Another week, another update. Thanks to all those who followed and favorited.

Robin was many things: tactician, adequate sword user, competent spellcaster, avid reader, just to name a few. What Robin wasn't (as far as he could remember) was a diplomat. Now, he couldn't speak for himself back when he had his memories, but current, memoryless Robin could very safely say that one of the things that he definitely wasn't was a diplomat. Robin always thought that diplomacy was boring and tedious. It involved a lot of talking, not messing with other people's egos, keeping your emotions under control, backroom deals, reading between the lines and insulting others in a way that was subtle, respectful yet effectively offensive. Even thinking about it, Robin could feel himself dying inside a little. He had the utmost respect for the people who represented their countries at official functions along with pity for those who were appointed and didn't volunteer. Robin vastly preferred staying in his tent and planning strategies. It was more straightforward and a lot less stressful. Plan your troop movements, eliminate the enemy and keep your own casualties to a minimum. Simple and straightforward.

So, when he set off to Regna Ferox, Robin planned to let Chrom do the talking and just stay in the shadows, saying nothing lest he disrespect whoever was in charge. Of course, Regna Ferox was not Ylisse. Regna Ferox had a whole different culture, climate and people. Feroxi diplomacy also differed vastly from Ylissean diplomacy. Instead of long, complicated and drawn-out negotiations, the Feroxi prefered to settle things the old fashioned way. The Shepherds discovered this when they were thrust into the arena to represent Flavia against Basilio's forces to determine who gets to rule over the vast country.

Although the impromptu fight was unexpected (as was running into "Marth"), Robin had to say that he vastly preferred Feroxi diplomacy to Ylissean diplomacy. It was quick, effective and got things done in half the time it would take at the negotiating table. Heck, Robin wished that all diplomacy was done this way. No more negotiations, no backroom deals or two-faced lies. If two countries disagreed on something, all they needed to do was get their strongest warriors to duel and whoever won got whatever they wanted out of the argument. Heck, if that were the case, Robin would've been first in line to sign up as a foreign diplomat. He would've made a damn fine diplomat too, judging by how the Feroxi mission went. If the whole world adopted the Feroxi system of diplomacy, Robin would've been the most persuasive diplomat alive! And just to make things interesting, maybe states could even expand on the Feroxi system. Instead of just the champions, they could have entire armies fight for their nation. They could even move around the world, not confined to a simple arena. It would be glorious. It would be amazing! It would be…

It would be kinda like war. Now that Robin thought about it, it wouldn't be kinda like actual war, it would be war. That was actually the very definition of war! How disappointing. Although also expected. Robin was a man of war. He excelled on the field and made winning wars his profession (or had that profession thrust upon him. Whatever). So he obviously would've preferred Feroxi diplomacy. Unfortunately, this type of diplomacy was uniquely Feroxi. Any other way to implement it would've resulted in plain old war. Too bad. So the boring type of diplomacy was the best kind by default. Oh well, a tactician could always dream.

And dream he did. After their successful "negotiations", Flavia became Khan they quickly got to discussing what soldiers Regna Ferox would provide, how many and what roles they would fulfil. It was surprisingly quick and productive. The Feroxi seemed eager for combat in any form and were more than willing to help Ylisse (or course, the Plegian incursions helped too). After all that was said and done, everyone was shown to their rooms so they could get ready for the march back to Ylisse the next morning. This gave Robin the chance to see how the Feroxi decorate their offices. And so far, he vastly preferred the one he had back in Ylisse.

To be fair, the office that he was given wasn't bad, per se. It had all the standard things one would expect to find in an office: bookshelves, books, weapon racks (more so here in Ferox, but whatever), pictures, chairs, a desk (nothing special. His was better…when it was still in one piece…it still hurt thinking about it) etc. The office was spacious enough and had room for Robin to pace and plan and think. All in all, it was alright. The one thing that brought it down was all the dead animals and their skins here.

Now, Robin wasn't an interior decorator or some sort of critiquer of…art(?) He also didn't understand the cultural differences between Ylisse and Regna Ferox, so he really couldn't judge from that front. For all he knew, all these animal skins and decorations could be signs of respect and status. However, on a personal level, this style scared the crap out of him! Too many dead things in his workspace. The only time he was surrounded by so many corpses was when he was fighting Risen (and he preferred Risen because they disappeared when he rekilled them). As it was, Robin had a bearskin rug on his floor, some sort of wolfskin cover on his chair, some unidentifiable animal skins on the walls as well as a bunch of animal heads. He probably hated those the worst. The rug was bad enough because he already almost tripped (keyword being "almost". Not "tripped" but almost tripped. Ha!) on it maybe three times, but he felt that the animal heads were watching him. Watching and judging with their cold, dead eyes, somehow blaming him for the fact that they were now mounted in his office. Of course, that was just crazy talk. Robin knew that. He also knew that the animals didn't follow his every movements with their eyes and that they would definitely not start talking to him. Robin knew that. But it didn't make them any less creepy, especially that deer above his chair. The way it was positioned made Robin feel very uncomfortable. Now that he was looking at it, he almost expected it to blink, turn its head, smile and start saying things like-

"Robin."

"AGH!"

The tactician jumped back ten feet, almost tripped on the carpet (again), regained his balance and stared at the deer unbelievingly. It took him a full ten seconds to realize that the voice actually came from behind, and not from the deer's head. When Robin turned around, he noticed a dour looking man standing in the doorway.

"Dear Naga, man!" he exclaimed while putting his hand on his chest and waiting for his heartbeat to normalize. "Don't just sneak up on someone like that! At least knock or something!"

The man frowned. "Aren't you supposed to be the tactician? Ready for anything? If I were an enemy assassin, you would be dead by now."

"Wha-?" Robin blinked at the unexpected hostile front. However, he quickly recovered and went on a counteroffensive. "First of all, I'm part of a foreign delegation that includes royalty to parlay with your leader. I'd think that our security detail would be thorough enough to not allow any assassins in. Thus, I think that it's within my rights to let my mind wander in friendly territory. Secondly, you could've been an assassin, but you're not. If you were, you'd probably be dead because I always have plans. And finally, who the hell are you?"

The dour looking man looked even dourer. "Hmph. Do you not remember me from earlier during the day? I am Lon'qu, Basilio's contribution to your cause."

"Woah, calm down there, Lon-judges-you. If we met you after the battle, then I was busy thinking about something important. Probably Marth and just who the hell he is. Besides, names aren't my strong suit. I've met like, a dozen people in the past week alone, so excuse me if I can't remember all of them!" Robin huffed. "Now, you said you're a Shepherd?"

"Yes."

"What are you doing here?"

"You are our tactician. Chrom may lead on the battlefield but you decide where we go and what we do. I was told to go see you so that you can make the most of my skills."

"Oh. Yeah, that makes sense. Come in, sit down and let me consult my notes."

"…I thought you said you didn't remember me."

"Well, yes and no. I don't remember your name and you, to a lesser extent. But I trust myself enough to make notes on new members despite my inability to remember them. It's like second nature to me. I may not pay all that much attention, but my mind starts working when the right words are said. It's like 'blah blah blah join the Shepherds, blah blah blah' and bam! Attention shifted! Afterward, I go back, get out my trusty roster and make some general notes about our newest recruit."

"…"

"I can see from your expression that you don't believe me. So let me prove you wrong!" Robin then proceeded to reach into his sleeves and pull out the all-important roster. "Let's see here…ah ha! Here you are. See? 'Grumpy McDourson with sword(s): looks fast, agile, skilled with…swords? (note: needs confirmation), lightly armored – implies fast and precise fighting style, also not as muscular as Vaike so probably doesn't do good when hit, but specializes in avoiding hits (also needs confirmation), looks like he has a constant raincloud over his head – could probably make lesser men flinch just by looking at them. PS: has something against women – investigate.' That's what I've written down based on my first impressions of you. Now, am I right or am I right?"

Robin sat down behind his desk and looked at Lon'qu expectantly.

The swordsman stared back with a raised eyebrow before sighing. "I don't know whether to be impressed with you assessment or worried that you're the one who drafts our overall strategies."

"Yeah, I know!" laughed Robin. "I sometimes can't believe it either. But hey, you make do with what you're dealt, so here we are. Now come on in, take a seat and tell me all about yourself so you don't die when next we fight."

Lon'qu sighed again before relenting.

"Tell me what you need to know."

"Right. First of all, how do you spell your name?"

"…You're kidding."

"Am not," said Robin seriously. "Names of the people who are under your command are the first and most important things to remember. It just so happens that yours is foreign and not very obvious to me. What? Don't give me that look! Come on, even you gotta admit that your name is the most foreign sounding one out here. It's not 'Frederick' or 'Stahl' or 'Lissa'. I even think it's like, two words or something. Now tell me how to spell your name…unless you want me to make high quality puns based on what I think your name sounds like. I could call you 'Long queue' or 'Looks-disapprovingly-at-you' or, heh, this'll be a good one, 'Lon-"

"Enough! I see your point. My name is Lon'qu, spelled L-O-N apostrophe Q-U."

"Great!" Robin said cheerily while updating the roster. He then looked at it for a few seconds before asking, "So…how do you pronounce that?"

Lon'qu glared.

"…Alright, why don't I just called you LQ? It'll probably make both our lives easier."

Lon'qu grumbled.

"I'm gonna take that as a 'yes'. Now, moving on. Tell me about yourself. My initial impressions were accurate, right?"

"Yes, surprisingly so. I am a myrmidon and thus specialize in quickly dealing with my enemies. I get in, strike hard, strike fast, and get out."

"I feel like there is a dirty joke in there somewhere…" muttered Robin. "Er, anyway, what about your armor, or lack thereof? I notice that you're only wearing some very light, robe-likes clothes. I can't imagine that they protect you much when you get hit."

"If I get injured, it is because I have made a mistake. I rarely make mistakes."

"Bold words. We'll have to see if you can back them up during training. But you were Basilio's champion, so that probably means something. That dude looks like he won't let just anybody be his champion."

Lon'qu remained silent as Robin wrote a few things on his roster.

"Okay, next topic: spare time. What do you do when you have some spare time?"

"I train."

"Aaaannnd…"

"I improve my swordsmanship."

"That's it?"

"That's it."

"Come on, there has to be something else."

"…My potato peeling skills are second to none."

Robin sighed. "Well, aside from that very poor attempt at humor, I can see that this isn't going anywhere. You're not very social, are you?"

"I talk with others as much as is required of me. Otherwise, I train. Is that so wrong?"

"I guess not. If it makes you happy, who am I to tell people how to live their lives? And I guess all that training makes you a better soldier. That's always a plus."

"It does."

"Alright. That's fine. Now that we've got that out of the way, let's address a very important issue here. Of course, I'm talking about your issue with women. What's going on there?"

Lon'qu winced. "It's…complicated."

"Oh, personal issues. I get it and I'm not going to pry. However, your issue becomes my issue when it interferes with your abilities on the battlefield."

"You needn't worry."

"Oh? Do explain."

"Although I do have a crippling aversion to women, I can suppress it in instinctual, life-and-death situations. So you needn't worry. I shall be fine in the heat of battle."

Robin didn't look convinced. "Really? So I don't have to worry about you on when we go off to face the enemy? You won't suddenly freeze up when facing an enemy War Cleric or something?"

"No."

"And what of your comrades? We do have a fair number of women amongst us. Of course, I'll try to pair you off with a male battle partner, but we can't all have what we want all the time. There will be instances when you'll be assigned a female partner. Can I trust you not to turn into a quivering wreck and get either yourself, your partner or both of you killed?"

"Robin, I can assure you that my…condition shall not affect my performance in battle."

"Hm, we'll have to see. I'll see how you perform during training and battle and decide what to do with you from there."

"You don't sound convinced."

"Nothing personal. It's not that I don't trust you, but I like to account for all the variables. Besides, your battle with Marth does cast doubt on your claim."

"What about it?" asked Lon'qu, surprised.

Robin shrugged. "Well, I think you'll agree with me that Marth isn't the most masculine of men out there. Given a few minor changes, he could very realistically pass off as a girl. Now, you claim to have your little phobia under control in the heat of battle. However, from what I hear, Marth beat you with barely any effort."

"Er…"

"So you'll have to forgive me a bit for wanting to be careful. I mean, if a girly looking man beat you, how will you react when fighting against – or alongside – a full grown woman?"

"Those two situations are completely different!"

"Are they? But that brings up another point. How're you going to get on with our female members? If you're fighting with them, you're going to have to train with them. And since that isn't a life-and-death situation, are you just going to be all twitchy again? That doesn't bode well for either of you. You'll need to train against all our members to improve your skills. You're also going to have to talk to them, LQ. These are all very important issues that we have to deal with. How do you plan on dealing with them?"

Luckily for Lon'qu, someone entered Robin's office before he could offer a reply.

"Heeeeey Robin!"

"Hello Lissa. What brings you here?"

"Oh, nothing. I was just in the area and wanted to drop by and say hello."

Robin looked at the princess suspiciously. "Lissa, I know you better than that. What do you really want?"

"What? Nothing, I swear! I just wanted to say hello." She then turned to Lon'qu. "Oh hey, our newest Shepherd. I feel like we didn't get a proper introduction last time."

"Our previous introduction was sufficient. Now don't get any closer!" exclaimed the swordsman while shuffling his chair away from the approaching princess.

"Aww, don't be like that!"

"Sorry Lissa," Robin shook his head. "The aversion to women is real with this one. We were just trying to figure out what to do about it."

"Hey, maybe I can help!"

Before Robin could reply, a second person barged into his office.

"There you are, Robin! I got a few things I want to say to you!"

"Sully. Someone's looking very excited today. What's up?"

"Oh nothing, I just want to thank you."

"Aw, thanks! I'm just doing what I can to help….what did I do?"

Sully laughed. "Classic Robin! Pretending not to know what he did to make it seem like nothing." She then punched him in the arm good-naturedly.

"Yeah, ha ha, pretending. Ha ha, ouch…" the tactician winced and rubbed his arm. "Seriously, what'd I do?"

"Oh, you know. For giving me that challenge back before we left Ylisstol."

"Yes. Of course. The challenge. That was given to you. By me. Before we left the capital. I did do that. Yes."

"You bet your ass you did!" Sully said enthusiastically. "And you know what? It paid off big. Back then, I thought you simply gave me a challenge to improve my physical abilities. 'Beat all the male Shepherds'. Sounds straightforward enough, right? Clear goal and objective? But there was more to that, and you knew it."

"Uh, yeah! There sure was. I'm glad you figured…it out."

"You're a damned clever man, Robin. You knew that I wouldn't be able to win with brute force alone. Sure, some of our newer recruits, and Virion and Stahl were easy enough, though I don't think Stahl was giving it his all. I need to convince that sissy to man up and train for real… Anyway, I couldn't beat Vaike not matter how hard I tried. Say what you will about him, but he's definitely one of the strongest Shepherds."

"Yep. Takes hits like a champ, too."

"He does. For the longest damned time, I couldn't beat him not matter how hard I tried. That got me thinking that I needed a different approach. So that's what I did until I found something that worked. Used his strength and momentum against him, found the right place to hit and then boom! Vaike fell like a log." Sully laughed. "Damned clever of you, Robin. With this challenge you set me, I feel like I'm becoming twice the warrior I would be otherwise!"

The tactician just smiled and nodded. Truth be told, he had absolutely no idea what Sully was talking about. But he trusted her judgement. After all, she said that whatever Robin told her was a good idea. That made sense. Since it came from him, it was guaranteed to be a good idea. Probably. It's just that Robin had lots of ideas and really couldn't keep track of them all. So, once he put his ideas into motion, he kinda let them do their own thing and moved on. Clearly, that turned out to be the right move, given Sully's enthusiasm.

"Right. Well, I'm glad you're taking this thing so seriously, Sully."

"Har! You bet your ass I am! Beating Vaike is just another step on the path to Frederick and Chrom. That'll the ultimate test of my abilities."

"Wow. I didn't know you rated my brother so highly."

"Oh, hey Lissa. Sorry, didn't see you there. I was too excited after beating Vaike. But yeah. Your brother is the strongest one here. A damn fine warrior, too. He's the one we should all aspire to be." Sully then looked at the other occupant in the room. "Hey, don't think we've met. You our newest member?"

Robin intervened as Lon'qu paled.

"Yes he is. Sully, LQ. LQ, Sully. By the way, that's not his real name, you'll probably hear how to pronounce it better than me. LQ here is going to be sticking with us for a while. A word of caution: don't get too close to him."

"Huh? Why not?"

Before Robin could answer, a third voice could be heard just outside his office.

"Come…on! Ugh…just…a little…further…AH!" A thud, followed by groans. "Ouch. That one actually hurt…"

Robin chuckled and shook his head. He didn't know if it was a good thing or a bad thing if he could immediately identify who that was based on what he just heard.

"Sumia? Are you alright?"

A startled yelp.

"Robin?"

"Yes. In here."

Sure enough, Sumia appeared in the doorway.

"Oh, hi Robin. Lissa and Sully, too. Wow, quite a few people here. Are you having a meeting or something?"

"Not really, we were just…" Robin paused. "What were we doing?"

"Well, I was in the area and decided to drop by and get acquainted with our newest Shepherd," replied Lissa. "And then Sully came in to talk about her training regimen and how well that was going."

"Oh yeah, that. Thanks, Lissa. I suppose since you're here, we might as well get the introductions out of the way. Sully, Lissa, Sumia, this is L…" Robin pointed to the where Lon'qu was sitting, only to find the chair empty. He then looked over to find its occupant pressing himself against a bookshelf. "…Q?"

"Nice to meet you!" Sumia smiled and approached the swordsman. "I'm Sumia. I hope you'll-"

"Get back!"

Sumia flinched and withdrew her hand immediately. "I'm sorry! Did I offend you in some way?"

Meanwhile, Sully took in the scene before looking back at Robin.

"What's with him?"

Robin sighed. "Well, it turns out that our friend here has some sort of condition that makes him…uncomfortable around women. When around them, he…well, you all saw his reaction just now."

Sully frowned. "I don't mean any disrespect or anything, but can we use such a warrior given how many women there are among the Shepherds?"

"Of course we can!" Lissa interjected. "Before Marth, Lon'qu here was Basilio's champion, chosen to represent him in future tournaments. That alone proves how talented Lon'qu is, doesn't it?"

"That so?"

"Yep! Now, I haven't seen him fight, but I'll bet that he cuts bad guys like butter and doesn't even break a sweat! Fighting as Basilio's champion also probably put him up against some pretty tough opponents, too."

"Really?" Sully looked thoughtful before turning to Robin. "What's your assessment?"

"What? Oh, right. Well, aside from his issue with women, LQ seems to be quite the warrior. Lissa was right in that he got a bunch of experience as Basilio's champion. Beat down many people in the area, if this record is to be believed. All we have to do now is see how he trains and fights with the women in our group."

"I see…"

Robin shivered as Sully looked at Lon'qu. She had a glimmer in her eye. It was a glimmer that said 'I'm going to put you through hell whether you like it or not' or 'I'm gonna kill you twice'. Maybe both those things at once. Robin was sure he saw that same glimmer when Sully was skewering Risen (and technically, killing them for a second time). Whatever she was thinking, it did not bode well for Lon'qu.

Robin's suspicions proved correct when the knight suddenly grabbed the swordsman by the arm and dragged him out of the office.

"W-what are you doing, woman?! Unhand me at once!"

"Come on, man up! I'm going to help solve your woman issue. And I'll do so by sparring with you, right now."

"What?! No! I refuse! Let go of me I say!"

"Refuse all you want, this is happening."

And everyone left in the room waited in silence until Lon'qu's protests could be heard no longer. Lissa was the first one to speak.

"You're not going to let her just drag him away, are you?"

It took Robin a few seconds to realize that she was addressing him. "What? Oh no, I'm not getting in the middle of that. If I tried, Sully then might want to fight me! And as the tactician of this army, I need to be in full physical condition to draft plans. Why do you care, anyway?"

"Well, I'm the healer! It's my job to care. Besides, Lon'qu has got some sort of problem with women and Sully beating him silly won't solve anything. She also shouldn't just drag him off like that! I mean, what if some of us wanted to know our newest recruit better? This would've been our chance to talk to him and now…" Lissa paused as she noticed Robin smiling at her. "What's so funny?"

"Oh, nothing, nothing. I just think it's really cute how hard you're crushing on LQ."

Lissa's face immediately went red. "I-I'm not crushing on him! I just have an interest in him because he's new!"

Robin's smile widened. "I'm sure it's a bit more than that. After the battle, you were the first one to try and talk to him. I might not have been paying attention to what was going on, but I did tune in for a bit. And I'm pretty sure you were all over mister 'tall, dark and handsome swordsman' over there."

"Stop making things up!" Lissa pouted. "I don't have a crush on him. I mean, sure he may be totally handsome and act all aloof and brooding and gruff. And he may have that cool, uncaring demeanor to go along with his 'hardened warrior' image that makes him really dreamy. And I may want to talk to him and get to know everything about him and stuff, but that doesn't mean anything!"

Robin said nothing and continued to smile.

"…Okay, fine. Maybe I do have a teensy, little crush on him. Just a small one. But don't go around telling anyone! Especially Chrom. I don't want him going all 'overprotective brother mode' and doing something crazy."

"My lips are sealed."

"You too, Sumia."

"Of course."

"Good. Now that that's settled, I'm going to go off and see how Lon'qu fights. If I'm lucky maybe I'll get to see something good. Bye!"

With that, Lissa waved goodbye and left.

"Ah, young love. How sweet and innocent it is. I wonder if anything will come out of it..." Robin wondered aloud before changing topics. "Sumia, hey. Sorry about all that. Things got a bit out of control there. What brings you here?"

"Huh? Oh, right. Nothing, really. I was actually just passing by when I…fell."

"Yes, I seem to remember now. Sounded like you were carrying something heavy."

"Nothing too heavy. Just a bag of books."

"Books, you say? Mind if I have a look?"

"Not at all. In fact, I left the bag just outside your office."

"Great. I can't wait to see what kind of books you got. Are you an avid reader."

"Oh yes! I love reading, especially novels. Nothing is better than a good novel. I sometimes get so caught up that I forget my own sad little life."

"Oh, don't say that! I think your life is neither sad nor little. I mean, you are part of a-WOW that's a lot of books!" Robin gasped as he looked at the bag that Sumia referred to. He imagined something smallish and light. What he got was a sack that was half his height and positively filled with books. So many, that there were books falling out of it.

"S-Sumia, where'd you find so many books?"

"Well, someone threw them out of a wagon, so I figured I'd give them a good home."

"I can't believe someone threw all of these away! Look at all the books! I'm glad you came along when you did, otherwise, who knows what would've happened to all this precious knowledge? Can I see what you got?"

"By all means."

As Robin started sifting thought the various books in the bag, Sumia looked over his shoulder and asked "Based on your enthusiasm, I take it you also enjoy a good book?"

"You bet!" replied Robin. "You'd think I read only tactical manuals, but I also enjoy a bit of everything else. You never know what you'll find in the next book you read. It's really an adventure every time I pick up a new book. Sometimes, I'll even-WOW! History's Mysteries: Shadow Dragons, Second Edition. And look! Shanty Pete and the Haunted Pirates and wow! You even have the entire Might or Magic series! I can't believe anybody would throw these out. You really hit the jackpot with all of these!"

Sumia giggled at Robin's obvious excitement. "I'm glad you share my enthusiasm for books, Robin. Would you like to borrow some?"

The tactician looked up at her with wide eyes. Not since she first offered him a taste of her pie has she seen that look.

"Do you really mean that, Sumia?"

"Of course," she replied. "After seeing how fond of are of reading, how can I say no? Besides, I certainly can't read them all at once."

"You're the best, Sumia!" Robin exclaimed before setting some books aside. "Wait, these are your books, so you should get to pick the ones you want first."

"That's alright. I already have some that I'm reading right now. Take all the ones you want. This way, we can recommend to each other what to read afterwards!"

"Sounds like a plan!"

By the time Robin stood up, he had emptied half of Sumia's bag and had two large stacks of books in his hands.

"Alrighty then. Now to just…make my way…to the desk and put…these down there…"

"Robin? Are you sure you don't need any help?"

"Oh no. I'm…fine. Besides…this is good upper body training."

And so it was. Robin could feel his muscles working as he slowly made his way to his desk. The burning in his arms proved that he was getting stronger. Of course, it was a slow and painstaking process and the distance from the door the desk seemed to have gotten ten times longer. But he triumphed in the end. By treading softly (and avoiding that damned bearskin carpet) Robin eventually got all the books onto his desk. The sense of accomplishment was unparalleled.

"Phew! Thanks for waiting, Sumia."

"No problem. I have to say, I admire your determination. When you put your mind to something, you get it done."

"Th-thanks!" Robin panted. "I-it's a gift and a curse. N-now then, let me help carry the bag to your room."

"Robin, you don't have to do that. Now that you took out half the books, the bag is light enough for me to carry. Besides, you look pretty tired after carrying two full stacks of books."

"T-that's nothing! I am still ready for m-more. It's all part of my endurance training."

"Robin-"

"Sumia, I insist."

The pegasus knight looked at him before sighing. "You're not going to take no for an answer, are you?"

Robin smiled. "You said so yourself, when I put my mind to something, I get it done. Now," he walked up and hoisted the bag onto his back. "Shall we?"

It was partly true. Robin did look at this exercise as some kind of endurance training. But that wasn't the main reason he was doing this. He cared for Sumia, he really did. But because he cared, he also worried. He worried because, despite her performance on the battlefield, Sumia still tripped and fell off of it. While she didn't hurt herself too badly, Robin still worried what would happen if she fell while doing some heavy lifting or something. Like now. The book bag that he was carrying was still pretty damn heavy! However, Robin knew himself well enough to not trip on the smallest wrinkle in the carpet while carrying heavy loads. His worries were vindicated when Sumia tripped and fell beside him as they were walking toward her room. Fortunately, she didn't hurt herself. Unfortunately, her falling caused Robin to lose his balance and fall as well. With the full weight of the books at his back and the hardness of the floor at the front, the impact was…painful, to say the least. Oh well, at least they were close to her room. Robin didn't think he could get up otherwise.