A/N.: Hello everyone! Welcome to the 2nd official chapter of my fanfic, I hope that the 1st one was to your liking! If it isn't the case, I'm sorry… But thank you for being willing to give my story a new try!
I hope that I will be able to continue with the weekly updates, but I unfortunately can't promise anything. I'm sorry if the characters are a bit OOC sometimes, but all of this is because of the OC's influence, please be indulgent about it!
I've put the small but familiar review corner, now a bit more symplified at the bottom of the page! My most grateful thanks to the reviewers once again! I hope that you will enjoy this chapter too! Have a nice reading!
When the next morning arrived, Elizabeth was getting herself ready on one of the lower floors. Finally it was time for her to depart. In order to look for one of the Seven Deadly Sins. And during this time...
"..." Lill was on the top floor, looking towards the unseen sky through a faint enlightened stained glass, deep in thought.
For the first time in quite a while, she was going to set foot in the outside world. In order to lead the princess to her knight…
'...I'll finally go meet him…' A feeling of anxiety was filling her heart and she clenched her fist, slightly above her chest and reforged her determination.
HOLY KNIGHT SAGA,
INTRODUCTION ARC:
THE FIRST OF THE SEVEN DEADLY SINS.
"Haah... haah... haaah..." A few days later, Elizabeth panted heavily as she walked with difficulty into the heavy dark rusty armor she was wearing on the mountain.
Even though she managed to escape the kingdom incognito thanks to this disguise, what's the point if she can't even hide her own voice from coming out of exhaustion? She knew that it was hard and she had prepared herself mentally for that but to think that hard! It was as if she was walking with the weights covering all her body like she had seen Griamore do it often during his training.
It felt hot, dizzy and suffocating with the helmet on and her vision was so narrowed and limited that she could hardly see anything, especially since the interior of the helmet made it so dark to see.
Now that she actually tried the whole armor on, she couldn't understand how the Holy Knights managed to deal with this on a daily basis! Her whole body felt so heavy being covered by that metal protection that she could hardly take anything other than a slow and small step forward, but…
"Do you want to take another break?" The petite fully hooded figure near her asked her, slight concern filling her voice.
However Elizabeth simply shook her head and answered, "No it's fine, because of me we already had so much break… I can continue…"
In contrast to her being so exhausted, the girl near her didn't seem to be the least tired even after walking such a long distance for such a long time… Besides, it was only when Elizabeth felt exhausted that she asked for them to take a break, if it weren't for Elizabeth, it felt like this girl could keep on walking forever.
This gives the princess another realization that indeed, appearances couldn't be trusted, this girl was younger than her yet she was far more athletic. Elizabeth regretted slightly about how she stopped exercising herself when she reached her teenage years.
'Still... I must walk, until I manage to find one of the Seven Deadly Sins...' Mentally scolding herself for complaining, Elizabeth tried to gather all her strength and pushed her feets forward.
She has no right to complain about her difficulties while her people and kingdom were having it far worse! Which is why in order to put an end to their suffering, she needed to find the Seven Deadly Sins as quickly as possible! It was fine if she were to miss some sleep or meal time for that sake!
Though she doesn't know until when she has to continue to walk, and the thought of walking without stopping forever scared her, so is the possibility of having done all this for nothing and never succeeding in her searches, but... for some reason, she felt like she could believe what the witch, no, what Lill told her. She at least got the confirmation that the Seven Deadly Sins truly existed... so if she keeps on walking then maybe at a moment for sure...!
Elizabeth was so absorbed into her thoughts to keep herself motivated and away from giving up that she didn't even notice when she opened the door of a certain place and entered into a certain tavern, before hearing some certain gasps around her.
She couldn't even see properly but there was one thing that kept going in her mind. Just like Lill said, nobody came after her, nobody tried to stop her or to get in her way, so in order to not waste that chance she must keep on striving...
Keep on walking, don't stop, don't rest, just keep on walking...
She managed to raise her hands sluggishly and said out the words of the ones she was looking for: "The... Seven... Deadly... Sins..."
For some reason, was it because she was wearing this armor? She felt like she couldn't even recognize her own voice so much it sounded muffled and deeper. Then she could feel a lot of people screaming and running past her at high-speed.
What happened, she wondered? In normal times she may realize that her current appearance was quite frightening to normal people but her mind was so tired and hazy that the thought didn't even cross her mind. She couldn't even react to it as she stumbled, having finally reached the ultimate limit of her endurance, was currently wobbling, unable to maintain an acceptable balance.
"Who're you?" Just before her fall, she had the impression to hear a nostalgic voice and saw a slight flash of golden color before her mind and body completely shut off and her consciousness fell completely in darkness. Just before she became completely unconscious, she thought that she misheard someone telling her "Congratulations".
"It's... a girl...?" Hawk muttered in shock after seeing the uncovered face of the mysterious knight who just arrived. All the customers mistook her as a Holy Knight due to her armor and ran away in fear of some kind of possible punishment or tyranny that may befall on them.
However it turned out to be just a young woman in it with some of her silver bangs hiding her right eye. Meliodas couldn't blame his pig friend for being shocked upon finding out that mysterious knight intruder's identity, even him of all people didn't expect it.
After all, since he couldn't go to Liones anymore due to being framed as a criminal along with his comrades, he knew that the fate that cursed them would allow them to reunite soon with a way or another. However he couldn't know how and when it would happen beforehand. There was still a part of him that was too shocked to comprehend the situation properly despite hiding it under an indifferent mask since Hawk had yet said anything about his reaction.
Finally! After 10 years, no matter her circumstances for why she came here like that, he was finally able to be with her again. Even now he had to bite the inside of his cheek in order to hide the wide smile that was about to spread out on his face.
...However despite the immense joy he felt, there was also some fear mixed in it.
There was also a slight possibility that it wasn't her, a hope that this woman would just be a stranger who happened to look like her. After all, that kind of hair color isn't that uncommon in this land, right?
(—Is there truly a way for him to ever mistake her for someone else? Because it never happened in all these years.)
Meliodas saw many people who weren't her yet had silver hair similar to hers after all, some of the Druids mainly Zaratras and Hendrickson were among them.
(—But the shades are different. Even now he could feel the familiar protect, protect, protect pulsing through the blood flowing in his veins.)
What if because of him, her peaceful life came to an end? What if because she ended up meeting him, she would be close to meeting her demise again?
'10 years have passed since then, she is only 16, please…' Stuck between joy and denial, Meliodas did his hardest to keep his mask of unfazed expression on, holding back all kind of body movements that could give away the torrents of emotions he currently feel (no matter how much it was diluted).
However there was also another thing that he didn't predict…
"...Crap, I almost forgot to catch her before she fell… but it doesn't seem that she hurt herself, so it should be alright?"
...And unexpectedly, this is what helped him to calm down.
Elizabeth didn't fall completely, her arm was caught before her body could entirely reach the ground and only the helmet fell from her face. Meliodas looked at the hooded figure who said those words and stood in front of him, his eyes growing in wariness as the person, a woman judging from her voice he noted, stood behind Elizabeth.
"As you said it seems that you truly succeeded, even though you fainted before witnessing the result of your efforts. To tell the truth, I was somewhat expecting you to give up in the middle of it but it seems that I had underestimated you... Sorry, you deserve my apologies and praise for your efforts. So, congratulations." A hooded figure said so, they were barely taller than him, walked near the unconscious young woman clad in armor, then she took off her hood with her free hand and...
Long strands of platinum blonde hair fell on the shoulders, heterochromia eyes were staring back at him, a girl resembling a doll. It certainly wasn't a face or voice he recognized. It didn't seem like he was talking to him though.
"...Who are you?"
"..." For some reason, when Meliodas asked her that, the girl's eyes narrowed slightly into an inexplicable expression, her face didn't change this much but there was something about the mood surrounding her that...
"...Good day to you... It may sound quite sudden but... I have a favor to ask you."
Elizabeth's consciousness was slowly coming back to awareness, but even if she wasn't completely awake, she could tell that she isn't in the armor anymore nor was she on the floor but on an actually soft mattress... wait, doesn't this feel awfully like a déjà-vu?
"It's... a girl...!"
"You already said that earlier."
"Oh, shut up you!"
"Unnya!"
"...? What are you..."
"EEEEH?!"
"This sleeping face... This bodyline... This smell..."
Three voices, she could hear. One was high-pitched, another female one sounded familiar and gentle while the last one was a male one. ...And was it her imagination or she could feel the owner of the voice moving around her?
Then suddenly she felt something grabbing her right breast.
"This firmness..."
And after a few squeezes...
"I knew it. It IS a girl!"
"Can't you tell just by looking?!"
"Did you think that she was a crossdresser...?"
"Is this where you're focused on?!"
"Of course not, taking advantage of a sleeping girl is no good."
"So that means that as long as she's awake, it would be fine to do as I want?"
"Of course not, you swine!"
"If she has given her consent, then..."
"And she didn't! Why are you helping him more than you're helping me?! PUGO!"
"Fine, I understand… For now, just let her go."
"Ow, ow, ow! Don't pull on my ahoge, you're gonna pull it out!"
"If so then let your hand go off her chest."
"Never!"
"Hah... Are you a child?"
Frowning, slightly because of the noise, Elizabeth opened her eyes before getting herself up in a sitting position and saw a scene that left her slightly at loss on how to react.
Because in front of her, there was a childish-looking boy who seemed to be shorter than her with one of his hands grabbing her breast. There was also the familiar doll-like girl who seemed to be pulling on one of the strands of hair of the boy's and behind them was a pig that was biting the hem of his waistcoat-like jacket.
"..."
"..."
"..."
"..."
During this moment of silence, the boy didn't stop from squeezing her breast that was in his hand, now realizing what was happening, Elizabeth's face was covered in a blush all up to her ears as she didn't even know what she should say in such a situation, "U-um..."
...Yes, it was the best she managed to do.
But not caring about that, the boy (or was he really one?) just continued to squeeze her chest for a few more times before finally letting go and turning himself, satisfied with whatever he did, "No irregularity in your heartbeat!"
"Oh... Thank you... very much?"
"You fiend! Acting as if you didn't do anything!"
"If you wanted to check for her pulse, at least do it at the neck or the wrist, the sound would be more accurate like this."
"And why the heck are you calmly giving advice around?!"
Elizabeth then blinked in surprise before leaning forward on the bed upon seeing Lill, "EH?! Miss Witch, ah no, I mean Lill?!"
Lill however just raised an eyebrow at Elizabeth's reaction, "'Witch'...?"
Meliodas too, looked at Lill with a raised eyebrow as he repeated the same word: "'Witch'...?"
Seeing those similar reactions, Elizabeth chuckled before looking around her in confusion as the boy(?)'s voice reminded her of her current situation, making her realize that she didn't even know where she was, "Um... Where am I...? And... How did I get here?"
Wherever it was the ceiling, the wallpapers or the furniture, it was full of things unfamiliar to her… And now she felt another strong sense of déjà-vu.
The boy suddenly opened the curtains of the room, letting the sunlight pass through the glass of the window and got a more clear view as he explained, "You two came in shambling into my tavern and suddenly fainted."
"Tavern...?"
"The Boar Hat! It's my tavern."
"You are... the owner?"
"Is there something wrong with that?" The boy asked back but there wasn't any offense in his voice much to Elizabeth's relief over whether she had been impolite or not.
For some reason she didn't understand, she felt like she shouldn't treat this person as a child which is why she was using formal speech when interacting with him. ...Besides she already learned that she shouldn't judge people by their appearance, the supposedly witch standing near them was the living proof of it.
"N-Not at all! But with that sheath on your back..." There was a scabbard being carried on his back, what's popping out of it was a large green dragon-shaped handle.
The boy looked back at her while fixing the knot to hold the curtains, "Oh, yeah!"
"...I thought that you must be a swordsman." Elizabeth elaborated her thoughts further.
*SHIIIINK!*
"Eek!" However when he suddenly pulled out the sword from the scabbard, Elizabeth yelped in surprise at the unexpected action, at the cringing metallic sound and also at what he may do with that.
However when nothing happened she opened her eyes hesitantly... and just widened her eyes in response to what she saw as she brought a hand to her mouth, "A broken... blade?"
"Show off." Lill muttered nearby but the tavern owner ignored her criticism.
The boy who was holding his "sword" up high smiled mischievously, "Hehe! Did I scare you? The hilt alone makes people think it's a whole sword. This is what keeps people from skipping the bill at my place! All sorts of people come to a bar... it's a tough job for an owner." So he said as he put back the broken blade back into the scabbard on his back without even looking.
The pig near him then said, "I feel more sorry for the patrons who get charged for the awful food you serve."
Upon hearing him, Elizabeth's expression brightened into admiration and amazement, her eyes shining with interest as she hopped off of the bed and immediately ran to hug the pink pig while patting his stomach, "Awww! A talking piggy! I once begged my father for one for my birthday!"
She remembered fondly about how she always pestered her family to have such a thing as a birthday present for a few years in a row but eventually gave up when they literally begged her to stop asking for it because such a thing doesn't exist (so Father and the others lied to her, how unfair!).
"The name's Hawk!" The pig, or rather Hawk, didn't seem to dislike her touch as a small flush appeared on his already pink cheeks and his tail was waving happily (is he a dog?).
"What a curious birthday present request... and what a strange name for a pig." Lill commented nearby which made Hawk puffing angrily at her, "Huh?! What are you saying?! That my name doesn't suit me!"
"This is perfectly what I meant. The proud predators would feel ashamed for being dragged down by a poor prey like you."
"Are you trying to pick a fight?!" Hawk kept on getting irritated, and Lill just kept on going with indifference despite her sharp words.
Seeing the two, Elizabeth couldn't help but feel worried as she tried to mediate, "P-Please calm down! I think it would be a wonderful name!"
"You're such a nice person, Miss!" Hawk cuddled closer to Elizabeth.
The boy then looked at her with a smile before asking her, "Then? Did he get you a pig?"
"..." However upon being indirectly reminded of her father, Elizabeth's smile fell as she looked away in silence with slight sadness present on her face, remembering the current state in where he is.
"Well it isn't surprising. Talking pigs don't rain from the sky." Lill commented while Hawk huffed in pride, "Hehem! This shows how much of a special being I am!"
"Indeed talking pigs are rare but I think that there are other beasts far greater than you outside of here."
"Hmph! There is no greater than this Sir Hawk here!"
"...At least your ego is larger than your size, huh?"
"Hoh! So even you recognized my greatness, huh?"
"I wasn't praising you." Lill's flat answer didn't reach Hawk's ears. However their small interaction made Elizabeth smile a bit.
The boy smiled at his turn as he spoke, "I know! You must be hungry. If you want, you can have a bite."
"What?!" Hawk flinched as his pin skin turned blue out of fear, his ears rising up upward as he started to shake like a newborn fawn.
"Of Pork?" Elizabeth asked in confusion while Hawk reacted in her way of calling him, "It's not 'Pork'! It's 'Hawk'!"
"I see. I thought that he was a pet, but to think that he was just a still unused ingredient." Lill nodded in understanding.
The boy grinned, "Sorry, but no. I meant some bar food. Heh, heh..."
Hawk gritted his teeths as he glared at them, "You asshole... Don't say things that they'll misinterpret! And I'm not some kind of ingredient!"
Elizabeth looked around the wall of the tavern's dining room where the wanted posters of the Seven Deadly Sins were on, with a frowning and slightly worried expression on her face.
She knew that the they were still being hunted because of what happened 10 years ago, with the framed assassination of the Great Holy Knight Zaratras, and that each wanted poster was renewned every year but still…
'...Huh? Is it me or does the ground feel slightly shaky?' Elizabeth tapped the ground with her foot slightly to test it, and it was steady, hard and cold as she expected… Yet why does she have the impression that it swings from right to left from time to time?
"—The food's ready!" Her thoughts are interrupted when heard the voice of the tavern owner before quickly going to him and sitting down on a chair as he instructed her to.
On the table of the bar counter, there was a plate of freshly-made steak covered with a brown sauce and with some fresh vegetables as side dishes and the table was lined up on the side of the plate. The steam coming from it made it look more appetizing, It truly looked delicious and Elizabeth felt her mouth water in anticipation, it's been quite a while since she had proper food.
"Not only you take care of me... but now you are also feeding me. What can I possibly do to repay you?" She truly felt grateful that he was kind enough to do all this for a stranger like herself. Even though she accidentally made all his customers run away, even though he should be extremely busy as a tavern owner.
"Take a bite of his cooking before saying anything." Hawk said as he leaned his upper body on the seat near hers.
"Don't worry about that, eat up!"
"Thank you very much for the meal." Elizabeth cut a piece of steak small enough to enter in her mouth.
But at the moment she bit into the meat, she felt herself make a sound that was unfit for a princess as she started to tremble with the fork still inside her mouth, and did her best to not throw up the food and chewed it with difficulty before finally managing to swallow it down.
"Well? It tastes awful, right?" The small tavern owner leaned his elbow on the counter with an anticipating grin on his face.
Did he do that even though he already knew? Elizabeth had no other answer than a muffled, "Um, yes..."
""I knew it."" Both the man and pig said in unison though the man had a mischievous grin, the pig showed more pity and compassion towards her, was he also a fellow victim? That explains the look full of sympathy he sent to her when she received her plate, but...
"...!" Before she knew it, tears started to fall from her eyes as warmth started to spread through her heart. She didn't know why but a single bite of this... even though it tasted so bad, still...
"To the point of crying?!" Hawk cried out, shocked. It seems that he misunderstood the reason for why she was crying.
Indeed, it tasted so bad right at the first bite, to the point that she couldn't even find other words to describe this taste, the impact is enough to completely shatter her taste buds. She had to immediately close her mouth with her hand otherwise she would have spit it out immediately and the sound she made was definitely not lady-like and unbefitting of a princess.
Still Elizabeth felt herself smiling a bit, "But... it's so very... delicious..."
It felt as if she had just been saved by that flavor, she felt a comforting warmth spreading through her chest and before she knew it, tears were coming out. She didn't raise her eyes so she didn't know how she must have looked to his eyes, but it must have been a curious sight since he was strangely silent.
After she calmed down a little, he called out to her, "Hey. So what were you doing in that suit of armor?"
Elizabeth wiped her tears away with the back of her hand as she spoke: "I'm looking for... the Seven Deadly Sins..."
Suddenly the tavern owner paused, this action made Elizabeth slightly curious but then he opened his mouth like he wanted to say something and...
"Why are you three being so noisy for..." Lill came down from the stairs at this moment before looking at them and froze upon seeing Elizabeth's tears-stained cheeks and slightly red eyes.
She then looked from Elizabeth, then to the tavern owner, then to Elizabeth again, and back to the tavern owner once more. She then said the first few assumptions that came to her mind at the moment: "...Bullying? Harassment?"
"Eh...?" Elizabeth blinked once, then twice.
After she realized what Lill meant before quickly standing up and shaking her hands in denial, "N-No, it's wrong! He wasn't bullying me, I was the one who cried on my own!"
"...Really?" Despite her words, Lill narrowed her eyes suspiciously as she stared at both of them together now.
"Yes, really!"
"Oi, oi, oi. It's rude to accuse people of things they didn't do." Despite his displeased words, the tavern owner was quite nonchalant.
"Well you seem to be the type of person who's making girls cry often, so I don't know if I can believe you for sure..."
'I wonder if Lill and Mr. Tavern Owner are acquainted with each other?' Elizabeth wondered so in her mind as she watched the two's interactions. For some reason, those two seemed to get along really well…
But then after going through what she just said, Elizabeth remembered something important as she suddenly soute out: "THAT'S RIGHT, THE SINS!"
She was even surprised by her own shout herself, not expecting it to be that loud as she quickly covered her mouth with both her hands. Besides everybody was staring at her in surprise, it was so embarrassing!
"Yeah, you said that earlier but what about them?" The tavern owner tilted his head slightly as he raised an eyebrow.
In normal times, Elizabeth would have taken the time to answer his questions but due to the panic right now, she unintentionally ignored him and asked Lill, "Lill, I can't stay here causing trouble any longer! We have yet found one of the Seven Deadly Sins!"
However, despite the urgency of the situation, Lill only blinked as she let out a "...Huh?"
"Mr. Tavern Owner! I am really sorry for causing you trouble. Thank you very much for your kindness! Though I cannot do so immediately, I promise that I will definitely pay back this debt to you! But until then… please, somehow, forget about me." Elizabeth immediately stood up from the wooden stool she was sitting on, making it almost fall on the side as she quickly supported it before it could happen and placed it back to its original place.
She then bowed to him hastily before rushing towards the exit, passing through the "Wait a second!" or "Where are you going?" thrown to her and pushed the front door of the shop open.
'I can't stay here any longer, we are still hunted down and Mr. Tavern Owner can be caught in the crossfire! I already dragged Lill into this and I can't let anyone else encounter any further danger—Huh?' However, her rushing thoughts immediately stopped upon stepping on a kind of strangely round yet soft grass… and was it her or did it feel strangely smooth at the touch?
Elizabeth crouched down on her knees before rubbing her hand on the 'grass'... how weird, there were no grass leaves and it felt too smooth…
'Did the sky always look so close to the ground before?' Elizabeth walked slowly on the round grass and looked up at the sky.
Was it because she just woke up? Or maybe it was just her imagination? Was it because they moved out of the kingdom? For some reason the sky looked strangely close by. ...And this sensation felt strangely familiar too…
Elizabeth stopped in her steps as she saw that the ground ended, she looked down and…
"..."
...She silently fell to her knees. Holding back the scream that was about to leave her throat and lips and just trembling like a leaf in place, her face frozen into an empty smile.
'Déjà-vu! This is déjà-vu again! There is too much déjà-vus! Why is there only déjà-vus today?!' Despite her apparently calm(?) posture, her thoughts were in complete disarray, a familiar vertigo going through her limbs and dizziness through her head, as she finally realized the reason for why she had the impression that the inside of the shop was swaying from one side to another.
She stared blankly at the large green trumpet-like thing in front of her, sometimes letting out a loud "BUGOOOOO~" which reminded her of the cute cry of the pig back inside the tavern... And then at the dozen of thousand of meters (she knows that maybe she's exaggerating a bit but that's how she feel about it currently) that separating her from the (real) ground… And she still couldn't see the ground even after staring downward.
'I'm at the same time relieved and frightened, what is that feeling?' Elizabeth contemplated the strange emotion spread in her chest.
She felt relieved that she managed to regain the sense of her surroundings and stop herself right in time before falling into a fatal fall that she probably (definitely) wouldn't survive, but at the same time this brought her memories of a previous near-death(?) experience and because of that, she lost all strength in her legs and couldn't move herself in security anymore.
Ah, how much she wanted to exchange places with the previously genuinely confused her of just a few seconds ago and stop herself from doing something stupid like bursting out of the tavern…
(It would be a few seconds later that Elizabeth would be rescued by Lill and the blond tavern owner and learn that she just walked on a giant green pig's forehead.)
"That's why we told you to wait though…"
"I-I am sorry for troubling you… T-Thank you very much for saving me…" Elizabeth could only hang her in an ashamed manner with a very red blush on her face
She was now back in the tavern, sitting in front of the bar counter on the stool she used previously and facing the now empty plate she left unfinished earlier.
(Hawk was impressed that the young woman managed to finish the whole meal on the plate, while all the other "brave adults" who came to challenge the same trial were left K.O. after one bite).
In front of her, there was the tavern owner who rubbed the back of his head with his hand. Near her, on both sides, were Lill and Hawk, the former was staring at her with slightly narrowed eyes, the latter was looking at her in a worried manner.
"It's a good thing that you stopped in your tracks, otherwise you would have fallen to your death."
Upon being warned by Lill about the possible aftermath following her suddenly running out of the tavern without caring for the exact state of her surroundings, Elizabeth could only let out a pained "Uuh…"
Seeing Elizabeth's depressed form, Hawk couldn't help but try to give her a helping hand…
"Though it's also their fault for not warning you about it beforehand."
...Though this ends up with him unexpectedly badmouthing the two blonds, who didn't hesitate to pay him back even a second.
"Don't blame this all on me, Hawk. You are as guilty as us."
"Besides you are the only one among us who stayed silent despite the situation, Piglet."
"Pugyaa?! It's unfair that both of you end up ganging against me!" Hawk complained as both the tavern owner and Lill returned the situation and were now the ones reproaching him… and despite all his retorts, they were right, and it hit right where it hurts.
How weird, even though he was originally just trying to comfort Elizabeth, how did it end up like that?
Elizabeth was looking at all of them with a slightly surprised expression before a bitter smile grew on her lips. '...Despite all of them having different expressions on their faces, they were all worried about me…' And this realization struck another pang of guilt in her chest.
"So now that you got your stomach full and enough sleep, mind if I asked something?" The tavern owner rested his elbow on the bar counter and leaned a bit forward.
Elizabeth almost hunched backward because he suddenly closed the distance between them but managed to not avoid her gaze from his as she gave a reluctant nod.
Seeing this, the tavern owner grinned before his smile fell, "So? Why are you looking for the Seven Deadly Sins?"
Elizabeth flinched at his question, despite the nonchalant tone of his voice there was a certain sharpness in his gaze. But still after taking a deep breath, she managed to give out an answer without stuttering: "...The reason for why I am searching for the 'Seven Deadly Sins' is… to stop the Holy Knights."
Hawk raised an ear at her words (yep, not an eyebrow but his ear with the silver stag 'Star Boar' written on it) as he questioned, "But the Holy Knights are knights among knights who protect Britannia. They're heroes, aren't they?"
Though Elizabeth nodded at his explanation, she added, "...And they are terrifying existences. Just one of them has enough power to match an entire country's army. What if they decided to wage war against Britannia?"
"!" Both the tavern owner and Hawk widened their eyes at the idea she let on, only Lill who had been informed beforehand showed no change in her expression.
"A few days ago… Due to a coup d'état orchestrated by the Holy Knights, the king was captured. The kingdom has essentially fallen into the hands of the Holy Knights. In order to start a war, they are forcibly recruiting people from the towns and villages surrounding the kingdom. The men are to be trained as soldiers, the women and children are to bring food for storage, and the eldery are to construct castle walls. Without mercy, those who oppose them are… Soon enough, the effects of their actions will befall on this region too."
Elizabeth as she listed the facts and closed her eyes and shuddered in remembrance over how the beloved kingdom her father and his trusted people protected up until now suddenly changed.
About how the previously kind and supportive Holy Knights started to become cold and abusive, about how they dragged bound up villagers from inside and outside the Kingdom like slave traders.
The men were beaten up under the excuse of "training", the women and children were made to work without rest, and the collapse of the eldery were completely ignored.
Even her father's orders and pleas for them to stop were refused, and in the end even him ended up being handcuffed and taken away by the people who used to support him. Just trying to imagine in what state her father and sisters must be currently in scared Elizabeth to no end.
"S-Seriously?!"
"That sounds pretty bad." Hawk was trembling over her description about the current state of the Liones Kingdom and the tavern owner didn't show much reaction, but it couldn't be helped. After all she could understand if he felt that it wasn't his business. Still…
"If there… were one thing that could stop the Holy Knights, it would be the Seven Deadly Sins!"
"Come on, are you looking for the 'Seven Deadly Sins' even knowing what kind of people they are?" The blond-haired youth was without doubt insinuating about the terrible and blood-stained rumors over the "unforgivable sins" committed by the Seven Deadly Sins.
With the most renowned and recent among them was the one about the death of not only the previous Great Holy Knight but also of many others victims. The fact that they were still highly wanted criminals and that dark history about them has been continuingly spread through the whole Britannia, didn't help to defend them.
But despite the majority of the population treating them like monsters… there were still people who believed in them, and among them was…
"When I was 5 or 6 years old… My father often told me stories about them. Apparently the 'Seven Deadly Sins' was the strongest and cruelest order of knights in the kingdom, formed by seven brutal criminals who carved symbols of seven beats into their bodies. 10 years ago, they were accused of plotting to overthrow the kingdom, and disintegrated after all the Holy Knights in the kingdom launched a general offensive against them…"
The tavern owner then added without missing a beat nor leaving a gap, "...And there were rumors of them all dying, if I recall."
Though what he said caused Elizabeth to pause for a second, she immediately took back her confidence and retorted his accusation, "...There is no way that such amazing people would die so easily!"
"Hm… But they're villains, aren't they?"
"The Holy Knights are the ones who are actually making people suffer!" This last sentence came out unexpectedly louder than what she expected. It made her aware about how it seems she was lashing out at him.
The tavern owner also had his eyes widened in surprise at her unexpected outburst.
'...What on earth have I done?' Elizabeth put her hands against her eyes, trying to calm herself down and keep the tears of shame at bay.
No matter how much she was stressed or anxious about her Kingdom and her family's fate right now, it was definitely not a reason to raise her voice against the kind person who helped her and was hearing her out.
It couldn't be helped if he thinks the same as the others do, after all if Elizabeth didn't hear her father's version of stories about the Seven Deadly Sins then she would have probably thought the same thing as the others; that they were blood-colded criminals who wouldn't hesitate to kill people.
Besides, it's normal that nobody wants to get dragged into troublesome things, especially if it can lead them to actually cost them their life. Yet the tavern owner was considerate enough to help her out, lend her a bed and offer her a meal before asking to hear out her problems…
Elizabeth was sure that it isn't something anybody would be willing to do for a stranger's sake, especially since she made all his customers run away (and without paying probably) . And this is how she pays him back…?
"I was happy. I was prepared to go on a journey to find the 'Seven Deadly Sins' all alone yet… as Lill said, I have never been on a journey before. I was so worried… and in order to hide my identity, I wore armor I wasn't used to and walked until I was exhausted. You were so kind to me, someone you didn't even know. That's why… I don't want to wrap you up in this any further…"
After saying that, she took a deep breath before taking off her hands from her face and gave out a weak smile, "As I have said it previously, I will definitely find a way to pay you back. If possible act as if you never met me here, but if you were threatened by Holy Knights who are searching for me, feel free to tell them about me for your security."
Indeed Elizabeth wanted to keep her location secret from her pursuers but if it meant putting the people who sheltered her in danger then she wouldn't hesitate to devoil herself, as a way to keep them safe. Though her goal was important, so was the lives of the people around her.
This is what she was prepared to do, and—
"I apologize for interrupting you, but… you finally managed to find the first of the Seven Deadly Sins you were looking for, is it fine for you to leave him by?"
"...Eh?" Hearing Lill's words made Elizabeth stop thinking for a while.
She felt confused as the gears in her head couldn't keep up with the unexpected information and as she finally broke out from her trance but still not of her confusion, she turned to Lill in a troubled manner, "U-Um, if you would allow me to be impolite, what do you mean by that?"
"You aren't impolite at all so calm down, I'm truly meaning what I said, that you found the first Sin that you were searching for in your journey."
"Eh?" And while Elizabeth was still overwhelmed by the situation and could only make stupid sounds as response...
"I'm a bit tired of the explanations, so I'm leaving her to care for you, Leader of the Seven Deadly Sins." Lill waved her hand before starting to climb up the stairs she previously descended as she asked: "Can I go explore a bit?"
The tavern owner just pointed at her as he corrected her, "Sure, sure go ahead. But it's not 'leader' but 'Captain'!"
"...Eh?"
"Yes, yes."
"And just one yes is enough!"
"Yeeeesss..."
"And it doesn't need to be that long either!"
"Yes." And with that Lill exited the scene.
'As expected they are getting along so well... no wait,' Elizabeth's thoughts finally started to become clear as she now realized what kind of situation she got herself into...
"S-So, if I understand well Mr. Tavern Owner..."
"Yup, what is it?"
"Could you perhaps be... the Captain of the Seven Deadly Sins...?" She asked hesitantly, there was just no way... right? After all, if you were to compare him and the wanted posters, then...
"That's right!" He pointed his thumb at himself and had a wide grin (he smiled a lot, she noticed) on his face, "I'm their Captain, Meliodas!"
"EEEEEEHHHHHHHHHHHH—?!" And this is how, the sound of Elizabeth's shock reasoned through the Boar Hat, to the point of making Hawk Mama stop, look on both sides before eventually continuing on her road.
Oh, but at least she found the first one of the Seven Deadly Sins, so it should be all right, right? So it's fine to get shocked once a while, right?
Everything is well that ends well... as if it is. (It felt as if Gowther was here and speaking.)
"And so? You were hunted by Holy Knights, huh? Mind be more precise about it too?"
"..." Elizabeth looked away from Meliodas's smile.
...It seems that the interrogation was going to continue for a long, long time (no wonder Lill ran away when she had the chance).
It has been a few hours since daytime has switched to nighttime. The blue sky and white clouds turned dark and the birds that were flying in the sky were now nowhere, however because it's more silent now, the sound of a few insects living in the nearby woods could be heard.
In the Boar Hat, there were two bedrooms in the building: the one on the second floor belonged to Meliodas while the one on the third floor was given to Elizabeth. However, Lill (as Elizabeth called the girl) currently used neither of them. This leaves only "one room" behind, and Meliodas climbed up the stairs to the last up to the last and highest floor to it.
After walking a bit and arriving at the entrance, he was thinking that he should knock but then witnessed that the ladder was already pulled down, so instead he just silently climbed and slightly peeked inside.
He was currently in the attic of the Boar Hat building, which was also used as a storage room. It was quite a tight space as everything that was unneeded but cannot be thrown away yet or couldn't fit in the other rooms were all thrown here.
Among them was the rusty armor that Elizabeth used just a while ago in it and all kinds of other things like large bags, leftover furniture, books, and in the small free place at the center of it…
"—Oh, found you. So that's where you were."
"..."
At the center of it and with the back leaning against the wall, was the girl he was searching for.
All the books present in the attic that should be on the bookshelves were now on the floor near her, forming some kind of messy circle, empiled one over the other into a clumsy tower, making one wonder why it wasn't falling off, and in her hands too was another book, still opened.
"Isn't it a bit dark here? Want me to bring you a lamp or something?"
"It's fine, I can actually see pretty well."
"If you say so." Meliodas shrugged at her answer.
The girl was reading with only the faint moonlight that illuminated the room passing through the closed door leading to the lookout. She threw him a glance before opening her mouth and said, "...What about her?"
"'Her'?" Though he did raise a questioning eyebrow at her words, he immediately realized who the girl in front of him was referring to. After all there is only one "her" besides the one in front of him, and she was probably not mentioning herself.
"Oh, you mean Elizabeth? She's sleeping, well can't blame her for that, she was quite exhausted by the trip after all."
"Did she manage to fill you with the whole story?"
"Yup she did, quite an amazing story too."
"And did you agree to help her?"
"Well, sure why not? Seems interesting."
"..."
"Wait, what with those eyes? You don't believe me?" Meliodas questioned as he saw Lill watching him suspiciously with her heterochromia eyes.
Lill closed her eyes, gave a small sigh before closing the book she read and then putting it on the already big pile, thus setting a supplementary layer to the already tall "tower". "...It's just that… it doesn't sound very honest."
"Huh? Why? It's the truth. Besides, I've got to find my lost comrades and be together again! Isn't it a great thing?"
"...If you want to keep it like this then let's leave it at that." Despite her words, she didn't seem to be convinced.
Then Lill opened her eyes and directed them at him, "Then with all of that trivial talk aside… Don't you have something to ask me?"
Meliodas blinked at her words before he grinned, "Nishishi! Glad to see that you're taking the initiative! So with that, I'll gladly ask you this again—Who are you?"
The smile fell from his face and his eyes were glaring at her sharply, a serious face and sharp voice that he has never shown in Elizabeth's presence was now revealed here and now.
However Lill just stared back at him, unfazed as she answered him calmly. "Didn't I introduce myself back then?"
Meliodas narrowed his eyes at her response, "I'd barely call that an introduction. You just asked me to bring Elizabeth somewhere she could rest properly and to move the location of the Boar Hat because you guys were pursued, but those aren't the answers I want."
"Oh? So I didn't introduce myself, so please allow me to try once again." Lill stood up from her sitting spot and turned towards him, mysteriously the long hem of her Victorian dress despite having fluttered a bit in the air, didn't make the pile of books fall.
Lill put a closed fist over her chest before benting a bit forward and bowing. "It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Captain of the Seven Deadly Sins. I am called Lill and I am the escort to whom King Bartra entrusted the safety of the Third Princess Elizabeth to your side."
Despite her feminine doll-like appearance, her salute and greeting seemed more masculine, more fitting for a knight than a lady. Meliodas recognized it as he has seen it many times during his own career (not that he ever did it himself).
"...And just in case you don't trust me…" Lill stuck her hand in the inside of her white bell-shaped sleeve before throwing what seemed to be an envelope to Meliodas.
Meliodas caught it effortlessly as he took out the paper in it, opened it and read it, and then squinted his eyes slightly after a pause before folding the letter, sliding it back inside the envelope and handing it to Lill.
"Is it enough proof?" She asked as she received the letter and put it back into the sleeve of her dress.
"Well it was without doubt Bartra's handwriting and Elizabeth arrived here without much trouble, probably thanks to your assistance. ...Though I could say one thing or two about your slave-driving ways…"
"I did propose to her to have many pauses but she is the one who insisted on keeping on walking until she faints."
"You could have stopped her."
"But then her already weak self-worth would have suffered further damages."
"..."
...Indeed, can't argue against that… unfortunately.
"...So? Any other questions?"
"Huh? Nope."
"...Eh?" Lill widened her eyes and let out a surprised sound, she blinked twice at Meliodas' nonchalant response.
The cautious air around him that was like running a finger on the edge of a sharp knife has completely disappeared, and he returned to the easy-going attitude he carried up until now.
"...Is that all? Aren't you going to ask anything else?"
Meliodas crossed his arms behind his head as he answered, "Mm… Well it's true that there were quite a lot of other things I wanted to ask but I've decided to give up on them."
"There should be other things you should ask… There's no telling what I may hide from you, and you may regret it later on."
"I doubt that most of the betrayers would take the time to warn beforehand the people they are going to stab behind but if you want a reason then sure, I'll give you one." Meliodas turned his back to her before walking to the entrance he came through earlier, this time with the intention of leaving.
But before he did that, he turned around one last time and…
"Bartra trusts you and Elizabeth is fond of you, do I need any other reasons to give you a chance?"
"…" The speechless expression she made that was breaking slightly her perfect doll-like image apart almost made Meliodas laugh, and despite his first impression of her, it was slightly reassuring that she can even make such a small human-like reaction.
"Well, I'm gonna sleep soon too! A tavern owner needs to wake up early after all! Good night, you should sleep in early too!" And with that he waved at her and left.
"...Really, both of you are…"
As he was climbing down the ladder, he felt like he heard something but decided against going to ask about it, thus ignoring it.
And then he remembered what he just said…
—Bartra trusts you and Elizabeth is fond of you. Do I need any other reasons to give you a chance?
It was without doubt his true thoughts. The letter addressed to her written by Bartra didn't seem what a king would order to his retainer… but more like a request from a person to someone they trust deeply.
Bartra didn't even sign like that when writing a letter to Meliodas himself, but he did it towards that girl…
And Meliodas knows that Bartra isn't one who would give up his king's image, no matter how much he is cornered or in hurry. After all he was one of the few kings Meliodas recognized and whose decisions he deeply respected, despite how he treats him on a daily basis back in the castle.
It was also thanks to her that Elizabeth managed to get here safely (though exhausted but still safe) and the latter also seems to appreciate her presence, so her presence could help the uneasy princess to find some respite, then he would welcome it.
Meliodas decided to trust the people around him instead of himself… thus ignoring a very faint uneasiness he could hardly feel in his hearts.
A/N.: There are some differences in contrast of the old version for the people who know about it, for the ones who don't I won't give any unwanted spoilers. If you have any questions, feel free to ask and I would answer them with pleasure!
Once again, my thanks to merendinoemiliano, I'm glad you liked the escape description, I'll try my best for the fight scenes but I can't promise anything so please don't be too disappointed if it isn't to your taste!
Also thank you too, Zeowolf9! I'm honored to hear that you liked my previous version and that you prefer this one, I hope that this new version will continue to please you as well and I'll work hard for it to be the case! Please continue to read my story!
And finally, Maya Yoan, I'm glad that the new name is up to your taste, I hope that the story would be the same too!
To the previous and new readers, please continue to watch over my story and have a nice day! (^^)
