Finally, we reach a new month. But something's fishy in here.
Chapter 40 – A Fishy Festival (Wyvern Moon)
It was a beautiful sunny day early in the Wyvern Moon. The academy had decided to hold a fishing competition, and dozens of students and knights were gathered around the fishing pond to try and catch the biggest fish they could. Not only were the fish plentiful at the time, but Seteth had opted to hold the competition to help Flayn recover from her abduction.
Back at the classrooms, however, Byleth was searching for a certain diva, and soon found her outside the Black Eagles' homeroom.
"There you are," said Byleth.
"Oh, Professor, did you need something?" asked Dorothea.
"I was hoping you could join us at the fishing pond for the competition."
"Fishing?" Dorothea made a grossed-out expression as she said, "Sorry, but I'll have to pass. I tried it once, and… ugh. Gross. I don't even really like to eat fish, let alone catch and gut them. Yuck…"
"Flayn really wanted you to come. You don't have to participate if you don't want to, but she wanted to thank you for your role in her rescue."
"Really? She wants to thank me for running away like a scared child?"
"Look, I can tell you don't want to do this, but please, for Flayn's sake?"
Dorothea made a loud sigh as she said, "You really know how to guilt-trip a girl, don't you?" Then, taking a deep breath, she added, "Alright, alright, I'll go. But don't expect me to do more than just stand around and look my best."
"It's a deal. Come on."
With that, the two made their way toward the fishing pond through the dining hall. Dorothea could already smell numerous catches of fish being cooked and flavored, the scent making her give out a silent "Blegh…" as she covered her nose.
They came out to a small balcony that overlooked the fishing pond, where Leonie stood and watched the others with displeasure. Dorothea found this odd; Leonie was quite the fisher, but she wasn't going to participate?
Realizing their presence, Leonie turned and said to Byleth, "Can you believe this, Professor Eisner? Why are they having a fishing tournament now? Are they just giving up on the battle of the Eagle and Lion?! You're not condoning this, right? Are you?!"
"There's no harm in it, Leonie," said Byleth.
"Yeah, why are you so worked up over it?" asked Dorothea.
"If we've got so much time to waste on this, shouldn't we be spending it on training?" answered Leonie.
"Everyone needs a break now and then," said Byleth. Then, gesturing down below, she added, "Besides, it's for Flayn's sake."
The three looked down to see Flayn standing between Catherine and Alois. The jovial knight was pulling on his line, thinking he had finally caught something. A second later, his catch emerged from the water, and turned out to be nothing more than a discarded boot. This made everyone around him laugh at his rotten luck while Alois made a growl of frustration.
Seeing Flayn's laughter made Leonie say, "Yeah, I get that, but still, did they need to include everyone else in it?"
At that moment, Flayn looked up and saw Byleth and Dorothea. She waved at them and said, "Professor Eisner! Dorothea! I am ever so glad you could both make it!"
"Well, that's our cue," said Dorothea. She then followed Byleth down to meet with the short green-haired girl. Leonie made a sigh of exasperation, and then chose to follow them down to the pond.
Upon reaching Flayn, Dorothea remarked, "This is quite the turnout, isn't it?"
"I told my brother I had a craving for some tasty fish," said Flayn. "I did not realize when I did that it would turn into… well, this. My apologies."
"There's no need to apologize, Flayn," said Byleth. "You've been through a lot, and Seteth wanted to make you feel better."
"Will you be taking part too, Professor?"
"Of course," Byleth answered.
"Ah, I must admit, I am quite excited! And what of you, Dorothea? Will you be–"
"No, no, not me," said Dorothea. "I'm not really a fan of fish, but Professor Byleth insisted I watch."
"I see. Not everyone enjoys the taste of fish, I suppose."
"So, what are the rules?" asked Byleth.
As if on cue, Shamir strode up and said, "For the competition between the students and knights, whoever catches the biggest fish wins. But you'll also get a special prize if you catch what Flayn wants."
"I am afraid I cannot recall the type of fish I was hoping to dine on…" said Flayn. "So, if you do manage to catch a fish, do you mind bringing it for me to see?"
Byleth nodded to this, so she went over to pick up a fishing rod and some bait. Dorothea, meanwhile, found herself following Byleth toward the small dock that stretched out over the fishing pond.
"Oh, so you're taking part as well," said Ashe.
"Good luck to you, Professor," said Caspar. "Raphael's currently got the biggest catch."
Caspar gestured to the muscular Golden Deer, who held a huge Fódlan Carp in his arms as he laughed with pride. It was truly an impressive catch.
"I don't know how anyone's going to beat that," said Ingrid.
Byleth took this moment to step forward onto the dock and, looking down into the waters of the pond, cast her line into the depths. As everyone else continued chatting, Dorothea watched as Byleth stood still as a statue, patiently waiting for something to bite. She even saw the line being pulled a few times, but Byleth did not set her line.
Then, Dorothea saw the rod bend significantly as something pulled hard on it. In that instant, Byleth pulled back, and the water of the pond seemed to come alive with motion.
"Hey, the Professor's got something!" said Ashe, prompting everyone to turn to her.
To everyone's surprise, Byleth was struggling. Whatever she had just caught was nearly pulling her into the water. She grimaced as she braced her boots against the boards of the dock, trying desperately not to get dunked or to let the line break. For several minutes, everyone around her cheered as she struggled against whatever fish she had hooked.
"Do not be losing, Professor!" said Petra.
"Hang on, Professor!" added Annette.
"Don't let some dumb fish get the best of you!" shouted Caspar.
Byleth loudly grunted as she pulled back on her line. She could feel her catch losing its energy, though she was amazed it was lasting this long. She had never caught something this lively before.
She began to reel in the fish, and everyone was amazed to see a massive shadow coming up from the depths. It looked almost big enough to be a person.
"Wow, that thing's huge!" said Alois.
"You've almost got it, Professor!" shouted Ingrid.
"Oh my, how exciting!" said Flayn. "I… I think it's a…"
The fish made a last desperate attempt to break free of the line, so Byleth made a loud shout as she pulled as hard as she could on her fishing rod. Her catch seemed to rocket toward the surface and released a huge splash of water as it finally burst out of the pond. Everything felt like it was in slow motion. She watched in amazement as the giant fish careened through the air over her head. It was almost as big as a wild boar.
And then, as she followed its graceful arc through the air, she saw where it was about to land, and her expression turned to one of alarm. One that matched Dorothea's, who looked up at the massive fish.
Dorothea screamed loudly as the fish crashed into her and sent her to the ground.
"AAHHHH! GET IT OFF! GETITOFF! GETITOFFME!"
The fish was flailing wildly on top of the singer, who lay flat on her back as she desperately tried to force the fish off her. She managed to get it off after a second of struggling and frantically scampered back on her hands and feet as the fish thrashed desperately on the stone of the monastery.
Byleth looked at Dorothea to ensure she was alright. The diva was a mess, covered in slime from the fish's body. She was looking up at the Professor with an expression of humiliation.
And then her face went red and her eyes watered as everyone started laughing at the comical scene.
"Professooorrr!" Dorothea cried at Byleth in a mix of anger and shame.
And then, the laughter, Dorothea's cry, and everything else froze still as stone.
"What do you think are you doing?!" shouted Sothis as she materialized before Byleth. "My power is not meant to be used for something as trifling as this! The girl is hardly in any life-threatening peril!"
Sothis angrily continued to rant at Byleth for her misuse of the Divine Pulse, but Byleth didn't care. She had to make this right. Dorothea didn't deserve to be humiliated like this, not after everything she had been through.
As time began to wind itself back, Sothis let out a groan of frustration and said, "Oh, very well! Just this once!"
Dorothea scampered forward on her hands and feet as the fish rolled back on top of her. Its thrashing moved in reverse, as did Dorothea's struggling to get it off her. The fish went back into the air as Dorothea's body was lifted. Her expression of alarm returned. The fish was now directly over Byleth's head.
And then it stopped. Byleth was caught by surprise at this; she knew she could wind back further than this.
"Think fast!" said Sothis.
Against Byleth's control, time resumed its flow, and now the fish was careening right toward Dorothea again.
Byleth moved on a reflex, pulling her fishing rod hard to the side as the fish moved through the air, changing its trajectory.
But then Byleth saw where it was now going to land, and the same look of alarm came across her face as she realized she had made another mistake.
Not even a second later, another girl screamed as the fish crashed on top of her.
"ACK! BAH! GET THIS THING OFF ME!" shouted Leonie as she lay underneath the flailing fish.
With a shove, Leonie managed to push the fish off her body and rolled to the side with a loud groan of disgust. The fish continued to thrash on the monastery stone as Leonie looked down at herself for any injuries. She wiped a portion of the fish's slime off her shirt, which was now wet enough that one could almost see her undergarments beneath it.
And then, as they had before, everyone started laughing at seeing such a predicament.
Unlike Dorothea, who had given Byleth a look of humiliation, Leonie glared at the teacher angrily for what had just happened.
"If you'll excuse me…" she hissed as she stood up and stomped away from the scene.
This only made everyone laugh harder at her. Even Dorothea was now joining in on it.
"Oh, oh my, that was just–" Dorothea could barely form a sentence as she held her sides.
And then, something happened that made the diva stop laughing instantly.
She saw Byleth laughing too. The teacher was holding a hand to her navel as she bent over, laughing loudly at Leonie's accident, despite that she was the one who had caused it.
After a few seconds, Dorothea said, "Well, someone's enjoying herself."
As she said this, everyone else seemed to realize that Byleth was laughing. Their reactions ranged from being awestruck to wide smiles at seeing their Professor having such a good time.
Raphael let out a loud chuckle of his own as he said, "Looks like you win, Professor!" He then gestured to the fish Byleth had caught.
"Oh, my goodness!" said Flayn as she looked at the fish. "I can hardly believe it! It's a Fódlandy!"
"Wow, really?" Ashe said in amazement. "I've never seen one before."
"I am certain it is one!" Flayn continued giddily. "Though it may not be what I was looking for, I am certain it will make for an amazing dish!"
"Then let's get this big guy up to the kitchen!" said Raphael as he walked over and wrapped his arms around the gigantic fish.
…
The fishing festival ended shortly after Byleth's enormous catch, and now Manuela was in the kitchen working her culinary skills on the Fódlandy. Dorothea had opted not to help in the kitchen but sat across from Byleth at one of the tables. The teacher was now trying to think of a way to make things up to Leonie.
"Professor, really, it'll be fine," said Dorothea. "It was an accident. She won't hold a grudge against you for this."
"But still, I embarrassed her in front of everybody," Byleth said sheepishly.
"Hey, at least everyone got a good laugh out of it. I know I did." Dorothea giggled as she remembered the spectacle, which made Byleth sigh in exasperation.
Then, after a pause, Dorothea said, "Say, Professor, that's the first time I've ever seen you laugh at… well, anything."
"Really?"
"Yeah. Honestly, I liked that. I liked seeing you enjoying yourself, even if it was at Leonie's expense."
"Oh… well, um…"
Byleth couldn't find anything to say to this. Dorothea didn't know the half of it.
That had been the first time Byleth had ever laughed in her life.
Who knew I could make something like fishing into something so entertaining?
And yes, Sothis can be such a little troll sometimes.