"Rhea, I feel as though it is my duty to question your judgement on this matter." Seteth said with a frown "As your advisor, it is my role to aid you in decision making, as such I must ask why you felt the need to appoint a stranger – A child, no less – as professor at the officers academy and offer a faculty position to another one."
"I have made my decision Seteth." Rhea remained stern faced in the wake of his council "I realise that worrying comes naturally to you." she gave him a reassuring smile "However, there is no need. That 'stranger' is Jeralt's flesh and blood after all."
"I'm sure you'll forgive me if that does not provide comfort." Seteth remained unchanged in his opinion "How trustworthy is this Jeralt character, a man who has not been seen in twenty-one years following the great fire. Even if the man has your complete trust, that does not explain the offer to this 'Goetia' character. He has even less of a background that Jeralt and his child, all we know of him is that he is a foreigner. How can we be sure he is not a risk to the Church?"
"I worry that you spend too much time seeing the worst in people, Seteth." Rhea shook her head "I believe that it was the Will of the Goddess that Jeralt and his child were there to aid our students, just as it was her Will that brought Goetia to our country and to this Monastery." she slightly raised a single eyebrow "Was it not also you who suggested hiring aid for Tomas as he ages?"
"From one of our resident scholars perhaps. Not the first stranger who visits the Monastery, more to the point he only has one arm Rhea. I fear his usefulness as an assistant would be...limited."
"We both know that appearances are deceiving Seteth, I feel as though our visitor would be more than capable of lending aid in the Library, and perhaps outside of it."
"The deception of appearances is all the more reason to be more careful when dealing with strangers." Seteth countered "I fear that you are too optimistic in the motives of people." his face became tinged with concern "I beg you at least reconsider, with Flayn now at the Monastery I would rather not take unnecessary risks."
"Seteth, they have my trust." She softened her features "Let that be enough for you." she frowned "More importantly, I have received a message from Shamir regarding our suspicious individual. We cannot ignore those who harbour ill-will towards the church. Especially if they are frequenting Garreg Mach."
Seteth closes his eyes and straightened himself "Yes, that matter is of great importance as well." he opened them and steeled his expression "I will continue my investigation on the matter." he released a weary sigh "Rhea...for now, I will trust that you are placing your confidence with the utmost care...and I pray that nothing occurs to shake that faith."
X
"So how do you get your hair to be so luxurious?" The girl asked Goetia. The man did well to avoid letting his irritation show.
Following his, albeit brief, visit upon the Academy Library he had decided to tour the Monastery itself. If he were to work here it would be useful to familarise himself with the rest of the facility.
That, however, brought up problems of its own.
Apparently Hanneman had not been exaggerating when it came to rumours circulating of his and Byleths appearance at the academy. He'd seen the girl accosted by several students already.
He himself was subject to stares and hushed voices as he journeyed around the main campus. The students had initially kept their distance.
Save one.
"I mean, I can spend hours trying to make sure my hair is half as soft as this." The brunette girl commented as she held up a lock of his hair "And the fact that you just let it fall down like this...it feels like a waste to not style it."
"Physical appearances mean very little to me." Goetia replied, feeling fatigued by her presence.
"Perhaps they don't mean a lot to you." She admitted "But they can mean everything to Nobles, you don't look too bad but there's just this...untapped potential to make yourself stand out."
That was the exact opposite of what he wanted, observation of humans at this point meant no longer interfering. However his desire to merely take on a background role was quickly dwindling when faced with the reality that he was unlikely to get peace of mind.
"Is that so…" He idly replied.
"Of course." The girl gave him a small smile "But where are my manners, I'm Dorothea Arnault."
"Goetia."
"I know." At his raised eyebrow she clarified "We do have a bit of a gossip mill at the Academy, suffice to say I'd be surprised if anyone here hasn't heard of a mystery new Professor and a tanned man with glittery golden hair."
"My appearance is likely to become a topic for conversation." Goetia acquiesced "I shall assume that Fodlan is an uncommon place for Foreigners and the Monastery less so."
"Got that right." She snorts "I'd watch out if I were you, being a foreigner, you're bound to attract some...less than savoury individuals and more so if you are a commoner."
"Fodlan is xenophobic?" Goetia tilted his head and hummed in thought, it made sense considering the lack of non-natives he had seen. Although he didn't imagine that the continent would actively participate in such acts of prejudice.
"Yikes, big words." Dorothea muttered then gave him a reassuring smile "That isn't the word I would use, most people around the Monastery won't give you a second glance but try not to be too surprised if some of the more...vocal members express distrust towards you."
Goetia nodded "Your warning is appreciated."
"So, I hear you are gonna be working in the library?"
"Possibly." He admitted "Dependent whether or not it interests me."
"I have a feeling you'll stick around." She gave him a sly smile "You've got the feeling of someone who likes to be near the centre of exciting things. With the leaders of three different powers here, what could be more exciting?"
Goetia frowned. Remaining here would certainly be of his benefit. More-so that a Monastery full of different cultures would likely provide him an opportunity to understand humans better. He hoped, as well as keeping a closer eye on the holder of the Divine Core.
"Well, I'll see you around Gotie! I gotta let Edie know I was able to have a chat with you!" Dorothea waved at him as she walked off in the direction of the classrooms.
Goetia stayed where he was for a few moments before he eventually spoke aloud in confusion "Gotie?"
X
"How did you find the monastery?" Byleth asked as she sat opposite him in the mess hall. Goetia looked up from his soup, being one of the few things he could eat with one hand, and cast a small glance her way.
"U-" He began, only to be cut off by the girl.
"Uninspired." He raised an eyebrow at her, if he looked closer he could be sure that the corner of her mouth tilted upwards slightly.
"You are learning." He said "It is nothing I have not seen before, however that does not mean it inherently disappoints me. It has its uses."
"Have you considered whether or not you will be staying?"
"I have." He nodded "The Library offers a wealth of information." he took a small sip of his soup "More than that, the Monastery itself offers the opportunity to aid in the answering of certain questions." he looked at her "What of you? You had never considered any alternate form of employment, and are now a professor teaching students barely younger than yourself."
She frowned "Its...weird. Never considered teaching." she placed her chin on her hand and narrowed her eyes "Perhaps I could teach them combat and tactics."
"Perhaps." He nodded "I have noticed that Nobles appear to be more than willing to involve themselves in combat thus far." he frowned "However, I assume that their education involves more than the ability to swing a sharpened piece of metal."
Her frown deepened.
"I am certain that Professor Hanneman and Physician Manuela are capable of lending you aid on the academic side of the equation." He pointed out "The Library also seems to be useful in acquiring the necessary information for the development of their academic career."
"Hmm." She hummed and went back to her lunch, a seared fish.
"What is your opinion on the Monastery?" Goetia asked "I assume you have spent the morning active in your exploration of this place?"
"Its big." She replied immediately "Quite defensible too, multiple barricades on our way up and sturdy battlements."
"Noticed that as well, did you?" He nodded "True, it is more akin to a fortress than a place of worship." he took another sip of his soup. Tomato, he didn't mind the flavour, figured it was actually quite pleasant. "Have you given consideration as to what you will teach your class?"
"Apparently its up to the professors who they teach."
"Really?" Goetia would admit, he hadn't expected that "Given consideration as to who?"
"Not yet." She admitted "Spent the morning asking the different house leaders about their classmates."
"I had the opportunity to encounter a couple of students earlier." He admitted "They were contrasting, although they seemed to be equally curious about my being."
"Curiosity is dangerous." Byleth said "Leads people into traps."
"...Is that so?" That seemed unusually paranoid to him, although there was merit to her statement. He believed that was an old human proverb about an inquisitive feline being murdered. Bizarre human aphorism.
X
"Captain, are you here for lunch?" Alois asked, the elder mercenary let out a weary sigh before turning to the man and giving him a blank look.
"I am, yes." He turned back to the Mess hall menu "Certainly more variety than I last remember…" he muttered under his breath.
"Of course you are." Alois nodded "You always did eat more than the rest of us, but I suppose you had to be considering you were the strongest knight in the church!"
Jeralt turned back to the man with slightly narrowed eyes "Why did you recommend my kid for a professors job?"
"Well, she seemed to get along well with the other students." He shrugged and picked up his tray "Besides, she is your daughter. I suspect she has a wealth of knowledge to teach the young ones!" he finished with a wide grin.
"Right…" Jeralt shook his head.
"Oh? In fact, there she is now!" Alois pointed in a direction at the far end of the mess hall. Jeralt's expression softened slightly as he looked in the direction.
"Really?" He asked "Good, because I wanted to talk to her ab-" he cut himself off. The smile he had on his face vanishing as his mouth formed into a thin line.
"Looks like she's getting along with our possible Librarian." Alois commented, completely ignorant to his companions rapidly souring mood, he nudged Jeralt with his elbow "Think you might look forward to some grandkids in the future, eh Jeralt?" when he didn't get a reply he frowned and looked back at the man "Jeralt?"
Jeralt's face was, for lack of a better word, devoid of emotion as his entire focus was on Goetia and his daughter.
The man had said he had no romantic interest in his daughter.
And then he goes and has lunch with her...just the two of them...in the corner of the room...away from everyone else.
He thought not.
"I think they've got space at their table, don't you." He didn't wait for a reply before he marched across the room in their direction.
X
Goetia became aware of a glare which seemed to be fixated entirely on him, he looked to the left of him to see Jeralt and Alois marching up to their table. The former's focus being entirely on him while the latter looked slightly nervous.
"Kid." Jeralt nodded to Byleth, then his gaze travelled to Goetia as he sat down next to her "Goetia."
"Hello, friend." Alois similarly announced himself as he sat down next to the tanned man.
"Knight Alois, Knight Captain Jeralt." Goetia replied back to them, Byleth remained silent as she ate her fish, save a small nod to the pair.
"So, what were you two talking about?" Alois asked, a slightly intrigued look on his face.
"The Monastery." They both replied at the same time.
"Ah!" Alois grinned "Of course, it really is breath-taking isn't it? As one would expect to the home of the Church of Seiros."
Neither of them elected to respond to that.
"So, I hear you were in the Library earlier." Alois changed the subject as he spoke to Goetia between bites of his lunch "How did you find it?"
"Useful." Goetia replied "It, at the very least, provides me with History of the continent."
"I see." Alois nodded, then turned to Byleth "I assume you have had the opportunity to speak to some of your potential students?"
"Yes." Byleth nodded her head at him.
"What were your impressions?"
"Young, somewhat naïve." She frowned "Wouldn't make good mercenaries." Jeralt snorted.
"Well…" Alois shrugged "They are Nobles I suppose."
X
The day passed Goetia relatively smoothly after lunch. However, he would admit to being uncomfortable with the stare he had been receiving from Jeralt for the entirety of the meal.
He had ultimately decided to remain at the Monastery, which he informed the Archbishop of the next day when she met with both himself and Byleth for the second time. He noted that Seteth seemed to be against the placement of either of them as members of the faculty within the Monastery.
Something he could agree was rather sudden, it also served to raise his suspicions that the phantasmal was aware of the Divine core that Byleth held and were determined to keep her on-site. It did not explain his own offer, however he considered that to be of minimal importance compared to their interest in his fellow colleague.
"The lend out system is allocated to five books per student." Tomas explained to him. Goetia didn't know what kind of magic the seemingly old man was using for his disguise, but he came to the conclusion that despite being more advanced than other magics he had witnessed...it was ultimately rather pathetic.
From his perspective, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that the old man had thrown the magical equivalent of a blanket over his head and called it a disguise. Although it spoke volumes to him of the competency of the phantamals here that they were unable to detect the façade.
Goetia ultimately decided against confronting the man about it. He found that he didn't care, and that for the moment it didn't effect him. If the monastery was unable to root out spies in its own staff, that was hardly his concern.
"How long are students expected to remain in possession of the documents before a return is required?" Goetia asked, the old man replied after a few moments of thinking.
"Normally it is two weeks, however exceptions can be made for up to four, depending on how many books the student withdraws."
"And the rules for logging out a book?"
"Names and houses are required, as well as expected length of possession."
"I see."
"As my assistant, you will also be in charge of following up on students who have yet to return their books to this archive." The old man pointed out as he led the one armed man to a shelf "You will also need to ensure that all the books are organised correctly are accounted for." he gave a humours smile "A spring clean once a week would also be welcome."
"Is there anything that requires my immediate attention?" Goetia asked with a slightly raised eyebrow. He would rather do something.
The old man furrowed his brows "I suppose the archive we have on magical research needs to be re-organised into order by author names." Tomas admitted, then looked at the missing limb of his new assistant "Do you believe you'll be able to complete that?"
"I shall be sufficient." Goetia said and turned to walk in the direction of the bookcase. He noted that there were easily several hundred books. Certainly quite the collection.
He floated upwards to the top shelf. It would be simpler if he were to work from the top down.
"Oh my!" A young voice exclaimed. Goetia turned his head to look down. He raised a single eyebrow at his sudden visitor.
Was this Monastery populated with phantasmals?
The young girl, with green hair in a drill style, stared up at him in surprise as he levitated nearly four feet off the ground.
"I have not seen someone use a levitation spell like that before." She commented as she continued to stare up at him.
"Is there something I can aid you with, young one?" Goetia asked as he turned his attention back to the shelves.
"I just wanted the opportunity to meet one of the new faces at the Academy." The girl said with a wide smile "I have already met the new Professor Eisner, however I had heard rumours of a new assistant librarian."
"Thus you travelled here to confirm my existence." Goetia supplemented, he looked down to see her nodding her head at him.
"I'm Flayn. You may have seen my older brother around?"
"Goetia. You refer to Seteth, the advisor to the Archbishop." Goetia floated back down to the ground and looked at the girl more closely "Yes...there is a resemblance beyond that of hair colour."
"I've heard you are not from Fodlan."
"I am not." Goetia replied, turning his attention back to the bookcase as he looked through the names of the authors.
"How exciting!" She exclaimed, her eyes gleaming with excitement "I've never really met someone from a new place, you are not from Dagda or Brigid are you?"
"No." Goetia replied, working out the order of the books and nodding his head "I am from farther West, across the sea."
"What is it called?"
"I was born in the Kingdom of Judah. In the United Monarchy of Judah and Israel." He raised his lone hand.
"What was it like…" She trailed off and widened her eyes as the books floated from the top shelf and then proceeded to re-organise themselves before sliding back into their spots. Goetia nodded once, then floated down one shelf.
"You would be surprised and disappointed by how little changes wherever you go." He said, casting a quick glance at her stupefied face.
She stared at him for a few moments then shook herself out of her amazement as it registered to her what he said, she frowned slightly "That sounds a little cynical, don't you think? Surely there are changes wherever you go?"
"Humans remain a constant." He explained "Their circumstances differ, yet their behaviour remains the same. With such short lives they strive for purpose, even with the full knowledge that only death awaits them at the end. Even those who realise they will never leave their mark upon the world seem to find contention in this life." he frowned "I have yet to meet any who do not act in such a way."
"You sound troubled by that." Flayn spoke with a frown "This topic is sensitive to you, is it not?"
"Humans trouble me." He remarked as he re-organised the second shelf "They are constant in their inconsistency, the prefer to avoid pain yet will inflict it upon others. They fear death yet acts of self-sacrifice occur. A desire for peace, yet so willing to use knowledge to kill eachother...it does not make sense."
One would expect they would welcome immortality with open arms. An end to pain, suffering and inequality. Yet they denied the wish he strove for so fervently...a wish no one wanted.
"Perhaps you overlooked something." Flayn pointed out, Goetia raised an inquisitive eyebrow at her. Apparently he was to be lectured about the nature of humanity from something decidedly inhuman despite her appearance.
"That is what makes us Human." She smiled at his dumbfounded expression "Yes, they inflict great pain...but you missed that they inflict great good as well. Pain and suffering is unfortunate, but without it...how could you appreciate the finer points of life? Life is short...but that is what makes it so precious."
Goetia stared at her. His expression quickly forming a blank one. That was preposterous. Human life was pain and suffering so they could appreciate whatever brief reprieve they received?
Suffering existed to make the good stand out? By that logic a man could wander into a town, slaughter every single inhabitant save one and call it a beautiful kindness that he spared a single child.
Absolute nonsense.
This was what Fujimaru Ritsuka fought for? A simple desire to live this type of pathetic life which harboured pain?
This was why Mash denied them? Because she found beauty in a flawed existence?
They denied paradise for this!?
What possible reason could Solomon have for seeing this as a worthwhile existence? How could he accept it?
The more time he spent as a human, the more he came to believe his goal had been right.
"Hmph." He scoffed. He lost. Even if he was right, he could do nothing about it now…
He and Solomon shared a personality archetype. He was made in his image. Whatever Solomon saw as being worthwhile in humanity, Goetia had the same potential to see.
"I hope you'll get a better outlook, Mr Goetia." She gave him a sad smile "I'm always open to conversations. Perhaps we can get you to find something you like about people?"
"I suspect my consent would be considered a suggestion in this matter."
"Yep!" She grinned "I won't rest until you turn that frown into a smile. Even my older brother, sullen as he is, still smiles every now and again."
"You sound like the young Von Reigan." Goetia noted as he continued to organise the shelves.
"Then he sounds very wise." Flayn nodded to herself, completely unaware that Goetia did not mean it as a complement. "I hope we shall speak again, Mr Goetia."
"Goetia is sufficient." He idly commented as she left, half focused on the task at hand and half on the words that dragon had spoken to him about.
Was his understanding of humanity so poor that even a dragon could understand them better than he? He who watched them for three thousand year?
He frowned…
He watched humanity...She and Solomon lived with them…
Perhaps that was what he needed...to live as a human? He withheld is grimace, it couldn't be that simple.