After what Alois told me last night, I knew what today would bring. And even though I stayed most of the day in the library, the rumors arrived to my ear either way. Bandits openly attacking the students, their professor being sent away in disgrace for abandoning them and - most important of all - the famous Jeralt the Bladebreaker coming out of hiding to rescue them, with his own son at his back.

A son that is no doubt Byleth, the male one to be precise. Bit of a shame. Had it been the female one I would have liked to know if she wore actual armor or that crappy excuse for one she had in the game.

As I enter the dining hall, I decide that perhaps it's best if I leave Alois be for today. No doubt he wants to spend time with his old mentor rather than me.

"Ah, there you are!"

I turn around at the sound of Alois' voice and I see him coming in my direction. Alone. It would appear I was mistaken.

"How's your day been, Eugenio?" he asks as soon as he's next to me.

"Everyting in de norm," I reply before taking a more concerned tone. I'm not supposed to know what exactly happened out there, after all, "But what about you? I've heard you and de students were attacked."

"Eh, it was better than it sounds," he nonchalantly replies "The students were ambushed while training, yes, but we intervened before anyone got hurt," his voice takes a less cheerful tone, "No thanks to their professor, though."

Oh, right. That guy, "I've heard he fled as soon de attack began. Is dat true?"

"Unfortunately, yes," he sighs, "And in the chaos, the House leaders got separated from the rest of the group. The bandits tried to chase them but we chased them back."

"And in de proces, crossed pats wit 'Jeralt de Bladebreaker'," I comment.

"Yep," he smiles at that bit, "I can't believe after all these years we've actually met again."

Oh, how I wish I did not have to play ignorant, "So you two are acquainted?"

A look of surprise comes to his face at my question, "Acquainted? He was my mentor! Surely I've told you about him?"

"A couple of times, yes," not to mention I already knew before that, "But I was under de impression he retired."

His enthusiasm dies down a bit at my question, "That's...not quite it. He did leave, that's true, but it was not for retirement."

"What was it for, den?"

The next words he utters, come out with a slight tone of sadness, "Back when he worked here, he had a wife. A wife that died in childbirth. And not long after that tragedy, he also lost his child to a fire that occurred here a couple decades ago."

Except that child was not lost. Jeralt faked their death to hide him from Rhea.

But once again, I have to keep quiet about that.

"Well, damn," I say with what I hope sounds like a shocked tone, "I'm sorry to hear dat."

"It's okay," he reassures me, "You didn't know."

Oh, I did. But that is not something you need to know.

"So, what is Jeralt going to do?" I ask, hoping to change the subject "Is he here just to visit?"

"Actually, Lady Rhea has offered to reinstate him as the captain of the Knights."

More like 'forced' from what I remember of this part of the game.

"Really? Is he actually still in fighting shape?" It surprised me even in the game that he never considered that detail. Then again, Alois wasn't exactly the best at stopping and thinking.

At least, that was what I thought of him before...before last night.

"Oh yes, he is. With his," he clears his throat, " Peculiar situation his years haven't caught up to him yet."

Oh, right. Alois already knows that Jeralt has a Seiros Crest and ages more slowly. He said so on my first day here.

Now time for one completely genuine question, "Well, if dat's de case, don't you want to spend tonight with him? It isn't everyday one reunites wit an old friend after twenty years."

"I wanted to but, well…" he rubs the back of his head, "For tonight he asked me to leave him some space with his son. Which I agreed to."

I'm surprised by how tactful Alois was towards that. Then again, he's already proven I don't know him quite as well as I thought.

Well, let's just go ahead with the questions one would normally ask in my situation.

"His son?" I say with my best surprised tone "He had another child?"

"...yes," Alois replies, although he doesn't sound like he believes what he's saying, "He said that at some point he married another woman and had another son with her," his brow furrows, "At least that's what he said."

Is that distrust towards Jeralt's words I hear? Interesting...

"You tink dat's not de case?"

"Well…" he hesitates, "His name is Byleth. Like Jeralt's first son. It could be that he named the second after the one he never got to raise. But the more I look at him, the more he reminds me of Sitri."

'Sitri'? "Who's dat?"

Alois all but facepalms at my question, "Ah, sorry. That's the name of Jeralt's first wife."

Huh… the name of Byleth's mom...guess I should have expected to hear it sooner or later.

Although, I'm curious now. In the game he seemed to buy Jeralt's lie that Byleth and his other child were not one and the same. Now he's saying that he's actually suspicious about what the truth actually is?

"So you're implying dis son he came wit is actually de same dat supposedly died in dat fire?"

It probably isn't smart on my part to make that question. But my curiosity won this time. Plus, Alois did sound like he needed to voice his concerns.

Indeed, when the Knight replies, he does sound relieved to be able to say his piece, "I mean, there are quite a few things pointing to that conclusion, but why would Jeralt lie about what happened to his son?"

Oh, you have no idea what kind of rabbit hole you'd have to go into to answer that.

"Well, what's dis son like?"

"I haven't talked with him much, but he's very stoic. He kept on a neutral expression all throughout our march back to the Monastery. I guess he inherited that from Jeralt. He has never been very expressive himself."

Nope. Byleth didn't inherit it from him. He's just a reanimated corpse. Literally.

"Well, what else can you tell me about Jeralt? Any story you'd like to share?"

The pleased look that comes to Alois' eyes immediately makes me regret asking that one, "I'm glad you asked!"

We spend the rest of the evening with him telling me about his 'adventures' with Jeralt across the years before the tragedy with Byleth's mom. The start of it is stuff I already knew: Alois originally was one of the Monastery's workers until Jeralt picked him as his squire to replace the one he had recently lost. After that, it's a series of wacky stories the two went through, which kind of start blending together after a bit.

It's only when he starts talking about Byleth's mom that he manages to recapture my attention.

He didn't know her for long, but apparently this Sitri was an orphan that grew here at Garreg Mach. By the time she and Jeralt started dating, she had become Rhea's assistant - and thus Seteth's predecessor - and there were talks she'd succeed Rhea as the next Archbishop.

She also apparently suffered from poor health. A condition that forced her to never leave the Monastery. And that undoubtedly played a part in her demise.

Gotta give it to the devious crocodile, whether the poor health was true or not, she knew how to keep her precious vessel always under control. And those who came before her too, most likely.

I really can't imagine how awkward it'll be for Byleth to hear just how controlling Rhea was towards his mom. That is, if the two do get to that. Because if this goes the Crimson Flower route, all Rhea will have to say will amount to 'My mommy issues just got ten times worse!'

Well, since that will be five to six years from now, I'll leave it to the two of them to sort out. Not my business and I hopefully will be as far away from here as possible when that happens.

Even though yesterday was the 'big day' of Jeralt's return, things have gone back to normal rather quickly, with the students coming to search for or return books or even simply to study. There are still some discussions about Jeralt's return, but not to the extent of yesterday. All in all, a rather normal day here.

Until the moment Byleth himself showed up. He didn't do or say anything particularly strange, aside from not elaborating further on what specific books he was looking for except for ' I am looking for texts students use for studying strategy '. And Solon this time around chose to handle him himself, which is a plus since it gives me a few minutes where I don't have to watch out for the pale creep.

But boy oh boy, did the game do a very poor job of showing just how eerie Byleth actually is.

He didn't talk much, but what few words he did utter were said with so little emotion put into them one would be excused for thinking he was reading a script aloud. Except there was no script he could have possibly been reading and he was looking at me and Solon in the eye like he was having a normal conversation.

Oh, and let's not forget about his eyes. His eyes that lacked any sort of spark of life in them. His eyes that were a pair of indigo stagnant pools. If it wasn't for some very very subtle movement of his pupils when he switched his attention between me and Solon, it wouldn't have been too different from looking at the eyes of a statue.

And that's not to mention his reaction at hearing me speak, or rather, the lack of one. Everyone who I've ever talked to the first time had some kind of reaction, some rather obvious, others more subtle.

But Byleth...he had no reaction at all. He just kept his trademark neutral expression, without even a blink of the eye to show any sign of surprise. Did he just not notice? Or is his lack of emotions really that bad?

And, most importantly, how am I supposed to act around him? Does Byleth genuinely not care that I speak with a strange accent? Is he going to ask about it in the future? Is he going to keep an eye on me?

Ok, best policy with Byleth: interact with him as little as possible. Trying to keep up lies with Rhea, Seteth and Solon is already hard. Having a third of the students (if not more) capable of seeing through my cover is even harder. I don't need a man who is unable to show what he's thinking to deal with.

"You wanted to see me, Professor?" I ask as I enter Hanneman's office.

I must say, I was surprised when I received a summon from him. The last time I met him, shortly before Byleth's arrival, he said our next study session would not be before the Harpstring Moon, since he'd be busy preparing his House for a mock battle at the end of this month.

The same one that makes for chapter one of the game, no doubt.

Hanneman, who was examining a sheet he's holding, turns to me "Ah, yes. Please do come and take a seat."

I do as he says, still pretty confused on why he would want to see me after his claims to be busy.

The first thing I notice is that the mage is frowning. Not in an angry way, but in a meditative one. Did something on the sheet he was looking at give him pause?

"During one of our early meetings, you said you were acquainted with Crests somewhat," he starts before I can ask about it, "Is that correct?"

"It is," I confirm. Did he find out something about the one I have? Is that why I'm here?

"In that case, there is a favor I must ask of you. From one studious to another."

Okay…?

Hanneman places the sheet on his desk and shows it to me, "Do you recognize this symbol?"

I glance at what is on the sheet. The best way I can describe this 'symbol' is a mash of three lines put together, one placed in a diagonal position, one curved in a semicircle and placed near the top of the first, and one that...starts parallel to the first then curves and then proceeds perpendicularly. The first one is also branching on the end opposite to the curved line.

It's a rather strange design. And strangest of all, there is something...familiar about it.

"I tink I may have seen it before," I tell Hanneman, "But I can't quite say where."

Hanneman takes a meditative pose at that reply, "Interesting," he muses.

Why is it interesting? What's going on?

"Is dis related to your research on my Crest?" I ask.

His first reaction is to blink, "What? Ah, no. My apologies, this is something else I'm researching," I throw him a dirty look, to which he raises his hands defensively, "Not to worry! I'm still looking into your Crest as well. But as I had warned you, it is taking time."

Okay, let's try to keep it cool. I don't need to antagonize my one ticket off this cesspool.

"Well, what is dis?" I tap the symbol "And why are you researching it?"

The mage lowers his hands at that, and returns to a more colloquial tone, "Have you met the new professor?"

"De mercenary son of de recently reinstated Captain?"

"Yes, that very same."

"I have."

Oh, I think I know what is going on here.

"Well, yesterday he agreed to be tested for Crests. The Analyzer reacted to his blood but, strangely enough, it didn't show any of the known Crests. It showed that symbol."

As I thought. For the first few chapters of the game, Byleth's Crest only presents itself as 'incomplete' and is called the 'Mystery Crest'. All because it's 'too powerful for the Analyzer' or something like that. It isn't until the chapter in which Byleth gets the Sword of the Creator that the game reveals what Crest he has.

Of course, the events of that chapter are months away from now, so I have to keep quiet about what it is.

"Well, I'm sorry I couldn't be of help," I tell him, hoping to end the conversation there, "Was dat all you needed to know?"

"Actually, I could use your opinion for something else."

Oh, goddammit…

"What about?" I ask, biting back my frustration.

"I have two theories about this mysterious Crest Professor Byleth possesses," the mage replies "It could be that it is a still undiscovered Crest. But it could also be he has a concentration of power in his blood that is beyond the Analyzer's parameters. The inverse of your Crest, to be precise."

...what did he just say?

"If it is the latter, it could help us discover how you obtained your own. But before proceeding in either direction, I wanted your opinion on the matter."

Oh no, what do I say now? If I say it's the latter I'll set him on a false lead that will only delay his studies on my Crest. But if I make up who it belongs to, he could easily figure out I lied when Byleth gets his sword. How would I explain myself then?

"Have you tried having him conjure the Crest?" I propose, in hopes of keeping things the way they go in canon.

"I would have, but he's also busy with preparations for the mock battle," he replies, "Once that is over, I will ask him for that too, of course, but the opinion of a fellow expert on Crests never hurts. Especially after you said you may have seen it before."

Me and my dumb mouth…

I suppose I should feel honored he values my opinion like this. But given current circumstances, I'm not .

"Let me tink," I murmur as I keep tapping the symbol.

I have to dissuade him from thinking Byleth's Crest and mine are related, that much is certain. But what can I say that won't come back to bite me in the ass in a few months?

Hmmm...when Hanneman tells Byleth what his Crest is, he does say he had some suspicions even before he picked up the Creator Sword. Perhaps I could hint at the design being similar to the Crest of Flames, but how would me doing this alter future events?

Let's try a different approach…

"Perhaps we are jumping to conclusions too soon".

Hanneman arches an eyebrow at my statement, "What do you mean?"

"I am confident dis Crest is not an undiscovered one since I don't remember ever coming across it during my studies. But it may be too soon to claim it shares someting with mine. Mine first appeared after unnatural events. Did Professor Bylet experience anyting akin to what I did?"

"Not that I've heard of," he concedes, "I think I see where you are going with this. But Crests too powerful for the Analyzer's parameters shouldn't exist. Even a Major Crest usually…"

As he cuts himself mid-sentence, Hanneman's gaze unfocuses from me and he starts muttering to himself, "'Usually'...could it be…?"

What's going through that weird head of his now? "Professor?"

"I think I know what Crest this is," he says, "But it cannot be."

Uh-oh. "What 'can not be'?" Did he figure it out already?

"There is one Crest more powerful than the others. Powerful enough that its Major variant can not be measured. But its last bearer died without any recorded heir."

"Which Crest would dat be?"

"The Crest of Flames."

I mentally sigh. He did.

"If Professor Byleth has it, it must mean Nemesis did have heirs. Heirs whose identities were lost to time. But how comes no bearer of this Crest has surfaced before?"

Oh, you'd have a field day if you knew…

"De last bearer was a man dat had grown mad wit power," I tell him, "I doubt people would like to be associated with a man like dat."

"Ah, fair," he concedes, "The same way bearers of the Crest of Maurice do not want to be associated with the Elite that turned into a monster."

Different circumstances, buddy, but the logic is there, "Yes," I confirm.

Hanneman hmms a little before continuing, "You have my sincerest gratitude. If it really is the Crest of Flames, this may open new possibilities for Crestology."

"I'm glad to hear," mostly because that means you won't be distracted from finding answers about mine by a false lead, "If that is all, I'll return to the library."

"By all means," is the last thing he says before I leave his office.

Well, he would have ended up realizing which Crest he was dealing with on his own. Like in the game. And I didn't do that much that pointed him in that direction. I wasn't even the one that brought up the possibility first. So with the way it turned out, things shouldn't deviate from the game's script.

Hopefully.

With the fact I've mostly worked at the library during my stay at Garreg Mach, one would forget that my job here is technically being one of the Church's errand boys. I know I did for the most part.

But today, two days before the infamous mock battle, as I'm gathering equipment from the training ground into a crate, I got a reminder of that.

"Did Setet explain what exactly all of dis is for?" I ask Rebecca, my companion of misadventure.

"No clue, dear," she replies, "All he said was that it was an unforeseen matter, that it was urgent and to 'gather these and meet with Alois at the Monastery's entrance', and blah, blah, blah," she sighs, "I swear that guy should lighten up."

Good luck getting him to listen to you, lady.

"Did he say why he wanted me of all people to help, dough?" I ask her, "No offense, but I'm kind of surprised since he was de one to assign me to de library in de first place."

"Oh, he didn't," what? "He just said 'find someone who can help you'. Didn't specify names."

"And you're telling me dat only now?" I ask bewildered.

"Of course," she chuckles, "How else would I get a reaction like that from you?"

Oh great, Alois' 'old friend' is a trickster.

I sigh, "Well in dat case, why me ?"

"Simple, really," she winks, "You're not bad to look at."

I have to do a double take at that. She's hitting on me? Someone she barely knows? Really? "Are you serious?"

She openly laughs this time, "No, just wanted to see how you'd react to the idea."

Forget trickster, she's an outright sadist!

She continues after her laughter's calmed down, "In all seriousness, though, since it's Alois we're meeting, you were the first one that came to mind. The guy always likes when he gets a chance to interact with his friends."

Ah, and since she's seen the two of us together so many times she's come to the conclusion we're friends. Works for me.

"You really care about him, I see," I comment.

"I should hope so. We've known each other since I first arrived here. And that was over twenty years ago."

Oh? So she's not one of the orphans that grew here? "What brought you to Garreg Mach?

She shrugs, "My village is a small place in the middle of nowhere and I wanted to see what was beyond it. Bad decision after bad decision and next thing I know I'm petitioning the Church for asylum and here I am."

Not sure I want to know what she means by 'bad decision after bad decision'...

"Sounds like a rough going," I tell her, "I'm sorry."

"It's okay, it turned out fine in the end," she reassures with a smile, "And besides, I'm still keeping in touch with my old village," after that statement, her smile takes a more devious look, "Maybe I could even take you there someday. I'm sure you'd be a hit with the girls."

I give her a dry look, which only prompts her to laugh once more.

"Ah, Rebecca! Eugenio!" Alois greets the two of us as we arrive, "I'm glad to see you both!"

Rebecca smiles at him, "Likewise, old friend."

"Yes, good to see you, Alois," I add before glancing at the other Knights standing behind him, "What exactly is going on here?"

The Knight face's shift to an uncertain look at that, "I'm not sure myself. We were told Professor Byleth organized a training exercise for the Golden Deer at the last second."

Uh-oh. Byleth? And the Golden Deer? Ok, I've gotta keep my mouth shut as much as possible around that whole bunch. Besides the obvious Byleth and Claude, if Leonie, a simple girl from a neighbouring village to 'my own', could call me out, so will Lorenz, the son of the lord of the territory where Varholm is supposed to be.

But still, another exercise outside the Monastery? Even after the fiasco of last week's?

"Setet didn't object?" I ask.

Alois shrugs, "Like I said, I don't know. All I know is that he told us to meet him here and to make sure the incident from last week doesn't happen again."

"How comes he's taking only the Golden Deer?" Rebecca asks with a tone more inquisitive than I've heard from her so far, "Isn't he supposed to teach all students?"

Now, that's a good question. From what I gathered here, Byleth is a teacher of one subject for all classes, unlike in the game.

Unless...this is in preparation for the mock battle. Which would imply that of the three Houses, he chose the Golden Deer. Which means this Fódlan is gonna go down their route.

Alois shrugs again, "I suppose it's in preparations for the mock battle. He's taken over as the Deers' homeroom teacher."

Yep, I was right.

I guess that's good for the locals since the Verdant Wind route has arguably the best long-term results for the continent as a whole, what with Rhea's altered history being actually exposed and the Slitherers being dealt with. But for me? Not so much right about now.

"Hey there, Alois," the unmistakable voice of Joe Zieja says from behind me, "Looks like we're together for some training again. Think we'll run into more bandits?"

I turn around and am met by the sight of Byleth and the Golden Deer students. All of them: Claude, Lorenz, Hilda, Marianne, Raphael, Leonie, Ignatz and the white-haired urchin. Most of them look like they have no idea what's going on, except Claude and Byleth, the former keeping his signature pose with arms behind his head and the latter eyeing the crate Rebecca and I brought.

"I should hope not," Alois chuckles, "It would be a real robbery , wouldn't it?"

The students either groan at that joke or simply look unamused by it. Rebecca merely shakes her head while smiling. Can't say any of those feelings is unwarranted.

Byleth, on the other hand, remains unfazed, "Is everything I asked for in there?" he asks with his characteristic tone, gaze not leaving the crate.

Uh...how do I reply now? If I open my mouth now, I'll have Claude hounding me with questions from here on out. And I already know the Seteth card won't deter him.

"Yes it is, Professor," Rebecca ends up answering first. Dodged a bullet there.

"Very good," he looks away from the crate, "Let's go."

"Where are we going, Professor?" Alois asks.

"Just outside the gates," is all Byleth gives before he takes off, leaving all of us behind.

"Well, you've heard him," Alois comments before glancing first at his fellow Knights, then at the students and then at Rebecca and me, "Let's get a move on."

The Knights and the Deers move right away, with Rebecca and I just a few seconds behind as we pick up the crate.

"Not much of a talker, is he?" Rebecca whispers to me as we walk.

"I guess not," I whisper back.

When Byleth said 'just outside the gates' I didn't think he meant literally a spot to the left of the entrance of the walls, and yet here we are, with the Knights forming a circle around the rest of us, the students on one corner of it and Rebecca, Alois, Byleth and me on the other.

"Here we go," Rebecca tells Byleth as she opens the crate, "Swords, lances, axes, bows, gauntlets, you name it, it's here."

The animated doll merely nods at her words, "That is all I needed. Much appreciated," is all he says before turning away from us and heading for the students.

"What a charmer," Rebecca says as soon as he's out of earshot.

"Well, the way Captain Jeralt talked about him, it sounded like he has...difficulties interacting with others. I'm sure he didn't mean to be rude."

Oh, if only you two knew…

Rebecca shrugs, "If you say so, Alois. So, anything else you need of us?"

The Knight shakes his head, "No, now we just wait for this exercise to be finished. I can have someone come for you two when it's time if you're busy."

Oh good, I can slip away and not risk blowing my cover any more than it already-

"Nah, let's stay."

What?

"Are you sure?" Alois asks.

"Sure I'm sure. I'm curious to see what this new professor is made of."

...why is that of interest to her?

"Alright," Alois turns to me "What about you, Eugenio?"

"I tink I'll go back to de library," how Byleth 'intends to raise his army' is of no interest to me, thank you very much.

"Oh, come on!" Rebecca intervenes "Wouldn't you like a break from that closet?"

'Closet'? Not fond of books, is she?

"I would, but Tomas probably needs me," I reply, "Besides, it's not like I'm leaving all de work to you. Just give me de time to come back and I'll help."

"What's that?" she says with a dramatic flair. "I'm supposed to stay here and wait by my lonesome while you take your time? Oh, how cruel of you Eugenio."

Are you for real, Rebecca?

"She has a point," Alois concedes "If you wait here, you'll save us all some time."

Alois, I've never been so betrayed in my life.

"Fine," I sigh. If I turn them down after that kind of reasoning, it'll only raise unnecessary questions. At least with Byleth busy with the students, I shouldn't have to worry about how much I say.

"Hey there! Mind if I join you two?"

...I spoke too soon.

"Hey yourself, Riegan boy," Rebecca tells Claude "Why aren't you with your professor?"

"Oh, didn't you hear?" the poster child of Three Houses' memes nonchalantly replies "Teach said I could sit this one out, so long as I watched the others. And it sounds like I can have some company doing it."

Sothis, Naga, Ashunera, Mila and all the other Fire Emblem gods I can't remember right now, why must you punish me like this?

"Alright, then I leave you three to look after this equipment," Alois adds, a wide smile on his face, "Enjoy the show."

I'd enjoy it more if I wasn't with someone I have to watch out for what I say around!

"You two," Byleth calls out for us, voice with a higher pitch than I've heard so far but still only high enough that we can hear him from a distance, "Bring forth the crate."

As Rebecca and I pick the crate back up, I mentally sigh. I guess I've got no choice but to lie in the grave I dug for myself. I just hope it isn't one I can't climb out of.

The weapons the students and Byleth picked up were their 'canonical' weapons of choice for the most part. A wooden sword for the living statue, training lances for the tomboy and mister square hair, a pair of gauntlets for the cheery mountain, bow and dulled arrows for the token nerd and a training axe for the slacking girl.

The brat, of course, has picked no weapon since her magic is all she needs to show just oh how so much better than everyone else she is.

Marianne is apparently not gonna spar with Byleth either and will only assist the students after each bout, in case someone gets bruised too much. Oh, the privileges of being the healer.

"Now," Byleth says, "For this exercise I will spar with each of you. The objective is not necessarily to defeat me, but only to demonstrate how you apply yourselves to combat. Is that clear?"

"Absolutely!" Raphael intervenes, pumping a fist in excitement, "I volunteer to go first!"

"Sorry, Raphael, I'm going first," Leonie retorts.

"Actually, you will be third and fourth respectively," Byleth interrupts them, "The first I will spar with is Lorenz."

A look of disappointment comes over the faces of both. But while Raphael quickly returns to his cheerful self, Leonie starts glaring daggers at the purple-haired boy.

"It is only natural," the fancy-pants in question says, "After all, I'm…"

"Take your position," Byleth cuts him off.

I can't help but find the look of outrage that comes over Lorenz's face funny "Excuse me, Professor, that is not…"

"On an actual battlefield, in the time it would take you for a speech you would have died at least five times over," normally I'd take such a phrase as mocking, but with how Byleth says it, I can't tell if it's meant that way.

To his credit, Lorenz doesn't rebuke Byleth's comments and only looks mildly pissed.

He steps forward from the group with a confident yet clearly forced gait. As he takes a combat stance his facade shifts into a neutral expression that even fools me for hiding his thinly veiled contempt.

Byleth either doesn't notice it or doesn't care. All he responds with is taking position himself in front of Lorenz.

Since I don't know the first thing about swords and lance, I can't tell anything about how they're holding them. All I can observe is their footing, which neither of the two seem to have problems with. At least, when it comes to holding their position.

"Your move, Lorenz," Byleth says.

"Most appreciated, Professor," is the boy's reply before he charges.

What I was expecting from this 'spar' was an exchange of blows between the two that would have eventually seen Byleth beat Lorenz, since here his experience in fighting is not limited by gameplay mechanics.

But what actually happens is something much shorter than that.

While Lorenz charges, Byleth swiftly passes his sword to his left hand and goes with a reverse grip. A reverse grip with which he deviates the tip of Lorenz' lance away from his chest.

And then his right knee connects with Lorenz's stomach.

As the boy is forced to his knees by that hit, Byleth brings his sword to his throat, "You lost."

"But…how…?" a gasping Lorenz asks, "I'm the heir...of House Gloucester! I…"

"You let your anger get the best of you," Byleth intervenes, "I understand your pride at being the future Count Gloucester, Lorenz. But you can't allow it to blind you. Compare a battle to politics within the Alliance: how do the impulsive ones fare?"

Lorenz's face falls at Byleth's question, "Poorly."

"Precisely," Byleth offers him a hand, "Remember it for next time."

For a bit, Lorenz looks at the offered hand with a neutral look. But it isn't long before he raises on his own. In true Byleth fashion, the mercenary's face doesn't betray how he feels about his student's actions.

"Get a check-over by Marianne," is all he says, with Lorenz giving a very faint 'Yes, Professor,' as an answer before he goes to the bluehead.

"Well, what do you think of Lorenz?" Claude whispers to Rebecca and I, his signature fake smile always present.

"As arrogant as the rest of his family," Rebecca hisses, a sinister glint in her eyes. And not the same kind of sinister as when we were gathering equipment.

That is...quite a response. Why such animosity towards the entire family?

If Claude is as confused as I am, he doesn't show it, "Oh? So you've met the Count?"

At the question, her gaze turns away from the boy, "Let's just say their reputation precedes them," is the curt response she gives.

I get the feeling this is a touchy subject for her.

"Alright," Claude, who must have shared that sentiment, replies, "And what of you...Hugh...something?"

Oh great. Here we go. Okay, short answers only, don't give him something to latch on to.

"Eugenio," I correct him, before giving a shrug, "And no strong opinion."

Claude is not deterred by that answer, "Oh? I heard you were from a village under his father's jurisdiction,"

Who the heck told him that? Actually, never mind. If there's one thing he's good at, it's discovering things he shouldn't be able to.

"Come on, lay it on me," he insists, "I promise I won't tell him."

"As I said," I repeat with as neutral of a tone as I can manage, which I hope won't make him suspicious, "No strong opinion."

"The next one will be Hilda," Byleth announces as he turns to the pink haired girl, thankfully cutting the half-Almyran off before he can continue, "Please step forward."

"Uh, actually, Professor, could I skip this exercise entirely?" said noble girl asks with a pair of puppy eyes and a broad smile, "I'm no good at fighting. Surely I would only slow everyone down during the mock battle?"

Hilda is her typical work-avoiding self, I see.

"All the more reason to do this," an unfazed Byleth replies "The sooner you start putting in the effort, the sooner you will be a good fighter."

Little Miss Lazy Bones' cute facade doesn't waver, "Me? A good fighter? Why Professor, I think you may be giving me too much credit."

"If there is one that is giving you that credit, it's your brother Lord Holst. The same Lord Holst that watches over the border with Almyra. Do you wish to disappoint him with poor performances at this Academy?"

...I did not just hear Byleth use Hilda's one fear against her, did I?

Whether it was intentional or not, Hilda immediately tenses at the word 'disappoint', with her smile faltering and her stance becoming more rigid.

Byleth undoubtedly notices it too, since his next words are "Now, step forward."

With hesitant steps, the slacker lumbers towards the spot previously occupied by Lorenz, her face serene as ever, but with an edge this time around.

"Alright," Hilda begins, "So, what should I…?"

Before she can finish, Byleth raises his sword and takes a swing at her head. With the strength the guy puts behind it and with how quick the swing is, I expect it to connect with the girl's head and knock her over.

But - with a speed I would not expect in a real scenario from someone as green as Hilda must be - the pinkhead raises her axe and actually manages to parry Byleth's swing.

"Good reflexes," is all he says before he proceeds with a barrage of more swings. Swings that Hilda always manages to parry, even though after the initial few parries the strength behind them seems to start wavering.

Byleth's attacks, however, are not what I would expect from the seasoned swordsman he's supposed to be. Only wide swings that feel more like one who's trying to batter others with a stick. Is it on purpose?

Eventually, Hilda's defenses waver so much that even though she manages to parry the latest swing, the strength behind it knocks her over regardless.

"You lost," Byleth says before offering his hand to the noble girl, who, unlike Lorenz, accepts, "Do you know why that is?"

"Well, I did warn you I wasn't any good at fighting," she replies before raises her arms, "I mean, have you seen these noodly little arms?"

Huh...she's not completely wrong. With the way she performed as a playable unit, I always imagined her with toned arm muscles many would kill for. Instead, they're...average is the best way I can describe them. Not really muscular, but not 'noodly' either. Perhaps the muscles will come later?

"That is not true," Byleth replies, "Otherwise you would have fallen to the first hit. No, what you did wrong was merely reacting, never taking the offensive. That strategy only leads to tiring you out and succumbing to fatigue."

"Well…" Hilda nervously twirls one of her pigtails, "I guess I…"

"Fear not," Byleth cuts her off, "In the months to come your training will help you overcome this flaw. It will only be a matter of time."

I can't tell if Byleth is being sarcastic here or if he genuinely doesn't realize Hilda was trying to have him not 'make her work', as she would put it.

"Now, get a check-over by Marianne," he ultimately dismisses her, "Raphael, it's your turn."

The jock replaces Miss Lazyness with less drama than his two classmates. Well, less drama with Byleth. As he takes his position aside from him, he does a series of overly-showy stretches with his arms.

Strangely enough, while he does take a combat stance (still not planting himself properly to the ground, by the way) Byleth does not this time.

"Alright, Professor!" he excitedly announces as he loads a right hook, "HERE I COME!"

Raphael charges at his teacher. His teacher who takes a step to the left and stretches his right leg. A right leg that Raphael, with his momentum, trips over.

It's...pretty humiliating, to be honest.

Before he can raise up, Byleth places the tip of his sword in between his scapulae, "You lost."

As soon as he removes the sword, Raphael gets right back up, giving the doll no chance to offer his hand this time.

"Well damn, Professor," the big guy comments as he stretches his back "You are really strong, you know?"

"Strength has nothing to do with this," Byleth corrects, "In that aspect, you are my superior."

I did not just hear that, did I?

"Your mistake was announcing your attacks."

"Uh…" Raphael scratches his head, "But since this is a training exercise, isn't it right to warn you?"

"That is not what I meant, although you would do well to remember not to voice your adversaries when you're about to attack."

Oh come on, Byleth, he's not that dumb!

At least Raphael doesn't seem bothered by the comment.

"What I meant is that while your physical strength is impressive, you are sorely lacking in terms of speed and dexterity. Your opponents will see your attacks coming long before you initiate them.

"Also, and this is part of why you fell so easily, you must learn to properly plant your feet to the ground."

Called it.

"Well, that's what we're all here for, isn't it?" the blonde comments, apparently taking the critiques in stride, "Get better where we're strong and correct our flaws. I'm sure you'll show us how to do that."

Byleth, being his usual self, has no apparent reaction to the praise, "That is the spirit you'll need," he nudges towards Marianne after saying that, "Get a check-over."

"On it!" Raphael replies before running towards the bluehead.

The merc-turned-professor then turns towards the orangehead of the group, "Leonie, your turn."

Just like Raphael, Leonie takes position aside from Byleth without complaint, only opening her mouth as she takes a combat stance to say "Get ready for a real challenge! I'm Captain Jeralt's best pupil after all!"

Goddammit, her obsession with Jeralt…

Byleth merely takes a combat stance of his own, "Show me."

To Leonie's credit, her bout with Byleth is less one-sided than the previous three. While Byleth's attacks force her on the defensive more than once, she does manage to take the offensive every now and then, unlike Hilda, but does not fail because of reckless charges like Lorenz and Raphael. It could be an impression due to the fact this spar is so far the longest, but the two seem evenly-matched to me. Although the fact Leonie's face twists more and more into a snarl seems to imply it's not going as well as she'd hoped.

Eventually, Byleth attempts a jab at Leonie's head. The tomboy makes to parry with the tip of her lance, but the Ashen Demon's attack turns out to be a faint, and instead he 'slashes' her ribcage.

That attack leaves her winded for a few moments, but she recovers pretty quickly and charges again.

Byleth, however, grabs the tip of the lance, stopping that charge, "You lost."

"What?!" a outraged Leonie asks, "No way! Let's keep fighting!"

"Had this been a real attack, my sword would have slashed your lungs. And you would be dead within minutes."

...that would already be a creepy thing to hear from anyone. Byleth's tone making it sound like it would be nothing to him, makes it much worse.

Leonie, however, seems unfazed by it, "But I'm not! Let's go on!"

In response, Byleth pulls Leonie's lance, and by extension Leonie herself, and then sucker-punches the girl under the chin, making her fall to the ground.

As soon as she's able to raise up, Leonie starts massaging her jaw while glaring daggers at Byleth.

Once more, Byleth is unaffected by that glare, "Now if you're finished, get your check-over from Marianne."

The would-be future merc points a finger menacingly at her teacher "Next time I'll get you, Byleth. Just you wait!" and then storms towards Marianne, smoke practically coming out of her ears.

'Byleth', eh? Not calling him 'Professor'? My, I hope no one reports her for disrespecting her teacher.

"Quite the fiery girl, isn't she?" Claude whispers to me, reminding me of the precarious situation I'm in right now, "Is everyone from Sauin like that?"

"Wouldn't know," I whisper back, "Never visited it," the one true thing I've told Claude today.

"Really? I heard they're like right next to you. Never at least met anyone from it?"

"Not me."

"Ignatz and Lysithea," Byleth continues, "Since both of your styles consist of fighting from a distance, we will do something different for you two."

He then takes several steps backwards, almost coming right where Rebecca, Claude and I are, "I will come right at you. You will attempt to stop me. If you manage to hit me, you win. If I reach and touch you, I win. Is that clear?"

"Crystal clear, Professor!" the gremlin answers.

"Huh...sure," Ignatz hesitantly adds, "Who is first?"

"You, Ignatz."

The bespectacled boy gulps at that answer but steps forward nonetheless. Slowly and with a trembling hand, he picks an arrow from his quiver but doesn't nock it.

"Are you ready?" Byleth asks.

That is when Ignatz shakily nocks the arrow, "R-ready."

"Then let's proceed."

As soon as he says that, Byleth dashes towards his student. Taken by surprise, Ignatz loses his arrow, but before it can connect, Byleth moves to the left, dodging the arrow entirely.

Ignatz attempts to hit Byleth several more times, but the mercenary manages to dodge all of them. And as he gets closer to his student, Ignatz becomes paler and paler. To the point that when Byleth is right in front of him, he's whiter than snow.

To Byleth's credit, at least, instead of a hit that knocks the greenhead over, like I was expecting when he said 'touch you', he just lightly taps his head.

"You lost," he still says.

Colour returns to Ignatz's face, but only for it to now look crestfallen, "I'm sorry, Professor. I don't…"

"Tell me," Byleth cuts him off, "Is this the first time you've tried to hit a moving target?"

"I...uh…" the four-eyes hesitates, "Yes...I guess it is."

"Unless your future career will be as a hunter or as an assassin," Ignatz pales again at that last word, "Your targets will most likely only be moving ones. Like your classmates, it will take you practice to learn how to handle those. But for now, there is one suggestion I can give you: aim where your target will be, not where it is. Is that clear?"

"Uh...yes, Professor. I...think it is."

Judging by the face he's making, it most definitely isn't.

"Very good," Byleth replies before turning to the one student left, "Lysithea, it's your turn."

Immediately after saying that, Byleth walks back to his spot while Ignatz is replaced by the little devil, who raises her open hands in a pose that I'm not sure what it's supposed to be for.

But, strangely enough, as soon as she does that, I sense some sort of...tingling in the air around me. It is not like a wind suddenly blowing or some other natural phenomenon, but something more...ethereal. Like what I sensed when I first conjured my Crest. It feels neither malignant or benevolent. It simply is there.

The timing of this feeling...Hanneman said adepts at magic can sense when other mages are tapping into the surrounding energies. Is that what this is? I don't remember feeling it when others cast spells.

"Are you ready?"

The urchin narrows her eyes, "Ready."

Like with Ignatz, Byleth immediately dashes towards his student. Unlike Ignatz, the imp takes a more tactical approach.

Her first move is launching a fireball on a spot in between her and Byleth, which the mercenary only manages to avoid by stopping his dash. Leaving him no room to breath, the brat then launches a ball of some sort goo (the spell Miasma, I'm assuming), which Byleth barely dodges.

Undeterred, the brat keeps up a barrage of fireballs and Miasmas that while none of them manage to hit Byleth, they also keep him from getting closer.

That is, until she has to stop that barrage to bend over and pant. Byleth wastes no time and immediately rushes her again. Before the brat has the chance to restart her barrage, he grabs her by the collar and lifts her like she weighs nothing.

"You lost."

"Put me down!" the urchin whines in a rather kid-like fashion. Something I can't help but be internally pleased about.

Is it petty? Probably. Do I care? No.

Unfortunately, Byleth obliges her request and gently puts her back on her feet.

"Tell me what you did wrong," he then tells her.

The brat looks at him miffed but opts to simply answer: "I left you an opening instead of keep attacking."

"That is the end result of your error, but not the error itself," the doll replies, "You went all out immediately, without pacing yourself for a prolonged fight. A valid strategy if you are facing opponents who can't dodge your attacks so easily. But otherwise, this is where it will lead you."

The brat still looks miffed, but doesn't protest Byleth's comments. Here's to hoping she learned even just a modicum of humility from this exercise.

"Any questions?"

For some reason, the her features relax at that prod, "None, Professor."

"Good," he then turns to the other students, "I believe this concludes our exercise. I will think over who to include in the group for the mock battle and let you know my decision tomorrow. Any question?"

None of the students says anything.

"Then we're finished," Byleth concludes as he nudges his head towards us. Or rather, the crate we're looking after.

Everyone quickly puts their weapons back in the crate and, shortly after, we're on our way back to the Monastery. As we march, I mule over a couple of things.

That certainly was...an exercise. If Byleth managed to get enough of a reputation in the mercenary world to be nicknamed 'Ashen Demon', I was expecting him to be better than the students, but not to the point of delivering such humiliating defeats.

Of course, with those same defeats he might have antagonized Lorenz and Leonie (and perhaps, to a lesser extent, Hilda). I wonder if he'll actually manage to become as good friends with them as the game implied after this.

"I must say," Rebecca comments with a pleased note to her voice, "This professor seems much more competent than his predecessor. It's a shame it won't be enough for the mock battle."

Uh?

"Oho," Claude, who for some reason decided to walk back alongside the two of us, replies, "You're convinced we're going to lose?"

She answers with a knowing smile, "Well, in over twenty years I've been here, the Golden Deer have scored the least amount of victories of the three Houses. By a rather large margin, I might add. Do you know why that is, Riegan boy?"

"Well, you said yourself the previous Teach wasn't as good. Maybe that's it?"

"It did play a part. But the Golden Deer as a whole suffer from a weakness the other two Houses don't share. One your Professor has not touched upon today. Your lack of unity."

I...have no clue what that is supposed to mean.

If Claude is bothered by her assessment, he doesn't show it, "And that makes us weaker than the Eagles and Lions why exactly?"

"Because lone wolves can not stand against organized packs.

"My apologies," she adds while not looking apologetic in the least, "But I think your new professor's skill will not be enough to win."

"Oh, I think you're underestimating Teach, miss," the upside down archer chuckles, "He's a lot craftier than you give him credit for. I'm sure we'll win fair and square."

'Claude' and 'fair and square' put together are probably the funniest thing I've heard all month.

"Perhaps," Rebecca concedes off-handedly, "Maybe in future years he'll remember how this mock battle went and adjust his tactics accordingly."

Oh, the irony...

And here we are again. With what is probably the longest chapter so far. No idea how that happened, but I hope you all enjoyed it!

Once more, thanks to LowerBlack for betareading. Come join us at the TreeHouse Discord server, code: 9XG3U7a

See you next time with the mock battle!