The knowledge of a war nearby put a damper on the day. They spent the morning watching the students train, then they followed them to a lunch banquet that Cesco had prepared the night before.
A third of the people at the dinner were at lunch, but she also saw new uniforms amongst the more casual wear of the previous arrivals. The students all sat together this time; a group taking up the majority of the main table, this time with Cesco alone at the head. Knight Rose was amongst her people at another table.
Since Hisako and Eiji had arrived with the students, they sat at the end of the main table. She kept quiet as she ate—everything she had to say, she had to say to the two people not there; she hoped they had gotten as much information as they had.
She didn't eat much either; there was a feeling akin to dread taking up room in her stomach. Eiji's face mirrored hers. It looked more severe on his more mature features.
She felt a little bad that their mood seemed to be worrying Aniello, but he was being pulled into conversations with his peers enough to distract him.
Instead of being invited back to the training, Aniello told them he'd take them on a tour—he insisted, really, saying it'd let him out of training.
"You want to get out of more training?" Hisako asked.
"Eh. I will train over the summit, I told Cesco. I am good for it; he knows. Besides, I want to show you all the best places."
Hisako smiled weakly.
"I will be more quiet," Aniello promised with a small smile. "I promise. I show you a quiet place to think. Is good sometimes. To have this."
Hisako frowned sympathetically, and they agreed.
Aniello took them out past the track—a long walk but a peaceful one. Aniello kept himself occupied by throwing a stick for a pair of dogs that had joined them.
"Are you also worried about the war coming here?" Eiji asked.
Aniello perked up but quickly realized they were conversing privately and looked away.
"It will happen, knowing our luck," she joked.
He hung his head. "Yeah." He sighed. "Do you think we are so out of our depth that we should be concerned?"
"The students are concerned, so I am concerned."
"Cesco didn't seem so concerned."
Aniello once more briefly lifted his gaze, hearing Cesco's name.
"The mentor is…odd," she countered. "He plays the 'game' well, clearly. Everyone is distrustful of his country, which is actively at war nearby, yet he got them all here under his roof."
"His rules too…" Eiji agreed. "And his absence at the first dinner. A unique host."
Hisako glanced at Aniello, and he looked back—he'd been distracted by the dogs, but he wasn't not paying attention.
"Do most summits have co-hosts?" she asked.
Aniello shrugged. "Sometimes. Usually when two countries are on good terms or want to be on better terms."
"Do you know why it's co-hosted this year?"
Aniello laughed. "Eh, Cesco is not much of a talker, no? So Italy invited another country to co-host the talking side—not the most enviable position, but the Knights sent the Signora." He made a troubled face, like he was debating saying something.
"You know something more?"
He quirked his lips guiltily.
"I will tell my teammates, to be honest," Hisako admitted. "You don't have to tell us anything you shouldn't."
"Cesco told us to be social… Mm, but I cannot say bad things about people. I will only say that the Knights knew the Signora would hate Cesco. It is clear to see, but they did it anyway." He tilted his head and spoke carefully. "Not many people hate Cesco. Fewer do so publicly. That is just the kind of person she is."
He eyed them intensely, as if trying to beam his cryptic subtext into their minds directly. Hisako nodded slowly. Eiji rubbed at his chin.
The moment was interrupted by one of the dogs jumping high enough to reach Aniello's shoulder, reminding him who he was meant to be paying attention to.
"What do you think that means?" Hisako asked Eiji.
He shrugged subtly. "I think… Well, Britain sent her even though they likely knew she wouldn't get along with the mentor. That means they value what she'll do more than they're worried about the relationship with the mentor's people or even Italy's Guardians.
"It doesn't necessarily mean they're trying to hurt those people, but…"
"They made a choice," Hisako said.
Eiji nodded.
Aniello's quiet place was a pond at the edge of the main part of the property. Past the stone wall at the far shore was a patch of thick forest and a pasture with some horses grazing. Around the pond were shoddy wooden structures—a little gazebo, a few benches and tables, and what looked like an attempt at a bench swing. There was also a well-made dock and an old boat listlessly drifting across the pond.
"Sometimes we race to see who has to get the boat," Aniello chuckled when Hisako squinted at it.
Aniello didn't stay to chat; he hopped onto the swing, and the dogs joined him, producing a dangerous sway and an awful creak. He leaned back, eyes closing as the dogs plastered themselves against him, sprawling across his lap and shoulders.
Hisako walked to the edge of the pond, looking down at the murky water.
It looked rather unwelcoming. She wondered whether they swam inside or if they kept to horsing around on the surface and the shores. A fish surfaced a few meters away, briefly disturbing the surface to gawp back at Hisako.
She sat down at the grassy edge. In the midday light, the sandy shallows glowed in the golden sun. Little flits of silver and tan swam about. Eiji joined her, sitting down on crossed legs a bit to her right.
She didn't have anything to say, and seemingly neither did Eiji. Eventually, she lay down on the soft lawn, and one of the dogs hurried to sprawl across her stomach, resting a vulpine, doe-eyed head on her.
Hisako blinked.
She'd never pet a real dog before; she'd only done it in games or seen it in videos. She offered a hand, and the dog snuffled wetly at her palm before offering a lazy lick. She stroked gently across their soft brow, surprised by the velvety feeling, before scratching carefully at the soft tufts hidden below their ears.
The dog's eyes drifted shut, and she let her head fall back against the grass again, absently petting them.
***
She woke up with the sun descending below the treeline, the dog clambering off her. She sat up and saw Eiji reading a book on his personal phone. The dog was running off to join Aniello, who'd begun walking back to the property.
It took Hisako a moment to realize the dinner bell was ringing in the distance. She hurried to her feet and Ejij joined her, slowly rising as he finished his page.
"Feeling any better?" he asked.
She frowned. "Feels a bit as if I slept away an afternoon instead of gathering more information."
He chuckled. "Rest is just as important as work."
"We were just resting at a resort," she replied.
He frowned back. "Trust me on this one, Hisako. It feels like a waste of time now, but you'll be glad you got time to think and rest later.
"C'mon. Let's go tell everyone what we learned over dinner."
The students had dispersed amongst their charges again, and, at last, the tables were all full. Only a few chairs remained empty, but Hisako was stuck thinking about what the riders had said—that the showing this year was sparser than usual.
Five large tables, each composed of several long tables and mismatched benches, chairs, and stools for seating. It was a lot of people, sure—triple a work crew and more people in one place than she'd seen in ages—but it was nowhere near a hundred people.
If each country usually sent at least three people, then many countries weren't attending. She wondered how large a venue had to be to accommodate the hundreds of officers that usually came to summits. How many chaperones? How many facilities?
Strömberg and Hisakawa were already seated, and the grimmer-than-usual looks on their faces told Hisako the answer to her biggest question.
Before she could confirm, Aniello perked up—at the head of the main table, Cesco was arriving last. Knight Rose looked annoyed at his tardiness, but he had dressed up—relatively, at least.
He had changed into a simple T-shirt, a pair of only somewhat distressed jeans, and his muddy shoes from before. He smirked playfully at the annoyed Knight before raising his glass and stealing her show, making her scowl twist even more downward.
Hisako felt a little sorry for Rose—the tables had fallen silent out of respect for her authority, but the audience was enraptured by his presence, visibly anticipating his every word to hang on to.
"To all of you new faces I see, welcome to my home. To the few who are returning guests, welcome back."
A small portion of the audience hooted, glasses raised in cheer before subsiding.
"I suppose I'll get the elephant out of the room first," he sighed. "We are hosting you all with the aid of the Knights—our steadfast friends in the north. We are doing this because, eh, when Italy needs a comeback, they call us."
His words were met not with obedient silence but collaborative laughter. Even Hisako cracked a small smile.
"Anyway, if you know me, you know I'm only good for a race or a fight, so please refrain from referring to anyone other than Signora Rose this week, okay? I offer the bunks and the meals; she offers everything you're really here for… Unless you're here for the competition."
More than a third of the people cheered raucously. Hisako held back a snort of laughter. Surely they were just cheering to cheer, caught up in the emotional swell of the mob.
"The competition is simple this year," he explained. "My students and I have prepared a Hall of Doors for you at the edge of the fields. To make things more interesting, we'll be having a bit of betting going on.
"Before you start your day, you can eye the Doors, do a little peek, and then you can pick which ones you want to tackle and reserve them for yourself. However, if you bite off more than you can chew, you'll only get points worth half the Doors you did finish. If you nail your number, we'll give you fifty percent more points.
"The winner gets a nice trophy… and an IOU from yours truly."
The tables fell silent with a suddenness that alarmed Knight Rose, who also looked at Cesco in bewilderment.
"Eh, goodness. Within reason, everyone. Eh, I'd outline the rules, but I'd rather do it once and only once with the winning party." He winked, and a bunch of the students began barking in laughter.
Strömberg's eyes slid from the hosts to Hisako and Eiji. "You'll have to win," he ordered. "The group outing was a wash." His tongue was sharp with biting disappointment. "Nobody wants to talk to the Japanese," he sighed.
"We figured it might end up that way," Eiji replied. "The students and Cesco explained how this 'game' works, and Japan's absence at summits has made it difficult."
"We… lack an understanding of what kind of information they want," Hisakawa explained slowly. "That makes bartering difficult. We don't want to play our best cards first or play all of them too soon…"
"Cesco said that doing well in the competition would make people more willing to trust us," Hisako replied.
Strömberg lowered his gaze in thought for a long moment. "I trust you two to handle that, then. Strategize how you see fit."
"How we see fit?" Hisako echoed quietly.
Strömberg offered a steadfast, reassuring look. "You've already connected more than we have. I trust you to run your side of the job without needing me to approve your every decision."
"Oh, okay," Hisako replied. "Thank you."
"We'll report as soon as we learn anything," Eiji promised.
"Very well." He sighed. "For now, though, let's enjoy ourselves for one more night."