Before long, a neatly dressed scholar dressed in his earthly-green overcoat entered the village at the behest of the only guard who protected it from monsters, Jon. The number of houses was as small as the village suggested. Seeing someone arrive into their village, a couple figures nearby gained interest seeing Professor Alba. Further up the plateau, more people watched on with interest.
Amongst them was a three-year old brown-haired boy with crimson eyes, seemingly somewhat shy. Whenever Professor Alba glanced his eyes toward the boy, the boy would quickly turn his eyes away out of embarrassment. Despite that, it didn't neglect the growing interest in the boy's eyes. A couple of people closer to the gate welcomed the scholar. One was a boy who was around fourteen or fifteen years old, with bright silver hair and lavender eyes. The other was a black-haired girl with amber eyes around the same age. Holding onto the girl's hand was a child who seemed to be around six years old, the same age as Naoto. He too had pitch-black hair just like the girl's, and even had her amber eyes. It was clear these two were siblings.
The amber-eyed girl welcomed the guard back into the village, but became surprised seeing he wasn't alone.
"Welcome back, Jon. It looks like your job went fine. Did you encounter any monsters along the way?", The girl asked, slightly worried.
"Well if it ain't Karin. I'm as peachy as ya can see. Are ya and Loewe keepin' the kids out of trouble today?", Jon asked, smiling at the girl. He called her Karin. This girl was called Karin Astray.
"Karin, Joshua and I were watching over them until you came back, Jon. They know not to wander from the village too far. There are some pretty fierce monsters further within after all.", The silver-haired boy said. Since the girl beside him is named Karin, and the silver-haired boy called the younger boy beside him Joshua, then this silver-haired boy must be called Loewe.
"That's good to hear. And speakin' of the kids, how's Johan fittin' in? He's quite the shy one, but he ain't causin' trouble now, is it?", Jon asked, which earned a giggle from Karin.
"Hehe, Johan might act rash sometimes, but we've placed our trust in him. He's one of the youngest kids here. You like to play with him, don't you, Joshua?", Karin asked, looking at the black-haired boy beside her.
"Yeah. It's fun playing with Johan and the other kids.", Joshua replied, nodding his head.
"I see. Then that's good. It looks like the three of ya came down to greet me. As ya can see, we've got a guest. A travelling scholar.", Jon said, introducing Professor Alba to the kids around Jon.
"Hello.", Joshua said, greeting Professor Alba with a smile.
"Well aren't you three lively? I'll be staying in Hamel for the time being.", Professor Alba responded, introducing himself to everyone. It didn't take long to be attracted to a rather strange device that was held in Karin's spare hand. It was a small device of sorts, completely golden in color. Many holes could be seen on it, and it was made of up some form of metal. "And I can't help but wonder what device is currently in your hands. Miss Karin, was it?"
"So this little thing drew your attention, huh? It's not like our other orbal devices we use frequently in the village. It generates some nice tunes when you hold it against your mouth. The holes are big enough to let air flow through them. I call it a harmonica.", Karin said, explaining the device that she currently had in her hands. "And thank you for reminding me, mister professor. I need to go play back over to the other kids so they can listen to my song.", Karin happily answered.
"So it's a harmonica. Very similar to a flute. It's the first time I'm seeing one like this.", Professor Alba answered with a nod of his head.
"That's because a device like this is far from one of those more professional instruments. This is just something I like to play for fun.", Karin said, smiling again. She then shifted her eyes toward Loewe. "We were about to head on over to the other kids to play a song, weren't we, Loewe?"
"We were. You can go on ahead, Karin. I shall entertain our guest for the time being. Come, I'll help you settle in. Thank you for guiding him in, Jon.", Loewe said, urging Professor Alba into Hamel.
"Well, if you insist.", Professor Alba responded.
"Off ya go then. And don't ya worry about yer belongings. We'll be lookin' after ya durin' yer stay. Yer goin' to be teachin' the kids and all. It's only right we pay the favor back.", Jon said.
"True. That is what we agreed on. I have been traveling Erebonia for quite a while since I left Arteria. I'm sure the kids will like to hear some stories I've gathered during my travels.", Professor Alba answered. Karin's eyes lit up before she tried to leave.
"You came all the way from the holy capital!?", Karin excitedly asked.
"That I did. And I forgot to mention one more thing.", Professor Alba suddenly said, which attracted everyone's gazes. He reached into one of his overcoat's pockets. He brought out a crest, which depicted none other than the Septian Church itself. Even Jon was surprised seeing this symbol.
"That's the symbol of the Septian Church! I thought ya were a scholar?", Jon asked.
"I did not lie when I said I am a scholar. I am an active archeologist. But at the same time, I just so happen to be a priest. I told you that I came from Arteria, didn't I? I should be more than qualified to host sunday school here, even if it's just for a little while.", Professor Alba said, smiling at the group before him.
"Well that ya did. I won't go against ya. I didn't expect ya to be a priest on top of a scholar.", Jon said, only to look at Karin. "Karin, when Loewe helps the professor settle in, bring him to the Church alright?", Jon asked.
"That I can do!", Karin happily answered. Hearing that, Jon smiled, then looked back at Professor Alba.
"With that bein' the case, what should we call ya?", Jon asked. Professor Alba pushed the frames of his glasses upward.
"I don't need to be called some fancy title or anything. You can just call me Professor.", Professor Alba said, smiling. Yet this smile seemed to hold a deeper meaning to it...
Hearing this earned some confusion from them. Nonetheless, Karin, Loewe, Joshua, Jon, and even Johan and the other kids all welcomed Professor Alba with a warm heart. As Professor Alba slowly settled into Hamel, he couldn't help but turn his head back toward the outside of the village. To a location where a normal person's sight couldn't reach.
If one had a close look, standing atop one of the really tall pine trees that surrounded all sides of the village, a sole armored figure that resembled that of a Knight could be seen. If one looked even closer than that, this Armored Knight actually had their gaze solely fixed on Professor Alba...
Within the eyes hidden beneath their helmet, a look of melancholy could be seen. After a moment or two passed by in silence, the Knight spoke.
"It looks like the Faceless has already begun to act. I know I am but a mere observer during this time, I did not think I would be joined by another so quickly.", The Knight said. Even though they appeared alone, they heard a voice call out to them. On top of that, when the Knight spoke, the voice seemed to belong to that of...a woman?
"Haha! And here I was thinking to myself that I wouldn't get spotted like this, Miss Knight.", A man's voice called out to the Knight. The voice sounded much younger than what the Knight had presumed.
Turning around, the Knight became confused for a moment, only to see nothing. Their pupils focused, and soon spotted a smaller figure appear on a branch of the tree beside the one the Knight was standing on. In fact, this voice didn't even belong to that of a man. Instead, it was a little silver fox who sat on the branch. The silver fox currently had their gaze locked with the Knight.
"Kyuu?", The fox asked, seeing the Knight not too far away. The voice from earlier couldn't be heard. All the Knight saw was this little silver fox. Despite seeing the fox, the Knight seemed to not be disturbed at all. The Knight even called out to the fox, acting as if they had seen right through the fox.
"You were wanting to meet me, were you not, Your Highness?", The knight asked, nonchalantly. It was as if the Knight had already figured out what was before them. The fox didn't reply with a yelp this time. The same voice from earlier spoke again, which belonged to that of a boy.
"So you already know who I am, even if I have to present myself to you in this manner. I could have projected my phantom image with an incantation, it is embarrassing to say I am not proficient enough yet to keep it stable. Instead, I found an alternative. Tama has this unique skill that allows me to converse with you like this. Pretty neat, huh?", The voice said, which spoke through the fox's mouth directly.
"I take it Tama is the name of this fox? It looks like it is a Familiar that has bonded with you.", The Knight asked.
"That's one way to put it. Looks like you have some history with the Kin of Fire, hearing you know about Familiars and all. It was thanks to them that I could meet you like this, Miss Knight. As to whether you can meet my real person, it is unfortunate to say that I am quite literally in the center of the earth. A giant hole, as you will.", The boy said, explaining the situation to the Knight.
"I wasn't planning to. Ever since I came across your household a few years ago to check up on Him, I have found you quite intriguing, Your highness. Even the Grandmaster hasn't quite figured you out yet. You are far from normal. Naoto von Auslese.", The Knight said, casually addressing the silver fox with the boy's true identity. In response, the silver fox smiled.
"Hahaha!", The boy's voice said, letting out a loud laugh. So someone like me is already within the Grandmaster's sights, eh? Well, I could say the same to you, Miss Knight.", The boy's voice said, only to continue speaking. He suddenly dropped a title.
"Or should I call you the Seventh Anguis of Ouroboros, Miss Arianrhod?"