As always, Giliath demands your power stones!
*****
As Estelle said that, Joshua looked over, glancing at a nearby clock. It currently read 730AM.
"I do appreciate the hospitality you girls gave and it was nice to meet you all. Renne, didn't you say you had to leave around 730? It is time.", Joshua said.
"Is it time already? Unfortunately yes, we have a destination to go to. I wish we could stay longer. It was nice seeing you again, Estelle, Joshua!", Renne said before she hopped off your chair.
"Same. Nice place you got here. Very warm and cozy.", Fie said, standing up too.
"It was nice to see you all again.", Emma said, nodding her head.
"Tell that dad of yours I give my regards alright? You two take care now. Once I'm back in Grancel, I'll be sure to tell Shera how you two are faring.", Angelica said, getting ready to leave.
"We'd appreciate that.", Joshua affirmed.
"It really is a shame you have to leave already. I do appreciate you girls staying the night though. I'm glad we had enough space to go around. Last night was really fun!", Estelle happily responded.
After clearing everyone's plates away and bringing it to their sink in the kitchen, Estelle and Joshua saw the group of six girls head toward the entrance. Upon opening the front door, they were greeted with a breeze of cold air. It was sunny and a gray cloud could be seen here and there, but it was not presently snowing. All around the house, a few inches of snow could be seen, enough to where the sole wood stump in their backyard was tucked away inside it.
Once the girls stepped out onto the walkway, they could see their breaths.
"You know the way back to the town right Renne?", Estelle.
"Uh-huh. You don't need to worry, Estelle. We'll be off before you know it!", Renne said.
"Safe travels then. If you do come across His Highness, tell him I send my regards.", Joshua said.
"Will do.", Angelica nodded.
The girls soon left the Bright House, and Estelle waved her hand at them until they vanished into the nearby forest. Thankfully there was a main path to travel on foot until they reached Rolent.
Except that was where Estelle and Joshua were kept in the dark. Once they were out a way and the Bright House no longer being in sight, Renne's lips curved into a smile.
They all arrived in a hidden alcove within the forest. It was a wide enough area that allowed them to see the shining sun high above.
"So that was the daughter of the famous S-Rank Bracer, Cassius Bright huh? She's a very cheerful girl. She has a very straight forward attitude.", Musse said.
"You're right on that Musse. It was why I didn't mind becoming Estelle's little sister. I prefer Big Brother though.", Renne happily replied.
"I was beginning to wonder what relationship you had with His Highness since you remained aloof during our little pillow talk back at the palace. Are you really going to join Liberl's royal family?", Musse asked.
"I am not so sure if that's the best idea. I will see what Big Brother has to say about it first.", Renne replied, not sure about the matter herself.
"True. If Her Majesty suddenly declares there's a new potential heir to the throne, that would cause endless worry to the mayors. I'm curious to see what Naoto has to say on this matter.", Angelica also wondered.
"I was surprised to see you girls with a new face too. You're Musse right? You're attending that all girls school with Renne and Sherryl?", Angelica asked.
"I am. It is ever so nice to meet a fellow noble. I didn't expect you to be all the way out here in Liberl.", Musse said.
"You were vague on why you're out here again too, Renne. Just visiting Estelle wasn't all you had planned, right? Sounds like you're heading somewhere?", Angelica asked.
"Uh-huh. I wanted to see if you wanted to join in on the fun, Angie. We'll be quite busy from now on. It may or may not involve slaying some monsters~", Renne answered.
"Slaying monsters huh? Where exactly did you say you girls are heading to? I wasn't expecting you to be the type to actively seek out monsters for fun.", Angelica responded with a hint of worry.
"Oh, nowhere biggie. Just at the bottom of the lake.", Renne said as her eyelids slanted downward.
"E-Excuse me?", Angelica replied in surprise.
"It doesn't surprise me you would be surprised by this, Angie, considering you've been busy with your Bracer studies. We're heading off to a particular...area. It isn't open to the general public. It's enough to mobilize Renne, Ennea and I. Fie here is just tagging along for the experience, while Musse is the new girl of the group. We'll be testing out her combat capabilities. If you don't want in, now is the time to tell us.", Emma explained the situation at hand.
After all, the destination Renne had was none other than the Sealed Area. It was an endless labyrinth situated beneath the entirety of Valleria Lake. The only known entrance to this place recently got unlocked by the cooperation of four Enforcers that belonged to Ouroboros. Its entrance was situated inside Grancel Castle, but Renne had an idea to test Emma. She wanted to see if Emma could scout an area inside the lake without having to go directly beneath the castle to do so. Its depths were quite a ways down, but Emma wanted to try this out. This would help expand her mana pool if she could travel to and fro from the Sealed Area back to the outside.
Hopefully, it will give her enough mana to teleport their entire group, just like how Naoto has been secretly practicing his teleportation. He could easily travel from Leiston Fortress to Zeiss then to Grancel Castle, or from Heimdallr to Heimdallr Airport. Naoto could likely go all the way from Heimdallr to Crossbell if he was alone, but he didn't want to risk it since he was with his group. Instead, Naoto opted to travel by airship to Crossbell city to avoid the risk of mana burn.
And well, Renne had another particular area she wanted to visit to start testing this out. It wouldn't be at Grancel Castle.
But before the girls would depart from here, Renne wanted to ask if Angelica wanted to join them, which would make them a party of six. A decent-sized group that could cover each other's weaknesses and strengths.
Plus Angelica was a close-range fighter with expertise in Taito-style martial arts, the very same style Zin and Sherryl practice. Ensuring the frontline would allow them a much safer time inside the labyrinth.
"Are you kidding? There's no way I would miss out on a chance to move my body around. I can't help but wonder though, is this tied to the giant doll I rode on coming here? I'm still coming to terms that such a thing exists...", Angelica uttered.
"Kind of. If you want to hear more about it, you can ask Big Brother. It is as Emma said, the three of us and him are part of something. It is because of this that he will be staying in Erebonia for the next month. We will be returning there in due time, but I figured you wouldn't want to miss out on the fun, Angie.", Renne answered.
"I see. So there is a reason behind all of this then. I can take a wild guess as to why.", Angelica responded, nodding her head. She was one of the few people who knew about the plan to unify western Zemuria under one banner. And it looks like Naoto remaining behind in Erebonia during this next month is a part of it. Now Angelica understood the bigger picture a bit better. She knew Naoto was in Erebonia to do something, and it would seem she would need to ask him at some point.
Angelica knew she had her own little plan with Naoto, but that wouldn't prompt him to stay in Erebonia for a prolonged period of time.
That was because Naoto plans to erect the Infernal Castle. And adding to that, Naoto getting engaged to Princess Alfin was just a small droplet. It was an outcome Naoto didn't expect, but he was all for it. He enjoyed Princess Alfin's company.
"Looks like I'll be with you girls for the time being then. Where is the place you're heading off to next anyways? I doubt you plan to submerge directly into the lake, especially since you need to go to the bottom of it?", Angelica asked, showing doubt in her eyes.
"Now that's where the fun comes in~", Renne chimed. "And why spoil the surprise? You'll see it once we arrive. Can you do the honors, Emma?", Renne asked the plum-haired girl.
"Understood.", Emma said, nodding her head.
"I still can't believe magic is a thing.", Musse retorted, seeing Emma take out her staff.
"I'm still a witch-in-training unlike Naoto, so don't expect too much of me alright? I know you have high hopes for me Renne, but we might need to resort to going back to the castle.", Emma said.
"Heehee, don't sell yourself short, Emma. Haven't you trained this last year alongside the Steel Maiden? I think you can do it!", Renne said, trying to encourage Emma.
"We'll see. For now, it's riding on Pater-Mater.", Emma said, before doing a quick chant as she unleashed a bright glow of mana around them. In the near distance, what appeared to be empty space began to distort, causing a giant reflection to appear. A large mechanized doll suddenly appeared, coming out of hiding. Emma used her magic to cloak it, so it was hiding in plain sight.
"Musse might be surprised by the existence of magic, but I'm more surprised to see this thing. I didn't think we'd be capable of making such giant dolls. It's really lifelike too.", Angelica mused seeing Pater-Mater again. It was the second time she had seen it. Renne first revealed its existence to Angelica after picking her up in the outskirts of Grancel City. Angelica's eyes almost popped out of her sockets the first time her eyes glanced on Pater-Mater.
"Pater-Mater definitely is special alright. I'm the only one that can pilot Pater-Mater too.", Renne answered. As she said that, the doll's eyes glinted red for a brief moment, before starting up on its own. It was an autonomous doll that could perform several actions as long as Renne told it what to do. It was still early in the Trailsverse though, and Pater-Mater's maker hadn't installed a self-awareness program yet inside. That wouldn't happen until Renne takes Pater-Mater back to Rosenberg Studio for repairs during Zero.
Still, Pater-Mater began to kneel down, making cranking-like sounds as it knelt. Its large hands turned flat, allowing the girls to jump on them. Three girls on the left, and three girls on the right. Once everyone got settled onto Pater-Mater's hands, Renne yelled out their next destination.
"Pater-Mater, onward to Bose!", Renne declared.