Sorry for the delay, I intended to publish this chapter much earlier but life has its way to be unpredictable. First of all, thank you for those who have reviewed the story so far. I do notice there is no feedback about the battle itself for the previous chapter which I take that you all as the readers are fine with that kind of battle scene, right? Because future chapters' big battles will, more or less, have that kind of format.

As per usual enjoy the chapter and please tell me what do you think in your reviews. Readers' reviews are author's motivation after all.

Beta Reader: DarkAngelDan98.

Byleth crossed her arms as she walked through the path that would eventually lead her toward her destination, the Black Eagles' classroom. She had just finished the post-mock battle meeting with her fellow professors, the purpose of which was to discuss the result of the mock battle as well as how it would affect their lesson plans. The three of them agreed that all houses had performed well enough to show that the students could be ready to handle the mission that the Church would assign them at the beginning of next month.

She was also informed by the other teachers that there would be another battle similar to the one that had just taken place, the Battle of the Eagle and Lion. According to Professor Hanneman, the battle was a tradition that was held in order to honor the battle that happened during the days when the lands that would become known as the Holy Kingdom of Faerghus declared independence from the Adrestian Empire and fought for the right to be recognized as a territory separated from the Empire.

Thankfully, that battle was several months away so Byleth still had a fair amount of time to train her students further so that they would be prepared for such an event. Still, the fact that the house under her care had lost in the mock battle was quite a blow not only to her reputation as a professor due to the circumstance of how she got the job in the first place but also to her confidence in her ability to actually teach these students. That feeling of disappointment in herself that still lingered in her mind certainly didn't help her at all though she couldn't say that her feeling this way wasn't expected.

Robin had warned her that just because she has a lot of skill in combat and even had some genuine talent for tactics that didn't mean she could just easily impart her skills and knowledge onto these youths. After all there was a reason why teaching qualification tests existed, it's not as thought that being a skilled individual who was able to get along well with students automatically makes that individual a good teacher. Furthermore, as far as she could remember, this was the first time she truly felt disappointed in herself, mainly because she believed that she could, at the very least, handle this job especially since both Robin and her father have done what they could to make sure that the former could stay here at the Monastery, and she didn't need them to say anything for her to know they did this partially for her sake.

Byleth rarely doubted herself and even if she did find herself second guessing her decisions or actions, she always found a way to prove to herself that any reservations that she might have were not something that she should waste her time mulling over. Even during instances when she was being overwhelmed by an enemy, Byleth never doubted that she could survive and defeat her adversary in the end. And so far, she always managed to prove herself right.

But this was different…

Byleth had no experience in teaching, she couldn't rely on any prior knowledge to help her fixed her mistakes because she'd never had to teach someone in the same manner as academy professors before. Could her class' defeat been because she had not trained them enough? Or because the method she used to train them had been insufficient? Or perhpas her own lack of skills in magic had made it so that the likes of Hubert, Dorothea, and even Edelgard had been unable to use the potential she knew they have?

Being in such an unprecedented situation like this reminded her of another time when she felt completely out of her depth, when all of her experience in living the life of a mercenary had been proven to be utterly useless…back when she first fell in love with him…

"You shouldn't be too hard to yourself. It is true that the little ones may have lost but you admitted that they performed well during that battle. Besides, from what I saw the princess only lost because she ran out of magic power, we do not know whether her last attempt to blast the prince with her spell at point-blank range would have succeeded in knocking him out or not." Sothis suddenly spoke out, her tone carrying a mixture of concern as well as nag. This prompted Byleth stopped dead in her tracks, the surprise on her face was quite evident as she didn't expect the girl in her mind to suddenly speak aloud like that.

"You shouldn't let this become a habit otherwise people might start to question why you always randomly stopped walking out of blue, they might think you're having some sort of breakdown." Sothis advised with a sigh once the blue haired professor started to walk again.

'I know.' Byleth agreed with a sigh as she closed her eyes briefly.

'However, the fact that Edelgard ran out of energy to cast her spell in the middle of the battle could be attributed to the fact that I focused more on physical training rather than any sessions that focused mainly on improving their magic casting skills.' Byleth stated as she reopened her eyes, believing that the fact she didn't give her students enough magical training due to her own lack of skills in that particular field was another thing that may have contributed to the defeat of the Black Eagles.

Although honestly Byleth didn't know whether she could give any advice in how to preserve one's energy when it comes to magic seeing as how she had adopted Robin's style of casting spells instead of making use of the method practiced by the magic users in Fodlan. Instead of using her own magic power, Byleth relied on the energy that the atmosphere provided in order to cast her spell thus she never had to worry about tiring herself out by burning through her own energy… not that she relied on her spell casting abilities most of the time anyway since she much preferred physical fight over a magical one.

"Perhaps now would be an opportune time to ask advice from your fellow professors? They may not be as skilled in magic as that partner of yours but I'd guess they do have more experience when it comes to teaching students magic than he does at least. They may have some useful insight." Sothis suggested just as she finally reached her classroom.

'I'll consider it.' Byleth answered as she entered the room; all of her students, as she expected, were already waiting for her though their attendance was only natural considering she asked Dorothea and Caspar to tell everyone to head straight to class and wait for her just before she left to attend the meeting with the other professors.

"Professor, I assume the post-mock battle meeting went well?" Edelgard asked after greeting the blue haired professor with a nod.

"Yes. All of us agreed that you all performed excellently during the match and although we did discuss how there are several areas that all of the students can improve on but in the end, we were of the same mind that those who participated, especially the house leaders, possess the necessary combat abilities to undertake the mission that will be given to each class by the start of next month." Byleth answered, repeating the result of the meeting that Professor Hanneman concluded.

"Does that mean we're gonna get the chance to beat up some bad guys soon?!" Caspar asked enthusiastically, a little too eager in Byleth's opinion, at the prospect of fighting bad guys. Predictably, Bernadetta let out a squeak at such and idea which she no doubt considered to be downright terrifying and was no doubt already imaging several grim scenarios where things ended up going wrong.

"Whether we will be crossing blades with any adversaries or not will depend on the nature of the mission that we are given." Byleth answered plainly.

"While I find your eagerness to be commendable Caspar for now we should focus on refining our skills further with the remaining time we have left before our first mission. While I agree with the professor that we all put forth a commendable effort during the mock battle but the fact that we still lost should be more than enough of a clear message that we need to improve significantly, especially myself." Edelgard said with a sigh as she crossed her arms. As far as she was concerned the way that she conducted herself on the battlefield was nothing short of pathetic compared to Dimitri despite the fact that the decisive clash between her and the prince was a very close one.

"Oh c'mon Edie, you did a great job even though you were at a big disadvantage after getting disarmed. I mean, your last attack would've been enough to take him down if you hadn't run out of steam when you did." Dorothea said brightly in an attempt to comfort the princess.

"That's still no excuse Dorothea, the fact that I ended up draining myself completely in the middle of battle shows that I need to pay more attention to my own magic reserves in the future. Then there's the fact that my mistake was one of the main contributing factors that lead to my defeat since Dimitri managed to disarm me because of it." Edelgard replied while shaking her head slightly, disliking the fact that her reflexes seemed to have a tendency of slowing down whenever she was caught off guard and that served as the main reason for her defeat.

"You're being too hard on yourself Lady Edelgard. I believe the blame of our defeat rests on the shoulders of the Reigan heir. Had he not interfered your battle then I have no doubt you would have been able to defeat Prince Dimitri." Hubert pointed out, he noticeably sneered when mentioning the leader of the Golden Deer.

"While we may have lost this time, we still have a chance of redemption in the upcoming Battle of the Eagle and Lion where we can show our true potential by besting the other houses, especially the Blue Lions. Let us not give up hope yet my fellow Black Eagles!" Ferdinand said rather dramatically, intending to motivate his housemates. Though it seemed to only successful in causing Edelgard, Hubert, and Dorothea to let out a sigh simultaneously while Linhardt and Caspar simply gave him a weird look.

"That pompous hot air that just escaped your mouth is as unnecessary as always." Hubert sneered with a scoff.

"And your unpleasantly snide remarks are as unwelcome as ever, my words serve to motivate us and one cannot hope to better themselves without a core element like having a strong drive to improve." Ferdinand replied positively, seemingly unfazed by Hubert's mockery.

"Professor, you are making the sad face, what happened?" Petra asked once she realized that their professor seemed to look troubled, a fact that the other students immediately realized once they shifted their attention back to the woman.

"I suppose I can't help but feel…rather disappointed…" Byleth answered after a few seconds of consideration, seeing that she had no reason to hide how she was feeling…she also happened to be a bad liar so she doubted she could hide this from the students for long.

"You're disappointed in us?" Edelgard asked rather sharply while raising one of her eyebrows.

"No, I'm disappointed in myself." Byleth clarified while shaking her head slightly, earning a confused look from most of her students.

"Why would you feel that away?" Dorothea asked with a concerned tone.

Byleth stayed silent for a few seconds as she looked down at her feet in order to gather her thoughts and to form an answer for her students.

"The mock battle was as much as a test for me as it was for you. I have no prior experience in teaching anyone so as Seteth himself said to me, this mock battle also acted as a way to test my credibility as a professor. Make no mistake, you all did exceptionally well but the fact that we still lost makes me doubt my own ability to teach you as your pro-"

"My apologies to interrupt you my teacher but don't you think the ones who should evaluate your skill as a professor is supposed to be us? Your own students?" Edelgard said as she crossed her arms, cutting Byleth off before she could finish her speech.

Byleth only could blink her eyes as she stared at the white haired girl.

"Professor while it is regrettable that we lost but blaming this undesirable result solely on your teaching is not the course of action you should be taking right now. No matter how good of a professor you are, you need to understand that our performance also played part in deciding whether we would be capable to truly utilize your teachings or not." Edelgard explained as she gave the older woman a small smile.

"Edie is right professor; you can't just pin all the blame on the way you taught us. Besides, you're also new to this whole academic setting, right? I say you're already doing a good job as our professor despite not having a prior experience in teaching. As someone who ended unexpectedly becoming prodigy of the stage I can tell that you've got some innate talent for this and that you're bound to get better." Dorothea added with a supportive smile and wink as she clasped her hands together behind her.

"I am agreeing, the advice that you have been giving and the maneuvers you have been showing me gave much assistance during my battle with the student of Blue Lions." Petra agreed with a nod.

"Yeah! You also promised to teach me cool axe techniques when I'm skilled enough, right? I hope you don't go back on that and break your promise professor!" Caspar exclaimed loudly while pointing at the blue haired woman.

"I feel myself improving after being put through your training professor, and if you can help a skilled noble such as I to reach new heights then there can be no doubt of your own capabilities. Do not be discouraged just because you believe you made a mistake, even I, Ferdinand Von Aegir, make mistakes from time to time but we can always learn from our errors, right?" Ferdinand encouraged with a nod as he crossed his arms though his words invited another scoff from Hubert.

"I must confess that ever since you picked us as the students you'll be guiding and teaching, I have been silently judging your ability as a professor to determine whether you really are capable to be our teacher or not. I can say that without a shadow of doubt you're undoubtedly skilled in this field but there are distinct differences in being adept at combat and having the skills needed to efficiently teach those combat skills to others. Know that I am completely sincere when I say that the way you have conducted yourself as our professor has been more than satisfying and it seems no one here has any complaints with your methods in teaching us. So, that is why…" Edelgard paused her speech briefly to take a step toward the blue haired woman who simply stared at them with a pair of wide eyes.

"We're looking forward to learn more from you, my teacher." Edelgard finished with a nod as she offered her hand to the professor.

Byleth only could stare at her students in surprise as she examined each of them. All of them, with the exception of Hubert who still maintained a bitter and stoic expression, Linhardt who appeared to be bored, and Bernadetta who looked a little nervous, were smiling at her. While she didn't exactly know how her students would react once she admitted the reason behind her disappointment in herself, this certainly wasn't the response she had been expecting.

She could feel a warm sensation starting to form on where her heart was supposed to be, it was so notable that Byleth needed to restrain herself from reaching up to touch her chest out of habit. It felt a little different from the warm sensation that she got from some of Robin's actions yet it still made her feel comfortable and…relieved. It was as though some weight had been lifted from her shoulder. Perhaps because she had been worried about what her students would think of her and if she was competent enough to be their professor but now she learned that they would still accept her despite the loss they suffered in the mock battle.

However…she was still unsure if she was truly cut out for the job but…

"If…if you all are fine with my teachings then I will do my best to teach you all everything that I know." Byleth promised as she gave her students a soft smile and accepted Edelgard's hand.

If they were still willing to stick around even after knowing that she has doubts about her abilities to teach, then…she would try her best to be better for their sake as well as her own.

"Wow professor, you should smile more often. You have a pretty smile!" Dorothea pointed with Ferdinand and Caspar nodding their heads in agreement.

Byleth only chuckled in response. Someone already mentioned that to her quite often…

Robin took a deep breath as he prepared himself for his training.

After the end of the mock battle, Robin didn't get a chance to speak to Byleth or her students as she was required to immediately attend the post-mock battle meeting while Robin needed to help clean up the field like extinguishing the tree that Edelgard set alight before he continued on with his patrol duty.

Fortunately since today was his turn to patrol the Monastery's perimeters, he had a chance to do it while snacking on some jerky sticks that definitely didn't come from the dining hall. After writing his report regarding his daily rounds, he walked around the Monastery to find Byleth and while he did find her, in the library, she seemed to be busy discussing something with Edelgard and Dorothea thus Robin decided to check up on her later during dinner.

And here he was, in the training ground, surrounded by ten knights…with nine of them holding rotten apples while one of them held a fresh apple. Robin also made it clear that he didn't want to know who among the knights who held the fresh apple.

"Throw 'em!" Alois commanded, a little more loudly than necessary, which prompted all knights to immediately toss the apples into the air.

Robin narrowed his eyes as his fingers began crackling with magic before he fired several lightning bolts from his fingertips for better accuracy. Robin had learned that firing spell one after another wasn't something that the mages of Fodlan could do since there was always a delay between each spell, probably due the different ways he and the mages of Fodlan cast their respective spells.

Robin couldn't deny that, despite all the things he was skilled at, accuracy was something he always felt he was lacking in…probably because he preferred to cast spells that had a large attack radius or he rarely needed to be in a situation where his accuracy would decide the outcome of a battle. And his lack in precision was shown when one of his lightning bolts failed to hit a rotten apple before it fell to the ground.

Though he also deliberately didn't hit the fresh apple and simply held out his hand, catching the notably nicer looking fruit before it could touch the ground. At least, his control over his instincts were still as excellent as he remembered since in a split second, he could still decide what targets to aim for and which ones to ignore. This was especially critical in various hostage scenarios.

"That was really impressive. I have been serving as a knight in this order for many years but this is the first time I've seen a mage fired off a spell continuously without delay like that." Alois praised as he clapped his hands with a grin. Robin simply replied with a smile and a nod before he observed his peers. Some of them looked at him in awe but most of them looked indifferent.

He has heard and saw that the knights of this order seem to place a higher value on proficiency with weapons compared to skill in magic…he wondered if they would still be of the same opinion if he decided to show them all the tricks he had up his sleeve. Of course, since most of them were now aware that he was from a foreign country, their indifference toward him was understandable.

"Indeed. I myself have learned magic for as long as I remember yet even I doubt I could perform the exact same feat as what Sir Robin just did."

Robin and Alois turned around to see one of teaching staff, Professor Hanneman, walked up to them with both his hands clasped behind his back.

"Professor Hanneman, good day to you. Is there anything you need?" Alois asked as he put a hand on his waist.

"Good day to you too Sir Alois. I actually wish to speak with Sir Robin if he happens to be free at the moment." Hanneman replied with a nod before shifting his attention to the young knight.

Robin didn't have to start his guard duty shift until it was time for the students' curfew so he simply nodded his head to reply the older man.

"Excellent! Then would you mind joining me for a tea?" Hanneman offered.

As it turned out, Linhardt had told Hanneman about his rather unique way in casting spell to the perspective of people of Fodlan and the scholar wished to learn more about it.

"I see, so all aspiring young mages in your homeland are required to learn how to sense the magical energy in the surrounding area first before they are taught how to cast a spell, fascinating." Hanneman said with an intrigued look as he twirled his, admittedly, well-groomed mustache.

"That's right but before that they also need to learn how to gather the magical energy around us into a single point." Robin replied with a nod before he took a sip from his cup.

…He made a mental note to ask what kind of tea it was at the end of their discussion.

"I never thought that we could possibly use the energy around us to cast a spell, how exactly did this method come to be?" Hanneman asked in curiosity as he also took a sip from his cup.

"Truthfully, I have no idea. Since even more than 3,000 years ago, the people of my homeland have always used magic and as far as I'm aware, there wasn't any mention on how this certain method of casting a spell was invented or who came up with the idea in the first place." Robin admitted with a shrug.

Robin knew it was the Divine Dragons who taught the ancient people of his homeland, which was called Archanea at the time, about magic but he never found any information that confirmed it was the dragons who taught them that specific method or someone else. He remembered a book had mentioned a sage who taught magic but the information about this sage was very lacking that he wasn't sure about its credibility.

"I see, that was understandable. Even in Fodlan, it was unclear from where our capability to cast magic came from. Of course, we all knew it was the Goddess who blessed us with this ability but what I meant is we're unsure if it was the Goddess herself who taught the ancient civilizations who then passed down the knowledge from generation to generation or if it was the Four Saints who passed down the knowledge to utilize magic to us. There were still some debates about it among the historians." Hanneman informed with a chuckle as he put down his cup.

"Well, unless someone could go back to the past to witness it with their own eyes then I guess it would remain as a debatable subject for a while." Robin joked with a chuckle before he took another sip from his cup.

"Well, until we can gain a better understanding of time itself and found a way to actually manipulate it then I doubt a feat such as returning to the past could be possible." Hanneman replied as he shook his head. Robin only could give the professor a weak grin in response.

If only this man knew…

"Now, would you mind telling me how exactly can one feel the magical energy in our immediate surroundings?" Hanneman asked as he leaned forward slightly.

Robin simply nodded as he put down his cup and started to explain the basic of his homeland's method for utilizing magic. Ironically, despite being exceptionally good at it, Robin never learned the theory behind the spell casting method used by the mages of his homeland thanks to his amnesia. It was only after Miriel and Ricken explained it to him, as well as reading a few books, that he understood the theory and concept behind the technique.

In order to be able to sense the magical energy around them, an individual first needed to be able to cover their body with their own magical energy, creating an invisible thin layer of magical force around the individual. The invisible layer acts as a kind of sensory sense that allowed a person to sense something that none of the human's five senses would normally be able to perceive. An aspiring mage in Robin's homeland was required to be able to master this simple technique until they could sense the magic around them without relying on creating that layer around their body. Only after they could do that were they were allowed to use a tome.

"Tome? As in the type of book?" Hanneman asked, his expression hasn't change from its fascinated form ever since Robin began his explanation.

"Correct, the disadvantage of using external forces rather than internal is that the former is harder to be manipulated, that was why most spell casters in my homeland rely on tomes until they can manipulate the external magic power directly." Robin replied with a nod.

"And I assume these tomes were used as some sort of aid in casting a spell?" Hanneman inquired further.

"Indeed, tomes are basically a vessel for nature's power. The forces of magic are gathered, manipulated to take certain forms such as lightning bolts or fireballs or something much more advance, and then sealed within the tome. In order to unleash the sealed power within a tome, a mage needed to be able to gather the power from their surroundings into the tome to, more or less, energize the spell sealed within. That is why after a mage is able to sense the energy around us; they're then required to master the art of gathering that energy at single point." Robin explained after he took a long sip from his cup.

"Unbelievable, to think such items existed. Do you happen to possess a tome right now, Sir Robin?" Hanneman said as he leaned forward more, his expression and the way he stared at Robin already told the knight of what the scholar intention was in asking for a tome.

"Sorry but I outgrew the need to use a tome before I came here so I didn't bring any of my tomes with me. I'm afraid I don't have any in my possession that you can inspect closely." Robin apologized with a small grin, causing the older man to let out a sigh of disappointment.

"How unfortunate, and here I thought perhaps the mechanism of these tomes could help in my research."

"Research?"

"Yes, as a scholar of Crestology I have dedicated myself to the field of research and discoveries in regard to Crest." Hanneman informed the young man before taking a sip from his cup to calm his disappointed mind.

"May I know the purpose of your current research then?" Robin asked as he leaned forward slightly, now it was him who curious about the other man.

Hanneman didn't immediately answered his question, instead the scholar simply put down his cup before he glances toward a certain direction. More specifically, the direction where Robin could spot three girls talked among themselves.

"If I were to explain it in simple terms I would say that the goal of my research was to gain a better understanding of Crests in general." Hanneman stated eventually as he shifted his attention back to the white haired man.

Robin raised his eyebrow when he noticed the hesitation that slipped out of Hanneman's voice but decided that whatever he was thinking about wasn't his concern for the time being.

"Crests are a blessing from the Goddess of Fodlan, right? What do you hope to gain from gaining a better understanding of Crests?" Robin decided to ask as he sipped his cup…only to realize that it was already empty.

"You certainly are a curious young man, aren't you?" Hanneman said with a small chuckle as he raised the teapot, silently offering to refill the knight's empty cup.

"Well, gaining new knowledge does happen to be my favorite hobby." Robin said with a grin as he pushed his cup toward Hanneman so the professor could refill it.

Once the professor had tended to his empty cup neither him nor the knight said anything else as Robin was busy enjoying his tea while Hanneman seemed to be pondering something in his mind.

"Tell me Sir Robin, do you happen to have an extensive understanding in how the mechanism of the tomes from your homeland works?" Hanneman finally asked after a few seconds of silence.

"I do." Robin answered with a nod. He even enhanced his old Levin Sword by copying the principle of the tomes…a shame that it was broken during his final battle before he came to Fodlan.

"Then would you mind teaching me? I believe that learning and understanding the mechanism of the tomes will aid me in advancing my research." Hanneman asked while he swirled his cup.

Robin crossed his arms as he stared at the scholar thoughtfully after hearing his request. While he wouldn't mind teaching the knowledge that he has about tomes, but he wasn't sure if it would be a good idea to teach it to a scholar who was devoted to research when Robin wasn't sure what the true nature of his research was. Yes, Hanneman said it was to understand Crests better but he failed to see the connection between gaining more knowledge about Crests and learning the ins and outs of how the tomes functioned plus the man still hadn't answered what it was he wished to gain from knowing more about Crests.

Robin was well aware that handing knowledge to the wrong person could result in something…undesirable.

"Only if you don't mind telling me exactly why it is that you want to acquire a better comprehension of Crests." Robin replied with a small smile as he leaned backward slightly.

"Having more knowledge about Crests will help us understanding various Crests' phenomena such as why a Crest's appearance seemed to be random from generation to generation, what factors besides just blood connections influence the materialization of a major Crest instead of the minor one in a human, or how exactly is it that Crest could grant such power to a human better. This in turn could lead to the birth of various new branches of knowledge that hopefully could be applied in Fodlan's society." Hanneman answered before he finishes the remaining tea in his cup.

"I still fail to see how learning more about the tomes could help you achieve such goal."

"After hearing your explanation on how tomes work, it made me thinking that perhaps Crests work in a similar nature, that the Goddess blessed humans with Crests through sealing part of her own power or the power of the nature within the Ten Elites and the Four Saints who then passed that strength down from generation to generation."

Robin had to admit, that was a decent theory. After all, excluding a few discrepancies, that was essentially how the 'Goddess' of his homeland had granted the Brand to his best friend's family. In this example just replaced the notion of sealed power with a blood pact.

"What do you say Sir Robin? Would you be interested in teaching me?" Hanneman asked once again as he folded his hands on the table while leaning forward slightly.

Robin couldn't lie; he was now intrigued in the Crestology research. Perhaps because it was in his nature to always pursue new knowledge or perhaps because it could be a chance for him to learn more about Crest…which may or may not help Byleth with the matter regarding Sothis if she was really tied to Byleth's unknown Crest. Anyway…he hoped he didn't make the wrong decision…

"You have my attention but I want something before I give you an answer." Robin answered as he uncrossed his arms and leaned forward slightly. Hanneman simply raised his eyebrow in interest as he waited the younger man to continue.

"First, if you have done any research before with recorded results then I would like to read any details regarding these outcomes if possible. Second…can you tell me what sort of tea it is? I find its taste to be to my liking."

Hanneman simply smiled at Robin's request as he gave the young man a nod to answer his requests.

"Of course, both your requests could be solved with a trip to my office. Now, help me clean up this table and we will be on our way."

"Come in."

Byleth opened the door of Robin's quarters…before she lets out a sigh after seeing how messy it was. Books were scattered about everywhere, either on the floors, beds, or in the piles near the table that was now occupied by the white-haired knight.

"I had hoped you would be more organized than this." Byleth stated as she closed the door and started to gather up the books on the floor.

"Oh Byleth, sorry you had to see this. I just got back from borrowing a bunch of books from the library and Hanneman's collection." Robin replied with a weak grin as he marked the page of the book that he was reading.

"Hanneman's collection?" Byleth muttered before she looks down at the books she gathered and noticed that the books were all about Crests, from the history of Crest to theoretical origin of Crest.

"Yeah, we had a little discussion about the way people in my homeland used spell and he wanted to learn more about it." Robin informed as he watched the blue haired professor put the books she gathered on the nearby stacks of books.

"Why would he want to learn about that? Does he want to learn how to cast spells like us?" Byleth asked while raising her eyebrow, seeing no other reason on why the scholar would want to learn how to cast a spell like Robin.

"What he wanted to learn was the sealing and unleashing mechanism of the tomes. He said that understanding it could help him in his research." Robin corrected her.

"How?"

"I have no idea. That was why I wanted to read his previous works first to determine whether he would misuse the knowledge that I will give him or not. Though he ended up giving me more than just his works, he even gave me a list of recommendations of what I should read if I want to understand Crests better." Robin said with a chuckle as he looked around his room, already filled with various books in a notably unorganized manner.

"That would explain all these books…you will undoubtedly need a bookcase sooner rather than later." Byleth observed as she unstrapped her pauldrons so she could remove her coat and put it all on Robin's bed before she sits down on his bed.

"Yeah, I'll make one once I have enough free time. Anyway, how are your students handling their loss?" Robin asked as he stood up to join Byleth on his bed.

Byleth let out a sigh as she crossed her arms, reminding herself that she was here to ask for his help.

"They handled it well…it was me who felt disappointed in myself." Byleth admitted as she leaned on him, resting her head on Robin's shoulder.

Robin simply smiled softly before he wrapped his arm around her shoulder to both comfort her and pull her closer.

"But they assured me that they don't blame our lost on my insufficient teachings, as matter of fact, most of them expressed the desire to learn more from me. It…made me feel both glad and relieved." Byleth continued as a soft smile started to form on her face.

"That's good to hear." Robin said with relief as he gently rubbed Byleth's shoulder.

"But I still feel lacking in my teaching skills." Byleth admitted with a sigh.

"Then how about asking Manuela or Hanneman for advice? Those two have been teaching here for a while, right?" Robin advised though he raised his eyebrow in confusion when Byleth simply chuckled in amusement in response.

"What?"

"No, it just Sothis also recommended the same thing to me this morning."

"Well, we both seemed to be reasonable individuals who use common sense frequently." Robin stated with a grin.

"Agreed, if there is one commonality between he and I it is that we both are pretty rational and logical. You could learn from the two of us." Sothis added; she sounded really amused.

"I'm pretty impressed that you both could reach that conclusion considering how the two of you can't interact with each other." Byleth pointed out while rolling her eyes, earning her a chuckle from Robin and an amused scoff from Sothis.

Byleth smiled at him before a frown replaces her smile not too long after, something that Robin immediately noticed.

"What's wrong?"

"Linhardt suggested to me earlier to ask you to teach him and the rest of my students your method in casting spells." Byleth said, recalling what the boy told her before she went to the library with Edelgard and Dorothea to look for book about teaching guidance.

"You know how hard it was to cast a spell with my method, even you only manage to finally cast something just a few months ago and that because you have a natural affinity with Faith magic." Robin reminded her. Even most mages back home prefered to depend on tomes because of how hard it is to cast a spell without the aid of a tome. Robin managed to do it because he was training non-stop after the first war he experienced reached its conclusion where there was two whole years of peace that everyone could enjoy.

"I know but I honestly have no idea how I can help the mages in my class improve when my own magic skills still leave a lot to be desired." Byleth admitted with another sigh.

Robin simply hummed as his hand moved to caress Byleth's blue hair as his mind tried to think of a solution about this issue.

"While we could always start your training again now that the mock battle is over and I assume you have more free time, I would suggest that you speak to both Hanneman and Manuela to learn more about magic in a theoretical sense and request for recommendations on which books to read to understand more about the magic system in Fodlan. I could try to teach you with what I know but it was better to get an opinion from the ones with actual teaching experience." Robin suggested since he believed it always good to talk more to the ones who knew more on these matters.

Byleth simply closed her eyes and hummed in agreement, seeing no other option to improve other than asking her fellow professors for help…until an idea came to her mind.

"Do you think your schedule would leave you some room to assist me in some of my lessons?" Byleth asked as she opened her eyes.

"Assist you?"

"Yes, not in the classroom but when I bring them to the training ground. You have nothing to do whenever it was time for me to bring my students for their practical training drills, right?"

Yes, thanks to Jeralt. It was pretty clear to Robin why he was free whenever Byleth brought her students for their training. Jeralt wanted him to use that time to observe Byleth by going there himself under the guise of training. Seems he could be a bit of a sneaky old fox.

"Well, yes."

"Then would you mind reviewing my students' performance in magic and giving them advice so they can get better? Like how one could preserve their magical energy?" Byleth asked, clearly referring to the fact that Edelgard ran out of power just when she was about to unleash everything she had at Dimitri.

"If your students are fine with me then I wouldn't mind." Robin replied with a grin and a nod.

"Thank you love." Byleth said with a soft smile as she leaned up to peck his cheek, prompting Robin to chuckle.

"You seem to care for your students' wellbeing a lot more now." Robin pointed out once Byleth rested her head on his shoulder again. Byleth blinked up at him after hearing his claim before she fiddled with her brooch as she formed her response in her mind.

"Well, at first I simply started teaching them because I had no other choice, the Archbishop didn't exactly give us any other options. But as time went on and I saw more of their potential, I started to get intrigued and wished to see how far they could develop. But today, the fact that they were okay with me and were even willing to help me improve as a professor after what I perceived as my failure…it just made me think that perhaps being a professor wasn't as bad as I initially thought it would be…and I admit that now I feel a sense of obligation to help them reach their full potential after seeing how much they trusted me." Byleth admitted as she looked up at nothing in particular with a soft look.

"Then I guess there is a benefit for us coming here if it means you can expand your social circle beyond just your father and me. If this continues then I'm sure you can form a bond with your students and perhaps with even those who aren't a part of your class." Robin said with a proud smile, proud that the woman had now started to interact with people outside her small circle that had remained unchanged for years.

While he was still wary of what Lady Rhea might want with her, especially with the revelation of Byleth's Crest, Robin wouldn't deny that there were some good things that came from them staying here. If it meant Byleth could form strong connections with other people then Robin was more than happy to support her in any way he could. He, after all, has seen and felt for himself just how precious bonds were.

"Do you think I could form a strong bond with them just as you did with your friends?" Byleth asked as she looked up at him curiously.

"Of that, I have no doubt." Robin answered confidently with a grin.

Byleth simply smiled at him before she closed her eyes and reached down to hold his hand. Robin followed her example by closing his eyes and placing his head atop of hers. He intertwined their fingers together before squeezing her hand slightly, prompting Byleth to do the same, the act was one of mutual reassurance that they would still have each other no matter what happened.

That evening, the two decided to simply spend their time like that, enjoying the comfortable silence and each other's presence, something that they hadn't manage to do in the past few days due to their new occupations.

But moments like this always reminded them, especially Byleth, that they weren't alone in all of this. That they could always depend on each other.

Always…

I know it was the Divine Dragon Gotoh who taught people of Archanea magic but since he barely mentioned in Awakening, I take that there is no record about him teaching humans magic. I do wonder if Hanneman could make any breakthrough with Robin's help? Perhaps finding cure for certain girls? Anyway, I hope you enjoy it, see you in the next chapter.