Chapter 5: The Strongest Man, The Half-Fiend and the Strongest Village Part 2

Foreword: Reviews, first off if I did not respond to your review last chapter that was because the great and all mighty fanfic did something that is apparently not uncommon where for several days it would show that authors have new reviews but would not actually process and allow you to view them. Fun!

Anyway first, thank you to KaedeTsukino, I am really glad you enjoy it and I could scratch the Fremy x Adlet itch the story created. I am pleasantly surprised how many people are able to enjoy my story despite english not being their first language. Being a native speaker I couldn't imagine trying to learn it as an additional language and am impressed by those that do! Thank you for the support. It means a lot, I would be lying if I said, I am not constantly worried I will write something horrible and ruin the story at any given point. The positive feedback means so much!

Second thank you to narukarin321, my two years of high school spanish definitely didn't teach me anything but if google translate is any bit reliable you said "An fantastic chapter." Thank you for that! I was actually especially nervous for chapter 5 part 1 as I felt it didn't cover a lot and I wasn't sure if I did a good job with the new characters.

Third, thank you to sanchez. , Manuela is a good girl, good at what, murder maybe? That is to be seen. To explain a little bit Adlet, while Adlet being bad with the opposite sex is a joke I have no plans to let go of, it wasn't really the reason he let his guard down. It is more that Adlet as a history with this person who he only disliked how eccentric she was but knew that she was a good person from all his past experiences, obviously there was a change and Adlet failed to jump on that when he noticed it which led to the current situation. Also if I read that right then your actually Ratten, or Ratten is you, not sure which way that goes, either way thank you for the support and I hope you enjoy the next chapter however it turns out!

Story Start: Fremy was not surprised, but more saddened. She had thought Manuela was being kind to her, that they could be friends but it seemed she just wanted to destroy her because of her heritage, like almost everyone else in this town. Fremy lacked a gun and legs yet this woman held no weapon, seemed to be no more athletic than the average, she knew she could kill her. Fremy thought to scream for Adlet, but something was wrong. Manuela stared at Fremy with hate filled eyes but even after delivering that cold line, she made no moves to attack or draw a weapon she simply stared with eyes filled of raw hate. Fremy recognised that feeling in her eyes, this wasn't a cold calculated revenge this was blind hatred targeted at the thing closest to the object of your aggression. Fremy felt the same when she was betrayed by the fiends and those she trusted turned to kill her. Somewhere in her head or her heart a voice told Fremy she had to stop her from becoming the person Fremy became after that.

They stared at each other for some time before Fremy finally said, "I am sorry."

Manuela closed her fists in rage, and said coldly, "I don't need your pity it won't bring back what I lost!"

Fremy nodded "Fiends are monsters that kill every human they can find and destroy all that they love that much has always been true with very little exception. I am no exception, I was raised to hate humans and I killed many as the brave killer. Like the fiends they were, they tried to destroy me when I had no use and like the monster I was, I tried to destroy them by becoming a brave. I sought out the destruction of the demon god so I could die not having saved the world but having destroyed those that I despised."

Manuela asked her voice still cold but it was a touch lighter, "then why aren't you dead? You completed your goal and all you had to look forward to afterwards was a world where everyone would see you as a monster, why didn't you die, why did you continue despite how everyone treats you?"

Fremy looked at her and said, "Adlet. The only reason I am here, struggling to live, the only reason I didn't kill myself after I lost my legs and saved the world, was Adlet. I didn't have a reason to live, a reason to struggle, I didn't have anyone I could trust then Adlet came and saved me."

Fremy lowered her head knowing very well this could get her killed but she had to take a gamble. She had to bet on Adlet's word that in her heart Manuela was a good person! "I apologise, you have every right to hate me for who I am, I am a monster, a horrible being that shouldn't exist. However, please, for Adlet's sake, don't take him away from me. I can only imagine the pain you have suffered, I have inflicted the pain of loss on many people, please don't become me, don't inflict that pain on Adlet!" A tear streamed down Fremy's pink eye.

Fremy heard a loud sigh then Manuela squatted down and wiped the tear from Fremy's cheek and said, "what am I even doing? I suffer great pain and my genius idea is to go and inflict on others, I am no better than a fiend myself am I?" Manuela's words weren't erratic or fast paced but slow and calm.

Manuela stood up and turned her back to Fremy, "I am sorry, I doubt you can ever forgive me for my actions. At the very least I…"

Manuela was cut off by Fremy who said, "I forgive you."

Manuela flipped around and said, "but...I…"

Fremy cut her off again and said matter of factly, "you got angry and nearly tried to hurt me. Everyone gets angry and I think you had every right to be ang…"

Manuela hung her head and shouted,"I didn't! I had no right, you had done nothing to me and you had done nothing wrong, I merely projected my hatred of fiends on you! A cute disabled girl rolls into my store with beautiful eyes and all I can think is about who I had lost." Manuela gave a sad smile, "Garren would be so disappointed in me."

Fremy had easily connected the dots even though she had not outright said it. Fremy asked, "Adlet told me about Garren, how did he die?"

Manuela sat on the floor of the changing room next to Fremy and said, "I don't know how much Adlet told you about my Garren but he and I had been together for twenty-two years. My family was poor and as such they arranged my marriage to him to save themselves, for a long time I was angry that I had lost my choice of who to love, that someone else decided who I should be with. Even so Garren was very kind, he loved me no matter how cold I was to him or harsh or unfair. Eventually I fell in love with him even though I didn't get to fall in love like the women in fairy tales. I was truly lucky I had been blessed with such an amazing husband. We even had a kid, Trowa, he matured too fast for my liking and left at the age of thirteen to become a warrior in Piena. The Majin awoke as Garren had been away to meet an old friend in Piena and check up on Trowa. They found his remains on the road home a couple villages west, the caravan he was with was slaughtered by fiends roused by the Majin's awakening. It was only a few months ago now, when I heard the news of his death. I am still struggling to accept it. I-I...I want him back so much!"

Manuela's head was in her knees and Fremy could hear her sniffling. Fremy said, "Manuela could you come close for a second, bring your ear to my mouth please."

Manuela took a second to stop her sniffling, then confused, moved closer to Fremy. Fremy didn't wait for her to get close to her mouth before she sprung her fiendish trap, when Manuela was within arms reach she pulled her into an embrace.

The sudden act of affection and comfort from Fremy more than surprised her and she just said, "Fremy?"

Fremy just hugged her tightly and said, "I used to be cold and bottle up all my emotions, I have learned recently that is a horrible thing to do. Please don't hold back your grief, if you keep it all bottled up it may explode and it could hurt those you care for."

Manuela hugged Fremy back and sobbed over her shoulder only saying, "sorry...Fremy...I-I...am-m...shorry!"

The two stayed like this for a while, finally after what seemed like forever they seperated and Manuela helped Fremy get some not tear stained clothes on. They got back to the task at hand of picking out Fremy's wardrobe.

After a while, Fremy said, "I really like your clothing Manuela, would it be possible for you to teach me to make clothes like these?"

Manuela whose voice had returned to its original fast paced form of communication said, "wait are you serious? You flatter me Fremy my clothing isn't particularly great and there are probably plenty of other amazing seamstresses that can teach you far more than I can, my skills are limited to what is in the store and I only have about twenty years of experience. Plus you just saw what a complete mess of a woman I am! Are you sure you want such a disaster of a teacher?"

Fremy nodded and said, "yep. I feel confident in my choice!" Fremy leaned into Manuela's ear and said, "plus considering who Adlet had as a teacher, I like mine a lot better."

This caused Manuela to erupt in laughter and after she settled down she said, "speaking of Adlet we should show you off to him, plus he is probably bored since we took so long, I also need to help him update his wardrobe as well so let's go!."

Meanwhile Adlet had been waiting for what had to be almost two hours, Adlet had already picked out several outfits that interested him and was now singing aloud, "fifteen bundles of needles on my waist, fifteen bundles of needles, throw em out, hit everyone around, fourteen bundles of needles on my waist…" Adlet paused his singing when Manuela appeared from the back.

Manuela had a pout on her face and said to Adlet in her normal rapid fire manner, "Adlet it isn't fair! I wanted to make Fremy wear something super skimpy and get you all flustered but Fremy already wears clothes that would make a woman of the night embarrassed! How you could carry her on your back for so long while she was dressed like that I can't even imagine the self restraint you must have! Anyway, anyway enough of that...for now. Also I will have to make some clothes specifically tailored for Fremy, I only had my stock to work with! We also took too long to use a large amount of beauty products so she only has a basic amount on, something I will remedy next time!" Adlet didn't quite catch that last part but before he could ask Manuela continued, "Anyway, Fremy you can come out now!"

Fremy rolled out of the back and for the first time in his life Adlet saw Fremy in another outfit besides her very minimalistic combat gear.

Fremy wore a simple dress, the design was not overly unique but it was cute and practical. What really showed Manuela's skill was the color choice. At a glance the dress looked mainly dominated by the color pink but somehow had the color blue subtly and beautifully blended in making Fremy look like cute cotton candy.

Adlet wasn't sure what to say, the dress wasn't particularly flashy but had somehow managed to make Fremy nearly twice as cute as she was before. Adlet had never seen Fremy wear any type of beauty products and while he normally saw such things goddy with other women, it somehow worked perfectly with Fremy. Adlet felt like he wanted to hug her for all time and never let her out of his grasp, if such a thing was physically possible. Adlet wasn't sure how to express his feelings and before he could say anything Manuela was hovering around him asking what he thought. "What do you think, huh, huh? Isn't she just the most adorable thing ever, I was super lucky I went with this color scheme I wasn't sure it would work with anyone when I made it but it fits Fremy so well I am really glad!"

Adlet just sighed at Manuela's eccentricity and said, "I have to admit it looks really good on you Fremy, it looks very cute! You do not disappoint Manuela."

Fremy blushed and said softly, "thank you Adlet."

Adlet smiled and gave her a thumbs up and then realised he was being moved by Manuela who cheerfully shouted, "your turn Adlet!"

To which Adlet replied, "wait! Why are you pushing me? I wasn't done admiring Fremy's outfit!"

Manuela replied, "you can do that all you want later, first it is your turn!" Manuela said this as the two disappeared towards the back.

Fremy giggled as this occured and waited for Adlet. By the time Adlet and Manuela returned Fremy was humming, "sixty-three bullets left in my bag, sixty three bullets left, load it in, shoot it out, sixty-two bullets left…"

Manuela laughed as she left the back with Adlet, "So that's why your face looks like a giant cat scratched you in the face! What an interesting story, you should write it down some day!"

Adlet smiled and responded, "I doubt it would go well, I don't have the writing skills to put that on paper, some things are best left told as brief stories and not fully recorded, it is more interesting that way!"

Adlet wore a nice set of clothes mixing the colors light red and a light grey. The combination somehow managed to not clash too fiercely with Adlet's very bright and colorful hair and also managed to make the normally rough looking Adlet into a respectable looking adult, of course his smile ruined the mature image. Regardless, Fremy couldn't help but admire how handsome Adlet looked while wearing something a bit more put together, not that she terribly cared for the clothes Adlet wore, just that she didn't expect him to look so good while wearing these.

Manuela, seeing Fremy look at Adlet with a neutral expression that gave nothing away, began to speak, "so I did what I could. He normally wears incredibly plain clothes fit for hard work and training, nothing fashionable or even good looking! It annoys me when young handsome men don't wear anything that matches their good look! I think he looks better like this, not that he looks bad in a low amount of clothing but that he looks like a proper gentleman instead of a ruffian who has something to prove! Still has a baby face problem but otherwise he is starting to look like a real adult, Fremy what do you think?"

Fremy smiled, her immediate instinct was to say as little as possible but she remembered her promise to be open and so she said. "Unless Adlet is working and doesn't want it to get ruined, he should be wearing these kinds of clothes!"

Manuela laughed and said, "you heard her Adlet, you can't just wear comfortable unfashionable clothes, you have to wear comfortable, fashionable clothes, you got that?"

Adlet rubbed the back of his head and laughed, "yeah yeah, heheh, if that is what Fremy wants then there is nothing I can do, not that I hate these clothes but they are a bit restrictive, I could still kill almost anyone and the clothes have plenty of room to put my pouches over it but…"

Manuela interrupted Adlet, "and about those ugly pouches you keep full of deadly tools, they don't work with anything! I am not saying be defenseless just wear weapons that look good!"

Adlet rolled his eyes and tried to switch the topic, "so we have…" Adlet looked at the nearly fifty outfits that Fremy and Adlet had picked out between them for their wardrobes and gulped, he should have enough money but it was going to be costly. Adlet continued, "we have a lot of clothes we need to buy, could you tell us how much it will cost?"

To Adlet's surprise Manuela gave them a price that had to be half of the actual cost of all these clothes, Adlet didn't think Manuela would make such a mistake but that was a lot to cut off the price! Adlet asked, "you sure that is the price, we can afford the full cost."

Manuela just frowned, "don't question me! Either you buy the clothes at the price I am selling them or you get naked, give me the clothes back and walk away!"

Adlet sighed and played her ridiculously cheap asking price. Adlet asked something that was on her mind, "Manuela,earlier I heard you call yourself a widow, explain."

Manuela smiled as a group of older women entered the store, she greeted them and told them to wait just a moment. She turned back to the pair of braves and said, "sorry I can't talk any longer, work calls, hopefully we can talk more later, bye, leave now!"

Adlet and Fremy left, the pair went off to find a courier service. When they stepped outside, Fremy said, "I will tell you later what happened, she explained it to me earlier."

Adlet was a little sad Manuela avoided telling him what happened but he was simultaneously glad that Fremy had somehow gained Manuels approval that she had been informed.

They arrived at a small building that was for the sending and delivery of messages. Adlet left Fremy outside on the wagon while he went inside.

Three middle aged men who reeked of alcohol approached Fremy. Each said something different to Fremy, "hey y-you freak, hic, get out of our village, nobody wants you here! Yeah, he is right-t, no one cares if you helped save the world, you're just another monster that needs to be destroyed! On top of that, where does a fiend like you get the idea that she can run around looking so cute, look more like the monster you are. "

Fremy tightly held the reins of the wagon and thought to herself, "that is it, before we leave we are getting the parts to make a gun because I am sick of this crap. This is literally the third time today!" Fremy put a hand behind her back as if to scratch it, in her hidden hand, explosives began to take shape. Fremy didn't scream for Adlet once again because she didn't want to start a fight if she didn't have too and she wasn't sure what they were going to do and she was sure that Adlet would not be long.

Adlet walked outside to see a surprising scene, several bystanders were watching from a distance, Fremy was on the wagon Adlet could see several small explosives behind her back and her face was a gape in surprise. There were three obviously drunk men, one held an empty bottle that had been risen above his head as if to smash it into Fremy, he and his friends were also standing there in shock. Finally in between the drunks and Fremy was a young girl with light brown eyes and a hair color somewhere between beige and light brown. She wore simple clothes and a slightly messy apron like she had just left a kitchen, she had to be about twelve years old. Yet somehow she had the courage to stand in front of the drunks with her arms outspread and shout, "leave big sis alone!"

The nerve of the girl made the lead drunk more than a little upset and he reared back to swing the bottle at the girl, "mind your own business you little bitch!" Before he could swing the bottle downard it was the other drunks that grabbed him and said, "look man, that's the brat from the inn, which means she is Mrs. Nikola's brat! If we do anything to her we will be dead for sure, harassing the freak is one thing but I ain't dealing with that monster!"

The young girl just stood there with determination on her face as the men turned around and walked away, nobody spoke until they left their sight and the whole time the young girl didn't change her stance.

Adlet's surprise and confusion of the situation increased as the young girl climbed up to the front of the wagon and gave Fremy a big hug. The young girl with a few tears falling from her face said to Fremy, "I knew I would get to see you again!" Fremy softly wrapped her arms back around her and said, "I am glad you are okay Neneriel, it is good to see you." Fremy had a gentle, genuine smile on her face as she looked at the girl embracing her.

Adlet smiled, as crazy as the people in this village could be and as rude or insensitive they could be, he was glad Fremy could find a couple of friends in the village that would stand up for her no matter who was in their way. For the first time since Fremy lost her legs, Adlet thought he wouldn't always need to keep protecting her, that there could be others to help her until she gets back on her feet.

To be continued in Chapter 5: The Strongest Man, The Half-Fiend and the Strongest Village Part 3

Afterword: Bad math, horses are fast! So I originally threw out the numbers that the travel to the village was 5 miles from the base of the mountain or about two and a half hours. On further research an average horse can move 4-5 miles an hour walking, far more at a hurried pace. So at the pace they were going it would be much closer even with a wagon, too about an hour and a half journey to the village. I will be using this number from now on as a three hour round trip makes more sense than a five hour round trip honestly.

Pacing! Why did barely anything happen in this chapter? At least it feels like that to me, I wanted to get too Neneriel much sooner but again as I wrote Manuela she just demands more dialogue by virtue of not having the ability to shut up and so she said a lot more than I ever anticipated before I wrote it down. I am glad I am finally able to bring in Neneriel as she was a sweet little character from Fremy's side story and I like the idea of them meeting again.

Till Next Time!