In the previous chapter:
Reznov and friends, having defeated Elsa the Bowel Hunter, sets off to arrive at the Roswaal Estate where both Reznov and Subaru can be properly rewarded for their actions by Emilia's Charge/Sponsor, Lord Roswaal himself.
Chapter 4: Settling Down: Part I
The ride was somewhat rather uneventful for the Russian as he simply sat, a bit slouched while the maid next to him remained sitting straight up, her posture unwavering as she seemed to always present herself with dignity and grace.
Reznov paid no mind to her much as his thoughts were elsewhere. Taking in the new sights of the environment of Lugnica. What surprised him most was perhaps the lack of wind blowing into his face at the speed they were going.
The ground dragon seemed to move as fast as car on this flat terrain but he has yet to experience any rush of wind to his face due to air resistance.
Reznov flicked some wood splinters that caught onto his coat during the fight as he flicked it off into the air, only to see it zip past him at a high speed once it reached a certain distance away.
'I see…' Reznov thought. Within the radius of the carriage, nothing is affected by the air resistance of travel. Most interesting.
The one thing that he can describe about this country is its vast and wide open flat ground plains. Greens and dirt just about everywhere. Not a single mountain in sight. Travelling throughout the land must've been quite easy as the flat roads and earth provided for much ease of travel.
Reznov did a quick ammo check on his SMG. His eyebrows arched upward in surprise at bit as he felt no change in weight as he held the magazine in his hand. The magazine seemed to be entirely full still. 'How peculiar…' he thought. He was 100% certain that he sprayed the entire mag worth of ammunition at Elsa a few hours ago, yet here he was, looking down the magazine with rounds brimmed from bottom to top.
'Most strange indeed…' as he reinserted the magazine back into his gun and pulled back the bolt, skillfully snatching the ejected round in the air and chambering a new round.
In the carriage were two people. The half-elf girl known as Emilia and the young Japanese boy named Natsuki Subaru.
Both were tuckered out from their long day at the capital as they narrowly avoided death but in the end triumphed. Emilia was beginning to drift off into space after the first few hours of the ride began before finally succumbing to the blissful joy of sleep as tiredness crept over her. In her lap, Subaru lied peacefully, recovering from the wound gained from Elsa.
Small talk would now engage between the Old man and the sharp-tongued maid… Or at least, attempts.
Reznov made eye-contact with the maid as she looked at him sharply. Almost as if with dis contempt and disgust. The veteran simply gave the uncaring stare back at her.
"If you are done fiddling with that toy of yours, perhaps you can answer some questions for me," the maid asked out of the blue.
Reznov nodded in response for her to proceed. "Da."
"Are you sure you're not just some sort of ruffian?"
"Nyet. Just an old man, new to the country of course."
The maid remained skeptical.
"Are you perhaps just a freeloader whose opportunity took a turn for the better, meeting Emilia-Sama like this, taking advantage of her goodwill and naivety?"
"I am nothing of the sort. I know what hard work is…"
Reznov was beginning to grow irritated of this maid, seemingly looking down upon him at every chance she can get.
"Hmph. Very well. Just know your place, and perhaps I might tolerate your presence," as Ram ended the conversation and focused back onto the road, guiding the ground dragon.
The two did not speak to each other for the rest of the ride.
Hours Later:
The carriage finally began to slow down as it approached a forest opening which lead to a bigger prospect of land, encircled by trees and greens. The Sun had barely peeked from the horizon as the carriage rode through a huge settlement which lived villagers. Some adults and elderly had already begun to awake to begin their day.
The nearby villagers looked at the Carriage arriving as they recognized it belonged to their Lord, Roswaal. They recognized the pink haired maid but were perhaps a bit curious of the new face who sat next to her. But they did not pay too much mind to it as people do come and go to visit Roswaal on occasions.
Reznov took a good look around and smiled. 'Perhaps this place can be it,' he thought before coming to attention to the Huge property he was about to enter. His eyes widened a bit in surprise as he viewed the luxurious mansion in front of him. It was as if looking at an old Chateau. Everything screamed noble and rich. Was this where Emilia resided with this Roswaal character?
The carriage entered through the gate as they slowly rode towards the front entrance where the carriage finally came to a stop. A few moments later, the double door of the entrance opened another maid with blue hair stepped out to greet the returning companions and new arrivals apparently. Reznov took note that the maids were twins as he nearly made a double take of Ram and the other maid.
Her name was Rem.
She approached the carriage with a small smile, directed towards her older twin sibling.
"Nee-Sama, I welcome you back on your safe return," Rem bowed to her elder sister in which she replied. "Yes, good to see you to beloved little sister."
Rem was quick to straighten as she saw a new arrival getting off the carriage's coach with Ram. He stood almost four heads towering of the the twins, but that really wasn't say much due to their small and petite figure. But what was most notable about him was perhaps his distinct fashion and hardened face, never have seen anyone like him before.
With not a moment to lose, the carriage door actually opened itself to reveal a now awake Emilia, with Subaru still unconscious on the carriage's interior seat.
"Good morning Rem, Ram, Reznov," Emilia said with a smile as she exited the carriage.
For the next ten minutes, Reznov assisted in carrying out Subaru and retrieved his bag from the carriage while following Ram and Emilia to a guest's room in the Roswaal mansion while Rem would park the carriage and ground dragon in its designated stable.
Reznov was instructed to stay with Subaru in the guest room as both Emilia and Ram would meet with Roswaal first before he could be introduced.
Reznov did not mind as he understood things ran differently around here so he stayed with the boy, who rested on the large bed, changed into a new set of clean bed clothes.
Reznov finally decided to look over himself as he knew we was perhaps a bit tattered looking. Especially after all he's been through last night. He would take this chance to freshen up before meeting with the Lord of this land and make a good impression.
Reznov got up from his chair and stepped up to a nearby dresser and examined himself in the mirror with a bowl of water and rag, conveniently placed for him.
He indeed did have some blood stains on his face and some on his clothing, with some tears here and there. This was definitely not a presentable nor flattering look as Reznov finally turned his attention to the bag he has been carrying since he had been to this new world.
He undid the straps tying it closed and opened it only to peer in and pitch black inside.
"I am going to have to get used to seeing the unexpected…" he muttered to himself. "Just please there be spare clothes inside at least…"
Reznov was indeed curious of the bag since the beginning. The first things he pulled out from it since arriving to this world was a stuffed animal, and German stick grenades while he was back in the capital. The stuffed animal for the lost girl and the grenades to be used on Elsa. He did wonder what other useful things were held inside the bag.
Hesitantly, Reznov stuck his hand inside and tried to feel for any object.
A few seconds passed by as he grabbed nothing but air but eventually touched something crinkly.
Deeming it safe enough to pull out, he grabbed the unknown object out of the bag and was once again, surprised and amused.
In his hands was a plastic wrapped, clean, neatly-folded soviet uniform with matching cap and shiny boots to go with it.
Reznov was mightily impressed as he ripped open the plastics and began to change into the new formal attire.
"Haha! Luck smiles upon me today!"
He removed his coat, undershirt, pants, and boots, wiping himself off with a wet rag before changing into the new uniform, fitted with a Sam Browne belt and harness. Interestingly enough, the uniform had the same ranking marks as he did back then when he was still in the Red Army as the red striped Epaulettes had five silver stars on it, indicating his rank as a Captain. It was the little things that made him smile. He strapped on his harnesses and holster over his shirt, pulled up his pants and finally put on the boots last. The entire freshening up process and wardrobe change took at least over ten minutes. But he had been waiting in the room for at least over twenty.
He looked himself into the mirror and checked all around, examining every minor and major details. He deemed himself now presentable before putting on his uniform cap with the red star and soviet emblem presented proudly on its brim.
He heard the door knock before hearing the hinges creak open. It was Ram.
She stared a bit at the now better dressed and cleaner veteran.
"It seems our dear guest really know when to make himself presentable to the master. I commend you for that. Lord Roswaal is waiting. Please, this way," Ram motion Reznov to follow as he obliged.
The two closed the door behind them to let Subaru rest while they took a few minutes to travel to the main office of this "Roswaal" character.
The ex-captain looked around and admired the Mansion and it's interior decorating. Truly something fitting for someone who was described as a nobleman. He wondered who this Roswaal person will turn out to be.
Ram knocked onto the huge door the office entrance before entering, opening the door wide for Reznov.
"The honored guest come Lord Roswaal," Ram says as she stood aside and bowed her head as Reznov enters the room, walking to a large desk with what a man described as a flamboyant clown, sitting behind it.
'Of course…' Reznov thought to himself as he can only describe the nobleman in front of him was rather akin to a clown than a Lord.
"Hellllllloooo Mr. Reznov. It is an honor to finally meet you," the man known as Roswaal said.
"I am Margrave Roswaal L. Mathers and I am the lord of this land," he introduced himself. "Emilia has told me quite some fassssssscinating things about you and the crucial actions you made in saving her. No doubt worthy of a reward."
Reznov took off his hat and placed it on his chest in respect. "It is indeed a pleasure to finally meet you. My time in the country has been brief but rather exciting for an old man such as me."
"Woooow Reznov. You look much nicer than you were before!" Emilia stated happily as she admired his Dress Uniform.
Reznov chuckled. "Yes, Emilia. Formal occasion requires a formal attire, no?"
Roswaal smiled. "Welllll then, straight to business, shall we? What will it beeeee? Titles, fame, fortune? What is it that you desire, and I'll try my best to present it to you, within reason, of course."
Reznov straightened himself up and spoke to Roswaal.
"I can only assume Emilia has told everything that has transpired yesterday," in which Roswaal nodded.
"Yes. Quuiiiite the thrill that story she told me. It is no easy accomplishment to take on someone like the Bowel Hunter and live to tell the tale, let alone win. For that, a reward is surely in order."
Reznov cleared his throat.
"I am just simply an old man with no greater purpose in life now. I have left everything behind in the past and now just simply want to live in peace."
Roswaal eyebrows arched a bit. "Aahhhh…. I seeee… Although I think there is just more than meets the eye with you, I can understand where you are coming from," The nobleman said.
"With that… I know just the perfect reward for you, if of course, you are willing to accept it?"
Reznov nodded. "Let us hear it then."
"Ahhh… Woooonderfuullll…. For coming to the aid of the candidate to the throne of the great Dragon Kingdom of Lugnica, I hereby grant you a resident in my land, a perfect gift for a man with no place to call home.
Reznov smi~ 'Wait. What?'
Reznov eyes widened as he never suspected Emilia to hold such a high position in society, much less a candidate to the royal throne of Lugnica. "You? A possible future queen?" he pointed at Emilia on the side.
"Yes, she is," Roswaal added. "The Dragon Insignia is proof of her candidacy. Losing such an important item would be reaalllllly troublesome," the nobleman said as he shrugged.
"Eheheh…" Emilia chuckled to herself. "It was actually my first time in the Capital as well Reznov… I got so excited to look around that I got separated from Ram and let my guard down, leading to the insignia getting stolen."
Reznov sighed to himself. He's gotten himself involved in something really big and has now dived deeper into the fold.
"I really do appreciate your kindness Reznov. Without both you and Subaru, I don't think we would be standing where we are right now honestly. So… Thank you! I'm in your debt." Emilia smiled.
Reznov could feel the good radiance gleaming off the young girl as she literally oozed with joy and happiness. It was honestly a good feeling.
"It was nothing," Reznov responded.
Roswaal cleared his throat. "Now that everything is settled, I would like you to sign some documents so that I can grant you a residency here," as Roswaal took out some papers from his desk and scooted it across his desk to Reznov.
"Normally, one would meet the village elder and he or she would be the one to conduct this sort of business and give the papers to me for processing, but because of your special circumstance, I will do it personally for you," Roswaal explained as Reznov looked at the fine print as he briefly frowned.
"Is something bothering you good sir?"
Reznov groaned to himself a bit. "I… cannot read nor understand this…." he admitted embarrassingly.
"Oh my…" Roswaal said while putting a hand over his mouth.
"Oh dear. Such a fate has befallen our honored guest. He is now both are bumpkin and illiterate…" Ram said with little emotion. Almost as if she was looking down upon him even so than before.
Roswaal raised his hand to Ram. "It is fine… The fine print simply states that I will grant you a residency as long you follow the laws and taxes set in place," Roswaal explained as Reznov asked more in depth questions in which the nobleman answered for the next ten minutes or so.
"Hmm… I see now…" Reznov said as he thought over every terms and agreement. "Very well. I will agree to the terms and conditions." Reznov was given a small jar of ink a quill pen as he wrote his down his signature and print name in Cyrillic.
Roswaal took back the papers and checked over everything. "Interesting texts…" he said to himself, never have seen the Slavic letters before. Roswaal simply smiled as he tucked away the papers.
"Congratulations on your new home Reznov. I hope you will enjoy it here," Roswaal said. "I had especially picked a certain old resident that will fit your tastes. Nice, somewhat secluded, and quiet."
Reznov nodded to himself. 'Yes. That is just perfect,' he thought to himself.
"Ram will show you to your new residence. After that, how would you like to join us for dinner as welllllll tonight?"
Reznov thought it over for a moment. It would be incredibly rude to refuse obviously…
"I would be most honored…"
"Speeeeectacular!" the nobleman said. "Ram. If you would please?" he motioned to her.
"Yes, Lord Roswaal," she responded as she motioned Reznov to the door.
The veteran turned and walked towards the exit but turned around. "I will see you all tonight. Thank you for your hospitality," Reznov said as he placed his cap back on and exited the office.
Emilia followed suit to go see Reznov off before dinner, leaving Roswaal alone in his office, shutting the door behind her.
…
Roswaal happy demeanor soon turned a tiny bit serious.
"My, my, my…. The Gospel didn't say anything about him…"
The trio walked back to Subaru's room to retrieve the veteran's other belongings, much to Ram's annoyance of walking so much, and exited the mansion through the front entrance.
Emilia turned and faced Reznov.
"This is where I see you off Reznov. Thanks once again… for everything," Emilia said to the old man.
Reznov chuckled. "You are certainly welcome. Are you sure don't want to come with us to see the new home? You are most welcome to come visit anytime you know," Reznov offered.
Emilia looked away a bit. "Err… Well.. I do but… I- uh.. Have some important stuff to study for! Yeah, so I might not have time today unfortunately..."
Reznov raised an eyebrow, but had no reason to distrust her now.
"Understood. But my offer still stands. Feel free to come by anytime," Reznov replied. "I will see you at dinner then."
With that, Reznov turned and wave while following Ram out the gate while Emilia waved back.
…
For a moment, Reznov earlier thought he saw her a bit hesitant and perhaps… sad?
…
The former soldier and maid continued their walked down the path towards the village.
Reznov looked around some more as he walked on the nice stone road as he admired the outdoors around here. Trees just about everywhere. The forest. Felt sort of like home. He was no stranger to the outdoors as he personally preferred its tranquil feeling from outside the city life in Leningrad, his birthplace.
Reznov eyed the pink haired maid once more.
Ram began to feel irritated have eyes watching her back so intently.
"If you have something to say or ask, I suggest you do so now."
"Very straight forward you are I see…" Reznov replied. "What is Emilia's problem with coming to the village with us? Even I can tell she was lying. But for what reason?"
Ram sighed. "You ask troublesome questions but I will forgive you this once since you are an 'outsider'".
"You at least know of the story of the the Witch of Envy I suppose?" she asked.
Reznov furrowed his brows, trying to remember what he heard from Kadomon, the fruit vendor, in the Capital.
"All I know is that saying that certain name is Taboo for whatever reason…" he replied.
Ram continued on forward and kept walking and answered him, "At least you know that much I suppose. But I will give you a quick run down."
"Satella is the name of the Witch of Envy who destroyed over half world over 400 years ago. She is always described as a half-elf with silver hair. Just like Lady Emilia."
Reznov could see where she was going with this… Why Emilia made great efforts to push away people she initially meets unless they need help. To be met with animosity for looking like someone who caused such destruction so many lifetimes ago. Did everyone fear the Witch that much?
"Poor girl…" Reznov said rather sympathetically.
"Indeed. Which is why Emilia is hesitant to go to the village often because many of the adults will fear her. That will only hurt her standings in the upcoming race for the throne…" Ram said.
"I see…" he replied, pondering.
"However, you are perhaps one of the first to accept her as herself and nobody else," Ram said admittingly. "Both you and I know that Lady Emilia already considers you a good acquaintance, so I suggest you tread carefully if you decide to ruin her trust, because I will be sure to make you regret it," Ram warned.
"Feh… I would not stoop as low to upset someone over something like this, Emilia has done no wrong whatsoever… it would be terribly misguided to judge her based on her appearance" Reznov retorted.
"Good," Ram replied. "Then we are at an understanding."
Ram lead on without saying anything more, leaving Reznov to ponder on the situation.
The two had began to approach the village but came to a fork in the road. One led to the main village while the other lead off road to a decent sized cabin in a small encirclement of forest.
If one was coming from the village, it would be very hard to notice the property at all unless you came from the direction of the mansion. 'Weird,' Reznov thought to himself, but paid no mind to it as he ventured on forward with the maid towards the cabin.
It looked rather old but was in actually quite good shape to live in. The two walked in from the front entrance as Ram unlocked the door with a set of keys.
"Just to let you know, the last tenant passed away in this residence. A creepy odd fellow but never really bothered anyone. It remained unoccupied ever since. Will this be a problem?"
"Of course not," Reznov deadpanned. No sense in wasting space to live in.
"Good. I wouldn't have cared either way," Ram bluntly said as well tossing the keys to him in which he snatched midair.
She was slowly getting on his nerves… Decent around her master but wields a sharp tongue when away.
"I will be leaving you now, dinner will be served around sunset. See you then I suppose."
At that, Ram turned and left without a care, leaving the old veteran alone in the small residence.
"Feh… good riddance.." Reznov muttered to himself as he looked around. Around the cabin, there were essentials, such as a small kitchen area with a stove and food storage area, a small bedroom, bathroom area, etc…
The residence had only one exit and two windows. Absolutely everything was dusty and cobwebs littered every corner of the home. He obviously had some home improvements to do.
Crystal lights were fixed in various places of his home as they seemed to react to touch as it glowed on and off. Magic he guessed.
Reznov dusted off a wooden chair before sitting on it and took a load off. The chair creaked much to his annoyance but ignored it either way.
So much has happened since he arrived here. Meeting new friends, fighting off a deranged killer, and now finally settling down. He tossed his Papasha onto the bed.
He sighed to himself.
"Is this it? Is this where I can finally settle down and live the rest of my life in peace?"
So many things ran through his head at this point. It felt like all the burden in the world has been lifted off of his shoulders.
There were no grudges he can hold onto. No orders to receive. No Glorious Soyuz to defend. Perhaps there were some regrets, but overall, everything is now behind him.
For a long time, the only thing that kept him going was his burning desire for vengeance upon those who betrayed him, but no more. He knew he had finally won thanks to Mason.
He is free.
"Oh… right."
His thoughts drifted towards the bag once more. He needed to finally take a look at all of its contents once and for all.
He unraveled the strap that had shut the bag tight and began to, or at least, tried to dump everything on the table. Didn't seem to work however… Maybe he can only pull items out one by one?
He has been aware this bag is not a normal one and perhaps is the work of this so called "Magic" this world revolves and functions around so much.
So many questions, so little answers.
Reznov once again stuck his hand into the dark abyss of the bag of wonders and felt something papery.
He pulled it out.
It was a simple small note. Reznov began to read the very neat handwriting.
"I know that things may seem a bit strange and odd to you. I know you have many questions that need answering. But we shall cross that bridge when we shall come to it. In this bag, the kids and I have given you the bare essentials (and then some) in what you need to complete the task I have entrusted you with. The task you ask? Well… It's rather complicated to explain on a small note. I'll just have to meet you soon. Take care for now. - M"
Reznov arched his eyebrows in confusion. Who is this 'M'? Is that person the one responsible for his arrival to this new world? What is this 'Task' it speaks of?
This revelation had definitely raised some red flags (pun intended) for Reznov. The old man casted himself into deep thought. 'My coming of here was no coincidence…?'
…
Reznov set aside the note and brushed off any negative thoughts of a possible existential crisis.
'Focus Viktor… Focus on what is at hand here…'
'I will not be a pawn in another sick twisted game…'
He returned his attention to the bag stuck his hand in once more, trying to forget what he had just read.
He felt around and felt something with a hard and cold surface. Like metal. He pulled but realized it had some heft to it. But fortunately it was not that heavy so he pulled out the mysterious object.
His eyes began to widen as a familiar shape was coming out the bag.
It was a Mosin Nagant Sniper Rifle with a PU scope.
He awed at the familiar weapon as it was rightfully returned to him after being separated for too long.
He did a chamber check as he worked the bolt and ejected a round, looking into the internal magazine. He counted five rounds. Four in the gun, and one on the floor at the moment.
He worked the gun's action once more to test functionality and ejected another round. Smooth like butter. The old man chuckled to himself and grinned a bit.
But wait… Something wasn't right. He now counted six rounds. Four in the internal magazine and two on the floor… This is just absurd. Is it possible his guns just won't run out of ammunition?
It had finally hit him.
So that's the reason why the magazine for the 'Papasha' didn't seem to be nearly empty at all. He knew he had expended more ammunition than what the original weapons magazines would normally had. The Submachine gun only held thirty-five rounds in its box magazine while his tokarev held only eight rounds. He had definitely fired more than what was supposed to be held.
'Is this all his doing?'
Reznov could not comprehend such absurdity. But did not argue against it. He liked guns after all and not facing an ammunition problem was the soviet soldiers dire wish during the early parts of the war.
"Thanks. I guess, 'M'…"
The man continued his plundering of the 'Magical bag of wonders', he now dubbed.
He immediately grabbed the next thing he felt in the bag and pulled it out. A medium sized package. The man shook the package as he can hear the tumbling and clinking of small individual parts and such in it. It sorta was heavy like his rifle too.
He opened the flap of the box and tore off the paper cover and peered inside to grin once more as he knew what the contents were.
The very first thing he saw when opening the box was a small booklet. Or rather an instruction manual really. It just simply read: Avtomat Kalashikova.
The phrase translated to: Automatic rifle of Kalashnikov.
The AK-47.
Or to be more precise, the AK variant model, AKM, was what the box held.
Behind the manual were the rest of the parts for the weapon neatly placed in plastic baggies.
Reznov has heard of the legendary rifle's reputation while confined in the gulag. A rifle made by a man who wanted nothing more than it to be used to defend the motherland. A design so simple, yet effective to utilise and produce easily. It was the Kalashnikov. Named after its inventor, Mikhail Kalashnikov, a former tanker in the Soviet Red Army during World War II. A true comrade, Reznov thought.
Only during the Vorkuta uprising and escape was when he had the chance of using such a rifle. He liked it very much. Not too much recoil, but was simple, durable, and robust. Just like how all weapons were supposed to be made. He ALMOST liked it just as much as his trusty sniper rifle.
And now here it was, just waiting to be assembled.
"I suppose I'm going to need to borrow or buy some tools to put all this together…" Reznov said to himself as he closed the package and set it aside, careful to not lose any small parts.
The man looked around and realized he might have to make more room to unload everything in the bag as everywhere just about dirty or dusty.
It was clean up time.
Roswaal Mansion:
"Really? Reznov is going to live near the village now?" Subaru asked to the half-elf girl as the both of them sat in the front garden of the mansion, enjoying the wonderful morning.
Emilia nodded. "Yup. We should be expecting him tonight for dinner since Roswaal invited him as well."
"That's nice I suppose. Guess we will all see Reznov a little more often now maybe since he lives nearby," Subaru said to the girl.
Just then, the pink haired maid appeared in the courtyard and approached the two.
"Lord Roswaal has recently come back from his trip, now that our fine guest well and rested, he would like to meet the guest now."
The three then began their walk to Lord Roswaal's office in which Subaru was guaranteed to do the unexpected once more.
Reznov's Cabin:
Reznov wiped his forehead from the sweat running down his face as he examined his work.
The had finally swept the wood floor from most the dirt, dust, and cobwebs in the corner. He had also just about dusted every appliance in this living space. The only thing that had bothered him the most was that damned wooden chair. He did not have the appropriate tools to fix its infernal creaking.
For the past six hours or so, he had focused on re-arranging the home to his liking and cleaning up.
He could tell no one has lived here for quite some years due to the dust that had collected up. He could not stop sneezing during the initial cleaning. He had opened the door and windows wide and let out all the dust in the home.
Reznov now stood, admiring his work as the house seemed much more alive now that all the dust was gone.
Earlier he had realized he was not dressed appropriately to do clean up duties in his Dress Uniform so he searched his bag once more and eventually found some more spare clothes. Most of them were army fatigues and t-shirts but they perfectly just fine for him as he changed into them before working on the house.
By the time he was done, he had quit beating around the bush and finally dove into the bag for the final time. He will uncover everything inside, as he had a table sprawled out in the middle of the home and sat on a chair.
While during the emptying of the bag, Reznov was indeed surprised with the myriad of items inside. Not including his Mosin and Kalashnikov rifle kit, he had pulled out two small boxes which contained a German P08 Luger pistol in one and a Walther P38 in the other. Two pistols he was very familiar with during the war.
The Luger, a beautiful pistol in his personal opinion. Though the German eagle and Nazi emblem engraved on the handle did leave a bad taste in his mouth.
The Walther P38 was more often commonly found in his opinion from German soldiers and were often incorporated into his units from captured German weapons caches. Fairly reliable, is what he would deem the pistol.
Next were a few German anti-tank weapons. But more specifically, Panzerfausts. He remember he and his men also captured some of these weapons back in the war and used them back against the German armored vehicles.
Although easily mistaken for some sort of weird club, the weapons look should not fool you as it can easily be launched at a close range and pierce tank armor. Though it was not as good as other anti-tank launched weapons at the time. One of the few silver linings was that it was simple to produce, cheap, and effective.
Reznov dug his hands into the bag once more and pulled out what looked to be a bunch of manuscripts, books, and rolled up paper. He's skimmed through a few only deduced that they looked like schematics for machine parts and other sorts. Maybe he will read through those when he REALLY gets bored, he joked to himself as he returned his attention back to the bag.
Reznov heaved as he pulled out what appeared to be a wooden frame with other various mechanical parts. It took him awhile to recognize what they all were meant to be for. An old Vinyl music player! His father used to own one of these back before the war...
"I suppose this 'M' is rather more thoughtful than I thought he'd be," Reznov said to himself as he continued to pull out even more war memorabilia from the bag, ranging from medals, ceremonial daggers, helmets, even old photos from the war.
"He or she seems to also know much about me…" Reznov once again said to himself as he looked through an old photo album containing various photos from his early youth to the end of the great war.
Reznov set aside those album and focused the bag once more. The sun was setting, marking the end of the day and the beginning of the night. He deduced he had enough time to look through the bag at least once last time before expecting one of Roswaal's servants to come knocking at his door for his dinner invitation.
Things have actually been quite content and fine this evening, despite guessing that his coming of here was indeed no accident. As long he can live in some relative peace, he did not care.
The next item he pulled out of the bag was actually the heaviest as he pulled the mystery item from the sack and unceremoniously placed it on the table in which it made an very audible metallic thunk.
Reznov examined the item in curiosity. "What is this…?"
It deduced the item to be some sort of heavy duty metallic canister. Kinda looks rather odd for a methane tank in his opinion.
The old man kept rolling around the canister looking for some sort of inscription or markings before eventually finding it.
At that very moment, his heart sunk a bit.
It was that inscription. The one he saw in that frozen wasteland, far from home. The one he could never forget as it took everything from him. He could still feel the chills run deep down in him to this very day.
…
"N6"
The familiar German eagle enveloped the numbered inscription. It was the secret weapon developed by the Germans, late into the great war, but was never used in combat.
Reznov was shocked and could not take his eyes off the damn symbol.
Nova 6.
Reznov settled down and slowly collapsed onto a nearby wooden chair, hands clasped into his face with exasperation.
"Why…? Why..?" he said to himself. "Why would you give me such a terrible thing? What would you have me do with this?"
Reznov's realization of living a peaceful life with the rest of his years began to waiver.
He was fine with being given the other items before, but this was a bit too much as it simply put him over the edge. No one should have such a horrible weapon such as this. He did his best to make sure of that back then in 1945 when he sunk the German freighter ship containing all of the Nova 6 those many years ago. But he merely delayed the process… having Mason finish the job for him.
A loud knock on the door quickly snapped the old man from his deep thoughts as he fumbled to quickly place the gas canister back into the sack, and stuffing said sack under his bed.
Reznov answered the door.
The familiar bright face of the boy with sharp eyes came into appearance. It was Subaru.
"Hey Reznov!" Subaru greeted with a smile. His face grew with concern however as saw Reznov seeming to be a bit stressed.
"Is something wrong?" he asked the old man.
Reznov was quick to pick on this as he straightened himself out to not cause any worry.
"None at all. Just very dusty around here in these old homes… and I have these uh… how you say… 'allergies'?" the old man said, making up an excuse on the fly.
"Oh… okay then," Subaru said, falling for his excuse. "But anyways, I just got hired as a butler for my reward! Isn't that great?!"
…
"I suppose so… for what reason however? Not like that having a job like that is a bad thing of course," Reznov asked. He did after all decided to go with a reward that gave him a new home.
Reznov now wanted to hear Subaru's reasonings for asking for employment to the Roswaal Mansion. At least, anything to get his mind off what he had discovered a few minutes before…
Subaru grinned once more. "To stay close to Emilia-Tan once more of course!" Subaru said, ever so dreamily.
"Oh…" Reznov deadpanned.
'I do not think this obsession, is very healthy… Perhaps I should have a talk to him later on if this keeps persisting…' Reznov thought to himself. He knew the boy was somewhat fond of the girl who helped saved him but to this extent…
Reznov shrugged to himself and sighed. Young men and their actions can be rather a mystery sometimes. Perhaps this applied to all the youth.
"So what brings you to my new home? Did they send to you to come escort me to dinner?" Reznov asked in which Subaru nodded.
"Yup! This is my final duty for the day before I can retire for the rest of the night actually," Subaru replied. "So let's get going, shall we?"
Reznov looked back into his cabin, eyeing the incriminating item under his bed emotionlessly before stepping out and shutting the door behind him, locking it.
"Yes. Let us go."
With that, the two began their brief walk to the Roswaal mansion.
Little did they both know, events would take a wild turn for both of their lives from this point.
Extra content:
Reznov's weapons check:
Mosin Nagant 91/30 Sniper Variant (PU scope)- Favored bolt-action sniper rifle of the soviet army during World War II.
Effective firing range: 800m
Cartridge: 7.62 x 54R mm
Rate of fire: Subject to user
Muzzle velocity: 875 m/s
PPSH-41 - Commonly nicknamed "Papasha", this soviet Submachine gun was famed for its high rate of fire and was widely used throughout the Red Army as a weapon for close combat and was very effective during battles in urban settings. Because of it's stamped parts, it was rather cheap to produce and field to many men.
Effective firing range: 150-200m
Cartridge: 7.62 x 25 mm Tokarev
Rate of fire: 900-1000 rounds per minute
Muzzle velocity: 488 m/s
AK-47 Variant (AKM) - A Russian designed assault rifle famed for it's fire power, reliability, cost efficiency, and ruggedness. The AKM design was the first model to be made with a stamped receiver in which production cost became much cheaper to produce these rifles with as other defects were corrected with this design as opposed to the previous variant in production before. Many modern AKs are made based on this design.
Effective firing range: 300-500m
Cartridge: 7.62 x 39 mm (M43)
Rate of fire: 600 rounds per minute
Muzzle velocity: 715 m/s
TT-33 Pistol - Known as the "Tokarev", it was the favored pistol during World War II by the soviets as it had a reputation to handle abuse under strenuous conditions. Pistol like these were often only issued to officers.
Effective firing range: 50m
Cartridge: 7.62 x 25 mm Tokarev
Rate of fire: Subject to user
Muzzle velocity: 450 m/s
P08 Pistol - Known most commonly as the German "Luger", this pistol utilises a special toggle-lock action which inserted and extracted rounds into and out of the gun's chamber and worked in conjunction with the gun's sights. They were reliable pistols despite the old design dating back to 1900 and was eventually replaced by the Walther P38 as they were cheaper to produce. They are known quite well known to be prized war trophies to allied troops during the war.
Effective firing range: 50m
Cartridge: 9x19mm Parabellum
Rate of fire: Subject to user
Muzzle velocity: 350-400 m/s
Walther P38 - The replacement side arm for the costly P08 Luger, the Walther P38 features a locked-breech reloading action. It is the first pistol of its kind to feature both a double and single action trigger. This design would later inspire the design of many modern pistols.
Effective firing range: 50m
Cartridge: 9x19mm Parabellum
Rate of fire: Subject to user
Muzzle velocity: 365 m/s
Panzerfaust 60 - An inexpensive, recoilless anti-tank weapon used during World War II by the Germans.
Effective firing range: 60m
Caliber: 149mm shaped charge warhead (HE)
Muzzle velocity: 45 m/s
Stielhandgranate (model 24)- The standard german stick grenade during World War II that utilises a pull cord than ran through the bottom and uses friction to ignite the explosive filament inside the head. The unique stick design allowed the explosive to be lobbed farther than the average ball shaped grenade of the allies.
Effective throwing range: 25m
Kill radius: 2-3m (Shockwave) (May vary differently with metal sleeve)
Nova 6 - A top secret Bio Chemical weapon created amidst World War II by Nazi Germany and was later seized and improved upon by the Soviets. Simply inhaling the volatile substance would cause a person to vomit and cough uncontrollably, bleed from the eyes, develop necrosis by blackening of skin, muscle convulsions, and a most painful and agonizing death, all within 10-20 seconds.
This weapon became dangerously close to being used during the cold war by Soviet General, Nikita Dragovich, as a grand plan to destroy the United States through sleeper agents but was fortunately stopped by Alex Mason with the initial help by Reznov by reversing his brain washing.
Northern Blade - A dark curved blade from Gusteko, formerly belonging to Elsa the Bowel Hunter. Reznov appropriated it from her as a replacement for his other machete.
