First of all, thank you for those who have reviewed the previous chapter, you guys give enough motivation to finally finish this chapter. As for Daraen-dragmire's question, a friend of mine sent me the image.
Please enjoy the chapter and let me know what you guys think through your review.
Beta Reader: DarkAngelDan98 (thanks again bro).
"And his name is Robin Daraen."
Once she was sure that no bandits were nearby, Byleth approached the white-haired man who appeared to still be observing the result of the spell he had just cast. She also noted that the three students were staring at Robin with various level of interest.
"You're late." Byleth bluntly told him as she looked up at him with an annoyed gaze. While she was grateful that he had, once again, saved her life but that didn't do much to diminish the irritation that she felt earlier from his 'disappearance'. If he had been there from the start then this battle would surely be over a lot faster.
"You know what they said, heroes always arrive fashionably late." Robin joked with a grin, earning him a light kick to the shin from the blue haired woman.
Before Byleth could respond to his joke, the sound of horse's footsteps drew their attention away from each other as they noticed that Jeralt was making his way toward them.
"Are you okay kid?" Jeralt asked once he reached them and dismounted his horse. Despite Byleth answering his question with a nod, Jeralt still choose to observe her for any wounds anyway, just to be sure. Once Jeralt sure that his daughter was in a good shape, he immediately turned his attention to Robin…
"Ouch!"
And smacked his head with the blunt end of his spear.
"That was for coming late despite knowing that we were going to leave for the Kingdom before sunrise. What made you think that you had the time for fishing when we have such busy schedule? Do I need to remind you that you're my second-in-command?" Jeralt scolded while staring at the white-haired man, who rubbed his head, with a disapproving glare.
"My apologies, I may or may not have gotten too absorbed in my reading while I fished…though I don't see the point of hitting me for that." Robin admitted with an annoyed sigh as he ran a hand through his white hair.
"You ought to know by now that's my way of disciplining my second-in-command." Jeralt stated dryly with a nod, ignoring the annoyed glare that the younger man shot at him afterward.
Before the two men could continue their interaction the collective sounds of groans made them, and Byleth, turned their attention back to the bandits as some of them had started to rise back to their feet. Jeralt and Byleth wordlessly took their fighting stance again while Robin simply raised his left hand in preparation to cast another spell. The three students behind them also similarly immediately assumed their fighting stance back once they saw the three mercenaries in front of them ready to fight again.
However…
"The Knights of Seiros are here! We'll cut you down for terrorizing our students!" proclaimed a man in a shiny white armor with…what Robin could only describe as an oversized left pauldron…who appeared out of blue and also accompanied by several men who seemed to be, exactly like what the man in white armor announced rather loudly, knights.
"The bandits are running away." Byleth observed. It seemed the presence of these people had scared away the criminals which was a relief since it meant that the battle was completely over… she hoped.
"The Knights of Seiros, as in the elite force of the Church of Seiros…what're they doing here?" Robin mused as he crossed his arms. He had heard of them before through the stories of several people from different villages. They were essentially the order of knights who performed missions given to them by the Church of Seiros, the central religion in Fodlan. They reminded him a little of the forces of the Church of Naga that Libra belonged to before he joined the Shepherds.
While Byleth and Robin mostly have a neutral reaction over the appearance of the Knight of Seiros, Jeralt had quite a different reaction compared to them.
"Ugh…why him?"
Robin and Byleth couldn't help but exchanged a confused glance at the irritation that was evident in Jeralt's voice. Though Robin had a vague idea as to why Jeralt sounded so annoyed the moment the man in white armor approached them and finally noticed Jeralt's presence…
"By the Goddess! Captain Jeralt?! Is it really you? It has been ages!"
Byleth couldn't help but felt a little surprised to discover that her father once was the captain of the Knights of Seiros. Then again, Byleth barely knew anything regarding her father's past other than the fact that he formed a group of mercenaries not too long after she was born.
The man in white armor, who introduced himself as Alois, claimed to know her father and had apparently once served as his squire when her father was still the captain of the Knights of Seiros. And from the way her father spoke to the man, mostly in annoyance, it was pretty clear that he was telling the truth.
Her father wasn't exactly the most talkative person, which was something that the two of them had in common as some of their fellow mercenaries had commented that Byleth got that aspect of herself from her father... though one difference between them was that her father could also sometimes be downright secretive. Jeralt never talked much about what his life was like before she came into the world, Byleth practically knew nothing about her own mother, not even small details such as what she looked like or what kind of person she was. She recalled that she had inquired about some of these queries to her father a very long time ago when she was a child yet she never received a clear answer.
That said even when she asked in the first place it wasn't because she was craving answers about her mother, the question just popped into her mind while they were passing through a village and Byleth happened to see several children playing and laughing with their mothers. She was rather unaccustomed to the sight, given that she was on the move rather constantly with her father and so she felt the need to ask about her own mother but of course, Jeralt had simply avoided the question.
She didn't think much of it though as she simply concluded that there was a reason he didn't tell her and left it at that. Nowadays, she simply focused on the present and thought that whatever happened in the past didn't matter much.
"And who is this fine young lady? She has your stare captain, is she your daughter?" Alois suddenly said, bringing Byleth's attention back to the conversation.
"I am; my name is Byleth Eisner." Byleth answered curtly.
"It's nice to meet you Byleth. Your certainly have your father's mannerisms but your face and hair, it reminds me of-"
"Alois."
Byleth blinked her eyes in surprise at the tone that her father used to interrupt Alois. It wasn't one of annoyance but instead it was one of warning. What was Alois going to say that her father needed to growl in warning to make him stop talking?
"O-Oh, r-right…and how about this young man?" Alois quickly said, trying to keep the atmosphere between them from becoming awkward and tense by changing the topic.
"Robin Daraen, Jeralt's second-in-command and usually the only one who is willing to drag Jeralt's drunk arse out of whatever bar he's fallen asleep in…or knock some sense into him whenever he started to pile more into his already legendary tab." Robin introduced himself, seemingly unfazed by Jeralt's sudden warning though he also sensed the mood was getting a little more serious than what he would've liked.
Jeralt simply grunted as he gave the younger man an irritated glare, unable to make any reply because none of what Robin just said were lies, while Alois immediately let out a boisterous laugh. Byleth couldn't help but smile at how easy it was for Robin to prevent the atmosphere between them from getting too awkward; he had always been like that though, easily directing the flow of conversation into a more light hearted one whenever things started to get too heavy.
"How brave; that was the first time I ever heard someone openly tease Captain Jeralt. That reminds me, you three should come with me to the Monastery; I'm sure you'll love it." Alois offered.
"Garreg Mach Monastery…I suppose it was inevi-"
"We can't, we have a job to do."
Jeralt and Alois blinked their eyes when Robin interrupted Jeralt with a firm tone. Jeralt glanced at his second-in-command and found him already giving him a hard look, one that Robin usually only directed to him whenever the white haired man felt that Jeralt had made a questionable choice. It was admittedly one of the few things that he liked and respected about Robin; he was never afraid to voice his opinion no matter what.
"Alois, give me a few seconds to talk with him in private" Jeralt said with a sigh, clearly a little annoyed by the whole situation. Robin simply raised his eyebrow after hearing the older man's response but regardless Robin was a responsible man, they couldn't just simply abandon their job like that after already agreeing to do it. He has learned from Gregor that a mercenary has codes and abandoning a job wasn't something that any honorable mercenary should do.
Byleth looked at the two men in concern as they walked away to be able to talk amongst themselves. Even though it wasn't the first time that Robin and her father would disagree tonight was clearly…different than the previous times that they've argued. Not only had they discovered a little bit of her father past but even she picked up on the resignation in her father's voice just before Robin interrupted her.
"Yes, I also noticed that look of surrender, I wonder why?"
Byleth blinked upon hearing a voice before she quickly shifts her attention to Alois. But the man looked like he hadn't said anything; in fact, the man was still focusing his attention on Robin and Jeralt who were talking a few meters away from where they stood at the moment. Just where did that voice come from? It sounded very close too…
"I am in your mind actually."
What?
"Who are you? How did you get into my mind?" Byleth whispered, hoping that Alois didn't heard her whisper. How in the name of Fodlan did she suddenly have a talking voice in her head? Perhaps one of the bandits was a mage and they managed to cast a spell on her without her realizing it?
"I assure you that this is not a byproduct of some spell…or at least that's what I believe. Have you forgotten my voice Byleth Eisner? Don't tell me you have the attention span of a child."
Byleth closed her eyes briefly as she tried to recall if she has heard a voice similar to the one she was hearing now…and opened her eyes when the answer hit her.
"You're the girl in my dream." Byleth realized, not even realizing that she had spoken aloud until…
"Excuse me?" Byleth blinked when she saw that Alois was looking at her which made her aware that she has spoken loudly.
"It's nothing." Byleth said with a shake of her head, trying to sound calm and indifferent.
"Oh, alright then, though I wonder why those two look so serious…they must be talking about something important." thankfully, Alois didn't press the matter. But he was right, Byleth was curious about what her father and Robin could be discussing, both of them appeared to be rather stern.
The only time her father and Robin would look like that was when the two were going over their battle formations and their schedules.
"That man with white hair…he is an interesting one…I can sense something…unnatural within him…not necessarily malevolent but…just very dark."
'Robin?' Byleth thought since she wanted to see if this girl could hear her thoughts. Talking aloud or whispering would risk the chance of Alois hearing her and she didn't think the man would believe if she said that she has a talking voice in her mind. Putting that aside, what she just said about Robin…
"You could simply ask whether I could hear your thoughts or not, you know? But yes, I can hear them and I also happen to have a name…you can call me Sothis…but I'm also known as 'The Beginning'."
"Sothis… yes that it is. My name is Sothis, and I am also called 'The Beginning'. But who once called me that?"
'Is something the matter?' Byleth asked when the girl's voice suddenly sounded uncertain.
"I was not able to recall my name…until just now. And just like that it came to me, how odd."
'Sothis…so, you're saying you have amnesia?'
"It appears to be so…I cannot remember much, I do not even recall how it is I ended up here."
Before Byleth could make a reply, the sound of Alois greeting her father brought Byleth back to reality. But when Byleth turned toward her father, she realized that Robin wasn't with him. A quick scan around the area and she was able to spot the white haired man walking towards one of her father's men…whose name she couldn't remember.
Those in her father's mercenary group had a tendency to come and go, some stuck around for a long time, others only stayed for a couple of jobs but even when it came to the ones who worked with her father for years Byleth had never made an effort to get to know them on a personal level, she trusted them to do their job and they did the same, hence why she didn't usually bother to memorize their names.
"He's just giving some instructions to one of my men for our job." Jeralt answered briefly when he noticed the confused look that his daughter gave him.
"So, I take you two have come to an agreement then? You're not about to run off again, are you Captain?" Alois asked as he put a hand on his waist.
"Even I wouldn't dare to run from the Knights of Seiros. But yes, we have come to an understanding; the three of us will come with you to the Monastery." Jeralt said with a sigh. Again, Byleth noticed the rather tired tone that was hidden in her father's voice.
As if this was something he knew was going to happen at some point and had been dreading all the while.
"Excellent! Now, allow me to introduce you to some of the new recruits, I have personally trained them back when they were still just squires."
Byleth watched in silence as Alois led her father toward the three knights that stood guard on the village's perimeters. She guessed this meant that she wouldn't be participating in their job in Faerghus's territory. Byleth then glanced at Robin, who was still talking to a mercenary that, again, she could not recall the name of, and decided to join him in order to ask what he was talking about with her father earlier.
"I do not think you can join him yet…your presence seems to be required elsewhere. Get going." Sothis informed Byleth just as the three students finally approached her. Byleth gave the three students a questioning look once they stood in front of her.
"I wanted to say that I appreciate your help back there. You're clearly an experienced mercenary. Not to mention, being the daughter of Jeralt, the famous Blade Breaker and often praised to be the strongest knight, it was quite a coincidence that we could encounter you two out here." Edelgard spoke up, earning a small nod from Byleth who stared at the three students in front of her with curiosity.
"Who are you people?" Byleth finally asked.
"That's right; we should mention that the three of us are the students of the Officers Academy at the Garreg Mach Monastery. We were doing some training exercises until those bandits attacked. And of course, I definitely got the worst of it." Claude answered as well as informing her of what the three of them were doing away from the Monastery.
"That would be because you ran off." Edelgard replied sharply as she gave a scowl to the tanned boy.
"Too true! I was the first to make a strategic retreat." Claude replied with a laidback grin, seemingly not intimidated at all by the scowl that Edelgard directed to him.
Byleth decided to watch the three students argue among themselves silently while also trying to judge their characters based on their interaction. Edelgard seemed to be the type who wouldn't trust the others easily if her comment about Dimitri making a lacking ruler if he couldn't see the truth behind someone's words indicated anything. On the other hand, Dimitri looked like to be someone who was willing to give a person the benefit of doubt especially since he replied Edelgard's words by reprimanded her for always looking for deceit in every word and being unable to trust those she relied on. Claude, who described himself as the embodiment of distrust, appeared to be a boy who kept his real intentions close to his heart, a secretive person.
Of course, that wasn't all she got from watching them interact with each other…
"In any case, please pardon our digression. I must speak with you, if you have a moment to spare. The way you held you ground against the bandits was captivating! You never once lost control of the situation which showed that I have much to learn." Dimitri said once the argument between the three of them was over.
Byleth somehow felt that they were giving her a little too much credit. While it was true that she was a skilled mercenary, there were two more mercenaries here who were a lot more skilled and stronger than her. Granted, they stuck close to her for most of the battle so they didn't get much of a chance to observe her father and Robin arrived late even if it was ultimately him who ended the battle before the arrival of the knights.
"Your skills are precisely why I must ask you to consider lending your services to the Empire." Edelgard quickly said, interrupting Dimitri before he could continue.
Wait, what?
"I'm might as well tell you now. I am no mere student; I am also the Adrestian Empire's-"
"Halt, Edelgard. Please allow me to finish my own proposition." Dimitri interrupted as he gave the white-haired girl a stern look for interrupting him.
"The Holy Kingdom of Faerghus is in dire need of exceptional individual such as you. Please do consider returning to the Kingdom with me." Dimitri finished with a nod.
… Again?
"Whoa, there! You two sure are hasty. Trying to recruit someone you just met, tactless really." Claude scolded slightly as he shook his head at what the other students just did.
"I personally planned to develop a deep and lasting friendship on our way back before begging for favors. But it seems there's no time for niceties in this world." Claude continued with a sigh as he put a hand on his waist before looking to Byleth again.
"So, capable stranger, let's get right to it. Where does your allegiance lie? In case you didn't notice yet, I'm from the last nation that hasn't been mentioned yet."
Byleth blinked her eyes in bafflement as she didn't expect that things would suddenly turn out like this. First, the bandits, second, the knights and the Monastery, and now this…why did everything suddenly move so fast?
Oh, and there was also this matter with Sothis…
"Yes, thank you for not forgetting me." Sothis replied sarcastically before continuing…
"Hmm… it seems that one's place of birth is quite significant to them yet they are so impressed by you, that you may take your pick. Now the question is which one you will choose?"
Good question…how should she answer it?
"The answer is neither. Do I need to point out that she's a traveling mercenary and not someone looking to be drafted?"
Byleth turned around when a familiar voice reached her ear to see Robin walking toward them with a firm look that directed toward the three students in front of her.
"Now, let's rewind a little bit and talk about what you just did. Do you realize the dangers involved in what you three were trying to do? Recruiting someone you just met without doing a thorough background check or a qualification test? Yes, she's skilled but if that is all you look for in an ally then I believe even a bandit will be sufficient. Do I really need to list 101 reasons on how things might go wrong if you actually went through with your decision in recruiting a complete stranger without a thorough checkup first? Especially, when you just met her and haven't even gotten to know her." Robin explained firmly as he crossed his arms.
Robin was well aware of the irony in his words…considering how he actually ended up as part of the Shepherds…but that was mostly his best friend's fault, not his.
Edelgard and Dimitri looked taken aback after hearing what Robin just said, but while Edelgard simply looked away with a huff, Dimitri has a thoughtful look on his face. Claude, on the other hand, couldn't stop a grin from forming on his face.
"See? Not everything is about the early bird gets the worms. Sometimes doing things slow can yield a better result." Claude stated with a sagely look as he crossed his arms and nodded to himself. Edelgard shot him an annoyed scowl in response while Dimitri simply ignored the tanned boy.
"You're right sir; I didn't give my decision enough thought and simply rushed ahead without considering the consequences." Dimitri admitted as he looked up at two adults in front of him. He then turned his attention to the blue haired woman and gave her an apologetic bow.
"Please forgive my hastiness. I shouldn't have made such request when we haven't even been properly introduced and you just saved my life. I'll be sure to make up for this one way or another."
Byleth simply shook her head as she gave the blonde boy a small smile.
"There's no need for that, just simply consider this as a learning experience."
"I suppose I also should apologize for my lack of tact. It was inappropriate of me to make such a proposal when we haven't even gotten to know each other yet. Please forgive me." Edelgard said as she bowed slightly.
"As long as you can see the error of your ways and make sure to not repeat it in the future…all is well." Robin replied with a small smile as he uncrossed his arms.
Before any of them could say anything else, Alois finally approached them and told them that it was time for them to return to the Monastery.
"Who are they?" Robin asked once the three students followed Alois, leaving him and Byleth alone.
"Students of the Officers Academy at Garreg Mach Monastery, though it seems that each of them are also an important person in the three territories respectively." Byleth answered as she kept her eyes on the three students, staring at them with curiosity.
"I hope for the sake of their respective faction that they won't repeat what they just did today in the future…that was dumb." Robin said with a sigh and a shake of his head.
"Anyway, we should probably get going before they leave us behind." Robin was about to start walking but a tug on his coat's sleeve stopped him and made him glance at Byleth.
"Actually…there is something I want to tell you…and only you." Byleth confessed as she looked up at him. Robin simply raised his eyebrow as he waited for her to tell him what was wrong.
"Earlier, I was dreaming of meeting a girl who asked for my date of birth. Now…I can hear her voice in my mind and she introduced herself as Sothis." Byleth explained as she released her grip on Robin's sleeve.
"Wait, you actually told him about me?" Sothis said in disbelief.
"It's fine Sothis, I trust him." Byleth replied as she gave the white-haired man a smile. Robin simply smiled back at her before he, unexpectedly, bows his body slightly.
"Nice to meet you Sothis, I'm Robin Daraen." Robin formally introduced himself, earning a small chuckle from Byleth.
"Sothis said she was surprised that you actually believe me just like that." Byleth said, acting as Sothis' mouthpiece for now since it was clear that Robin couldn't hear the girl.
"Well Sothis, allow me to tell you. I have experienced a lot of weird things in my life so a voice in someone's mind really isn't all that bizarre to me." Robin said with an easy shrug, omitting the fact that he also had an experience with hearing a voice in his head.
"Sothis said she doesn't know whether she should feel offended or not." Byleth said in amusement which caused Robin to chuckle. Though, it didn't take long for the man to adopt a serious expression.
"Did she tell you how she ended up in your mind?"
"She said that she doesn't remember and that it's possible she had amnesia."
"Amnesia, huh?" Robin couldn't help but felt a sense of nostalgia considering that he also suffered from that condition in the past.
"Are you two coming or not?!" Jeralt's voice made the two to turn their attention to see that the group of people they would be traveling with appeared to be waiting for them.
"We will talk about it more when we have the time. Keep updating me on any conversations you have with Sothis." Robin said as he gave the group a wave to signal them that they would join them soon.
"Understood…though Sothis said she was getting sleepy but that she would like to speak to you again later." Byleth informed with a nod.
Robin simply gave her a nod before he starts to make his way toward the group that was waiting for them with Byleth following him not long after.
"What do you think will wait us at the Monastery?" Byleth asked as she looked up at the man who walked next to her.
"Hopefully nothing too troublesome." Robin answered with a sigh as he ruffled his white hair.
"That reminds me, what did you talk about with my father earlier?" Byleth asked out of curiosity, recalling how serious the two men looked earlier.
Robin stayed silent for a few seconds as he recalled his conversation in his head before he looks down at her and gives her a smile.
"Just technical stuff. We can't leave our contractor disappointed so Jeralt and I discussed about leaving the job to our group while we head to the Monastery."
"So, the other mercenaries will still do the job without us?"
"Exactly."
Byleth gave him a nod and looked back at the path in front of them, seemingly satisfied with his answer. Robin also did the same though he silently apologized for lying to her.
Robin unconsciously narrowed his eyes as he remembered the most crucial part of his conversation with Jeralt earlier…
"There's someone in that place that I'm very wary of…I want you to help me to watch over my daughter…just in case."
He couldn't help but wonder…who was this person that Jeralt felt wary of? The man didn't give him very much information, so Robin needed to fill most of the blanks on his own.
Suddenly Robin got a feeling that this visit to the Monastery would end up being more than just a simple visit.
Though regardless of what happened one thing he was sure of is that he would do whatever he could to be there for Byleth throughout whatever awaited them.
Don't worry, Byleth will still learn of the Divine Pulse later but Sothis's introduction ended up happen outside of her realm due to Robin's intervention. Thank you for reading and see you on the next chapter.