Chapter 100: A lesson in lessons

It was difficult for him to take notice of the precise instant in which this had been set in motion, but it quickly came to his attention with increasing commonality from the first instant he noticed it.

Namely it had been in the one second that Byleth had caught sight of him from across the hall, turned around and then walked away as fast as her legs could carry her.

Before it had been minor things, she would keep a respectable distance from him or sit further away from him in the mess hall as the days went by, but that was understandable to him. They had come to a disagreement with one another and he understood that there had been some loss of trust on her end.

Sothis had made it abundantly clear to him that his actions did not correlate with the accepted worldview of Byleth, he knew that they would never see eye to eye on the subject and thus it would have been foolish for him to accept that their relationship would return to exactly how it had been before the argument had emerged.

But this one instant of her blatantly avoiding him, making her efforts deliberate as opposed to coincidental, was the final action which confirmed it for him.

"Professor Eisner is avoiding me."

"Mmmmh?" The person opposite him paused, then looked up from their tea and stared at him with a blank expression, then slowly started to turn their head away from him and towards the other individual in the room, a shrug of the shoulders from the new target, the blonde woman brought her focus back onto him, giving him a long hard look before she lowered the tea cup away from her lips.

"That is rather…Forgive me if this is blunt, but I am rather surprised that you would announce that at a time like this." They made a show of gesturing down towards the papers that were sitting in front of them, lining the table.

Intellectually, he understood the point they were making.

This was neither the time nor the place for him to start openly speaking of what was effectively a personal issue for him which had no bearing on the current situation, especially when the individuals in front of him were hardly the sort he would have normally spoken with the matter about in the first place.

A snort dragged his eyes across the room, the violet haired youth had a hand conveniently placed in front of their mouth, their expression betraying nothing but if there had been a smile, it would have been impossible for him to see. He was certain they both knew he was the source of the mirth, but there was no definitive proof and any attempt to accuse them would be met with a staunch defence from their allies.

Another person scoffed and rolled their eyes, bringing his attention to them as they leaned forwards, propping their arm on the table and resting their chin on their fist in a rather lethargic manner, a half lidded expression and a slow blink later, they opened their mouth and started to speak.

"Did you really decide to speak about women troubles with us, right here and right now?"

The casual dismissal irked him slightly, though he made pains not to reveal it before giving them an unblinking look. With a grunt, he shook his head. "I do not expect you to understand it immediately, but there is a reason that my relationship with Professor Eisner remaining cordial is within your best interests as well."

Another chuckle from the person earlier, they leaned forwards and tented their arms on the table, intrigue flashing through their eyes. "This is something I cannot wait to hear."

"Really, Yuri-bird?" Hapi sent him a raised eyebrow and an exasperated look.

"Hey, I'm fine with this." Balthus added on, scratching the underside of his chin. "This is something that I actually understand, all these meetings have just been about stuff that I…don't really follow until you talk about the militia…we're doing good work on that, by the way, people are starting to really accept the presence we've got going on, like the…what did you call them?"

"Community support constables." He supplied with a toneless voice, only barely following along with what the chief of the guard was saying. Or was the title afforded to him, in reality the constables only job was to handle small time complaints like the sharing of resources or disputes between people so that assaults weren't frequent.

While pleasing news that they were becoming accepted, it was not the subject of the discussion.

"As I was saying, it is impossible for you to have remained ignorant to the favour that the Archbishop shows to Professor Eisner." He continued on, with the eyes of the room falling onto him once again, he waited a moment for his words to settle with them and then carried on when he was confident they were understood. "Therefore, it is in my best interests to remain as her…favoured acquaintance."

"He means friend." Harold interrupted behind him, which he elected to ignore.

"And therefore, her support of my judgement would aid you when it comes to persuading the Archbishop to make decisions that would otherwise be seen as controversial." Another pause, he rested his hand on the table, tapping his finger against the wood twice. "Given that I have already been promoted to a lecturer with my first lesson due to begin later on in the day, it is imperative that I have some manner of support within the Church beyond that of the Archbishop and the Aide."

"He means that he'd like some friends to have his back."

Eyes darted from him to Harold, he was acutely aware of the fact that Constance was making great pains to hide her mouth from his line of sight, though it did nothing to shield the mirth that was flooding through her eyes.

Again, he let the interruption go unanswered.

"Furthermore, even if I were removed from the equation, it is beneficial for Professor Eisner to remain allied with Abyss in order to keep the number of voices in support of its existence high." He finished, pulling his hand back across the table and underneath his shoulder cape. "In effect, keeping me in the good graces of Professor Eisner is just as much in my own best interests as much as it is in yours."

Hapi sniffed, then she pushed her chin forwards and cocked her head to the side, a ghost of a smile forming on her face. "So basically…you got into an argument with your friend and you don't know how to fix it?"

"Do not be foolish."

"That's not a no."

His hand returned from beneath his cape, drawn towards the bridge of his nose and clasping over it. A long and suffering sigh escaped from his nostrils, it was a testament to his patience that he did not react negatively to the clear amusement being levelled towards him. Even if they were juvenile to remain unable to see the benefits of keeping the Divine Spirit Sothis on their own side.

"Alright." Yuri coughed out, drawing the eyes of the room onto him. "He's actually correct, Abyss needs every voice it can get in favour of it within the Church if we want to actually get anywhere and, even though it's unlikely to happen, it wouldn't do for us to lose the Professors support."

Their words were logical, yet he detected a tone of incredulity within them, but at least their focus was where it should have been.

"Though given you're a lecturer now, were you not granted more authority within the Academy?" Constance voiced aloud, cupping her chin and tilting it. "They would not allow such unscrupulous individuals to teach the future generations of Fodlan, would they? These are to be the nobles who will continue the great lineage of the long standing houses."

Her arms folded, a frown came upon her face. "Quite frankly, it would be insulting for anyone to question the credentials of an instructor within the Academy without also calling into question the judgement of the Church itself." she gestured to him with a raised eyebrow. "Would it not also suggest they were incompetent when it came to the hiring of staff?"

Hapi snorted. "Yeah, because no one would ever think to say the Church is incompetent…"

"Our dislike of the Church aside for their past mistakes, letting them colour our current judgement says more about us putting our faith in them than anything else." Yuri interrupted with a shake of the head, rubbing at his brows. "Quite frankly, it makes us look like the bigger idiots for having our future put in the hands of that sort…but, honestly, if you and the Professor are having an argument, it would be better for you to just apologise for whatever it was and then move on."

He was not going to apologise for her feelings being hurt, that would imply he regretted what he said.

The outcome was regretful, but it would be more insulting if he implied that her emotions were enough for him to discard his opinions.

Insulting for the both of them.

He was not so feeble in his resolve and she was not so stupid as to accept whatever weak apology he created.

"...Hmph." With a grunt, he leaned back into his chair and frowned, resting his palm flat on the desk in front of him and drawing his lips thin. Meeting Yuri's eyes for a moment, then sighing. "Your advice has been noted and will be internally debated further. But, for the meantime, there are other more important matters to speak of."

His brows tightened. "I spoke with Seteth, renovation of the entire of Abyss will be a long process and to even consider it, we would need to demonstrate that a single location can be restored and kept in order without the need for the Church, this would prove that it would be worth further investment."

A wry chuckle from Yuri. "I see…so they want us to actually prove we can keep our room tidy before they let us have a bigger one, eh?" a pause, their jaw rolled from side to side and then they shrugged their shoulders. "That is fair enough."

His laissez faire response drew surprised eyes from the others.

"Yuri-" Constance started to speak, only for the young man to cut her off.

"This is more support than they gave us even under Aelfric and that was before he…" Trailing off, their eyes closed and a sigh escaped them. "...It was more than they've done in the past and this way we'll actually be able to move some of the people into nicer accommodation so that they aren't living in their own filth…"

Their features darkened. "The problem will be making sure those left behind don't get too jealous though."

"A concern I have considered." He leaned forwards, gesturing towards Constance, something which caused her to perk up. "We engaged in a brief discussion and I sent you to negotiate with Anna, what news were you able to return with?"

A proud look came upon her face and he instantly felt exhausted, bracing himself for the verbose monologue that was to come. "As a result of my successful negotiation, not that anyone would have ever doubted my silver tongue, I have been able to secure one hundred rolls of decent quality bedding for those in Abyss to share between them, a far cry from the hay we were sleeping on before."

A pause, then the blonde frowned a touch. "Though she mentioned something about a marble statue of the Prophet Seiros along with your name."

His brow twitched.

There was no way she was going to demand that…was she?

No, there was.

He was certain of it.

"...I will speak with Anna at a later date regarding this development, but I am otherwise content that you fulfilled your end of the assignment." Straightening himself out, he turned his eyes onto Hapi. "I have put forth further efforts to discerning the nature of trade when it comes to Demonic Beasts, though a niche market given their danger, the price within it is somewhat high. It is worth further consideration when in conjunction with your Crest."

"Which I can't use-"

"Your presence in my lectures is going to be compulsory and you will receive additional lessons regarding beast magecraft in order to make use of the full power of your crest."

She went silent after that, staring at him with wide eyes. "U-uhhh…alright?"

He was not certain why she appeared so surprised by that, unless she truly expected he would be content with leaving her in a state where she was bound to end up harming not just herself but whomever happened to be around her at the time of a summoning.

If he allowed the matter to remain as it was, then he would be complicit in whatever damage was done.

With that in mind, he shifted the focus of the meeting away from that topic and towards the others still to be discussed.

"How come you didn't say you were having problems with Professor Eisner?"

A moment passed, he rose his head up from the table where he was finishing collecting his reports and stared across at the man, noticing that they had advanced on him and were now putting their weight upon the desk, leaning forwards and with their lips pulled down into a minute frown of disapproval.

He lowered his head back down and continued onwards.

"I did not see the need in alerting you to it, Harold." The words had an impact, the man's frown only deepened. Clearly not the response they had been hoping for, it seemed. "In truth, I was dubious about raising it in the presence of others, but it was reaching a point where if I did not address it directly…there was high probability that it would have been raised by another at a later - more inopportune - date."

Harold removed his arms from the table, he heard the clank of metal and spared a glance to see the man bring his arms over his chest and fold them tight. Their look now being one of moderate concern. "Even still…wouldn't you have rather brought it up with me rather than…"

Goetia brought up a single eyebrow as they trailed off, a sigh escaped the knight.

"Not that Lady Nuvelle isn't sound company-"

His other brow slowly rose to join its counterpart at the words, not that Harold seemed to notice.

"-but I just…I figured that if you had a problem like this then you would have brought it up in private with people you spoke with more often…not necessarily me!" They hastily added on, waving their hands and offering an almost nervous smile. "I know you talk with Flayn a lot as well so she would have been a good idea as well, right?"

It…was not as though he could argue with the words of the man.

In truth, they were sound words.

"...I was impatient."

Harold stopped, then lowered his arms to his side. "You were impatient?"

"That is what I just said." He snapped, though it was more of a reflex at having his words parroted back to him. "This situation is becoming increasingly discomforting for me to endure and I wished for a solution to present itself, I could not form one on my own and I believe that I might be presented with one if I searched for a point of view beyond my usual audience…though I understand now that my choice in council was less than ideal…"

He hesitated for a moment, his brows lowered themselves down.

"...Or useful."

Maybe it would have been wiser for him to consult Harold or Flayn in private, at the very least they were not prone to blurting out his secrets to the world at every given opportunity.

"I don't know about that…" Harold muttered, it was unusually quiet - perhaps they had hoped he would not have heard - before they shook their heads from side to side and placed their hands on their hips. "But if the Professor is avoiding you for some reason then…have you tried talking with her yet?"

Getting angry with them was futile.

They did not understand the context of the disagreement.

"Talking is what caused this rift." He explained slowly to them. "As I said, a difference of opinion-"

"Yeah, but not everyone has the same opinion, do they?" Harold remarked with a shake of the head and a wave of the hand, as though trying to banish away his words like they were dust in the air. "Have you tried talking out with them some more? Although…is the Professor avoiding you or are you avoiding each other?"

"I…have not made pointed efforts to approach her, no."

"Well…why don't you just go to her and explain that you still want to be friends then?"

He turned his head and stared in silence at the man, for such a span of time that he could count the seconds by which they became increasingly uncomfortable under his unblinking gaze.

"Y-you do still want to be friends with them, right?"

Ever since that argument, it was like a weight had settled in his gut.

It was becoming unpleasant.

It was something he would rather be without, if making amends with them would remove it, then he would do that without hesitation.

"I would rather be an ally than an enemy."

For whatever reason, Harold found that comment amusing, if their echoed snort and rapid efforts to stifle their mirthful giggles was any indication. He found himself sorely tempted to just leave the room via a portal and let them walk to the surface for that alone, but he held himself back from that. It was an admittedly petty reaction for something that was an arguably human reaction.

Bringing one hand up while the other covered their face, Harold turned their head from him and continued their laughter.

With a noise barely similar to that of a sigh, Goetia turned his focus back to the remainder of the documents and snapped his finger. Returning them to his temporary quarters and moving around the table, back towards the small space and pausing once again.

Space rippled, the glowing tear formed in front of him with the courtyard of the monastery visible on the other side.

"Sorry…" A choked gasp from Harodl, he glanced over his shoulder as the man coughed several times and beat their fist into their chest. Shooting out a breath and then smiling at him almost cordially. Though the amusement remained in their eyes, even then. "Right, yes…better an ally than an enemy, right? I understand that…but that's the only thing I can say, Goetia. Sometimes frien-allies."

The correction was coupled with another snicker.

"Have arguments but it's perfectly natural, what matters is that you want to go back to being allies…if you can get that across, then I'm sure that you and the Professor will make up." Taking a couple steps forwards, they brought up a hand and then dropped it down, patting him several times on his left shoulder before walking past him, entering through the portal and appearing in the courtyard.

Goetia hesitated for only a moment, then followed after them.

It was worth considering.

Remaining allies despite their differences, he supposed that no two humans were the same.

For the meantime, he had another matter to draw his mind to.

He wondered if there was some hidden irony at play that the class in which he would hold his first seminar would be this one.

It was rather…he would not use the word fitting, but it was certainly one he was familiar with, perhaps more so than any of the others.

Though he would not dismiss the possibility that this had been born of Seiros amusement or some other scheme by her, given that this was the class where he had the closest relations, through his own choice or otherwise.

His feet carried him right the way to the front of the classroom, turning around and then sending his gaze towards the door.

Her approach was detected before he could even hear her steps.

He was not there when she and her classmates returned, focused totally on Abyss, and it seemed as though she had other matters which required her attention. That was good, he would not have her sacrifice her education for the sake of mere visits with him, though perhaps it was fitting that she would be the first one.

Doubtless she had been one of the first to hear of the seminars, given that her name was at the very top of those who had reserved a place.

The light echo of her footsteps came next, one after another and not quite at the level of a jog but certainly a great deal faster than the average walk. He would have accused her of overenthusiasm were it not for the fact that it was clearly warranted. She had a talent for learning and he was offering, it would have been foolish for her not to appreciate the lessons that he was giving out.

She understood the value of his teachings, her excitement was within acceptable parameters.

A flash of white rounded the corner and came to a stop, the diminutive figure at the entrance of the room stared across towards him, a pair of wide eyes and a ghost of a smile upon the face of the young girl. Though it was for barely a moment, so brief that it could have never been said to have occurred at all, were it not for the gleam which still burned brilliantly in her eyes.

"Teacher."

It was odd.

She had called him that many times in the past, yet now the word held a different texture to it, there was a weight that was now carried with it.

"Lysithea." He greeted her back, offering a short incline of the head and then bringing it back. "You have returned unscathed from your mission with the Golden Deer. You conducted yourself in a manner as I expected of you."

That brought a halt to her steps, a flicker of surprise shot across her face. "You knew?"

"...It would be remiss if I did not become aware of my students' actions during our hiatus." He replied slowly, perhaps she was aware of the upwards twitch of her lips or not, but it mattered little as she resumed her pace with the same fervour and all but flung herself into the foremost seat at the front of the classroom, only a few feet away from him.

She composed herself, brushing down her sleeves and then tenting her hands on the desk. Already with writing utensils resting by her side, opened up and awaited the notes that she was doubtless going to take.

"Of course, my apologies for expecting differently." Lysithea replied after a moment of thought, shaking her head from side to side. "I have continued my training with the runes that you taught me and I have made great strides in them, or so I believe. Naturally you would be the judge…but I have practised with them all the same."

"Then you have doubtlessly made improvement, I am aware of both your diligence and your competence, I expect to see the extent of your work when the opportunity arises." He replied without missing a beat, it almost looked as though she preened under his words. "I will provide you with the context that these lessons will approach a broader magecraft, one which will be working in tandem with Hanneman, to ensure the students as a whole are not confused by differing topics."

A blink of surprise from her, but she did not look disappointed. "Is that so? Does this mean there will be work crossed over between your two lessons? Or is it an advancement upon what Professor Hanneman is already teaching us?"

"That would be dependent upon what we decide, it is still early days in the project." He explained, waving his hand as he did so.

A silence settled between them.

"...How have the other areas of your education been progressing?"

He was not sure which of the two of them was more surprised by the sudden question, Lysithea blinked several times before she visibly composed herself from the shock of the question, furrowing her brows but eventually answering him.

"I…have made acceptable progress in the fields that I have greater skill in." A slow but measured reply, she was always critical of her own success rather than inflating it. He did appreciate her measured words at times, it kept her suggestions grounded in reality and not fantasy. "Naturally, those of an academic nature…I have little interest, or skill, in those of a physical side."

"You assume that magic and physical combat cannot be conjoined." He replied, raising a brow at her. "I believe I have already explained to you the concept of physical enhancements and blessings that can be bestowed upon one's own body to ensure competency in battle. Even if one excludes the rapid learning of other means of battle, sword fencing, hand-to-hand, archery, spear-wielding-"

He trailed off when he noticed the hesitant expression in the eyes of the young girl.

"...Although I doubt any such things would interest you, though I would advise some measure of understanding when it comes to self-defence." She kept silent but otherwise rolled her jaw, waiting for him to finish. "If only so that, if there comes a time where you are caught in a moment where magic is not an option, you are not totally defenceless."

"That seems…overly paranoid, Teacher." She paused for a moment, then added on. "I do not mean to offend-"

"The incident with Lonato stands as contrary-" A flinch from the girl, he cut himself and grimaced.

It had been a reflex response to her words, but it was clear that the topic still bothered her.

As expected.

She had nearly died - would have died - if he had not intervened.

"...I will rephrase." He exhaled. "Such moments are indeed rare, but I would prefer that you be prepared for them if they would ever occur, rather than assume you will go the rest of your life without encountering them again." bringing his hand up, he waved her down when she opened her mouth. "I will impart the same requests onto the others who wish to develop said skills, a basic tutoring in physical enhancement at a later date."

Left unsaid that it would be up to her whether she actually wished to go along with the request, but it would put his mind at ease with the knowledge that if she did face another foe like Lonato again, she would not be caught unaware and he would not have to arrive and slaughter indiscriminately.

It was a precaution, nothing more and nothing less.

Though…it seemed foolish, given her condition.

Teaching her how to protect herself in a fight and not against illness?

Lazy.

That is what it was.

Pure laziness.

"Teacher?"

Her voice pulled him from his thoughts, a blink and his eyes were back upon the eyes of the girl, now tinged with a trace amount of concern within them but nothing excessive. Likely born of his short silence.

"My mind was elsewhere." The reason was met with a slow nod of the head, then the concern vanished away. "But I will urge once again that it would be better for you to have a host of skills, even if they do not appear necessary for you. My own proficiency in hand-to-hand combat would surprise some, I am sure."

Lysithea's brow furrowed for only a moment, then she gave yet another nod of the head though still looked far from being convinced by his arguments. Cemented when she resumed her speech. "While I do understand it, I doubt that I would ever be in a position where I would need it and if such a time has come about…then things have already entered the most dire of circumstances."

He would concede that point, if there came a time where it was relied upon for Lysithea to actually resort to physical battles, then something had gone terribly wrong in the planning. However, that did not dismiss the need for it.

"I would argue that it is in those moments where the circumstances are most dire that the smallest of actions have the greatest of consequences." His words clearly impacted her, her lip pulled in a familiar way, he knew that she did not have an immediate logical response to his words and was clearly mediating upon them.

"I have been forced into situations before, prior to my arrival here, and if my skill with my fists had been greater than I suspect many outcomes would have been vastly different, but that is the point. The past cannot be altered easily."

His face blanked as he realised what he had just said, the girl now stared at him with confusion.

"Should it not be that the past cannot be altered at all?"

"...Yes." As you understand it. "I misspoke."

Her eyes lingered on him for a moment, then flickered to the side as her lips drew tight. "I do not know, even if you were to say such a thing, I do not believe that I would be at all well suited for combat and, truth be told, I do not have the interest in it in the first place…" her hands dragged along the table and formed fists, a sigh escaped her. "Being close to such barbarism is…"

He raised a brow. "Then you would rather use spells to conduct barbarism at a distance?"

She flinched, then turned on him, opening her mouth as she did so.

"That was not a criticism, I understand your motives and I can accept them." That gave her visible pause, her mouth closed and her brows shot upwards. "There is a difference between killing from a distance and killing up close, having experienced both of them I find myself with a greater preference for the former than the latter…there is greater ease in that you do not find yourself staring into their face as they die."

Lysithea kept silent, staring across her desk towards him for a few moments before she finally opened her mouth and spoke. "...Does it really matter how you're killing someone?"

"No…But humans like to think that it makes a difference, in the end it all amounts to the level of comfort that one can attach to the action itself. The formulation of excuses to justify why they should feel less remorse. In the end, someone is dead and you are directly responsible for it."

"Are you saying that it doesn't matter at all?"

He paused, then frowned. "This seems to be related to something beyond my request for you to learn self-defence arts."

She seemed to struggle with something for a moment before she glanced to the side, her shoulders dropped. "I look at magic and I see it as an easy way of doing things. With a battle it can get prolonged and drawn out…magic makes it easy. I just need to snap my fingers and then…nothing. I don't…there isn't some prolonged moment of watching them suffer or a need to put them out of their misery or anything else cruel or brutal."

Goetia kept still, then moved across until he was directly in front of her desk, she looked up and him with something in her eyes that he couldn't quite place. Though the manner of her words and the tone she used, it was as though she was speaking with the experience of another in her stead.

"...Have you been discussing the matter with Prince Dimitri?"

A flash of surprise, then comprehension. "I see, I should have expected you would know."

"Magic can be just as prolonged and cruel as any human with a blade, perhaps more so…" He trailed off, looking away from her and towards the distance. "I know of a hundred different curses designed to inflict pain without the possibility of death. Just as many that can heal the body from massive trauma and further spells to cause horrific injuries."

His eyes turned back onto her, his gaze shifted as he stared down at her.

Ah, that was right.

She was young.

Humans of this age didn't normally kill one another, it was not something he was familiar with and he was unsure how many Lysithea had actually killed nor how she felt about the action. If she was coming to him for some manner of absolution from her actions, then she would be disappointed.

He was infinitely better at killing humans than she was, that would be her sole comfort.

No matter what she thought of herself, he would be worse.

"Do you regret killing?"

"...I'm sure it had a reason at the time, I wanted to live and they were going to kill me. That seemed to be as good a reason as any other, yes? Why then, should I regret killing if it kept me alive?"

Her tone was flat.

"...I don't want to just use magic as a means of ending life." Her voice returned after a short pause, looking into his eyes as she spoke. "I used the spells you taught me to set people on fire and watched them burn, I froze their bodies and they shattered and…all these wondrous new spells and I was just killing people with them."

He could empathise with her disappointment.

"It is a bitter feeling, to watch it happen. To participate in it as well…You do not want to complete the final step."

"...I can already kill people with my mind, I would rather not start using my hands for much the same purpose." Removing them from the table, she brought up the rather delicate looking fingers and kept her gaze on them. "I wanted to learn, I wanted to…I wanted to advance my mastery of magic so that I could actually achieve something and all I've done is kill with far more theatre. What is the point in that? What value is there in what I can do when a soldier could just as easily do the same? I am not a soldier and I do not want to be a soldier."

Perhaps that was fair.

He would prefer her away from battle as well.

"You have a talented mind and a penchant for learning." He announced after a moment, she blinked and looked back up at him, he stared into her eyes before he exhaled. "And I would prefer you honed its potential in a way that was not related to conflict as well. I am not comfortable with teaching you all how to kill one another in new and exciting ways…"

"I know that you were merely trying to look out for me." Lysithea replied slowly, a flicker of sympathy across her face. "I just-"

"You do not need to explain your aversion to fighting to me. Quite the contrary…Your perspective on the matter is far more pleasing to me than if you were content with using my knowledge to just slaughter humans."

"Something I find myself agreeing whole heartedly with."

A voice from the doorway brought his eyes towards it, Lysithea soon followed, the unmistakable figure of Hanneman strode through with a pointed look directed towards him, but it was one that seemed to empathise with him. "As a scholar and a teacher, I could think of no crueller use of my teachings than to spread pain. It is not why I became a professor…"

There was something in their voice as they spoke, some underlying meaning to their words.

Goetia could deduce it swiftly.

Experience.

"And I am pleased to hear you feel similarly." They continued on, a touch of a smile on their lips as they moved to the other side of the room and sat themselves down, drawing themselves closer to the table and drumming their fingers on the desk. "I might teach my students how to defend themselves but I do not do it with the hope they will need this knowledge…nor do I actually approve of some of their missions to rout bandits."

"Professor Hanneman?" Lysithea's voice was drenched with shock, he glanced down at her and noticed she had leaned back into her chair. "Why are-"

"For the seminar, of course." A chuckle from the older man, followed by a wave of the hand. "Oh, I understand your surprise but you could say I was feeling a touch curious about all of it. The chance to learn of an entirely new magical system touched my scholarly self and I could not help but sign on to see what it was related to."

Goetia nodded to the man, then turned to Lysithea. "I did not provide any restriction over who could attend. Though I suspected many who would do so would belong to the student body, and my register fulfilled that expectation, there were some who signed up that were older than I expected."

"Take this as a lesson, young Ordelia." Hanneman called out from across the room. "It is never too late to learn something new…and it is something new."

"I…I see…" The girl trailed off, then directed her attention back towards him with her surprise slowly fading. "Yes, that would make sense. I can understand how you would seize this opportunity, perhaps I was a bit overreacting."

A familiar presence touched his senses.

His lips thinned and he directed a bland look towards the doorway.

Von Riegan pushed his head around the corner, a wide smile on his face. "So…am I too late to see the magic happen?"

Even without seeing her, he could feel the burning stare of Lysithea now pointed at the side of his head. All but screaming her incredulity at him.

"...I had thought your name on my register was some manner of practical joke."

Von Riegan stepped around the doorway into the room, placing a hand over their heart and bringing up an expression of shock upon their face. "Really? You think I would joke about something like this? Sparkle's first official lesson in the monastery?" they slotted themselves down into one of the seats.

Their grin never faded.

"Sparkles, I would not miss this for the world."

He responded to their announcement with a flat gaze. "...I do not approve of having my time wasted, Von Riegan. If you are here only to sow discord amongst those who are making an attempt to learn-"

They raised their hands in a placating fashion. "Me being honest? I'm just here to see what this is about. Not everyday that you actually hear about something from another country and even if I don't understand it…It is a little interesting to listen to." they shrugged their shoulders. "Can't hurt, right?"

His lips drew thin, then his eyes slowly closed and his head nodded up and down. "I will grant you the benefit of the doubt and assume your request to learn is genuine…but my point remains. Attempts to obstruct the learning of your peers while in this classroom will result in your immediate expulsion from the room and a ban on attendance of future lessons."

His eyes opened back up.

Von Riegan gave him a serious gaze, followed by an understanding nod of the head. "That is completely fair."

"...So long as you understand."

More presences filtered into his mind, approaching the classroom, he recognised all of them.

One struck him most of all.

Byleth.

They all rounded the corner, Dorothea, Mercedes, Annette, Linhardt, Marianne, Hapi.

Leonie.

It seemed she was still obsessed with these lessons, though they had not spoken in some time and he recalled their last interaction as being far from pleasant. He was rather curious as to why she would have attended, but he imagined the answer related to someone in particular.

Flayn rounded the corner next, took a single look at him, and then started to wave her hand rather excitedly as she made a rather intense show of moving to the front of the room, flying into the seat right next to Lysithea and making herself comfortable.

His first student sent her a small greeting by way of a nod of the head, then turned her gaze back onto him.

Then Constance walked through the door not long after, followed by Harold who was holding some manner of tarp above her head to shield her from the light.

He levelled a bland look upon the man whose only response was to show him an unashamed smile, he knew why Harold had gone through the effort but that did not mean he found himself pleased with it.

Then came Byleth.

The woman paused at the doorway to the room, stared at him in silence, and then walked towards the far corner before sitting herself down.

…He wasn't sure what he was supposed to have expected from all of that.

Taking in a breath, he turned his eyes away from her and towards the rest of the class, sweeping his gaze over the assembled faces and memorising all of them.

"I will not insult your intelligence. You know why you are here."

He turned around, moving towards the chalkboard and dragging it across the room with a mental command, the chalk brought itself up within the same instant, he turned back around as the sounds of the utensil on the surface echoed through the room, the attention drifted between him and the board.

"You know of the magic of Fodlan. By this point in time I expect you all to be capable of said magic. Which means that you all understand the basics of magical theory already."

He let the words settle for a moment, then he continued onwards.

"I will not declare that magecraft is superior. It is a subjective statement and would be factually incorrect. There are benefits to both systems that you will come to notice in the lessons that follow, should you remain in this class and take these lessons to heart."

A flick of the finger, the chalk pulled away from the board.

Turning around, he raised his hand and pressed a single finger on the blackboard, directly beneath the words he had written.

'Thaumaturgy: The Basics'

"However, I will declare with certainty that magecraft is far more versatile than Fodlan magic." He turned around and stared at the class. "What I am teaching you here is not a set art, there is no definitive method by which you can improve. There is no linear progression as with the magic of Fodlan. You are limited only by what your imagination and intelligence dictates."

His eyes swept over the room.

"The magic of Fodlan is simpler, but that is no innate crime. If you are unable to master this class then that is understandable, there is a specific mentality that is required to cultivate this. It requires dedication and, above all, determination to reach your own goal. You must remain fully aware of where you wish to end up before you even begin."

He dragged his hand off the board.

"Magecraft is a reflection of not just your skill…But of your individual nature. The spells you create here will demonstrate who you are."

An analogy would be apt.

"What Fodlan's magic gives you are the ingredients."

Taking a step into the middle of the room, he clenched his jaw and made the announcement.

"What magecraft does is give the means to properly utilise them. If you do not believe you have the drive or dedication to meet this challenge, then I would demand you to leave this room at once and allow only those who have the capability to progress remain."

None moved from their seats.

"Good."

He turned around, walking towards the board once more. "To those of you who have already mastered these lessons, this will mean little to you, but for the others…these will become some of the most important lessons to date."

The first step was simple.

Self-hypnosis.

From there, he would move onto other spells where they would begin to develop their own unique intentions.

Bounded Fields.

AN: A hundred chapters...

Feels like ages since I started this fic, and it was just because I wanted to write something with Goetia in it.

Well, thanks for everyone for reading for so long, finally got to Goetia teaching regular old magecraft in the end, huh?