Chapter 48: The Tutorial's Over, Now the Real Game Begins
After getting ready to leave the Pleiades Watchtower, along with leaving the three Elder Scrolls there to prevent them from being used for less desirable purposes, Subaru gave Shaula one last hug before they left.
"I promise I'll be back, Shaula." Subaru promised his adopted daughter.
"I'll hold you to it!"
Emilia nodded as well. "We'll make sure he keeps it."
Siegmeyer crossed his arms. "So… now what?"
Subaru smirked as he had just the thing in mind. "Now, I introduce you to my other friends."
"You have more secret friends?" Solaire asked, not sure whether he should be surprised or not.
"Not really secret, I just never really have a reason to bring them up to strangers. Better that way for them."
"Good thing we aren't strangers, then." Aela said.
"Then let's not waste any time. Let's go meet 'em." Subaru unleashed yet another Shamak, engulfing his comrades, as their surroundings changed from the dark bricks of the Watchtower… into a wilderness.
Subaru observed their surroundings, realizing where they were. "Hmm. Guess my coordinates were a bit off."
"Subaru, where are we?" Erik asked.
"In the woods outside the Roswaal Manor Domain. Watch out for Mabeasts." That was all Subaru said before walking to the village with the party following him.
The party tensed up at that, as they quickly made their way out of the foliage, and out towards… an empty dirt road, which they walked through, taking them to the village outskirts.
"Ah, there we go. Welcome to Arlam."
"Hey, guys, look! Subaru's back!"
The others quickly saw one of the local children informing the rest of the village of their presence, as a bunch of brats swarmed their nasty-eyed friend.
Subaru smiled as a familiar ginger haired girl ran up to him first. "Petra! Hey, how ya doing, kid?"
"I'm doing well! I've been practicing my Yang magic!" Petra excitedly informed the undead.
"That's great! And your friends?"
The little girl puffed her cheeks. "Still asking me out…"
"Ah, I know that feeling. Don't worry, I'm sure they'll give up eventually."
"I also got a job at Roswaal-sama's mansion!" the orange-haired girl added. "Big Sis Frederica's been teaching me lots of things."
Subaru raised an eyebrow at that. "Really? Congratulations!"
Petra smiled, as she quickly took notice of the large group of strangers behind Subaru, as did the rest of the children and villagers. "Uhm... who are all your friends?"
"Oh, them? Just some strays I picked up. Don't worry, they're harmless."
Aela was unamused at the comment. "Strays?"
"Heh. He's not entirely wrong." Seiglinde scratched her cheek while thinking about it.
"Well, it's nice to meet you," Emilia said, approaching the villagers. The villagers and kids, however, sans Petra, suddenly stiffened, as they finally noticed Emilia's appearance.
Subaru nearly facepalmed at this. "Aw crap, I should have seen this coming."
Erik just looked confused. "Saw what coming?"
Aela had a bit more of an idea. "Is this a racism thing?"
"More like general fear. Everyone, this is Emilia. You can trust her, she's one of my friends. She's a good guy, like me. So, I expect you all to make her feel welcome."
The villagers all looked to each other as the village elder, Milde, walked forward.
"Very well, Subaru-sama. We shall trust your judgment."
Subaru nodded in relief. "Glad to hear that."
After being in Gusteko, I had almost forgotten what this was like… the silver-haired half-elf thought to herself, before noticing one of the small children approaching her.
"Hi, I'm Petra! You're really pretty!"
Emilia was not used to people calling her that, and was caught off guard. "Oh... uhm, thank you very much."
Subaru smiled, before standing up. "Alright, come on, guys. We can mix and mingle with the locals once we've visited the head honcho's place."
A smirk grew on the hyena's face. "Ah, can't wait for another good show."
"What does he mean by that?" Serana asked.
Patches merely chuckles in response. "Oh, you'll see."
The team looked at one another nervously, as they hiked up towards the mansion up top.
Subaru took a deep breath of fresh air, not too cold and not too hot. "You know, after being in a place like Gusteko, you really do appreciate the warmer climates."
Solaire couldn't help but agree. "The more sun, the better…"
"For some more than others…" Was the comment from the resident Vampire princess, who had her hood covering her head.
"Don't worry, we're here," the nasty-eyed Undead informed her.
The group arrived at the mansion, which looked bigger than any building in Gusteko, rivaling the largest castles. It was four stories, at least, with white walls covered in windows, and a dark roof, the walls spreading across three different directions, all with amazing architecture.
Erik marveled at the sight. "Wow…"
"Quite the fancy place," J'zargo deadpanned.
Alright, let's see if you've gotten any better. Subaru thought to himself before knocking on the door. A few seconds later, a blonde woman with sharp teeth opened the door, bowing.
"Greetings Subaru-sama. It is good to see you again, and with company, might I add."
Subaru merely gave a small wave to the maid. "Hey, Frederica."
"I will inform Roswaal-sama of your arrival. In the meantime, I will allow Rem and Ram to take over in my stead," the blonde woman said, as she retreated behind the door.
"Who and who?" Siegmeyer asked.
Subaru smiled. "You guys might wanna step back a bit."
CRACK!
Before any of them could ask what he meant, Subaru had suddenly leapt away from them, as a spiked ball slammed down to where he was a second ago, destroying the floor.
Subaru smiled as he turned to his "attacker". "Not bad, I was expecting it to come from the doorway."
The one responsible, a blue-haired girl in a maid outfit, suddenly came out of the corner, before she lifted her weapon, a spiked ball attached to a chain, and attacked again.
The other members of the party, minus Patches, were ready to attack the seemingly hostile maid, but Subaru held up a hand, and simply said, "Don't interfere."
Emilia was shocked that Subaru would tell them not to do anything. "What?! Why —?!"
"Just listen to him," Patches said. "They do this all the time."
As the others stared at Patches in confusion, a second maid with pink hair appeared from behind Subaru, swinging a wand and launching a wind blade at response, Subaru ducked under it like he was playing Limbo, before jumping down to the gardens.
Subaru chuckled a bit. "Ooo, too bad, Ram. Try again for a penny?"
The pink maid, Ram, shouted out, "AL FURA!"
In response, Subaru put up a Magic Shield to block the wind-based attack, while Rem went behind him and prepared to strike Subaru with her Morningstar.
"Should we really not interfere?!" Erik was clearly panicking from the situation, unsure what to make of them.
"Nah. This is pretty much a routine for them," Patches said.
"Attempted murder?!" Oscar shouted.
Patches just shrugged in response. "No need to hold back against an immortal."
As Subaru dodged again, Rem this time launched a barrage of ice spikes. Subaru then countered with an El Minya spell which interrupted the path of the icicles. Running past the destroyed icicles and towards the blue-haired maid, Subaru summoned his Magic Weapon, a blue ethereal sword, and swung it towards Rem's neck, stopping before he cut her.
"And… Checkmate." That was all Subaru said with a smirk.
The pink-haired maid was still for a moment, wondering if she could take down the Japanese man without harming her companion, but decided against it. "Hmph. We yield."
"Braaaavo."
Everyone in the hall turned to see a pale man with blue hair and fancy clothes walking towards them, clapping. "Yet another impressive display. I hope you aaaaaare pleased at their improvement, Subaru."
The black-haired Undead smiled, as he relaxed."They almost had me this time, I gotta admit. Maybe they'll luck out next time. Anyways, good to see you, Ros-chi.
"Likewise, old friend. I see that you have brought company."
"Yep," the tracksuit-wearing Undead said, looking over to his friends. "Guys, this is Roswaal A. Mathers, court magician to the Kingdom of Lugnica, and a real old friend of mine."
The man, now introduced as Roswaal, gave a bow to the party. "A pleaaaasure to meet you all. I do apologize for the little "spar" you just witnessed. It's a minor tradition that takes place whenever Subaru visits."
"You call that a spar?! The entire front entrance was reduced to splinters!" Aela, being a seasonal hunter and warrior, knew when things were going too far.
Subaru just waved off the comment. "Don't worry about it. By tomorrow, this place looks good as new."
"Mm. Welcome back, uncle." The blue haired maid said.
Emilia did a double-take at that. "Uncle...?"
Subaru knew he had to explain the whole debacle. "Honorary title. Everyone, this is Rem and Ram. They're twins from the oni clan, and I was there when Ros-chi took them in, and I've been visiting every year since. So, I'm kinda like their uncle."
Erik just had one question. "Okay... and why do they keep attacking you?"
"Well, initially, they were hostile towards me because of my… smell… so they kept trying to murder me while I slept. Eventually, we made a game out of it."
"Your... scent?" Solaire slowly repeated.
"Witch's miasma," Subaru clarified.
Roswaal nodded in response. "Indeed. Due to being around the Witches of Sin for so long, as well as previously hooooolding an Authority, he begaaaan to emit it as well."
Siegmeyer coughed. "Wait, they know about…?"
Frederica nodded. "Subaru-sama has informed us of his past."
"All of it?" Sieglinde asked.
The former Great Sage nodded. "All of it. Besides you lot, they're some of the only people in the world who knows about my past and didn't betray me."
Patches turned to the others. "You believe me now?"
Emilia rolled her eyes. "Yeah…"
"Now then, I'm sure you're all hungry and tired," Roswaal said. "Refreshments and quarters shall be provided, while dear Subaru-kun visits one last friend here…"
"I'll catch up with you guys. It's time I visit another old friend."
Everyone gave Subaru some odd looks, but eventually, they nodded, and left.
After walking around the hallways for a few minutes, Subaru got bored of the looping trick, and walked up to a random door of his choosing and opened it, revealing a massive library.
Subaru smiled as he entered the library. Still got it.
"I was wondering when you'd arrive."
Subaru smiled softly as he saw the inhabitant of the Forbidden Library. Blonde hair in the form of pig-tailed drills, a red dress and crown that made her look like a princess, striped socks, and butterfly-shaped pupils that gave away the fact she wasn't a little girl.
She was the Great Spirit of Yin, Beatrice.
One of Subaru's… few remaining friends. Back when things were perfect.
"Sorry I took so long," he apologized. "Had to deal with another crisis."
"How many does that tally up to now?" Beatrice asked.
Subaru looked in contemplation for a second. "I'd say... four this century?"
Beatrice hummed to herself. "Quite the busy man, I suppose."
Subaru nodded at that. "It's good to see you, Beako."
Beatrice couldn't help but smile as well. Only this otherworldly immortal could bring that expression out nowadays. "Good to see you, too, in fact."
Subaru closed the door behind him, and approached the girl. He gave the Great Spirit a big hug, before collapsing on the floor of the Forbidden Library. "Well, Gusteko certainly was interesting."
Beatrice could sense nearly a dozen more mana signatures in the mansion. "Picked up more strays, I suppose?"
"Yeah, a few Undead, the daughter of one of them, a rookie, a werewolf, a vampire, a Khajiit mage, and... another silver-haired half-elf.
Even Beatrice winced at that. "Ouch."
"Yeah, and she's the Dragonborn, to boot. Two warriors of destiny meant to save the world… What a pair…" Subaru couldn't help but shake his head at that.
"Well, the universe certainly has a cruel sense of irony, in fact."
"You have no idea," Subaru said. "Especially when you see her appearance."
"Identical to Satella's, perhaps?"
"Give her some black clothing, you probably couldn't tell the difference."
"Hmph," the keeper of the Forbidden Library hiffed. "Should you have been a weaker man, I'm sure you would have claimed her as your replacement goldfish."
Subaru scowled. "Yeah, I'm not responding to that."
"Heh," Beatrice chuckled, letting the two of them bask in the silence for a few moments. They both knew that the silence was a prelude to this decade's update on some bad news.
Subaru let himself break the silence. "...I almost had one this time."
Beatrice didn't need the undead to specify what he was talking about. "…Which one?"
"Lust. We were able to overwhelm her, but... she showed up…" Subaru scowled at the thought of that wretch entering his mind.
"Tch." Beatrice clicked her tongue. "That bitch."
"Yeah... that was when I lost it and revealed what I did to Ella by accident to the others."
"Hence why they're here now," Beatrice surmised.
"Yep. After I explained everything, they took it pretty well, oddly enough. Then we had to deal with a bunch of vampires trying to blot out the sun."
"Your newest crisis, I presume?"
"Yep. Though... we split up at one time, and... I can't help but feel like something happened with the other group."
"Then why not ask them?"
"Because I don't think they would tell me. Besides, I've kept secrets for centuries. I know when not to pry too much." Subaru said, mostly to himself.
"To each their own, I guess," Beatrice said.
"...There's one more thing." Subaru knew he had to drop the big news. "The World Eater has returned."
The ancient Great Spirit's eternal poker face broke upon hearing that. Gone was the stoic and unshiftbale expression of hers, now replaced with one of fear. The Great Spirit was very familiar with the legends of the Black Dragon of the Apocalypse.
"No…" she whispered in dread.
Subaru grimly nodded. "He attacked me and the half-elf, Emilia, shortly after we got to Gusteko and burnt a whole village down. He's been resurrecting his dragon army for another conquest. This time, he's gonna make sure there's no possible resistance."
"...Then it's time?"
"Not yet. Once the First Flame finally dies out, then he'll be forced to carry out his role, and that's ignoring the fact he may want to link the Flame as well," the nasty-eyed Undead said. "Until then, we have a shot."
Beatrice was silent for a moment, before asking, "How much time do we have?"
"Three years."
"Are the others aware of this?"
"Yeah. We're gonna try and look for the Sin Archbishops. If I can get their Authorities, then that will tip the odds in our favor," Subaru said, scratching the back of his head.
"...I see. So what's your next move?"
"Well, we heard that a Royal Selection will be occurring soon, so if we back one of the Camps, that may give us more reach."
Beatrice nodded at that. A sensible option. "Good call. Any possible options?"
"Can't say yet. I don't know who the current candidates are. I'm gonna ask Roswaal about it."
"Then you better get going, then," Beatrice said.
"You don't wanna come meet my new friends?" Subaru asked.
"Do I have to?" the drill-haired loli said, looking almost annoyed.
Subaru just gave him that "dad look". "Come on, Beako. It's good for you to socialize."
Beatrice sighed, offering her hand. "Fiiiiine…"
Subaru smiled, as he took his friend's hand. "Let's go!"
Meanwhile, in the main dining room, Subaru's newest party was enjoying the meals all around their long table, graciously provided to them by their host and his maids.
Emilai smelled the food, her mouth watering. "Oh, that smells delicious!"
"Thank you, I worked very hard on it," Rem said, bowing.
"Rem is quiiiite the esteemed chef, I assure you," Roswaal said, smiling.
"I assume Ram has different talents?" Oscar asked.
Frederica gave him an awkward smile. "In a manner of speaking…"
"That's somehow not reassuring…" Erik gulped.
"Ram has an unfortunate condition thaaaaat hinders physical work, I'm afraid," Roswaal said. "But she does try heeeeer hardest."
"Yeah, it's called laziness!" Patches laughed. "Ha!"
"I see your tongue is still intact, spider," Ram hissed, as she glared at the bald Undead. "A shame it did not stay severed the last time."
"Try it again, I dare you!"
Roswaal chuckled a bit. "As entertaining as that would be to seeeee, why not tell us a bit about yourselves, hmm?"
The bucket-helmeted knight concurred. "I suppose I could begin… Hello, I am Solaire of Astora, a knight whose goal in life is to help find everyone's own sun."
The Werewolf went next. "Aela of Whiterun. I am a proud member of the Companions, and one of its best hunters."
"I am Siegmeyer of Catarina," the onion-themed knight said. "An Undead that decided to live a life of adventure, to be the best of the best!"
Erik pointed to himself. "I'm Erik of Roristead. I've been working my way up to being an adventurer myself, and I hope to join the Companions one day."
"Sieglinde, also of Catarina," the younger of the two onion knights said. "After my mother died, I left home to inform my father, and decided to stick around."
The Khajiit mage went next. "J'zargo of Elsweyr. J'zargo journeyed to the College of Winterhold to become the Greatest Primal and Universal Mage to ever live, then J'zargo started tagging along with this lot."
"Oscar of Astora. A member of the Dawnguard, who has pledged their loyalty to the Chosen Undead, Subaru Natsuki."
"Serana Volkihar. After turning against my father to prevent a prophecy to blot the sun, I stayed with these guys who accepted me as their own."
"And you already know me!" Patches said, with a wink.
Emilia was the last to go. "I'm Emilia of Elior Forest. After being unfrozen from the ice, I traveled to Gusteko to find a new life for myself, but I was captured for trespassing into the country, and that's how I met Subaru."
"Acting as a vagabond, again?" Ram asked.
"A vaga-what?" Erik didn't understand that term.
"A person who wanders from place to place, without a job or home," Frederica explained.
Serana nodded at that. "Yeah, that pretty much sums it up."
J'zargo snorted at that. "So… a hobo group."
"What about a hobo?"
Everyone turned around to see Subaru walk in, with a little girl holding his hand.
Subaru introduced the little girl. "Everyone, this is Beatrice."
"Greetings, creatures."
Erik blinked at that. "Eh?"
Subaru gave a sigh. "She's not good at acting human."
"What do you mean?" Serana asked.
"Betty is a 400-year-old Great Spirit. Feel free to begin bowing." Beatrice held herself up proudly.
"Yeah... I'm gonna go with "No"." Serana said, unamused by the spirit.
"Aren't you older than her?" Patches asked.
"Probably."
"Then, yeah, that checks out."
"Is Beatrice one of your old friends as well?" Emilia asked.
Subaru nodded. "One of my oldest."
"Beatrice here was a creation of Echidna, the Witch of Greed. My former teacher." Roswaal explained to them.
"Because of course she is…" Oscar sighed. It seemed like everything involving his chosen master had to do with Witches, Warlocks, Devils, and all things Authority-related.
"So, is dinner ready?" Subaru asked.
"Heh," Ram let out a mirthless chuckle. "Hope you like steamed tatoes."
"Oh, good. We got plenty of those in Gusteko."
The maids brought in the steamed tatoes, as Subaru and Beatrice sat next to Roswaal.
"So, Patches told me there's a Royal Selection going on," Subaru said.
Roswaal nodded. "Indeed. With Farsale's bloodline virtually extinct, the country needs a new ruler. Three have been found so far."
"Who are the current candidates?" Aela asked.
"Crusch Karsten, the current head of the Karsten Household, Anastasia Hoshin, the president of the Hoshin Trading Company, and Priscilla Barielle, the current ruler of the Barielle territory."
Suabaur scratched his chin, as the gears in his head began to turn. "Hmm… I already know Ana and Priscilla, and the name "Karsten" sounds familiar…"
"She's the daughter of Meckart Karsten, the former Duke of the Kingdom," Roswaal said.
"Oh…" It only took one look at Subaru to know he was familiar with the name, and it wasn't a good kind of familiarity.
"Yikes…" Patches also seemed familiar with it.
Roswaal nodded. "Two are yet to be found."
"And how will the kingdom find them?" Oscar asked.
"They have a feeeeew Dragon Insignias they can use to identify them upon contact, but thaaaaat will take time, unfortunately," the blue-haired mage said, pulling out a small badge.
"Has Echidna given any hints?" Subaru asked.
"A few."
"Anything we can use?"
Roswaal smiled. "Sure. Hey, Emilia."
Emilia looked up as she was eating. "Hm?"
"Catch." Roswaal casually tossed something towards Emilia who caught it in a panic.
"Huh? A jewel —?!" Suddenly, the jewel began to glow a bright red for everyone to see.
Subaru knew exactly what that meant. "...Oh, you have gotta be kidding me."
"I'm afraid not. Congratulations, Emilia-sama," Roswaal said, bowing in respect. "You have been chosen as the fooooourth Dragon Candidate."
Emilia's mind was static for a few seconds, before managing to get out an "...Eh?"
"It means you have a shot at becoming the 42nd King of Lugnica."
"Me... King... of…" Emilia's brain felt like it was short circuiting from the massive opportunity she had been given.
"An entire nation, yes." Roswaal finished the sentence for her.
"...Subaru, pinch me."
"Okay," the nasty-eyed man said, as he reached his arm across.
"Ow! Okay... this is real... Oh, I'm so screwed."
"Wait, how did this even happen?!" Erik yelled.
"I concur, how does that even work?!" Aela couldn't help but agree with the statement.
Roswaal simply shrugged. "Volcanica must like her, I guess."
"Well, he did meet her earlier…" Solaire hummed.
"So, what's your plan now?"
"Well... guess we know who to back," Subaru said.
Emilia looked at him like he had grown a second head. "Wait, really?!"
"Seems like the most sensible option, yeah?"
"But… I'm a half-elf!"
"And the Dragonborn, who are revered as heroes of legend," Solaire said.
"But the country won't know that!" Emilia exclaimed.
"But they will," the blue-haired mage said. "Once the fifth candidate is fooooound, the Sage Council will hold a meeting for all five Royal Selection Candidates."
Emilia was baffled at the idea. "And we just confess it to them?!"
"I don't see the point in keeping it secret," Siegmeyer said.
Subaru nodded. "Yeah, it's not like my situation."
Aela was in agreement. "If people knew you were the Dragonborn, then they would think twice about insulting you for your heritage."
The silver-haired half-elf sighed. "I guess…"
"Don't worry about it, Emilia. We'll figure everything out."
Emilia looked over to Subaru. "I hope you're right…"
Author's Note: HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME! Well, actually, my birthday was yesterday by the time this goes up, but as of me writing this, if all goes well, I will have seen The Wild Robot, and eaten at Smashburger. Oh, and eleven months into this story, and we've almost reached the beginning of canon. It'll probably happen during the big five-o.
(So, the Emilia camp has been officially introduced, and some obvious changes have been made, Roswaal didn't do any body swapping, Rem and Ram are Subaru's surrogate nieces, and Beatrice is more sociable. Also, Roswaal will not try to make Subaru a slave since 1. They're friends in this universe, and 2. RBD doesn't exist. Also, obviously no romance between Subaru and Rem.) Anyways, here are the comments!
palik: The Satella fluff always ends. The Great Calamity always happens, the woman of his dreams is sealed away, and Subaru either dies, is erased from existence, or spends the following centuries alone. As that pessimistic Spider-Man whose name I can't recall from that one movie whose title I can't remember would say, "It's a canon event."
5queso: Hanasha is a very extreme dude, and one with a bad attitude. You'll see that again when he comes back in some future chapter or another. Until next time!
Kifhjoofff: Oh, sucederá, está bien.
Anyways, back to the regular old shilling…
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Thanks for reading, and once again, see you next time!
- Ernalore & Infinite the Celestian