"There's a what?" Robin snaps suddenly. I have never seen his thing angry at Seteth before, but he is now.
The Green-haired man flinches at Robin's sudden change of tone. Seteth seems to be confused as to how to deal with this Robin.
"There is a mission at the end of each month that each house must complete," Seteth repeats. "I'm surprised that you didn't know this—"
"No, no, I knew about that!" Robin snaps back, frustration and worry etching themselves onto his face. "What I didn't know is this month's mission!"
"What's so surprising about it?" Seteth raises an eyebrow as Robin crashes back into his seat with a massive groan. "Sure, it's a bit more dangerous than what we would normally do, but it's nothing new. The last time we had students deal with a small bandit problem it worked relatively well; nobody died and the bandits were cleared."
"Yes, but my students aren't the students from 'the last time'," Robin sighs, his voice returning to its normal speaking volume. "They barely know how to use a sword, never mind do any serious work against bandits. Bandits, mind you, that fought Zonzi's platoon to a standstill and were able to sneak through a forest without our Jagers spotting them. These aren't your run-of-the-mill bandits, and they should not be treated as such! Sending out a gaggle of students and two actual soldiers is just asking for trouble."
Seteth takes a moment to stew over Robin's words.
"I…I agree with your sentiment," Seteth reluctantly nods. "However, we cannot teach them how to fight without giving them real combat experience. Furthermore, these bandits must be dealt with, and we have no knights to spare."
"You don't—How many knights—How?" Robin groans. "Nevermind that. I cannot agree to send my students into what we know is a deathtrap in Zanado—"
"What if we bring the Company?" I tilt my head. Most of Jeralt's Mercenary Company, called the Chained Blade after a champion that Robin had heard of, was currently milling about the town at the base of the monastery, bored out of their minds.
"That's…actually, that's a great idea!" Robin beams, causing something in my chest to feel tight. What is this feeling? "That way, we can have the students sit back and watch as people who know how to ride a horse and hold a lance without falling off!"
I wince slightly. Ferdinand had tried to do that a couple of days back, and that ended in a very annoyed horse, a ruined wooden lance, and two casts of healing from an exasperated Linhardt.
"Well, they can't do everything," Seteth frowns. "The whole point of this exercise is for the students to learn something. They need to see real combat if they wish to get better at leading and fighting."
"Yes, but they are woefully undertrained to fight these bandits," Robin retorts. "Someone will mess up, and someone will get hurt or even killed. How do we explain that to their parents?"
Seteth mutters something under his breath that makes Robin even madder. I'm not sure what he said, but I'm confident he said something to the effect of:
"Some of the students don't have any parents to tell,"
Which understandably makes Robin incredibly mad.
"That's not the student's fault, is it now?" Robin roars. "In fact, you should be making sure they get the proper treatment for any mental scars that they may have! I am pretty sure that Dimitri is not completely stable, and you know this too!"
"What?" Seteth raises a brow.
"Oh, you don't?" Robin blinks in surprise, his voice suddenly returning to normal. "Well, then I'm less sure of my own assessment…"
"Professor Robin, please elaborate on your earlier statement," Seteth's voice gains an edge not present earlier.
"Well, I'm not sure that Dimitri's…fine, after what happened to him and his family at Duscur. Actually, scratch that. I'm not sure that Dimitri, Felix, Sylvain, and Ingrid are all fine after everything that happened to them at Duscur. Felix feels a bit too much like Gerome with his brooding, Sylvain feels like Inigo with his well-mannered yet abrasive flirting, Ingrid feels too much like Cynthia with her hero worship, and Dimitri acts like Lucina before she opened up," Robin explains.
"All of them are the heirs of their respective families. It is natural for some of them to be more eccentric to make up for the pressures placed upon them," Seteth frowns.
"And you think that the people I mentioned weren't?" Robin sighs. "Gerome is currently in a position similar to Claude: next in line to a country that needs to control a collection of smaller states. Cynthia and Lucina are the Princesses to the Haildom of Ylisse, and while Inigo isn't in a direct noble house, he is in contention to become the West Khan. It doesn't matter that people are nobility, they still should be mentally and emotionally healthy. I don't see how…"
Robin shakes his head.
"We've gotten off topic, Sir Seteth. We are still to decide what to do for our class's upcoming mission," Robin steers the conversation back to where it was going before.
"R—Right," Seteth sighs and shakes his head. "It is surprising how hard it is to get angry at you, Professor Robin, despite your ability to rub people the wrong way. But I digress, yes, the students must see combat in the upcoming mission."
"And again, I must object to that," Robin shakes his head. "This is going to be a real battle, and that means not everyone will leave unscathed."
"Which is why I must insist that you allow them to fight," Seteth presses. "There would be no point in letting them go on this mission without that pressure forcing them to improve, would there?"
"Yes…but…" Robin groans. "They will be in grave danger, Seteth. I cannot put them in such a position."
"Then make it so the students will not have to face the true dangers of the battlefield," Seteth sighs. "Look, Professor Robin, I cannot help you any more than I already have. Rhea has decided this, and I cannot change her mind."
Robin grumbles but doesn't say anything back.
"It's rare to see you two here, Boss," Mikal notes as Robin and I enter the small building that served as the Chained Blades' base of operations these days. Well, the building that we entered houses the Sixth Company of the Chained Blades.
See, after Robin became the chief tactician of Geralt's Mercenary band, he completely reorganised how the company worked from the ground up. He recruited many more soldiers, some using connections through the Anna Foundation, as he likes to call it, some from his own pocket, and some using his rising prestige in Fodlan as a tactician. All in all, he was able to turn a band of around 700 men into a regimental-sized unit of 5000.
Using these numbers, we were able to specialise. Robin divided the group into 7 companies.
The first three he called the 'Line Companies' were made up of standard infantry trained in pikes, shortswords, and javelins. These three companies were trained to be able to fit into most noble armies' primary formations without too much issue, and they are usually the companies that new recruits were sent to. Because of this, the Line Companies are the largest of the seven, each hovering around a thousand men.
The other four are the more specialised companies, each with around five hundred men. They focus on a specific aspect of warfare that Robin deemed necessary. The Fourth Company is focused on magical firepower, the fifth on massed archers, the sixth on cavalry (and is the most expensive to maintain according to Robin), and the seventh on tracking and scouting (known as the Jägers for some reason. Robin was really giddy to name the seventh as the 'Jägers '.)
Who is this person?
Ah. I forget that Sothis doesn't know who Mikal is. She wasn't awake for…most of my life. I think. Were you awake? (I…remember some fragments of your life, yes, but not much.)
Well, I decided to tell her.
This is Mikal. He is very strange. He's also the best cavalryman and the best cavalry commander we have. He likes to talk to me a lot for some reason, and Robin has been wanting to keep him away from me. Again, I have no idea why.
Huh…I have to say, I don't understand why the purple mage would do such a thing. He looks…nice?
"That's because we have our own jobs," Robin sighs.
"And why are you here now?"
"Because that job just so happened to overlap with yours," Robin places a pouch of…something onto the table where we are sitting. "I know you guys haven't been finding many good-paying jobs, so I have one for you."
"Oho? Is the robin finally giving back?" Mikal gives the pouch a greedy glance. "What's in the bag?"
"Gold for the company, confections and pastries for you," Robin opens the string. Lo and behold, around four hundred gold coins and a variety of baked goods wrapped in brown paper.
Mikal snatches the bag with the eyes and speed of a starving beast. It doesn't take long before he is munching on one of the pastries with a satisfied look on his face.
I—what?
Oh, I should have said this, but Mikal loves baked sweets. Like, to a concerning degree. Robin says that he's seen worse, but I somehow don't believe him.
You should have mentioned that earlier!
"Right, what do you want us to do?" Mikal raises his eyebrow.
"Babysit!" Robin grins.
Mikal groans loudly. I feel bad for him. Sort of.
"Really?" Mikal sighs. "I was as surprised as everyone else was when the church called you two up to become professors, but now you want the company to be involved too? Why?"
"Because Seteth decided to have our monthly mission be to eliminate the bandits that we didn't get last time," Robin explains patiently. "And considering what our company goes through on a daily basis…"
"Yeah, fuck…" Mikal bites his lower lip. "Those bluebloods aren't going to last a moment, are they?"
"Nope," Robin shakes his head. "And this isn't even like the time in Almyra with Holst. These people are completely unready and untrained. I wanted at least one more month before we got them to do marching drills, but…"
"Yeah, I get it…" Mikal sighs. "You know, I'm not even mad at you anymore… If you push them like you push us they are going to get themselves killed."
"Are you insinuating that I push you all hard? Because I can put Zonzi in charge if you want me to," Robin narrows his eyes, to which Mikal suddenly raises his arms in surrender, a sudden panic setting in.
"That is not at all what I meant," He quickly adds.
"Good,"
"So, Boss," Mikal shakes his head. "What's the plan?"
"I—I'm sorry, what?" Robin blinks. He must have not thought of that as a response.
"Don't give me that look," Mikal snorts. "You had a plan, right? What am I talking about, of course, you had a plan. What do you need me to do?"
Robin bites his lips before chuckling.
"Solkis might call you the stupidest of the Commanders, but you've actually got a fast-moving head on your shoulders," Robin muses. "But anyhow, you're correct. I do have a plan for dealing with these bandits, but they're more dependent on the situation on the ground. A more pressing plan…however…Mikal, who's your XO?"
"Er—Ghapard," Mikal blinks as he names the redhead girl. "Why do you ask?"
"How's she at commanding?"
"What are you getting at here, Boss? I'm not sure I like where this is headed…" It's now Mikal's turn to narrow his eyes, but it's more out of fear and trepidation than suspicion.
"I need someone to teach Ferdinand how to ride a horse and use a lance without falling off and breaking his arm," Robin explains and Mikal groans even before Robin is finished with his sentence. "And who else than the premiere Paladin of the Chained Blade?"
"Wouldn't that be Jeralt?" Mikal mutters quietly.
"Nope! He's better with a sword anyway. Rather, he would be if he didn't listen to my suggestion of not charging into combat with a Dagdan Pioneer who'd had half a day to set up traps," Robin rolls his eyes at that last sentence. I wince slightly. I wasn't there to see that incident, but Jeralt returned with a mangled leg and a thousand curses at himself and that Dagdan Pioneer while being held up by an annoyed yet extremely worried Robin.
That incident forced Father to stay mostly on horseback and use a lance. He's still a scary man with a sword, but before, he could hold his own against Robin. Now, it's more like a one-sided smackdown against Jeralt.
"Wow…I'm guessing this is before I came?"
Robin shoots him a look.
"Right, this is before I joined," Mikal quickly corrects himself. "Still, what am I supposed to be doing with this…Ferdinand, was it?"
"Well, firstly, you make sure he doesn't die," Robin starts, as usual, at the beginning.
"Obviously," Mikal mutters. "That's usually what babysit means."
"Right, secondly, you have to let him sit with you on Gurren," Robin taps his left middle finger with his right pointer one as he counts on his hands the things that he wants Mikal to do.
"W—Wait, what! I can't do that!" Mikal protests weakly. "Gurren'll hate it…"
"You'll have to make do, then," Robin snorts. "Animals hate me with a burning passion and yet Klingon still has to carry me around."
"Why did you even name Jeralt's horse that, Boss?" Mikal sighs, half in defeat, half in exasperation.
"Because Kiran would not stop shutting up about something called 'Star Trek' and so many names are now stuck in my head because of that…" Robin groans as the raw emotion could be felt in his every word. "I swear, if I hear one more word about reboots, I'm going to find the nearest outrealm portal, go back to Askr, and slit the man's throat…"
Mikal shoots me a questioning look that I just shake my head in response to. I have no idea why people are trekking through stars and why that has anything to do with the word 'Klingon'.
"Anyhow, we're getting off-topic," Robin shakes his head. "Ferdinand cannot even hold a lance properly when he's on a horse."
"And you want me to teach him?"
"Bingo," Robin nods. "Or rather, make sure he doesn't accidentally kill himself with a lance. I swear he's like a completely different person on a horse…Donnel learned how to fly on a dragon faster than Ferdinand learned how not to drop his lance when the horse goes into a gallop."
"Well…" Mikal sighs with a slight smile. "I'm happy to help, but what about the other bluebloods? I can't watch them all, can I?"
"Even if you could, I wouldn't want that," Robin shakes his head. "Different fighting styles need different mentors and chaperones."
"Then what are you going to do with the seven or so other students?"
"Eight, actually," Robin sighs. "Lysithea joined us a couple of weeks back."
"The one who blasted your coat into the pond?"
"The one and only," Robin grins.
"I thought you liked her," Mikal snorts.
"And we all know how quickly emotions can change, don't we Mr-oh-fuck-you-are-actually-a-demon?" Robin folds his arms over his chest in a strange gesture towards Mikal. I don't know what they're talking about.
"H—Hey!" Mikal hisses as he winces and recoils from Robin's statement. Weird. "Not in front of her!"
"Right…" Robin rolls his eyes, which is rare. It shows you how loose he is with Mikal. Jeralt always described the two as friends, but I guess I'm finally seeing why.
I've never seen them like this, though. (That's probably because you never left your room unless it was for a patrol or to train.) Sothis makes a good point for once. (I always do! You just don't notice!)
"So, what are you going to do for the rest?" Mikal coughs into his hand.
"Well, I'll grab the other specialists," Robin sighs. "I'll probably pair up Solkis with Caspar, Ynnifer with Bernadetta, and Josen with Petra."
"That's…" I do some mental calculations. "A bit less than half of the class. What are you going to do with the rest?"
"I'll…probably have to get out the cards…yeah, that'll have to be…oh man, Soren is going to be pissed," Robin chuckles.
Oh! He's talking about that Corrin fellow, isn't he?
Robin nods his head in response, much to Mikal's confusion.
"I…see?" Mikal blinks. "I don't know what you two are talking about, but I suppose I'll believe in you that it'll be fine. I mean, Boss hasn't ever done anything wrong, right?"
"You'd be—"
"That's right," I puff out my chest in pride, cutting off whatever it was that Robin was going to say. Robin has always led well. (If you'd known… maybe you wouldn't have followed me… -R)
"Right," Mikal smiles. "I'll leave it to you two then!"
We leave and head towards where the 1st Company is situated. A similar conversation occurred with their commander Solkis.
Solkis is…well, Solkis is old. Father said they had been friends when they were children, and Jeralt is very old. I don't know how old, but Robin says that Jeralt is extremely old. I believe him. Despite being very old, his hair hasn't changed very much. It's still a dark green, which Jeralt says he's always had. He's built like a mountain, hits as hard as one, and is more stubborn than one. (Seriously! One of his biceps is bigger than my head!)
"I'll take your damned money," The old Srengian grunted when Robin told him what he wanted him to do. "If ya just make sure those lil' saplings don't get in the way of me or Zonzi while we do most of the actual work."
"Well…" Robin begins by placing another sack of coins on the counter.
"I don't like where this is going," Solkis narrows his eyes. "I'll probably agree to it anyway, but I won't like it."
"I need you to look after a noble—"
"I knew it," Solkis sighs. "I fucking knew it…Damn Jeralt, he's known me for fift—er, a long time, and yet he still drags me into this shit?"
"Glad to have you on board, Solkis," Robin snorts in amusement.
"Yeah yeah, fuck off now," The old green-haired man snorts and waves off.
"His name is Caspar von Bergliez, by the way!" Robin smiles as we leave.
"I said leave, goddess-damn it!"
Once again, a similar conversation occurred with Fifth Company commander Ynnifer when we asked her, only she was more on board with the students joining in on our little adventure, especially once Robin mentioned Bernadetta.
That was a welcome surprise for me. Robin seemed to know this beforehand, though and brought much less coin. Strange.
"She sounds like a right mess," The older Albenian woman laughed. Her accent is a little thick and Robin takes a bit of time to understand her words. "Don't worry too much hun, I'll make sure the little ones stay safe."
"Seteth still said they have to see combat. I couldn't talk him out of it, so here we are," Robin groans. "I'll probably have Bernadetta be your adjutant; that way she'll get some experience with both riding a horse and with a bow. Naga knows she needs it…"
"You sure bout that?" Ynnifer raises an eyebrow. "I don't like to stay behind, you know?"
"I know…but Seteth's orders, I'm afraid," Robin sighs. "What I also know is that none of your adjutants has ever gotten hurt."
"That is also true," Ynnifer nods with a light smile. "Don't worry, Robin, I'll make sure she's well taken care of."
"I'm not worried," Robin sighs bitterly.
"Ah! But your face says you are," Yniffer laughs as Robin immediately switches his facial expression to be less worried. It makes me laugh slightly too. (It was not slightly! It was barely a snort!).
"But I am not," Robin sighs. "Nevermind that…just make sure Bernadetta both learns and stays safe during the mission in two weeks' time."
"Have I ever let you down, dear?"
"Yes," Robin says without even blinking. "You forgot to bring the whiskey on By's 16th Birthday."
"You're still mad about that?" Ynnifer blinks. "It's been five years!"
"You asked a question, I answered," Robin's response earns him a flick to the forehead, which causes him to yelp more in surprise than in pain.
"Hmph! You're lucky I enjoy working with you, Rob," Ynnifer snorts good-naturedly. "You're insufferable sometimes, you know that?"
"I know…Still don't know how I got a wife," Robin grins.
"Mystery of the century, that," Yniffer agrees.
We don't talk to Josan, the commander of the Seventh Company, at all. Robin just left with a bag of…something and walked into the forest while telling me to head back to the monastery and tell the class to meet up in the training grounds in the afternoon.
"No," The black-haired tactician hisses. "I am not going to help you with this…little project of yours!"
"Come oooon, Soren. Stop being so stubborn! Robin needs our help, so why don't we help him?" Another tactician grabs Soren's shoulder, at which the first tactician wheels around and attempts to smack the shorter brown-haired green-robed tactician on the head. Before Soren can, however, a green-haired lady with a very cool-looking bow grabs his hand.
"Ah! Lyn!" The brown-haired man blinks in surprise before suddenly putting his hands up. "P—Please, peace! There's no point in conflict right now!"
"Don't. Touch. Him." This Lyn girl proceeds to ignore the shorter man's objections and squeezes Soren's wrist, hard. "Or you will know the taste of my arrows."
"Alright!" Soren yanks his hand away from Lyn and scowls at her. "Geez, I'll leave your man-toy alone. Still not going to join Robin in his little teaching question, though."
"You little—!"
"Hey! Hey!" Robin finally has enough of the arguing that's been going around for…nearly ten minutes now. "That's enough. Soren, I can't force you to come, and honestly, I don't know if I even want you. I'll go ask Sir Oifey or Sir Lewyn if that comes to pass. Lyndis…please, I know Mark is extremely important to you—"
"Exactly," Lyn…er—Lyndis? What is her name? "Which is why I need to make sure he doesn't hurt. He's too nice for his own good."
"—But keep threats to a minimum. Soren's been dead for nearly two thousand years. Trying to kill him again is just going to be a pain for me in particular," Robin sighs. "Look, Lyndis, I know this wasn't what we all thought of when I told you we'd meet again after the…I don't even know how many years we spent together in Askr, but right now, I have a job to do, and you still haven't killed Nergal yet. That happens…"
"In around half a year," Lyndis nods. "So I'll be bringing Mark, Eliwood, and Hector to Archanea then."
"I just hope everyone will remember me…" Robin sighs slightly, his eyes glassing over. "I would be extremely sad if I didn't get to see my favourite loudmouth again—sorry Vaike."
Lyndis giggles.
"Don't worry, Robin," She reassures him. "We all do."
"Well, we strayed a bit from the original topic," Robin sighs. "Are you really not going to go, Soren?"
"Of course not," The black-haired tactician snorts. "I'll help you when things get serious, not to babysit some noble who probably doesn't know the front end of a lance from the back."
"Right…" Robin sighs, rubbing his temples. "Lewyn? Are you up for it?"
"Hmmm?" A sleepy-looking green-haired mage shoots Robin a toothy smile. "Am I ever. This'll be one heck of a task, yeah? Man, I just want to have a rest after all the shit that went down in Judgral, but if I can make some children don't die, I'm all up for it."
"Speaking of, how did it feel to get possessed by Forseti?" Robin tilts his head with a questioning gaze. "At least, some historians have theorised the reason you were so cold towards your children Ced and Fee."
"Ah…that," This Lewyn person takes a moment to sigh and shake his head. "Partly yes, partly no. While I don't think I was directly controlled by Lord Forseti…it's not like I didn't lose a part of myself either. It felt…like I traded something away. Yeah, I guess that's a way to look at it…and if I'm being honest here…I'm seeing some trends that I'm not sure I like."
"I guess so…" Robin shakes his head. "Nevermind that, I'm going to pair you up with Linhardt."
"Linhardt…huh…" Lewyn shakes his head. "If I didn't forget, that's the one that looks the most like me with crusader blood that allows him to heal better?"
"A Crest," Robin corrects. "Which is a far cry to what a crusader's holy blood can do."
"Never seen one in action," Lewyn shrugs. "Still…why me? I'm not a healer; Micaiah would be a better fit."
"It's because I see the potential for a tactician in him," Robin explains. "While Hubert might currently be a better one, he's a bit more…spymaster-y to be a proper tactician. Linhardt has everything that a tactician needs to be good, except maybe some healthy paranoia."
"But we can pound that into him," Lewyn chuckles. "I get it. I'll do my job properly."
"Don't interact with him too much this time around," Robin orders. "I want your opinion on his potential for now. And yeah, keep him alive."
"Will do," Lewyn smiles. "Don't worry about a thing."
"Right, that's done…" Robin sighs. "You four can go now."
Robin waves and the four tacticians (August, Lewyn, and two people I don't know. Oifey and Merlinus, I think. That's what Robin said.) disappear into motes of golden light. Oddly enough, Mark and Soren don't leave. Strange.
"Right…Next up is Hubert which means…ugh, which means me, probably…" Robin groans. "Does anyone want to take the suspicious, brooding man? Sirius?"
"I am not brooding…" A tall, blonde, masked man appears from another card. "And seriously, you're using the name Sirius when you know fully well what my real name is?"
"Do you want to be called the Camus, the Stubborn Ox of Grust? Or Sirius, the White Eagle?" Robin raises an eyebrow.
"Ezekiel would have been a better name," The man rolls his eyes good-naturedly. They seemed to already had this conversation many times before. "It's who I became in the end. And also, the Stubborn Ox of Grust? Who came up with that name?"
"Believe it or not," Robin shrugs. "Lord Marth himself. I quote from Blessings of Naga: Hero-King Marth's Journals:"
Robin takes a deep breath.
"Camus…that stubborn ox…loyal to the very end…what good did his death do? He died…He died for nothing and yet…and yet he did so willingly, without regrets, without remorse, anger or hatred for Archanea or me…could I have done the same?" Robin seems to be trying to mimic a man's voice. It's…quite light and high, almost like a child's.
It seems Camus (Ezekiel? Sirius? What do I call him?) gets a massive laugh from it.
"That…was an excellent impression of Marth," Camus smiles.
"I'd be disappointed if I couldn't do a good impression of the Hero-King," Robin grins. "I had to listen to him talk about something or other every night. I swear to Naga above, he's somehow more boring than the books make him out to be!"
"Right…" Soren speaks up. "What are we going to do for the rest, anyway? We're not here to talk about your past experiences, Robin."
"Eh. Killjoy. You're just mad that I was able to get out of Freyja's dream faster than you could," Robin smirks as Soren seeth. Before the black-haired tactician can reply, however, Robin continues. "You are right that we should return to the matter at hand. I'll be watching Hubert. We still have to get through Lysithea, Edelgard, and Dorothea."
"I think we can put Tethys with Dorothea! She's a singer…right?" Mark announces before hesitantly double-checking with Robin. His face lights up when the white-haired tactician nods. "Then she'll fit in with a dancer!"
"The danger here is that Tethys has no offensive capabilities," Soren counters. "I still believe that a spellcaster like Merric or yourself would make a better fit."
"Right, but who'll deal with Hubert?" Robin counters. "I don't trust—Rhajat."
"What?"
"Who?"
"Rhajat. Hayato's daughter," Robin clarifies. "I can't get Tharja, so I'll settle on the next best thing."
"For who?" Soren seems very confused, while Robin has taken out a small notebook and is furiously scribbling in it.
"Hubert, obviously!" Robin looks up from his furious writing to glare at Soren before returning. "And I'll go with Lysithea, and I can probably get Azura to—no, Shigure's a better fit…his dad…Corrin would…actually, that would be a good idea…hmmm, maybe…"
Robin has now started to ramble. I shrug and let him go through with it. It's better to let him get it out of his system. I'm just wondering what exactly he's drawing. Is that a…chart? I don't want to know.
"Alright!" Robin folds his arms and assumes a drill sergeant's position when addressing his troops. Then again, this isn't far off. "As you all know, every month we get a mission from the church. While I am told that this usually is helping out a village with their harvest, cleaning up after the knights, or on occasion doing some scouting missions, this time we have a truly…special assignment."
Robin takes a bit of time to look at our students who are currently lined up in a line on the training field. The students are in different stages of panic.
Ferdinand is the least affected. He's fine.
Caspar is wearing a confident smile, but he's a bit restless. Whether that's due to excitement or nervousness I cannot tell.
Linhardt looks tired, as usual.
Petra just looks confused if I'm being honest. I'll have Robin translate what everything means later.
Lysithea and Dorothea are apprehensive, though probably for different reasons. Lysithea probably thinks it's finally time to prove herself to Robin, while Dorothea probably thinks she will have to kill someone. She's not wrong, unfortunately.
Bernadetta is just a mess. No other comments.
Edelgard and Hubert seem…odd. Like they're waiting for something to happen, and yet every moment it hasn't makes them more confused.
(I must remind you that this was all the purple mage's comments, and you copied them right out of his journal!)
No one needs to know that. Nobody.
(Then why did you write it down?)
"We're going to clean up the bandits that tried to kill our dear princess here a month ago," Robin nods towards Edelgard, who flinches lightly. Huh. Weird. "But that also means that we're going to be fighting relatively experienced bandits who have more experience than all of you combined. Can anyone see why that's a problem?"
"We're going to rely on you too much,"
"It's too dangerous!"
Lysithea and Dorothea respond at the same time. It takes me a moment to realise who said what exactly, but Robin doesn't have the same problem.
"You're both right," Robin nods. "If we go alone, then not only will I be putting all of you at extreme risk, but By and I will be doing most of the heavy lifting, defeating the purpose of the exercise in its entirety."
"Uh— Professor, I don't mean to interrupt," Caspar interrupts. "But can't we like, have some knights with us or something? So we're not alone?"
"Good thinking, Caspar!" Robin grins.
The class is silent for a moment.
"Hey, why the long faces?" Robin blinks. "I'm serious, you know? In fact, I did go and get help. Everyone, please welcome Solkis Hinterdann, Mikal Kiselov, Ynnifer Magenia, and Josen de Lasracha. They and their respective companies of soldiers will be assisting us with next week's mission. This week will primarily involve training with them and making sure you have some modicum of usefulness to the mission."
As he says this, the four people in question enter the training hall and stand behind the students that Robin chose for them to accompany. Poor Bernie, she looks so scared when Ynnifer walks over and puts a hand on her shoulder.
"Now," Robin continues. "While the trained troops are going to do most of the heavy lifting, Seteth has informed me that everyone must see combat. Those of you who have been assigned a soldering partner will be training with them for the rest of the week. Those of you who are not…will be training with me. I will not allow any of you to do stupid things on the battlefield. Are we clear on that?"
Everyone who is currently or has been trained by Robin nods their head. The latter category is actually quite large: Mikal, Josen and I all nod our heads reflexively. Mikal looks confused and a bit ashamed after doing so, but Josen doesn't seem to mind. I certainly don't. I still consider myself to be Robin's student after all.
"Good," Robin nods his head. "We'll set off next Monday. We'll be packing during the week's end. If you have any previous arrangements, cancel them now. I'm going to get something really quick. Don't go anywhere just yet."
With that, Robin turns and leaves. Wait, why? Wasn't the whole point for him to—
"Hey!" I hear a voice half-whisper, half-yell from somewhere behind me. "Byleth! Come over here, please!"
I blink. Should I go?
It seems…suspicious.
Yes, but the voice sounds familiar, in a way.
"It's me, Corrin! Please, I have something to discuss while Robin's out!"
Ah. Alright then. I give Solkis a nod which he returns. It's my signal that he's in charge for now. I turn back and find the white-haired man hiding…poorly behind a pillar. To be completely fair to him, he is translucent, so it is hard to see him.
"Hello, Corrin," I greet him as I go around the pillar. He's…frowning deeply. Should I be worried? "Is there something you needed from me?"
"Yeah, actually, I do…" Corrin's voice returns to normal, but it's still soft. "Before I begin, can you agree to not tell Robin anything I say?"
"Why?" I frown.
"Because…well, I've already asked Robin…and he said no…" Corrin winces. That must have been one conversation that I do not want to be a part of.
"Then I don't think I can say yes," I shrug. I wanted to walk off at that point, but Corrin suddenly grabs my shoulders.
"Please!" He suddenly cries out. "I haven't even said what I wanted to do yet!"
"But Robin said no?" I tilt my head.
What does that have to do with anything?
I frown. I've always listened to Robin though.
Well, that just sounds like a toxic relationship.
Sothis snorts.
What…exactly…even is a toxic relationship?
You know what, I'm not going to explain that to you. Go ask the purple mage later.
I was going to, but fine.
Still! I think you should hear him out. At least know what he's asking before you knock his down, you know?
I sigh. Sothis has a point.
"Fine. What do you want to do?" I stop trying to free myself from Corrin's surprisingly strong grasp and he in turn lets me go.
"Thanks…Byleth," He smiles weakly. "See…Robin wanted me to watch over Edelgard. Something about keeping her in check."
I nod. Makes sense. She's going to be the Empress of a nation, and Corrin is already the King of one. And Corrin's more laid-back nature hopefully will counter Edelgard's more…excessive side.
"Well…the thing is, Robin hasn't allowed any of the Einherjar to actually, you know, speak with the people they're protecting," Corrin sighs. "And well, I asked Robin if I could talk to Edelgard and he shut me down quite quickly. Something about telling her about his past? I didn't quite remember what he was saying because Rhajat appeared and tried to drag me off."
"Hmmm…well, I guess that makes sense…" I bite my lip. "But Robin is very tight-lipped about his past. Don't say anything to Edelgard about Robin's past and then I'll agree."
Corrin blinks then smiles.
"I wasn't going to, but sure! I'll gladly do so!"
AN: Hello there! Acardia here!
It's been a while since I had a Sunday release, but I was working on something else, so this is going to have to be released today. Still sticking to the 1 chapter a week deal, though, which is great. I cannot believe the number of reviews I've gotten again! I thank everyone who has reviewed this fic and implore you to review again. Thank you all!
Now to the replies. Sorry if I'm not quite up to par.
Akosii: SHHHH! Stop reading my mind! In all seriousness, though, love your review. It's a bit short because of time constraints and life, so I really can't do anything about it...sorry...
Blumstein:
Thank you! I'd like to believe my writing has gotten better over the half-ish year that I've been writing it, but that's up to all of you to judge. I had the same problem, which is part of the reason I wrote this fic in the first place. I have another one cooking in the background, but I don't know if I want to continue it or not (especially with what happened with A Thousand Burgundy Flowers. Just looking at that doc makes me feel guilty). I just find Robin's story so interesting (and makes him/her such a breakable character, which is what writing is all about: taking an established character and breaking them in interesting ways. Daniel can back me up.)
Uh...Daraen isn't that dead twin. That's Reflect. The point of divergence here is that Robin's mother stays in Plegia a bit longer. Daraen's Robin's younger sister by a couple of years. As for the whole Grima taking a sledgehammer to Robin's head, that doesn't happen to Daraen; Daraen's connection to Grima isn't that strong. As for her effect on the timeline...not much, actually, other than another unit you can pick. She's too worried about Robin's amnesia to really fit in with the other shepherds. A bit of a spoiler, but she becomes one of the Deadlords that Robin frees during his trip to Future Past (along with Chrom, Sumia, Tiki, Gaius, and Cordelia. yeah, that experience was not the best to send an already mentally unstable Robin on) to rescue Marc. As for affecting the Future Past, she accompanies Robin for most of that timeline, kind of like a more stable Tharja.
Don't worry about it buddy. I do the same thing, if I'm being honest. This fic started as me drafting my musings of how I wanted Shepherding the Flock to go into a story. The worldbuilding came naturally since I love worldbuilding...anything, if I'm being honest.
Thank you! It might take me some time to get there. We still have to get through the first battle, after all... Ugh, I did not expect this fic to become a slow-burn...
Blackplant: Thank you again for your continued reviews!
YargLives: Thanks!
Guest(1): No worries, friend. Rambling is also how I review things. Just ask Blackplant. Anyhow, while that would be a great premise for a fun chapter, I already have something lined up for now. Oh man, just imagining Lysithea's reactions...ehehhehehehehe... But Robin is trying to tone down the heresy as much as possible. Actually, wouldn't it be Heathen-ness? I'm not a theologian, but the Church of Naga and the Chuch of Seiros have completely different gods, so Apostasy? But Robin isn't renouncing his belief in the Church of Seiros... If anyone knows what this is called, please tell me.
Guest(2): Sorry if I came off a bit strong in my last reply. While I'll admit that my reaction to your review (reviews if you're the same person as before) was a bit harsh, I still believe that you have misunderstood the primary reason that I've written this fic. I don't like how Robin being Grima was...brushed off, in a way, by the game. This is me rectifying that. I suppose I got a little annoyed by the continued reviews of other people who said similar things before. Though I must ask: are you trying to antagonize me? If so, then I'll take a different tone with my future replies. If not, then I'll continue trying to stay as cordial as possible. I don't want conflict, even if I can't express that well. Sorry about that.
That's all for this week, everyone! Next week is...ehhehhehe... April.
Acardia out!