Messenger Of A Merchant
Hello everyone and welcome to my Christmas gift to you! That's right, the mystery gift I've been advertising is the first chapter of the next season of A New Crusade! For those who've been keeping up on my Pat reon I've been advertising this little tidbit for the last couple weeks. But one way or the other I hope this early gift lightens up your Christmas time! Now then I don't believe I have any guest review questions to answer so on to the story!
Training Ground Near the Mansion
A year, it had been an entire year since the defeat of Elsa and Meili, the routing of the Great Rabbit, and the conquering of the trials at the Sanctuary. Given the frequency of troubles they'd faced initially Ulric had wondered if it was possible for them to go more than a couple weeks at best without some form of incident occurring. But given that the source of a lot of their troubles, Lord Roswaal L. Mathers, had finally been reigned in and forced to do his job of supporting Emilia's bid to the throne, things had been surprisingly peaceful. But that did not mean Sir Ulric Arkwright was idle.
As of right now, the knight was standing atop a collection of wooden posts, his sword in hand as he swung it through one series movements after another. He shifted his feet through different stances while doing so, constantly working to maintain his balance on the tall posts. When the moment came that he was near the edge, Ulric spun and landed on the ground. But he was still hardly a moment before launching himself at his next target; a human-sized dummy.
The knight swiftly assaulted it with a series of cuts aimed at vital areas before stepping past it and hitting two more training dummies. This continued as he stepped into a circle and lashed out with quick movements in multiple directions before ramming his sword into the final one in the circle. Oddly, to one who wasn't in the know, the knight left his weapon in the dummy before proceeding on to the next. The reason as to why became obvious rather quickly as he produced a pair of daggers, one in each hand, that he used to tear into some wooden targets located just behind the dummies.
It took him only a couple of minutes to work his way through them until he came to a spot where the targets were further away. Ulric took only a moment to aim before flinging both weapons into two targets, nearly bulls-eyeing them. "Kito Jiwald," he chanted quickly, forming three small blue orbs that he sent out against the last three remaining targets. They hit home and blasted the wooden squares apart, leaving little to nothing behind.
It was then, after making sure he hadn't missed a single target that the knight finally relaxed. "Well done," Beatrice complimented as she approached from where she'd been watching nearby, "your skills have improved at quite a good rate, I suppose."
"I'm still a little off when it comes to throwing my sword," Ulric mused while pulling his daggers out of the targets and returning them to their sheaths before moving to do the same with said sword, "not really a skill they taught back in my original knight training. To think I've got enough strength now to throw it effectively even without Jiwald."
"It helps that you got your gate repaired," Beatrice mused, "it was nice to work on a project with Lord Roswaal again after all this time." She handed the knight a wet towel which he used to dab the sweat off of his forehead.
"Still not sure how I should take being called 'a project'," the Crusader mused, "You poking around in my insides is one thing, but I'm still wary of the Lord of the Mathers domain even after… it's really been a year now, hasn't it?"
"Yes, and one year since you formed a contract with Betty," the spirit reminded him.
"And what have you thought of our little contract so far," Ulric smiled humorously, "have you been enjoying yourself?"
"Garfiel is loud, Otto whines too much, Ram is stuck up, and Frederica keeps threatening to smother you alive with those melons of hers," Beatrice crossed her arms and nodded while listing everything off, "but Emilia's airheaded innocence has its moments and you and Rem are cute, I suppose, when you're not getting too frisky."
"You realize my love and I will eventually need to get very frisky in order to have the promised family," the knight pointed out, "so it's only going to get worse."
"I still think you should consider my suggestion of multiple families," the Great Spirit remarked.
"You realize that will mean a mass amount of frisking," Ulric deadpanned, "won't that merely upset you more?"
"Only until the little ones are born," Beatrice smiled deviously, "then you'll all be too busy running around taking care of them to get frisky."
"Don't look so smug," he smirked back, "you'll be helping with the little ones, as per your contract."
"My contract also states that you shall pamper me when I desire it," the Great Spirit retorted.
"You really do just want to be treated like an innocent child sometimes, very well!" Ulric suddenly lunged forward and began tickling the miniature magic user.
"Ah! No! Stop!" Beatrice laughed, "I am not practice for when you raise your little ones!"
"I have to practice somehow," the knight remarked before the sound of running feet drew their attention.
"Ulric! Beatrice!" Petra called as she came running towards them, "there's a visitor for you at the mansion!" She slowed to a stop then and adopted a more formal posture. "Big sister Emilia says she wants you both there."
"An unexpected visitor," the knight and spirit both stood up, "let us hope they don't come bearing bad news."
"Either way it sounds like a headache, I suppose," Beatrice crossed her arms and nodded. But whatever the circumstances, duty called and the trio quickly made their way to the mansion.
A Few Minutes Later: Mansion Of The Miload Family
"Hey you guys!" A cheery voice greeted the group as a familiar cat-eared captain with a white coat leapt up onto Ulric's head, "it's been a while, good to see you!"
"Mimi," Ulric greeted as he gently pried the cat girl off of his face and held her just a little away from his body, "you're energetic as ever, I see."
"Of course, I've been absolutely amazing!" She cheered happily, "I also got taller, too, so I'm all grown up now."
"Were you not already grown up when they made you a captain," the knight remarked while setting the girl back down on the ground.
"Sure, but I'm even more grown up now!" Mimi raised her arms in exclamation at this.
"As you say," Ulric couldn't help the smile on his face despite shaking his head, "and while it is good to see you after all this time, I must ask what business brings you out this way?"
"Oh, I don't know all the details, Juli does," the short girl informed.
"Ah, you were the escort," the knight straightened out his hair a bit, "Then the guest we're supposed to be meeting with must be inside already."
"Yep," Mimi suddenly climbed up the Crusader like the feline she was before twisting around to sit on his shoulders, "best not to keep them waiting, onward!" Ulric simply rolled his eyes as she pointed forward excitedly. While it would've been no trouble for him to toss her off, they had more urgent matters. And so, once Beatrice grabbed his hand to also be lead around in the mansion, the four of them entered.
It didn't take them long to make their way through the small maze of hallways and finding the meeting room was even easier thanks to the presence of Ram waiting right outside the door. "It certainly took you long enough, knight," she commented before noticing the scene before her, "pervert."
"You really do try to think of the worst conclusions when it comes to me, don't you," Ulric deadpanned, "I was merely entertaining our guest, or rather one of our guests."
"I shudder to think what you consider entertainment when it comes to small girls,"the maid shrugged, "to think of the horrors you'll one day subject my sister too."
"Envious, are we," the knight snorted.
"Not in the slightest," she turned her head to the side haughtily, "the romances of my life would easily put yours to shame were I to bestow you the honor of hearing even one."
"I'm certain," Ulric responded before noticing some slight movement from Mimi on his shoulders, "is something wrong?" She didn't get a chance to answer as the door to the room swung open.
"Hey," Garfiel greeted, "it's about time you showed up! I've had my hands full trying to babysit Otto and Emilia while you've been gone."
"And I've been babysitting you, Garfiel," the voice of Frederica called from within the room, "now could you let Ulric in already?"
"That means the rides over, Mimi," Ulric announced as he put the cat girl down on the floor.
"And we're done wasting time here," Ram took that moment to kick him in the back, causing the knight to stumble into the room. That was when he took notice of the second guest who'd come to the mansion. He was a man that was practically the spitting image of the purple-haired knight, Julius, but he wore his hair in a short ponytail, possessed a dark suit and a monocle on his left eye.
"I assume this is the man you've spoken of," the guest inquired.
"Yes, this is him," Emilia confirmed, "I'm sorry to have kept you waiting. This is my knight: Sir Ulric Arkwright."
"I'm afraid you caught me while I was in the middle of training," he explained before moving to stand between the farside of the two couches in the room, "but it is as her ladyship says, I am her knight, Sir Ulric Arkwright." He bowed, "and if I may be so bold as to ask, do you happen to have any relation to the knight, Julius Juukulius?"
"To begin with," the man stood up and smiled, "I appreciate the formality. And you are correct, my name is Joshua Juukulius. Julius is my older brother."
"Are you now," the knight responded.
"It surprised me to learn that too," Emilia offered, "neither of us was ever able to have a casual conversation with him so this is the first we've heard of you."
"That is not so surprising considering the circumstances you often met him under," Joshua nodded, "but my brother has spoken of you, Sir Ulric, and I've heard all sorts of rumors as well."
"And what do they say of us these days," he inquired, "it's been some time since we made it back up to the capital for any sort of business."
"Before we do any of that," Frederica interrupted, "the refreshments should be ready now." In the next minute the group was sitting save for Frederican, Otto, and Garfiel who stood behind the couch with a tray of tea and pastries on the table in the center of the room. Ulric did his best to look dignified next to Emilia but that was rather difficult when his contracted spirit insisted on sitting in his lap.
"Now then," Ulric spoke up, "if we're all comfortable feel free to continue."
"Wait a minute, who's that girl in your lap," Joshua asked, "where'd she come from?"
"Is there a problem with Betty, I suppose," the blond spirit asked.
"Oh, that's Beako," Mimi informed between bites of pastry, "Beako is actually sis and bro's baby!"
"HUH?!" The purple-haired man's monocle slipped a bit at hearing this.
"Mimi, tell the truth," Ulric chastised.
"Yes, the truth," Frederica suddenly hugged his neck from behind, "Beako here is Ulric and my child, where else would such a hair color come from?"
"You're just confusing him more, sis," Garfiel rubbed the bridge of his nose.
"I certainly don't know which story is more plausible at the moment," Joshua admitted.
"Apologies," the knight shot a look at Frederica who merely smiled before releasing him and moving back into her previous placement, "to clear up any further confusion, Beatrice here is a great spirit whom I've made a contract with."
"A great spirit, I see," he adjusted his monocle.
"Hey, three eyes," Garfiel growled slightly, "you tryin'a tell me you got a problem with my boss bringing a spirit in here?" He brought his fist to his other hand somewhat threateningly.
"No, I'm just shocked the rumors are actually true," Joshua corrected, "to my understanding you did not previously specialize in spirit magic, Sir Ulric."
"To be accurate I still don't specialize in it," the knight informed, "I have learned one or two tricks but nothing on the level that would qualify me to be a spirit knight like your brother."
"You would have an immeasurably high wall to clear if you ever attempted to reach the level of my brother," the younger sibling smiled, "he is, after all, the top spirit knight in the entire country."
"A fact we are well aware of," Ulric nodded, "I witnessed much of his abilities during the subjugation of Sloth's forces. His skills were well appreciated that day."
"Betty has heard of other knight and spirit pairs," the miniature magic user swirled the tea in her cup, "among them he is said to be promising, I suppose."
"More than promising, he's remarkable," Joshua praised, "at the age of twenty-two, my brother is the star of the imperial knights! Not to mention second-in-command of the royal guard. Though he is currently separated from his role, he's guaranteed to become captain when Lady Anastasia takes the throne! Even the current master swordsman, Reinhard, can't hold a candle to my brother's knightly ways for he is a true knight!"
"Betty is now highly uncomfortable," the Great Spirit remarked.
"My goodness," Emilia giggled, "you love your big brother very much, don't you?" Their guest seemed to remember himself then as he looked down bashfully.
"Please forgive me for rambling," Joshua apologized, "I lose all restraint when it comes to family."
"I'd be more surprised if you didn't lose restraint when it came to your family," Ulric nodded, "I certainly behave differently when it comes to the matter of my family."
"Still, could you get to the point already," Garfiel sighed, "they say bamben tastes better the longer it ages but there's a limit, ya know."
"BAMBEN!" Mimi stood up on the couch suddenly, "I love bamben! It's yummy!" For whatever reason she jumped on the table then leapt over the other couch where she grabbed a hold of Garfiel and hung off his neck. "Can we eat some?"
"Uh, sure," the blond demi-human looked around, not sure what was going on at the moment.
"Yay! It's a promise!" Mimi cheered happily.
"Ahem," Joshua cleared his throat and stood up then, "my apologies. Now then, the reason I have come today is because I have been entrusted with a message by Lady Anastasia to pass along to Lady Emilia. Allow me to relay it to you all." He pulled out a sealed letter and set it on the table. "Lady Anastasia would like to extend an invitation to Emilia to the water gate city of Priestella."
"What business does Emilia have with Lady Hoshin," Otto asked in curiosity.
"She wants her to attend a party," Joshua answered, "and according to Lady Anastasia, it seems she has finally found what Emilia is seeking, or so she says."
"She says she's found what I've been seeking," Emilia tilted her head in slight confusion.
"It seems she's located a merchant in Priestella who just so happens to possess the type of magic crystal you've been looking for," the younger Juukulius sibling revealed.
"He has a catalyst for calling a great spirit," Ulric raised an eyebrow, "that is fascinating, though I'm also curious how Lady Hoshin became aware that we were looking for such a crystal in the first place?"
"One shouldn't underestimate Anastasia's network for gathering information," Joshua pointed out, "I personally don't know how she found out, myself, but you can be assured that what she has located is a genuine catalyst. Now it is up to you to decide whether or not you wish to attend."
A Short Time Later: Outside The Mansion
"Bye bye Garf!" Mimi waved to the group as her and Joshua's carriage pulled away from the mansion, "I'll be waiting for you in Pri-Pri! You'd better come and visit!" Everyone waved at the departing carriage before Otto decided to voice the thought on more than a couple people's minds.
"It seems you've got yourself quite the admirer, Garfiel," the merchant remarked to the half-beast boy.
"You make it sound like I'm happy about that!" He defended somewhat noisily.
"You don't seem particularly upset about it, either," Otto teased.
"Well I am!" Garfiel insisted as the two started going back and forth. Ulrice wisely tuned them out as he noticed Emilia frowning while placing her hand on the now vacant green crystal on her chest. He decided not to broach the subject until they got back inside the mansion.
"Ulric!" Just as they were getting to Emilia's room, a very welcome sight in the form of a blue-haired maid came running into his arms.
"Rem," he hugged her before giving the oni girl a quick kiss, "how has your day been?"
"Cleaning the baths took longer than expected," she sighed, "I wanted to be there to meet our visitor."
"Fear not," Ulric patted her head, "you're actually just in time to hear all about it." The trio entered Emilia's room then and sat down at the little table she had. Rem just so happened to be setting a snack tray with tea down before they arrived and so dinner wasn't a concern.
"So Ulric," Emilia began after a moment, "what do you think about all this?"
"Lady Anastasia is a merchant," he reminded, "she is likely telling the truth about the crystal but the only reason she's telling us about it is because we have something to offer her."
"I assumed as much," the white-haired girl sighed, "no doubt she's hoping to have us owe her a favor. But at the same time, I can't simply ignore it when I might have a chance to talk to Puck again."
"We have our own merchant and our own connections," Ulric pointed out, "in time we too could obtain the same type of crystal that is being offered without owing a debt to Lady Hoshin."
"That's true," Emilia admitted, "but it took the best merchant in the country possibly close to a year to find it, so how long would it take us? And what if Hoshin starts buying them all up to corner us?"
"That is only an issue if you choose to make it one," the knight noted, "make no mistake, this was intentional on her part. Lady Hoshin has, at least, a vague idea about your relationship with Puck which is why she is approaching us this way."
"I'd like to think it's simply out of goodwill," Emilia sighed, "but you've all spent the last year hammering the various quirks of the other candidates into my head."
"If I'm being fair," Ulric wasn't sure he should admit this, "our previous business with Lady Hoshin was not unpleasant, witch cult notwithstanding, and even if we can't trust Lady Hoshin herself, perhaps we can trust someone else."
"You mean Julius," the half-elf realized, "that's right, you and him are still pretty good friends, aren't you?"
"We respect each other as knights and as men," he nodded, "it is possible, albeit not guaranteed, that Julius will work to ensure his lady does not try to cheat us."
"Would you do something like that if I tried to cheat Julius and Anastasia?" Emilia questioned.
"I would try to keep you from cheating Julius," Ulric remarked, "Lady Hoshin, hmm." Rem nudged him in the side then.
"Ulric," she chided, "save the teasing for later. Lady Emilia is trying to make a hard decision right now."
"I was merely being honest," he covered her hand with his, "do you perhaps have a suggestion for her ladyship?"
"Well, after relearning a lot about the Royal Selection candidates," Rem put a finger to her chin, "I don't think there's any harm in going."
"You don't think it's a trap or anything," Emilia asked.
"We haven't done anything to make Lady Hoshin hate us," the maid pointed out, "and even if we wind up owing her, I don't think the exchanging of a crystal will be equal to asking you to drop out of the Royal Selection. But most importantly, I think it would be good for us to maintain a positive relationship with the other candidates. At least that way, they're less likely to stab us in the back."
"That is hard to argue with," Ulric admitted with his arms crossed, "what would you like to do, Lady Emilia?" The half-elf girl thought about everything that had been said before touching the gem on her chest.
"I know it might not be the only chance we have," she began, "but I have so many questions I want to ask Puck and we really don't have a lot of reasons to refuse. Lady Hoshin might not be doing this out of the goodness of her heart, but I'd like to believe she doesn't wish us ill will, either. So I think we should go."
"I suppose the worse case scenario is we get there, find out it's a bad deal, and leave," the Crusader shrugged, "so tell me, what sort of place is the city of Priestella?"
That Evening: The Office of Roswaal L. Mathers
"And that's why I believe we should go," Emilia finished explaining, "I'm sorry I'll be away at such a crucial time."
"Oh don't fret," Roswaal assured from behind his desk. Ram stood on his right side while Frederica stood on his left. "Even if it is a buuuuusy period I will respeeeect your wishes, though I'll need to do something about all those meetings with the western nobles." The white-haired girl got a downcast look upon hearing the last part. Frederica, however, let out an irritated sigh.
"My, my," she remarked, "it seems you still haven't learned your lesson, have you, master?"
"Oh, you're quite harsh, Frederica," he shot a glance in her direction.
"But of course," the maid responded haughtily, "you've handled it all quite well so far, don't pretend like it's an issue now."
"Ah, I suppose the truth it is then," Roswaal took on a more serious tone, "the fact of the matter is, it would be concerning to send Sir Ulric and Lady Emilia alooone. But don't think you need a whole fighting force, just Garf and Otto should be fine. There's no need to worry about botching the negotiations with Otto around and Garf should provide plenty of extra muscle if you wind up having to smash something and run."
"I feel like that'd be a very troublesome situation," Emilia clenchd both her fists in determination, "so I'll do my best to make sure it doesn't come to that!"
"Lady Hoshin is a business woman," Ulric reminded, "I don't believe it will come to that unless extreme circumstances should occur."
"Just in case, I'd like you to keep an eye on them, Beatrice," Roswaal requested.
"You don't have to tell Betty that, I suppose," she remarked indignantly.
Nighttime
"I'll have you know I'm always thinking of what's best for everyone!" Otto declared before downing a glass of something called 'brandy'.
"No one's disputing that, Otto," Ulric called back from the couch he was sitting on, "I'm simply reminding you that we're going to be relying heavily on your skills as a merchant."
"You already rely heavily on my skills as a merchant!" He drawled, swaying drunkenly, "I'm practically the domestic advisor for this place!"
"Just cool down bro," Garfiel spoke up, "and boss, try not to mess with him too much, would ya? We agreed to ten Ottos a day, after all."
"What does 'ten Ottos a day' even mean?!" The merchant shot up in annoyance.
"Let us just say you fill out the quota faster when you're like this," Ulric remarked before standing up, "now then gentleman, we have a long journey ahead of us tomorrow, so for now I bid you good night."
"Don't let my sister ambush you with another goodnight kiss," Garf warned.
"I can only promise I'll do my best," the knight called back, "your sister is a clever feline." The half-beast boy merely snorted at that as the Crusader made his way to his room. Thankfully it seemed this was not a night for Frederica to attempt a surprise goodnight kiss and he made it unmolested. After arriving he quickly made ready for bed and laid down.
"Good evening, my knight," Rem greeted while draping an arm across him.
"And how was your day, my little blue princess," Ulric kissed her forehead.
"It's still a little awkward between Ram and me," she sighed, "but we're talking a lot more now. We did have a bit of a mess in the garden earlier but Frederica and Petra figured it out pretty quickly."
"Sounds exciting," the knight remarked.
"It's not battling the Witch's Cult, taking on assassins or slaying mabeasts," Rem giggled, "but I'd consider it eventful."
"I'll take your eventful over my eventful," Ulric snorted, "less chance of disaster if things don't go well."
"Hopefully things go well in Priestella," Rem sighed, "I know Emilia misses Puck very much."
"That cat did the right thing by giving her memories back," the knight nodded, "but he still has a lot to answer for. It took far too long to explain the intricacies of childbirth to her ladyship."
"I'm sure we all have a list of complaints to levy at him," Rem smiled, "still, even if it doesn't seem dangerous, be careful."
"We will," the Crusader assured as the pair kissed goodnight.
The Next Day: On The Road to Priestella
The carriage rode along at a brisk pace, pulled by Ulric's ever reliable stead; Spiegel. If there was one thing the knight and Hoshin would agree on is that even if Ligers didn't quite have the strength of ground dragons, they were still pretty reliable. At present, Ulric was driving the carriage with Beatrice seated next to him while Garfiel ran along outside the carriage. "Are you sure you don't need to stop for a bit," Ulric called back to their friend.
"This is nothin' boss," he assured with a toothy smile, "I can go at least another few miles!"
"Another few miles is all we have, I suppose," Beatrice pointed out, "so what's the plan when we get there?"
"Otto has the itinerary planned out," Ulric reminded, "but as mentioned yesterday we're going to have to play a lot of it by ear. Hardly the first time we've had to do such a thing."
"Betty just hopes nothing unforeseen happens," the spirit mused, "I've been having a bad feeling since last night, I suppose."
"God willing whatever happens our time there will be productive," the Crusader responded before snapping the reins so that Spiegel would go faster. And as promised, another few miles later their destination came into view. It was a beautiful city that would soon be marred by a familiar yet new horror.
And that's a wrap! I know there wasn't a lot of action in this one but I hope it still serves as a good introduction for when I do get around to the story itself. Until then, feel free to leave a comment or review about what you liked/disliked or if you've got any neat ideas for future chapters! Stop in next time as our heroes meet up once again with the Royal Candidates! And last thing, Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!