Interviews with a Tactician

by Scourge of Infinis

In which Robin decides to conduct interviews with existing and potential Shepherds to ensure their loyalty and commitment to the cause (and some other details). What could possibly go wrong?

44. Valmese Interlude II

And we're back! An entire month after I planned to upload this thing, but we're back! We're back with...more filler.

But hey, we recruited Yarne last time and that wasn't filler! Besides, filler isn't all bad! At least we're not doing that cliche filler thing with obligatory beach and hot springs episodes!

Anyway, yes. Here I am to bring another chapter in this thing. For real this time.

As usual, a very big thank you to everyone out there who's still here. Really appreciate your infinite patience. I know the update times for this thing are horrendous, but at least the story isn't dead before it finishes! That's something, right? Right?

---

The sun was high in the sky. The air was still. There were no birds, no wind, no sounds.

"Ha!"

No sounds save for the clash of weapons and the exertions of their wielders.

"Grr…"

In the silence, the clack of practice swords against each other was deafening.

"Ya!"

The intensity and power behind the hits testified to the power and skill of the combattants.

Cordelia panted as she dodged a strike by her opponent. Although they were both extremely skilled with the sword, she specialized in speed while her opponent focused on strength. That meant she could dodge her opponent's strikes and inflict more of her own, but she had to be careful since her opponent's hits really hurt when he managed to get some in.

The two fighters circled each other, trying to predict each other's next moves.

Cordelia tightened her grip around her sword.

Her opponent adjusted his stance.

There was no movement. Then, the two fighters clashed once again.

Slash. Block. Counter. Dodge. Strike. Parry.

He was as skilled a warrior as ever and it was why Cordelia relished sparring with him. It was why Cordelia joined his mercenary band. It was why Cordelia followed his orders without question.

He was as talented as she was. He was also...nice.

Strike. Parry. Block. Counterstrike.

Unlike other leaders, he wasn't harsh. He was nice. To her. To his fellow mercenaries. To everyone.

Feint. Strike. A hit.

That was why she joined him. That was why she followed him. That was why...why…

The two clashed their swords one final time, signaling the end of their session.

It was a tie. Again.

Cordelia panted, staring at her opponent.

She was tired and sweaty; her body ached and her muscles burned.

"Good match."

But adrenaline still coursed through her veins and the thrill of the match brought all her feelings that she tried so hard to suppress to the surface yet again. She usually managed to bury them, but with the tension and the adrenaline and the intensity of their session…

"Thanks."

The two stared at each other. Then, as if guided by the same thought, they closed the distance.

The kiss was intense and passionate.

When the two parted, they were breathing more heavily than when they sparred.

"Cordelia."

"Chief."

There were no words. None were needed.

The ensuring kiss was more needy and desperate than the first.

Cordelia was a woman of few words. She was never good with words. What she was good at was killing enemies with her sword.

So everything she wanted to say but couldn't, and all the feelings she harbored all these years went into her kiss.

While her mind was going blank in the heat of the moment, she still had enough wits about her to feel something stiff rising against her thigh.

Without hesitation, she reached down to the belt at his pants.

She managed to unbuckle the belt when he broke the kiss.

Without warning, he backed her up against a wall and, with one swift motion, pulled down her shorts and underclothes.

Cordelia bit her lip as she watched him swiftly and unceremoniously drop his pants.

Looking into his eyes, she saw that they were full of intensity and lust, much like her own, no doubt.

He then lifted her by her legs and held her against the wall.

Gods, Cordelia was so ready for this.

She was wound up and desperate and full of need.

"Robin…!"

And with that one word, he proceeded to—

---

"Gah!"

Cordelia shot out of her bed with a start, breathing heavily.

"What…? How…?"

What was that? It certainly wasn't one of her usual dreams, that was for sure. She didn't even have those kinds of dreams in the first place! Her dreams were usually...well, she didn't have dreams lately, to be honest. And when she did in the past, it was mostly nightmares from when she lost her fellow knight-sisters during the previous war. Those were tough nights…

And on days when she did have dreams that weren't nightmares, they dreams were usually based on the latest book she read. They were usually sappy and romantic and Cordelia woke up feeling very warm and fuzzy inside.

But it was never like this! And she definitely didn't dream of anyone she knew! Sure, maybe she may have placed herself in the main character's place subconsciously to be with the prince, but that was about it. She could never see her prince's face and the other characters were never people she knew. Well, until now, it seemed.

Cordelia blushed thinking about it.

But she wasn't like that and she didn't see her friends like that! Besides, it's not like the proportions were right, anyway. Robin was nowhere near so well-built and—

"Ack! No!"

Cordelia shook her head to dispel these thoughts.

There had to be a logical explanation for this. Maybe she was just tired, or she slept on the wrong side of the bed or...or...something!

Actually, when Cordelia thought about it, that scene seemed strikingly familiar to…

Cordelia looked to her side.

There, on her night table, was a copy of Ribald Tales of the Restoration War.

"Oh thank gods…"

Cordelia sighed, relieved.

That scene she dreamt about really did seem way too similar to the scene where, after a lot of unresolved sexual tension between the two, the swordswoman who was not Marisa finally managed to let her feelings be known to her love interest, who was not Gerik. And he reciprocated in the most explicit way possible. For several pages. And it was very steamy and passionate and—

"No, no!" Cordelia shook her head.

Okay, she had to admit that the only reason she picked up the book and got into the Ribald Tales series was because how much Sumia gushed about it (and made Cordelia swear to keep the fact she reads the series a secret). And, okay, Cordelia had to acknowledge that her curiosity was piqued when she read excerpts from Faith War. It was definitely...something, that was for sure. The only downside was that it had a bit more incest than Cordelia was comfortable with, which is one of the reasons she picked Ribald Tales of the Restoration War as her proper starting point in to the series. And sure, after getting into it, Cordelia could see why Sumia was such a big fan of the series, with its steamy romantic trysts and explicitly graphic descriptions of activities of a sexual nature and...and...

"Urgh…"

Cordelia rubbed her temples.

She was just overthinking things. It was early in the morning and she was jolted out of her fitful sleep by some dream influenced by the book she was reading. And her mind placed Robin in there probably because she was tired and he was the one she spent most of her time talking to. It didn't mean anything more than that. It's not like she wanted to do that with Robin. Hell, she didn't even see him that way!

With that comforting thought, Cordelia decided to push the dream out of her mind and start preparing for the day.

---

Not thinking about the dream proved a lot easier said than done.

Despite trying to keep herself busy during the day, Cordelia's mind always ended up drifting back to the dream. Well, that dream and the book in general.

Cordelia could see why Sumia was so into the Ribald Tales series as well as why her friend swore her to secrecy yet also enthusiastically recommended the books. Both she and Sumia were fans of the Stories From series and any related works or spinoffs were a welcome treat. Of course, Cordelia never imagined that there would be anything quite so explicit involving stories and thinly disguised versions of characters she knew and loved, but true to their name, the spinoff series were certainly ribald. And once Cordelia started reading, her interest was piqued. The books seemed to cover so much that Cordelia was sure literally everyone could find something that catered to them, from the mundane to the most taboo fetishes. It was all there, and Cordelia found herself really into reading about the graphically explicit sexual adventures of fictional characters. And today was the day after when she read about how not-Marisa and not-Gerik went at it. To make things worse, her mind somehow substituted the characters with herself and Robin. And to top it all off, no matter how hard she tried, Cordelia couldn't help but wander back to the dream and...compare.

Fortunately, she managed to wake up before her dream got to the really explicit parts of the dream (if that happened, Cordelia was sure that she wouldn't be able to face Robin for the foreseeable future). But still. In her dream, it was after their intense sparring session and they were both tired, sweaty, and their clothes clung to them, emphasizing their bodies and muscles underneath…

Now, Cordelia was well aware of what she saw, and that what she saw was Robin's head imposed on a Ribald Tales version of Gerik. Cordelia was well aware of how well-built Gerik was supposed to be, being a veteran mercenary and all (the book also made it abundantly clear in how good of a shape not-Gerik was). Furthermore, Cordelia was not one to ogle her friends, fellow soldiers, or superiors (the Chrom thing in the past notwithstanding) or imagine what they looked like under their clothes. But now, her mind wandered, much to her frustration.

Robin until recently wore his coat and some loose clothes underneath, making it almost impossible to tell his physique. Even with this new swordmaster outfit, he wore a few layers as well as a standard swordmaster's coat, not making it any easier to guess what his build was. Cordelia had no idea what he looked like underneath, but what was certain, though, was that he was not as well built as Gerik, that was for sure.

...Thinking back on it, Cordelia actually did see Robin without his trademark clothes, once. It was when they were separated then reunited in the desert oasis and Robin decided to have some fun in the waters. That was the one and probably only time Cordelia would see what Robin looked like underneath his coat that he otherwise never took off. And now that Cordelia thought about it, Robin wasn't too shabby. He obviously wasn't as well-built as Gerik, or Vaike, or Chrom, but he did have some muscle underneath his coat. Cordelia supposed that was a given, since Robin did equal amounts fighting melee and casting spells from a distance. And despite not having Gerik's physique Cordelia has certain Robin would have more than enough strength to pin her to a wall and passionately kiss her before lifting her up and shove his throbbing—

"Argh!"

"Cordelia?" Sumia looked at her friend worriedly. "Are you okay?"

"W-what? No. I mean, yes! I'm fine. Perfectly fine. Well. Swell!"

"Are you sure? You're acting all fidgety…"

"W-well...that's because...I…"

Sumia raised a brow, waiting for an explanation.

"I've just been...reading things. And thinking about...stuff related to those things."

"Cordelia, you're starting to worry me. What's wrong?"

"Nothing, nothing!" Cordelia said quickly.

Sumia didn't look convinced.

Cordelia sighed. "I've been reading that series you recommended."

"What?" Sumia asked. Her eyes then went wide when realization dawned. "Ohhhh…"

Cordelia nodded.

"It's really something, isn't it?"

"That it is…"

"You were thinking about it now, weren't you?" Sumia asked conspiratorially.

"No!" Cordelia said immediately. "At least, not on purpose…"

"What were you thinking about?"

"It's not something I'd like to discuss right now, Sumia!"

"But when else are we going to get the chance to do so? We're all so busy lately and it's not like it's something we can discuss at our club meetings."

"That's for sure. Robin bringing up 69 Shades and casually discussing it in front of everyone was embarrassing enough…"

"Exactly! So this will be something between the two of us! Like our little guilty pleasure that we can both talk about to each other. Ohh, it'll be just like when we were cadets and used to stay up late in our barracks to talk about stuff!"

"Sumia, I really don't think this is something to talk about in the open!" Cordelia hissed, her face red with embarrassment at the fact that they were still even on this topic. "Besides, why are you so eager to talk about something like this!?"

"Because we don't do things like this anymore."

"I don't think we've ever done this before!"

Before Sumia could further prod and embarrass her friend, the door in the room they were in burst open.

"I hate politics," Robin grumbled as he marched into the room. "And those damn politicians. All of them!"

"Funny, since you seemed to enjoy playing politics back home," Chrom remarked, walking after Robin.

"I wasn't playing anything. All I did was propose some laws that would improve the country and tried to efficiently implement them but those idiot nobles stood in my way. At every damn turn."

"Yeah, that's because all of your proposed laws affected every vested interest in the country. You might as well have tried to ram the outer walls of Ylisstol."

"Well if you're going to tear down walls in pursuit of the best interests of the country, you might as well bring the best siege weapons available. And luckily for everyone involved, you gave me one of the most powerful tools to tear down those damn vested interests."

"You know, antagonizing every noble in Ylisse wasn't quite what I had in mind when I made you Grandmaster of the Realm," Chrom said wryly.

"Well you dumped that title and work on me and I that was what you got."

"How did you manage to sort all that out?"

"You're the ruler and don't even know what happens in your country. Too busy boinking Olivia no doubt…" Robin shook his head.

Chrom opened his mouth to protest.

"And you left me to deal with the mess after the war all alone!" Robin exclaimed. "You're just lucky dealing with all the bureaucratic nonsense is one of my many skills."

"As you never fail to remind us," Frederick said, entering the room.

"Exactly. Anyway, to answer your original question, I used a combination of threats, browbeating, and persuasion, only sometimes forceful."

"Do tell," Chrom said.

"Pulling rank on those fools and forcing them to do what I told them to was really fun, don't you doubt that for a second. However, I didn't have the time to beat every noble in Ylisse into submission and also keep track of their petty little schemes and attempts at sabotaging my reforms. I mean, I could do that, but there was just too much to do."

"I do remember getting various petitions complaining about you…" Chrom recalled, shivering at the mountain of papers he received for a few weeks. "So what did you do?"

"Much like in the saying, I found that I could get more flies with honey than the swatter. Or in my case, compromise."

"Do my ears deceive me?" Virion said, entering the room. "I didn't even know that the word was in your vocabulary."

"Give me some credit, Virion. As much as I like having my way, what I like more is efficiently having my way. And sometimes that involves idle flattery, ego stroking, and giving a little while pretending to give a lot in exchange of actually getting a lot. Like, 'Oh, Lady Melchiott, you wish to import some special flour to ensure continued production of your special bread? Hmm, unfortunately this flour is sourced from somewhere in Valm and the import costs just aren't justifiable. However, perhaps I can have a look at the numbers if you could support the recently proposed tax amendments…' or 'Lord Gunther, I hear you wish to expand your estate to include the nearby forest in order to study the wildlife without interruption. You do realize how much land it is you're asking for, do you not? It would require a fair bit in order for us to consider your request. Gold? No, I was thinking along the lines of your dropping your objections to the latest military draft proposals…'"

"Well color me surprised. Robin, it sounds like you play the game like a natural!" Virion complimented.

"Back in Ylisse where I actually had influence and could shove my plans down their throats, maybe. But here in Rosanne, where I'm just some foreigner with no influence whatsoever, I'm stuck!" Robin exclaimed, exasperated. "Turns out that politicians are all the same everywhere and are only concerned about their own interests. Took me all my willpower not to just smack everyone there in the face…"

"Alas, you speak true. However, I must object to your assertion that it is all for selfish reasons they refuse to join us. While they may have their own reasons, you must see it from their perspective, Robin. And right now the prospects of victory for them and for us look quite dim. The way they see it, breaking with Walhart now would only result in defeat."

"But we totally explained why we're gonna win!" Morgan said, rushing into the room. "We had a detailed plan and everything!"

"Detailed, but not credible, apparently," Robin grumbled. "Like, we told them that Chon'sin will break away from Walhart, which will then cause a chain reaction. Soon afterwards, Rena-something will follow suit, with a potential coup/revolution in the other place to replace Walhart's stooges there. That's like, three countries liberated in a span of a few days! But nooooo, apparently it's all too 'fanciful' and 'fantastical' to be believable. Gods…"

"I suppose it was a good thing we anticipated this outcome," Lucina said, entering the room.

"Having anticipated it doesn't make it any less annoying."

"So I guess the meeting went well, then?" Cordelia asked.

"Wonderful," Robin replied sarcastically. "We laid out our perfectly reasonable and intricate plan to win the war against Walhart and asked for their help. They said some platitudes but ultimately said our plans were not realistic and they would need more proof before committing Rosanne. Can you believe that?"

"Those jerks," Morgan huffed.

"Well it's not like we didn't see this coming," Chrom said. "And why we came here when we did. So what's the plan?"

"Okay…" Robin took a deep breath and unravelled a map on the table. "We've successfully made it to Rosanne and are holed up in this estate here. Virion's and Say'ri's contacts have arranged for all the lords and the most influential people running the country to take up residence here too, ostensibly because it's the harvest season and they need to expect the crops or give thanks to the gods or something."

"Actually, the reason we have agreed upon is that because today is a national—"

"Yeah, that's great. Also doesn't matter," Robin said, waving dismissively. "What does matter is that we're here, and everyone that matters in Rosanne is also here. We've also ensured that Walhart's spies aren't here, right?"

"Those sympathetic to his cause have been kept away," Virion confirmed. "We've ensured that everyone here is either sympathetic to our cause or at the very least hostile to Valmese influence in Rosanne."

"Good. Now as discussed, I've tried timing our arrival here so that we can convince these fools to commit their forces to us while they're still here. That's also why I asked Virion to use his contacts to convince them to stay here for as long as they can without arousing suspicion. The festival or whatever gives us exactly such an excuse."

"So how's it looking?" Chrom asked.

"Taking into account our correspondence with Say'ri, the distance between the two countries and how long news travels, I'd guess that Say'ri would've pulled off her part of the operation...yesterday. And it'd give it a few days before word gets out and reaches Rosanne and elsewhere. Of course, while that includes areas under Walhart's control, it also includes our potential allies."

"A few days, huh?"

"A few days for events in Chon'sin to get out, yes. That should give Lady Erica and the other one an opening to carry out their plans."

"What's the timeframe for that?"

"Last I heard, Say'ri's spies have gathered enough intel to pinpoint where Excellus was keeping her brother. Despite my misgivings, I've helped plan and coordinate an operation to liberate Lady Erica's brother from Excellus' clutches. In return, I have no choice but to trust that they would honor their word and commit their forces to us against Walhart."

"Can we even trust these guys given what happened last time?" Morgan asked.

"I don't trust any of these backstabbing traitors," Robin grumbled. "However, our circumstances are such that I don't really have a choice. True, we could try to strongarm the Rosannians to help us after Say'ri liberates Chon'sin, but our case will be much stronger if we have other countries willing to fight against Walhart."

"So if they help us, great. But what if they don't?"

"Then our situation becomes a lot more complicated. How complicated depends on what they do. If Renacia stays on the sidelines, then at least they're not committing their forces against us, which gives us a little breathing room. If they still stick with Walhart, then we have to do something bold and reckless."

"Like?"

"Like making a beeline for their border and seize every fortification that we can find. Then burn everything to the ground before retreating back into Chon'sin."

"Depriving the enemy of useful bases and supplies in the process," Morgan concluded.

"Exactly. Afterwards, we have to quickly rush Rosanne's reinforcements into Chon'sin and dig in to prepare for a series of long sieges…"

"Right, so that's the situation with Renacia. What about the other country? What was it, Andrast?"

"Well, after the whole Chon'sin thing, I hear that Lady Eizengard will launch her operation to purge Andrast of those who currently support Walhart and seize control herself."

"Is she not the one who runs the country now?" Lucina inquired.

"Rumor has it that Lady Eizengard is the ruler of the country in name only," Virion responded. "Apparently some of the most powerful nobles in the country have taken control of the most important functions of the government, effectively running the country themselves. Ordinarily, removing all their influence and regaining control would require one placing their supporters in key positions while sidelining those sympathetic to your enemies. As you can imagine, this is a process that requires patience, wit, political acumen, and a lot of time."

"The last of which is not on our side," Chrom said.

"Precisely. So Lady Eizengard has opted for a more direct approach."

"She's basically going to purge her political enemies. By force," Robin said bluntly.

"That sounds risky…" Chrom commented.

"Probably the most unpredictable of our situations," Robin agreed. "I've heard that she's covered all her bases and will take them all out simultaneously in one fell swoop before announcing a change in management of the country. We can only wish her luck, since if her plans go poorly, that directly affects our situation."

"What're the scenarios?"

"I've considered some of the likeliest ones. She succeeds, then great! We get another ally in our fight against Walhart. If she fails, it depends. Worst case, she fails and gets captured and/or killed and Andrast still fights with Walhart. And since we can't just waltz in there and help, we'll have to really double down on our 'hold them off in Chon'sin' strategy. If we're lucky, Renacia will be friendly and if Eizengard's plan fails, they'll have to fight through Renacia to get to us. Best case scenario will be Eizengard's plan fails and will trigger a civil war in Andrast, thereby taking it out of the war in the near future."

"But we can't be sure how it'll turn out until events unfold."

Robin grunted.

"Dad calculated that we should have news by the end of the week," Morgan informed, looking at her notes. "Renacia and Andrast should receive news from Chon'sin at the same time as us in Rosanne. Then they'll do their thing and we should get news of the outcome several days after that. Even if someone tries to hide the news, stuff like this isn't something that people can just ignore."

"And when news gets here, we'll have to analyze it and get these pompous nobles while they're still here to commit their country's resources against Walhart. How easy that will be depends on events that are out of our control."

"So we basically have to wait for events that are completely out of our control to unfold," Cordelia said, finally speaking up.

"Yes, annoying, I know. I've done everything I can up to this point, but sometimes life decides to screw you over and put you in a position you don't like to be in despite your best efforts."

"You did your best, Robin," Lucina assured. "I'm sure that our allies will succeed."

"Hmph. Really wouldn't call them 'allies' after what they pulled. They're like mercenaries, only without the part of us paying them. If they pull through, I won't have to kill all of them for putting us into this damn situation in the first place."

"Peace, Robin. One thing at a time," Chrom said. "The bottom line is that we've done all we can and are just waiting for news before we can move on."

"Yeah."

"Which means we have some free time on our hands."

Robin sighed. "Yes, that means we have some free time on our hands and you can do whatever it is you do when you have some free time. This is a pretty big estate so we should have enough privacy. You can even go drop by that little village nearby to restock on supplies or whatever. Just make sure to keep a low profile."

"That sounds like a lovely idea," Lucina said. "It would be nice to wander around and see what the local market has."

"Yes, and you should do so with myself and Olivia with you!" Chrom offered quickly, remembering what Lucina brought back after her shopping trips alone.

"Father?"

"Yes. Yes! It'll be a nice little, uh, family outing. We haven't had one of those in...a while?"

Lucina's eyes practically lit up. "Do you mean it, Father?"

Chrom smiled. "Of course. It'll be a good way to spend some time together doing something not related to the war."

And that was true. Granted, it was also true that Chrom suggested this to keep an eye on Lucina and prevent her from buying anything embarrassing, but she didn't need to know what.

"Right. So unless we have anything else to discuss, I guess it's free time for you people until we hear news." Robin then turned. "Sumia, Cordelia."

"Robin."

"You guys have any plans right now?"

"I don't think so," Sumia replied. "Why?"

"Now that we have some free time, I thought we could get in some more magic training."

"Training, huh?"

"Yeah. Use every moment to improve and all that, you know? You guys were doing pretty well from what I remember. If we do it really intensely for the next week, you guys may even graduate to mid-tier spells!"

"Do you really think so, Robin?" Sumia asked excitedly.

"You bet. All you need to do is be ready to work hard and sweat. Under my stern but gentle guidance, you guys will probably be tired and sore at the end, but we'll all be extremely satisfied once the week is up," Robin predicted confidently. "If you're willing to work hard, that is."

While Sumia looked excited at the prospect of improving her magic abilities, Cordelia was a lot less so. It was probably the effects of the book and the dream, but Cordelia's mind couldn't help but interpret Robin's words in a...less than innocent manner. And to make it worse, all this talk of training and sweating was reminding Cordelia of her dream, which she (until now) managed to push out of her mind. With all of that coming in at once, Cordelia couldn't help keep her mind from wandering and her face from blushing intensely, no matter how hard she tried to fight it.

Luckily for her, someone decided to butt into their conversation.

"Wait, no fair!"

"Hm?" Robin raised a brow. "A problem, Morgan?"

"You bet there's a problem. I thought I'd use this free time opportunity to ask you to train me!"

"I mean, I'd be glad to, but Sumia and Cordelia need magic training a lot more than you do, Morgan."

"Not magic, Dad. Swords."

"Swords?"

Morgan nodded. "I wanna train to improve my swordsmanship. I've been doing some reading since our last session, you know. Picked up some things, tried some stuff out."

"I hope you did so with proper supervision, Morgan," Robin said, a bit worried. "Trying out some fancy storybook sword moves is a good way to sprain your muscles...or worse."

"Come on, Dad, give me some credit."

"Need I remind you of your little stunt moves inspired by the Radiant Hero's tales?"

"Okay, firstly, I'll nail that thing down eventually. It's way too cool for me to give up on. Secondly, of course I've found myself someone to give me tips and supervise me on my cool sword moves," Morgan said, making a subtle-not-so-subtle wink at Lucina. "I've definitely learned lots. Even maybe stuff you don't know!"

Robin crossed his arms. "Really?"

"Yep! So being your favorite only daughter, don't you think I should get first dibs on impressing you with how much I've learned and improved in such a short period of time?"

"Well I certainly can't argue with that logic," Robin chuckled, before turning back to the pegasus knights. "We will have the entire day ahead of us. Do you two mind if—"

"Please, don't let us keep you!" Cordelia said too quickly.

"Didn't even have to think about it, huh?"

"N-not that I didn't have to think about it! I mean, Morgan is your daughter and obviously it makes more sense for you to train with her instead of us novices! So maybe we'll see you after you're done?"

"If that's what you want…" Robin was about to leave before he actually noticed how Cordelia looked. "Are you okay?"

"Fine. Absolutely fine!"

"Are you sure? Your face is all red and you're all...fidgety."

"I'm fine. Never better."

"You're not even making eye contact with me, Cordelia."

And the reason for that was because there was a very real chance that Cordelia would see Robin as he as in her dream, toned shirtless chest and everything. And she didn't know if she could recover from that situation.

"Cordelia? Robin's right. You don't look too good…" Sumia remarked, looking at Cordelia with concern.

"I'm fine, really! It's just hot...in here. Which is why I'm red and flushed like this. Yes."

"And the reason your voice sounds at least one pitch higher is…?"

This was bad and getting worse every minute.

All Cordelia needed was a moment alone to collect her thoughts (and push the more unwanted ones out of her mind!) but with Robin and Sumia crowding around her, that wasn't going to happen. And worse, she was looking and acting stranger and stranger the longer they stayed!

"I think you should go ahead without us, Robin."

Thank Naga! Sumia to the rescue.

"I'll stay behind and see if there's anything wrong with Cordelia."

"Do you need us to get you anything?" Morgan offered.

"I don't think so. You two go ahead. I should be able to figure this out."

"If you're sure…" Robin said uncertainly. "Let me know if it's anything serious, yeah?"

"Of course."

"All right. Come then, Morgan. Wow me with whatever it is you picked up."

"Oh don't you worry, Dad. I'm gonna knock your socks off with what I've learned!" Morgan exclaimed enthusiastically.

While everyone was leaving, Sumia turned to her friend.

"Now, what's wrong?"

Cordelia tried to regain her composure now that everyone left.

"Nothing, really. I just...have some things on my mind that I need to clear out."

"Must be some serious things if you turned into a nervous wreck back there."

"I-I wasn't that bad."

Sumia smiled sympathetically. "Want to talk about it?"

"Please no. It was embarrassing enough back there. I just need to get some fresh air…"

With that, Cordelia made her way out of the room.

"W-what? Just like that? Hey, Cordelia! Wait for me!"

---

Owain Dark, max level Scion of Legend and First Hero Among Equals, was a man of many skills, talents, and general awesomeness. Yet even the mighty Owain Dark was not without flaws (because then he'd be a perfectly flawless hero, which would be dull and boring. Like, what kind of character has no flaws whatsoever? Owain was pretty sure there was a name for these types of characters…). And, as a hero of as much introspection as foresight, Owain Dark had to admit his faults, with cooking being added to the list of things that he just could not get the hang of.

Ordinarily something as trivial as not being able to cook would not much bother a hero such as Owain Dark. However, the fact that his ability to cook was now directly tied to Morgan accepting him as her destined partner over their many shared lifetimes, Owain's lack of cooking skills became a flaw that needed to be swiftly fixed or worked around.

Fortunately, Owain had put the majority of his upgrade points into intelligence, which allowed him to come up with a clever plan to meet Morgan's cooking requirements without actually having to cook himself. It just depended on Noire. And when you really got down to it, Owain asking Noire to whip something up was basically like Owain whipping something up himself, only...not by himself. But it was the thought that counted!

With that in mind, Owain went off in search for Noire to get a progress report on her cake. After all, Morgan could lose interest if Owian kept her waiting!

"Hey, Noire!" Owain shouted after finally tracking her down.

"Eep!" Noire jumped, startled. " O-oh. H-hello, Owain…"

"I just came by to say thanks again for the cake last time. It was so good I can't stop thinking about it."

"I'm really glad it turned out well."

"Did it ever! Say, any chance you could whip up another cake? I'm craving something sweet."

"I'd love to, but I'm all out of ingredients…"

"Ah. That's a shame."

"I really am sorry…" Noire mumbled apologetically.

"Don't apologize!" Owain said quickly, seeing how downcast Noire looked. "It's just one more reason for me to fight for peace!"

"Thank you, Owain. Maybe I'll get a chance now that we've arrived in Rosanne."

"Hey, you don't have to rush or anything for my sake."

"I...I was looking forward to hearing your poems again…" Noire admitted quietly.

"Really meant that much to you, huh?"

"Eep!" Noire just realized she said the last part out loud. "S-sorry! I didn't mean to—"

"Heh, you sure are jumpy. Anyway, if you could make any cake you wanted, what would it be? The last one tasted like chocolate, but there have to be other kinds."

"Well, there are sweetbreads you eat with jam and butter... Um, and then spongy cakes that you put berries on... All kinds, really. I don't know which one I'd like to try."

"Oof, I shouldn't have asked. I'm drooling just hearing about them!"

Noire giggled. "S-say, Owain?"

"Yeah?"

"Could...could describing them be enough to come up with a name? I mean, um... Could you maybe poem a cake that didn't exist yet?"

"Sorry, no can do. The engine of inspiration is sparked by frosting on the palate. It's like the flavor shakes the words out of my very soul!"

"Oh. ...Then I'll just have to try doubly hard to find ingredients."

"Just don't do anything crazy, all right? I don't want you robbing an old lady's larder or something," Owain said jokingly.

"Of course not. I won't do...that," Noire said slowly.

"I said I don't want to know!" Owain laughed at Noire's playing along with his joke. The laughter turned nervous when he couldn't tell if Noire was serious or not.

"Right. Anyway, how about we—"

Before Owain could finish his sentence, Noire suddenly sighed and staggered.

"Woah, Noire!" Owain caught Noire before she fell. "Are you okay?!"

"It...it's nothing. Just feeling lightheaded all of a sudden…"

"That doesn't good. Could it be some sort of nefarious powers trying to influence you using their nefarious powers?!"

"I don't think it's anything that serious, just my ane—"

"We must get you to the medical room at once!"

"Owain, you don't really—Owain? Owain?!"

Noire's protests were cut off as Owain lifted her up and carried her away.

"Fear not, Noire! I shall bring you to safety at once!"

---

"Owain, I'm really fine, really!" Noire insisted.

"That may be, but we can't take any precautions now that we're deep in enemy territory with evil mages about!"

"...But we're not in enemy—"

"Anyway, wait here while I fetch someone to take a look at you and undo the curse they're trying to put you under."

"I really don't think I'm under any—"

Noire was interrupted by voices outside their room.

"Here you go, Brady. We're almost there."

"Thanks, Cynthia. And, uh, if you could not tell anyone about this, I'd be real grateful, yeah?"

"It's nothing to be ashamed of, Brady. We've all hurt ourselves during training every now and then."

"Yeah, but even still, I'd be real—"

Just then, the door opened and Cynthia entered the room, supporting Brady on her shoulder.

"Hi, guys," Noire greeted.

Cynthia and Brady looked startled.

"And here I thought I'd get some privacy and stew in my embarrassment in peace…" Brady muttered.

"Hi Owain, Noire. What brings you here?"

"I just felt a little lightheaded," Noire said quickly, pre-empting Owain. "Nothing too serious. I think it's just my anaemia acting up again."

"Sounds rough," Brady said.

"What about you guys? Here after heroic efforts to defeat the forces of evil?" Owain asked.

"Nothing as dramatic as that, I'm afraid. Just your regular training mishap here," Cynthia said.

"Tough trainin'!" Brady insisted. "You know, the type of stuff to really bulk you up and where you break a sweat and stuff! Nothin' embarrassin' about why I'm here, no siree! It's all part of the, uh, line of duty and all that malarky."

"Sounds like someone's been really working themselves to up their power and gain more experience. A commendable initiative and honorable way to injure oneself in pursuit of leveling up!" Owain nodded sagely. "So what'd you hurt?"

"Uh…"

"His ankle," Cynthia informed helpfully. "Was working on his magic, misstepped, and twisted it real bad."

Brady faceplamed. "How is this 'not tellin' anyone about this'?!"

"Come on, Brady. There's no such thing as an embarrassing injury in pursuit of self-improvement!" Cynthia declared.

"I really don't feel like testin' that little theory of yours, okay? Let's just drop it and leave me here to get better."

"I have to say, I'm a bit surprised to hear you got hurt while training," Owain said. "Don't you usually go on about how healers are supposed to heal others instead of fighting and stuff?"

"Well, yeah, but that doesn't mean I just wanna sit with my staff like a useless bag of potatoes when everyone's out there doin' the fightin'!" Brady retorted. "Besides, I gotta toughen up if I want to be good enough to join Robin's gang."

This bit of information got everyone's attention.

"Robin's...what?" Noire asked.

"His gang, yeah? Robin and I did a bit of talkin' a while back and I wanted him to be my mentor who showed me the ropes and how things are done around here. You know, the one who runs the show and who inspires the boys under his command with a mixture of respect and good old fashioned iron discipline."

The others stared at Brady blankly.

"A-anyway, long story short is that I came to Robin askin' him to take me under his wing, he came back sayin' that I gotta get my magic up to snuff in order to be considered good enough to join his gang. So that's what I've been doin' all this time. I ain't got any muscle on me so I'm not too much for the close combat, so magic's my only hope to be admitted to Robin's gang."

"Man, that is SO unfair!" Cynthia exclaimed. "How come Dad talked to you about joining his gang and not us? And since when does Dad have a gang? And how come he's started his own gang when he should be joining the Justice Cabal?!"

"I know! Robin would be an instant and natural addition to our noble organisation," Owain said. "We were about to ask him but now we hear he's started his own gang!"

"Exactly. How are we gonna get Dad to join the Justice Cabal when he has his own thing going on?" Cynthia shook her head. "Say, Brady? Did Dad say what exactly his gang does?"

"Uh...not that I remember."

"Did he say what you needed to do to get in?"

"Nothin' beyond getting good at magic."

"Did he tell you what the gang's even called?"

"No."

Cynthia and Owain looked at Brady with confused expressions.

"H-hey, don't give me that!" Brady said defensively. "I'm just an initiate or whatever, you know? I can't get access to all that secret gang stuff just like that! Hell, I'm not even in the gang as an official member yet!"

"I can't believe this! Not only did Dad start a gang, he also didn't join ours or ask us if we wanted to join!" Cynthia exclaimed indignantly.

"Since when is your Justice Cabal a ga—"

"This is the highest travesty of justice!" Owain agreed. "Robin should be an honorary member of the Justice Cabal, not running his own gang doing...whatever it is his gang does. We must right this wrong at once!"

"Agreed! C'mon, Owain. Let's go find Dad and change his mind out of this gang business. We'll convince him that the Justice Cabal is way cooler than whatever gang he's cooked up."

"Yeah! And let's do it now before he tries to recruit more people that aren't us!"

Owain and Cynthia proceeded to run out of the room.

"They seemed...excited," Noire commented after a while.

"Yeah, no kiddin'. I didn't even know this was where this would go when I mentioned my I got hurt. Ah well. I'm sure Robin will sort this whole thing out." Brady shrugged and sat on the cot next to Noire's. "Looks like we're neighbors for the time being. Cheers, I guess."

"Ch-cheers…" Noire mumbled. "I'm actually feeling a lot better, though. I'll probably be going in just a bit…"

"I hear ya! I can't wait to make like a bakery wagon and haul buns outta here. This place is depressing!" Brady said. "Well, it's nicer than our usual medical tent, but still. There's only so much you can do with a room you're usin' as your medical."

"Heh, yeah... W-well, I hope you feel better soon."

---

"Ha. Ya!"

Robin grunted as blocked another series of strikes from Morgan.

True to her word, Morgan was going all out today, even pulling some tricks that caught Robin off-guard and kept him on his toes throughout their sparring session. Robin was impressed by the lengths his daughter went to learn and improve her skills. He didn't know whether it was because Morgan was really that driven to improve her skills or if she was just really determined to impress him, but Robin wasn't complaining. As long as Morgan improved, he supposed the reasons why didn't matter.

Robin blocked another strike and deliberately left himself open to see if Morgan would spot and take the opportunity.

She didn't disappoint, immediately going on the attack and trying to push her advantage where Robin left himself open.

"Good eyes and reflexes, Morgan," Robin praised, putting some distance between himself and his daughter. "You saw an opening and immediately went for it."

"I think I learned enough from you in the future to spot weaknesses and take opportunities where I can get them," Morgan said rather proudly.

"I must've done a very good job, then," Robin chuckled. "Anyway, last stretch. Give me all you got!"

"If you insist, Dad. Prepare yourself!"

While Morgan obviously wasn't as good as him, all their sparring and training sessions together assured Robin that Morgan could definitely hold her own with a sword. Their sessions also allowed Robin to get a feel of her style, strengths, and weaknesses.

And as Robin blocked, dodged, and generally stood his ground against her final assault, Robin noticed one thing becoming increasingly clear.

"Ya!"

"Urgh!"

Robin grunted as Morgan managed to hit his side with her last strike (and pretty damn hard, too).

"Heh...good job, Morgan," Robin said, gritting his teeth. "Let's call it here."

"Aw, already? I was totally about to break through your defenses!"

"In your dreams, kiddo. You've still got about a dozen years ahead of you before you can beat me. Speaking of which, I couldn't help notice that your fighting style is aggressive. Very aggressive."

"Yeah. I think I remember getting that from you...maybe…?"

"Me?"

"Yeah. If I recall correctly…" Morgan closed her eyes and tried to remember. "During training and generally I think your philosophy was that the best defense was an overwhelming offense. Give your enemy no time to react by keeping up a relentless assault and all that. After all, the enemy won't have time to react if they're dead!"

Robin raised a brow.

"...I'm pretty sure that's what you told me," Morgan said. "I think."

"Huh. Well. Interesting philosophy to fight and live by. Guess that explains your fighting style. However, a question arises."

"Question?"

"Yes, Morgan, a question. That question being: what happens if your opponent withstands your initial assault and counterattacks."

"Well that's easy. I don't give them the chance to."

"Banking the entire battle and your life on one strategy is a very dangerous way to live," Robin cautioned. "Sure it'll work as long as it does, but you'll be in real trouble when you run into an opponent that can take the initiative from you."

"I haven't had that problem yet!" Morgan declared. "Granted, I don't think I had that much melee experience to begin with, but of the times I can remember, I did pretty well."

"Then let's see how your strategy does against an opponent that can hold his ground," Robin said, getting into a fighting position.

"Dad, again?"

"You'll have to give me some credit, Morgan. Do you think I don't have it in me to keep going after one round of training?"

"No, but you seemed to be on the defensive throughout that entire round."

Robin smirked. "If you think you can get past my defenses, you're welcome to try."

"Challenge accepted," Morgan said, getting ready.

Father and daughter both eyed each other before Morgan lunged.

Although she was giving it her all (and still hit hard despite this being a simple sparring match), the difference was that this time, Robin wasn't holding back.

He withstood Morgan's initial assault and as soon as she stepped back to catch her breath, Robin suddenly went on the offensive.

Morgan wasn't expecting this turn of events, judging by how she was suddenly on the back foot and barely managing to hold her own.

During his assault, Robin noticed that contrary to her confident and powerful style when on the attack, Morgan was a lot weaker and less confident when defending. While he was on the attack, Robin managed to land a lot of hits and noticed even more openings.

With one final strike, Robin disarmed Morgan.

"Whoa!"

In her effort to defend herself and not lose her practice sword, Morgan lost her balance and fell backwards.

"Oof!"

"Still doubting you dear old dad?"

"Dang. What happened, Dad? Last round you were all on the defensive and now you suddenly came out and kicked my butt!"

"Don't underestimate your father, Morgan. Or your enemies, for that matter. Just because the enemy looks like they're on the back foot doesn't mean that your victory is assured. You always have to be prepared for the possibility that it may be a trap. Also, overconfidence is a surefire way to set yourself up for defeat."

"Yeah, lesson learned. I'll be sure to be more careful next time and not let it get to my head."

"Lesson one of many," Robin said, helping Morgan up to her feet. "Make sure to take them all to heart. I'm not kidding when I say they can and will save your life."

"Noted."

"Anyway, that little sparring session also confirmed my suspicions."

"Which are?"

"While you excel at offense, it's at the expense of your defensive skills. Your style is aimed at quickly overwhelming your opponent to take them down. But if you ever find yourself facing someone skilled enough to withstand your initial assault and counterattack, well…"

"It won't end well," Morgan finished.

Robin nodded. "Fortunately for all involved, we've spotted this little problem before it became an issue. And that means we have time to fix it."

"And how're we gonna do that?"

"By working on your defensive style. You'll still be able to take down the bad guys all quicklike, but we'll make sure that if they survive your initial assault, you'll hold your own on the counterattack. You'll be able dish it out and take it in equal measure!"

"Sweet. I'll be good with a sword all around, then!"

"You sure will!" Robin smiled and ruffled Morgan's hair. "But you know what else you'll be good at?"

"There's more?"

"Indeed. Because given how hard you've been working, I think you're just about ready to graduate to the third tier of magic spells."

Morgan's eyes widened. "Do...do you really mean that, Dad?"

"I sure do! I think you've been making really good progress with your magic training. We've been working on your endurance all this time so that your body can handle casting the really good magic spells without collapsing."

"Yeah, it's hard work. You make me cast a stream of spells and maintain that for basically our entire sessions. By the time we're done, I'm pooped!"

"But you've noticed how you've been able to maintain your spells and concentration for longer the more we trained?"

"Yeah, actually. I feel like I can maintain my stuff for twice as long now!"

"You sure can. And that's what we've been working toward, since it'll take a lot of energy and stamina to cast the third tier of spells, let alone maintain them."

"Oh man, I am SO ready for this!"

"I think so too. We'll obviously start off easy just to let you get a hang of it and move on from there. So now we can advance your sword and magical training at once! Now, I think the first thing we'll need to do is…"

Robin's thoughts were interrupted by approaching voices.

"...Cordelia, there's nothing wrong with it. I mean, we all had those sorts of—"

"Sumia, seriously! How are we still talking about this?"

"But you seemed so worked up back there! How can you expect me not to be worried?!

"While I appreciate your concern, I think we've talked about it enough. Yes, the book and series recommendation was interesting, so thank you for that. And as fun as it was talking to you about dreams inspired by certain scenes in the book, I think I politely asked that we never speak of this ever again. At least not in public, anyway."

"But it was so much fun talking about books and comparing notes!"

"Yes. 'Fun.' In a horribly embarrassing sort of way, maybe. I don't even know why I talked about it with you in the first place! How are you so eager to talk about this and, more importantly, not embarrassed?"

"Because it's just between us girls. Besides, it's been so long since we bonded like this."

"I don't think we ever bonded like this!"

"There's nothing wrong with it, Cordelia. The first scene between the Gerik and Marisa stand-ins is one of the better ones, filled with passion and—"

"Sumia!"

"What? It's not like it was anyone you knew or something."

Cordelia's response was a mix of muttering and stuttering.

"Hello, ladies." Robin waved. "What's with all the excitement over there? Did something happen?"

"No," Cordelia said quickly. "Sumia and I were just discussing some things. Personal things. And now that we've had the opportunity to walk around and get some fresh air, there's nothing distracting us from training."

"Oh yeah. You were acting all weird back there. Everything okay?"

"Perfectly fine. Nothing's wrong. Just needed to clear my head a bit."

Robin raised a brow and looked curiously at Sumia, who shrugged.

"Okay, then. As long as you're no longer distracted." Robin turned to Morgan. "I think this is a good time to call it a day. We've identified your strengths, weaknesses, and planned out a roadmap on how to improve and patch up your weak points. I'd say that today has been quite productive."

Morgan nodded. "You bet. I'm looking forward to being able to take down bad guys as well and being able to properly defend myself against counterattacks. Your assault was no joke!"

"And you can bet that the enemy won't be nearly as forgiving as me," Robin said. "Anyway, it's now time for my session with Sumia and Cordelia. Morgan, I think you can—"

"Robin!"

"What is it now…"

Everyone turned to see Cynthia and Owain run up to the training grounds.

"Robin, explain yourself!" Cynthia demanded.

"You're going to have to be more specific."

"How can you start your own gang and not invite us?!"

"...What?"

"Dad, you have a gang?"

"Morgan, I don't—"

"And on top of that, you invite Brady before us!" Owain exclaimed.

"I—"

"Dad!" Morgan joined the other two in looking at Robin with offended and accusing expressions. "How can you invite Brady to your cool gang instead of me?"

"Morgan, I'm not even—"

"But even putting aside the gang thing and the Brady thing, how can you start your own gang instead of joining the Justice Cabal!" Cynthia cried. "The Justice Cabal is a natural fit for you, as the tactician of the Shepherds and thus the most righteous ally of Justice!"

"What—"

"Guys, as cool as your Justice Cabal is, Dad is way too senior to be joining someone else's organization," Morgan stated matter-of-factly. "Being such a wizened and experienced individual, Dad needs an organization that's his own to lead and stuff. And that's totally what he did, although he apparently did so without telling or inviting me. Dad, how could you?!"

Of all the confusing, weird, and random things that happened to him thus far, Robin would place the current situation near the top. Here he was, quietly training with his daughter and getting ready to train his friends in magic, when suddenly Owain and Cynthia ran up to him talking some nonsense that Robin needed a few minutes just to decipher.

"But the Justice Cabal is the premier organization for skilled, famous, and generally awesome individuals who fight for truth, honor, and justice," Owain insisted. "And your dad fits the bill perfectly!"

"And it's because Dad is awesome that he needs his own organization instead of being hemmed into one that he doesn't run," Morgan countered.

"But what does your dad's gang even do?" Cynthia asked. "Brady didn't give us much to go on."

Morgan shrugged. "If Brady doesn't know, I sure won't."

"Why not?"

"Because I wasn't invited!" Morgan said, pouting and looking at Robin.

"Okay, everyone just...I don't know, stop talking for a little bit!" Robin managed to say. "First of all, I have no idea what any of you are talking about. Someone is going to have to explain what the hell this is all about to me. Secondly, Morgan, even if I did have a 'gang' or whatever, it goes without saying that you'd be in it."

"Really?"

"Of course! You're my daughter. How can I not include you? If anything, you'd automatically be promoted to be my second in command."

"Yes!" Morgan pumped her fist in the air. "Second in command Morgan reporting for duty!"

"Of course, that's not really what's going—"

"So you do have a gang!" Owain exclaimed, trying to move the conversation after noticing Cynthia biting her lip, a perplexed expression on her face. "And now you're recruiting others to it, too!"

"I—"

"What about us?" Cynthia asked. "Being part of the Justice Cabal would be so much cooler than having your own gang."

"Please. Dad's gang is going to be way more awesome than the Justice Cabal," Morgan said, turning to Owain and Cynthia. "In fact, we're going to be your sworn eternal rival organisation!"

"Our what?" Cynthia looked aghast.

"Yeah, yeah!" Morgan nodded, getting more and more excited. "Every action has an equal and opposite reaction and stuff. Whereas you guys go off and fight for truth and justice and all that boring stuff, Dad and I are going to be that cool shadowy organization that opposes you and tries to bring the world under our benevolent, iron-fisted rule!"

"But why would you do that? Being the bad guys is bad!" Cynthia said.

"And also, there's nothing boring about being good," Owain added. "We heroes of righteous truth and justice have interesting and awesome backgrounds and conflicts and—"

"And the quality of the hero is only as good as their opponents," Morgan said sagely. "And with us, you have basically the coolest opponents ever."

"But we already have established enemies and opponents," Cynthia said.

"But how many of them are real?"

Cynthia and Owain exchanged glances.

"Exactly," Morgan said definitively. "Now, instead of facing whoever it is you guys make up, now you'll have real enemies to fight against in the form of us! ...We'll even help you draft our backgrounds and biographies."

"...You know, she's got a point."

Cynthia turned to Owain, a look of utter betrayal on her face.

"No! I mean of course Robin and Morgan being in their own evil gang thing is bad!" Owain said quickly. "But lore-wise, it could really help us out. I mean, now we have someone to fight and do battle against!"

"But we had all that before!"

"A while ago, yeah. But when was the last time the others did anything with us?"

"I…" Cynthia quieted down, not wanting to admit defeat. "It would be way better if you guys were part of the Justice Cabal and not your own evil organization. I mean, we got a creed and intro lines and everything!"

"Oh, don't worry. We got one of those also," Morgan stated confidently.

"...You do?"

"You bet!" Morgan then turned to Robin. "What kind of evil organization would we be if we didn't have one of those?"

"Oh yeah, but does it beat ours?!" Cynthia then turned to her partner. "Owain!"

"I'm right with you, Cynthia!" Owain nodded.

The two of them then put on serious expressions.

"In brightest day."

"In darkest night."

"Let not evil escape my sight."

"Although try as they might."

"They will not escape true justice light!"

"Justice Twin powers, activate!" they both shouted.

"Form of—!"

"—An awesome intro!"

"The Scion of Legend, Owain!"

"The Wings of Justice, Cynthia!"

"And together, we are—"

"—The Justice Cabal!"

Two two finished by striking their heroic poses.

"Ha, nailed it!"

Cynthia and Owain high-fived each other.

"I bet your intro isn't nearly as cool as ours," Cynthia said confidently.

"Yeah, ours is way cooler!" Morgan then turned to Robin. "Dad, you ready?"

"Wha—?"

"To cover the world in devastation," Morgan began.

Robin frantically wondered where this suddenly came from and how he got roped into this ridiculous situation. But having lost the plot of this little scenario (or rather, never found it in the first place), and with Cynthia and Owain watching them with rapt interest, Robin didn't want to look like a fool in front of them and make Morgan look bad. So he had to scramble to improvise something.

"To...bring to our enemies...annihilation…?" Robin tried to say in his most confident voice. He didn't miss how Morgan's face lit up with delight.

"To denounce the evils of justice and love," Morgan continued.

"To extend our control past the...skies above…?"

"Morgan!"

"Robin...!"

"The—!" Morgan paused. "Psst, Dad! What's our organization's name?"

"The...uh…" Robin swore he never had to think so fast in his entire life. "In..justice...cabal…? Yes, that's right. We're the, uh, Injustice Cabal."

"Wow, we're really going into the whole 'equal and opposite reaction' thing, huh? But I guess that makes our lore a pretty cool mirror of our enemies," Morgan commented, nodding. She then turned back to Owain and Cynthia. "The Injustice Cabal shall snuff out the goodness of light!"

"Surrender now or...uh, prepare to fight...!"

Morgan and Robin (following his daughter's lead) then struck their own dramatic poses (or in Robin's case, what he hoped looked like a dramatic pose).

"Oh yeah. That was pretty great." Morgan nodded to herself. "Dad, we're gonna have to get our cool creed recitals down better next time. Less pauses and more dramatic flair. Oh, and we're gonna have to get cool evil titles for ourselves. We can't just be 'Morgan' and 'Robin' of our evil organisation! We need evil titles like Owain and Cynthia have. Something to brainstorm later, I guess."

"Morgan, this—!"

"So there you go," Morgan declared triumphantly, turning to Owain and Cynthia. "The birth of the Injustice Cabal, ready to spread our glorious vision all over the world and grind all those who oppose us to dust and ash!"

"Man, I can't believe we finally have some opponents to fight against for real!" Owain was so psyched. "Wait, no, this isn't great at all! Morgan, you're supposed to be my fated partner across all of eternity and beyond! We're supposed to fight against evil together!"

"Owain, how can you possibly even know that? You don't even have any proof of our predestined partnership."

"I…! Look, I'll have a cake ready for you, just you wait," Owain offered lamely. "I just, you know, need to find the right ingredients…!"

Morgan tilted her head curiously. "...Cake?"

"Yeah, you know, cooking? As in the thing you asked me to do in order to prove our eternal link?"

"Did I ask you to do that? Can't really remember, but then again, remembering isn't really my strong suit, so I'll just take your word for it," Morgan said flippantly. "And besides, this is good for you."

"How is you being one of the bad guys and opposing literally everything he stands for, a good thing?" Cynthia asked.

"Because it gives more depth to his backstory, duh! Like, his eternal partner from past lives suddenly being his sworn evil counterpart who's also super cool? That's the setup for a redemption arc if I ever saw one."

"You know, that doesn't sound half bad," Owain said, considering Morgan's words. "An epic struggle of the main hero to reclaim his fated partner from the forces of evil and back to the path of good and light…"

"Don't you think it'll be easy," Morgan cautioned. "You'll have to work really hard if you want to bring me to the side of goodness and light."

"I will stop at nothing to purge the darkness from your soul and free it from the evil chains that corrupt it with their evil corrupting influence!" Owain declared. "Oh man, this is gonna be a great addition to my character arc!"

"Hey, focus!" Cynthia said. "We just lost both Robin and Morgan and watched the birth of their evil organization!"

"Well, yeah, that's bad and stuff, but you have to admit that it's pretty good to finally have someone to bounce our adventures off of."

Robin opened his mouth to object to this statement.

"Okay, yeah, fine," Cynthia admitted. "It's actually great to have someone to join us in our epic struggle of good against evil, but—"

"And you have to admit that it's kind of like when we were kids," Owain continued. "You know, with the playing around and stuff?"

Cynthia bit her lip.

"And it can help you bond and stuff and establish the groundwork for, you know…" Owain continued quietly.

"...Okay, fine. Fine! It's been so long since we've actually had anyone real to fight against that I'm actually super excited to have someone to bounce our adventures off of. Very well." Cynthia cleared her throat. "On behalf of the Justice Cabal, I, Cynthia, formally accept the Injustice Cabal as our sworn and formal eternal rival!"

"Heck yeah!" Morgan pumped her fist in the air. "Now let's get down to our backgrounds and histories so we can establish the foundations of our epic rivalry. I was thinking…"

As Morgan, Owain, and Cynthia started chatting animatedly about their characters and lore, Robin sighed, just glad that his part in this madness was over.

"That was certainly...something," Cordelia said, walking by his side.

"You can say that again…"

"I didn't know you started your own gang," Sumia said. "Or rather, it's an evil organization now?"

"Sumia, I have no idea how this whole thing started or even why. I'm just as confused as you are."

"But you started this whole thing while trying to recruit Brady…?"

"Did I? I don't remember doing anything of the sort."

"Well you do have a way of being roped into some strange situations, often unwillingly."

"You can say that again…" Robin sighed. "Apparently now I have my own evil organization to manage. Why can't my life be normal for once…?"

Just then, Morgan ran up to him.

"Dad, great news! We—" Morgan paused, looking between her father and the two women at his side. "Dad, you're good. Not one minute after our organization's founding and you're already busy recruiting!"

"What?"

"Hey, no fair!" Cynthia exclaimed, quickly followed by Owain. "You guys just founded your evil organization. You can't just go around immediately recruiting people!"

"Sure we can! A growing organization such as ours needs manpower and talented individuals if it's going to grow big and successful enough to achieve our ambitions of conquering the world," Morgan informed matter-of-factly. "And the best way to recruit the best and the brightest is to start early and start fast."

"But—!"

"Besides, Sumia and Cordelia obviously would want to join the Injustice Cabal. We've got a great salary, a wide array of benefits, and plenty of opportunities to meet new and interesting people!" Morgan put on her best saleswoman smile. "Doesn't that sound like the ideal workplace?"

"I'll have to admit that does sound quite enticing," Cordelia said, deciding to humor the kids.

"Wait, don't listen to her!" Cynthia quickly spoke up. "She's lying to you! We here at the Justice Cabal offer more than just a salary and benefits. What we offer is an experience! The experience! And that experience is justice and freedom!"

"That's right!" Owain joined Cynthia's sales pitch. "If you join the Justice Cabal, you'll be fighting for the defenseless and the innocent, saving countless lives, traveling to exotic places, and smacking down foul minions of evil that need to be smacked down! I bet that sounds way more enticing than some salary and benefits!"

"Doing the right thing is for suckers," Morgan countered. "Join us and you'll get a goodie basket for new recruits. An evil goodie basket!"

"Owain, they got goodie baskets for new recruits!" Cynthia whined. "How are we supposed to beat that?"

"With...uh..."

"Anyway, you can't just go up and recruit two people all at once!" Cynthia continued, turning back to Morgan before Owain could respond. "You gotta at least give us the chance to recruit one of them."

"Says who?"

"Says everyone! It's like, one of the cardinal rules of recruiting allies!"

Morgan laughed. "Ha! 'Rules.' The only rules we in the Injustice Cabal follow are the ones we make up ourselves!"

"Should...should I put a stop to this before it gets out of hand…?" Robin asked uncertainly, looking at how Morgan, Owain, and Cynthia argued over the rules of their game(?).

"Why ruin their fun? Let them be kids once in a while," Sumia said, smiling. "Besides, they're not hurting anyone."

"You say that now, but what happens if I get dragged into their little game? I'm a busy man, you know."

"And yet you still have time to play the dramatic villain during board game sessions," Cordelia pointed out playfully.

"That is a completely diffe—!" Robin began to object before another voice interrupted him.

"Sounds like we're all have a good time here."

"Hello, Anna," Robin greeted, suddenly feeling drained. He then remembered the situation they were in. "I mean, Anna!"

"Yes, it is I, your favorite merchant who brings you only the highest quality goods at corresponding prices. And before you ask," Anna continued, before Robin could say anything further, "I did receive your borderline hysterical letters and requests regarding the weapons deliveries. All of them."

"Does that mean…?"

"Yep! Have my people dropping your stuff off as we speak."

"Oh thank gods…" Robin sighed, relieved. "You have no idea how nerve-wracking it is moving through potential enemy territory with no or broken weapons."

"Oh, I know. You've made it very clear in your many letters."

"Yeah, well…" Robin laughed sheepishly. "I was desperate, okay? And I really appreciate you getting our stuff so fast. I know it's more than what we usually get, but…"

"It's no problem. After all, customer satisfaction is our number one priority. If not that, what are we left with?"

"Exorbitant prices?" Cordelia said rhetorically.

"Hey, I'll have you know that our prices are—!" Anna stopped herself and forced a smile. "Ha ha ha, you and your witty sense of humor!"

Cordelia laughed along dryly.

"Anyway, I've brought you guys something to show my appreciation for you being such good customers," Anna said, reaching into her bag.

"What is it?" Sumia asked curiously.

"And more importantly, how much does it cost us?" Cordelia added.

"Ta da!"

Everyone leaned in to see what Anna took out.

"It...looks like a card game board?" Robin asked questioningly. "Actually, a lot like that board you gave us for Heroes of Legend card game with the cool magic thing of making the cards come to life."

"I'm glad you remember that! Because this is like that, but on a grander scale."

"Huh?"

"After the successful rollout of the previous board, we and the makers of the game decided to explore how we can expand on that concept. And this little experimental piece is the fruit of our labors!"

"...I'm still not following."

"All you need to know is that through the magic of einherj...anher...jar...I can never remember how to pronounce that thing correctly…" Anna muttered. "Er, through the power of some magic method thing that's a trade secret, we were able to expand and create the units depicted on the cards in real life sizes! Moreover, we tinkered with the formula so the figures can appear anywhere, not just on the board!"

"Really?" Robin was immediately interested. "Can we try it out?"

"You bet! I got a second board right here…"

"Dad, Cynthia and Owain and I have a sort of disagreement and we need you to…" Morgan trailed off. "When did Anna get here and what do you have there?"

"Morgan, get your deck," Robin commanded. "We're going to have a duel now and if it's anything like I think it's going to be, then we're in for a real treat."

"Uh, okay…" Morgan reached into her coat to get her deck. "Why'd you suddenly decide to duel now of all times?"

"Because we just got a new toy and we just have try it out," Robin responded, snapping his fingers and conjuring his deck in his hand. "Owain! Cynthia! You like Heroes of Legend, right? Well come on and watch what I hope is going to be something incredible!"

---

Severa was in a foul mood. Well, Severa was always in a foul mood, but today was more than just her usual foul.

She did make it her mission to follow Morgan around and catch her when her whole act slips, but damn it, Severa was just one person! One person with more going on in her life than just following around some suspiciously airheaded girl claiming to be Robin's daughter. And damn it, Severa needed help to keep an eye on Morgan when she couldn't. Unfortunately for her, her so-called assistants were proving less than reliable. Brady was nowhere to be found after she enlisted him the first time and Cynthia was off playing hero or bonding with her mother despite promising Severa that she'd help investigate Morgan. Although come to think of it, maybe the fact that Cynthia wasn't helping her was a good thing. Cynthia's heart was in the right place, but the girl was too enthusiastic for her own good, often to the detriment of whoever she was trying to help. And too busy spending time with her mother…

Severa sighed.

Gods. Cynthia was all up bonding with her mother-who-doesn't-know-she's-her-mother like it was the most natural thing in the world. She didn't even seem bothered that she couldn't tell her mom the truth and spent time with her like it was normal!

Severa closed her eyes.

Must be nice to be able to talk to your mother like normal people. Severa was jealous. Cynthia didn't have all of the issues and misgivings with her mom that Severa did with hers. And she could talk to her mother normally like a friend or a fan or...something without either yelling and spilling everything or breaking down and spilling everything.

Severa wished she could talk to her mother normally, even with this whole weird "still being unmarried" situation. And boy, did Severa really have some things she wanted to talk to Cordelia about! Aside from the expected yelling about how Cordelia left her in the future and died in battle somewhere and wanting to cry and hold her mother again, there was the whole "parents" issue that Severa wanted to get to the bottom of.

The Cordelia of the future was as kind and gentle a mother that anyone could ask for. Severa could confidently say that, combined with Sumia's doting and spoiling in the future (Cordelia tried to play the sterner adult to Sumia's more permissive one), her childhood was filled with happiness and love. And pies. Apparently making pies was Sumia's hobby that passed to Cordelia. Everyone (including her father and especially Cynthia) got very excited when there was news of pies in the making. And despite her unique household situation, Severa never gave it a second thought and grew up perfectly happy and healthy.

It was only after she grew up and the world began going to hell that she heard the rumors and the doubts and questions seeped it. As Severa and her friends were desperately fighting to save a dying world, she heard whispers and speculation about her parents. Her parents, like the rest of the Shepherds, were of course first and foremost hailed as heroes of the realm who died heroically in the line of duty trying to keep the country and its people safe. However, given their high profile, it was unavoidable that the people's interest would breed some less than savory stories and hearsay.

Severa tried to ignore the ridiculous pieces that she came across at first as she had more important things to worry about, but how they persisted, and the fact that there were recurring threads made Severa doubt. She heard whispers that her mother didn't really love her father, and that Cordelia harbored feelings for her liege. But after finding out that Chrom was in love with Olivia, Cordelia was described as a woman who realized her own mortality and wanted to nab herself a husband before her untimely demise. Having been denied the prince, she ultimately used her womanly charms to bag herself the second most powerful man in Ylisse. Not only that, but the rumors continued to say that Cordelia's marriage to her husband was not filled with love. It was said that she still had feelings for her liege and would jump at any opportunity to be close to him, leaving her husband alone to raise their child. If that was not vile enough, the rumors continued and diverged into more ridiculous threads. In some versions, the husband, knowing of his wife's feelings, grew closer to her best friend, which grew into an illicit romance. In other versions, Cordelia's husband and her best friend were in a secret relationship already during the previous war. According to some people, when Cordelia found out, she managed to leverage that into an official engagement between her and the second most powerful man in Ylisse. Having achieved what she set out for (and having pity on her fake husband and best friend), Cordelia graciously allowed them to continue their relationship in secret.

Those rumors were stupid and vicous and obviously untrue and whoever was caught spreading them promptly got the business end of Severa's fist. And that was if she was feeling generous!

Thankfully, these disgusting rumors only began to circulate (or at least, the first time Severa heard them) when the world was going to hell and desperate people tried to escape the hopelessness of their lives by any means necessary, which apparently included telling ridiculous and salacious tales about the country's greatest heroes.

Severa understood. She hated it and still punched the ones who spread the rumors in the face, but she understood why they did it. And what Severa also understood was that all that was a load of crap! Yet how they persisted and the consistent threads in each story made Severa doubt. And where there was doubt, there was always a new perspective.

Her mother was dedicated to her job and to Ylisse—that was unquestionable. But with all the stories of her not-so-secret infatuation with Chrom, how dedicated Cordelia was to her job and her liege took on a whole new meaning. And if (a big if) that part was true, what else about those damn tales was also true?

It is said that every tale has a grain of truth hidden at its core. The trouble for Severa was trying to see if there was any truth and if so, to separate it from all the exaggerations. And the more she thought about it, the more questions she had. She knew her parents loved each other, but did her mother secretly love Chrom too? They couldn't have been any secret affairs or anything, since they seemed so happy around each other. Severa remembered her father saying that there were no secrets between him and her mother, so that was that. But if that was true, then how come all the tales had Cordelia pining after Chrom? And that was one of the recurring themes of the stories, too! It couldn't have been real...could it?

In the end of the day, all that trying to figure out what was true and what was not made Severa angry and irritated. Severa loved her mother and had fond memories of her, but having her be the bad guy who pined for a married man and seduced/blackmailed another as a consolation prize did taint those memories somewhat. So Severa decided to straighten things out with her mother when she got to the past. She was sure that all of those damn rumors and tales were nothing but a load of crap and looked forward to her mother disproving all of them. Of course, that was the initial plan. And Severa should've known by now that things rarely ever went according to plan.

So now she was stuck not being able to ask her mother or father any of the burning questions because they weren't even technically her mother and father yet! And while Cynthia happily made nice with her mother, Severa's many issues prevented her from doing the same with her mother. So what she was left with was stewing in her own frustrations, not talking to her parents like she wanted to. Instead, she didn't talk with her mother and was pretty sure she antagonized her father every time they did talk. But that wasn't even her fault! It's not like she meant to say hurtful things or be a nuisance! It's just that it kind of...happened to come out that way with her.

Severa's brooding about her current situation was interrupted by the sound of an explosion.

"What the hell…?"

Rushing toward the sound of the commotion, Severa stopped in her tracks to try and comprehend what she was seeing.

"Ha! You're on your last ropes, Dad!" Morgan declared, grinning. She was holding some cards and in front of her was what looked like a floating game board. But that wasn't even the craziest thing. That had to be the familiar horsemen that were standing in front of her.

"You haven't won until my castle is completely destroyed!" Robin retorted, standing opposite Morgan. He also had a game board hovering in front of him, but no units. Both Robin and Morgan did, however, have giant cards that were facedown in front of them.

"It's only a matter of time, Dad. Look at your points. One more hit from me and your castle will be nothing but rubble!"

Severa looked to the side to see numbers hovering above the figures as well as Robin and Morgan.

"I still have one draw left!"

"Fiiiiine. Draw your last, pathetic card so we can end this, Dad."

"My deck has no pathetic cards, Morgan!"

"Dad, what about Bartre? And Raigh?"

"I'd like to see you try to fight with a deck with no fodder."

"My deck has plenty of fodder units, and they're all better than Bartre and Raigh."

"Jeez. Morgan sure can trash talk when she gets into this."

Severa looked aside and saw Cordelia, Sumia, Cynthia and Owain standing to the side, watching...whatever was happening between Robin and Morgan.

"Oh yeah, Morgan's trash talk is always on point," Cynthia said, nodding sagely in response to Owain. "It's all part of the game. It's because of that and her dedication that she makes a great opponent to fight."

"No argument here, but it's just really funny seeing her like this when she's usually so chipper, you know?"

"What about us?" Cordelia asked.

"You guys are good too, don't get me wrong!" Cynthia said quickly. "It's just, you know, you're just so polite and stuff when we duel. Doesn't have the same energy as someone who gets pumped and talks trash. Gives you a different energy, you know?"

"Okay. Come on, come on, don't fail me now…" Robin took a deep breath before dramatically pulling a card from the top of the deck that was on the levitating game board.

"Admit defeat, Dad. There's no way you're coming back from this."

"Heh, watch me."

"Huh?"

"You should know by now never to prematurely assume victory or that your opponent has been defeated. You'll now see what happens when you do so wrongly." Robin smirked. "I now play Yune's Whispers!"

Robin placed the card on his game board. In front of him, a white light appeared and somehow generated a larger version of the card on the field.

"What does it do?"

"As long as I discard two cards from my hand that come from Tellius..." Robin said, taking two cards from his hand and putting them in a separate pile on his board, "I can immediately summon Micaiah onto the field!"

Robin proceed to search through his deck to find the card in question. As soon as he put the card on this board, another white light appeared and miraculously generated a Micaiah right in front of Severa's eyes.

"So you summoned one rare," Morgan said dismissively. "I'll admit that it's impressive you managed to hide the fact that you got her, but she won't help you win this round."

"If I remember Micaiah's effects, I think Morgan's going to be in trouble…" Sumia mumbled.

"Really? What does she do?" Cynthia asked.

"I think you'll soon find out."

"Heh, it'll help me win this round and more!" Robin smirked. "Now, I use my Micaiah to attack your Eldigan."

The Micaiah on the field opened her tome and pointed toward the Eldigan standing in front of Morgan. A golden ball of light appeared above Eldigan before crashing down on him, obliterating the unit in an explosion.

"Oh, and one of Micaiah's special abilities is that she does extra damage against cavalry," Robin said casually.

"Whatever. Eldigan had terrible magic resistance anyway." Morgan waved dismissively. "What matters now is that your turn is over and I still have my Reinhardt and Cecilia to totally crush you!"

"Just you try it, Morgan. See what happens."

"I think I will." Morgan drew a card from her deck. "I don't even need to play any magic cards or summon extra units. I'll just use my Reinhardt to attack your Micaiah with his Dire Thunder!"

The Reinhardt on the field then opened his tome and attacked Robin's Micaiah. From the sky above, a lightning bolt struck Micaiah twice, but to Morgan's shock, that didn't take down Micaiah.

"I can see that you're shocked and confused," Robin remarked smugly. "Allow me to explain. One of Micaiah's passives gives her an additional 6 to both her defensive stats if she faces a ranged enemy, be that physical or magical. She also has a lot of base magic resistance, which makes taking her down with magic very hard. Finally, her other special ability is that she reduces damage taken from an enemy's first attack by thirty percent."

"Man, seriously? She does all of that?"

"Whoa. That's a lot of effects!" Cynthia was impressed. "I should totally pull for her!"

"No kidding. I'm more of a melee guy and Micaiah didn't really catch my attention, but seeing her in action against Morgan's nightmare cavalry team is really making me reconsider," Owain said.

"She definitely seems useful," agreed Cordelia.

"She does indeed," Robin nodded. "And how it's her turn to retaliate."

"Oh…" Morgan grimaced as she watched Micaiah obliterate her Reinhardt.

"And you didn't even summon any extra units or play magic cards," Robin said with mock sympathy.

"And none of my magic cards on the field can help me with this…" Morgan sighed as she scanned the cards in her hand, none of which were particularly helpful for her current situation. "I guess I end my turn."

"Yes, yes you do." Robin drew a card from his deck. "Now, I use my Micaiah to take down your Cecilia."

Cecilia was promptly destroyed by Micaiah in one hit.

"And I now I use my Second Wind magic card to give Micaiah an extra turn," Robin said, flipping a card on his board, which had the effect of flipping one of the previously face-down cards on the field. The card then shone brightly before disappearing.

"Okay, that's no big deal. My castle has enough points to withstand an assault," Morgan muttered to try and calm herself down. "After this I'll draw from my deck and start playing this seriously."

"Unfortunately for you, my dear, daughter, there will be no draw after this, for this is the end for you!"

"What? How?"

"Because with all of that combat, Micaiah has collected enough points to activate her special ability!"

"What, another one?!"

"That's right!"

The Micaiah on the field opened her tome and was glowing with power.

"Now watch as Micaiah attacks your castle directly with the power of Glacies enhancing her attack!"

"Oh boy. Glacies-enhanced attacks usually end up hurting a lot…"

"And this one will be no exception. Now," Robin extended his hand, "Micaiah, attack Morgan directly! Blast her castle to smithereens with the power of a Glacies-enhanced Thani!"

The Micaiah on the field, brimming with power, pointed her hand toward Morgan.

Morgan looked up to see the same ball of light that destroyed her units descending upon her.

"Oh boy…"

Of course, the attack didn't hit her directly. Instead, it connected with the small tower that was behind her. But when the Thani strike hit, destroying the tower and rendering the number above Morgan to zero, the resulting destruction from the debris rained down on Morgan, engulfing her in smoke.

"Is she going to be okay?" Cordelia asked Anna.

"Relax, hon. I told you before that none of this is real, despite the fact that it was made to look as real as possible. It's just magical special effects. Look."

And just as Anna said, once the smoke cleared, everyone saw Morgan was unharmed (but covering her head from the fake falling debris).

"And that's how it's done!" Robin yelled triumphantly, walking up to the Micaiah on the field and giving her a high-five. "Finally. It was about time I finally won one of these…"

"That was SO COOL!" Cynthia exclaimed.

"It sure was!" Owain was equally as excited. "The characters, the effects, the everything! And that fact that everyone is life-sized makes this so cool and awesome that I can barely contain myself!"

"Man, that was sure something. Everything was so cool and awesome and realistic that I'm not even upset about losing!" Morgan said, coming up to everyone. "Hey, Dad? When did you manage to pull Micaiah?

"A while back. Wanted to hold off on revealing that I managed to pull her until I had a good excuse. These new boards seemed a good excuse as any, and boy did they deliver!"

"I assume everyone is happy with the product?" Anna asked, smiling.

"Boy are we ever! I mean, the regular boards were cool enough, but seeing all the units all big and the effects all cool? That was awesome!" Morgan said excitedly.

Owain and Cynthia nodded.

"Robin?" Anna said, turning to the man in question.

"It's preeeetty cool…" Robin admitted, trying not to look as excited as Morgan and the others.

"Impressive as it is, how much is this going to cost us?"

It seemed Cordelia wasn't letting the special effects distract her.

"That's the best part!" Anna replied. "I'm offering you several pieces of this cool, new, awesome and experimental kit for the low price of nothing!"

Robin blinked. "I'm sorry, I think I must've misheard. I thought you said you were offering this stuff to us free of charge."

"Nope! You heard right. All this kit will cost you absolutely nothing!"

"...What's the catch?" Cordelia asked, looking at Anna suspiciously.

"Catch? No catch. Why do you think there has to be a catch?" Anna asked innocently.

"Because you never give anything out for free unless there's something in it for you."

"That's not true! Can't a girl just show how much she appreciates her customers by giving them cool freebies once in a while?"

Cordelia wasn't buying it.

"What's your angle…?"

— Several days ago —

Anna sat at her desk, happily humming to herself as she counted the gold from her latest sale.

"Heeeeeey, sister! Did you miss me?"

Anna looked up to see one of her sisters enter the room, a bag slung over her shoulder.

"Are you still on your whole 'noble bandit stealing from the rich and giving to the poor' thing?" Anna asked, seeing her sister's garb.

"You bet I am! You should try it sometime, you know? There's no better feeling than robbing snooty rich people and giving to the needy."

Anna snorted. "I can think of at least a thousand other things that'll make me feel better than that, chief among them being counting gold made at the end of the day."

"You and your gold…"

"And you and your 'noble bandit' phase. Just remember our agreement."

"Yes, yes, I stay away from your customers and hide my identity and you'll let me do what I love. I won't forget because you never cease to remind me every time we see each other."

"And I'll never stop reminding you because your little hobby will threaten our entire business if it gets out you're robbing our customers," Anna reminded, disapproval evident in her voice. "Honestly, I thought you'd have outgrown this phase of yours…"

"But can you keep saying that when you see this great haul I got?!" the other Anna said excitedly, putting down her bag.

Anna rolled her eyes but decided to entertain her sister. "Okay, fine, I'll bite. What did you get?"

"Quality stuff!" The other Anna reached into her bag. "Check it out! High quality equipment that's in pretty good condition!"

"I suppose…" Anna mumbled, examining the things in her sister's bag. "Pretty good stuff in here, actually. Good quality, materials are nice...wait a minute…"

Anna examined a sword.

"What?"

"This is one of ours!"

"It is?"

"I think I'd know one of our products when I see it!" Anna turned to her sister. "Anna, did you rob one of our customers, because I swear…!"

"I didn't! Really!" The other Anna raised her hands. "I made sure to memorize that list of the most important customers you gave me and how they looked like and where they live. I may be a righteous bandit, but I'm not dumb enough to jepordize our family business!"

"Then who did you get this off of?"

"Some poor, desperate sap who really wanted to have a cup of tea with me. Well, him and then his friends."

"What did they look like?"

"The sap? He has kinda cute I guess, but the fake and poor quality flirting was a real turnoff. Made him easy to sucker, though. Had blue hair, smiled a lot, lots of terrible pickup lines.

That really didn't narrow it down…

"And get this, he said he was related to the royal family of Ylisse?"

That got Anna's attention.

"I know, right? When you try to impress a girl, at least make it believable. I mean, why would the royal family…"

This was potentially bad, but there was still hope. Lots of would-be philanderers say the stupidest things to impress girls.

"You said that you got this off him and his friends. Did you get to see some of them?"

The other Anna stopped mid-sentence. "Not that much time to look around. I mean, I was in the middle of raiding their camp."

"Okay…"

"But when I was sneaking out, I did see one interesting fellow. I noticed him because he had white hair. Not many people with that, you know?"

Oh no…

"What did he look like?"

"Besides the unique hair?" The other Anna tried to remember. "Nothing special besides that, I guess. It didn't really help him stand out that he was wearing a generic swordmaster's outfit."

Anna tried not to panic. While there weren't that many people with white hair, there were still enough in the world to make this not be what she was afraid it was, even if—

"Oh yeah, and he was talking to some kid last I saw. Now that kid was something else. I say this because of her coat."

Oh no. Oh no oh no oh no...

"Yeah, it was pretty unique. Some purple markings on the sleeves with gold trimmings at the edges and—"

"Did it look like that coat we have in cleaning?" Anna really didn't want to ask, but she had to.

"...Yeah, now that you mention it," the other Anna said obliviously. "Not as fancy, but in the same style, actually. Why?"

Anna closed her eyes, trying to keep the world from falling apart.

"Sis?"

"...Did anyone see you? Recognize you?"

"Are you kidding? I make sure to hide my face when I'm out doing my work. Wouldn't do any good if people see my face and think that you or one of the others tried to rob them, now would it? And I've become an expert of stealing and sneaking off without being seen."

Thank gods for small miracles.

"...Okay…" Anna took a deep breath. "I'm going to have to go out and try to fix this before this becomes a major crisis."

"What? What do you—"

"And you!" Anna pointed at her sister, fury in her eyes. "You'd better hope that nobody saw or recognized you! The health and future of our business could collapse all because of your stupid hobby!"

And Anna rushed out before her sister could say anything.

— Now —

"No angle," Anna said with a smile. "I just want to show that we appreciate you, our biggest and most loyal customers, and want to show our appreciation by giving you this little gift."

"Man, that certainly is a lot of appreciation," Morgan remarked.

"It better be, with how much we order from them and their prices…" muttered Robin.

"Exactly. And this is our symbol of appreciation and goodwill, so you know how much we appreciate you. This is our gift of appreciation to you. Completely free of charge. To let you know how much you mean to us and that we would never do anything to damage or harm our mutually beneficial business relationship.

Cordelia opened her mouth to interrogate Anna further.

"Okay, great! No contract, no fee, no catch! This is awesome!" Robin was much more forgiving. "Cordelia, you heard her. This is all free because we're such good customers of hers."

"Robin, nothing in this world is fre—"

"Thanks, Anna!" Morgan said, beaming. "This will totally liven up our card game matches."

"And we'll liven them up right now!" Cynthia pulled her deck out dramatically. "Morgan! I, Cynthia, Warrior of Justice and flier expert extraordinaire, challenge you to a duel!"

"Well, Cynthia, I, Morgan—"

"Hey, no fair! I wanted to challenge Morgan using the cool new magical boards!" Owain whined.

"Well you can't challenge her since I just challenged her. Just wait until our duel is over before getting your go at Morgan."

"Man, but I want to see my heroes of legend do their thing in upscaled real life!"

"Guys, we do have more than two of the new boards, you know," Morgan said seriously. "Which means…"

"Three way duel!" they all exclaimed at once.

Robin, Sumia, and Cordelia watched as Morgan, Cynthia and Owain excitedly got their decks out and set up the new boards for their match.

"Heh, looks like they're a hit," Anna commented. "I hope you enjoy!"

"Oh, we certainly will. They'll definitely liven up the place and all matches from now on," Robin said. He then looked at Cordelia. "Come on, Cordelia! They're free! Anna doesn't have an ulterior motive every time she comes to us offering stuff, you know."

"I do know and she does. The only reason you don't is because you haven't been negotiating with her."

"Cordelia, can we keep the boards without any hassle this time?"

"Robin—"

"They are pretty cool for something that costs us nothing…"

"You too, Sumia?"

"Oh, I'm sorry! I know I don't know anything about contract negotiation or marketing or anything, but, you know…"

Cordelia looked between Sumia and Robin. She then sighed.

"Fine. I'll make an exception and not ask further questions just this once."

"Wonderful!" Anna clapped her hands. "I hope you enjoy your new game boards. And remember: we gave it to you for free because we appreciate your business and want to maintain our relationship through any hardships we may have."

"Wait, what hardsh—"

"Okay, happy to see another satisfied customer! I'll have your new gear delivered to your equipment storage area. Bye!"

"...I don't like this."

"I'm sure that's just your not liking Anna in general," Robin said breezily. "Anyway, how cool is this stuff? Let's see how Morgan and Cynthia and Owain perform and get a match going ourselves!"

"Weren't we here to do some magic training?" Cordelia asked.

"Oh." Robin visibly deflated. "We were here to do that, weren't we?"

"I'm sure it can wait until after we see the match through," Sumia said. "Right, Cordelia?"

"I suppose. I'll admit I'm impressed myself about how good the units look life-sized, not to mention the special magic effects."

Meanwhile, Severa was watching all of the events unfold with a mixture of jealously and disbelief.

Disbelief because how everyone got excited about this silly game thing when they had a war going on in the background, and jealous because damn it, she wanted to see some of her new units on that magical board and try out some new strategies!

---

Today was a new day! A new day just like every day, but this one was especially new because Morgan had a purpose! ...Well, Morgan always had a purpose, that purpose being to surpass her father in the tactics department, and that purpose being one of many, but that one was the main one! And in pursuit of that goal, Morgan had to improve her combat abilities, because a good tactician is effective in both planning her strategies and executing them on the battlefield. And Robin was helping her become the best she could be by identifying her weaknesses and working on how to fix them. Morgan was confident on the magic front since her father said she was ready to graduate to the next tier of spells. She could feel it, too! Just a few more lessons and Morgan would be summoning tornadoes and incinerating bad guys just like her dad, which she just couldn't wait for! And on the melee front, Robin had identified areas of improvement that they would be working on. And Morgan, being a real go-getter, decided to do her own research in order to show Robin how much she knew and impress him with techniques that he may not have known!

And that was why Morgan was walking and reading her big book of sword techniques. Well, a big book of sword techniques. They were lucky in that the place they were granted to stay in had a library with a bunch of different books that Morgan could raid when she was bored. Of course, she was going to ask the other Shepherds for their tips and tricks. Morgan was aware enough that she had plenty of people with experience in different fighting styles from who to take tips from! However, the first port of call was books and trying to get the theory down before getting to the practice!

And yet, as Morgan walked and read the book at the same time (conveniently forgetting how her father disapproved of her doing that), she wished that there was a way for her to just transfer all the knowledge of the book directly into her head without having to read it first. There was so much she could be doing in the time it took her to read the book!

Morgan paused as a thought occurred.

She may not have remembered anything about her past, but that didn't mean that it wasn't there, maybe just...hidden somewhere. And Morgan was pretty sure that included some defensive sword techniques her father (and maybe mother) taught her. So she could potentially be sitting on a whole trove of cool sword techniques and not know it because it was stuck in her mind somewhere! All she had to do was unstuck it! But how…?

Morgan looked down at the big book she was carrying.

Well, Morgan usually hit things that were stuck until they came loose. And even though there wasn't any evidence to suggest that this could work for her hidden memories, there also wasn't any suggestions that it couldn't work! And from Morgan's experience, it all depended on the angle at which you hit the thing that was stuck to make it unstuck. Problem was that she didn't know where in her head her cool defensive sword stuff was. So she supposed it would be a matter of trial and error until she remembered! Now she just needed to position the book just right and hit herself to shake some memories loose…

---

"Hee hee hee! Come on, Nah! I'm over here!" Nowi shouted, running.

"I don't think...I can run...any more…" Nah panted, trying to keep up with her mother.

Nowi stopped. "Well, I suppose we can rest for a while if you REALLY have to."

As soon as Nowi finished, Nah collapsed on the ground.

"Wow, Nah, you're really out of it," Nowi observed.

"D-don't you think we've...played enough? Maybe we could...study a bit…" Nah wheezed.

Nowi pinched her nose. "BOOOOOORING!"

"Mother, you do realize we're in the middle of a cataclysmic war, yes?" Nah managed to say between breaths. "The fate of the entire world depends on whether or not we emerge victorious."

"I know! That's why we have to get stronger and always be ready to fight."

"Which means we must study—"

"Nah, when it comes to thinking or studying, I leave that to Chrom and Robin and Morgan and Miriel. I trust them to do their egghead jobs, and they trust me to fight."

"Yes, but training and studying...that's how we grow stronger."

"You DO know that training isn't the only way to make yourself strong, don't you?"

"But how else…" Nah paused. "Wait. Are these practice games how you practice for battle?"

"Well, it tired YOU out, didn't it?" Nowi pointed out cheerfully. "The more you play, the stronger you get!"

Nah couldn't believe this revelation, coming from her mother, of all people! "...It appears I might have underestimated you, Mother. From now on, I'm going to trust you more. ...AND start playing a lot more seriously!"

Nowi snickered. "Playing seriously"? Oh Nah, that is SO like you!"

"Mother—"

"So come on! Enough sitting here in the dirt. Let's go play and get your endurance up. Try to catch meeeee!"

And Nowi ran off without waiting for a response from her daughter.

"She sure has a lot of energy and stamina…" Nah mumbled, watching her mother run off. "Definitely need to do more of this if I want to keep up…"

A loud noise caught Nah's attention.

"Whoa, what was that? Some kind of secret taguel focus training?"

"Huh? Oh, hi, Nah," Yarne greeted. "And no, it was a sigh."

"That was pretty impressive for a sigh. I thought it was part of an ancient form of meditation or something."

"You've got some imagination, Nah. I guess the world looks different when you can turn into a dragon," Yarne said wistfully. "...Gods, I'm so jealous."

That comment caught Nah off-guard. "What? Where did that come from?"

"Well, can you blame me? There's the claws, and the fangs, and the breath, and the part where you're all huge! Who wouldn't be jealous of that?"

"Hey, us dragons have our share of problems too!" Nah felt compelled to say. "You're a pretty obvious target when you're as big as a barn!"

"Yeah, I guess. But still…"

"Besides, you can transform, too!"

"Yeah, into a rabbit! Not exactly feared as nature's deadliest killers, are they?"

"Maybe not, but they're quicker than most. That makes them perfect for quick tactical strikes and diversionary runs. I mean, come on. Bunnies have their strengths."

"Calling them 'bunnies' is not helping. Ugh, let's not talk about it. It's depressing."

"You were the one who brought it up!"

"Come on, I think she went this way."

"How have you lost her again?"

"So now this is my fault?"

"Hey, you said you were leading on this! I'm just helping."

Yarne and Nah looked as Severa and Cynthia approached them.

"Hey, guys," Yarne said, waving. "What brings you here?"

"We're just looking for Morgan. You guys seen her anywhere?" Severa asked. "We were in the library last and were keeping tabs on her before somebody got distracted and dragged me into her antics."

"Hey, it's not my fault. This library had some original copies of our favorite books when we were kids!" Cynthia protested. "How can you not get excited about that stuff?"

Severa rolled her eyes. "Anyway, we picked up her trail from there and that led us somewhere out here. So you guys seen her or what?"

"I think she passed by not too long ago," Nah said. "I may have seen a little flash of blue from the corner of my eye when I was trying to keep up with Mother."

Yarne pointed. "She went that way."

"How do you know?"

"We Taguel may not be fearsome and deadly opponents, but our sense of smell is second to none!" Yarne said rather proudly, tapping his nose.

"Thanks. Come on, Cynthia."

"What do you guys even want with Morgan?" Nah asked. "Last I checked, you were giving her the evil eye."

"Severa here thinks Morgan's an evil infiltrator here or something," Cynthia informed helpfully. "And we're here to either prove or disprove her theory!"

"It's not a theory and we're here to prove it!" Severa snapped. "She's just here under a totally elaborate cover story to try and turn on us when we least expect it!"

"Really? Morgan? I know I haven't been here long, but she seems way too flighty to be an evil agent," Yarne said.

"And she doesn't smell like one."

"Well that's just because her whole 'airheaded weirdo' personality is just a really good cover and—" Severa paused. "Wait, you can smell infiltrators?"

"Well, not smell infiltrators, but intentions," Nah clarified. "Manakete can tell a person's intentions by their scent."

Everyone stared at Nah.

"Did I not mention this before? A-anyway, in my time spent around Morgan, I've not smelled anything untoward from her. She basically wears her intentions on her sleeve. What's more, she has this vaguely familiar smell that's infuriatingly hard to pin down."

Severa raised a brow. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"I know! I can't figure it out either and it's driving me insane! I feel like her aura is familiar enough to the point that I can recognize it as something I should know, but different enough that I can't pin down why it's familiar!"

"I can totally relate."

Now everyone stared at Cynthia.

"Oh yeah. I've totally had moments like that." Cynthia nodded gravely. "It's like when you see something and have a thought and want to talk about it, but then you get distracted for a second and the next thing you know is that you forgot what you were about to say. And then when you look back at the thing you first saw, you remember that you had a thought about it but can't remember what that thought was."

"That's...uh...I guess?"

"Don't worry, Nah! From my experience, you'll recognize what Morgan's smell reminds you of a few days after you first thought and then forgot about it," Cynthia predicted confidently.

"...Well that was just a big, stupid waste of time that we could've spent catching up with Morgan," Severa announced after a moment's silence. "Gods, why does Brady always make himself scarce when I need him for my Morgan investigation…?"

"Hey, it was not a stupid waste of time! It was—"

"Whatever. Come on, idiot. We have to catch up to Morgan."

Nah and Yarne watched as Severa dragged Cynthia off in their search for Morgan.

"...It's almost like they didn't hear a word I said…" Nah muttered.

"I'm not sure that's true," Yarne said. "They definitely heard what you said, just...bits and pieces of it."

---

"—umb waste of time!" Severa grumbled.

"Was not! Besides, didn't you hear what Nah said? Morgan's whole thing may not be an act," Cynthia said.

"Yeah. Right," Severa scoffed. "I guess any random girl can now claim to be Robin's daughter. How can you even believe that crap?"

"Well, I don't know about actually believing, but, you know…"

"What."

"Morgan's okay," Cynthia said quietly.

Severa was glaring at her in an instant.

"I mean, come on! She's had plenty of time to do her evil betrayer thing and she didn't! Besides, she likes board games and card games and strategy games and is really enthusiastic about our cabal rivalry and really gets into the stuff me and Owain get into. Can she really be some kind of bad guy given all that?"

"I can't believe I'm hearing this…" Severa grumbled. "Am I the only one who has to keep her guard up around that kid and her suspicious circumstances?! You of all people should be on my side!"

"I am on your side, Sev!" Cynthia insisted. "I'm just, you know, not so hostile about this whole thing…"

Severa was about to berate Cynthia some more when she spotted something.

"Hey, what's that?"

"Looks like someone on the ground," Cynthia said, squinting her eyes.

"Let's take a closer look."

The girls approached the figure and quickly noticed an all too familiar coat.

"What the hell…?"

Morgan lay on the ground, groaning.

Severa and Cynthia looked at each other.

"What do you think happened?"

"Looks like she was ambushed or something."

"Urgh…" Morgan was slowly coming to.

"Uh, Morgan? You okay, there?" Cynthia asked.

"Wha...what happened? Cynthia? And Severa? Wh-what am I doing here? Was I asleep?! I don't even remember feeling tired…" Morgan looked around herself. "Oh, right! I was bashing that huge book against my head when I blacked out. That explains why my face hurts so bad…"

Severa was too stunned to speak.

"You were...what?" Cynthia felt compelled to ask.

"Yeah. Dad said I needed to improve my defensive swordsmanship and I figured that I'd have some of that knowledge locked up in my noggin somewhere just waiting to be dislodged. And since trying to knock some of that knowledge out of my head would be a lot faster than reading this book, I just...you know."

"So...you were hitting yourself with a huge book to try to unlock some potential hidden knowledge?" Severa asked, still not quite believing what she was hearing.

"Well, yeah! Obviously. If you ever saw me bludgeoning myself just for fun, I hope you'd put a stop to it."

Severa stared at Morgan in disbelief. For her part, Morgan just smiled brightly.

"Morgan, we'd stop you even if it's NOT just for fun, you nitwit!" Cynthia exclaimed. "Look, we know you have an issue with your memories and probably want them back, but there are better ways to do that, you know. And I don't even know how you thought hitting yourself with a book was a good idea in the first place!"

"The concept is the same as when a chest gets stuck and won't open, really. You ever been in that situation? All you have to do is whack it hard and frequently enough until it—"

"Okay, I'm going to stop you from heading any further into this craziness," Severa interrupted. "We'd be here all day if we had to explain what was wrong with that 'reasoning.' I want to say what you told us was just some stupid cover story to cover what you were really doing, but—"

"Cover story? Why would I need a cover story? What I told you was what happened and the theory behind it is backed by science and experience!" Morgan insisted.

"This would be the worst and most obvious lie if it was coming from anyone else, but given that it's you, it's crazy enough to actually be true…"

"Of course it's true! Why wouldn't it be?"

"Right. Well. Putting aside the whole 'I'm going to bash my head with a huge book to try to remember hidden sword techniques' thing," Cynthia said, trying to get the conversation past this bump, "Couldn't you just ask someone for pointers? I'm sure that'd be easier and less painful than hitting yourself with a book."

"Yeah, that was my next stop if my first plan didn't knock any knowledge loose..." Morgan paused to check. "...Which it doesn't seem like it did. So asking for tips from the others it is, then! First stop will be Lucina! Being one of the best sword users, I'm sure she can give a few tips on how to be defensive."

"The only thing you're going to get out of Lucina is how break training dummies," Severa said. "While she obviously can handle herself on defense, her preferred style is offensive."

"And if you want tips and tricks on defensive sword skills, you can ask our very own Severa!" offered Cynthia.

"Yes, well I'm—wait, what?"

"Really? You wouldn't mind, Severa?" Morgan asked.

"Wait wait wait, I—"

"Of course she wouldn't mind!" Cynthia said enthusiastically. "Severa here was one of our best swordswomen in the future, probably second only to Lucina! What's more, Severa has a balanced fighting style, so she can either go on the offensive or put up a really good defense when needed. She's also right here, so you don't have to go and spend your time looking for—"

"Cynthia? A word?"

"Wha—?"

"What do you think you're doing?!" Severa hissed, after dragging Cynthia away. "Why are you pushing so hard for me to give the enemy training tips?!"

"Well you did say you wanted to stick by her and find out what she's up to, didn't you?" Cynthia countered. "And what better way to do that than train with her? That way you get to keep an eye on her, keep her from doing anything nefarious, and you get to learn more about her fighting style."

"That...actually all makes sense…" Severa mumbled. "Gods. There must be something wrong with the world when you start coming up with good ideas."

"Hey, even a broken clock is right twice a day!" Cynthia said cheerfully. "I may not have inherited all of Dad's smarts, but I'd like to think I got enough to have good ideas every now and again."

"That certainly seems like—"

"Besides, you can use your training opportunities to get back at Morgan for kicking your butt last time you trained." At Severa's surprised expression, Cynthia continued, "Oh yeah, I heard she really did a number on you. First training session and you ended up in the medical tent, right? That's gotta sting."

"You know what? I take back everything I said, you annoying little twerp! And for the record, the only reason Morgan won when we were sparring was because I was holding back and let her win!"

"Wait, so you let me win when we trained on our first go?"

"Gah!" Severa jumped away in surprise at the sudden voice beside her. "Morgan! What're you doing here?!"

"Am I not supposed to be part of this conversation?" Morgan asked curiously. "I mean, we were all talking sword training and then you dragged Cynthia away without really saying anything. Felt a bit left out so I decided to join up with you after a little while. Was I not supposed to?"

"That depends," Severa said, trying to regain her composure. "How much did you hear?"

"Just that last bit. Thanks for going easy on me, by the way. You were a pretty tough opponent! I was really winded after we fought."

"Yeah, well don't expect me to go easy on you next time."

"Hey, does that mean you'll be willing to give me tips and tricks on how to improve my defensive swordsmanship?"

"Yeah. Sure. That's what I'll be doing," Severa said slowly, ignoring Cynthia's thumbs up behind Morgan.

"That's great! Thanks so much, Severa! Man, with you and everyone else giving me tips, I'll up my defensive abilities in no time and then impress Dad so much he'll have to give me a promotion or something!"

Severa remained silent.

She supposed that this was a good idea as any even if it did come from Cynthia. Severa could occupy Morgan and try to get an idea what she was after and what she was capable of. Their one match did give Severa a general idea, but it would take more than that to properly assess Morgan's fighting style and who taught her. If she was taught by Robin, Severa would immediately recognize it.

Also Severa owed Morgan for their last match. Despite what Lucina said, Severa refused to hold back. If Morgan lasted this long with them, she was capable of taking a few hits here and there. And this time Severa would land a few hits and more!

---

Robin was getting worried.

He knew he said they had a week, but Robin was getting more and more anxious with every day that passed with no news from Chon'sin or its neighbors. They needed something to happen like right now, otherwise all these annoying Rosannian nobles would leave without committing their badly-needed reserves, and then Robin would be really stuck! ...Well, he'd be able to find a way around that little obstacle because of course he would, but taking on Walhart without Rosanne's troops would make his job a lot more difficult.

So Robin worried despite all the free time they had. He left making nice with the nobles to Chrom and Olivia (sadly Virion couldn't be seen by the others since pretty much everyone hated his guts since they thought him a craven for fleeing the country) while he ran through various scenarios, battle strategies, and contingencies for hypothetical scenarios. Gods, Robin hated waiting for things that were out of his control to happen. At least he had things to do to try and take his mind off of all that stuff…

"Okay, good job, ladies," Robin shouted, clapping his hands. "In our short time together, you managed to go from being novices to being novices who can at least cast basic level spells with no problem!"

"And it's all thanks to our humble teacher," Cordelia said wryly, holding her practice tome.

"This is so exciting!" Sumia marvelled at the fireball in her hand. "I can actually maintain my spells now instead of them fizzling out!"

"You girls got the touch and the power!" Robin said proudly. "I'm glad we got to the point where you can maintain your spells and cast them at moving targets."

"What now?" asked Sumia.

"Now we end our lesson. And next time we take it up a notch by trying the next tiers of spells."

Sumia's eyes lit up. "Do you really mean it? Do you think we're ready?"

"I'd say so. Your bodies got used to prolonged spellcasting and you look like you built up enough endurance so that the next tier of spells won't immediately wear you out. Who's excited to be casting bigger and better fireballs?!"

"I am!" Sumia said enthusiastically.

Cordelia chuckled. "As am I, although probably not as much as Sumia."

"Can you blame me? Magic always seemed like a mysterious and distant thing that I could never do or understand, and yet here I am!"

"Magic is pretty great," Robin said matter-of-factly. "And I guess that's it for today's lesson. You ladies are now free to go off and, I don't know, do whatever it is you guys do in your spare time."

"And for me that means feeding Daisy," Sumia said. "Thank you again, Robin. Your magic lessons are always fun and helpful and exciting."

Robin smiled. "I try my best."

"I'm looking forward to next time and learning to make even bigger fireballs and lightning bolts!"

Sumia waved and ran off to the stables.

Robin smiled and waved back. He then turned. "Are you still here?"

"I actually have a favor to ask, if you're free," said Cordelia.

"I suppose I can take some time from my busy schedule for you."

"How very generous of you."

"What's up?"

"I would like to spar."

"What, with me? Now?"

"You said you'll make time."

"Yes, but why this all of a sudden? Moreover, you're a pegasus knight and, you know, fight best when atop a pegasus, while I mostly do my fighting on foot...unless I'm fighting up in the air with you, that is."

"True, but I want to be prepared for times when I have to fight on foot, which has happened a few times already and will happen more in the future."

"True. So, what? You want to try and fight me with a spear on foot or something?"

"Not a spear," Cordelia said, picking up a sword.

Robin raised a brow.

"I feel like I do better with spears when I'm on my pegasus. On foot I think I do better with the sword," Cordelia explained.

"Since when do you know how to fight with a sword?"

"I've been training here and there just in case." At Robin's surprised expression, Cordelia continued, "I'm pretty sure I told you about this before, too."

"When was this?"

"I think it was mentioned at that bandit hideout when we were rescuing Morgan."

"...I don't remember that at all."

"What about when we saved that village from a bandit attack and met Owain?"

Robin stared blankly.

"Really? Nothing?"

"I have a lot of things going on with my life to remember every little detail, Cordelia. Also remembering things isn't my strong point."

"Oh good. I guess we're all fortunate that you don't have a job that requires a lot of remembering on your part, not to mention lives depending on—"

"So! Sparring, huh? Sword on sword?"

"That's the idea. I'd like to get your opinion on my skills and how I handle myself."

"You could've just come to me for training, you know," Robin said, picking up a practice sword.

"Please. I know how busy you are. Besides, you're also giving me and Sumia magic training."

"You should then also know how well I multitask and manage my time," Robin said, getting into a fighting stance.

"Between your training with Morgan, our magic training and all your other duties, I didn't want to add this to the list." Cordelia got into position. "Besides, I don't plan to make this my primary fighting style and you're not the only one who can offer sword training advice?"

"You went to others for tips?"

"You sound surprised."

"Well. For not making me your first choice, I'm not going to go easy on you."

"I wouldn't expect anything less."

The two charged each other, exchanging a few blows.

"Not bad," Robin said, putting some distance between himself and Cordelia. "You're more than just a rookie."

"Lon'qu taught me well."

"Lon'qu?!"

"Among other people."

Robin quickly closed the distance between them and made a series of quick strikes.

Cordelia grunted as a few of those strikes connected with her ribs.

"How did you manage to get Lon'qu not to freak out and actually teach you things?"

"By being persistent. Also imitating his moves since he mostly kept his distance."

This time Cordelia went on the attack.

Robin blocked her strikes until she made a feint and managed to get his side.

"You got me."

"Don't sound too surprised. I have been practicing here and there."

"Clearly."

They went a couple more rounds.

"Okay, fine. That means the kiddie gloves need to come off. Prepare for a world of pain!"

"I think someone's taking this a tad personally," Cordelia teased, getting herself ready for Robin's attack.

"I'm just trying to be thorough," Robin said.

He then broke into a dash.

Fortunately for Cordelia, she had a secret technique ready for just such an occasion. It wasn't exactly ethical, but she needed to see how it would work in a real-life scenario.

When Robin got near enough, instead of trying to dodge or block his attack, Cordelia used her foot to kick some dirt off the ground and right into Robin's face.

"Argh!"

And what she expected was that Robin would either stop and try to get it out of his eyes, thereby leaving himself open for her counterattack, or stumble and fall in front of her, also leaving him open.

What she did not expect was Robin stumbling and ploughing into her at full speed, thereby knocking both of them to the ground.

"Ow, damn it, Cordelia! What the hell?!"

"Urgh. Sorry, Robin. I wanted to put a theoretical move into practice and it didn't turn out as I expected…"

"I'll say. What's the big idea, getting all this dirt into my eyes?!"

Cordelia was about to offer a witty remark, but through the pain of Robin crashing into her and the impact of hitting the ground, she became aware of one thing.

They were both on the ground, sweaty and tired after their training, and Robin was currently on top of her.

Cordelia's mind unhelpfully (and unprompted) went to a similar scene from a Ribald Tales. It was maybe one from Elibe, where after a particularly heated argument and a round on the training grounds later, he who was was totally not Hector ended up pinning she who was totally not Farina to the ground. They stared at each other for a while like that, tension built up from all of their bickering about mercenaries and gold and all the other little things.

And then suddenly, their lips met.

And from there it was one explicit scene where they both made love to each other but also vied for dominance in the process. It was intense, passionate, and very competitive.

And now Cordelia found herself in a similar position.

...Wait, no. Not a similar position! This was real life and not one of her ribald tales! Just because she was in a potentially compromising situation did not mean that—

"Heeeey, look what we have here! So Robin finally decided to get serious about finding himself a lady, huh?"

"Who's tha—Argh!"

Robin grunted as Cordelia practically shoved him off herself and shot to her feet.

"Vaike, please refrain from making such crude and unfounded remarks based on—"

"So, Bubbles and Red, huh?"

Cordelia facepalmed internally.

Of all the people to come by…

"I'm now sad that I settled on 'Bubbles' and 'Blue' was taken by Chrom," Gaius said with a grin, swirling a lollipop in his mouth. "Because man, Robin ending up with Cordelia would've meant that we got Blue and Red together. Which would've meant that Morgan would've had to be called Purple. Man, we were so close!"

"Gaius, Vaike, you're being ridiculous," Cordelia said, trying to keep her face and voice straight.

"Are we? 'Cause it seems that you and Robin there were about three seconds from gettin' handsy with each other," Vaike said, grinning slyly.

"Vaike, that's absolutely—"

"And on the training grounds, out in the open for everyone to see. That's bold. Didn't think you and Bubbles were into that sort of thing, Red," Gaius said.

Despite trying to keep herself calm, Gaius and Vaike's teasing combined with her Ribald-inspired flashback had Cordelia's face quickly reddening.

"Oh ho, the evidence is all on her face!" Vaike laughed. "You two were totally gonna do it out here, weren't you?"

"Vaike, Gaius, you're being completely—"

"Urgh, who was doing what?" Robin asked, walking up to them and rubbing his face. "Also, is no one going to help me get this dirt out of my eyes?!"

"No one was doing anything, Robin," Cordelia said definitively.

"Except, you know, you and Red."

"What? What were me and Cordelia doing or not doing?"

"Each other. Or where on the verge of, at least."

"Yeah, don't let us interrupt your little romantic tryst," Vaike said. "Let me and Gaius just go off and leave you two to your—"

"There was nothing to leave us to!" Cordelia exclaimed, her face now as red as her hair.

"Then why is your voice a few octaves higher than usual, huh?"

Cordelia sputtered.

Robin sighed. "Guys, is this one of your weird lewd inside jokes I'm not getting? Also, seriously, can someone hand me a handkerchief of something?!"

"Someone ain't denyin' it…" Vaike said in a singsong voice.

"Denying what?!"

"This is ridiculous. I refuse to be part of this crude...thing!"

And Cordelia marched off, maintaining whatever pride she could when her face was redder than her hair.

Robin's propensity to drag other people into ridiculous situations was affecting her, it seemed. And all the stars aligned to make the most embarrassing situation possible. It was bad enough that Cordelia's mind snapped to (again!) some explicit romance novel scenes when Robin collided into her, but then maybe the crudest members of this little outfit had to see them and make their little remarks, because of course it had to be them. Of course!

Cordelia would have to talk to them to sort out this situation when she was in a better state of mind.

Gods, the very idea of her and Robin...doing it out in the open like that was absurd! And inappropriate! And highly indecent! Robin was her superior and her friend and it would be highly inappropriate for her to imagine what it'd feel like if he used his strong arms to pin her down and explored her body and kissed her passionately and dragged one arm down until he found the hem of her uniform and tore it to expose her—

Cordelia shook her head.

That's it. As much as she enjoyed reading the Ribald Tales series, this was now actually affecting her real life and how she saw her friends and superiors. It was time to put those books away and get her mind to focus on real life instead of joining the likes of Vaike and Gaius in the gutter!

---

"Heh, have you ever seen Red so embarrassed?" Gaius chuckled.

"Well. You two were absolutely no help whatsoever," Robin grumbled, finally managing to get his vision clear of the dirt.

"It sounds like quite the commotion here. Is everything all right?"

Robin was about to respond when his vision cleared. And what he saw caused him to question whether his vision was really fixed.

Standing in front of him and the others was none other than Lucina. But the usually proud, stoic, and regal Lucina was replaced with someone who looked like Lucina but was wearing a ridiculous bunny outfit, complete with tights, crazy colors, and a very silly bunny hat...thing.

Judging by the silence, Gaius and Vaike were equally stunned.

"Is something the matter?" asked the princess. "Oh! You must be wondering about my new attire, is that right?"

"I'm not the only one seeing this, right?" Robin whispered.

Both Gaius and Vaike shook their heads, still too stunned to speak.

"I actually found this in town when—"

"Lucina!" Chrom quickly ran to his daughter, followed by Olivia. "Please tell me you didn't—" Chrom then paused when he saw who he was in front of. "Oh no…"

If Robin was surprised to see Lucina appear in her getup, seeing both Chrom and Olivia in similar outfits made him question his sanity and what was real.

"Robin. Vaike. Gaius," Chrom tried to greet his friends as normally as possible.

"I hope you are well," Olivia followed Chrom's suit.

"What…?" was all Robin managed to say, pointing at the exalted family.

"Aren't they wonderful? Father, Mother and I went to the nearby village to spend some time together and they were celebrating the spring festival," Lucina explained excitedly. "And part of that is apparently dressing up in all sorts of costumes that recall spring to give thanks to the land."

Robin, Gaius, and Vaike were silent.

"Honey, why don't you take Lucina to our room so that we can, uh, store these interesting costumes and keep the memories alive?" Chrom suggested, taking the initiative while the three men couldn't speak.

"That's a great idea!" Olivia immediately caught on to Chrom's plan. "Come, Lucina. Let's return to our chambers and put these lovely costumes in our storage chests so that they don't get ruined."

"Ruined? But Mother, don't you want to show these costumes around to the others? Perhaps we can convince them to partake in the festival with us!"

"No!" Olivia said a little too quickly, adding, "I mean, I think I, uh, it might rain. We wouldn't want these costumes to get wet, would we?"

"Raining? But I don't see any clouds in the sky…"

"I think Miriel told me this. We can trust Miriel and her scientific predictions, right?" Olivia laughed nervously while taking Lucina's hand. "Come on, dear, let's return to our rooms before anyone see us—I mean, before it starts to rain."

"I, er, very well, Mother. Goodbye, Father and the rest!"

Lucina waved goodbye before Olivia pulled her away.

Chrom managed to keep his smile natural. Once Lucina and Olivia were out of sight, Chrom reluctantly turned to his friends.

Robin, Gaius, and Vaike had the biggest shit-eating grins on their faces.

Chrom sighed. "Okay, come on. I know you're dying to say it."

"There's just...so much to say I don't know where to begin," Robin said. "I just wish I could commit this perfect picture in physical form and pull it out whenever you give me grief."

"Didn't think you were such a fashionista, Chrom!" Gaius could barely contain his laughter.

Vaike had even less self control.

"You look so stupid!" was all he managed to say before bursting into laughter.

"Lucina chose these outfits for us…" Chrom offered weakly. "I tried to steer her away but she looked so excited…"

"We'll have to thank her later on," Robin said, putting his arm around Chrom's shoulder. "We now have this beautiful memory to keep us entertained and hang over you now. And forever."

"And ever and ever and ever…" Gaius joined Robin in putting his arm around Chrom's other shoulder.

"...I hate you both."

Vaike fell on the floor, laughing.

---

"There we go," Sumia cooed gently, feeding Daisy a carrot. "I hope you're enjoying the downtime we're having. It's nice, isn't it? You don't have to fly around worrying who's shooting at you or risk your life because of this war…"

Daisy snorted.

"Thank you for sticking with me throughout all this. I know I may not be the best pegasus knight out there, but…"

Daisy nuzzled Sumia's hand.

"I couldn't ask for a better partner than you." Sumia caressed Daisy and picked up another carrot.

"Oh, Sumia! You're here too?"

Sumia looked up and saw Cynthia standing by the stable doors.

"Hello, Cynthia. Yes, it's around this time that I feed Daisy. What brings you here?"

"Oh, you know, I was just in the neighborhood and thought that I'd visit the stables to see how our favorite mounts are doing," Cynthia said nonchalantly. "Anyway, thanks for training with me. I really appreciate it."

Sumia smiled. "Please, don't mention it. You're very talented. I've actually learned a lot while training with you."

"Oh wow. Praise from the great Sumia herself!" Cynthia's eyes sparkled. "You don't know how much that means to me."

"I wouldn't say my praise is anything special. If you really want to see some talent, I suggest you ask Cordelia. She's Sky-Commander for a reason, you know."

"Oh yeah, Cordelia's a great pegasus knight, for sure, but I want to impress you. By the way, you've seen my spear technique before, right?"

Sumia nodded. "It was very impressive."

"I think so too! Does this mean you'd be willing to help me join the pegasus knights?"

Sumia raised a brow. "Is that what you want, Cynthia?"

"Yes! In my future, see, the knights had long since disappeared into legend. But I always dreamed of joining them! Swooping through the broad blue skies... Skewering foes with a bloody lance…or spear. Spear works too. Javelin, even! Me, Cynthia, hero of the pegasus knights!" Cynthia had a faraway look in her eyes.

"Well," Sumia looked behind Cynthia. "I'm not responsible for recruiting, as you well know. However, if Phila were here, I'm quite sure she'd turn you down."

"But I thought recruitment was up to you and Cor—wait a minute, WHAT?! But why?! You just said I was really good with the spear!"

"Spear skills alone are not what makes the pegasus knights so formidable."

"You mean I have to be good with a sword, too? Ooh, or maybe magic?"

"If you wish to know the answer, you have to…" Sumia thought for a moment. "...Bathe in the waters of the spring."

Cynthia's face fell. "But the spring is...really, really cold. Couldn't I just do flower fort...I mean, uh…"

"Hm? What was that?"

"Nothing, nothing! I was just saying that couldn't I just, I don't know, get a fortune teller reading or something?"

"No. Now do as I say and go to the spring. You'll find your answer there. You'll have to think long and hard, though. It won't come easy."

Sumia smiled and left, hoping that her advice would show Cynthia the way.

"Why won't she just tell me instead of making me take a freezing-cold bath?" Cynthia wondered aloud. She then sighed. "Well, if it's not a spear or a sword or magic spells, then...ah, wait! The axe! Maybe it's all about the axe! ...No, that can't be it. Man, this is a real puzzle…"

---

Ordinarily Inigo loved it when he got some downtime. Downtime meant less time planning and fighting and training and more time hitting up girls! And usually they had downtime in some village or town where there were plenty of girls for Inigo to hit on and ask for tea. Sadly, there was never enough time for Inigo to try every girl before the Shepherds were rested enough to move. It was always a damn shame, too, since there were so many girls to hit on and Inigo only managed to get to a handful of them!

So naturally he thought that this extended stay at the fancy estate in Rosanne would give him plenty of time to do his thing and finally invite every pretty girl he saw to tea! But alas, fate seemed to really have it out for poor old Inigo, for he didn't take into account how the estate was big and had only one small village in its vicinity. And because it only had one small village in its vicinity, Inigo had tried his luck with every girl in the first few days of their stay. But now that they weren't leaving and were stuck on the estate with that one village, Inigo had no more girls to hit on (and wouldn't be going back to the village after he tried hitting on the village chief's daughter). So now Inigo was stuck with no girls to hit on. And it was killing him.

He supposed he could do something productive like training, but it was never as productive until he hit on at least one girl during the day. Otherwise the day was all dull and grey. Inigo couldn't do anything on a dull and grey day! He needed light and color and laughter in the world! And he needed to hit on girls for that to happen!

As Inigo was sullenly walking about doing nothing in particular, he spotted something that gave him hope. Or rather, someone.

Smiling brightly, Inigo brushed his clothes, put on his most winning smile, and walked forth.

"Hel-lo, Severa! You're looking darling as ever!"

Severa scowled (although Inigo wasn't sure whether it was a genuine scowl or just how Severa always looked). "Are you deaf or just an idiot? ...Wait, don't tell me. I know."

"I'm simply incapable of speaking anything but the truth!"

"What must it be like to live in your head? Are there happy ponies in there? It's really something how utterly delusional your optimism is. If I didn't hate you so much, I might even be impressed."

Inigo ginned. "Huzzah! I got a heavily qualified and slightly sarcastic compliment from Severa!"

"You are truly a staggering creature..." Severa shook her head. "Why on earth do you insist on coming around and saying that I... That I 'look good.'"

Inigo wasn't sure if this was a trick question. "Um, because you look good?"

"ARE YOU MAKING FUN OF ME?!" Severa shouted suddenly. "This camp is full of good-looking girls who will giggle and tee-hee all night long. I clearly despise you. So why chase me around?"

"You're selling yourself short, Severa. I think the ice-queen bit is charming! The higher the hurdle you have to leap, the more satisfying it feels once you're over it!"

And that was true…for the most part. Inigo obviously left out the part where he ran out of girls to hit on and compliment.

"I am NOT a hurdle, jerk!"

"W-wait! Th-that's not what I meant! Look, I'm serious. Honestly, I am. I wouldn't mess with your emotions."

"Your idea of serious is pretty far out there, Inigo."

"...Whatever could you mean?"

"Ugh! Enough! None of this matters. I have things to do. N-now just...leave me alone!"

"I knew it!" Inigo exclaimed suddenly, startling Severa.

"Wh-what?!"

"You put on a good show, but I know under all those thorns you're a total sweetie. And I'm going to stick around until I get to see the real you!" Inigo said confidently. "...Er, this is the part where you smile. It's a terrible waste to see such a pretty face scowling all the time."

"…You're obviously as blind as you are crazy. Now will you PLEASE just go away?!"

With that Severa stormed off.

Inigo blinked. "...Huh?! I can't go away if you go away first! Heeey! Severa! Wait up!"

---

And here Severa was having such a good day. It was sunny, warm, and she was about to teach Morgan a lesson and get even for her humiliating little defeat the first time they fought. This was her pride that needed avenging and damn it, she would avenge it! This time, it would be Morgan who would end up in the medical tent!

That thought gave Severa pleasure and put her in one of her rare good moods. And then Inigo came and ruined everything.

Severa sighed.

That worthless philanderer. He would hit on anything in a skirt and be completely shameless about it. His words were absolutely worthless and he just got on Severa's nerves every time he talked to her. It was a shame, too, since he was the only one to talk and complement her. Who didn't like to be complimented? And he wasn't bad to look at, either. If he didn't say sweet nothing to literally every girl in sight, Severa would've been flattered.

It was too bad, since Inigo was one of the few people to actively approach and talk to her, given her touchy personality, and his words meant less than nothing. Most others just avoided her or…actually, that was what most of them did. And Severa didn't really care all that much. After all, she wasn't here to make friends. She even avoided talking to her own mother, for Naga's sake! (that may or may not have been because she was afraid of ruining their non-existent/future relationship by unintentionally pushing her mother away/revealing their relationship prematurely...among other issues). Her father was a different story entirely.

Severa was worried about her relationship with her father too, but more than that, she wanted his attention and approval. She was always close to him in the future, and he was always there for her. He encouraged her to do her best and supported her in whatever she chose to do. He was wise, kind, and patient, even when it was obvious she wasn't nearly as tactically adept as he was. Her general lack of skill or specialization compared to her parents was always a source of insecurity for Severa. Her mother was Ms Perfect incarnate, good at whatever she did, so Severa had no chance there. And her father, while not an expert in literally everything like her mother, did have specialist fields that he excelled at. Unfortunately for Severa, she didn't inherit her father's skills in those either, although she liked to think that she did inherit his sword skills. While not an expert in the sword, her father was pretty good, which is why Severa decided to follow in his footsteps and pick up the sword instead of following her mother's path of the pegasi. She felt confident she could match her father's skill, as opposed to her mother, where she knew she'd never equal and would just be unfavorably compared to.

So Severa really liked her dad and wanted to prove herself and get closer to him. Or prove herself to get closer to him. Whichever. Problem was that her damn temper kept on ruining it every time Severa thought she was making progress. And gods damn it, it wasn't her fault! No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't keep herself from saying something mean and pushing her father away just when she thought they were making progress. And Severa swore that she was slowly making her hate him. Which was terrible, since that made her work harder to get his approval, which in turn…

It really made Severa want to cry out in frustration.

She couldn't have a relationship with her mother and was inadvertently ruining her kinda-sorta relationship with her father despite her best efforts. This was made worse by Cynthia just whizzing through with her parents like they were best of friends. Cynthia, who couldn't keep a secret even if her life depended on it! And to top it all off, there was some random girl who—

"Hey, Severa."

Severa was so caught up in her thoughts she didn't notice the heavy footsteps approaching.

"Huh? Oh, Kjelle."

"What's got you looking down?"

"I could say the same thing for you. You're scowling so hard it might permanently scar your face."

"Yeah, just coming off some training. Was doing some spear work when Gerome walked by, casually pointing out flaws in my technique," Kjelle said, frowning. "That Gerome. He thinks he knows everything to know about combat and can give pointers to others. It also doesn't help that he's right, the dastard."

"Yeah, that dumb acrobat is a real piece of work."

"Acrobat?"

"Anyway, what're you doing here? I thought you'd be working yourself ragged trying to improve your technique."

"I was doing that, but then I needed to take a break. And while I was doing that, I had a thought. Have you seen Morgan anywhere?"

"Morgan?" Severa wasn't expecting this. "Why are you looking for her all of a sudden?"

"I've been thinking during my training. You know how I like to test everyone in the army to make sure they're strong enough to be here?"

"Yeah, and you're lucky our parents are as strong as in the stories we were told as kids, otherwise you would've broken them."

"I'd expect nothing less. Anyway, I think I've sparred with everyone here except for one person."

Severa raised a brow. "You want to spar with Morgan?"

"She's the only question mark, now that I think about it," Kjelle said. "Just because her fa—"

Severa narrowed her eyes.

"...Robin proved himself by wiping the floor with me, that doesn't mean she gets a free pass."

"You do realize you're like twice her size, right? You're going to crush her."

"Not if she holds her ground."

"I'd consider it a win if she survives," Severa chuckled. Then she suddenly remembered Lucina's words. "But hey, try to take it easy on her, yeah?"

"What? 'Take it easy'? I'm not sure I know the meaning of those words together."

"I'm serious. If you pummel her to a pulp, I doubt Robin will take too kindly to that, believing she's his daughter and all."

"Hmm…" Kjelle considered Severa's words. "Fine. I guess I can take it down a bit, but only as a favor to you! I don't make a habit of taking it easy on my opponents."

"I'm doing this for your own good. You know how much Robin likes her," Severa said distastefully.

"Right. Fine. So where is she?"

"She should be showing up here about now, actually."

And as if right on cue, Morgan came up to the training grounds.

"Hi, Severa!" she greeted cheerfully. "I'm ready for my lesson in defensive sword techniques. Oh, hi, Kjelle! You here to work on your defensive sword skills too?"

Kjelle glanced quizzically over at Severa, who just shrugged.

"I'm actually here to test you," Kjelle said.

"Test? Test me for what?"

"Test your strength to determine whether you are worthy! Those who lack strength have no place in this army."

"Worthy? Of course I'm worthy! But more than that, how do you plan to test me?"

"By having a duel, of course!" Kjelle then got into a fighting stance.

Morgan looked alarmed. "What, now?"

"The sooner we determine your strength, the better. Now have at you!"

Kjelle thrust her practice spear.

"Wait a minute!" Morgan said, sidestepping the strike. "We haven't even decided on the rules or anything! How will I know when I've won?"

"There are no rules in war!" Kjelle swung her spear. "One wins when the other drops to the ground!"

"That's it?" Morgan ducked under Kjelle's swing and jumped back to put some distance between them. "I just have to drop you to the ground?"

"You'll have to try, but I won't go down easy!" Kjelle made a series of quick thrusts with her spear.

"Oh, I have no doubt about that," Morgan said, deftly dodging Kjelle's attacks. "You're like, one of the biggest and strongest soldiers we have! I just wanted to make sure that there are no restrictions in this contest so I have clear boundaries and rules of engagement. And given that you said the only rule is for one person to drop the other…"

"That's right. In war, it's kill or be killed and only the strongest survive. The only rule is to be stronger than your opponent!"

Kjelle swung her spear to try to get Morgan to lose her balance before stabbing.

"Well, stronger is one way to go about it, I guess." Morgan ducked underneath Kjelle's swing and jumped as Kjelle's spear stabbed the ground. She then landed on the tip of Kjelle's spear. "But Dad always says that there are many paths to victory."

With a cheeky smile (and before Kjelle could react), Morgan ran up Kjelle's spear, over her shoulders, and jumped past before Kjelle could react. When she landed, Morgan quickly put her palm to Kjelle's armored back and chanted a quick spell. Moments later, Kjelle cried in pain and fell to the ground.

"I guess I win that round, huh?" Morgan said, rather proud of herself.

Kjelle grunted twitched on the ground.

Severa, who was up until now watching the entire thing with amusement, spoke up.

"What the hell was that?"

"Me totally acing that test and proving that I belong in this army," Morgan said simply, clapping her hands.

"Yeah, but—"

"I mean, yeah, if this was a traditional contest of strength, I would've totally lost. Kjelle is like a giant encased in metal and freakishly strong! And I'm far from the strongest or sturdiest one of us here!" Morgan admitted casually. "Which is why I asked her about the rules of this little test before it began...or a bit after, I guess. Anyway, you heard her yourself. Kjelle said that there were no rules other than knock your opponent down. So that's exactly what I did."

"With magic."

"With magic. Not like there were any rules against it. Besides, there's more to any army and a warrior than just pure strength. I mean, if wars were won by just pure muscley strength, then the countries with the biggest, meanest soldiers would rule the world! But like Dad always says, strength comes in many forms. And by many many forms, he meant many unit types. Be that in real life, card games or board games, the strength of one's army is dependent on the variety of units it has. A good mix of skills and talents is the key to covering maximizing an army's strengths and covering its weaknesses!"

Severa remained silent, not least because that was basically what her father told her in the future as part of his lessons to teach her (and the other future kids) tactical and strategic thinking.

"So while Kjelle may be as strong as a wyvern, relying on pure strength alone is a good way to get zapped by a mage. Right, Kjelle?"

"I…" Kjelle tried to get up, twitched, and fell down again.

"...Yeah, sorry about that," Morgan said apologetically. "Didn't know how much it would take to drop you so I gave you a zap at the higher end of the scale. You might feel some residual tingles here and there, especially since you were all encased in that huge armor of yours."

Kjelle grunted.

"Anyway," Morgan continued casually, turning to Severa, "Now that that's out of the way, let's begin our lessons in defensive swordplay so I can totally knock Dad's socks off next time we clash with how much I learned!"

Severa remained silent.

"Severa? You okay?"

"I… We'll have to do this some other time. I need to think things over and clear my head."

Severa then turned and walked away without waiting for a response.

"Wha—? Wait, Severa? But my…!" Morgan sighed when it didn't look like Severa was coming back. "Man! So much for that. I guess I'll ask Owain or Gregor or something…"

"Call my name and I shall answer!"

"Huh?" Morgan turned around to see Owain standing with a triumphant grin. "Wow, Owain! You have great timing!"

"Timing is the key to a great hero," Owain said matter-of-factly. "Anyway, I heard you mentioning my name. What's up?"

"You're pretty good with the sword, right?"

"Are you kidding? I am the scion of one of the greatest swordsmen in all the realms! My father's skill is legendary in—"

"Great! So spar with me."

"Aw man, but I wasn't even done Father's legendary biography…" Owain muttered. "Anyway, what's with this all of a sudden? Didn't think you ever asked before?"

"Yeah, Dad says I need to work on my defensive swordplay. He also says that variety is the spice of life, which is ironic because he monopolizes all my sparring time. So I figure I better get some spice in my life and mix it up a bit. So here we are!"

"Huh. That makes sense. Uh, Robin isn't going to get mad at me for sparring with you, right?"

"Of course not! Why would he? It's just sparring."

"Well, yeah, but I figure there's a reason he's always training you himself, you know?"

"That's probably because he's the one who knows my style best," Morgan said dismissively. "Which is more reason for me to expand my horizons and train with others! He'll totally be shocked when I bust out some moves he won't be expecting!"

"I don't know…"

"Come on, Owain, don't be a wet blanket. Besides, think of this as the first clash between our cabals."

"Oh?" That immediately got Owain's attention.

"Yeah!" Morgan nodded, getting a practice sword. "Come on, show me what Owain Dark is capable of!"

Owain grinned before getting into character. "You may be my fated partner, Morgan, but you are corrupted by the tainted influence of evil! And that means that I won't hold back to bring you back!"

Morgan did her best evil laugh. "Please! Even at your best, you will barely lay a finger on me!"

"See if you'll be saying that when I unleash the power of Missiletainn!" Owain then reached for a practice sword and dramatically imitated unsheathing it.

"Let's see how your little sword handles the fury of Tyrfang!"

"Wait, how do you also get a cool legendary weapon?"

"Well of course I get my own cool weapon. I'm like, the second most important bad guy right after Dad. Do you think I'd not have my own cool personal legendary weapon?"

"Wow. I didn't think you thought that far ahead. Most people would just jump straight into sparring without taking into account our lore."

"I think the lore makes this more exciting. We get to spar and expand our character history!"

"Finally! Someone who understands!" Owain cried, excited to have someone who was into this whole thing as he was and was willing to play the villain (and foil to his character). "A worthy opponent indeed. Our battle will be legendary!"

"Bring it on, Owain Dork!"

"Sacred Stones Strike!"

"Radiant Parry!"

---

It wasn't very often that the other Shepherds had free time and no pressing matters to attend to. And now that they were here in Rosanne waiting for news from Chon'sin and the other countries, that was exactly where Chrom and the others found themselves. And Chrom had to admit, it was nice. With no reports or meetings or strategy briefings, Chrom could actually focus on doing things he loved, like spending time with his family.

Chrom sighed, contented.

It was a bit strange at first, having only recently become a father and then suddenly having his fully-grown daughter from the future show up and drop the whole "the future is all terrible and everyone is dead and Grima is basically killing everything" story. And then Chrom found himself a father with a daughter who was basically the same age as him. And if that wasn't strange enough, he then ended up running into his also-fully-grown philanderer son. So now Chrom was a father to two children of approximately the same age as him.

Chrom had no idea how to deal with any of that at first, but Olivia was either unfazed or her "being stunned at this entire situation" phase was a lot shorter than Chrom's since she welcomed her future children with open arms as soon as they appeared and acted like it was the most normal thing in the world. Or maybe that was just how Olivia was naturally, not having any of her crippling shyness around her own family, even if they did come from the future.

Regardless, Olivia did much to help Chrom get over the weirdness of the entire situation and Chrom slowly got used to being a father of two adult children. And he tried to be a good father and try to get to know them and spend time with his children from the future. It was a bit awkward at first, since Chrom didn't know how to approach it and the first thing that came to mind was training. Fortunately, Lucina was more than willing to accept that as their first bonding exercise and it slowly went from there. It was a lot easier with Inigo as he seemed more open and sociable than his more reserved sister, even if Chrom questioned his future self the more he learned about Inigo and Inigo's attitude to life in general…

Sadly, with his duties as commander of the Shepherds and Exalt of Ylisse, Chrom didn't get to spend as much time with his family as he would've liked (when they weren't fighting for their lives, that is). And with only so much free time on his hands, Chrom sadly had to choose who to spend time with, which usually meant either Inigo or Lucina, which then meant less time with Olivia.

But that was fine. Olivia was also getting to know her future children and spending time with them, so that was okay. Still, Chrom did miss spending longer moments with his wife as the campaign wore on. The two years of peace and the time they spent in post-marital bliss seemed so far away…

Although Chrom did enjoy the little family outings they had during this lull (even including that little incident with Robin, Vaike, and Gaius at the very end), what he really wanted to do now was spend some quality time with Olivia.

And that was what he was going to do as he entered their room.

"Olivia? Do you have a moment?"

"Oh! C-Chrom!"

"Hello, dear. I hope I'm not interrupting anything."

"N-no, nothing at all! I was just...thinking about things."

"Olivia? Are you okay?" Chrom raised a brow, noticing how Olivia seemed a bit jittery.

"Perfectly fine! No need to worry."

"Are you sure? You know you can talk to me if you have something on your mind."

"I…" Olivia hesitated.

"You know you can tell me anything," Chrom said gently, wrapping his arms around her.

Olivia leaned into his chest and closed her eyes. After deliberating and coming to a decision, she spoke.

"You know, Chrom, I've been thinking."

"Yes?"

"That it's really nice that we get to spend some quality time with our children, but that doesn't leave much time for us…"

"I've actually been thinking the same thing," Chrom said, smiling. "Actually that's what I was going to suggest when I came here. What do you say to spending the entire day together, just the two of us?"

"I would like that a lot." Olivia smiled back. She then hesitated. "And we could also maybe...I mean, if you don't mind…"

"What is it, my love? You were mumbling the last part."

Olivia took a deep breath. She came this far so she might as well commit and see it through.

"I was wondering if we could maybe...try something out?"

"Of course. What did you have in mind?"

"I...well…" Instead of answering, Olivia grabbed a book from her bedside table and thrust it in front of Chrom's face.

"A..book? Wait a minute…" Chrom's eyes widened as he saw the familiar title of 69 Shades. "Really?"

And that was when Olivia's nerve broke.

"No, not really. I-it was a joke! Ha ha ha! Forget I said anything and let's move on as if none of this happened and—!"

"Olivia."

"...Yes?"

"I wasn't judging and I wasn't saying no. I was just surprised. I didn't figure you were interested in trying out something like this."

"W-well I wasn't, but the book goes into so much detail and the characters seem so happy and it doesn't seem so bad and..."

Chrom chuckled, seeing Olivia's increasingly red face and how she was babbling when she was really nervous.

"Okay."

"Huh?"

"Let's do it," Chrom said. "It'll be an adventure for both of us."

"Really?" Olivia's face practically lit up.

"Of course, but why don't we try with something easy? I remember some parts of the book got a bit complicated with the equipment and positions required, so—"

"Oh, don't worry, I've picked out the perfect passage for us to try out! It's right here on page…"

"You already have a passage picked out?!"

---

Yet another day with no news. And with each passing day with no news, Robin was sure that his sanity was slipping with them. He had everything planned out. How long could it possibly take to overthrow a country's government?! It was nearing the final week of the festival (and thus their time to get Rosanne's help) and they still haven't heard anything!

Robin was busy pacing and thinking of his many contingency plans in case they didn't hear anything by the festival's end when Laurent ran up to him.

"Robin! A moment, if you will."

"Laurent. What's got you all excited? You're not usually one to run."

"Only in exceptional circumstances, and I believe now qualifies."

"Oh?"

"I have overheard that we have received news from Chon'sin and that Say'ri's plans have been successful."

"That's—"

"Furthermore, the Rosannian nobles are now planning a meeting to discuss strategy and the next steps. You and the others have been summoned to attend and advise. The location is as usual."

Robin was about to go off on a rant about how the nobles were getting information before he was, but then decided to save that for another time.

"Thanks for the update, Laurent. You're dutiful as always."

"I aim to please."

"See if you can't get the others to meet us there. Have you seen Chrom?"

"I believe I saw him heading to his room."

"Great."

Robin then ran off, thrilled that finally something was happening.

---

"Chrom! Chrooooom! Good news! We finally have movement!" Robin shouted as he ran down the hallway to Chrom's room and burst through the door (Robin considered their relationship at a level where knocking wasn't necessary). "Get your stuff ready and…"

Robin trailed off as he saw the scene in front of him.

Chrom was standing shirtless and looking as though he was about to take his pants off. And he was doing so in front of Olivia, who was on her knees in her smallclothes with her hands tied behind her back.

Both of them stared at Robin, mortified into speechlessness.

"...Really, guys? It's barely midday," Robin said disapprovingly. "Anyway, finally got news. Say'ri successful. Nobles called a meeting. We're needed. The usual place. Need you there. Put your clothes on and be there in five."

And Robin left without waiting for a reply.

---

Robin was too focused on the meeting and events to make any remarks when Chrom showed up (much to the latter's relief). At that meeting they were informed that Say'ri had spectacularly marched into Chon'sin's capital with her loyalists, then joined by the city's entire garrison, imprisoned the Valmese running the country (along with their collaborators), and declared that Chon'sin would no longer suffer under the Valmese yoke. The Shepherds were also informed that, not long after Say'ri's appearance in Chon'sin, Lady Erica of Renacia announced that her country would no longer be assisting the Valmese and support Chon'sin in their fight. She said this with her brother by her side, who has not been seen for several years (and was probably what the Valmese were using as leverage against Erica to keep Renacia on side). Finally, Robin learned that Andrast was in the midst of a political crisis, with the most prominent members of the government being arrested for various charges. The last news was that some of them were resisting and marshalled their troops to fight the Eizengard loyalists.

So basically everything happened more or less as Robin said it would when the Shepherds first got there. Robin briefly wondered how he was finding out about this only now, but then decided that it was probably due to the nobles being better connected out here in Rosanne or something.

Now that several countries (with another one looking likely to get bogged down in internal strife) suddenly switched their allegiances and opposed Walhart, that was more than enough to convince the nobles to commit Rosanne's forces against Walhart. So after an unnecessary delay, everything finally fell into place, so Robin supposed he couldn't complain (too much).

Afterwards, the meeting was dominated by planning, strategy, movements, and next steps now that Rosanne was going to help fight against Walhart.

It was after Naga knew how many hours everyone came out of the room. And then things still needed to be done.

"Oh gods, it feels like we were in there forever!" Morgan exclaimed, stretching her limbs.

"I know. But sadly it was necessary for us to sort everything out before we all go our separate ways. Although I can't help but feel a bit miffed because we could've done all of this like a week earlier if these idiots just took my word at face value. Like, I said all of this stuff would happen and it did! Why did they have to wait an entire week to see that this stuff would happen with their own eyes?"

"Sadly, people need proof before they believe seemingly ludicrous claims," Chrom said, walking beside Robin, glad that at least the meeting got him to forget how he walked in on him and Olivia earlier in the day.

"My claims were perfectly reasonable and backed by meticulously planned plans," Robin countered. "The chances of failure were minimized to the furthest possible extent. It was all there in my presentation and slides!"

"Well let's not cry over a week lost, shall we? What matters is that we finally go Rosanne on side to fight the Valmese. So now what?" Chrom asked.

"Now we get the hell out of here and back to Chon'sin," Robin said. "We have to meet Say'ri and the other leaders to plan our next steps. What we do next will partially depend on how Walhart reacts to all these developments."

"Sounds good."

"Morgan."

"Dad?"

"How long do you think it'll take us to get ready to leave?"

"Well…" Morgan thought for a moment. "Most of our stuff is packed since we knew we weren't going to stay here long term, but I think our new equipment from Anna will need extra packing. We could do tomorrow morning if we push real hard, but given how late it is today…"

"Right. So tomorrow afternoon, then?

"I'd say the morning after, just to be safe. You never know the snags you'll hit when packing."

"Okay. Chrom, tell Frederick and the others to get the word out to pack their things. I'll do the rounds with Morgan to plan our route and check our supplies."

Chrom nodded and they each headed their separate ways.

---

After the long meeting, it was the post-long meeting long day in which Robin had to relay his plans to the others and coordinate their plans for their exit from Rosanne. By the time the sun set and Robin headed to the dining room, he felt exhausted. Productive, but exhausted nonetheless.

"Gods, sometimes I wonder what I'd do without Morgan. And Laurent, surprisingly enough…"

Robin was prepared to have a nice, quiet meal before bed and to prepare himself for the busy day after. What he was not prepared for was walking into the dining hall seeing it all lined up with fancy food and drinks.

"...What's all this?" Robin asked, stopping at the doorway.

"A little celebration of our success!" Virion said, standing up.

"Our what?"

"Our success in enlisting Rosanne for the war effort, of course! But also to your brilliant planning in executing the steps that made this possible in the surrounding area."

"Although I'm always open to people stroking my ego, I hardly think this requires any celebration. Like, was there any doubt that my plans would succeed?"

"If I recall correctly, you were getting antsy and at one point 'losing your mind' worrying if everything will happen by the deadline."

"Hey, worrying about whether things will happen by a deadline is different than worrying whether things will happen at all!"

"My dear Robin, are we really going to argue semantics while this veritable feast in front of us cools?"

"I suppose not, although this seems awfully considerate of you, Virion."

"Sadly I cannot take the credit myself, as this was all Olivia's idea."

"Oh?"

"It was, actually," Olivia said, entering the room and trying her best to act like Robin didn't walk in on them earlier today. "I hope you don't mind. I thought that it would be nice for everyone to have a meal before we head back on the road. You never know when we'll get another chance for a nice, fancy meal again…"

"Thinking about other people. How very much like your husband. But unlike him, you don't make me go and rescue every damn villager in distress, so this is very sweet instead of being very annoying," Robin said, smiling. "And I guess it is the last time for Naga knows how long before we have a fancy meal. So what's on the menu?"

"A veritable buffet!" Virion announced grandly. "Both figuratively and literally, as the finest chefs on this side of—"

"Oooh, what smells so good in here?" Morgan interrupted Virion's speech as she walked in. "Oh wow, food! Lots and lots of food! What's the occasion?"

"Well—!"

"Actually, doesn't matter. I just realized that I'm starving. Also, food!" Morgan then proceeded to run to a table and pick up her fork and knife. "Can we start now?"

Virion chuckled. "It seems that someone is hungry."

"And she's not the only one," Robin said, walking into the dining room. "I suppose there's no harm in a fancy meal now and again."

"And this will be the fanciest meal you will have yet, or my name isn't Virion, the Archest of Archers and Hostest of Hosts!"

Robin walked to a table and surveyed the food on offer.

It was a mix of things both familiar and unfamiliar, but Robin supposed the main thing was that it all looked as delicious as it smelled, and it smelled pretty damn good!

"Dad? Can we start?" Morgan asked hopefully.

"In a minute, Morgan. Good manners dictate that we have to wait until the others get here before pigging out."

"Man, really?"

"I…" Robin paused. "Yes. I'm not sure where that came from or how I even know it, but yes."

"Are Maribelle's lessons starting to have an effect on you?" Olivia asked playfully.

"Gods. The times I spent with Maribelle and her nobility lessons were perhaps the darkest times of my life…" Robin shivered.

"Heeey, what smells good in here?"

And so, the other Shepherds slowly filled the rooms and took their seats at the tables, very happy with the unexpected but welcome news of the impromptu buffet.

It progressed well, with the Shepherds all chatting with each other and digging into the delicious food and generally having a good time. And it got livelier when Virion brought out the alcohol, with the Shepherds getting up and walking and talking to each other between tables.

"Gotta hand it to you, Ruffles, you really delivered," Sully said, downing her wine. "This here is some good stuff."

"I produced only the finest for you, our esteemed guests," Virion said, bowing.

"Have to admit that this wine does taste better than the usual tavern ale," Robin said after taking a sip from his glass. "Still think I prefer a mix of stuff, though."

"So this is wine, huh?"

"Yes it is, Morgan. It's not bad, but—MORGAN, NO!"

Robin noticed too late that Morgan was taking a sip of wine that was in her glass. Fortunately for him, Morgan scrunched her face right after.

"This stuff tastes kinda bitter, Dad."

"Yes, yes it does. And it doesn't get any better and all alcohol tastes various levels of bitter which means that you should never drink it ever."

"But you drink it. And you said that you prefer mixes," Morgan pointed out. "Do they taste better?

"I...no. No they don't. In fact, they taste a lot more bitter. And you really shouldn't listen to what I say or what I do."

"Huh?"

"Because I drink alcohol and that leads me to making terrible decisions and a nasty headache. Do you want to make terrible decisions and a nasty headache?"

"Uh...no."

"Exactly. So make sure to stay away from alcohol for as long as you live!"

"...Dad, are you okay? You're staring at me with pretty intense eyes…"

"And how's the little pipsqueak supposed to listen to you when you just told her to not listen to you?" Gaius asked.

Robin shot the thief a glare.

"Hey, I'm not a pipsqueak!" Morgan objected.

"Sorry, kid, but the only people shorter than you are like, Nowi and Nah. Even Lissa's taller."

"That...can't be right. Am I really that short?!"

"Cheer up, Morgan. Being short means that your head is the optimal height to serve as my armrest!" Robin joked.

Morgan pouted.

"Oh dear. Morgan, why don't we go and get some cake?" Olivia offered. "I think there was still some of that really good and creamy one left that you like."

"Ooh, goodie! I thought we ran out the last time I checked!"

"We got more of the creamy cake left?!" Gaius perked up immediately.

"Sit down, you damn sugary thief," Robin said, pulling Gaius back down to his seat. "It's bad enough you've had more dessert than the rest of us. I don't need you stealing from my daughter too."

"Ech. Figures. Besides, it'll never be as good as Stumbles' pies. Speaking of, when are you planning to make more? We haven't had one of your cakes for a while now."

"Oh, well I—"

"She's not here to make pies for you, Gaius," Robin said disapprovingly. "Sumia is nice enough to make us all pies when she can and you shouldn't demand or expect anything else."

"Well look who's being—"

"Besides, the pies you usually get are ones that are meant for me!" Robin added irritably. "Do you know how many of my pies you managed to steal?"

"Well it's not my fault! There never seems to be enough when her pies are on the table for dessert."

"It's not enough because you always finish your portions first and it's never enough for you!"

"Hey, ease up on Gaius, will ya, Robin?" Vaike said, wading into the conversation. "You can't blame Gaius for really lik—"

"You don't get a say in this either," Robin said curtly. "You're always right there with Gaius when it comes to stealing my Sumia's pies."

"Don't blame our pie-loving friend here, Robin." Gaius put an arm around Vaike's shoulder. "He lacks any sort of edible food at home and has to seek it out anywhere he can."

Vaike pointed at Gaius and nodded. "The Vaike is a man of many talents, but cookin' ain't one of 'em. And Sully's cookin' is bad enough to be considered a weapon of mass destruction!"

"You chumps badmouthing me over there?!" Sully shouted from across the table.

"Just your cooking skills," Gaius responded cheekily.

"You're lucky I'm humble enough to accept my shortcomings, or I could've introduced that wiseass face of yours to my fist!"

"Now boys, let's not let your friendship get ruined by some silly pies," Cordelia said, seeing how Sumia was getting increasingly embarrassed. "Besides, Sumia isn't the only one around here who makes pies, you know."

"Fishing for compliments, Red?" Gaius asked.

"Just trying to give Sumia a respite from her demanding fans," Cordelia quipped.

"I think your pies are pretty good!" Vaike said, giving a thumbs up.

"Oh yeah, no doubt. But there's something about Sumia's pies that gives them an extra...something," Robin mumbled pensively. "Like an extra secret ingredient that makes the pies go from 'good' to 'mind blowing' and stuff."

"Really?

"To be fair, you gotta have a really fine sense of taste to notice," Gaius said sagely.

"Is it vanilla? Because everything tastes better with vanilla.

"C-come on, guys, my pies are no different than Cordelia's or anyone else's pies!" Sumia insisted. "Seeing how much they mean to you, I'll see if I can't make one in the near future, okay?"

"Oooh, is Sumia making pies for us again?" Chrom asked, sitting down.

"And here is pie culprit number three!" Robin announced. "Why is it that when anything related to my Sumia's pies happens, it's always you three?"

"Not just us!" objected Gaius. "There's also Stahl."

"Not here he isn't."

"Honestly, sometimes I think pies are the only thing you boys can talk about," Cordelia said, amused.

"They are kind of a big deal."

Gaius, Vaike, and Chrom nodded.

Sumia chuckled. "If we took a drink every time someone said 'pie' in that last five minutes…"

"Say, that ain't a bad idea!" Vaike perked up. "Sounds like a real fun drinking game! I didn't know you had it in ya, Sumia!"

"What? No! That was a joke! I didn't mean to—"

Robin shook his head. "Sorry, guys, can't."

"Aw, why not? You know you're a lot more fun when you get a little alcohol in you," Gaius said.

"Yes, I'm a riot. However, have to be a good parent and role model for Morgan," Robin said, gesturing to his daughter, who was busy putting cake on her plate. "Can't have her seeing her dad making a fool of himself and drinking himself stupid."

Cordelia smiled. "That's a very responsible thing for—"

"I want her to be asleep or away or something when I make poor life decisions and make a fool out of myself."

Cordelia sighed. "Well I guess that's something."

"So we gotta wait until the pipsqueak burns out for bedtime. No biggie." Gaius leaned back in his chair. "It's worth waiting a bit to have Funtime Robin."

"Guess it was a good move to not initiate our move tomorrow…" Robin muttered, taking a sip of his wine.

"I love it when Bubbles here lets his hair down to have some fun," Gaius said. "It lets us have some fun too and usually leads to something hilarious happening that we can all talk and laugh about later on."

"Hopefully not laugh too much this time."

"Robin, if you're worried about doing something stupid when you're drunk, you know you can always just not drink to the point where you're going to do something stupid, right?" Cordelia pointed out.

"But where's the fun in that?" Vaike asked.

---

"Look at them," Severa said, a few tables away. "All having such a good time together and so casual."

"You know, we can go talk to them right now instead of watching them from here," Cynthia said.

"And what're we even going to talk about? We can't just waltz in and sit down next to them!"

"Why not? Owain and the others seem to be doing just fine."

To emphasize her point, Cynthia pointed to Owain, who was dramatically retelling one of his grand adventures to his parents and a few others, and Brady, who was sitting with his parents (and looked like he was being lectured by Maribelle).

"Yeah, but you're forgetting how their parents know who they are and ours don't!"

"Oooh, but we can take this opportunity to do some reconnaissance and find out what stage of their relationship they're at!"

"What?"

"Yeah, yeah!" Cynthia nodded her head excitedly. "You know, casually come in and just throw some innocent questions to suss out how they feel about each other and if they're going to hook up."

"Yeah, just ask if they have feelings for each other. That's not weird at all," Severa said, rolling her eyes.

"It'll totally work. Look."

Severa turned to her parents' table to see them all pouring themselves some wine.

"Oh yeah. Alcohol lowers inhibitions and loosens lips." Cynthia nodded. "We'll totally get some info out of them!"

"Huh. This might actually work. But just let me do the talking, okay? You're not known for your subtlety."

---

Fortunately for Robin and the others, they didn't have to wait too long since Morgan was at the point where she felt sleepy after a particularly good and plentiful meal. Sumia was nice enough to take Morgan to her room. That meant that Robin could let go and drink as he would have liked instead of drinking only a little bit because he was afraid of Morgan seeing him.

And after the wine and the stronger stuff Virion brought out, Robin was in that happy medium where he felt relaxed, warm, and where the world was spinning just a little bit.

"It suuuuure feels like a while since I drank anything with you guys," Robin said, after taking yet another sip of his glass.

"We should definitely do this more often," Chrom agreed, swaying a bit. "While working is good, it's also good to cut loose and relax."

"And nothing relaxes like alcohol!" Vake laughed, downing his drink.

"With good friends!" added Virion, raising his glass.

"So, as I was saying…" Robin blinked unevenly. "...What was I saying?"

"Heeeeey, guys! Mind if we join you?" Cynthia asked, with Severa in tow.

"Aren't you a little young to be drinking?" Robin questioned.

Severa scoffed. "We're not kids, you know. Some of us are actually older than some of you here!"

"Are you some of us or some of you?"

"What?"

"What?"

"I say we let 'em in. They seem older than your kid," Gaius observed.

"How would you even know how old they—"

"Thanks, Gaius!" Cynthia then took a seat next to Robin while Severa sat opposite Cordelia.

"So what brings you two over to our end of the room?" Chrom asked.

"Oh, you know. We were just seeing you guys were having fun and wondering what the fuss was all about."

"Alcohol," Robin said simply. "Some powerful stuff brought out by our esteemed host."

"I aim to please." Virion bowed.

"Did you two taste wine before?" Cordelia asked. "Or ale?"

"We didn't," Severa responded. "I remember that our parents did in the future."

"Yeah, the glasses always smelled really strongly," Cynthia added.

"But not us personally. And by the time we grew up, the world kind of went to hell and we kind of didn't have time for drinking and enjoying life."

Everyone was silent.

"Man, it's always about the future and how bad it was and how everyone was dead!" Robin shook his head. "You two really need to chill out and forget about all that bad stuff. Have a good time like the rest of us."

"Well excuse us for bringing up the hell we grew up in and not being all mindlessly happy like Inigo or Owain!"

"See, this is why nobody likes you," Robin said bluntly.

"Wha—?!"

"Well, you specifically." Robin pointed at Severa. "Cynthia here is okay. The whole 'hero' thing is kind of charming. Makes a good show and keeps Morgan happy and gives her something to do in her downtime."

"Like your daughter ever sits still in her downtime…" Chrom chuckled.

"Come now, Robin, that was a bit mean," Cordelia said.

"No, Bubbles here is right," Gaius agreed. "Twintails over here goes out of her way to piss people off and say just the right things to do it. Doesn't endear her to others."

"Come on, guys, it's not like Severa's the only one here who's a little anti-social," Cynthia insisted. "Gerome and Brady aren't exactly the social types but we all get along fine with them, right?"

"Well the masked guy kinda tends to keep to himself," Vaike noted. "Only says rude things when you try to approach him or strike up a conversation."

"Either that or he walks out on you mid-sentence," Virion added. "So he goes out of his way to push people away, but that's only if he's approached. Otherwise he tends to keep to himself."

"And Brady...I don't know. He's okay, I guess." Robin shrugged, pouring himself another drink. "Gets a bit weird with his whole 'gang' thing, but doesn't really piss people off. The face gives you pause before you first talk to him, though."

"Yeah, so really, it's only you who really goes out of her way to piss people off without first being approached," Gaius concluded, pointing at Severa.

"Come on, guys, let's not give her a hard time," Cordelia said. "I'm sure that we would all react differently if we experienced what she did."

Robin frowned. "Bah! Again with the bad future!"

"See, this is why we don't drink with the kids," Vaike said sagely.

"I'm sorry about them," Cordelia apologized. "They tend to say things they don't mean when they drink a little."

"Looks like someone still has enough self-control to talk sense…" Gaius said with a singsong voice. "Which means that she doesn't have enough to drink!"

Virion dutifully filled Cordelia's glass.

"Someone here has to be the voice of reason," Cordelia quipped. Despite that she did take a drink from her glass.

"Pfft, this is the fun drinking table. Throw your reason out of here! Although I guess if you want the fun fun drinking table, you want to be over there," Robin said, pointing to where Sully and Gregor were having an arm wrestling contest.

"Say, how come you're not over there with the missus?" Gaius asked, turning to Vaike.

"While drinkin' with Sully's fun and all, sometimes Teach needs to take a breather and let loose away from his wife and in the good company of his guy friends!"

"Cordelia is my favorite of Vaike's guy friends," Robin commented, eliciting laughter from everyone else.

"Well this is going well. Why did you think talking to everyone when they're drunk was a good idea?!" Severa hissed.

"When else are we going to get any information?" Cynthia shot back. "Not like we can just ask them straight out!"

"Because this is so much better!"

"So what's your deal, anyway?" Robin asked, turning to Severa. "Why do you go around pissing people off? Are you just a terrible person in general or did your parents just not teach you any manners?"

Severa was speechless at the question and the layers of ridiculousness in it.

"You seem to be unusually hostile to Severa today," Chrom observed, taking a sip from his glass. "You okay, Robin?"

"I'm just airing my honest, unfiltered thoughts."

"Honest and unfiltered, except for the alcohol."

"Exactly."

"Hey, this isn't the time to say mean things to each other!" Cynthia tried to get the conversation back on track. "This is a time for celebration and being good to each other and all that good stuff!"

"You know, I've been wondering something about you, actually. Both of you," Robin said, pointing at Severa and Cynthia. "You two are part of the cohort of kids who don't have parents, right?"

"Uh…"

"Well technically they do have parents," Chrom pointed out. "We just don't know who they are."

"Same thing." Robin waved dismissively. "Anyway, you guys know who your parents are, right?"

"Of cour—"

"Because at least the likes of Gerome and Yarne know who their mothers are. Their fathers are a big question mark but—" Robin paused when he saw the others snickering. "...What?"

"Let's just say that we're glad that your complete and utter obliviousness is confined to life off the battlefield," Cordelia said.

"The hell is that supposed to mean?"

"Oh, Bubbles. Tactical genius on the battlefield, yet practically blind off of it. It's almost poetic, isn't it?"

Robin narrowed his eyes.

"Why the sudden interest in parentage? Trying to find clues to who Morgan's mother might be?" Chrom asked jokingly.

"Well, not exac—"

"You don't have to beat around the bush, Bubbles. We already know the answer to that question," Gaius said.

Everyone looked at the thief curiously.

"In fact, she's sitting with us at this very table."

"She is?" Robin looked around. "But I only see Cordelia."

The woman in question blinked. "...Me?"

"What the hell do you mean by that?" Severa demanded.

"Well, after what happened on the training grounds before…" Gaius wiggled his eyebrows.

Cordelia groaned. "I can't believe this... Are you bringing this up again?"

"What? What? Did something happen between Robin and Cordelia?" Cynthia asked.

"Nothing happened! Gaius here was just—"

"Yeah, nothin' happened. Me and Gaius just walked in on the two lovebirds over here about to get freaky on the training grounds," Vaike said suggestively.

Severa and Cynthia stared in shock.

"He's lying," Cordelia stated definitively. "There was nothing—"

"So, you and Cordelia, eh? And on the training grounds where everyone could see? I didn't know you had it in you," Chrom chuckled, nudging Robin with his elbow.

Cordelia growled in frustration and downed her drink in one go.

Robin was not amused. "Will you grow up? I'm trying to have a serious conversation here!"

"Just as long as you two keep your hands to yourselves and don't jump each others' bones right here on this table," Gaius chuckled.

Robin facepalmed.

"I may be the one who sees the room spinning, but clearly the alcohol hasn't got to my head as much as it has yours."

"Hey, I'm calling it as I see it. Vaike can back me up."

"You two were totally gonna go at it if we didn't show up," Vaike snickered. He was then promptly hit by a piece of cake.

"Good aim."

Cordelia smiled. "Keep it up, you two, and I'll be throwing more than cake your way."

"You're more than welcome to try and hit me, Red. But fair warning, I've got some fast reflexes," Gaius said.

"And I've got plenty to hit you with."

"Okay, Morgan is now sound asleep. She certainly seemed to enjoy her dinner," Sumia reported, approaching the table. "What have I missed?"

Cordelia opened her mouth to speak.

"Robin and Cordelia were gonna get it on," Vaike said quickly.

"...What?"

"Do you want to hear what really happened or Vaike's lewd version?" Cordelia asked flatly.

Sumia looked between her friends, the uneven expressions on their faces, and then at the bottles on the table before quickly figuring out what was going on.

"Well I suppose Vaike's lewd version will be a bit more interesting."

Judging by her expression, Cordelia was not expecting that answer.

"Yeah!" Vaike shot his fist into the air. "Now listen up, Sumia, because this is gonna be wild!"

"I'm sure it is," Sumia chuckled, rolling her eyes and finding a seat the table.

And amidst the laugher, chatting, and embarrassment, Cynthia and Severa sat, not entirely sure what to make of it all and seeing their parents like this.

"...Well this was useless," Severa stated flatly.

"I mean…" Cynthia tried to come up with a positive spin from all of this.

"Yes, Kjelle's dad telling crude jokes and innuendos about our parents to our parents was so helpful!"

And so the night went on, with some Shepherds going to their rooms while others stuck it out, drinking, chatting, and generally having fun before hitting the road.

---

Red.

His vision was filled with red.

Robin looked out at the endless expanse past Ylisstol's walls, a sea of red Valmese soldiers crashing against the white walls of the capital like an endless tide.

Stabbing one soldier, Robin turned and stood.

He was in a large room, standing at a large table. He saw the faces of his friends, all smiling and looking at him expectantly.

Robin raised his glass, seeing the red wine swishing inside.

He tipped the glass to drink when his vision suddenly turned to black and his surroundings melted into nothingness. But Robin wasn't worried. Even in the darkness, he knew what he was doing.

Robin grunted as he continued his thrusts. And he could tell that she was trying her best to keep as quiet as possible.

They both had stress and tension and frustration and this was the perfect way to ease the pressure, if only for a bit. He wasn't gentle, but he didn't have to be because she could take it.

He was close. So very close.

And even in the darkness, there was that tinge of red.

Reaching out, he grabbed her hair. She let out a lustful moan before he captured her lips in his.

When Robin disengaged, he was looking into the red eyes of a Risen. But this wasn't any ordinary Risen. This one was better, faster, and stronger than any Risen he fought before.

Its sword strikes were fast and precise. Its movements were swift and decisive.

Their swords clashed again.

Robin may have been over his head, but he would not surrender. No, Robin was fuelled by grief and a burning desire for vengeance. These undead scum would pay for what they did.

His heart ached as he remembered how he found Sumia. Poor, sweet, innocent Sumia. She didn't even want to be a soldier. She told him that after all was said and done, she wanted to retire and raise pegasi on a farm. She deserved so much better after all she did for them. She definitely didn't deserve what they did to her.

And in an instant, Robin's grief was replaced by rage. And he directed this rage at his opponent. These Risen would pay for what they did...and so would their masters. Robin would not rest until the sands were soaked with the blood of each and every Grimleal.

Robin closed his eyes.

He still saw red.

As he focused his mind, the sounds of battle disappeared. Eventually, every sound disappeared until it was quiet.

Robin opened his eyes.

He was no longer in the Plegian desert.

In fact, he didn't know where he was.

Looking around, Robin saw that he was in a nondescript room of some sort.

That was...new.

Now finding himself having nothing to do, Robin suddenly felt a powerful need to go to the kitchen and cook.

So that's exactly what he did.

"Quite a mess you got here, lad."

"Huh?"

Turning around, Robin saw a rather large hooded figure sitting down at a table (how long was that there?).

"And who are you supposed to be?"

"What, don't tell me you forgot this handsome face already!"

"Face? What face? You're all covered by that hood!" Robin cried. "Wait a minute, I think I recognize that voice. Is that…?"

"The one and only!" The figure lifted his hood to reveal Basilio's face.

"Basilio? I thought you were dead!"

"Heh, then my plan's working exactly as intended."

"Great. Now I have dead men visiting me…"

"You don't sound too surprised to see me," Basilio observed.

"Well, I guess ghosts visiting me isn't something that happens every day, but still not the most shocking thing I've seen in my life." Robin shrugged. "Anyway, what brings you over here?"

"Wow, you're even more casual about this entire thing that I imagined."

"Like I said, I'm—ACK!"

Robin suddenly felt himself falling.

"Are you okay, lad? That was some fall there…"

"Perfectly fine. Not like I can actually get hurt in my own dream."

"...How much did you have to drink?"

"...Drink? I didn't drink anything."

"Right." Basilio looked around. "Looks like you and your friends here had some party. I managed to walk in here unnoticed and saw you all sprawled out and drunk out of your minds. You're lucky I'm not some kind of assassin."

"Please. No assassins can get us here. I'll bet they don't even know we're here at all!"

"Uh-huh. Anyway, putting all that aside, I actually came to discu—Robin?"

"What is it, Ghost Basilio?"

"Did you not hear the part about the part that I''m not dead?"

"Sure you are! Flavia said she saw herself how Walhart put you six feet under."

"As much as I hate to admit it, the rumors about Walhart are true. He's really a beast of a man…" Basilio muttered. "I'd have really rushed to my death if it wasn't for Lucina's warning."

"Too bad you didn't listen to her, huh?"

"For the last time, I'm not dead!" Basilio was getting exasperated. "But more than that, what're you even doing?"

"Cooking," Robin said simply, reaching for ingredients.

"What, at this hour?"

"What hour? The sun is high in the sky!" Robin pointed to the wall of their windowless...wherever they were.

Basilio turned to where Robin was pointing.

"...There's no windows here, but I'm sure it's bright and sunny outside," Robin said.

"...All that alcohol really got to you, huh?" Basilio shook his head. "I've snuck all the way here unseen only to wind up talking to...this…"

"Why are you even here?" Robin asked, cheerfully ignoring Basilio's visible frustration. "Surely there are better places for dead men to hang out?"

Basilio sighed. "I thought I'd use this opportunity to sneak in and discuss strategy with you and the others."

"Strategy?"

"Yes, I figured that everyone thinking I bit the dust with my fight with Walhart would be something we could use to our advantage, since no one will think to look out for a dead man."

"That sounds like it makes sense."

"Would make even more sense if I could talk to someone who was in their right mind to talk tactics."

"Well," Robin began, reaching for his ingredients, "I think that if I were such an individual, I'd say…"

---

Sumia yawned and stretched her arms as she headed to the dining hall.

Last night was fun. She couldn't hold her alcohol like some of the others, but Sumia could have some fun and handle a few drinks.

Sumia smiled recalling the previous night's events as she entered the hall...and the promptly froze mid-step.

Although the hall was somewhat messy from their activities the previous night, there was a certain part of the hall that was next to the kitchen that looked like a disaster area, with pots strewn around the place and splashes of what looked like flour and at least several other ingredients over the table.

"Morning, Sumia!"

And Morgan was sitting on the nearest table, waving cheerfully.

"Morgan? What happened here?" Sumia asked as she approached.

"Dunno. Got here early since I ate so well yesterday I fell asleep. When I came down, the room was like this with this delicious pudding on the table!"

"Pudding?" Sumia saw the bowl of pudding on the table. "Oh no…"

"What's wrong?" Morgan looked between Sumia and the pudding. "Oh, I'm sorry! Do you want some? It's really good!"

"I don't doubt it. Your father's Blackout Pudding usually is."

"Wait, this pudding was made by Dad? But Dad can't cook!"

"That's usually true," Sumia said, trying to clean the table up a bit. "But he mysteriously becomes very good at making pudding when he drinks enough alcohol."

"How does that work?"

"People all react differently when they drink a bit too much. I, for example, feel very tired and want to lie down and sleep no matter where I am. Other people do things they wouldn't normally do. Like your father, who makes pudding."

"But why is it called 'Blackout Pudding'? There's nothing black about it."

"Ergh…" Robin groaned as he entered the room.

"Good morning, Robin," Sumia greeted. "Had a little too much fun last night?"

"I think I had just the right amount of fun, which means enough to not make me promise to never do it ever again and only give me a minor headache…" Robin opened his eyes and looked at the state of the table. "Wow, what the hell happened here? I hope we didn't leave the room in this condition? Also, is that pudding you got there?"

"Uh, yeah. I think you made it, Dad."

"Really? How does it taste?"

"Really, really good!"

"Then you should know that it probably wasn't mine. I am a man of many skills, but unfortunately cooking is not one of them."

Morgan looked questioningly at her father before her eyes widened in realization. She then pointed at Sumia, who smiled and nodded.

"Good morning, Robin. Ah, Morgan and Sumia are…" Lucina trailed off as she approached the table. "I hope that we were not responsible for the condition that this part of the room is in…"

Robin shrugged. "Hard to say. Lots of stuff happened last night. Couldn't keep my eyes on everyone. On the bright side, we have free pudding!"

"Pudding? So early in the morning?"

"I know, right?"

"Indeed…" Lucina decided to change the subject. "How are you feeling, Robin? After what happened last night…"

"Thank you for your concern, Lucina, but I'm okay. I'm sure that my arm would be feeling a lot worse if it weren't for you and Sumia."

"Why? What happened last night?" Morgan asked. "Were you guys having fun without me?"

"Not fun, Morgan. We were having, uh, poorly thought wagers when we were weren't exactly in the right frame of mind."

"Dad, you know you can just tell me you were drunk."

"What? I wasn't drunk! Who said I was drunk?"

"Dad, I'm old enough to understand what happens when you and your friends drink, you know."

"Oh yeah? Well, I, uh…"

Fortunately for Robin, the others slowly made their way down to the dining hall and provided a convenient distraction, with some of the Shepherds getting really excited when they saw the 'famous Robin Blackout Pudding' on the table, much to the tactician's confusion.

Robin was just glad that today wasn't the day they were heading out. While today wasn't one of those times he drank too much to regret it the next day (and swear not to drink ever again), he didn't think he could handle hitting the road in his state of mind.