I thought you didn't like being compared? [But if Byleth is inviting the comparison, he supposes it's fine.]
When I first met you, it was like when I first met Teach, to be honest. He was a wandering mercenary just like you, and for months after he became a professor, he kind of... looked like a fish out of water, like you were here. To be honest, I didn't trust him as far as I could throw him, especially when I learned he had the Crest of Flames, or that Rhea favoured him. The whole thing stank.
But... then I watched him more. [Byleth is offered another memory: of this other Byleth, with a stuffed bear in his arms he'd bought from the market, offering it to a tiny fifteen-year-old Lysithea, who blushes furiously but takes it anyway. Byleth's daily routine of checking in with the ever-cheerful gatekeeper. Byleth's delight at catching a fish in the pond, only to feed it to one of the monastery strays moments later. All the while, he has a small, but noticeable, smile on his face.]
Under that reputation he had as a mercenary, under all the designs the Church had for him, he was just a kind, gentle person. Bit by bit, he learned to smile and express himself, like he was learning as much from his students as they were from his guidance.
...Or maybe I'm giving the Golden Deer too much credit. As former house leader, it's my duty to big them up, after all!
[He laughs. He hasn't quite answered Byleth's question yet, though, so he rounds about to an answer.]
Anyway, I think at heart, you're that same gentle person. You like to eat cake, read romance novels, and you're kind to others. You have the same great insight too, and you know when to be strict when it's called for... I'd say that's all what made the Byleth of my world such a great professor.
[The same? No. Similar, in ways he admires them both for? Definitely.]
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When I first met you, it was like when I first met Teach, to be honest. He was a wandering mercenary just like you, and for months after he became a professor, he kind of... looked like a fish out of water, like you were here. To be honest, I didn't trust him as far as I could throw him, especially when I learned he had the Crest of Flames, or that Rhea favoured him. The whole thing stank.
But... then I watched him more. [Byleth is offered another memory: of this other Byleth, with a stuffed bear in his arms he'd bought from the market, offering it to a tiny fifteen-year-old Lysithea, who blushes furiously but takes it anyway. Byleth's daily routine of checking in with the ever-cheerful gatekeeper. Byleth's delight at catching a fish in the pond, only to feed it to one of the monastery strays moments later. All the while, he has a small, but noticeable, smile on his face.]
Under that reputation he had as a mercenary, under all the designs the Church had for him, he was just a kind, gentle person. Bit by bit, he learned to smile and express himself, like he was learning as much from his students as they were from his guidance.
...Or maybe I'm giving the Golden Deer too much credit. As former house leader, it's my duty to big them up, after all!
[He laughs. He hasn't quite answered Byleth's question yet, though, so he rounds about to an answer.]
Anyway, I think at heart, you're that same gentle person. You like to eat cake, read romance novels, and you're kind to others. You have the same great insight too, and you know when to be strict when it's called for... I'd say that's all what made the Byleth of my world such a great professor.
[The same? No. Similar, in ways he admires them both for? Definitely.]