Meanwhile, as those around me and I were happily chatting away while recovering our spent stamina, a different scene could be seen taking place further outside. Past the Leica District, Ongoing traffic could be seen going out and about on the long and open corridor. At the tail-end of the street in the middle was carved out, which allowed the orbal trams to go around the entire capital. While orbal trains are the ideal system to travel around Erebonia, here in Heimdallr, people either walk, drive orbal cars, or take the orbal tram. And well, right now, it is presently in use! The Leica District in particular wasn't frequented, unless one wanted to browse historical records at the Imperial Museum, browse some popular eateries and bakeries, or pay a visit to the Vander Dojo.
Now that it was around noon, most people were either enjoying some lunch, or were already elsewhere. Leica District was mostly vacated by now. The orbal tram continued its movements alongside the rail, going from one end of Leica District to the other. It soon paused in front of the Imperial Museum. Slowly but surely, its doors opened and some people began to exit the orbal tram. Among this crowd stood a peculiar group of three.
One person was a man whose hair was neatly tied up into a ponytail. His clothing seemed to hail from the east, clearly not from around here. Those who were still lurking around were immediately drawn toward his gourd on his waist. Next to this man was a cerise-colored woman who was breathtakingly beautiful. She was presently wearing a long and navy blue one-piece dress with a yellow jacket over her shoulders. It was still winter out, and pretty cold outside. Once she stepped out, she could even see her own breath.
Beside him was a rather breathtaking and beautiful cerise hair-colored woman. She was wearing a long and navy blue one-piece dress. A yellow jacket was worn around her body. It was presently winter, so it was still cold out. One interesting thing to point out was the holster on her waist, which was next to a sheathed sword. She knew how to attack with two weapons, a sword and an orbal gun! It isn't often one can flaunt weapons around in public like this, but she had a good reason, as the man did.
If one looked closely, people could see Bracer emblems on their outfits. These two were Bracers!
With these two people was a much shorter blonde-haired girl, who seemed to be around ten or eleven this year. She quickly reached their side. Her sky-blue eyes were a stark comparison to her blonde hair.
"I did not think we would return to Erebonia so quickly, Sara.", The girl spoke, only to look at the woman. "And to think we'd come all the way to the capital. This is one of the districts, ain't it?"
Who else could the woman be but Sara Valestein, Senior Bracer? It was unknown whether she had already ascended A-Rank, the same as the man beside her. He was, of course, Zin Vathek. A-Rank Bracer! The girl who joined up with the two is Lavian Winslet, who used to be an aspiring Jaeger and eventually join the Northern Jaegers. But now that she was exploring the continent alongside Sara, she didn't know what to think anymore. Right now, it was unclear whether or not Lavian wanted to continue down that path, or attempt something new like what her mentor Sara had recently gone through.
Sara said goodbye to the Jaeger life, and is now a successful Bracer. She even earned her same moniker, the Purple Lightning! The only difference is the fact that her one and only remaining relative who adopted her from a young age, Colonel Valestein, is alive and well, and still resides in the outskirts of North Ambria. All thanks to Naoto's meddling in the timeline. In the grand scope of things, this shouldn't have too much of an impact, and was quickly swept under the rug. Instead, it gave Naoto a strong foothold in North Ambria when his Western Zemurian Unification Plan will come to fruition down the line.
"It sure is one of Heimdallr's districts. To be honest, I wanted to visit Liberl instead and introduce you to the Silver Streak since I hear she has accepted two juniors under her belt.", Sara said. "But alas, we are here in Heimdallr."
"Ahh. You must be talking about Estelle and Joshua. I hear they're going to be taking their Bracer Exam in two years or so. The Silver Streak has been hammering a bunch of knowhow into their heads since the new year passed. It looks like the two are now back at the Bright House. I only saw them for a short time during my stay in Grancel, but Liberl is in good hands with those two around.", Zin said with a nod of approval. "And it ain't just them. Scherazard is now mentoring even another rising newbie. And get this, she's a Noble."
"The Silver Streak took on someone new?", Sara replied, becoming interested. "A Noble becoming a Bracer...now that's something new. What's their name?"
"Angelica.", Zin answered. "Angelica Rogner. Apparently some bigwig here in Erebonia, though the land her folks look after isn't the capital. More northeast toward Roer."
"The Rogner family? Now that name rings a bell...But oh well. I can't put my head around it.", Sara said with a shrug of her shoulders. "If she's in Liberl for the time being, I bet we'll cross paths in due time."
"I still have no idea who you all are talking about. Are these people friends of yours, Sara?", Lavian asked.
"You bet she is. The Silver Streak can even hold her own in a drinking contest against me. I hardly ever come out on top.", Sara answered, pumping her arm upward in vigor as a confident look appeared in her eyes, despite just having admitted she often lost against Scherazard in a game of drink.
"You're already drinking like that? Sheesh. You know that will ruin your health. No one should ever go against Scherazard, let alone Aina. That's just a death wish.", Zin said, shaking his head. It is true that Sara had recently turned the age where she could legally drink amongst her peers. She could do whatever she wanted to do in regards to that.
"Says the big guy who carries around that gourd of yours. Seriously, how much of your own liquor do you put down, Zin? It's like it never ends!", Sara responded with a scoff.
"Haha. Fair point. I know my way around a drink or two.", Zin said. "Anyways, it was pretty sudden for you to drop in like this, Sara. What brings you here to Heimdallr of all places? I hear from the Edith branch that you were having the time of your life back there. Even made some new friends from the looks of it."
"Ohh, you must be referring to a rambunctious trio who are currently students at Aramis Academy. Van, Elaine, and Rene.", Sara responded. "We had a blast over New Years. Honestly, I wanted to spend some more time there but we caught an early flight back to Heimdallr. Originally, I was going to take Lavi here to see the sights of Liberl after that, but after hearing what the Silver Streak had to say over comms, I decided to come back here, even though I would have liked to spend the new years with Dad. I just didn't think you'd be here in the capital, Zin."
"Well what can you say? Life happens. That disciple of mine wanted to part ways, and I saw her off. I'll be staying and doing guild work here in Erebonia for the next couple months. And just so you know, Kilika's here too.", Zin responded. Sara raised her eyes after hearing that.
"You're kidding me. THE Flying Swallow is here in Heimdallr? Didn't she just get promoted in Zeiss?", Sara asked.
"Again. Who are we talking about here?", Lavian asked, still showing confusion in her eyes.
"Haha. Word travels quickly it seems. I did not think you would catch a flight the very next day right after the new year. Weren't you getting plastered back in Calvard, Purple Lightning?", A woman's voice suddenly laughed, calling out to them. It did not take long to reveal two more figures. One of them was a slender and beautiful black-haired woman with a stern look in her eyes, while the other was a man decked out in a black suit with his hands in his pockets, acting nonchalant.
And yet, the moment Zin saw this man, he clicked his tongue. His eyes were hidden away by black sunglasses, and had short and spiky orange hair.
"Tch, of course you'd show up again Walter.", Zin said, and scratched his head.
"Hey man, it ain't my fault. You know I'm currently with Kilika.", Walter said. "I know you hate my guts, but like last night, just pretend I'm not Walter. I'm not here to make a fuss."
"You really weren't lying, Zin. It has been a while, hasn't it, Kilika? And who is this guy? Even I can see that you two aren't exactly on the same page.", Sara asked, observing Walter.
"Heh. You get full points for that. I didn't think I'd come across the rising star Purple Lightning either.", Walter said. He then reached into one of his pockets and proceeded to light a cigarette, and took a puff. "The name's Walter. Zin and I go way back. In a way, we're rivals of sorts."
"Don't smoke in front of kids, Walter.", Kilika reprimanded, and swiftly took the cigarette out of Walter's hand, only to put it out.
"Sheesh, I get it. Smoking's bad.", Walter said, and shrugged his shoulders. "Anyways, do you have a moment, Zin? We've some movement. It's best if you hear it directly."
"Some movement you say? Well We did come here to Leica with something in mind. We are going to drop by the dojo first. Does it have to be heard immediately?", Zin asked.
"We are not in a rush, no.", Kilika responded. "Is something interesting happening at the dojo here? This is where the famous Vander School is, one of the most popular swordsmanship styles known throughout the Empire."
"Only one way to find out.", Sara said. "This will be good for you too, Lavi."
Even though Lavian was still confused by what was happening, their destination just so happened to be the Vander Dojo. But it looks like for some reason, both Walter and Kilika have joined up with them!
To say the least, it was an unusual group. Zin knew of Walter's background, but Sara and Lavian were clueless. They didn't know that Walter was part of Ouroboros.
Since New Years ended, Sara had nothing to worry about with how things were doing in Calvard, despite the looming market crash. Originally, Sara and Lavian were going to travel to Liberl as they have stated, but with the Silver Streak now busy tutoring Angelica Rogner, they decided against doing so. Zin invited them instead to come back here in Erebonia to do some Bracer work.
Sara ignored Walter's banter with that disinterested look in his eyes, but as the group headed toward the Vander Dojo, it didn't take long for them to feel a hidden pressure. It made Sara's back run cold, and that meant something. After all, she was the Purple Lightning. It was bloodlust, and Walter wasn't exactly trying to hide it. To Walter, it was just natural. Even Lavian could tell Walter was dangerous.
"This guy that Zin knows is bad news, Sara.", Lavian whispered into Sara's ear. "There's no way this guy is a Bracer."
"No kidding. You can't get something like that so easily, even if you were proficient in combat. I can hide mine pretty well, but this guy practically just doesn't care about his surroundings one bit. Or the opposite, he cares, and he can be ready to take anything that is thrown at him.", Sara whispered back. "And that's what makes him dangerous. Don't act out of your own accord, alright?"
Even though Sara liked to joke a lot, seeing the seriousness in Sara's eyes, Lavian could only nod her head.
"Got it.", Lavian agreed. "Makes you really wonder how the Immovable got acquainted with such a bloodthirsty guy."
"Oh, right.", Zin suddenly said, which ceased the two's whispering. "It looks like the two of you are a little wary, and you have every right to be. But to put it bluntly, this guy here is Kilika's boyfriend. The three of us go way back since we were kids."
"Eh?", Sara replied, not expecting to hear that. "This guy is dating Kilika!?"
"Totally didn't see that coming.", Lavian responded, also surprised.
"Guess the cat is out of the bag. It's not like we're exactly trying to hide it.", Kilika said with a playful smile.
"You really are dating this guy, Kilika? This good-looking guy is bad news!", Sara exclaimed.
"Hey, do I really give that bad of an impression? I take offense to that.", Walter said.
"Says the guy who loves to waste his time away gambling and drinking.", Zin scoffed.
"Heh. But that's the joy of the night life! You're missin' out, Zin. Still, I did not think I would meet the Purple Lightning in this fashion. You're quite a beauty yourself. Don't sell yourself short.", Walter said, giving a rare compliment. "Wanna ditch this joint? I know a good spot or two."
"...Didn't you just say you're dating Kilika?", Sara uttered, not expecting Walter to suddenly hit on her.
"Sara's taken.", Lavian suddenly blurted. Just that alone caused another wave of surprise.
"Well well. Now there's a shocker. Purple Lightning actually likes someone.", Walter mused. A grin appeared on his face.
"L-Lavi!", Sara exclaimed again. Despite that, a faint blush appeared on Sara's face. Just that alone was enough to paint the story. And it was enough to make the group pause in their tracks.
"You really do like someone?", Kilika mused.
"Sigh...", Sara said, but didn't deny her. "I do, but I do not think it is going to happen anytime soon."
"Well, the guy is legally permitted to have a harem. If you wait too long, you may lose your chance, Sara.", Lavian added. Even she wasn't clueless on the matter. To her, it was clear that Sara liked someone. And she knew well who it was. And yet, hearing that, Zin raised his eyebrows.
"...You're not referring to who I think you're referring to, are you?", Zin couldn't help but ask. A certain violet-haired boy popped into his mind the moment he heard the word "harem"...