Chapter 13: Progression

Goetia stared at the assembled individuals in the library.

Three pairs of eyes stared back at him.

"I was aware of Lysithea and Byleth appearing for my tutoring." He began, his voice lacked any accusatory tone to it, more perplexed "However, your presence is…" he paused, features straightening, for the scarcest of moments, a flash of disappointment filtered through his eyes "I assume you are here because you overheard Professor Byleth would be tutoring with me and in your desire to surpass her, you decided that you would also join my lessons."

Leonie had the decency to look sheepish, Goetia's lip twitched slightly "Am I wrong? Young Pinelli?"

"No." She shook her head, "You aren't wrong." placing a hand on her heart, she stared into Goetia's eyes "I will become Captain Jeralts best apprentice! That means I need to seize every opportunity that presents itself!"

"Determination is admirable." Goetia began, Leonie smiled brightly "But it is ultimately irrelevant. If you wish to learn Runecraft, then you may indulge yourself. However, I will warn you from the beginning that your lack of a Crest will hamper your ability in magecraft."

Leonie nodded "I know, but I'm going to try my best regardless."

The tanned man stared at her for a few moments before his eyes travelled to Lysithea "Did you share your notes with her?"

"Yes…" Lysithea nodded "She insisted on joining us, so I gave her a basic overview at the same time I did the Professor."

"I see." Goetia nodded, then titled his head, eyebrow raised "Did they understand it?"

"For the most part." Lysithea sighed "I managed to get them to understand the basic principles behind Runecraft."

Byleth raised her hand, Goetia stared at her for a few moments before he gestured for her to speak.

"When can I punch peoples heads off?"

"...Later." The tanned man replied, eyes moving away from her "For the time being, considering neither of you seem to possess and basic magical training, we shall begin with your basic introduction." he looked over at Lysithea "You shared your teachings of Runes to them?"

"Yes, Teacher." Lysithea nodded her head, a proud smile on her face. Goetia hummed in affirmation before looking over to Leonie.

"I suspect the other two will have an easier time at this task. Have you ever attempted to cast magic before?"

"...No." Leonie shook her head. Goetia frowned.

"Hold out your hand." He demanded, the girl looked surprised for a few moments before she extended her hand to the man. Goetia grasped her wrist, Leonie watched as the man stared at her wrist for several moments, then her eyes widened as a single glowing line raced across the top of his skin before settling on her. The sensation akin to sticking her hand in cold water. "Hmm." Goetia released her wrist, she took his back before rubbing it, staring at him with a raised eyebrow.

"What was that?" She asked, looking perplexed.

"I was examining your aptitude for Magecraft." He replied immediately "Curious, I was aware that Crests were not required to cast magecraft, although it does ease the process." he surmised "It also confirms my current theories." he shook his head "Regardless, you should be capable of casting Runes. Their effectiveness will be limited, although you could supplement that with skill."

It had at least confirmed his theory that they did in fact have Magic circuits, although hers were far too degraded to be of any use. However, from what he could thus far understand, the people of Fodlan utilised the mana in the air and focused it that way rather than using their own circuits. In that regard, they reminded him much more of the Mages from the Age of Gods.

He supposed that considering this world still seemed to operate via mysteries, that made sense.

"What was that anyway?"

"An analysis spell." Goetia explained "I simply examined your bodies physical structure and potential."

"E-eh?" Leonie backed away from him ever so slightly "What do you mean 'examined'?"

"...I examined you." He stated again "...If you are concerned, you have no underlying medical conditions. You are actually in peak physical form for a girl your age."

Leonie puffed out her chest and crossed her arms, a smug smile on her face "Thank you! I do try my best to train hard!"

"...I'm sure." Goetia muttered, then looked to the other two, he raised an eyebrow as he saw Lysithea giving him a somewhat fearful expression.

"Y-you can examine the bodies condition?" She asked in a quiet voice, eyes wide.

"I can…" Goetia admitted "I have not used it on you, if that is your concern. Nor would I use it unnecessarily."

Lysithea let out a nearly inaudible sigh of relief. Her relief was misplaced, Goetia already knew that her body was likely damaged due to whatever caused her to manifest two crests. He was not aware of the extent of the damage though. He could just as easily solve the mystery, all it would take would be a brief moment of contact and he would discover the extent of her bodies damage.

But…

He didn't…

Or he couldn't. Something in his head was preventing him from doing so. The logical reason was that he simply didn't care about her condition. That was what he told himself. Although...for some reason he didn't think that was true.

If she had found out that he had analysed her body without her permission, she would be prone to an emotional response.

That was best avoided.

"Irrelevant information aside." Goetia continued on, Leonie took that as her cue to return to her seat, putting on a determine expression and staring at the former beast with her undivided attention. "While Lysithea continues to practice attempting to cast the Runes, you shall both be cementing her brief teachings and attempting to activate these runes." he paused "However." he snapped his fingers, a prismatic portal opened above the desk and two books dropped out "First you will read these guides on how to cast Magic itself, the-"

"What was that!?" Lysithea slammed her hands on the desk, pointing at where the portals had been "That weird pattern with the books!"

"Spacial displacement." He answered as if it were nothing special "Regardless, this will explain the basic principles of casting magic to you. Rather what I need is for you to understand how to manipulate the mana in the air to cast."

"Can't you explain it?" Leonie asked, curious.

"I cannot." He shook his head "Or rather, I cannot explain it in terms you would grasp. Unlike Lysithea, neither you or Byleth have been taught how to use magic at an early age. As such, any explanation I could give your would not be understood and be a waste of time."

"Are you saying I'm too stupid?"

"I'm saying your upbringing has worked against you in this particular case." He answered evenly "Besides, the grimoires that the academy provide offer simple explanations to you. I am...ill suited to explaining it in simpler terms."

"Pfft!" Sothis choked out a laugh, floating above Byleth's head and pointing at Goetia with a sly grin "You're too smart for your own good!"

Goetia pointedly ignored the jab, although Byleth frowned.

"...I suppose that makes sense." Leonie admitted, sighing and scratching the back of her neck "Even if they had offered them, I probably would have continued to work on the physical lessons that Captain Jeralt taught me."

"Hm." Goetia hummed in acceptance of her answer, then looked over at Lysithea "We will both journey to the practice field." he looked back at the pair "We shall return within the hour."

"Yes, Teacher!" Leonie nodded her head.

"Hm." Byleth made a small noise of acceptance.

Goetia and Lysithea swiftly exited the library, moving across towards the training grounds. Lysithea followed after him before a question emerged in her mind.

"Teacher?"

"Yes?"

"Why do you call it magecraft and not magic?"

"Because it isn't magic." He answered immediately.

"Huh!?" Lysithea gaped at him, stopping mid step. Goetia stopped and turned around to face her "W-what do you mean it isn't magic!"

Goetia tilted his head at her, his eyes widened in realisation "Your teachings in Magecraft are rooted in less than sophisticated means. It is understandable you would refer to the mysteries as 'Magic' as you have never encountered a true magic." he sighed "That was an oversight on my part."

"So, what is magecraft?"

"Magecraft is the process of performing an action which can be recreated without the use of mana." Goetia explained, continuing on his pace "An example would be a fireball. I could achieve the same outcome of propelling flame by lighting up a torch and throwing it."

"But that…" She went quiet for a few moments "Spatial displacement." her eyes widened in understanding "Its just moving things isn't it? You could accomplish the same feat by just walking over to something and grabbing it! And flight could be accomplished with wings!"

"You are learning." Goetia admitted, the corner of his lip twitched upwards without him knowing "That is why it is referred to as Magecraft, as opposed to Magic."

"Then, what's magic?" She held up her hand "No! Don't tell me!" she made a thoughtful expression as she raked her brain for an answer. Goetia gave her a sideways glance as she walked alongside him "Aha!" she grinned "Its something that can't be accomplished without mana isn't it!"

"Correct." He nodded "There are Five True Magics which exist." Goetia explained "The first is denial of nothingness. Creating something from nothing. The second is the Kaleidoscope." he cringed "That is...far too complicated to explain." he shook his head "The Third is materialisation of the Soul, ascending the spiritual anchor of a soul to a higher plain of existence. A form of True Immortality. The Fourth...is unknown to me. The Fifth is simply referred to as 'The Blue' however its abilities revolve around time travel."

Lysithea's eyes were wide open as she heard about those "W-whoa…" she muttered dumbly "P-people can do that?"

"They could." He shrugged "However the only living user of a True magic is of the second. The First user died centuries ago, the third is in a near constant state of being realised but failing. The fourth, as I've said, is unknown. As for the fifth." Goetia stopped "...The fifth user is still alive. Although similar attempts at travelling through time have been attempted."

"Did they work?" Lysithea asked, then immediately regretted it as Goetia's face contorted into a vicious snarl for a few moments before returning to its usual impassiveness.

"No. They did not." He answered in an emotionless tone. Stopping "We are here."

"Huh?" Lysithea paused, then looked around and realised they had arrived without her knowing. "O-oh. Should I start?"

"Yes." Goetia nodded, then held up his hand to stop her before she walked past him "But before that." he held his hand over her, lips moving so fast she couldn't even register the words he had spoken.

Her body glowed briefly before she returned to her usual state.

"W-what was that?"

"I cast a spell of protection on you." Goetia answered "It will protect you from the worst possible outcomes of Runecraft." he paused "Although it will only protect you from magical damage. An explosion will produce a blast and you would be at the epicentre of a rather painful shockwave."

"...That's a pretty callous way of saying be careful." Lysithea muttered, although allowed a small smile on her face at the notion he had cast a spell of protection on her. Despite his aloofness, he really did care.

Goetia watched as the girl went through the same task of attempting to cast the Ansuz rune multiple times. Each one ended in failure in some form or another, she was capable of activating the rune itself, however he would watch as time after time the result would either be a violent explosion or a pitiful fizzle.

Something Lysithea was clearly becoming annoyed about very quickly, if her growing scowl and twitching eyebrows was any indication.

"Your mental image is weak." He announced rather suddenly, stopping her from drawing another Rune in the air. She jolted and turned to him with a questioning expression. "You are focused only on the activation of the Rune, not what form it will take after. Runecraft is based upon how you envisage the casting of the spell." he shook his head "You need to expand your horizon."

"How I envisage it?" She frowned and threw her hands up "How am I supposed to know how to do that?"

"I cannot teach you how to imagine the outcome of a spell, that is something you must discover yourself." Was the reply she received "If it provides any consolation, the other two will also suffer from similar issues when dealing with Runecraft."

"...It doesn't." Lysithea muttered "I'm not them. I should be able to accomplish this easily!" she announced to herself, going back to casting the Rune.

Goetia watched her with a small frown, she hadn't taken his advice to heart. That was the main advantage to Runecraft, it was as powerful as one could imagine it to be. The more creative an individual, the more adept they were at it. That was another issue with Fodlan's magecraft, it made their mages far to uncreative.

Still, Lysithea would eventually realise that she would need to utilise a more original thought process. The moment she understood that her own academic way of thinking was holding her back from her full potential, she would open herself up to new possibilities. It was...intriguing in a way. Something a small part of him was looking forward to.

"Ah, I wondered what all the commotion was." Goetia turned around to see Seteth striding towards him, Lysithea not noticing him due to her continued attempts at casting a Rune exploding "I hope not all your lessons are as loud as this one."

"It is a learning curve as you would say." The tanned man remarked, turning his full body to face Seteth "She is doing this to herself in a way."

"I see." Seteth nodded, looking back at Lysithea with a small frown as he watched the top half of her body consumed by another explosion and the girl looking no worse for wear. "I assume her lack of injury is your doing?"

"It is. It will protect her from the flames, not the shockwave however."

Seteth raised an eyebrow, frowning "A rather cavalier response to your student being in jeopardy."

"No more cavalier than sending them out to hunt bandits or Demonic Beasts."

"They have Professors with them, as well as the Knights should the need arise."

"And Lysithea and my other students have me."

"Other students?" Seteth blinked "I wasn't aware there were others."

"Byleth and young Pinelli have seen fit to learn magecraft." Goetia replied "Byleth came at my suggestion due to the use of Runes in combat, young Pinelli saw it as an opportunity to directly compete with Jeralt's daughter." his lip curled into a frown.

Seteth noticed it, squinting his eyes "You disapprove."

"Disapprove?" Goetia rolled the word off his tongue, tasting it for a few moments before nodding his head "Yes, in some way I do. I have no qualms with young Pinelli learning Runecraft."

"You dislike her motivation behind it."

"She is not doing it for any other reason aside form competitiveness, it is...disappointing that the thought did not occur to her until another had it." Red eyes flicked over to the young girl, still practising the spell "She saw an opportunity to improve her own skills because she wanted to. It was an act born of curiosity and desire for knowledge."

"Whereas Leonie did so only to outperform another to show her superiority." Seteth surmised, a knowing look on his face "I see, you have the mentality of a teacher. You wish for your students to learn of their own volition rather than feel compelled too out of a feeling of envy."

"Perhaps." Goetia admitted with a non-committal tone "However, I am only speaking through new found personal experience. Regardless of my own feelings on the matter, I will still teach young Pinelli."

Seteth's lip twitched up at the corner "Perhaps I have misjudged you as a person. You recognise the need to look over your own personal bias towards an individual personality."

"Pointing out a personal flaw without reason is a wasted effort." The former beast waved him off "It will not directly affect her performance as of yet, and she is young enough that it can be overlooked as idolatry. She has made her appreciation of Jeralt rather plain."

"She most certainly has." Seteth murmured to himself, turning his attention back to Lysithea "With your expanding class, I would hate to think that you were overexerting yourself."

"The Archbishop raised a similar concern." Goetia remarked "I shall tell you what I told her, the task of monitoring the Library is simple enough that it requires very little conscious effort on my part. And despite the fact that I myself have never been a teacher of magecraft, it has been as much a case of Lysithea grasping the material than actual teaching." he shrugged "Outside of the lessons, any questions on the topic can be directed at Lysithea or myself during a break."

"Hm." Seteth nodded his head "If that is your answer, then I shall trust you are aware of your own limitations." he crossed his arms "While I am here, I also have a few messages to pass along to you."

"Oh?"

"Yes...It seems Flayn has been raking her brain thinking of a hobby for you to find." Seteth remarked with narrowed eyes "I find myself curious as to how that development came about."

"She has taken it upon herself to try and make me smile in a similar fashion to Von Riegan." Was the reply "Her conclusion was for myself to take up a hobby."

"A...hobby?" Seteth raised an eyebrow, then sighed "I suppose that does sound like Flayn."

"You had another message for me?"

"Yes, the mission for the Golden Deer house is to be launched six days from now." He replied "I trust you have made early preparations for your departure?"

"I have." Goetia nodded, he'd prepared a kit for field research into the biology of Demonic Beasts that he could conduct at their corpses. It was a rough piece of work however and wouldn't provide him with detailed knowledge but he wasn't expecting to encounter anything overtly complicated in their origin. He still hadn't set up his workshop for more advanced experiments, but he wouldn't be clueless. "Is there further information to be aware of?"

"Perhaps." Seteth nodded "The message from the locals indicated that the Demonic Beats had become increasingly bold in their encroachment on the town. It is possible that the expedition may be launched earlier than anticipated."

"Understandable." Goetia nodded his head, then furrowed his brows at Seteth "In the event of danger to the students, am I to leave their safety to Professor Manuela and the Knights or intervene?"

"I will leave that up to your discretion." Seteth replied "However, should Professor Manuela call upon your aid, I trust you to answer it."

"It would be remiss of me to do so." Goetia shrugged "In any event, should the moment arise where Professor Manuela calls upon my aid, I suspect I would have already been placed in a position where I would be forced to act."

"I suppose that is true." The green haired man admitted with a small shrug of his shoulders "In any event, I have passed along my messages for you, I hope you have a pleasant day."

Goetia hummed in acknowledgement of the farewell and turned back to Lysithea, just in time to see her engulfed in another explosion.

"Grrr!" She made a sound akin to an enraged dog and proceeded to stamp her foot on the ground in irritation, her hair was frayed and undone with the obvious crinkling in her uniform being a result of the repeated blasts of air in her face. "Why can't I get this right!?"

"...Perhaps it would be best for you to take a quick break." Goetia offered "You are becoming emotional and it is clouding your judgement."

Lysithea whirled on him with an expression much like a snarl, before she realised her position and quickly blushed. Coughing into her hand and frantically straightening out her hair and uniform in an effort to save face to some degree. "Y-yes. Perhaps a break would be welcome." she nodded her head to herself "A chance to think of a fresh perspective to approach the problem from a different angle."

"...Indeed." Goetia replied with a blank expression. He turned around "I will return to the others and observe their progress in their reading materials. I will return shortly."

"Yes, Teacher." Lysithea bowed her head as he left, still gritting her teeth at the state she was in. It was embarrassing, she was hailed as a prodigy in magic and here she was, quite literally, having spells blow up in her face and in front of her own Teacher no less.

She frowned when she thought back to his advice. Imagination? That seemed to be a rather strange way of visualising spells. Although considering the reaction was based upon how one apparently interpreted the meaning of the Rune she supposed it made sense to an extent.

Did she have to imagine not just the activation but what the result would also be as well?

She hummed in thought, cupping her chin with her hand and furrowing her brows. Perhaps a fresh perspective was needed after all.

Goetia swiftly exited the training area and would have approached made his way back to the library with haste had something not caught his attention. Towards the bushes lining the main hall, in front of the classrooms, was the blue haired student Marianne from the Golden Deer house.

He titled his head, he could sense her use of whatever phantasmal blood she had in her body. Red eyes trailed down and he caught sight of a small bird at the base of her feet where she was crouched over it.

Approaching silently, he overheard a little of her conversation.

"-n't be too good for you. I could try to find some birdseed at the market." The bird chirped back at her, causing her to wince "I know its not the best, but it is healthier for you." the bird chirped again, seemingly growing irritated. "Now don't take that tone with me. This is for your own good. Too much nectar is bad for you."

Goetia raised an eyebrow. Animal communication, and it appeared to be at an impressive level as well. He dismissed the notion of a Familiar, the Fodlan documents on magic had very little in the way of animal binding, thus she clearly had been granted the ability to commune with animals through her blood.

The bird stopped chirping and looked in Goetia's direction, Marianne titled her head in confusion and followed the birds gaze. Promptly freezing when she made she found herself under the inquisitive gaze of red eyes.

"…" Marianne widened her eyes, still staring up at the assistant librarian. The bird took it as an opportunity to flee, shooting off into the sky. Goetia tracked its escape with mild interest before returning his gaze to Marianne.

"I assume you are not limited to communicating with birds?" He probed. Marianne shot to her feet, nervously fidgeting on the spot and looking away from him.

"I-I wasn't talking to the bird."

"…" The unimpressed look she received showed her how little he believed her excuse.

"I was speaking to the bird." She admitted, slumping her shoulders "B-but this one just happened to be speaking human."

"Refrain from insulting both of our intellects with this." Goetia remarked "It is embarrassing and vexing. Besides, animal communication to this degree is hardly something that is new to me." he shrugged "Either way, it matters not. I was merely curious as I have yet to witness it in Fodlan." he turned on his heel "I will leave you now."

"O-oh." Marianne blinked in surprise "Bye." she waved to him as he left, still somewhat dumbfounded by the short conversation in which he saw her speak with animals and then said it was nothing special and then left without elaborating.

It was, without a doubt, one of the strangest encounters she had ever had.

Omake: Visitors from home.

"Its not a Lostbelt." Da Vinci replied, crossing her arms as she looked over the landscape "That much is certain."

"Then…" Ritsuka frowned gesturing to their surroundings "Where are we?"

"No idea!" Da Vinci replied with a wide grin "Isn't that exciting!"

"No especially, Da Vinci-san." Mash gave her reply, then gestured in a direction "There's a structure up there!"

"Is there?" The child caster looked up, then narrowed her eyes "So there is!" she immediately skipped along towards it "Lets go have a look!"

"What?" Ritsuka balked and ran after her "Just like that! What about worrying about a hostile environment! What if we're surrounded by aliens!"

"…" Da Vinci and Mash sent him wordless looks of incredulity at the statement, causing Ritsuka to throw his arms up.

"Don't look at me like that! You just said we're not in a Lostbelt and we haven't Rayshifted back in time."

"So you immediately assumed aliens?"

"Well...why not?"

"...Fair enough." Da Vinci remarked "But we're still investigating! Now come one Mr Protagonist! I've got a good feeling about that castle!"

"I have a terrible feeling right now." Goetia suddenly spoke up, Seteth sent him a peculiar look.

"Do you now?" He went back to his paper work "I believe that is a first."

"As do I." Goetia frowned "Most unsettling, as if there is some approaching crisis." he scowled "It is an...uncomfortable feeling."

"They come and go." Seteth replied "For me they just so happen to coincide whenever I receive a message about your more recent experiments." the last part was muttered under his breath, although Goetia still heard it but refused to deign it with a reply.

"And what do you do in the mean time?"

"Bare with it."

"...I see." Goetia frowned, going back to his paperwork "I shall retire for the day."

"Is that so?" Seteth didn't look up from his work "If I could position you, would you escort Flayn to the market. She has been hoping to purchase something recently."

"Are you not concerned about your siblings well being."

"I am." Seteth replied "Who would be stupid enough to attempt something with her when you are by her side."

"New to the monastery, eh?" The guard spoke up to the travellers, a welcoming smile on his face "Well, we're always welcome to new pilgrims."

"A-ah." Mash blinked, then bowed her head "Thank you for welcoming us."

"No problem." The guard replied "Its what I do."

"What can you tell us about the monastery?" Da Vinci asked, the guard looked down at her and smiled.

"Sure thing kid." He replied, rubbing her head as if she were the age she appeared. "It was built by the Church of Seiros a few hundred years ago and is the base of the Church's entire religion, also home to Archbishop Rhea."

"Wow." Da Vinci nodded "Impressive."

"Yep." The man went on "Resides in the centre of Fodlan, some say it was because of the symbolic nature of the location, others because of the terrain." he shrugged "I don't really know too much about it to comment on though." he gestured a thumb "You'll probably find someone in there to let you know more, also the market is there for any purchases you might want."

"Thanks a lot." Ritsuka gave the man a grateful smile.

"No problem." The man replied "Always happy to help out."

"Did my Brother really ask you to come along with me?" Flayn frowned as the pair made their way to the market stalls.

"He felt it best that I accompany you." Goetia shrugged "It seems he believes my presence will prevent any unwanted advances."

"Honestly." Flayn huffed "He worries too much! What's the worst that could happen in the market." she pointed at something "I'll check out this stall, you check that one!"

"Its just a market Senpai, what's the worst that could happen?" Mash asked with a frown, Da Vinci nodding alongside her.

"Indeed, Ritsuka. Don't you want some souvenir?"

"Its just…" Ritsuka licked his lips looking around at the market "I have a bad feeling about this…"

"Oh!" Da Vinci ran off at a stall "Look at this!" she gestured to the tomes "Ornamental knives!"

"They are most splendid, are they not!" A voice to her left took Da Vinci's attention away from them and to the green haired girl.

"They are, aren't they!" Da Vinci grinned "I don't think I've seen someone put that much attention into a letter opener!"

"Indeed." The green haired girl nodded her head "I see you have an interest as well?"

"Well...Mainly for him." She threw a thumb over her shoulder towards Ritsuka and Mash, the pair approaching from behind "Thought it would make for a nifty souvenir."

"Ah, I had hoped to purchase one for my brother." The girl replied, then blinked in surprise "My goodness, that was rude of me. My name is Flayn."

"I am the genius inventor! Leonardo Da Vinci!" The girl thrust a hand into her chest.

"I'm Fujimaru Ritsuka."

"My name is Mash."

"Are you all new to the monastery?" Flayn asked, at their nods, she beamed at them "I would be happy to answer any questions you have."

"Thanks!" Da Vinci grinned "You're a good girl aren't you?"

"Well...my brother seems to think I'm in far too much danger." She sighed "Speaking of which, I should probably let him know I found a gift for Seteth, he is the one with the money after all."

"Ah, a guardian?"

"Something like that." Flayn admitted, she waved someone over to them.

"So what's he like?"

"Well, Goetia is a little weird sometimes, but he's really not to...is something wrong? My goodness, you've all gone pale!"

The trio stared wide eyed at the girl, blood having drained from their faces.

"I-I'm sorry…" Ritsuka spoke up first "W-what did you say his name was?"

"Goetia." She replied, then behind them "Ah! Here he is now!"

Any thoughts the trio had that it was just an unfortunate similarity of names was quickly wiped away when they heard a voice behind them.

"I assume you have found something...then…" The voice trailed off. The trio slowly turned around.

Staring at them, wide eyed, was a one armed man with glowing golden hair. Mash was more confused, although Ritsuka and Da Vinci recognised him instantly.

"Fujimaru Ritsuka…" Goetia spoke first, clearly in shock.

"Goetia…" Ritsuka replied a similar expression on his face.

"Oh!" Flayn spoke up, moving to Goetia's side "You all know eachother?"