They immediately set off for the warehouse Chronoa had mentioned.
A few minutes’ walk from their classroom brought them to the back of the academy building. The stone warehouse was a magnificent structure, resembling a temple more than a storage unit; it was large enough to easily dwarf several ordinary houses.
Licia looked up at it, impressed. "I didn't know a place like this existed."
Fiona, who had joined them at the site, reached for the heavy door. Ren stepped forward to assist.
"Let me get that for you."
"O-Oh... thank you."
He didn't exactly loom over her, but because he reached past her to grab the handle, the proximity made Fiona a little self-conscious. This brief exchange occurred while Licia was occupied talking with Chronoa.
When the warehouse door finally swung open, a gust of stale, dusty air billowed out. Ren and Fiona shared a wry smile before turning back to Chronoa.
"Ms. Chronoa, what exactly are we looking for?"
"Let’s see..."
Chronoa joined them at the entrance with Licia. With a nimble flick of her staff, she summoned several glowing characters into the air.
"I’ve been asked to collect documents from the years listed here."
"If you're just collecting them now, I take it you weren't originally planning to organize the warehouse today?" Ren asked.
"Correct."
Chronoa wore her usual bright smile, yet a palpable intensity radiated from her.
"It’s really something, isn’t it? They know how busy I am, yet they send a message out of the blue asking me to dig up old records. And they insist on having them by the end of the day, no less."
She was clearly feeling the strain, given that she had pointedly mentioned her busy schedule twice.
The request had come from civil officials and bureaucrats within a state agency. Due to a communication breakdown, the deadline for the documents hadn't been properly conveyed. As it turned out, they were due by this very evening.
Clarifying exactly where the error had occurred and who was responsible could wait. For now, the priority was finding the records.
Chronoa suddenly bowed her head, the pointed tip of her witch's hat giving a little bounce.
"I’m so sorry! I’m sure you all had plans to relax this afternoon!"
"It’s fine, really! We’re happy to help with something like this!" Ren insisted. Fiona and Licia nodded quickly in agreement.
"He's right!" Licia added.
When Chronoa looked up, her expression was so genuinely apologetic that she looked ready to bow again. To keep things moving, Ren stepped inside the warehouse. The interior was packed with even more items than the small room at the back of the academy library they had cleaned previously.
Documents... documents...
Though it seemed cluttered at first glance, the space was actually quite organized. In the section with the bookshelves, the volumes and stacks of paper were arranged in neat rows.
Ren detoured toward a staircase. Noticing windows on the second floor, he decided to open them to improve the airflow. A cool breeze soon began to circulate through the building. By the time he returned to the others, Chronoa was let out a frustrated hum.
"...That's strange. They should be around here somewhere."
"Is it perhaps these?" Licia asked, pointing.
"Ah! That’s it! Licia, you're a lifesaver! I can't believe you found them so quickly!"
"It was just a coincidence, really. But there are still more records we need to find."
They divided the work and combed through the shelves, locating the target documents one by one.
"Adults can be so unfair," Chronoa muttered with a sorrowful expression. "They seem to think that even if there’s a misunderstanding, they can make it work as long as they demand it loudly enough..."
Ren had suspected as much before, but she really did seem to have a temperament that attracted trouble. He and the girls silently resolved to stay on her side.
The search concluded successfully in less than two hours. Chronoa was overflowing with gratitude. She set aside a wooden box she had found in the warehouse and thanked them once more.
"Thank you so, so much! Let's go out for a meal together soon! I really want to do something to repay you!"
As she finally departed, she turned back to bow several more times until she was out of sight.
"Shall we?" Ren asked.
Inside the wooden box Chronoa had left behind were costumes once considered for past festivities—likely samples provided by merchants for student performances during school festivals. Ren and the others had offered to carry them to the academy reference room to save Chronoa the trouble.
The three of them returned to the main building. Outside, the setting sun had already deepened into a rich, madder red.
Unlike the warehouse, the academy reference room was free of dust. As they reached the storage area, Fiona pulled one of the costumes from the box and frowned.
"It’s a bit dirty."
The garment had gathered a layer of grime while sitting in the box. They felt hesitant to store it in that state. Ren picked up a shipping manifest that had been tucked inside.
Seeing the situation, Licia turned to Fiona. "Shall we take these to the academy changing room and clean them up?"
"That sounds like a good idea... since we’re already here."
The changing room was equipped with showers, a large vanity, and magic tools designed for pressing and mending uniforms.
"I'll head over to Ms. Chronoa's office and let her know about this manifest," Ren said. "I can’t exactly follow you into the girls' changing room, after all."
"I'm sorry, Ren..." Fiona said softly.
"No, it's fine. I'll be back in a bit."
Ren parted ways with them, and the girls headed for the changing room, carrying the folded costumes.
Inside the spacious room, they stood before a mirror that spanned the entire wall. They unfolded the garments.
"Is this a waitress outfit?" Licia asked.
"I believe so, though the skirt is significantly shorter than a standard one," Fiona replied with a lovely smile. "Perhaps it was designed with the girls' preferences in mind."
Licia’s costume was nearly identical, save for a slight variation in color. It was a charming, stylized version of a servant’s uniform. Even though many students were nobles, they were still teenage girls with a natural interest in cute fashion.
They began cleaning the fabric. By sliding a comb-like magic tool over the surface, they were able to lift the dust effortlessly.
"I wonder why the Demon King Cult was searching for the Ring of the Water Goddess," Licia mused as they worked. "You’ve heard the rumors too, haven't you, Lady Fiona? That they’ve become active in several regions again."
"My father and the Third Prince are doing everything they can to address it. But... don't you think Ren is definitely involved in this somehow?"
"...I do."
It wasn't a complaint; they simply knew Ren well enough to expect he was moving in his own way.
Licia felt that while the Cult was active globally, Leomel was being targeted with unusual frequency. She wondered if it was simply because they were the world's leading superpower. She thought back to the incident at Roses Kaitas and the flooding of the old city in Eupeheim.
I wonder why...
She remembered that day at Roses Kaitas. Why had her body moved against her will? Why had her heart felt as though it were drifting away?
As she stared into her own reflection, a trace of that old anxiety resurfaced.
Suddenly, Fiona took her hand.
"Are you all right? Do you feel ill?"
"N-No! I’m fine!"
"Are you sure?"
"I’m serious! I'm okay!"
To her own surprise, Licia felt herself calming down. Whether it was the warmth of Fiona’s hand or something else entirely, the turbulence in her heart faded.
Licia quickly turned her attention back to the costume, hoping to change the subject. She held the garment up against herself.
"The skirt length isn't actually that different from our school uniforms."
"You're right," Fiona agreed. "And all these frills are quite lovely."
"Waitress outfits like this are rare. It's actually a bit unique."
Fiona raised a finger, a playful thought striking her. "...Should we try them on?"
It was half-joke, half-earnest. It wouldn't hurt anyone as long as they didn't damage them. Ren wouldn't be back for a while, so there was time for a quick look. Fiona felt it was unlike her to suggest such a thing, but she had never worn anything like it before and found herself curious.
Licia was caught off guard but equally intrigued.
"Are you serious?" she asked, her tone slipping into informal familiarity.
Fiona didn't mind the shift at all. In fact, she looked delighted. "I'm... actually quite serious. I never get the chance to wear cute things like this."
"Me neither, Lady Fiona."
In a moment of shared whimsy, the two girls turned away from each other and began to change.
In less than a few minutes, they turned back to face the mirror.
Licia and Fiona stood there, transformed by the short-skirted waitress uniforms. If any boy had seen them at that moment, they surely would have been captivated. However, they fully intended to be back in their school uniforms before leaving the room.
They both wondered how Ren would react, though neither had the courage to actually show him.
Just as the thought crossed their minds...
Click.
The sound of the door handle turning echoed through the room.
"—Eh?"
"Did someone just—"
It wasn't entirely unexpected; it was a public changing room, after all. Any female student or staff member could enter. The problem was their current attire. It was mortifying to be seen in these costumes, especially by someone they knew.
Their fears were realized in an instant.
"...Huh?"
It was Sera Riohalde.
She stood frozen in shock. She had realized she’d forgotten something in the room and had come back alone to retrieve it, only to stumble upon this scene.
An agonizingly long silence followed.
As the three of them locked eyes in the mirror, Sera finally reached a conclusion.
"Have you two... developed a bit of a complex?" she asked.
Specifically, she meant a complex regarding their first loves—the kind of obsession that would drive them to secret dress-up sessions.
Licia and Fiona’s faces flushed a brilliant crimson.
"W-We haven't developed a complex!" Licia stammered.
"Then why are you wearing those?"
"It’s not what you think! It’s a misunderstanding!"
"I really don’t see how this could be anything else..."
Sera began to back away slowly.
"S-Sorry!" she blurted out, sounding as if she’d witnessed something forbidden.
She turned and fled the room. In a panic, Licia chased after her and grabbed her arm, but her momentum carried them both out into the hallway.
They ran straight into Ren, who had arrived at the door with Sera just moments before.
"...Um?"
Ren fell silent, scratching his cheek with a wry smile. The sight of Fiona standing further back in the room was now burned into his memory as well.
Licia’s face had never been redder. She’d never expected her harmless curiosity would lead to such a disaster. Without a word, she pulled the door shut, her eyes wide with shock.
Sera remained in the hallway with Ren.
"I... I didn't even get my things," she muttered.
"They'll probably be out in a few minutes. It might be better to wait until then," Ren suggested.
Sera didn't seem to mind the wait, satisfied by the rare sight she’d just witnessed.
"Wasn't Vane with you?" Ren asked.
"No. He's at the manor practicing his swordsmanship with my father. I came back without telling him because I didn't want to disturb his training."
As the setting sun bathed her face in a warm glow, Sera thought of her childhood friend.
"Vane is working so hard... I have to make sure I don't fall behind."
Since his lineage as the descendant of Hero Ruin had been revealed, Vane’s growth had been nothing short of explosive—exactly the trajectory Ren had anticipated. Ren looked forward to the future of his friend, who was sure to become a formidable ally.
"I told you before, right? Vane is incredibly nervous about giving his speech at the Imperial Castle Conference."
"I can imagine. But I’m sure he’ll pull it off. He'll look the part."
Vane would surely present a gallant figure before the assembled nobility. And one day, the time might come for him and Ren to draw their swords together.
Whether as brothers-in-arms... or perhaps as rivals.
A few minutes later, Fiona peeked out from the changing room, having finished changing before Licia. She ducked her head, her cheeks still burning.
"See you later," Sera said, slipping past her into the room. She clearly felt no need for reserve now that only Licia remained inside.
Ren struggled with how to approach Fiona. For all the battles he had faced, this social minefield was proving far more difficult.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to spy on you," he started, offering an immediate apology.
"N-No! It’s I who should apologize for such an embarrassing sight!"
"Actually, you looked very cute."
"!!??"
Being called cute by Ren was a dream come true, but being told so unexpectedly after such an awkward incident was more than she was prepared for.
Overwhelmed by a wave of joy and bashfulness, a scarlet-faced Fiona buried her face in her hands, her eyes brimming with happy tears.
"...Thank you," she managed to whisper, slowly regaining her composure. "And... I'm sorry for making you wait."