Disclaimer: This fic takes place in the timeskip between Arc 4 and 5. Greed and Gluttony didn't attack, so Rem never went into a coma and Crusch didn't lose her memories. Arc 4 happened just like in canon with a few minor differences: Rem was recovering from her injuries with Crusch and the mansion didn't burn down.
"Subaru needs to have a lot of kids, I suppose."
"What?"
It was a typical day in Roswaal's mansion. The maids Rem and Ram did their job in practiced perfection, while Frederica, the most experienced worker, taught Petra the ropes. Emilia, the silver-haired half-elf candidate for the position as the 42nd Queen of Lugunica studied economics, politics, geography and a variety of other subjects in her room.
Roswaal L. Mathers, the margrave, and court magician, was filling out paperwork in his study and trying to convince more nobles to take Emilia's side after the events of Sanctuary 4 months ago.
Otto, the Internals Affairs Officer, was currently overworking himself to exhaustion. Garfiel, the self-proclaimed shield of the camp, was currently training, doing parkour just like his Cap'n had done 5 minutes ago. Natsuki Subaru, Emilia's knight, and spirit arts user, was lying on the ground, exhausted after his daily workout. Clind, an experienced butler, taught him how to use a whip and perform parkour during his brief stays in the manor. Subaru took his training seriously, after all, he knew better than anyone how weak he was.
As he was recovering his breath on the ground, his contracted spirit Beatrice approached him and dropped that nuke out of nowhere.
"Subaru needs to have a lot of kids, I suppose."
"Don't repeat it!" Exclaimed an exasperated black-haired boy.
"Subaru needs to-" Beatrice deadpanned.
"I got it the first time, so don't say it anymore!" Standing up, Subaru interrupted his spirit while blushing red. "And where is this even coming from!?"
"Subaru will eventually leave Betty behind, I suppose. But Subaru's children can still make up for four hundred years of no memories. That's why-"
"I heard you! Don't say that, it's embarrassing! And I will…" He shyly said the last part, so low that if Beatrice was even half a meter away she wouldn't have heard it. Hearing it, her eyes illuminated for a split second before she forced her smile away.
"Betty doesn't care if it's with the half-elf or the maid. So please-"
"DON'T SAY IT ANYMORE!" Dying of embarrassment, Subaru clutched his head while shouting, wishing the earth would swallow him.
"Betty's contractor is easy to tease, I suppose." She said with a smug smile, crossing her arms. In retaliation, Subaru lifted her high into the air, spinning her around as she childishly tried to free herself. "PUT ME DOWN I SUPPOSE!"
"Beako is so cute too!" Subaru let out a small chuckle as he put Beatrice back down and patted her head. "But Beako and I will always be together." I won't die in front of you, at least.
"Betty's contractor always knows what to say to make Betty happy." She huffed and looked away.
A typical day in Roswaal's mansion.
"Kids with Subaru…" In a garden made of shadows, a silver-haired half-elf was fantasizing about having a family with her beloved. She had a dumb smile on her face as a line of drool trickled down her mouth. Wiping it off with the back of her hand, she spoke to herself.
"It seems we finally agree on something. Yes, we must make sure Subaru knows how to properly take care of a kid." Having discussed with her other self, she reached her conclusion. Opening her arms, she murmured something and a series of windows opened all over the garden, all of them showing different realities. "I hate seeing these whores with my Subaru, but this is for the better."
She spent a good amount of time observing all of the different realities, making comments about all of them:
"Lilliana? Uwah, Felix? What happened to this Subaru? Reid's descendant? I liked the Sword Demon Ballad, seems like it didn't happen in this one… RAKHSA!? MY SUBARU IS NOT INTO NTR! All of them are Subaru so I must love them, but…" The half-elf trembled at the sight of some realities that should have never existed.
She swiped her hand, and the windows closed. She repeated the act several times, keeping the few worlds she liked before swiftly removing the others from both the garden and her mind.
She ended with eight different worlds to observe. She took her time observing those before deleting three of them. "Vega is cute, but I already chose one oni twin." She swiped her hand above the crack in the garden, closing the hole to yet another reality. She did the same with the crack to its left. "Subaru would get angry if he learns he ended up with a 'loli'".
She spent a long time deliberating over whether to close the last window or not. "I'm sorry Luna… I can't do this to my own daughter." She shed a tear for her future daughter.
Turning back, she nodded at her genius, crossing her arms with a smug smile. "Yep, I'm a genius! This will make Subaru happy, and since I did it, he'll love me over any of those whores! Now… AL SHAMAK!" She raised her arms high in the air, casting her most powerful spell with a significant difference: Dark tendrils broke their way into the various cracks surrounding the half-elf, tethering to Subaru's possible children and snatching them from their lives, scattering them around the world.
"I'll miss you, Subaru-kun."
"Rem, it's just a short trip to the village. I'll be back in a few hours." Subaru retorts to the blue-haired maid shedding crocodile tears in the mansion's entrance. After yesterday's party with all the nearby nobles, an attempt from Roswaal to gain more supporters for Emilia, the maids were busy cleaning the place after some of them drank more than they should.
After the banquet last night, the residents were low on supplies. As everyone was busy, Frederica suggested sending Petra to the village to get them. That way, she could both see her family for a short time and learn to properly buy food instead of simply helping Ram or Rem whenever they went for supplies. Subaru decided to join; Petra was still a frail little girl after all.
Petra cutely pouted at Subaru after leaving the mansion. "I'm not a little girl, Subaru-sama! I can carry everything!"
"Sure. With Frederica and Ram's training, you could even beat me, hahaha." Subaru let out a dry laugh at that thought. Weaker than a little girl, I need to train more.
"But even if you can beat me in a fight, I can't let you carry everything." He patted Petra's head as they walked, making her pout even harder.
Entering the village, Subaru was tackled to the ground by an army of kids.
"Subaru!"
"He's back!"
"Tell us how you defeated the whale again!"
Laying on the ground with the village kids on top of him, rummaging through his pockets and rubbing their noses on his tracksuit, he begged for help.
"Hey! Rem sewed this for me, don't rub your noses on it! Help me, Petra!" She huffed and pouted, heading towards her parents' house and leaving Subaru with the village children, displaying no mercy.
"Alright, I'll tell you about the fight with the Whale, but leave my clothes alone!"
"Yay!" The children answered in unison. They sat in front of Subaru, ready to hear his tale once again.
"Now, shoo!" Subaru drove the kids away with an exaggerated gesture.
After hearing his legendary battle yet again, the children finally left Subaru alone. He laid under a tree, waiting for Petra to return from her shopping spree.
This was her training after all, he was there purely to help her carry everything. "Mmh?" He was distracted by the rummaging of some nearby bushes. A short girl with silver hair and scary eyes emerged from it, dressed with a white coat over a purple dress came out of it, younger than Petra.
Her hair was messy, her clothes were slightly dirty and she had a few bruises on her knees. "Are you one of the village's children?" She spent a few seconds looking at his face before shyly shaking her head left and right. She's not another assassin like Meili, is she?
"If you're not one of the children around here… are you lost?" She nodded her head. Subaru approached her and put his arms on her shoulders, comforting the lost child. "What's your name?"
"Chocorina. And you, mister?"
"Me? I am Natsuki Subaru, knight of the half-elf Emilia!" He struck his mythical pose.
Hearing that, Chocorina's eyes illuminated, her pointy ears flapping around before jumping and knocking Subaru to the ground once again. "Daddy!"
"Huh?" A silver-haired elf… And she called me daddy!?
"Daddy, where's mommy? And why are you so young now? Where are we, daddy?" The young girl proclaiming to be his daughter bombarded him with questions.
"Just to be sure… Is your mother a silver-haired half-elf named Emilia?"
"Have you forgotten about mommy, daddy?" She pouted, making Subaru's heart flutter from how cute she was.
Breathe in, breathe out. For some reason, my daughter with Emilia is here. This doesn't make any sense, she hasn't even said that she loves me. I need to calm myself before I Return by Death from how cute she is.
"Daddy? Are you ok-ay?" She tilted her head to the right, having difficulty pronouncing the weird word her father often used.
I can't, I can't, I CAN'T! SHE'S SO CUTE GODDAMMIT! AND SHE JUST USED A SUBARUISM! She's my daughter, she has to be! The hair of Emilia, my eyes, subaruisms… There's no doubt about it!
"Subaru-sama? Who is she?" Having returned carrying a sack of tatoes, Petra looked at the young girl riding on top of Subaru. A silver-haired elf? She looks like Emilia… And has Subaru's eyes…
"Petra nee-chan?"
"It's hard to explain, Petra, but my daughter from the future is here."
Petra glanced at the smiling Chocorina before saying, "You say the weirdest things Subaru-sama. How can she be your child? You're too young."
"Look at her Petra! That smooth, silky silver hair is just like Emilia's! And those eyes, doesn't she look just like my daughter?"
"But Subaru-sama… Emilia-sama hasn't said she loves you yet…" Petra said those words without malicious intent. Only after saying them did she realize what she had done. "I-I didn't mean that Subaru-sama! It's just that this is too weird… even for you."
"It's okay Petra. Chocorina, does mommy love daddy?" He took the chance to prove both Emilia's feelings and her identity.
"Hm!" She nodded. "Mommy Emilia reaaally loves daddy!"
"See, Petra! She's my daughter! She must be! I have no idea why this is happening though…"
Grabbing Chocorina away from him and standing up, Subaru patted her head and said:
"Now Chocorina, be a good girl and wait for daddy here, ok? Petra, can you stay with her? I can't walk into the village with Emilia's daughter after all."
"But Petra nee-chan always scolds me. She's bad."
"Be a good girl and listen to daddy this time." He patted her head before leaving. Right after Beako tells me about having children… This isn't a coincidence, is it?
"Yes." Chocorina had a silly smile on her face, elated from all the head pats she had received, her hair messier than before.
A few minutes later Subaru returned carrying a few sacks filled to the brim with food. He gave some of the lightest ones to Petra, despite Chocorina wanting to help he refused. Even if she had elven blood and the strength of 10 Subarus, she was still younger than Petra, and her own daughter as well; letting her work would be a hit to both his pride and dignity as a human being and father. The three made their way back to the mansion.
"Welcome back Su...baru-kun?" Using what she called "Subaru Instinct", which is actually just smelling his miasma, Rem dashed to the main entrance as soon as she realized Subaru was returning. Opening the door, she welcomed Subaru until she noticed the little girl, shorter than Petra, at his side.
"Rem. Tell everyone to meet in the dining room in a few minutes. It's important." He said, tending the sacks filled with tatoes, appas, and various condiments he was carrying to her. His male pride was important but he simply couldn't carry them anymore; they were too heavy. Why is everyone so strong in this world?
"Yes." She answered dumbfounded, confused at the situation while grabbing all the sacks the knight had been carrying. She couldn't help but take a glance at the silver-haired girl with eyes like her father and wonder who she was.
"Petra. Go with Rem, I'll have Beatrice heal these bruises."
"Understood, Subaru-sama." She walked at Rem's side, but after a few steps she turned back to add: "Goodbye, Chocorina." She couldn't wait to befriend the little girl, even if she was extremely confused about the entire situation.
"Hm!" The quarter-elf nodded. "I'll see you soon Petra nee-chan."
"Subaru, why did you call all of us here?" The half-elf inquired to her knight, who was standing near the door, hiding something behind him.
"Whaaaaat might this be about, Suuuubaru-kun?" The lord of the mansion asked with his usual tone. Has he looped?
"I have no clue why this is happening, so don't ask me questions. Come here, Chocorina." A young girl emerged from behind Subaru. While everyone was reuniting in the dining room, he took the chance to comb her hair while Beatrice healed the few bruises she had with a smug face, teasing her contractor about how fast he started pumping out children for her sake.
Except for Petra and Beatrice, everyone in the room was surprised by her appearance. Her beautiful long, silver hair was combed into two small ponytails, one on each side of her head, leaving her pointy ears on full display. What surprised everyone the most were her eyes: intimidating just like Subaru's. Everyone couldn't help but notice the similarity between her, Emilia, and Subaru.
The one taken aback the most was, clearly, Emilia. That girl, who appeared out of nowhere, looked extremely similar to her younger self, a fact aggravated by her clothes: the same clothes she used to wear in the past.
Subaru coughed to grab everyone's attention, an action that worked way too well as everyone turned to him, waiting for his explanation.
"I have no idea why or how, but-"
"Why does everyone look so young, daddy? And who's that clown?" Pulling on her father's tracksuit, Chocorina pointed at everyone inside the room, interrupting her father and spreading chaos even further.
"-My daughter from the future appeared here for some reason." He finished, preparing himself for the barrage of questions that would surely come his way. He waited a few seconds but no one spoke, instead staring at Chocorina with open jaws. Beatrice had a smug smile on her face with her arms crossed, while Petra tried making Frederica answer her questions to no avail. To Subaru's surprise, the first one to talk was Roswaal.
"I see. This is certainly a surprise." Dropping his speech pattern, Roswaal expressed his surprise before continuing, this time remembering to speak like he always does to never forget the humiliation he received in the past. "As she doesn't recogniiiiiize me, it seeeeems I achieved my objective. Congratulations, Suuuuubaru-kun." He congratulated him from the bottom of his heart. He deduced that, after achieving his long-awaited dream, he finally died after receiving his deserved punishment for all his sins. His words unfroze the room, everyone launching a barrage of questions.
"You lied to me, Ram! Kissing does make babies, see!?"
Emilia-sama, kissing doesn't make babies. Where did you kidnap her, Barusu?" Despite her words, she couldn't help but feel unease at the situation. Half-elves were rare, and silver-haired half-elves even more. Where could Barusu have found her? There's no way she's actually his daughter. That made no sense.
"Have some faith in me! I didn't kidnap anyone!"
"Subaru-kun has finally gone mad…" Rem swept the few crocodile tears off her eyes. "Ah, but Rem will still love you!"
"Have some faith in Betty's contractor!" The twin-tailed spirit rebuked at the oni twins.
"Su-Subaru-sama, forgive me but you, did you hit your head?" Frederica timidly asked for Subaru's wellbeing. Her daughter? Despite him being so young and Emilia not knowing the truth? Unless elves truly got pregnant with a kiss, this made no sense.
"I think Subaru-sama says the truth!"
"I think so too." Both the little maid and the half-elf supported Subaru, surprising everyone.
"See! Emilia-tan believes me! We'll be a good family together, Emilia-tan!"
"But this makes no sense, Barusu. Even for your usual antics, this is taking this too far."
"Ram, take a good look at her. See her silky, smooth silver hair? Her pointy ears? Adorable face? Her eyes are like mine too. She calls me daddy as well. The resemblance is there."
"Daddy, I don't like that clown."
"See! We even both dislike Roswaal!"
"You pain my heart, Suuuuubaru-kun. It is true that the reseeeeeemblance is there, but how could she appear here? Time travel isn't possible." The look he gave Subaru while saying the last phrase scared the little elf, who hid behind her father.
"Then, is she Natsuki-san daughter? But…" While deliberating, Otto felt someone tugging on his short. Looking at his back, he saw Chocorina climbing up to his shoulders. He froze for a second, she truly was her daughter. Only when she was sitting on his shoulders, smugly using him as a ride, did he return to his senses.
"Now, onwards uncle Otto! Take me to mommy!"
"She's just like Natsuki-san!" said Otto with a defeated tone, carrying the young elf towards her mother, now fully convinced of her being Subaru's daughter. The way she treated him was just like his friend did.
"Uh, you're my daughter, right? I reaaally don't understand what's going on, but…"
"Hmm. Mommy is such an airhead, hmph!" Puffing her cheeks, she huffed away in a childish manner. "But where are we, mommy? This isn't the castle."
"The castle?" asked Emilia.
"Yes, the castle. I was playing while you and daddy worked on queen stuff when a weeeeird hand grabbed me. Then I met some mabeasts in a forest and then I saw daddy." she explained with exaggerated gestures. Meanwhile, everyone was surprised at the revelation of Emilia winning the Royal Selection and becoming the queen. Subaru shed some tears: a good ending was possible. No one died, Emilia became the queen and he happily lived with the love of his life. He couldn't help but feel slightly saddened at not being with Rem as well.
Moreover, those hands she spoke of… Of course, her sudden apparition wasn't a coincidence.
"Mabeasts? Are you fine Chocorina!?" Emilia panicked at her daughter fighting mabeasts by herself. Even if she didn't understand what was going on, her maternal instincts kicked in, worried for her daughter's safety.
"Yes!" She smiled, before quickly changing to an apologetic expression. "Ah, but you said that I shouldn't use magic. It was dangerous, so…" She apologized while fidgeting, still on Otto's shoulders.
While Emilia and Chocorina talked between them, with Otto being used as a stool by the small quarter-elf, everyone else bombarded Subaru with questions. He tried his hardest to answer all of them.
"Wha' ya gonna do Cap'n?"
"Let her live in the mansion for a while? I don't know what those hands are or why they sent her here, but we can't leave her alone."
"Where did you find her, Barusu?"
"Don't call me Barusu in front of my daughter…" Subaru asked to be treated with at least a hint of respect with his daughter nearby. "She was in the village."
"When are you giving me a daughter Subaru-kun!?"
"REM!?" Exclaimed the pink-haired oni, surprised at her sister's bold statement.
"Ah, I'm sorry Rem, I couldn't hear you, can you repeat?"
"Ah… How are you so sure she's your real daughter? This makes no sense but… Rem is sure Subaru-kun is confused too."
"She looks like a mix of me and Emilia, speaks subaruisms, calls me daddy, apparently knows everyone here, we both tease Otto. I have no clue why this is happening, but the resemblance is there. She must be, even if this makes no sense even for me."
"Congratulations Subaru-sama. Even if nothing about this makes sense, she looks like a wonderful daughter. "
"Thanks, Frederica."
"It seems you followed Betty's words. What a great contractor Betty has, I suppose." Smugly said the twin-tailed spirit, earning a small blush from the mean-eyed knight. Ever since she saw Chocorina, she didn't stop teasing Subaru about it.
"Ah, Subaru. Can we… Can we speak in private?" Emilia spoke with a clear tone at first, gradually diminishing into a whisper as she started blushing and feeling more and more embarrassed with every word she spoke.
"My lovely Emilia-tan wants to talk to me in private?" Somehow, despite her voice being lower and lower with every word, he managed to hear it all. "Has seeing your daughter given you the confidence to finally confess to me?" He left the room, seeing as Emilia was following her with Chocorina at her side, both holding hands.
As mother, father, and child left the room, everyone returned to their duties. Roswaal and Otto marched to their respective offices, Frederica and Petra went to the cellar to make sure Petra hadn't forgotten to buy anything, Garfiel decided to go to the garden and train a bit more, and Rem was interrupted by Ram to have a short heart to heart.
"I can't believe you said that out loud, Rem." Said Ram to her sister. Seeing as she didn't respond, she inquired further. "Rem?"
"Sissy…" Rem turned back to meet her sister's gaze, with tears on her eyes. "Rem should be happy for Subaru-kun, but…"
"You don't need to say anything else Rem." She pulled her sister into a tight hug. "Barusu also loves you. He holds two beautiful maidens close to his heart; how disgusting of him."
"Then, why… why did he leave Rem behind?" She cried into her sister's embrace.
"I'd never allow for my lovely sister to be his number two. He either loves only you, or he can forget about you." Declared Ram with confidence. She respected the young knight, but if he ever dared to hurt Rem…
"That other Subaru also loved me?" She raised her head, this time with a hint of hope in her eyes.
"Surely. I can't think of a Barusu that doesn't love you. But, if you aren't his number one, I won't allow him to marry you." Said Ram with determination. As much as she cared for Subaru, in her own Ram-like ways, her sister being a second wife or a mere concubine is something she'll never allow.
Waking up, Subaru saw not one but two lolis on his bed. At his right lied Beatrice, his faithful spirit. At his left, a silver-haired quarter elf. He remembered the events of the past day: somehow, his future daughter appeared out of nowhere. She mentioned some hands, so he had a clear idea of who brought her here, but he wondered why Satella would do that.
In the end, almost everyone accepted the truth, they had no choice. The resemblance was there, and even if time travel was completely impossible, she was here. That's all that mattered. Their doubts about her heritage were dispelled in a single day, she shared too many of her parent's traits. He was surprised by Roswaal's quick acceptance of the situation, wondering if he might have some secret plan involving Chocorina. Ram's disbelief persisted through the entire day; despite the rest of the camp believing his words sooner or later, she still refused to accept them. Her words were harsher than usual and she barely interacted with who Garfiel called "little princess".
He rustled the hair of the sleeping girl, happy that it was possible. A good ending was possible. All he went through, and will likely go through, wasn't or won't be meaningless. He noticed his sleeping daughter opening her eyes, erupting into a wide smile and hugging him as soon as she recognized him.
"Daddy!"
"Good morning Chocorina. How did you sleep?"
"I slept well. Ah, but my other bed is better. This one is too hard."
"What a loud pair you are, I suppose. Betty was trying to sleep and you woke her up." The blonde spirit left the bed.
"But you don't need to sleep, Beako."
"That's true Beako nee-chan." Both father and daughter answered in unison.
"Only Betty's Subaru can call me Beako, I suppose!" She huffed away and walked towards the door, just to be interrupted by Chocorina pulling on her drills.
"Leave Betty alone! But since you're half as cute as Betty, Betty can forgive you. Hm, what a generous spirit Betty is, I suppose." She crossed her arms and nodded to herself, ignoring the quarter elf toying with her hair. A few seconds later, the door opened and a half-elf entered the room. Emilia looked at Chocorina, who was too busy playing with Beatrice's hair to notice her.
"Chocorina, stop playing with Beatrice's hair" She softly scolded her.
"Yes, mommy. What are we doing today?" She left Beatrice alone and walked up to her mother. She then continued with a wide, innocent smile. "Can I play with uncle Garf and uncle Otto?"
"Otto-san is busy today. You can play with Petra and Garfiel today."
"But Petra nee-chan always scolds me." She puffed her cheeks. "Can I play with Meili onee-chan instead?"
"Meili onee-chan?" Everyone in the camp now knew about Meili's fate. Somehow, she ended up as Subaru's adopted daughter. Emilia quickly thought of a good enough lie to tell her daughter; the camp decided against freeing her after all. The Meili Chocorina knew, and the Meili the camp knew was different. Subaru would never adopt an assassin, right? That other Meili must have lived a different life.
"Ah, sorry Chocorina, but Meili is busy too. Yes, really busy. Reaaaally busy. Not here. Hm, yes. Can't play with you." Subaru cringed a bit at Emilia's lie; she was terrible at it. However, Chocorina bought it all. She sulked a bit but accepted spending the day with Garfiel and Petra.
"Mayonnaise? But I don't like Mayonnaise."
Subaru dropped his fork at Chocorina's words.
"What? You… don't like mayo? My own daughter?"
"It tastes bad. And looks ugly."
"Oh, woe is me! Betrayed by my own daughter! How can I live after such a disgrace?" Subaru expressed his anger with exaggerated motions.
"Subaru, don't be a dunderhead. If Chocorina doesn't like mayo it's fine." Emilia replied to her knight's antics.
"Who even says dunderhead anymore?" Both father and daughter chimed in unison. Emilia pouted while everyone else laughed. The arrival of Chocorina made life in the mansion even more lively. Spending their free time with her was everyone's joy now, though Rem's jealous gaze made Subaru fear for his purity.
"I'm sorry Frederica nee-sama." Chocorina looked at the ground, asking for forgiveness.
"I thought Emilia-sama told you not to use magic without permission." Frederica looked at Garfiel. Or what looked like Garfiel, at least. Now she understood why the future Emilia forbids her daughter from using magic, she can't control it all.
"Little princess is strong." Said Garfiel, struggling to free himself from the ice that covered him. Chocorina was presuming of her strength after carrying Subaru around in one hand: He'll never forget the embarrassed look on his face after being carried all over the mansion by an 8 year old. He took the chance to flex his own strength, just to end frozen over by the little girl.
"Promise me you won't do it again."
"I won't do it again."
"Now, go and play with Petra-chan. She's been waiting for you in her room."
"But Petra nee-chan always scolds me! She's not fun to play with!" Grumbled Chocorina.
"The Petra you know and this Petra are different. Now play with her. You could be great friends." Frederica implored the young quarter-elf to make some friends in her stay here. She was secretly happy that her apprentice managed to work as a maid in the Royal Palace of all places.
"Aah!"
"Ouch! Are you okay Chocorina?" Falling to the ground, Otto asked for Chocorina's status before anything else. Both of them were playing in the garden, "playing" being quite the understatement. Chocorina was simply teasing and toying with Otto just like her father. Eventually, having climbed onto his shoulders, she decided to grab some apples from some nearby trees. Otto tried his hardest to convince her not to, it was getting late and Rem was preparing dinner already. However, he failed against her elven strength.
That ended poorly, of course. Chocorina tried to get more apples than she could hold, eventually losing balance and falling to the ground with Otto. He managed to protect her in such a way that she fell on top of him instead of to the hard ground.
"Yes, uncle Otto."
"Be more careful next time. Natsuki-san wouldn't want to see his daughter hurt."
"Too late, Otto." Looking up, Otto saw Subaru looking at him straight in the eye. "You let my cute daughter get hurt. Now, get out of my sight. You're no longer my friend." He picked Chocorina up and started walking towards the mansion.
"Forget about him Chocorina."
"Ah, but uncle Otto…"
"I said forget about him. He let you get hurt. He's not worthy of my friendship." Subaru sent Otto a glance that Ram would be proud of.
"Natsuki-saaaan!" Otto was left alone, wailing in despair in the ground.
It was a bad day for the oni prodigy. First, he stubbed his toe when opening his room's door when waking up. Second, he was scolded by Spica for scaring off some children the past day. "I can't do anything about my eyes." He grumbled. Last, while he was accompanying her adorable little sister to school, some shadowy hands appeared out of nowhere and tried to snatch both of them to some unknown location. He managed to hold them for a short while, but they kept attacking without pause. Even his horn was useless against their onslaught. Eventually, both half-onis were grabbed and sent towards another dimension through a rift in space.
Rigel, the oni prodigy, eldest son of Natsuki Subaru and Natsuki Rem was now laying in the ground with her sister on top in the middle of a street rumbling with activity: Housewifes were buying food in nearby stalls while some workers took a deserved break in some tavern. Once Spica, her little sister, stood up and shook her now dirtied clothes did he stand up and look around. As everyone in the street was now looking at the pair that appeared out of nowhere with foreign attire, the two demihumans silently decided to move to another location to not make a scene.
"Where are we nii-san?" Asked Spica. She was a young girl, no older than 9 years old, with black hair and cute facial features. She was slightly taller than usual for her age and was wearing a blue kimono. Her brother, Rigel, was a young man with defined features, short blue hair and threatening blue eyes. He was also wearing a kimono, black instead of blue, a gift from his teacher for his 18th birthday. Both of them were now in a dark alleyway, free from the glances that everyone gave the two demihumans after suddenly appearing in the middle of the street.
"I'll go and check around. I don't know where those hands sent us. Just wait here for me." Rigel recomforted her sister before vanishing into thin air.
"Nii-sama is truly amazing." She whispered to herself, slightly hating herself for not being as good at either magic or harnessing the oni power as her brother. She knew it wasn't her fault, that Rigel was simply a prodigy and that her parents, Tia and Halibel loved her regardless. Still, she couldn't help but feel slightly inferior. Despite being alone in an unknown city, in a dark alleyway she felt safe, for she knew Rigel always kept an eye on her with the mysterious techniques of The Admirer. In the end, she decided to wander around for information as well.
After vanishing, Rigel started running on top of a variety of buildings, invisible to the naked eye. He paid great attention to the populace chit-chat thanks to the increased hearing his oni blood gave him. He had deduced he wasn't in Kararagi anymore due to the buildings he was running across and the clothes everyone was wearing, but it wasn't until he overheard someone say their location that he truly understood the gravity of the situation. "Karsten Domain." He recalled his geography lessons, he couldn't remember its exact location but he knew this domain was located somewhere in Lugunica. He also overheard a few things about a Royal Selection and the defeat of a Sin Archbishop. Didn't Lugunica's Royal Selection end 15 years ago? He stopped in his tracks, sensing someone pulling Spica away, and turned back to protect her.
"A silver-haired half-elf?" Having walked around for a few minutes, Spica ran into a post about the Royal Selection, informing everyone about the 5 candidates. The one at the top was the domain's lord: Crusch Karsten. Below were Priscilla Barielle and Anastasia Hoshin, with Felt and Emilia at the bottom. The post had a portrait of all candidates, and detailed their goals for the kingdom.
Spica recalled how her mother told her the secret that both of them used to serve a silver-haired half-elf before settling down in Kararagi. She couldn't think about the situation for very long before being called out by someone. Turning back, she saw a tall young man with dark green hair and amber eyes, dressed in formal clothes befitting someone of high status: A long black coat trimmed with orange epaulets, black trousers and high brown boots. He was carrying a short sword at his waist, and the emblem of a lion shined on his right sleeve.
"Excuse me miss. You looked lost, so…"
"Ah… Uh…" Spica was taken aback by the young man. He didn't look dangerous, perhaps he was a knight in training? His clothes certainly marked his high status. Having read the candidate's post, she knew she was in Lugunica, where demi-human discrimination was at its highest in the entire world. Despite her slight fear of what might happen if he knew she was a demi-human, she couldn't help but feel some sense of familiarity towards him, as if they had met somewhere else. She decided to trust her gut and trust in what she thought was a knight of Lugunica. "Yes. I'm quite lost right now. And you are…?"
She doesn't recognize me? I, son of the Queen? Her clothes and accent come from Kararagi but even then… He noticed the post behind the girl. Ah, it seems my theory was correct. I'm somehow back in time. That would explain everything. I shouldn't use my full name then. "Excuse me for spacing out. You can call me Leo." He answered with a hand on his chest, smiling to soothe the young girl. "And your problem is…?"
"Ah, it's nothing too serious!" She panicked a bit, waving her hands while lying to the knight about his current situation. He wouldn't believe it anyway. "I just got separated from my brother."
"That would certainly be a problem, yes. Mind telling me where you realized you two separated? He must be looking for you."
"Ah, yes." Spica mentally scolded herself for lying to this man and now making him waste his time. "It was over there." She pointed towards the alleyway she was in a few minutes ago.
"Then let's go." Leo grabbed Spica's hand and pulled her towards where she pointed. He noticed the strength her hold had. A demihuman? Midway through, he felt someone staring at him. He stopped and took a quick glance around, unable to see anyone who might be the one behind that stare.
"Leo?"
"Ah, it's nothing, young miss. And now that I think about it, I never asked your-"
"What are you doing to my sister?" A male voice interrupted him. Turning back, Leo found himself at the mercy of a blue-haired man, a small dagger pointed at his neck. He stared at the threatening eyes of the man, wondering how he managed to get so close without him noticing his presence, his instincts failing to do anything against him.
"Nii-san, I told you not to scare people off."
"Ah, I'm sorry Spica. I'll stop now." Rigel took the dagger, or "kunai" as both his father and Halibel called it from Leo's neck and hid it inside his kimono. He apologized to the man he just threatened, rubbing the back of his head.
"Uh, sorry young… knight?"
Who are those two? Such strength in a young girl and his brother managed to sneak up on me… I haven't been born yet, so they can't be foreign assassins… And why do I get the feeling I know them? He straightened up, letting go of his hold on the wooden sword he carried for training. "Oh, I am not a knight. You can call me Leo. I apologize for causing distress to you. Your sister looked lost so I proposed to help her."
"Thanks for that. I saw someone dragging my lovely sister around so… And you look so high and noble, just like that Julius my father used to speak about."
Julius? Julius Juukulius, the spirit knight? Those are kararagian clothes so it wouldn't be weird if they had seen him once… And his abilities… I must ask him. "Sir Rigel, wasn't it? I couldn't help but notice your… abilities."
"Hehe." Rigel left a small chuckle and continued smugly. "You couldn't, huh? It's no wonder, I'm amazing after all! I could totally beat you with no problem."
"That's why I wanted to ask for your help. There's one place I want to…" He closed the distance between the two and whispered into his ear. "...sneak in."
"I see." Replied Rigel with a more serious tone. "But I can't leave my sister alone right now."
"Leo-san, can I borrow my brother for a second?"
"Well, of course." Leo saw the two demihumans retreat and speak between them for a short moment before Leo returned and surprisingly agreed to help him.
"I can sneak you in. You just need to give us some money to travel to the Mathers Domain. Normally I wouldn't agree to help someone steal something, but you look like a good person and helped my sister too."
"Oh, don't misunderstand me. A new maid kicked me out of my own house." I wouldn't call sir Ferris a maid, though he certainly dresses like one at times.
And I must admit that appearing out of nowhere, proclaiming to be Crusch's son when the Royal Selection has barely started was clearly not the best option. But what could I have done? I had no idea of what had happened.
"Maids?"
"I haven't given you my full name, haven't I? Leo Karsten, son of Crusch Karsten, lord of this domain." It's not my full name, but I'm somehow in the past and I have no clue of where Father is. Has he met Mother yet?
"I knew you had to be a noble. The way you act just screams nobility. Anyways, where's your house, my lord?" Rigel jokingly bowed to Leo, earning a light chuckle from Spica, who started walking towards the city's doors to find a carriage towards Roswaal's domain.
"This is your house, my majesty?" Rigel took a deep glance at the massive mansion in front of him, teasing Leo as he had done for the past few minutes.
"I told you to stop calling me majesty. Or lord. Or liege." Seeing Rigel smile with a teasing look on his face, he added. "Or whatever you plan to call me now."
"Tch. I ran out of words anyway." Rigel kicked the ground in frustration, sending a few rocks flying. "So is this the place I need to sneak you in?"
"Sneak me in makes it sound like I have bad intentions. I'm merely returning home."
"Yeah yeah, I know. I don't doubt you. I don't know why you can't just enter through the main door though. Now, come here."
"Are you sure about all of this? What if all I've done is just a complex strategy to make you help me steal from the lord?"
"I've been here for less than a day. There's no way you could have heard of me." According to Spica, we might not be born anyways. There's no way he also traveled back in time. "Now, come." Obeying Rigel, Leo approached him until both had their shoulders together. Then, a barrier of wind surrounded the pair.
"A spell?"
"Yeah, a spell I made. No one can hear us now."
"How?" Saying that Leo was dumbfounded would be selling it short. He had completely underestimated him. Judging by her sister's strength, the pair must be some demi-human race. He had no idea of the depth of Rigel's abilities, able to seemingly appear out of nowhere. And now, he had enough magic talent to create custom spells? Only Roswaal L. Mathers and Felix Argyle possessed enough ability for such a thing. "Shouldn't such a spell be from the yin element instead of wind? Yin's concept is "separation", so if you could somehow… No, that would cost too much mana…"
"It's not that complex. Father told me that sound travels through air. So, if I trap the air around me, not letting it escape, no one can hear anything I do or say. Took me a long time to think how to do it though."
"Is your father a genius?" Questioned Leo with incredulity.
"When he's not acting like an idiot? Yeah. Anyways, shall we go, your roy-?"
"Don't even think about it." Sighed Leo, warming up to the blue-haired demihuman.
"Try not to fall." Reaching the mansion's walls, completely undetected by the guards around, Rigel and Leo climbed up to an open window. Leo wondered who trained Rigel, he kept surpassing his expectations minute after minute. That horn… Weren't Onis extinct after the attack on the last oni village? Perhaps there were some onis still alive in Kararagi. And aren't they supposed to have two horns?
Having climbed up the window, the pair found themselves in a closed room. Leo attempted to open the door just for Rigel to pull him back in the wind barrier.
"Not so fast, sovereign."
"Didn't you say you ran out of words?" Exclaimed Leo as a smirk appeared on his face.
"Are you not complaining anymore, my king? Do I need to accompany you or can I leave already?" Sighed Rigel, already wanting to go back to his sister, anxious for leaving her alone in an unknown city.
"Can you wait here for an hour or so? I need to get your payment. Unless you're willing to steal from the nobility, Robin Hood."
"When did you become the teaser in our relationship? And it's the first time I hear someone that's not my father talk about Robin Hood." Inquired the blue-haired young man in shock, no one aside from his father knew about said thief. He was sure of it.
"What a coincidence. My father was the one who told me about him. A valiant thief stealing from the rich to give it to the poor."
"Forget about the money. I can sell some things I'm carrying. Worse case, I can just run there" Said Rigel as he was in a hurry to reunite with his sibling. She was safe, but leaving her by herself for a long time still weighed on his mind.
"No, I insist. Just wait here and I'll return with your payment." Leo tried to persuade his newfound friend, feeling guilty at making him help without receiving anything in exchange.
"I don't feel comfortable leaving my sister alone for so long. This is an unknown city, you know?" Mentioned the nervous brother, although he appreciated Leo's attempts at being honorable.
"I… I see. Then farewell. I'll make sure to visit you soon." Sadly intones Leo, feeling that the two of them could share a good bond of friendship.
"I'll be waiting for that moment. We could be great friends." With that being said, Rigel walked towards the window while Leo opened the room's door. Jumping out of the window, Rigel dashed towards Spica's whereabouts.
Leo kept his gaze to the window from where Rigel jumped for an instant, his mind remembering the last words spoken by this strange yet familiar boy. He had a feeling that he knew him from somewhere. He did look vaguely similar to his father.
"I am sure we will...Rigel." Turning around to face the door, Leo breathed out one last time before opening it, entering the hallway of the Karsten house.
"Hm...It seems this place didn't change much…" He wondered to himself, taking a moment to observe his surroundings to notice any changes possible.
His observation eventually stopped as he reached the middle of the corridor, meeting with the one giant, golden emblem of the Lion. The mark of the Karsten family.
Slowly, the young black-haired boy raised his hand to delicately touch the emblem, feeling the cold of the golden iron as he shut his eyes, thinking about everything he lived until now.
"Just what is the meaning of this...What should I do really…" Leo thought to himself. Maybe it was too late to ask himself this question now that he was inside of his own house, but the situation was way different from usual.
Of course, Leo wasn't one to be foreign when it came to improvisation. He was still the son of his father after all…But this situation was something far different than anything he ever faced in his young life. Something that defied the laws of the world he was supposed to live in.
"Who could have done this?" He murmured to himself. Slowly, the young prince opened his sharp eyes, facing the emblem once again.
"I suppose I don't have a choice." He whispered, turning to his side to meet the other half of the corridor.
"Mother…" Leo worriedly uttered before walking forward.
Until a loud and noble voice resounded in the hallway from behind the boy, a voice he recognized right away.
"And what do we have here?"
With his eyes wide, Leo immediately turned around to meet a tall and old butler, walking towards him with his hands behind his back.
Wilhelm Van Astrea.
"Mh…" Wilhelm narrowed his eyes to the boy, noticing his uniform to be extremely similar to the one of his lady. Adding to that the apparent symbol of the Karsten house he harbored on his shoulder.
Wilhelm kept silently inspecting the young boy, his clothes really well made, the weapon on his belt...But what caught the eye of the old butler, was something he saw as he looked at his face.
This young boy...Seemed really familiar.
But as he was about to ask the boy more questions…
"Grandfather Wil, is that you?" Leo exclaimed in excitement. "You seem so much younger...Even though you're still old. Forgive me."
Startled by such words, the old butler narrowed his eyes to the boy with utter confusion clear on his face, silently urging him to further explain the situation.
"Ah…" Leo realized, coughing in his fist with elegance. "I am sorry. I do realize that my words may seem confusing to you, but you must believe me. I am as troubled as you are, grandfather."
"Are you…" Wilhelm replied, coming closer. Noticing how the boy lowered his guard and seemed to welcome his approach.
"Yes. However, I strongly believe there is a proper way to resolve my predicament." Leo smiled, turning to the side, where the emblem of the Lion was.
Wilhelm followed the young one's gaze towards the wall to meet with the emblem as well, nodding his head in understatement.
"Very well, if you would follow me…" Wilhelm asked for the young's name in a roundabout way.
"Leo Karsten Natsuki. Heir to the throne of Lugunica." The boy answered confidently, following the steps of the old man.
Massive thanks to batmanthewombat (7 tales), Archer (Dragon Candidate, Priscilla If) and strelok for letting me use their OC's and helping with the plot. Thanks as well to all the beta readers who spent time fixing my mistakes: Senku (Doctor Stone x Re:Zero crossover), Otey (Discordant Harmony, Re:Stalker), sam (Re:Start, yes, even he joined in) and more because apparently the entire community of writers decided to roast me at the same time.