for now, I have to lead her to the idea of the slums. I thought, glancing at Emilia as we walked side by side through the bustling streets. her eyes were occasionally glancing around, before snapping forward, in search of the girl that stole her insignia.
The first few minutes of our search were relatively quiet. I could feel the weight of the situation settling over Emilia. I decided to ease into the conversation while throwing in some humor and witty banter, hoping to subtly guide her toward the idea of checking the slums without outright saying it. cause if I did... well... puck is... not that reasonable when it comes to Emilia, or I guess "Sattela". cause like with Subaru, she tried to get me away and I played dumb.
We approached a small group of people standing near a fruit cart, chatting idly. "Excuse me," I said, stepping forward with a polite smile. "Sorry to bother you, but we're looking for someone. I had something stolen by a thief, and we're trying to figure out if anyone's seen them."
One of the men, a middle-aged vendor with an annoyed expression, raised an eyebrow but didn't immediately dismiss me. Encouraged, I continued.
"She's a little girl, maybe about 14? Blond hair, red scarf, about this tall?" I added, holding my hand at what I guessed was Felt's height.
The group exchanged uncertain glances. One woman shook her head apologetically. "Haven't seen anyone like tha-" she paused, her face flashing slightly in fear, her eyes I can only assume have locked with Emilia's. "witch..." she muttered.
Immediately, people began backing away, while others stood in place, astonished. a few people nearby turned around, also noticing Emilia and growing weary. but not enacting on their fears.
Her face was a mixture of sadness and resignation like this reaction was something she'd come to expect. Her shoulders sagging slightly, but she didn't say a word.
My eyes flicked back to the crowd. "Who are you calling a wit-" I tried to ask even though I knew the answer because it'd be better if she didn't know, but before I could speak, I heard a small noise... Emilia? and my arm was quickly pulled from the crowd, "What the-" weeeeee JESUS, that strength i thought as i was pulled (dragged) by a slightly frantic Emilia, trying to get me away from the growing crowd. not wanting me to have my reputation hitting rock bottom from just affiliation.
and after what felt like an eternity, she slowed down, by a canal, near the main street, beside some benches. her hand still grasping my wrist, she whipped around, pausing as she stared at me, her gaze flicked to where her hand held mine, and she quickly released it as though it burned.
"I'm sorry," she said, her voice softer than usual. "I didn't mean to pull you like that, but I thought it was best to get away before things got difficult hehe." she nervously chuckled.
I rubbed my wrist and gave it a little shake. "it's fine, but I want to ask." I paused, thinking through the question, if I do this well, I can make my relationship grow. or I could do the exact opposite...
"Why did they react like that? The weary glances, some of them even called you rude stuff. but stranger than that was, how you acted like it was completely normal, fine even. why?"
Emilia's expression flickered, a mixture of emotions crossing her face, conflict, sadness, and perhaps a touch of resignation. She opened her mouth, her head down slightly "Because… it is normal," she admitted. "After all, I'm…"
She reached up, brushing aside the hair covering her ears, revealing them to be, pointer than normal." a half-elf" she finished, tinged with longing sadness.
i waited for a second, before sighing. "That's it? Just because of your race? nothing else? because from my standpoint, being a half-elf just makes you look more attractive, not dangerous. I mean, honestly, when I first saw you, my impression was that of a beauty, not a danger, but more importantly, one that would help in my time of need, which was not getting stabbed. not a danger, but a savior. a beautiful one at that."
"???" Her head snapped toward me, perplexed as to how I complimented her on what up until then was her greatest curse, her appearance. "wai-what? bu-i said i-I was a half-elf!" she stammered, her voice rising in disbelief. her face, slowly heating up.
"yep, heard ya the first time. and just like before, I think you're beautiful. Your race doesn't change that one bit, and it's certainly no reason to hate you. actually, I think it's more of a reason to like you. cause you're unique."
Her face flushed a deep red, spreading to the tips of her ears. She turned away quickly, crouching slightly as she brought her hands up to cover her face. but, it wasn't hiding anything as she was clearly blushing Heh, I guess I rolled a nat 20. cause that was kinda cheesy ngl. i thought, but stopped as
"N~Nya!" Suddenly, a squishy little tiny winy paw bopped me on the cheek, as Puck floated beside me, his tiny fist causing absolutely no pain as it bounced off my face. hehe, I am the master of RP. fear me
"Oh no~! Whatever shall I doo~, a mighty punch! might I require the reason? all mighty spirit." I said in a mock formal tone, deciding to have a little fun with things. also, it was pretty nice.
"Sorry, but seeing Emilia like this gave me an irresistible urge to do something", Puck said, grinning mischievously. "Oh, but I'm feeling it again~!"
I gave a small smile before giving a great horror as I gasped "Noooooo, don't pulverize me"
"No, can doo N~Nya!" the fist connected my cheek, with incredible speeds, so fast that it was slow, so strong that it was the weakest
"NoOoOo~" I 'cried,' stumbling back a few steps before dramatically pretending to fall—though I remained perfectly upright.
"Stop playing around!" Emilia's voice cut through the banter, her earlier embarrassment replaced by an exasperated tone. "We need to focus on finding the insignia!"
teasing is so much fun, especially if they have no resistance I thought spinning around, with a mischievous grin, "Oh? so suddenly weeeeee are the ones that forgot, hmm? that's not kind Sa~te~la" I wagged my finger, a mocking grin playing at my lips. i was having too much fun with this.
"Oh, how the tables have turned." puck continued, also playing along with my act of, teasing Emlia. ganging up on her.
"Ungh~!" Emilia pouted, crossing her arms in annoyance, her cheeks still faintly pink. from the earlier compliment speech of mine.
"Sorry if I'm intruding, but I couldn't help overhearing your conversation about a stolen insignia," a voice interrupted from behind us.
*DEEP BREATH*
Radiant red hair that burned like fire in the sunlight, brilliant ocean-blue eyes that seemed to pierce through the soul, an elegant white uniform accented by purple stripes and a black undershirt, and as the pièce de résistance—a magnificent greatsword with a golden guard sheathed at his hip. he was the PERFECT man (no Cell is, buuuut)(can you tell I like Reinhard? no, well I doooo.)
REINHARD??? I thought in surprise, and funnily enough "Reinhard?!" also exclaimed Emilia in a panicked voice. but unlike me, it was out loud.
Wow, didn't expect to see him... let's play dumb, that should work well enough. I can maybe make a connection from this "Huh? you know this guy?"
"Uh, y-yeah. Something like that," she stammered, exchanging a nervous glance with Puck. I caught the bead of sweat rolling down her temple. oh, damn, I can't have him help. i thought, as I saw Emilia's subtle cue.
"ok, well if Emilia knows you, then it's fine. so what made eavesdrop on us, Reinhard was it?"
The red-haired knight straightened, his expression instantly shifting to one of polite formality. "Ah, yes, my apologies for intruding," he said, clearing his throat. "Allow me to properly introduce myself. My name is Reinhard van Astrea, Sword Saint of the Dragon's Kingdom of Lugunica, and a proud member of the Astrea lineage. A pleasure to make your acquaintance, miss." He gave a small, precise bow, radiating dignity. ... wow, just a little sad really. i thought, as his circumstance is kinda shitty ngl.
"Oh, it's fine, no need to worry. my name is Shiro... just Shiro... n-no last name" fuck I fumbled the end, as past memories came to mind but I quickly dismissed them off into the back crevices of my mind as I shook his hand "It's a pleasure to meet you too Reinhard."
"The pleasure is mine, Shiro," Reinhard replied warmly. His piercing blue eyes lingered on me for a fraction longer than normal. His brow furrowed slightly, but the look disappeared as quickly as it had come She's Lady Emilia's companion, Reinhard thought, schooling his expression back to a kind smile. That's enough to consider her trustworthy, even if she's hiding something.
*cough, cough* Regardless, back to the topic at hand. Em-"
"Regardless, back to the topic at hand—Emi—"
"AH!" Emilia yelped, quickly shushing Reinhard as she frantically waved her hands in the air. "Reinhard, can you please not say my name?" she whispered, leaning close to him. "It would cause a huge misunderstanding, you see." real slick, doing this right in front of me I joked in my mind as I watched her whisper in his ear, catching parts of it slightly. mhm, yep, uhuh. very much words that I don't understand, mhm.
"O-oh. Understood..." He cleared his throat, straightening his posture. "The… lady over here seemed to be in distress, with the talk of an insignia being stolen from her. which I cannot overlook even if I am not on duty." His demeanor turned serious the second he mentioned the insignia being stolen. but only for a fraction, as it was immediately morphed into a smile.
"I-it's not what you think, I-!" If the knowledge that I allowed my insignia to be stolen becomes known to him, my candidacy will be revoked!
I glanced at Emilia, instantly realizing what she was thinking. Right, she doesn't want any of the knights to get involved, as it might lead to trouble or worse, like her chance at the king being snuffed out. I let out a small sigh as I spoke up. "Yeah, it's not that bad. It's just we were trying to catch a thief who was going around stealing wallets, pretty jewels, insignias, and stuff like that, you know. Petty thief stuff."
I lifted the bag in my hand for emphasis, then lowered it again. "A few minutes ago, she almost robbed me, and we thought she might try to steal from someone else. So we figured we'd catch her, give her a good talking to, and make her return what she took. No need to get anyone arrested or anything." I gave a small reassuring smile, or what I think is reassuring.
Reinhard tilted his head slightly, his expression thoughtful. "I see. But if that's the case, why not file a report with the guards?" Answered the beautiful handsome man, with dazzling blue eyes, and a majestic face I love glazing "I'm off duty today, but if you wish, I can assist yo-"
"There's no need, Reinhard. Really!" Emilia interrupted quickly, her tone a little too enthusiastic as she tried to wave off his offer. you'd think rein was a perv she was politely trying to get rid of. heh
I backed her up, nodding"It's just one little kid. We don't want her to get arrested, we just want her to apologize and return what she had stolen. that's all, nothing much really."
"O-oh, understood," Reinhard answered embarrassedly. These two were just trying to do a good deed by helping a young girl realize the error of her ways while he, as a knight, would just have thrown her into prison. Truly, a selfish monster. The sword saint thought, his inner voice degrading his ideas.
I stepped forward, patting him on the back with a casual smile. "Loosen up, it's fi~ine. don't think too badly about it, but If you really want to help, you can give us a bit of insight. it's a young girl, blonde hair, red scarf, and this tall, seen her?" I held my hand at her approximate height.
Reinhard's expression brightened slightly, as he nodded. "Of course, I'd be glad to assist in any way I could, hmm" his face morphed into one of contemplation, recalling all of the features of all the people he met today, and not even a second later. he was gifted a divine blessing by (his biggest simp) the od lagna, the divine blessing of description Recognition. but even with, this divine blessing he had not seen her.
his facial features darkened, a flicker of frustration showing, on his perfect face. "Unfortunately," he began, his voice calm but tainted with regret, "I haven't encountered anyone matching that description today." how useless
I put a hand on his shoulder "It's fine, we can look by ourselves, thanks for the intent anyway, also, keep being happy. lookin' sad isn't a great look for ya rein." I pat him on the shoulder, hoping it worked.
his gaze raised up to look me eye to eye, confusion evident in his expression "Thank you for your kind words but... rein?" he asked, thoroughly confused by the word. Man, even more sad
"Oh, it's a nickname. Something I'd call a friend," I explained casually, watching his reaction. "Is it bad?"
His eyes widened slightly, and for a moment, he seemed genuinely thrown off. "…Friend?"
"yeah, I'd say you're a pretty cool guy, so now we're friends. and friends give each other nicknames. I'd say Rein is a pretty good one. but I might be wrong. what do ya think" I flashed a grin. too much grin, it hurts. why am I doing this? oh right, Reinhard is a cool guy (maybe even chill?)
Reinhard blinked, his confusion slowly giving way to something softer, almost wistful. "I see. Then… thank you, Shiro." His lips curved into a small but genuine smile. "I'll try to live up to the name."
I gave a small smile yep, sad, but he'd be a good friend.
Emilia and Puck, watch in the background, one confused, one interested in the encounter happening in front of them. but, one thing is clear are we being ignored? "hmpf" One wise cute silver-haired elf 'said'
I glanced over just in time to catch her pout, but it was just a quick glance as I focused back on Reinhard. "hey, come on, didn't ya remember what I said, stop being so stiff. Loosen up a bit. It's a lot more fun."
Reinhard paused for a moment, as if considering my words, before nodding with a small, genuine smile. "Okay, okay. Then, I'll try." DAMN, it's dazzling. almost made me straight.
A/N
I FUCKING hate this goddamn website, due to it just, some how, removes progress. ugh, WTF. this is a hate-love relationship. but, I can't dream of understanding AO3 at all.
ANYway, I have VERY important question, and I mean VERY important, as it will chaing how things will go.
what the mc power will be like
1. stronger than Subaru by a large margin gaining strength like arc 5 subaru, in Arc 1/2)
2. moderately Overpowered
3. very overpowered (by arc 3, be as strong as the strongest.)
THis, Is VERY important. also, I am quite biased to moderately, but. if there is enough comments, I will change it.
PLEASE comment.
(hi, I'd like to say, PLEASE comment)