"So you really are going to be our Professor?" Lysithea asked as she stared at the man who had apparently chosen to teach them that year. She wasn't the only one, everyone in the class was surprised by this.

Apart from Claude. Because of course he knew.

Ignatz raised a hand. "Why us? If you don't mind me asking."

"You're interesting," was the Professor's curt response.

"Interesting?"

"Diverse backgrounds and skill sets. Father also told me to watch Leonie and I'm interested in Lysithea's foreign techniques," the Professor was apparently not ashamed to tell them.

"… I can handle myself," Leonie muttered.

"I'm sure you can."

"But Professor, I haven't even had a chance to show you any spells yet," Lysithea replied.

Byleth took a book out of his coat, opened the front, and suddenly began to dig his hands through the leather cover. After a bit of rummaging, he pulled out a slip of paper that had been inserted into it. It was something that could easily be confused for a bookmark if not for several runes drawn on it. "These were in many of the books in the library with other symbols drawn onto the bottom of the bookshelves."

The entire class turned their heads toward Lysithea who had the decency to look embarrassed.

"People say they've seen you levitate books with flicks of your finger. Putting away entire shelves by waving your arm," Byleth inserted the bookmark between the pages and then tossed the book toward Lysithea.

Lysithea held out her hand and had the book hover in the air before gently landing it onto her desk. "It is. My Sensei owned an incredibly large library. Much larger than the one we have here. It became a necessity to learn ways to organize and acquire the needed books as her student." Honestly there really was no way to describe how large Sensei's library was, not in a way that they would believe at the very least. "I'm surprised you noticed and figured it out first."

"I'm surprised you wanted to hide it," Claude commented. "Didn't like showing off your magic back in the training grounds?"

"I didn't hide it. Anyone could've figured it out if they took the time and effort to investigate," Lysithea replied. She might not have explained it to people, but it wasn't like she was going through much effort to hide some of her tricks either. Anyone could've figured it out if they looked closely enough. The fact that the Professor did, and he had just arrived at the Monastery a day ago, was what surprised her. "Besides, a Magician should always keep a few cards close to their chest."

"A good policy. Especially for the Mock Battle this month," Byleth replied.

The Mock Battle. She was going to be facing other students her age and not a bunch of Youkai, Gods, or such other things, but it would still be a good test of her skills outside of Spell Card rules. At least if she was picked, which the Professor seemed to be suggesting.

"So, what's the lineup look like Teach?" Claude asked. "Can only bring four of us along with yourself, but as House Leader I don't think I can be sitting this one out since Her and His Highnesses are joining."

"Leonie, Marianne, and Lysithea," the Professor quickly replied.

"Professor." Lorenz raised his hand. "Do you not think I should participate? A noble like I shouldn't be simply sitting aside when an opportunity like this presents itself."

"Marianne is the only notable healer we have, we need her," Byleth replied plainly. "You have some skill in lance work and magic, but Lysithea will have already covered us on the latter. Leonie likewise is skilled with lances, along with having a large variety of skills involving archery, tracking, and trapping. It isn't a matter of skill, simply composition. If I had a spot for one more, I'd pick you."

That seemed to placate Lorenz somewhat. "Well, a noble must also consider the prospects he must take. I'm sure an even better oppurtunity to display my skills will present itself soon enough."

"Professor, Lorenz can take my place if he wants," Marianne suggested. "I don't think I'd be much help to anyone."

"Lysithea will be our sole offensive magic user, even if she could heal…" Byleth turned to Lysithea.

Lysithea shook her head. "I can brute force something akin to a basic Heal maybe, but most of my spells associated with Yin are highly offensive rather than supportive."

"Yin?"

"It would be close to Faith and Holy magic, though not a direct comparison since there are some restorative spells that utilize Yang, but I'm not good with those either."

"Yang would be closer Black magic and Dark Magic?"

"Yes."

Byleth nodded. "She can't heal well. We need someone who can heal, and the other Professors say that you have a talent for it."

Marianne remained silent and sullen as she looked down at her desk.

"I won't force you and you don't have to say anything. If you do want to join us, then just simply show up when the day comes," the Professor replied before going to the blackboard and lifting up a piece of chalk. "Now for our first lesson."


Direct and straightforward with very clear rules and expectations set up for lectures, that was the impression that Lysithea had gotten after their day of lessons with their new Professor. Similar to her own Sensei, but also different in that he tended to explain things in as few words as possible. Whereas Sensei would go into long lectures over a single subject and not pause a single moment, the Professor would condense topics down into several bullet points and then go over them multiple times until the entire class seemed to get it.

Simply put he was a bit more considerate than Sensei despite his face of stone, though that might be due to the fact that he was lecturing an entire group rather than just focusing on one pupil.

Lysithea tried to fathom the change in the man as he lectured. Yes, he still spoke in a monotone voice and face was still like stone, but the way he was talking now was so drastically different from the brief if succinct responses she got from him previously.

His lectures on battlefield tactics and squadrons were especially illuminating and Lysithea was still taking notes even as classes ended for the day and the Professor had left. There really was no substitute for real leadership experience and the Professor was a cornucopia of it. His presence was starting to make coming to the Monastery worth it.

"Woah Lysithea." Hilda approached Lysithea's desk. "I know you like taking notes and all, but do you really have to record everything he says?"

"Yes," Lysithea replied as she wrote down the supplementary material she would read through. None of it had been required, or even suggested by the Professor, but some would expand upon all the topics that they had gone through today. Others would be even easier for her to read now that she had been equipped with the knowledge that her Professor had imparted on her.

"He's pretty easy to understand," Raphael commented. "Usually, I have no idea what the other teachers are trying to teach us."

"They say that a real genius can make a difficult topic understandable for regular people," Claude said.

Calling the Professor a genius might be overdoing it and an insult considering the work he would have done to thrive as a mercenary. He seemed like a man with plenty of experience who put plenty of effort to where he was now. It was hard to say how well he'd do with his new position as they've only been lectured by him for a day… but Lysithea did have fairly high hopes for the man now.

"We shouldn't rely on him completely though. At the very least we should read some supplementary material after this," Lysithea replied. "And possibly see if any additional lectures can be held."

Claude looked at Lysithea."So is Miss Library going to let us borrow books now?"

"Miss Library… you know someone called me that the other day. You wouldn't know anything about it?" Lysithea asked.

"Well, it's because you practically own the place," the House Leader informed her.

"What?"

"Everyone in the school knows you own the library."

"First of all, I don't own it. I wish I did, but I don't," Lysithea replied, offended. "And it's not like I'm stopping others from using the room, people rarely show up. And the ones that do always just give up looking even though I have the book in one of my piles. All they had to do was ask and I'd have given it to them."

"Maybe it's because they're a bit intimidated by you Lysithea," Hilda suggested.

"Really?" Lysithea asked, confused.

"Yea you kind of are intimidating." Leonie sheepishly scratched the back of her head. "I wanted to borrow something on Lance techniques but when I saw you there with that fort of yours… It kind of felt like you owned the place. And you looked so busy, so I really didn't want to bother you."

"So wait, you didn't stop by to say hi to me the other day?"

"Nope."

"I'm… Miss Library," Lysithea said to herself.

Miss Library. Miss Knowledge. Even Lysithea could see the comparison. She wasn't sure how to feel about it though.

"Could you tell the other students it's fine to come into the library? It's not like I'm going chase them out and shoot…" Lysithea looked at Claude. "Fireballs… at them."

Okay, now she was starting to realize why the other students were afraid of her.

"Hey, I'm over it," Claude replied casually. "But… yea the others that saw that and told their friends might be a little bit skittish around."

"By the Goddess," Lysithea whispered to herself.

Hilda patted her on the shoulder. "It's fine. You have a lot of friends here. Don't beat yourself up over this."

"Marisa was right. I'm becoming my Sensei."

"… What?"


Patchouli let out a sneeze. She had barely just sniffed her nose when a doll was there with a handkerchief ready.

"Are you well?" Alice asked.

"I'm fine," Patchouli replied as she wiped her nose. "… Just feeling proud for some reason. What's the date?"

"April 12th"

Really? It hadn't even been a month yet? It felt… longer than that. Then again having a student did make time seem to go by all that much faster.

"Missing your student? Another person?" Remy asked from where she laid on a nearby couch. "I never thought I'd see the day."

"Don't act like you don't miss having someone to play with," Patchouli replied.

Remy huffed. "Flandre keeps spamming Earthquake. It's annoying."

"She's creating Earthquakes? I didn't feel anything in the Mansion recently."

"No! In Poke- ah you wouldn't understand." Remy sighed. "At least Lysithea's fun to play against and doesn't just spam Protect or Detect."

"She was as obsessed with that game as you were," Patchouli replied.

"Remember when I got her that Gameboy SP for a birthday present?"

Patchouli smiled. "She couldn't stop jumping around and wanting to show it to me. I had to beat her in a little Danmaku to get her to calm down."

"Remember the first time she beat you?"

"I was holding back. And she knew, but… she had the biggest smile on her face."

"Good times"

"... Yea."

"… Ah I do miss her," Remy finally admitted to herself before standing up and making her way out of the library. "Don't tell anyone. I'm going to get something to eat."

"I won't," Patchouli replied as Remilia left. Alice might though.

"So how has your student been, from what you've seen so far?" Alice asked.

"She's created her own space in her Academy's library, at least from what I can see." Unfortunately, there was a lack of audio and the images from the crystal ball were staticky, a result of trying to view events from another world. Patchouli had tried her best to stabilize and speed up the connection but there was little she could do short of heading to Fodlan herself.

"Like Teacher like student. She's taken after you and Marisa I believe."

"I want to disagree on principle that my student is anything like that rat… but you're right. When those two get together… well I'm actually glad they're going to be split for the time being."

"And yet now you're complaining that time is moving too slowly. You enjoy their antics, don't deny it."

"Hmph," Patchouli decided to change the subject. "By the way, how old were you when you became a Witch?"

Alice's eyes had widened for a brief moment before she sipped on her tea and regained her composure. "We've known each other for years. Why are you asking now?"

"I'm well aware that the rat met you first. Back when you were still human. I then assumed that she had picked a fight with you as an adult, but then I learned that you're actually younger than her despite appearances."

"I'm assuming that Marisa told you?"

"Not on purpose. I overheard her making a comment to Hakurei of how you were actually the youngest among the magicians in Gensokyo now that Lysithea had left."

"… I am younger than Marisa," Alice admitted. "But that doesn't change the fact that I am the mature one in this group."

"Arguably, yes. You are genuinely mature for your age, unlike my student who puts on a terrible act and the rat who doesn't even try to be responsible. But knowing that I can't help but wonder how young you were when you became a Witch." Patchouli put down her teacup. "Marisa met you as a child while you were a human. You became a Witch sometimes after that and before you took residence in the Forest of Magic."

"It's a long story."

"And the short of it?"

"The Book of Alice imprints itself on a child, though the child remains human at first while inheriting the name of Alice," Alice admitted as she kept a tight grip on the grimoire she always carried on her. "Once the transformation is completed and the child becomes a shared being with a book, then yes they would classify as a Witch. And continue to be one until their death and the book then imprints on a new Master."

And since Witch's couldn't die of old age said death probably involved murder… or suicide.

"How old were you?" Patchouli asked.

"Nine. I did mature mentally after I became part of the book, so it was a matter of aging my body up and adjusting my appearance to my newly developed mental age."

"So, you're still a child then?"

"And you're a mature adult woman and not a teenager who isn't that much larger than her own pupil."

"To be fair, I'm not actually that much bigger as an adult," Patchouli admitted. Malnutrition, her lifestyle, and all the other health issues with her body had stunted her growth to a significant degree.

The only reason why some Witches looked like old crones was that they chose to look like that for aesthetic choice or it was due to a particularly nasty curse that may or may not have been self-inflicted. In reality most born Witches stopped aging once they reached full maturity and simply adjusted their appearance as they saw fit. It was only humans that became Magicians that could risk having their true form being stuck as a child if they did the transformation too early, though that was a theoretical situation at most considering how difficult it was for a human to become a Witch in the place.

In the end though, a Witch's true form didn't really matter much. It would never really show outside of the body being nearly barren of Magic, which at that point you had other things to worry about. Mainly not dying from your body shutting down due to lack of magic or getting killed by the person that forced you into that position in the first place.

"Are you jealous of me?" Alice asked.

"By the sound of it, it seems like you were forced to become a Witch," Patchouli observed.

"To an extent. Getting spirited away to Makai as a child and being bonded with a book was forced on me, but I was also too young to think of it much at that time. I honestly don't remember much of the place I was born outside of a few vague memories. Completing the transformation and turning into a Witch though? That was my choice."

"With knowledge and skills that had been implanted into you by what's essentially a living grimoire." Patchouli sighed. "I was born as a Witch, which wasn't my choice either, but I accept it. It has given me a significant advantage over my own student."

"In the end you approve of me because of my own passion for my own spell craft," Alice replied. "For you, effort and the journey toward knowledge is the greatest thing a person could pursue."

"I don't envy or hate those who have a natural talent or gift. It was never their choice to be born with one after all. But coasting on that talent alone and idling your time away is what would infuriate me," Patchouli admitted. "The magician gives form to magic, and the magician is formed by magic. Those who wish to call themselves that, to be a proper Witch. It's one thing to flee a realm where magic no longer has a place, but to sequester yourself away to the point that you could no longer pursue knowledge itself." Patchouli clenched her fist. "That is an atrocity."

"… I forget at times that you're actually proactive compared to other Witches."

"You and Marisa simply haven't been around most other Witches," Patchouli sighed. "And it's honestly for the better. Age has only seemed to exacerbate their flaws that they refuse to correct."

"What about Marisa then? She works hard too. Incredibly so. And she is both young and not innately talented. Why does she annoy you so much?"

"Personal reasons," Patchouli admitted. "Even if I wasn't in the best condition at the time as I was still recovering from using a good portion of my magic helping Remy blot out the sun, I should've been able to easily defeat a child playing Magician."

"Then there's the thievery of our belongings and even our own spells, I'm well aware," Alice sighed. "Lysithea might ask for permission before she borrows something, but she isn't that different either. How many of your spells has she used and how much of her time is spent picking fights too? She's very impatient and short-tempered, that girl."

For very good reasons that Patchouli could not disclose for Lysithea's own privacy. "I'd ask her yourself if you're curious about her," the older Witch replied.

"What about you then?" Alice suddenly asked. "Considering we talked about my past, perhaps we should speak of yours."

"There really isn't much to say," Patchouli replied. "I was born a Witch in the Outside World a century ago when magic and fantasy was still there but on its very last legs."

"Which country?"

"London. I was an adult and considering leaving for another realm when I ran into Remy."

"Is that when you became friends?"

"No, we ended up fighting to the death immediately, twice in fact. First time I chased her off, but then she got me the second time while my anemia and asthma were acting up." Patchouli pulled down the collar of her dress and revealed a pair of fang marks on her collarbone. It was the one set of the scars that she simply didn't will away with her magic, mostly because it was the first time she was able to properly talk with her friend. "Thankfully Remy's a light eater and we got to talking while she drank. We decided to become roommates, then traveling companions as we wandered a bit. Eventually we decided to move to Gensokyo together."

"When did the rest of the inhabitants of the SDM come into the picture?"

"Flandre was always with Remy… though somewhat more unhinged and immature back then. As for Sakuya and Meiling, that's their story to tell you."

"And Koa?"

"Demon summoning is an unpredictable art, and she technically did fulfill all the requirements I needed for a library assistant despite being a succubus."

"I'm well aware of how eccentric certain demons can be," Alice, who was apparently from Makai, the realm where all demons were created and most lived, replied. "What was going through her head when she made some of those demons in the first place?"

"The Goddess and Creator of Makai? Who knows? You'd have to ask her yourself if you could actually survive the meeting."

"Yes I would…"


"I think we need to break up Marisa."

"Yea I figured," Marisa replied as she scratched her head. It was a bit awkward, any breakup was, but at least she had expected it. Things between her and Mio had become a bit distant. Not terrible or anything, it just felt like they weren't making much progress no matter how much she tried. "It was fun while it lasted Mio."

"It was, especially at the beginning," Mio agreed. "I never thought you'd accept when I asked you out. I was a complete stranger to you at the time."

"Well you were pretty brave to do that in front of your friends and I didn't see any reason why not."

Mio sighed. "That's exactly why I want to end this."

Marisa paused. "What?"

"You dated me because you were just single at the time. It wasn't because there was an actual connection or anything. You weren't even doing this just for sex, it might've been easier to break up with you that way. It's just that… it felt like you were obligated to be in this relationship, not that you actually wanted it to be with me."

"Hey, I can handle being single," Marisa argued. "It's just that love is great and you can't blame me for trying when I have the chance. For all I knew it could've gone somewhere between you and me."

"You're right and I'm grateful you gave it a shot. But it didn't go anywhere. We're just too different and I don't feel like being another girl for you."

"If you felt that way you could've just told me," Marisa argued.

"That's another problem I shouldn't have to tell you everything. You should just… know."

Bleh, that was the problem with dating girls. Always so much subtext in what they and even what they didn't say. Maybe she should try dating a dude again. They were usually a bit more straightforward… but uh they came with its own set of issues. Honestly, love was hard. She might've been the Love-Colored Magician, but love with her magic and dating actual people were just different things.

"I guess that's it then," Marisa conceded as she prepared to pay the bill. "Good luck with your apprenticeship at that kimono place."

"And good luck with resolving those incidents." Mio grabbed the bill and put the exact amount needed before the Ordinary Magician could do anything. She then bowed her head politely and left.

Marisa simply sat there in awkward silence trying to process what had just happened. Once she did she leaned back and put a hand over her eyes. It didn't take long for her to be tempted to order a bunch of Sake and just get hammered right there.

"Bad breakup?" A familiar waitress asked.

"It was alright Banki," Marisa replied. Not the worst breakup she had and she'd get over it soon enough. She just needed something to get her mind off it at the moment.

"Honestly I expected you two to last a bit longer than two months," Banki commented.

Marisa glared at the Youkai. "Remember how we first met? Want a recreation of that?"

"Fine, don't take the advice of someone who's seen you break up with four villagers already," Banki replied plainly. "I'd rather not get set on fire again because you can't handle the truth."

Marisa sighed and buried her face in her arms. "Sure, give it to me." If anything it might help her to avoid things like this in the future.

"You only just met Mio when she asked you out."

"Yea, so?"

"You two were strangers. You only ever date strangers and it doesn't work because you don't know anything about each other. Can't you try being friends first? Or you know, ask out one of the friends you already have?"

The Love Colored Magician remained silent as she continued to hide her face.

"You have commitment issues. You're too afraid of losing someone you care about that you don't even try to get with them. Better a bunch of strangers that you don't have any concern for," Banki replied, took the bill and cash, and walked away.

It took some time before Marisa was ready to move again and lift her head up.

"Might as well see if Alice or Patchy is up to anything," she muttered to herself before getting up. She grabbed her broom and hat as she made her way out of the restaurant. It was a nice day outside, the exact opposite of how she was feeling right now.

If they weren't then there was always the shrine. Reimu was always great to be around. As a friend… just a friend.

As she stepped out of the restaurant though, she noticed something in air nearby. Sort of like… a clear tarp had been draped over a small area over the dirt road. She wasn't the only one to notice it too, those nearby pointed and began whispering among themselves.

And then just as quickly as she had found it, it just disappeared. Which was a surprise, especially to the few nearby to see it happen. One brave guy even walked up to the area and tried poking the now normal space with a stick.

Nothing happened. Some villagers quickly lost interest, weird things happened in the Human Village all the time, others though began shooting the Ordinary Magician some accusatory looks.

"It wasn't me this time!" Marisa shouted, quick to defend herself.