Lysithea tried her best not to fidget in her seat, a difficult task when she was sitting in the familiar room of Seteth's office. The last time she been was back when she had first met Claude… and tried to set him on fire. Needless to say, she was not very confident with her standing with the man in front of her. Speaking of, the man himself was reading a report about her with a stern expression that gradually grew more disappointed. She could tell by the occasional glances he shot in her direction that this was not going to end well.

"Underage drinking," Seteth said plainly.

"I apologize for my indiscretion. I can only request that you lighten Marisa's punishment, she was not aware of the laws in Fodlan and was a regular companion of mine when drinking in Gensokyo." Lysithea simply pulled off the bandage. She had to be the one to take responsibility for her actions. As much as it was going to suck.

"What you two do in Gensokyo… well our laws certainly don't apply there," Seteth admitted. "While in Fodlan though you are expected to follow Fodlan law and you knew this."

"I know."

"Especially as a student at this student at the academy you should be holding yourself to a higher standard."

"I know."

"As for Marisa, she was not made aware of many of our laws, a mistake I plan to rectify," Seteth admitted. "As such a required course on Fodlan laws and some additional testing on them should prove enough to serve as punishment, a learning experience, and leniency toward a person who did not know any better."

"Thank you."

"You on the other hand as noble and a Fodlan native will have no such consideration."

"I know."

Seteth sighed and his face softened somewhat. "Your Professor explained in much detail as to what happened to you before your… indiscretion. I understand that what happened to you was traumatizing and the temptation to find some sort of outlet to your grief would be there. However I have just seen as many people destroy themselves with outlets such as drinking. I do not want you to drown in the bottle as the children would say."

Drown in a bottle? What does tha- Wait!? Was Seteth accusing her of being an alcoholic!?

"Seteth. I apologize for my mistake, but I can assure that I have the self-restraint to keep my drinking under control."

"That is what any addict says. Not admitting that they have a problem," Seteth replied, clearly not believing her.

"It was just a one time thing. It won't happen again," Lysithea replied. At least not in public.

"True it did only happen once so far that we know of. A repeating habit and an established history is required before we can truly confirm that you have an addiction. However, note that you will be put under further scrutiny for these indiscretions and there is still of course the matter of your punishment." Seteth gestured with his hand. "Normally troublesome students would be sent to assist Tomas in the library during their free time… but I believe that would be a reward for you. Instead you are to help clean up the training grounds for four weeks."

"Clean the what for the what?" Lysithea asked, hoping that she misheard the man.

"The training grounds. It will be very physically strenuous work, which though you will find troublesome will give you some much needed exercise. You spend too much time indoors as it is."

"What would I be doing?" She honestly dreaded the answer.

"Carrying weapons, cleaning the weapons, replacing and mending the training dummies, cleaning the copious bodily fluids covering the grounds after every session, Jeritza will inform you of what to do. And you will have Cyril there. Do not be afraid to ask him any questions, we rely on him quite a lot for the many tasks in the Monastery… too many in fact. See if you can help him and get him to take some rest and I'll cut down your punishment by a week."

"Uh… sure."

It was a horrible punishment but she had no choice but to accept. Just… uh the time that she would end up wasting cleaning up after everyone there. Time that she could've spent reading or studying or magic.

She swore at that moment to not drink again in Fodlan, or at least not get caught doing so.

As Lysithea was about to stand up resigned to her fate, someone knocked on the door.

"Come in," Seteth said.

The door opened and a Monastery guard would step through. "Seteth. I have a report that your sister has been approached by Marisa Kirisame again."

Lysithea slowly turned her head toward Seteth, her expression unamused. "You have people spying on your sister?" she asked with a deadpan.

"No of course not," Seteth replied firmly before his eyes started shifting in another direction. "I might have had a few staff keep an eye on Marisa though once she started flirting with Flayn."

Lysithea sighed and pinched her brow. Now she was the one who had the right to be annoyed. "Marisa flirts with everyone. Unlike Sylvian she knows when to dial it back and adjust to what a person is comfortable with."

"Still. To think that she would make such advances with my sister."

"She's not making advances. It's nothing serious until Marisa asks if they want to go on a broom ride," Lysithea replied, exasperated. For Marisa that sort of act was an intimate thing reserved for close friends or people she was seriously courting.

"Actually, Marisa was showing Flayn her broom," the guardsmen commented.

Lysithea blinked. "Oh…"

"It seems that it's up to me to protect Flayn honor," Seteth replied. "There's no telling when she'll have her heart broken by such an unfaithful person."

"What? No. Marisa's devoted. The last thing you ever have to worry about is her being unfaithful. Once a relationship is official she's committed. But…"

Seteth raised an eyebrow. "But?"

"Marisa's never had a relationship that lasted a year," Lysithea admitted. "Apparently most people find her a bit too intense…"

They sat there in silence for a few precious seconds before jumping out of their seats.

"I think we should go check on Flayn and Marisa."

"Agreed."

They both ran out of the room.

"… So do I just stand here then?" the guardsman asked now that he was left alone in the office.

"When you said you knew a shortcut I didn't think you'd have us traipsing through the foliage."

Lysithea ignored Seteth's grumblings as she moved aside a patch of brush and peeked out. There in front of their eyes was Flayn and Marisa sitting at the table, eyes bright and laughing with the tea and sweets having gone practically untouched.

By the gods it was worse than she thought!

"So you were correct about this route." Seteth began to stand up. "Thank you Lysithea I'll make sure-"

Lysithea grabbed him and dragged him down before he could blow their cover. "You can't just go and confront them!? All that'll do is drive Flayn into Marisa's arms, and Marisa both loves and thrives in acts of rebellion! It's been her thing since she was eight," she whispered furiously at him.

"I can assure you that I am perfectly capable when it comes to dealing with my own sister."

Lysithea cursed and ignored Seteth's glare at her language before grabbing him by the arm and pulling him back down into the brush. "You don't know Marisa as well as I do. Hell, do you even know how to interact with a pair of young women?"

"I have plenty of experience interacting with the students here."

"Outside of your duties? In a social setting?"

"I have limited experience interacting with the students."

"Then listen to an actual girl when she tells you that you're about to make a terrible mistake! You keep going at it your way and Flayn's going to lose her maidenhood by the end of the week!"

"… And Marisa?"

"…"

"I have to save my sister."

"And we will! Just not in your way!" Lysithea took out a pair of binoculars and used them to zoom in on their targets.

"Where did you get a pair of binoculars?" Seteth asked.

"From the Lost and Found on the way here, I'll put them back when we're done."

"I thought that was empty ever since your Professor came here."

"Uh yeah about that. Marisa got to them first I think. Probably was the one who found them, got bored of them, and put them in the Lost and Found anyway." Lysithea raised her hand. "Now be quiet, I'm trying to cast a spell."

A carefully muttered incantation and soon a pair of familiar voices could be heard right in front of them.

"- it must've been an incredible battle worthy of a fairytale." Flayn sighed. "Too bad I couldn't have been there to witness it myself."

"To be fair everything before that wasn't really pretty. The Church takes a serious stance when it comes to rebels," Marisa replied.

"It was a shame that it had to come to that. I wonder if such violence was even necessary."

"To be fair neither side was in much of a talking mood. Still surprised to see you disagreeing with Rhea."

"Rhea has been wonderful to me and my brother. She's family, but even family has to disagree… quite often in fact."

"Yea your brother seems a bit-"

"Overbearing? Nosy? A man with little sense and a complete lack of awareness!?"

"Overprotective but yea all those things."

Seteth turned to Lysithea, his eyes wide. "She's turning her against me!"

"I'm pretty sure you did that to yourself," Lysithea replied plainly. "Now be quiet. I got to concentrate, it's hard keeping this spell up and keeping it subtle enough for Marisa not to notice."

"… Have you used that spell anywhere else in the Academy?"

"Not now!"

"It's just..." Flayn sighed. "I understand he wants me to be safe, but I want to be able to live my life. He can't keep me cooped up here all the time. Did you know he nearly frightened a poor boy to death simply because he talked to me? Does he not understand that I want to make friends?"

"Is he trying to sabotage you and your relationships?" Marisa asked.

"No! And that's the worst part. He genuinely thinks he's helping me make friends, he's just completely incompetent at it. He doesn't realize what he's doing wrong."

"Huh. Never seemed like the type to me. Must get real weird when it comes to you."

Lysithea couldn't help but agree. She also couldn't help but think that was all something that she really shouldn't be hearing.

"Flayn… is this truly what you thought of me?" Seteth asked.

"Well if your brother is ever too much for you, you can always come to me. Know what it's like to just need someone to talk to," Marisa replied.

"And I greatly appreciate it Marisa," Flayn smiled. "You truly are a dear companion to me."

The two girls continued talking for a bit as Seteth laid there frozen, likely contemplating everything he had just heard. Eventually their… Date? ended and Flayn gave Marisa her farewell.

Marisa smiled at Flayn's retreating form. She then raised her hand, turned her head toward Lysithea's direction, and then- "S! $%#AQWN"

"Aaaah my ears!" Lysithea screamed out and was sent rolling on the ground as incomprehensible and unfathomable noise assaulted her earbuds. Seteth next to her remained much more poised but even he grunted at the pain in his ears.

"Lys. I honestly didn't think you'd actually try to eavesdrop- oh hey Seteth, stalking your sister again?" Marisa said, suddenly right in front of them. Or rather they didn't notice her approach as they were busy trying to cope with the ringing in her ears.

"Marisa Kirisame," Seteth said with gritted teeth. "This is assault on faculty-"

"You were stalking and eavesdropping on a private conversation between two young girls, one of whom was one of your students. What do you think will happen when word of that gets around? Or worse, I tell Flayn."

"I withdraw my complaint."

"As for you Lys, you think I wouldn't notice you using a sound amplification spell? I practically perfected that shit."

Yea that sounded about right. Probably explained how Marisa was able to break into the SDM so often without ringing the alarm.

"I was just worried about you," Lysithea moaned as she finally stood up and looked at Marisa.

"Look I know you don't think much about my relationships. I get it." Marisa crossed her arms and glared at her. "But this is my personal life. You can talk to me about it in my face as much as you want, but don't sneak off around me or do things around my back. My relationships are my business."

"Ok…"

"And as for you." Marisa directed her glare at Seteth. "If Flayn found out you were here, she would hate you."

Seteth gasped. Actually gasped. "My sister would never hate me!"

"Keep this controlling brother act up and she will," Marisa replied. "You try to keep her cooped away and under your control and she'll just run away when it gets too much. Hell, I'll help her myself."

"Flayn is not- Flayn would never."

"You don't know what a person will do when pushed." Marisa sighed and shook her head. "Look, you clearly love her. That's a plus in my book, but if you had an issue with me dating her then you should've just said something to me."

"Would you acquiesce to my demands?"

"If we both wanted it then no, but if you had been willing to work it out then I'd put in the effort."

"So you did want to date her," Lysithea asked.

"Yea but she rejected me like two weeks ago," Marisa replied casually. "Doesn't swing that way apparently, we're just good friends now."

"So I should only be afraid of the men approaching Flayn?" Seteth asked.

"I don't think that's what you should be focusing on," Marisa replied plainly before pointing backwards. "Now I'm just going to go off and continue my day. You two just… continue whatever you two are doing."

Lysithea and Seteth watched as Marisa walked away, leaving the two of them standing awkwardly in the shrubbery.

"… Do you want to get some tea?" Seteth asked.

"Sure," Lysithea replied, planning to put plenty of cream and sugar in hers.

Tea with Seteth had been a rather… awkward affair for Lyisthea but turns out the man wasn't as scary as he first appeared. Stern certainly, but fair and mostly open minded as long as the topic didn't involve Flayn. If anything he was a great person to talk to in a more casual setting and his advice was certainly something to take in mind.

Still, he was probably wrong about her lack of exercise. She got plenty of it! Certainly more than most of the people at the SDM anyway. And certainly enough now that she was lugging around a bunch of weapons to be cleaned and stored. Unfortunately their newfound acquaintance did little to change Seteth's mind about her punishment.

She had just started hefting a large greatsword when a hand grabbed it out of her arms.

"I got this. I think you'd be better off cleaning the weapons," Cyril said.

Lysithea huffed and pouted. "I'm not some fair maiden. I can certainly handle my fair share of weapons."

"Your arms were shaking the second she grabbed it. You're just not cut out for this kinda work. Look at your hands, they're like a princess's," Cyril replied.

Likely due to the SDM's regularly scheduled spa day, courtesy of Remilia. Lysithea wasn't a very vain person, but even she could understand the necessity and enjoy a good massage or facial.

"I can't just not do any work."

"Then you can help clean that pile of weapons over there, you're pretty meticulous and have a good attention to detail. Shouldn't be too hard as long as you pace yourself."

"Alright Cyril. I'll follow your lead," Lysithea before making her way to the pile as instructed

It took a few minutes of work to realize that Cyril had assigned her the right task. It was certainly less objectionable than having to carry so many weapons around. Though it was certainly impressive and honestly kind of scary how Cyril was able to pile so many on his arms and still move as deftly as he did.

Eventually she got into a bit of a rhythm. Clean off the blood and sweat, dry off the water, oil the metal, and then treat the blade a little with a bit of fire magic. It was tough work and she could practically feel the hours slip her by. How did Cyril do all of this in addition to everything else he did all day? Did he actually do anything outside of work?

"Have you… completed your task yet?"

Lysithea looked up from the sword in her arms towards Professor Jeritza. "Almost done, just a few more blades."

"Then could you go and assist Cyril… he seems to be having trouble with a stray blade."

Lysithea nodded, put the sword aside, and moved toward the direction Jeritza had indicated. It didn't take long to find Cyril staring up at a nearby wall. She followed his gaze and-

"How by God's name did they get a spear up there?" Lysithea asked. Not only was it several stories up but the entirety of the blade was embedded straight into the stone wall.

"Dimitri I think," Cyril replied. "Happens a lot with him actually."

"Did you tell him that? Seems to be a lot of trouble cleaning up after him."

Cyril shrugged. "It's my job. Besides he's a Prince I'm supposed to clean up after him."

"Still maybe we should inform him of this?"

"Not my place and you shouldn't trouble yourself about this."

"I should if it means having to clean up after his mess while I'm on punishment."

"Fair enough," Cyril conceded as he began to bite his nail. "Going to be tough to get there. No ladders tall enough tall enough to get there and I only just started learning how to ride a wyvern."

"Why did you start learning how to fly a Wyvern?"

"For stuff like this. Being able to fly would let me get more stuff done around the Monastery." He snapped a finger. "See that window there?"

"That window several rooms away from the spear?"

"I'm going to go out through there, climb the wall, and then shimmy the spear out."

"That is a terrible idea," Lysithea replied bluntly. "You'd be climbing sideways on a stone wall with very little purchase or places to grab. Even if you could do it, one mistake and you'd end up falling several stories onto a stone path."

"Well what do you suggest then? Cause I can't think of another way to get up there."

It didn't take long for Lysithea to figure out a solution, a very simple one actually. Too bad she didn't really like it. "Did you talk to anyone about a recent mission I went on?"

"Heard some things about a weird monster and how Marisa blew it up. Oh, do you think we should ask her since she can fly?"

"No, I don't think we need to bother her about this." Lysithea replied as she began to brush down her skirt.

"Is this about those rumors about you?" Cyril asked.

Yep. No point in trying to keep that secret of hers anymore. Word of mouth and gossip had a tendency to spread around the Academy like wildfire.

With a soft kick of her feet she left the ground and began to float upwards in the air. She steadily ascended and crested a nearby rooftop. Unfortunately, behind said rooftop was a small gathering of students below that had noticed her and were now pointing at her.

Ah f- whatever. Just get this damn task done before she drew too much of an audience.

Lysithea grabbed onto the shaft of the spear with a hand and tugged. It didn't move an inch. She wrapped both of her hands on it and began to pull. Still nothing. She angled herself until her feet were resting on the wall then used the building as leverage as she pushed herself against it.

"Guauugh. Come out already!"

Several long moments later and all Lysithea had for her efforts was a red face, sweaty body, and the complete shattering of any pride she might've had once she acknowledged the crowd below that had bore full witness to her continuing failure.

"Yo Lys!" a familiar voice called out from the crowd.

"What Claude!?" Lysithea couldn't help but shout at the man.

"Did you try oiling the blade? Maybe put some butter on it?"

"You are not helping!"

"How did that spear even get up there anyway?"

"Dimitri! And if you inform him about how much trouble he is creating for us, then maybe I won't hunt you down later for annoying me!"

"Deal!"

Lysithea looked back at the wall and refocused on her task. If physical force alone wasn't going to be enough…

She put a hand to the wall and began to manipulate the stone with Earth magic until it softened and shifted slightly. She then slowly pulled the spear out, inch by inch, until finally the blade completely emerged from the stone. With the weapon free she then shifted the stone back to its original position and hardened it once more.

It didn't quite match the rest of the wall on closer examination but at least it wasn't cracked anymore.

Lysithea floated back down in front of Cyril, though her feet were still a few inches above the ground. "Here's the spear. Is there anything else you need me to do?"

Cyril stared at her blankly and then blinked once. "Nah, it's fine. You're done for the day."

"Alright. See you tomorrow then," Lysithea replied before flying back into the air and making a beeline toward her room. She just needed to get a change of clothes for a bath and then a long nap afterwards.

A/N

Had a bit of fun this chapter. Planning to have things get a bit more... complicated by the next chapter or two.

Attached below is my Kofi account. Any tip is appreciated though I will still do my best to keep writing, nevertheless.

/soul249134