"Wish that Rex dude left some video game consoles here. I'm bored out of my mind just waiting here. Maybe I should sleep like Stella is? Ahh, but Vin is gonna scold me if I do that, huh? Hm..."

...to think that's the first thing I hear upon regaining consciousness... I wasn't entirely sure what to feel but since Leo doesn't need to guide me now, it'd only make sense he would drop the professional side of him. I sit up, noting that I no longer felt weak like before.

"Ah! You're finally awake!" Leo exclaimed with a grin, causing me to turn my attention to him. "Seriously, you caught me off-guard there when you just collapsed all of a sudden, you know~? Do those magical eyes of yours use up a lot of energy or something?"

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The blonde was sitting on a brown wooden chair beside me and the bed, but he was sitting on it backward. With his arms resting on top of the chair, Leo grinned at me. His outfit, though, has changed from when I last saw him. He was now wearing a long-sleeved black jacket, black long pants, a white t-shirt with a blue crystal necklace with a white spiky handle, an orange scarf, and then white sneakers. Right, they were talking about clothes before I fell unconscious, huh? Though, I didn't bother pointing it out. Instead, I decided to respond to his questions.

"It does seem to be the case. The problem is that I didn't feel weak last time," I replied as I looked away and stared down at my hands on my lap, sighing. "I wonder if it's because I brought two more people with me...?"

"Maybe? I don't know much about magic so I can only really take your word for it," he admitted sheepishly as the angel nervously laughed. "Don't worry though! I won't be dead weight! Apparently Rex managed to get the Artifact that I used when I was alive and left it in this house protected! Though, I wonder how he knew that I'll be joining you on this journey...? Could it really be that ability that Vin mentioned...?"

Caught off-guard, I quickly turned my attention to the blonde. "Wait, hold up, you're an Artifact wielder?! That kinda changes everything I know about you, you know?!" I exclaimed.

He blinked his eyes in surprise for a bit and then soon started laughing. "Ah, really? Sorry, sorry! I didn't mean to keep it quiet from you!" Leo apologized, then flashed a grin at me. "But yeah, I'm much more capable than I let on! ...w-well, that's if I have that special weapon with me but still..."

Artifact, huh? I thought to myself as I looked away, deep in thought. I know it's a magical weapon that even people with zero knowledge of magic can use. They're particularly strong and their origins are mysterious enough that the Academy desperately covets them to uncover the mysteries behind them. I took a side glance at the male, causing him to raise an eyebrow at me out of curiosity. Unfortunately, I heard all the wielders denied them the weapons no matter what they said or offered, leaving most mages bitter and desperate. The only one they weren't so bitter toward to was the mage wielder because they deemed him an ally. They figured he'll eventually tell them without even needing to offer the weapon.

With a sigh, I decide to return to what he said earlier, thinking it was best that I actually say something now instead of staying in my mind palace. "By the way, you mentioned Rex got your weapon and kept it safe here, right?" I asked, causing the male to sober up quickly for some reason.

Leo let out a sigh and averted his eyes elsewhere. "Well, yeah. This is his base so it only makes sense that it was him," he explained, the cheer gone from his voice. "I assume he got it from those extremely strong monsters that invaded my hometown. As to why I think the monsters have it, they were way too keen on fighting me specifically during that invasion. I was using the Artifact at that time because of how dire the situation was so...yeah, I was able to connect the dots together. Unfortunately, I was eventually killed and then they probably got the weapon out of my cold dead hands."

I flinched, not expecting it to be so dark. "S-sorry, I didn't mean to bring up bad memories..."

He turned his gaze back onto me, then smiled sadly. "It's fine. I can't run from my past, anyways," the blonde reassured me. "Anyways, knowing you, you're probably going to ask about the questions I asked myself earlier, right? ...and to use that as a subject change too, right?"

I blushed and looked away, feeling slightly embarrassed that I was that obvious. The angel laughed at my reaction, then continued talking.

"In all honesty, I just found it weird that my weapon is here as if he knew that I'll be joining you in your journey," Leo explained, frowning. "I told Vin my suspicions when the two of us found it while you were in this room, asleep. He admitted that it was suspicious too and wondered if Rex had a certain ability that somehow let him know that like Precognition, which he explained was the ability to perceive future events."

Rex having Precognition, huh...? I crossed my arms over my chest, thinking it over. It feels like it might be the case. When I first saw him, something he said implied him having that ability or something similar. "I know you'll be involved in this no matter what I do so at the very least, I'll choose the route with the highest chance of you surviving." Thinking back on it, that is a strange thing to say or do for a stranger. The only reason I could think of why he did is that he knew me and considered me important. As to why, I'm not entirely sure. I couldn't help but feel guilty, unable to shake off the feeling that there was something vital I need to remember.

"...you alright? You look pale for some reason..."

Surprised, I glanced at Leo and saw him watching me, a worried expression on his face. "...I'm alright, just trying to figure something out. I do agree with what Vin said though," I admitted. "Anyways, speaking of Vin, where is he...?"

The blonde stared at me for a bit, then sighed as if deciding not to push any further. "Vin is checking on my weapon to see if it's alright and that there's nothing weird on it. He's currently in the living room with my weapon," he said, pointing at the door on the other side of the room. "Admittedly, I was hesitant at first to let him investigate it but...well, you know what happened with my hometown. The person that usually checked on it is definitely dead. Thankfully, I soon learned that Vin is also a wielder so I figured I can trust him with it!"

Blinking my eyes in surprise, I couldn't help but repeat what he last said. "Vin is also a wielder...? Wait, hold up, so both of my companions have Artifacts?" I questioned with a frown.

"Yup!" Leo exclaimed, grinning. "My Artifact is a spear that utilizes water-oriented attacks! Vin's Artifact is a handgun but he says he only used it once and refused to use it any further. When I asked why, he told me that he'll only bother explaining when the time comes for him to utilize that weapon, if ever."

Well, that sounds ominous. Just what the heck does it do...? I know that no matter how much I think about it, all of it would only be speculation. So, I decided to drop that train of thought. But still, Vin is that mage wielder, huh? ...welp, it seems both of my companions have quite the backstory. However, one thing about that bothered me. The problem is that no one ever said anything about him dying though? In fact, from what I heard before I got dragged into this, they all assumed he was still very much alive. He's an Archangel too so I assume he did indeed die. ...but when? ...and why?

Feeling a headache coming, I shook my head and decided to turn my attention back to the angel. To my surprise, Leo wasn't really on the chair anymore. I looked around and eventually saw him right beside the door, leaning on the wall with his hands in his pants pockets. He smiled at me as he got out his hand from the pocket and waved at me.

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"Done with all that thinking? I want to check on how Vin is doing with my weapon but I figured it's best we go together so he won't nag me about not being with you when you're asleep."

I looked away in embarrassment and coughed, my cheeks red. "Y-yeah, sorry. I tend to think a lot instead of talk..."

"It's fine, it's fine!" Leo assured me with a chuckle. "I don't mind! It's amusing watching your expressions change so much as you think, anyway."

"...it does? O-oh..." I mumbled to myself, feeling my face get even redder.

The angel nodded his head and then got off the wall. "Well, anyway, enough with the messing around. I'd rather we start going on an adventure, in all honesty," he admitted with a small smile, then suddenly perked up as if remembering something. "Ah, but first, don't forget to change into some casual clothes! I'll be waiting outside in the meantime!"

...oh right, I'm still wearing the Academy uniform. I quickly got out of bed while Leo left the room and closed the door behind him. Out of curiosity, I approached the huge closet nearby, then opened it. That's...a lot of clothes. I thought to myself as I scanned all of them, noting how diverse the lineup was. Did Rex pick all of these, I wonder...? Wonder if he got weird looks while getting these...

Since Leo and Vin were waiting on me, I hurriedly got some casual garments. After making sure their color schemes go well together and look good on me, I quickly changed clothes. Once I was done, I folded my uniform as properly as I can, then put it away in the closet. After all, this isn't my house so I would feel bad just having it recklessly thrown about. I closed the closet door, then checked on my appearance one last time before going out. Hair not messy? Check. Outfit good enough for going outside? Check. Time to go then!

Without further ado, I left the room and was immediately greeted with what looked like the living room. In the room, there was one black fabric sectional sofa and a black two-seater sofa surrounding the dark brown wooden coffee table with a glass top. Rested against the wall in front of the sofas was a dark brown wooden drawer with a black flat tv positioned on top of it. Other than those, there were two bookshelves with similar colors as the rest and a fancy ornate carpet on the floor with varying colors.

Vin was sitting there on the sofa, his attention now on me, while Leo was busy checking up on his weapon at hand. "Hm, I see Stella finally recovered," Vin commented, then suddenly let out a sigh. "If you were wondering what happened, those magical eyes of yours gave me and Leo physical bodies so it ended up devouring all of your magical energy. It still needed more so I intervened and reduced the cost by giving mine so there were thankfully no permanent awful side effects."

Surprised, I quickly replied to what the young man said. "It required that much?! That's...really bad. Guess traveling between realms should be kept to the bare minimum. Proper preparations will be necessary too," I remarked with a frown. "But still, it gave you guys physical bodies? Then, when I went to Heaven, I was...?"

"Correct, it turned you into a spiritual body. No one would know you're not an angel until you were asked to make your wings appear."

"If she said nothing about it though, we wouldn't have met you or be here on this journey," Leo pointed out as he put away the Artifact into its sheath.

...I suppose he's got a point. I thought to myself with a frown. I'd still be stuck in Heaven if I kept quiet. Sure, I would learn more about that realm but...would any of it be helpful at the moment? Though, speaking of knowing more about the place I'm in... I went towards the window that was covered with black and gold curtains, then pulled it away a little to see outside. What I saw was the scene of many people bustling about in the city, going about like how they usually do. What caught my eye though was that there was a pristine white castle surrounded by white walls clearly in view and that there were an unusual amount of guards around with the civilians.

"...are we in the capital of the Astrum kingdom...?" I asked, surprised I got sent so far away from my hometown rather quickly.

"Yeah, Rex connected the magic anchor in this base of his to the one in Heaven with my help. He has to interact with the royal family and travel to Heaven a lot so having a base here was ideal," Vin explained and I looked back at him, who was still sitting on the couch but did turn to look at me. "As you can see though, this place is in high alert. The news on TV mentioned that prince Tatsuya and his brigade is personally protecting this place to the best of their abilities. He even personally said so on TV."

"Wait, hold up, the prince is?!" both Leo and I exclaimed, then glanced at each other in surprise right after.

He lets out a lighthearted chuckle and I do the same but soon return my attention to the archangel. "So the situation is that bad? It's rare for the prince himself to intervene personally."

The male shakes his head in response. "No, not particularly. It would be more accurate to say that the rest of the royal family is really busy with other things compared to the prince," he corrected. "He mentioned that and declared he's taking on the burden so the others can deal with theirs. He even said it's a burden he'll gladly take for the sake of the people's happiness. I tuned out whatever praise they kept raining on him after that."

Knowing the royal family, I bet it's related to the issues happening around the world. ...and the conflict that happened in my hometown. A part of me hoped that the matter of the sudden attack was dealt with and the damage was kept to a minimum. Rex was there and he had the trust of the royal family so the chances are high. ...though, now that I think about it, I wonder if Rex will be here in town? Then again, if Tatsuya is here though, Rex would probably see no point in being there.

With a sigh, I pull away the curtain a bit and peek outside again, noting that nothing has changed from when I last looked. "...so what do we do now?" I asked, frowning. "The prince is most likely too busy for us to just approach to get a grasp on the situation..."

"Sadly, he's our best bet of getting info though so we have no choice but to try regardless," Vin said as I heard him get off the sofa. "Besides, Rex probably told him about us already so I'm sure he's aware that we'll want to meet him."

"True. Besides, it would be weird if he didn't tell the prince," Leo remarked. "If that's the case then, I guess we better go and give it a try. No harm in doing so anyway, right?"

"...though we say that but where the heck would he be...?" I questioned as I glanced back at the two, who both frowned in response.

"Uh...maybe look for a flock of fangirls and fanboys...?" Leo suggested with nervous laughter. "...or we could always ask them but I doubt they'll be civil about it. Probably be a little possessive..."

"I mean, that could work but there's a high chance that the prince factored them in before going out about his business," Vin pointed out while walking towards the front door. "Our best bet is sadly going around town and gathering info about the situation while looking for him. He'll most likely make his presence known to us when he deems it necessary."

So, we're to find an elusive prince that is probably under cover while we get intel. That's...not reassuring but there's nothing else that's feasible enough that we can do. With a sigh, I reluctantly nod my head and go to where the archangel was waiting. When I glance to my side, I see Leo, who noticed me looking at him and grinned at me.

"Ready to look around and look like lost idiots, Stella?"

"..I'd rather not look like a lost idiot but..." I mumbled out, keen on not embarrassing myself again.

"What, nothing wrong with being an idiot!" he exclaimed, laughing. "Besides, you won't be alone! I'll be idiot number two!"

"Are you two done yet?"

I turned to look at Vin and saw him watching us with a deadpan gaze. Both Leo and I nervously nodded our heads, causing the male to let out a sigh. Once he opens the door, the three of us got out of the house, finally starting our journey.