Fódlan Summoner

Part 36

No POV 

We begin this chapter with Y/n as he had finished a hard week of school work and was approaching the sauna. Stepping inside, we see that he was now in a special uniform that was issued for all students that had access to said sauna as he took a seat and relaxed while the heat of the room helped him relax his body that ached from the training and responsibilities he was tasked with this week 

Shutting his eyes, he began to think back on how his time on Stable duty with Marianne went earlier on today 

Flashback 

We now find ourselves a little earlier in the day where we see Y/n and Marianne as they tended to the horses that the knights and themselves would use whenever out on a mission. It was relatively quiet between the two as they were both just a little too shy to try and start a conversation between each other. Only ever really speaking to say what they were going to do next or what task had been done. Occasionally, they'd look each other in the eye, but Marianne would always quickly look away with a downtrodden expression. Tharja was nowhere in sight due to her being tasked to assist Lysithea on her dark magic lessons at the request of said student. Artoria was currently sparring with Felix and Dimitri in the arena, while Jeanne was learning more about the Church of Seiros and Fodlan's history from Rhea herself  

As they made eye contact for a 7th time, the moment Marianne looked away, Y/n spoke up, finally breaking the silence that persisted for the past two hours of their task so far

Y/n: "Marianne, is something wrong?" 

This sudden question startled the woman, making her flinch and look in his general direction, but not make eye contact with him

Marianne: "U-Um, I'm sorry?" 

Y/n: "I don't mind the silence, but every time I look at you, you seem to be scared of making eye contact with me. Not that there's anything wrong with you not wanting to look me in the eyes, I know that you're not one for socializing, I just want to know if anything's wrong" 

Marianne was surprised with this, a downtrodden expression returning shortly after but she gave him a small smile afterwards and shook her head. She then looked him in the eyes as she responds, letting him see the bags under them 

Marianne: "O-Oh, I'm fine Y/n, I'm sorry I worried you" 

Y/n: "It's alright, Marianne. But if anything's wrong, you know you can come talk to me or Hilda" 

Marianne: "I-I'll keep that in mind, thank you Y/n" 

Y/n: "It's no problem. Now, would you like to talk about the horses that we're cleaning? I'm afraid I don't know as much as I probably should" 

Hearing this, Marianne's expression lit up a little as she began to explain everything she knew about these horses

Marianne Support Level ^^

Flashback End

Now, we find Y/n back in the sauna room, as he sat there, the sound of the door could be heard opening before we then see that it wasn't just one person entering, but two. Those being Byleth, and Catherine, the two of them also wearing the sauna uniforms which although they provided some form of modesty to an extent, they still were rather form fitting and showed off how fit the two were. Said Teacher and Knight were talking with each other before they took notice of him at the same time as he did with them 

Y/n: "Oh, professor, Ms. Catherine, good afternoon! I hope the two of you have had a good day so far" 

Byleth simply gave him a small nod to both greet him and confirm that she did. Catherine on the other hand, smiled brightly and sat down next to Y/n while Byleth took the spot on his other side 

Catherine: "Y/n! What a surprise, we were just talking about you!" 

Y/n: "You...were?" 

Catherine: "That's right. Byleth here has been telling me that you've been continuing with the training I was giving you. I can see that she's telling the truth! 

looking over his body, it was easy to tell that the training Y/n had been put through was shown on his body, muscles were noticeably developing and becoming more prominent on his body. He now had a rather toned physique fit for sword fighting compared to when he first returned to the academy

Catherine: "Keep it up and I might even take you on as my apprentice" 

She let out a comforting chuckle and gave him a pat on the back, only to regret that a little upon remembering that they were in a sauna and his uniform was damp with seat like his whole body. Byleth on the other hand simply stared at the two with her signature stoic expression before speaking 

Byleth: "You would make a good mercenary with a little more training. Maybe my father and I can give you a couple lessons?"

The laughter from Catherine died down as she heard this and looked at Byleth with a raised eyebrow

Catherine: "That's a bold move, trying to recruit people from the Officer's Academy into that mercenary band Jeralt runs, especially since one of them's a kid still in training. I mean, he's what? 16?" 

Y/n: "Actually I'll be 17 in two days..." 

Catherine: "See? He's still 16"

Byleth: "I'm just saying that he doesn't have to join the Knights when he graduates the academy. He has more than just one choice, his life is his to decide. No one else's" 

The stoic gaze, mixed with the blank tone in her voice as she spoke to Catherine started to make her feel a little uneasy while Y/n smiled a little at hearing her say that 

Catherine: "Y-Yeah, exactly. I wasn't doing that either! I was just having a little fun, honest" 

It was silent once again as they decided to drop the subject, thinking of something else to say, Y/n then spoke up, looking to Byleth

Y/n: "Professor, do you mind if I make a request about the upcoming mission at the end of the month?" 

Byleth: "You can not skip it" 

Y/n: "N-No, not that. It's Sylvain, he wanted me to ask you to let him join in this mission. He want's to try and stop his brother from making a terrible mistake" 

Catherine: "That's right, his brother's the leader of those bandits, isn't he?" 

Y/n: "Yeah, he is. Sylvain thinks that even though they've had their differences, that maybe he could convince him to surrender peacefully" 

Catherine: "I doubt he can, from what I hear, Miklan's a real piece of work. He's sadistic and doesn't seem to care about anyone. But it's up to the professor on if he joins or not" 

Byleth thought about it for a moment until she looked towards Y/n with a slight tilt with her head 

Byleth: "What do you think, Y/n? Do you think he can do it?" 

Y/n: "I...I don't know, but it's worth a try. If there's a way to end things with less bloodshed, then I want to achieve it" 

Y/n looked towards the coals in the middle of the room as he said this, the two adults looking at him still, Catherine with a smile on her face, while Byleth was stoic as usual

Byleth: "Very well, I'll inform Sylvain that he will be joining us on our next mission" 

Y/n: "Really? Thank you, Professor!" 

Byleth: "In return, in a week's time, I will test you on how well you've been training" 

Y/n's mood quickly deflated upon hearing this condition, his shoulders slumping and a depressed sigh coming from him while a chuckle came from Catherine 

Y/n: "Can you-" 

Byleth: "I will not go easy on you, you won't grow if I do"

Another sigh came from Y/n as he slumped further all that could be heard was Catherine as she laughed some more while the screen faded to black

Catherine Support Rank: ^

Byleth Support Rank: ^