Flanders, one of the five regional capital cities of the Dragon Kingdom of Lugnica, is a tumultuous place with many dark organizations under its surface. It is also known as the Earth Dragon Capital (地竜の都 Chiryuu no Miyako) due to being known as the place where Earth Dragons originated from. The Sage is said to have become friends with the Dragon here, in addition to the land being blessed by the dragon so that Earth Dragons would be born. It's famed for having what is known as a "dragon industry" since the city makes use of its Earth Dragons beyond transport labor, such as powering water wheels, opening and closing canals, or raising and lowering drawbridges. These innovations are only made possible due to the abundance of Earth Dragons there. The famed Astrea territory is located nearby.
Although it is mainly a city known for being situated upon high ground and its bizarre festivals and celebrations, the ones who run rampant underground are probably the ones in full control, despite the mass public not knowing about it.
Of those organizations, only four stand on the top.
It was a brutal hierarchy during its beginnings, but now it has mainly evened out, due to an agreement between the leaders.
The Big Three, referred to as the three heads of Flanders' underground, are the strongest ones around. The Libra/Balance, are a faction that worships the Witch of Pride and likes to have tattoo symbols engraved onto their bodies. The Shadow Flower Garden, a giant organization of woman prostitutes. And the Golden Beetle, who's main purpose is to give money to those in the underground so that they can act to their desire.
Another organization towers over them at the top, led by the Pig King, Doltero Amule. The Black Silver Coin is a dangerous organization that has even more power than any of the Big Three, and that's why in terms of hierarchy, they are at its pinnacle.
The current situation happened when a mysterious figure decided to mess with the top of the top, and the Big Three's representatives are ready to meet with the boss of the Black Silver Coin to decide on a plan to eradicate this threat.
However, before they moved out, Balance was visited by a young boy and his battalion, who demanded something interesting while also promising something almost impossible.
3rd Person POV
A young man walked through the alley with three people behind him, leaving his other comrades behind to enjoy the city. He taught Palmyra Huma, Fura, and Dona, so they should be good at this moment.
Even a skilled bandit cannot stand up to a mabeast user, a Witch, a mage and a girl with a Beast Bracelet. They're just too powerful.
"Hehe..." The young boy chuckled as he entered the last alley by taking a sharp left turn as he came into view of the two men guarding the entrance to their base.
"Who are you? Identify yourselves!" The two men said as they unsheathed swords, ready to fight, but the young man held a hand up to signify peace, and opened his mouth.
"Calm down, will you?" The young man said as he stalked forwards, and an immense amount of aura poured out of him, scaring the two guards. "I am simply here to meet the leader of Libra, or whichever representative you have."
The boy casually spilled out the name of a Big Three organization in the alley of Flanders, and the vanguard of their base is nothing but shocked. No one wanted to mess with them, except for the Shadow Flower Garden and other big shots. So who is this kid here? What kind of place of origin does this kid have?
"Who exactly are you?"
"Oh, oops, I forgot to introduce myself." the young man said as he put on a dramatic flair and gave a slight bow. "My name is Y/N L/N. The Warlock of Deceit, leader of the Liberator's Battalion. Elsa Granhiert, Yae Tenzen, Sphinx." The boy then pointed to each of his companions behind him.
Fearful of the names he just uttered, the guards ushered them inside as a member was called upon to greet the people.
Manfred Madison never thought he would be called to another meeting before the great conference of the Big Three. Sure, he was the representative of the Libra, but that doesn't mean he had to go around doing everything!
Their leader was absent once again, due to 'business' he had to take care of. Manfred never understood what it was, but he decided to go along with it as he entered the guest room, where a boy and three girls were waiting for him patiently, and all four emitted a dense sense of danger.
Manfred was cautious, but against powerhouses who showed their potential right away, he can't help but feel dwarfed in front of them despite not knowing their identity. Their presence was even more dangerous than Doltero Amule, arguably the most dangerous individual in the city of Flanders.
"So, what do you guys want?" Manfred said to the quartet, unsure of how to start it off.
"Manfred Madison, the Tattoo Head, I presume?" The young boy said as he exposed Manfred's identity immediately, showing no sign of reservation when it comes to spewing facts. "I'm here today to form an alliance with the Libra. I want you guys to send help to me whenever I need, since I would be indeed requiring your assistance in the future."
"Huh? Who do you are to demand such things of our organization, one of the Three Heads-"
"Of course, I'm not suggesting that I have no payment. You people of the Balance, worship the Witch of Pride, correct?" The young man said as Manfred gasped, since that's one of the things that they almost never reveal. "If you do agree... I will resurrect the Witch of Pride, Typhon, for you."
'Just who do you think you are' is what Manfred would've said a year ago. But through his new experiences, he knew that someone who can have the guts to demand something so large must mean they must be able to do what they said, if not only to an extent.
"I'm listening..." Manfred said as he considered the boy's offer, seriously this time as the official negotiating begun.
Timeskippu*
Slice of Life Side-Story: Touring Flanders with a Witch
Omega looked at the buildings surrounding her, fascinated. It has been 400 years since she came to the outside world, and maybe even longer to set foot in a city due to her immense miasma.
Now, as an inconspicuous girl who was simply touring the city along with three others, it can be described as bliss.
Although her contractor ran off to conduct business, Omega supposed it was fine for him to leave her to babysitting the other girls, since she could go and drink some real tea.
Entering a coffee shop along with the three others, she sat down at a booth as the others stared at the menu in surprise, which is normal, considering that they have never been in such a big city before.
"Omega-chan, Omega-chan, what do you think is yummy here?" Colette asked her as Palmyra sighed as she regarded the menu, ironically excited as well.
"Well, Colette-chan, do you want to go with the kids meal?" Meili asked as she stared at the food, drooling.
"Have what you want, girls. Y/N gave me all the money we needed, so just eat away..." Omega said as she took out a bag containing at least 50 holy coins, and the girls widened their eyes as they immediately raised their hand and ordered.
Omega herself ordered some pastries, coffee, and tea. She wondered how did Y/N manage to accumulate this much money. He didn't seem particularly wealthy, so how...
Then again, Y/N told her about a quote he heard from his world...
A/N: this is an actual quote from my friend.
"Theft is just forced communism. Ian S."
Omega sighed at the interesting logic that this so-called 'philosophical figure', but she decided not to argue against it since it's what's keeping her alive.
As she sipped the tea into her mouth, a wave of refreshment washed over Omega, helping her reminiscing about the past.
As she struck a pose of drinking tea similar to what she did back in the Castle of Dreams, she thanked her contractor for bringing her out here, to a place where she can enjoy the scenery and food of the real world once more.
"—Lady Felt!"
In the moment she instinctively knew she wouldn't be able to evade it, she heard the pleasant voice of a man running towards her.
Before she could react to that shout in any way, something collided with her forehead. It split open with a flash of red, giving off a watery sound.
"───"
As a spray of red emerged, her slender figure fell backward. Her defenseless body collided with the wooden crates behind her, kicking up a large cloud of dust as they were smashed to pieces.
The girl, having fallen into the differently sized wooden crates scattered about, had miraculously fallen into the one spot that allowed her to remain unharmed.
Facing upward with the blue sky in her view, there was nothing being reflected in her crimson eyes. Her confident look, her cute, well-defined features, had been dyed in red by the wound in the center of her forehead. Her golden hair, which seemed to sparkle like the rays of the sun itself, had also been stained by it, and one could not help but avert one's gaze at such a terrible sight.
In fact, there had been many who had seen that sight and averted their eyes, their shoulders lightly trembling. However, among the many who had reacted in such a way, there was one who could not look away.
He jumped over the fence, seemingly flying, and the wind flowed beneath the girl. No, not quite the wind, for the young man had kicked off the ground with such power that it could have been mistaken as the wind.
"Lady Felt..." said the man down on one knee, peering at the fallen girl's face. He had an amazing physical appearance. That manifestation, which had deep crimson hair that seemed to burn as brightly as a flame, blue eyes that were so beautiful that they looked as if they held a clear blue sky within them, and whose handsomeness was so heavenly that not even an unparalleled sculptor with a lifetime of experience would be able to reproduce it, was there.
The handsome young man knelt down, his well-shaped eyebrows distorting with remorse, and murmured something softly. "My deepest apologies. I, was unable to reach you in time..."
His voice was tinged with sorrow, revealing his feelings of regret and responsibility for what had happened. It looked so excessively tragic that if it were put into a painting, it would be a timeless masterpiece capable of making anyone who saw it weep.
Within that scene that seemed to be detached from reality...
"—Reinhard."
As if by some sort of miracle, the girl spun a word together with her lips, letting out a murmur. And then her arm, which had powerlessly fallen to the ground, rose, her fingertips slowly drawing closer to the young man's cheek.
The young man watched the movement of her fingers, his breathing slow and faint—and then she pinched his nose.
"Lady Felt?"
"Hey, you! Haven't I told you to stop doing stuff like that because it totally kills the mood? This is why I like Y/N nii-chan better than you! Ugh, if you were trying to earn friendship points, I'd say you're failing horribly..." Pinching his nose, the girl, irritated, replied to the young man's muffled words.
From that position, she stretched out her legs, brought them up, and then swung them down with enough momentum to upright herself.
After that, she wiped off the red stuff that had gotten on her face with a hand. "Wooow, it's so sweet! Friggin' amazing. Now that's what I'm talking about!"
"I am not sure if it is sanitary to lick the stuff on your face, milady..."
"Haaah?" she replied. "Are you implying that my face is ugly? I'm gonna kick your ass for that!"
"No, you have an incredibly lovely appearance, Lady Felt. Though that has nothing to do with whether or not it is sanitary to..."
"Ugh, shut up—I can't stand you—you're so annoying!" said the girl, rudely, while covering her ears.
She—Felt—then got up, seemingly jumping as she did so. She brushed the dirt off her clothes and then said, "Hmm?" while taking a look around. "So, the reason you barged in like that wasn't just because you're a total airhead, huh..."
"That is correct, milady. Though it pains me to say it, your team has lost."
"Tch, can't be helped." Putting a hand on her waist, Felt smacked her lips, accepting her defeat. The young man—Reinhard—gave a wry smile at the sportsmanlike behavior, then gave her a cloth to wipe her face with before stepping into the middle of the square.
He then declared in a sufficiently clear voice, "Well then, the winner of the Harvest Festival game this time is the team from the West District!"
"""—!"""
They took in Reinhard's declaration for a moment, and then immediately following that, there was an explosion of cheers. The town of Hakuchuri wasn't all that large, but it was still amazing to see nearly every resident gathered in the town square. While wiping her head, Felt's expression relaxed at the sight of everyone embracing each other and cheering.
"Ah, I lost, I lost, damn it! ...And some of you guys still have the nerve to turn your faces away!" Felt scowled in the direction of the spectators, sharply thrusting her finger at them. Everyone she was pointing at had turned their faces away with their shoulders trembling when she'd taken a fall.
Felt suddenly narrowed her crimson eyes at those who were continuing to act like that. "No need to bottle up your laughter," she said. "I know I look pretty damn funny as I am now." She proudly showed off her tometo-covered self.
A/N: tometo is probably tomato ?
—A roar of laughter seemed to envelop the town square, reverberating unreservedly throughout the rest of the town.
Felt walked back into the fray, sighing as she wondered when she would see her beloved brother once again.
Meanwhile, Y/N sneezed in confusion somewhere in Flanders, wondering who was talking about him.
The Warlock of Deceit and the Golden Lion's meeting countdown: 2 Chapters