"I understand your reluctance with complying with us, but I assure you that you aren't a suspect in any of these events yet. We're just looking to build a profile of what happened, and to that end, if you could recount your schedule yesterday, we would appreciate it."

Byleth wasn't being interrogated, because that would imply that he had done something wrong. He was being questioned instead. The upside was that he got to be questioned in his office with someone who was sure was a fairly reasonable person. The downside was that he had to answer questions.

"I spent the day teaching my students." Byleth said. "Once that was done, I spent the afternoon with one of my colleagues, and I spent the evening teaching my elective."

"I see." The investigator scrawled something on a pad that Byleth couldn't see. "Would you mind telling me more about this colleague and your elective?"

"I don't see why not." Byleth said. "I spar with the gym teacher Catherine Charon a few times a week. She was just doing drills, and I left her to that. My elective focuses on the origin of various mythical monsters throughout literature. There were two students present with me – Claude Reigan and Leonie Pinelli."

"Can you tell me more about Leonie Pinelli?"

"Why?" Byleth frowned. "Is she in any kind of trouble?"

"No…" the investigator shook his head. "She's not the type to join that elective, though. She doesn't exactly have a history of it."

"I'm sorry, am I missing something here?" Byleth raised an eyebrow. "A woman is taking a class she doesn't ordinarily take, and that somehow makes her a murder suspect?"

"Of course not…"

"Good." Byleth said. "And if you must now, we're old acquaintances and she elected to join my class because of that."

"And Catherine? You said the two of you sparred? What kind of sparring was that?"

"Swords." Byleth knew there was no point of hiding it. Catherine's hobby for swordplay wasn't exactly a secret.

"I'm sorry?"

"Fencing." Byleth clarified. "Why do you ask?"

"Catherine says that she was practicing by herself for the entire afternoon. That leaves her unaccounted for, except for your own testimony. How long were you with her? The whole afternoon."

"No…" Byleth started disliking the line of questions. "Why? Do you think she did it? I thought that the murder didn't occur until the evening."

"Who told you that?"

"Nevermind who told me that." Byleth said. Rhea did. She spread the news to the whole staff once she found out. "Is it true?"

"Yes…" the investigator grit his teeth. "That seems to be what the autopsy report says, so it doesn't really matter where Catherine was the afternoon. I'm just curious. Something here just doesn't add up. Fencing practice, of all things? And especially considering how Gaspard died, too."

"He was shot, wasn't he?"

"Again, with these rumors…" the investigator shook his head. "You really can't help yourselves, can you? No, I was referring to Gaspard's son, Cristopher."

"Cristopher Gaspard?" Byleth echoed. "Can't say I've heard of him."

"He was a student here about a decade ago…" the investigator said. "Killed in an unfortunate fencing club accident, from what the official report said. And now this. Makes me think that there's some of kind of thread connecting them."

Fencing club, ten years ago? Byleth's mind raced. Does that mean that Catherine might know something about this, then? Should I ask her? And does this have anything to do with what Sothis talked to me about last night?

"…Do you know anything about that?" the investigator asked.

"It's the first I've heard of it." Byleth said honestly. "Cristopher Gaspard was killed in a fencing accident? That's odd. You would have thought I'd heard of it."

"Can't argue with you there. Anyway, I think that's all the questions I have for now. Unless, is there perhaps something you'd like to tell me?"

I can travel to a phantom realm of the school's collective subconscious. For a moment, Byleth considered saying it, mostly just to see the reaction of the man, but decided against it. Besides, how would that help? It's not like I can use it to…

Oh.

It's the collective subconscious of the entire school! If there's a secret, I should be able to find it. And that's probably what Sothis wants to talk about. Huh. I'm now starting to get what Claude sees in the Monastery. Not that I wasn't interested before, but… Byleth shook his head. "I'm sorry, sir. I haven't any idea how to help you now. I wish I could be of further use."

"Very well then. I'll take my leave. Please call me if you find anything out."

- Garreg Mach Academy, Early Morning-

"Catherine!" Byleth jogged after the teacher during the morning break. Catherine was walking rapidly through the hallway. "Catherine, can I talk to you?"

"I'm busy."

"Catherine, don't ignore me." Byleth managed to catch up with her just as she slipped into a side door. He followed her in, only to be greeted by the point of a blunt sword. "Woah."

"Byleth, is now really the time?" Catherine flipped the sword around. Byleth looked to see the room was actually a storeroom closet. Catherine placed the sword against the wall. "I need to take inventory."

"Who is Cristopher Gaspard?"

Catherine froze. "Who?"

"Cristopher Gaspard."

"Where did you hear that name from?" Catherine demanded. "He's been dead for-"

"-ten years. I know. He was found dead, in a locked room. The official report was that it was suicide, and it was thereafter referred to as a tragic fencing accident." Byleth finished, sliding into the room and shutting the door behind him. He narrowed his eyes. "The investigator let something slip to me early this morning. Seemed to think that the two deaths were connected, but he wouldn't tell me anything more than that."

"…I don't know anything."

"I have access to the school's records, Catherine. I looked them over once I got out."

"I said, I don't know anything. I … barely knew him in college, even though we were in the same year. I just remember his name because of the incident with him."

"Stop lying. You two were on the fencing team together." Byleth said. "You were captain, he was one of the more talented fencers, judging from the fact that he's one of the people helping hoist a trophy in a photo from that year. And he's standing right next to you."

"You couldn't clean out the stupid trophy case, Rhea?" Catherine muttered under her breath.

"So you did know him."

"Yes. I knew him, and what happened to him was a tragic accident. And it has no relation to what happened last night. And you'll stop asking questions if you know what's good for you." Catherine glared at him. "We're done here, Byleth. I don't want to hear any more questions from you, and don't bother showing up to spar with me this afternoon. Got it?"

Byleth felt something twist inside him.

I am thou

Thou art I

Thou hast shattered a bond thou had

With the reversal of the Hermit Arcana, thou has lost powers

My bond … shattered? Byleth blinked, in a daze, as Catherine angrily stormed past him, pushing him to side. She opened the door to the room and left, slamming in behind her. Does that mean I pushed too hard? I just wanted to find out what happened. But if she had this kind of a reaction, she must be involved somehow. I don't believe in coincidences.

Let me think. Cristopher Gaspard was found dead of sword wounds ten years ago, during the last week of school, but he was inside an empty room deadbolted from the inside. It's almost like a classic locked room mystery, except he had a hand on the sword that caused it. Clear case of suicide. Or … was it?

Murder makes no sense unless the room wasn't actually locked, or empty. Byleth realized. Conventially, of course, that would be impossible. The official report doesn't say what room he was found in, but what if it was the bunker? Someone could have escaped to the Monastery, if that was the case. A perfect crime.

But that just raises even more questions - was Cristopher able to go to the Monastery? How involved is Catherine in this? Why was he killed, and why with a sword, of all weapons? And what does this have to do with Lonato Gaspard? Why was Lonato killed? Did he know something he shouldn't have, and if so why didn't he-

The bell for the next period rang, and Byleth realized that he was still in the storage closet. And, unlike back when he was in college, he was the one teaching the class.

Aw, shoot. Byleth tried the door, only to find it locked. Catherine must have been feeling petty. He immediately used a much stronger phrase, before realizing that he was inside the room, and as a staff member, he had the keys to the lock in any event.

I need to get to class before Headmistress Rhea decides to dock my pay. After that, though…

-Monastery-

"I came as soon as I could."

"Where are the others?" Sothis frowned.

"In class. I came as soon as I had a break, under the justification that I needed somewhere to grade papers in peace." Byleth said. He paused. "That last part is true, by the way. What's happening, Sothis?"

"A new Palace has been created. I saw it appear last night." Sothis said. "That means a sin has been committed."

"Explain."

"First things first." Sothis said. "Where are the others? Leonie and Claude should help when you go into the palace – even for a Wild Card, it's very dangerous to go alone."

"I wasn't intending to explore the Monastery. I just came to talk to you."

"Oh," Sothis blinked. "Well, why didn't you say that in the first place, then? I guess if that's all you're here for, I can show you the Palace. You will need to deal with it, but it can wait a few days, I guess. Follow me."

Byleth followed Sothis as she walked to the far side of the Monastery to where there was a large arena-like building. The door in front of it was carved full of symbols, most of which Byleth didn't recognized. He did recognize the symbol on the front though, from the book that Anna had managed to get to him. It was a single old man, propped up with a staff and holding a lantern.

"We should be fine as long as we don't enter it. But this one is awake. Very awake."

"Sothis… what exactly is a Palace?"

"I told you before, didn't I? A twisted labyrinth formed from someone's subconscious." Sothis said. "And, if they're allowed to manifest too long, then that means consequences for the owner."

"What kind of consequences?"

"It depends, really." Sothis said, slowly.

"This is what you wanted to show me?"

"Yes. The Monastery represents the academy. And, given that, this Palace represents something that has happened there." Sothis said. "If you do not deal with this Palace before it collapses of its own accord, then very bad things will happen to Garreg Mach."

"Worse than murder?"

"Murder?" Sothis sounded surprised.

"Someone was killed last night. Lonato Gaspard." Byleth gauged Sothis's reaction to the name, but the self-proclaimed Monastery's guardian just blinked at it. Judging from her reactions, she didn't know anything about the murder or about Lonato Gaspard. "Do you anything about that?"

"No. It's hard for me to peek into the normal world, and I can only really do it around people I'm close to." Sothis shook her head. "That could very well cause the appearance of the Palace, they do tend to form around sins."

"What about the name Cristopher Gaspard?"

"…I feel … an abyss." Sothis said, slowly. "Not that I remember the name, but I can't remember whether or not I could remember. Or … is it should?"

"Sothis?" Byleth stared at the small girl. "Are you having trouble remembering things?"

"No! Obviously, I would have no trouble. This name means nothing to me, so its best not to focus on it right now and on the Palace instead. Or do you have more pressing concerns?"

"No." Byleth admitted. "You're saying this Palace and the murder…"

"…are linked, yes." Sothis nodded. "It's highly likely that whoever committed the murder is the Ruler of this Palace. Either that, or directly responsible for it."

There's a mystery here. Byleth walked up to the door and stared at the symbol. "An old man with a staff and a lantern. That's one of the common depictions of the Major Arcana. The IX Arcana, to be precise. The Hermit."

"Do you know anyone who fits that description?"

"Catherine Charon."

The words reverberated in the air, and slowly, the doors to the Palace creaked open at the very mention of the name of the Palace's Ruler. Byleth stared inside, the opening hallway looking less like an arena and more similar to some kind of place of worship.

If Sothis is right, then that means the Palace was created at the moment that Gaspard Lonato was killed, and the timing makes sense from what I know about the crime. Byleth thought. I didn't cause the Palace to be created by shattering my bond with her – the opposite is more likely to be true. But if you add these up together, then that means that Catherine is the one that killed Gaspard. But why? And what, if anything, does Cristopher Lonato have to do with this?

One mystery is solved. I suppose I know who killed Gaspard. But that's just the first step.

"What will happen if the Palace isn't dealt with?"

"Hard to say. But, considering that the Ruler has already murdered once before, it's likely that she'll murder again if her Palace collapses." Sothis said. "In the real world, they'll probably call it 'guilt-induced psychosis'."

There has to be more to this story. I don't believe Catherine would commit cold-blooded murder for no reason. And there had to be a reason why Gaspard was on the Monastery grounds. Byleth weighed his options. "How do we stop that from happening?"

"Confront and defeat the Ruler. And, as a bonus, you'll also get access to her secrets. Should go a long way towards solving the mystery."

"That's it?"

"Hah! Easier said than done." The smile vanished from Sothis's face as soon as it appeared. "Don't get ahead of yourself, Wild Card. You'll need more than just my power and your own to get through this. You'll need the other two with you, at least, and even then, a Palace is no laughing matter. You'll be fighting the manifested guilt of a murderer, which you might be able to imagine, is quite powerful. This will, with no exaggeration, be the hardest task of your life."

"Almost makes me want to just ignore it, then." Byleth said. He paused, and shook his head. "No. The academy is in danger. And Catherine is my friend. I'm not about to just let this go."

"I'm glad to hear that." Sothis snarked.

"Why Pride, though?"

"You'll find the answer to that soon enough."

"Is that just another way of saying that you don't know?" Byleth asked dryly.

"I don't see you answering questions!"

"…How long do I have?"

"A month. Maybe a little less." Sothis said.

-Byleth's Study-

"Let's start with the basics," Byleth said, tacking two pictures on a corkboard in his office. The first one held a newspaper clipping of Gaspard Lonato's death, and just beneath it, a picture of Catherine Charon. He'd drawn the letters IX over Catherine and written 'PRIDE?' underneath it.

"Catherine kills Gaspard Lonato." Another picture went up, this one of Cristopher Lonato. He linked it to Gaspard, then to two more pictures he added - one of Catherine's fencing club, as well as one to Ashe Lonato. Catherine's fencing club was linked to Catherine. "More information. More links. Gaspard Lonato's son was Cristopher Lonato. Cristopher Lonato was on the same team as Catherine."

"Now, let's add a few more," Byleth muttered, adding the members of the Seven of Swords, linking them to each other, and then linking himself to Catherine. He considered, and then added a blank piece of paper with the name Sothis scrawled on it, linking it to him, and a picture of a monastery. "Okay. This helps me visualize this. But this doesn't answer my questions. I need … I need more information."

He checked the calendar. There wouldn't be another elective for a few days, which was good. At that point, his sword would arrive, and what would be more, he might be able to get more information.

"I need to find out about Cristopher Lonato, that fencing club, and how the monastery can get me access to those things." Byleth muttered. "I'll also need to prepare for the Monastery, and seeing as that's how its probably going to give me the answers my questions, preparation takes priority right now. Well, time to get to work."

-Byleth's Office-

"Hey, Byleth?" Leonie rapped on the door to his office, pushing the door ajar as she did so.

"It's open. And you can come in." Byleth sighed as the auburn-haired student let herself in the room before he had finished his sentence. He'd have to work on getting Leonie to maintain a minimum level of decorum around him. "What I can do for you, Leonie?"

"Are we having the elective tonight?"

"No, there won't be an elective."

"What? Why not?"

"I said, twice a week. Tonight isn't one of the nights." Byleth said. "Leonie, I understand your impatience, but it's best if we maintain out schedule out of emergencies."

"But didn't Sothis say-"

"-Mind your words, please!" Byleth said sharply. "Yes, she did, and I visited her. But … this isn't the kind of thing we can rush into. It'll take time, Leonie. You know what happens when you rush a dig, right?"

"Yeah, yeah. You wreck half the cool stuff and then whatever program is funding you gets mad and starts yelling at you and you don't get the grant next time." Leonie rolled her eyes and then paused. "Wait. You went to the Monastery alone? But you said-"

"I am a teacher. My rules are not your rules." Byleth said. Leonie rolled her eyes and loudly scoffed. "Yes, fine. I shouldn't have done it. I didn't do any actual fighting. I just spoke to our mutual friend."

"Aw. Boring." Leonie said. "Even when you break rules, you still follow them. Can't we do something exciting?"

"Like I said yesterday, elective will be twice a week. If you have spare time today, focus on doing things to improving yourself. Or, you know, catch up on schoolwork."

"Schoolwork is a joke right now." Leonie rolled her eyes. "It's the first week and for some reason, no one seems to want to give out any assignments."

"The teachers are assuming that the students are a bit shaken up from the murder." Byleth raised an eyebrow.

"Oh." Leonie said after a pause. "Um. Should I be? I didn't know Gaspard at all, and I don't really know Ashe that well. I mean, it's bad. But people die all the time you know."

"A little empathy can go a long way, Leonie." Byleth said.

"Really? You're telling me that, out of all people." Leonie raised an eyebrow. "Come on, Byleth, let's go to the Monastery. I want to try out Ching I Sao!"

"No." Byleth sighed. "Tomorrow, Leonie. And it wouldn't hurt to show me some respect."

"Einherjar?"

"The card game? No."

"But you still play it. Huh. Interesting. What kind of deck do you run these days?"

"The same one that beat the Greil deck you still run, Leonie." Byleth had to refrain from rolling his eyes. "What's the real reason you're here, Leonie? You keep bringing things up, but why do I feel that you're avoiding the real issue?"

"…Fine. I'll come out and say it." Leonie pointed her finger at Byleth. "I hereby declare myself your rival!"

"Excuse me?" Byleth blinked. I'd ask where that even came from, but this is Leonie, so … perfectly normal.

"You don't really have any interest in following your father's footsteps as an archeologist, so I can't challenge you on that, but I'm going to be stronger than you in the Monastery!" Leonie declared. "Stronger than Claude, too. I won't lose to anyone!"

I am thou

Thou art I

Thou hast established a new bond

It brings thee closer to uncovering that which has been hidden

With the birth of the Moon Arcana, thou has obtained new powers

The Moon Arcana? It represents illusions, doesn't it? Byleth focused. Because the light of the moon is just reflected… oh. That's why her Arcana is the Moon. I … don't think I'll tell her about that anytime soon.

"Challenge accepted, Leonie." Byleth said. "I look forward to seeing you surpass me."

"…So Einherjar?"

"I have papers to grade. No."

"I'll play." Claude offered.

"Gah! Where did you come from?" Leonie spun around, noticing the darker skinned student for the first time. Byleth had noticed him when he'd silently entered a minute earlier and just stood in the corner, enjoying the conversation around him. "How long have you been here?"

"Long enough, Miss I-Declare-Myself-Teach's-Rival."

"Oh, you're in for it." Leonie growled. "You're lucky Byleth is here or I'd knock you into next week."

"Claude, I expect you to prepare for the excursion tomorrow night as well."

-Nurse's Office-

"Oh, hello Professor. Are you here, too?"

I recognize her. She's the one from Claude's house who constantly looks like she doesn't get enough sleep. "Marianne, right? What are you doing here?"

"I help out here, sometimes." Marianne said, quietly. "I like helping animals. People too."

"I was looking for Manuela."

"Oh." Marianne was silent for a moment. "She's out. She's supposed to be in charge of the nurse's station during breaks."

"And where is she now?" Byleth asked. He tried smiling to put her at ease as he sat down. "Don't worry, I'm not looking to get her in trouble at all."

"I don't know. She's not here that often, so I help out where I can." Indeed, Marianne was busy stocking the room and moving and sorting various kinds of medicine. Her nimble fingers and deft hands revealed that she was very practiced at the job. "I can pass along a message."

"Manuela wanted me to help her with a play, so I was just dropping in to discuss it. I'll probably not have time for it, anyway, but I just wanted to see if I could talk about it before I became busy."

"…You're planning something?"

"A side project." Byleth said. "I'm including your classmates Leonie and Claude in it. My elective."

"Oh. Are you inviting me?"

"No." Byleth blanched when he realized how quickly the word had slipped out of his mouth. "Um, sorry. That was quicker than I intended."

"Don't worry, I know that I'm not really wanted. Besides I need to help out here."

Um, I don't know that much, but I'm pretty sure that attitude isn't very healthy. Byleth narrowed his eyes. In fact, I'm pretty sure that's serially depressed. And that's something very odd to say when she's being so helpful with the medicines when Manuela is … eh, I'll be honest. She's probably out drinking, or something.

"I don't think you're not wanted, Marianne. I think it's pretty wonderful what you're doing here, organizing the medication." Byleth said. "Claude said that you wanted to be a veterinarian, didn't he? This seems like good experience."

"I suppose."

"Want a hand?"

"No, thank you, professor." Marianne smiled. "I can handle everything by myself."

"If you're sure… I had spare time anyway because I was planning to talk to Manuela."

"You could take this."

Byleth blinked as he accepted a small jar of pills from Marianne. "Um, Marianne?"

"High-strength painkillers. They're packaged under the brand name Vulnerary." Marianne said. "A lot of people need help, but they won't come to me for it. If you want to help people, I could give you medicine. Maybe people will take it from you, if not me."

I am thou

Thou art I

Thou hast established a new bond

It brings thee closer to uncovering that which has been hidden

With the birth of the Empress Arcana, thou has obtained new powers

"I think I can do that, no problem." Byleth said. Another Arcana? "I'll come back and tell you how it went."

"I'm just glad that I could help someone."

-Byleth's Classroom-

"You're early, Claude."

"Yeah, Leonie still has class, but I was able to ditch - ahem, I mean, I was excused from it early." Claude coughed. "Want to play Einherjar while we wait?"

"Claude…" Byleth sighed, clutching the bridge of his nose. "Just … I don't know. Try not to make any more trouble for us, alright?"

"So, Einherjar? Leonie told me you played."

"I suppose a quick round wouldn't hurt, while we wait for Leonie." Byleth removed his deck from his jacket pocket and shuffled it. "So, what have you managed to puzzle out about this murder?"

"You first, Teach." Claude replied, slapping his own deck on the table. "What's the deal with the monastery? Have you found that out yet?"

"Hmm," Byleth considered his opening hand. Einherjar was an odd game. There was no payment cost to any of the cards, rather, conditions that had to be met to play the stronger ones you had. You could, in theory, open with an arsenal of all the cards you could play at once, but that was asking to be countered. "I play Kris of Sera, a relatively weak 1/2 mercenary."

"A Forgotten Hero deck? I thought those didn't even exist." Claude raised an eyebrow. "Alright. I play Soaring Princess Tana, a 1/1 with Haste, as well as a 0/3 Silent Gilliam with Provoke. Now, the murder, Teach?"

Interesting. I think those are cards of a Freila deck, but I can't remember what the aces of that deck was. Byleth noted. His Tana is useless with my Kris on the board, but I don't think I want to take my time hammering at that knight.

"The Monastery will have the secrets contained within it, but judging from our previous excursion, the answers won't come as well as we like it." Byleth said, playing a 2/1 Aspiring Archer Ryan from his hand to threaten Claude's Tana. "So we should learn as much as possible beforehand."

"I talked to Dmitiri about Ashe. Dmitiri can vouch for him as far as location - not that I think he killed Gaspard, but I thought that he might have been around." Claude said, analyzing the board before reinforcing his side and then attacking Ryan with Tana to take them both out. "Looks like Ashe know absolutely nothing. Cristopher Lonato, his older brother, I know a little more about."

"He was part of an old fencing club, I know. I also know about the murder."

"Not only that, but rumor has it … and this is only rumor, mind … that Gaspard is one of the anonymous donors to this college."

"What? Are you serious?"

"Didn't know that, teach? Yeah. Used to be, anyway. Quit after his son died, but before that, the school would regularly receive large donations - and I mean large, seven digits' worth, which stopped suddenly."

"Where'd you here that from?"

"My grandfather. When you run a multinational multibillion dollar corporation, these kinds of rumors are a dime a dozen. Rich people love finding out that they've given more money to charitable causes than other rich people."

"Interesting. So Gaspard may have a connection to the school itself."

Byleth said, adjusting his field and playing a field card, letting him summon a pair of cavaliers - Luke and Roderick. Claude responded with a field card of his own, and the two stopped talking to focus on the game. The Forgotten Hero archetype centered around a spam of cheap, replaceable units designed to counter enemies whereas Claude was focused on traps and clever plays.

Claude considered the board. "Teach, do any of your cards have any actual power behind them?"

"I have more on my board than you do."

"Uh-huh." Claude said flatly. "I activate the Sacred Stone of Freila which lets me play Innes, Regal Strategician. And, since I have an artifact and my ace in play, I can equip Innes with his Sacred Weapon, Nidhogg. Now, whenever I attack, I flip two coins. If they both land heads, then the target is destroyed regardless. Now, using the equip card Ballistae, I can have him attack at range without being countered, and using the Galeforce spell, every time he kills one of your units, he gets to take another turn."

So his Ace is Innes, then. With that kind of a set-up, he can chew through my units, and even get lucky and insta-kill some of them. Pity. My counter for that requires the Whitewing Est. Byleth sighed and started playing defensively, but he knew he'd be losing. Byleth looked at the board and sighed. "I surrender."

"Wise choice, Teach. I still had three or four traps going." Claude swept up his cards. "Next time, play like you mean it if you want to win."

"Cristopher Gaspard was friends with Catherine Charon." Byleth said.

"So did you try to talk to Catherine about it?"

"Yes. She's hiding something. And, what's more, the Palace we're going to be going to belongs to her."

"Are you serious, Teach?" Claude's voice dropped to a shocked whisper. "You think that Coach Charon did it?"

"I'm not convinced one way or the other, but I do know that she's involved." Byleth said. "She represents the IX Arcana - the Hermit."

"What'd I miss?" Leonie asked, walking into the classroom.

"I took down Teach in Einherjar."

"Hah! And I beat Claude, so that means I'm better than you, Byleth."

"Leonie, I know what deck you play." Byleth reminded her. "We've played before and you've never beaten me. Let's focus on what's important - the Monastery."

"Sure." Leonie said, sitting down. "What's the deal with the Monastery?"

"There's a new Palace in it - one that belongs to Coach Charon." Byleth said. "Claude and I think that it has something to do with the murder that happened, so we'll be going there tonight. Have you brought your gear?"

"Sure do!" Leonie said cheerfully, pulling a black object out of her backpack and unfolding it to full length. "One military-grade entrenching shovel, useful for everything that an archeologist might need."

"I thought you used a crossbow."

"There's no law saying I can't have something to whack people with and to shoot people, Claude. I don't think you quite understand just how awesome military-grade shovels can be."

"She has a point." Byleth said. "Want to stop by the school's armory to grab something, Claude?"

"I'll be fine without it. Trust me, I have nothing that I need to compensate for." Claude said. "Hey, speaking of archeology, though - did you manage to get Jeralt to take a look at those pictures you snapped in the Monastery?"

"Turns out that you can't use a phone to take pictures in the Monastery." Leonie scowled. "I'd draw a picture, but I kind of suck at that stuff, so… not an option."

"Sothis?" Byleth focused, tuning out his students and talking to the small girl in his head. "Are you ready for us?"

"I'm ready when you are, Byleth. The Shrine of Pride awaits."

"Alright, you two." Byleth said. "Let's head to the bunker and start this adventure."