Here is a new theory submitted by Danny R.
I have reasons to believe that Class VII will get a new freshman year come March of 1205. I have a handful of reasons to believe this will happen but the primary reason I’ll be talking about is that Rean needs a Class VII and Osborne will be more than happy to accommodate.
See, Rean isn’t an Ironblood. If he was, Rean would’ve gladly taken the opportunity to return home in the Eisengraf in hopes of learning valuable, personal information from him. Not to mention, his work in Crossbell only consisted of the bare minimum required of him. Rean and Altina were more than justified to put Lloyd and Rixia under arrest for their actions in the Geoplex, but Rean let them go because “there aren’t any arrest warrants for them yet.” Rean let them leave knowing that they will cause more trouble in the future. Osborne only expects the best from his Ironbloods. Rean clearly wasn’t putting his best into his mission in Crossbell.
Rean has already chosen a faction: Oliviert’s Third Faction. Rean is willing to go above and beyond for Olivert’s cause, as seen during the events of Cold Steel 2. Osborne will need to win over Rean’s heart in order to get similar results from The Ashen Knight. What better way to do so than to provide Class VII with the best education possible?
Rean will always be a member of Class VII. Rean says as much when Lloyd asks for his name, “I’m a member of Class VII: Rean Schwarzer.” As such, it is to Osborne’s benefit to allow Class VII to get a new freshman class and to continue their field studies. Such a situation would be a win-win for Osborne. It would keep Rean happy and allow Osborne to distort Rean’s point of view to the chancellor’s favor for the upcoming conflict in Erebonia’s future. This wouldn’t be the first time Osborne has manipulated Class VII to his benefit.
Looking back at the field studies in Cold Steel 1 with the knowledge we have from Cold Steel 2 paints said studies in a completely different light. Think about it: were there any field studies where Group A did not meet a single member of Osborne’s Ironblood? If Osborne saw Class VII as a threat, why would it take half a year for him to insert a blatant spy into the group? Not to mention, said spy was only given orders to discover C’s identity and monitor the old schoolhouse. Not to mention that Osborne has not one, but two allies sitting as permanent members of Thors’ board of directors.
Slight tangent: Rufus’s behavior in Cold Steel 1 is also interesting when looked under a magnifying glass. He is never seen, on screen, defending or promoting the ideals of the Noble Alliance. In the two scenes where he argues on behalf of the Noble Faction, he only clarifies and criticizes. He clarifies Governor Regnitz’s claim on how Thors worked in the past and criticizes Captain Claire for overlooking a glaring oversight. Right, back on topic.
For Osborne, Class VII is the perfect tool to get on Rean’s good side while also shaping him for the conflict soon to come.
My other reasons for a new Class VII aren’t as inherently interesting or complex. It would help make seven a prominent Arc Number (tv tropes link please). We have seven elements, seven Sept-terrion, seven Divine Knights, and a class VI missing link in Thors’ curriculum which acts to place even more significance on Class VII—and possibly fill in that gap with a second Class VII in later years.
Finally, from a writer’s standpoint, a new Class VII opens many opportunities for interesting story-telling. We can have foils with the old Class VII, foils for the events of Cold Steel 1 & 2, add so much lore to the world through the new characters, continue themes from the previous games, and so much more. We still have vampires and fairies unaccounted for in Erebonia’s folklore and there can even be a student from Crossbell attend since it is now an official part of the Empire!
Speaking as a writer, I think it would be criminal to not continue Class VII because it would sacrifice so many opportunities to play to the biggest strengths of the Kiseki series.