Chapter 34: Plans for a break in

Despite what Dimitri had said to the Professor in relation to suspecting that their attention was being brought elsewhere with the suspected attack on the Archbishop, he had yet to come up with any location that would a suitable target.

Or rather, he had failed to narrow it down. The problem was that the Monastery held a great many important artefacts and relics which could be tempting targets for any number of reasons and trying to point his finger at one and say 'This is where they will attack' was quickly proving to be quite the mountain to climb. Thus he had gone to his classmates for assistance, although they were quickly proving to be as flustered as he was when it came to discerning a possible target.

"What about Professor Hanneman's study?" Annette suggested with a slightly hopeful expression as she made the latest guess into the meeting – which had been going on for nearly ten minutes by this point – and had ranged from the Vault to the library itself, at which point it unanimously became the feeling that they would pity the poor sap who tried to steal anything while Goetia was working there "There's got to be something important in there?"

"Perhaps to a pencil pusher." Felix scoffed, rubbing his eyes and still looking like he would rather be anywhere else but here. It was actually a surprise that he had even turned up to begin with. "If we're discussing someone who has the gall to threaten the life of the Archbishop as a distraction, then I would imagine their goals would be more impactful than simply stealing some of Hanneman's old books."

"Oh?" Ingrid raised a dismissive eyebrow at him "I suppose you have a better suggestion then?"

"The Monastery no doubt holds more weapons than just the Heroes Relics." Felix replied without missing a beat and with a roll of his eyes, fixing Ingrid with a flat look "They likely hold other weapons which can be comparable to the Heroes Relics."

"That does make sense." Ashe nodded his head in affirmation "And they wouldn't require the power of a crest to activate...although I don't know how much good it would do to have a weapon such as that if they couldn't use it."

"I'm certain some mage would be able to create replica's of them." Felix waved his hand before cupping his chin "Certainly given the arms Lonato's rebellion was issued with."

"...Yes." Ashe gave a quiet answer "I don't know anyone in Gaspard who could have made those, the few mages who did live there were no more talented than those I've seen about the Monastery."

"It is quite the surprise that the Monastery holds so many potential targets." Dimitri pointed out, clicking his tongue "And quite unfortunate as well...it seems we might become as distracted as our enemies wish us to be in guessing their intentions."

"Perhaps it would be best to better explore the lesser known locations, Your Highness." Dedue offered "Certain locations may be better defended than others during the Rite of Rebirth."

"Searching the entire Monastery." Dimitri hummed in response, slowly nodding is head "Yes, that is where I was looking. As it stands, we have nothing to offer but guesswork as to what our mysteries assailants intentions might be. For now, it would be best if we explore the Monastery and discover areas of vital importance."

"We can do that?" Sylvain blurted out in surprise "Won't anyone try to stop us?"

"We can have nothing to hide, so we will explain our motives to the Professor." Dimitri replied "As for the more restricted area's of the Monastery...it would be best to point the Knight's attention towards those just in case. In any event, I will bring our discussion to the Professor, I have already made her aware of the possibility but it would be best if we get her support in its entirety."

"True." Ingrid nodded "She's more likely to have a greater degree of access to information regarding the Monastery than we are." pausing, she cocked an eyebrow at Dimitri "What of the other Houses?"

"If I have thought of something like this, then I no doubt suspect that Claude has as well." Dimitri replied with an amused smile "As for Edelgard...it might tip off whoever it is if suddenly all three Houses of the Monastery suddenly begin an investigation into the places of interest in the Church. Besides...I have no doubt Claude will at least be subtle."

The paper fell onto the desk with a gentle thud as Claude's smile threatened to split his face "Gather around, gather around." he waved to his classmates, they all begrudgingly approached him and looked between the rolled up piece of paper on his desk and him.

"What is it now Claude?" Lorenz asked with an exasperated tone, giving the boy a critical gaze "I hope this is not another attempt to waste our time."

"Lorenz, you wound me." Claude shook his head "As if I would ever do something like this as a joke."

"What about that time with the 'ancient book' which turned out to be a frisky poem?" Hilda asked with a wry smirk and crossed arms, Claude's smile froze and he turned a slightly hurt look onto the pink haired girl. Hilda scoffed and rolled her eyes "Don't be like that, I thought it was funny."

"I most certainly didn't." Lorenz hotly replied back "Fooling me under the pretence of learning just so you could have me read filth, honestly it was beneath even you."

Leonie sniffed and shrugged her shoulders "I thought it was pretty good. Liked the part where he described-"

"Moving on." Claude interrupted "As funny as it is to watch Lorenz stumble around-"

"How dare you-!?"

"-this is actually something important." He unveiled the roll of paper, revealing a diagram to his classmates "And it relates to the upcoming Rite of Rebirth." that earned him intrigued looks from his classmates and a catlike smile from him "See? Told you it was good."

"Fine, you can show a modicum of professionalism." Lysithea crossed her arms in front of her and peered down at the diagram "What is this anyway?"

"The layout of the Monastery." He paused "Including some of the restricted areas."

Several of his classmates let out strangled sounds of alarm.

"W-where did you get this?" Lysithea sputtered as she stared at the map with a new found sense of dread "T-this is for the hands of the staff only!" she widened her eyes and fixed him with a glare, one mixed with rage and horror "Did you steal this!?" hissing at him only seemed to elicit an amused smile.

"Steal is such an ugly word." He amusedly replied with a whimsical smile "I prefer borrowed."

"Borrowed!?" Lorenz gasped "You! This is completely unacceptable! You have pilfered from the Church like some common street rat! This will reflect poorly on all of us and you most of all! The shame the Alliance will have to go through when your hands are removed for thievery-!"

"No, I mean I literally borrowed it." Claude cut him off, his smile not losing any of its width "I asked for it and they gave it to me."

"Who!?" Lysithea demanded "What sort of careless fool would casually hand out something so secretive!?"

"That is a unique way of phrasing my assistance." Lysithea's complexion paled rapidly at the voice sounding out at the entrance to the "Although I admit that gifting it to Von Riegan was perhaps an oversight on my part." her head turned around with a creaking noise towards the voice.

Goetia stood at the entrance to the Golden Deer classroom with a blank look on his face, although his eyes remained on Lysithea "I ensured he would receive one of the maps that the staff familiarise themselves with, the more secretive areas of the Monastery are not listed."

Lysithea made a strangled noise like a dying cat.

"Regardless." Goetia continued on, making his way towards the desk where Claude held a triumphant smirk on his face "Von Riegan came to me with a suggestion I felt had some small amount of merit and was inclined to allow him to facilitate a hypothesis with better evidence to support his claim."

Leonie blinked at him "I thought you were only an assistant Librarian though?" she quizzed, earning the tanned man's attention "Do you have the authority to do something like this?"

"No." He replied "However, Seteth does and after I explained Von Riegan's suspicions to him, he believed they had some worth. Therefore he allowed the use of the plans provided I was present to ensure their safe return."

"See?" Claude gestured to the assistant Librarian as he came to a stop and stood next to the Golden Deer leader "Nothing wrong."

"...Alright." Ignatz agreed easily "So...what is it you wanted to talk about?"

"I am so glad you asked, my friend!" Claude enthusiastically cried out, pointing towards the map "I am of the belief that the plan to assassinate the Archbishop is a distraction to hide someone's real intentions from us." he looked around the faces of his classmates "I mean, think about it? The Knights are all going to be focusing on Lady Rhea so that means other areas of the Monastery are going to be poorly defended…" he trailed off, looking to see if anyone would see where this was going.

"Which might be the aim of whoever is created the plan." Lorenz finished with a curt nod and a stern expression "Indeed, it is quite foolhardy to believe a plan to assassinate the Archbishop could ever really work." a frown grew on his face "It would be the height of foolishness to even make the attempt...so that means that they might have another objective in mind."

"Okay, suppose they do." Leonie moved to the table and leaned over, staring at the building plans "Where would they want to attack."

"That is the part I'm struggling with." Claude admitted with a brief flash of frustration "Turns out this Monastery is jam packed with stuff worth stealing." a sigh escaped his throat "Although I suppose that's what happens when you keep everything important in one place, makes it a little easier to protect but means everyone knows where they have to go to steal it."

"It is your own suggestion to follow up upon." Goetia reminded him with a disinterested expression "I am only here to ensure the Monastery layout plans are not misused in any way."

"Wow…" Claude whistled "That little faith in me, huh?"

"…"

"...Fair enough." He shrugged his shoulders, furrowing his brows and looking back at the map "The way I see it, we can cross off the Library and Professor Hannemans study as targets of interest."

"What about the mess hall?" Raphael asked with a serious look "What if they try to steal the food?"

"I'm...sure the mess hall will be well defended." Ignatz offered with a slightly bewildered tone of voice, the pale green haired boy looking around his peers for support "R-right?"

"Yeah." Claude gave a single nod of his head "Besides, I don't think we really need to worry about the mess hall being in danger."

"You sure?" Raphael pressed "Because I can guard it."

"If you guard it we really will need to worry about the mess hall being in danger." Leonie dryly remarked, causing the larger boy to sputter and fix her with an indignant expression.

"H-hey! Even I can't eat that much!"

"Is it telling he didn't deny that he would raid the kitchen?" Claude whispered to Hilda, the pink haired girl smirked and rolled her eyes in amusement at the joking smile on the boys face. "Anyway. The mess hall aside, the only places I can logically assume that would be targets are the Vault and the Mausoleum."

"The Holy Mausoleum?" Ignatz clarified with a tilt of his head "Why there?"

"Well, it only ever opens up during the Rite of Rebirth." Claude pointed out "And its said to be where Seiros final resting place is."

"Why would someone raid the tomb?" Marianne asked quietly, a delicate frown on her face "It doesn't make much sense to me."

"Don't quote me on this, but apparently the Tomb is guarded by a strong magic." Goetia's eyes flickered to Claude with a hint of intrigue in them "Said to repel any type of invader."

"A bounded field around a tomb?" The man muttered under his breath "Seiros is the founder of the Church, yes?"

"She was." Lorenz nodded his head "She was also the first to speak the words of the Goddess as emissary from the Red Canyon of Zanado. It is where the religion first spawned and from there spread across all of Fodlan." the man pursed his lips "However, I do not believe that would be evidence enough to suspect an attempt would be made to defile the tomb."

Lysithea pursed her lips in thought "She was an emissary of the Goddess and is regarded as Divine herself by the Church...perhaps there might also be something buried with her."

"Or it is her." Goetia spoke up "The remains of those blessed or chosen by divinities have qualities with a great many uses. If she were also the first chosen of the Goddess to receive the gift of your Crests, then her blood would be far more potent than whatever you all have running through your veins." Ignoring the possibility that Seiros had been another of the Phantasmals.

Lorenz regarded Goetia with a distasteful look "I am not sure how magic is conducted in your homeland, but we do not condone such barbaric practices here."

"The use of Madness Enhancement Mystic Codes is evidence to the contrary." Goetia fired back without missing a beat, his eyes narrowed slightly "And your own unwillingness to condone the use of Divine blood does not extend to others with such an interest."

"The idea of messing with the Prophet Seiros remains aside." Leonie interrupted the two, putting her hand on the map "What about the Vault?"

"That's got another layer of warding spells on it as well." Claude replied "As far as what is kept in there...I got no clue."

"I suppose that is for the best." Lorenz bluntly stated before frowning "The Vault and the Holy Mausoleum. It is not too great a leap to assume that one who would threaten the life of the Archbishop would not be remiss to stoop low enough to defile the Holy Tomb of Seiros either." his eyes flickered over to Goetia "For barbaric practices."

Goetia met his stare with an impassive look.

"What's this location?" Lysithea asked, frowning as she stared at the map and placed her finger on it "Abyss? I've never heard of that."

"Huh." Claude blinked and looked at it with a puzzled look on his face "Me neither...Looks like its underneath the Monastery as well." turning his head to Goetia, he raised an eyebrow "You ever heard of it?"

He got a shake of the head in reply "I was unaware of its name but Seteth did inform me of ruins underneath the Monastery, however from what he described they are not currently occupied by members of the Church and have long since been abandoned." Goetia paused "Although he made specific mention that the Church does not venture there, whether or not it is populated by vagrants is an entirely different matter."

Lorenz scoffed "As if the Church would ever allow such people to live on its premises."

"Well...I guess if the Church doesn't have much of an interest in it and there aren't any knights patrolling it anyway, its unlikely to be a target." Claude released a breath "You don't try to distract non-existent guards."

"Then we are split between the Vault and the Mausoleum." Lysithea surmised before her eyes flickered over to Goetia "Teacher-"

"You can expect no further assistance from me in this regard. It is an idea of your own making and therefore your responsibility to see it to completion." He replied instantly "I have aided you as far as I am…" he trailed off, red eyes briefly dimmed as they stared into the distance "...as far as I am currently willing." he murmured out in a low voice.

"Well, I'm grateful for the help." Claude thanked him with a faint smile an a nod of the head before turning his attention back to the diagram "I mean, I'd rather you be more willing but I'm not going to complain."

Goetia let out a grunt in response.

"A secret meeting with the entire Golden Deer House and the assistant Librarian?" The House – as one – turned towards the voice to see Shamir stood at the entrance, leaning against the doorway with a slight tilt of her head being the only indication of any interest she had in the current situation "I suppose it relates to the Archbishop."

"Shamir." Claude gave a curt bow of his head "Surprised to see you here, normally you don't get around to visit us all that often." he paused before a smile split his face "Don't tell me that the charming personalities of the Golden Deer have finally-"

"Don't flatter yourself." Shamir shut him down instantly, her expression barely changing "I'm only here because I have to patrol the Monastery as well." her eyes flickered over to Goetia "Although I am curious as to what brought about this small gathering."

"We're just following up on some ideas." Claude replied smoothly "Working under the assumption that not everything is as it seems."

"Really?"

"Yep." Claude nodded, throwing a thumb in the direction of the librarian "As for Sparkles here-"

"Sparkles?" Shamir raised an eyebrow at him, then returned her attention to Goetia. Taking obvious note of his hair before her lip twitched slightly "I see."

"Clever, aren't I?" Claude asked with a winning smile "Anyway, Sparkles is here because we needed information that he was happy to give us-"

"After being asked by Seteth." Goetia corrected him "I merely informed him of your hypothesis and he saw fit to expand my inclusion, if ever so slightly."

"Right, right." The boy waved his hand "Sparkles is just here to make sure we don't misuse the information."

"By we he means him." Hilda offered with a wide grin, Claude sent her a flat look although his lip was ever so slightly upturned indicating the humour he found in her rather bold character assassination of him. The twin-tailed girl turned back to him and shrugged "What? You're telling me you wouldn't?"

"Well, I might but you don't have to tell people that." He faux whined.

"I suppose you would be saddened when people state the obvious." Lysithea offered, Claude clutched his hand over his heart and doubled over.

"You too, Sprinkles?"

"I told you not to call me that!"

"Yes…" Shamir dryly remarked from her spot at the door to the classroom "I can see you're on top of the situation at hand. Still, if you're just participating in nonsense then I see no need to stay here."

"We'll see you around then!" Claude waved goodbye to the woman as she left, then looked around his other Classmates "...So. Who's up for some traini-"

"I am!" Raphael's hand shot into the air before Claude could even finish his scentence.

"How much thought have you given the young man's idea?"

"Dimitri's?" Byleth quizzed before humming to herself "Makes sense, Archbishop is now too well defended and it is poor planning to leave assassination note on your person."

"So you agree with him that it is a distraction." Sothis clarified with a raised eyebrow before pursing her lips and nodding her head "That is indeed a possibility, although I am not accustomed to thinking about such things." the girl inclined her head "So what will do you?"

"Ask him his ideas." She replied, pausing for a few moments "Then go to Seteth."

"That is sensible." Sothis nodded, an approving smile on her face "Seteth is indeed a reasonable man, I am also certain he finds himself overworked frequently."

"Really?"

"He has to deal with an entire Monastery worth of work." Sothis bluntly replied, gesturing down to the papers on Byleth's desk "You have to deal with a single class. Do you think you could do it?"

Byleth stared at the papers on her desk which already seemed somewhat daunting, less so than when she first started but still nothing to scoff at. Then she imagined having to deal with three times as many sets of papers as the ones she had in front of her. Sothis watched with an amused smile as a flicker of uncertainty passed through Byleth's eyes before they stared into the distance.

"See?" The girl crossed her arms with a victorious smile, although it soon faded into a frown "However, it does raise the question as to what location you believe will be targeted as oppose to the Archbishop."

Byleth nodded her head mutely. It was indeed a pressing matter, with the Rite of Rebirth only a couple weeks away it was certainly a pressing issue as to what manner of target would be attacked.

"Professor." She looked up to see Dimitri enter the room with a serious look on his face "I believe we have come up with a theory as to what the target will be."

Byleth titled her head "What?"

"I had some of the Blue Lions ask around about the Rite of Rebirth." Dimitri explained as he came to a stop in front of her desk "There is one place that is only accessible to the Public during the Rite and is valuable enough that the Church would have a vested interest in it as great as the Archbishop herself."

"Where?"

"You suspect they will attack the Holy Mausoleum." Seteth cupped his chin, leaning back against his desk with a minute frown "Yes...I can see how that would also be a target, in truth my attention had already been drawn towards that location earlier."

"Truly?" Dimitri blinked, Seteth gave a nod an a faint smile.

"Yes, it seems that Claude and the Golden Deer also suspect that the Mausoleum might be a target, however they also brought up the possibility of the Monastery Vault being a potential location of interest as well." He admitted, working his jaw "And while I would normally be quite pleased to see inquisitive minds find other possibilities we have not yet explored...I find the implication of these possibilities disturbing."

"Indeed." Dimitri nodded gravely "An attack on the Holy Mausoleum would be quite the blow for the Church if it were to succeed."

"What concerns me is the implication they would be able to gain access to the Tomb of Seiros." Seteth pursed his lips "The spells guarding that Tomb are the most powerful we have available to us, it would take hours for one who was unfamiliar with their design to even attempt to gain access to them. The Vault is no different."

"Any who wanted to gain access would have to have prior information." Byleth surmised "Meaning an informant."

"Precisely." Seteth grimaced "I would rather not entertain the idea that one devoted to the Church could participate in such a blasphemous act as to steal from Seiros own Monastery...but perhaps that is what their intentions are – if they're objective truly is to turn our attention away from the other sites." he added on.

"Still, it does not surprise me that Claude came up with the similar idea." Dimitri mused with a shake of his head "The Vault was another location I did consider."

"Perhaps it is just as well." Seteth nodded his head "...I will speak with Manuela, the Golden Deer will ensure the safety of the Vault whereas you will patrol the Mausoleum." he lifted his hand and raised a single finger "This is a great honour, the Rite of Rebirth is the only time in which the Tomb of Seiros may be viewed by the believers. If there truly is an attack on such an important place...it will be in your hands to guard it."

"Understood, Seteth." Dimitri acknowledged with a determined expression "The Blue Lions will not fail you."

"I should hope not." Seteth replied, turning his attention to Byleth "The Archbishop has placed a great deal of trust in you...see that you do not break this faith."

Byleth nodded her head.

"Good." Seteth stood up straight "The Black Eagles have already been told they will patrol the outside of the Cathedral while the Knights will patrol the Goddess Tower during the Rite." he paused "...Now all that remains is to find a location for those last two."

Byleth and Dimitri bowed their heads in parting before making their way out of the door, Flayn entering as they left with small words of greetings between the three.

"Hello, Seteth." Flayn nodded to him as she entered, a small smile on her face "Was there something you needed?"

"Yes." The man nodded, turning to the girl "I have decided that you will be joining myself and Rhea for the ceremony in the Goddess tower."

Flayn regarded Seteth with a flat look for a few moments before a frown came to her face "Is this because you do not trust me to look after myself?"

"I do wish you would not phrase it like that." Seteth lamented "Please Flayn, you are still new to the Monastery and given the threat I would feel safer if you were by my side."

"I am not a child Fath-"

"Flayn." Seteth cut her off, releasing a sigh as he gave her a soft look "I realise that perhaps this might be seen as too constricting-"

"Might?" Flayn parroted with a raised eyebrow.

"-but I only do this to ensure your safety." He continued on "Please...until you begin classes I would feel a great deal safer if you were with myself and Rhea. Not to mention that I'm sure that she would appreciate the presence of both of us there during this time."

Flayn remained silent before she nodded her head "Yes, I understand. I'll join you and Rhea in the Goddess Tower."

Seteth released a heavy sigh of relief "Thank you...that is one concern I have been liberated from, in truth the threat has caused quite the stir amongst the knights. Not to mention all this talk of it being a distraction."

"Really?" Flayn blinked, leaning forwards "You mean Rhea isn't in danger?"

"She might be." Seteth replied "But there have been concerns that our attention is being focused elsewhere from the true target. In any event the Holy Mausoleum is another such place of importance for the Church...although given her previous employment it is perhaps better that she be placed in charge of guarding the resting place of the dead." he let out a small huff of amusement as his lip twitched.

Flayn raised an eyebrow at the reaction before the man noticed her attention and loudly cleared his throat "In any event, that is all I asked you here for."

"I suppose we shall have to organise new training regime's for the rest of the Blue Lions." Dimitri suggested as he and Byleth made their way back to the House Classroom "Given that we might encounter enemies, it would be best to better prepare ourselves."

"Hmm." Byleth have a hum of approval in response "Will work on-"

"There you are." The pair paused at the voice, both of them turning in its direction to see Shamir stood there with an olive skinned boy in a simple brown tunic and shorts staring at them. The woman raised an eyebrow at the pair of them "Away from a meeting with Seteth?"

"Indeed." Dimitri nodded "Myself and the Professor were discussing the possibility that-"

"The Archbishop wasn't the only target?" Shamir cut him off and finished his sentence "Yes, I got a similar suggestion from the Golden Deer."

"Ah, yes." Dimitri held a faint smile "Seteth mentioned that Claude had come to him with a similar idea."

"Holy Mausoleum?"

"Indeed."

"Hm." Shamir hummed and looked over to Byleth "In any event, I'm here to provide what support I can for the Knights, which includes the other Houses. I'm better at subterfuge anyway."

"And I'm here to do my best for Lady Rhea!" The boy blurted out before realising he'd forgotten to introduce himself "I mean. I'm Cyril, Shamir's apprentice."

"Yes." Dimitri chuckled as he turned to Byleth "You might have seen Cyril around the Monastery, although I had heard a rumour that Shamir had taken him under her wing." he sent the woman a warm smile "I see the rumours were true."

"I've been teaching him a thing or two." Shamir gave a non-committal shrug "It's either your House or the Golden Deers he tried to do his best to help. I suggested the Blue Lions given the Professor's more experienced past profession."

Byleth nodded her head, turning to Cyril "Can you swing a sword?"

The boy stared at her frozen for a few moments "Um...I-I'm better with a bow."

"Ah, Archer." She briefly darted her eyes to Shamir and then back to him "Makes sense. Teacher is an Archer."

"Well, I can learn whatever it takes to do my best for Lady Rhea!" Cyril boasted, thumping a hand on his chest "Just tell me what needs done."

Shamir's lip twitched upwards "As you can see, Cyril here adores Rhea. That aside, if you need anything ask."

Byleth nodded her head once.

"It is fortunate you happened upon us now, however." Dimitri turned his attention to Cyril "The Professor and I were about to return to the Blue Lions to begin training, if you wished to join us I would personally have no issues…" he paused and looked to his teacher "What of you Professor?"

"Depends how good with bow." Byleth replied, looking at the boy with a critical eye "How long training?"

"Three months." Cyril answered immediately "Although sometimes I have to train without Shamir being there to check my efforts. She gets important missions from Lady Rhea, after all."

"Three months." Byleth pursed her lips as she repeated the number "Will see progress."

"I won't disappoint!"

"He's not horrible." Shamir offered with a slight shrug "He can at least nock the arrow."

Byleth stared at her with the ever blank look on her face "...I see."

"Professor." Dimitri cut in "We had better return to the others and inform them of this development. As well as the appearance of Cyril in the training."

"Hmm." Byleth nodded her head, giving Shamir a side glance "Bye."

"Until next time." Shamir parted from them as the trio quickly made their way back towards the Blue Lion House.

"Which is why in the interest of cross house relations I would ask you consider taking on these two as students." Edelgard finished as she waved her hand in the direction of the two other students stood in the room.

Goetia stared at her, then moved his attention over to the brunette girl behind him with an amused smile "Hey, Gotie."

"Arnault-"

"Please, call me Dorothea." She interrupted "It is more informal." pausing the girl placed a single finger on her chin and inclined her head a few degrees to the side with an innocent expression "Unless you want me to call you Mentor or Teacher like Lysithea does?"

"...Hm." Goetia grunted "Dorothea then." he turned his attention to the one next to her "And…" then blinked once, their lip curling slightly "...He is asleep."

"Yes." Edelgard grimaced "He is...isn't he?" she gave Dorothea a single nod of the head.

The brunette gave her a winning smile before raising her leg and stamping down hard on Linhardt's foot with her boot. The green haired boy's eyes flew wide open and a strangled gasp escaped him as he leapt away from them "Wha-!?"

"Are you alright, Linhardt?" Dorothea asked with a face of perfect innocence "You look as though you've just woken up."

The boy's head darted between Edelgard and Dorothea with a mixture of suspicion and slight pain before it eventually turned and his attention fell onto Goetia "Hm? Ah yes...I was asked to come to the Library, wasn't I?"

Goetia gave a single sigh in response "...A week. I shall give them a week to prove themselves capable of learning." he paused "I shall also decide whether they are worth teaching to begin with."

"I thank you for the opportunity." Edelgard bowed her head slightly "If you will excuse me." she turned away and quickly made her exit from the room, leaving the three alone together.

"So…" Linhardt yawned "Now what?"

AN: We continue on.

A focus on some people other than Goetia because well...The Monastery is a big place after all. And we get a quick mention of Abyss, but as you've guessed we're still a couple of weeks away from the Sword of the Creator being unveiled.

Anyway…

Omake: Gacha

Claude stared at the device in his hands with a blank expression, the pillars of light gradually faded away as the golden card came into existence. The image of an Archer came into existence, a Caucasian man with long free flowing red hair and a simple cloth shirt on with the buttons not done up.

"Hey!" Claude grinned holding up his phone "I got Tristian!"

"Oh dear Gods no-"

"Failnaught-"

"Please no." Edelgard palmed her head "Do not play your bow like a harp, Claude." the girl levelled a glare in his direction "I will break it over your knee."

"That hurts my feelings, Princess." Claude sniffed, a look of faux hurt on his face "Ah...this sadness I feel-"

"Claude!"

"Alright, alright." Claude held up his hands in mock surrender "Just because your luck isn't that good-"

"My luck is adequate." Edelgard rebuffed "Besides. I have decent frontline units."

"I suppose...but they're all three stars." He pointed out with a faint smirk "And isn't the only four star servant you have Mash?"

Edelgard bristled "J-just because I got her levelled up in Camelot does not detract from her value."

"Still…" Claude sucked in air through his teeth "Maybe you aren't that lucky I think Hubert has more four stars than you-"

"Hubert has nothing but Assassins!" Edelgard argued "He's managed to roll nothing but Assassins and if it isn't an Assassin he burns it!"

"Really?"

"He burned Gilgamesh!" She hissed "Gilgamesh!"

"Huh...well, alright then." Claude blinked, shaking his head "As you do."

"You take this far too seriously." Dimitri shook his head as he stared at the pair "It is only a game."

"Only a game?" Edelgard sent the Prince an incredulous look "Are you not the one rolling for another Artoria?"

"Castoria will complete my collection!" Dimitri argued back "She is a perfect Arts support and that teams well with Swimsuit Artoria!"

"Your deck is nothing but Artoria's!" Claude accused with a smile "You've been rolling for them every time there's been a banner for them."

"And I succeeded-"

"By spending all the Kingdom's money-"

"Rodrigue said it was not that bad." Dimitri argued back "It is not a great amount. Ten Percent is a but a small token of-"

"You spent ten percent of the entire Kingdom of Faerghus coffers on Artoria!?"

"When you phrase it like that you make it sound like a problem." Dimitri replied "Is it?"

"Depends." Claude winced "Don't mention it around Leonie, she's Free-to-play."

"So is Ashe." Dimitri nodded his head "Although his luck is quite something. I believe he managed to roll for the Knight's of the Round Table on his first try."

"Wait...all of them?"

"Indeed." Dimitri chuckled "He even Grailed Bedivere and Gareth to level 80 just so they could have gold cards like their peers." shaking his head an amused smile came to the Prince "He is quite taken with Knights."

"Flayn...I believe you have a problem."

"I do not."

"You have spent this months allowance on this game."

"Just one more roll!" The girl pleaded "I will get her this time!"

"Flayn...Jeanne is already at Noble Phantasm two." Seteth replied with a sigh "You have gotten her-"

"Sieg is at Noble Phantasm five!" Flayn replied back "I need to have them as equals! They deserve as much!"

"Flayn-"

"Sieg was poorly represented in the anime!"

"What-"

"Is something wrong, Lady Rhea?" Catherine asked, the Archbishop looked up with her brows knit together.

"Excuse me?" Rhea blinked "What makes you think so?"

"Well...you have been scowling at something for some time now." Catherine replied "Is there an issue?"

"No." Rhea replied after a few moments with a smile, although her eyes held absolutely no warmth to them "None at all…" the woman's attention quickly returned to the phone in her hands.

Her smile vanishing and her expression morphing into one of cold indifference.

It would seem she had another Siegfried to burn.

What she really wanted was Tiamat...but that was on Arcade.

She didn't think she could justify the Church funds being used to purchase a video game just so she could have the equivalent of mother.

"One more roll." Sothis ordered her "One more."

"Why?"

"Because."

"?"

"I said so. Now roll."

Byleth released a sigh, pressing the button again. Sothis watched with an intense expression as the pillars of light shoot up again.

The figure game into existence, Sothis eyes widened before she let out a whoop of victory.

"Yes! Siegfried!"

Sothis had apparently taken a liking to the man, and despite his unfortunately low attack value for a four star Saber, he did have a lot of health. That and because they kept running into Wyverns he was – in fact – quite useful at dealing with them.

So she had decided that Siegfried had to be max ranged at everything.

"Teacher?"

"Hm?"

"How come we can't get Solomon?"

"Because he killed himself." Goetia answered immediately as he stared at his own phone, he was spending his time bringing Mash to max level and upgrading all her skills.

"Well...I'd want a Goetia Caster anyway."

"...Good." The man nodded to Lysithea, a faint smile on his face "I want one too."

"It might happen." Lysithea replied "Lostbelt Chaldean seems to be Goetia."

"Hmmm." The man tanned man hummed, giving nothing away.

"...Although Merlin is a good Caster-"

"Merlin's a hack." Goetia replied immediately with a scowl "And Gilgamesh isn't as funny as he thinks he is."

"What about Caster of Sheba?"

"My mother would be disappointed if she found out I had used money for her." Goetia replied "So I have been saving up Saint Quarts shards since I got the game."

"How many do you have?"

"...A lot."

Lysithea narrowed her eyes "How many is a lot?"

"...A lot." Goetia replied back, in truth he had never spent a single penny on the game. If only because it didn't have him in it. He'd have probably used his wages to unlock himself.