"Lysithea," Tomas addressed the Witch's Apprentice who was busy making use of the library that the Monastery had. "I have to oversee some new books that are arriving to the Monastery. Can I expect you to keep an eye on things while I'm gone?"

Lysithea nodded. "Yes Tomas."

"Thank you. You're always such a reliable helper," he bowed his head.

"I aim to please," Lysithea practically preened at his praise before he left. Now alone, she was fully content to read her books in peace.

Apart from her own room, the Monastery's library was probably the only other place that Lysithea felt relatively comfortable. Unfortunately, it wasn't nearly as private, especially since that day at the training grounds.

Granted there was no way she was not going to show off some of her magic, she had some pride as a Magician after all, but being assailed with people trying to court her on a constant basis made her start reconsidering things. There was certainly no shortage of those that offered her their "affections."

It wasn't like she was the only one experiencing this. Plenty of the other nobles in the Academy had suitors, especially those with Crests, while Edelgard, Dimitri, and even Claude all had a long list of admirers. However in their cases, they all had positions in some of the highest if not the highest position of power in their respective nations. There was little that other nobles could really offer them in terms of courting them or an arranged marriage. The ones that did end up trying to court them were usually very dumb, insanely ambitious, or just plain love struck.

Sometimes all three.

In Lysithea's case, House Ordelia had essentially been tossed to the wayside by the Alliance and left to be exploited by the Empire until they too tossed them aside. Then after the experiments, the horrible things they did to her family, and the death of nearly all her siblings, Ordelia was a shell of its former self in terms of wealth and political standing. What her family did have though was land and territory of a major leading family of the Alliance, both things that any other noble house would happily scoop up if they could.

It wouldn't be difficult to learn of Ordelia's declining influence if they didn't know already and they would certainly be aware of the fact that she was the sole heir to that entire territory. And as a woman her would-be groom would be poised to inherit all of that in turn. It was really different from Gensokyo where, outside of the human village, the vast majority of influential people there were female or had become female… somehow.

Seriously, that whole Miko situation confused her.

Anyway, she was in Fodlan and she would have obstacles due to her gender alone. Not that it was impossible to break from the norm, Rhea and Catherine were proof of that, but there was just this engrained expectation in noble and even commoner society about the role women had. In her case she was the golden egg that any minor family or growing house would jump on, if only for the influence and land that her would-be husband would ultimately receive from her household upon their union.

If that wasn't enough she had heard some mutterings about how even the more notable and influential families of the Alliance were considering her despite a lack of a known Crest. Simply put, she was the prodigy – ugh, she hated that word - of the Academy that had knowledge of foreign magic that any magic user would be interested in.

If anyone did happen to learn about her two Crests… well it was just frightening to imagine.

Knowing this, there were times when she was tempted to just set something on fire. But this wasn't Gensokyo, she couldn't just blast all her problems away with a spell. There were certain courtesies that she had to give each and every suitor.

The letters were easy enough. Whether they were invitations for tea or other such inane things like that, she could open it and pretend to read it before giving them a polite decline. Some would try again, and the process would repeat.

And speak of the Devil, another Messenger walked in the library with a letter in hand looking for her. Thankfully at this point she didn't even have to touch the damn thing. As soon as the Messenger left, she floated the letter in the air, cut it open with a floating pen knife, crumpled the paper within slightly with a bit of wind to make it look like it had been read, and then stuffed it back in with one of the many copies of her polite declines that she carried around with her.

All of that had been done with a few twirls of her finger and left her free to read in peace.

It wasn't very hard to find her admittedly. People quickly realized that she would be at any place with a significant number of books, mainly her own room and the Monastery library. She had even sat down on the floor and made her own little fort of books. It was something Tomas allowed her to do because she always made sure to treat them with care and organize each and every one after she was done. Honestly, she did that task better than the people assigned to help him, so he had basically given her free reign of the place at this point.

Sadly, she did not have the power to stop people from coming in. If she did, she would've definitely blocked off that stuffy little noble that had stepped inside and looked at her with greedy interest.

She briefly considered building her fort even further surrounding herself with a makeshift igloo made of books. She actually had fun with igloos during the winters at the Misty Lake. They were warm, cozy, and a perfect place to read outside during a calm winter's day.

"Hello Miss Ordelia. My name is-"

Lysithea simply ignored him as he droned on and focused on her books. She also considered the spells she would use in the very hypothetical situation in which she would expel this rat from her library. Permanently.

What were the statutes of limitations for murder in Fodlan again?

Lysithea waved a finger, levitated a book on Fodlan law out of one of the bookshelves, and then added that to the pile of books she would have to read.

"See! Your magic is incredible. If we could join our houses-"

Lysithea set down the book she was currently reading and looked at the man. "Tell me what sort of research on magic your house is currently conducting."

"We have plenty of notable mages in our employment-"

"And what are they doing? What fields are they researching then? Can you give me notes, field reports, what is their progress like?"

"Well…"

Lysithea let her floating pen knife drop in her hand before she pointed it at him. "I expect any suitor of mine to be able to provide those things at the very least along with having an extensive amount of knowledge in any field of magic."

"But my family's fortune. We could use that to-"

"House Ordelia will be in perfectly fine shape under my leadership. Unless you don't believe that I'm up to the task, then in that case why would you ever approach someone who wasn't that capable in the first place?"

Soon enough she was able to chase him off. She had been exceptionally rude by noble standards, however word of this wouldn't get around unless he was more than willing to embarrass himself too.

With a smug smile on her face, Lysithea grabbed her teapot and filled herself another cup of tea.

Sweet Apple Tea. Perfect for a day of reading.

As she drank another female student stepped in the library. The student glanced at Lysithea for a brief moment before walking to a faraway corner and then rotating to walk along the shelves. Eventually she stopped in front of a shelf.

That was strange, why didn't she just walk directly there? There was a straight path between the tables, meters away from where Lysithea had set up.

The student reached her hand forward, only to find that the book she was looking for was missing.

"Is there a book you need?" Lysithea asked. She already knew what it was as it was already in her fort, The Medicinal and Spiritual Properties of Flowers Native to Fodlan, but she just needed a confirmation from the student before she handed it to her.

The student practically jumped in place and slowly turned toward Lysithea. "N-No thank you Miss Library."

"Miss Library?"

The student let out a squeak. "Sorry. I don't actually need it; you can have it. Have a nice day," she quickly said before she left the room.

Lysithea watched the student disappear and shook her head. "Weird."

She poured herself another cup of tea. Or at least tried to. Turns out the teapot was empty. Pathetically so. And any water she conjured, if she could conjure it, would end up tasting absolutely horrible.

Well time to go to the Mess Hall. Tomas had told her to keep an eye on things, but she didn't actually have to be there to do so. She just had to leave a particularly threatening note and get back before he did.

Lysithea plopped a note against the fort of books sternly informing anyone that walked in that they had to treat the library with care. If they didn't then she would know, and she would personally hunt them down herself.

Once that was done, she left the library with her teapot in her hand.


After rejecting several advances from would be suitors, Lysithea finally reached the end of the line at the Mess Hall and received her food.

Her teapot had been filled with Sweet Apple tea and she had a serving of Peach Sorbet with a slice of cake on the side for lunch.

It wasn't perfect, like the food made by Sakuya, but it was enough for her. Besides, any sweet was a gift from the Goddess and a true heavenly delight on a plate. She grabbed her tray and prepared to bring it back to the library when she found that blue haired boy from the Blue Lions and that tanned girl from the Black Eagles blocking the nearest exit.

"Are you free today?"

"Do I have freedom of this day? No I do not believe I am much freedom Felix."

"I mean do you have the time to spar with me?" the boy named Felix replied.

"A spar? I am much delighted, but I have busyness to go to. Maybe tomorrow."

"Understood. I look forward to it."

"You too. I look much forward to our fight," the tanned girl replied before leaving the Mess Hall.

Lysithea was prepared to take that same exit herself when Felix noticed her.

"You're Lysithea, correct?"

Lysithea nodded. "Yes I am." Was this another boy asking her out?

"Spar with me."

Suddenly Lysithea would've preferred it if he had just asked her out. "What?"

"Spar with me," he repeated.

"No," Lysithea was quick to reply.

"Why not? Are you busy?"

"Somewhat." She had plans to just relax in the library and maybe play some Pokemon in her room later tonight. Prinplup was close to evolving and she was curious as to how its evolved form would look. "I'm not a swordsman, just kind of fast on my feet."

"You are fast," Felix confirmed. "And it's because you're not a swordsman that you'll try to attack me in unconventional ways. That trick you pulled off against Catherine was a good ploy, a lesser opponent might've fallen to it."

"Well, thank you I guess," Lysithea appreciated the praise. "It was something I had to think up in the moment."

"So?"

"It's just that she has the right of it. I'm not going to last very long once you swing at me."

"I can hold back. The important thing is that I practice defending myself against an unpredictable opponent. You can think of any trick you want, and I'll try to find a way to defend myself against it. I get to develop my skills and you get a free target to try new techniques on."

A mutually beneficial agreement. She wasn't too crazy about swinging around a sword, but the rest of it didn't actually sound that bad.

"I'll need to think about it. But I am quite busy today," Lysithea replied.

"I'll be waiting then," Felix replied. "I'll have to find someone else to spar with."

"There's a girl in my class Leonie," Lysithea suggested. "She's always looking for someone to train with… though in her case I think she'll come to you eventually."

"Hmm. I'll keep that in mind. Thanks," Felix replied before walking away.

Lysithea looked down at her sorbet now that she was free to leave. Sadly, a good chunk of it had melted at that point. "Well it's still going to taste pretty good," she conceded.

As she made her way through the main hall though she noticed a commotion close to the entrance. It had seemed that Claude and the House Leaders had returned from their little excursion with the addition of what looked like to be an entire mercenary company.

She briefly debated whether to satisfy her growing curiosity and ask around or just head back to the library before turning around and choosing the latter. Knowing Claude, he would be telling the entire class what had happened soon enough.


Turns out Claude had almost died while on that trip with the other house leaders. Unfortunately, he didn't.

Okay, maybe Lysithea didn't actually want him to die, and she was genuinely worried for all the students involved, but she was just hoping a near death experience or two might teach him a lesson. Maybe make him a bit less aggravating to be around.

All hopes of that were quickly dashed away when Claude returned to the classroom with the same attitude as before.

Also that smile. That damn smile. It meant nothing but trouble.

"I heard you got into some trouble out there Claude," Hilda said to him, worriedly. "Take care of yourself if something happens to you I'll have to take over and that'll be sooo much work… Why exactly did you leave me in charge when you're away anyway?"

"Glad to know you were so worried," Claude replied smoothly. "Makes me feel loved."

"What did happen there?" Leonie asked.

"Well if you must know…"

Claude's story was interesting. There were the bandits that had come to kill them, their supposed Professor that had run away, and the sudden arrival of the Blade Breaker and his mercenary company.

That last part especially caught Leonie's interest and excitement. She looked ready to run out and find him at that moment. "Captain Jeralt is here!?"

"Yep. Rest of his company too. And his kid. They're going to speak with Rhea right now so I'd probably hold my horses there if I were you."

"I wonder what they're talking about…" Ignatz commented.

"Something interesting I imagine," Claude replied.

"Jeralt told me had a son. I never actually met him though," Leonie admitted. "What's he like?"

Somehow Claude's smile had grown even wider. "One of the most interesting people I ever met."

"That's a lot, coming from you," Lysithea finally added her own input into the conversation.

"I know. There's just something about him." Claude's face took on a thoughtful expression. "All business, stone like face, and hardly seems to know anything about Fodlan, yet he has this presence that just draws you toward him. Not just me, he even got His Majesty and Her Imperial Princess talking with him."

"Edelgard and Dimitri?" Lysithea put a hand to her chin. Interesting. Whoever this man was, was certainly something to have caught the attention of all three house leaders. She'd have to meet him herself.

"Excellent in a fight and a good leader," Claude continued. "First time meeting yet he got three of us to work together to rout the bandits. Saved her Highness at one point and took down the Bandit Leader with the smoothest moves I've seen. It was like he knew what the guy was going to do before it happened."

Combat prowess and tactical skill on top of that? The former was nice to have but wasn't as important to Lysithea, considering Gensokyo had no shortage of insanely powerful people, but the latter was especially appealing. The son of a Leader of Mercenary Company, especially one as storied as the Blade Breakers, would have plenty of experience and knowledge to draw from in that regard. Things that she could never quite get from her Sensei or the people she knew in Gensokyo.

"Sounds like a real interesting guy," Raphael commented. "You think he's going to stop by and visit us?"

"I hope so," Claude replied. "Just gotta hope that talks with the Archbishop go well for him and he sticks around. It would make this year even more interesting if he did."


"I'm surprised Claude is fine after what had just happened. I don't know how I'd handle being in his situation," Ignatz said to Lysithea as the two spoke just outside the Golden Deer classroom during a break.

"Hmm… yea," Lysithea replied absently.

"Lysithea? Is something the matter?"

"Oh nothing, Ignatz just wondering about that mercenary Claude keeps talking about."

"He does seem like an interesting man, I wonder if we'll meet him?"

"Hopefully," Lysithea glanced down, and her eyes widened slightly as she looked at Ignatz's feet. "Your shoelace is untied."

"Oh really?" Ignatz looked down and was ready to bend over when Lysithea stopped him.

"Hold still."

"Huh?"

Lysithea snapped her fingers. Suddenly a gust of wind surrounded the laces and tied them neatly together.

"Woah." Ignatz looked at his own feet with surprise. "I didn't think you could use magic for something like that."

"Developing magic for domestic use isn't something most mages in Fodlan take the time to learn," Lysithea replied as she used another gust to smooth out her own clothes. Her ribbon though she always made sure to adjust by hand. "And I thought it was a waste of time at first when my Sensei forced me to learn it, but it turns out it was an excellent way to develop my fine control. It also did save me more time in the long run to be able to fix my appearance in the morning with just a few spells."

"No wonder you look so perfectly put together every day," Ignatz commented as he began shifting on his own two feet.

"Is something wrong?"

"No…"

"Come on," Lysithea grew annoyed. She hated it when people tried to give her the second degree. "Speak up then."

"They're just kind of tight," Ignatz admitted.

"Oh," Lysithea looked down at his feet again. "How tight?"

"It kind of hurts. No offense to you bu- Lysithea?"

"Must've unconsciously cast it with the assumption that his feet were the same size as mine," Lysithea began muttering to herself. "Of course his feet would be bigger, I should've adjusted for it. Stupid. Make a mistake like that during an experiment, just because of hubris and I'll end up like Marisa when she was messing with those fireworks." She shook her head. "Why would she even put flammable materials, next to an open window in the middle of the day, while working on a Magically charged rocket?"

"It's perfectly fine Lysithea."

"No, it's not Ignatz." Lysithea shook her head. "How could I call myself my Sensei's apprentice if I make a stupid mistake like that? Stupid. Stupid."

"I'm sure she would understand."

"What do you know about her!?" Lysithea was now irritated.

"Um… nothing I guess."

"Exactly, don't assume you know anything about her," Lysithea grumbled.

"Um…" Ignatz glanced around and realized that he only had himself to resolve this situation. "I didn't mean to insult your… Sensei. You really admire her don't you? What is she like?"

Lysithea never missed a chance to praise her Sensei when it was given. "She's studious to an incredible degree all in the pursuit of knowledge. Likewise, her mastery in Magic, especially the principles of Wu Xing, is incredible. She has mastered the use of those seven elements and actively combines them to create a wide arsenal of spells. I've seen her cast hundreds of different spells as her Apprentice and from the countless books she herself has written I can only assume her arsenal could reach the thousands if not tens of thousands."

"Wow… that's incredible," Ignatz said with some awe, and perhaps a bit of disbelief. "I thought there were only five elements?"

"That's according to the Fodlan system of Magic. The Wu Xing is both a Magical system and a philosophy that refers to the Five Phases, with the addition of the Sun and Moon elements. Seven elements, each for the day of the week. Today is Friday, so Metal is especially strong today."

"Metal?" Ignatz looked confused. "I don't know much about magic, but I don't think I've ever seen a spell like that be used."

Lysithea grabbed a metal goblet, summoned her magic, and manipulated its shape in front of him. "The five elements of Fodlan lightning include lightning and wind. The Wu Xing on the other hand focuses on the elements of the earth rather than the heavens. It forsakes both wind and lightning in exchange for wood and metal. Funnily there are also other systems of magic that choose to split water and ice into their own elements rather than combine the two."

"This sounds interesting," Ignatz replied before scratching his head. "But it might be a bit outside my skill set, I'm not really much of a Mage myself. Still though, manipulating wood and metal." He suddenly took on a thoughtful expression. "If I could manipulate some of those elements while I'm painting."

"Your inexperience with magic might be to your advantage if you ever want to learn," Lysithea replied. "The Wu Xing is a completely different system of magic from the one commonly used in Fodlan. You having a fresh start and not having any previous misconceptions or habits could work out for you."

"Aren't you learning Fodlan style of magic too?" Ignatz asked. "I noticed the extra classes you took."

"Yes. I did have to learn Fodlan magic from scratch and I rarely use it since my skills in the Wu Xing are superior," Lysithea replied. "However, my Sensei encouraged me to branch out with other systems of magic in order to develop my skills, with care of course. Combining different systems can easily end up in disaster without proper care."

"Is that your goal?" Ignatz asked with wide eyes. "To combine two different systems of magic?"

"Not a complete combination, that's nearly impossible and rarely done, but incorporating both systems into a new field of spells… yes. That is one of my goals. Fodlan magic, though rather primitive in how it chooses to gather the necessary magic and its casting, has a certain… accessibility, practicality, and efficiency in its simplicity. You might only learn fewer spells in comparison to other schools of magic, but you will likely make good use of each of those often on the battlefield, rather than having a hundred that will only ever be useful for very specific situations. It certainly does not lack in power, though its number of domestic uses are pathetically low."

By those traits, it would make Fodlan magic especially suitable for Danmuku if adjusted accordingly. Which would work very well for Lysithea if she wanted to start getting an edge over Marisa in their duels.

"I'm sorry for interrupting, but I couldn't help but eavesdrop a little." An orange haired girl with pigtails suddenly ran up to the two of them. "I'm Annette, I saw you use your magic at the training grounds the other day and I just had to talk with you. Then I saw you when you used that wind spell on Ignatz and sorta just had to listen in."

"That's reasonable, especially as a fellow magic-user," Lysithea replied. This was hardly a private conversation after all.

"I'll leave you two to your conversation then. Have a pleasant day." Ignatz prepared to leave only to be stopped by Lysithea.

"Why do you need to go? Even if you're not a mage, acquiring more knowledge on the subject can't be anything but beneficial to you."

"I just think-"

"Stick around," Lysithea outright demanded.

"Lysithea, maybe it's not a good idea to force him to stay," Annette suggested. "He might not even understand what we're saying once we get into it. N-not that I'm saying you're dumb anything, I mean."

"It's fine. I understand and agree with what you're saying. This really isn't a suitable topic for me," Ignatz replied.

"Hmph," Lysithea huffed but ultimately conceded. "I'll let you borrow my book on the principles of Wu Xing when I have the chance Ignatz." Sensei had never disallowed her to teach other people the basics of the Wu Xing, just that it was up to Lysithea's own discretion and that she would have to take responsibility for whoever she taught.

"That's alright, I'll be heading out now," Ignatz quickly denied and bowed his head before heading off in a hurry. "Enjoy your conversation."

"So about that spell?" Annette continued her inquiry. "Isn't that wind? It doesn't seem like part of the Earth or Wu Xing. At least that's what I got from listening in."

"It isn't. That's a case of me using Fodlan magic."

"I've never seen it used like that though. Have you already started combining magical systems?"

"Not really. I'd be stupid to try that now. It's more of a case of the fine control that I practiced and gained during my studies and training happening to carry over. Which is an example why a magician might want to branch out to other fields even if they might never combine or utilize the other system."

"I get what you're saying but won't trying to learn both take twice as long or make you work twice as hard?" Annette asked. "And lead to confusion. Just focusing on one field can be hard to get around."

"Then I'll have to work twice as hard and just as carefully," Lysithea replied casually. "I can't afford to slow down. I have to make as much progress as I can."

"Wow... you're really talented," Annette replied. "I mean I was an honor student at the Royal School of Sorcery and I'm nowhere near the same skill as you."

Lysithea's mood immediately soured. "Talented?"

"Well yea. Anyone can tell you're just so much better than anyone else that can use magic. Even the teachers are talking about you. I'm going to have to try real hard to become as good a mage as you are."

"Are you implying that I don't work hard too? That my skills are inherent? That my Sensei didn't put in the effort that she did to get me to where I am right now?"

"No. I wasn't saying that at all! It's clear you work hard. I just meant that if I want to be as good as you, I'll have to work really, incredibly hard!"

"Hm. I'll need to see how good you are with your current magic first before I can even think of introducing another system to you. You also have to promise to never mix the two together, at least for the foreseeable future."

"That seems fair enough," Annette nodded. "I'm free tomorrow if you want to give it a shot."

"That's good. I can lend you a book right now that will-"

"Excuse me."

"One moment, we're talking here," Lysithea waved off the man who so rudely interrupted her. "Anyway, as I was saying-"

"Uh, Lysithea," Annette tilted her head forward. "Maybe you should turn around?"

Lysithea huffed, annoyed, before doing as she was told. "Fine. Who do I have to talk to that so rudely inter-…. Oh…"

It was her first time meeting the man, but there was no mistaking it. Blue hair, stone face, yet a commanding presence. The man that had saved all three House Leaders and son of the Legendary Blade Breaker was standing right in front of her.

"I'm Byleth," he said in a monotone voice that was emotionless yet somehow smooth on the ears.

"I'm Lysithea Von Ordelia," Lysithea curtsied like a lady as Remy and Koa had taught her. "You can ignore the Von. I don't need such formalities."

Byleth nodded. "Noted."

"I'm Annette Fantine Dominic," Annette replied before attempting to imitate the same move that Lysithea had done to limited success. "It's nice to meet you sir. Dimitri has told us all about you."

"Just Byleth." He looked at the two of them. "Are you two part of the same house?"

"Nah. I'm with the Blue Lions. Lysithea is with the Golden Deer. We just got together to talk."

"You were talking about magic?"

"Yes, we were," Annette replied. "Lysithea was just helping me out."

"I heard that your magic is different," Byleth said to Lysithea.

Apparently, word got around the Monastery quickly. "I do. My Sensei, that's a respectful way of calling a teacher where she's from, wasn't from Fodlan."

"So Foreign magic. Could you show me later?"

"Um… Sure?" Lysithea replied, uncertainly.

"Thank you," Byleth replied before just… walking away and talking to the next set of students that stood nearby. Poor Marianne looked absolutely frightened at having a stranger approach her.

Lysithea shook her head, trying to process the experience. He was hardly a terrible conversationalist. Yes he used few words but that just meant he got to the point without dragging things along. It was just that…

"That was-"

"Something right?" Annette finished for her.

"Yea," Lysithea admitted.

"Wonder if he's sticking around. Has to be the reason why he's introducing himself to everyone."

"Probably. One's thing for certain though."

"What?"

"Claude was right that this was going to be an interesting year."


Author's Notes

Lysithea is a bit more talkative which is a result of being taught and raised by Patchouli. When it comes to magic, they'll both end up in lecture mode very quickly. There are also other differences in Lysithea's personality due to Patchouli's and other Touhou characters' influence that you might've noticed previously.

Also, her supports with Ignatz in the game were a bit… wow. They did show her with her character flaws on display, so I'm going to use them to do that… just with a few changes.