Subaru begins his first spar with Reinhard. Reinhard using his Divine Protection, he was able to help Subaru grasp his full potential much easier. Still, his training was crazy compared to anything Subaru had ever physically endured.
Reinhard batted Subaru to the ground, his face bruised and body shaking from a full day of training with the sword saint, "Are you sure you want to keep going?" Reinhard asks
Subaru grinned, coughing up some blood, "I will get stronger. I can't be useless, only good for dying. I will no longer allow myself for that to be my only ability."
'I won't be used as some death tool anymore, I won't use that sick power, I will become strong enough to accomplish my revenge without ever resorting to death.
Reinhard looked at him with concern; his words seemed odd, like a man who had died, but Reinhard already had a decent idea of what had been going on ever since the first time the two met. Reinhard remembered their first encounter and how Emilia didn't even know he existed. Yet, he knew the exact location and the danger and referenced fighting Elsa before. Whatever his ability is, Reinhard knew it most likely had to do with dying.
As Subaru got up, Julius entered the training area where Subaru had been training with Reinhard. Surprised but glad that Subaru decided to get stronger and respected him. Despite their past issues, Subaru had become entirely different. Julius did not realize Subaru's intentions were not in any sense of the word knightly.
"I see you're getting stronger, Subaru," Julius said with a genuine smile.
Subaru looked down, his body tattered, but he could sense it himself. He was getting stronger, "Yeah, only thanks to Reinhard's training," Subaru replied
"Well, I came here to inform you guys of something. The Crusch camp plans to attack the White Whale in two days. Somehow they claim they will know where the beast will appear," Julius informed the two.
"Reinhard uh what's the white whale?" Subaru asked, a bit confused
Reinhard remembered he came from beyond the great waterfall, "One of the three beasts, they have roamed the world for centuries and been the cause of the death of countless lives."
Julius looked a bit confused. Subaru didn't know of the beast but did not ask for any details, "Yes, Crusch's camp plans to take down the beast. The beast is said to appear in two days near Flugul's Tree."
Felt just now arriving and overhearing a bit of the conversation, "Do those idiots seriously think they can take down the great whale? They'll all just die!" Felt yelled at with both annoyance and confinement
"Also, I should inform you that Wilhelm van Astrea will join the fight. I'm sure you know why," Julius said, looking at Reinhard.
As for the others, we're talking Subaru was thinking of the three scenarios that could play out, option one being that Crusch's camp is wiped out, which would eliminate an obstacle for Felt's campaign having the candidate with the most backing being taken out, the second scenario is that they win the battle which would make it very if not impossible to beat that accomplishment. Felt would fail if they managed to take down this beast. In the third scenario, Felt's camp offers an alliance or simply sweeps in at the last moment and lets Reinhard slay the beast. Of the two options, Subaru thought the third would be the best as it ensures Felt will either share the achievement or, if Crusch's camp is completely wiped out, eliminate the most significant threat while gaining the achievement.
"Subaru?" Felt said, noticing he was zoning out
"Julius, will your camp be joining this fight?" Subaru asked
"Miss Anastasia doubts that Crusch's camp will stand a chance and will most likely be wiped out, so no, we will not, it pains me to say, but I must agree with Miss Anastasia," Julius replied
Reinhard looked angry, "So are you just-"
Subaru cut him off, giving him a look that made Reinhard assume he had a plan.
"Yes, to face the white whale would be suicide. Even for Reinhard, it would be a risk. With all the Kingdom's forces out away from the Capital, it would open us vulnerable to outside forces attacking us. At the same time, we are focused on the White Whale," Subaru replied while informing Julius of his logic.
Suppose not only the entire army that Crusch commands, but he leaves the Capital to face the White Whale. In that case, other powers may use this opportunity to attack the Capital. Reinhard couldn't really argue against that.
"I agree ya sure are smarter than you look, Subaru!" Felt laughed
Julius left Reinhard's estate, and as soon as he did, Subaru began debriefing Reinhard and Felt on the possible outcomes of the next move they made.
"Ok, now that it's only us, we need to discuss this seriously," Subaru said, surprising Felt and Reinhard as they thought he was already severe.
"What do ya mean?" Felt asked
"There are three possible outcomes of the coming battle, Crusch's entire camp is wiped out, they defeat the White Whale, making it almost impossible for us to win the election since she already is considered the most likely to win at the current time, and the third option is that we either make an alliance with Crusch's camp or we lay low and observe and take the final blow earning us either partial or full credit for defeating the White Whale," Subaru said
Reinhard hearing this was in shock. This plan was not evil. The way Subaru spoke was far different from before. He has matured a decade in wisdom in merely a few days. Reinhard wondered what Subaru's ultimate goal was, regardless of the outcome of the upcoming White Whale encounter.
"Damnnn Subaru, you are smart as hell! I'm guessin' ya didn't say that when Julius was here to not inform him of our plans, huh?" Felt asked
Felt was so happy Subaru was in his camp. She hated the stories he told of his experience with Emilia and her camp, not to mention the creepy clown sponsor the half-devil had. She knew precisely what Subaru wanted and was more than on board to support his ultimate goal of revenge against Emilia. She didn't really care that much about winning the Royal Selection, but she wouldn't let her lack of reason to want to win hinder Subaru's revenge. She knew what it was like to be betrayed by those she trusted, she was from the slums, so she knew how Subaru felt better than Reinhard or anyone else could that they knew.
"Are you implying that Crusch's camp being wiped out would benefit us? Do you not care for their lives?" Reinhard asked with a tint of anger in his tone
'God, I feel like Lelouch from Code Geass or something.
Subaru glared back to match Reinhard's attitude, "Logically, yes, but we can go about it differently. If we form an alliance, then Felt's camp will most certainly gain. On the contrary, we must be cautious about what information we let leak on this if we decide to form an alliance."
Felt questioned, "Why we gotta be so secretive?"
"Anastasia is the candidate with the most knowledge of everyone. If we aren't cautious, she will likely find out and attempt to join us to reap the reward of slaying the White Whale. If we form an alliance, we must be extremely cautious and have it be a last-moment move," Subaru explained.
"Damn, ok, I'm game we got Reinhard he could easily take down that Whale by himself," Felt laughed.
"Thank you for your kindness," Reinhard bowed.
"Oh, stop with the formalities already," Felt kicked Reinhard, "Subaru doesn't even call me 'Miss Felt' or any of that bullshit, so why should you."
"My apologies," Reinhard said
"Honestly, Reinhard, take a break from having to act perfect. As far as I consider you two, we are family and don't need to use formalities, especially in private," Subaru said, siding with Felt.
Reinhard thought about it for a moment. It would be hard for him to not speak the way he did. It's more so his brain was programmed to act that way.
Felt laughed. "Hell yeah, brother! So what's the plan, Subaru?"
"We wait a day. On the day they leave, we 'run into them and offer our support. If they decline, we refuse to leave and continue following," Subaru said
"Sounds good!" Felt said as Reinhard nodded
Reinhard and Subaru continued sparring as before; meanwhile, another plan was being carried out.
"Wait, so you want me to go to Reinhard's estate right now?" Emilia asked
"Yes, I do, and you must do everything in your power to bring Subaru back or consider your forest of frozen elves dead," Roswaal spat, furious while reading his black book.
"What am I even supposed to do? How can I bring him back?" Emilia questioned
"Subaru was in looove with you, right? Offer whatever you need to do to bring him back, your heart, your body, whatever is needed. I don't care," Roswaal said.
Puck got angry at that comment, "Did you just say offer Emilia's body?"
"Yessss, and please do not try to attempt to intimidate me. At the moment, I hold allll the cards, and you are aware of that just as much as I ammm," Roswaal laughed.
Puck returned to Emilia's crystal in rage. He was enraged at his lack of ability to do anything in the current situation. Roswaal was right, and he knew it, but Emilia didn't even know what he meant by offering her body.
"You will leave now. A dragon carriage is alreaddy prepared for you, Emilia. If you fail, you can consider your dream dead. I'll go to the Forest and break all those frozen statues down so you can watch," Roswaal growled.
Emilia broke down in tears. She had no idea what she did and the ramifications. Roswaal, however, did know. He knew his entire plan failed due to the half-elf's foolish words. He had no pity for that girl as Subaru was the key for him to reach his goal, and she destroyed that key.
Emilia traveled throughout the night on the carriage, hoping to arrive in the morning. Roswaal gave her little time. When he got to Reinhard's estate, she was greeted by two maids.
"How can we help you, Miss Emilia?" Ranga asked
"I wish to speak to Subaru if possible," Emilia said
"I will deliver your request. Please wait here," Ranga replied
Subaru was awakened by Ranga, "Emilia is here. She wishes to speak to you."
'What the hell could that bitch want now? Is she here to try some sort of trick? No way in hell I'm returning to that fucking clown Mansion.'
"Is anyone else awake? It's like four in the morning," Subaru asked Ranga
"I believe Reinhard and Miss Felt are sleeping. Miss Emilia seemed to wish to only speak to you," Ranga replied
"Awake Reinhard, tell him to be in the opposite room to me to listen in. This could be an attempt at a threat. Once Reinhard is ready, you can let Emilia in," Subaru told Ranga
"Understood," Ranga said, leaving to wake up Reinhard.
Emilia stood outside the mansion; it was smaller than Roswaal's estate but seemed more peaceful. She continued to ponder what exactly she did that caused Roswaal to become so upset. Her rage grew more as she started to blame Subaru for everything that was happening.
"Don't worry. I'm sure if you just apologize, he'll come back. He was defiantly in love with you," Puck said, reassuring Emilia.
"Thanks, Puck," Emilia said with a small smile.
Ranga informed Reinhard of the situation, and Reinhard stood on guard in the guest room wall next to Subaru's room. Ranga let Emilia in and guided her toward Subaru's room.
Ranga knocked on Subaru's door, "Subaru, she's here."
"Let her in," Subaru replied
'What the hell is she doing? I better prepare myself because, at this point, I have no clue why or what reason she has for being here, not to mention arriving so early. I'll gather information from her responses to get a better picture.
Subaru grins. "So what brings the half-devil here?"
Puck agreed to stay within Emilia's crystal for the encounter as he may be unable to control his anger. Emilia, however, was just saddened after all the time they spent together for him to call her that. She knew he was just trying to provoke her.
Emilia just spoke with an emotionless tone, "Roswaal wants you to join our camp."
'Odd, so the one pulling the strings is Roswaal. That makes more sense, considering I doubt Emilia would have the intelligence nor planning to see any value in coming here.'
"I don't care," Subaru replied
"Please, I'll do anything, Subaru. I'm sorry about what I said to you. I didn't mean it I... I love you, Subaru," Emilia said again with a tone that contradicted what she was saying.
"Even without divine protection, it's obvious your lying. Tell me the truth or leave this instant," Subaru said calmly.
Emilia questioned whether to tell him about the Forest. Maybe he would sympathize with them, not her, "Listen, in the place I'm from, my family and friends are all frozen, and I need the dragon's blood to save them. If you don't do this for me, I understand that, but can you at least put aside your grudge against me to help the trapped and frozen elves... Please, Subaru, I'll give you anything, my body, my heart, whatever you want!"
'Odd, very strange, Roswaal is a bigger threat than I thought he was; it seems that freeing her family or whatever is her goal, and Roswaal is most likely manipulating her to come here to do this. Whatever the case, the results will most likely ruin her chances of ever freeing her fellow half-demon family. Still, I should choose my words carefully.'
"So you're asking for my help to save the frozen elves, right?" Subaru asked
Emilia nodded, "Please, Subaru, I beg of you."
"Not going to happen. I swore my loyalty to Miss Felt and her camp. Unlike you, my loyalty cannot be bought so easily," Subaru responded.
Subaru grinned, "Goodluck on saving your frozen elf friends, though."
Subaru could barely hold his laughter, but he had to stay composed. Making a scene could threaten the Felt camp, not to mention Puck may try something.
"SUBARU, PLEASE, I BEG!" Emilia cried, shedding tears and getting closer to Subaru, lying in bed.
"Back off now," Subaru demanded
Puck getting angrier and angrier couldn't hold back his anger. He emerged from his crystal.
"How dare you disrespect my daughter like that? You will pay with your life" Puck prepared three giant icicles and launched them in Subaru's direction. Subaru was simply grinning.
Reinhard instantly appeared in the room, blocking the attacks aimed at killing Subaru.
"Miss Emilia and the Great Spirit of Fire, I suggest you leave now," Reinhard demanded angrily.
Puck was shocked seeing Reinhard, he thought he would be asleep, but he knew he was no match and returned to the crystal. Emilia left on the dragon carriage back to Roswaal's estate.
"Are you alright?" Reinhard asked Subaru
"Yeah, I'm fine. Gathered a decent amount of information from that, be wary of Roswaal," Subaru replied
Reinhard was confused a bit, "Why would you say that?"
Subaru grinned again, "Roswaal most likely sent her here to bring me back. The question is why and what purpose Roswaal has for me, most likely my abilities. Either way, we must stay cautious around him."
Reinhard smiled, "I respect what you said. Your loyalty to Miss Felt is undeniable. I am glad I was able to bring you to our camp"
Subaru smiled, "Don't even mention it. Your the one who saved me from that half-devil's plots."
Reinhard nodded. It was around 4:30AM, an early morning. Felt was still fast asleep, and Reinhard and Subaru began using the early start to the morning to plan their encounter with Crusch's camp later that day.
Around 2637 words, if you like this leave comments as I plan to make this story very interesting in the next few chapters