Days passed by, a small boy with cat ears entered the city, where he was met with a curious scenery, no one was in the streets, only a few people with a carriage passed by with a mask over their mouths, the boy walked around the city, until he reached a square with tends all over the place, a few guards stood in front of it, he was let inside, there he saw hundreds of people sick of an illness, with fifty water magic users trying to do their best, he immediately noticed what issues there were, and began working immediately.
He explained to the healers what to do, he began healing as many people as possible, thanks to his power, he managed to heal people as he slowly figured out how to heal them efficiently, his sheer skill in magic was already enough to bring to full health most of the ill, he slowly figured how a way to heal them even if less skilled, so he quickly explained how to all the healers.
He was impressed by how the situation had been handled, organized perfectly to contain the disease, he had been let inside due to Subaru's permission, but otherwise, not even the blue lighting could get inside.
In the meantime Subaru had been training for a week in the Astrea household and packed to travel to the Mather's domain, having sent a letter announcing his arrival. Standing at the gates, the group was surrounded by the inhabitants, Felt and Rom stayed there until Subaru came back.
"Hey Rein, you're welcome in Vollachia, if you wanna visit us don't worry about it." Subaru shook hands with Reinhard, the two bit farewell and traveled to the outskirts of the city, where Wilhelm was waiting for them.
The group departed and made its way to the domain, the only noticeable moment was Flugel's great tree, but otherwise they only chatted in the carriage.
Eventually they arrived at Arlam village, where they had been completely avoided by the villagers, since the seven stars were being proudly displayed in their flags.
Soon after they reached the mansion, where various maids had been waiting for them, Ram and Rem stood next to Roswaal, while Frederica was among the other maids, the sun was already getting higher and higher, as the clear blue sky welcomed the group.
"I bid the~e welcome, child of war, it is a pleasure to have you as our guest." Roswaal bowed down as Subaru got down from the carriage, Subaru looked around, as everyone bowed down.
"Don't bow, it annoys me." Subaru spoke up while clicking his tongue, everyone raised their heads.
"Except you, Roswaal, keep it down." Subaru smirked as Ram clearly gave him a death glare, yet he ignored it entirely, he got near Roswaal.
"Alright, you invited us to learn to use magic, when do we get started?" Subaru asked as the magician remained knelt down, standing as tall as Subaru.
"Qu~ite the eager man, are you? As so~on as you and your group have settled and rested, we shall begin." Roswaal winked at Subaru, who made a gesture of puking at the display, Ram once again restrained her murderous intent.
"Oh, lord Wilhelm? Wh~at are you doing with the child of war?" Roswaal noticed the old man getting down from the carriage, he stroked his beard and answered.
"The child of war has shown himself to be someone worthy of respect, and my and his goals match." He answered while standing behind Subaru, immediately the maids and butlers had a look of shock on their faces
The group had been welcomed in the estate as the maids took care of their luggage, Subaru entered his room as he was accompanied by Rem.
"Hey Rem, how's it going?" Subaru asked as he waved his hand to the maid, she smiled warmly and slightly bowed.
"I am doing well, lord Subaru, it is a pleasure to-"
"Drop all that formal stuff, you fought by my side, you above everyone else don't have to use it." Subaru smiled at the small maid, who nodded as she raised her head with a smile.
"Yes, Subaru, so how did your training with lord Reinhard go?" Rem asked as the two walked down the halls of the mansion, Subaru noticed the great amount of empty rooms, not used by anyone.
"He was stupidly strong, none of us could land a hit on him." Subaru answered as he sulked downward, but immediately he jumped up.
"I'll hit him one day." Almost like a whisper, Subaru announced his will with unwavering determination, smiling at the thought, Rem admired that unshakable will in awe, which reminded her of their battle.
"You truly are one of a kind." Rem giggled with a smile, the two arrived at his room, where all of the luggage was already in place.
"Lunch shall be in a hour, in the meantime make sure to rest." Rem waved goodbye as she got out of the room, she closed the door and Subaru began to take out his clothes and other various objects.
He jumped on the bed, checking how comfortable it was, then he stopped and began looking around, not the room, but more at the walls, or rather, beyond the walls.
"Mhmm, they are taking a look around the mansion, Frederica is cooking, and Ram is resting, I wonder why she is in so much pain." Subaru spoke aloud, he sighed and got out of the room, wandering around the halls, he would meet maids or butler a lot, they all behaved professionally, which annoyed Subaru to no end.
"Ahhh, this place is boring." Subaru exhaled after ten minutes of wandering around, he decided to see the garden, he got directions from a maid, and after walking around he finally could see the garden outside.
"This is stupidly big, heck, this whole mansion is uselessly big, could use the money for something more productive." The boy sighed as he looked at the immense garden outside, it was undoubtedly beautiful, but it could be used for farms instead.
He then turned around, and his eyes landed on a door, it had nothing different from other doors, at first, yet he could sense something behind it, he took a deep breath and entered.
"Haven't you heard of knocking, I suppose?"
"My parents didn't care about knocking either!"
"They didn't do a great job at rasing you, did they?"
"Well, yours sure as hell aren't with you now, are they?"
Subaru slammed the door open, and inside he found a library with a small girl with golden hair, he immediately entered inside.
"I'm Natsuki Subaru, what's your name?" Subaru asked immediately, not caring at all about how annoyed the girl was, almost furious, but then she made a malicious smile.
"Beatrice, I suppose." She extended her hand, which Subaru took immediately with a smile, she shaked for a second, but then she retracted it immediately, with a concerned look on her face, she noticed flames coming from Subaru's hand.
"What was that, in fact!?" Beatrice shouted as she checked her hand, Subaru noticed a small burn, he got worried.
"Are you all right? I didn't want to!" Subaru checked her hand with a few tears in his eyes, Beatrice sighed and healed it.
"Guess I should have expected it, I suppose." Beatrice clicked her tongue as she looked at Subaru, massaging her hand still red hot.
"I'm sorry, it never happened before." Subaru spoke while looking down, Beatrice sighed and sat back on her chair.
"Since you are so sorry, you shall be forgiven, I suppose, now go, Betty has better things to do, in fact." She moved her hand shooing him away, he narrowed his eyes and crossed his arms.
"Oh yeah, reading, such an important task, as if that's something you can't do outside." Subaru remarked with a grin, Beatrice gritted her teeth.
"Shut it, you annoying child, I suppose!" She extended her hand and Subaru was thrown out the door and through the window, he immediately used murak to make himself weightless, and safely landed after doing a flip.
"Phew, that was fun." Subaru smiled and walked back inside, he then went to Otto's room, but as he almost opened the door, he noticed another light next door, faint and distorted, but he immediately understood who it was.
"Hey Beako! How come the library is now here?" Subaru slammed the door open and found a small girl inside, she closed her book while grinding her teeth.
"How did you find it already, I suppose!" Beatrice threw a tantrum as she waved her arms and legs up and down, as Subaru laughed she stopped her movement. "How did you call me, I suppose?" Her eyes widened as she pointed at him.
He smiled innocently and leaned forward. "Beako! That's your nickname now." Subaru pointed at her.
She grinned her teeth again but then sighed. "You truly are an annoyed pest, I suppose." Beatrice put her head on her hand.
Subaru glared at her but then smiled. "If I'm a pest, then I'm the king of all pests!" He pointed at the sky with pride.
The spirit extended a hand. "You're uncorrectable, I suppose!" A strong gust of wind impacted Subaru, he managed to create a strong flame to block it, nullifying the spell.
"Please don't launch me out, not like it's going to work." Subaru waved his hands with a grin, yet he made his way out with a smile, waving his hand.
"See you later, Beako!" he exited the room with a smile, leaving the small girl by herself, she sighed as she opened her book.
"What an annoying brat, in fact." She sat back on her stool and began reading her book, thinking about the unusual boy.
Subaru got out of the room and entered Otto's room and smiled. Inside Otto was surrounded by various bugs and birds, he seemed to be talking to them.
"Hey! Whatcha doing?" Subaru barged in, surprising Otto who jumped up from the shock.
"Natsuki!? What are you doing here?" Otto snapped with an angry expression as all the animals around him got out of the room.
"Just seeing how my friend's doing." Subaru showed his teeth as Otto sighed, the two then walked around the mansion, looking around for anything interesting.
Time passed as lunch came by, they all ate together as many tales were spoken, as the maids all listened in astonishment at the deeds of the child of war, all narrated by Idra.
Even Beatrice was present at the table, having been dragged out by Subaru with some well thought excuse, the girl while annoyed, listened to the tales with extreme focus, captured by the surreal moments.
"And lo! As the mighty dragon snaps his tail, dust rises and like thunder the sound envelops the battlefield, 'ere the child of war stood high and mighty, hand on the dragon's tail, as all stands in surprise and awe, we all charge the dragon!"
"Stop spitting nonsense, only the boss, Cecilus and Halibel fought the dragon." Weilz interrupted the narration, his hands crossed as he looked at the red haired man.
"Ohh, cause you really fought like a hero!" The duo began fighting as they shouted, punching each other. Some maids had a wry smile, but Beatrice looked at them with a surprised look.
"The magical shroud excitation, in fact?" She whispered with surprise and awe, Subaru caught on that, as she sat next to him.
"The magical what? Beako what are you saying?" Subaru asked with curiosity, as he put a finger over his lip, tilting his head, Beatrice sighed and looked at him.
"An ancient technique, lost to time, and near impossible to reproduce, you're making it casually, in fact!?" Beatrice shouted with stupor in her eyes, Roswaal was astonished too once he saw the two warriors fighting.
"Uuuh, I guess?" Subaru shrugged as he continued to eat, Beatrice had her mouth open as she tried to make sense of what she was seeing.
"A lo~ng time ago, even a witch considered it a fantasy to use that technique on more than a hu~ndred people, if such power is being used on the infamous Pleiades battalion, then it is cle~ar why it's the strongest army."
"How is this possible, in fact?" Beatrice and Roswaal looked at Subaru with wonder and curiosity, the maids were surprised and shocked, the two fighters stopped and listened.
"I dunno, we just shout every two seconds and beat people up." Subaru took a sip of juice and continued eating, after they finished their meals, tea was served and they began discussing.
"So, chi~ld of war, you wish to be trained in magic, right?" Roswaal asked in a more serious tone, the air of the room shifted to be more tense.
"Magic is a fascinating subject, Vollachia has ignored this power for long, but it is indispensable for saving lives, I do not wish to use it for warfare." Subaru began speaking as he no longer seemed the cheerful child, instead the feeling he gave off was one you would expect from someone with immense experience and wisdom.
"The empire has a~lways worshiped war, even if you do not wish to harm us, the same cannot be said for all your ci~tizens." Roswaal crossed his hands, closing his yellow eyes as he watched Subaru.
"But it can for the Pleiades, even if I lost my power as emperor, my brothers will never turn their back on me, and I can guarantee for each one of them, they will use magic to save lives." Subaru answered with pure confidence in his words, some maids were astonished by the absolute faith he had in his army, as they looked at the group he brought with him.
"The entire Pleiades battalion serves lord Subaru with absolute loyalty, we know the price of betrayal and no one wishes to doubt his orders." Gustav spoke with dignity and faith, the people were surprised.
"Pro~mise to never use it against it, and we shall teach you." Roswaal spoke up and stared at Subaru, he sighed and smiled.
"I promise to never use the power you shall teach me against the kingdom, and may our friendship last long." Subaru answered while closing his eyes, Roswaal nodded and clapped his hands.
"Then sh~all we begin?"
The group stood in the garden, Roswaal at the center as he explained many of the basic knowledge of magic, he was decided and precise, as the rest listened closely.
They practiced simple spells, and Roswaal checked for how well they treated their gate, bit each time he was confused, so he crossed his arms and touched his chin.
"How cu~rious… the yang magic is amplifying your gate, could you deactivate the spell? I ne~ed to check your true skill." Roswaal asked as he looked around at the group.
They then looked at each other, silence reigned for a while, they shrugged at Roswaal with a dumbfounded look.
"You don't kn~ow?" Roswaal looked at the group, they didn't answer but nodded with a smile, he facepalmed as he wondered, then after a few moments of silence
"Well, ma~ybe Lady Beatrice could be of help, even if she specializes in yin magic. If she e~ven shows up." Roswaal explained as he thought of a solution.
Subaru immediately stood up and entered inside, "I'll go find her!" Subaru ran off in the building, soon enough he found Beatrice, while the rest waited for him.
"Hey, Beako!" "How did you find me already, in fact!?" As Subaru waved his hand while slamming the door open, Beatrice waved her arms up and down and stomped her feet.
"I just did it, anyway, hey! Whatcha reading?" Subaru got distracted instantly and checked on her book, she had been reading that book since the day before.
Beatrice noticed how the boy was actually interested in the book and sighed, she took one of her drill-like hair and pulled it. "The guillotine of Magritsa, it's a beautiful story about…" "Boing." Subaru looked at the drills going up and down, distracted from her words, Beatrice shut her mouth and released her magic.
"How annoying, in fact!" Subaru was almost thrown out of the library, but he managed to slam into the wall instead, Beatrice glared at him.
"Ouch! That hurt!" Subaru shouted angrily as his face was red, Beatrice sighed and smiled.
"That's what you get for angering Betty, in fact." Her mischievous smile beamed towards Subaru, massaging the back of his head.
"Ghrr, you could have not thrown me into a wall at least!" Subaru stood up and glared at Beatrice, after a second of silence, where the two glared at each other…
"Bleh!" Subaru pulled out his tongue and put a finger under his eye, Beatrice was surprised and flicked his head.
"Oh right, I remember that I came here to ask you for help or something, guess I forgot." Subaru put his hands behind his head, Beatrice had her mouth open.
"Oh right, Roswaal wanted to ask you something, he is probably still waiting outside!" Subaru laughed and Beatrice too smirked, while thinking about the clown.
"We should be training in magic, but I can't take him seriously at all." Subaru spoke up while crossing his arms, Beatrice nodded.
"His entire behavior is annoying, I suppose, even Betty hardly put up with him, in fact." Beatrice smiled mischievously at the idea of the mage, Subaru laughed and sat on the floor with crossed legs.
"Hey Beako, can you help me with a spell?" Subaru asked with a smile, Beatrice raised an eyebrow and looked at him.
"Why would Betty help you, I suppose?" Beatrice spoke with an uninterested tone, but she somehow seemed open with the idea.
"Why not? Maybe the spell we do could be useful for you." Subaru answered honestly, Beatrice smiled maliciously and looked at Subaru, as an aura of power surrounded her, and it seemed so overwhelming that some would even pass out from its power.
"Betty is a great spirit of yin, human child, what makes you think a spell you can create could even be of interest to me?" Beatrice spoke with a menacing tone as she glared at Subaru.
He smirked and snapped his fingers. "Absolute cancel." And all of that magical aura suddenly vanished like nothing, Beatrice's eyes widened and her mouth open.
"What was that spell, in fact!?" Beatrice looked at Subaru, with a light in her eyes as she wondered about the mysterious yet powerful spell, which she didn't know. She jumped down from her seat and looked at him, analyzing that powerful enchantment.
"Ahahah! So, about that new spell." As Beatrice looked all around her, she was dumbfounded as she stirred up and slowly looked at Subaru.
"I guess you managed to surprise Betty, in fact, as a reward Betty shall advise you, I suppose." Beatrice closed one eye and crossed her arms, she had her chin up as she looked at Subaru.
"Really? Yay! Thanks Beako!" "Mughyaa! Subaru pulled Beatrice in a hug as he lifted her up, she tried to throw him away, but before she could do anything Subaru put her down.
"Alright, so you know how some really strong guys create after images? I want to do something like that! I wanted to use the yang sword to do it but-" Subaru began explaining as he spoke quickly, Beatrice got confused as she flicked his forehead.
"Speak properly, in fact!" Beatrice shouted angrily, Subaru nodded and breathed in as he explained his idea, and the two began working on it.
The rest trained with Roswaal as they understood Subaru would not be coming back, while the two tried the various ideas of the child.