Summary:

Emilia invites her knight on a date.

Volcanica and Subaru are shipped together (wait, what?).

The poor Council of Elders gasps in horror at all the Sage's shenanigans thus far.

"You can do this. You can do this. You can do this! You…"

She sighed. A shiver ran down her spine as her anxiety overwhelmed her. Will he have time? He was re-e-e-ally busy today. What would she say? What will they do if he agrees? She had not planned anything, had not found a decent spot, had not made any reservations, had not found any presents to give, she did not even have any spare money! Although, she could secretly ask Roswaal for the last bit.

"You can do this. You'll figure things out as you go. It's fine. It's fine. It's fine!"

Knock-knock! She did it. This was the point of no return. The murmur behind the door Emilia stood in front of stopped. Then she heard the footsteps. She had grew familiar with those over the last year – Subaru was her common guest. He very often came to her room to help her with her studies.

She inhaled yet again, the door opened and then:

"Oh, hey, Emilia-tan! What is it?"

Trying her hardest (and failing) to keep her anxiety in check, Emilia began to speak:

"S-Subaru, can I take you from h-here for the moment?"

"Ah, the immature child. Get lost, we are busy."

"Emilia-sama, my apologies, but Teacher, Subaru-kun and I are currently discussing an important bui-i-isness."

"Oh…"

It was frustrating. She had tried to approach him tête-à-tête three times today, but to no avail. Each time he had been busy with something.

She was about to turn away and leave when his hand reached for her shoulder and:

"Wait, hold on there, Emilia. I can probably dedicate ten minutes of my time to you right now. Roswaal, Echidna, you two can look through the sketches while I'm gone."

"Woah, slow down please, Emilia-tan, you're gonna rip my arm off if you keep it at this pace."

"Oh… sorry. I was just… deep in thought."

She quickly noticed her error. Her knight's hand was very red and even a bit swollen because of her. She dragged him out of there too fast. A swarm of her contracted lesser spirits reached for Subaru's hand and quickly fixed this unintended trauma.

"So-o-o, would you mind telling me why are you so desperate to get rid of Roswaal and Dona?"

"N-not here, too public. S-somewhere where there are no people."

"Oh, okay. Just slow down and breathe, Emilia-tan. You are redder than a setting sun."

"Ah! N-no, it's nothing… I'm just… re-e-ealy gumptious today!"

Realizing that he had probably noticed that something was wrong with her, the half-elf tried her hardest (and failed once again) to play it off.

"Nobody says that anymore, Emilia-tan."

"Mrgh!"

The familiar phrase made her even redder, adding the frustration to the previous embarrassment and anxiety into her already overwhelmed with emotions mind. Angrily, she yanked his hand again, albeit slightly more gently than before, and continued to forcefully drag him outside, to his slight dismay.

"Alright, we're here. What was the point of urgency, Emilia-tan?"

"Mhm, no one's here, but the two of us. Perfect."

"Not entirely correct. Tella's still beside me."

That was an issue. Subaru translated Satella's words to the party about how impossibly difficult it was for her to physically separate from Subaru while still maintaining control over the Witch at the same time, and that for this reason she would stay beside him hence forth when they arrived in Pristella, but Emilia did not even consider that this could be a problem. Another mistake. At the same time, Satella supposedly wasn't possessive, the Witch was, so maybe it was fine?

"I-it's… fine… M-m-m, what were you, Roswaal, and Echidna doing?"

"Oh, that's a very interesting thing we want to develop! I was thinking about combining some of the new things I want to implement with the magical knowledge of those two. Magitech, pretty much."

"Magi...tekko?"

"Technological developments combined with magic. Basically, machines that use magic as a backbone. Fancy things like mana-powered engines, generators, chemistry fused with alchemy, et cetera. Cool stuff, will improve the quality of life by a lot! Those two are big on the magic part, while I can figure out the technology part."

"Oh, that's re-e-eally interesting…"

Normally it would be, but right now Emilia was too preoccupied with what she wanted to say to him.

Seconds passed, then minutes. Silence. It became more and more awkward with each passing moment. Eventually, Subaru was tired of waiting.

"Ahm, Emilia-tan. What did you want to say?"

The half-elf inhaled and then:

"Subaru, would you like to have a dayte!?"

Emilia's speech went from one extreme to the other: just a few minutes ago it had been filled with awkward pauses and stuttering, but now she had blurted out her proposal too fast. To be fair, Subaru found both adorable. Still, it took Subaru an additional three seconds just to process what she had said. And then three more. And then three more. It wasn't the sudden change in speech that surprised Emilia's knight, but rather the context of the words was unexpected instead. He pinched himself, just in case, and then:

"Emilia-tan, could you please repeat that?"

She inhaled again and:

"Subaru, would you like to have a dayte!?"

In hindsight, it would have probably been easier if she had used this one-on-one time to straight up confess her feelings to the Sage, but the half-elf's own cowardice prevented her from getting straight to the point. She still wasn't sure how he would react to the confession (an irrelevant concern, of course, he would never refuse her love), so she wanted to set up the proper mood for it to slightly increase her chances of success.

"Yep, definitely real. You did not, in fact, misspoke."

"I-is that a yes?"

"Oh, right, yes, of course! I was just surprised that you showed the initiative. Well, since you seem to be keen on a date, we can do that. I'll organize something in a few days."

"NO!"

"Emilia-tan?"

"I am organizing everything! And we're going on the dayte today, after we deal with the Council of Elders!"

"Oh, okay. What are we going to do?"

"Em-m-m, I thought we could just walk around the Capital t-together, see some sights, maybe buy s-something…"

"That's fine with me! Alright, I'll probably have some things to do this evening, but I'll try to free up as much time as I can!"

"Do you promise?"

"Mhm, yep, I promise."

The pinkies of the Sage and the Royal Candidate wrapped around one another, sealing the promise.

Finally, with all the tasks done in the city of Priestella, the Sage and his associates were ready to depart for the Capital. All of the Royal Candidates were on board, of course, as were their knights (with the exception of Aldebaran, who was reported missing). Additionally, each candidate was allowed to choose an extra person to bring to the meeting with the Council: for Emilia it was Roswaal, for Crush – Wilhelm, for Anastasia – Ricardo (her spirit, who was also with the Merchant Princess, did not count), Priscilla selected Heinkel to replace her missing jester, and Felt, for lack of a better option, chose Rachins (there were better people to show to those snobs, in her opinion, but it was a matter of sending a message). Beatrice was predictably with her contractor, as was Satella with her lover, albeit the latter was hidden from the common eye. From Sage's old crew, Volcanica, Reid, Shaula, and Echidna joined the diplomatic mission, mostly to ensure the absolute legitimacy of the Sage's title before the Council. All others were to remain here in Priestella for the time being.

A plan of action in the Capital has also been thought out:

First, fly to the Capital.

Second, force an emergency meeting with all of Sage's associates included.

Third, present Subaru's reforms and convince the Council of their necessity.

Fourth, give them time to deliberate and use a designated base of the operations as a resting place (Priscilla has volunteered her mansion in the capital for this task).

Fifth, if they can't come to a conclusion in a day, conclude the meeting the next day and give the first orders to the now subservient Council.

Sixth, organize a celebration party (and get the Sage drunk again).

Seventh, begin planning the diplomatic mission to the Vollachian Empire.

And that was it. The plan seemed to satisfy all the participants (except, Subaru was not informed of the plan to get him drunk again, of course).

Once again, Subaru's form shifted to that of the great black dragon.

"Subaru-dono, we exchanged a peculiar theory about you before you landed, could you please clarify if it is true?"

"What kind of theory, Wilhelm-san?"

"It's about your ancestry. Do you happen to know if one of your ancestors might have been a dragon, perhaps?"

"Ah, no way! I know my ancestry to about the sixth generation. You see, I did the family tree project back in middle school, so I know my ancestors well, and of course they were all normal humans. I mean, my dad is strong as hell, but he's not like a former sumo fighter or anything, just a dude who works out. I'm sure most of you here could beat him up. Besides, the whole transformation thing is just this stupid Capella's Authority."

For the Sage's party, the sixth generation wasn't a lot, as many of them had noble upbringings and therefore extensive family trees. The Astrea family was the most prominent in that regard, the three Astrea descendants could trace their ancestry all the way back to Reid himself. The fact that Subaru only knew of the six generations implied that the fabled dragon ancestor was even earlier, and the blood was heavily diluted, but apparently not yet completely gone. Or so Wilhelm, Heinkel, Reinhard, Crusch, Felix and Julius thought. Others did not buy it. In an accidental stroke of genius, Subaru inadvertently further reinforced "the latent dragonkin" theory that had sprung up today. Something that he might regret later.

"Kadomon, look!"

"What is it, Sel?... Ah, shit! Not again..."

"Look, there are two of them this time. You said you only saw one!"

"Urgh, right. That's the one I was talking about. The blue one."

He pointed to the dragon beelining for the Royal Palace.

"Isn't that the Divine Dragon?"

"I mean, I think that's him, I'm not sure about the black one. Shit, there's gonna be trouble again."

"What do you mean?"

"Urgh, Sel, look, that thing brings me bad luck, I swear. The last time the Dragon flew over me, I had to pay ten extra silver to bribe the guards and then fix the bloody wheel for that hag. I have a feeling like my streak of bad luck is far from over."

"Renowned Elders! *inhale* Renowned Elders!"

"What is it, kid?"

The young royal knight who rushed into the room looked incredibly winded, he was clearly not used to the long sprints. Truth be told, the Council wasn't particularly energetic either, as they hadn't slept since their unanticipated gathering this early morning.

"Hold on, kid. Just breathe in and breathe out. Now, report."

"Two dragons… *inhale* ...have just arrived in the Capital. They are right here... *inhale* ...at the front gate, waiting for you. One appears to be the Divine Dragon, and the other one,.. *inhale* ...I'm not sure,.. *inhale* ...his mate, perhaps? In any case, riding on them were the other guests – all five Royal Candidates and their attendants,.. *inhale* ...all requesting the audience."

"Well, colleagues, I think we have to organize the emergency meeting in the main hall."

"Agreed, Miklotov, only the main hall can fit two dragons inside. You, lad, go get yourself something to drink before you collapse. Dismissed."

"Yes, Captain Marcos!"

The Divine Dragon entered the room first, just barely fitting through the massive doors to the hall. Eleven of the most important people in Lugunica at the moment hastily prostrated themselves before the great beast. As for the Divine Dragon himself, he nodded respectfully in return. His supposed mate entered gracefully second (there was no mention of Volcanica having a mate in the historical records, but it wouldn't be too surprising to know that this fact was simply lost to time). Aside from five Royal Candidates and their attendants, who quickly dismounted the great beasts, there seemed to be a few additional guests: An unknown brown-haired lady with a long ponytail; a blonde little girl with drill hair and a regal dress – the contracted great spirit of Natsuki Subaru, Lady Beatrice; a pink-haired half-elf who looked at the Council members with inquisitive eyes; and a red-haired gentleman with blue eyes in an odd robe who bore a striking resemblance to the members of the Astrea family. Only two important people seemed to be missing – the knights of both Emilia and Priscilla Camps, Sir Natsuki Subaru and Sir Aldebaran.

"Distinguished guests, welcome to..."

"Where is he?!"

"Ahem, manners, Bordeaux, manners. Distinguished guests, welcome to the Royal Palace. You've all requested an audience, yes? We are happy to oblige. However, it seems that some very important participants in the future discussion are missing. May we inquire about their whereabouts?"

"Mine clown simply ran away. 'Tis no bother to mineself, he served according to his own will."

"Ehm, Subaru was re-e-eally bu-..."

"No need, Emilia-sama, I will represent our Camp in your ste-e-ead. My apologies, Renowned Elde-e-ers. Subaru-kun had to attend an important diplomatic mi-i-ision. Needless to say, that I will do my best to translate to convey his wishes as we-e-ell."

"What kind of mission, Lord Mathers?"

"'Tis a matter of great se-e-ecrecy. It involves diplomatic relations with our dear neighbors in the so-o-outh."

"The Vollachians? That traitor is colluding with the Vollachians?!"

"Sh-h-h, Bordeaux."

"No, I won't shut up, Marcos! First he desecrates the dragon stone, then…"

"Mine dear compatriot, what is that makes thou assume that mine dear friend violated mine speaking stone?"

"But, Divine Dragon, he wrote…"

"All that is written on the dragon stone is indeed true. The great change is cometh and mine dear friend is the one to lead it!"

"But that still doesn't excuse..."

"Now-now, Bordeaux. I believe it is important to maintain relations with our neighbors. The paperwork for this expedition can wait."

"And what's of these outsiders?"

"Outsiders, huh, we built this place for that wissel Farsale."

"Who are…" "you?"

"Reid Astrea. Da strongest dragonslayah in all da land!"

The jaws of the poor Council members dropped. He looked remarkably alike to the way he was drawn in the historical paintings.

"Reid Astrea!? The First Sword Saint..."

"A Pervert and a Stick Swinger, that's what he is!"

"Oi, Bimbo! Introduce yourself, then, ya Flugel's doormat."

"I'll gladly be Master's doormat, although I prefer to be Master's Dakimakura instead. Oh, right, I'm Shaula, Master's apprentice."

Another jaw drop. Although this time there was a slight confusion about the Sage's gender.

"Shaula? The Sage..."

"She's not the Great Sage you've claim her to be. Rather, just a servant of the real one."

Before it became worse, a purple-haired half-elf preemptively clarified the confusion.

"And you?"

"Oh, I'm just a researcher, fascinated by all kinds of knowledge. I don't believe my name would tell you much, but it is… Omega."

Unlike the previous two, this name did not evoke the bewildered stares. Some of the Sage's associates turned their heads when they heard that name, only to receive a knowing grin in return.

"And the other beast… I mean, Benevolent Dragon, what is the name of your mate?"

"Aha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!"

The Sun Princess, who previously had been wearing an enigmatic smile, suddenly erupted into a joyful laughter. One by one, the other guests gradually soon joined her. First it was Anastasia, then Felt joined in, then Reid and Volcanica began chuckling, then Roswaal pitched in as well, until everyone who had arrived in the Capital began laughing at the idea of Subaru being the Divine Dragon's bride. Except for Subaru himself.

"What's so funny?"

The previously silent black dragon finally opened "her" mouth:

"I mean, it is very funny in context. I guess I can always pass as a girl, even if I look like this. Told you guys, it's worth it to remain incognito."

"Excuse me, who are you?"

"Oh, no one noteworthy, really. A child of Naoko and Kenshi Natsuki; a former butler of the Mathers Mansion, before we accidentally burned it down; a knight of the wonderful Emilia-tan, whose gorgeous smile brings radiant beauty to this world; a contractor of the cutest and smartest spirit in existence, albeit I hate that stupid nickname that I got because of that; a vanquisher of the Witch Cult and the great witchbeasts, even if most of the time I just stand there while others do the fighting; a hero of the people of Priestella, or so I'm told, no idea how that happened; a subjugator of the Pleiades Watchtower, the result of me drunkenly stumbling through my own trials; a friend to this wild bunch, though I guess they think I am the wild one; and, finally, the Great Sage of Lugunica, even if there's no way I deserve that stupid title."

Suddenly, the black dragon with the evil-looking eyes shifted back to his original form.

"My name is Natsuki Subaru, and I'm still a bit clueless, but at least I am no longer broke beyond compare, so there's that. Pleasure to meet you, Renowned Elders."

Author comment: I am happy to inform you that the gradual updates to the previous chapters that I have been doing over the last month are now complete! For the most part, it's just grammar/punctuation/word choice and order, but there are some additional details added in some of the chapters. That probably doesn't warrant a second read (unless you really like my work), but should make it better overall for the newcomers. All the chapters from 1 to 19 should be updated (you can check that by looking for the "Update" message at the end of the chapter), if they are not then it is being buggy (in that case I can suggest switching to the work on ao3 - "works/59519842").