In a certain magical library, a certain great spirit and a certain raven haired boy reside.
One asleep on a small bed in the corner of the room, while the boy sat in a chair asleep next to the great spirit holding her hand, his torso hunched over resting on the mattress.
Beatrice's eyes fluttered open, and she quickly shot up and flushed, covering her face with her right hand, remembering what transpired the evening before.
Subaru also rose shortly after and beamed a smile at her.
"Good morning, Betty."
"S-Subaru..." She said timidly.
"Yes?"
"Will you really be that person? Does Subaru really want to make a contract with Betty and make Betty happy?..." Beatrice said, shutting her eyes tight, bracing herself for his answer.
Subaru did not hesitate one moment.
"Without a doubt. I will be that person. If I get to have a contract with such a cute and amazing girl like you... It would mean the world." Beatrice's eyes widened, tears flowed freely down her cheeks.
"Betty has been waiting so long, Subaru! Betty wishes... Betty had met Subaru much sooner, I suppose..." She said, grasping his hand with her smaller ones, tracing his scars with her little thumbs.
He nodded, wiping her tears. I'm here now, Betty. Let's make some memories together!" He said in a joyous tone.
Beatrice nodded her head multiple times.
"Let's start, I suppose." She said, putting a hand to his chest.
"Betty, the great spirit of Yin, is hereby pledging a contract with Betty's Subaru. Betty's Subaru must make Betty happy, give Betty lots of attention and head pats... In return, Betty will give Betty's life and power to Betty's Subaru. Do you accept these terms?" She asked, slightly flushed at the ridiculous conditions of the contract.
This didn't bother Subaru one bit. It only solidified his choice in making a contract with such a cute great spirit.
"I Natsuki Subaru vow to uphold these terms until my dying breath." He replied with a warm smile.
"Betty will now take some mana, I suppose."
Subaru felt his stamina drain drastically for some reason, but he stayed firm with sheer willpower.
"Subaru..."
"Yes, Betty?"
"Betty is happy, in fact!" She yelled, flinging herself in his arms.
He returned the embrace and patted her head per the contract.
"I'm also happy, Beako." Beatrice tilted her head up with a pout.
"What kind of name is that? I suppose."
--
Since Subaru had been at the manor, this is the first he has seen Roswald Genuinly stunned. But of course, that didn't last long.
"Myyyyy, dear Beatrice,
congratulations. I aaaam so happy for youuuu." Beatrice rolled her eyes.
"Betty doesn't need your congratulations. All she needs is Betty's Subaru, I suppose." She spat back.
"Oh my, I have feelings tooooo Beatrice. Please beeee gentle." The great spirit huffed and tugged on Subaru's hand, leading him past Roswald, who just smirked.
"Man, you really don't like Roswald. Did something happen between you two?" He questioned.
Beatrice stopped pulling his hand and turned around when they were out of earshot of Roswald.
"Do not trust Roswald so easily Subaru. Betty has known the perv for a long time, and he seems to always have some hidden agenda. Take everything he says with a grain of salt, I suppose."
Her contracter nodded at Beatrice's warning, and the two walked hand in hand to the dining room for breakfast.
--
"How did this even come about Betty?" Puck questioned Beatrice as she ate her meal.
Her face slightly flushed in embarrassment as she gave a side glance to Subaru.
Subaru cleared his throat before speaking on her behalf.
"Well, yesterday I went to the library to study as usual. Just after shutting the door, she lept into my arms, begging for me to save her from the evil of this world." -
Subaru kept exploding the story way out of proportion compared to what actually happened. Emilia believed every bit of it, and Puck was skeptical.
Beatrice finally stood up on her chair and smacked her contracter on the head.
"That's not what happened, in fact!" She yelled.
Subaru chuckled at her reaction.
Beatrice sat back down and turned her head away from Subaru.
"Hmph, stupid Subaru... Betty asked Subaru to be that person, I suppose, " She admitted.
"So, did all the things Subaru said happen?" Emilia asked, confused.
Subaru: "Yes!"
Beatrice: "No!"
Puck laughed in a child like manner at the two.
"Grrr, Hmph!." Beatrice huffed.
"Cmon Beako! I'm just joking. It was a really heartwarming moment for me, ya know." He said, patting her head.
"F-Fine, Betty will forgive Betty's Subaru, I suppose." She folded, accepting the head pats.
Emilia smiled at the display of affection.
"I'm happy for you both. Do you have any plans today, Subaru?" Her knight gave attention to her question.
"I was planning to do some training today. Studies are important, but Roswald also told me about a battle prowess test in the Knight Academy.
Would you help me, Beako?" He asked, looking down at his great
spirit.
"Betty will help Betty's contracter, I suppose."
"Yosh! Let's go!" Subaru yelled abrasively, picking her up and spinning her around.
"Gah! Put Betty down, I suppose!" She yelped.
The room filled with laughter and giggles. Bringing an aura of joy to the morning.
--
Across a field on the outskirts of the manor, a golden flash could be seen ripping through the air, penetrating large purple crystals a certain great spirit had erected.
"It's an impressive weapon, I suppose." She remarked.
Subaru nodded, time manipulating it back into his right hand.
"I'll have to ask Roswald if I can get a more flexible material for my knight uniform. Its rigidness makes it a little hard to throw."
"Your Authority is quite convenient. Have you ever thought about using it for magic? I wonder." Subarus face lit up at her question.
"Well, I don't know any magic, so I'm not sure..." He admitted.
His Great Spirit nodded and held out her little hands in front of her.
"Minya."
A purple crystal shot down a few meters in front of Subaru.
When it made contact to the ground, it spread to the surrounding grass, freezing it in place.
Subaru willed his Authority to copy the timeline and then use it, but nothing happened.
"It didn't work, Beako..." He said down trottened.
Subaru glanced down at MaryRose in his hand, and an idea struck him.
"Beako."
"What Subaru?"
"I was thinking. My Authority seems to only work on things that I touch... Do you think if you were to hold my hand and then cast the magic, perhaps it could work?" Beatrice put a hand to her chin at her contractors suggestion.
"Betty thinks it's a good theory. Give me your hand, I suppose." She said, taking her contracters left hand in her right.
"Minya." A purple crystal then smashed the one that lay on the ground previously, replacing it.
Subaru smiled at his cute Beako and held out his hand.
"Minya!..." He chanted the spell, though it was unnecessary. Alas, nothing happened.
Beatrice looked up at Subaru with her butterfly eyes and gave another idea.
"Perhaps if Betty put a bit of her mana through Betty's Subaru's gate, it would work. I wonder?" Subaru nodded at her suggestion.
"Anything is worth a shot at this point. Let's do it!" He said, hyping himself up.
It was an interesting feeling. It was like a very light breeze was being wafted inside his body. It wasn't bad, but just nothing Subaru could accurately explain.
"Minya." Beatrice once again slammed a yin crystal into the previous one, shattering it.
Subaru held out RoseMary, pointing it at the newly formed Minya crystal.
"Minya!"
To Subaru and his great spirits suprise, the spell was duplicated exactly how Beatrice had cast it.
"Yes! Beako is so smart! I could just sing you praises the rest of my life!" Subaru said, beaming a smile at Beatrice.
"There's is no one smarter than Betty. Of course, Betty will come up with a solution." She said, praising herself.
Subaru went to pick her up and spin her around but found it hard to move his right arm. Looking over, his javelin was covered in purple crystals that slowly moved up his arm, to the point where it had locked his elbow from moving.
"Uuh, Beako! What's happening!?" He said with urgency as the minya crystal showed no signs of stopping.
Beatrice gasped and quickly grabbed her contracters right arm and shattered the crystals that threatened to envelope him.
Dropping his weapon on the ground, he staggered backward with wide eyes.
"Beako... What the hell was that!?" He yelled.
"B-Betty...Betty almost kill-... Killed Betty's Subaru!" She said, crying into his abdomen.
Subaru was shocked at her reaction.
He lightly pushed her away from the hug and pat her head as she cried.
"No, Beako... You saved me. Thank you." He said softly, wiping her tears.
Beatrice grew wide-eyed and calmed down with pouty cheeks.
"Betty's Subaru is too kind, I suppose." She replied, sniffling.
"Foolish Beako. I could never be mad at you. You're too cute!" Betrice turned her head at his compliment.
"Hmph, there you go sweet talking Betty again, I suppose." She replied with a small smile.
Subaru looked over to his weapon and noticed it was still covered in yin magic. The yin magic made a crystal coating over the usual gold.
However, what's interesting is how the yin crystal formed on the javelin.
It had small thorns and roses slightly protruded across the length of the weapon, exactly how the engraving was designed.
He crouched down but didn't dare touch it in fear it would incase his arm again.
"Beako, why is there still a yin crystal on RoseMary?" He asked the approaching spirit.
"It's probably made from a mana conducting material, I suppose. They are very unheard of, in fact." She answered.
"Okay, what's the purpose of it besides almost killing the person using it?" He asked sarcastically.
"From what Betty knows, mana conducting weapons are used for the purpose of amplifying ones magic into the weapon to make a more effective attack, I suppose. It is not supposed to harm the user, in fact." She summarized.
"Then why the hell did it try to kill me?" He questioned, which silenced the great spirit for a few moments.
"Betty thinks it's because it wasn't Subarus mana that cast the magic on the weapon, I suppose."
"Beako... Im going to try touching RoseMary again. I'm counting on you in case something bad happens." He said, smirking at her.
Beatrice was reluctant to the idea but eventually gave in and held her hand close to her contracters arm.
Upon touching it with a single finger, it became incased in the minya crystal that slowly spread upwards. Beatrice quickly moved in and canceled out the magic, freeing Subarus finger.
"It seems Betty is correct..." Subaru frowned at her correct assumption.
"What can we do, Beako? I need a weapon. And if I'm going to copy spells that aren't my mana... Then I can't use it. That kind of sucks... I don't really feel like telling Roswald this awesome weapon is defective for me..." Beatrice rolled her eyes at her contractors rambling.
"Don't worry about that pervert, I suppose... Betty knows of a way, but it will hurt Betty's Subaru." She said downcast.
"I dont know Beako, my maidenely heart is so sensitive. I don't think I could handle any more emotional abuse!" He joked.
"Grrr, this is serious, I suppose!" Subaru laughed at her antics.
"Okay, okay. So, how do we do this?" He asked jokes aside.
"We need to go back to the library, I suppose." She replied while canceling her yin magic on MaryRose, allowing Subaru to wield it again.
"Let's go."
--
"Let's get this straight... Do you need to use some fancy magic quill to burn markings on my arm? Is it a magic soldering iron?" He asked nervously.
"What is a soldering iron? Betty's Subaru needs to stop saying weird words. Betty will use her magic to burn an emblem into her contractors skin to trick your weapon into sensing Betty's mana as yours, I suppose.
"Hmm, like a tattoo?" Betty pouted.
"Yet another word Betty doesn't understand. Where does Betty's foolish contracter get all of them, I wonder?" She said, preparing the spell at her desk.
"Take off your shirt and take a seat there." She said, pointing to a chair with big armrests.
'She will see... I dont know what else I was expecting. It was going to happen eventually, anyway... Damnit.' Subaru thought as he unbuckled his shawl and removed his knights coat and shirt.
Beatrice turned around from her desk, and her eyes grew wide after seeing Subaru's battered chest and arms.
She dropped her quill and hesitantly walked towards Subaru, who looked down in shame for showing something so disgraceful.
"Hideous, isn't it... Im sorry you have to see something so disgusting." He said bitterly, avoiding her gaze.
"Betty... Betty didn't know... Before our contract, Betty was so cruel to Subaru and judged Subaru. What happened to Betty's Subaru, I wonder?" She said, guilt clearly laced in her words.
"What the hell are you talking about? How could you possibly see yourself being guilty? Besides, this was something I deserved..." He thought, looking back on how he murdered his only friend, and undoubtedly left familys without father's, even if they were bandits.
"How can you say that!? Betty doesn't believe it. In fact!" She responded indignantly.
"...Then you clearly do not know the things I've done..." This reply gave Betty a hurt look.
"I don't want to talk about it... But maybe one day I'll tell you." He said with a soft smile. Bringing Beatrice out of her momentary depression.
The great spirit picked up her quill and stood next to the chair.
"Sit down for now. And Betty will get started, I suppose." Subaru nodded and sat down, holding out his right arm like you would to get blood drawn.
"Brace yourself." She said as her quill emitted a purple glow.
It indeed hurt. Not to the point of being branded with an iron, but Subaru has felt enough pain where it was bearable. Beatrice focused very hard, and Subaru grit his teeth, trying his hardest not to grunt or make noises that would disrupt her.
After a good hour of concentration for Beatrice and pain for Subaru, it was finally finished.
"It's done, I suppose." She said, hopping off her stool and putting away her quill.
Subaru inspected the emblem that was magicly burnt in his right arm.
In his palm was a yin-yang circle, attached to it was a line that ran all the way up the length of his arm and stopped with another yin-yang circle on the upper outside of his appendage.
Branching off from that main line were symbols of all the elements of magic that existed.
The color of the emblem and branching lines were dark blue.
"Whoa, this looks amazing, Beako!" He complimented, turning his arm at different angles to insect her work.
"Hmph, of course, it's only natural. Betty's skill is top-notch. In fact." She bragged.
Subaru quickly put his knight uniform back on and buckled his shawl onto his left shoulder, where it hangs conftrably.
"Beako, it's not that I don't trust you with the details of my past... I'm just not ready to confess to my sins or something like that." He said as she looked at him with shimmery eyes.
"Betty understands, I suppose... Just remember that Betty is always here for Betty's Subaru." She said, taking him into a hug.
Subaru smiled fondly and pat her head.
"You will always be there first person I will go to." Beatrice looked up at him and then snuggled her head into his abdomen.
"It's getting late... Would you stay with Betty? She asked in a whisper.
Her contractors heart melted as Beatrice pleaded with him with her butterfly eyes.
"Absolutely."
--
A few hours ago, a certain blue haired maid was kneading some dough and mixing ingredients with magic, while a certain lazy maid watched her sister as she took her fourth break in the past hour of making dinner.
"Sissy." Rem said.
"What, Rem?" Ram replied.
"Do you think Lord Roswald is being too generous towards his... Guest?" Rem said, barely keeping the animosity out of her tone.
"It does not matter what Ram or Rem thinks. Lord Roswald ordered us to treat him well as he is to be a knight of Lady Emilia. We have no place to interfere." She replied, taking a bite out of an apple.
"He smells of the Witch! And it's gotten stronger! How can sissy think he can be trusted!?" Rems sister frowned at her outburst.
"Even if he is a Witch Cultist, even if he can't be trusted... Ram trusts Lord Roswald. He will protect both of us."
She replied resolute.
There was a long silence between them two before Rem filled it.
"It's just... Sometimes, Rem feels Lord Roswald doesn't have his residents' best interests at hear - "
"Rem!" Ram yelled with a stern look.
"Sister knows there is nothing Ram wouldn't do for her, but questioning Lord Roswalds' intentions is not our position. We simply serve and follow his direction... Please don't do anything rash, sister." She said but also was a hidden plea.
Rem frowned and avoided her sisters gaze in shame.
"Rem is sorry sissy... Let's continue dinner."
--
"Gah!" A certain raven haired boy gasped. jolting awake. A cold sweat graced his whole body much to Subarus discomfort.
Subarus muscles ached due to sleeping in his contracted spirits small cot. His shoulders just barely fit inside, and his feet hung off the edge.
Hearing a cute little yawn, Subaru glanced down at Beatrice clinging to his arm.
"Why is Betty's Subaru up so early, I wonder?" She asked, rubbing her eyes.
Subaru calmed down his racing heart before he replied.
"I just had a... Weird dream, and now I'm all sweaty. Would you mind dropping me off at the bathing room?" He asked, patting her head.
Beatrice nodded, still barely awake.
She waved her hand towards the library door.
"It's done, I suppose. Make sure to be quick to wake Betty back up." She said groggily, falling back asleep shortly after.
Subaru grunted, getting off the cramped bed. He looked back at the sleeping spirit before leaving the library.
'Kya! So cuuute!' He thought while leaving the library to the manor halls.
Reopening the same door, Subaru was met by the bathing room. A familiar warm humidity graced his face and filled his lungs.
"Wow, good thing I went for a bath... I stink after that nightmare... Wow! It's kinda scary saying that so casually!" He said to himself.
Removing his uniform, he put it in the dirty clothes basket except the crescent embroidered shawl, which he hung separately.
His feet tapped on the marble floor as he entered the large circular warm bath.
"Oooooh. Never gets old." His sore muscles relaxed the moment he entered the warm water.
Closing his eyes, his body thanked him for the well needed rest.
After a few moments, the raven haired boy opened his eyes, and it was pitch black, the magical lights no longer emitting a glow.
"Haha! very funny, Ram! Turn the lights back on!..., Oi, I'm serious! Can't a guy bathe in piece!? He yelled, rolling his eyes.
The lights flickered back on, but Subaru no longer found himself in a pool of clean water but a pool of blood.
Dead bodies floated on the top.
Subaru yelled in terror. He turned on his belly and clawed his way up out of the large bath.
Before he could escape, multiple hands grabbed his foot and started dragging him back in.
The hands tumbled him underneath the blood. Subaru could feel himself being bumped against the many dead bodies in the pool.
He finally managed to shake off the hands, dragging him down. Now out of the pool He spit the blood that was in his mouth, clearly tasting the metallic.
He took one step and slipped on the slippery red liquid. Turning onto his back, he lifted himself up but was smashed back down on the marble.
Looking at the attacker, he saw Kyte with the broken sword still gashed in his jugular.
"Sinneeeeerr." The horror gurggled, falling as it suffocated on its own blood.
Subaru let out a war cry and smashed Kytes head into the marble tiles. Making a sickening crunch as the contents of his skull exploded across the floor.
Pain erupted in Subaru's hand the moment he punched the marbel, knocking him out of the hallucinations.
Subaru panted hard, chest shaking in fear, eyes dialeted. He finally came to his normal senses and saw the floor flooded with water when he had splashed over when fighting for his life in the pool.
His fist bloody from smashing into the incredibly hard marble.
'I think it's broken... Fuck.' He thought, slowly unlclenching his right hand.
Subaru grabbed a clean towel and wrapped it around his waist, and used the old one to scrub his blood off the floor.
Throwing it in the dirty towel basket, he submerged into the water again. This time, he made sure not to close his eyes. Subaru covered his face with his hands, one with bloody knuckles.
'This is retribution. My punishment... How much longer will it last? Until I stab myself? Until I drown? Even with a cute supportive loli by my side, I'm still a wreck... Just how pathetic can one person be?' He thought darkly as he soaped his hair and body.
Subarus eyes flooded tears down his cheeks, no weeping or whimpering. Just a reaction from a trauma his mind didn't know how to deal with.
"Do you want me to wash your clothes, Sir Subaru?"
Said man stood up and whirled around quickly as he was startled.
He sighed in relief as he saw it was just Rem doing the morning laundry.
The fog settled, and the maid saw the sorry state of Subaru's body. Rem was observant and also noticed the tears that had left his eyes moments earlier.
Rem sighed as she was reminded of her sisters words to not act rash.
"I see that Sir Subaru looks upset. Can Rem do anything for you?" She forced.
The raven haired boy kept a haunted expression, avoiding eye contact.
"I'm... I'm fine." He muttered.
Rem didn't believe a word of it, but after seeing his mental and physical state, it was hard for her to tell if he actually had bad intentions or if he was just a broken man.
"Please... Wash the clothes... Thank you. He whispered, getting back into the water with his head hung.
'He still reeks of the witch... I can't let my guard down.' She thought, leaving the bathing room with Subaru's uniform to be washed.
After rinsing off the remainder of the soap, Subaru left the pool, dried himself with a nice fluffy towel, and put on some temporary pajamas that were left for him by Rem.
The raven haired boy forgot his shoes and walked barefoot to his room, the cold tiles kissing his feet until the soft carpeted floor embraced them in his bedroom.
He looked at himself in the mirror and saw a stranger. In the two years before coming to the manor, he was isolated from human connection and mindlessly killed bandits and other bad people in his eyes. He lost his conscience along the way. He hated the world, and he was fine with that. It disgusts him.
But now that he has developed feelings, connections, friendships, his conscience has returned. And it is punishing him.
'I have to go and wake up, Beako... Hopefully, she can lift my spirits.' He thought to himself.
Subaru tried to crack a smile, but it was extremely hard for some reason. His natural expression always went back to a tired frown.
'Whatever, just seeing her will be enough.' He thought, leaving his room.
Entering the library, he found a still sleeping Beatrice, and sure enough, a fond smile graced his lips.
"Beako, it's time for breakfast." He whispered, lightly shaking her to wake.
She stirred and hopped down from the bed rubbing her eyes.
"Where are your shoes? I wonder?"
She asked with a raised brow.
"Aah, I forgot them in the bath. I walked around a forest with no shoes, so they're pretty tough." He reassured.
"Let's eat. I suppose." She said, holding on to his left hand. Subaru smiled down at the great spirit for the gesture.
"Yea, let's go."
--
"Subaru... Subaru? Subaru!" Said man quickly came out of his stupor after having his name called three times by Emilia.
"Aah, sorry. I'm still a little sleepy this morning. What was it that you asked.?" He apologized, rubbing the back of his neck.
"Gosh, you should really listen closer when your lady is speaking to you, dunderhead." She teased, to which Subaru apologized again.
"Lia was wondering how your magic training is coming along and if we could watch?" Puck interjected, coming out from behind his contractors hair.
Subaru glanced down at Beatrice, who was taking another bite of breakfast.
"Of course! Anything for my lady." He said with a dramatic bow. To which Emilia rolled her eyes with a small smile.
"I'm almost done with reading and writing. Now, all that I need to continue to work on is the actual protecting aspect." He finished with an awkward chuckle.
"Wow! you are already able to read and write. After just 2 and a half weeks? Your incredible Subaru." Emilia complimented.
"Haa, maybe." He said with a shrug, blowing off her compliment.
"Now, now. Doooont he so humble Subaruuuu. It is quite an impressive accomplishment given the smaaaall time you have wooooorked." He assured the knight.
"Well, thanks. I'll try my hardest from now on. Me and Beako will head down after breakfast if you want to join us." Subaru mentioned to his lady.
"Sure! I'd be happy to!"
--
Rem had graciously washed and dried Subarus knight uniform for him to change into before he trained with Beatrice and Emilia. He was a little nervous, to be honest.
'Will she think I'm weak? Will she be disappointed?' Subaru turmoiled, holding his spirits hand as he walked towards the large back lawn of the manor.
"You guys ready to start?" He asked his lady and her great spirit.
"Yes, I'm ready, Subaru." Emilia answered, glad she is finally able to see his magic.
Subaru glanced down at Beatrice with a weary look, but she nodded back at him. A wordless exchange that they both understood.
"First off... I think it's important you know that I don't actually use magic..." Emilia tilted her head a bit confused at her knights words.
"What do you mean Subaru? I clearly saw you from my room using it. I'm suuuuper curious!" Subaru sighed internally.
"I know that this is going to sound bad, but... I have an Authority..." He said, closing his eyes, waiting for her most likely negative response.
However, she was even more confused than before. Strangely, it was Puck who hardened his gaze towards the boy.
"What's an Authority?" Beatrice slapped her forehead in frustration that Puck didn't even teach her that.
"It's the reality bending powers that the sin archbishops uses. The abilities vary from each person when an Authority is absorbed, I suppose." She explained.
Emilia did understand what a sin archbishop was, and it elicited a gasp.
"S-Subaru... Are you -"
"No!" Subaru cut off Emilia before her imagination could spiral out of control.
"No... I would never even think of being a part of a group like them... But ever since coming to this world, I've had my authority. It's saved me many times." He explained.
Puck sighed and conceeded that Subaru was telling the truth.
"What do you mean coming to this world?" Puck asked.
"Well, to put it in your terms... I'm from beyond the great waterfall." Puck and Emilia were taken aback at this revelation of his.
"He's telling the truth... There has been speculation of other people from beyond the great waterfall. Well, they claimed to be anyway." Puck explained.
"Yea, Beako told me they were all dead... Unfortunately. I would have liked to meet them." Subaru said with a somber smile.
"Subaru?"
"Yes, Emilia?"
"Would you tell me about your world sometime?" Emilia asked, clearly wanting to understand her future knight and friend on a better level.
It felt... unfair to Emilia. Subaru knew much more about her, but she knew very little of him. And it was obvious he hid it, and it kind of hurt.
"Yeah, I could tell you sometime. But first, let's get this show on the road!" He said, RoseMary instantly materialized in his right hand from nowhere.
Emilia was fascinated by the sudden appearance of the javelin. Puck was indifferent, and Beatrice had seen it many times.
"How did you do that!?" She asked, holding the javelin when Subaru passed it to her.
"My Authority manipulates time. So far, my capabilities can turn time forward on an object, but only the material itself, and it doesn't work on living matter." He explained, taking a blade of grass and turning it into nothingness as it blew away in the breeze.
"I can also rewind time on an object but only for a few short moments. For instance, that fork I crushed the second day I was here. I turned it back to how it was previously." Emilia nodded, remembering the event.
"And lastly, my most impressive and newest ability... I can bring an object and even magic to a certain point in the past. And use it in the present." Puck listened lazily on his daughters shoulder, whilst Emilia paid apt attention.
"That's how I'm able to just make things appear in my hand. For instance. At some point in time, if there was an object in my hand, then I dropped it. All I do is put that object back in a time when it was in my hand, even when it's not in the present." To prove his point further, the javelin disappeared from Emilia's hand and reappeared in her knights.
"So what about magic then?" Puck inquired.
"Aha, copying magic is a bit more tricky. Beako had to channel a little bit of her mana through my gate in order to copy the spell. My Authority seems to rely heavily on things I come into contact with." Subaru glanced down at Beatrice with a weary expression.
"The emblem is going to work, right?" He whispered, inspecting the yin-yang symbol on his palm.
Beatrice rolled her eyes at the stupid question.
"Betty would not go through the trouble if Betty did not think it would work, I suppose." Subaru nodded and held out RoseMary in front of him.
"Minya." He chanted.
An exact copy of Beatrice's minya crystal slammed into the ground from above, slowly corrupting the area around it, and then the spread stopped after a few moments.
Not only did the spell work, but so did the emblem. Even though the javelin was coated with purple yin magic, it did not corrupt Subaru's body, making him sigh in relief.
"It's so pretty." Emilia mentioned. Looking at the unique thorny rose design that slightly protruded from the minya coating when applied to the javelin.
Subaru inspected it closer and held it out.
"Yea, it really is." He agreed, then returned RoseMary to a time when the minya coating wasn't applied, and it turned back to its normal gold.
"That's... That's incredible, Subaru." Emilia complimented, making Beatrice smirk.
"Heh hm. Of course, Betty's Subaru is incredible. Especially with Betty, in fact!" She bragged.
"Kya! My Beako is so cute today!" Subaru yelled, dropping his weapon, picked her up, and spun her around in circles.
"P-Put Betty down, I suppose!" She yelled, flustered. Subaru laughed at her dismay.
"I'm sorry, Beako. When you compliment me so earnestly, I just can't help myself." He said, putting her down.
"H-Hmph, Betty will forgive Betty's Subaru this once, I suppose."
'Such a tsundere...' Subaru thought deadpan.
"Anyway, being able to copy magic sounds cool on paper, but... I can only fire it exactly where it was used in the past. In other words, I can't just aim it wherever I want. So I'm still thinking of ideas of how to get around that." He said further with a thoughtful expression.
"Well, just don't push yourself too hard... I need to get back to my studies. I still have to finish my speech for the candidate introduction ceremony. Good luck, Subaru."
"Yea, you too, my lady." He said, bowing, eliciting Emilia to roll her eyes with a small smile as she departed.
"Beako."
"Hmm?"
"Do you have any ideas on how I could utilize magic better? If I am to become any good with it, I have to be able to aim it. I can't just wait for an opponent to line up perfectly in front of me every time. Not to mention that they would catch on quickly." Subaru asked the great spirit.
Beatrice put a hand to her chin and thought for a few moments.
"Betty can only think of an attack that covers a large area all at once. However, casting that multiple times would be much too destructive if it was your only means of offense, I suppose. Betty is smart but does not have all the answers, in fact." Subaru deflated that she didn't have a good solution.
"Betty thinks Subaru should think about this by himself. It's Subaru's abilities, not Betty's." She suggested, willing to give him some space.
"I think you're right. I'll see you at lunch then."
"Be careful... Betty will now play with Bubby, I suppose." She said, leaving the raven haired boy to himself.
Subaru sighed and lay on his back, the grass blades prickling his neck and hands as he thought of a solution to his giant flaw in his ability.
Out of curiosity, Subaru cast a Minya crystal. The crystal slammed into the ground a few meters in front of him like before.
"So turning my body left to right changes where the crystal lands, but laying on my back changed nothing..."
Subaru stood up and turned around, lay back down again, and fired a minya crystal, proving that the crystal did indeed follow horizontal movements but not vertical.
'It's like a compass, except in reverse... Wherever I turn, that's where North is. Beako's Minya crystal was fired right in front of me, so wherever north is, that's where it's going to land... But that's only a 1 axis aiming radius. It might get someone by suprise, but it would be terribly hard to pull off again... Fuck!' He cursed internally.
Subaru gave up for the moment and decided to practice throwing his javelin from different angles.
He spammed the Minya crystals until it grew and became a large singular crystal.
"This should be a good target... A target!" Subaru had a sudden appiphany about his problem.
"I don't need to aim Beako's magic myself... I just need her to hit individual targets that spread across a large area. That way, I can copy the timeline where that crystal was fired and attack my oppnent as long as they are in the area of my ability!' He thought excited.
'Hmm, it's not like I can have only ten or twenty targets within my Authority. There would be massive gaps, and an opponent could easily be in a blind spot with no target previously hit. That means there would have to be thousands of targets within the vicinity... Which would take time. Not to mention, I need an area to train, and I need to make the target on the ground visible so I know where to tell Beako to attack to copy the timeline.'
Subaru concluded his thoughts and decided to practice throwing his javelin until lunch. Then, he would talk to Beatrice about his theory.
--
"This is possible for Betty, I suppose... It will take a lot of time, though. Betty's Subaru will have to give Betty lots of attention and sweets for this, in fact!" She said, looking at the rough drawing Subaru had made her.
His idea was to have Betrice make a separate dimension that could be manipulated to look however you want. However, it could only be used in the library as Subaru's mana was not sufficient to keep up such a large spell for a few hours at a time.
"How are you getting this mana then?" Subaru asked.
"The Forbidden Library is a medium for collecting mana within the manor. The mana used to keep Al-Shamak active will be taken from everything in it, I suppose." She explained, making Subaru wary.
"Isn't that really bad?!" He yelled, exasperated.
"The half elf and the pervert alone have large amounts of mana. Between the two and Bubby, I doubt they would even feel a difference, I suppose." Subaru sighed in relief at her explanation.
"Well, that's good. Shall we get started, Beako?" Beatrice nodded and put out her hands in front.
"Al-Shamak." Beatrice casted.
Immediately after, Subaru could hear what sounded like cracking glass. Little chips of reality in front of him disappeared as a purple portal replaced it.
"This is incredible, Beako." Subaru mumbled, lightly touching the portal.
"Hahem. Of course, anything Betty does in incredible, in fact. Let's go in, I suppose." She ushered.
Subaru was temporarily blinded. The whole space seemed endless sea of pure white. Absolutely nothing there besides him and Beatrice.
"Well, I don't know what I was expecting, but this is crazy."
"The first thing we have to do is make the dimension of how you envisioned, I suppose." She explained.
"Right, I drew a sketch... This is what I was thinking." Beatrice raised a brow at the terrible sketch.
"Betty will try her best with what Betty was given, I suppose."
"That's mean!" He said, overreacting.
Suddenly, everything around started morphing and changing colors.
The room changed to that of concrete, which surprised Beatrice as it was nothing she had seen before in her world.
A 10 foot tall circular wall surrounded Subaru by around 300 feet in diameter.
A concrete dome fell from the white sky and perfectly rested on top of the wall surrounding the raven haired boy.
The dome had a maximum height of 200 feet that, of course, eventually came down to rest on the 10 foot wall.
Everything was pitch black. Suddenly, flood lights flickered on, and Subaru and his spirit could see again.
Yellow X marks littered the floor, the 10 foot walls, and the dome ceiling, with a white circle that was perfectly centered on the floor of the dimension. Which is obviously where Subaru would stand for his training.
"So this was Betty's Subaru's Idea..." Beatrice muttered, looking around the massive space.
She walked up to a standing flood light and inspected it.
"Is this a light source in your world, I wonder?" She asked, waving her hand through bright lights, casting shadows.
"Yes, it was. They were generally used at construction sites." Subaru mentioned.
"Fascinating. Betty requires Betty's Subaru to tell her about it later, I suppose." She said, holding his left hand.
"I'd be happy to... Alright! Let's do this!" Beatrice smiled fondly at her Subaru and nodded at his request.
"L-Lets do this... I suppose."
--
Meanwhile, a certain Roswald L Mathers almost tripped walking from his office from the large fluctuation of his gate.
"My, myyyyy. What could you poooossibly be up to now, dear Subaruuuu."
--
Subaru was starving. Beatrice not only used a shit ton of mana from her library but also sucked up all the mana from himself. Which... Wasn't very much.
"Slow down, no one is going to steal it from you, I suppose." Beatrice chastised.
"I'm sorry, Beako. You sucked out all of my mana. I'm starving." Beatrice pouted.
"Hmph. And who's fault is that, I wonder? Also, don't say sucked up. It sounds weird, I suppose!"
Emilia giggled at the two bickering as she finished her dinner, which Ram took her plate shortly after.
"You must haaaave been doing some serious training. I could feeeeel my magic draining." Roswald mentioned with a smirk to Beatrice.
"Yea, Betty. What could possibly use that much mana!" Puck chimed.
"I thought you said they wouldn't notice a difference..." Subaru deadpaned.
"B-Betty said she doubts, I suppose." She said, avoiding Subarus gaze.
"Now, now. It's fiiiiine. If it means empowering dear Emilias future kniiiight, then I'd be more thaaaan happy to lend some mana." Roswald offered. Making Subaru sigh in relief.
"Looks like I owe you again. Roswald. And Emila and Puck. Thank you!" Subaru responded with a genuine smile of gratitude.
"Don't mention it, Subaru. Y-You can make up for it by telling me more about you... Sometimes." She stuttered, getting flustered.
Subaru knew Emilia wanted to know about his home world, but she decided to keep it a secret from the others present.
"How could I refuse such a request from my lady! I would be the most honored man in Lagunica to tell her majesty the queen about myself!" He teased.
Emilia went red in the face.
"Subaruuu! Stop doing that!" She pouted. Subaru chuckled at her reaction.
"You know, if you really want me to stop, you're going to have to play along! If I can get you to react like this every time, I'm never going to stop teasing you!" Subaru suggested. Making Emilia pout more and turn her head, ignoring him for the moment.
'Kaah. I just can't get enough of those Emilia reactions!' Subaru thought with a sweet smile as he looked down at his great spirit.
Puck liked and disliked Subaru's relationship with his daughter. He clearly flustered and teased her, and he didn't like another boy being close to his Lia, but on the other paw, Puck had never seen his daughter so... Happy. So he let their interactions slide despite his overprotective father instincts telling him otherwise.
"Well, I think I could do for some studying this evening. I don't want to burn you out with more magic training, Beako. And I'm honestly pretty tired myself. He said, patting Beatrices head.
She looked up at him and nodded.
"Hm, Betty would be willing to take time out of her busy schedule to teach Betty's incompetent student, I suppose."
"So mean!"
--
"Gah!" Subaru gasped awake in his large cushioned comftrable chair within the Forbidden Library.
"Another nightmare, I wonder?" Beatrice said while reading a book on her small bed.
"Aah, sorry about that... I fell asleep. What a lazy student I am!" He joked to slide off his great spirits concerns.
"They are getting worse, in fact. You mumble, toss, and turn in your sleep more often, I suppose." Subaru looked to the wooden floor in embarrassment, rubbing his neck.
"Sorry about that... I hope it doesn't bother you too much. Ah! I could let you fall asleep before me so you won't be bothered!" Beatrice frowned at his response.
"It's not about me, in fact! Betty is worried about her Subaru! Can't... Can't you tell Betty what troubles her Subaru, I wonder?" She pleaded.
Subaru winced and shut his eyes tight. His mind told him to shut up, but his heart was telling him to open up to his contracted spirit.
"Beako... I.." He started.
"Yes?" Beatrice urged him to continue.
"I have done... Things... Things I'm not proud of." He said lamely.
"You mean with your friend, Terrence? She questioned.
Subaru's memory was flooded by the hallucination he had of his murdered friend. How he almost... How he almost killed himself with a kitchen knife that night.
"I don't think he'd call me that, but... It's not just him. Ever since coming to this world, anything bad that could have happened to me... Happened."
Beatrice remained silent as Subaru gathered the willpower to continue his story.
"You saw me... Do you have any idea the shame and humiliation I feel every time I look at my horrendous body? How every time I look in the mirror, I don't see the me from Earth... I see a stranger? Heh... If my parents saw what I had become. They would be convinced their son was dead!" The walls he had kept up so rigid, so fortified now came crashing down as he confessed to Beatrice.
"I hated the world! I hunted down anyone whom I deemed evil! Killing them without knowledge of their sins! Sure, they could have been evil. But they could have also been fathers trying to feed their starving family's, but I didn't care! I killed them without mercy! I chose! I!.. I deserve everything that's happening to me... The guilt, the nightmares, the phantom pains, this disgusting body... All of it..." he finished in a whisper.
Beatrice was stunned. This was a completely different person. A side of Subaru only she has seen. He clearly needed someone to rely on. And she was happy to be 'That Person' for him.
"When Betty's Subaru agreed to free Betty from her loneliness... Betty was so happy. Betty felt saved, in fact. Would Subaru let Betty save him, I wonder?" Subaru looked at Beatrice, his eyes finally getting damp.
"I... Please help me, Beako..." He whimpered.
Beatrice slid off her stool near her bed and then went over to her contractor and sat sideways on his lap, leaning against his chest as he slumped back into his conftrable chair.
"Betty is here now. Subaru can sleep in peace, I suppose." She said, sucking the mana out of his gate, forcing him into a deep sleep.
Beatrice then used just enough healing magic to calm his nerves, a blue light emanating from her right hand that rested on his heart.
"Betty's Subaru is safe now, in fact."
--
When Subaru came to, he felt rested. He woke up naturally, no gasping for air or jolting.
He lay on Beatrice's small bed in her library. Said spirit currently was clinging on to his left side rather tightly.
"Beako... Beako." He softly nudged her awake.
She mumbled and sat up next her contractor. Her hair was a bit of a mess, so Subaru took the liberty to run his nails through it and straighten it out.
"Betty doesn't object to this treatment, I suppose." Subaru chuckled at her remark.
"How the hell did you get me into the bed with that small body of yours?" He questioned.
"I used Murak, it make an object or person weightless, I suppose." She explained, Subaru noted he needed to copy that spell later.
"Beako... About what I said yesterday. Do you see me any different? As a person?" He asked downcast.
"Subaru will always be Betty's Subaru. That will never change, in fact." She reassured, bringing a smile to his lips.
"Thank you... Kya! My Beako is extra cute this morning!" He said, hugging her tight while rocking back and forth.
"S-Subaru!" She protested, shocked at the sudden change of spirit.
'I swear upon my grave... I am going to love and cherish this sweet girl until my dying breath...'
--
"So what do you think?.." Emilia asked her knight.
The two were currently in Emilia's room. She wanted to get Subaru's opinion on her speech for the royal selection coming up in a few months.
"My god! Her Highness wants MY opinion. I could just die right now from sheer joy!" He said dramatically with a hand to his forehead.
Emilia pouted and pinched his cheek.
"I'm serious. How was it.?" She asked, letting go of Subaru's now red cheek.
Subaru put a hand to his chin and thought for a few moments.
"Hmm, the premise wasn't bad, but it sounds too naive and innocent. You brought up all the good things about what bringing equality would do but nothing about how hard that would be to achieve. This is what everyone is going to be thinking about. How hard and maybe unrealistic, that is. But! If you can come up with a way to find common ground and bring out some of the flaws in this plan, people will see you as a more realistic candidate, not just an optimistic girl with sweet words." Subaru suggested.
Subaru's words were a bit rough, but Emilia needed to hear the honest truth of how people would respond. After all, Subaru knew just how cruel humans can be.
Emilia's expression became downcast, and her eyes got a bit shimmery.
'Fuck! What the hell is wrong with you, Subaru! You're going to make her cry!' He chastised internally.
"Subaru... How do you suggest I do that?" She asked, looking at him with puppy dog eyes.
Subarus heart clenched at those amathyst eyes. They made his chest flutter and gaze move anywhere but here face, because he got too nervous to look her in the eyes.
"Emilia, you should know better than anyone what it's like to be looked down upon because of being a demi-human. I'd suggest you start there." He replied, giving her a toothy smile.
Emilia smiled back and gave him a nod.
"Thank you, Subaru."
"No problem, my Lady."
"Say Subaru. I think I could take a break. Would you mind telling me another story from your world?" She asked sheepishly.
Subaru was happy that he was getting along well with Emilia and that a girl his age actually took an interest in him. Obviously, not romantically. But it still felt nice.
"Sure! Let me think... Hmm, let's go with Cinderella!"
--
"Al-Shamak." Subaru casted. Beatrice's previous portal appeared instantly.
The great spirit found it fascinating. Subaru only said the cast for display purposes only as he could just use his authority to instantly copy any timline and use it. There was clearly mana coming from the spell, but it drained no mana as it was used in the past. And as far as they both knew, it could be used indefinitely.
The two entered Subarus concrete dimension dome, and Beatrice casted Minya crystals at the thousands of targets so that Subaru could copy the timeline and use it later. Since Al-Shamak didn't need mana to use anymore. The resident's of the manor felt hardly any impact of the mana Beatrice sucked out of them through her library using just the minya crystals.
After hours of training, Subaru and his cute great spirit ended it for the night.
"Phew." Subaru exhaled as he sat in his comfy chair.
"Say, Beako. Why don't more people use emblems? I mean, to be able to trick a magic signature is got to be really handy, right?" He asked, caressing the magic tattoo on his palm.
"Not really, I suppose. Not many people use mana conducting weapons anymore. If they do, it's going to be used by their own mana, and the emblem mark designs have been lost with time. Betty's Subaru is a one of a kind situation. So they aren't very useful in this day and age in fact." She explained.
"Ahh, I see. Well, there is another problem that has occurred to me, Beako. Regarding my Authority."
"And that would be?"
"Well, when we are in the 'dome', the targets that can be hit are clearly visible. But that's not the case outside of it. This means I won't know which timeline to copy when I attack an opponent. The best I could do is guess, but that isn't good enough for me..." Beatrice nods at his words and hops off her stool and grabs a book off of a shelf.
Rummaging through the pages, she stops and finds the page she was searching for.
"All Subaru needs is an image of the 'dome'? Subaru nods at her question.
"Then Betty could do this, I suppose." She said, handing him the open book.
Subaru paused through the contents. He was able to clearly understand the alphabet now and could fluently read thanks to his authority.
"So basicly you would put a... Curse on my eyes? That sounds counterproductive!" He said to his great spirit.
"It's an old book. The word curse is not used now and days to describe this seal, I suppose." She reassured.
"So how does it exactly work?"
"It's typically used for brainwashing. It's used to seal a certain memory, objective, or image into a person's mind. However, if it were sealed to Subaru's eyes, Betty could then connect it to Betty's Subaru's gate so Subaru can use the seal as he pleases, I suppose."
"And how much mana will the seal take every time I activate it?"
"If it's just an image from a memory, then it won't take much, I suppose." Subaru contemplated her words for a moment.
"Are there risks? Like losing my vision and stuff?" Beatrice shakes her head at his concerns.
"Impossible. The seal can be undone at any time, but only by Betty, in fact."
Subaru sighed in exhaustion.
"Well, perhaps we should give it a shot tomorrow? It's almost dinner time anyway." He said, patting her head.
Beatrice melted into his arms at the display of affection.
"Alright, let's go."
--
Subaru walked hand in hand down the hallways of the manor with his great spirit the next day to eat breakfast.
"Did Subaru sleep well, I wonder?" She asked, glancing up at her contractor.
"Yes, thanks to my amazing Beako, I slept great!... Thank you. It means a lot, Beako." He said, smiling at her while walking into the dining room.
"Your late Barusu." Ram said sharply, standing behind Roswald as her sister lay the dishes out.
"Uh... Sorry?" He apologized awkwardly.
"Silence maid. Betty and her Subaru will show up when they please, I suppose." Beatrice retorted, sitting down next to said contractor.
"So lively this morning deeeeear Beatrice. I hope we can remain civilized." He said, trying to calm the irritated spirit.
"Hmph." She huffed, turning her head away. Eliciting a smile from her contractor.
"Ram is just teasing me. It's the only way she knows how to show affection." Subaru jabbed back. Ram rolled her eyes and huffed, Rem was surprisingly indifferent.
"The knight academy classes are next week. Are you nervous, Subaru? Puck asked cheerily, coming out from behind Emilias hair.
"Yea, a bit. It's all unknown to me, so I have no idea what to expect... Luckily, I had the greatest teacher show me how to read and write something I'm sure I will pass!" He replied with a big grin and a fist to his chest.
"Thank you for taking care of Subaru Beatrice." Emilia thanked the spirit.
"Betty is happy to help Betty's Subaru, I suppose." She replied, looking up at her contractor with fondness.
Subaru smiled back and ate his food. This time, with much more elegance as he had been taught it to be necessary manners for a knight.
"We have high hooooopes for you, Subaru. I'm suuuuure you will not fail." Roswald encouraged after wiping his mouth.
"Thank you. Me and Beako are going to try something that will amplify my fighting capabilities after breakfast." Emilia perked up hearing this.
"Really? What are you going to do?" Subaru smirked at her response.
"Ah, that my lady is a secret." He said with a finger to his lips. Making Emilia pout.
The rest of the meal was small talk and some suggestions from Roswald on magic, which Beatrice wasn't happy with as she was the only one who she wanted her Subaru to learn from.
"Well, shall we, Beako?" Subaru asked, holding out his left hand for her to hold.
The great spirit hopped off the dining room chair and looked her contractors hand.
"We'll be off everyone. See you later."
--
"Just making sure once more. There's no risk to this, right?" Subaru asked Beatrice as he lay flat on the library floor.
"Haa, Betty's Subaru needs to have more faith in Betty, I suppose." She sighed, resting on her knees next to him and reading the same book she showed him yesterday.
--
A/N (This is obviously not cannon, but for this story's sake, I was forced to put it in here.)
--
Beatrice outstretched her hands near her contractors eyes and prepared the spell silently. When she finally casted it, Subaru felt a warm sensation. Thankfully for him, it never went past that.
"It's done, I suppose. She said, standing up from her knees.
Subaru got to his feet and slowly opened his eyes. To his astonishment, he saw thousands of purple translucent Xmarks that looked just like they did in the 'dome' where he trained.
He quickly moved over to the standing mirror to inspect the seal. He was astonished once more to see his eyes glowing! In each eye covering only the pupil and iris portion, it was a pink star shaped magic circle. It was very pretty to look at, too. Well, in Subaru's opinion anyway.
'Maybe people won't think my eyes are so scary now.' Subaru thought.
"Beako, this isn't permanent, right? The X marks will get pretty annoying to see constantly." He asked, concerned.
"Betty still has to direct magic to it from Subaru's gate, I suppose. Go sit down." She explained.
Subaru sat down on his comfy chair, and Beatrice sat on his lap facing each other. Putting her hands to his chest, her hands emanated a red glow.
"This will burn a little, I suppose."
'Great...' Subaru thought.
She held one hand up to his eyes, and one near his stomach, she all to slowly ran her hand from his stomach to match the other on his eyes. Subaru grits his teeth, struggling not to howl in pain. Luckily, the great spirit finished the connection before he broke out.
"Betty will drain her mana from the seal, then Subaru will use his own to activate it again, I suppose." She explained, as Subaru felt the previous warmth leave his eyes.
Beatrice hopped off his lap, allowing her contracter to go over to the standing mirror. Sure enough, his eyes looked normal once more, and there were no more X marks littered all over.
"I know I say this a lot, Beako. But you're incredible." He complemented, looking at her reflection in the mirror.
"Subaru only came to a natural conclusion, I suppose." She bragged. Subaru shook his head with a smile and turned to her.
"No... Joking aside, you are truly incredible. More than you realize. Almost every problem and question I had, you had a solution. So... Thank you, Beako." Beatrice's eyes widened, and her eyes got damp at her contractors' heartfelt words.
She walked up to Subaru and hugged his legs. Burrowing her face in his abdomen.
"S-Subaru can come to Betty anytime, in fact." She whispered as Subaru pat her head.
"I think I'll do that."
--
"Wow! I think that was my favorite one so far. Do you have any more?" Emilia asked her knight after he just spent 30 minutes telling the story of Aladdin.
'I'm struggling to come up with more... I don't think Snow White and the wicked witch will go over too well with her, though...' Subaru thought.
Subaru once more found himself in his lady's room, telling her stories from his world.
Subaru rubbed the back of his neck at her enthusiasm and leaned back into his chair because of the distance she closed to each others faces in excitement of another story.
Puck came out of his crystal and pushed the two away from each other.
"Just what are you trying to do with my Lia Subaru?" He said in a teasing manner. But Subaru knew deep down he was being dead serious. As usual, he decided to joke about it.
"I'm pretty sure my own Lady was going to take advantage of me, so I was preparing to defend myself." He teased with a smirk.
"What do you mean by take advantage of?" Emilia asked innocently.
Subaru smiled awkwardly, and Puck glared at him.
"Oh, don't worry about it. Just a figure of speech. Anyway! If you want more stories, you will have to wait until I get back from the knight academy." Emilia became downcast at his reply.
"Will... Will you visit?" She asked with puppy dog eyes, which made Subaru's heart ache.
"Yea. More than usual, I'll just use Al-Shamak and open a portal from my dorm room to the Forbidden Library." He replied, instantly opening a portal that surprised the two.
"How can you already use such an advanced spell. Betty told me you have a Yin affinity, but there is no way you can cast such a spell without help." Puck said, unconvinced, to which Subaru pointed a finger to the sky.
"You're absolutely right! I cheated! I simply used my authority to turn back time to when Beako had opened the portal for me. Do you want to take a look?" Subaru explained, gesturing towards the portal.
"Absolutely! I've never gone in a portal before!" She said, following her knight and Puck into the purple doorway.
To their dismay, they walked into complete darkness, making Puck and Emilia a bit anxious.
Before they could question where Subaru was, multiple loud clunking noises along with lights shining bright occurred.
"Wow!" Emilia's voice echoed out as her eyes wandered the 'dome'.
"This is where Beako and I do my training."
"What are these?" Puck asked, inspecting the flood lights.
"Those are light sources we use in my world. This is a dimension based on my image of the ultimate training room for my authority. Minya." Subaru casted, causing around 100 purple crystals to slam into the ground from above in a fan shape in front of him.
Emilia clapped, her hands impressed.
"What else can you do?" She said with shimmering eyes. Subaru looked down, avoiding eye contact.
"All me and Beako did was finish hitting every target in here just the other day. I'm really not that impressive. From what Beako and Roswald tell me, there are some real powerhouses in the Knight division... I still have a long way to go. I'm not really confident that I can truly impress you." He said, depreciating himself
Emilia frowned/pouted.
"That's not true! I'm impressed watching you give your best every day! Why can't you see how great you are?" Emilia whispered out. Subaru huffed and smiled.
"I'm glad you see me that way." He deflected.
"But I think I'll show you what I can truly do after I'm finished with the knight academy." Emilia was a bit downcast, but she nodded and smiled.
"Okay, until then. Then you HAVE to show me." She said, determined.
"Of course! How could I possibly say no to my lady!?" He joked.
"Subaru, you just di-!" Emilia never got to finish her sentence, Subaru snapped his fingers, then Emilia and Puck found themselves back in her room without her knight. Essentially, kicking them out of the 'dome'.
"Puck... What am I going to do with that dunderhead?"
--
A/N
Thanks for reading, friends! I hope you enjoyed it!
Reviews and constructive criticism are welcome. Peace out!
