Meanwhile Old Man Rom and Felt conversed in the loot house.
"Half of my whole warehouse is ruined, but I'm glad for you, Felt. It seems like fate had smiled for ya' today." Old Man Rom patted Felt's head with a doting smile.
"Oi, don't get so touchy, old man. I'll repay you for taking care of me all this time, so let go," Felt grumbled as she escaped Rom's giant hand.
Old Man Rom laughed heartily.
Emilia smiled awkwardly at the side. The person who ruined the building was Puck and he was already asleep, being asleep during the most important of times like usual.
"Emilia-sama, may I ask how you know Mordred-sama?" Reinhard asked.
"We met in an alley by accident today. Mordred noticed Felt escaping with my insignia and offered to help me in finding the thief and retrieving it," Emilia said. Now that she voiced it out, it did sound incredibly suspicious, also seeing how Mordred seamlessly recruited both Elsa the assassin and Felt the thief afterwards.
Reinhard seemed to share Emilia's thoughts of suspicion as he faintly said, "That's quite coincidental."
'However, Mordred-sama seems to genuinely care about you.' Reinhard didn't speak this second part out loud though.
Emilia seemed understood without having to be told, because she then continued as if from the part that was not spoken by Reinhard, "Mordred is a strange person, but I don't think he's behind it. I suspect that that Clown might have something to do with this."
"Please refrain from speaking poorly of Lord Roswaal. He is a magnificent person. It is true that he is somewhat eccentric, but…" Reinhard spoke with a faint smile.
"You knew who I was talking about, so it's rather obvious what you think of him."
"… My apologies. Please keep this a secret from Lord Roswaal." Reinhard winked as he apologized.
Following that the two of them then remained silent. If they were to discuss anything else then it wouldn't be in the presence of Old Man Rom and Felt.
At one point Mordred returned to the building by himself.
"Where is the Bowel Hunter?" Reinhard asked.
"She left," Mordred calmly said. Seeing Reinhard's anxious expression, he continued, "I understand this person well. I have something precious that she wants, so she'll return eventually."
Reinhard looked at Mordred for a while and could only sigh.
Looking at the others seriously, Mordred continued, "I also want you to not talk about me recruiting Elsa today to anyone. Officially the Bowel Hunter was chased away by Reinhard and me. Understood?"
Mordred scanned the crowd with his eyes and received a wave of silent looks that seemed to signify acceptance.
He then looked around. "Anyway, this place looks like it's in need of repairs though. I don't want to say anything, but the person who ruined the building was Puck, not me."
All Mordred did was break a cabinet or two by throwing Elsa at it; it's all Puck throwing ice missiles left and right, and even an ice blast, without even hitting Elsa once, that left the loot house in ruins.
Emilia chuckled. "It isn't nice to blame someone who isn't present, Mordred."
"I'm only stating the facts." He shrugged his shoulders. Even though he wasn't responsible, Mordred was still ready to offer some money himself to fund repairs in order to get in good books of Felt and Old Man Rom, as well as Reinhard.
"Don't worry 'bout that! Ye two saved our lives. Now that the building is half ruined I'll finally sell everything and close up," Old Man Rom said as he touched his bald head. He added, "Seeing Felt being in good hands, this old man can finally retire."
Mordred looked at the giant."You can retire if you wish, but since you're Felt's only family, how about this - you can live with her in the future instead, be her bodyguard or caretaker."
Felt cast her crimson eyes on Mordred. Although she wouldn't admit it, it was apparent that she cared about Rom and wanted to stay with him.
Old Man Rom touched the back of his bald head and let out a hefty laugh. "It seems like this old man will never be able to retire."
"Old man, you're coming with me?" Felt asked, her eyes shining.
"Someone's gotta protect you from them rotten nobles, right? Ain't everybody as nice as the boy here," Rom gave a random excuse as he looked at Felt dotingly.
"Old man…"
Reinhard chuckled and placed a hand on Mordred's shoulder. "I have to say your charisma is quite something, Mordred-sama. Didn't you come to Lugnica just recently? Will you be able to afford to pay all of them by yourself?"
In the end, Mordred had no backing and was by himself.
"I'm confident I'll manage," Mordred said. Clearly, Reinhard took this opportunity to probe him, but even if Reinhard and the Astrea family hadn't decided to support Mordred, Mordred still had many ways to get some funds with his strength and cheats. In the worst case, he could always rob a rich noble's household the very same night.
"Wait. Oi, Onii-san, so you're actually broke?" Felt asked while placing her hands on her hips with an indignant expression. She couldn't believe that she actually offered to work for someone penniless!
Old Man Rom also appeared stunned.
"What broke? My abilities are priceless." Mordred took out the pouch and pulled out a few Hole Coins. "Here, I'll multiply these Holy Coins in a flash and I'll also be the king in the future, so don't worry your little head about money, Felt-chan," he said casually and smiled confidently at Felt.
The little blonde sighed helplessly.
"On that note, when is it that you came to Lugnica, Mordred-sama?" Reinhard asked a question that bugged him for a while. He knew that Mordred came here 'recently', but that was it.
"Well, we can talk about it later," Mordred answered as he looked through the giant hole of the building made by Puck at the red setting sun on the horizon. It was a long day.
After chatting for a while more in the loot house, Mordred grabbed his leather backpack that he left at a corner and left together with Reinhard, Emilia and Felt, meanwhile Old Man Rom stayed in the damaged building to guard his goods and reorganize them for sale.
The sun had already set and the night was descending. A blueish gray moon was now quite discernable and it silently looked down at the group of people below.
Reinhard glanced at his side. First at Mordred and then at Felt. Although Mordred now wore his strange and very casual clothes, there was no need to talk about his qualifications as a candidate. As for Felt, if given a change of clothes and got the alleys' grime off her, she would surely shine brightly as well.
Letting out a silent sight, Reinhard looked up at the sky, casting his eyes at the full moon whose beauty was filled with a certain bewitching charm.
'Today might be my final opportunity to calmly gaze upon the moon. Mordred, huh…'
He then glanced at the enigma called Mordred who walked next to him.
Meanwhile Reinhard's melancholic expression didn't escape Mordred's sharp eyes. Mordred knew that his actions today made him appear very suspicious, but he accepted it. Throughout these loops he often talked with Reinhard, including the loops in which he recruited him in a similar way to the first loop, so he knew well which buttons to press to get Reinhard to become his retainer.
Retracting his eyes from Reinhard, Mordred looked at Emilia which despite having a small smile on her face, appeared slightly absentminded. He strolled over and, through embarrassment, suddenly took the young silver haired beauty's hand.
Emilia looked at Mordred with innocent surprise and confusion. "Mordred?"
"Are you worried about something?" Mordred asked.
Emilia shook her head. "No, it's nothing."
"You're a terrible liar, Emily, you know that?" Mordred faintly smiled.
"Huh? What did you say?"
"Emily, a nickname. You don't like it?"
"Mmm, I like it, but why did you say it right now?" Emilia asked.
"I felt like it." Mordred shrugged his shoulders.
Meanwhile his firm grip didn't leave Emilia's hand, and unknown why to Mordred she didn't seem to mind it much, but she did seem slightly embarrassed.
Mordred smiled, looking at Felt, and extended his other hand toward her. "If you're jealous you can take my other hand, Felt-chan."
"Hn! Who wants to take your hand, hmph!" Felt snorted and looked away while crossing her arms in front of her chest.
Mordred laughed out loud. "Haha, I was only joking. I was afraid that you might be afraid of the dark, that's all."
Felt grumbled. "I'm not a kid."
Reinhard and Emilia gently smiled, but then Reinhard's smile froze as he noticed the place that they were now in.
Mordred noticed Reinhard's shocked expression and also glanced around the area. What he saw was an abandoned, damaged and old construction site, as well as a field of wildflowers nearby.
After looking around, Mordred glanced at Reinhard, "Reinhard, is something wrong?"
Reinhard cleared his throat and faintly smiled as he turned back to Mordred. "It's nothing."
Mordred only hummed.
"Anyway, let's keep going," Mordred added after a while and resumed walking, pulling Emilia by the hand. Soon, the others continued on the way once again, Reinhard as well, silently and with a solemn expression.
All this time Emilia still held Mordred's hand for some reason, perhaps in her childish innocence, but Mordred let it go at that moment.
"My hand got a little sweaty," Mordred lightly told Emilia and with a wry smile, feeling slightly embarrassed by the grossness. It appeared that as a Heroic Spirit Hybrid, Mordred had resistance toward freezing and high temperatures, but he wasn't immune to his own emotions and hormones, so he still generated sweat.
"Mordred, why did you take my hand?" Emilia asked.
Mordred's eyes slightly widened. 'Omg, she's so direct and blunt…'
He shrugged his shoulders after a while. "I felt like it."
"I see…"
Mordred faintly smiled at Emilia and said instead, "Actually, it isn't difficult for me to guess why you're uneasy. You probably consider me a dangerous rival in the Royal Election, and you should. I don't know what I should tell you, Emily, but I can only wish you to do your best."
Emilia's expression appeared complicated.
Mordred's smile deepened as he took Emilia's hand and then raised it, and spun her around in place.
"Eeeeh?!" Emilia was dumbfounded by this random action.
The blond Saber chuckled as he pulled back his hand. "Let's both do our best and still be friends, Emily."
"Em." Emilia nodded with a shy smile.
Mordred nodded back and then saw Emilia… genuinely blushing? He blinked his eyes, but they still didn't lie to him; Emilia appeared quite shy and embarrassed, carrying romantic implications in Mordred's eyes. 'Shouldn't Emilia have a child's mentality? It took a long time for Subaru to get a reaction out of her in the show. Well, either way, there's no point in overthinking it.'
By choosing to give a chance to Emilia, Mordred had already accepted that she would require a lot of investment, whether it was time investment or emotional investment, before she showed her true potential, matured or began viewing him in a romantic way. However, he still decided on it. Naturally, he wished that Emillia didn't take too long to show interest in him, as otherwise it would just make him feel like an idiot.
He then heard Felt let out a grunt again and looked over, only to see Felt looking away with a stiff expression. He faintly smiled. 'And Felt is actually jealous?'
Without chatting much after that, the group eventually left the slums and took a carriage in the city to the Astrea Manor. Just like in the first loop Emilia traveled with the others and for safety would then be escorted by several guards toward the place of her temporary residence in the capital.
The entire trip was quite uneventful, and so was Mordred's parting with Emilia, although Mordred did notice that the innocent half-elf girl appeared somewhat more shy than before, giving him some doubts.
After arriving at the Astrea Manor, Mordred walked with Felt and Reinhard deeper into the complex. When they entered a courtyard, Mordred noticed Subaru sitting on a bench and chatting with a tall man in a jester's outfit.
The 'clown' had a pompous purple attire and a large cloak dripped down his back. His hair was long and blue, and when he turned toward Mordred's group, thick pale-colored makeup could be seen on his face.
A smile formed on the clown's face as Mordred noticed that he clearly gazed at him in particular. Mordred squinted his eyes. 'Roswaal? What the hell is he doing here with Subaru?'
Mordred had made many test runs, but he never quite did one with everything in place and the timing of today, wishing to make things and his interactions with other people and Emilia more natural. The (in)famous Roswaal L. Mathers suddenly appearing here was a surprise; it wasn't Mordred's first interaction with the clown though.
Was Roswaal not afraid of Reinhard straight out questioning him? Likely, his book told him that it wouldn't happen.
"Reinhard, Mordred!" Subaru called out while waving his hand, beckoning the others to come closer toward them.
"Reinhard-san! It is good that you are heeeere!" Roswaal also called out in a melodic voice with a smile as he stood up from his seat.
Subaru also stood up; there was a grin on his face and his expression appeared to be full of excitement.
"Lord Roswaal, it's a surprise to see you in the Astrea manor." Reinhard faintly smiled as he neared Roswaal and Subaru along with Mordred and Felt. "May I ask what brings you here?"
"Ah, it is just that I have been searching for Emilia-sama for the entire daaaay! On the way I met with Subaru-kun here by accident and it led me to this plaaace." Roswaal smiled as he patted Subaru's shoulder in a friendly manner. "Sir Reinhard, I heard from Subaru-kun that you've been patrolling the streets of Lugnica todaaay. You have incredibly sharp senses, so I have a question if you have perhaps seen Emilia-saaaama."
Reinhard squinted his eyes. He said, "Yes, I have indeed met with Emilia-sama today. She was a victim of a plot. Someone sent a thief and even an assassin after her. If not for Mordred-sama's assistance, I'm afraid that the situation would be quite grave."
Like always, Reinhard answered honestly and didn't take the credit for the effort of others, and in fact even praised Mordred's accomplishments.
"Is that sooo?" Roswal's eyes flashed as he briefly glanced at Mordred, before returning to Reinhad. "Please tell me that Emilia-sama is saaafe!"
"Yes, she is safe and unharmed. She's currently taking a carriage to your residence in the capital as we speak, Lord Roswaal," Reinhard answered courtly.
Roswaal loosened a breath. "Ahh, that's a huge relieeef! Seeing how Emilia-sama got separated from her servant and got lost, I was quite worried, you seeee!"
'Yeah sure, where the f*ck were you during the last 350 loops then?' Mordred thought silently.
Roswaal continued looking at Reinhard. "Sir Reinhaard, you mentioned that Mordred-sama had helped Emilia-saaama. Could this young man be the Mordred that you speak ~ooooof?"
The clown then cast his cunning eyes on Mordred.
"Indeed, this is Mordred-sama," Reinhard admitted.
"Eeh? So Mordred saved a princess from an assassin akin to a hero saving a beauty, and I wasn't even present. Damn, did I just miss a main plot event-o that introduces the main heroine?!" Subaru suddenly interjected loudly.
Subaru mixed in English words with poor Japanese pronunciation into his speech, causing the others to look at him in confusion as they didn't understand half of what he just said, the only exception being Mordred.
"Either way, you have to tell me more about it. Was she beautiful?" Subaru asked Mordred with a meaningful smile.
"The assassin or the princess?" Mordred asked as he stiffled a chuckle. He then heard Felt let out a snort.
"Whaaat?! So the assassin was a hot chick too?!" Subaru called out, grabbing his head in dismay.
"The thief was a cute girl as well, actually," Mordred added with a playful smile as he faintly glanced at Felt, making Subaru's eyes bulge out, and also causing a blush to form on Felt's cheeks while she stubbornly continued looking away.
"No no, it can't be. You're taking the wrong path here, Natsuki Subaru! So what if you have a genius talent in magic, you can't take the Sage route! Let's think, let's think, which option in the previous quests should I have…" Subaru continued muttering to himself, mixing in English words that others didn't understand, and experiencing some kind of crisis.
"At any raaate!" Roswaal interjected with a smile and then looked at Mordred. "I'm very grateful for your heeeeelp, Mordred-san! I would like to hear more about everything that happeeened, but may I first know why Sir Reinhard himself addresses you with a honoriiiiific?"
"It's because I'm royalty from where I come from," Mordred replied to Roswaal. "May I know who you are, sir?"
Before either Roswaal or Reinhard had a chance to reply, Subaru smiled and started patting Roswaal's back while announcing, "Ah, although he seems somewhat strange and creepy, Ross-chi here is the strongest mage in the kingdom. Or so I was told…"
Meanwhile, Roswaal's smile didn't disappear from his face as he allowed Subaru to introduce him. 'Ross-chi?'
"Right. And you're not afraid of getting hanged or burned to crisp for what you're saying, huh, Subaru?" Mordred said.
"What do you mean?"
"Aaah, now, now. There is no need to worry about small things like thaaat! I admit that my taste is slightly uniiiique. I like my clothing and mannerism to express my colorful personality, you seeee! " Roswaal waved his hand dismissively with a smile. "Ross-chi, I have to say that I quite like this nicknaaaame!"
"Lord Roswaal L. Mathers here indeed is the Kingdom of Lugunica's Head Court Magician, Mordred-sama. In other words, he's Lugnica's strongest magic user. He is also the person who supports Emilia-sama in the Royal Election," Reinhard gave Mordred a proper introduction.
Felt raised her eyebrows. Her expression clearly said: this clown is the strongest magic user, really?
"So that's it." Mordred forced a faint smile. "Lord Roswaal, it's a pleasure to meet you."
He then extended his hand toward the clown with a stiff smile.
Roswaal took Mordred's hand with a smile and shook it with a smile. "Mordred-sama, as a member of a royal family, your status is higher than miiine! There's no need to call me Lord, just Roswaal is fiiine!"
"Alright. As you wish, Roswaal," Mordred lightly said.
Roswaal smiled. "Now, I would like to thank you for helping Emilia-samaaa. May I know what exactly happeeeened? Mordred-sama, you are a tourist, is that correeect?"