After encountering the thief of the Shepherds, as well as his family, in the palace's kitchen, they brought the three with them back to their meeting room to discuss some things, Libra and Tharja left in order to spend time with Noire and make sure she isn't either panicking or terrifying someone, and Tiki retired to her room. So the remaining nobles decided to do something they hadn't done in a long time, hold a book club meeting.

"Since we haven't really decided on a book to read in our last meeting, or we forgot what it was as well as the details of the plot, how about we talk about some of the stories we have read recently," Sumia said as the co-founder and acting head of the club.

"Wait, wasn't I the head of the club?" Robin asked. "You lost it when you left for Chon'sin." "Fair enough."

"I guess I'll go first," said Gaius, which surprised everyone outside of his family. "I decided to read Wyvern Wars: Terror at High Noon at Stumbles' suggestion as a sort of introduction to novels. Given that I haven't finished it yet, I can't say much for certain, but I do enjoy it. In particular I enjoy the main character not necessarily being the paragon of virtue and getting his hands dirty when he believes it's needed."

"Plus, his initial introduction when walking into the tavern at the beginning is so dramatic, it helps to accentuate his roguish nature while presenting him in an appealing light. I even tried to replicate it for Father at one point, but…" Cynthia interjected, having also read that book recently. "Yeah, we wound up waking up the tavern's sleeping occupants and couldn't stay there for the night," Sumia said, remembering the night.

"Yeah, which is why you inform us of when you plan to use those entrances beforehand, Triple P," Gaius said to his daughter, "But yeah, and the central conflict surrounding the smuggling families and how he pitted them against one another makes for a great read."

Say'ri thought for a moment, before asking, "What is the name of the protagonist?" "He doesn't have one," Robin responded, having been the first person to read the story. "This story seems to have a strange number of similarities to Bodyguard, a famous novel here in Chon'sin. A wandering warrior comes across two crime families and plays them off one another. I think it's coincidental, but that is an odd shared trait."

"The concept of a lone wanderer who, despite potential moral failings, is still a good man is apparently a concept that transcends any particular culture. It might speak to an underlying belief in the goodness of a stranger," Morgan said.

"An astute observation Morgan," Say'ri said, with a hint of pride in her voice.

"Well, since I haven't finished the story, that's all I have to say, you're up Smiles," Gaius said, looking at Henry.

"Nya ha ha, okay then, I hope you will like what I have because I found it to be a bloody good time. The story in question is Tito Andronico. I love just how much bloodshed is in this story. There are at least 5 dismemberships and a variety of bloody deaths. It honestly quite graphic at times and-"

"Henry dear, I was forced to read that author's works, and so I must say that is considered one of his earliest and worst works. It's nothing more to it than a… I really have to remember your love of bloodshed," Lissa said, flashbacks to an education of literary works she had no interest in flying through her head.

"I personally recommend Michalis, as while it is very historically inaccurate, it has a much better plot and maybe a bit less bloodshed, but still a surprising amount for such a tale," Robin said, remembering that he read that story while looking for historical texts.

"The desires of the nobles who were seeking the throne, only to in the end fall victim to their own hubris through a mental breakdown and the neglect of the prophecy told to them, believing themselves to be invincible to the enemy," Owain said, having also been forced to read the story, but in a more entertaining way and using as a base for his speech patterns. "I still don't get the twist that the 'can't die of a man born of a woman-born' being resolved via an Elise-section still doesn't make sense."

"Authors can make no sense sometimes," Morgan said.

"Nya ha ha, well, since all I can talk about was the bloodshed, and I now have a recommendation, Robin, what have you read," Henry said, now curious about the story of Michalis.

"I recently have been re-reading Beauty of Battle, specifically the Chon'sinese translation in order to understand the language, since I have read the Ylissean translation. The work itself is more of a collection of quotes meant to help newer tacticians to develop their strategies further by giving them a few principles to start with," Robin said.

Morgan jumped in, eagerness evident in her voice, "Yeah, it actually began to form the basis of many of the strategies the Shepherds had used, particularly during the Valmese campaign. Most notably was that prolonged battles and wars were antithetical to any sort of warfare. As such, aided by another principle, we struck where the enemy was weakest and were able to defeat them."

"What of A Treatise on Conflict?" Say'ri said, "It has war as the focal point as well, and I appreciated the emphasis on the political side of war, particularly in regards to the objectives and reasons for it to occur."

"That is kind of the difference," Morgan responded, still quite eager about the topic, "On Conflict is specifically a treatise on war as a political tool, used by states as a method to get their way when diplomacy fails. Whereas The Beauty of Battle is about the means to wage a war and win. It also has some applications on general planning, but for someone like Father, whose main strengths are on the battlefield, it serves him more than the politics of the situation."

"Aptly put kiddo," Robin said with pride. "Aye, that is fair."

"I believe it might be pointless for me to discuss this further, as I assume most of you have no interest on works derived for the purposes of war, so Say'ri, what can you tell us of Chon'sinese stories?" Robin said.

Say'ri pondered for a moment before saying, "I believe the story that would best fit this group would be Adventure to the North, a story of a traveling band who have to seek out a scroll given to the Voice of Naga in order to help bring peace to Chon'sin. The story has formed a basis that many other tales have pulled from. In addition, the challenges faced by the band are quite unique and the group ends up outwitting their opponents to some extent, though usually through the help of the gods."

"Wait, Tiki is in the story?" Robin asked, curious about the Voice of Naga. "Fie, the story has her name be Nagi, who I presume was the Voice before Tiki."

"Maybe it's Aunt Tiki's older sister?" Morgan said. "Might be the case, but we don't have any evidence for that," Robin said, not trying to shoot down Morgan's idea, just trying to be realistic.

"Regardless, I do recommend the story, as its structure lends itself to a variety of bizarre stories that are interesting in their own right." Most of the book club nodded their heads at that, and decided to make it the next story to read. The last thing said before the end of the meeting was by Lissa.

"Wait, does it have a Ylissean translation?"

—-

A/N: Well, this came out a day later than I meant. In any case, I hope you enjoy this chapter. Bonus points for anyone who can recognize all the references in this chapter. Also, I feel as though the previous chapter or two might have been off in terms of stuff happening in comparison to exposition. Particularly the last chapter. While this chapter had literally no story progression, it was fun to write and allowed Gaius, Sumia, and Cynthia to have a bit more presence before things start to happen. Gaius also has more nicknames for people, and I hope you can see why I chose those names and who they belong two.