Alice sat on the balcony, her gaze lingering over the town and the village that a singular, extremely powerful maiden had unleashed upon it within the span of a dozen minutes. The attack had been quick, brutal, and efficient. In their wake, they’d left the external defenses crumbled as if two bombs had gone off on either side of the town. Several dozen houses had their rooftops crumble, and the medicen had looked like the upper floor had had a fire.

The psychology teacher carefully remained quiet, her ears straining to the conversation that was going at the entrance of the manor.

“The farmer whore did something to my nephew! They must have kidnapped him!”

“Ma’am, if it was an elf-.”

“They were clearly in cahoots with the monster! And you failed to save him! I will have your head for this!”

The voice was shrill, like nails on glass. Ms. Dodson was intentionally making a scene, pressuring the knights to inform the Earl. To inform him that her nephew had been ‘kidnapped’. It was a consideration that had concerned Alice as she’d heard of it, as none of the people she’d talked to had ever mentioned there being some independent group of maidens within these parts of the kingdom.

It didn’t bode well.

“Miss Smith?”

The voice came from May. The young student who’d lost her cousin that first day they’d landed on this world. The quiet girl who’d stood in the background and gone with the flow. She reminded him of Barry, in a sense, save she looked far more eager to spend time on her own than anything else.

“Something troubling you?”

May nodded absently, taking the seat opposite to Alice’s.

“I think I’ve changed my mind.”

“About?”

“About the academy.”

Alice was half of a mind to follow through, merely nodding to prompt the younger woman to continue at her own pace. The thought of the military academy was something heavy on everyone’s mind, since it was the current destination they were set on.

“After the attack, I think I’m not fit to… being in a fight.”

The tone in May’s voice caught Alice’s attention. “You were there?”

“I was near the western gate.” May nodded, her hands laying on her knees. “And I… was paralyzed. I saw her coming, knew she’d be close, and… the knights protecting me asked if they should fight.”

“Oh dear.” Alice stood up, pulling her seat around the table so she’d sit next to May. “You asked them to stay put?” May nodded at the question. “That’s ok, you kept them safe.” She grasped May’s hand, squeezing reassuringly. “So no military academy?”

“I don’t think I’d make a good fit.” The younger woman shook her head. “And… when we were sitting there, just… waiting for the attacker to leave, hoping she wouldn’t notice us, I’d been thinking.”

“About what?”

“Pokeballs.”

There was a pause. Alice blinked, thinking back to the device the Baron had used to contain Monica. She held back the grimace, looking at May and focusing. “What about them?”

“I’d been thinking about the fighting, and the hiding, and… just trying to run, escape from it, you know? Look for someplace safe. Couldn’t pokeballs be used for that? If things are ugly, just… put the ball someplace safe, with the girl in it.”

“I guess that could be one use for them, yeah.” Alice nodded reassuringly, sighing wistfully. “Shame humans can’t go into them. The knights and villagers had been very worried over that, too.”

“Hm? How so?”

“Oh, it’s… you know.” May said, sighing. “During the feral attack, a lot of maidens lost their families and home, and had to travel so they could find someone to bond with. So they’d been feeling the pressure because there weren’t that many humans they could bond to.”

“Yeah, that’s certainly…” Alice’s eyes turned to look away, her brow furrowing. “Huh.”

“Miss Smith?”

“Helga?”

“Yes, ma’am?”

May squeaked in her seat, jumping slightly as the Valkyrie dropped to the balcony’s railing, her wings spread wide for a moment before folding tightly. “You were listening all this time?” May spoke with a tiny voice.

“She’s always within earshot range.” Alice declared. “She’s got a great memory, so she can help me remember details if I forget anything.”

Helga didn’t respond, her cheeks taking a slight blush as she bowed her head. “Would you need anything, ma’am?”

“The situation with the maidens, those who survive feral rushes.” Alice replied.

“It… is an unfortunate truth, yes.” Helga nodded grimly. “Maidens who’ve lost their owners in a rush usually are left with little more than the clothes on their backs. The kingdom requires all families that have lost their homes to travel to the larger cities.”

“To avoid maidens going feral and to have the humans help ensure all maidens have a partner.” Alice replied. “Right?”

“Yes.”

“That’s part of the reason why there’s so many ferals… I think? I remember reading the ferals could reproduce.”

There was a quick nod. “Parthenogenesis. A maiden’s body can self-impregnate under the right conditions. Ferals grow in number because of that.” She slowly shook her head. “But getting back to the matter, I think I was wrong about Natalie and the business idea. I was looking at it all wrong. We might just need to-.”

“DID YOU NOT HEAR ME!?”

Everyone paused, glancing over to the edge of the ongoing argument that had, apparently, escalated while they hadn’t been paying attention. Alice looked over the railing, but the angle was a bad one to spy on what was happening directly, though judging by the number of knights present, she suspected Ms. Dodson wasn’t talking to the knight captain anymore.

“Are you sure there was a charmer?” A male voice spoke, tense. The Lord?

“It’s the only way. Barry wouldn’t have disrespected me so. He was always such an obedient boy.” Ms. Dodson proclaimed with that air of self-assurance she always carried whenever on a tirade. “Something happened to my nephew and I’m certain the bond had something to do with it. She was no elf!”

“Is this true?”

“She wielded aberrant and magical elemental energies.” Another voice spoke out. “This is indeed true that it would be very odd for an elf to use such powers.”

“It would be impossible! It must be a charmer.”

“What’s a charmer?” May wondered, speaking in a low voice.

“They’re… threats. Very dangerous ones.” Helga spoke darkly. “Maidens that were specifically made to twist the hearts, souls, and minds of others. It varies on the breed, some have the ability to break bonds, others can use the bond to control their owner. Overall, they were hunted down long ago, before even the rebellion. There being one this far into the kingdom is a very bad sign.”

“Really?” May looked surprised, to which Helga gave a grave nod.

“Charmers are very dangerous maidens. They have abilities that allow them to directly manipulate emotions of others,” she said.

“That kind of does raise the question of nature versus nurture.” Alice declared with a curious look.

“… ma’am?”

“No, it’s just something academics would blow a fuse over.” The former teacher declared. “Though relevant, I guess. If you’re a maiden breed made to be a farmer, and you work as a farmer, was that your choice? Or were you locked into that path by what you were born as?”

“The circumstances of one's birth are irrelevant. It is what you do with the gift of life that determines who you are.” May spoke, and immediately shrunk as the others looked at her. “It’s just a neat quote from a very old movie.”

“Sounds familiar.” Alice frowned.

“Yeah, it’s just something from the late 1900s, so I’m sure you would know.”

May giggled, and Alice leveled a glare at her.

“That was a low blow.” The older woman replied with a heavy sigh, glancing at Helga, the Valkyrie having merely stood there and nodding along. “Thanks for the help. By any chance would you know where Natalie is?”

She preened at the praise. “I don’t know, but I’m sure finding her shouldn’t be a problem.”

“Then could you pass on that I want to meet her?” Alice smiled slightly. “She might like the news.”

“News?”

She smiled at May's question, nodding. “I think we might have a way to help. And make a living out of it.”