"Have you no intention of changing your mind, Rhea?" Seteth asks the archbishop with a look of concern. He was both frustrated and confused about the whole situation. "Appointing strangers as professors at our esteemed academy?! And they're children no less!"

"I have made my decision, Seteth. I do not intend on going back on it." Rhea comments, understanding her companion's look for concern. "I know worrying comes naturally to you, but there is truly no need. Byleth is Jeralt's flesh and blood, after all. I would gladly place my life in his hands."

"I can't say that's all too comforting. How trustworthy is this Jeralt character?" Seteth folds his arms, contemplating as he continues to listen to Rhea. "Is he not the man who went missing after the great fire, 21 years ago? I would also like to remind you that Flayn is now here with us as well. I beg of you… please consider whether this is an unnecessary risk."

"Seteth… I told you that they have my trust. Let that be enough for you as well." Rhea gives a look of affirmation to Seteth. After a moment, he slowly nods.

"Very well. But what about Robin? From what I heard, he isn't related to Jeralt by blood. They only met a few days ago." Seteth said, bringing up a new point. This time, Rhea frowns on the idea.

"As for him, I too understand your issues. However, hearing what came from the reports from the students from Alois, I decided to give him a temporary role." Rhea explains.

"A temporary role? As a professor for the academy? What would you suppose that would entail?" Seteth asks, pondering how this new testing idea for the tactician.

"That is something that I want you to determine. Unlike Byleth, Robin's origins are currently unknown to us. For him to continue his work as a professor, I want you to be the one to test him." Rhea gave a trusting smile to Seteth. "I know that you care for the welfare of your family. I want you to be willing to let him stay if you're comfortable with it."

"I see… Thank you, Rhea. I'll see to it that I'll judge him fairly." Seteth nods, ready to perform the task that is handed to him.

"Moving on to more important things… I have received a report from Shamir. I am increasingly concerned about a matter regarding our suspicious individual." Rhea's tone turns serious at the mere mention of the suspicious individual. Her hands are shaking slightly in worry and frustration. "We cannot ignore those who harbor ill will toward the church, especially if they are frequenting Garreg Mach."

"That matter is of great importance as well. I shall continue my investigation on the matter." Seteth nods with his usual serious expression. He lets out a small sigh before giving a more anxious expression. "Rhea… For now, I will have faith that you are placing your trust with the utmost care. I pray that nothing occurs to shake that confidence. And I will determine if Robin is truly someone that we can trust."

"I must say. The books at the library are quite the page-turner." Robin slowly looks up at Byleth who gives a slight nod. He had noticed the distracted look on the mercenary's face, putting the book down. "The sudden job of teaching here is really racking your brain, isn't it?"

Byleth's eyes open wide, looking up at Robin from behind the book. "How could you tell?"

"Well, I'm in the same boat as you. Becoming a professor without even a chance to react… It caught me off-guard too." Robin chuckles softly, looking down. He takes a moment to think. "If you think about it, it's been one thing after another since I've got here. Haven't even gotten a moment to breathe."

"It's something that you get used to…" Byleth lets out a small grunt of frustration, placing his hand on his head. "Though in a way, this is actually a small blessing for me."

"Huh?" Robin gave Byleth a puzzled look from what he said. "Care to explain what you're talking about?"

"Back when we saved the students at Remire Village, I got to see how they fought on the battlefield. I was impressed by their skill." Byleth explains while shaking his head. "I had known that nobles fought in armies, but it was always a select few. Other nobles usually rather save their necks while having others do their work. But after seeing how they fought, I was interested in how the other students fare."

"That's why you were so willing to go to the monastery. To see the students at the officer academy." Robin slowly nods. A small smile forms on his face. "Perhaps we should head to the training grounds, then. That way, we could see the students in action."

"That sounds like a good idea. Though weren't you supposed to meet with Seteth?" As Byleth asks the question, the bells of the monastery begin to ring. Looking up in wonderment, he didn't notice a knight approaching the group.

"Are you Byleth?" The knight asks. Byleth turns his head, giving a small nod. "Archbishop Rhea wishes to speak with you at the audience chamber."

"Alright." Byleth nods again with the knight walking off. Robin stands up, placing the book that he was reading on a small cart.

"Shall we be off then? Maybe we could finish up early so we can see the students that we'll be teaching." Robin asks with Byleth slowly nodding. The two make their way out of the library. The librarian looks out towards the exit from one of the nearby bookshelves with an irritated glance towards Byleth.

The two make their way towards the audience chamber with Robin seeing Seteth standing at the doorstep to his office. He sees the two at the corner of his eye before giving a small greeting. Byleth greets back before making his way to the audience chamber.

"Please, come in, Robin." Seteth motions Robin to enter his office.

"Thank you." Robin enters the office with Seteth walking in beside him. He makes it to the other side of the desk, taking a seat.

"Please sit." Seteth offers with Robin taking it, sitting down across the table. "Let's get straight to business. Now that you were appointed to be a professor at Garreg Mach, a little background check on you is necessary. Surely you have no problems with this?"

"Of course. I don't have anything that I have to hide. What did you want to ask me?" Robin said, slightly nervous about the predicament that he was in. He had debated about this very topic for some time since Jeralt and Byleth founded him in the fields. However, given that he was being interviewed about his past, he knew that he had to make the right choice on the matter.

"Starting off with something small should be a good start. You seem rather young but have proven to be well experienced in battle. Just how old are you, exactly?" Seteth asks the tactician.

"I turned 22 near the beginning of this month," Robin explains, remembering the events that played that day. It was also the same day where he had learned who his true father was.

"I see. That would make you older than all of the students here at the academy. But despite this, that is still rather young." Seteth wonders for a little bit. "Now how about combat experience? How long have you been in battles?"

"How long? I suppose…" Robin didn't actually know the answer to this question. He had been with the Shepherds for three years, though he had a knack for tactics prior to it. Even after all this time, he never knew about a huge gap in his memory from before meeting Chrom back at Ylisse. As Robin thought more about it, a lingering feeling starts to tingle in Robin's head. It was the same feeling as the first night in Fodlan, letting out a massive groan of pain while Robin tries to rest his head.

"Are you alright?! Do you need a medic?" Seteth asks with concern with Robin slowly shaking his head.

"I-I'm fine." Robin was bewildered by the mysterious pain in his head. The pain had left away as swiftly as it came. And yet, the answer to his question was quite vivid in his head. "Seven years. Though I have been interested in tactics for a bit longer."

"Seven years? Since you were 15? That's quite a long time for someone as young as you to be in combat." Seteth frowns on this idea, almost sadden slightly by the amount of conflict that Robin must have faced. However, he pushes that thought to the side in order to continue his interrogation. "I heard you were a royal tactician as well, right?"

"That's right…" Robin knew that this question would pop up during the interview. He was still debating with himself about having to answer completely honesty. Thinking for a few moments, he answered without beating the bush of a follow-up question. "I have been a tactician for the nation of Ylisse for the past three years."

"Ylisse? Forgive me but I don't believe that I have ever heard of that nation." Seteth comments with a frown, folding his arm to what he was hearing.

"I'm sorry… But that's the truth." Seteth's raises an eyebrow of disbelief. Given his history, he has never heard of that place before. And yet, looking at Robin, he could that that he was speaking the truth on the matter. "But… have you ever heard of Pherae?"

Now that has caught the attention of Seteth. That was a location that he has heard of but was quite a distance away from Fodlan. "Now that is most curious. I do know of the land of Pherae. Were you also a tactician for this land as well?"

"I…" Robin too found the sudden mention being brought up to be rather odd. Almost like small bits of his memory were being built back together from the section that has been gone for three years. He tried to think about where this had come up, but he only drew a massive blank in his mind. "I'm sorry."

"Is something the matter?" Seteth was becoming more intrigued about Robin's history.

"It's just that… Being honest seems like the right choice." Robin takes a deep breath looking Seteth straight in the eye. "Before I was a tactician for Ylisse, I had woken up on the plains with no memories of my past."

"No recollection of your past? You are a victim of amnesia?" Seteth asks with Robin giving a small nod. The background check was continuing to become a bigger well of information about the tactician. Normally, someone would believe that Robin was lying about his story with how ridiculous it is. Yet, almost like an inner feeling inside of him was saying otherwise.

"I didn't know much about my past before I was at Ylisse. Over time, I came to learn more about where I'm from… But no matter how I thought about it, there was a three-year gap in my memories." Robin explained, slightly frowning with this ridiculous yet true story. In a way, he regretted that giving too much information was a big problem.

"This sounds… quite personal to you." Seteth finally says after a moment of silence. He places his hands together on his desk, deep in thought about what he heard. He looks up at Robin with an expression not as serious as before. "Tell me, then. Even if all that you said was true, why go into all of this detail? Wouldn't it be better to keep some of this to yourself?"

"Didn't you say that this was a background check? I'm going to be working here anyway, so why hide my past?" Robin held no hesitation this time to the question. He gave Seteth an honest look, waiting once more for the man to respond.

"…" Seteth thought about what Robin said once more. He felt as if he had a heavy decision placed on him. Robin's whole story was intriguing, leading the man to wonder about the validity of the tactician's past. "Aren't you curious about that gap in time?"

"Of course I'm curious." Robin was taken back by the interest in the year gap. "But I don't really have any way of finding out."

"Then perhaps a message could be sent to the Marquess of Pherae." Seteth stands up, pacing back and forth on the subject matter. Something clicks in his head, turning back to Robin. "Three years ago, the current Marquess of Pherae embarked on a quest in search of his missing father. During his time, he was aided by a mysterious tactician. Their skills in tactics were well renowned that will be told in history books."

"Hold on a second! Surely you're not saying that I was the one who aided the Marquess!" Robin exclaims, baffled by the conclusion that Seteth has raised.

"It was simply speculation. But it does fit in with your story. With how big of a role this figure may be, their name is surely written somewhere." Seteth takes out a pen, writing a note on the matter. "Surely it is piquing your curiosity on the matter as well."

"Now that I'm thinking about it, I am rather curious about it as well." Robin nods in agreement.

Seteth finishes writing the note on the side before looking back up at Robin. "If you wish, I can look into the matter. You may learn something about yourself in the progress."

"Thank you very much, Seteth." It felt like a weight was taken off Robin's shoulders about searching into the past that he knew nothing about. And yet, the wait for the answers felt just as strenuous on him in the meantime.

"It isn't a problem at all. Looking into this is helping Lady Rhea in the process. This also seems like a good place to halt our interview until I can learn more about this. I have taken up enough time already." Seteth moves past his desk to the entrance of the room. He opens the door, turning back to Robin. "After all, you should be checking the students of the academy. The house selection is tomorrow, after all. I hope you pick a class that you will be able to make a deep connection with."

"I'll do that. Thank you again for looking into this." Robin walks to the door, looking back on Seteth.

"Of course. We are here to assist those in need." Seteth gives a solemn smile. Robin leaves the office with Seteth closing the door after. Robin takes a look at the opened doors of the audience chamber to see Byleth being nowhere in sight. He turns down to the hall, making his way to the courtyard.

Shortly after, Seteth walks out of his office, carrying a few books at his side. He carefully watches around before swiftly making his way to the library.

Robin took the time to become more familiar with the monastery, exploring the area around the center building. He had started at the stables, seeing some of the students caring to the horses that resided there. He moved over to the small pond near the marketplace, a possible spot to relax and fish while reading some war treaties to gain more knowledge of the tactics of the land.

Passing through the greenhouse and dining hall, he finds himself in one of the classrooms of the academy. The interior goldish design of the room signaled to him that it belonged to the members of the Golden Dear House. A few noticeable figures had caught his attention, with a tall figure approaching him.

"Hi. Are you someone's guest?" Robin turns to see a couple of students making their way to him. The one who spoke was a tall muscular man that looked like he would kill his shirt at a single moment. "If you need to head to the dining hall, it's over there."

"Oh, I'm fine. I was just curious to see what the classrooms were like." Robin smiled politely up to the man. "This is the Golden Deer classroom, right?"

"That's correct. You're the tactician that helped Captain Jeralt save Claude, right?" A girl with orange hair and a jacket wrapped over her student uniform had asked Robin who nods to the question. "I'm Leonie Pinelli. I'm Captain Jeralt's first and greatest apprentice! I'm sure he's told you about me?"

"I'm Robin. Sorry, I can't say that I have. I've only known him for a day." Robin responds with Leonie being disappointed by the fact.

"Well, it's nice to meet you, Robin. I'm Raphael Kirsten." Raphael gives the tactician a hearty smile before making his way out of the classroom with Leonie following behind. Robin takes the opportunity to look around, receiving a few casual glances from some noticeable students.

"I see that you're taking a sneak peek at one of our classrooms!" A voice calls out with Robin turning over to see Claude walking over towards him with a small smirk. "Well, well. Scored a teaching gig here as well, did ya?"

"It was a rather sudden appointment into the position." Robin chuckles faintly, still bewildered by the predicament.

"Well since you're going to be a professor at the academy, I guess I should be addressing you properly, teach." Claude chuckles at what he calls Robin. He gives Robin a somewhat formal bow of greeting. "I guess that means I'd better introduce myself properly. I'm Claude von Riegan. I'm from the ruling house of the Leicester Alliance, but don't worry too much about all that madness."

"I'm Robin Tacticus." Robin bows in response to Claude's proper greeting. However, thinking back to how Claude addressed him, Robin felt a little uncomfortable by the title that came with his profession. "If it doesn't matter to you, could you just call me Robin, instead? I want to at least, share the same courtesy that you're offering me."

"Oh, sure. That isn't a problem at all. Say. Since you were just appointed to your role, why don't you meet the members of the Golden Deer, class? Who knows? I bet you'd like ours." Claude wraps his arm around Robin's shoulder with a chuckle, leading him on to meet the members of one of the potential classes that Robin will teach in the coming school year.

A figure peaked over from the entrance of the Golden Deer classroom, casually eyeing Robin from afar. A small chill went down Robin's spine, similar to how he felt whenever Tharja would stalk him. He looked around the classroom and the entrance to see nobody watching him, letting out a frown.

"Hey! Is everything alright?" Claude snaps Robin out of his confused state.

"Sorry…" Robin looks one last time at the entrance of the classroom before talking to the students of Golden Deer. The figure watched Robin a bit more, before walking away.

"I'm asking ya if you've seen the man! Brown hair, cloak over his body… a presence sharp as a dagger!" Dart asks the barkeep at one of the taverns of the port.

"I do believe that I know who you may be referring to..." The barkeep comments, wiping one of the mugs that an unconscious drunken sailor had been using. "But it's been many weeks since then that I don't remember much about it."

"Please! Anything that you can remember will help so much!" Nino begged the barkeep, clutching one of her tomes at any spark of hope in this situation. The barkeep looked at the girl with a hint of remorse, somewhat reminding him of his own daughter. He places the glass on the bar, thinking hard about it before something of note came to mind.

"There was something that I remember faintly." The barkeep said. Nino's eyes open wide, looking up at the barkeep, fully paying attention to what he had to say. "Shortly after he stopped by here, a group of mercenaries came by asking for him. A company that likes to preside at the border of the Leicester Alliance and the Kingdom of Faerghus."

"Old man! Where exactly is this place that you're talking about?!" Dart asks, pulling a damaged map of Fodlan from his pocket and laying it out on the counter.

"If I recall correctly, the company hales at the frigid wasteland near House Galatea. That way, they hold the ability to acquire jobs from the surrounding lands." The barkeep points to the southeast side of the region of Galatea. "However, they're known to be rather ruthless and savages."

"What are you talking about, old man?" Dart was confused by the sudden opinionated outlook at the mercenary group. The barkeep let out a rough sigh, nodding their head to the dent against the wall. "How the hell did that happen?"

"Like I said before… They held quite the reputation for being savages. When they came in, asking for the man's location like you did, I… initially refused" The barkeep grunted at the weakness he was about to relay to the two. "That was when the main one threw his axe against the wall. Damn near scared the missus. I told them where to find them for the safety of those upstairs. Surely you can understand the situation that I was in."

"O-Of course. Family is… so important." Nino grips the pendant around her neck tightly, understanding the situation that the man faced. "You don't have to apologize to us. All the things that you're telling us are helping more than you think."

"Thank you, young lady… Now then. Allow for me to lead you on the right way." The barkeep smiled softly at the girl. He clears his throat before motioning for the two to follow him outside. The man leads to the exit of the port before pointing in one of the many directions. "This was the path that I told your friend to head. It is considered a haven for those in Fodlan."

"Haven? What is this place that you're talking about?" Nino asks with the barkeep taking out Dart's map, angling for the two to see. He points at the center of Fodlan.

"The path eventually leads to Garreg Mach Monastery where the church of Seiros is worshipped." The barkeep wraps the map up before handing it to Nino. " Garreg Mach Monastery is considered to be a haven for those that are in need. I'm sure that if your friend made it safely, he will be protected by the Knights of Seiros."

"Thank you so much!" Nino's eyes brightened up with a chance of hope of Jaffar's safety.

"Let me pay ya, old man." Dart goes to offer some gold for the information with the barkeep raising his hand in refusal.

"No need for payment…" The barkeep turns around to the pier, pointing to a bazaar where a few stalls were being held. "However, if you would like, head to my son's shop for supplies. Tell em you know me and he'll give you a bargain."

"We'll take you up on your offer then. The captain was looking for a place to restock anyway." Dart takes the man up on his offer. The barkeep looks back at Nino with a small smile on his face before turning back.

"Take care now. Hope that you find the one that you're searching for." The barkeep walks away, with Nino waving goodbye. She then turns to Dart.

"Will you be leaving once you finish resupplying?" Nino was afraid of Dart answering that she would be alone on this endeavor.

"No… The captain said that we'll be staying in Fodlan in a while. And… Jaffar saved my life once on the battlefield. I'm doing this as payback." Dart folds his arms before tightening the bandana around his head. He gives Nino a look of determination and a cheeky smile. "The captain immediately understood what I meant when I explained it to him. So it looks like we'll be traveling again."

"It's like how it was, three years ago." Nino thinks back to the campaign that she was recruited into with Jaffar. During that campaign, she had lost so much with the death of Linus and Lloyd but she gained perhaps two of the most important things in her life. She takes out her bloodstained pendant, opening up to find a portrait of her family with a secondary portrait of her and Jaffar at the door. She puts it to her heart before giving Dart a determined look. "Let's go!"

Wassup my homies! This is NexusMHX here with another chapter of "A Second Chance at Sanctuary"! Sorry that it's been a while since the last chapter. School started recently and I have to start applications at the same time so my life is quite hectic at the moment. But I was able to push in a chapter for you guys so I hope that you enjoyed it. Funnily enough, I forgot a problem that I had with not only Three Houses in general, but the main route of the story that is going to be taken. See, while Robin is going to be THE main character of the story, Byleth's character and focus of Three Houses is one of the major plot points of the story. While Robin may take a route, (you can probably take a gander at which house he's going to be in) Byleth is a rather hard case to solve. Ngl, the other options aren't that great stories or could be executed properly. So guess what? I'm gonna retcon a whole route for the sake of making it better cause I already hated it from the very beginning. And I may even take traits from the other house in order to make it a properly cohesive story. I don't really know at the moment as I'm still working on how this story will be written. I know what routes I'm going to be used, but how to make it better and my own story is a different story. I'll update you more on it at a later time. For now, this is NexusMHX signing off! And I still don't know what I'm doing.