Stepping out of the southern gate facility, I had to blink a couple of times to adjust to the brightness of the afternoon sun.
While Ram went to fetch our carriage from where it had been temporarily stationed, it was just me and Emilia standing in the shade of the massive gate structure. Puck had decided to take a cat nap, leaving us temporarily without our feline chaperone.
"It feels like it took us ages just to step foot in the city," I moaned with exaggerated exhaustion, wiping my brow dramatically.
Emilia gave me a light swat on the shoulder, smiling at my theatrics.
"What should we do now?" She asked, her eyes lighting up with excitement as her head swiveled from side to side, taking in the city before us.
We stood off to the side of the gate entrance. Before us lay a massive plaza, easily large enough to hold several hundred people comfortably. Beyond that, Costuul sprawled out in a way that was distinctly different from the capital.
Where the capital was built vertically, climbing the hillsides in terraced layers, Costuul sprawled predominantly flat, spreading outward rather than upward.
The only defining vertical features were the massive walls that encircled the entire city like a protective barrier, and several tall towers scattered throughout, some were time towers with their distinctive time crystals that glowed a faint orange, while others had stranger, more arcane designs.
There was one thing I noticed as I looked out at the city before us, though.
It was kind of... bland?
Not ugly, exactly. Just... utilitarian. Functional. The buildings were sturdy stone and wood construction, well-maintained but lacking the ornate decorations and colorful facades I'd seen in the capital.
"Uh, let's see." I said, taking in a deep breath of the cooler northern air. "We need to do some canvassing of the city, right? Interact with the local populace before your speech, get a feel for what they care about?"
"Mm!" Emilia nodded enthusiastically. "That sounds like a good idea. But... do we just go up to random people and ask them how they're doing? What they think about things?"
'Eh, maybe? Shit, I dunno. I've never done this sort of campaigning myself,' I kept my complete lack of experience to myself. No need to undermine her confidence when she was already nervous about tomorrow.
"Well, we should wait for Ram first before we do anything," I said instead. "Probably not the best idea to wander off without her."
Emilia nodded, then sheepishly looked away. "Wandering off is how I got lost in the capital."
My eyes went wide as the memory clicked into place.
"Hah! Right, you did say something about that." I couldn't help but chuckle.
Emilia's pout was immediate, her cheeks puffing slightly at my grin. "It's not funny, Ethan."
"Well, it did lead you to finding Rein and me, so perhaps it was a good thing?" The words came out smoother than I expected, and I felt a flicker of surprise at my own forwardness.
Emilia went quiet, her pout fading as she considered my words. Then, slowly, understanding bloomed across her features and she nodded.
"You're right..." A soft smile replaced her earlier indignation. "Because I got lost, I managed to meet you."
She looked at me with a gentle smile, her amethyst eyes softening as they held mine.
Emilia used "Look of Affection."
It was super effective.
Heat flooded my face and I immediately turned away, pretending something very interesting was happening in literally any other direction.
—
Many miles away, in the peaceful grounds of Roswaal Manor, a tracksuit-wearing boy pestered a small girl in a frilly dress.
"Alright, Beako! Time for round two!" Subaru announced with renewed enthusiasm, bouncing on the balls of his feet like a boxer preparing for another go in the ring.
A small flicker of concern passed over Beatrice's face, there and gone in an instant, before another expression replaced it. One that spoke of devious intentions and lessons about to be learned the hard way.
"Hmm, very well. You should thank me for being so kind and patient with such a troublesome student, in fact." Her tone was deceptively sweet. "If you do so properly, I will once more assist you in casting magic, I suppose."
Subaru was quick to give her a thumbs up, completely oblivious to the fact that the little spirit before him knew something he had so conveniently forgotten in his excitement.
"Easy! Beako is the best!" He declared with absolute sincerity. "My number one teacher and favorite loli!"
Beatrice's eyebrow twitched at the unknown word the boy continued to tag her with, but she didn't let it derail her this time. Instead, a thin, knowing smile stretched across her face.
"Very good. I will assist you once more." She gestured toward the tree. "Come now, you know what to do, in fact."
Getting into the same stance as before, Subaru felt the hype building as he imagined casting magic again. That rush of power, the visual spectacle, the satisfaction of making something happen through sheer will and mana.
Once more, he channeled mana from his gate, with Beatrice helping him regulate the proper flow. He raised his palm toward the same tree as last time, already forming the mental image of another crystalline projectile.
"Minya!" He called out with confidence.
The mana began to forge a crystalline spear... but something was immediately, terribly wrong.
Not only was the spell barely the size of a pencil, pathetically small compared to his first attempt, but a cold, creeping feeling wrenched up from deep in his gut. It felt like something vital was being drained from his very core, leaving nothing but emptiness behind.
A profound wave of exhaustion gripped his mind and body simultaneously. His legs gave out without warning, and he found himself collapsing to his knees, then forward onto his hands, gasping for breath.
"Subaru!" Rem rushed to his side immediately, her hands already glowing with soft blue healing magic as she placed them on his back. She tried to assess what could have possibly caused him to collapse so suddenly, looking for injuries, checking his temperature, searching for any sign of what went wrong.
Beatrice simply shook her head with a small sigh, crossing her arms. Even the maid had forgotten, it seemed.
"Lady Beatrice, what happened?" Rem questioned, anxiety clear in her voice as she continued channeling healing magic into Subaru. "Is he injured? Poisoned? I can't find anything—"
"Haah." Beatrice gave them both a look of profound disappointment. "Clearly, nobody was truly paying attention to what I was saying earlier, I suppose."
She walked closer, standing over Subaru's collapsed form with her hands on her hips.
"If either of you had been listening properly, you would remember that this foolish boy has a pathetic gate, one in which casting one, or perhaps two spells at most, would be enough to completely drain him of mana." Her tone was matter-of-fact, educational rather than mocking. "I explicitly warned about this exact situation, in fact."
Subaru glanced up from the ground at Beatrice, breathing heavily. But her expression wasn't hostile or cruel, just the face of a teacher who'd deliberately let a student make a mistake so they'd remember the lesson.
'Right,' Subaru recognized through the exhaustion fogging his brain. 'This feels pretty harsh, but it's better to learn this here, in safety, than in an actual battle where it could get me killed.'
It was a valuable lesson, even if it sucked to learn it this way.
"Tough love, eh, Beako?" He managed to whisper through his sapped energy, giving her a weak smile.
Beatrice's stern expression softened just slightly, and she knelt down to his level.
"I do not enjoy seeing humans suffer, I suppose," she said quietly. "But I would enjoy it far less if you died because you were too foolish to remember your own limitations, in fact."
She reached out and tapped his forehead with one small finger.
"This is why you must listen, rather than get carried away with excitement like some kind of hyperactive ground dragon."
Despite feeling like absolute garbage, Subaru couldn't help but let out a weak laugh.
"Noted, sensei. Lesson learned."
—
Finding ourselves at a three-story inn near the city center, Ram handled checking us in, while Emilia and me once more stood outside staring at Costuul like total tourists.
But at this point, both of us could clearly tell that Costuul wasn't a city interested in playing to touristic sensibilities.
The city screamed industrial and functional. The only things that really caught the eye were the Pillars of Magic, tall towers scattered throughout the districts where magi-engineers created metia and other magical implements I had learned from Ram, who happened to be far more familiar with the city.
Beyond those towers, the most interesting sights were the magicreations, the most common one I'd seen had been dragon-drawn carriages repurposed specifically for construction. With tall ladders mounted on the back and extendable platforms, they looked useful for building maintenance.
'Still kinda disappointing,' I thought, watching one of the construction carriages lumber past. 'The Magic District in the capital was really fancy with all those shops and demonstrations. I guess these towers are the closest substitute here.'
I wouldn't let myself get too down about it. It wasn't like I'd seen the entire city yet, and with no elevated positions to get a proper vantage point, it was difficult to truly identify any points of interest from street level.
Then an idea hit me.
'Hey, that's perfect. A local would know where all the interesting stuff is. Plus, under the guise of asking for a tour, Emilia and I could learn about the city and its inhabitants for her speech. I'm a genius!'
"Hey, Lia," I got her attention and proposed my plan.
Her face lit up with enthusiasm.
"That sounds like fun!" Emilia cheered with a brilliant smile that damn near blinded me. "I'm going to have to grab my cloak really quick though, is that alright? I don't want to draw too much attention walking around."
"Of course. I'll be right here waiting for you," I said with a smile, watching as she headed back into the inn.
The moment she disappeared through the doorway, I let out a long breath.
'Haah man, this ain't good. I think I'm cooked.'
Emilia was dangerous. Dangerous in a way that had nothing to do with magic or combat ability. Dangerous because I could feel myself slipping.
'Whatever happened to the Ethan who was on a mission?' I thought, leaning against the inn's exterior wall. 'Find the Witch's boy toy, deal with him, and find my way back to Reinhard. It was all supposed to be so simple. Now look at me, I'm off in Costuul doing shit nowhere near related to any of that.'
But was that really such a bad thing?
I felt conflicted. There was the me who adhered to strict planning, find an objective and follow it with single-minded focus. The methodical, controlled Ethan, who kept his distance from people and maintained clear goals.
Then there was the me who just wanted to say 'Fuck it, man!' and do what felt right in the moment. Why should I have to limit myself or follow some predetermined path.
Like I'd been doing on Earth.
I was having fun here. I enjoyed being around Emilia and helping her prepare for this. So what if I wasn't advancing my original mission? Who said I had to do that in the first place? I'd found something else worth doing.
Seeing Emilia grow out of her shell, from that quiet, nervous girl in the capital who was reluctant to speak around Reinhard and me, to this confident young woman who could stand up to a gate captain without flinching under his stare, it filled me with pride.
I'd deal with my original mission eventually. But right now, I had a partner to support and a city to explore.
Even if that city was slightly bland.
—
"And this here, Sir Caldwell, is one of the higher-end blacksmiths in The Foundry. Ms. Ritta runs it, I've heard she's kind enough, so long as you don't mock her for being a woman in a male-dominated work environment."
A boy with green hair pointed to the shop ahead, and I nodded in appreciation before glancing further up the street. Emilia was still cloaked and hooded, being led by a young girl with the same shade of green hair as the boy beside me.
I'd managed to find "tour guides" in the form of these two kids, Cael and Mira, siblings who'd apparently made a side business out of showing visitors around Costuul. They looked to be about twelve years old, maybe a bit younger, but they had good heads on their shoulders. After doing a quick test run with a few questions about the city, I could tell they actually knew what they were talking about rather than just making things up for tips.
Smart kids. Enterprising. I could respect that.
"Sounds perfect," I said with a grin, fishing out a few copper coins and pressing them into Cael's hand. "Wait outside for me. If my... partner comes looking for me, just wave her down and tell her I'm in here."
"Sure thing, Mister Caldwell!" Cael pocketed the coins with practiced ease. "I'll let your wife know if Mira finishes showing her the shops on this street."
I paused mid-step toward the door, the word 'wife' echoing in my head for a moment.
I should probably correct that. Set the record straight. We were partners, not married. Even if I didn't really understand what Emilia meant by partners.
But... I didn't bother.
Instead, I just gave Cael a casual wave and stepped into the blacksmith's shop, leaving the kid's assumption unchallenged.
The inside of the shop wasn't nearly as hot as I'd expected. Instead, a cool breeze flowed from somewhere in the back, washing over me as I stepped through the doorway. It was like they had air conditioning, though in reality it was probably something to do with those magicreation tools this city was so well-known for. Some kind of air-conditioner, maybe.
As the door closed behind me with a soft thud, a bell chimed, and the sound of heavy footsteps came from the back of the store.
While I waited for whoever ran the front counter, I looked around at the weapons on display. There was a small armory's worth of equipment secured behind locked glass cases that looked sturdy enough to require proper tools to break through.
Inside the cases were weapons of all shapes and sizes: basic shortswords, longswords, rapiers, maces, war hammers, bows, and even what looked like combat staffs that might double as casting staves for mages. Quite the selection.
What drew my attention in particular was a longsword positioned prominently in the center display.
The weapon was practical craftsmanship at its finest, no unnecessary ornamentation. The blade stretched roughly ninety centimeters from cross guard to tip. Add another twenty centimeters for the leather-wrapped grip, and you had a weapon that sat at a comfortable one hundred and ten centimeters total.
Double-edged, but with a thinner profile than most longswords I'd seen. It looked like something I could wield effectively without having to constantly enhance my body with mana.
"Anything interesting to you, sir?" A rough voice pulled my attention away from the blade.
I turned to find not Ms. Ritta, but a dog Demi-human, his ears perked forward attentively, his tail swishing once in a businesslike manner. Probably an employee or assistant. Unless this was Ritta and Cael had gotten the gender wrong, but that seemed unlikely.
I gave the man a polite smile while gesturing to the longsword that had caught my eye.
"Is this piece available?"
The man approached with confident strides, and with a casual wave of his hand the lock clicked open and the sealed glass case swung outward.
"Of course, sir. Every weapon you see in a display out here is for sale." He carefully lifted the sword from its mounting, offering it to me hilt-first. "But you're interested in this particular one, aren't you?"
I understood there were certain behaviors you were supposed to follow when purchasing items in a society like this. Acting disinterested, hiding your true intentions, playing games to haggle the price down. All sorts of tiresome social dances.
'But that sounds exhausting, and I'm not broke at the moment.'
"Yeah, this one looks good," I said honestly, taking the offered sword and giving it a few experimental swings. The balance felt responsive, but I didn't really know anything about wielding a sword. Practically fully reliant on my Authority for usage. "Do you have a price on it?"
The Demi-human's tail wagged slightly, probably pleased I wasn't going to waste his time with haggling.
"Fifty-eight silver coins for the blade itself, sir. For sixty silver total, I can include a quality leather sheath and a reinforced belt with proper mounting hooks."
I didn't even hesitate. "Sold. I'll take the complete set."
Sixty silver coins later, I stepped out of the store with a big smile on my face and two swords now hanging from my belt, my old reliable backup, and my new primary weapon properly sheathed and secured.
Cael was still waiting outside like I'd asked, and I could see Emilia making her way back up the street with Mira leading the way. The moment she spotted me, her face lit up with a blinding smile, and I noticed she was now carrying several bags that looked pleasantly heavy.
I'd given her around a holy gold coin in spending money, since Roswaal apparently didn't see fit to provide his sponsored candidate with any personal funds. It hadn't felt right to me that she never got to enjoy herself or have spending money of her own, especially when I had plenty.
She'd vehemently tried to turn me down, but some smooth words mixed with Puck showing up in support of taking my money, and we'd eventually convinced her.
Clearly that had been the right choice, because she looked very happy, practically glowing with excitement about whatever she'd purchased. That alone made the money more than worth it.
"Ethan!" She called out, quickening her pace to close the distance. "Look at everything I found! There was this shop with the most amazing—" She paused, her eyes dropping to my waist where the new sword hung. "Oh! You got a new sword?"
"Had to upgrade eventually," I said with a grin. "The old one was just something I picked up back in the capital, remember? This one should serve me better."
"It looks very official," Emilia said, tilting her head to study it. "Like a proper knight's sword." Then her eyes lifted to mine, there was something in her gaze that I couldn't quite read.
"I don't know about that, but it'll do the job." I glanced at her bags. "Looks like you had a successful shopping trip yourself."
Her smile grew even wider. "Mira showed me so many interesting places! I got some local fabrics, and some sweets that are apparently a Costuul specialty, and, oh! I got some things for you too, but it's a surprise."
'She bought me something.' The thought sent an unexpected warmth through my chest. "You didn't have to do that, Lia."
"I wanted to!" She insisted, clutching her bags a bit tighter. "I was using your money, and you're always helping me, so… it's only fair, right? We're partners."
There was that word again. Partners.
What did she think that word meant?
I pushed that thought aside for now.
"Alright, you two," I addressed Cael and Mira, who were watching our reunion with barely concealed amusement. "Think you can show us the main residential districts and introduce us to some locals?"
Cael's eyes lit up at the prospect of more work. "Absolutely, Mister Caldwell! We know all the best spots and the friendliest shop owners. Follow us!"
As the kids led the way deeper into The Foundry district, Emilia fell into step beside me, close enough that our arms occasionally brushed.
—
Subaru had finally stopped feeling like a dying fish after Beatrice had shoved a Bokko fruit at him. That had been a shocker, literally. For one split second, it felt like liquid lightning had replaced his blood, setting every vein ablaze before fading to a pleasant heat.
Apparently, the fruit activated dormant mana in the body, jump-starting the recovery process of a stressed Gate.
Now he and the two girls flanking him were making their way back to the manor, having ventured out toward the clearing where he always saw Ethan and Emilia disappearing to for their "magic practice sessions."
A familiar smolder of jealousy flickered in Subaru's chest, quickly stamped out before it could take root. He focused instead on Rem walking beside him, her measured steps and attentive silence somehow reassuring.
Before Roswaal had left the previous evening, the clown had dumped a number of revelations on him.
First: he would be training Subaru in the art of magic when he returned from "dealing with" Costuul. Odd choice of words. Subaru hadn't put much thought into it at the time, too caught up in the excitement of finally learning actual magic.
Second: he and Rem would have to hold down the fort while Roswaal was away, tackling various territorial duties that would normally fall under the margrave's colorful purview.
What that meant, specifically, was that Subaru and Rem would be heading into the forest past Arlam to investigate reported sightings of some sort of cult activity lurking nearby. Roswaal hadn't seen fit to explain much about them, not who they were, or why they were in the area.
So investigate they would.
Their mission: find evidence of the cult and uncover where they came from and what they were doing in the territory. Simple reconnaissance.
Oh, and there was a secondary objective.
They'd also need to clear out a small nest of mabeasts that had been getting uncomfortably aggressive lately, approaching Arlam's protective barrier when they weren't supposed to be able to do so.
Roswaal had assured them they'd be "more than capable" of handling it. He'd even given Subaru a sword for the occasion, which had done wonders for the boy's mood. What man didn't get a thrill from being handed an actual sword?
But all that was tomorrow's problem.
Rem had carefully mapped out the week, choosing their venture date based on weather forecasts. Tomorrow would be completely sunny, perfect conditions for monster hunting and cult tracking, apparently.
What that meant for today was that he'd help Rem with whatever little chores she had left to do, and then he could actually relax. Maybe even bug Beako a bit more before helping prepare a nice dinner with Rem.
Subaru felt an odd sense of domesticity as he imagined the immediate future. It wasn't a bad feeling. Certainly better than moping around and feeling sorry for himself.
—
Collapsing face-first into bed, I heard Emilia giggle behind me, followed immediately by a fluffy weight flopping onto the top of my head.
Ram had done it again.
She'd smiled with that infuriatingly smug yet blank expression when she informed us that Emilia and I would be sharing a room once more. This time, however, Puck was still very much awake, and he materialized instantly to share his opinions on that particular arrangement.
Ram simply nodded along to his protests before citing in the most monotone voice imaginable: "I'm terribly sorry, Master Great Spirit. Forgive this impudent maid... for she has already spent all the funds Lord Roswaal provided."
Puck's eyes flew wide open. Emilia looked like she wanted to scold Ram for doing something so irresponsible.
"Well, what did you even spend all the money on?" Emilia asked, exasperation creeping into her voice.
"Room service," Ram replied with a completely straight face.
A stunned silence descended in the hall as we took in her absurd statement.
But before any of us could recover enough to form words, Ram was already halfway down the hall, her footsteps unhurried.
"With that, I shall take my leave for the night. Rest well, Lady Emilia, Master Puck..." A deliberate pause. "Caldwell."
And with that, she vanished around the corner, leaving us in bewildered silence.
Of course, Puck wasn't going to take it lying down. The cat spirit immediately rounded on me, paws on his hips. "C'mon Ethan, I know you've got the coin. Cough it up and get your own room, there's no need for you to be sharing with my daughter for a third night in a row."
I raised my hands in surrender. It wasn't like I could argue with the person who literally played the role of Emilia's father. That was a losing battle from the start.
And honestly? He had a point. Now that I thought about it, I'd kind of gotten away with it back in Crossveil. I could have easily bought my own room. I'd just never thought to do so.
Then an implication tapped me on the shoulder, gentle at first, then increasingly insistent.
'Wait... Emilia knows I have money.'
It wasn't like I'd ever hidden that from her. Hell, she'd been right there in the loot house with me when I'd scrounged up my little fortune, watching as I'd picked the coins off the floor.
But she hadn't said anything in Crossveil. I'd stood in that hallway, stunned after Ram dropped the room-sharing news on us, and Emilia had just... dragged me into the room. Never once mentioning that I could get my own. Never suggesting I should.
'Maybe she was just worried about me since the previous night I was such a mess,' I immediately rationalized.
But while I was stuck wading through the muck in my mind, Emilia suddenly moved.
Stepping in front of Puck, she gave him a light finger wag of admonishment.
"Now, now, Puck. Ram has already paid for the room. It would be wasteful and rude to make Ethan pay for another one. What's so bad about it anyway?"
Puck was rendered speechless once more, this time by his own daughter. With no easy explanation that wouldn't make things more uncomfortable than the fluff ball was willing to handle, the cat spirit drifted down dejectedly into Emilia's waiting palms.
"...Fine," I heard him mutter.
Then, suddenly, he perked up with renewed energy. "You know, I've been going to bed too early lately. With all this extra energy, I think I'll be staying up a little late tonight." His eyes locked onto me with pointed intensity.
"Oh, and of course, with your big day tomorrow, you need to sleep early, Lia." Puck's smug smile could have lit up the room.
I couldn't help but chuckle at the cat's petty victory.
And so I found myself sharing a room with Emilia once more, back to lying face-first on the bed with Puck perched on top of my head like a hat.
The day had been pretty long, and I was more than willing to pass out right then and there. But Emilia had other ideas.
"Ethan, do you want to see the gift I got you?"
Not really. I could just look at it in the morning.
But her voice carried a level of excitement that made saying no physically impossible.
Lifting my head, Puck rolled off and plopped down on the bed next to me with an indignant huff.
"What'd you get me, Lia?" I turned to look at her and found her pulling a number of items out of one of the bags she'd bought in the city.
"Clothes?"
She was pulling out multiple outfits, judging by the sheer volume emerging from that bag.
"Lia, how much of the coin I gave you did you spend on things for me?" I approached her with a raised eyebrow. "You do know that money was meant for you, right?"
Emilia hummed before tilting her head, that innocent expression firmly in place.
"Well, it's also for me in a sense. I mean, as much as I like your current outfit, you don't have any other clothes, Ethan."
My face went blank.
'And I totally forgot to buy clothes. Like, I swear I said I'd do.'
"If you're going to be sticking around Lia so much, you should at least have some more variety in what you wear, Ethan." Puck spoke next to my ear in a vaguely teasing tone.
I responded by flicking the cat in the head without looking over my shoulder.
"Thanks, Lia," I muttered in complete embarrassment. "Want me to change into some of these...?"
"Mhm. I had Puck help me pick things out. He always helps pick my outfits and do my hair, so I think he has more experience with fashion than me."
'He's the one responsible for the hair and dresses you wear?'
I suddenly spun and stared at the cat with newfound respect.
Puck seemed to take great pride in my insinuated look of admiration, crossing his tiny arms with a satisfied smile.
—
What followed was around fifteen minutes of playing dress-up.
Casual shirts and pants. Long-sleeved sweaters. Dress shirts. Pajamas. And finally, a full white suit.
All the clothing fit... somehow. I wasn't sure how either of them knew my measurements, and I decided not to ask. Every outfit looked nice, which was both impressive and slightly concerning given that a cat spirit had been involved in the selection process.
According to Emilia, she would be happy if I wore the white suit with purple accents for her speech tomorrow.
Who was I to deny such a request? Plus, suits always looked cool.
With my penance served as a life-sized dress-up doll for Emilia and Puck, I changed for the last time into the new sleepwear she'd bought me, a midnight blue silk long-sleeved shirt with accompanying pants.
And with that... I collapsed into bed.
Damn Puck and his whining about me sleeping on the floor. Emilia could do whatever she wanted, she had the other half of the bed.
I was done.
—
Emilia climbed into bed an hour after Ethan had flopped unconscious, having thoroughly enjoyed her impromptu fashion show.
Getting to dress him up in different outfits had certainly made the end of the day enjoyable, watching him stand there with that mix of embarrassment and resignation as she and Puck debated between styles.
'Lia, are you sure you can't just get another room? He's sleeping right now, just take some coins from his bag. He won't mind.'
Emilia paused halfway beneath the covers when her father spoke up. He was clearly fighting against their contract, the one that specified his bedtime. His voice had grown drowsy.
'I'm not going to take money from Ethan while he sleeps, Puck. Why are you so insistent on this?'
Her father didn't respond.
Frowning at the ensuing silence, Emilia waved her hand over the bedside lamp and fully slipped beneath the covers.
She waited in the darkness, listening. Only the faint sound of Ethan's steady breathing filled the room. She wanted to be certain Puck had truly gone to sleep. His mana felt dormant and restive in the glintstone crystal, but she'd be careful, just in case.
After counting to one hundred, Emilia felt safe enough to proceed.
Scooting further across the mattress, Emilia slowly, quietly, wrapped her arms around the source of warmth sleeping peacefully on the other side of the bed.
Emilia was... experimenting.
First, she simply lay there, arms loosely around him, not quite pressed against his back. She waited, counting her own heartbeats.
The strange fluttery sensation she'd been experiencing lately was definitely present, but manageable at this distance.
Carefully, Emilia shifted closer until her forehead rested against the space between his shoulder blades. The fabric of his new silk shirt was cool and smooth against her skin, but beneath it, she could feel warmth.
She held her breath, waiting to see if he'd stir.
He didn't.
This was... nice. The kind of nice that made her forget about tomorrow's speech, about the Royal Selection, about being a half-elf candidate that most of the kingdom hated.
Emilia tried to remember if she'd ever felt this way before. Puck's affection was different, familial, safe, but not... this. Roswaal was Roswaal. Distant and scheming, his kindness always felt like formality.
She thought of Subaru, their few interactions at the manor and how he'd helped her at the loot house. He was a nice boy, a little silly, but admirable in his energetic outlook. But her feelings for him were different too.
This feeling, this warmth, was something entirely new.
Taking a breath for courage, Emilia carefully adjusted her position, pressing fully against his back now, her arms wrapping more securely around his midsection.
She could feel the steady rise and fall of his breathing, the way his heartbeat pulsed in a calm, rhythmic pattern beneath her palm.
As Emilia prepared to try something else, she felt a shift. After paying such close attention to his breathing rhythm, she could tell it had suddenly changed, which likely meant she'd woken him up.
'Oops!'
The half-elf mentally panicked and let go, quickly scooting back.
Ethan slowly rolled over and fixed her with a look that said he was barely awake. Rather than question her or freak out at her pushing of boundaries, he simply wrapped his arms around her waist.
Instantly, she felt the feeling she'd been searching for, and it only grew stronger as he pulled her flush against his chest, his head resting naturally on her head.
Taking in deep breaths of him, the warmth lit up like a sun within her. Her mind turned to mush, and any coherent thoughts melted away.
Only one general idea stayed vaguely solid: contentment.
He gently, practically unconsciously, ran his hand through her hair while the thumb of his other hand traced small circles on her back. It seemed to be his standard comfort routine when holding her like this, and the dual sensation almost made her hum in delight.
This was what she'd been looking for. The feeling of security she felt when completely surrounded in his warmth.
In his arms, she felt like she could let everything slip away.
Around him, she could be herself. She was just Emilia.
Sleep quickly began to claim the half-elf as she nuzzled her face into his chest with a smile.
The last thought she had was wondering whether she could ever sleep on her own again. In that sense, perhaps Puck had been right.
Ethan was dangerous.
But Emilia found she didn't mind.
After all, she did make a promise.
—
In a cordoned-off section of sewer running deep beneath Costuul's silent streets, a man with short black hair adjusted the steel-alloy vambrace on his left arm. His fingers worked methodically through the straps, tightening each one with practiced precision, before testing the wrist-mounted projectile launcher built into the bracer. The mechanism clicked softly as he checked the spring tension and ensured the bolt chamber was loaded and ready.
Everything looked fine. Satisfied, he lowered his arm and let his gaze sweep across the others nearby.
Four men total, all dressed identically in matte black from head to toe. Long-sleeved jackets made of reinforced cloth fit close to their bodies. Beneath those, lightweight chainmail shirts caught the dim lamplight occasionally, the links blackened to prevent any telltale gleam. Black canvas pants tucked into calf-high leather boots, the soles wrapped in cloth to muffle footsteps on stone.
Over everything, dark cloaks hung from their shoulders, the fabric thick enough to conceal their armaments but cut short enough not to tangle during movement.
To his right, one of his squadmates was finishing the last of a dry ration bar, chewing methodically as he stared at nothing in particular. The man's jaw worked steadily, but his eyes held that distant focus of someone running through mental checklists rather than tasting his food.
He swallowed the last of his meal before a lesser spirit of fire appeared near his palm, and quickly devoured the trash in a small spark of flames. The man wiped his mouth with the back of his gloves, hardly acknowledging the spirit that continued to hover nearby.
The waiting was always the hardest part. Down here in the sewers, time felt stretched and compressed simultaneously. The air was thick with dampness and the faint smell of waste, though this particular section had been sealed off from the main flow. Someone with resources and planning had prepared this staging area well in advance.
Their team leader stood slightly apart from the others, a gray-haired man whose weathered face spoke of decades of this kind of work. He was the oldest by at least fifteen years.
A faint glimmer of light suddenly pulsed from the small metia embedded in the team leader's ear. He went perfectly still, head tilted slightly as he listened to whatever voice was feeding him information through the communication device.
The black-haired man felt his muscles tense in anticipation. This was it.
After a moment that felt like an eternity, the team leader nodded once, sharply.
"Understood," he stated to the empty air, his voice barely above a whisper but perfectly clear in the enclosed space.
Then he turned to face his squad, and his eyes held the cold certainty of a man who had done this many times before.
The black-haired man was already moving before the order came, rising to his feet in perfect synchronization with his teammates.
His hand went to his hip, fingers closing around the smooth ceramic of his mask. The surface was blank white, featureless except for the eyeholes, no mouth, no nose, no identifying characteristics whatsoever. Just an empty face that could be anyone or no one.
He pressed his thumb against the inside of the mask, feeding a pulse of mana into the enchantment woven through the ceramic. The magic activated with a subtle warmth, and he brought the mask up to his face in one smooth motion.
It adhered instantly, molding perfectly to his features without need for straps or ties. The enchantment held it in place as securely as if it had been part of his skull, and his breathing came easy despite the lack of visible air holes, more magic at work, ensuring they could operate without the telltale sound of labored breath.
Looking up through the narrow eye slits, he watched his companions complete the same ritual. Four blank white masks now stared back at him, anonymous and identical.
As one, they reached up and pulled their hoods forward, casting their masked faces into even deeper shadow.
The team leader gave them one last look. Then he made a simple hand gesture: forward.
The black-haired man's hand dropped to the hilt of his blade, confirming its presence one final time, before following his team out of the sewers and into the dark night.