Upon slowly opening my eyes, the first thing I was greeted with was darkness, save for the faint light that the nearby clock was emitting. As expected, I woke up in the middle of the night as usual. Curious about what time it is, I glanced at the clock to my side and saw that it was exactly 1 AM right now. Instead of trying to go back to sleep, I sat up and stretched my arms, making sure my body was actually awake. After all, since I didn't feel sleepy in the slightest, I knew that it would be a pointless endeavor to force myself to continue resting. It's a pain but it's something I'm so used to, sadly...

With a sigh, I got up and quietly left the tent. The instant I got out, I immediately spotted Vin still sitting near the campfire, staring into the flames with an unreadable expression. Before I could speak, as if noticing that I was looking at him, the blue-haired male turned his attention to me. He quickly went back to looking at the fire and patted the space beside him, not bothering to say a single word. Deciding to take up his offer, I quietly went up to him and took a seat near him.

"So, is there anything you want to know about?" Vin asked as he glanced at me, crossing his arms over his chest. "No matter what you ask, I'll try my best to answer all of it."

"If you don't mind, I'd like to know more about the kingdom Chalybes. The Academy seemed strangely hostile about that place whenever I heard about it when I was there so..." I answered, frowning. "You're the only one that I could get reliable info from about that place."

The archangel lets out a sigh. "Why am I not surprised you'd ask that? Knowing how Devourers are treated, I suppose it's only a given you would become curious about other outcasts like you," he commented, then paused for a bit before continuing. "...before I answer, let me ask you this. Do you believe the learning of magic should be controlled and monitored or should it be allowed for everyone to freely learn of it?"

Caught off-guard by that question, I crossed my arms over my chest as I thought hard about it. Controlling and monitoring who learns it can prevent or lessen people with ill-intentioned goals from gaining access to said magic. ...however, it can never fully prevent it. No matter what, they'll always find a way. ...and of course, that's also assuming if the people responsible are good, too. Frowning, I glanced at the blazes from the campfire. Yet, letting everyone freely learn it prevents magic from being monopolized. One can easily counteract against someone using it for ill means and perhaps everyone will be more able to protect themselves easily, too. ...but that also means those who are bad can learn said magic without anyone being aware of it.

"I'll be honest, that's a difficult question to answer, you know? If I'm allowed to give a different answer than what's provided, I'd take the middle position," I admitted as I turned to look at him. "Why? Is Chalybes a place where everyone is free to learn magic?"

He nodded his head in response, catching me by surprise. "Correct. Of course, there is some laws and restrictions for safety reasons but that's expected," Vin explained. "That's why that kingdom and the Academy don't get along with each other. Since that group is in every kingdom except that one, if ignoring the recent happenings, Chalybes is essentially isolated from everything against its will due to the mage organization keeping a close eye on the borders. Outside entries to the kingdom is closely monitored and those leaving are forced to join the Academy due to the exposure of mage knowledge, whether they like it or not."

"...forced to join?" I repeated, not liking the sound of that at all. "Are they at least allowed to go back and visit? It would be too cruel if they're not..."

"Technically, yeah but none of us trusts the organization enough to believe that they wouldn't do anything shady while we went back. It didn't help that we're required to sign a contract and accept having certain spells cast on us if we want to go, which made us even warier," he said, then turned his gaze back to the campfire for some reason. "...because of that, the option we ended up choosing is long-distance communication, even if we require Academy approval to do so. Sure, we're being watched while we talk but the risk there is minimal."

Well, if that's the requirement for visiting, I can see why they're skeptical about going. I thought to myself with a frown. That reminds me though, if I recall correctly, Vin mentioned that some of the members from Machina of Dawn tend to make their work reflect the aesthetics of the kingdom Chalybes, right? ...did they do that so it's reminiscent of the home they can't go back to? Upon realizing that, I couldn't help but feel sad for them. I'm sure people tried to fight back but it all probably resulted in failure. Otherwise, some sort of change would've happened already by now.

"So, what about you, Vin? Did something happen, forcing you to leave and join the Academy?" I questioned, both worried yet curious.

He stared at the flames for a bit in silence, then let out a sigh. "No, I reluctantly left the kingdom and went to join them with a few people that had the same goals. I was younger at the time but my parents wanted me to go out and see the world, especially when I expressed interest in learning more about the outside world," the archangel replied, taking me aback. "They felt that I shouldn't be imprisoned in that isolated kingdom but knew that I most likely can't come back due to circumstances. They were conflicted but eventually, after giving me many warnings, advice, and gifts, they let me go. ...and maybe some nagging from mother to call from time to time too."

"From the fact that you said you reluctantly left, I'm guessing you didn't want to really say goodbye, especially since you knew going back wasn't likely..."

"...pretty much. I wished the people close to me could go along with me but...well, it didn't happen sadly. All of them had their own reasons for staying so..." Vin stated as he threw alchemical fuel into the campfire. "In the end, after leaving, all I could really do was talk to them about it. Whenever I talked to them, I tried my best to stay strong so they didn't know I felt sad and lonely that none of them were there to see what I saw."

...that's... I stared at the ground, a troubled expression on my face as I tried to process what I heard. ...that's just too sad. Just because of a clash of beliefs, they lost their freedom to freely leave their kingdom. They'll never get to see with their own two eyes what's outside of their kingdom without abandoning their homeplace and the people they knew. ...and for those who left, they can't risk going back out of fear of the Academy doing something bad...

The instant I turn to look at Vin to say something though, he immediately pulled his hand away from me in surprise and hurriedly looked somewhere else while blushing as if he was caught doing something embarrassing. For a second, I was confused about why he was acting like that until I realized he was about to try comforting me but caught him in the act halfway through. I couldn't help but smile at that.

"Ah, sorry! Guess that was bad timing, huh?" I remarked, laughing cheerfully.

"...i-it's fine. It's technically my fault for hesitating, anyways..." he admitted, flustered. "Besides, I'm no good at dealing with these kinds of emotional situations but if it's something simple like this, I think I have an idea of what to do. ...though I've never comforted someone before so the best I could do is put a hand on your shoulder and awkwardly tell you it's fine..."

That would be quite the difference compared to his usual serious self, just like how his reaction was just now. Of course, I didn't vocalize that but merely kept it to myself. Though, he never comforted someone before, huh? The implications surrounding that... Out of curiosity, I decided to ask him about it while replying to what he said.

"Better than nothing! Short and awkward as it may be, it still gets the message across!" I replied in an attempt to reassure him. "...though, if you don't mind me asking, you never comforted someone before...?"

With a frown, he nodded his head. "Pretty much. Before the Machina of Dawn, I was basically a loner or an outcast of sorts. After all, I hardly made any attempts to socialize since I was too busy trying to learn more about magic, combat, and the world outside of the kingdom I knew," Vin explained. "Though, admittedly, I have tried socializing a few times but soon realized I could only get along with the strong-hearted and the ones constantly striving to get better. My serious, blunt nature was apparently hard to deal with, especially when it came to the emotionally sensitive types. I remember one of them yelling at me, saying that I'm an emotionless, cold-hearted monster or something."

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Oof, I bet that certainly stabbed him in the heart. I thought to myself with a frown. ...though, why do I have a feeling it was because of a spar or something? My instincts tell me he's probably dangerous in combat so if you add that with him being blunt, that might be the result. I can see someone getting emotional and saying that when they get their asses kicked in battle by their opponent and that said opponent emotionally wrecks them too. ...though, that's me talking from experience when I defeat someone, minus me saying the savage burns. Before I could get carried away by my own thoughts though, I quickly returned my attention to Vin but noticed he wasn't saying anything.

Eventually, he spoke up and continued, refusing to elaborate on the sudden silence. "However, despite that, one person invited me to be one of the founders of the Machina of Dawn. As to how that talk went..."

[ Vin's POV ]

"Hey, Vin. I know this is sudden but do you want to join the Machina of Dawn?" the golden-eyed, white-haired male wearing a mystical engineer's uniform and goggles on his head asked as he offered his hand to me. "I mean, you're from Chalybes too, right? I remember seeing you in that building where mages born from there go to talk to their loved ones from there."

With a frown, I was about to him ask him why he was inviting me of all people but one of his companions beat me to the punch, which happened to be a male redhead with brown eyes wearing a knight's uniform. "Wait, hold up! I was wondering why you were approaching Vin but to think it would be for this! Are you serious about this, dude?!" he exclaimed, clearly thinking something was wrong with his friend's brain. "Won't he just scare away any of the potential newcomers?!"

Another person speaks up, who happened to be a pink-eyed young lady clothed with the uniform of an Academy librarian and had long light blue hair that curled at the ends, a white streak of hair, and a white ribbon tied to her hair. "I can see why he's inviting him. After all, since Vin is from Chalybes, he sees him as a comrade," she remarked, then glanced at the white-haired boy. "Still, I have to agree with Gladius on this, Sirius. ...unless if you plan on using that guy to naturally filter out the candidates."

"You're not wrong about that assumption, Crystal. Besides, other than that, he may be serious and blunt, but in the end, he's just earnestly trying to become the best he can and pushes the others to reach greater heights, albeit harshly. After all, why would Vin even bother saying all that when he could just keep quiet? Right, Vin?" Sirius answered with a grin, catching me off-guard. "Anyways, you could treat this as a lesson to get along with others better and we'll help you out. After all, that's important when you're in a team, right? And those who are in a good team are capable of so much more than a single person. So, how about it?"

I stared down at his still extended hand, deep in thought. It was as if he saw right through me. There was just no way that I could dispute any of that. All I could do was let out a sigh of defeat and nod my head instead, albeit refusing to put my hand onto his to shake.

"Fine. Just don't make me regret doing this," I remarked as I crossed my arms over my chest. "Also, you do realize you have quite the reputation of shocking anyone you first meet when taking their hand, right? You'll have to come up with a new trick at this point."

"Guh, seriously? I was hoping that trick would last a little longer than that..." Sirius grumbled out as he pulled away his hand and undid the spells. "Thanks for telling me that. Guess I'll need to come up with a new plan..."

"I'd prefer it if you didn't try any more tricks," Crystal commented, frowning. "Seriously, you seem like such a reliable, understanding leader and then all of a sudden, when you're about to shake hands with someone, you shock them. That instantly kills off the initial impression they get of you, you know?"

Gladius chuckles lightheartedly in response, as if he was fine with it compared to her. "I think that's the point, Crys. It's his way of letting them know that there's more to him than meets the eye or something like that."

"Yup, it's as Gladius said. ...though, I'm gonna refrain from the pun so you two don't kill me," the engineer stated, causing his two companions to immediately groan as if realizing what that joke would be. "Anyways, time for proper introductions! I'm Sirius Ariti, a mage from Chalybes with the electric aspect! I specialize in engineering as a remembrance for my homeplace!"

The redhead grins at me and tries to make himself look cool. "And I'm Gladius Remus, the up-and-coming Holy Knight! Mark my words, I'll become the greatest knight you'll ever know!"

"Good luck beating Tatsuya, in that case. You'll definitely need it, that's for sure," the lady retorted and turned her attention to me, ignoring the knight hanging his head in despair. "Anyways, don't mind him. He'll bounce back up like usual. So, introductions, right? My name is Crystal Albus, a Librarian from the Academy that utilizes ice magic. As a gift for our budding friendship, let me give you a fun fact. My first name was inspired by the ice flower phenomenon, Crystallofolia."

Without hesitation, I introduced myself since I felt it was only fair. After that, I was dragged away to meet the last few members that were busy getting the paperwork ready to start the new organization.

[ Stella's POV ]

"...and the result of hanging out with that organization is the person right near me," I commented after he finished telling his story.

The archangel nodded his head. "Yeah, it took a lot of struggling but I managed to make some progress. I'm more conscious and careful of what I say now. However, as I said before, I struggle with emotional situations since I start having doubts about what I should do or say..."

"To be fair, I think a lot of people will struggle with that, especially when we know so little about the person we're interacting with," I said, laughing. "All they can really do is hope for the best that it'll work out when they confront the person..."

"I suppose you have a point there," Vin replied with a small smile, then glanced at the clock nearby as I stood up to stretch. "By the way, are you sleepy yet? Because of all that talking, it's now 1:50 AM."

After finishing stretching, I couldn't help but feel the sudden urge to yawn. "Yeah, I think my body is finally catching up to the little sleep it had just earlier ago," I mumbled out. "Guess I'll go knock out."

"Good. Also, I advise that you do the same if you have time to just eavesdrop, Leo."

Blinking my eyes in surprise, I glanced at the tent that the angel was supposedly in and heard him mumble out something that I couldn't quite hear. I guess I'll take that gibberish as him saying yeah? I thought to myself. That said, I wonder if he couldn't go back to sleep like I was. Before I could think any further though, I immediately shook my head. Guh, what am I doing? I can't keep worrying about him. He's capable of looking out for himself so I'll just put my faith in him and assume he'll be fine.

"Anyways, good night, Leo!" I exclaimed with a grin, then peered back at the blue-haired male near the campfire. "And good night to you too, Vin!"

I heard Leo answer back from where he was but I was caught off-guard upon seeing Vin return the smile as he bid me good night. Hm, I didn't expect such a gentle smile from him of all people. My heart almost skipped a beat there...

With an awkward cough, I quickly looked away and walked to the tent that I was sleeping in earlier ago. Once I was inside the tent, I plopped myself onto the camping bed and closed my eyes. At least I learned more about Vin and got closer to him. Yay, waking up at this time wasn't a mistake~. ...for now. Though, as if protesting, my body decides that was enough and I knock out without warning.