Chapter 14: A rude awakening

Nikolai liked the aesthetic of knights and their swords. But he hated the idea of having to carry one. Much to his dismay Rosswal had convinced him of the necessity of carrying one at least for tradition sake. While he thought the idea of wielding a sword and a revolver was cool he knew he didn't have the skill to pull that off without slicing his throat by accident.

The ride to the castle was a bit tense. Nikolai had learned a lot in two days. Things that made him worry. His first worry went to the witches. Although Beatrice spoke with only love for her 'mother' the image that formed in his mind wasn't one of a caring mother. The image that he formed was more of a sociopath.

That book... One message in 400 years and then radio silence. It sounded like a cruel experiment more than anything. Of course he kept his thoughts to himself.

He also now knew why he had a bad feeling about Rosswal. His family had been involved with the witch. To be fair that had been 400 years ago but that didn't mean he was free of any... Dealings with Echidna. Then again she had died 400 years ago.

And Satella... Beatrice had been more hesitant about speaking about her. He only knew she consumed all the other witches in her road of death. Destroying the world sounded cliche to be fair but she had been close to doing it.

That didn't explain his ability to return from death nor her obsession with him. Too many questions were left unanswered. How he ever saw Tanya? Was that his mind trying to keep him from falling apart?

What about the whole parallel worlds? Then again he doubted even the eggheads at the Ecologists had the answer.

But the thing that unnerved him the most was that feeling of being watched. At different times of the day he would feel as if someone were stalking him. And it definitely wasn't someone he knew. When he caught Rem or Emlia staring at him it felt different.

This was dread it was as if someone was hunting him. Normally it happened when he was in public. He would never catch a clear image of the person. He would only catch some white glimpses before it disappeared.

"You ready Emilia?" He asked seeing the worry on her face. He had helped her these last few days to prepare. While he had no political experience he knew how to hold his ground in the messy thing that was the market. He learned a few tricks from Sidorovich which helped him get some good prices off artifacts. After all, if you aren't careful you would be running on loses quickly.

"Y-yeah!" She said a bit unsure.

"You got this calm down. Remember! Wait for the perfect time and then surprise them! They won't know what hit them!"

"You truly aaaaaaaare full of surprises Nikolai" Rosswal said amused. Nikolai saw Beatrice throw a dirty glare at him but acted as if he didn't notice it.

"As long as we make a good impression. We are already on the backfoot if I'm correct?"

"Yeeeeees, Miss Emilia's addition has caused... Quite the stirring."

"Well time to rock the house then!" Nikolai said grinning.

The palace was huge. Even if he were to compare it to the castles of old history books it pailed in comparison. The luxury! The extravagance... It was amazing! And at the same time he felt kind of disgusted. While Rosswal did live in a huge mansion he was at least kind enough to give Nikolai funds to help the people.

Meanwhile the palace was a place of opulence which made the state of the slums all the more infuriating. But Emilia had the good of the people at heart. Something he didn't know if he could say for the rest of the candidates.

"Are you okay I suppose?" Beatrice asked. Nikolai quickly snapped and smiled.

"Yup! Just got some things in my mind." He said chuckling ruffling her hair much to her dismay.

They were all taken to a large waiting room. The place was filled with knights guarding the area then again he could see why. Although he kept going over things with Emilia with some surprising feedback by Beatrice he noticed glimpses of the other candidates.

A woman with green hair in some sort of captain's uniform. Next to her the Wilhelm and Felix. She seemed to have powerful allies and that was worrisome to say the least.

He saw a woman with purple hair discussing something with Julius. She wore something a bit more easter European looking. A large white scarf, something that looked like a ushanka and more furs than he had ever seen someone wear.

And last but not least a redhead girl followed by a knight with one arm. Nikolai had read a bit on each candidate and they truly brought different points of view to the election.

The captain, the businesswoman and the Lucky one. They all had impressive resumes for different reasons. And they all had an advantage over Emilia who had pretty much been an unknown up until recently. That was until some of Nikolai's deeds were accredited to her.

In a bit of political manuvering Nikolai and Rosswal had built her reputation as a woman of the people. Someone who would look out for the little guy. Although her looks brought some vocal detractors the bigger the reputation the harder it would become for people to discredit her on appearances alone.

Nikolai noticed the amount of eyes on them. He didn't know what was stranger. Emilia's appearance, his own armor, Beatrice or Rosswal.

"We certainly pop out like a sore thumb" Nikolai said chuckling. "Anyways remember what we talked Emilia. It will all pan out well."

Nikolai was impressed at the sheer magnitude of the event. He was standing next to Reinhart hundreds of knights were gathered with also a legion of what he thought were maybe nobles. Beatrice stood next to him staying close to his side.

"Well... This is... Something else..." Nikolai mused watching the gathering.

"It is quite a sight" Reinhard said smiling at him. "Now that we have more time. How have you been adapting to life at Lugnica?"

"To be honest it's much better than where I used to be" Nikolai said. "And I get to live a good life without living off whatever food I got."

"I heard from Reinhard you've traveled from far away. Is that true?" Julius asked.

"Yup, doubt I could go home if I wanted to" he said chuckling. Before he continued he felt someone jump on him.

"Nikolai! Good to see you again!" He heard the voice say. He quickly identified it as Felix. He had only caught glances of him during the preparation but now he had somehow got the jump on him.

"Jesus, Marie and Joseph!" He said a bit too loudly.

"Get your hands off him I suppose!" Beatrice said getting between the too.

"Sorry, nya!" Felix said snickering.

"Your contracted spirit seems to be very protective of you" Julius said with a light smile.

"Her name is Beatrice, not spirit and yes she is awfully jealous as you can see." Nikolai said sneaking in a jab at her.

"I am not jealous I suppose!" She said defending herself.

"You totally are" he said grinning. His attention turned to the four candidates. He could see the nervousness in Emilia's body language but she seemed to be containing it well enough. Standing proud as he had taught her. "This will certainly be interesting..."

"It's an event like no other" Julius said. "Doubt there will ever be another one like it again."

"Stand at attention! The council of sages have arrived!" The knight captain said and almost in a robotic fashion they all stopped talking. Nikolai quickly followed suit trying to copy their stance. "It was a year ago when the royal family one by one went into hiding starting with the king-"

"I know you want to mount a show but I have stuff to do. Like we say in Karigari time is money." The purple haired woman said.

"Hmm that accent sounds asian though I can't quite pinpoint it..." Nikolai muttered.

"That would be Kansai" a voice said. Nikolai noticed it was the one armed knight standing behind him.

"Hmm... I see... Nikolai Kyznetsov nice to meet you." Nikolai said not looking back.

"Name's Al. Nice armor. Looks futuristic. And that name sounds as Russian as can be." The man said surprising Nikolai. This man knew about Russia? He probably came from his world... Or some version of it.

"Close, Ukrainian. You seem to know a lot."

"Yeah, like the fact guns seem pretty useful here."

"They are... You know we should talk more later.. Al" he said a bit on edge.

"Of course pal" he said in a friendly tone. Nikolai noticed Beatrice listening closely on them. He let out a soft chuckle. He would need to explain more...

"I agree." The green haired lady said.

"Lady Crusch. Should the head of family Katsten be saying things like that?" The knight captain questioned.

"I understand the necessity of formalities but time is limited." She replied in a commanding tone. "It would be wise to tell us why we were summoned. Although I have a vague idea of why.

"Do you know the purpose of this meeting?" One of the sages asked.

"I do lord Miklotov. A party am I right? A sort of formality before we face off as rivals. You want us to get to know each other more." He said confidently.

"No that is not the reason" the sage responded.

Crusch looked surprised at this and turned to the knights. "Felix isn't that what you told me?"

"Aww.. I just said there could be a party" Felix said innocently making Nikolai chuckle.

"I see... It seems I precipitated." Crusch said. "I apologize for my interruption I retract my statement."

"Damn... She sounds like a Duty general" Nikolai muttered a bit taken aback by the formality.

"Hey hey! Although you may retract your statement mine still stands" the purple haired woman said. "We already know about the selection don't we?"

"I-I think we should maybe listen-" Emilia said softly before being cut off.

"I wasn't talking to you." The woman quickly responded.

Nikolai glared at her direction thankful his helmet covered his true feelings. His hands clenching as pain ran down them. He felt soft hands hold onto his. Beatrice seemed to notice his anger and was trying to calm him down. He smiled softly as he relaxed a bit.

"I'm not one for formalities. Could you please explain to us why we are here?" He said surprising everyone. Nikolai decided to take a gamble. If there was no respect for Emilia yet he would make sure everyone knew that he was not to be messed with and he was fully backing her.

"Lady Emilia is that your knight? Have you not explained it to him yet?"

"N-no" she said softly.

"Very well" the knight captain said. "We have gathered all the qualifying candidates because of the prophecy written on the dragon tablet. That one day 5 candidates capable of ruling the country would appear. And we would have to choose one to make a pact with the dragon.

"Betty, I might suck at math but there's only four of them right?"

"Yea there are I suppose." She confirmed to him. Nikolai quickly understood what was happening...

"They found the fifth..." Nikolai muttered.

"Indeed we have" Reinhart said surprising him. "The royal selection hasn't started but today history is put in motion."

"Knight Reinhard Van Astrea take a step forward" the knight captain ordered. He did as he was told and bowed his head.

"Honorable members of the council of sages I, knight Reinhard Van Astrea am happy to announce I have completed my mission. The fifth and last candidate to the throne has been found." As soon as he finished Nikolai heard the doors open he turned his head and he gasped. His eyes widened and his jaw almost fell to the floor as he saw the figure approaching. "This lady who I serve as my queen. Is called Felt!"

Nikolai didn't know if he should laugh, be concerned or be confused on how Felt had managed to get involved in this. Last time he checked she was a street rat much as he once was. She slowly walked towards the center of the room with a grace he hadn't expected.

"Lady Felt, thank you for gracing us with your presence." Reinhard said as he bowed his head. Felt stopped in front of them.

"Reinhard..." She said softly. She walked toward him and smiled. Nikolai looked curiously as she smiled, Reinhard returning the gesture. Right before she lifted her dress and threw a kick which Reinhard caught with surprising quickness. "You idiot! You drag me into this without explaining and put me inside this thing!?"

"You still have spunk huh?" Nikolai said chuckling.

"Wait? Nikolai?" She asked confused. Nikolai removed his helmet and smiled.

"Glad to see I make an unforgettable impression."

"I don't understand this reaction? Is the dress not to your liking?" Reinhard asked leaving Nikolai flabbergasted. How dense could he be?

"I'm tired of all of this!"

"Lady Felt if you're done talking with old acquaintances please step forward."

Felt did as told. She wasn't amused by any of this. "So what do you want from me?"

"Please act more lady like" Reinhard said pouring salt on the wound. "But firstly please give me your hand. He placed an insignia on her hand and it shined bright. Everyone in the room gasped. Nikolai looked curiously at the event and chuckled. "As you all can see the insignia recognizes her as a candidate and accepts her participation. I believe it's time to start the royal selection." All the knights took their hand up to their chest.

"Even if the dragon recognizes her as a candidate don't you think there is an issue?" One of the noblemen said.

"Are you implying we knights are wrong?" The knight captain asked. The knights glaring down at the nobles. 'Well this is interesting' Nikolai thought to himself.

The nobles backed down and so the introduction started. Although Nikolai tried paying attention he felt off. He felt uneasy and if there was something he trusted was his gut.

"Betty... I feel something is off." He whispered at her. He saw her confusion at first but she nodded nonetheless.

Nikolai noticed how slowly the conversation shifted to Emilia. He heard some low blows.

"And why would we trust someone who looks like the witch!?" One of the nobles asked. Nikolai kept quiet for a second as he saw the hurt in Emilia's face.

"Come on Lia. You got this." He muttered to himself.

"M-my dreams may be hopeful but they're not stupid!" She began said a bit hesitantly. She turned to Nikolai who gave her a thumbs up. "My looks do not define who I am!" Silence filled the room. Nikolai grinned at her answer. She had nailed it better than even he expected.

Nikolai's happiness was cut short. He saw a familiar glint out of one of the windows. He grabbed Beatrice and dove.

"Sniper get down!" He yelled as a show rang out the bullet barely missing him. Then the room devolved into anarchy. He could see that whoever that sniper was they really wanted him dead.

"Betty lay suppressive fire!" Nikolai yelled as he tried to get a better shot off.

"What!?" She asked.

"You have any spell you can shoot at them!?" Nikolai clarified. A barrage of purple shards flew in the direction of the assailant. Smoke rose up from where the assailant used to be.

"Emilia are you okay?" Nikolai said quickly running towards her.

"Y-yes" she said a little shaken. He looked at her and smiled. "B-but why did they only try to kill you?" She asked worriedly.

"Heh... Who knows?" He said smiling trying to calm her down. "Do you think we got them Betty?" His question was answered as he saw a glint through the smoke. Time almost came to a stop as he put himself in front of Beatrice.

The shot rang out as Nikolai was pushed back by the impact. He saw the horror in Emilia's and Betty's eyes when he fell backward. Almost as if clockwork a barrage of shards was shot in the direction of the would be sniper.

Nikolai groaned, although his armor had taken the brunt of the hit it still hurt. He wasn't bleeding but his right shoulder was killing him. As worried people surrounded him he caught the glimpse of a floor tile being moved. A familiar object being tossed in the middle of the room.

"Cover your eyes!" He bellowed. A bright flash blinded a lot of people in the room. A smoke bomb was also tossed in. Thanks to the visor in his helmet he could see the thermal readings in the smoke. He saw four people jump out of the hole. Three of them seemed to be carrying rifles. One of them the biggest of them all ran directly at Felt. He aimed quickly at the would be assailants and shot.

It was clear they weren't expecting good shots through the smoke. They fell to the ground groaning in pain. The biggest figure still running at felt. He was quickly stopped by Reinhard who cleared the smoke in one sword slash. Ignoring the worried pleas of those around him he stood up. He ran up to the injured assailants fear taking them over.

One of them trying to grab his gun only to be mowed down by him. The one next to him having his windpipe crushed by his boot. The last one froze in terror. Nikolai considering killing him too before doing something that no one expected.

"Betty save him." He simply said.

"What!?" She asked horrified.

"He's no used to us dead. We need to get information out of him." He said coldly. Against her better judgement she did as told. Nikolai knocked him out.

The next moments flew in a blur. Nikolai recognized the bigger man as Rom. There were calls for his immediate execution. Nikolai to everyone's surprise interceded on his behalf. The reason why? He never gave it.

Time had passed and Emilia's camp was in a common area with the other candidates. The room crawling with knights. A deep sweep of the palace was underway and it was decided it would be better to keep all of them in a secure area.

Nikolai sat on a chair checking his Kalashnikov. At this point it looked almost mechanical how he would keep checking his gun.

"Are you okay Nikolai?" A worried Emilia asked him. He looked up at her and smiled putting his gun down next to him.

"Of course I am. I should be asking you that question though" he said. "You weren't hurt right?"

"How can you be so okay with getting hurt!?" She asked as getting angry. Nikolai looked at her surprised. He knew both Emilia and Betty had taken his injuries the worst. Even if it was just a hit they took it personally. He groaned as he rubbed his temple.

"Betty, Emilia, would you mind coming a bit closer?" They did as told he took off his helmet and looked at them straight in the eyes. It took a lot for him to actually get them to look at him but when he did he flicked them both in the forehead.

"What was that I suppose!?" Beatrice asked confused.

"Both of you seem to not understand something. Let's start with Betty okay?" He said smiling.

"Beatrice I told you, I accepted the contract not out of me looking to get anything out of it but to make you feel better. You might think you have an obligation to keep me safe but you don't."

"But-"

"No buts shrimp!" He said flicking her forehead. "You two seem to not understand I am tougher than I look" he said smiling.

"But you could have died!" Emilia protested.

"I'm not the one who dies girls." He said chuckling dryly. "You know why I have so many scars? Because nothing and I mean nothing can keep me down."

"I'm your contracted spirit. I must protect you I suppose!"

"No, I want you to be happy. Live a life, I want to help you feel better Betty. My job is to protect those around me not the other way around."

"W-why? Why do you care so much?" Emilia asked tears forming in her eyes?

"Why? Simple really, I care about you both, I care about the people in the mansion. Rosswal? I don't really care but that's besides the point." He said getting a giggle out of Emilia. "Emilia want to help me? Remember your goals, fight for them. Betty want to help me? Be happy, live the life that was denied to you." They looked at him stunned. He smirked seeing his words had gotten through to them.

What he didn't expect was the hug Emilia gave him soon to be joined by Betty. It made him feel warm and fuzzy inside. He smiled as he hugged them back. He wanted to keep them all safe... Nothing would stop him.

And cut! chapter's done. Yes as you might have noticed by the chapter it is a rewritten version of last chapter as I wasn't happy with the ending. Now I've gone ahead and fixed some mistakes and changed some things around.