Chapter 54: Oh No, I'm Not Brave Enough For Politics
"Let's begin with the most recent events," Mikoltov said, overlooking everyone in attendance. "Last year, one by one, the members of the old family began going into hiding —"
Aka, they died, Subaru thought to himself, tuning out most of what the old man was saying. It was pretty obvious to everyone in the Kingdom, why bother hiding it?
"Can we skip to the important part? As we say in Kararagi, "Time is money." So let's hurry this up, please!" Anastasia spoke up, cutting off Miklotov.
Crusch nodded in agreement. "I agree. We should hurry this along."
Emilia frowned a bit. "I kind of wanted to hear it."
"Nobody asked ya," the purple-haired merchant snided.
"Very well," Marcos, the captain of the knights, said. "The reason you've been gathered here today is because you have been recognized to be qualified to become the Dragon Priestess from a new prophecy engraved on the Dragon Stones. "From the five who are capable of become the nation's new leader, choose one priestess to enter a covenant with the Dragon.""
"Five? Then why are there only four present?" Priscilla asked the question in the Royal Candidates minds. To be honest, it was the question in everyone's mind. Well… almost everyone's.
Bordeaux looked over to Reinhard. "Knight Astrea?"
Reinhard stepped forward, turning around to address everyone. "The last two candidates were discovered rather recently, and with some… assistance, I was able to locate the last of the Royal Candidates."
"And she is… where?" Al asked, looking around. "Cuz I don't see her."
Right as that was said, the doors opened and a blond girl with red eyes wearing a yellow dress walked in. Emilia nearly had a heart attack because she thought it was Capella at first, but she noticed Subaru was still calm, which made her calm down.
The lost princess, Freya "Felt" Lugnica, had arrived.
"Hey, Rein, I…" Felt's gaze wandered to see a familiar face. "YOU?!"
Subaru waved at the blonde girl. "Hey."
"The hell are you doing here?!" Felt shouted, pointing at Subaru.
"Being an acting knight for a friend," he answered.
Bordeaux raised an eyebrow. "Miss, do you know this… cretin?"
"Yeah, he's the one who told me I was gonna be a candidate or something!"
Reinhard's head shot towards Subaru's direction. "Subaru, you were responsible for me finding Felt-sama?"
"Why do you think I had the three idiots lead you to her?" Subaru asked.
"Lead me to her…? Subaru, the bald one insulted my mother!"
"Did he? I thought he was just gonna be loud and annoying like usual. Sorry about that."
"Well, he was effective, at least," Reinhard said, regaining his composure.
Everyone watched the bantering in various degrees of amusement, with Priscilla's being the lowest. "Mineself is getting annoyed with all these distractions. Let us get to business at once!"
"Uhh, right," Miklotov said, snapping back into attention. "Royal Candidates, please step forth, state your names, and state your intentions for this kingdom."
Emilia perked up. Wait, intentions? Oh no…
Campaign promises. Subaru had mentioned that, back in his world, politicians made promises to the voters for policies they would carry out should they be voted into power. Naturally, they were lying, but the half-elf knew that wasn't gonna fly in Lugnica.
She actually needed something to persuade the people. Something attainable.
Something only she could do.
"Let's begin with Crusch Karsten and her knight, Felix Argyle."
With Bordeaux's suggestion, Crusch and Felix, both of them in military attire, walked up to the center of the room, to address the crowd.
"Should I become ruler, I will sever the covenant the Kingdom of Lugunica has with the Divine Dragon. The future of Lugunica belongs to its people, not an uncaring dragon."
Subaru just looked disappointed at the green-haired Candidate's declaration. He could understand how she felt, but Volcanica was not to blame for her tragedy. As she and her demi-human knight returned to their posts, Bordeaux called out for the next Camp.
"Anastasia Hoshin and her knight, Julius Juukulius."
"I'm a greedy gal! It's not enough that I have my own company, I want a whole country, too! Vote for me, and I'll bring an era of economic prosperity!"
Subaru couldn't help but internally chuckle at that declaration. Even after all those years, Ana was still the money-hungry street rat that managed to claw her way into the spot she was in now. Probably the only "self-made man" story he ever saw that was truthful.
"Priscilla Barielle and her assistant, Al."
"There is no need for this Selection," the Sun Princess declared. "I was born to rule and that is what I shall do. Bow to me and I will rid this country of all its problems!"
Subaru rolled his eyes. Still the same little girl…
"Felt and her Knight and Sponsor, Reinhard van Astrea."
Surprisingly enough, the little blonde girl had a declaration Suabru could get behind. "I hate the nobility. I'm gonna tear down this whole kingdom, and build a better one!"
And then came the last group…
"Finally, Emilia and her acting knight, Subaru Natsuki, and Sponsor, Roswaal A. Mathers."
"Him? A knight?" Wilhelm questioned. "What a sick joke…"
As Emilia was walking up to stand in front of everyone, seconds were like an eternity. She had no idea what to say. What could she say? After finding out very recently that she was a Royal Candidate and discovering what became of Geuse and Fortuna, she didn't have a reason why she was competing.
Now, standing in front of everyone, Emilia could only say what she knew.
Emilia took a deep breath as she prepared. "...Truth be told, I want nothing to do with this country. I was seen as a monster just for existing, and I couldn't stand it. That's why I left."
Several of the nobles grumbled at that, but Emilia continued.
"...However, I have a duty to save this world from true monsters, and I will do anything to see it through. Even if it means coming back here to save all of you. I have the motives and means to do so, and if I have to become King to save everyone, then that's what I'm going to do!"
The court was shocked by what Emilia said and clearly confused.
Save the world? Miklotov blinked at that. "Wait, what?"
Bordeaux narrowed his eyes. "Care to elaborate…?"
Emilia decided to clarify. "How many of you are familiar with the name "Alduin"?"
"We are all aware of him," Crusch said. "Some sort of Dragon God the Gustekans worship."
"He's the Nordic God of Destruction, said to one day bring about the end of the world when the First Flame finally dies out," Reinahrd said with some extra details.
"But what about him…?" Priscilla asked, as Anastasia nodded along.
"Yeah, he disappeared nearly four hundred years ago, after th' Great Calamity."
"Alduin has returned, and he'll stop at nothing to conquer this world… or destroy it," Emilia said.
The meeting of the Royal Selection was not as quiet as one would assume. The court had been whispering amongst themselves the whole time, masking a small hum of noise. But now…
The court fell into silence at the half-elf's statement.
A silence brought about by fear.
Felix looked over to his mistress. "Crusch-sama...?"
"T-t-truth…"
Everyone who was within earshot of Crusch Karsten felt their stomachs drop. The herald of the apocalypse was here. The beginning of the end was here. The World Eater was here.
Subaru knew they needed to keep going.
"After nearly four centuries, he's back and more pissed than ever. He's resurrecting his old Dragon army and plans to conquer the entire world this time, not just Gusteko."
"And we should believe you?!" Bordeaux asked in anger.
"He is telling the truth," Reinhard said. "If the World Eater truly has returned…"
Al gave a mirthless chuckle, "…then we're all screwed."
Emilia took a step forward to gain everyone's attention. "No, we're not. It is my destiny to defeat Alduin, and I will do whatever it takes to stop him, you have my word."
"You?" Bordeaux repeated, sneering. "Why does it fall on you?"
"Because I am the Dragonborn, chosen by Akatosh, and recognized by the Greybeards."
Several loud gasps were heard across the sacred halls of the Throne Room. The Legends of the Dragonborns had spread far and wide across both continents, said to be unstoppable warriors who could annihilate whole armies with their voice alone.
Crusch could feel her eyes twitch. "The... Dragonborn...?"
Anastasia, meanwhile, laughed. "Oh, now this is a twist!"
"Yep, you all heard that right," Subaru said, capitalizing on this newfound opportunity. "The Divines have chosen a silver-haired half-elf to be the current Dragonborn. Think about that."
"The "Divines" have lost their minds…" Bordeaux grumbled. "I'd rather worship Gwyn."
"And risk getting smited by them?" Miklotov asked his friend.
Subaru snorted. "I'd pay to watch that…"
Those within the Throne Room were now talking amongst themselves even louder than before, discussing their options. These were the five Royal Candidates: A militarist who wished to sever their covenant with the Divine Dragon, a fleeing merchant who wished to add Lugnica to her economic empire, a beautiful woman with bizarre luck who deemed this race already over, an anarchist who reminded some of the Royal Family of old, and a doppelganger of the Witch of Envy, who claims to be one of the few true Heroes that could save the world.
Yeah, they were all doomed.
After about ten minutes of incessant chatter, Bordeaux and Miklotov were able to get everyone to quiet down… be yelling "SHUT UP" at the top of their lungs. Eh, if it works…
With the five Royal Candidates lined up, Miklotov directly addressed them. "Now, you have three years to campaign. Perform deeds, slay monsters, commit acts of charity… or save the world… and when the three years are up, the election will be held."
Subaru grimaced as an unheard message was also proclaimed. And the First Flame will be linked...
"You are all now free to mingle," Marcos announced.
So, the meeting was over and now the guests were talking and discussing what just happened. Knights and nobles alike were all now speaking to their Candidates of choice, asking about certain aspects of their policies, or even trying to curry their favor.
However, a certain old butler walked up to an enemy Camp's Undead.
"A knight? You? Seriously?
Subaru just sighed in frustration. "I'm just acting as a stand-in until she gets a real one. If I'm being honest, I don't really care for being a knight."
Julius, who was nearby, coughed. "You don't care to be a knight?"
Subaru shook his head. "Nope. Not my cup of tea."
"Hmm…" The purple-haired knight took a closer look. "You are an odd person, and yet, you seem to know quite a lot of people here. Who exactly are you, Subaru Natsuki?"
"Sorry, that answer is only for highly trusted people." He wasn't just going to give away that he was the Great Sage to anyone willy-nilly.
Wilhelm's eyes flashed with anger at the wording. "Trusted?! What a joke!"
Subaru narrowed his eyes in return. "Care to elaborate?"
"Anyone who was there would know who you truly are, "General." A criminal and an insurrectionist against Lugnica!" Wilhelm said, pointing his finger.
As the old man and the immortal otherworlder kept arguing with one another, everyone in the room stopped talking, as they looked towards the sound of such a commotion.
In a matter of seconds, all eyes were on the two of them.
Subaru scoffed at that. "Better than being a racist douchebag in my opinion."
"You have all the time in the world, you have the option of fixing this country's problems from the inside, instead of chopping people down on the battlefield!"
"Right, because they were so willing to listen to a "Disgusting Undead"."
"I would have!" Wilhelm shouted. "If you just tried to find more of us, you could have!"
Subaru just sighed again as he straightened himself up. "Wilhelm, when you've lived as long as I have, you begin to see when people aren't gonna change. They just want to indulge in their own wealth and comfy lives while they could be using said wealth to improve the lives of others. Only way to make things better is to replace them altogether."
"Oh, replace? Like how you tried to replace me in Theresia's eyes?!"
Several gasps were heard around the Throne Room at the scandalous implications. The previous Sword Saint, one of legend, to be implied in such a way…
Behind the nasty-eyed man, a certain mage coughed.
Even Subaru looked surprised at the old butler's proclamation. "...What?"
Reinhard couldn't help but listen in as well. Grandmother? What about her?
"Ohh…" Roswaal internally cringed. He was currently debating whether or not to tell Subaru what Wilhelm was implying. Eventually, he decided to do so.
"Subaru…" Roswaal tapped his shoulder. "We're friends, right?"
Subaru gave the blue-haired mage a funny look. "Yeah?"
"And you'd always forgive me, yes?"
"...What did you do?" Subaru started to get an idea that his fellow Undead had something.
"Okay, so, during the Demi-Human War, I maaay have insinuated to Wilhelm that the constant one-on-one battles between you and the former Sword Saint were… well…"
"...You have got to be kidding me."
Subaru didn't know whether to be angry at Roswaal or sick at the implications. Aside from the fact that, at the time, Theresia wasn't even in her twenties yet (gross), he wasn't big on the whole "enemies to lovers" trope, especially when he was already married, goddammit!
"Roswaal, seriously, what the actual fuck?"
"Well, it didn't exactly help that both you and Patches decided to be generals on the enemy side for Sphinx and her friends;" Roswaal pouted, "you left me completely alone!"
Subaru could only sigh in frustration as he facepalmed himself before turning back to Wilhelm. "Wil, is that what this has all been about? You thought I was trying to get with your wife?"
"Oh, if only it was just that. What about the fact you kept haunting my family for years on end?! The constant home invasions?! Finding you hiding under the beds and in the closets?!"
"Because she made me promise it!"
"You mean Theresia?!"
"Wil, I've never had eyes for your wife. My heart belongs to someone else, and she was just a rival. At most, we were only ever friendly rivals! I ran into her when she was hunting down the White Whale and she knew that she may not come back alive, so she made me promise that I would look after her family, and what do I find when I come back to tell your family? You, beating on your own grandson and blaming him for what happened to Theresia!"
The chatter within the room died down instantly, as everyone stared at Subaru.
"Your family wanted nothing to do with you after that, so I had to step in to try and be an actual role model to Reinhard," Subaru said. "You were a monster, and Heinkel was too busy caring for Louanna's sickness to step in at the time, and you wonder why your son and daughter-in-law never want to see you anymore."
"I –"
"And you know what?! I wasn't even good enough for that!" Subaru shouted, slowly tearing up. "I'm a failure of a man who's only still kicking to accomplish a self-imposed task I made centuries ago, and now, I still am that failure! I failed my friends, I failed the Elior Forest, I failed the Demi-Human Alliance, I failed Reinhard! But at least I tried! You, Wilhelm...?"
"I…"
"...you didn't even bother trying," Subaru hissed.
Wilhelm actually remained silent at that.
"You want someone to blame for what happened to your family. Well… I suggest you take a good long look in the mirror, and see what you find out." Subaru turned and walked away, not in the mood to deal with anyone else.
Julius raised his hand. "Um, excuse me?"
Subaru didn't say anything as he walked out of the Throne Room, leaving everyone in silence.
Author's Note: Well… this scene still turned out better than in canon. (Agreed. Also, Happy New Year and Happy One-Year Anniversary for The Elder Souls!)
So, yeah, Subaru (along with Patches) was a general within the Demi-Human Alliance, and personal nemesis of Theresia van Astrea, while Stride Vollachia was still Wilhelm's. I'd say that the two of them started "neme-seeing" each other when their respective ones died. (Also, for those of you with a keen eye may have noticed, yes, Reinhard's mother, Louanna Astrea, is awake and mostly healthy. Heinkel, likewise, has a much more positive relationship with Reinhard as a result. So, Reinhard now has loving parents this time around!) Now, for the first comments of the New Year (for this series)!
Goldchris1111: Wow, over one year of publishing this, and you only stumbled across three days ago (as of publishing this chapter)? Well, enjoy binging the series!
5queso: (Not so much a lady's man, more like he has that harem protagonist luck for unintentionally winning the affection of women while already being committed to his wife.) I'd say it's more like every single kid he's adopted has now grown up and is looking at him in a different light, also known as the Naofumi Iwatani Syndrome.
Kifhjoofff: Si todos supieran que Subaru era (es) el Gran Sabio, estarían horrorizados y decepcionados. Recuerde, este es el mismo tipo que se puso del lado de la Alianza Semihumana cuarenta años antes, y ha sido visto merodeando por la familia Astrea como un críptido. Si bien es cierto que sus oponentes le tendrían más miedo, los que importan ya lo saben, y Subaru, durante mucho tiempo, creyó que aquellos que supieran la verdad serían el objetivo de Pandora. (Ni yo mismo podría haberlo dicho mejor).
Minivesp: Wait, who are you talking about, who died?
Anyways, back to the regular old shilling…
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- Ernalore & Infinite the Celestian