(Author's Note)
Hey guys! Guess I WAS right about how long it'd take for this chapter to come out!
Probably would've had this out sooner, but midterms and other things were really kicking my ass as of late. Not to mention it was just... a touch annoying getting the contents of this guy sorted out. Sorry about that.
It's admittedly going to be a bit of a shorter chapter compared to some of the longer ones, but there's still a lot there to chew through, so I think you'll all enjoy it anyways.
Now, onto reviews!
To Pheonix Champion: So, we starting a new streak or has it been broken?
To HilExist: This is actually a good idea that I might look into when it comes time to speed things up. I appreciate the suggestion!
To Shikix: To be fair, I've BEEN that kind of writer a few times before. I'd rather not be so again with this one.
To LegendaryMob: To be entirely honest, Ren is NOT at all qualified to be a teacher. He's been very much roped into all this, much like Byleth is, who is similarly also not really qualified to teach. There's a good reason Ren has gone out of his way to focus on the stuff he CAN confidently teach.
Alright. Thank you to everyone who left a review! They really mean a lot. If you have time, please leave another! I like this back and forth we got gong here and they help keep my motivation going.
Alright with that all said, onto the story!
Seteth had a lot to think about these past couple days. Aside from his usual duties, of which he had long since gotten used to dealing with, now there was the slew of other nuisances he had to think about.
Louis Vangaur was dead, assassinated within the very walls of the Monastery. Ren Amamiya, someone who was increasingly becoming a good colleague with each passing day, was found to have a hit out on him. What made it worse was the fact that all of it clearly spread out from one single moment.
That damned Calling Card.
Seteth let out a sigh, looking down at the paperwork in front of him. More reports from the knights tasked with searching for the bandits. Nothing still. They had initially made some progress when the search first began, but now it was as if they disappeared into the ether.
Seteth placed his pen down with a sigh before looking at the instrument. Another reason he had now to appreciate the strange foreigner. The advisor glanced at one of the drawers of his desk and pulled it open, reaching in as he grabbed the report within.
The last thing that was eating away at his already whittling sanity…
Just an hour before Seteth would be done with his duties yesterday, assuming he didn't work overtime (which he still did), Jeralt had come to his office and handed him something he asked that remained "Between us and the Archbishop.".
Within the lines of the report contained the findings of Jeralt, about a possible location the bandits were hiding out, and what might be the answer to a mystery that had been eating up the mental space of many working for the Officers Academy.
Included with the report were two shipment forms written up by Louis Vangaur, both to the same location. One coincidentally the exact same day Monica went missing, the other uncomfortably close to the day the bandits attacked the training excursion. Both scarce of finer details of their respective cargo.
Seteth sighed, reading through the information again. Jeralt had been adamant that the information could not get out to anyone else. Just looking over what had been included, and the thought process included that led to the blade breaker's proposal, was enough to convince the advisor to agree.
The biggest piece of evidence something was off already was that the location specified didn't appear on any of the maps Seteth had, and the advisor had maps as new as this year. What should have been a fortress, as noted by Jeralt's recollection of the area from his time as a mercenary, was nothing but marked wilderness on the map.
And then there was the recommendation; send the Black Eagle House to investigate as their mission this Month. There was also a note included that was blunt enough to make a boulder seem sharp, that the sooner they are sent on this mission the less likely it is that the bandits move and that the information being reviewed gets out.
It was just another thing that added to the ever growing plate of bullshit the advisor needed to put up with, and if Seteth was a lesser man, he might have pulled a few hairs out over it all.
The advisor simply settled for possibly getting a few grey hairs instead, but considering he hadn't gotten any yet, he highly doubted this would give him any either.
"...I don't like it." Seteth said aloud to himself, tapping a finger against the desk. "If Vangaur's killers were working with the bandits, and by association, whoever may have kidnapped Monica, then we might be sending Professor Amamiya right to the assassin's doorstep."
The advisor stood up from his seat, walking over to his window. "No, what am I thinking right now…?" The man said, placing a hand against his forehead. "He has proven more than capable of defending himself, and if we sent him into battle anyways, what difference would it make?"
Seteth glanced out the window, at the sprawling sights of the Monastery from his Elevated position and came to a decision. "The sooner we do this, the better. Professor Amamiya should be free today, and I can find Professor Eisner during their break. I can explain the mission then... If they feel their students are ready, then they'll set out at their discretion." Seteth stated, turning away from the window as he picked up Jeralt's report from his desk. "All I have to do now is convince Rhea of my decision."
"Should we really be doing this?" Morgana asked as the two made their way up to Hanneman's office.
"I need to know, otherwise this confidant will hit a dead end…" Ren replied in a whisper, walking up to the doors. The teen paused and glanced to the side, watching as Seteth walked out of his office and made way for the Archbishop's chamber. "Huh, wonder what Seteth's doing…"
"Hey, focus." Morgana hissed, getting a nod from the thief in return as Joker opened the door to the office and silently closed it behind him. "Okay, I think we're clear for now…"
"Let's see…" Ren said, walking over to the device that identified a person's Crest. "It just needs my blood, right?"
The teen reached to the side, grabbing one of the glass plates that were made for the machine. He took out his dagger and pricked his finger, letting a drop of blood drop onto the plate. "Morgana?"
"I got you. Dia." Morgana said, holding a paw out towards the injured finger. The wound swiftly glowed green and closed back up, as if the wound was never there to begin with. "Wow, that does take a bit out of you here in reality."
"Feels good to be able to use our Personas like this though, right?" Ren asked, placing the glass slide into the device.
"Definitely. Now, let's see if we have anything to worry about." Morgana said, hopping out of Ren's bag.
"Here we go…" Ren said, going through the motions he remembered seeing Hanneman do to start the device.
Light began to sputter out from the top, before finally projecting an image. A single V, styled much like the Velvet Room's own, laid before the two. "I'm not seeing any alterations, are you?"
"No… I don't think so…" Mona said, scrutinising the projection. "But… you should still have the others, right?"
"...Maybe it's like using a Persona? The Crest doesn't show itself on the projection unless I'm channelling it?" Ren asked aloud as he looked down at his hand. The thief snapped lightly, allowing a small fraction of Arsene's power to flow through him, just enough to conjure a small eiha centred in the air above his fingers.
"Woah!" Morgana exclaimed, grabbing the thief's attention as he looked over at his partner. "The projection changed. Do that again, but watch the Crest this time."
"Alright." Ren said, looking over at the Crest. He snapped his fingers once more, channelling Arsene's power through himself, and watched as another Crest flashed to life behind the V for but a moment.
The Crest was large, its various lines and shapes overtaking the V in scale. But it also was cut off, the device unable to seemingly fully read it. As soon as it appeared, it vanished just as fast.
"Okay… So that was a thing." Ren noted, walking up to the device to turn it off. "Morgana, did that one look like any we've seen so far?"
"Hm… seemed like the one we found in the café." Morgana noted, narrowing his eyes. "As well as on the doors in Mementos."
"Right, it was bigger on those doors as well, right?" Ren paused in thought, idly taking out the glass plate he had just used. "So whatever it is, it's probably bad news if it gets out I have it."
"Probably. Now come on, let's get out of here before we're noticed." Morgana said, hopping back into the thief's bag.
"Right." Ren replied, silently leaving the room.
"We sure it's a good idea to come back so soon?" Morgana asked as Ren walked towards the marketplace. "It's probably still in a bit of disarray…"
"Maybe, but I want to check in on Anna. She has been pretty indispensable during all this." Ren replied quietly, walking down the stairs and into the hustle and bustle of merchants and customers. "Well, they certainly picked things up here."
"Business must keep going, I guess." Morgana noted.
"Hm…" Ren nodded lightly, before turning to the left as he made his way towards where Anna usually sets up.
The thief raised an eyebrow at Anna as she stood off to the side, bereft of a market stall like she normally would be. "Morning!" Ren greeted, raising a hand up to wave, getting the merchant's attention.
"Hm? Well, if it isn't my favourite customer!" Anna replied as the thief walked over, a wide smile on her face.
"You certainly look happy. I don't want to sound morbid, but did Louis' being removed from the picture have this much of an effect?" Ren asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Well, that's not the only reason, but it certainly helps." Anna noted with a shrug. "To be blunt, dastard had it coming. Market's a bit more like open season as a result right now, but that's not what has me in such good spirits."
"Well, don't leave us in suspense here…" Morgana said.
"I finally have some good news in response to our little venture." Anna said, getting a wide eyed look from Ren.
"For real?" The teen asked.
"Hm. Turns out, the whole gentleman thief angle of the story turned a LOT more heads as of late. What with the whole Phantom Thief business that just happened." Anna said with a smirk. "So, I may or may not have gotten quite a few offers from publishers."
"Wow…" Ren replied, letting out a breath.
"Just one slight issue. Almost all of them want to change the subtitle." Anna said, getting a raised eyebrow from Ren. "Arsene Lupin, Phantom Thief."
"Ah… I see the problem." Ren deadpanned.
"Now don't get me wrong, it's a genius marketing play, the sheer excitement and questions people have about phantom thieves right now would immediately draw many eyes to the book." Anna began, placing a hand to her chin. "But it has some connotations to it that might be… problematic."
"You think? Never would have imagined…" Morgana snarked, forcing the thief to stifle a chuckle.
"That all said, it's not a bad play. Not by a long shot. And it's not like we're using your name in the author's margin." Anna said, earning a slow nod from Ren. "So? What's the plan then? It's your call, but personally? I'd go for it."
"Hey, is this a good idea? If this ever is tied back to you, then that might lead to suspicion." Morgana asked quietly.
Ren reached up and played with his hair mindlessly as he let his mind shuffle through his choices. Eventually, the thief let his hands fall to his sides and nodded at the merchant. "If they want the title changed, let them. As you said, business wise it's a good decision."
"I see we'll be making quite a pretty penny for all this then." Anna said with a smirk, before laughing. "This has been quite the interesting business operation. Nothing ever seems boring since you've arrived. Well, with all that said, here's to many more fruitful ventures."
{Rank Up!}
[The Merchant Arcana has increased to Rank 3!]
[You will now earn a Stat increase in a randomly chosen stat from Arcana Boost when fusing a Persona of the Merchant Arcana!]
"By the way, let me know if you have any more books." Anna said after a moment. "Depending on the sales of the first, we might have people clamouring for more."
"Well, I suppose I'll be keeping that in mind then." Ren said with a smile, before turning and walking away with a wave.
"So, care to explain your thoughts?" Morgana asked as the two walked out of the marketplace.
"The more people know of Arsene, the more he's added to their cognition, meaning he'll be more powerful. That's an established fact." Ren said, getting a grunt of agreement from Morgana. "But what do you suppose happens if we take that and tie him even closer to the concept of a phantom thief?"
"...That might be a terrifying possibility."
"And that's why I said yes to it."
"Okay, we ready for this then?" Morgana asked, looking over at Ren. "I want to remind you that it'll just be the two of us. We're going to want to be careful."
"Aren't we always?" Ren asked with a raised eyebrow as he looked through the contents of his bag. The thief nodded to himself and zipped it up, slinging it over his shoulder as he turned to face Morgana. "That should be everything."
"Then all that's left is to-" Morgana began, before being cut off as a knock echoed through the café. "...Check who's at the front door."
"Just a moment!" Ren shouted, walking around the counter as he made for the front door. The teen pulled the door open, blinking in light surprise as Seteth stood opposite him. "Seteth. Surprised to see you. Are you okay? You look… mildly dead on your feet."
"I appreciate the concern, and that is not an inaccurate descriptor…" Seteth noted. The advisor was wearing his newfound eyebags with pride, evidently. "It has indeed been rough as of late."
"Want me to make you a cup of coffee then? You… definitely look like you need one." Ren asked, jutting his thumb out over his shoulder.
"I will gladly take you up on that if you are offering, but I'm here for matters in relation to the Officers Academy." Seteth said with a sigh. The teen merely stepped aside and motioned the advisor inside, before letting the door swing closed behind the man as Ren headed to the counter. "I'll have the house blend, please."
"Coming right up." Ren said, getting to work on Seteth's order. "In the meantime, care to share the news?"
"It's in regards to this month's mission." Seteth said, earning a raised eyebrow from the thief. "I would like to preface that what stays here is strictly on a need to know basis. I doubt you would give such information away willingly, but I still felt it necessary to say."
Ren shared a quick glance with Morgana, the two waiting with bated breath for Seteth to explain. "We've received some reports from Jeralt, about a possible location where the bandits are hiding." The advisor said after a moment, idly watching the motions Ren went through during the brewing process as he spoke. "We also have reason to believe that a previous student of the academy is being held captive there. I assume you know who I'm referring to."
"Monica, correct?" Ren asked, earning a nod from Seteth. "She was on the attendance roster you gave me at the start of the year."
"Yes. It was believed she had simply run off before, but now… Jeralt believes something worse. And after an assassination took place within the monastery under our noses… A kidnapping taking place is all the more likely of a possibility to consider." Seteth said with a sigh.
Ren pulled out a mug and a paper cup and presented them both to the advisor. "For here or to go?"
"To go. I have other matters that still require my attention." Seteth said, earning a nod from the thief as he put the mug away. "We've changed the mission as a result. Your house will make for Count Rowe's territory and, once there, will search the premisses of your target."
"Normally, we would not be sending students out this early in the month, however Jeralt believes this could prove time sensitive. Lady Rhea has authorised your class to leave at your discretion. When you do set out, only then will both your house and the mercenaries under Jeralt's employ be informed of the mission they are embarking on." Seteth began as he crossed his arms. "We would normally have spared knights, but with the urgency of this, it is likely trying to gather knights for this outing will prove problematic for a host of reasons. My question to you however is this, do you think your class is ready?"
Ren paused, looking down at the travel cup silently before slowly pouring coffee into it. The teen placed the coffee pot to the side and took a breath. "...I don't think leaving now or at the end of the month will make too much of a difference when it comes to physicality. In that regard, I have confidence in my students. Mentally is another story though." He said, placing a lid on the cup before sliding it over to the advisor's waiting hand. "I don't think anyone is going to be ready, not truly. Most of my house will possibly engage in combat and will end up killing. You can't really prepare someone for that. I don't think I can, at least. That said, Byleth and I do have Thursday to iron out the finer details of that. I think if Byleth agrees, then this Friday is what we'll do."
"I see. For now, please try to keep this to yourself. I doubt I need to explain further how delicate this mission might be in the end." Seteth said, pulling himself off his seat. "I will relay your opinion to Professor Eisner when I get the chance to speak with her later today. Thank you again for the coffee."
"Don't mention it. And please, make sure you take some time to rest." Ren said, getting a chuckle from the advisor.
"I'll see if I can pull something off." The green haired man replied as he walked out the door.
"...Okay, he's gone." Ren noted as he turned and leaned his back against the counter.
"Well, on the plus side, you have actual news to pass on to Monica's Shadow now." Morgana noted, earning a wide eyed smile of realisation from the teen. "We should probably wait a few minutes still, just in case."
"Yeah, probably…"
(Play Mementos - Upper Layer)
"Okay, we're here. How are things feeling, Joker?"
"I'm feeling alright. I wasn't sure if my stunt earlier was going to bring cause for concern or not." Joker noted, looking himself over with a nod. The thief turned and flashed a thumbs up at his partner, getting a smirk from Mona. "We're good to go."
"Oh no you are not!"
Joker felt a pit drop in his stomach as the two thieves turned to find Lavenza marching up towards them, a menacing aura surrounding her as she walked. "Lavenza-?"
The teen suddenly felt air evacuate his lungs as a Persona suddenly manifested in front of him and punched him in the stomach. The thief dropped to his knees and attempted to catch his breath as Lavenza walked up in front of him, the Velvet Room residence dismissing her summoned Panser. "There are times I wish you weren't so in sync with the Fool Arcana, but here we are…"
"Lady Lavenza!? What was that for!?" Mona asked, staring at the scene in shock.
"Question… seconded…" Joker wheezed, pushing himself to a stand.
"Trickster, we warned you about this!" Lavenza huffed. "Did my Master and I not tell you that you were not compatible with this world's cognition? Yet, here we are now and you tried to overwrite it with your own?"
"I… tried to what?" Joker asked, raising an eyebrow behind his mask.
"You-!" Lavenza paused, anger leaving her rather quickly as his words processed. "You didn't know what you were attempting to do?"
"Not in the slightest… Sothis merely mentioned that I might be able to perform a Divine Pulse as well and… her instructions left much to be desired." Joker noted with a sigh.
"...I see." Lavenza said, coughing lightly into her hand, face steadily turning red. "I suppose I did jump to conclusions…"
"Hell, if what I did was really important, I figured I'd have been brought into the Velvet Room last night to work it out." Joker continued, glancing to the side in thought, completely missing the rising embarrassment that was glowing off of Lavenza.
Mona watched the scene with a deadpan expression, shaking his head with a sigh. "Our master decided it didn't need to be said, didn't he?" The feline asked the resident, earning a telling silence as a result. "Well, that answers that question."
Lavenza let out a sigh, letting her embarrassment fade until it was all but a hint of a blush. "I apologise. I suppose I reacted a bit too hastily."
"Don't worry about it. I see now why Ryuji was so thankful for my stepping in after Shido's change of heart…" Joker said, muttering the last part to himself under his breath.
"Anyways, we are on a bit of a tight schedule. Is there anything else you need from us?" Mona asked, turning to look at Lavenza.
"Actually, I did have something I wanted to ask myself." Joker said, getting the others' attention. "I don't suppose you would know how I'm actually supposed to do this Divine Pulse thing? Because as we've seen, Sothis is awful at it."
"Unfortunately, that is not a power I am familiar with. If you are able to tap into it, I am unsure as to how you would go about such a task." Lavenza said, earning a nod from the thief.
"That's fair. Didn't hurt to ask though." Joker replied.
"In that case, I should return to my master's side. Do be careful." Lavenza said.
"I'd ask when haven't I been, but considering my track record of the last few days, I'm gonna just keep my mouth shut." Joker said as he turned to the stairs heading deeper in. "Mona, let's go!"
"Right!"
(Play Welcome To The Jail - P5 Strikers)
"Well, good news, everything feels the same." Mona noted as the two thieves looked around the entrance of the Jail.
"That's good. But it's the inside that really worries me." Joker said, pulling out his phone and opening the Metanav. "Alright, this should be a quick in and out run. There's a safe room by the three paths, and nothing between it and the cell."
"Assuming nothing has changed." Mona replied.
"Assuming nothing has changed." Joker parroted with a nod. "Well, you know what they say. Hope for the best…"
"Expect the worst." Mona finished, getting a nod from Joker as the thief tapped a button on his screen, teleporting the two of them into the depths of the Jail. "Ready?"
Joker nodded, slipping his phone away as he opened the door of the safe room and walked out into the corridor.
(Play Singularity - P5 Strikers)
Mona walked up next to the thief and nodded to himself. "I don't feel any changes. I think we're good to proceed like normal."
"Good, but let's stay on our toes for now." Joker said as he turned and walked down the hallway towards the metal gate between the two thieves and their target. Joker glanced up at the twisted metal and activated his third eye, smirking as nothing dangerous popped up in his view. "We're good to keep moving. Mona, do you mind keeping watch again?"
"Will do. I'll shout if we have any unexpected visitors." Mona said, earning a nod from the thief.
Joker walked past the gate and moved towards the cell that contained Monica's Shadow. As he came to stand in front of the Shadow, he watched as surprise blossomed on the Shadow's face. "You actually came back…"
"Told you I would." Joker replied, crouching down onto a knee to get eye level with the Shadow. He was never certain how much a Shadow reflected the full extent of a person's physical appearance, especially one whose cognition was like this, but he took the lack of any major changes as a good sign. "How are you doing?"
"Better, but not by much. The… experiments seem to have been stalled. I think part of it is due to what you did while here." Monica's Shadow said, earning a raised eyebrow from the thief. "I'm not as easy to… work with, apparently. Something is blocking it that wasn't there before."
"Well… if that was me, I'm glad to have helped." Joker said before he gave a determined look to Monica. "We're coming to save you. In reality."
"What…?" The Shadow's eyes widened further, before slowly closing as the Shadow's head tilted towards the floor. "Please, don't do that… Don't give me hope. I can't believe in such a miracle…"
"Monica… Out of everything I've done so far, what part of this hasn't been like a miracle already?" Joker asked softly, earning an equally soft gasp from the girl. "I told you before. I am going to save you. If it'll take a miracle to do it, then I'll just have to perform another. I'll admit, I'm getting fairly used to pulling such things off now…"
"...A miracle, huh?" The Shadow muttered before glancing back at the thief's face. "I would like that, I think…"
"The you in reality… does she remember me?" Joker asked.
"Perhaps subconsciously, everything has been blurring together as of late for us." Monica's Shadow noted.
"...Is there any way I could talk to her now?" Joker asked.
"...I am unsure, but the sensation has become… familiar enough now that I can try and replicate it to swap with her for a moment." Monica's Shadow said, earning a slight smile from the thief. "Do you want me to try?"
"...If that's alright." Joker replied, getting a nod from the Shadow in return.
There was a few seconds of silence, before the Shadow suddenly tensed and went limp. Joker unconsciously held his breath as the girl's head slowly raised up, as if waking up from a long sleep. Dull red eyes stared into the dark grey pair facing opposite them.
Some vibrancy returned to the red hues, as Monica's eyes widened in what seemed like recognition. "I… Am I dreaming this dream again?"
"Hello Monica." Joker said with a smile. "It's not quite like that, but you're close. I don't know how much time I have, so I'll keep things brief. Can you try and save your energy for the next few days?"
"I… Don't understand. What would the point be?" Monica asked, her head drooping back towards the ground.
"I'm going to perform a miracle." Joker said. The teen watched as Monica's head swung upwards in shock in response. "In a few days time, I'm going to come save you."
"...I… I can't believe in such a miracle anymore…" Monica said slowly, closing her eyes with a wince. Joker opened his mouth to speak, but was cut off by Monica. "But… I'm having this dream again… So maybe it's not wrong to have some faith… I… I'll do what I can."
"...I'm going to get you out of there, Monica. I promise." Joker said, smiling softly.
"Hey… Could you do what you did last time? I'd like… a pleasant dream again…"
"Yeah, I can do that."
Joker pulled his mask off and summoned Succubus once again. The thief stood up as the girl was put to sleep, letting out a sigh as he turned around. "Just two more days. That's all you need to endure Monica, I promise."
The thief's footsteps echoed through the silent walls of the cell, before finally coming to a stop as he met back up with Mona.
"You said what you wanted to?" Mona asked.
"Yeah. Now… Now we see if Byleth needs more convincing to go on this mission early." Joker replied, getting a nod from his fellow thief.
"Good, then let's head back. We still have most of the day to get to." Mona noted.
"Right. That we do…" Joker said before he trailed off in thought. "Hey, you think the lunch rush has started yet?"
(Play Life Goes On - Persona 5)
"Wow…" Lysithea muttered, looking out at the interior of Leblanc Nouveau. "It's… pretty packed…"
'I suppose it's not too surprising, it is lunch right now.' Lysithea thought to herself.
While not at max capacity, it wasn't anything to scoff at. Almost all the barstools were occupied by what seemed to be either off duty knights or other monastery workers, and the booths were rather packed. One of them was currently being taken up by two knights, of which Lysithea recognized the blonde. 'Isn't that the knight who took Vangaur away?'
The other was not as familiar, but Lysithea did remember seeing the two of them around the café as of late.
"Lysithea!" The white haired girl blinked and turned to the left, facing Dorothea, who was sitting in one of the booths with Bernadetta and Petra. "Come join us! We got a spare seat!"
"Um, alright?" Lysithea replied, taking a seat next to Petra. The white haired girl glanced at Bernadetta, quickly realising that if the girl could curl up on both herself and her cup without spilling its contents, she would. "I'm surprised to see you all here."
"Well, when I saw this place was finally open, I knew I HAD to come." Dorothea said with a smile. "Plus, even at full capacity like this, it's not as loud as the cafeteria. Which is good, because I get to drag Burnie along with me."
"I assume drag being…" Lysithea glanced at Bernadetta again, catching the mild glare the violet haired girl was shooting Dorothea. "The operative word…?"
"I do not believe Dorothea had use of such methods." Petra said, a pensive look on her face. "Bernadetta walked with us."
"Ah, that's another figure of speech, Petra." Dorothea said with a smile. "I'm not really dragging Bernie anywhere, but the effort to get her to come along certainly feels the same."
"I see." Petra said with a nod, taking a sip of her drink.
"I'm not that bad…" Bernadetta replied.
"Bernie, in all the time I've known you, coming here was the easiest I've gotten you to go anywhere." Dorothea said with a smirk.
"Well… It's nice here." Bernadetta stated before taking a sip of her drink.
"It really is." Lysithea nodded, earning a small smile from the purple haired girl.
"So, since you're here, why the Black Eagles?" Dorothea asked, looking back to Lysithea.
"Hm? What do you mean?" Lysithea asked.
"Why transfer houses? I'm curious." Dorothea replied.
"I, as well." Petra said. "Changing houses is not common, correct?"
"Well, that depends." Dorothea began. "It's something a student can request, so it's not uncommon to see it happen. But in those cases, usually there's a reason for why."
"Such as?" Lysithea asked, raising an eyebrow at the songstress.
"Well, take Sylvain for an example." Dorothea said with a light huff. "It's not hard to see why he was… "attracted" to the Black Eagle house."
Lysithea nodded in response, narrowing her eyes slightly. "I hope you're not insinuating I'm just transferring in order to "get" with Sensei."
"Thought never even crossed my mind, though thank you for telling us our dear Sensei had something to do with it." Dorothea replied with a smirk.
Lysithea felt her body freeze like ice, staring blankly at the girl sitting opposite of her. "I believe this is what they called, "getting played"..." Nyx said in the girl's head a few seconds later.
"Lunch for four?" Lysithea's saviour said, walking up to the table with four plates of curry in his grasp. Ren smiled at the four and passed out the plates, before looking to Dorothea. "Please don't break the new transfers. In fact, try not to break any of your fellow classmates."
"But they're so easy to break." Dorothea teased back before shrugging. "Oh well, if Sensei insists."
Ren shaked his head with a smile before turning to Bernadetta. "Bernadetta, can I get you a refill while I'm here?"
"Um, I-If it's not a problem…?" Bernadetta replied slowly, holding out the cup for the teen.
"Of course it isn't. You are my customers after all." Ren said, taking the cup before looking at the other two occupants of the table. "Petra, Lysithea, can I get anything else for you two?"
"I am alright. Thank you." Petra replied.
Lysithea nodded. "I'd like some coffee as well."
"Coming right up. For now, enjoy!" Ren said, walking away from the table.
"How come Sensei did not ask about your drink, Dorothea?" Petra asked, looking at the girl.
"Hm? Oh, I've barely touched mine so far, so it's not like I needed any more." Dorothea answered with a light shrug of her shoulders.
"Such a thing would not take much observation skills to notice when he was over here." Lysighea noted with a nod.
"Well, I don't know about the rest of you, but I came here for lunch, so let's eat." Dorothea said, picking up a utensil as she looked down at her lunch.
"Right." Bernadetta said with a nod, quickly following suit. Lysithea noticed the light glint in the girl's eyes as she went for the curry on her plate.
'You sure work fast, Joker…' Lysithea thought to herself as she moved to start eating as well.
Ren let out a sigh as he placed the last plate away in the cupboard, dusting his hands off as he turned to look at his now clean café. "I'd call that a successful first day." The teen said, pulling out his phone to check the time. "Depending on the day, I might be able to run a shift during a day I actually teach, assuming I have enough prep done."
"It's a possibility to consider, at least." Morgana replied. "I see the knights are still being proactive though."
"Yeah. Catherine and Shamir probably had lunch duty, which worked out in their favour I guess." Ren nodded, before shrugging. "At least they tipped well."
"Hey, there's been something I wanted to ask you." Morgana began, hopping up onto the counter. "What am I going to be doing come friday?"
"You?" Ren blinked, tilting his head to the side. "What do you mean?"
"I mean, am I coming along, or waiting back here." Morgana asked. "This mission is going to be delicate, and… I'm worried, I guess."
"Morgana…" Ren began. "...As much as I'd feel better about things if you were there, I don't think I'll be allowed to bring you. Not without attracting a LOT of attention."
"Yeah, figured as much. Alright, I'll hang back and keep watch here." Morgana said with a shake of his head. "You, on the other hand… make sure you make it back in one piece."
"Morgana, we both know I've survived worse odds than what's awaiting us on this next mission. Hell, we BOTH have." Ren said with a smirk.
"Oh yeah… I suppose so." Morgana nodded with a smile on his face that quickly broke out into a smirk. "Give 'em hell then, Joker."
"What do you think the plan was?" Ren asked with a chuckle.
The thief's laughter was interrupted as the front door opened. Ren turned to the door and put on his customer service smile. "Sorry, but we're closed at-Byleth?"
"Ren." Byleth replied with a nod, walking into the café.
"Don't classes start in like, 10 minutes?" Morgana asked, looking at the mercenary.
"I wanted to ask you something." The swordswoman said, walking up to the counter. "It's about what Seteth asked me earlier during lunch."
"About Friday?" Ren asked, getting a nod in reply. "Well, we should make this quick then, you only have 10 or so minutes before your class starts."
"Why did you push for Friday?" Byleth asked. "I've heard the mission details, and while it is indeed time sensitive, a few more days to prepare the class would not be out of the question."
"...Well, I did ask for quick…" Ren muttered to himself before clearing his throat. "How much did Seteth explain to you about what might be there?"
"Might be? You're referring to the possibility that the student that went missing is being held against their will at the location of our mission." Byleth asked.
"I am." Ren replied, glancing towards the front door. "...It's more than a possibility. I found out something I was likely not supposed to and that was why Louis Vangaur put out the hit on me. Monica is trapped, and the more time we spend preparing, the less certain we can be of her fate. I… I don't want to take that chance."
"...I see. And the reason my father notified Seteth and not yourself?" Byleth asked.
"He brought his suspicions up with me first, and then said he'd take over explaining everything." Ren noted, crossing his arms. "Ask him if you want confirmation, but be discreet. This is… a delicate mission."
"I see… I asked Seteth some time to think, but if you feel this strongly about Friday, then I'll agree with you. However, we'll need to replan our classes tomorrow." Byleth began. "The chances that our students, and you, have to kill on this mission are high."
"I can start looking into that during my time off and we can go over it when class is finished?" Ren supplied.
"Let's try that." Byleth nodded, standing up. "I should get going. I'll see you later."
"See you." Ren said with a small wave as Byleth walked out of the front door. The thief let out a short sigh as he leaned against the counter. "Okay. That went better than expected."
"Good job tying your side of the story to Jeralt's. It's not 100% true, but Jeralt's interpretation wasn't either." Morgana said, getting a nod from Ren. "So, now what?"
"Just as I said. Now we get ready for tomorrow. And then… We go save Monica." Ren said, looking over at the painting of Tokyo's Phantom Thieves on the wall, eyes narrowed in determination. "We'll do it. I swear."