Fire Emblem: Crimson Flower

Chapter 32) The Start of a Dire Battle

Artist: PenekoR, who had drawn the official unit artwork for Catherine in Fire Emblem: Heroes

Without Beleth around, there was much more silence for the class on their walk to Magdred Way. There was no upbeat chatter to enlighten them, and neither was there any excess noise. The class were in a much different mood than usual. It was not that the class had lost their spirit, but they all felt it was a different experience than before to only be with a single of their instructors.

Rather than being a big group, many of the students had combined together into their own miniature circles. These consisted of Dorothea, Bernadetta, and Petra in one; Caspar, Ferdinand, and Linhardt in another, as well as Hubert and Edelgard in the last cluster of students. The battalions owned by Petra and Edelgard were in two bundles at the back, only situated to follow orders once the battle had started. Byleth led the pack in front, occasionally looking back to see if anyone had gotten lost. Without his sister, he had to take a few extra steps to make sure everyone was alright.

"You're awfully silent, you know that?" Sothis propped up, skipping beside him in the front as he walked. "Do not worry about me being seen. Only the eyes of yourself are able to do such things. I promise you no extra hassle this time."

"I could assume such. You have been talking to me less as of recently." Byleth flexed his eyes, but refused to look in her direction, so as not to alert suspicion.

"Neither have you been worrying about me?" Looking back, Sothis childishly inspected all of the students. In this state, she was only able to observe them, but it entertained her to see their behavioural patterns up close for the first time. Noticing Edelgard, she marched back to Byleth, still looking backwards at the Adrestian princess. "Admit it: What that girl told you is still bothering you?"

"I am her teacher. I should be concerned."

"You are an imbecile! You should be aware that this is not coming out of responsibilities, but your own worries!" Byleth ignored her, still walking without an acknowledgement of Sothis' presence. Sighing defeatedly, she looked away from the girl. "I know by now that I will never have my way with you. May I at least ask if you reported what happened on that night to your sister?"

"Would you not already know if I did?"

"No, because someone enjoys doing things without my knowledge, whilst I am asleep!"

"In that case: No, I did not tell Sister. I thought it was not of her interest to know."

Expecting her to be annoyed, Byleth was left perplexed when he saw the young girl excited at his response. "Hide it all you want, but that is the first selfish act I have seen you do in the years I have been with you." She smirked slightly. "At least you are growing more human in some aspects, I suppose. I cannot expect you to always take leaps and bounds with everything you do, after all."

Sothis was ignored. The air was thickening. As Byleth checked to see if the students were managing, Sothis stopped walking, finally picking up a familiar presence. She attempted tapping at Byleth's shoulder, but in failing to properly contact him, she waited impatiently for him to look back.

"What is wrong?"

"Your sister is nearby," Sothis said. "It might take a lot from me, but I am now able to see what she is up to. Would you mind me going to her? She's probably finding more information as we speak."

Byleth nodded, but as the girl left, he gave a snarky comment. "Must you be so desperate for intel, that you are wasting your energy to see her?"

"I am sure you can take things from here, even if my leaving means you being able to turn back the hands of time less. Just remember not to abuse the Divine Pulse whilst I am gone. You will force all sorts of complications with every attempt to right your wrongs."