After the Sanum Senate’s vote to join the newly formed Alliance of Free States, Nic and Aria found themselves alone outside of the building. Sarman, Yuuki, and Kayde had all been requested to meet Ordwell in his office. Discussions about the Alliance most likely.

With everyone else who had come with them from Aric having left even earlier, the two found themselves with nothing to do.

The sky itself was dyed a bright pink as the sun slowly set over the horizon. A couple of stray clouds passed by, seemingly just out of reach from the two as they stood near the top of the mountain.

“We probably won’t be spending much more time in Sanum for now.” Nic spoke up as the two of them slowly walked down the path. “Is there anything else that you wanted to do while we’re in the city?”

Aria stayed quiet. Nic wasn’t sure what had happened to make her stay this quiet, but she didn’t make a noise until they came up to a small clearing partitioned off from their path by a fence.

Nic heard a longing sigh escape Aria’s mouth as she looked up at the tall building in front of them.

“The university…” Nic looked up as well before remembering what the small clearing was.

“This place is where I first dueled Sarah…” It was back in his first week at the school. Sarah had challenged Nic to a duel after he had gotten Yuuki’s help for over a week. “You watched that duel as well, right?”

“I did. But on that day I never thought that-” Aria was about to turn to Nic as she talked when another person interrupted her.

“Nic? Aria?” Nic immediately turned to the voice to find an older gentleman standing near them. He was walking in the opposite direction that they had been, meaning that his destination was most likely the Senate building that they had just left.

“Headmaster Black. It’s good to see you.” Both Nic and Aria bowed their heads slightly as Nic addressed the man.

“You as well. I’m glad you have returned to Sanum safe and sound. I was just summoned by Ordwell to meet him at the Senate building. Apparently it has something to do with you two? By chance, are you returning to your scholarly journey?”

“Ah, no.” Nic felt bad as he responded to Headmaster Black. His hand reached up and scratched the back of his neck in nervousness. “We actually won’t be staying in Sanum that long.”

“Oh? Really?”

“Excuse us, Headmaster Black.” Aria spoke up this time. “We have been chosen to be ambassadors for Aric, so we will be traveling to different City-States and Nations for the time being.”

“I see.” Black seemed to deflate slightly at the news. “I suspect that the other four will be joining you then as well. Losing six of our students in one day, especially as some of them are our brightest, will be a blow to the school. But, know this you two. If you ever want to continue with academics, the school will always be open to you.”

Nic and Aria stood there, their expressions slightly stunned.

“In that case,” Aria had a question she wanted to ask. “May we use one of the school’s sparring grounds for a bit?”

Nic looked at her in confusion while Black merely laughed softly.

“Of course you can. They should all still be open.” With a small hearty laugh, Black bowed to the two of them himself. “In any case, I should get going. Don’t want to keep the Minister waiting too long.” He gave the two of them a small wink before continuing his journey up the mountain.

Nic watched the headmaster leave before turning back to Aria. “Why did you ask for a sparring room?”

He got no response. Instead, Aria simply started walking again.

This time her destination was clear.

The two of them entered the school’s corridors and soon found themselves in one of the empty sparring halls.

Aria lit a few candles surrounding the room, giving them just a bit of light.

“Aria, what are we doing here?”

“Draw your sword.” The sound of a sword being drawn from its sheath echoed her words. Nic had his on him as well, but was still unsure about what was going on.

“What?”

The question barely left his mouth when Aria’s sword swung at him. He moved his body out of the way, but the sound of the sword cutting through the air as it whisked by his face rang clearly in his ears.

She was out to hit him.

“Aria, wait!”

Nic’s pleas fell on deaf ears as Aria swung again. Nic dodged again. Another swoosh that rang loudly in his ears.

“Aria!”

“Why didn’t you tell me!?” Her third swing was accompanied by a question. It was too fast for Nic to dodge it.

He was forced to draw his own blade.

The two blades clashed before Nic’s was even fully out of the sheath.

“What?” Nic was unsure of what she was talking about. Everything since they had left Crystallia had seemed fine. Had Aria been holding something in from even then?

“Crystal! Your family! Why didn’t you tell me?” Two more strikes in quick succession.

Nic blocked them each, but he could tell that she was doing more than simply augmenting her swordplay with magic. The speed and power was being boosted even further by her apparent pain of not being told about Crystal.

Nic responded to her questions with his own strikes.

“I didn’t think it would be such a big problem if I didn’t tell you for a few days.” His words were accompanied by a number of strikes. Aria managed to block two of them but the third managed to land. Not wanting to hurt her, Nic had been aiming to hit her with the flat of his blade the entire time. She winced in pain as the blade made a loud smacking sound, hitting her side.

Nic took a step back, creating space between the two of them.

Aria herself was struggling to stand back up. Her labored breath could be heard throughout the room.

“Not a problem?” Aria shakily held her sword at the ready, its tip swaying up and down as she tried to control her breathing. In response, Nic held his own blade in a defensive position.

Unlike her, he had no reason to actually strike out.

So he wouldn't. Nic would simply defend against each strike.

Aria lunged forward with a simple strike at Nic’s body. As their blades clashed, metal shrieking against metal, Aria spoke up.

“I don’t think you should hold those things by yourself!”

She drew back her blade and struck again.

“I want you to let me hold them with you. To lessen the burden you already hold!” Another strike, more metal shrieking. “Let me help you!”

A simple plea.

But one that Nic couldn’t understand.

Had she not already been helping him? To Nic, just her presence near him was enough support. Was it not enough for her to simply be with him?

“I,” Nic blocked another strike. As the blades locked together, he opened his mouth to say what he was thinking, but found himself unable to speak. “I- No, if that’s what you want then I’ll share with you next time something like this comes up.”

Nic said what Aria wanted to hear. He made a promise that she was willing to accept, and because of that their little duel ended. Aria took a step back and began to catch her breath.

Nic simply stood in the same spot. He couldn’t bring himself to be okay with simply making that promise. Not without saying his own piece.

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If Aria thought that he didn’t trust her, that he didn’t think she was helpful, then he had to fix that notion.

“But,” His voice carried throughout the room. “If you think that you aren’t helping me enough, that you aren’t doing enough… That’s completely false!” Nic’s voice rose as he nearly began to yell. “Everything you do has been more than enough! You’ve stayed by my side this entire time! How can I not appreciate everything that you do? You are the constant proof that I’m not alone in this gods-forsaken world.”

When Nic looked back at Aria, she seemed like she had something that she wanted to say, yet they were both cut off when another voice spoke up from the entrance to the room.

“Hmm. Looks like we may have interrupted something important.”

“You can say that. Though these two really need to learn to get their own private room.”

A much more elegant female voice was cut off by the familiar complaining of one of their roommates at the school.

Four people stood at the entryway. Three Demi-Humans and a single human.

Kiara’s long raven hair was tied up in a ponytail between her two raccoon ears. Her tail was peeking out from behind what could only be described as her adventuring gear. The difference between her elegant way of speaking and her outfit was laudable. Standing next to her was her Fiance, and Nic’s fellow student of Yuuki, Sarah. Sarah was wearing a matching outfit to Kiara, owing to them having recently spent time in Aric working under Ordwell’s plans.

Standing next to the two of them were the two other Demi-Humans in far different clothes.

Sarman was wearing a much more formal suit due to his meeting with his father and the Sanum Senate about the Alliance of Free States. Likewise, Yuuki was wearing an elegant violet dress that matched her eyes perfectly. Her hair was loosely running down her back. Sarman, the one who had just spoken up, looked the most uncomfortable in his current attire.

Nic, realizing that all four of them had heard what he had said, began to grow red in the face while Aria spoke up.

“What’re you all doing here?”

“We,” Sarman spoke up while pointing to Yuuki and himself, “were just leaving the Senate building when we ran into the headmaster. He told us that you two were heading to one of the school's sparring grounds so we decided to come see what was going on.”

“As for us,” Kiara spoke up next, “we were walking through the school when we ran into the two of them. We decided to tag along before heading back to our own room to rest.”

Nic took a deep breath, steadying himself and slowly making his face less red.

“So the meeting is over?” Nic looked at Sarman as he asked the question. When he got back a simple nod, Nic slipped his sword back into its sheath. He could hear Aria doing the same as he began to walk over to the four of them.

As he got closer, he saw Yuuki smirking at something behind him.

He sighed. Nic knew what she wanted.

The sheath to his blade was attached to his waist through a belt he wore. Slipping the belt off he lightly tossed the entire thing to Yuuki.

“You probably won’t need to, but I hope you can move well in that dress.”

Yuuki looked surprised as she caught the sword right before it hit her. As she looked down at the hilt in surprise while listening to Nic, she slowly lit up.

“Of course I can! Aria!” Yuuki quickly responded to Nic before turning her attention to the woman walking slightly behind him. “It’s time for me to test how well Nic has tested you! Prepare yourself.”

“Huh?! What?!” Aria simply stammered a response as she stopped in place.

Nic could hear the all too familiar sounds of swords being held at the ready and soon the clashing of the blades as well.

He ignored the fight for now and focused on Sarman.

“So, what’s the decision?”

“Our next destination is set in stone. Father agreed with our plans.”

Nic was relieved. After getting Sanum to agree to join the Alliance, he thought the next greatest obstacle would be convincing Ordwell to allow them to head to the Far East nation of Kyoku.

Yuuki had plenty of reasons to go back to her home nation as of now. She had become the de facto ruler of another nation. And even beyond that, she hadn’t been home in over ten years. She was sure to want to visit, even if just to say hello to her family.

As for Nic, the words he had heard from Solus at the end of the fighting in Crystallia still rang true in his ears. They were in a language that Nic had never heard before. Yet once he talked with Yuuki, she had confirmed that they were from the old Kyokan language, though she was unable to translate what they meant.

“Again!” Nic turned around as he heard Yuuki announce the end of the first fight. As he looked back, he saw Aria getting off the ground and preparing another strike. He may have been the one teaching her, but Yuuki was the far better sword fighter, and was a far better teacher than he would ever be.

“When do we leave?”

“First we’re gonna have a meeting tomorrow. Father is going to be inviting the current ambassadors from Kyoku to the meeting as well.”

The current ambassadors may very well be able to translate the words that Nic held. This possibility made him feel a fair amount of anticipation for the meeting to come.

“So… you all are leaving again?” Sarah spoke up from beside them. She looked downtrodden, and the energy was seeping into her voice.

“Hm?” Nic, Sarman, and Kiara all looked at her in confusion.

“It’s just that… I don’t get to train with Master anymore!”

Nic immediately knew how she felt. Like Sarah, he hadn’t actually trained with Yuuki since that day when Jack attacked Sanum nearly a month ago. But he didn’t know what he could say to alleviate her pain.

“Well then,” At just that moment, Sarman spoke to Sarah directly. “Why don’t you two come with us again?”

“Huh?”

“Are you sure that’s okay?”

Both Sarah and Kiara reacted simultaneously. Sarah’s was an outburst of confusion while Kiara simply asked if it was okay, not letting her own feelings on the offer come to the surface.

“Of course. I’m the representative for Sanum, and I think that it never hurts to have more people who can fight in case we need to.” Sarman held out a hand to the two of them. “So, if you want to, I can say that you two are my bodyguards on paper so you can join us.”

Sarah nearly jumped on Sarman’s hand as he held it out.

“Yes! Yes! Yes! We will join you! I promise that no harm will come to you as long as I’m your bodyguard!” Her face beamed with joy as she shook his hand vigorously.

“Well, that’s one. How about you, Mrs. Kiara?” Sarman looked over at the Demi-Human.

His response was a simple sigh before nodding her head.

“I can’t just leave Sarah to go on her own.”

Their group had gained another two official members.

Nic couldn’t help but smile as he thought about the five people around him. Each one knew his past, and each one still accepted him as a friend.

The next day Nic found himself sitting at the same long table he had eaten his first dinner in Sanum at. Inside the Chapman Manor, the food on the table was all exquisitely made for the Minister who ran the entire City-State and his guests.

At the head of the table was Ordwell Chapman, the selfsame Minister. To his left was Sarman, Kiara, Sarah, and then the two Kyokan Ambassadors. And on Ordwell’s right was Kayde, Nic, Aria, and the two other Crystallian Ambassadors. Finally, sitting directly across from Ordwell was Yuuki.

They all sat at the table to partake in a meeting. The Alliance of Free City-States was planning a diplomatic mission to the Eastern nation of Kyoku. And so they had invited the Kyokan ambassadors in order to get their thoughts on everything.

“Well,” Ordwell was the first to break the silence as maids ran in and out of the room, dropping plates of food across the table. “Mr. Watanabe and Mrs. Sato, thank you for agreeing to join us in this meeting.”

The two Kyokans sitting next to Yuuki both gave Ordwell a warm smile.

“It is a pleasure to be here. We were glad when you sent us news that Mrs. Ito had been found.”

“Very glad. We will need to send word to her father as well.”

Yuuki silently ate the food she had gathered to her plate as the two natives of her homeland began to speak about her.

“About that,” Ordwell took a few bits of his own food before continuing. “We invited you here today because there have been some…” Ordwell paused as he thought of a way to word the rest of his sentence. “Some political changes have happened. Changes that we wish to discuss with the Shogunate and his advisers.”

His words caused the male Kyokan to narrow his eyes and lean forward. “What changes?”

“Well,” Ordwell cast out his arms wide, “everyone here aside from you two are representatives of the newly formed Alliance of Free City-States. My son, his two aids, and myself are here at this table representing the City-State of Sanum. Kayde here, his daughter, and Nic are representing the City-State of Aric. And finally, these two diplomatic ambassadors and Yuuki Ito are representatives of the fledgling City-State of Crystallia.”

“WHAT?!” Both of the Kyokans turned to Yuuki, the latter of which was composing herself before speaking.

“The previous queen of Crystallia named me as her successor. As such, I’m now the leader of the City-State.”

Her response was short, concise, and to the point. Something that seemed to anger the two Kyokans even more.

“Does your father know of this?!”

“No. I was planning on journeying back to Kyoku myself in order to talk with him about it all.”

The Kyokan that Ordwell called Mrs. Sato looked like she wanted to say something, but was cut off when Ordwell spoke up again.

“And that very same journey will be taken by a diplomatic expedition with members of each City-State that is a part of the alliance. And so we come to why I asked for the two of you to dine with us. Would you be willing to give us your input on this expedition?”

As Ordwell raised a glass to his lips, the two Kyokans looked nervously to each other before both nodding their heads.

They began talking with the others throughout the meal. Every topic imaginable was discussed between the members sitting at the table, yet to Nic it was all white noise.

He bid his time.

He waited until the discussions stopped. Till the last bite of food was had.

And finally the moment came.

“Thank you for the meal, Minister, but we should get going ourselves. I hope our insight into your journey proved most valuable.”

The two Kyokans stood up to leave, saying their goodbyes on the way out.

“Wait!” Nic called out to them. It was the first thing he had said the entire meal.

Every eye turned to him in confusion.

“Yes?”

“I have a single question I need answered, and I hoped you could answer it for me?”

“And what is that?”

“Do you know the phrase ‘Sanso wo subene no hiso nu onozureru’?”

Yuuki went pale when she heard him, as did the male Kyokan standing near her.

“Where did you hear that?!”

The Kyokan, Mr. Watanabe, nearly yelled at Nic.

“In Crystallia, one of our opponents there. Do you know what it means?”

Watanabe stopped in his tracks. His face contorted in anger.

“No, but I know who does. When you meet Yuuki’s father in Kyoku, tell him those words and who spoke them to you. He will tell you what they mean…”