It had been a long, difficult, and quite loud journey that had started 8 days ago. But at long last, the party had arrived at their destination, Tattoria.

Built into a large valley, flanked either side by lush green forests, which bordered its walls, and along the river flowing through it, its source at the large mounted located behind it. To Allisa, while it didn't have that same grandeur that Riser had; it nonetheless possessed a certain charm. Visibly, most of the buildings looked considerably older, possessing a 12th to 13th-century medieval look and noticeably smaller than that of Riser. However, there was something, almost tranquil about the surroundings. Despite being a fairly large city, the atmosphere was almost rural, with cobbled streets running along the main road from the gates, a small fountain at the center of the plaza, and bustling with people, many of whom didn't give off that 'big city' viable. Like Sterland Village, there were no humans around. Everyone she saw had cat ears at tails; similar to the woman they met in Soma Rand, Leone.

Of course, the one in more of a trance was Rodger, since this was his very first time in a big city before. Having spent his entire life within the confines of Sterland Village, he'd never seen a city in his life. He spent 5 minutes just gawking at the massive stone walls before Cliff physically dragged him through the gates.

Upon arriving the party assembled around the fountain in the center of the plaza. Allisa and Nel separated from the others to ask for directions to the Arch Sage's residence.

"Well hello there." An elderly owner of a stand nearby greeted them. "Don't see many humans come through here. So what brings you to our fair town?" He said in a very polite manner.

"We're looking for the Arch Sage's residence," Nel said.

Almost immediately the man's cheerful look vanished. "The arch sage... uh..." He scratched his head. "I-Is it important?"

Nel simply nodded, while Allisa looked a little confused.

"Ok... if you insist." The old man sighed. "If you keep going down Main Street you should find the building."

"Um... Is something wrong?" Allisa asked. She recognized that reaction from both Rowin and Junbi when Arch Sage Elaina was mentioned. It was a bit difficult to explain, but it gave off the impression that the person she was going to meet wasn't a pleasant person.

The old man shook his head. "Well, I've lived a long time and seen my fair share of Arch Sages in this country, and I can say with certainty that that woman is the worst by far."

"Ok, thank you for your help." Nel bowed and took Allisa by the arm and pulled her away before she could ask anything else.

"Best of luck!"

When they were a short distance away, she released Allisa's arm.

"What was that for?" She demanded while rubbing her arm.

"Before you asked something else. That man looked a little disturbed as it is." Nel replied.

"All I did was ask what this Arch Sage was like." Allisa pouted. "So.... Do you know what that was about? That's not the first reaction I've seen when she's mentioned."

Nel took in a deep breath. "Just rumors. Apparently, Arch Sage Elaina isn't-" She then paused to find the right words. "The nicest person in Avalon."

".... What's that mean?"

"It's just rumors so I don't pay much attention to it." Nel shrugged. "Some of them are quite ridiculed. One is that the reason why there's so little crime here is because the Arch Sage is more terrifying than the villains."

"Y-You're kidding, right?"

"Like I said, It's just a rumor," Nel reassured the worried Allisa before looking back over to the fountain-

"Oh no."

-And then facepalmed.

"What?" Allisa asked puzzled.

Nel pointed to the fountain where their friends were waiting for them.

"Wha-Where are they going?"

Robbed!

"Oh... Awesome!" Rodger's eyes beamed as he took in his surroundings. "So this is a city... It's just like what pa said it was."

"Oh yeah, this is your first time in a big city, right?" Max asked.

"Sure is," Rodger nodded.

"Gotta admit, this place has a totally different atmosphere than Riser has," Melvin said as he looked around. "Can't put my finger on it, but it feels safer than Riser ever was."

"See what ya mean," Max said as he put his hands over his head. "It's totally relaxing compared to that place."

"What's this Riser place ya keep mentioning?" Rodger asked the two.

"Oh, it's the city where I grew up," Melvin responded. "It's just over the ocean to the north."

"Oh cool." Rodger looked towards Max. "You from this Riser place too?"

"Hm, oh no," Max responded. "No, I was from a small village up in the mountains."

"Oh, so you're like me, huh?"

Max's face darkened slightly. "Um... I guess in a way."

Seeing Max's discomfort, Melvin stepped in and whispered into Rodger's ear. "Max's village was destroyed by a dragon. He was the only survivor." Rodger' turned his head with a surprised look. Melvin nodded in response. "That's where he got that scar on his chest. It's best not to talk about it too much."

"Oh... Right..." Rodger nodded and turned to Cliff and Yuki who were leaning on the fountain, Yuki with his usual scowl while Cliff was taking in the sights around them. "So... you're from this... uh... teea place?" He asked Cliff.

"Terra." Cliff corrected. "And yes. I was actually born in the same town as Allisa. But unlike her, I already knew about this world and was trained as a mana user. That said this is still my first time visiting this world."

"What's that world like?" Rodger asked, with a very picked interest.

"Oh is awesome," Max said. "They got these huge boxes that light up and show moving pictures, and these machines that give you candy."

"Whole place is boring if you ask me." Yuki interrupted. "There's barely anything to do."

"That's cause the only thing that goes through your head is fighting." Cliff sighed.

Yuki ignored him and noticed Max's glaring at him. A look that was slightly different compared to all the other looks he had shot at him in the past. "Something you wanna say, Pyro?"

Max grunted. "I still haven't forgiven you for what you said to Allisa."

"Oh Really?" Yuki snorted. "Like I care what you think."

Max growled and took a step towards Yuki. "This ain't the first time you said crap like that to her!" He snapped. "First day we met you, you nearly took her head off and told her afterward to quit!"

"And I meant what I said back then and still do." Yuki retorted while taking a step towards Max until the two were almost chest-to-chest.

Rodger looked a little confused as to what was going on.

"Don't worry. They always fight like this." Melvin said to him, letting out a deep sigh.

"R-Really?" Rodger hadn't seen Max and Yuki have one of their fights. In fact, he'd only seen them together twice and that was when they first met and when they fought off the vanguard of Celtic Hoard.

"All right, that's enough," Cliff announced as he intervened by pushing the two apart. "Both of you need to cool off."

"Not until that Sword Bastard apologies to Allisa!"

"Allisa this! Allisa that! She seems to be the only thing on your mind! Got the hot's for her or something?!"

"Seriously, not here you two."

"N-No... Unlike you, I actually care about other people!"

"Wanna say that again Pyro!!"

The two looked ready to kill each other while Cliff put more effort into keeping the two separate.

"Sh-Should we do something?" Rodger asked, feeling a little worried.

"I think it's better we stay out of this." Melvin sighed as he looked around, seeing if they were causing a commotion, then looked up and the sky and saw something coming towards the bickering men. "Huh?" he pointed at the thing that was starting to resemble a person. "What's that?"

"LOOK OUT BELOW!!!"

A girly voice called out just as the object collided with the three men, hitting Yuki in the back and catching Cliff and Max, knocking them to the ground before proceeding to tumble a few feet away.

"Least it broke up the fight," Melvin commented as he looked to see what had landed on them.

"Wha... what happened?" Cliff moaned, a little dazed.

"She landed on you," Melvin said, pointing to the perpetrator.

"... Myaaa...guess I overdid it." The culprit was a young girl, just touching her teens, Short blue hair with a long, thin ponytail. She wore a blue bodysuit with her belly, toes, and heels exposed, along with her fingers and thumbs, while strapped between her ring and middle finger. Two blue furred cat ears sticking out of her hair along with a blue tail wagging back and forth behind her.

"How the...?" Cliff looked at the girl and then looked up at the sky.

"Did... this girl just....?" Yuki asked, just as confused. "Where'd she fall from?"

Max looked up after recovering from the ground, also looking at the direction she fell at them from.

"Sorry bout that," The girl apologized before getting up and ran off.

"Well that was bizarre," Melvin said looking in the direction where she fell from. "Where'd she even fall from?"

"Probably from the walls," Rodger replied to Melvin's question.

"That's one hell of a long jump," Cliff said as he stood up and dust himself. His expression then changed when he was bushing his pants. "What the... My pouch is gone!"

Max and Yuki, who had also, just gotten up, suddenly gave the same reaction as Cliff.

"What the?"

"Mine too!"

The three then looked at the girl who was running off down a nearby allied.

"Oi!! Thief!!"

"Get back here you thief!!"

"Gimme back my money!!!"

Cliff, Max and Yuki ran off in hot pursuit.

"Wh-Wait for us!" Rodger called out as he and Melvin chased after the men.

"A thief that robs people she falls on. That's new." Melvin commented, almost laughing at the notion.

****

"It looks like they’re chasing someone," Nel said as she and Allisa watched the boys take off. "Maybe they were robbed."

Allisa let out an exhausted sigh. "Never a dull moment, huh?"

"That's one way to put it." Nel agreed. "Come on, let's make sure those idiots don't cause too much of a ruckus."

****

The blue-haired girl had stopped at a nearby park when she was sure she was far away from the square and pulled out three pouches she had just 'acquired.' "This doesn't look like a lot. Nya... Too late now I guess."

"Found you!"

The girl's tail jumped up as she was caught by surprise when her victims came round the corner.

"Nyew, how'd you find me?" She asked, a little surprised that they caught up so fast.

"N-Never mind that," Cliff said as he caught his breath. "Give back what you stole right now!"

"Yeah! Know how much food I can buy with that money!" Max added.

"Nye, Oh, this?" The girl said as she juggled the pouches around with one hand. "Sorry but I kinda need it."

"That's what all thieves' say," Yuki said as he reached for his sword.

"Myew, I guess. But I'm really serious... Pressa for one will hit me with a book if I screwed this up." The girl tried to justify while awkwardly scratching her cheek.

"Guess there's only one thing to do," Max said as he crouched down, flames building up below his feet.

"Uh... What are you doing?" Melvin asked.

"Don't worry, I got this," Max said as the flames at his feet rocketed him forwards towards the girl, aiming to tackle her. "Got ya-"

The girl, however, vanished before Max made contact-

"Eh? GHAA!!"

Then the girl landed on Max's head with both feet, embedding him in the ground before backfilling away.

"Wh-What the?"

The boys stood by with their mouths agape while Max struggled to free his head from the ground. What struck them wasn't her speed (Which was fast given that she dodged Max at point-blank range) but the fact that she managed to land on Max with enough force to embed his entire head in the ground.

"Sorry, too slow." The girl taunted sticking out her tongue at Max, who was still trying to tug his head free.

"Wha- mhhimhemmpe (Wha-What just happened?)" Max asked with his head still buried.

"You just got your ass kicked by a little girl." Yuki taunted as he walked past him before halting directly in front of him. "Now watch how a gone up handles this," He then stuck a leg forwards, and lowered his body, quickly turning the blade in his hands around so he would strike with the back of the blade, wouldn't kill her but in Yuki's hands would certainly incapacitate her.

"Myew... Are you a swordsman?" The girl asked, slightly excited.

With a menacing grin, Yuki charged forwards and swiped his sword across with enough force to generate an air current. As the winds died down, Yuki saw that the girl was no longer in front of him.

"Wow, that was awesome." The girl's voice came from Yuki's right.

Yuki still had his sword held out in his right hand, and as he looked to it, he saw the girl perched atop the blade with one foot.

Shocked, Yuki pulled his blade back and tried to get back into a combat stance. But before he realized what was happening, the girl had leaped off the blade, turned in mid-air and roundhouse kicked him in the face, launching him halfway across the park like a comet, coming to a halt upside down with half his torso buried in the ground.

Cliff, Melvin and Rodger found what they were watching a bit difficult to believe. A little girl was humiliating the party's strongest fighters.

"What the hell is that girl?" Melvin broke the silence.

"Whoever she is, she's definitely no ordinary thief," Cliff said, putting his guard up.

"GHA!!" Max finally pulled his entire head out of the ground and stood back up, clicking his neck. "Whoa, You hit pretty hard."

Yuki then freed himself from the earth, reaching for his sword that had flown out of his grip after being kicked in the face. "Oh... now you're dead, kitty," He hissed as he got back to his feet.

"Whaho, that little girl did that to you?" Max asked, with a slightly mocking tone.

"I don't wanna hear that from you!" Yuki snapped back.

The girl then turned and waved. "Well, It's been fun, but I gotta go." She was about to run off when a wall suddenly rose out from the ground.

"You're not gone anywhere." Rodger grinned with both his hands pressed to the ground.

Cliff and Melvin had broken off from him and took places around the girl, trying to box her in.

"Give it up," Melvin said as he readied his wand. "We have you surrounded."

"Just give us our money and well call it a day," Cliff added.

"Come on. Don't make this harder." Max added as he flared up his fist.

Yuki said nothing as he took his place, with a very strong 'I'm gonna kill you' look.

To any normal thief, this would be the time to call it in. But this thief simply smiled and took some form of martial arts stance, parting her legs while standing sideways, her right hand lowered while her left was held out in front of her. It seemed she was going to fight her way out of it, or at least try too.

Given her options, she might go for either Melvin or Rodger first. Cliff thought, trying to put himself in the girl's mindset while waiting to see if she will move first, or one of his hot-blooded friends.

The girl acted first, and to Cliff's surprise, rushed Max, moving fast enough that Max had little time to prepare himself. She landed with both feet on his face and used it as a springboard to launch herself towards Cliff, twirling around in the air to perform a roundabout kick.

Cliff only just managed to put an arm up to block the girls kick, even struggling to maintain his guard by the girl's surprising amount of strength. What the hell's with this kid?!

The girl twirled, launching two more kicks to Cliff before jumping back and somersaulted to a stop. Max then charged again, throwing a flaming fist, which the girl sidestepped out of the way with a twirl. Yuki then swung his sword at the girl who casually dodged each swing with her arms behind the back. After a heavy swing from Yuki she backfilled away, not having enough time to breathe as Cliff threw down a punch that shattered the ground.

The girl leaping away just before Cliff had made contact, skidding to a halt when she landed. Rodger then summoned out four giant hands around her. The girl leaped in the air again to avoid being crushed.

"Now we got you. Chain!"

Melvin conjured chains around the girl while she was in mid-air to seize her. However, before the chains caught their target, the girl leaped again in mid-air, avoiding them.

"WHAT THE?!" Melvin's mouth dropped open as he realized his chains missed.

With a smirk, the girl twirled around and then launched herself again a great distance to a nearby rooftop, turned to the bewildered boys and pulled a face before leaping to the other side of the roof.

There was a long silence as the boy's tried to comprehend what had just transpired, their pride shattered.

"..... What just happened?" Yuki broke the silence.

"Did she just... jump in mid-air?" Cliff spoke.

"Forget that!" Max yelled, pointing at the roof. "She made off with my food money!"

"So you were robbed?"

The boys were slightly surprised by a familiar voice. Turning they saw the girls standing a few feet away, Nel standing with her arms crossed while Allisa gave an awkward wave.

"... How much did you see?" Melvin asked, feeling both ashamed and embarrassed.

"We saw the ending," Allisa said. "You guys seriously just lost to one thief."

The boys didn't answer immediately, all looking embarrassed that what she said was true. "In our defense, that was no ordinary thief," Cliff said.

"I have to agree with that," Nel said. "Especially since she could perform a 'Sky Jump.'"

"Sky Jump?" Allisa looked to her.

"Exactly what it sounds like, a Mana focusing ability that allows you to jump in mid-air," Nel explained. "It's similar to Quickstep, but a lot harder to perform. Not even I can do it."

"S-Seriously?" Allisa looked astonished. If Nel couldn't perform something like that, that raised the question of who that little girl was.

"Ah, who cares! Let's go after her!" Max exclaimed.

"Yeah, a real man never leaves a battle unresolved!" Rodger added.

"We're not here to chase a thief," Nel said.

"And where are we even going to start looking?" Melvin asked the two. "If she's a thief, chances are she knows this place like the back of her hand."

"So we're just going to ignore this?!" Yuki exclaimed, waving his sword at the roof where the girl had fled. "Where I'm from, we cut the hands off thieves, and I'll be damned if I let that little bitch get away with my hard-earned money!"

"... Like he said, where are we going to start looking?" Cliff said. "And I don't think my ego can handle another round like that."

"And In case you forgot, we have someone we need to meet," Nel added. "We'll meet the Arch Sage, then you three can go after that thief."

The three she was talking to was silent for a short while before bowing their heads as a sign they agreed.

"I'm hunting that cat if it's the last thing I do!" Yuki snarled as he, Max and Rodger stormed off, leaving the others behind.

"For once I agree with ya. I'm getten my food money back one way or the other." Max said with his fists in the air.

"Mark my words Cat burglar, a Real man never forgets his grudges!" Rodger added.

".... How did you guys get robbed anyway?" Allisa asked.

"She.... Landed on us." Cliff answered.

Nel and Allisa looked at him with confusion.

"I was being serious," Allisa said.

"So was he." Melvin nodded. "My guess is she jumped off the walls and used that 'sky jump' ability to crash into those three."

"So anyway, you found out where the Arch Sage's residence is?" Cliff asked, changing the subject.

"More or less." Nel nodded as they began to walk after the three that had set off ahead. "For now let's just catch up to those idiots."

"Why? Are they going the wrong way?" Melvin asked.

"No but it's best we stop them before they get lost."

"Good point."

"Wh-wait!" Allisa stopped them, pointing to the damaged park behind her. "What about all that?"

The three stood there and looked at the scars that had been left behind by the fight that had occurred, before casually turning their backs to it.

"I don't see anything out of the ordinary," Nel said.

"Same here," Cliff said.

"Not a thing," Melvin said.

Allisa was a little taken aback by their response and took a quick glance towards the damage, which was two holes in the ground, a wall and four giant hands, a skid mark that looked like a meteor had just landed.

In the end, she bowed her head and let out a loud sigh. "... Yeah... Nothing out of the ordinary." She said to herself before running to catch up to them.

The Atelier

Back in Riser, Arch Sage Dran's residence was a very notable and grand building, both the interior and exterior. So by that logic, the party was expecting Arch Sage Elaina's residence to be just as grand. When they finally arrived, they immediately noticed that the image they had in their heads was wrong. It was noticeable, but certainly not grand. In fact, all they saw was a burnt-out ruin stretched out before them.

".... Uh.... This... can't be it." Cliff muttered.

"What a dump." Rodger blurted out.

"She seriously lives here?" Max said.

"I think she uses to live here before it became a pile of rubble," Yuki said to the two before looking to Nel, who was rummaging through the rubble. "Is this seriously the place?"

"Yep." Nel nodded, pulling out a plaque that had 'Elaina' just visible amongst the soot. "By the looks of it, this wasn't an accident."

"S-Someone burnt down the Arch Sage's residence?" Melvin muttered in disbelief. "Who would do something like this?"

"Someone who really didn't like her by the looks of it," Cliff responded.

"What do we do now?" Allisa moaned. "We came all this way to meet this lady and her place has been burnt to the ground."

"Yeah, sorry bout that. Would've given you guys some heads up but I didn't know when you guys would arrive."

The group turned around as a voice came from behind them. Approaching them was a tanned, blond-haired girl (With matching cat ears and tail), wearing a green combat dress with two sai's sheathed to her thighs.

"Uh... H-Hello," Allisa said, surprised by her sudden appearance.

The girl gave them a flick of her fingers as a small wave and a quick wink. "So you guys are Allisa Reed's party right?" She said lowering her hand. "So which one of you's Allisa Reed."

"Here," Cliff said, pushing Allisa out towards her, who gave out a small yelp as she hopped towards the girl.

"Oh, so your Allisa Reed." The girl said leaning in closer to Allisa, who backed off slightly. "Not exactly what I had in mind, but oh well." The girl chuckled as she leaned back. "Names Cornilia, though it a bit of a mouthful so people just call me Cory."

"Oh... um, nice to meet you," Allisa replied timidly. "Are you-"

"Yep," Cory nodded, anticipating Allisa's question. "I'm one of Arch Sage Elaina's aids."

"Oh, and... have you been waiting for us?"

"Yeah, kinda had to," Cory replied with a slightly exhausted expression. "Figured the first place you'd be arriving at would be the residence. And since it's... well, like that," She pointed to the rubble. "Someone had'ta come get you guys when you arrived. Was getten a bit worried though; what took you guys so long? Didn't think it would take a whole week to get here from Rosaria."

"There were some... complications along the way," Nel replied for Allisa.

"And while we're on the subject," Cliff spoke up, "what exactly happened here?" He pointed to his back at the rubble.

"Oh... well," Cory rubbed the back of the head, "... The mistress kinda pissed off some thugs and they responded by burning our place to the ground."

Everyone looked surprised.

"Don't worry bout it," Cory said, noticing their reactions. "If you wanna feel sorry for anyone, it's those guys who did this after milady found them."

A shiver ran down Allisa's back. "...She... killed them?"

"No no, even worse," Cory said with a very disturbed look.

"What could be worse than that?" Melvin asked, gulping.

".... Let's just say milady is a total sadist when it comes to punishing people." Cory replied, visibly shivering. "I think I still have nightmares about it."

Allisa then got a short, cold shiver of dread running down her spine, letting out a quick gulp.

"You should've seen those guys. It's those stereotypes for what you'd expect of bandits, big and smelling like a sewer. After half a day with milady, they threw away their weapons and started knitting sweaters for street kids."

There was a very long silence as the group contemplated the short story Cory had just given them all with very worried faces and a deep sense of foreboding.

"... Starting to think those rumors about her have some truth to it." Nel said.

".... This 'Erana' who you guys are going to see right?" Rodger said.

"Uh huh." Melvin nodded. "I'm starting to have a very bad feeling about this."

"Hey, don't look so nervous," Cory said to them, noting their glum faces. "You're all here anyway so you may as well go all the way, right?"

"... I guess," Allisa said with a sigh, feeling even more reluctant to meet the Arch Sage.

****

Cory led the party to the west of town, and then out of the city gates, then deep into the woods surrounding Tattoria.

"Uh... How far out are we going?" Max asked, looking back at Tattoria.

"Shouldn't be far now," Cory said. "We're using an Old Atelier as the Arch Sage's residence now."

"A... Ateller?"

"Atelier." Cliff corrected him. "It's a fancy name of a workshop, right?"

"Yep," Cory nodded to him. "Use to be an alchemist workshop long ago. I found it on a job once, and we've been using it as a hid out ever since. In fact, we spend more time there than we did at that old place."

"How come?" Rodger asked.

"Well most people don't really like us, so it's nice to have a remote place far, far away from the city. Plus the atmosphere was pretty sweet so we just accepted that place as our home."

"You keep mentioning others, how many are you?" Allisa asked.

"Including me, there's three of us," Cory replied to Allisa, holding up three fingers, "there's Me, Pressa and Meracle."

"Pressa huh?" Cliff muttered as he looked up, rubbing his chin.

"Something wrong?" Nel asked.

Cliff responded by shaking his head. "Na. That name just sounds familiar for some reason."

Cory continued. "Pressa should be at Atelier. She's a real bookworm and rarely goes out to town. Just saw Mary this morning, probably by running an errand for Pressa or milady so you might miss her."

"... And, you were waiting for us?" Allisa asked.

"Yep. No one really knows where the Atelier is, so one of us had ta come show you the way."

"No one really comes out here?" Allisa let out another sigh. "I'm really not looking forward to this...." She moaned.

Walking behind, Melvin looked a little down, keeping his head low as the group walked along the forest path.

"Something wrong?" Rodger asked him.

"Well...." Melvin let out a sigh. "I'm kinda with Allisa on this. I mean... I look up to my master, Arch Sage Dran. To me, Arch Sages are supposed to be wise, powerful and kind."

"... Well, she is two of those things at least." Cory said quietly.

"We haven't met her yet, but I'm already getting the picture that she's some bitch queen from hell." Melvin continued.

"Mmmm...." Cory hummed to herself, finding it a little difficult to disagree with him.

"... I-I'm sure that's not the case." Allisa said hopefully. "She might be nice... R-Right?"

"That sounds more like wishful thinking," Nel said.

"Think you guys are overthinking this," Yuki said. "Let's just meet this chick and get it over with."

"Yeah, that's the spirit," Cory said, turning rounds, walking backward. "Besides, kinda wanted to ask you about Terra." She asked Allisa.

"Oh... uh what do you wanna know?"

"No, nothing like that." Cory shook her head. "I've actually been there before on a mission."

"Huh? R-Really?!"

"Yeah, A place called Japan. I'm more interested in where you're from."

"I-I'm from America."

"America?" Cory hummed as she thought. "That's those two continents right?"

"Yeah, uh, I'm actually from the United States in North America."

Max looked to Cliff. "Is that where we are?"

"You seriously didn't know that?" Cliff asked annoyed.

"Yeah, that does sound familiar," Cory said. "Though I was only in Japan for a week, so I didn't really have time to sightsee."

"I see." Allisa nodded.

"Hey lady," Rodger called out to Cory. "I've been wondering, but what's this Arch Sage?"

"Oh right, I don't think we told you about it yet," Melvin said to him.

Cory then stopped suddenly and stared at Rodger.

"Wha- What's up...? Somethin on my face?" He asked a little freaked out.

"Oh, I just realized, you're a Samiet aren't you?" She said before suddenly approaching him and crouched down. "Aw, look how cute he is."

"C-Cute? I'll have you know I'm a- OWOWOW!!!"

Cory suddenly grabbed and pulled on his ears. "Aw, his ears are so fluffy." She said.

"You might want to let him go," Cliff said to her.

"Huh?" Cory looked up to Cliff then back to Rodger, who looked as though he was in pain. "Oh... Sorry." She realized his ears. When she did, Rodger flopped to the ground, rubbing his ears.

"Ow..." He moaned.

"S-Sorry," Cory apologized again. "I just get really worked up over cute things."

Rodger retreated and hid behind Melvin. "What are you doing?" Melvin asked.

"Getting away from her before she pulled my ears off."

"You know we're the same height, right?"

Cory sighed and scratched her head. "Said I was sorry," She muttered to herself. "Ahem! Anyway, to answer your question, the Arch Sages are made up of the 5 most powerful wizards in the world, and it's their job to make sure a war like the Age of Conflict never happens again."

"Age of conflict?" Allisa muttered to herself. "You mean the one with the King of Thorns?" This earned her some strange looks from Nel, Cliff and Melvin. "What?"

"How did you know that?" Nel asked curiously.

"Uh... Was I not supposed to know that?"

"No, that names popular history in Avalon. I'm just surprised you know about him."

"Oh... hehe... It's a little hard to explain." Allisa rubbed the back of her head awkwardly.

"Who's this Thorny guy?" Max asked, causing Cliff and Melvin's heads to drop.

"Your intellect really worries me sometimes." Melvin groaned.

"Even I know about him," Yuki said, "he's uh.... What was he again?" He asked Cliff.

"He's not the only one we need to worry about," Cliff said to Melvin, who both sighed in unison.

"Oh, the King of Thorns!" Rodger spoke up suddenly, causing Melvin, who he was still hiding behind to jump.

"You know him?" Allisa asked.

"Yeah, my Gran used to tell us horror stories about that guy. They say he was some kinda god that brought calamity and ruin to the human and elf world and death always followed. Acorden to her, the King of Thorns was the reason why we ran to the woods."

"R-Really..." Allisa gulped.

"Don't look so worried. Like I said, its history." Nel reassured Allisa. "In fact, the one who finally defeated him and brought peace was the hero, Arthur."

"He did?" Allisa said, glancing a look at her right hand. Will I be seeing that in my dreams?

Cory continued her explanation. "After the King of Thorns, the Arch Sages set up amongst one wizard from Terra, one from the Elves, one from the Cait Sith and two from the other human kingdoms that remained. It's basically their job now to keep the peace of this world."

"Oh..." Rodger nodded. "So like those... um... guys who keep the peace and stuff..."

"Peacekeepers?" Melvin suggested.

"Yeah, them."

"Peacekeepers Huh? Guess that's one way to put it." Cory said, putting her hand to her chin. "Since no one can deny that since the current Arch Sage took office, crime has plummeted."

"And yet people don't like her?" Yuki asked.

"YYYYeaaahhh, You'll find out when you meet her." Cory dragged out her response with another concerned look before she continued walking along. "We'll come on! Where not that far now."

Allisa signed as the party continued following her. "I'm getting a really bad feeling about this."

It didn't take long until the group finally came across a small cottage, overgrown with ivory along the walls.

"And we're here," Cory announced as she walked the party to the door and opened it. "Yo, I'm back."

The interior was, in a word, a mess. A large bookshelf covered the left side of the cottage with a workshop with a large cauldron dominating the left, books and paper littered all over though place, obscuring the fool completely.

"What a dump." Max blurted out before receiving a whack from Cliff.

"Don't worry, we're not much of housekeepers," Cory reassured.

"Oh, Cornilia. You back." A low female voice greeted them. Sitting on a couch was a woman with long light pink hair; one book in her hand, wearing an outfit that everyone could tell was a little too revealing.

"Yep," Cory nodded, pushing Allisa out in front of her. "And let me introduce the Goddess' Chosen herself, Allisa Reed."

"H-Hello!" Allisa greeted nervously.

The woman quickly glanced upwards, pushing up the glasses she wore to take a quick glance at Allisa. "Her?" She said in a very cold tone. "Isn't she a little too young?" She then looked back to the book in her hand.

"I-Is she-"

"No no, that's Pressa." Cory reassured Allisa. "Don't worry, she's always like that. Give her a book and don't piss her off and you'll totally forget she's even here."

"What's with her outfit?" Yuki asked, trying his hardest to look away while his face was growing increasingly red.

"Well... Given the option, she'd rather not wear anything. So this a compromise." Cory explained.

"S-She's barely warring anything!" Allisa exclaimed pointing at Pressa.

A Door suddenly slammed open. "What's with the noise? I'm trying to sleep."

"Oh, perfect timing," Cory said cheerfully as Allisa looked to the woman who had just entered. "May I introduce Arch Sage Elaina."

Given the image she had about her, Allisa was quite surprised by her appearance. Not only was she young, but incredibly beautiful. Long raven hair flowed down her back, complemented by her cat ears that stuck out from her head. She wore a long dress with a white jacket over the top part with a black half cape.

"Oh, humans." She spoke as she looked around at her visitors. "Sorry, we're closed. Come back... I dunno, never." She turned and was about to walk back to the room she had just come from before Cory stopped.

"Wh-Wait milady. This is Allisa Reed's party."

Elaina stopped and turned around. "Really." She said in a very uninterested voice. "About time, I was starting to think you chickened out." She looked to Nel and Allisa. "So which is it?"

"The blond girl," Pressa answered without looking up.

Elaina turned to Allisa. Her look was anything but amazed. "Her? Really?"

"Um... N-Nice to meet you." Allisa said nervously bowing.

"Nice outfit," Elaina said with a little smirk. "Good to see someone besides Pressa dressing up skimpy for a change."

Allisa shot up as her face turned bright red. "I-I'm not wearing this cause I want to!!" Nel had got those clothes when she first arrived in Avalon, much to her annoyance. She'd been meaning to change them but never got round to it as events always seemed to get in the way.

"I'm just pulling your leg, no need to get your panties in a twist." Elaina waved off casually. "So you're the Goddess' Chosen huh?"

"Y-Yes." Allisa nodded, summoning her sword.

"So that's Excalibur," She muttered before looking up at Allisa again, still not looking terribly impressed. "Dran spoke quite highly of you, though I have to say, I was expecting you to be a little... different."

"Wh-well what were you expecting?" Allisa asked as her sword vanished from her hands.

"Someone older for one thing." Elaina shrugged. "How old are you anyway?"

"F-Fifteen..."

Elaina then leaned in a little too close to Allisa, narrowing her eyes. "Hmmmm....." She hummed as she looked up and down Allisa's body, making her incredibly uncomfortable. "Hmmmmm...."

"Wh-What is it?" Allisa muttered, feeling very embarrassed as Elaina began to slowly circle her, still looking up and down at her body.

"Hmmmm...." Elaina continued to hum as she finished circling her and nodded. "Well... color me impressed."

"S-Sorry."

"My expectations of you were low to begin with, but it turns out you're even more pathetic in person."

Allisa felt a short, sharp stab of annoyance. It was beginning to become apparent why nobody liked her.

The others, who were just as shocked as Allisa, turned to Cory, who gave them an 'I did warn you' look.

Elaina, having finished with Allisa immediately turned her attention to the others. "So this is your party, huh?" She said, sounding just as unimpressed as she did when she studied Allisa. "Interesting, A Salamander, a Vagabond swordsman, Dran's gofer and his little brat, and a hunter." She turned back to Allisa. "I can't tell if this is serious or you're just in some kind of harem."

Allisa found it hard to believe that this woman held the same position as Dran. When she first met, Dran was kind and understanding to her situation. In comparison, Elaina was the complete opposite. In fact, she had the worst personality than anyone she had ever met in her life. By the other's facial expressions, they were thinking along those lines.

"Now I was told by Dran that you had five companions in total." Elaina glanced over to Rodger, who was hoping she wouldn't notice. "So who's the squirt?"

"R-Rodger..." He answered nervously. "I'm a San-"

"I know what you are and I don't really care." Elaina interrupted before turning to Pressa. "Hey, what's my schedule for today?"

Pressa closed the book she was reading and pulled out another book. "Today you have an audience with the king and queen, followed by a royal possession in Astrid Castle where all nobles and politicians are expected to attend, including you."

"Cancel everything," Elaina ordered casually as she took a seat at her desk.

"As you wish."

"P-Pressa?!" Cory exclaimed. "M-Milady, you can't keep shrugging off these things."

"But politics bores me," Elaina replied as she crossed her fingers together. "And I can think of a million better ways to spend that time."

"Hey, Is this how Arch Sage's are?" Rodger asked Melvin.

"No. Lest my masters not," Melvin said, trying his hardest to hold his tongue.

"Well if that's all," Allisa turned to walk away but was then immediately stopped by Elaina.

"I didn't say you could leave." She said.

"Didn't you call me over just to insult me?" Allisa asked, already losing her patience.

"I called you over to assess your values to the Arch Sages." Elaina corrected in a stern voice. "Dran's very adamant in proving that you have some values to our cause on the grounds that you are the Goddess' Chosen. To me, words are just words. If I'm to believe that you have value, I must see it first hand."

"But you -"

"Those are first impressions -which you failed. What I want is to judge you're ability." Elaina gave Allisa a little grin. "You can say no if you want. I won't mind, in fact, it gives me an edge over that idealist Dran."

Not feeling too sure about what the Arch Sage was asking, Allisa looked back to her friends, who looked a little indifferent due to Elaina's personality. "So... What do you want me to do?" She finally said.

"Well, I'm under the impression that you're adventurers," Elaina snapped her fingers, which caused Pressa to stir, "so, I have a job I need you to do."

"M-Me?"

"Not you specifically, I could easily go myself or hand this to the guild. But this seems like as good a place as any to test you so, why not."

Pressa then walked to Elaina and handed her a large tome with a page open. Elaina took the book and faced it towards Allisa, who approached it along with Nel, Max, Cliff and Yuki, with Rodger and Melvin stayed behind due to their size. In the book was an image of a circular stone tablet of what looked like a fox with nine tails.

"A few miles to the west are ruins called Löwe Höhle. Inside is sealed half of that tablet. I want you to go in there, find it, and bring it back."

"That's it?" Yuki asked. "Thought it be something tough."

"Do you want something harder?" Elaina asked, almost daring it. "If so then-"

"No No, this is fine," Allisa replied quickly. "So... what do you want it for?"

"I'll tell you if you're successful."

"... Can you... tell us what it is?"

"That's for you to find out."

"Not a lot to go on," Cliff muttered quietly.

"All we gotta do is bring this thing to you?" Max asked.

"Yep." Elaina nodded, keeping her eyes on Allisa. "Easy, right?"

Allisa didn't respond immediately, looking between the image and Elaina. "And if we get it for you, you have to admit you're wrong about me." She said as seriously as she could.

"'If' you're successful," Elaina emphasized, waving a hand at Pressa who handed Nel a map. "I won't hold my breath though."

Scowling, Allisa turned away from the desk, followed by the rest of the party, Max whispering, 'what a bitch,' under his breath.

"Oh, one more thing," Elaina called out to Allisa. "one of my aids will be accompanying you."

Everyone turned to Elaina in surprise. "Wh-one of them?" Cliff asked, pointing at Cory and Pressa, who looked just as surprised.

"No, I need these two." Elaina shook her head. "I have another aid that will be back any moment now."

"M-Milady?! You don't mean-"Cory stuttered.

"Not a good idea," Pressa shook her head.

"Wh-Who's coming with us?" Allisa asked, a little afraid given the reactions of the two aids.

Before anyone could reply, the front door slammed open. "I'm back!" A very chirpy voice said, which caused the guy's mouths to drop. Standing at the threshold was a small blue haired girl holding a bottle of milk. "Myew, we actually have costumes?"

"YOU!!!" Yuki yelled.

"Meow? Oh it's you guys. Long time no see, huh?" The girl said, fining ignorance.

"I see you've already met," Elaina said, slightly amused.

"Meet her? That girl robbed us!" Cliff yelled pointing out at the new arrival.

"Oh Mary," Cory sighed as she brought her hand to her face.

"Gimmie back my food money!!" Max yelled as he lunged at the girl who leaped over him and the boys, landing beside the desk sticking out her tongue before she was hit on the head with the spine of a book.

"You stole again?" Pressa asked as she brought the book back up.

"Ow...." The girl moaned as she rubbed her head. "I didn't have a choice this time!" She defended herself while giving her the bottle she was carrying. "You would'a hit me with a bigger book if I didn't bring you your stupidly expensive milk."

"I gave you the money for it this morning."

"I know, but it got stolen."

"You mean you robbed us cause someone robbed you?" Melvin asked, amazed by the irony of it.

"It's not like you guys had a lot anyway, I just barely had enough." The girl pouted.

Elaina chuckled to herself. " This makes thing slightly easier. Please allow me to introduce my newest aid, Meracle."

The girl smiled and bowed to the party. "So what brings you all here? Don't really see humans coming to meet milady."

"Uh Mary, we talked about this, remember?" Cory said.

"Hmmmm....." Meracle purred as she thought. ".... Oh you mean the stuff about the-" Her tail then shot up. "Oh! You mean its..." Cory nodded and pointed to Allisa. "So you're the hero?"

"Uh... I guess." Allisa nodded sheepishly.

"Wow, you're really pretty."

"H-Huh? N-No I'm not." Allisa turned red very quickly.

Meracle chuckled as she approached her and grabbed her right hand. "Well, pressed to meet ya. I'm Meracle St Gertrude." She introduced herself while shaking Allisa's hand.

"Nice to meet you too." Allisa nodded.

"Good to see you getting along so well," Elaina said cheerfully, with Cory and Pressa looking very nervous.

"Uh oh." Meracle's mood suddenly dropped when she looked at Elaina's face.

"What?" Allisa looked confused.

"It's nothing. She always has that look whenever she wants me to do a really lame job."

"How rude. Is that any way to talk to your master?" Elaina said sarcastically.

"Wh-Well... actually Mary-" Cory began before Elaina cut her off.

"Now now, I believe tradition dictates the leader of the party gives off the invite." She said, glancing at Allisa.

"H-Huh?" Allisa looked startled. "Wait... you mean...?"

"I believe so." Nel nodded.

"Wait, you're not serious are you?!" Yuki exclaimed to Elaina.

"You mean you're dumping her on us?!" Cliff added.

"Is that a problem?" Elaina asked in a tone that immediately caused both men to shiver.

"I don't get what's going on," Rodger said, trying to keep up with what was happening.

"Me neither," Max added.

Melvin sighed before answering the two. "Basically the witch is forcing the thief into our party."

"Good guess," Elaina said, making the three jump, "but if you continue to call me 'witch' I will place a curse upon you and your offspring."

"Uh... I still don't know what you guys are talking about." Meracle said.

Elaina glanced at Allisa, who was also struggling to keep up with the conversation. "Oh fine." She sighed. "Mary, you going with these people on the job I've assigned to them."

Meracle immediately perked up, highlighted by her ears and tail that visibly shot up.

"Now was that so hard?" Elaina asked Allisa.

"You mean, I'm gonna go out of the city! Not one of those lame shopping trips, but a real adventure? MYAHHAA!!" Meracle leaped with joy. The other two aids weren't looking joyed by what their mistress had done.

"Any particular reason why she's coming with us?" Cliff asked grudgingly.

"I have some important matters to attend to so I need her out of my hair for a while," Elaina said very bluntly, causing everyone to cringe.

"So you are dumping her on us,"

Elaina shrugged and looked at Allisa. "Well? Will you take her?"

Allisa looked to Elaina and then to the still excited Meracle. "I don't really have a choice do I?" She said letting out an exhausted sigh.

"That's the spirit." Elaina nodded.

"Yessss!!" Meracle jumped up. "No more stupid shopping for Pressa and Mistress!" She cheered before a milk bottle hit her square in the head. "What was that for?!" She snapped at Pressa.

"You bought the wrong milk, again," Pressa said.

As the two began to bicker, Allisa turned round to her friends, all of whom had very indifferent looks, with the exception of Nel who was chuckling slightly.

"What's so funny?" She asked.

"Nothing," Nel said. "Thing's are about to get even more lively."

"... Got that right."