Subaru was having a rough day. Granted, that was fairly normal for him, but that did little to mitigate his frustration. What made it worse was that he had actually been having a good day at first; he and his precious Emilia-tan were going to spend time together in the Royal Capital! Sure, she insisted on dealing with the Royal Selection by herself, and he had technically only been brought so that he could have his broken gate healed, but none of that was important. What was important was that he was going to help her steamroll her competition and get to spend time with her in the process. Then she'd be grateful and would want to go on lots more dates with him!
Then that bastard, Julius, had shown up and ruined everything.
Subaru gritted his teeth in anger at the thought of the knight. That smug prick had the gall to kiss his Emilia-tan's hand right in front of him! What gave him the right, a stupid title he'd probably inherited from his family? Subaru had done more for Emilia than that homewrecker could've dreamed of! If Julius thought he could just swoop in and steal her away from him, he had another thing coming!
Subaru clenched his fist so hard that it shook. He'd show Emilia and Julius just how useful he was; he'd help her win the throne and she'd be so thankful that she'd never think of leaving him.
As long as he proved he was useful, she'd never leave him behind.
A sudden movement in the corner of his vision caught his attention. He looked up just in time to see a girl in a white dress being yanked into a nearby alleyway. For a moment, all he could do was marvel at the gall at whoever decided to do such a thing so close to the guard station.
"That's a bold thing to do in front of a guard station. It's darkest at the foot of the lighthouse, I guess," he said to himself.
Only a few more seconds passed before he snapped himself out of his thoughts. This was no time to stand around like an idiot, a girl was in trouble! He narrowed his eyes and marched in the direction of the alleyway, determined to try and help in any way he could.
No matter how many times it took.
Anastasia was quite annoyed and, though any onlookers would fail to notice, a little frightened. Annoyed because of the circumstances that led up to this moment, and frightened because she had nothing but her wits to defend herself in the event that her attackers decided to get physical.
"Don't screw around with us!"
"Want us to mess up that pretty face of yours?"
She was fairly certain the three men currently accosting her wouldn't do anything too brash or untoward so long as they weren't provoked, but the merchant had been around the block enough times to know that even someone as insightful as her could never know these things for sure. She kept a disarming smile on her face as her mind raced to discern the optimal way out of this situation. After weighing her options, she decided that she'd stall for time as long as she could, but would part with some of what she had on her if a guard didn't arrive to help her. Her prideful side detested the idea of handing over some of her hard-earned wealth to a group of lowlives, but she wasn't Priscilla, she was perfectly willing to debase herself if it meant that she got to live another day. Besides, she could always get Julius to track them down and get her money back later.
With that in mind, the fluffy merchant opened her mouth only to be interrupted before she could say anything.
"Sorry I'm late, honey!"
She turned to see an unfamiliar man enter the alleyway and walk up to her. Before she could process the new arrival, he took her hand in his and flashed the thieves an award-winning smile.
"It looks like there's been a bit of trouble, but remember who I am and cut me some slack." He gave her arm a tug, "C'mon, let's-"
"Isn't he that brat we met in the back alley of the shopping district?" the shortest of the trio asked.
"You mean that one who screamed like a bitch and called for help? Yeah, this is the one," the leader responded.
Anastasia bit back a laugh when she saw the odd man's smile twitch at that comment.
"Y-Yeah, that's me alright. So for my sake, could you just let us-"
"Are you stupid? This just makes it three on two instead of three on one!" the lead thief interjected.
The odd man gave a sigh before giving the group a look of smug confidence, "Just so you know, I know Reinhard-san. If I call for him, he'll come running!"
The thieves flinched and Anastasia's eyebrows shot up. This man knew the Sword Saint? Judging from the thieves' reaction and the confidence in the boy's voice, she concluded that he was telling the truth.
She smiled, genuinely this time.
"Interesting."
"Been awhile since I've seen you. What're you doing here?" A hulking giant of a man said as he trudged into the alleyway.
"Old Man Rom!" the boy responded.
In short order, the thieves ran away after swearing revenge, and the odd man engaged the giant in conversation. Anastasia didn't pay attention to what they were talking about, she was too busy sizing up her savior and pondering the implications of what he'd said. Someone who knew the Sword Saint well enough to refer to him so casually was definitely worth her attention. At the very least, she'd like to satiate her curiosity about the foreign-looking boy. At most… well, her camp could always use new members, especially ones with such valuable connections.
After Old Man Rom left the alleyway, Subaru finally remembered that he was still holding the hand of the girl he'd tried to save. Looking down at her, he blushed when he noticed that she'd been staring at him.
Her smile widened at the sight.
"Thank ya kindly for coming to my rescue, good lookin'! I could've been in real trouble there."
He sheepishly rubbed the back of his head, "Ah, it's no big deal. I just did what anyone else would have if they saw someone getting attacked like that."
"Agree to disagree. Either way, it'd be nice to know my hero's name."
Subaru stuttered for a moment before answering, "R-Right!" He struck his signature pose and announced, "My name is Natsuki Subaru, and up until recently, I was broke beyond compare! Nice to meet you!"
The girl let out a hearty laugh at his hilariously awkward display. "Humble and charming; today really is my lucky day."
"Hey, I just saved you and you immediately decide to tease me?!"
"Now now, ya can't blame me for pokin' fun at ya after makin' it so easy for me, Natsuki-kun."
He sighed melodramatically and said, "No good deed goes unpunished, it seems."
She chuckled, "Ya sure are an interesting fella."
"Yeah yeah, and I'm glad you're safe–uh…" he trailed off and looked at her questioningly.
"Ah, where are my manners?" she paired a small curtsey with the most charming smile she could muster. "My name is-"
"I finally found you!" rang out a voice more beautiful than a chorus of angels.
"Lady Anastasia?" said a voice that was significantly less beautiful.
He turned to see Emilia and that purple-haired bastard standing at the entrance of the alleyway together. His forgotten anger returned with a vengeance, but Emilia cut him off before he could give voice to it.
"Why did you wander off? You told me you were going to wait back where I asked you to!"
Guilt temporarily overwhelmed his anger, "I'm sorry, Emilia-tan. It's just that-"
The girl beside him linked her arm with his and pressed up against him, eliciting a surprised (and not feminine sounding at all) yelp from him.
"I'd like to thank ya for coming to my rescue, Natsuki-kun, so why don'tcha let me treat ya to some lunch?"
"Wha-?"
She started dragging him away before he could gather his thoughts, right past a shocked Emilia.
"Look after Emilia-sama for a while, Julius. Come get me at the Blue Dragon in three quarters of an hour," the purple-haired woman called over her shoulder.
"W-Wait! Emilia will get the wrong idea!"
"As you wish, Lady Anastasia," Julius responded with a bow.
Subaru continued to protest, but his words fell on deaf ears, and he simply couldn't bring himself to rip his arm away from his captor. Eventually, he resigned himself to his fate and began planning on what he would say to Emilia later.
After arriving at the Blue Dragon restaurant and being attended to immediately as befitting someone of her stature, she began digging for answers to her questions. She started off by formally introducing herself and then engaging in some small talk that led into his experiences, particularly with regards to the Sword Saint and Emilia's camp. He remained somewhat wary and uncomfortable as she questioned him, but that changed the second Emilia became the subject. Whereas she'd had difficulty getting him to talk beforehand, now she would've been hard-pressed to make him stop. By the time they'd finished their meals, she'd been subjected to an entire lecture about how beautiful, kind, and overall wonderful the Satella look-alike was. She listened to every word with a smile on her face, fascinated by what she was hearing. That someone could genuinely be pining after someone who resembled the Witch of Envy was something even she, with all of her experience, could not have expected.
"...in conclusion, Emilia is the most cool and beautiful woman ever!" he finished, looking like he'd just proven a groundbreaking scientific discovery with facts and logic.
"Bold of ya to say that to another gal's face."
His expression changed to one of panic, "I'm not saying that you're not pretty, Anastasia-sama. You're very hot-I mean beautiful! And I'm sure you're cool too, it's just that I've only known you for about twenty minutes, and I've done most of the talking and-!"
The fluffy merchant burst out laughing for the second time that day, "You're a riot, ya know that? Don't worry, I'm yankin' yer chain."
"Whew. Don't scare me like that, Anastasia-sama."
"But ya know, all that talk about how great your crush has got me curious. So tell me: why exactly do you like the half-elf?"
Subaru stared at her blankly for a moment. "I'm sorry?"
"C'mon now, surely you know her appearance gives her a bad rep. A man with the hots for a silver-haired half-elf isn't something ya come across everyday; I'm just a little curious as to why."
Subaru's expression, which had been rather relaxed up until this point, became stern. "Her name is Emilia, not 'half-elf'."
Anastasia raised an eyebrow, "Noted. Now, could ya humor my curiosity? I've heard a lot about how great she is, but I haven't heard a lot as to why."
"Emilia…" his face softened as he said her name. "She's amazing. She's so kind, earnest, and hard-working. She never thinks of herself and always does her best to do what's right, even when it doesn't benefit her. Nobody would've blamed her if she left me alone and minded her own business, but…" a look of awed reverence shone in his eyes as he continued, "...she saved me. She looked at me and saw someone worth saving."
"And that's why I can't stand it when someone treats her badly just because of how she looks." He clenched his fists, "I don't care what she looks like; she's a good person. She saved me, and so I'll do everything I can to make things easier for her. A person like her… deserves someone who can be of use to her."
After he was done, she was silent for a moment as she processed everything.
Finally, she nodded and said, "This meeting has been fairly informative. Thank ya, Natsuki-kun."
Subaru blinked, "What?"
"After I heard that you were close with not only the Sword Saint, but also the most infamous of the royal candidates, I had to see what juicy information you could provide. I invited you here to see what you could tell me, and you delivered more than I could've possibly imagined!"
He gaped at her, "B-But you said you were doing this to thank me!"
"Ya got to have lunch with the beautiful young damsel ya saved, didn't ya? That's quite the reward if I do say so myself." Seeing his rapidly growing distress, she added, "Don't worry, nothin' ya said will be used against your lady. I just wanted to satisfy my curiosity."
Subaru gave a sigh of relief, "You're really good at freaking people out, you know that?"
"It's part of my charm." Looking over his shoulder, she noticed that Julius had finally come to pick her up. At his side was Emilia, who was stomping her way over to her admirer. "Speaking of charm, looks like the gal who stole your heart has come to get ya."
She stood up and rounded the table, turning one last time to look at the interesting boy, "Thanks for helpin' me out today, and good luck with your lady friend."
"Ah, goodbye, Anastasia-sama," he said with a wave.
She turned and walked toward her knight, who had split off from his temporary ward and came to intercept her path.
"Punctual as always, Julius-kun."
"I'm glad you're alright, Lady Anastasia. I'll be sure to thoroughly reprimand Mimi for leaving you unattended as soon as the opportunity presents itself."
Anastasia shot a grin at her knight, "And straight to the point as usual too, I see. Don't worry about me, I got to have an interesting experience for my trouble."
Julius sighed, "I would prefer if you didn't do something like this again in the future. Lady Emilia was practically shaking with anxiety after you dragged her companion off; I had to spend the next forty five minutes promising her on my honor that you were acting on a whim and that the boy was not under your employ."
She giggled, "Sorry for puttin' ya in a tough spot. I'll try not to leave ya out to dry if we ever have to deal with that girl again."
"Thank you." A pause. "Was your whim worth your time?"
"Oh yes. Natsuki Subaru was worth every bit of time I spent on him. It's a real shame he's so attached to that girl, someone with his connections and devotion would be quite the asset. Keep an eye on that one if he's at the selection meeting, Julius. It should be interesting to see his reaction when someone inevitably insults his lady."
"Do you think he'll be trouble?"
"Hmm… I don't know, but his reactions sure are entertaining."
Julius heaved a sigh, "As you wish, my lady."
"Ah, goodbye, Anastasia-sama," he said with a wave.
She smiled at him for a moment more before turning and walking over to the man he had sworn eternal enmity against. He frowned, it really was a shame that such a pretty girl had someone like him as a knight.
He was snapped out of his thoughts by a hand clamping down on his wrist and dragging him in the opposite direction as the fluffy merchant.
"Emilia?"
She didn't answer, and just kept silently dragging him down the street.
Panic surged through his body; Emilia was upset with him! Ugh, what was he doing thinking of another girl when his angel was right in front of him?! He had to make sure that she knew his loyalty wasn't in question or she might not want him anymore!
"Don't worry, Emilia-tan! All I did that entire meal was tell her all about how wonderful and cute you are! I'll bet she got sick of just how many times I said how much of an angel you are!"
Emilia still didn't respond, but her grip on his wrist loosened ever-so-slightly.
"I'm making progress; keep it up!" He plastered a grin on his face and began going over every detail of how much he'd praised her to Anastasia.
Surely she'd let him help her with the Royal Selection if he proved his sincerity, right?
Author's note: This is my submission for Pidgie's fic exchange. It was originally intended for arban, but my partner was switched to LittleRunningDemon, so shoutout to both of them. I hope you enjoy it!
Edit: Fixed some formatting errors. Sorry about that.