Having Emilia look at Subaru with such a sharp gaze, Subaru felt at a loss. He stuttered: "It's a… Emilia-tan is a version of Emilia-chan. It indicates that I care about you and will protect you. I swore loyalty to you after all, right? It's just a nickname!"
After hearing Subaru's answer Emilia still had her suspicions as she kept looking at him. If it was just it, then why was Subaru so nervous?
"You're lying, Subaru Natsuki," said Emilia, seeming quite displeased.
"No, I swear to the god of anime and canned coke, it's the truth!" Subaru solemnly touched his heart.
Emilia frowned. One can't make vows so easily! She saw that Subaru was clearly hiding something.
Mordred coughed. "It's the truth… In a way."
Emilia looked at Mordred.
Mordred added: "Subaru didn't mean anything bad. Emilia-tan is just an affectionate nickname just like Emilia-chan. It sounds like a young baby unable to pronounce -chan properly. Subaru was simply embarrassed that you found out about it."
"I seeeee, so that's just it." Emilia's expression eased as she looked at Subaru. "You should have said that in the first place. Subaru, you're such a kid…"
Subaru let out a breath when he heard that. He got through this somehow. Looking over at Mordred, he felt complicated emotions, but was annoyed for the most part - Mordred's handsome face and a faint smile on his lips annoyed him the most.
'The way Mordred is looking at Emilia-tan… Is he actually interested in the girl I got attracted to?' Subaru felt a sense of worry in his heart. He had some nice interactions with Emilia yesterday in the temporary residance and felt that they really hit it off.
In the first place, Subaru felt that although Mordred was sort-of another 'player' summoned to this world, he was more of an NPC. 'Even if the road is bumpy, as the Protagonist things should go my way. It's rare for the NPCs to truly romance with the main heroine, it's probably just platonic feelings?…'
Meanwhile Mordred observed Subaru, wondering just what was on his mind.
'If I viewed Subaru as a romantic rival at this point and felt angry, then it would be quite pathetic. No offense to Subaru, but he simply chose the wrong girl in this world,' Mordred thought.
Originally Mordred wanted to give Subaru a good life in his faction and even hook him up with a nice girl that he could control himself, so that he wouldn't be lonely, but Subaru simply had a talent for getting himself into troublesome situations. Mordred could only pity Subaru's poor luck and his idiocy.
With silence descending among the four present, the carriage continued on the way.
A while later Mordred picked up a book about the history of Lugnica that he brought with him and began to leisurely read it. The carriage traveled smoothly, being even more steady than a car, so it was comfortable to read in it. In fact, Mordred had brought a lot of books with him on this trip within his baggage.
Upon seeing Mordred read, Emilia did the same and soon pulled out a book on politics, beginning to read with a cute determined expression on her face.
During that time Subaru's visage looked quite gloomy as he sat silently, seeming to be uncomfortable and depressed in his desolation. From time to time he tried to get everyone's attention on him by exploding with various remarks, but seeing how they were mostly irrelevant, Mordred simply ignored most of them and focused on reading - he was slowly giving up on wasting his time on Subaru and only wished to learn a method to read his mind.
Meanwhile Emilia patiently answered Subaru's queries like a good girl, but she also seemed annoyed by his blatant screams for attention; Mordred's stoic attitude highlighted Subaru's neediness, making it easy for anyone to notice.
Emilia glanced at Subaru. 'Right, Subaru can't read, so he must feel left out. He should be a noble and be around twelve years old. At his age it's a biiiit embarrassing to not be able to read though…'
A few hours later.
"Yaaawnn!" With a long yawn, a small flying cat suddenly appeared near Emilia's hair.
And at the same time Nadia, who was already sitting on edge due to the presence of a witch-like half-elf girl, jumped out of her seat as if she saw a ghost, putting a smile on Mordred's face. He thought, 'It's true that Puck can be scary, but is his appearance really that frightening?'
"Puck! So it's already nine! Long time no see, brotha'!" Subaru called out while smiling at the cat spirit, before glancing outside the window.
"Ah, good morning, Subaru, Mordred." Puck stretched himself as he looked around at the people present with lazy half-awake eyes. He then fixed his round eyes on Mordred. "Mordred, I have to thank you for helping Lia on that day. You really saved us. If there's something you want me to do for you, just let me know. I can do most things for you."
"You're welcome." Mordred smiled. "As for the request, I have something in mind. I would appreciate it if you could teach me some things about magic and Spirit Arts if you ever have free time."
"Huh, it seems you're really interested in magic, Mordred. Okay, I will teach you what I know!" Puck said.
"You want to learn magic so much. Aren't you a knight?" Subaru asked Mordred.
"I'm originally a knight, but my dream is to learn about everything under the sun. My swordsmanship already reached its limit, so I want to focus on Magic and Spirit Arts," Mordred said honestly, faintly smiling. There were many ways for him to become stronger in this world and he had plenty of time and opportunities to train, so he certainly wanted to make good use of them.
"That's reeeally ambitious. Do you have a talent for magic and Spirit Arts as well?" asked Emilia.
"Yes, I have a Gate with Fire and Yin attributes. I also have a good affinity with spirits," Mordred said.
Puck floated in front of Mordred. "You're amazing, Mordred! For a normal person just having one of the four main attributes or average talent for swordsmanship is already good. Not to mention the amount of mana you have..."
"Yes, you're really talented," Emilia was forced to admit as she pursed her lips.
"Isn't it wasteful though? I doubt you *really* reached the true limit as a knight at your age. Spreading your efforts seems like a bad idea," Subaru commented.
Mordred gently wrinkled his eyebrows for a moment. He said, "I know what I'm doing, Subaru. You don't need to worry."
In fact, it was true that Mordred could still improve his swordsmanship further by mastering different styles that other people use and ways to counter them, but it was extremely inefficient for him to focus on it at this moment when his own personal style already nearly reached its limit. At the same time he could use more combat experience, but that was something that would come with time and with different opponents he faces.
"You're already really strong as a knight, Mordred," Puck said instead and floated to sit on Mordred's shoulder. "You don't have any bad intentions toward Lia, do you?"
"What? Of course not. By the way, why did you defend me from Roswaal earlier, Puck? I know that I seem very suspicious," Mordred said as he picked up Puck into his hand and started petting him gently.
"Hufu, I can sort of read your mind. It's just a hunch I had," Puck said while purring.
"Hm, thanks then. I benefited a lot on that day, but I'm really not behind that incident."
Subaru said, "Then who do you think was behind it? Could be one of the other Royal Candidates, trying to destroy Emilia-tan's chances in the Election."
Mordred sighed and inadvertently glanced at Emilia. "It could be…"
Of course it was Roswaal, but he couldn't really say this out loud. Mordred was not afraid of Roswaal, but was still slightly worried of the crap he might put Emilia through in this world, or the people that he'll surround himself with.
At that time Emilia called out to Ram to stop the carriage and everyone disembarked in the middle of a forest. There was a break in the travel, while Emilia went to talk to the lesser spirits as a part of her contract.
In his curiosity, Mordred asked to go along with Emilia to observe her talking with spirits. Upon seeing that, Subaru followed as well.
"If you want to watch then please be quiet until I'm finished. I reeeaally don't want to be disturbed, okay?" Emilia said.
Mordred hummed in agreement, while Subaru also nodded.
"Is it alright for me to observe up close if I'm quiet?" Mordred asked.
Emilia placed a finger on her lips. "Weeell, the lesser spirits are a bit afraid of you, but I think it's fine if you aren't too close."
"Then me too, Emilia-tan!"
"Mm, just be quiet, Subaru. You can stay here," saying so seriously, Emilia took a few steps away to make some distance.
After a while the space around the silver-haired girl became enveloped in a hazy, faint glow. Around her, dim multi-colored lights began floating around and flickering like the light of a firefly.
It was a mysterious and fantastic sight to behold. And most importantly, Emilia looked incredibly beautiful during that time, like a heavenly fairy descending to the mortal world.
Both Mordred and Subaru watched in amazement.
After several minutes of watching in silence along with Mordred, Subaru couldn't handle it anymore and commented quietly, "So all these fluffy things are spirits. They don't look very dangerous."
Mordred faintly glanced at Subaru and didn't respond. His sight then returned to Emilia and he continued to watch with a peaceful expression. He felt an itch to spread out his mana to probe the area to investigate, but was afraid that he would scare the spirits away. He thought that he was sort of a Great Spirit himself, so he decided to not do anything rash.
During that time Mordred thought about his own training. 'My Clarent has a short handle and with my strength it could be used well as a one-handed sword akin to gladius. Because of its widened shape near the tip, its stabbing ability is slightly compromised and its cutting power is enhanced instead thanks to the added mass. But still… If I could acquire a powerful shield to use in my other hand, then that would be perfect. I would be an impenetrable tank along with my armor.'
'Hopefully Beatrice could compliment me well if she were to become my spirit as well. I have an abundance of mana, so she could stock up on a lot of fuel before each major battle and support me from behind. Perhaps I could have her conjure some kind of long-range enchantment Yin magic that could make my shield bend space and time to neutralize any attacks. It sounds like wishful thinking though, so I guess I'll think about it in the future...'
Mordred was aware that Spirit Arts users with a Great Spirit are very dangerous combat forces in this world. One handles offense, while the other handles defense. Depending on the situation one would stall with simple magic or attacks, while the other prepares a powerful move. On the battlefield it is commonly said that: 'If you encounter a spirit user, you should drop your weapon and wallet and run.'
In a one-on-one battle Spirit Arts users had a great advantage over other kinds of opponents.
That could be said in regards to Emilia, for example, who was only able to use simple magic at this point, but in the case of Mordred just by himself he was already one of the most powerful fighters of this world. If he could gain a Great Spirit's support, one that doesn't drag him down but complements him perfectly, then it might greatly increase his strength further.
Mordred didn't know how yet, but he felt that he and Beatrice could likely find ways for her to compliment him in combat. In the worst case, simply having Beatrice as a battery that can store a lot of mana and fire out a nuke-like ultimate move while he buys time as a melee fighter was good as well.
"Emilia-tan indeed looks very charming, but what's the point of watching it?" Subaru asked as he looked at Mordred in annoyance.
Mordred was broken out of his thoughts. Looking over, Subaru's expression seemed quite unsightly. Mordred didn't comment and only sighed within his soul; they were supposed to be quiet after all.
Several minutes later Puck floated over. He said, "Now it's a part that I can't oversee anymore."
"What is she doing now?" Subaru asked.
"Ugh, we shouldn't be interrupting her, so I guess I'll just tell you, so you won't ask any more questions. She's in the middle of an important ceremony with the spirits, the ceremonial pact with a spirit—the forging of a covenant."
Subaru scowled in confusion in response to hearing a lot of unfamiliar words.
Puck, as if trying to find the right way to explain it, started by saying, "Let me see… First of all, a spirit arts user needs to form pacts with spirits before they can use spirit magic. And the content of the pact varies from spirit to spirit. Are you still with me?"
Subaru: "So it's different from interest and collateral for a bank loan. Okeee."
Puck continued, "My name isn't Oke, but I'll proceed. The content that the spirits ask for is different for each individual spirit, but when it comes to minor spirits, they only want simple things like direct access to the caster's mana. That's why it's rather easy to get them to cooperate with you."
"Okee, got it. But based on what you said, true spirits are different, right? How about explaining that one, Mr. Spirit?" Subaru asked.
"Smart kids talk fast and are helpful… but we won't get very far if you keep going off on tangents, though."
Subaru scratched his head in embarrassment.
"Shouldn't you two be quiet?" Mordred then asked. First Puck said that they shouldn't interrupt Emilia during this part, but then he started a drawn-out lecture, while Subaru entertained him. Mordred wondered just how these two's brains worked.
Puck crossed his arms. "Well, we should… It isn't my fault that Subaru keeps asking questions."
"But you keep answering them! Anyway, it doesn't seem like a big deal since Puck is talking. Do you have to ruin the fun? You must be great at parties." Subaru looked at Mordred.
Mordred rolled his eyes.
"Humu…" Puck stroked his whiskers as he looked at the two boys. He then floated toward Mordred and sat down on his shoulder.
Mordred briefly glanced at Puck, before he looked back at Emilia. He had to admit that the half-elf girl looked incredibly magical at this moment, simply perfect, and she probably didn't realize it as her eyes were closed. He wished that he could record this part from his perspective on his phone and show her it at one point in the future.
At the same time Mordred wondered if his feelings of affection toward Emilia weren't slightly too strong given that he barely knew her true self. He thought that perhaps he simply fell in love with this hated and lonely half-elf, and he loved this feeling. After all, love is known to be unreasonable.
However, in his paranoia of what happened to Subaru in the novel, losing his mind over Emilia and also falling into a trap of some kind of destiny that revolved around Emilia and reached all the way toward Pleiades Watchtower and beyond, Mordred couldn't help but also consider if Return by Death authority was perhaps somehow affecting him - after all, his clairvoyance was telling him that Return by Death's effect was unknown; to this day Mordred was unable to understand this ability fully.
Mordred wished that his feelings were his own, but in the end, he felt that he would make the same choice of growing attracted to Emilia regardless. Given that Subaru had begun falling for Emilia even in this world where he didn't have Return by Death and she didn't save him, Mordred thought that his worry was likely unnecessary.
Around that time Emilia began walking back to them with an angry look on her face. The dim glow of the spirits that had been surrounding her disappeared as she glared at the group of three.
"Is the party over? That felt like a piece of cake," Subaru commented.
"I cut it short because you guys were interrupting me and it was sooo distracting. I told you that you have to be quiet if you want to watch. Why can't you even do that?" Emilia scolded as her eyes traveled among the people present, mostly fixated on Subaru and then Puck.
When Mordred saw how Subaru was scolded by a girl like Emilia in such a manner, he felt a lot of pity in his heart.
Subaru, however, didn't seem to be affected much as he raised his arms in surrender. "Sorry, sorry. My bad."
Emilia sighed. "Anyway, we shouldn't waste any more time here, so that's fine too. Subaru, you should go and pee, so we won't need to stop on the way again."
Upon hearing that Mordred barely resisted the urge to facepalm. Bro was already kid-zoned thoroughly!
Subaru also appeared quite speechless.
"Hufu. Yes, Subaru, you should go and pee! Hufu, fu fu fu!" Puck began laughing uncontrollably as he clutched his stomach.
"Thanks for your concern, but I'm fine." Subaru's expression was quite unhappy; though after Emilia mentioned it, he did feel an urge to pee. He then looked to Mordred. "Mordred, mind talking with me? Men's talk."
"Huh? Sure."
Mordred and Subaru made some distance into the woods.
Subaru looked at Mordred. "Mordred, don't tell me that you're interested in Emilia-tan."
"So it's about that. Yes, I'm interested in Emilia," Mordred answered in a straight-forward manner, meeting Subaru's gaze head on..
Subaru was taken aback for a moment, before his expression darkened. He muttered, "You actually said this, so blunt…" After a moment's pause he added: "But you two are enemies for the throne!"
Mordred shrugged his shoulders. "We are, but I still like Emilia and I want to get to know her. I can't deny it."
"Huh, is that so…" Subaru muttered.
Subaru sighed in his heart. 'Mordred and Emilia met first by accident, and Mordred even saved her life. Did I set my eyes on the wrong girl?...'
Meanwhile Mordred only stayed silent as he observed Subaru being deep in thought.
"I see…" Subaru said after a while. He looked straight at Mordred with a sharp gaze. "I get it. I know you met Emilia-tan first, but it's her choice who she wants to be with. I also had nice interactions with her, so know that I won't give up so easily!"
'It seems like an arranged plot point. Mordred and Emilia really do seem to get along well as two Royal Candidates and major characters… But, I still have to give it a try! It would just be too lame if I missed a chance of hooking up with the main heroine like this,' Subaru thought in his heart.
Subaru was the type that in a visual novel would rush straight for the main heroine route and ignore all the other routes. Once he put his mind to something, he'd also immediately start doing it. Here too the speed of his decision-making shined.
"I see," Mordred said. He was pleasantly surprised that Subaru was quite civil about it. He smiled and continued, "You are right, Emilia has a choice who she wants to be with. I just have to warn you…"
Mordred was looking for words to not hurt Subaru. After a moment, he continued, "-Well, not really warn you, but let me advise you. Me and Emilia have a great chemistry. I hope you won't take it to heart when she ignores you."
Subaru squinted his eyes and an angry look appeared on his face, as it seemed that his pride was still hurt. He hissed, "Then let me give you a piece of advice as well. Don't think that you're so amazing just because you have some strength now. Later you might get humiliated by someone you've been looking down on."
Mordred sent Subaru a faint look while sighing internally. Frowning, he said, "I understand what you mean, Subaru. I don't mean to insult you, but you should rethink your situation. In the future, think of my identity before you pick a childish fight with me or disrespect me."
Mordred left first, returning to the carriage, ignoring the crap Subaru was calling out to him from behind. He knew that someone definitely needed to give Subaru a reality check, but he didn't want to be that person and play the villain if possible - Subaru was just too petty and wouldn't forgive him easily unless he was a pretty girl - in the other case even torturing him in a forest and killing him would be fine though.
***
(AN: Big thanks to Ahabel, Mushab and others for frequently sending Power Stones to make the story slightly more popular, even if there aren't many updates now. Thanks for the comments and also thanks to the silent readers who simply read without making a commotion! -Author.)