"Beako! Help me!" Subaru shouted as he panicked in the mansion, screaming around as Beatrice came out of the library.
"Why do you always have- ahhh!" Beatrice peeked her head and found Subaru covered in flames, next to him a burned figure of a child laid on the ground, same as the rest of the room, she immediately used her magic to put out the fire, and she found Otto on the ground slightly burned.
"What idiotic things were you doing, I suppose!?" She shouted in anger as she looked at the tired child.
"Ah, I was trying a new magic I had in mind." Subaru replied tired, Beatrice facepalmed, it had been half a month since Subaru came into the mansion, and since then he would rigorously train with magic, bothering Beatrice innumerable times, yet she didn't mind it too much, as he would also play with her, and the mayonnaise thing he brought wasn't that bad.
"You are a fool, what magic were you even trying to burn up the room, in fact!" Beatrice shouted as she knew he held yin magic, and not fire.
"Well, I had this idea with the yang sword, since it powers up the users, perhaps I could use cor leonis to extend the buff to other people, if not at least use magic to-"
"I get it, I get it, I suppose! Betty shall lend you a hand if you're going to burn down the mansion!" Beatrice offered her help, she usually gave an excuse to answer his call for help.
"Yay! So when are we starting?" Subaru asked as he leaned in, Beatrice sighed and thought about it, Subaru took her hand in joy.
"Tomorrow morning, I suppose, for now it's almost sunset, in fact." Beatrice looked outside the window as she slowly went back to her library.
"Ghaa, Natsuki, next time try not to burn me!" Suddenly Otto stood up and shouted at Subaru, also trying to punch him, Beatrice noticed the burned parts and applied healing magic.
"To bother at this hour, in fact!" She shouted even if she perfectly healed the boy, he thanked her as Subaru looked outside.
"Ah! I have training with the old man!" Subaru shouted as he quite literally jumped out the window and landed, for then rushing towards the sword demon, who was sipping tea as he gazed at flowers.
"Put me down, I suppose!" Beatrice shouted as Subaru had rushed outside still holding Beatrice's hands, bringing her with him. Next to him Otto was rushing too, hoping to train himself with someone more experienced.
"Ah, sorry Beako!" Subaru apologized with a smile, Wilhelm turned towards the two, the curves of his mouth peaked up, while he slowly put down the tea.
"You truly get along with each other." Wilhelm poured some tea on another cup, and with his hand signed Beatrice to take a seat, she noticed various cookies and sweets on the table.
"Betty shall humor the two of you, I suppose." She sat down and began to drink her tea.
"Subaru, Otto, it is almost sunset, shall we begin?" Wilhelm asked as he walked towards the boy, a flash of white in front of him as his sword was pointed at the child.
"Of course, teacher!" Subaru summoned his red sword, in a blaze of light he pointed it at the sword demon.
"I'm ready when you are." Otto was suddenly surrounded by all kinds of creatures, animals and bugs, all ready to fight.
The three stared at each other in silence, and in a second Wilhelm closed the gap, the sound of metal clashing numerous times, the movements of the demon were quick and precise, never once did he lay his sword for more than a second, already knowing of the tricks Subaru had.
"Can't use anything, damn it!" Subaru shouted with a smile, he could only defend against the onslaught of the sword demon, but never did his smile fade.
"Aren't you forgetting someone!?" Otto shouted as he began an onslaught of strikes, all masterfully blocked by the old man, he tried to counter, but animals told Otto each one of his movements.
"Fire brand arts, chaos blades!" Subaru murmured as his red sword vanished, in its place two small blades of fire were made, connected with chains of red, the weapons were more flames than objects, and were clearly unstable.
"How interesting…" Wilhelm gazed with curiosity and caution at the two weapons, as Subaru sent one at immense speed towards him, burning the grass and the air, the blade made its way, but it was dodged immediately, Wilhelm began to run towards Subaru, Otto rushed behind him, as he used his slingshot to pester Wilhelm.
Wilhelm almost clashed with Subaru, but an insect tried to poke his eye, distracting him for a second. Otto thrusted his spear forward, which Wilhelm dodged, but then a blade seemed to cut Otto in half, and managed to slash Wilhelm, even if slightly.
"Not bad, kids!" Wilhelm smiled as he gazed at the small cut across his chest, Otto and Subaru stood side by side, surrounded by countless animals.
"Fire brand arts, kusarigama!" The blades changed form and transformed in small scythes, with chains and a small weight at the other end, and Subaru launched the other end of the chain towards Wilhelm.
The old man tried to dodge, yet Otto used a rock to block him, instead he immediately used the tip of his sword to deflect it, but his weapon was damaged as the top was shattered.
He then rushed towards Otto, in the blink of an eye he stood in front of the two, trying to slash at Otto.
Subaru blocked the following strike with his scythes, and used one to transform it into a yutte, a small blunt weapon, and almost trapped Wilhelm's blade in it, but he immediately jumped back.
"To be using such unconventional weapons, where did you learn of them?" Wilhelm asked with curiosity and even Beatrice was looking at his weapons.
"Even Betty has never seen such weapons, not even in a book, in fact!" She asked surprised, while the weapons weren't with a perfect shape, they were still clearly never seen.
"Ah, I just read a book about them." Subaru explained dodging the question, both the sword demon and the spirit glared at him unconvinced, Otto laughed even if he listened closely.
"Betty's library holds all kinds of knowledge, I would have known of such weapons, I suppose." Beatrice crossed her arms and glared even more, she got up from her seat and walked towards him.
"And more importantly, in fact, how are you holding fire, I suppose!?" Beatrice shouted as she looked at the blazing weapons in his hands, behaving like anything but fire.
"Oh, it's a bit complicated, I am practically using the same principle as the yang sword, but it's like a thousand times worse." Subaru explained as the weapon disappeared, Beatrice sighed as she thought about it.
"Usually such a taxing technique would be useless, I suppose." Beatrice spoke up annoyed, she noticed the high mana cost, which would let him last no longer than a few minutes, Wilhelm smiled as he narrowed his eyes.
"But by using unconventional weapons you level the field, making the adversary have to be careful, and the capability of changing weapons at will also makes it even more troublesome." Wilhelm stroked his chin and wondered about the boy.
"But you are simply terrible with those weapons, I can see their potential is tremendous, but you mainly are capable of using them due to your whip training, their strength relies on the surprise factor." Wilhelm explained with a serious expression.
"Well, you know I mainly plan to win as fast as possible, I lack the mana to simply have a drawn out fight." Subaru smiled as the sun finished to set, Wilhelm took a wooden sword and launched it towards Subaru.
"Otto, you too have quite the troublesome way of fighting, even if the animals risk their lives whenever they're around the opponent." Otto nodded and stood next to Subaru and prepared too. The two began training seriously, with Subaru going from practicing his swings to blocking hits from Wilhelm, they went at it until they had been called.
The three once finished went to dinner, where the group reunited and ate together, Wilhelm discussed with Subaru regarding his training, Beatrice sat next to him and silently ate her food, but Subaru constantly spoke with her too.
"Lord Subaru, I tru~ly hope your stay is of your liking." Roswaal spoke up with his usual tone, Subaru rolled his eyes and glared at him.
"I was until you spoke, you want something?" Subaru replied with a smirk holding a malicious smile, Ram glared at him but did not speak.
"I wi~shed to know about your training, I only tra~ined your companions." Roswaal questioned him with a smile, the others too looked at him.
"Ah, I'm just trying some stuff, I only need a real battle to test them." Subaru replied thinking about the various spells he wants to try, Roswaal smirked and crossed his hands.
"There is a fo~rest in the north, Elior forest, it is a den of mabeasts and there is even a ru~mor about a witch." Roswaal spoke with a friendly voice, Otto raised his eyebrow.
"A witch? Isn't it too risky?" Otto questioned the clown with a narrow gaze, Roswaal smiled as he shrugged.
"Every~one knows about Subaru's victory against the sin archbishop of greed, and sloth, no one else in the wo~rld is suited for things like this." He replied with a smile, Otto couldn't find an argument and only glared at Subaru.
"Yet, as a guest, it wouldn't be wise to ask more of him." Gustav cut in with his hands crossed, he met eyes with Roswaal, his smile faded.
"The ma~tter of Elior forest isn't urgent, the place is infested with mabeasts, but none seem to be any stronger than Wilhelm, he is mo~re than enough to protect you." Roswaal continued on and smiled, Subaru narrowed his eyes.
"We're taking the sword saint." Suddenly Weilz spoke up, surprising everyone else, Wilhelm looked down, tightening his fists.
"Well, at least we want him to be available in case things go south." Hiain interjected in the conversation too, asking for a more reasonable demand.
"I suppose that ca~n be done." Roswaal answered in a slightly less energetic way, Subaru nodded and stood up.
"Alright, let's head for Elior!" He shouted as he raised his fist, in a childish voice he had his group stand up and walk at the door, Roswaal smirked as he walked out, but right before the door closed, a chill ran down his spine, as evil eyes glared at him, adorned by an innocent smile.
A cold wind whistled in the white landscapes, everything seemed to lay dormant, no birds were heard, nor animals moved, silence reigned supreme in this kingdom of white, except for a lonely girl, her silver hair were dancing in the wind, her slender arms moved with grace, and her amethyst eyes that could captivate all.
In this stillness, only she moved, calmly walking in the snow, going to a nearby river to clean her face.
"Good morning Lia." Another voice was heard in the forest, a small cat floating in the air greeted the girl.
"You might be getting a little lonely, but I'll be getting out for a bit." Silence remained as the girl, unconcerned, looked at him.
"I'll be… going out, so don't cry because of it." The cat once more spoke, and the girl wiped her face with a towel.
"I'm not going to cry, you're free to do what you want." The two continued their banter, and after a warning, the cat departed, Emilia was left alone and now she walked around the forest.
She noticed some tracks and followed them for a while, until she finished in a small plain of white, where the tracks continued for a while.
"Hey, you're there, aren't you?" Emilia spoke up as some men got out of the forest, with a cage behind them, the one in front had bandages all over his face, with a hat made with animal fur.
"It's been a week, so glad to meet you again!" The man shouted with fake happiness as he extended his hands. "I'm not…" Emilia glared at the group.
"How did ya know we were here? We covered our tracks."
"You walked on the furrows, why are you here?" She questioned with a cold voice, the man took a deep breath and laughed.
"Ah, the business I have is with you, Missy, or rather, forest person!" The man shouted with a malicious smirk, Emilia's eyes widened as her hands slightly trembled, she gripped her fist.
"What a twist."
"What did you do to the villagers?" She asked with anger and worry in her eyes.
"Ahh, nothing yet, but according to them ya steal stuff from people and sell the rest to them, so ya keep their mouth shut."
"What are you saying, I never had any intentions of…" She murmured with a sad expression.
"And those with dirty hands can't complain, you're really something, little girl."
"Don't make things up! I have never acted with that intention, not even once!" Emilia shouted loudly, beginning to get angry.
"Don't fool me! The villagers spilled the beans! Ya sell them stuff to keep them silenced, ya made them your partners in crime!"
"Would have never guessed that!"
"The burden of demihumans is too much for a village like this."
"Boss, can we beat him up?"
"Did you think people wouldn't know? Drop the act, forest person, or rather, elf!"
"Man,*gnom* three identity related twists."
"Demi humans in the forest, and they help them by being bandits, a grave crime in this country."
"I wasn't trying to be a bandit, and why involve them!?" Emilia shouted in confusion, the leader laughed maliciously.
"Ahh, an elf left behind by the times, after the demi human war ya ain't got any rights!"
"After so long, the effects of that war have yet to vanish."
"What do you want…" Emilia spoke in a serious voice, she looked at them, launching daggers with her eyes.
"Quick on the uptake, I see." The man pointed backwards at a cage.
"Get in the cage, as the main offender, we'll use yer body as payment!"
"Wow, he's scum." "So scummy" "Truly scum" "In the dictionary he appears on the word scum."
"Alright, who the hell is making fun of me!" The man shouted as all of the group turned around and saw seven people enjoying a meal near a campfire as they all watched the exchange, two children and five men.
"Ah, please go on, we didn't want to bother you." A lizard man spoke up with a smile as he ate some meat, the group looked to be completely relaxed.
"What do ya mean!? Standing there commenting on everything, ya wanna die!?" The man shouted in anger as the group looked at him, for a moment silence overtook the forest once more.
"Pffft!" "Ahah" "He really just said it, ahhh!"
The group laughed as they pointed at him, which angered the man even more, he took a crossbow and aimed at the boy who was laughing more.
"You bastards!" He shot and the arrow flew through the air, aimed at the child's head.
"He really wants to die, uh?" A voice was heard as an hammer deflected the arrow, the group now lost all laughter, and the adults all glared at the man, the one who held the hammer, the lizard man, and a red haired man all stood up, cracking their hands and neck, one held a sword, the other two small knives.
"You three want to take out more than thirty men!? How foolish!" He laughed as the three looked at the group, anger in their eyes, yet they remained calm.
"So, what did ya want to do with the girl? Come on, let's hear it." The man in tattoos asked with a glare, the men held their weapons ready to strike.
"Well, after seeing her face we'll sell her, of course, or I might as well keep her." The man with a perverted look, laid his eyes on the elf.
"Hey miss, are you alright?" A voice next to the girl spoke, the black haired child asked while tilting his head, with a calm and cheerful voice.
"Uh? Oh yes, thanks for helping!" She replied surprised, she looked at the child with confusion and a bit of happiness.
"Hey, can you take off your hood? It's annoying when people hide." The child asked, still smiling, Emilia wanted to say no, but after a bit of hesitation she took it away.
"Ah, silver hair… amethyst eyes, the witch!" "She's the witch!" "the witch of envy!" The men shouted as they laid their eyes on Emilia, scared and frightened, Emilia looked down in sadness.
"Ahahaha! That's even better!" The bandit shouted with a terrible laugh, Emilia looked at the boy standing in silence as he gazed at her.
"You're really pretty, you know?" "Uh?"
Emilia looked at the child dumbfounded, he was neither scared or worried, only speaking his mind.
"Guys, kick their ass." The child gave his command and immediately the three fighters threw away 6 people in less than a second, the rest were completely shocked to see their companions getting literally thrown left and right.
"Even with armors and crossbows…" a bandit spoke in shock as the three seemed like a hurricane.
"Orthrus! Kill them!" The leader shouted as a two headed giant hound came from the forest, it tried to swallow the red haired man in a single bite, but before the attack could land, a four armed man took its fangs and kept them open.
"I am sorry, but lord Subaru won't allow for any losses!" The four armed man asked as he punched one of the hounds head, he then took its neck and threw it.
"What the hell!?" One of the bandits shouted as the four armed men fought bare handed with the mabeast, even overpowering it in strength.
"Incredible…" Emilia murmured as she saw the warriors make quick work of their enemies, even faster than she could.
"I know right? They're all strong!" The child shouted in joy, he looked at them to make quick work of the bandits, and even the mabeast was being overwhelmed easily.
"Hey Natsuki, it's coming." Suddenly the other child spoke up, he had next to him the oldest of the group, Subaru gave a thumbs up as the mabeast was suddenly taken by its throat, a giant ape shaped mabeast appeared, Emilia's eyes widened in fear.
"The snow blight!" Emilia shouted as she got in front of the child, trying to protect him, while he continued to smile without a worry.
"You run!" Emilia jumped in and tried to fight off the snow blight, starting with a few kicks and punches, which had no results whatsoever, yet she tried to buy as much time as possible.
She then kicked its arm, still doing nothing but distracting it, the beast got its mouth in front of her, and roared with such might that Emilia was thrown away.
"Ah, are you alright?" The boy asked as the beast now stood in front of him, Emilia looked helplessly as the only person who wasn't scared of her was going to be killed.
"Nooo!" She shouted as an explosion of cold surrounded the girl, an unquenchable frost surrounded her, as the giant beast now had an ice flower on its back, it grew and grew, and as it grew, blood poured in it, and soon enough, death took it.
"Please, get away from me!" Emilia shouted as she saw how the bandits began to grow ice flowers too.
"Wow, you're re~ally strong, aren't you?" A voice was heard as the blizzard grew stronger and stronger, Emilia opened her eyes and a light was slowly coming in front of her, a flame of red, living in the blizzard, thriving and dancing without being bothered by the ice.
"Go away, you'll get hurt!" Emilia shouted once more, but the flame got closer, until it stood in front of her, the blizzard grew stronger and stronger, but the flame melted all around it.
"You're gonna have to try harder than that, when going against someone as hot as me." The flame vanished and the black haired child stood there smiling, he was unconcerned of the cold, as he petted Emilia's head.
"Calm down now, take deep breaths and stop." The child asked, still smiling, Emilia was astonished by this child, but she noticed how a small ice flower began to form on his head, extremely slowly.
"No, I don't want to hurt anyone!" Emilia tried to calm down, as her ice was uncontrolled, the kid sighed and took her in a hug.
"I'll help you, but promise me you'll learn to control your power." The child smiled as he chanted a spell.
"I promise!" Emilia shouted as the boy closed his eyes and nodded, he opened his mouth.
"Absolute cancel!" The boy murmured with a commanding voice, and the blizzard came to a halt, the only thing left was his flame, warming up the girl, as she calmed down and smiled.
"Thank you." She said as consciousness faded, she slept with a small smile.
"Alright, I'll have to thank Beako later. Now, come out, we noticed you a while ago!" The boy shouted with a stern gaze, and suddenly a gray cat appeared in the sky.
"I must say I was going to be quite aggressive, but I'll ask, who do you refer to when you say Beako?" The cat asked with a wondering expression, he was quite calm, even if the child noticed how his answer would change his mood.
"The great spirit Beatrice, protector of the forbidden library, she is my friend." The child answered with a smile, truthfully and with a smile, the cat calmed down entirely.
"Betty's friends are my friends, what's your name?" The cat smiled and asked the child, who floated down next to the boy.
"Natsuki Subaru! The child of war, what's yours?" Subaru asked the cat, now standing right in front of him.
"Puck! I protect that girl, pleased to meet you!" The two shook hands, then they turned towards the bandits with a smile.
"Please don't kill them, Otto will have things to do later." Subaru asked as he pointed to Otto, who sighed, already knowing he'll have trouble.
"Sure, you did help Lia, I guess having you play with them too is fair." Puck commented as he turned towards the bandits, and began threatening them, meanwhile Subaru checked on Emilia, and picked her up from the ground.
"I must admit it Subaru, you truly have a way with women." Wilhelm suddenly spoke up from behind him as Gustav nodded, Subaru became embarrassed and turned away.
"I wasn't trying anything! Heck, I should have let you freeze." Subaru sulked as they waited for Puck.
"I'll lead you to Emilia's house, I want to know more about Betty, it's been centuries since I saw her." Puck turned towards the forest, but before the group started kicking the bandit.
Emilia felt softness under her back, and over her she felt a warm blanket covering her body, she slowly opened her eyes, over her head a familiar ceiling, she cleaned her eyes and looked around.
"Good morning, sleepyhead, you had a really long sleep." Emilia turned around and saw a familiar black haired child, she immediately stood up and panicked a little.
"Ah! W-why are you here? Who?" Emilia blurted out in complete confusion, Subaru laughed as he checked the fireplace, making sure it's hot enough.
"Puck led me here with my group, we have a friend in common. So, I have something to tell you." Subaru leaned towards her and smiled, Emilia gulped as she noticed how he was getting serious.
"Is it about me being an elf?" Emilia looked down in worry, expecting him to have some kind of problem with it.
"Nope, it's about that stupidly powerful magic you have, and the fact you suck at controlling it." Subaru answered with a cheeky smile, yet he remained serious.
"I'll cut to the chase, I'll help you with that power, and you become a bodyguard of mine, how does that sound?" Subaru asked while looking in her eyes, Emilia was surprised and thought about it, she promised to control her power.
"I can't follow you, I need to protect the forest." Emilia replied while looking away, Subaru smiled and waved his hand.
"Ah, don't worry about that, I can make sure no one will get in without my permission." Emilia was shocked when hearing that, she kept her mouth open not knowing what to say.
"We'll go back when Otto arrives, please think about it." Subaru went out of the door, Emilia looked puzzled as he went out, she thought about it while changing clothes, and then she got out, and was met with Subaru's group cooking some meat on a fire. The four armed man was taking care of most of the work.
"Ah, lady Emilia, you have finally awakened, please have a seat." He spoke full of dignity, signaling her to sit around the fire, the group chatted more and less, the old man was speaking with Subaru, while the lizardman and the tattooed man were fighting.
The group had a quick lunch with meat and Emilia exchanged names with the others, all of them smiled without worry.
"So, about the forest, how will you protect it?" Emilia asked while looking at Subaru, she timidly questioned him as she gazed at the ground.
"Well, I'm gonna ask Roswaal to make sure no one gets in, and have it be protected under my name." Subaru replied while looking up, a finger sat on his chin as he wondered.
"Under your name?" Emilia tilted her head while wondering about what he said.
"Natsuki Subaru, the child of war, is a name feared and respected by everyone, none can defile it without thought." Gustav replied with a serious expression, Emilia was surprised to hear that, and she gazed at Subaru with a hand over her mouth.
"I might have conquered an empire with a flawless victory, also maybe I killed a sin archbishop, and perhaps fought a dragon, and more stuff." Subaru explained with a cheeky smile and ironic tone, Emilia didn't understand a few, but all of them were clearly big deals.
"Wait, you're an emperor!?" Emilia shouted in shock as she almost bowed down not knowing how to behave.
"Ah, don't worry about that, I'd rather have people be friendly." Subaru replied with a grin, making Emilia sigh in worry.
"Alright, I'll work re~ally hard to use my powers!" Emilia shouted with a determined voice, clenching her fist and raising it, she smiled and accepted.