As Sigurd prepared to move his family into the keep, Ailn met with Renea in the castle garden, where she'd lately spent most of her time. Getting a puppy seemed to have helped her move past her habit of moping in bed.

It had been just two weeks since he was last in Varant. Yet those weeks had been so eventful, it felt as though the time had stretched far longer.

"There's another festival, already?" Ailn asked. "The Wolf Festival wasn't that long ago."

"Well, it's the summer solstice…" Renea frowned, gently stroking Sir Pup's fur as he slept in her lap. "When else would you hold the Festival of Light? Without God's gift, we'd be helpless against the darkness."

Ailn held his hand to his jaw as he thought. "Do I need to make a public appearance?"

"It would be good to," Renea said thoughtfully. "But it's Sophie more than anyone else who needs to—Sigurd too, really. The Festival of Light is a celebration of the divine blessing. And neither of us…"

A frown lightly tugged down at her lips as her eyes creased.

That was when Sir Pup woke with a start. He tumbled to life in Renea's lap, rolling onto his back and rubbing his nose against her. His little yipping barks seemed to chase away her troubles and she started giggling.

She started to scratch behind the puppy's ears, but her hand stilled.

"Is Sigurd's daughter really a reincarnator…?" Renea asked, absentmindedly letting the still-teething Sir Pup chew at her glove. "It's like our family's a magnet for wayward souls…"

"No kidding," Ailn said. "If I'm right, she's not the only one either. I'm almost certain Horace Gren is a reincarnator, too."

"Ennieux's husband?" Renea gasped. "I've known him all my life and never even suspected. I suppose in retrospect, the way the maids would always act around him…"

She was halfway to her usual habit of biting her thumb in thought, before remembering her gloves were covered in dog drool.

An odd look crossed her face as she picked Sir Pup up.

"Elenira's a reincarnator too, and she's an elf…" Renea mused. The puppy's tail began to wag in anticipation. "Then what if Sir Pup—ah!"

Sir Pup leapt up and began licking her face enthusiastically.

"Well, if you ever catch him reading or doing math, let me know," Ailn shrugged. "If the job scope extends that far, then I'm screwed. I can't exactly go swamp-wading to investigate every alligator."

"It's a big job either way, Ani," Renea murmured. She hugged the puppy close, even as she twisted her face away from its tongue. "What are you gonna do about Viscount Gren?" Then, after a moment's thought. "Or Bea even?"

"Bea's eyes… there's a lot to explain there," Ailn said, rubbing his temple. "For now, I'll check if they're a burden to her. And if she wants to keep them for now, she can. Right now the ruby's more important."

He crossed his arms. "That reminds me. I know you were young, but I was hoping you could help me understand more about the rift between Ennieux and Horace."

"What?" Renea blinked at him, mystified. "Why?"

"Well, uh…" Ailn hesitated, wondering whether Camille might be embarrassed if Renea knew what she'd asked of him. "Let's just say someone was hoping I could help them see eye-to-eye."

"The two of them were distant with each other before I was ever born," Renea said. Her stroking of the puppy's fur slowed down thoughtfully. "It isn't too unlike our… my parents. It was an arranged marriage, loveless and practical. I heard he had a bit of a reputation before he met her…"

Her shoulders sagged as she talked about it. "It's not as if I've ever heard them screaming at each other, though."

"So, Horace was over in Calum from the outset?" Ailn asked.

"No," Renea said, shaking her head. "He actually lived in Varant for years. He didn't settle at the Gren estate until Camille turned eight."

"Then what are Ennieux's thoughts on him?" Ailn asked, tone light. "If you don't mind me asking. Have you ever heard her go on an angry tirade about him?"

"...No," Renea said, her voice growing soft. "She gets very quiet when the viscount is brought up."

She bit her lip, uncertain if she should go on. "I always got the sense that whatever happened between them, he broke her heart."

Bea was having a tea party.

Specifically, she was in Ennieux's parlor—a room which, historically, had seen little use. But today it had many guests.

There was Bea, the guest of honor, of course. There was Camille, who'd come to speak to her mother about her father's imminent arrival. Then there was Nicolas, who'd come looking for Camille after hearing she'd returned from Calum.

And finally, there were three most esteemed stuffed animals in attendance: Aristurtle, Platopus, and Hawkrateez.

Ciel was currently in the knights' barracks. Long before her arrival, she understood her skills as an apothecary would mean little in a castle shared with the Saintess, on top of numerous physicians. So, she'd gone seeking ways to be of service. Sir Fontaine, never free of the mountain of clerical work demanded of a sergeant-prior, was more than happy to oblige.

Thus, Ennieux jumped at the chance to babysit. She dearly loved children.

"Are the honey cakes to your liking, Bea?" Ennieux asked warmly.

"Uhuh," Bea nodded. She wiped her mouth after taking a bite, as her mother had always taught her. "Mama doesn't usually let me eat sweets this early."

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"Then we'll just have to keep it as our little secret for today," Ennieux cooed. "And what of your friends? Are they enjoying the tea as well?"

Bea frowned, casting a sideward glance at Platopus seated to her right.

"Only Platopus isn't sure if he likes it," Bea said. Her eyes scrunched with disapproval, as if the guest she brought along was embarrassing her. "You're supposed to be grateful, Platopus…"

"And were Platopus given his say, what might he see fit to change?" Ennieux asked, her tone no less doting for all of Platopus's fussiness.

"He always wants everything 'ideal,'" Bea said. She gave him a pitying glance. "You have to live in the real world, Platopus." Then she turned to Ennieux apologetically, shaking her head. "Platopus is a little awkward, 'cause he used to live in a cave…"

As Ennieux and Bea discussed Platopus's stuffy opinions, Camille stifled a sigh so deep it felt like it would escape from her soul.

She was excruciatingly bored. She'd only been roped into this tea party because she'd chosen an inopportune moment to speak to her mother.

Glancing toward her brother, trying to meet his gaze for solidarity, she realized he was staring at the honey cakes instead.

"You should eat some," Bea said softly, pushing an extra plate toward Nicolas. Then, looking around, she said in a hushed voice, "they taste better than the knights' cake…"

Nicolas hesitated a moment before silently taking the cake. He was a tall and muscular man, still in his knights' uniform, so his gauntleted hands looked rather silly picking up the pastry fork.

But he closed his eyes in quiet reverie as he ate the honey cake.

"Shall I serve you a slice, Camille?" Ennieux asked.

"The honey cakes are too sweet for me, mother," Camille said, smiling serenely and attempting to sound as polite as possible.

"Of course," Ennieux replied, her voice touched by the faintest disappointment. "I recall now—they've never been to your taste."

Camille felt a twinge of regret at the shift in her mother's tone. It was only a slice of cake. There was no reason for her to take it personally.

She cleared her throat. "That reminds me. There were many sweets served at father's estate as well."

"At the Gren estate, is it?" Ennieux asked, her tone lightly puzzled, as though she were unsure why Camille felt the need to mention it at all.

"Yes, father asked how you were doing," Camille said, her gaze unconsciously drifting down toward her teacup.

Ennieux hesitated for a long moment, her brow lightly furrowing. "Then… I suppose I should send a missive with one of the knights the next time they are en route to Calum."

"There will be no need actually," Camille said. "As father will be arriving in Varant within the week. Perhaps you could speak to him yourself—"

"Camille," Ennieux interrupted her softly. "Your father and I…" She glanced at Bea, biting her lip as she seemed to search for the gentlest rebuff. "I do not believe it would be wise for us to meet, Camille."

Her voice got quieter. "I'm truly sorry."

The table was only quiet for a few moments, before Ennieux refused to let the silence become bruised. "Well, then! Do tell me of your other friends, Bea," she said with a smile.

Bea brought a small hand to her mouth, thinking seriously.

"Hawkrateez… Hawkrateez has lots of friends. But also lots of enemies," she said.

She continued her in-depth explanation, but not before stealing a sad and sympathetic glance toward Camille, who was still staring at her teacup.

Safi and Ceric had been busy while Ailn was gone.

"A guild?" Ailn asked, trying to moderate his dubious tone. "An adventurer's guild?"

"Yeah! Just like the real ones!" Safi nodded.

"...The 'real' ones are boring craftsmen forming monopolies. Just so you know," Ailn said. "Who would even join—"

"People like us!" Safi declared, pointing at Ailn, then Ceric, then herself. "And people not like us!"

"I just want you to understand," Ailn started, "that those two categories together means literally everyone."

"It would be a true brotherhood of individuals from all walks of life," Ceric said, in a knowing, wistful tone.

Perhaps realizing their pitch was not immediately captivating Ailn, Safi launched into what was likely supposed to be the clincher.

"We'd be helping you with your job!" Safi explained. "'Cause instead of looking for them all alone, we could help you find them because we want them to join us! And—and because it wouldn't be just reincarnators, it's not like they could put us all to death! We'd be all mixed up!"

Ailn stared. "You understood that was a risk and still think this is a good idea?"

"It would be a salad bowl," Ceric said wisely. "Lettuce, in harmony with croutons. And if they had grievances with those croutons… they would have to pick them out."

"Alright," Ailn sighed. "Take it from the top. It's an adventurer's guild. What kind of adventures are we talking about?"

"Solving mysteries! Like Scooby Doo!" Safi yelled, both hands formed in fists.

"Is that what you're going to put on the charter?" Ailn asked.

"To seek the truths of this world and discover all its majesty!" Safi course-corrected.

"To find out why all of us, souls from another world, have been called here," Ceric said. "To find what it is that binds us, and if there is a deeper purpose."

Ceric looked Ailn in the eye, his tone as serious as Ailn had ever heard it. "I truly believe there is a reason all of us are here. And I know in my heart, that chasing the mysteries of this world will lead us to that grand purpose."

The sheer sincerity of it was almost enough to make Ailn's heart just barely sway. If nothing else, they truly believed in what he was doing.

Of course, that wasn't nearly enough.

"And the money?" Ailn asked. "How would it be funded?"

"Our adventures will surely bring in items of priceless value," Ceric said, as if that solved everything.

Ailn's first instinct was to balk. But it was true that he'd essentially done this himself, no less than a month ago when he'd gone searching for Noué Areygni's vault.

That said, he'd only gone after the treasure when he was already knee-deep in it, having accidentally stumbled upon Noué's mausoleum. Not to mention, even if Safi and Ceric did prove to be world-mystery-solving prodigies, it wasn't as if every mystery yielded treasure.

No, more than anything else, it simply wasn't a business plan. If Ailn were being extremely charitable it could maybe be compared to the kind of speculative expeditions historically proposed to monarchs—the kind that showed vague maps and promised hoards of gold.

"How would you fund your first expedition?" Ailn asked.

"That's why we're talking to you! Duh!" Safi said, tone exasperated as if Ailn were the unreasonable one.

"Varant's funds are Varant's, even if my main mission is to find reincarnators," Ailn said steadily. He tried to be as generous as possible, while still letting them down gently. "If I were to invest, I could only do so if I felt confident in profit. And I still don't feel comfortable making what amounts to a hitlist for our enemies."

Especially since he'd found out recently there was an organization searching for them, headed by his former fiancee, of all people.

"Then—then what if we proved it to you! We'll get members who are from this world so you'll know it runs like any other guild," Safi said, desperately grabbing for a lifeline. "And we'll get noble patrons and investors, so we have clout and then we'll be hard to touch so when people try to get the drop on us we'll go 'Do you even know who I am?' And—and—well we can't really go on an adventure to make a profit before we have the money to go on an adventure, so how can we show we're competent… Oh! Oh! Oh oh oh!"

Safi's fists bounced up and down excitedly.

"What if we caught a reincarnator?!"

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