Hello again, dear friends. I hope you are all doing well.

Expect a little more insight of the Intelligence Department, further wariness over Rook's identity from our Fodlan natives, and hints of conflict between a princess and certain librarian.

With that, please enjoy the tenth chapter of Case Study: Fodlan.

"You look tense, my child."

Rook spun around. It was the archbishop. Even in the dim evening sun her silken robes and viridescent eyes glittered. She walked up to him with soundless footsteps, a serene smile never leaving her face.

"I usually am when people sneak up on me." Rook said coolly.

"My apologies then, I didn't mean to startle you." Rhea replied just as calmly. She settled beside him, placing her hands gently onto the railing. "I notice that you have discovered my dearest recreation."

"Looking at the monastery?"

"More than that…" Rhea took in a deep breath and released it slowly. "Looking over Fodlan. Admiring the goddess' creation. Looking at the mountains, the sky, the people… it makes me grateful for this wonderful world we have been blessed with."

Rook turned back to the scenery of her description, mimicking her posture. He had no time to process her sweet words before Ken's voice popped into his ear.

"This ain't a social call, Rook. Brace yourself."

Sure enough, when Rook glanced to the side he saw Rhea staring thoughtfully at the glossy slits of his helmet.

"Is something wrong, archbishop?"

"No, there is nothing of great concern. However, although I often come to this balcony to watch the sunset, I must admit that it was not my purpose for this particular night."

"Is that so?"

"Indeed." Rhea leaned closer, her eyes glowing in the long shadows cast by the steeple overhead. "As archbishop and, pardon any pomposity, an eminent figure of all Fodlan, there is very little that escapes my attention. I see the rise and fall of anything that comes in and out of the goddess' great continent, but here I am baffled as a man has arrived with claims of great academic errantry and I have never heard of him."

"That sounds like an accusation."

Rhea's gaze was unwavering. "I suppose it is. I am merely curious about your true identity."

"I am a historian." Rook said firmly. "Specifically, a historian who found that the tales of people and nations do not tend to stay in one place. Where history goes, I follow."

"That may suffice my subordinates, Mr. Rook, but that is not enough for me." Rhea's face hardened. "I know of dark folk from the recesses of this beautiful land and you are alarmingly similar to them. Do not think I am convinced your titanic size is natural or that a natural voice is inclined to fill one's ears so readily."

"Now this sounds like a threat." Rook said, a sharp edge entering his voice. Rhea clasped her hands together and her face morphed instantaneously. Where moments ago there was a steely stare, there was now only a gentle smile.

"I mean no offense, Mr. Rook. It is unbecoming of me to make hasty assumptions about strangers, but you must understand that I cannot quite trust you."

"I don't expect you or anyone else to trust me much." Rook said nonchalantly. "As long as there's enough trust to keep me for my studies, I think I'll be good."

"I see." Rhea nodded. "But that makes me curious. If you are so dismissive of earning others trust, how did you secure Captain Jeralt and his daughter's faith so quickly?"

"There it is." Ken cackled in Rook's ear. "This is what she was looking for, Rook. Time to bob and weave, eh?"

Rook ignored his boss' delightment. "It is easy to be trusted when only oneself and no more. I have no secrets here, archbishop."

Rhea's lips tightened. "Are you insinuating that I am not truthful in my appearance and behavior? That I am attempting to deceive my children and faithful followers?"

"I didn't say any of that. I'm just saying that Jeralt's a sharp guy and his daughter's cut from the same steel." Rook said. "They sniffed me out and it seems he sniffed you out a while ago. Don't come at me for being a better friend."

Within the period of a blink of his eyes her face twisted into an ill scowl before returning to her usual, calm smile.

"I see." Rhea said pensively. "I will not deny that I am out of touch with what it is to be a good friend."

"Being archbishop is a lonely business?"

"Indeed."

"That's a shame." Rook stretched out his arms and let out a tremendous yawn. "Well, I appreciate the company archbishop, but I gotta be on my way. Got a daughter to tuck in and all that."

"Very well. Thank you for making time for my presence." Rhea smiled, dismissing Rook with a small wave. She watched him nearly hit his head on the top of the threshold as he exited. His grumbling about the low ceiling slowly grew more distant until both him and his footsteps were inaudible. Rhea looked back over the monastery, deep in thought about that massive man. He clearly knew more than he let on, but his words and mind were airtight. Was he Agarthan? She could not say for sure. Was he worth the effort to turn into a valuable ally? He certainly possessed an unusually amiable relationship with Jeralt and Byleth, but she still had other avenues to access them.

Rhea let out a frustrated growl. A shadowy, unseen organization was already taxing enough on her mind. Now that she had a mysterious man walking around the monastery, she didn't know just what to think anymore.

Bottlecap whistled to herself as she swung back and forth lazily from the branch of a tree. With the cool breeze and the grass still warm from the midday sun, she figured it would've been the perfect time to take a nap. Unfortunately, business rolled out from the spindly shadows of the forest's edge and so her plans had to be put on hold.

"Took ya long enough, spiderface."

Warden's gems twinkled from the light humor. "That's a good one. I'll remember it."

"Jeez, you're already so much more fun to hang out with than Mr. Rook." Bottlecap giggled. She looped around the branch and leaned against the trunk. Warden rolled up to the side of the tree and looked up at her.

"Oh yeah? He's still grouchy?"

"I dunno. He's been slouching into one of those moods."

"I know what he's feeling." Warden's chunky head jerked up and down affirmatively. "World-weariness."

"Whaddaya mean?" Bottlecap asked curiously.

"Mr. Oddman is a responsible man. He makes sure that agents don't die, but Mr. Oddman cannot steady their minds. Sooner or later, agents must quit. He makes sure of it. Otherwise, the agents risk losing their mind."

"Huh?" Bottlecap swung down and landed beside Warden. She folded her arms. "Are you saying that Mr. Rook's going crazy?"

"I doubt it." Warden said. "He's only served a moderate time for agents. Less than me by seven steady-state millennia last time I checked."

"Sooooo… are you gonna go crazy?"

"Nope! Metal does not have such weakness." Warden chuckled, tapping his misshapen head with a tendril.

"Ok. No one's going crazy?"

"Correct."

"Then why say stuff like that?" Bottlecap waved her hands exasperatedly. "You scared me!"

"I said it to explain Mr. Rook's mood. He has served longer than any human. It makes sense that he feels exhausted from time to time. Humans are powerful, but also fragile." Warden said matter-of-factly. He reached a wispy limb into his suit and extracted a bulky toolbox. "Now is not the time to discuss. I must collect samples before sunrise."

"Right." Bottlecap nodded. "I found some good sites with your specifications. They should be marked on your display."

The rubies on Warden's face twinkled. "I see them. Do you mind keeping an eye out?"

"I'll keep two out, just for you." Bottlecap joked, earning her a clinking laugh from her companion. The two weaved through the dense forest and quickly came to their first destination. Warden plopped down his toolbox and lowered himself to the ground. Bottlecap leaned against a tree, glancing around occasionally but otherwise watching him meticulously drive complex instruments into the soil.

"What are you doing, anyway?"

"I am running tests on the materials here. We might be able to use local resources to ground the drones to this dimension."

"Cool, sounds boring." Bottlecap put her hands in her pockets and strolled around the perimeter of Warden's equipment, kicking at clumps of grass and dirt. With nothing else to think or do, their earlier conversation returned to her mind. "Y'know, I just realized recently that I don't really know much about you guys."

"That makes sense. All of our participation in the Department is highly confidential."

"Then how do you guys know so much about me?"

Warden's gems flickered in amusement at her frustration. "You are a special case, Bottlecap. You may be the only agent who is here of their own accord. Secrecy is not as essential for you."

"That doesn't mean I want you guys to know everything about me." Bottlecap pouted. "It's especially lame if you guys get to be all sneaky and I don't."

"You should be grateful that such sneakiness is not necessary for you."

"... I guess so."

Warden pulled his tools out of the ground and placed them neatly back into the box before returning to standing height. "I am done here. Time for the next site."

Rook placed a hand on the library's door handle and felt it give readily. He was surprised that it was unlocked so late, but he was not about to complain. He saw half-wicked candles casting warm orange glows across the room. His footsteps cut heavily through the silence. Their echoes and creaks were muffled by the towering shelves of thickly bound tomes, but It was still enough noise to alert the local librarian and in a few seconds Rook saw a face pop around the corner.

"Hello, stranger, can I help you?" The old man's face curled into a fatherly smile, wrinkles tugging at the ends of his lips and eyes.

"I'm good, thank you. Just visiting the library. Are you the caretaker?"

"That is me." The old man came out from behind the shelf and walked up to Rook. He was hunched over from age but surprisingly without a cane. "My name is Tomas. You are Rook, the travelling historian?"

"That's me."

Tomas grinned. "I expect to see you around here frequently. There is no greater archive of Fodlan's wealthy history than here at Garreg Mach. I hope you use it to its greatest extent."

"Your expectation is not in vain." Rook nodded. "This collection will do wonders for my studies. I would love to get started, but is it safe to assume that you are closing soon?"

"That is correct. I'm letting one of the students gather their belongings. Once they depart I must ask for you to take your leave as well."

"Sounds good. Thank you for your hospitality, I must say you are one of the calmest introductions I've had since coming to Fodlan." Rook said, sticking out his hand. Tomas accepted it, his two hands barely able to wrap around Rook's massive glove. Rook shivered as a sudden cold shot through his body. Tomas tilted his head curiously.

"Are you feeling unwell, Rook? It looked like you just felt a terrible chill."

Rook twitched his eyebrow and his scanners sparked to life. Within milliseconds of their activation, data started streaming wildly. It was not like Byleth, however, where it was undefined values and inexplicable calculations. There was an overflow error that was being compensated with the activation of auxiliary sensors. Significant energy must have been coursing nearby… or from Tomas.

Whatever it was, it wasn't immediately apparent. Rook shook Tomas' hand firmly and withdrew. "I feel fine, thank you. It must have been a passing cold from the night."

Tomas smiled again, albeit a little less widely than before. "That is good to hear. You have a restful night, Mr. Rook."

Rook nodded and departed into the moonlit campus. Tomas bared his teeth after the door shut and rubbed his hand where Rook's touch was moments ago.

"I know you are there, princess."

Edelgard appeared around the corner, a smirk playing across her lips. "A little shaken from our mysterious friend, Solon?"

"Save your tongue, there could still be ears." Tomas hissed. "I don't know how, but that man felt through my disguise."

"How are you sure?" Edelgard furrowed her brow. "I didn't see anything."

"He shivered upon my touch and there was a pause too noticeable to pass up." Tomas explained. "I must investigate that man immediately."

"I already have Hubert looking into it." Edelgard said.

"Very well. Be sure that your lackey is competent, as there is no room for error. The potential threat this man poses is as detrimental to your precious plans as they are to mine." Tomas growled.

"Don't tell me what to do, worm." Edelgard snarled back.

"Hmph. Begone, princess. I must still close up this wretched library."

Tomas weaved his way through the bookshelves to the back of the library, disappearing through another door. Edelgard shook her head.

The enemy of my enemy is my friend.

Edelgard rubbed the back of her hand gently, feeling the rough skin under her silken glove. She didn't like how often she had to remind herself of that fact.

Next chapter will involve the mock battle and I expect it to be much longer than the usual 2000-3000 word chapters I post. Stay tuned!

Reviews are welcomed and encouraged. Tell me what you like and don't like; I will take it into account.

And of course, thank you for reading. I hope you enjoyed.

Go in peace,

Louproxy