The Three Houses of Hyperdimension
A Fire Emblem: Three Houses & Hyperdimension Neptunia Crossover Fan Fiction
by Derald Snyder
Episode 29: Investigation, Day 2 (Part 1)
Court Record:
-Headmaster's Affidavit
-Bishop Rhea's Affidavit
-Flame Emperor's Mask
-Broken Axe
-Bloody Sword
-Remote Claw
-Wrecked Gauntlets
-Security Footage
-Byleth's Testimony
April 16, 11:15 AM
Adrestia High Court
Defendant Lobby No. 1
"So, how did it go?" Sothis asked, standing with Lysithea in the lobby. "Given the looks on your faces, you at least managed to avoid a guilty verdict..."
"For the time being," Edelgard nodded. "The prosecution tried to link Hubert being unable to locate me after the battle at Remire Village with the Flame Emperor's appearance before my teacher..."
"Which b-begs the q-question, where exactly were y-you after th-that battle?" Rei asked.
"I... I had a lot of roiling emotions, so I hid myself in one of the abandoned houses until I could properly regain my composure," Edelgard responded. "I couldn't let my fellow students see my moment of weakness. Not even Hubert. Let's just say... there was some foul language involved."
"I don't blame you for losing yourself like that. I was pretty upset myself," Lysithea commented. "I mean, that Tomas never had anything but kind words when I came to the library... to think that he was evil all along..."
"I-if it's any c-consolation, th-that man is dead now," Rei said. "I was f-forced t-to kill him in s-self defense after he nearly t-trapped me and Sothis in a d-dimension of eternal d-darkness..."
"Yeah, that's something I'd rather forget," Sothis nodded grimly, briefly shivering from fear. "Thank goodness you had that Sharicite from Lady Blanc..."
"In that case, you have my gratitude for putting an end to him," Edelgard nodded with a slight smile. "That being said, you should stay on your guard... when those who slither realize you're interfering with their plot again, they may attempt another assassination..."
"I'll make sure that doesn't happen," Byleth said as he entered the lobby. "Good work so far, Miss Ryghts. I knew I made the right decision hiring you."
"But what do we do now?" Sothis asked.
"I'd like t-to speak with C-Count Bergliez again, off the record," Rei replied. "Hopefully he's s-still in the c-courthouse..."
"He should be, since Caspar is here too," Byleth pointed out. "I assume you'll want a word with Hubert about the biology project as well..."
"Right... hopefully he c-can show it t-to us back at th-the academy," Rei nodded.
"I'm sorry, but it's time for Miss Edelgard to return to her cell," the bailiff spoke up.
"All right, but make sure she's kept under watch, for her safety," Byleth said.
"I'll pass that along to the guards. Come along," the bailiff said as he escorted Edelgard out.
"Okay, so let's hurry and find Caspar and his father!" Sothis stated, promptly pushing the doors open, Rei and the others jogging to catch up...
April 16
Adrestia High Court
Main Hallway
Thankfully, the party didn't have to search for long, spotting Caspar and his father nearby the door to the front lobby, Linhardt standing with them, looking half-asleep as usual. "E-excuse me, Count Bergliez?" Rei spoke up. "D-do you mind if I ask you a f-few follow-up q-questions?"
"Sure, no problem," Leopold nodded as he and his son turned to face the group. "Though I'm not sure what else I can tell you..."
"I j-just wanted c-clarification on something," Rei prefaced. "Y-you said in court that your warehouse inspection w-was routine?"
"Yeah, that's right," the count nodded, crossing his arms.
"S-so does that mean anyone c-could look up your schedule?"
"Sure, with a little digging. It's not like it's top-secret or anything," Leopold shrugged.
"Why do you need to know that, Ryghts?" Caspar couldn't help but ask.
"Because if th-the Flame Emperor's aim w-was t-to f-frame Edelgard... th-then maybe it wasn't an accident th-that he t-tried t-to kill Duke Gerth i-in the same warehouse th-that Count Bergliez j-just happened to be inspecting..."
"Wait a minute! Are you saying my old man was set up?!" Caspar yelled angrily.
"Lower your voice, Caspar," Linhardt grunted, having been awakened by his fellow student. "This is a courthouse, remember...?"
"I see what you're getting at," Byleth nodded in comprehension. "And then the Flame Emperor put up a convincing fight in order to sell the illusion..."
"Come to think of it, that girl's fighting style did seem a little repetitive..." Leopold muttered as he lowered his head in thought. "I mean, you would have taught her better than that, right, Eisner?"
"I did teach her about how to feint in order to get past an opponent's guard," the professor replied. "And seeing her in recent fights showed she took those lessons to heart."
"Yeah, I can vouch for that! She completely thrashed me in our second-to-last sparring match!" Caspar concurred. "At least I almost got her to a draw in our last bout..."
"Hah! Good to see you're improving, son! Maybe we should have another spar sometime, after this case is wrapped up!" Count Bergliez suggested with a grin.
"Sure! And maybe Linhardt could referee!" Caspar agreed with a fist pump.
"I would rather not be dragged into this..." Linhardt sighed.
"Well, I'm just glad your father didn't get cowed by that Blackquill's psycho-logical manipulation, other than the opening statement!" Sothis spoke up. "That guy is scary!"
"I know, I probably would have done the same thing if I was in your position," Lysithea nodded grimly. "It's a good thing Miss Ryghts was able to hold her own..."
"I wasn't expecting a b-bird attack, though..." Rei sweat-dropped.
"I don't think anyone was!" Sothis pointed out. "I sure hope Linhardt's father gives him a penalty for that!"
"After that bird roosted on his head, he probably will," Linhardt nodded. "Anyway, I think it's time for us to return to the academy..."
"Well, I want t-to talk with Edelgard again first," Rei said. "What will you do, Miss Lysithea?"
"I think I'll head back with the other students," the Golden Deer student responded. "There's not much else I can do here, after all; and I need to report to Claude what happened."
"All right, you do that," Byleth nodded. "It was good to meet you, Count Bergliez. I can tell you're a decent man, unlike Duke Aegir..."
"Hmph! The only reason that Ludwig hasn't lost his shirt is because of the governor's favor," Leopold grumbled. "But that's not my place to speak about. Anyway, good luck trying to expose that Edelgard impostor, Ryghts!"
"Thanks... I'll p-probably need all th-the luck I c-can get..." Rei sighed.
April 16
Adrestia Detention Center
Visitor's Room
"I wonder what's taking so long?" Sothis asked as she sat in the visitor's room with Byleth and Rei. "I mean, I know Edelgard only just got back here, but still..."
"Well, it can't be anything too serious, or else they'd have raised the alarm," Byleth noted. Just then, the door on the other side of the glass opened, someone being roughly shoved in... but it wasn't Edelgard. "Wha- Hubert?!"
"HUH?!" Both Rei and Sothis gasped in surprise, watching as the sinister student nonchalantly dusted himself off before walking up to the glass.
"Hello Professor, Miss Ryghts. Fancy meeting you here," Hubert snarked with a knowing smirk.
"What are you doing here? And where's Edelgard?!" Byleth all but demanded.
"Far away from here, and safe. I used teleport magic to send her away," Hubert replied curtly.
"You stupid idiot!" Rei shouted as she put her face up to the glass without touching it. "What the hell were you thinking, worm?! This just makes you both look guilty!"
To Hubert's credit, the only sign of intimidation he showed was rearing back slightly. "Miss Ryghts, if you would calm yourself for a moment, I will be more than willing to explain why I did what I did. Do you remember the last case you were involved with the professor?"
"What does that have to do with anything?" Rei growled, albeit slightly calmer.
"I looked into the assassination attempt on your person," Hubert replied. "That Solon replaced the detective initially assigned to the case with a solid-light hologram, and put up a good enough act that nobody suspected anything until the attempted assassination occurred. If those who slither in the dark could infiltrate the capital city's law enforcement so easily, it would be child's play for them to do the same here."
"But why would they do that? Weren't they trying to frame Edelgard?" Sothis pointed out.
"Yes, but now that Rei Ryghts is on the case, those who slither must realize that there is a probability that Lady Edelgard may be acquitted," Hubert countered. "And seeing as their previous attempt on Ryghts' life failed miserably, it's only logical that those who slither would simply kill Lady Edelgard to try and salvage something from their plot..."
"So where is she now?" Byleth pressed.
"As I said, she's someplace safe," Hubert reiterated. "Who knows who could be listening in right now..."
"Fine then. Let's try another question, worm," Rei said in a dangerous tone. "Like that so-called biology project, AKA the sick animal you two took in!"
"...Ah. She must have told you during the earlier recess," Hubert comprehended. "Very well, then. We were planning on telling the professor about it anyway... and we would have, were it not for the Holy Tomb incident and subsequent lockdown."
"So, what animal were you caring for?" Byleth asked. "It clearly couldn't have been a cat or dog, since you see plenty of them on the academy grounds..."
"As sharp as ever, Professor," Hubert smirked with a small nod. "The creature in question was a green-skinned yoshisaur, who Lady Edelgard encountered during our first mission together at the Zanado Canyon..."
"You mean the Red Canyon?" Sothis spoke up.
"Yes, it has been called that as well. Anyway, Lady Edelgard stumbled across it after we finished with slaying those bandits, sick and starving. Against my advice, she discreetly brought it back with her to Garreg Mach to try and nurse it back to health..."
"S-so is it d-doing any better...?" Rei asked.
"Much better, yes, and to our detriment," Hubert sighed. "As anyone with even a passing knowledge about yoshisaurs knows, they can have quite the voracious appetite. It's said that they went nearly extinct because they couldn't find enough food to eat, and even now are considered an endangered species at best..."
"So you were having trouble feeding it?" Sothis guessed.
"Indeed. I'm sure you've probably heard the cooks at the mess hall complaining that the fruit orchards down the road seemed to have quite the low-yield crop this year..."
"Wait, are you saying that you and Edelgard...?" Byleth interjected.
"Yes, we had no choice. We brought the yoshisaur to the orchards at night in order to feed it," Hubert admitted. "But now the staff there are starting to catch on that there might be a thief in their midst, and posted guard dogs to keep intruders out. This is the main reason I advised Lady Edelgard that perhaps it was time to release our gluttonous critter into the wild to fend for itself... but she did not believe it was ready yet."
"Either that, or she got way too attached to it," Sothis deadpanned.
"You may be right, but I didn't feel it was my place to state such," Hubert shook his head.
"C-can you at least t-tell us w-where the yoshisaur is now?" Rei inquired.
"...Try asking that scoundrel of a wolf," Hubert said cryptically. "I believe we're done here. Guard!" He promptly turned and exited the room.
"Scoundrel...?" Rei repeated, perplexed.
"I know what he meant," Byleth said as he stood up. "Let's head back to the academy. There's a couple of other things I want to look into as well..."
"I'm not looking f-forward t-to trying to explain my c-client's actions t-tomorrow..." Rei sighed and shook her head, following Byleth and Sothis out to the parking lot...
*Episode 29- End*