Out of all the classes that Ash took, Ms. Peach’s class was the one where she never knew what the next day would bring. After all, the subject of ‘Data Analysis’ was a rather vague one. It was different from the rigid subject of Jotun Physiology that Xiao Bai taught, but at the same time it wasn’t like her strictly academic classes either. As written in the course syllabus, Data Analysis was a class less about learning a specific subject and more about building the Valkyrie trainees’ skills. One day they could be dealing with real-time data simulations commanding a historical battle, the other they’d simply be taking as many tests as fast they could. While each exercise seemed to be simply what Ms. Peach felt like on a given day, they all shared a core trait: Forcing the trainees to use their head under pressure.

Today though, Ash wouldn’t hesitate to admit to being a little confused about the assignment. Oh, but it wasn’t as if Ms. Peach hadn’t given them clear direction. At the beginning of class, all the students had been split up into assigned groups. Each group was then handed a data packet filled with meticulous documentation of a murder case. And by ‘meticulous’ Ash meant everything from the actual autopsy to the victim’s tax forms. The goal of the assignment was simple, to use the information to figure out the identity of the culprit and what their motive was. However the information was so overwhelming that Ash couldn’t help but groan, her eyes beginning to spin as the lines of text grew blurry.

Without her Vetrblod calling upon winter to keep her cool, the Vintrkind couldn’t help but voice her complaints. “Why are we going through with this again? What does this even have to do with being a Valkyrie?”

“Being a Valkyrie isn’t just about fighting Jotun,” Liesa scolded as she rapidly flicked through the holographic screens so fast that Ash swore the bespectacled girl couldn’t actually be reading them. “In fact, being deployed outside of Yggdrasil has become quite rare outside of periodic patrols. Most Valkyrie that aren’t on active duty are instead charged with taking care of internal incidents that have grown too large for a realm’s police force.”

“...Oh, right.” Ash slumped her shoulders, having only complained for the sake of complaining as she stared blankly at her screen. “I remember seeing a Valkyrie working with the Midgard Enforcers.”

‘Seeing’ she said, as if Ash hadn’t gotten her ass beaten into the pavement. The only reason she got out of that situation was because she happened to be wearing a Valkyrie Gear and accidentally transformed for the first time. It wasn’t exactly a pleasant memory to recall, though the Vintrkind was convinced that she could totally beat the Valkyrie if they ever saw each other again. That had to have only been a C-Rank, which meant they were on the same level now. Yeah if they saw each other again Ash would-

“Focus.” The last member of their group didn’t hesitate to kick Ash in the shin, before letting out a tired sigh. The feeling was mutual. “Ugh. I just had to be assigned to you the day you choose to come to school in weirdo mode.”

“I’m stuck like this until next week, actually.” Ash replied with a glare. “And at least I’m doing something, unlike you.”

Lorenza Mimosa glanced up from her phone to give Ash a flat stare, as if challenging her to do something about it. The girl with bubblegum pink hair was not someone who Ash would ever call a friend. Not only was she the lackey of Anemone Montague, the two of them just didn’t get along on a personal level. After the duel two weeks ago, they hadn’t even spoken to each other once. It was a shame that the two of them just so happened to share this specific class together. Ms. Peach had said that she split the groups up randomly, as you never knew who you were going to be working with, but it was plainly obvious that she had assigned them together on purpose. Perhaps it wouldn’t have been so bad if Mimosa showed any sign of care at all, but the girl had devoted all her attention to the data pad in her hands and ignored everything else.

Constantly bored but never making any real effort. If she had changed at all since Ash had beaten her into the ground, it didn’t show. More than anyone in the school, Mimosa pissed Ash off the most. Not even in her current state- No it was because of her newly freed emotions that the Vintrkind didn’t bother to hide her animosity. According to the rules outlined at the start, the closer to the correct answer they found, the more points they would get. While it was no longer as much of a concern as it was when Ash first arrived in VEA, there was no way she could become a Wing if the trainee just contented herself to be a C-Rank. Regardless of other factors, the B-Rank Trainees' stubborn insistence on not doing anything was just dragging Ash down.

The vintrkind’s hostility definitely did not stem from the fact that Mimosa was able to catch every impulsive line that Ash spoke and name what romance story she took inspiration from. That would’ve been a point in her favor if she didn’t follow that by declaring Ash’s favorites to be trash. The sheer gall and bad taste this girl had!

Of course, the situation here was probably better than the group Kyouko and Magnolia had ended up in. Ash couldn’t help but pity the poor girl that was stuck between the two as they bickered over seemingly every little point. She looked so lost, unable to even get a word in. A mouse trapped between a tiger and a lion. May her soul rest in peace.

“Ash does have a point.” The neutral party of the trio nodded. “If you truly dislike working with us, then it would be better for you to help us finish this exercise as soon as possible.”

“You’re the one who's going to be doing most of the work anyways, Miss Alfheim Wing Candidate. The best we can do is act as your secretary and organize the paperwork.” She jabbed her thumb towards Ash. “I bet he- she- They don’t even know anything about the case.”

The Vintrkind scowled. “I’ve figured out that the case took place in Midgard and that the victim died of a gunshot. It’s super suspicious from the get go.”

“Congrats. You’ve figured out the bare minimum of what’s going on.”

“Ash, could you perhaps elaborate on what you mean?” Liesa interrupted. “You’re from Midgard, so perhaps you can give us some insight on the case. What about it really stands out to you?”

“The bullet?” Was Ash’s reply, only for the bespectacled girl to gesture for the Vintrkind to continue. Oh right, they wouldn’t know would they? “The first rule of Midgard is never getting caught and death via bullet signals to the entire Realm that you’re a big deal. Midgard’s made guns that use bullets as ammunition impractical to use. Only the wealthy can get a hold of a gun license, and I hear that the taxes on bullets alone are insane. Even the Midgard Enforcers are only allowed to be deployed with batons and tasers, so… If someone has been found shot by a bullet then that means that they were targeted by either a high-ranking syndicate, or one of the big-shot corporations. Probably connected to Fron Corp in some way, since they’re the ones who deal with that stuff.”

Most of Ash’s knowledge on the subject he had learned from Kyouko, and he wouldn’t forget it. About a year and a half ago the two of them had stumbled upon a briefcase with a gun inside. They had eventually managed to make a clean get away from the whole incident, but the six months it took had not been fun.

“Is that so? Thank you Ash, I’ll take your insights into account.” The Alfheim girl didn’t even blink as her hands blurred, the projection shifting rapidly as she muttered theories under her breath. “The victim was killed with one bullet to the back of the head. Lacerations on the body suggest that they were severely injured via bladed weaponry before then. Time of death is estimated to be 4:23, but the body was found hanging on the side of a building around 6:47 by passersby. According to the records they were employed by a software company, but the investigation reports reveal that the company only existed on paper. It’s truly a mysterious case.”

“If it was just something ordinary, they wouldn’t have assigned a Valkyrie to handle it,” Mimosa commented, sounding bored as she typed something on her data pad. “Sounds like it’s out of the bounds of a C-Rank to me. They probably sent a B-Rank or above to handle it. Does it say who?”

“Ah, I’m afraid not.” With a shake of her head, Liesa double checked the data entry. “All information about the Valkyrie in charge of the investigation has been redacted from the data packet due to being classified.”

“Which means this isn’t just a hypothetical. It’s an actual case that happened in the real world.” The data pad addict sighed before going back to her unproductive typing. “Good luck with that.”

It didn’t surprise Ash that this was a record of a real life incident, nobody would have wasted their time making so much paperwork just for a classroom simulation. The fact that it was something a high ranking Valkyrie had handled did grab her attention, though. Her mind began to wander as she sifted through the files and jotted everything down. “I wonder if Wings have to deal with this stuff as well…”

Ash knew she said something weird when Mimosa snapped her head up from her device to give her a look. She turned her gaze towards Liesa as if to silently ask if what she had just heard was real. In response, the usually understanding girl’s lips twitched as Liesa laughed nervously. “Perhaps it would be best if we focused on history for our next few lessons, Ash.”

“History?” Most of her understanding of history boiled down to the things that everyone knew about. Fimbulvetr, the Night of Grey Skies, Yggdrasil being founded, and then of course the fall of Jotunheim. Ash never really had a need to look into other aspects of history. “So it has happened before?”

“A Wing being deployed is… Major. It’s only happened a handful of times in Yggdrasil’s history, but each one has been for only the most serious of incidents. The last time that it happened was... ” Her voice trailed off. Hesitation was clear to see on her face as she struggled to continue speaking. Finally Liesa made her decision. “...Year 273, the revolts in Alfheim.”

“The Rat Revolution.” Mimosa spoke the name with dead seriousness, her usual apathy completely gone. “When the undesirable and abandoned of Alfheim rose up to protest against the treatment, exposing the many ethical violations of the Council of Wisdom and other prominent scientists. They were led by a group of Rats who went under the name of Hamelin, I believe? It doesn’t matter, the organization was destroyed and they were all cut down by Alfheim’s Wing, but not before they managed to permanently destroy decades of research.”

The girl who was actually from Alfheim blinked slowly, her mouth slightly open. “You are quite well informed, Miss Mimosa. Are you perhaps from Alfheim as well?”

“Pfft. No. I’m an Asgardain, even if they don’t see me as one. Social issues and dissent just happen to be my speciality.” Mimosa gave a dismissive wave as she turned back to her data pad. “Which is why I can say that the Rat Revolution changed nothing in the end. Sucide rates among Alfheim students actually increased in the aftermath. Adults have it even worse. Nobody wants to be suspected of potentially rising up in revolt. There haven’t been many surveys on the subject, but the last one shows that it’s only in recent years that the academies have risen back up to a 6-in-10 student survival rate.”

...Oh. Holy crap.

“I heard Alfheim was tough on students, but I didn’t realize it was that bad,” Ash exclaimed, rushing over to her friend’s side. For once the green haired girl was on the opposite side of personal space violations as the Vintrkind got as close as she could. “Is this really true Liesa? Are you alright?”

“I-I’m fine! Really!” Her face was bright red but the look in her eyes held more melancholy than anything else. “And my home realm isn’t as bad as Miss Mimosa is making it out to be! There are plenty of positives to be found in the Realm of Progress! Though I have been particularly, well... blessed.”

“I’m not making any exaggerations,” The other girl denied with a shake of her head. “That’s just the reality of how it is.”

“In any case I believe we should move on from the topic of my home realm,” Liesa said cautiously, giving Ash a weak smile as she turned back towards the data packet. “We do have an assignment to complete after all.”

At that moment, Mimosa’s data pad buzzed. A low hum escaped her lips. “Nope. We’re done. Ms. Peach? I’d like to submit the answer.”

“Go ahead.” Their teacher said, appearing behind the bubblegum haired girl without making a sound.

Mimosa nearly dropped her Data Pad with a startled yelp. Ash took vindication in the normally blasé look being wiped off her face before she managed to compose herself again, glancing at her screen. “The incentive for the case begins with a smuggling ring, several Midgard syndicates were working together to smuggle in weapons from Muspelheim. The ‘victim’ belonged to a group that bought the weapons and were hired to convince small companies to go through with deals offered by their bigger competitors. In order to keep the appearance he was employed and to legally pay his taxes, he was employed under a shell company. Due to internal conflicts after a succession crisis on the Corporate end, the Syndicate Alliance broke down. The victim was a casualty of this, kidnapped by a rival group, tortured, before being publicly killed in order to draw the attention of the authorities and have a Valkyrie assigned to the case. After this was all exposed, the whistleblowers were given a bargain by the authorities while the others were arrested, went bankrupt, or met some other ill fate.”

Wait a minute, some of that actually sounded familiar. Ash hadn’t been heavily involved with the events but if she thought about it a bit, that incident with the gun… A chill went down her back. Not the calming one she used in her male form, but one of fright. Kyouko and her had quite literally dodged a bullet back then, hadn’t they?

“C'est parfait!” Ms. Peach clapped her hands, before giving an impish smile. “Though... I do have to question your methods of deduction.”

“I would like to know how you arrived at that conclusion as well, Miss Mimosa!” Liesa cried, slamming her hands on the table. “How did you conclude at an inter-realm smuggling ring?!”

“Oh, that’s simple. I asked for the answer.” Everyone blinked at the Asgard girl’s causal admission to cheating. “Working with Anemone has its perks and comes with lots of connections. Especially when the teacher decides to use her own cases for her lessons.”

“Her own cases-” Ash glanced at the redacted name on the projection in front of her before it hit her. “Wait, you were the Valkyrie in charge of the investigation?”

“Shh, keep that quiet will you? The rest of the groups might try to follow Mimosa’s example.” With a conspiratorial wink, the pink haired teacher giggled. “But yes! When I’m not working as a teacher for VEA, I freelance between realms as a Valkyrie Investigator. With the help of my personal Einherjar, Sherlock Holmes, I’m able to solve cases that stump the realm’s Valkyries.”

“Ms. Peach is almost as infamous as Outlaw Justice when it comes to investigation work apparently. Eyes of Truth or some dumb nickname like that?” Mimosa shrugged her shoulders. “Not that I care. Do we get the points for this?”

“Hm, that’s a tough decision. You came to the correct answer but circumvented the point of the lesson. I could nullify your points but that wouldn’t be fair towards the rest of your group.” Their teacher tapped her chin before coming to a conclusion. “Oh well, I suppose this is resourceful in it’s own way. You’ll all be getting points for this.”

Huh, maybe Mimosa wasn’t that bad after all-

“But at the same time I’ll be assigning you extra homework to make up for it!”

Never mind she was still one of the worst people Ash knew.

“Eh.” Standing up from her seat, Mimosa grabbed her bag and began to walk out of the classroom. “I’ll be excusing myself from class early then. See you all later.”

Ash wondered if the girl was even allowed to do that, but since Ms. Peach didn’t stop her she didn’t ask. Instead, Liesa and Ash shared an awkward glance, suddenly finding all their work pointless. “That wasn’t how I was expecting things to go.”

“Yes, and I can’t say I’m particularly happy about it either. To be dragged into her academic dishonesty… ” Liesa frowned before turning towards their blind teacher. “Though there is something that bothers me. Miss Peach, since you were so heavily involved in the case can you please explain just how the weapon smuggling ring was operated? If it’s not classified that is! I’m quite curious about how several Midgard syndicates were able to get away with such a feat by themselves.”

“You want to know the truth?” Ms. Peach leaned in towards the two girls, her breath a hot whisper in their ears. The two treasures she presented were just a bonus for Ash. “We don’t know.”

“Pardon?” Liesa blinked. “You… Don’t know?”

“Nope. This is actually my most recent case and I left the cleaning up to Midgard,” the Data Analyst explained. “Whatever method they were using, it was gone without a trace by the time arrests started happening. And all of those who were caught… None of them were the ones in charge of moving the weapons between realms, just those who benefited from it. By all accounts it might as well have just been plain magic. Keep this to yourselves, alright? If this happens to leak out…”

Her unfocused eyes stared into Ash’s. The way she carried herself subtly shifted, making the Vintrkind hyper aware of how close the teacher actually was. Not in a pleasant way either. At this range, if the teacher wanted to hurt them no one would be able to stop her before it was too late. For the first time, Ash began to fear the normally ditzy woman in front of her. She quickly nodded, Liesa doing the same. “...Understood ma’am.”

“Excellent!” Ms. Peach suddenly exclaimed, leaning back before smiling at the duo. “In fact, that’ll serve as a good exercise for the rest of class! Why don’t you two go over the data and give me your own thoughts on how it was done? I’ll give bonus points as a reward for anything that sounds plausible!”

“Thank you for the opportunity!” Jumping at the chance, Liesa quickly turned towards the data again. “Come on Ash, let’s start formulating some theories!”

“Hold on a moment, you’re going to wear me out before we even begin,” Ash replied as she turned towards the data once more. Not that she even knew how she was going to start…

“You two have fun, okay? I’m going to go check in on the other students.” And with that, Ms. Peach was gone, leaving the two of them to sit at the table and try to uncover a mystery that not even fully fledged Valkyries could solve.

In the end though, they weren’t able to come up with anything conclusive before the bell that signaled the end of class rang. After that, all the data packets were confiscated by Ms. Peach and the two lost their chance at whatever bonus points they could’ve earned. Walking out the door, Ash’s head swirled with thoughts of mystery and history.

Someday, she hoped to have no question left unsolved.