Dimitri had answered his summons promptly, arriving in the Archbishop's audience chamber just as Rhea opened to door from her side room. After taking their places in the chamber, Dimitri gave a curt bow.

"It is a pleasure to speak with you, Archbishop."

"The pleasure is all mine, Prince Dimitri." Rhea said with a polite smile on her face. "I offer my congratulations for winning the mock battle. Your house fought well."

Dimitri bowed his head. "Thank you, Archbishop. We could not have done it without Professor Alois' guidance."

Rhea nodded. "I am glad to hear our newest professor is fitting well into his new role." Rhea paused for a moment, eyes drifting to her left, before snapping back. "That brings me to your classes mission this month. The knights have pursued the last few bandits who attacked you, and have cornered them. It has been decided to send your class to finish the job under the knight's supervision."

"Of course. Where are the bandits located?"

"They are being sealed in Zanado, the Red Canyon."

"Ah. Our class will leave as soon as Professor Alois deems us ready." Dimitri gave a bow and moved to leave, before stopping himself. "Oh, that's right. Archbishop, if I may ask a question?"

"Of course."

"Has there been any progress in discovering the bandit's motive?"

Rhea's lips thinned. "No, unfortunately. We are still investigating the matter. If at all possible, you should try to spare their leader, so we can interrogate him."

"Understood. At your leave." Dimitri politely bowed, exiting the room. There would be class later in the week. He could discuss the finer details with Professor Alois then. For now, Dimitri decided to go forward with his morning training routine. Greeting his fellow students as we walked past, Dimitri looked at the shadows of Garreg Mach's spires. It would not be noontime for at least two hours, by his estimation. That left plenty of time to get a good workout.

As he entered the training hall, Dimitri noticed that Claude and Edelgard stood next to the newly minted Professor Byleth, quietly talking amongst each other.

Dimitri decided to pay them no mind. If the three wished to speak with one another, it was hardly his business. He moved to the weapon rack, testing the weight of the various spears. Settling on a thinner lance to work with, Dimitri completed his warm up stretches and was about to go out and practice, only to be stopped by Claude calling to him.

"Hey, Dimitri, come over here for a minute!"

Dimitri changed course, walking towards the three. "Yes, what is it?" Now that he was closer, Dimitri could see the glean of sweat on Claude and Edelgard. Both had scuffled uniforms, and were short on breath. In contrast, Byleth looked as though she was made of stone.

"We were just sparring with teach here, and she was giving us a good thrashing. Want to go a round?"

Dimitri blinked. "I suppose. Professor, if you would have me as a sparring partner, I would be more then happy to train with you."

Dimitri couldn't tell what Byleth was thinking. He hadn't seen much of the mercenary since she had arrived in Garreg Mach, but from what he could tell, her emotionless expression was how she acted around everyone.

"As you wish." Byleth turned and walked out to the training yard, practice sword in hand. Dimitri politely followed. After getting into place across from Byleth, he gave a small bow, before quickly sinking into a ready stance, spear held forward. Byleth gave a small nod, and languidly held her sword at the waist. Her stance did not shift. To the casual observer, it would have appeared that the professor wasn't taking the spar seriously. Dimitri tightened his grip, remembering how easily Byleth had torn apart the bandit's ranks. This posture was not from an overconfident schoolteacher, but an experienced swordswoman who didn't have to take a stance to prepare herself.

Byleth made no move to attack. Her eyes didn't meet Dimitri's. All she looked at was the end of his spear. It would be up to him to strike first then. Dimitri steadied his breathing, adjusted his grip one more time, and then rushed forth.

Dimitri opened with a short jab, which Byleth easily avoided. Dimitri pressed onward, striking again and again. Each and every time, Byleth dodged, never so much as raising her sword. Dimitri tried one final time to feint a strike from Byleth's left. Byleth hoped over his spear, dodging his attack just as easily as the rest.

Dimitri let out a huff, and brought his spear to attention and out his posture at ease. "Incredible. It was like I was trying to hit the wind."

Byleth gave a nod. "You are used to fighting slower, less experienced opponents, and put to much power into your jab strikes. You need to work on compensating for your weapon's long reach by shortening your thrusts."

"I understand. Thank you for the lesson."

"Yeah, teach is pretty slick on the battlefield." Claude said, having wandered over. "I was wondering when you were going to give up. I bet the princess that you'd last at least another five minutes before throwing the towel in."

"I don't bet." Edelgard had maneuvered herself opposite to Claude. "And I am rather shocked that not a single one of us was able to land a hit on the professor."

"Really?" Dimitri's eyebrows rose. "Not a single hit from either of you?"

"Afraid so. They went much the same as your fight, really." Claude rubbed the back of his neck. Edelgard looked at her feet.

"Amazing. It seems we have much to learn from you."

"I will be happy to help, however I can." Byleth said blandly.

"Thank you. My class will need it this month. We are going to be fighting against bandits."

"Oh, you have received your own mission?" Edelgard asked. Dimitri nodded to her.

"Yes, I just received it from the Archbishop before coming here to train. Have you two already received your missions?"

"Yes. The Archbishop accepted my proposal yesterday. Lady Varley had promised to give the central church some artifacts that had been stored away for the last century, and I offered to come to her estate and transfer them for the countess." Edelgard explained. Her eyes drifted towards Byleth. After a moment, Edelgard cleared her throat. "-Have you ever been to the Varley estate in your travels, Professor? It's quite picturesque."

"I passed through the lands with my father a few year ago." Byleth said. "The hills were pretty."

"I imagine the flowers wood be in full bloom at this time of year. Your quite lucky to be able to visit now." Dimitri commented. "And what of you, Claude? Have you received your mission?"

'Hmm? Oh, yeah." Claude's eyes were distant. "I got a letter from my grandfather, who said he wanted to help me in my education. The Golden Deer are going to Derdriu and deal with some 'unruly merchants', as he so kindly put it. When I showed the note to Lady Rhea, she gave us the all clear."

"Merchants?" Edelgard asked. "What trouble would merchants be?"

"Well, they have a bit more power in the Alliance then in the Empire or the Kingdom. Some of the less savory merchants use their influence to get gangs to pick fights with the city guards for one reason or another. It's a mess, but the Golden Deer will clean it up this time."

"It seems like something the city guards should have well handled. It seems like quite a bit of trouble to bring you in." Edelgard questioned.

Claude shrugged. "Gotta cut our teeth on something."

"Both of you are going so far away from the monastery. Back home for some of your classmates. I admit, I am envious. The Blue Lions will be staying near Garreg Mach for the entire month. I can only hope we are able to travel back to Faerghus soon. It has only been a short time since the year started, but I can sense that many of my classmates are homesick."

"Really?" Claude raised an eyebrow. "What no-name bandits are so close to the monastery?"

"Actually, it's the very same group that chased us through the woods." Dimitri replied. "The knights have them cornered in the Red Canyon."

"The very same bandits, huh." Claude was looking up at the roof, lost in thought. "I thought Teach and her dad had run them all through."

Dimitri shook his head. "Jeralt's mercenaries and the knights were very thorough, but some managed to escape. Looking back on it now, I suppose it was for the best that some of them survived."

"What do you mean?" Edelgard asked, a puzzled look on her face.

"There were a hundreds of bandits in that group, but there had been no reports of any kind of thievery in the area surrounding Remire in the past few years," Dimitri explained. "We are going to try and capture the ruffians."

"Really?" Edelgard raised an eyebrow. "Does the church want him for public execution? They don't usually let bandits like him live." Dimitri could hear a hint of tenseness in Edelgard's voice. It was understandable. Even if growing up as heir to the imperial throne had prepared her for war, Edelgard was just human. It was only natural for her to be unnerved knowing she had brushed with death, and that the potential killers still roamed free.

"No, not usually." Dimitri agreed. "However, Archbishop Rhea agrees that we should keep him alive to lean where they came from and what they were up too."

"It's almost like they were targeting us. Sent to our location by someone who knew we were going to be out, far away from the safety of castle walls." Claude mused aloud. "We probably shouldn't have been the first group a bandit party that large stumbled across, and they don't seem the type to not try and attack some defenseless village or helpless traveler. So we should have heard about some sort of foul play from the area." Cluade craned his neck towards Byleth. "Does that sound correct in your professional mercenary opinion Teach?"

"It isn't incorrect." Byleth said. Claude's eyes wandered back to the ceiling, arms behind his head.

"And with us three involved, it brings up the possibility of political assassination." He muttered. "So if you can get some of them to talk, it might be able to shed some light on whatever went down."

"Yes, exactly." Dimitri said. "I'm going to try and subdue their leader. If anyone knows anything, it should be him."

"He is stubborn enough to die twice." Byleth said. Her words were so low, Dimitri couldn't tell if she hadn't meant to say it out loud, or if it was her natural deadpan flattening out the words.

"You know their leader? How?" DImitri asked.

Byleth blinked, before looking at him. "He was one of the last bandits I cut down, only he managed to make my stab in his chest a shallow cut. Loud. Barked orders. Ran faster then all the others. I know the type. He fits it."

"I think I remember him." Edelgard said. "He's the one who charged at me near the end, correct?"

"Yes."

"I see. Well. I hope the scum gets what he deserves." Edelgard turned. "I wouldn't say that you need it, but I wish you luck, Dimitri. Your task seems the most dangerous out of the three."

"Thank you. Though I wouldn't say that. The knights will be right behind us, and from what I hear, Count Varley can be as accommodating as an angry bandit."

Edelgard let out a small laugh. "I'll survive. Until next time." With that, she marched out of the training hall.

Dimitri turned back to Claude, who was staring at Edelgard's wake with a distant look on his face. "Didn't you tease me about pining after Edelgard, Claude?" Dimitri said with a laugh.

Claude blinked, coming back into focus. "Oh. Ha. You keep catching me lost in thought. I had just forgotten a little detail I'd heard a few days ago." He began to stretch, signaling he too was about to exit the building. "I was wondering how Edelgard was handling the political assassination idea, but…"

Claude turned to Byleth, cocking his eyebrow. "I'll ask the other lady in the room. Would you call it unbecoming to worry about my fellow classmate and heir?"

Byleth hummed. "We live in dangerous times. As heirs, you three have dangerous lives. Worrying about each other isn't a bad thing." Claude gave a chuckle, and winked.

"Yeah I guess you're right. Anyway, I better go pack. Later, you two." And with that, Claude strolled away.

Dimitri turned back to Byleth. "Once again, thank you for the spar. I would appreciate any other sessions you would be willing to grant me."

"If you wish, I will teach you as best I can." Byleth said.

"Please, do. You are clearly quite skilled." Dimitri let out a small cough. "Though, now that I think about it, we haven't seen each other much since you came to the monastery. I haven't been able to thank you properly for saving us from the initial attack." Dimitri gave another polite bow. "Please, accept my gratitude."

Byleth returned his gesture with a curtsy. "Of course."

"Thank you. Oh, and congratulations on becoming a combat instructor. You have clearly earned it." Dimitri paused. "I do wonder though. I come here often to train, but this is the first time I've seen you on the sparring grounds."

"I've been helping my father settle in." Her voice was monotone, but Dimitri had seen Jeralt around the monastery enough to know what she meant.

His face fell, and Dimitri gave a small bow of his head. "My apologies. I know how hard it can be to…lose people. Please, give your father my sympathies."

Byleth stared at Dimitri for a moment. He tried not to let her blank stare unnerve him. He knew she didn't mean any harm. Dedue's expression was not dissimilar.

"Thank you. Also, I would ask a favor."

Dimitri blinked. "Of course. What is it?"

"I would like to accompany your class on your mission."

"Certainly. We would be happy to have your assistance, and I'm sure Alois would be happy to know you wanted to come." Dimitri said. "For now though, may I ask for another spar? I would like to practice the technique you recommended."

Byleth let out something that was a mix of a sigh and a hum. "As you wish."


Funnily enough, Rhea brings up the whole bandit question after the mission, only to never have it resolve. Go figure. Still, let's try and make something out of it.

Also, no immediate exposition dump for Dimitri. He gets buildup. Like his character arc. It's like poetry, it rhymes.

And yeah, apparently Kostas can count his group in the hundreds. In chapter 2, he and a bunch of his minions have battalions, 75 men strong.

3 more weeks of not committing to anything before DLC drops. Given what we know so far, I don't think I'll have to go back and rewrite anything. Here's to hoping.

As always, reviews are appreciated.