𝒲𝒾𝓃𝓉ℯ𝓇 𝒲ℴ𝓃𝒹ℯ𝓇𝓁𝒶𝓃𝒹： 𝒯𝒽𝒶𝓌 ℴ𝒻 𝓉𝒽ℯ ℱ𝓇ℴ𝓏ℯ𝓃 ℋℯ𝒶𝓇𝓉

𝐿𝑒𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝐵𝑒𝑙𝑙 𝑜𝑓 𝑆𝑜𝑙𝑎𝑐𝑒 𝑅𝑖𝑛𝑔： 𝐶ℎ𝑎𝑝𝑡𝑒𝑟 9

*
"Beatae Mariae. Semper virgini."

**
Noble Bell College

With Group Star...

"'Fieldwork' is just a fancy term for unstructured wandering time. Absolutely terrible for loners," Idia muttered, eyes narrowed and shoulders hunched. "Still, it's better than when teachers go, 'Okay, time to make your own groups!' ...but not by much. Ugh." His voice dropped to a gloomy whisper as his fingers fidgeted with the hem of his sleeve. "...At least then she would've been in mine."

He blinked slowly and turned toward the rest of his group with a twitch. "Anyway, the Team Star members are..."

"Oui!" came Rook's chipper voice, shattering Idia's focus like glass.

"EEP!" Idia yelped, nearly levitating in place.

"Greetings, Roi de sa Chambre!" Rook beamed with full sparkle. "Team Star consists of yourself, Silver, Ruggie, and moi,"

"Augh, such a bright smile...That sheer extrovert aura is no joke," Idia sweat dropped in panic. "If only Azul were here to balance it out with some shadiness... Like Y/n. She wouldn't throw my entire nervous system into error mode like this guy does..."

"Oh, you think it's too bright out?" Silver asked innocently as he stepped over. "I guess the brim of your hat isn't all that wide,"

"That won't do at all," Rook gasped, concern written on his face. "Would you like to borrow my hat?" he asked.

"Wow, Rook. You're as oblivious as Kalim and Y/n," Ruggie sighed, strolling up to the group. "Reminds me of our good ol' Facepalm Brigade...."

"Oh, hey...Ruggie's got some shade going on underneath his athletic exterior..." Idia muttered quietly to himself. "But is it just me, or are we all talking on different wavelengths? What are we, an adventuring party from an isekai transmigration light novel?" he asked with a nervous sweat drop.

"I can't make heads or tails of what you say either, y'know. I've got a feelin' this group's a trainwreck in progress," Ruggie admitted with a sigh, hands behind his head.

"You don't know the half of it..." Idia whispered, a low twitch in his eye. "I should be with her. I should be tracking her route and guarding her aggro radius, not stuck here with casuals."

"Well, what would everyone like to see in the city?" Rook clapped his hands together with a sunny grin.

"I wanna check out some local handicrafts and specialty goods!" Ruggie said with a sharp grin. "After all, we're having a feast (read: free meal) tonight,"

"Are you looking for souvenirs?" Silver asked with mild interest. "I was hoping to buy one for Lilia, myself,"

"Hm, perusing popular products could provide an insight into Fleur City itself. I like the idea," Rook nodded.

Idia shifted, eyes flickering with a faint glow. "Yeah, uh...I'd like to pick up something for Ortho while we're exploring too..." His expression softened briefly before sharpening again into a grin too toothy to be casual. "I wanna get the main quest outta the way fast. That way our job here will basically be done,"