After they were a few days out from Ylisstol heading east, Malin and Marth actually explained moreabout what they wanted to do with the replica Falchion. There were…mixed reactions, to say the least. They confirmed that they were heading home—Malin didn't explain why they needed a fake Falchion, but it sounded like it was more because they would rather have it than not and somehow they had ownership of it to begin with—which did raise some questions.

Morgan might not be the best at being suspicious or trying to figure out the meaning behind people's words—he would rather assume good faith, and he knew that he was surrounded by plenty of skeptical people that would say something if they thought a person could be harmful—but he could tell that they danced around where, exactly, they lived. It was more than a bit odd.

Nonetheless, he did opt to join Malin when the latter went to get food and such for the rest of the mission. While walking, Morgan generally entertained conversation.

"Hey, do you happen to know anything about tactics?" Morgan asked curiously. "It's the one thing no one but me and my mom likes, I swear—I have a lot of mental chess matches while we're on missions."

Malin chuckled. "I know a thing or two, actually," he replied. "Had something specific in mind?"

"Yeah, actually," Morgan said, perking up a bit. "It might not work out well since it's more of a hypothetical scenario, but I had a dream once with a really weird team. Leading them was two manaketes that acted as one unit, dressed as rabbits; the next was a white-haired empress that could turn into a demon thing; the next two also acted like a single person, a guy and a girl in a demon and witch costume accordingly; and a horse-mounted healer in a spring outfit. What do you think they'd be like strength-wise?"

"Strong enough, I'd guess," Malin reasoned. They fell into a bit of conversation about the made-up team, and it entertained them fairly well. It might've been similar to a verbal game of chess, but Morgan was impressed that he almost won (which rarely happened, even in the cases where he went up against Lucina or Chrom since they managed to get 'beginner's luck' every time).

Malin noted Morgan's near-victory. "That was pretty close," the mercenary said. "You can tell who gets more experience—I just help Marth decide where to go nowadays. I bet Robin teaches you, huh?"

"She has been for as long as I can remember," Morgan agreed. With a little chuckle, he said, "I was pretty little when we started doing tactic practices—many a cookie was taken and eaten by me or a friend because of it."

Malin laughed. "You must've been a menace to the staff," he noted.

"Some of them still call me 'little cookie stealer,'" Morgan replied cheerfully. "I think that's how Owain ended up stashing tons of sweets in his room—I had to hide the evidence somewhere, and he was willing to eat whatever I didn't get to. Eventually Mother decided that bribing a very young child with sweets might not've been the best idea, so they got more defensive with how they hid the sweets so us kids had to at least work for it—didn't stop me from pilfering almost all of the slices of my birthday cake one year, though."

Malin kept on smiling, saying, "Must've been fun." When Morgan nodded, Malin continued in a bit more wistful tone, "I used to live at the castle, actually."

"You wouldn't happen to have left when I was really little?" Morgan asked curiously. "Mother and Dad sometimes mention a guy that watched over us kids when we were tiny."

There was silence for a few seconds before Malin laughed. "Wow, both of you must've heard half of this from your parents already," he said—albeit not quite humorously. Looking back at Morgan with a kind expression, he added, "Congrats, kid. I've been hiding out here the whole time."

Slowly, everything more-or-less started clicking. When Morgan was reminded of something else, he looked back at Malin. "Wait, does that mean you sent a letter that was 'from a friend' but actually you?"

"It's not a complete lie," Malin replied.

Morgan gradually began putting on a smile, and stopped walking so Malin would, too. "Mother said you were like a son," Morgan recalled.

"It's nice to know she still sees it," Malin said, with his own little, genuine smile. It fell after a second, and he quietly murmured, "It's a bit of a shame I couldn't actually tell her."

Morgan's own smile fell. "Wait—I'm sorry for prying into your private murmurings, but she does know you aren't like…dead or anything, right?"

Malin winced. "…Yes and no..?"

"I'm pretty sure she's been worried," Morgan pointed out. "I guess she got that letter from you, but aside from that she has seriously no idea?" A bit more hesitant, he asked, "Does she even actually know what you're going to do with the replica Falchion? It's just a fancy training sword, sure, but there's sentimental value behind it."

Malin just…turned away with a frown. "I'll take it back to who had it previously. When you get back to Ylisstol, you can tell her that I'm fine and well and at home."

Oddly enough, that almost seemed worse to Morgan. "Is being here…not like being at home?"

"That's not what I meant," Malin replied. He glanced back at Morgan. "This place feels like home, but it isn't—I figured you got that the first time Marth and I said this."

"You didn't make it sound as harsh the first time," Morgan said simply. "Knowing that you're one of my mom's closest friends kind of changes things."

Malin just shook his head and looked forward again. "We still have a few weeks—feel free to do what you wish in that time. Just… I'm sorry."

Morgan calmed down a bit. "I'll tell Mother that when I get back to the castle," he promised.

"No…that apology was specifically for you."

Malin walked away after that, and Morgan just took whatever groceries he had been trusted with to the people who had offered to sort and pack them.

(A/N: Fun fact! Just like in the original, the team Morgan describes is my current Heroes setup. This time, it consists of Myrrh: Spring Harmony, Edelgard: Hegemon Husk, Sothis: Bound-Spirit Duo, and Silque: Selfless Cleric. Nonetheless, thanks for reading! The story's nearing it's end.)