Perhaps it was Teo Schwarzer who was the most shocked in this room. His eyes turned wide seeing Cassius Bright and Arios MacLaine enter the dojo behind Anelace, who just so happened to be Yun Ka-Fai's granddaughter.
"I can't believe both the Divine Blade and Divine Blade of Wind are in the same room...", Teo said in amazement. Seeing Teo amongst the group, Cassius looked at him with interest.
"Aren't you Lord Schwarzer who oversees Ymir? The town is quite lovely. I can see why it's famous for its hot springs, haha!", Cassius laughed, greeting Teo.
"I am. It is an honor to meet the Divine Blade, Cassius Bright. I can say the same to you, Divine Blade of Wind.", Teo said, keeping his tone respectful as he greeted the two.
"The feeling is mutual. Status holds little meaning here. We are all under the same banner.", Arios said, nodding his head, and greeted Teo. "Still it hasn't been long since I've earned this title. You've had it for much longer, Cassius.", Arios continued, looking at him.
"Haha! Don't sell yourself short, Arios. You passed my trial fair and square. And so did you, Cassius. Both of you are deserving to hold the title of Divine Blade.", Master Yun said, laughing.
Anelace also giggled hearing this.
"I know right, Grandpa? Both Mister Cassius and Mister Arios are super duper strong!", Anelace said, praising the two.
"You aren't wrong about that, Anelace. Why don't you get acquainted with Rean here while I go talk with the adults? You kids go have your fun.", Master Yun suggested.
"Okie-dokie!", Anelace happily replied, smiling at Master Yun. She then approached Rean, Elise and Shizuna and suddenly became a chatterbox, only to bring the three away to the break area. As for the others, the four soon got acquainted with one another.
"Now while those kids have their fun, I actually have something addressed to you, Cassius. There is something for you as well, Arios. This was the main reason I brought you two here today. The gathering is secondary, but I figured we could make the most of it. The new year is approaching after all.", Master Yun said, calling out to the two. As he said that, Master Yun urged the three to follow him into his study room. Seeing this, Teo frowned.
"Is it alright for me to join?", Teo asked, unsure.
"Master sent you the same invitation as he did to us. So there must be a reason for it. I do not see a problem.", Arios said, shaking his head. Teo could only nod his head at Arios's words.
Rean peaked his head out and saw Master Yun take his three guests into his study room. He wondered what the four had to talk about. Unfortunately, that interest only lasted for a moment as Anelace started up talking another storm about the most random topic she could think of. She was already getting friendly with both Rean and Elise. She had already met Shizuna a few times before this. At the same time, a calming scent of brewed tea began to waft around the dojo...
As for Master Yun, he approached his desk and reached his hand outward, and grabbed onto a photograph that was faced down. The other three arrived at his desk, and saw it.
"Is that a photo?", Cassius asked with interest.
"It is. I believe it has a person of interest related to you, Cassius. One of my other disciples in Calvard happened to take a picture of it by pure chance.", Master Yun said, beginning to explain the situation to them.
After Master Yun said that, he approached Cassius, and handed the photo over to him.
The moment Cassius's eyes landed on the photo, all color drained from his face.
"...This is!", Cassius exclaimed, shocked to his core. He saw that it was a restaurant of sorts. There was a bunch of water in the background. He could tell it was next to a large body of water, or perhaps the sea. A marine town. Several people could be seen drinking, eating, and chatting away to their heart's content.
Cassius's eyes shifted to one group in particular. His eyes landed on a violet-haired boy who was dressed in casual clothing. Not the casual clothing the boy switched into later on, this was the outfit that was lent to him by the blonde-haired man who sat next to the violet-haired boy. He was surrounded by several figures, and they were all happily talking to each other in the photo. Cassius even dropped the photo onto the ground, letting it slowly fall down.
It isn't often to see such an intense reaction from someone like Cassius.
"Is everything alright, Cassius? You've turned quite pale.", Arios asked, worried. Cassius soon regained his composure and his eyes turned serious. He then looked at Master Yun.
"Is this photo all but certain, Master?", Cassius asked, wanting to make sure what he saw wasn't fake.
"I am afraid so. That boy is related to you after all.", Master Yun said, sighing with a nod. He picked the photo back up again, and passed it over to Cassius a second time. It was then Arios got a good look at it, only to become confused.
"Who is this boy, Cassius?", Arios asked. He hadn't seen the boy before. Teo soon saw the photo too, and just like before, all color drained from not only his face, but his entire body.
'...Why is this boy here!?', Teo exclaimed inwardly, acting like he had just come straight out of Gehenna. 'Isn't he the other son of General Osborne who was declared missing!?'
Seeing panic written all over Teo's face, Arios's confusion just grew.
"Now you see why I brought you here too, Lord Teo. I can confirm the validity of this photo. What you see here must not leave this room. Otherwise, it could cause nation-wide turmoil.", Master Yun said to everyone.
Hearing that, Cassius sighed after a long moment of silence.
"So this boy really is His Highness...", Cassius uttered, still shocked at what he saw. "Thank you for providing me this information, Master. I cannot disclose the matter fully, but there has been a manhunt that's been ongoing. We have yet to find a lead. That is, until now."
"His Highness? Is this boy somehow related to you, Cassius?", Arios asked with interest.
"As long as this matter doesn't leave this room as Master stated, I do not mind telling you. The boy you see is heir apparent to Liberl's Throne. Crown Prince Naoto von Auslese. He was declared missing three years ago...I can't believe he suddenly resurfaced like this. What in Aidios's name is he doing all the way out in Calvard?"
"Your question is as good as mine is, Cassius. As for you Lord Teo, your matter is far more sensitive, is it not?", Master Yun asked Teo. It took a good moment for Teo to regain his composure, but he slowly nodded his head.
"It is. I am sorry but I cannot explain to you all any details. Perhaps one day, the situation will explain itself.", Teo said, shaking his head with a sigh.
"Then we won't press your matter further, Lord Teo. Still, a missing Crown Prince...The CPD has been receiving more and more missing persons' reports as of late. You aren't suggesting the two might be related, are you, Master?", Arios asked.
"It is very possible. But it is only conjecture at this point in time. I merely wanted you to provide you proof of what I saw. You may take this photo back with you to present to Her Majesty, Cassius.", Master Yun said.
"Thank you, Master. I am sure Her Majesty will be most pleased with this. Even if His Highness is out there somewhere, just this photo confirms he is still alive.", Cassius said, taking the photo with him. He then looked at Arios. "As for those with His Highness, do any of them ring a bell at all, Arios?"
"Yes. Some of those people beside the Crown Prince do fit the bill of what was reported to us. I can't think that this is mere happenstance...", Arios answered, nodding his head. "There must be something that must be going on in the shadows. We will try to find out what it is. The First Division is known to handle such cases."
"Haha, then I can leave the investigation to you, Arios. I am sure that stone-faced General would get an earful after seeing this. Just knowing His Highness is still alive will be proof enough. Liberl will be stuck, since His Highness is in Calvard at present. We won't be able to authorize our military to go retrieve him. I am already starting to feel sorry for General Morgan.", Cassius replied with a playful smirk.
"I feel this is something I shouldn't be hearing...", Teo retorted seeing Cassius talk about the Royal Army so casually like this. It is true Cassius retired from the military, but he is still kept up to date on most things, even if he can't read full reports. Courtesy of Colonel Richard. Hearing that, Master Yun laughed.
"Hoho, don't be like that Lord Teo. I'm just glad this little thing was able to bring some closure to you all. With that out of the way, you three are more than welcome to stay for a while. Where's the rush to leave? It isn't often the kids can happily meet with each other like this."
"That's what I like to hear! You've no objections, do you, Arios?", Cassius asked.
"Not at the moment. Master graciously invited all of us out here to get familiar. Is Rean Schwarzer truly your last disciple you plan to take in, Master?", Arios.
"Rean is. For the time being, I do not plan to recruit any more disciples. It will be up to them to see if they can earn the title of Divine Blade, as you two once have.", Master Yun answered with a nod.
"Very well. I did have a child earlier this year. Saya is currently looking after her. There was a slow period between that and the police department, allowing me to go on leave for a while. It won't be long until I return to the force, but this should make do for now.", Arios responded, causing Cassius to smile at him.
"So you two finally tied the knot. What's the brat's name?", Cassius asked.
"Shizuku MacLaine.", Arios answered.
"Hahaha! Now that's a nice name. I'm sure Saya is happy.", Cassius replied, smiling.
"I have no further comment on that.", Arios simply answered, turning his head away from that. Doing that earned a round of laughter from the four of them.
"Then let us relax for the remainder of the day. Your family is more than welcome to stay too, Lord Teo. You can even bring your wife up here to see how her son is doing. I do not mind.", Master Yun said to Teo.
"Thank you.", Teo said, smiling at him.
Just like that, the four of them joined up with Rean and the others. Down the line, Lucia joined in on the fun, and they all chatted away, enjoying the day as fellow disciples of the Eight Leaves One Blade School. The day passed by before they realized it. Gray snow clouds rolled in, and snow began to fall...
Meanwhile, back on the cruiser that was speeding along the Northern Sea.
Before I realized it, three days had passed. I decided to use this time to consolidate my Status Window, seeing everything that had changed. I quite like what I see! I wasn't idle during these three years. Thanks to Tamamo's hunts and the completion of a couple Quests, I am now Level 40! And with me being Level 40, that meant Tamamo was also Level 40!
Why don't I go into everything that has happened since then? Not every single Gamer Notification of course. Just the results. I pulled up my Stat Preview, and began reviewing it.