*disclaimer: this is a fanfiction of a pre-existing novel, none of the characters or settings (unless they are created by myself) that are in this story are not my own but owned by Tappei Nagatsuki. Please support the official release!*
Chapter 2: Royal Candidate
We headed out of the alleyway into the busy main street and continued to move toward the slums. I looked over at Mr. Taygeta, an average man with dull attire -except the eyepatch- and a mature look that seemed a bit wise at first, but now, looking at him closer, seemed a bit youthful and brash. The eyepatch probably threw me off, either that or the man's mature-yet assertive-manner of speech.
"Hey Emilia." He said, "During our conversation in the alleyway you seem to touch on that green crystal of yours a lot, any reason for that?" At first I hesitated for a second, but before I could answer Puck took the initiative and replied in my substitution.
"Why hello there Taygeta! I forgot to introduce myself. The name's Puck!" The floating grey cat exclaimed. Taygeta's jaw dropped to the floor, eyes opened wide as he saw my contractor, "A Great Spirit!" He shouted in surprise. There were a few people that looked towards us, little whispers of gossip here and there. Thankfully though there weren't that many people to see the two dunderheads shout at each other.
"Huh… So you're a spirits art user too." Mr. Taygeta said. The 'too' caught me a little off guard, and after the realization of what he meant I asked, "Wait, so you're a spirits art user?" He nodded, replying with, "though I'm not contracted to a great spirit; I'm only contracted to 6 spirits and 8 minor spirits."
Impressive, this man is contracted with 6 spirits. Puck was right about this man being strong. Thankfully though this man has no malicious intent, I thought to myself.
"Well, if it's not rude of me to ask, may I see these contracted spirits of yours?" I asked. Mr. Taygeta looked at me for a second then gave an awkward glance at Puck before looking back at me to answer with, "Well Puck over here is preventing my spirits from appearing. His overwhelming presence is making my spirits too afraid to summon into a visible form." Mr. Taygeta explained with an exaggerated manner of speech added at the end.
"All natural spirits fear me, as they should." Puck jokingly said, his usual voice replaced with a deeper voice to try and sound more intimidating. I merely giggled at their satirical performance.
"Well if Puck is interfering with your spirits, I can just make him return so he won't bother any of them." I suggested. He merely brushed the comment aside replying with, "No it's fine. I mean it's not too often that you get to meet a great spirit in the first place."
Our conversation continued about Mr. Taygeta's spirits. The man apparently says that his 6 spirits are incomplete, says he's aiming to gain another spirit. I asked what he meant by that, but he seemed to ignore me, instead insisting that we focus on a different topic. There was a brief moment of silence before I asked a question that bothered me this entire time.
"Mr. Taygeta, how old are you?" He seemed a bit surprised by the comment, only replying with a 'huh' before I continued with, "I mean at first you seem to look way~ older than me, but now that I look at you more closely, you actually look around the same age as myself." Taygeta then looked at me with a weird stare, "Huh... how old are you then?" He asked, "eighteen." I replied.
He then crossed his arms as he continued on to tell me, "You're about 7 years off… I'm 25 years old..." He then paused contemplating something, before seeming to move on. "Really? You're that old." I accidentally said aloud. "Wow~. Thanks for the compliment." Taygeta said in a sarcastic tone. I flustered up a little before answering, "T-that's not what I meant! I mean you were just older than I thought." Taygeta looked at me with amusement. "Oh no, you're right. I'm justa an ol' man at the ripe old age of 25." He mocked, making his voice sound older despite his youth.
"T-Taygeta you nincompoop!" I yelled at him in frustration. The response made him wheeze as he laughed aloud. "And you're telling me that I'm old? That term probably hasn't been used for over a century." He continued laughing as I shouted out his name. "You got to admit Lia, he's got you beaten there." Puck added, "Oh not you too!" The people around us emitted cold, demeaning stares, but both Puck and Taygeta ignored it so I too decided to not spoil the conversation by outside factors.
"Hey also, might I add." Taygeta said, "Please don't give any honorific to my name. You probably already noticed that I'm a nobleman and all, but I rather you just use my normal name since we have gotten oh so close in the time we recently shared together." I meekly nodded as Taygeta leaned in close with a charming smile on his face. He really has an assertive personality, I thought to myself.
"-Anyways, back to our previous topic. Why did you think I was old at first?" He asked, a wide grin plastered on his face. "Well that's because you seemed older. I don't really know how to explain it, it just seemed like you gave off an aura of someone that has had more experiences in life than an average person like myself. Either that or the eyepatch threw me off." I explained to him.
Taygeta then put on a prideful grin as he asked me, "Do you know who created this eyepatch of mine." I shake my head, he puffs out his chest, "Well it was none other myself who stitched this eyepatch together!" He exclaimed.
"Oh really. How did you have your eye taken out anyway?" I insincerely questioned. Taygeta's face soured as soon as I mentioned his eye. I of course quickly realized my mistake and attempted to apologize, but he interrupted me.
"Look it's fine, I just don't want to talk about how I got it. Rough memories are usually left in the back of my mind, I don't like bringing them up again." He said with a quick and frustrated tone followed by a sigh. I could only whisper out "Sorry" as we continued to our destination.
It wasn't that much longer when we reached the slums. I really made him angry with me, didn't I, I thought to myself. I wondered if I should thank him and ask him to leave. He did a lot for me already so it might be best to not be a burden to him.
"Hey, sorry about earlier." Taygeta apologized, "I'm not mad at you per se, it's just that the asshole that took away my eyesight just so happened to be annoying to the point of insanity, so bringing up the memory of him kinda makes me a bit angry." Puck quietly added "A bit?" I ignored Puck and shook my head, "no it's my fault. I shouldn't have brought it up in the first place. I am sorry for my insincerity." I explained to him.
He looked like he was going to continue to argue with me, but he stopped right after he opened his mouth. He then laughed. "...It doesn't matter. Anyways I guess I'll tell you what my plan is for getting back your insignia." He then went on to explain, "The reason getting this is going to be difficult is because someone probably contracted the thief to steal it, since a thief wouldn't just steal one specific thing, especially if they don't know what it is worth."
I gasped at what he was saying. Why would someone target me specifically? Better yet how do they know I had such an item on hand, I haven't even been publicly announced. The only other people that know about my insignia are Puck, Roswaal, and the twin maids at the mansion. No one else should know, yet there seemed to be a leak in information. But who would possibly do this?
"That is indeed very difficult. What is your plan to combat this Taygeta?" I asked. He responded with, "First we need to find out where the contractor and the buyer are going to meet. Hopefully I'm there before the buyer, otherwise I'll have to go into a bidding war." I interrogated his last line with a repetition, "A bidding war? What do you mean by that?" He simply responded, "I mean that I'll be buying the insignia back from the thief."
"What!? But she was the one that stole it! Why do we have to buy it back!?" I complained to Taygeta. He managed to ignore my childishness. "To be honest I don't really want to confront the buyer. If it is indeed a nobleman they would probably hire someone to get the insignia to remain anonymous. Most nobles tend to hire very capable, strong people to get the job done. I'd rather just pay the ransom and move on." I eventually followed the conclusion he came to, and accompanied him further into the slums.
"Sooo Taygeta, how are we going to find this place where the exchange is going to happen? Maybe I can call the lesser spirits to find out where this girl is?" I proposed. Taygeta shook his head, "That won't be necessary." He then continued to rough up his white shirt and overcoat and dirty his black pants and shoes, "I'll rough myself up to look poorer. Then I'll ask the people for directions. Here hold my eyepatch." After his elucidation he handed his eyepatch to me, keeping one of his eyes shut as he scurried away.
He found an impoverished man laying down on the ground not too far from me. I was able to see the two of them talking, but they were far enough away that I wasn't able to listen in on their conversation. After a minute or so, he rushed back to me.
"Ok, our culprit's name is Felt, she is a low time thief that steals for both others and herself. She trades stolen goods at the 'Loot House' which is said to be a little farther that way." Taygeta stated as he pointed to the direction of the Loot House. "Well then, we got our thief and our location, so what are we waiting for!?" I declared with a smile on my face. Taygeta nodded with a grin on his face. "Let's go!" Puck exclaimed with a little giggle afterward at the dumb interaction were having.
We eventually reached this Loot House, a small, run-down shack. As I started walking closer, Taygeta put a hand on my shoulder to stop me.
"Unfortunately, you won't be joining me, I'll go by myself." He stated. I looked back with a puzzled complexion. "Why?" I asked. "Our thief is going to notice you as soon as you walk in there. She will most likely run away at the sight of you." He responded. I meekly replied with an "Okay."
"Listen, if I don't come back after a while, please go in on your own accord. Either that or if you see a suspicious person walk in. I'm not weak per se, but who knows what'll happen?" Taygeta explained. I responded with, ''No worries I'll be fine; besides I got Puck here to keep me company." Puck then suddenly appeared to reaffirm "As long as I'm around no one is going to hurt Lia over here." Taygeta just chuckled and walked away. "Good luck!" I exclaimed; his response was just one flick of the wrist to wave back at me.
I sat upon a cliff as Taygeta went into the Loot House below. As I saw his figure walk into the rundown site, I faintly heard Puck mumble something under his breath "Taygeta, huh." I looked at Puck with a confused expression, "...Ah, it's nothing. It's just… does that guy seem familiar to you?" Puck said with a forced smile. I got a bit anxious by his question.
"What do you mean?" I asked before adding, "I only just met the guy, I haven't seen him before today." Puck just sighed, a sigh more out of frustration than relief.
"It doesn't matter." He said. I was still perplexed by the uncomfortable atmosphere that was created. "Puck?" I questioned further. He bought in and told me what was on his mind, "Lia... look… Taygeta might not have malicious intent towards us, but the man isn't really that trustworthy." Puck paused; he was about to say something before stared back at the Loot House.
Even though I myself was confused on what Puck was saying, I was able to put the conversation on hold to see what caused Puck's fixation. What I saw was a discreet individual who's profile included, from my discernible vision, a tall figure with black hair and a dark drape. The person in general had a killing intent towards the Loot House's occupants.
As the figure sneaked its way in, I ran for the door of the establishment and opened it.
What I saw was Subaru sitting down with a yellow haired girl at a table with a tall giant at the end. Taygeta and the old giant both had a puzzled expression as to why I was here while the little girl gave a look of shock as she most likely was able to identify who I was.
"Damn! I guess I didn't lose her after all." The yellow haired girl mumbled under her breath. "Felt who the hell is this girl?" The old man questioned. Our culprit responded with, "This is the person that I stole from. I guess I didn't cover my tracks as well as I thought I did."
I was a bit flustered. Where is the mysterious figure, I wondered. I surveyed the area, yet I couldn't find them. I swore I saw someone enter. Could it just have been my imagination?
All of them seemed to glare at me. Even Taygeta.
"I-I-I..." I stuttered, shaking my head left and right profusely trying to avoid their harsh gazes. I looked back at the trio of people and noticed Taygeta's gaze once more, and then I realized something. Was he staring behind me?
Before I had the chance to look at what was behind me, Taygeta rushed up to me and shoved my body away. As I was pushed away I saw metal clash with metal, sparks flew from the impact. A dark figure then retreated back after the confrontation.
The dark figure, which I could now clearly see, was a woman that had a dark cloak on with a revealing outfit underneath. A dark blade, that matched the color scheme of her attire, was held in her right hand. As I gazed up to look at her, she had a sinister smile plastered on her face with her deep, sadistic amethyst eyes stared directly at me.
I looked back at Taygeta, he too held a blade. This blade though was a sword and not a knife like the other. It was a thin rapier that had a design of gold and black. A very intercate crest was labeled at the guard of the hilt. A design that matched his eyepatch, though this one was more familiar to me. It was the Natsuki family crest!
I looked up Taygeta. I was able to see the right side of his face (The one without the eyepatch), and I saw a mean glare directed at the woman. The angry glare was further enhanced by his mean-looking eyes.
Taygeta was the first one to speak
"Why-out of all people-did it have to be you!?" He roared out. The sadistic woman giggled at his reaction. "Awww how rude of you Subaru. I thought you would have missed me after our last fond confrontation." She softly stated with a devilish smile that reached ear to ear.
Tayg- I mean Natsuki Subaru took a deep breath to calm down. He looked back to the rest of us. I was laying on the ground when all these events happened and so quickly got up; even though I was still surprised by the revelation that Taygeta was Natsuki Subaru I managed to push the questions to the back of my head. I had to deal with the threat in front of me. I glanced back to the people behind me to find a shocked petite blond girl having a look of someone that has just been betrayed; The old giant looked at the woman with a cautious gaze and got out an enormous club.
"Listen everyone, this is the Bowel Hunter named Elsa Granhiert." I looked back to Subaru and saw him still giving a very harsh glare towards the woman, but instead of bearing his teeth he kept composed. He then took off his overcoat revealing another thin blade of the same design as the other he held in his right hand.
"The Bowel Hunter isn't someone to take lightly. She's a trained assassin that can re-heal herself almost to an unstoppable extent." He continued to explain.
"Subaru is too harsh. He didn't even let me have the satisfaction of introducing myself. Though I loathe you, I can't help but anticipate cutting you open and seeing your wonderful insides." She lost her smile at first, seeming actually insulted, but her devilish smile returned when she mentioned cutting Subaru up. "Also forgot to mention that she is very sadistic!" Subaru added.
"Tsk! Listen here lady! We got you the insignia right here, we'll just give it to ya and we'll be goi-" Felt was interrupted by Subaru. "Like I said, she is very sadistic. Even if we weren't here and you made your deal, she would still most likely have killed you; besides I won't arrest you for stealing the insignia, I know that you petty thieves only steal to make a living." Subaru quickly spoke, then turned his attention to the threat in front of him.
I still held my gaze towards the pair behind me; the old man seemed to be a bit annoyed, but seemed to have followed Subaru's elucidation towards the obvious conclusion. The little blond girl though was still contemplating, distressed about the situation.
"Listen here Felt. Even though I hate to admit it, Natsuki's right. That Bowel Hunter probably would have killed us with or without them." After the old man reaffirmed Subaru's statement Felt gave up and followed the old man's lead. "Whatever you say, Old Man Rom."
I looked back to Tay- I mean Subaru and noticed that his gaze was still set on the Bowel Hunter. He was composed, yet let out a little scowl followed with a harsh glare. He held a stance where both blades were held to their sides respectively, this stance is what he would decide to charge with.
Subaru first blocked an attack from the left and followed through with what seemed like a counter-attack at first, but was merely a block from an invisible blade that suddenly appeared to strike at him. He used this block to redirect his blade, aiming for the throat.
He was able to lacerate part of her neck, but unfortunately the Bowel Hunter dodged out of the way. She retreated sideways, where Rom the giant was waiting. He tried to clobber her with his club, but unfortunately he missed.
She, in the blink of an eye, jumped onto the big chunk of wood. With direct aim to his head and a big enough weapon to her side, she seemed perfectly ready to decapitate the old man. But the blood of the old man didn't spill as an ice wall materialized from thin air to protect him.
I looked back near the entrance and found Puck. At first I thought he may have just came into the Loot House, but he would have most likely already been here as the length that I had to travel wasn't that far.
"Ul Shamak!" Chanted Subaru. Casting a dark spell that covered the Bowel Hunter completely. I decided to make myself useful and casted a fire spell(ice crystal) to knock her off the old man. Subaru also saw the opportunity and took it. He rushed forward and pinned the woman to the ground using both of his sword to pierce each forearm and pin her legs by standing atop of them. As soon as the spell wore off he attacked using a fire spell. "Goa!"
A ball of flame was materialized and shot at the Bowel Hunter. This process wasn't over yet as the person was still alive, and so Subaru fired the same spell over and over again until she was nothing but a charred corpse.
"Won't be bothering us anymore." Subaru simply stated.
"She's dead right?" Felt asked, Subaru merely nodded. He then sheathed both of his rapiers and then came to confront me. He walked towards me with a happy smile.
"I'm sorry for the harshness I showed earlier. That... woman and her sadistic smile has caused a lot of trouble for me in the past. Anyway, now you know my name I guess, Natsuki Subaru. Yes I lied and all, but that was because I have a bad reputation among most people and I couldn't completely trust you." He said in a friendly, yet insincere tone.
"So She's supposed to put all her trust in you?" Puck interrogated. "Well I mean I might not seem trustworthy, but I'm much more trustworthy than Roswaal." Subaru simply stated. He quickly realized his mistake and tried to respond, but I interrupted.
"That is the second time you lied to me." I tried to remain calm and collected, but a few tears seemed to collect, and so I looked directly to the ground to not only hide my tears but to not look at his face. "At first I thought you were a kind person who was a little bit too informal, but I now see that none of that was real." I finished with a quiver. I expected a defense of some sorts by Subaru, but all I got was, "Tsk!" Followed by an agitated sigh.
I decided to look up, but I regretted it the moment I did. I saw Subaru with a mean scowl directed at me(like those given to her on a regular basis).
"Fine then, if you want to stay with that bastard then go ahead, but do be careful around him. He is the type of person who does not even care if he or the others around him are killed while achieving his goals." Subaru advised before turning his back to talk to the duo near the counter.
I wipe my tears away. Even though I want to cry- no sob my eyes out I cannot right now. I have to make sure I have my insignia secured. I go towards the counter to where the duo and Subaru are. It seems like he was there for the exact same reason I myself was.
"Okay now, give the insignia back and I won't need a reason to put you in jail, got it?" Subaru demanded. The girl nodded and put her hand to reveal the insignia.
The insignia itself was shining a red glow when presented. Subaru gave a look of shock, I myself was very puzzled. Old Man Rom gave off a sweat, he wrapped his hands around his club, ready to strike.
"El Shamak."
Before the giant could do anything a dark cloud enveloped his head and he fell asleep. Both me and Felt looked on with shock.
"Hey! Mister what did you do to- ``''El Shamak" Before she could finish, she too was enveloped and fell unconscious.
"Well it seems I have a good replacement for you, Emilia." He said with a mischievous grin.
Author's Notes: Haven't uploaded in a while, don't know if you could tell. First things first though is why Puck is not reacting the way he's supposed to be. I really don't want to go in and change that though since the story itself needs Subaru to hurt Emilia, and Puck in general would absolutely clap Subaru. Second, Subaru is very op, but not in the same vain as Reinhardt is. Yes he did just take down Elsa, but that was because he already knew her weakness and has already fought against her before. Third, to clarify the reason he brought up the eyepatch. He mainly brings it up because of his love for the Pleiades constellations and pride for his sewing ability. He never really got comments on how his eye was taken out. Though in any given mood he will act bitterly no matter what. I'm also probably going to upload the next chapter, next week. PS comment on anything that I may have made an error on, and be harsh because I want to really be informed the next time I publish a story(Opinions are fine as long as you don't get toxic with it).