As always Giliath demands your power stones!
*****
The hidden villa, Eternal Spring. Recently constructed in secrecy, this villa holds one
purpose. To allow girls of Naoto's royal harem in-the-making to relax and do whatever they please. It was equivalent to a resort and spa, but solely for them. And eventually, for Naoto as well. He is still young to consider such actions. Perhaps in a few years time, but not now. It was already enough that Naoto received those lewd photos that two of his lovers captured. Another girl, Emma, also partook in that fun, but her exposure was way less than what Naoto's two lovers did.
A violet-haired girl dressed in a purple and white frilly one piece dress calmly strutted about the open courtyard, which had a large foot-bath in its center. Reminiscent of the one situated in Ymir. The other girls who came with her were not present. That didn't mean she wasn't alone, though. A rather muscular brown and short-haired man donned in a green uniform and beret, equipped with a standard orbal rifle of Liberl's royal army, stood beside her.
"You know you don't need to constantly be beside me, Hearts. I can fully protect myself.", Renne said, observing the muscular man before her. He simply shook his head in discontent.
"No can do, young miss. It's not like I'm denying the strength you possess. You even possess that giant robot at your beck and call. This is more of an ease of mind, so Master doesn't need to have another worry on his mind while he's separated from you.", Hearts said.
"Hmm-hm. That may not necessarily be true. You're an ex-assassin. Not only that, you used to be the best of the best in the Garden of Swords. Those assassins haven't caused much trouble lately ever since they launched the attack on Reinford HQ, but you needn't care about your former employer now. Your so-called Master offered freedom, and you took it. How does it feel to work an honest soldier's minimum wage?", Renne mused, humming as she asked that.
"If I'm being honest here, it's kind of liberating. Every single action you take isn't scrutinized by your superiors. All that you are is a soldier in another person's eyes. Follow the orders given to you, and you can do whatever the hell you want. I've completed basic training, so I'm waiting to join an official squadron."
"But I just have one question. I was temporarily assigned here to safeguard Master's villa, but why the blindfold?", Hearts questioned. If one had a close look at his towering figure, his eyes were completely hidden away by a black blindfold over his eyes. In fact, he wasn't the only soldier in green patrolling this place. A few other soldiers were patrolling about, equally wearing this same blindfold.
"Teehee, that's a simple question to answer. You were told the purpose of this place, yes?", Renne said.
"Of course. I know the answer, but still. The less eyes on this place, the better. It's just a bit weird having to walk around with a blindfold twenty-four seven. But then again, it does serve good training, allowing my other senses to stay sharpened.", Hearts replied.
"It's good, you know. Otherwise, I wouldn't mind chopping you up into tiny little bits if that blindfold somehow came off~", Renne teased. Her eyes squinted and she was very serious.
"I...don't doubt your ability to do that. Trust me, this blindfold is tight.", Hearts said, feeling a cold sweat drop down his back. In a way, both Renne and Hearts once held the same occupation, in the games at least. Renne was trained to kill, as Hearts was. But she joined Ouroboros, which was much less on the killing aspect. The Garden of Swords and overall the Gardens, were tiers above Ouroboros when it came to killing. That's all they did.
Well, he may be named Hearts now. But he once held a different name. Ace Rayne. The unspoken older brother of Nadia Rayne, a character who would debut in Reverie. Also an ex-member of the Garden of Swords. She, together with a person called Swin, would eventually escape that place in hopes for a better life.
This time around, Hearts didn't know what he was going to do in regards to those two, but right now, he is taking his new position as his primary focus. Presently he was a soldier, and temporarily, a posted guard at this villa.
"I'm just joking. I've left the world of slaughtering behind, for the most part. I'm a student now at St. Astraia. I may still be a member of Ouroboros, but my focus has started to shift to what I want to do.", Renne responded. What Renne said is true. It would take another few years for her to realize this in the original games, but Naoto interfered with Renne's life during the cult events. That strove her to figure out what she wanted to do earlier than what originally took place in the games.
Estelle shouldn't even know that Renne exists right now, and yet, she does. Joshua knew, but he kept silent about Renne's situation until she made her first appearance. That's how much influence Naoto had on Renne. As to whether Renne will join the Bright Family this time around, that remains to be seen. Presently, Renne was going to have some fun exploring the labyrinth buried beneath this lake, then continue studying at St. Astraia to watch Naoto's "tea party" unfold.
Right now though, if one had a close look in Renne's hand, it was a newspaper.
"Either way, it seems like we've both chosen our paths for the time being. I am quite curious about the tea party you are referring to. Master said it's taking place next month, yeah?", Hearts asked.
"It sure is. It's bound to leave a mark on this world. I'm afraid I don't know much of it, personally. If there's someone who's in the know, it's Emma. She'll be guiding Big Brother during the tea party. All we really have to do is sit back and watch the show unfold~", Renne teased, giggling.
"Is that so...", Hearts uttered, wondering what it is that Naoto was going to be up to in the coming month. It was, of course, the Vermillion Trials. He decided to add a bit of flare to the event, and that was this announcement to all of Zemuria. His engagement party with Alfin that will take place the same day he plans to resurrect the Infernal Castle. He wanted it to be a show to remember, so he's going to invite nobles and commoners from all around the continent to bear witness to it!
It's not like there's any evil machinations happening behind the scenes this time around. Originally, that was because of what Duke Cayenne wanted to achieve. He hasn't caught a single whiff of Naoto's plan. The moving of the people had yet to take place. It's going to happen swiftly, and he won't have time to react to it. It may bind Naoto to the events of the eventual Great Twilight, yes, but who wouldn't want to pilot a mecha as cool as one of the Divine Knights?
If there's a plus, Naoto wasn't one of those Immortals like the Lance Maiden was, who was on borrowed time. His body and soul was of his own. Testa-Rossa is latched onto it, but that's all there is. He could participate in the Great Twilight without having to worry about vanishing after the events finish.
"Anyways, I've arrived at the place I want to be for the time being. I want to get a bit of sun before diving into the labyrinth. Emma has already taken Ennea, Musse, and Fie with her. It's just Angie and I back here for the time being. Being serious here, you can go do what you want, as long as you keep your primary objective at hand.", Renne said as the two arrived at the entrance of Eternal Spring. From here, it would be a few minutes walk where the beach was.
"Loud and clear, young miss.", Hearts replied, giving her a soldier salute.
Renne smiled seeing Hearts do this. With the newspaper in hand, she continued wandering down the road, and saw the beach presently occupied by a sole figure resting underneath an umbrella perched to the side, providing some shade. Renne saw a violet-haired woman wearing a two piece bikini, also being violet in color, currently reading a book while she enjoyed the sun striking against her body. Renne will be doing this too shortly, but she decided to greet the woman. She was a little over a year older than Naoto, and will eventually enroll in Thors Military Academy in two to three years time. If she still intended to like the games.
With Naoto's new study plans, it should align in such a way to where he can experience Sky FC and SC in his first year of studies, hang out with Van and his friends at Aramis Academy while he is still in school before becoming a drop-out, and then study at Thors Military Academy, joining Crow's class. Crow's class would test the Arcus devices alongside Towa, Angelica, George, and Sara to see if Class VII should be realized or not. Naoto plans to be a part of that testing. It's just that he already has an Enigma II, which is essentially Crossbell's version of the Arcus. Who knows if he will decide to upgrade his device then.
That's all for the future. It won't happen until cold steel begins.
It was vacation-time now. And many people were enjoying their time off, whether it was for fun, or for adventure.