Chapter 18: No rest for the Weary.
Goetia had, once again, returned to the Market.
"Harold." He nodded to the armoured man as he moved past him, the Gatekeeper looked over his shoulder at being called to and smiled, giving a wave back in response.
"Morning, Goetia." He nodded back "Heard you came back with the Golden Deers yesterday."
"I did." He acknowledged, stopping near the man and facing him. There was something about Harold which Goetia found marginally nostalgic. He wasn't a noble, born into a grandiose life and burdened with high expectations. He was, quite literally, just an ordinary man whose time was spent welcoming visitors and maintaining watch over the gate.
That was it, that was all he did. Yet, Goetia would admit it curious how the man could find such a simple existence so rewarding, he was always seen with a smile on his face and an alarmingly positive attitude. More so than one would expect for a man who would stand in a single spot for hours in steel plate armour and whose name few people even bothered to ask.
"Heard you ran into Demonic Beasts." He sucked in air through his teeth and shook his head "I gotta admit, that takes some courage." he scratched his helmet "Not that I wouldn't fight Demonic Beasts myself if they came here mind you, but going out looking for them is a different story."
"To the average human, they would pose a significant threat." Goetia admitted, and they would. "However, the likely hood of Phantasmals approaching the monastery is slim."
"Yeah, I suppose that's true." The man chuckled "Good thing too. I wouldn't really want to fight a…" he paused, tilting his head "Phantasmal...Huh...That actually sounds better than calling them Demonic Beasts." he blinked "...I don't even know why they are called Demonic Beasts either."
"Perhaps their appearance inspired early naming conventions and human imagination exaggerated their prowess to be on the same level as Demons."
"So, you're basically saying that people got scared of them and gave them an equally scary name?"
"...Yes."
"That makes sense, I guess." Harold shrugged his shoulders "Still, good to see you all got out of there in one piece. I heard that you got involved as well and cast some fancy spells."
"Indeed." The tanned man nodded "The situation warranted an intervention."
"Well, I'm grateful that you did." Harold smiled at him "That was a pretty good deed you performed. I'm sure that a lot of the others at the monastery feel the same way."
"Possibly."
"Anyway." Harold cleared this throat "You here for the market?" he asked "I heard there are a few new supplies...courtesy of Anna, mind you."
"Ah, yes." Goetia nodded "The shrewd Merchant." he turned away and walked off "I shall be sure to properly survey her wares in the event of a purchase."
"Well, good luck and have a nice day!" Harold called out to the man as he left, smiling to himself before assuming a rigid pose.
Goetia moved towards the far end of the market, towards the woman with reddish pink hair, dressed in the simple brown tunic, stood in front of a stall with various wares on it. He needed quills, ink and a parchment for a small creation, a rather simplistic device which would write down his findings, as well other materials.
"Hey there!" The woman instantly focused on him as he approached, a plastered smile on her face which, even to him, was obviously fake. Then again, she was a merchant, he would be surprised if she ever sported a genuine smile when dealing with customers. "I'm Anna! Travelling Merchant, may have heard of my sisters before."
"Goetia." He nodded back to her, then returned his attention to her wares, the red haired woman blinked, furrowing her brows and put on a marginally confused frown.
"Like the spell?"
His red eyes very slowly returned their full attention to her, bore into her own "...Spell?"
"Yeah, the dark magic spell." She replied, somewhat innocently, then placed a finger on her cheek and tilted her head further "Although I didn't think it was used here." she shrugged "Then again, I've only been in Fodlan about a year, so I might not know."
"...I see." He nodded back, narrowing his eyes at her "No. I'm not named after a dark magic spell."
"Huh, must be just a coincidence then." She shrugged her shoulders rather innocently "Oh well. You looking for something special?"
"Quills, parchment and ink." He listed off, then furrowed his brows "...You mentioned a spell which shared my name?"
"Oh, now thats a pretty...how shall we say...out there kind of item." Anna replied, a sly smile on her face as she crossed her arms "That'll cost you a little extra."
Goetia shrugged "A passing curiosity at best. I will also require a magnifying glass."
"Alrighty then." Anna gave an uncaring shrug, although her eyes gleamed minor disappointment "But remember, I'm here if you ever want some of the more exquisite items." she paused as she stared into his eyes "Red eyes?" she muttered.
"Indeed."
"Huh." She blinked, then shrugged her shoulders "Probably nothing." and then moved into her stall, retrieving the desired items from his list "That'll be twenty gold."
Goetia handed the gold to her and levitated the items from her grasp, she blinked in surprise before immediately dismissing the bizarre display and taking the currency, counting through it before giving a nod and waving Goetia away "Make sure to come again!"
"Ah!" Goetia blinked and turned his attention to the cry, seeing Flayn hurry over to him with a smile "Goetia, I see you have just finished shopping." she looked at the floating goods "Anything interesting?"
"Research into the Phantasmal samples I procured." Flayn gave him a blank look "...Demonic Beasts." he corrected, they weren't demonic in the least, but her face lit up in realisation.
"Ah, so you have taken up a hobby of research?" She asked, following him as he left the market.
"Hardly, it is something I had already planned to do to occupy my spare time." Goetia corrected "I would not do so to derive enjoyment."
"A pity." Flayn sighed "Although, I confess, you do not strike me as someone similar to Professor Hanneman. He is most interested in the research of Crests."
"I research them as well." Goetia replied, causing Flayn to blink "Although it has been delayed as I study the phantasmals."
"I see." She nodded "Would you, perhaps, care to join me for a walk around the monastery at some point?"
Goetia stopped walking, turning his body to look down at her "A...walk?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Well, I do not believe you have had much of an opportunity to explore the Monastery." She explained, smiling up at him "What with your work in the Library and, from what I hear, tutoring some students."
The tanned man furrowed his brows slightly, it was true that he hadn't had much of an opportunity to actually explore his environment, although he suspected he would be barred from some areas of the Church.
"I realise you might not worship the Goddess, but you could also join for the morning Sermon."
"I doubt my presence would be welcome." Goetia answered "The Clerics tolerate me because of the nature of my employment."
Flayn frowned "That isn't true, they just need time to warm up to you is all."
"You are aware that it is only my admission that I know that your Goddess exists that has saved me from open accusations of Heresy, are you not?"
Flayn winced, she didn't think it was quite that bad. Although from what Seteth had told her, it had taken some time for the Clerics to get used to the Almyran boy and that was only because he believed in the Goddess.
"W-well...I'm sure it'll send a positive message if you are seen with them." She tried to argue back.
"Their opinions do not concern me." Goetia scoffed "Whatever beliefs they hold are ones I have encountered a hundred times over."
Flayn sighed "Well, it was a suggestion. The singing of hymns is also considered to be quite pleasant."
"I'm sure." Goetia non-committally replied "Regardless-"
"You." A gruff voice called out, interrupted what Goetia was going to say next, he and Flayn turned in the direction of the voice to see Jeralt pointing towards the pair, or more specifically, Goetia. "Stay right there." the man growled, then advanced.
"Oh my." Flayn mumbled "He looks rather upset."
"He does seem displeased." Goetia replied back to her, raising an eyebrow at the rather aggravated look on Jeralts face as the mercenary captain advanced on him.
"You're a real wise guy, you know that?" The man huffed as he stopped in front of Goetia, crossing his arms "'No romantic interest' you say?"
"To what do you refer?"
"I'm talking about you and my daughter." Flayn gasped, holding her hands in front of her mouth and darting her eyes over to Goetia.
"I have no romantic interest in her."
"Is that right? Then how come you've been privately tutoring her?" Goetia opened his mouth to explain that it was hardly private, considering he had two other pupils, when the man cut him off "And there have been the library visits before then. Not to mention she went to see you off a few days ago right before your mission." he narrowed his eyes "So...no romantic interest, huh?"
Goetia tilted his head "We engage in talks and she asked me to tutor her. I made no attempt at courtship."
Jeralt stared long and hard at him for a few moments before he blinked, seemingly realising something "Wait a minute here...what do you talk about?"
"She primarily speaks of her time as a mercenary or asks my opinion on the best study guides for the magical students of her class." He paused "She is also tutoring with two other pupils, possibly soon to be three if the Blue Lions student approaches me."
Jeralt sighed "By the Goddess...there's two of them." the man whispered to himself, Goetia had no idea what he was even referring to. He looked back up and seemed to become very tired in the span of a few seconds "Just...ask me first if you want to court my daughter...or warn me instead when she starts acting strangely."
"I...see." Goetia nodded slowly, Jeralt gave him a single nod and then spun around and walked off back the way he came.
"That was a rather…" Flayn searched for he right word "Interesting conversation."
"It was unexpected." Goetia shrugged, looking back to the young girl "I fail to see how referring to Byleth as interesting could be misconstrued as courtship."
"...Byleth?" Flayn titled her head, and then gave a small smile while her eyes glinted with humour "First name basis?"
"She refers to me as Goetia, therefore it is appropriate I refer to her in a similar manner."
"Of course." Flayn nodded "...Interesting you say?"
"She is."
Flayn's smile grew wider, she turned away from him and snickered quietly off to the side, much to the former beasts confusion, before she schooled her features and turned back to him "I've taken up enough of your time Goetia. Be sure to enjoy your study and remember that the offer of a brief tour around the monastery is open to you."
"Hmph." Goetia grunted and continued on his way back to his room as Flayn parted from his company, he had to build his mystic code and then begin work on his studies. He was fortunate it was a weekend, the library could do without his aid for the rest of the day, more than enough time to begin his research.
"Hardened growth on the heart is similar in structure to the completed stone." Goetia listed off, the mystic code writing down what he was saying as he examined the organ "Smaller size of the growth denotes that the phantasmal was either prepubescent or a result in the different species."
Picking up one of his non-enhanced scalpels, Goetia attempted to cut the small portion of flesh he had on a tray, only to see the instrument leave no mark on the skin "Canis Phantasmal skin is resistant to basic surgical equipment. Observed iron arrows penetrate the skin, however they were repelled by fur. Examination of the hair revealed high density and interlocking strands, conclusion is that it is a form of armour for the phantasmal."
"Commencing with test one." Goetia placed his hand on the stone "I will forcibly send magical energy into the stone, results will be documented." he pushed mana into the stone growth, the object instantly glowed and the heart began to beat, Goetia raised an eyebrow as he observed the damage to the arteries around the heart slowly begin to heal, he shut off the flow of mana. "Nature of Cains Phantasmal growth appears linked to regeneration. Assume the lack of a body affects rate of healing, flow of magical energy was concentrated on the direct connections."
"Will now attempt to-" A knock on his door interrupted him, Goetia raised an eyebrow and turned to the disturbance. Sighing, he looked back down at his mystic code speechwriter "キャンセル" and then turned back to the door "Enter." unlike the modern Magi, Goetia could very much find it difficult to care who entered his room.
He doubted anyone would want to, or even understand what he was doing. That didn't stop him from setting up a small bounded field to alert him if anyone approached with ill intentions, but it didn't go beyond that.
The door opened up as Seteth strolled in, he made to speak when he noticed the speechwriter in on the desk, the quill held in one of its small wooden arms while a parchment of paper was held in the grasp in the centre of the creation. He blinked, raising an eyebrow "Curious…"
"Did you require something, Seteth?"
"Hm?" He returned his attention to Goetia, then nodded "I wanted to ask you some questions regarding your mission with the Golden Deers."
"Such as?"
"Manuela provided me a report and I already have the accounts of the knights who were nearby, but I would like to ask for your own opinion."
"Very well." Goetia nodded "Ask."
"You stepped in when you 'detected' the approach of the fourth Demonic Beast?"
"I did." He admitted "It crossed my boundary field and alerted me to its presence, at which point the weight of its conceptual presence was greater than the wolves and thus posed a threat the students and knights were ill-equipped to handle."
"Conceptual weight?"
"The moonlight world has measurements in regards to phantasmals and other creatures which are based upon mysteries." Goetia elaborated "Or what you would regard as being magical in nature rather than scientific. I refer to the phantasmal having greater conceptual weight because it had a greater mystery to it." he paused "I have also discovered the cause for that."
"Oh?" Seteth raised an eyebrow "Perhaps I can ask once we are finished. Very well, so you fought the Demonic Beast and killed it."
"I did."
"Professor Manuela states that something about it troubled you."
"Are Demonic Beasts usually resistant to Magecraft?" Seteth blinked at him.
"Some species I know of have a greater defe-"
"My apologies, I worded that incorrectly." Goetia cut him off "I meant, do they completely negate the spells."
Seteth widened his eyes "Negate? You mean they did no damage?"
Goetia nodded "The C rank spells I utilized were…" he paused, then pinched the bridge of his nose "The classification system you use is similar to mine and yet different enough that it is vexing. Regardless, a C rank spell for me would be equivalent to a B rank spell for you." he continued on "Regardless, the Phantasmal had magical resistance which prevented the attack from doing damage. Forcing me to use a more powerful B ranked spell."
"I...I see." Seteth furrowed his brows, now looking more concerned "I had not thought that the Demonic Beasts posed such a threat. I will write a missive to be more aware of their potential danger, thank you for informing me." he turned to leave, the paused before looking back at the desk and the mystic code "Forgive me for prying, but I was curious as to what that was."
"Speechwriter." Goetia explained "It writes down what I say."
Seteth blinked at him "You...created a device that writes down what you say?"
"Yes." He nodded "With the lack of a right arm, the device is useful to me."
"I suppose this must be another example of your potent foreign magic?" Seteth asked wryly, a knowing look on his face.
"It is a simple Mystic Code." Goetia shrugged "One to cover one of my physical limitations."
"I see." Seteth nodded "In any case, I wish you a good day, Goetia." the man bowed his head slightly and excused himself from the room. Goetia watched the door snap closed before he turned back to his Mystic code.
He opened his mouth to speak before another knock sounded on his door, the musical nature of the tapping instantly alerted him as to who it was, a flat expression came onto his face "What do you want, Von Riegan?"
"Wow!" An amused voice called out from behind the door "How did you know it was me Sparkles?"
"I find myself at a loss as to whether that is a serious question." Goetia answered back, then moved over to the door and opened it up "You wished for something?"
"Well, Teach and the Blue lions are gearing up to leave for their bandit clearing mission." Claude replied, crossing his arms with a strange gleam in his eyes "Figured I'd return the favour of wishing Dimitri good luck, thought you might like to come along and do the same with Teach."
"I have business with certain members of the Blue Lions anyway." Goetia replied "It would be prudent to deal with both simultaneously." he walked out, shutting the door behind him and allowing Claude to lead the way.
"Oh?" The Golden Deer house leader blinked "And which coloured feline has earned your attention?"
"Dimitri came to me and informed me that young Mercedes had expressed an interest in studying magecraft. My presence will either motivate her into asking, or confirm she has little interest."
"All you're missing are some black Eagle students at this rate Sparkles." Claude chuckled "Are you sure you aren't interested in becoming a Professor?"
"My role is still that of assistant Librarian." Goetia reminded him "Although I have noticed that I have been increasingly invested in the tutoring of interested parties." he frowned "It has gone against my desire for simple observation."
"No one goes to parties to watch the guests dance." Claude shrugged his shoulders "Way I see it, with you being you, there wasn't much of a chance of not getting involved somehow."
"...Perhaps." Goetia muttered.
"At least you're doing some good, right?" The young house leader clapped him on the shoulder, drawing a blank look from the tanned man "You're teaching students skills that they can use to do better…also some of your stories are pretty interesting."
"Are they now?" Goetia raised an eyebrow "I am more surprised that with the typical Foldan approach to foreigners, they demonstrated much care in the goings on of different countries."
"Well, some might not." Claude admitted, a hint of dullness entered his eyes briefly "I know a few like that. But not everyone, and I'm not exactly your typical Fodlanese citizen." he smirked "I try my hardest to be different."
"I question whether it would be better for you to achieve your goal of being different, or to fail." Goetia replied, Claude sent him a look which virtually told him to continue his point "I have examined Fodlan's history. In the past nine hundred years, your society has demonstrated little change to the point of stagnation. Even with the formation of three separate kingdoms, your social structure is very much set on continuing its current system."
"You're saying being different is bad."
"I am stating that one would need to enact radical change very suddenly to force any kind of shift." Goetia explained "Your society is stable because it has changed very little in the last nine hundred years, it also means that the underlying problems have changed very little in nine hundred years." he stopped walking and turned to face Claude "Humans fear change, it is natural, and there is no change that could be made to benefit everyone. Your efforts to separate yourself from the previous rulers of Fodlan only serve to place a target on your back from traditionalists."
"Fair enough." Claude admitted "But you'd have to ask yourself, is striving for a wish no one but yourself believes in the right thing to do? Or is it better to work for a goal that everyone but you believes in?" he turned back to Goetia only to freeze.
The tanned man was frozen, red eyes wide and mouth slightly agape, eyes filled with an emotion that Claude couldn't place, completely unaware of just how close his words had struck the former beast.
"It is better to strive for a wish that one other than yourself wants." Goetia spoke after a few moments, his voice was quiet with a hint of something in it, either sadness or regret, Claude couldn't figure which "As long as one other recognises the value of your wish...That should be enough." he looked Claude in the eyes "If you have a wish, an end goal in sight that you strive for...find another who values it. Even if it is only one person...that is enough, otherwise...you strove for nothing."
Claude's face took on a more serious expression "Find a wish that at least one other person can recognise, huh...Pretty tall order." he smiled "But...I think I can manage that one."
"Then your effort to differentiate yourself from the other leaders of Fodlan will have value." Goetia answered "Whether or not you achieve anything as a result...it will have value to someone."
The pair walked in silence, there were no more words that needed to be said between them. Claude, despite usually being very talkative and disliking silences, found that he couldn't complain about this particular case. It felt natural after their conversation, whether that was for his own benefit or Goetia's, he didn't know. It didn't really matter either.
"Claude?" Dimitri blinked as the pair approached the Blue lions, the class preparing for their departure, a smile soon came to his face "Here to wish me luck?"
"You know it." Claude grinned "I like to think I'm one to repay my debts. You wished my luck on my mission, only fitting I wish you luck on yours."
"I see." Dimitri chuckled "Thank you for the blessing of fortune and while I don't think it is as dangerous as yours, I fear we may need all the luck we can get. Bandits and beasts are equally dangerous."
"Don't I know it." Claude grinned "Still, heard they might be the bandits who attacked us last month. Make sure you give them an extra punch for me, yeah?"
"Rather violent, aren't you Claude?"
"Well...the only other person who knows about me trying to flee for my life is you and her highness, the Blade Breaker and teach and I'm in no rush to cause a diplomatic incident or get on the wrong end of a renowned mercenaries blade." He shrugged "So the bandits will have to do, have to preserve some dignity for my role as heir to the Leicester alliance."
Dimitri chuckled and rolled his eyes "I'll be sure to inform the bandits that they are being dealt with to safeguard your dignity Claude."
"I appreciate it." Claude snickered, then looked over Dimitri's shoulder, causing his smile to widen as he caught sight of something "Oh, that should be another riveting conversation."
"Hm?" Dmitri blinked, then followed Claudes gaze before he sighed in exasperation "Truly Claude? Must you gossip like that?"
"They make it too easy."
"I...I find I cannot fault you, no matter how much I wish to."
"Good luck."
"Thanks."
"…"
"…"
"…"
"This is painful!" Sothis was pulling at her hair "You two! Arrrgh!" she let out a heavy sigh, pinching the bridge of her nose "I cannot begin to understand how either of you could be so bad at conversing." she shook her head, glaring down at Goetia and Byleth in a mixture of disappointment and incredulity "Perhaps spending more time together would do you both some good, if only to improve this rather pathetic attempt at conversing."
The pair stared at her with equally blank expressions, Sothis likely would have found it amusing if it wasn't so annoying at that very moment.
"Bandits are human opponents, be sure to watch the reaction of the children." Goetia turned back to her "Likely have little experience in dealing with death. Suspect Dedue would be exception, given history, observe Prince Dimitri closely, watch for signs of mental distress."
"Okay." Byleth nodded "...Distress?"
"Only survivor of massacre of Royal family while in Duscur. Sight of death could trigger traumatic memories, or he is desensitised to it." Goetia admitted "More to avoid death of students."
Byleth nodded, Sothis raised an eyebrow at Goetia "That is...oddly helpful advice."
"Would be unfortunate for her teaching career if her students were to die on their first mission." Goetia explained, Sothis frowned but said nothing on the subject.
"You needn't worry too greatly, I am certain that this will work out." The Goddess felt as though she was alluding to something there, although Goetia suspected it was probably some shared secret between the two of them.
"Umm...Mr Goetia?" A soft voice called out behind him, he turned to see the round face and fluffy hair of Mercedes "Could I ask you something? I'm sorry if I interrupted your talk."
"I was finished anyway." Goetia waved away her concerns "You wished to discuss something?"
"Ah, yes." She nodded and smiled "Dimitri said that you were open to the possibility of teaching me healing spells, I was wondering if that offer was still open."
"The group convenes in the library tomorrow after the allocated breakfast time has ended. You are free to join there, although your training would be different from the others."
"That is fine." She nodded, smiling "As long as I'm not causing you any trouble."
"It is no issue." Goetia dismissed her worry, then turned back to Byleth "I shall take my leave of you." the blue haired woman nodded back to him as he turned and walked away back the way he came.
After a few moments, she frowned and looked to Sothis, speaking inside her head "You didn't tell him about the time power."
"No, I did not." Sothis replied, a mischievous smile on her face "He is not affected by it...so I imagine he would be most surprised if you end up using it."
At several points in the day, Goetia was witnessed by multiple members of the faculty to seemingly teleport from one spot to another, although quite why he appeared to be the one most annoyed about this was a mystery.
AN: Minor note of amusement at the end there, but no biggy.
Anyway, small talk with Claude about wishes and I'm sure you all know why Goetia got some flash backs at the wording of Claude sentence.
Omake: Back Home Again IV
"Tch!" Mordred clicked her tongue as a lance of red energy slammed into her blade, sending her skating along the ground.
"This ain't too Golden if you ask me!" Kintoki groaned as he got back up "Whatever these things are, they're a real pain in the ass!"
"Quite so." Hans frowned "Although they are more than a nuisance to fight."
"Indeed, indeed!" Shakespeare grinned "They distract from the grand performance! The mysterious Caster who seems to have some contention with our fearsome foe! It is a most intriguing development and we are not witness to it!"
Ritsuka wouldn't quite word it like that, although he and Mash shared a pensive look before their eyes travelled away from the Demon Pillar Gods and towards Solomon and Caster.
And promptly gasped in surprise.
It was the largest fireworks show he had ever seen, mirror matched spells danced across the cave as they slammed into eachother, Solomon and Caster both glaring at their opponent as they threw their total magical energy at eachother.
In terms of skill, they were equal.
Neither Solomon nor Caster could be said to have the greater talent over the other one. There was only a single problem.
Solomon had power. Whatever he was saying about being a Grand Class servant was true, he may have matched Caster in skill, but in raw strength he was the superior.
Ritsuka grit his teeth as he watched Caster be forced back step by step.
"Hahahaha!" Solomon cackled "In the end, despite all your skills, you are still limited by your container! A termite with skill is still a termite, no matter how much they try!" Solomon thrust his hands forwards, sending off a beam of purple energy towards Caster.
The one armed servant chanted at incredible speeds, throwing up a barrier in front of him just as the beam hit, he grunted as the magical spell cracked under the continuous blast from Solomons attack before it shattered completely.
Caster was enveloped in golden light before he teleported to the side just as the beam vaporized the spot where he had been standing, Caster clenched his left hand, several bands of light formed around Solomon, the grand class servant frowned, then flicked his hand to the side, sending out a wave of blue energy which shattered them.
"Weak, far too weak." He scoffed "You should accept your death, as a mere servant, you are only struggling to-"
"By the Power of my Command Seal!" Ritsuka shouted out, holding his right hand up as the seals burned bright red "Caster! I gift you the power to fight Solomon!"
Caster felt the influx of mana enter his body, turning his eyes away from Fujimaru and back to Solomon.
"Hmph, so what? Do not become conceited, if you believe that a mere command seal can match me, then your are as foolish as you look."
"Hardly." Caster scoffed "I cannot match you as I am, even with this power. However, I can delay you."
"The best outcome you hope for is a distraction?" Solomon scoffed "What a pathetic end, and one very fitting of you." he grinned, his sharpened teeth being exposed as he let loose another barrage of attacks, Caster matched him with his own set, he would never match his past self, even with a command seal, so he would have to play smart.
"Take that, bastard!" Mordred roared, slicing Clarent through one of the Demon Pillars eyes.
David began to twirl his slinger, turning his head to briefly stare at Solomon, he sighed "Honestly...this is exactly the kind of thing you would do." he sped it up, twirling it until it became green and then threw the stone, launched it as the same Demon Pillar Mordred had fought.
"Doctor!" Mash cried out, blocking several beams aimed at Ritsuka "We need to-"
An explosion at the far end of the chasm had Caster sprawling through the air, Solomon laughed as he landed down next to the fallen servant "As expected from scum...although you required my full attention to deal with. A minor achievement for you." he scoffed, then frowned. He wanted to kill this servant, he desperately wanted to end their life...yet he didn't want to do it now.
No...it felt wrong. To kill this servant under the guise of Solomon and in this place...no. He would not do it now, he felt as though he had something to prove, some inner conflict to resolve.
He turned his head away from the fallen Caster and towards the Chaldeans "This was but a mere pit stop." he called out to them, snapping his fingers and causing the demon pillars to retreat "I came here out of curiosity, and for now I leave with a greater understanding. Should you collect the remaining grails, I will await you all in the Temple." he glanced down at Caster "You...You most of all."
"Ha!" Mordred scoffed "He proved to be tougher than you thought so you're running away scared are you!"
Solomon didn't even glance in her general direction, merely shot a beam of red energy which immediately obliterated the top half of Kintoki. Mash released a gasp of shock as the servants remains dissipated into golden motes "You misunderstand doll. I am leaving because out of the Casters combat against me, I have decided that to kill him here would be a waste." space ripped open behind him "I shall await you, Chaldeans."
"He hasn't said a word since we got back." Ritsuka groaned as Romani saw to his injuries "He wouldn't even talk about it, he just walked off to his room."
"Probably because Solomon said he wanted to kill him personally." Romani grunted, placing a plaster on Ritsuka's cheek "That would probably have me scared too."
"Scared…" Rituska muttered "Romani...I think Caster might be Solomon."
Romani choked "Wh-what!? How the heck did you come to that conclusion?"
"No Solomon of this world." He elaborated "I mean...Solomon of Fodlan. He and Solomon shared the same face...and voice."
Romani frowned "Its...possible. It might explain why Solomon doesn't like him, perhaps Caster is some weakness that Solomon dislikes and perhaps Caster doesn't like Solomon because of the incineration of humanity."
"Maybe." Ritsuka muttered "He did match him blow for blow."
There was a knock on the door, Romani and Ritsuka blinked and looked over to it as it opened, Caster stepped through.
"I was curious as to your injuries." Caster spoke up "Although you appear to have healed up well."
"Yeah." Ritsuka nodded "Hey...Caster?"
"Hm?"
"Are you...Are you Solomon from Fodlan?"
"...No." He shook his head "Despite our physical similarities, I can assure you. I am not Solomon."
"Oh...sorry, its just that-"
"Your question was understandable." Caster cut him off, then looked over to Romani "I...would like to speak with the Doctor alone."
"Oh…" Ritsuka blinked, standing up "Alright." he walked past, smiling at the Caster "I'm glad that you're okay, Caster. Without you, we might be in some serious trouble."
The Caster have a curt nod as Ritsuka left.
"You…" Caster sighed "You...remind me of my progenitor." he confessed "It is why I have avoided you."
"Oh…" Romani blinked, then scratched the back of his neck "I-I see...never been told I reminded someone of their father before. I take it you weren't on good terms."
"...No. We had...disagreements."
"Ah...sorry if I make you uncomfortable."
"No…" Caster shook his head, taking a seat opposite Romani "It is not your fault...I...I wasn't what he wished me to be." he admitted "It took me...a long time to understand what he wanted, we did not part on the best of terms as you would say."
"Do you regret not making up with him?"
"I…" Caster sighed "Regret, you say...I regret I could never understand him...well...I regret I could not understand him until after his dead."
"Oh...Yeah, understanding parents is hard." Romani chuckled "They always seem to have do something you can't agree with and they never explain it, but you find you accept it none the less."
"Perhaps." Caster shrugged "Although...looking at you. I think I finally understand what he wanted…" he gave Romani a small smile "Take a break, Doctor. Enjoy the rest of your day, I shall take over for you."
Romani blinked at him several times, then squawked "Wh-whoa! Wait a second here! What does that even-!? No way! Not now! Not when we have finally learned who's behind all this, we need to-"
"Romani." Caster placed a hand on his shoulder "For this day...I want you to live as a person."
"But-"
"I will hypnotise you."
"Eeek!" Romani paled, then let out a bitter chuckle "You're almost as bad as David." Casters eyebrow twitched at that. "Fine...fine...I've been bullied out of my role by a tanned version of myself." he chuckled "Fine...enjoy the paperwork."
Caster grunted "Enjoy humanity."
"Doctor, I have-eh? Caster-san?" Mash blinked as she entered the command room, only to see the Caster servant in Romani's chair, he twirled around to face her "What are you doing here? Where is the Doctor?"
"I told him to take the day off." Caster replied "I have taken on his duties while he finds relaxation."
"Eh?" Mash blinked "But isn't that a lot of paper work?"
"The rest of the week."
"You're doing it now!?"
"Yes." Caster nodded his head "I suspect Romani will find this to be a boon."
"Are you sure though?" Mash asked "Is it not too much?"
"I am perfectly capable of dealing with paperwork." Caster grunted "I worked in a Library."
"Caster-san...you were a librarian?"
"Yes."
"Oh…" Mash blinked, then looked down at the paperwork with a frown "What about you?"
"What about me?"
"Aren't you going to try and take a break? You are still injured from the fight."
"My wellbeing matters little when compared to Chaldea as a whole." Caster replied as he worked through the papers "And I do not see this jeopardizing my recovery."
Mash frowned at him before she walked towards him and sat down on the chair next to him, picking up a pen and taking half of the papers.
"What are you doing?"
"Helping you." Mash replied with a smile "This will get done quicker with help anyway."
"There is no need to-"
"Caster-san." Mash interrupted him "We'd better start, there are lots to work through."
Caster stared at her for a few moments before a nearly imperceptible smile formed on his lips "I suppose so."
Chapter 19: Swift return to the mundane
"And this disturbs you?" Goetia mused as he took another sip of his soup, red eyes fleeting over to Sothis as she hovered over Byleth's shoulder with a thoughtful expression on her face.
"It does." She answered "I have no memory of any Goddess...but that feels wrong. I should know, but I do not." she clicked her tongue "It is most troubling."
Goetia's eyes flickered over to Byleth "Did this ring true for you as well?" the woman shook her head, a small frown on her face.
"Didn't recognise it." She paused "Was also more concerned with the bandits."
"Yes…" Goetia sighed, looking back at Sothis "You neglected to mention your rather casual use of temporal reversal."
"Did I?" Sothis gave a blink and a tiny smirk "It must have slipped my mind."
"Hmph." He grunted in response "In any event, you have been able to narrow down your questions."
Sothis stared at him for a few moments before she nodded her head "Indeed, there is something about that canyon which strikes me as familiar. However, I cannot remember it at all." she growled "This lack of memories is most infuriating to me. So many answers are within my grasp and yet so painfully out of reach."
"I am certain that you shall receive the answers you seek in due course." Goetia replied to her, then turned his attention back to Byleth "You returned to the Monastery late, I was not able to inquire as to the reactions of the students."
"Oh?" Sothis grinned at him "Concerned about the children, are you?"
"Curious." He instead replied with a blank expression "Not concerned. They are all evidently still alive."
Sothis rolled her eyes "If you must know, there haven't been any immediately harsh reactions."
"That is fortunate then." Goetia nodded his head "In the mean time-"
"Oh? You must be the other person Lady Rhea allowed into the Monastery." A rather confident voice interrupted him, he turned his head to see a lightly tanned woman with short blonde hair wearing steel armour walk towards his table. He raised an eyebrow at her. "Wow, they weren't kidding about you being a foreigner." she chuckled "I don't think I've ever seen anyone look quite like you."
"...I see." Was all Goetia replied with cocking his head to the side "I assume you are a recently returned knight to the church."
"I am." She nodded "Catherine, wielder of Thunderbrand."
"A sword then?"
"Oh, right." She chuckled "You probably haven't heard of the Holy relics then." she looked down at the table, raising her own tray of food meaningfully "You mind if I take a seat?"
"I hold no control over where you sit." She blinked as his response, then looked at Byleth, the blue haired woman shrugged and gestured to the empty space.
"Thank you." She moved around and sat down, looking Goetia up and down and taking a sniff of the air before she narrowed her eyes "You smell like trouble."
"You have an affinity for detecting magical anomalies then." Goetia replied, looking nonchalant at the accusation "And trouble is opinionated."
"Hm." She grunted, crossing her arms "As long as you don't show that opinion towards Lady Rhea, that's fine."
There was something reverent about the way she spoke the phantasmals name which went beyond the Clerics. He assumed she was rather overzealous in her devotion to the Archbishop, although considering the location he was in, it was hardly a surprise.
"Causing trouble within the Monastery is not one of my current goals." He replied, taking another sip of his soup "It would be foolish, considering they currently employ me."
"Not out of respect for the Church?"
"Respect, you say?" Goetia paused "I have told the Archbishop that I acknowledge all she has accomplished, and I was genuine in that." his eyes flickered over to her, locking onto her own "Respecting the Church would be a very different matter. I would not demand that any visitors to Jerusalem respect Yahweh, although it would be preferable."
"Hmm." Catherine grunted, looking none too pleased about his statement before she slowly nodded her head "You are a foreigner, so I doubt you have spent enough time with the Church." she narrowed her eyes "Although I would ask you remember your place here and watch how you speak."
The threat was hardly subtle, both Goetia and Catherine stared at eachother for a few moments, Sothis and Byleth watched them, the former had a frown on her face as her eyes darted between Goetia and Catherine, the latter's expression remained blank, save for the gleam of concern in her eyes that something would occur.
Nothing did, Goetia slowly nodded his head "As expected, you take your faith seriously."
"Of course I do." She huffed "I was chosen to be a knight by Lady Rhea herself."
"Hm." Goetia hummed, nodding his head slowly "To be picked by the Archbishop herself…" he gave a small shrug "Regardless, I am curious as to why you are here."
"Well, I heard a few rumours going around the monastery when I got back." She shrugged "Mainly relating to a one armed foreigner and a new professor." she looked over at Byleth "Heard you came back from a bandit raid yesterday." she nodded her head "Good work, thinking about a bunch of heathen thugs desecrating a sight like Zanado makes my blood boil."
Byleth nodded her head "I only assisted the students."
"Kingdom of Faerghus right?"At Byleths nod, she chuckled "From there myself." she turned to Goetia "Speaking of, you went with the Golden Deer kids to Charon territory, right? Demonic Beasts?"
"I did." He nodded his head "You heard of that?"
"Well, the knights spun some pretty wild tails." She shrugged "Not bad for a mage." she frowned "I suppose with only one arm you can't really do much else."
Goetia raised an eyebrow "Do not assume my lack of a limb makes you my physical superior." he replied "I utilise offensive spells because that is my forte."
"Oh?" Catherine got a glint in her eye "You packing muscle under that robe then?" she chuckled.
"I didn't think you could fight without magic." Byleth tilted her head to the side "You can?"
"I have never fought with a sword." Goetia answered "Admittedly, my hand to hand was passable at best." he shrugged "Although it was never a concern."
"Why?"
"I could simply augment my strength and speed to be superior to my opponent."
"Sounds like cheating." Catherine huffed "Where's the achievement if you aren't using your own natural strength."
"My proficiency in magecraft could just as easily be argued as 'natural strength'."
"Not like that." The knight rolled her eyes, stabbing her fork into a slice of meat and shovelling it into her mouth, chewing loudly before swallowing and pointing the implement in his direction "And don't get smart. I mean like physical strength." she chuckled "I bet you're skinny under that robe."
"My health is within acceptable parameters." Goetia argued back.
"How about an arm wrestle?"
"No."
"Scared?"
"I have nothing to prove."
"Oh well." She shrugged "Suppose I should have expected that." the 'from a mage' was left unsaid and Goetia was hypothesising that she had greater respect for those who engaged in my physical activities. Or she was attempting to goad him into acting by playing on his perceived pride.
Well, he did have pride, but it wasn't going to be used to draw him into something as trivial as an arm wrestle.
"Well." Catherine wipe her mouth, after finishing her lunch "I only came here to see the new arrivals, I'm sure we'll speak later." she nodded to Byleth, then turned to Goetia "And if you would rather do something beyond read musty old books, there is a training ground." were her parting words.
"Well…" Sothis blinked, staring at the knights departing form "She seems confident."
"She's an abrasive zealot." Goetia bluntly replied "Although given her position, I would be more surprised if she wasn't."
"That's rather rude." Sothis frowned at him "Although, she does seem rather devote in her belief."
"You can fight without a sword?" Byleth looked at him, Goetia turned back to her and nodded once "Oh...Spar?"
"Spar?" Goetia frowned "If you wish me to spar without augmentation, it would be a fight in your favour."
"Oh." She blinked "How strong are you with it?"
Goetia raised an eyebrow "I could easily enhance my speed and body to surpass you." he explained "In which case, it would become a fight in my favour."
"Hey, sparkles, Teach!" Claude's voice called out to them, Goetia sighed, turning his attention to the pupil.
"Von Riegan." Goetia nodded to him "You wish to speak of something?"
"Well, I just thought you might be interested in a bit of gossip." Claude gave a careless shrug.
"And what 'gossip' do you believe would interest me?"
"Don't quote me on this, but I heard from the merchants that there's something big going on in Kingdom territory." Claude explained, looking around conspiratorially before leaning down "I heard that Lord Lonato has apparently started to send his people into a bit of a frenzy."
Goetia furrowed his brows "Frenzy?"
"Yeah." He nodded his head "He's been pretty vocal with his dislike of the Church for a couple years now, but apparently something might have tipped him over the edge."
"An uprising?" Goetia surmised "You are informing me that there is a potential uprising taking place."
"I'm merely passingly along rumours." Claude argued back "I normally wouldn't put stock in them...but apparently Thunderbrand Catherine is back."
"We've met."
"Oh?" Claude blinked, then nodded his head "So that one's true...if she's back at the Church, something important must be going down."
"I doubt that whatever forces Lonato can rally behind him will content with the Church." He paused "But I suspect he knows that as well…"
"So the big question, is why?" Claude shrugged "Truth is, I don't know Sparkles." he turned to Byleth "You're teacher of the Blue Lions, you heard any rumours?"
She shook her head "None."
"Huh…" Claude crossed his arms "Might be just that then, but there are a few too many knights here for a simple rumour right now." he hummed "Well, no use worrying about heresay. I'm sure you'll know before anyone else." he turned back to Goetia "Also, I wanted to ask you about what your research."
Goetia nodded his head "Meet me in my workshop later."
"I'm going to assume that just means room." Claude chuckled "See you around Teach, Sparkles."
"You seem to be rather close with the young child." Sothis cupped her chin "I did not think you had much patience for him."
"I do not." Goetia replied "He is extraordinarily curious with the lack of restraint to match." he paused for a few moments "Although, he is useful. Despite what I may state about his lack of stealth, it is more than sufficient to hide from the denizens of the Monastery."
Sothis and Byleth blinked at him "You're...using him to spy for you?"
"Spy implies I am seeking specific information." Goetia replied "I am simply confident that he will be made aware of rumours and approach me under the guise of 'gossip' and inform me of them."
"You…" Sothis gaped at him, then narrowed her eyes "You are more devious than I had expected."
"Devious implies malicious intent." He countered "I harbour none, I simply wish to be kept aware of current events. Surprises, especially unpleasant ones, are something I wish to avoid."
"...Makes sense." Byleth shrugged "Ambushes are bad enough, they can get you killed."
"Indeed." He nodded "In any event, I am now aware of the current rumours regarding Lord Lonato and shall not be surprised if they are true."
"And what interest do you have in Lord Lonato?" Sothis raised an eyebrow at him.
"None what so ever."
"So...you've basically been told useless information."
"All information is useful, it merely differs in value according to current objectives." Goetia shrugged "I currently have no interest in the political occurrences of a minor Lord of the Kingdom, however, so the information is of little value."
"So, you want to know about it, just so you can say that there's nothing worth knowing?"
"I wish to be kept informed so that I can determine if there is anything of value to know." He replied, Sothis responded with the flattest look she could muster while Byleth remained blank faced, although her eyes showcased some confusion at his wording.
Which she was, she didn't quite understand what he was saying. He wanted to be told about things he didn't have an interest in, just so he could say he didn't have an interest in them? That didn't make much sense to her.
"Because its pedantic." Sothis scoffed, reading her mind "And it still makes you devious."
"It is hardly underhanded if any can make use of Von Riegan's personality." Goetia argued back, then sighed "However, the point is moot." he stood up, having finished his soup "And the time of our lunch break is coming to an end." he continued on "I suspect that you have informed your class that they may utilise the day as they see fit?"
Byleth nodded her head.
"Good." He affirmed "It means that the young Mercedes can begin her tutoring with me." he turned away, levitating his tray behind him "Should you encounter her before I do, inform her I shall be in the library."
"Okay." Byleth nodded "...What are you teaching her?"
"Healing Magecraft." He replied "I shall also see if the library has volumes relating to human physiology, failing that, I shall speak with Manuela."
"Physiology?"
"If you intend to heal the body, you must first be aware of what you are healing." Goetia replied as he moved away "Else there would be significant damage."
"Hm." Sothis hummed as he departed "I hate to say it...but he is actually becoming useful." she sighed "Teaching something more civilised than blowing up bodies or punching heads off at the very least."
"...I think its useful."
"I know you do." Sothis yawned "Because you are skilled in such things."
As it turned out, there were no books on human physiology in the library. Although considering it was geared towards the history of Fodlan or the learning of magic and other texts useful for Nobles, he doubted he would have had much luck to begin with.
It, unfortunately, meant he would have to seek out Manuela.
"A book of the human body?" The woman raised an eyebrow at him "Why in Fodlan would you need something like that?"
"For my tutoring." He answered "Do you have one?"
"I have a basic anatomy diagram, yes." She nodded "But why is that necessary?" she frowned, cocking her head to the side "Most would simply use a light spell or a vulnerary to heal their wounds and it certainly sounds less convoluted."
"Light spells and Vulnerary's only heal flesh wounds and damaged organs." Goetia responded "They do not right broken bones or heal minor curses."
"I don't know about curses." Manuela replied "How did you know that?"
"I checked."
"How?"
"...I checked." Was all he replied again and left it at that, Manuela frowned but eventually sighed and shook her head.
"Somehow I get the feeling I don't want to know." She replied, but slowly nodded "But you are correct that bones need to be reset before a healing spell can be cast." she looked at him inquisitively "You are saying you have a spell which doesn't need that?"
"I am aware of a great many that do not require such criteria." He responded "However, to teach them, the user must be aware of what they are healing and what function it serves."
"And you need a basic understanding of human anatomy for that." Manuela surmised "Well, I suppose that makes sense." she shrugged "I have a few diagrams knocking around that I can lend to you." she replied, turning around and walking across to the table near the infirmary bed "Lets see...no...not there." she frowned, then went through several other drawers while Goetia blankly stared at her.
After another five minutes of searching, much to his growing irritation, although his face didn't show it, she eventually returned with several diagrams of the human body rolled up for him.
"Here, these are the spares I have." She handed them to him "Although I would appreciate that they not get damaged, they do take quite some time to make, I'll have you know."
"They will be kept from harm." Goetia replied, turning away "Destroying reading materials would be an act of stupidity."
"Yes, well. Off you go dear."
Goetia's lip twitched at the word before he departed then infirmary, making his way back to the Library.
"There are two differing spells you will need to learn." Goetia explained to her as he set down the drawings "The first, is structural analysis. It is a simple spell which all Magi are aware of how to use, relating to the understanding of the construction of the analysed object."
"Oh." Mercedes nodded her head "So, it is learning how something is made?"
"Yes." Goetia responded, pleasantly surprised that she caught on quickly. "However, despite its simplicity, learning the components of an object mean nothing if you do not understand what they are." he gestured to the diagrams "Therefore, you will familiarise yourself with the inner working of the human body."
"Gosh...that seems complicated." Mercedes blinked as she studied the closest one too her.
"It is a time consuming process." Goetia admitted "However, most Magi were able to acquire a simple grasp of structural analysis magecraft within a month, proficiency comes as you advance." he looked back at the diagrams "Once your structural analysis is skilled enough to be used on a human, then we will advance to learning basic healing craft."
"I understand." She nodded "I'm grateful that you are taking the time to teach me."
"There is nothing to be grateful for yet, I have not begun to teach you anything."
"I'm grateful for the opportunity." Mercedes went on, completely ignoring his point "You can show gratitude for the intention behind an action, you know?"
"…" Goetia furrowed his brows ever so slightly in confusion, the act of gratitude should be awarded only after the action had achieved the desired effect. Showing it beforehand was worthless...and yet… "I see."
"Is something wrong?" Mercedes asked, tilting her head to the side as her eyes glinted with a small amount of concern.
"No…" He answered, shaking off his worries "For now, you are familiar with the act of casting spells, are you not?"
"I am." Mercedes nodded her head.
"Then we shall begin in the basic lessons of structural analysis, you will understand the process behind it and then we shall move onto reading mundane items." He explained, Mercedes gave another nod of her head and a small smile.
"I'm ready to learn."
"Hmph." He grunted "Structural analysis itself is a simple spell, however there is much thought process that goes into it. It cannot be rushed, else important details will be overlooked or it could fail entirely. Therefore, once the process begins, you require absolute concentration, however as you become more accustomed to utilising the spell, the process is shortened exponentially."
"So, its like sewing? The more you do it, the easier it becomes?"
"...An...apt metaphor, I suppose." He acknowledged "Regardless, I doubt that you will become extraordinarily skilled in the craft, likely only enough to grasp a person at their most complex, however it will entirely depend upon your element and origin."
"Element and Origin?"
Goetia's eyebrow twitched, he hadn't even covered that with Lysithea yet "Another time, when all my students are present, however a brief description would be the form of magecraft or concept your have the most affinity with."
"Oh, I see." She nodded her head, still looking confused on the subject but not commenting further on it.
"Returning to my original point, structural analysis requires you to channel magical energy into the object to map out its design, it requires delicate control. Too little and the image you receive would be vague and incomplete, too much and the object will become oversaturated and you will experience overexposure." He paused "A metaphor for the first would be attempting to light a room with a single candle and the second would be lighting the room with a bonfire."
"Too little is not enough detail and too much is dangerous?"
"To both yourself and the recipient." He explained "You are channelling your own magical energy into the spell, thus if you use too much you will slowly begin to tire yourself out before you find the root cause of the problem."
"Alright." She nodded "What's the first step?"
Goetia's hand went into his pocket, before pulling out a jewel "Your first step is to channel your magical energy."
Mercedes eyes widened at the small green gem "My goodness! Where did you get that?"
"I crafted it."
"Eh?"
"A gem is nothing more than a combination of rock, sand and water, I merely used alchemy to craft one to suit my purposes." He looked down at it "This will act as storage for your magical energy."
"Did...but…" She blinked owlishly at him "You...made this?" she tentatively reached out, almost afraid to touch the gem as she picked it up, eyeing the green crystal with an almost reverent gaze "Its...its beautiful."
"It was also time consuming." Goetia explained "But they shall serve their purpose for now."
"Still, I hate to think how much this is worth."
"Nothing." He explained, then paused "Nothing to me at least. I have no doubt some merchant would seek to purchase them from me and exploit my talent at making gems, but it is entirely a copy. It was artificially created by me and is only serving its purpose as a container for magical energy."
"So...its not as good as the real thing?" She looked back at him, tilting her head slightly.
"It is structurally inferior to a natural gemstone, yes." He nodded "But it was crafted to be a cheap, disposable copy. Therefore it was not designed to be equal to the genuine stones." he shrugged "To that extent, it is no different to the false gems you could purchase from a market stall."
"I suppose." She replied "But I still think it looks very nice." she smiled at him "Its very impressive you can create something like this, you must have worked very hard."
"...I spent great amounts of time watching others." He eventually explained "I merely observed this craft and thought it quaint. My...progenitor...could craft something superior with less." He remained silent for a few moments, a dull look in his eyes before he blinked and looked back at her "Irrelevant topics aside, you will begin by channelling your magical energy into this gem. Whereas you would normally do so to fuel a spell, you will simply focus on the gem."
"Well…" Mercedes nodded, a confident look on her face "I'll do my best!"
"Indeed." Goetia nodded, then watched as she closed her eyes, a slightly strained look on her face as she attempted to follow his instructions.
There was a sound akin to shattering glass as the green gem in her hand exploded, the widened her eyes and let out a panicked squeak as small stones went shooting off in different directions.
"Oh goodness!" She gaped at the remains of the gem, a growing look of horror mixed with guilt on her face as she looked to Goetia "I am so sorry! I didn't mean to-"
"That was more impressive than I envisaged." Goetia cut her off, wiping the front of his robe down and removing several tiny shards of gem from his clothes "I had crafted that gem to store the bare minimum amount of magical energy the average apprentice could muster." he looked back to her "You overloaded the gem. It means I underestimated you."
"You...you aren't mad?"
"Why should I display anger at this?" Goetia frowned at her "This was my own blunder, with the rate at which Lysithea had taken to Runes, I should have expected that my estimations of the magical energy of magi in Fodlan were too low and properly accounted for that." he shrugged "Regardless, it confirms that I will need to design the next gem to be more resilient."
"Oh...I'm still sorry." She gave him a guilty expression "It must have taken some time to make."
"It took five minutes."
"Oh...T-then the materials-"
"I collected dirt and rocks from the pond."
"O-oh...Well…" She still held a look of guilt on her face as she seemed to fidget in her seat before she looked back at him "I still feel bad."
"There is nothing to-"
"How about I bake you a cake?"
"...What?"
"A cake, as an apology." She nodded to herself "That's what I'll do." standing up "I'll also try my best not to destroy your hard work!"
"There is really no need for-"
"Have you ever tried cake before?"
"No, I have-"
"Then I'll make you your first." She beamed "Don't worry, I'll make sure its delicious!" she turned around, then speed walked out of the library, leaving Goetia standing there, staring at her retreating figure.
"I haven't finished the lesson yet…" He murmured, he wasn't sure whether to feel annoyed or incredulous at her sudden shift. He also thought he now had a decent understanding of her personality.
An airhead.
"It failed?" Thales cocked his head to the side "I had thought the modifications were enough." he growled, slamming his hand on the table "Damn it all." he looked back at Solon "Did it kill any of them?"
"No." He shook his head "It seems the new librarian is a greater obstacle than anticipated. He was apparently able to dispatch it with ease."
"He was supposed to be some foreign peddler in magic." Thales scoffed, a look of anger on his face "And hepromised that the beast could deal with any resistance, that was why we sent it to hunt down those brats to begin with."
"In that case...perhaps modifications need to be made?" Solon suggested "Or a different approach is needed."
Thales mulled it over in his head "True...he did say that the blood of a dragon was needed to improve them further." he crossed his arms, a smile coming to his face, before he wiped it away "But it cannot be done now. The plans of the Western Church are too close. They've drawn too much attention to that accursed monastery."
"True." Solon nodded his head "However...they cannot be there the whole time and the young one is vulnerable." he paused for a few moments "And what of our benefactor?"
"He is currently in the Kingdom with the Lord." he scoffed "Arming peasants." he mockingly intoned "As if giving them swords makes them more than trash."
"He merely suggested a test, as I am led to believe." He replied "Kronya is almost ready for the disguise."
"Good." Thales nodded "Although she's far too careless. Ensure she does not reveal herself too soon."
"Very well." Solon nodded "...And? What of the foreigner?"
"Being a skilled insect still makes him an insect." The Agarthan scoffed "He can be dealt with at our leisure."
AN: Yo. Yeah, so Mercedes is being taught structural analysis and healing magecraft, which kind of go hand in hand. And Catherine is here, everyones favourite insane religious zealot.
Also...Oooooooh.
Big shift.
Anyway…
I know what you're all waiting for…
Omake: Back home again V
Goetia watched as Lysithea was virtually abused by Scathach, all the while Cu Chulainn and Claude watched in the distance, looks of equal amusement on their faces as the young girl virtually flailed about under the repeated strikes of the Celtic Lancer.
The second the Lancer had discovered the girl could use Primordial Runes, she had been demanding she demonstrate how skilled she was.
It wasn't skilled enough for her liking, at which point she began teaching her herself.
It wasn't just runes, however, that she was being taught. No, Scathach had decided to teach her hand to hand combat and spearmanship.
Goetia was fortunate that the Lancer had decided not to bring him into it as well.
"Well, well, well." An amused voice called out from behind him, Goetia looked over his shoulder to see Da Vinci sliding towards him with a grin on her face "Don't see you here too often."
"Scathach saw fit to take my former student to the simulator to train her." Goetia explained, returning his gaze back to the pair "I decided to observe."
"Well…that's fair I suppose." She nodded, then cast a sideways glance at him "I've seen you and Romani are no longer avoiding eachother like the plague."
"Yes…"
"Hmph, that's good. He felt he was being bullied more than usual." She joked "I've also heard that you've been shooing him out of his office to relax more and more." she cocked her head "Why?"
"He does not live as a human." He replied immediately "He looks human, talks human and acts human...but he does not live as one." he looked down "He lacked the freedom of a human...if I can grant him that wish, even for a short while, then that is enough."
"Ooooh." Da Vinci grinned at him "You seem to care quite a bit for someone who never smiles. Does Romani remind you of anyone then?"
"My...father." Da Vinci blinked at that.
"Oh." She flattened her expression into an unusually serious one "You acclimatised too quickly. Even if you were a genius like me, it still took Archer, Caster and Saber some weeks to get used to everything." he crossed her arms "You took all of an hour."
"Is that so?"
"Yes." She nodded "And then there was your magecraft." she grinned "Magecraft, not the magic that the fodlan system uses. Caster was kind enough to demonstrate some of the original magic she was taught before your arrival."
"…"
"Primordial runes, huh?"
"…"
"...You aren't from Fodlan, are you?" She cocked her head to the side "No...you aren't from their world originally."
He looked her dead in the eyes "Hm...It seems I have underestimated your deductive skills."
"Well, I am a genius!" Da Vinci grinned, pointing a thumb at herself "Although I know you aren't Solomon, that much was true." she frowned "...Was he your father?"
"Solomon...yes." Goetia nodded his head "To refer to him as my father would be accurate…"
"Romani reminds you of him does he?" Da Vinci raised an eyebrow.
Goetia gave a sad smile "He lived as a King, rather than the humans he seemed to love." he shrugged "Like I said...even if I can grant his wish for a little while...that is enough."
Da Vinci's expression took on a more forlorn one "Still not going to give your true name?"
"No…" He shook his head "For now...no. But...perhaps when the time is right." he looked Da Vinci in the eyes "You know as well."
"He's not that good at keeping secrets." Da Vinci gave a wry smile "Even if he was...I'm still a genius."
"...Quite so." He nodded slowly, Da Vinci's smile slowly morphed into a grin.
"...Does that make Mash your adopted Sister?"
Goetia's face blanked "...That is...technically?"
"You know she and Fujimaru are in a relationship, right?"
"...I did not...your point?"
"If they get married...that would make him your brother in law."
"…" Goetia stared at her for several seconds, Da Vinci had trouble holding in her laughter at the growing look of realisation on his face which could only be described as a personified 'blue screen'.
Ritsuka jolted as his door opened, he looked over his shoulder away from his desk to see Caster stood there. The red eyes of the servant locked onto him and Ritsuka felt an indescribable pressure wash over him.
"Caster?" He blinked "Is...is something wrong?"
He stepped in, then looked around the room "...Kyrielight isn't here, is she?"
"Mash? Wha-no!" He gaped "Why would she be in my room!?"
"You are in a relationship-"
"Ergh!?"
"-and I wanted to ensure I did not disturb you."
"H-how did...Da Vinci?"
"Da Vinci."
"Oh…" Ritsuka's head fell into his hands "She's like the overbearing aunt I never had." he looked back up after a few seconds "Is...is there anything I can help you with?"
"Yes." He nodded his head "There is one thing…"
"What is this?" Romani looked at Goetia as they all gathered in a decorated room in Chaldea.
"Dinner." He explained.
"I can see that…" Romani nodded his head slowly "But…" he gestured to the other occupants of the table "What's with this line up?"
Ritsuka, Mash and David stared at the pair in a mix of confusion and amusement.
"You are technically Mash Kyrielight's father." Goetia pointed out "Considering her close relationship with Fujiamaru-"
"Her what!?"
"You...were not aware?"
"No, I wasn't!" He rounded on Ritsuka and Mash, both of who were blushing up a storm and looking away from the Doctor "What is this I'm hearing about!? Mash!"
"I-um...well...I…"
David snickered, looking at Goetia with an obvious look of amusement "Alright...family dinner." he nodded "So why are you and I here?"
Goetia's eyes flickered back to David, he instantly saw the knowing expression in them "...Why indeed."
Elsewhere, Da Vinci was watching the security cameras in the command centre and cackling madly, tears streaming down her face.
She henceforth dubbed it the Solomon family gathering.