Chapter 13: Game of thrones

Nikolai had quickly noticed something about Beatrice. She was surprisingly possessive to the point it was almost comical. She had taken onto herself to always stay close to him. To always watch over him. She definitely was making up for all the time she spent alone.

Right now they were in the carriage on their way to the capital. Nikolai had been worried his exo was too heavy for the carriage but it surprisingly caused no damage. Nikolai was relaxing a bit. Finally having time to rest. He and the others had patrolled the area around the but there had been no traces of Monolith besides some totems they destroyed.

Beatrice snuggled against Nikolai hugging his arm. Nikolai saw an amused face on Emilia. She seemed to enjoy the change in Beatrice's attitude.

"So, Emilia are you ready?"

"Y-yes!"

"Remember what we talked about. They might try to taunt you most likely. Don't fall for it."

"I won't!"

"Damn right you won't! You are stronger than people give you credit for." Nikolai said, Puck, materialized on top of Emilia's head.

"You sly dog! Are you trying to create a harem?" Puck asked almost breaking Nikolai's mind.

"Fuck no!"

"Your reaction says otherwise."

"Excuse me! You don't even know what type of girl I like!"

"So what is your type?" Asked Puck, Nikolai quickly picked up the interest from Emilia and Rem.

"Did you... You steered this conversation into this huh?"

"You pick up fast! I really like that!" He said jokingly.

"Hmm... Dunno... I like women that are strong-willed. I like someone who I can count on." He explained quickly. I don't care about looks, to be honest, most of the time stalkers don't even see each other's faces."

"Hmm, what else?"

"Dunno. Chemistry? If I want to be with someone I'll just ask her out" he said. "I feel like this is an interrogation."

"Maybe it is."

"Stop Puck!"

"I'm just playing!" He said pouting. "It's good to see Beako so happy," he said giving a light smile.

"She's a total softy," Nikolai said hugging her and ruffling her hair as she struggled to break free. "She just has a rough outside."

"Stop it I suppose!" She complained.

"You enjoy it!"

"How would I enjoy being crushed by some oaf."

"Harsh words Betty!" Nikolai said dramatically. "But... I think we all need to talk seriously about the selection. You have an advantage over all of them."

"Really?" Emilia asked curiously.

"Of course, you're the unknown variable here. They don't know you as well as other candidates. You have the chance to surprise them!"

"Didn't you say you didn't have political experience?" Puck asked suspiciously.

"Of course I don't! But I was forced to sit through some negotiation between factions. I learned some things from that waste of time. God, I hate how they drone on and on..."

"This won't be better I suppose," Betty said.

"True! But... It's my job! Having to go to those negotiations was a matter of needing some sort of neutral party. And because it seemed everyone would mysteriously disappear on the eve of those meetings I was the sacrificial pawn."

"I'm sorry about bringing you into this..." Emilia said embarrassed. "I didn't know you disliked these things that much."

"Aw stop it, Lia. I made a promise. I will help you as best as I can! I'll always be there." Nikolai said getting a faint smile from Emilia. "Just make sure you don't lose your insignia this time!"

"That joke is in poor taste!" She said pouting cutesy. She definitely couldn't get angry in Nikolai's eyes.

"Come on! It's a joke! Besides without that, I wouldn't have met such amazing people" he said smiling warmly. Sure he had gone through hell, he had died. He had suffered but it was all worth it.

"You say such embarrassing things," Emilia said blushing.

"I-I'm also happy I met you," Rem said butting in.

"Yeah, you're all great... Anyways you remember what we planned right, Emilia?"

"Y-yes, we let them think they are pushing us around right?"

"Exactly. They will go for you sadly. Bigoted bastards... Anyways, you are ready for this! I believe in you! Speak the truth and never back down!"

They arrived at the villa that Rosswal had in the capital. Nikolai was seriously wondering how loaded he truly was. He knew he was the strongest mage in the kingdom so he guessed that was why. He never did bother asking him, while their goals aligned right now Nikolai knew Rosswal was the type of person to do whatever it took to reach his goal.

"So... What do we have to do today Emilia?" Nikolai asked as he put on his Exo.

"Well, today we are free... The royal selection doesn't start in three more days so we can maybe look for Reinhard?" Emilia suggested.

"Sure! Sounds great! Let me just help Rem get all the bags inside."

"T-that won't be necessary!" She said flustered. But Nikolai had already started taking the bags in. Rem was hard-working but... Sometimes Nikolai felt it was too much for the maid so he decided to help her every now and then even if it wasn't his job.

The capital was buzzing with life. People running up and down the streets it felt... Familiar in a strange way. But Nikolai had also noticed something that worried him. There was a tense atmosphere, he saw more guards than the last time he had been there. Something had changed... What? Nikolai didn't even fathom to speculate.

They arrived at the barracks, hopefully Reinhard would be around. If not then they would have to try another day. Nikolai had noticed how once again Emilia had her hoodie on.

"Emilia is it really necessary for you to wear that?" Nikolai asked with a sigh.

"Of course... I wouldn't want people to see you with a half-elf..." She said sadly. Nikolai felt his blood boil at this, the poor girl really had it hard.

"I prefer you don't hide the real you. If anyone has a problem then they can say it to my face" Nikolai growled.

"I wouldn't want to cause trouble."

"You won't. Come on relax! Personally, I like the elf ears" Nikolai said winking as Emilia turned red.

"You're just saying that to make me feel better..."

"Nope! I give you my word!" Nikolai said quickly. Hesitantly she slowly pulled her hoodie off her silver hair swaying in the wind. Nikolai smiled as she did. "See perfect!"

"You're saying embarrassing things..." She muttered.

"Come on! Remember have faith in yourself!" Nikolai quickly said. "Now... Let's find Reinhard!"

Nikolai quickly noticed the glares directed at them as they kept walking. They quickly dissipated once they saw him. His armor was intimidating and he was armed to the teeth. With one look their way people broke off eye contact.

"I'm sorry..." Emilia said.

"Don't worry, just a bunch of bigotted fucks. Right, Betty?"

"I would agree... But I would use less... Brutish language I suppose" Betty said. She held Nikolai's hand tightly almost as if he were to vanish if she let go.

"See! Don't worry we got you!"

"We?" Beako asked raising her brow.

"Yes we! I promise I will get you some sweets" Nikolai said.

"That will work I suppose," Betty said making Nikolai smirk. The girl really had a sweet tooth. They arrived at a huge door with guards flanking it.

"Do you think he is here?" Nikolai asked.

"If it isn't Lady Emilia," a voice said. Nikolai turned to face the voice. He saw a man in a knight uniform with purple hair approach them. He must be an acquaintance of Emilia. Nikolai thought to himself. "And you must be her knight?"

"Indeed, Nikolai. A pleasure to meet you" Nikolai said politely.

"Julius, the pleasure is all mine," he said extending his hand. He shook his hand, he noticed the firm grip the man held. He also felt something strange emanating from him. He couldn't put his finger on what but there was something off...

He kneeled and kissed Emilia's hand then turning to Betty and doing the same. Nikolai quickly saw Betty blush as she tried to form a cohesive sentence only for her to hide behind Nikolai.

"E-Even though you make my maiden heart flutter I will not fall I suppose!" Beatrice said making Nikolai laugh.

"This is rich! Sorry Julius" Nikolai said scratching his head. "Seems you can't compete with me!" He joked. Juliuus let out a small laugh.

"I'm sorry if I overstepped my boundaries," he said apologetically.

"I-its fine I suppose," Beatrice said.

"What do I owe the pleasure to for this visit Lady Emilia?"

"I have some things to take care of in the castle. We were also looking for Reinhard. Is he here?"

"He is indeed. I take it your knight would like to talk with him?"

"Yes, I owe him a lot. Wanted to say my thanks."

"Very well. I shall guide you to him and have guards escort Lady Emilia."

"Hmmm... Very well... Just make sure she is safe..." Nikolai said a bit uneasy.

"I give you my word," Julius said. Nikolai followed Julius through winding corridors until they arrived in front of a large door. Julius opened the door. Nikolai saw Reinhard inside with multiple knights around him. Suddenly Nikolai felt tense and he felt Beatrice tighten her grip around his hand.

"Nikolai it's good to see you again." Reinhard said with a smile on his face. Nikolai took a step forward and shook hands with him.

"Good to see you too. I was in town and I thought I could say hi" he said sarcastically making Reinhard laugh.

"Well it's good to see you friend," Reinhard said surprising Nikolai. Friend? Nikolai had only seen him once before and now he was calling him friend?

"Likewise... But judging by the atmosphere... There is something else... What do you need Reinhard?" Reinhard's smile disappeared. He looked apologetically at Nikolai and let out a sigh.

"As much as I would want this to just be a friendly encounter we need your help."

"What do you need?"

"Have you heard of the increase in raids around Lugnica?" Julius asked butting in.

"No I have not. I've been quite busy as of late."

"Lugnica has been suffering multiple raids on villages. Some get burned down, others start following a strange religion and others have their demi-human population systematically slaughtered only leaving humans alive." Reinhard explained.

"I'm sorry to hear, but I fail to see how this ties back to me" Nikolai simply stated. That was until Reinhard tossed him an item. Nikolai caught it and saw it was a pistol. His face darkened as he pieced it all together.

"I know you don't have anything to do with this. But I hoped you could help us understand" Reinhard said appealing to him.

"Well this is certainly from my land" Nikolai said as he took out the clip. He saw the knights around tense up and Beatrice ready up for combat. "I'm just inspecting! Everyone calm down!" Nikolai bellowed not really wanting to deal with bullshit this early. There weren't any real signs of any markings. "Hmm, anything else? I can't really tell you much from just a gun."

Reinhard signaled some knights and Nikolai saw them bring a large table with a cloth over it. They pulled the cloth off and Nikolai saw multiple weapons, some letters, outfits.

"Hmm, well this ought to help," Nikolai said as he walked towards the uniform. Nikolai wasn't surprised when he saw the Monolith insignia. "Of course Monolith..." He muttered.

"Excuse me?" Julius said. "Monolith?"

"A religious cult. Closest comparison would be the Witch Cult." Nikolai said, he saw the faces around him darken. "Still something does not fit."

"What do you mean?" Reinhard asked.

"Force converting? Sounds like them. Burning the villages? Sounds like them. But only killing demi-humans? That sounds like cleansing. They don't do that." Nikolai picked up the letter and read it. Slowly his neutral expression turned to one of worry. "What? What even is this?"

"What happened I suppose?" Beatrice asked worriedly feeling his dread mount up.

"This letter. It says that there was a rupture within the Monolith... Looks like they formed some sort of warbands. To be able to do that... God, how many of them are there?"

"How can we stop them?" Julius asked seriously.

"I don't know... I need to think..." Nikolai said as he kept reading. "They are warring due to differences in ideology it seems. The original Monolith, Word Bearers and... What? The Fourth Reich? Well, that would explain the ethnic cleansing..." Nikolai said. "Who would have guessed they would take that up."

"Take what up?"

"A name, one that for many is of ancient history. My family fought to defend against that threat during the great patriotic war." Nikolai explained as he checked the rest of the gear.

"What do you suggest we do?" Reinhard asked, Nikolai, say everyone looking at him expectantly.

"To be honest... Unless you can deflect bullets I would suggest you fortify the villages on the outskirts. Your weapons are inferior. Sure a sword is nice, but it doesn't matter if I can kill you without you even catching a glimpse of me."

"I see... Thank you for the information. Is there anything else you can tell us?"

"Guns are like bows, they need ammunition. So this leaves them with 2 options. They either have a steady supply coming from back home or they are making them. If the latter is the case then that means they have the resources. So I would suggest setting up more defenses around metal deposits."

"We appreciate the help." One of the knights said.

"No worries. Anything for the kingdom Lady Emilia loves so much" Nikolai said. He had a lot to think about but this was a golden opportunity to start planting some goodwill for Emilia.

"You're prepared for the royal selection I see," Reinhard said laughing.

"No one ever said a little push couldn't help," Nikolai said shrugging. "Anyways, if that is all I'll be going. I need to check up on Lady Emilia."

"Before you go," Reinhard said. He passed Nikolai a bag, he opened it and saw a lot of gold coins. "This is the Bowel Hunter's bounty."

"Well I wasn't expecting that," he said chuckling. "Appreciate it. Also, would you mind if I take some of the gear?"

"Why would we let you do that?" One of the knights said.

"Because you won't be using it. And this is too dangerous to be left loaded." He said taking out the clips. "Gun manipulation can be potentially lethal. If you don't know what you're doing you might end up hurting someone.*

"Very well," said a tall knight in what seemed to be imperial armor. He looked very different from the rest, so Nikolai thought he was the leader. "If we need more help may we call upon you?"

"Sure, you know where to find me," Nikolai said nonchalantly.

"Please give my regards to Lady Emilia," Reinhard said as Nikolai was guided out. Julius guided him through the corridors till they made it outside. He saw Emilia standing there worried two knights beside her.

"Hey, Lia. Reinhard sends his regards" Nikolai said smiling.

"I was so worried about you! I thought something happened!" She said as she hugged him taking him by surprise. She quickly let him go and blushed.

"Well I'll be taking my leave," Julius said bowing.

"Appreciate the help, Julius. I hope we meet again." Nikolai said giving him a smile.

"I hope so too," Julius said. Nikolai turned to a blushing Emilia grinning.

"So... When did you become so bold?"

"Stop teasing me!"

"But it's so easy! But really why would something happen?"

"You were taking too long," she said pouting.

"Not every delay means that I'm fighting for my life," Nikolai said chuckling before quickly picking Beatrice up. "Besides I have the coolest spirit by my side so nothing could ever hurt me," he said as she flailed around.

"Put me down right now I suppose!" She said to no avail before Nikolai let her go. He's laughing now bringing tears.

"Never change Betty." He said. "Welp anything else we have to do today?" Nikolai asked.

"Not really... We have some free time today. I already put everything in order." She simply said.

"Great! That means we can go shopping!" Nikolai said waving the bag filled with coins.

"Wait where did you get that?" Emilia asked surprised.

"Bounty for the Bowel Hunter it seems. Anyways... Let's go get some sweets. I did promise Betty!"

It had been a fun evening. Nikolai had a blast messing around the capital. He got to try new food. Buy new types of alcohol and he even bought gifts for the girls. He bought Beatrice a necklace. It was made out of silver and it had a ruby hanging from it.

He bought Emilia a bracelet he saw her staring at. Maybe the hardest thing to buy just for the sheer rejection she had at the thought of Nikolai buying her stuff. He had to practically beg for her to actually accepted. But once she did she looked pretty happy.

They had all gone to sleep only leaving Nikolai awake with Beatrice. He hadn't been able to give Rem her gift and he really wanted to see her face once she opened it.

"Betty, I'll go give Rem her gift I'll be right back," Nikolai said.

"Very well I suppose," she said while she read a new book Nikolai had bought her. Nikolai walked down the corridors, the night was quiet and the sky filled with stars. He slowly made his way to the kitchen where he saw Rem still washing dirty dishes.

"You never stop working huh?" Nikolai said from the door. Rem jumped in surprise at the sudden noise. "Sorry if I scared you."

"It no worries Nikolai," she said. "Are you hungry? I can make you something else to eat."

"No I'm fine." He said chuckling. "I actually was looking for you," he said walking closer.

"A-ah really? Is there something you needed?" She asked blushing.

"Just wanted to give you this," he said handing her a box. She slowly opened it and gasped. Inside was a necklace one made of silver with a blue gemstone. The craftsmanship was incredible. She had no words for this.

"I take it you like it?" Nikolai said smiling.

"I-I... I don't deserve this Nikolai" she muttered. He let out a sigh, she really needed to be more confident.

"Of course you do! Take it as a gift for all that you do."

"I don't need compensation..."

"Never said you did. Just wanted to show my appreciation." He said softly. "Come on put it on," Nikolai said smiling. She slowly took the necklace out of the box and slowly put it on. "See? Perfect!"

"T-Thank you," She said hugging him as she cried. He slowly stroked her hair smiling.

"No problem Rem, now let me help you with the dishes."

"I don't want to impose!"

"I insist."

Nikolai helped her finish with the plates and bid his farewell. He smiled at himself, he had made the people around him smile. It felt... Good.

"You ladykiller!" A familiar voice said. Nikolai looked confused as he saw Puck floating in front of him.

"Puck? Shouldn't you be... Asleep?"

"I should but I decided to use this time to talk with you." Puck said, Nikolai felt a chill down his spine but nodded regardless.

"What do you want to talk about?"

"I wanted to thank you for all that you've done for Lia. I never expected to see her this happy and confident. You have really been a good influence on her." He said smiling.

"I'm fucking awesome I know," he said jokingly.

"Thank the dragon she didn't pick up after your swearing," he said sarcastically. "But I really appreciate it... Also... Thank you for what you did for Beako... She deserved so much better."

"She really did... So tell me how long have you known her?"

"A bit longer than you. But she was comfortable around me and told me everything. I felt... Pity..."

"Do you know who made her wait 400 years? It seems extremely cruel to do that to someone."

"I do..." He said with a sigh. "But I can't tell you who it was. She's the only one who can."

"I see... Hey Puck... You think I'm doing the right thing?"

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"Am I really doing enough for everyone?"

"Why?"

"I just want to see everyone smile," Nikolai said leaning against the wall.

"I never took you for the naive one."

"Take it as my childish dream I guess."

"Well it's a noble one. And I'm not really the one to tell you what you have done right or wrong. But I know you've definitely made a good impact."

"Thanks... Anything else?"

"I wanted to ask you a favor."

"Sure, go ahead."

"Keep Emilia and Beatrice safe okay?"

"Huh? Sure? Why did you ask this all the sudden?"

"I just want to make sure you understand what you got yourself into. Now that you have a contract with Beatrice you have to put her above all else."

"Really?"

"Yea, that's what she expects. And deserves... But I want to make sure you don't ever forget about Lia."

"Never, I would die for her." Nikolai quickly said earning a giggle from Puck.

"I know, you truly are an odd one you know that?"

"I've heard a bit about that."

"Well... I think my work here is done" Puck said yawning.

"Sure Puck. See ya tomorrow."

"Bye!"

Nikolai saw Beatrice sitting on the chair still reading her book. Nikolai chuckled at the sight of it. "I take it you enjoy it."

"I do in fact" she simply stated. "Thank you I suppose."

"No problem. I thought you might want a change of pace after reading all those books from the library" Nikolai said jumping on the bed. "What are all those books about anyways?"

"Forbidden knowledge I suppose" she simply stated. "Now that I'm contracted to you. You may use the library at your own discretion."

"Really?"

"Yes. My contract stated that, 'that person' would inherit the forbidden library I suppose."

"Well... That's something I didn't expect. Betty... Who did you do that contract with?" Nikolai asked curiously. He saw Beatrice tense up on the question.

"That would be my mother I suppose..." She softly said clutching the book close to her.

"If I may ask... Who was your mother?" He saw her struggle to say the words he was about to tell her she didn't need to say when she spoke up.

"The witch of greed... Echidna" she said as Nikolai went wide-eyed.

"So... You knew the witches?"

"I did I suppose..."

"I see... This is a sore subject. I apologize."

"It's okay I suppose. I am your contracted spirit I'm at your order."

"You may be but I see you more as a companion," Nikolai said smiling. "I would like to know more about Echidna if you want to talk about it."

"I-I want to I suppose..." And so Nikolai listened to Beatrice as she told him the story of Echidna and her unending lust for knowledge.

Far away from the capital a secret war raged. A man stood watching as a village burned a black book in his hands. "Let the zone sort them out..." He looked up at the stars and puffed smoke from his cigar. "We are so close... Just wait a little longer..."

And cut! Another chapter done! Thank you for all the feedback and support guys! You really make this worth it! Anyways as always feedback is welcomed! UltimateMetroMan out!