Otto was brushing his earth dragon's scales. I decided to join him and also cleaned Patrasche, who became very affectionate, and I ended up with my face wet from all the licking I received.
"Pfft." Otto pressed his lips together to contain his laughter.
"What's so funny?" I asked, frowning.
"I was thinking your luck in love is strange. Rem rejects your advances, but Patrasche adores you."
"And I love her." I gave my scaly girl a peck on the chin. "What about you? How was your day yesterday?"
Otto swallowed and adjusted the collar of his suit, looking away with sudden nervousness.
"Y-Yesterday? I don't understand what you mean."
"Don't play dumb. I made a master move so you could have some quality time with Frederica. Did you take advantage of it, or were you a coward and just had a boring geography class with her?"
"Of course I took advantage of it. It was a very entertaining and informative conversation..."
"So you only talked about how to get to the Sanctuary... Damn, Otto! I can't believe you squandered such a good opportunity!" I chided him playfully, knowing I couldn't have done any better than him.
My friend sighed and shook his head at my overly dramatic reaction. For a few seconds, all we heard was the sound of our brushes, until Otto broke the silence.
"Frederica is very pretty." He murmured shyly. "I'd like to get along with her, but... I have no hope of anything more than friendship."
"Why not?" I raised an eyebrow. "You have good looks and a decent personality. I mean, even though you only met her yesterday, something like that could happen in the future."
"I highly doubt it. In fact, my luck in love is even worse than yours."
"Oh? Is that so terrible? Well, I think you should believe in yourself more anyway." I advised. "But if you can't get a girl with looks or a gift of the gab, then get very rich and women will rain down on you."
"If it were that simple, I would have done it a long time ago..."
"I'm not saying it's easy, but there are ways to make a lot of money without trying too hard. Maybe I'll show you someday." I said, thinking of some crazy ideas for making a fortune quickly. They were all based on bringing modern inventions and patenting them.
"You talk as if you're so sure of everything you say... Well, you're the man who defeated the White Whale and two Archbishops of Sin on the same day: it makes sense that you'd have that confidence. I can't do that."
Otto smiled sadly as he compared himself to me, which irritated me a little.
"It's not like you're less than me or anything. Most of the time, people's talent goes unnoticed until they have the opportunity to shine and gain recognition. I mean, you just need a good opportunity: to be in the right place at the right time."
"I... I've failed even at what I do best. Sometimes I think I can't trust myself."
"Hey, we all make mistakes. Unfortunately, some errors lead us to the point of no return, but that's not always the case. The important thing is to learn from what you did wrong so you can improve and try again."
"Yes, you're right. So you should keep courting Rem: she'll definitely accept you next time."
My right eye began to flicker; at the same time, a vein bulged on my forehead, signaling the anger that was boiling in my blood.
"...You ungrateful bastard! I put my whole heart into that pep talk! How dare you make fun of me!?"
"Wait, don't kill me!" Otto squealed in a very unmanly manner as I put my hands on his neck and started shaking him.
"Shut up, Scrotto!"
"Don't change my name!"
"I do what I want! Did you hear me, Faggotto?!"
"My name is Otto!"
"Um, excuse me... I brought lemonade."
Suddenly, Frederica interrupted the party, softly announcing her presence. Otto and I stared at her with blank expressions.
"Oh, hi." Very slowly and subtly, I let go of my friend and straightened his outfit, which had become wrinkled from the shaking.
"G-Good morning, F-Frederica." Otto greeted her with a slight stutter.
"Good morning, Master Otto and Master Leandro. I see you're already very energetic from early on." He offered us the glasses. "Please accept these."
"Thank you." We replied simultaneously, drinking the lemonade.
The drink had notes of mint and ginger. The taste of citric acid was tempered by the sweetness of honey, creating a harmony of flavors that was quite pleasing to the palate.
"How delicious, did you make it?" Otto jumped the gun on me by a second. "Well done, my friend!"
"That's right! I'm glad you like it." She had a dazzling smile, and a very sharp one too.
"I can tell you're good at your job." He smiled and scratched the back of his neck. "I think I'd like anything you do."
Frederica let out a 'wow' and even I was surprised by Otto's audacity. Of course, the surprise immediately turned to pride.
"That's very flattering of you, Master Otto. Although we've barely met, I think you're also a competent person. If Master Leandro trusts you so much, it must be for a good reason."
Well, she didn't know me very well either, but from what she heard about me, I was something of a strategic genius and warrior, able to foresee a multitude of events and face formidable enemies.
Otto blushed and quickly waved his hands in denial.
"Actually, I don't..."
"You're right, Frederica." I interrupted my friend, putting my hand on his shoulder. "Otto is very good at what he does, but he'll never admit it: he's too modest for his own good. Modesty isn't a flaw in itself, but if you constantly deny your talents, you end up believing you don't have them."
"I agree. Master Otto shouldn't be underestimated."
Frederica looked at Otto with a kind and understanding expression. He turned even redder, causing her to giggle.
This was my cue. I stood behind Frederica and signaled to Otto, as if to say, "Keep going!" and then ran off.
"Good start, huh?"
***
That same day, Petra Leyte became an apprentice maid at Roswaal Manor. Her mentor was Rem, the most dedicated and effective of the oni twins. With patience and discipline, Rem led Petra's initial training throughout the morning, allowing her to break for lunch.
The poor girl had exerted herself greatly, and her body was begging for energy, which resulted in a voracious appetite. As she stuffed her mouth with succulent food, a familiar figure entered the room and chuckled in a deep voice.
"I see you're enjoying Rem's cooking."
"Mffff." Petra nodded enthusiastically, continuing to chew.
Looking at her tenderly, Leandro sat next to her and clasped his hands in a hesitant gesture. He wanted to say something to her, but he couldn't just do it. As an adult, he didn't want to discuss delicate matters with a child directly. So, Leandro looked for a way to disguise it and make it seem normal.
"Mffff?"
"Don't worry about me." He smiled. "But you should eat more slowly."
However, Petra was nervous being so close to him and choked on the last bite, coughing as Leandro told her to breathe through her nose. Eventually, she recovered and drank all the juice from her glass while avoiding looking at the butler.
"How embarrassing... Why did you have to come right now? I'm not mentally prepared to act the way Rem taught me."
"What's with that sad face? Tell me, was Rem too strict with you?"
"That's not how it was! She's a very good instructor."
Petra rushed to her defense, not wanting to blame the blue-haired maid for her own clumsiness. Leandro nodded slowly.
"I see."
The girl grew anxious, wondering if he was disappointed or if he didn't take her seriously in the first place. Perhaps he believed she couldn't become an official servant because she was too young?
"It's only the first day. You haven't seen anything yet."
"What?"
She looked at him with determination.
"I'll become an indispensable employee of the mansion! My age isn't that important!"
"Hey, I'm glad you're setting a goal, but legally I have to disagree with the last part."
Clearing his throat, Leandro turned completely towards Petra, showing his resolve.
"Anyway... I came to tell you that in a few days you might see Meili again."
"Huh? Really?"
"Yes. She'll be with her older sister, Elsa. I should be here when they arrive, but if I'm not, I want you to tell them this."
Petra nodded and listened attentively, sensing that it was very important to memorize what Leandro was going to tell her. He leaned toward her and said it so only she could hear it.
Flashback.
"Elsa!"
"I finally found you, Meili."
After the battle with the Doppelganger, Elsa appeared to take her companion away. The corpses of King Ulgarm and the cultist lay on the cliff along with Rem's unconscious body.
"Well, looks like you made a bit of a ruckus here," the Undercity Hunter smiled at Leandro."
"He was a very tough opponent. He reminded me of you."
"Oh yeah? How so?"
The butler pointed to the mabeast's open belly, previously cut from the inside by the cultist's daggers.
"Do I need to explain?"
"Fufufu..."
To Leandro's surprise, Elsa giggled at the unexpected comparison.
"I guess that's my personal best now." She said happily.
Leandro grimaced, feeling disgusted at the sight of the mabeast's bowels spilling out. Elsa must be truly insane to do that to humans.
"Meili, we must go now." The woman called to the girl, who trotted towards her reluctantly.
"Going..."
"Wait!"
Before the mercenaries left, Leandro recalled the events at the mansion and realized he could make things easier for himself ahead of time.
"Elsa, have you already forgotten that you owe me a favor?"
"I think I paid for it by satisfying your masochistic needs."
"I'm not a masochist, for fuck's sake! Besides, that doesn't make up for saving your life."
Elsa frowned slightly, but did not contradict Leandro.
"Well, what do you want?"
"Give me a titjob."
Of course, Leandro didn't dare say that out loud, as he would be skinned alive. Besides, as pleasant as it would be to receive such a service from Elsa, there were other priorities.
So, instead of choosing the path of death, Leandro racked his brain to think of a good request.
Elsa's next appearance was at the mansion, during the events of the fourth arc. Assuming canon hadn't gone to hell by then, Leandro had an idea.
"When I want to collect that favor from you, I'll use a key word. If someone else does it, it means that person knows me and I'll be there very soon."
Elsa sighed but nodded in acceptance.
"And what is that key word?"
End of Flashback.
Petra repeated the key word to herself over and over again, making sure she remembered it correctly. She didn't want to disappoint Leandro.
"Do you think you can do it?"
"Yes! Leave it to me!"
"Great, then I'm counting on you."
He ruffled her hair as a reward, as it was a gesture Petra enjoyed very much, which she demonstrated by closing her eyes and leaning closer to Leandro's hand to feel it better.
"Mhm~"
However, she didn't notice the sinister look the young black-haired man had. His brown eyes shone with a strange light, watching with interest.
"I can't hold back anymore... We've done this many times, and I'm sure there's no better opportunity than now."
After a few seconds, Leandro could no longer resist the temptation of his intrusive thoughts and placed his hands on her... to remove the ribbon.
It turns out Leandro had an obsession with Petra's ribbon. Like a rodeo bull, he was constantly drawn to that red fabric.
"Oh, no! You'll untie it!" Petra panicked when she noticed what he was doing.
"That's the idea. The ribbon is so cliché! It puts you in the same category as Chitoge, Yotsuba, Ruka, and many other girls with very uncreative designs!"
"I don't understand anything you're saying!"
"Just let me set you free, Petra! You'll have a new design, a new character development!"
"But I really like my bow!"
With tears in her eyes, the girl tried to stop Leandro, who was beginning to untie the bow.
Rem was doing a quick cleaning round when she heard agitated voices coming from the dining room. Curious, she discovered the voices belonged to Petra and Leandro.
"Please stop!"
"It's too late, Petra! I'm going to take your precious treasure!"
The sound of struggling, the anguished notes in Petra's tone, and the implications of what was being said set off an alarm bell in Rem, who immediately burst into the dining room.
The maid didn't ask for explanations or stop to think, she simply grabbed Leandro and threw him to the ground, subduing him mercilessly.
"What are you doing, Rem?!" Leandro complained.
"So you're that kind of person, huh? I'll have to give you a proper punishment to make you think."
"Hey, I think you're misinterpreting all of this." He put on a poker face. "Besides, people like that can't change, no matter how much they think."
"Wait, Master Rem!" Petra stopped sobbing and tried to intervene. "Leandro—Master Leandro just wanted to take my lasso! Don't be so hard on him!"
To top it all off, Otto and Frederica also entered the dining room, and were astonished to see Petra's hair disheveled and blushing, desperately clinging to Rem's arm, who was straddling Leandro with her hands around the butler's neck: the worst part was that Leandro seemed happy about it.
"What the hell is going on here?" Otto was shocked.
"There must be a reasonable explanation, right?" Frederica murmured, trying to maintain her composure despite the absurd scene.
"No, the only explanation is that this guy is a pervert." Otto thought, sighing.
Emilia rounded out the party by arriving last, just in time to witness the unusual spectacle. It took the half-elf a few seconds to process the situation.
"I see, I don't get it."
***
It wasn't my best day. I almost had to kiss the ground to get Rem to let the Petra thing go. I just wanted to joke around a little, but everything got out of hand...
Anyway, the next morning we boarded the carriage and set off for the Kremaldy Sanctuary.
"Behave yourself and listen to Frederica." I crouched down in front of Petra and sniffed at her. She puffed out her cheeks in a clear sign of anger.
"Gosh, Master Leandro! Stop treating me like a child!"
"Don't be in a hurry to grow up." I smiled, remembering how I acted the same way at her age. "Someday you'll miss this time of your life. Well, it's not like you're far from being an adult: you already work full-time, and your boss is an intolerable clown."
"How dare you talk like that about the person who welcomed you into their home?" Rem frowned. "Biting the hand that feeds you..."
"Rossie doesn't care about the jokes I make." I shrugged.
"Anyway, it's not right to teach Petra to think like that." Emilia supported Rem, gently reproving my words.
I sighed, but kept the truth in my mind, not exposing Roswaal's dirty laundry. Even if I did, I doubted anyone would believe me at this point.
The truth is that my contempt for that man was almost the same as I felt for characters like Regulus, Heinkel and Capella, among others.
"Yes, yes."
I stood up and looked at Frederica, who was handing the pendant to Emilia.
"Good luck on your journey, Lady Emilia. Please remember to be careful in the Sanctuary."
As we started walking away from the mansion, Petra and Frederica bowed more to us. I was a little worried about leaving them here knowing Elsa would be arriving soon, but I couldn't just declare that I already knew all this and take them to safety. Roswaal didn't need to know that I was aware of his plans. Besides, I could use the circumstances to my advantage.
I looked at the handkerchief now tied around my wrist: the same gift Subaru had.
"I hope I don't have to use it like he did."
Now yes, we were officially on our way to the main events of the fourth arc.
"Please, no more surprises..."