaze to the harsh voice. Every little detail was consumed by the young lass. Her fascination required her to pay more attention than perhaps anyone else listening to the Princess' speech. Although amazingly, so focused was she on the Princess, that she barely grasped the actual words.

But no matter, nobility was about the attitude after all. Who cared for a couple words here and there?

Besides, she could always grab a thesaurus if she got too confused.

If any curious onlookers caught sight of the colonial cadet posthence, they would note a peculiar woman imitating the Princess' posture. In whatever hidden alcoves of the fort Anne Avery Scot could find, she had practiced her own cadence. She needed to embody nobility if she wanted to become nobility after all. Observation wasn't enough, she had to practice to make perfect. Whether that meant properly holding her head above or practicing her "Ohohoho"s, she would be ready. She just hoped no prying eyes would catch her secret.

Crafting a suitable explanation would be troublesome.

Still, unable to hide in the fort's recesses forever, Anne Avery Scot would soon find herself in the tavern alongside the rest of the cadets. Now that she wasn't just passing through, she realized just how accurate her earlier assessment had been. The village, which apparently lived off sheep and beer, seemed to embody peace. Of course, part of that was likely due to the table she was seated at with the other cadets. Sure the lamb was filling, and the quieter nature of the second floor meant their Captain didn't have to shout over the other patrons, but even still...

It was crazy.

She wanted to embody nobility. Experience the finer things.

She was curious about the rest of the world, so much so that she had accidentally neglected to make proper introductions with the others.

And yet...

The rowdy mess downstairs, the hollering for more beer while some drunk idiots gambled in the corner, reminded her so much of home. She had grown up in such a bar, it was only natural that such cantankerous rambunctiousness would draw her in. She had joined the academy to escape the monotony of home, and yet here she was being led like moth to the flame.

Nobility liked similes right?

No that was offtopic, and besides the one thing that nobility couldn't do, wouldn't do, was intermingle with a group just as rowdy as the one she hailed from. They wouldn't be caught dead amongst the kinds of people Anne Avery Scot kicked out of her father's bar everyday. Or at least she used too.

Wait, maybe they needed someone to help calm things down? What was her father doing without her anyway? He used to always complain whenever she got back from a voyage.

NO. She wasn't going to get distracted. Nobility didn't get distracted on such things.

Right?

Damn it all.

When the moment presented itself, namely when the Captain had finished explaining the nature of their mission and laughing about paperwork, Anne Avery Scot decided to excuse herself (in the vein of proper nobility of course: silent with a polite head nod) and first returned to her room. Thankful that none of her roommates had similar ambitions, the young colonial was quick to change into something more fitting. Her long red hair was hidden in a short ponytail as she obscured her face with a tricorne she brought from home. Similarly her academy uniform disappeared for an old outfit her father had gifted for one of her first voyages. Simple and expected, it consisted of loose white shirt, some brown trousers, and a black jacket with red lining and silver buttons. Under such a garb she could easily pass as a typical male sailor from the colonies.

And she was counting on it.

Not long after, the young lass, likely to be mistaken for young lad, found herself at one of the tavern's first floor tables. The men in Orello were so bad at dice compared to back home. The woman with dreams of nobility lost herself into the world of noise. Mountain villagers had nothing on a sailor. No one questioned why he wore his hat so low either, or refused to speak, to the simple villagers it didn't matter. They were far more focused on beating this new challenger at liar's dice. Which suited Anne Avery Scot just fine.

After all, nobility couldn't be seen in a place like this.

Hopefully none of the other cadets would stumble upon her.

---

---

"Are you feeling alright, Clemmons, Brandeau?" The Captain asked as she set her drink aside and taking a moment to look at the duo before her. "I don't mind repeating myself, but I just said the answers to those questions literally a minute ago," she added before righting her position.

"Anything regarding the journal and Wagnil's reports are classified. As soon as I handed it to Orello's commander, there's nothing that we can do about it than to trust their judgment. That's how the Military is supposed to work, you know it, right?" The Captain made a pause to see if the two were following her reasoning as she explained the basics to them once more. Sonata made as much of an effort as possible for the two of them to not think that she was patronizing them, given the fact that these Cadets seemed to have a problem with misunderstanding stuff. "As for the monster, it's unknown because no one knows what it's. That should be a given. We can only be certain that it's not of human cause. The area beyond Orello, all the way up to the border of the Duchy's Lands, is known as World's End Pass because of how many attempts of colonizing is failed. Despite being resource rich, it's pretty much impossible for humans to settle up there now."

"Now, listen," the Captain's voice took a much somber tone as she continued speaking while looking straight into Althea and Leon's eyes, "I know what you may be thinking. I was in your place while I was young. I know that you want to dive deeper into that mystery and possibly avenge your fallen comrade. But it's at moments like this that you should let us adults take care of things. I sincerely believe that all of you will become fine soldiers and lead the Empire to a better age. But, you need to learn to have patience. If you act without thinking you'll only be putting more lives in danger, including yours." The Captain finished her speech placing a hand over Althea's shoulder.

"Is there anything else that you want to ask?"

"At ease, Clean. She's one of your Academy mates, Ires wouldn't behave like you think she's. You'd better show her some respect the next time, though. Like it or not she's both your Sovereign and Commander,"

First name basis with royalty? Captain has some convenient strings she can pull, a faint smile that couldn't reach his eyes was all Clean offered in response to his Captain. Stiff movements weighed down on Clean for the rest of the trip. He trusted the Captain, no question, however between the Sergeant being the disgrace he was and now entering the same orbit as royalty? Clean simply pantomimed along, following the crowd almost looking like an animatronic facsimile of himself. His one drink still more than half full Clean was sorely tempted to enter the public bath, the cleanliness could only help his state of mind and maybe even loosen him up once more. Sadly the bath seemed to be getting rather crowded.

Apart from a bath, I suppose there's another way to feel at least somewhat clean leaving the hardly touched mug, Clean whisked himself from the Golden Sheep and took in the cool night air. The air in itself clearing his head, Clean walked off towards the church. Even if the effect was merely a placebo churches often felt fresh. It was a place where sin was supposed to be washed away after all.

While on the way to the church the loose dirt caused Clean to slip and skid, scuffing his right knee and staining his pants. Climbing slowly to his feet, firmly wiping down his clothes. It wouldn't come clean. Looking at his hand the grit speckled there, caked onto him. Clapping his hands loudly once and flicking his wrists to the sides, Clean moved towards the church. Hand resting on the door, Clean rubs his hand along the wood grain and checks it once more, it's still dirty. He couldn't see it, but he was certain it was. He was an absolute mess. He can't be in public in such a state. Entering the church, Clean briefly looked over the room, barely registering the other people there, before going to see if there was any holy water or something similar he could use to wash up. Cleanliness was next to Godliness after all.

“Ghosts? Not a clue kiddo. The only ghosts around here are people I probably ticked off. But you came to the right place for an exorcism. Nothing like a little holy spirit to brush up on your morals, right?” the man said, all grins and smiles. Granted Finis was still behind him and he hadn’t actually turned around to see who he was talking to. From this distance, the young Cadet could see a hefty shot gun slung up and resting against the man’s side on the pew.

The sound of wood rubbing would no doubt catch both male’s attention not long after that the doors opened once more. This time the man did turn around, giving himself a good rundown of these two kids who had entered sanctuary. He could have been fooled into thinking these weren’t cadets of imperial nature judging how radical their clothing differed from each other. But his eyes were trained to seek out these details and he titled his head to the side.

“Two kids in a row? Oh man, it looks like the old man’s given you both a special invitation to dine,” he said with a grin. “Guess that old coot’s gotta live for something, am I right? Might as well get your sins upfront and out of the way.” One of the boys, the one in a pristine suit-sorry, formerly pristine suit-looked around as if he was searching for something. The man had to hold in a chuckle; hell, for all he knew the priest really had called these young boys in for retribution.

But no, that wasn’t the case. Clean was merely looking for something to wash out the stains in his clothes and he would eventually find it at the front podium; a small bowl of water presumably used for holy purposes. “Not a word and you’re already stinking the place up. I like your style kiddo,” the man called out, shifting to see Clean practically defile the holy place with his actions.

Natus narrowed his eyes, he didn't like the feel of this man. Speaking in his normal tone and tenner, [color-lightgray] "When I entered this holy place, you asked if I was a good boy. I will tell you this once, behave yourself. If you cause trouble, on my honor of the Finis name, it will be you that will pass to the next life."

He then turned his head over to his classmate, "Clean, I will also suggest to you that you do not make a habit of defiling holy ground. I can over-look the offense this one time, but I might not be so kind in the future."

He had fully grabbed his dagger in his hand, though it was still in his holster, and he was mentally prepared for battle. However, he simply walked towards the door and went towards the inn. He could pray there.

“I. Um. I thought you saying it was classified was informing us that we weren't supposed to tell other people rather than it being purely the purview of command. In hindsight that makes sense though. My apologies Captain, I’m still getting used to military jargon”

While it was entirely hidden by her mask it was pretty obvious from her voice she was blushing furiously beneath it.

She wasn’t exactly the highest grading student, what with her splitting her time between her official training at the academy and her heading back over to the Institute in her free time to continue her medical training. As a result her understanding of military stuff was a bit spotty. Now that the thought about it, she hadn’t exactly been very helpful militarily during this whole expedition. She resolved to do better on that front in future.

“I understand what you mean by being careful. Believe me, as a Doctor _{in training}, I’m not about to do something that gets people hurt. While no amount of thinking will prevent disaster if we don’t have all the information to make the right decision, I can understand that we trainees can’t be trusted with sensitive information, lest it end up in the wrong hands.”

After a few moments of contemplation she added, rather redundantly as a result of the adult comment.

“Though considering you and the princess are the ones making the decisions and presumably know what is going on, I guess that answers my own grievance”

In a sense she was trying to make herself feel less patronised by coming to the same conclusion via her own line of reasoning. It didn’t work particularly well.

Still somewhat embarrassed about all this she tried to switch the conversation to something else the Captain had said.

“So what caused those colonisation efforts to fail anyway?”

Leon Brandeau

It was as Althea eventually mentioned; Leon had thought she meant they weren't to tell anyone else, not that the information would not be shared with those that had fought for it either. Truth be told, he could see how that was naive of him to believe. It was something his elder brother had criticized in him and the others in his family often, and it was the reason many in the Brandeau family gravitated to low ranking positions rather than high command. Still, he had yet to forswear his idealism, and this situation had hardly changed that. What had changed was his opinion of the captain. His only question was whether her response could have been any more patronizing, condescending and down right rude. To ask if there was something wrong with them merely for asking, as if they were idiots, was the height of insulting. On top of that, she chose to give them some speech about how they should "let the adults take care of things", as though she had assumed they had every intention of running out the door and avenging Wagnil this instant. It was an offense to the dedication Leon had shown so far; what on earth could he be counted on, if not following orders? It was as if the captain had no idea who he was.

Silently enduring her nonsense, when she finally finished Leon told her, "Nothing further, Captain." Then he left. He was going to go do laps of the village or practise with his vessel or something. They had a mission to prepare for, and the mission was important, but the captain was not.

---

Regina finally reached the bathhouse after her book distracted her from heading there immediately. She was on a very good scene about how a princess was about to the prince rather than the other way around. However, after seeing a few others head to the baths Regina finally decided that she should get back to the task she had in mind. Closing the book and adjusting her glasses, Regina approached the old woman and gave her the money, which may or may not be from her own bank account, taking the towel provided and entered the changing room.

She noticed three of the lockers were occupied by belongings of the other members of the class, and Regina briefly considered taking something from them. After all, most of the nobles that she has met, especially noble children, always treated her like garbage even if she was part of the nobility herself. However, her father came into mind and Regina recalled what he said. While she should not get caught, she should also not be the aggressor first, and so Regina instead just focused on changing out of her clothes, putting away her glasses and heading out into the hotspring, with nothing but a towel to cover her petite form. This was of course not her first time in a public bathhouse having gone with her father in one but she did know the looks that she would get from, mostly, males and did not desire this attention should one come in. She found three others already inside after peeking her head outside the entrance to the pool, but due to her near-sighted eyes she could not see who they were exactly combined with not being familiar with any of her classmates. However, she did hear the mention of Leblanc and Szeren, names who she noted were among the list of classmates that she would be working with. Regina thought about going to a different pool, but this was as good of a time as any to mingle. Quietly, she walked over to the pool, dropped her towel, and eased herself into a spot near the edge. Not like she could help being quiet: her father taught her to be stealthy from a young age and that training stuck.

"Ahh, it has been a while since I've been to a place like this!" Regina commented to no one in particular, closing her eyes to relax. She knew there were two classmates here, Szeren and Leblanc, but she only vaguely knew Szeren for having traveled with her with the Princess's escort. However, who was the blonde and green-hair? One of them was Leblanc of course but which one? Regina figured she was about to find out.

@Hammerman@TheFake@Lonewolf685

---

---

"More often than not it's the monsters, there's too many of them to get rid of. When there are no monsters, there's wild animals or even the weather," the Captain replied to Althea while paying attention to Leon's behavior as he left them. The poor kid couldn't even disguise his displeasure. The best thing to do was give him time, thus Sonata remained silent, turning her attention back to her drinks unless Althea had anything else to ask.

---

---

The night would soon pass, bringing a new morning to follow it.

While the Princess conducted her review of Orello's troops, the Cadets would find themselves lined up in front of the Captain, outside of the fort. "Listen up, Cadets!" The Captain said, calling for their attention. "I have already informed you of the mission details so I'll not go over them again. From this time forward you'll be on your own with the Princess and Viola. I'll wait for your return here at Orello. This will be the last mission of some of you before graduating, so make it count, and don't die on me. I don't want to be the one to present your parents with a medal," she said with a less stern voice.

"There they are," the Captain said as soon as Viola and the Princess walked out of Orello, ready to join the Cadets' group. "I wish the best of luck for all of you," she said right after saluting the Princess and leaving back to Fort Orello."I'm sorry it took us so long. You won't believe what that Commander did to sneak his way out of a problem," Viola said as she joined the group once again, now completely armed and ready for their long expedition.

Meanwhile, the Princess remained silent for a few moments, pacing back and forth to take a better look at the Cadets. Once she was satisfied, with her evaluation, she said, "Before anything else, thank you for being here. I know that this may have come as a surprise for some of you but the truth is that, as an Academy mate of all of you, I believe this will be a good chance for all of us to learn more together."

"Please, don't feel intimidated by my social standing or rank. I'm as much of a student as you are. In fact, I propose that as soon as we stop for lunch we decide who will the leader of this expedition by voting," the Princess continued her speech talking in a normal tone, very different from the imposing one she used when she arrived at Orello, "Sonata also told me that you are a very spirited group. She believes that all of you will have a brilliant future after being properly polished and I believe in her assessment. So, how about dropping the formalities and have you call me Ires from now on as well?"

"Either way, how about we get going?" Ires said as she gestured for them to begin their march, keeping up the impression for the Orello guards that observed them from atop the fort's ramparts.

A few hours of marching later and the group would arrive at the destination of the first part of their trip, safe and sound for the time. The location of their resting spot were the old ruins of a village that succumbed a long time ago and was overrun by nature. A location that offered not only ample cover but fresh water and plenty of firewood as well. Certainly, they couldn't find anywhere better in this desolate region, or so Viola thought as she began to unpack and procure some provisions.

@KoL



With an excellent meal finished and the night passed in the comfortable beds of the village, it was no wonder that Tzi Ti'amtum woke up incredibly refreshed for the day ahead of him. His blood was pumping in anticipation of a chance of a good tussle with a monster, and the Cap's short speech only served to motivate him even further. A shiny new medal too! This was a serious opportunity for profit that they'd be given, especially with the Princess tagging along too!

With the Captain leaving them to their own devices, however, said member of royalty immediately took the reins in giving them another quick speech, one that Tzi focused on 100%, his arms crossed in front of his shirtless torso as he took in her words with the utmost of seriousness. She was definitely not what he'd expected from the biggest of bigwigs. He'd always thought they'd be more scary and intimidating, but the girl in front of them didn't seem like that anymore. Not when she wasn't using that hoity talk from earlier.

So that meant he probably wouldn't get smited bad if he took her up on her offer then!

"Fine by me, Ires," said Tzi with a grin, holding a thumbs-up of approval in the Princess' direction. If she said it was okay for them to be on first-name basis with one another, then he'd listen to what Her Imperial Highness wanted.

Besides, less worry of stumbling over formalities or whatever. It got a tad hard for him to wrap his head around sometimes.

And so their march began, one that the tall young man definitely enjoyed. It wasn't like he had just gotten off the islands or anything, but the sheer diversity of environments on the mainland were so exciting to see. Joining up with the Military Academy was definitely the right choice if he could see all this stuff. You couldn't get this much fun just by hanging around the docks and fighting folks, even if that was pretty entertaining too.

"Hey," he said as they finally stopped at their destination, crouching down next to where Viola was unpacking. "Need any help with that? And -"

This time, his question was directed towards the rest of the group.

"- think we should split up and grab water and wood first, or do that voting thing?"

She hadn't expected a third person to join them in the bath so soon, but it was no concern. As they were shrouded in shadows, literally, the snake could presume she was one inclined towards things of a dubious nature enough to be comfortable concealing herself even among comrades.

Ignoring the words spoken, she sunk into the water up to her nose and began to drift towards Esther, a nefarious gleam of ill intent welling in her eyes until they too disappeared beneath the water and steam, unseen till her hands grabbed Esther's feet and pulled her under as well.

Hijinks ensued.

---

"A team leader? That's an...unenviable position. It would have to be someone who can stand to bark orders in the middle of combat and survive being the highest priority target of an intelligent enemy." Leblanc mused aloud, hand raised to her chin as she contemplated the present topic. "That would disqualify most of the woman barring the Princess. Lean is too shirtless to be drawing bullets and Natsu...just no."

"I'd vote for Gradon as Team Leader. No offense to the Princess, but he has a natural aptitude for surviving abuse that would make him a far better target then Ires. "

Natus stood a bit distant from the rest of the group, not out of a desire to hide from the group, but to be in a better position should the group be attacked. Few things surprised him, however Leblanc saying something so well-reasoned did. Perhaps she was more than just a typically sadist, or maybe she was simply an intelligent sadist.

He decided to opt out of voting and simply leave the decision to the others, unless they would endanger the group with their choice. He was must more familiar with a fixed, established hierarchy than voting for a leader. As much as there was a tactical aspect to choosing a leader, there was a social aspect.

Finis learned to copy and mimic the social behavior of others, however he much preferred to simply stay unseen. It made his line of work much easier.

Of course it was because of monsters, she thought to herself in resignation. This trip was getting more and more dangerous with each passing second. She would need to prepare.

Finishing her supper quickly she then bid her goodbyes to those still at the table and, after a quick stop at the pharmacist's boutique, headed for the room she was staying in. There she began to prepare a powerful sedative from the ingredients she had purchased. They were supposed to bring the thing back alive, and injecting the serum she had made into it would hopefully knock it out cold. Of course, that relied upon getting the beast in a position to be injected with the stuff without it ripping her head of. She also hoped that it wasn’t bigger than a bear, because that is the upper limit of concentration she could make with what she had. Anything bigger might get drowsy but would fail to be knocked out.

The tranquilizer prepared and carefully stored in her bag she got into bed for some much needed rest.

---

While they were all getting up and ready the next day she checked in on Gradon. As they were leaving the inn she found her way to his side briefly and asked

“How’s your head feeling today?”

---

The next day’s events brought the previous night's conversation about leaving it to the adults back to the forefront again, with the Princesses suggestion of putting the leadership of the group to a vote. She wondered if they should they give authority to someone they trusted and knew better than the princess than Ires or should they leave command with the person who knew the most about what was going on.

She had to agree with Farris on her assessment of who would be most suited among the cadets, though for completely different reasons, Gradon had rallied a lot of the cadets into an organised defence during the attack yesterday. It kind of depended on whether he was up to the task after his repeated head injuries of the previous day. The other options, in her opinion, where Leon and Tzi because she either did not trust the others to be in charge due either to finding them scary or inexperienced, or she simply didn’t know them well enough to make an assessment. It would probably be prudent to find out who was actually interested in the position however. Continuing Farris’s trend of thinking out loud she commented.

“It might be a good idea to find out who actually wants to lead before voting. Also I’m not sure if a monster is going to be smart enough to take out our command structure like that. If it does it might be wise to have a second in command as a backup for if the leader gets injured.”

In regards to Tzi’s question she answered more directly with

“I think we should set up camp first and vote second. Gives us some time to think about who to vote for or whether we want that position ourselves.”

Also having a nice fire to sit around sounded like a lovely thing to have after their long march.

Finally clean. He wasn't sure if it was the holy water or what, but it was at the very least a strong placebo effect. Natus seemed to take issue with Clean's aversion to dirt and mess, the strong words flowing in one ear and out the other with Clean making no effort to retain the noise, the old guy on the other hand seemed to find him funny and that did raise an eyebrow from Clean, the tough old goat seemingly as blasphemous as Clean was. Well, by the general population's interpretation of blasphemy at any rate. The night passed with Clean enjoying the pristine church...

---

The princess was now the head of a procession. The talk about the princess being a fellow student went some way to explaining the familiarity the Captain had with the nobility. It was still odd that a mere captain, even if the captain was anything but 'mere' and one that trained a princess, was allowed to use their first name as she had the day before.

The casual tone and cadence of the princess' voice did go some way to convincing Clean that this particular noble was different than the rest. It was doubtful that an average noblewoman of any standing could so easily fall into a colloquial manner of speaking. It was something more befitting a king that could rally troops into a loyalty and have them willingly rush into battle with chests swollen on pride. As they broke for lunch this thought churned inside Clean's head, unwilling to be merely forgotten as a passing idea and finally springing to his lips.

"Her Majesty has a powerful way with words. I do wonder which kind of Princess Her Majesty is. The Good Princess that can inspire loyalty and troops that will fight to the death on her behalf? Or the Great Princess that will keep her people alive? I don't care who our leader is in all honestly as long as they're someone who'll strive for greatness over being merely good. A leader shouldn't settle for anything less." There was no spoken candidate in Clean's speech, just his expectations of whoever decided to take the position. After all, if they couldn't handle the pressure of one person's expectations how could they handle the lives of those who follow them?