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The following is a fan-based

FICTION

Re:Zero and other products related to the this series are all owned by Tappei Nagatsuki.

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Chapter 16: Awkward Ride Back Home

Julius Juukulius was not sure he liked the disposition his lady had picked for him.

The fact his role as her knight was shoved aside so Ricardo could take his place in the chariot with their lady while she interacted with Lady Emilia and the Margrave set up a strange annoyance in him. Sure, the overall circumstance was reasonable as Anastasia wanted him to study the man known as Natsuki Subaru but... the plum-haired knight wasn't sure he was good for this kind of task. There was just a sense of unease to be around the young man. And the worst part? He could tell it wasn't Subaru he was worried about.

A quick glimpse at the first time reminded him of how any ill-placed action or word may gain him the ire of someone that was known to be devoid of anger on most occasions. Lady Emilia's reaction, the way he treasured the young man was nothing short of perplexing. It wasn't like Julius couldn't see why the girl found him appealing: Subaru was feasibly nice-looking for someone his age and pedigree, something not many could say due to the income disparity. Not only that, he was clever and somewhat of an emotionally positive individual.

This last trait of him seemed to favor him immensely as he was currently witnessing. Mimi Pearlbaton may have a sense of flamboyant quirkiness which made her as childish as her overall appearance, but it would be a mistake to assume she was a mere child herself. Her and her siblings- the orange-haired triplets were known to be close to adulthood, with the trio being 15 and Mimi being the oldest by mere minutes.

It made sense that they were the best option to pry information out of Subaru and understand more the standing of their potential allies... or future foes. And the more he watched and listened, the more Julius cursed his initial neutrality and reluctance to speak more. Why? Well, it was becoming quite apparent to him that Subaru may have a special touch to handle children and those beings with demi-humans features.

Mimi had taken to sitting on his lap out of teasing, but had remained there for longer than what a mere teasing session would require. Feline ears twitching attention, the girl was leaning on the young man's chest and... actually purring. Sky-blue eyes losing focus as she dreamily stared at the ceiling, the girl looked to be experiencing some outwordly situation which left her a melting puddle.

A sight which shocked Julius, but not what ultimately 'snapped' him in pure surprise. No, that honor was reserved to what ensued next. With their older sister displaying such behavior, two emotions roused from within Hetaro and Tivey: annoyance at seeing their big sister treated like this, and curiosity to understand how that came to be.

Since Lady Hoshin had been clear on not instigating issues, Hetaro, being the mind of the group, formulated a... simple plan. They would just approach the situation and try to understand how to get their sister out of that 'trouble'. Julius knew it was an extremely stupid plan, but he could also see that their motivation was not the true one. Not when the scene evolved to see the purring intensifying and now including masculine meowling to the count.

Julius was obviously unable to hold back from just staring at the scene with utter awe. Normally it was Joshua, his younger brother, the one that would find this sort of counter-diplomacy somewhat 'amusing', and yet Julius couldn't help himself but grin at what was going on. Tivey, the shiest of the bunch, had somewhat settled to sit on Rem's lap and... the maid had taken a deep liking for that situation and had joined Subaru in his curious ministrations.

Mimi giggled earnestly, craving for Subaru's hands to once more grant her either some scratches on her kitty ears, or even on her chin. But since he had two hands, one of the triplets would be spared from that interaction for a while at times by the time Rem pulled away from the situation and... they sure behaved like cats from the way they pestered and whined for more treats. Luckily Rem was swayed into getting back at it rather than just watching.

By the knight's truthful assumption, it was clear that any plan to draw secrets out of Natsuki Subaru had failed miserably and... perhaps this new interaction was going to further cement a more 'friendly' attitude from Lady Hoshin. If there was something Julius had learned to accept and be quite wary about, it was that Mimi behaved as an extent to Anastasia's greed. If the demi-human demanded something, then, by relation, Anastasia wanted this to happen.

It was unusual for a woman that vehemently denied herself the interest of sharing power with an equal partner, but, then again, Mimi was no equal partner to her lady, but rather someone that was adorable enough to sway Anastasia to do things for her. In a sense, Anastasia doted on her as if she was some sort of heiress to her.

Could this actually be the case? Julius never pondered this circumstance this deeply, and perhaps it was good that he was in a situation where he could start thinking of things he would normally be questioned for. Such as what would be Anastasia's plan once she sits on the throne? A normal observer would expect her to leave it as soon as it becomes clear that she can't move around as freely as she currently could, however Julius knew through the excessive investment the violet-haired woman was pushing forth that she knew what she wanted and she wanted to clutch at that power for long. And who wouldn't as a merchant?

To rule a kingdom means that she has the chance to pry open markets which once were thought to be close to her. It was a golden opportunity... however, how would she satisfy the need of an heir? Marriage? That didn't seem in the air right now. Adopting an heir? Mimi was the best choice for multiple reasons: not only was she clever and on her way to become a potential second-in-command to Anastasia's camp, but she was learning fast through the lessons Anastasia taught her over trade rules and bargaining.

Julius could see Mimi find some issues due to her upbringing and biology, however nothing suggested she was to be hated extensively about it. Knowing Anastasia, she was definitely going to 'replace or bribe' the local nobility to fit her whims so that any demi-human ascendency was going to be met with the least amount of backlash.

Still, what now was becoming an issue was the sudden attachment tied to this Natsuki Subaru. This new circumstance was definitely going to entertain the fun side of Lady Hoshin and... that wasn't necessarily good news for Lady Emilia's camp. It all depended on how the direct confrontation between the two royal candidates was going on that very instant.

And Julius could tell these two were going to be difficult to predict due to how quirky their personalities tended to be.

Emilia was not sure how to label Anastasia Hoshin.

Yes, the woman was being pleasant and delivering a courteous tone back at her, but there was something overly-saccharine with this sort of approach. A thought which was shared by Puck as they both tried to decipher that sort of mystery. The plum-haired merchant was being quite clever with her words, trying to keep it quite simple and... somewhat uneasy on the half-elf's side of things.

"Are you sure you never considered that sort of friendly interaction? Sleepovers are quite entertaining when done right~."

"I-I think I see no point in inviting you in one, Lady Hoshin," Emilia remarked, holding back the nervousness as Anastasia had put an effort in trying to push in this new idea onto her, turning the mere invitation to drink tea at the manor as an excuse to stay over for the night.

The fellow royal candidate huffed. "Please, do call me Anastasia. And what I'm trying to say is that it would be a nice way to finalize our new friendship. In fact, I think I may like you a lot more than I thought possible."

...What?

"I don't understand-"

"I belie-e-ve Lady Hoshin is trying to say that she wants you two to form a stronger alliance. In exchange of that, of course, trust is quite needed," Roswaal elaborated jovially. "Quite the unexpected interest for a lasting alliance considering how limited interactions are between the two camps."

Anastasia smiled widely. "I've been told I can be quite impulsive, but it's that boldness in claiming all as mine that makes me successful. And, in a way... I may want to claim Emilia as mine too."

The declaration removed any logical footing Emilia could have relied on and her eyes widened in shock. The innuendo wasn't lost to her, and the amusement exploding on Anastasia's face did little to assuage her growing dread in that regard. Was Anastasia flirting with her? That actually sounded to be the case.

But could it also be ruled as 'courtship'? That was a dilemma Emilia couldn't answer without feeling her brain fail her. Not when she was so mixed on how to react to it. It was either rejecting her politely or outright ignoring her. And she had this feeling none of those options was going to steer Anastasia away from her.

"I don't- I don't think that's possible."

"Hmm? And why not?" Anastasia pressed, knowing she was dominating the conversation but perceiving trouble in that absolute control she had.

"Yeah, who would be better to spend time with compared to the princess here?" The question came from the Captain of the Fang of Iron himself, Ricardo Welkin.

Ricardo was a large wolfin with two large tusks hanging from the sides of his mouth. His eyes were turquoise-colored, and he had a muscular build that was covered with short brown body fur, dark-brown mane which he adorned as a mohican with two small red braids coming from the sides of his mane.

His fur had a lighter tan color around his chest, biceps, and mouth, and his dark-brown beard gave him more maturity than anything else. He wore long, black toeless pants, black arm guards, and white wrappings under his dark-colored clothes on his arms and waist along with an orange belt. He was also donning a shoulder guard that had the logo representing the Hoshin Trading Company.

"Lady Emilia is maybe thinking of her advisor, Natsuki Subaru-san," Roswaal struck again, and this revelation further embarrassed the half-elf and... left a peculiar expression on the merchant's face.

One would have expected annoyance at potential rivalry to claim something or someone, yet a playful grin appeared on her face almost instantly.

"Oh yes, Subaru-kun," Anastasia hummed mirthfully. "If you want, he can join us for the sleepover."

What?

"Together with Mimi, Hetaro and Tivey! That would be the most grand way to have fun. Don't you think, Emilia~?"

...I can tell she meant it in a different way than that.

Still, the setup felt feasible. Sure, the triplets she knew were older than they looked, but Emilia had a feeling Anastasia wouldn't do anything risky around them. Specifically around Mimi since it was known she cared deeply for that particular vice-captain of the mercenary group.

"I..."

You should accept, Lia.

What?! But she is-

She is trying to push you with this, to control you to accept. Yes, it is bad but... the more you resist, the bolder she will get. And right now, we are still in a somewhat safe and acceptable position.

As much as Emilia wanted to say Puck was wrong with that assumption, she knew he was right. And that she would have to take a gamble here to actually cement an alliance this early on. The more allies she scored, the higher the legitimacy of her cause would extend due to her diplomatic view and how she explained it to the rest of her potential future subjects.

"I suppose it can be done."

"Brilliant~!" The fellow girl replied in pure delight, her pretty eyes glowing with a weird light which made her shiver a fair bit.

Yes, she may have bitten more than she could chew but... Subaru was going to be there too so... maybe she was safe?

AN

Maybe. Or maybe not.

And yes, Barusu just unlocked his 'shotamancer' skill, and if mixed with his natural lolimancer skill, he effectively obtained the more powerful 'Chibimancer' skill! Excellent!

P.S. I now have a discord server! Discord .gg/ceBMM2Zz6c

REVIEW Q&A!

Able and Table: He can do it. Just once in a while. His dad 'beat it' into him.

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