Chapter Text
“I must say, Miss Eisner, it was daring of you to give all that information to Niijima-san. And you’re being honest with us when you say you were doing so altruistically, correct?” Akechi has taken his own seat in the PE Faculty office at Shujin Academy for a last debrief with Byleth after the events in Sae’s Palace, as well as… well, everything that has happened to Akira.
“Yes. I thought I could protect them, protect Sae-- er, Niijima-san.” She catches herself from being too open about how close she’s already become with Sae. Not well, especially not in front of a detective.
And in response, he chuckles before addressing her concerns. “Well, I’m sorry you ended up getting involved in this manner. Seeing such a world, fighting alongside your students… I’m sure you couldn’t have predicted such an outcome. Especially now with Akira Kurusu’s unfortunate fate. I wish it didn’t end like that, truly.”
Her eyes find faces drawn on the dots of the floor. Many of them seem to laugh at Goro Akechi’s ignorance. “I just have to keep telling myself I did what I could. That it’s not my fault.”
“I don’t think it is either, Eisner-san. It’s not as though you knew he would react in such a way.”
After rending her focus from the rotations of her thumbs, she meets Akechi’s gaze. “...So what happens now?”
“Well, I only joined them on the terms that Sae’s Palace would be their last before the Phantom Thieves disbanded. Without their leader, it seems that is even more inevitable. In the media, I’ve rescinded my statement that a separate culprit was to blame for the murders, though I still wish to investigate that possibility on my own terms.”
Byleth bites her lip, nervous, nodding. “Is there anything you need me to do after this?”
“Just go about your life as usual, Miss Eisner. Your students will be safe again, so long as they don’t try to act without a leader. I’ll refrain from giving them away to the authorities, of course, as was my promise to them. Niijima-san is most certainly safe now, so you mustn’t worry about that, either.”
Her nod is more swift this time. Seems that she understands what is yet to come. “That’s good to hear. That’s all I wanted.”
“An admirable desire. I daresay it may have ended worse were it not for your intervention…” He wears the same cheerful smile that he did during his guest appearance at the culture festival. “In the meantime, I recommend you invest the reward money you’ve received. You could see some fantastic dividends if you assemble a good portfolio with it.”
“Do you mind if I ask you about yourself, Akechi-san?” Her brow displays a hungry curiosity. She has a feeling Akechi will humor her.
Akechi grins, intertwines his fingers, and tilts his head joyfully. “But of course. I think it would only be fair after everything that has transpired.”
“Why did you become a detective, and why did you help the Phantom Thieves?”
“An apt question, given the circumstances. I chose the path of a detective to dispense justice and protect it against those who would act outside the law to harm others, whether directly or indirectly. Even discounting the possibility that they may have committed murder, the Phantom Thieves were a danger to society at large. I only assisted them because our goals coincided momentarily.” His turn to point that question back to Byleth. “And what of you, Miss Eisner? Why did you become a teacher?”
“To prepare students for the future, to help them grow into functioning, happy adults who can help society for the better.”
“So you found it disappointing that some of your own students were betraying those goals?”
Well, time to lie. “Yes. Putting themselves and others in danger directly undermines why I chose to teach in the first place. To think they were using the knowledge I gave them for something like that…”
“Again, I would say it isn’t your fault. You aren’t responsible for the actions of your students. More than anything, I hope that they don’t hold it against you. You will be seeing many of them quite often in this school, I imagine.”
Her sigh is heavy, loud, as if the breath itself carried leaden mass. “That’s what I’m worried about. I hope they don’t see this as a betrayal.”
“If they do, that’s their decision.” Akechi rises, readjusts his tie, hoists his briefcase, then turns toward the door. “Your cooperation was paramount to the solution of this mystery, Miss Eisner. Thank you again. I hope you can find some peace after all of this.”
“I’ll try. Have a good day, Akechi-san.”
He closes the office door behind him. Sullen, Byleth turns to her desk and unlocks her phone. As a precaution, she’s changed her contact name for the dead man walking.
Byleth:
He still has no clue.
Arsene:
It’s almost sad now, really.
She locks her phone, wakes her laptop, then gets back to doing actual work.