The Bowel Hunter
Emilia stared at Subaru, utterly bewildered. "How would that save you?" she asked incredulously. "I don't know what you're so scared of, but abandoning you isn't the right solution."
"Knowing that I let you get hurt would destroy me." He scratched roughly at his arm over his sleeve. "You said you owed me a debt, right? Getting your insignia back would mean double the reward. So, do me a favor and save yourself while you still can."
She shook her head. "You're not making any sense, Subaru, but I'm not leaving you behind. Whatever's scaring you, we'll fight together."
His gaze pierced her before he let out a long-suffering sigh. "I was a fool to think this time would be any different," he muttered.
"Huh?"
He waved her off, saying, "Never mind. Forgive me, Emilia; I had a bit of anxiety."
If that was "a bit of anxiety," then Emilia worried what a panic attack would look like.
He stood up, rolling his shoulders to relieve the tension. "We should be going," he said, determined to change the subject. "Just stay on your guard, all right?"
She nodded. "I will." Looking down the street, She mused, "The loot house the villager told us about...It's up ahead, isn't it?"
"Looks like it," he agreed. "That's where we should find Felt. Just let me handle the negotiations. I was pretty good at this kinda stuff back in my homeland."
She gave him a sideways glance. "Negotiations?" she questioned. "There's no need for that. Felt stole something, so we should take it back."
He shook his head, saying, "Maybe in a normal situation, but not here." He spread his arms wide and faced the dilapidated homes. "Look around us. We're in the slums. These people have no money, little food, and piss-poor shelter. Also, we weren't sent to someone's house or a secret stash, but a pawn shop. These people are so deep in poverty, they need to steal to survive. I'm not about to let some little kid starve just because we need something back."
She wrung her hands. He was right. She was so selfish, wasn't she? Once again, she was placing her own desires over the less fortunate. "That's very noble of you," she said softly. She frowned as another problem presented itself. "We can't pay for it, Subaru. I have no money, and neither do you."
He gasped dramatically. "Wait, Emilia thinks I'm noble!" he cheered. "My efforts have finally paid off!" She gave him a withering glare and he sobered. "In all seriousness, I have something to trade. No objections," he said, cutting her off, "I've gotten good use out of it, and it should sell for at least twenty holy coins; that's more than enough to get them out of poverty."
She narrowed her eyes and sternly said, "Just so you know, I'm not okay with you giving up your possessions for my sake."
"Are you kidding me? It's for my own selfishness." He adopted a heroic pose. "A shut-in like me would die for the chance to look chivalrous in front of a pretty girl."
He chuckled at the joke that only he seemed to understand while she pouted. "I don't like it," she grumbled, "but I'll accept it on one condition."
"Yes, I'd love to go on a date with you!"
She scowled at him. It was cruel, implying someone like him would ever want to be with a half-elf. "That's not what I'm saying, and you know it," she said severely. "I was going to ask you to live with me."
His jaw dropped as his bravado vanished into the ether. Her face flushed as she realized what she just said. "Wait, I didn't—I mean, I did, but not like that!"
He sputtered, and she frantically waved her hands in front of her, crying out, "R-really, um, it's not like that! My benefactor owns a mansion and there's hardly anyone living there, and you said you were homeless."
She wished the ground would swallow her up. She should have stayed in the forest. She spoke quickly, trying to dig herself out of this hole. "I couldn't sleep at night if I let you live on the streets while there's a perfectly good place to stay." She nodded to herself, satisfied with her explanation. "See? It's for my own selfish benefit."
He seemed to regain a bit of confidence. "It seems we're both a little bit selfish," he mused. He smiled at her, filling her with the strangest warmth. Perhaps he had a passive affinity for fire magic. "I'd love to take you up on your generous offer, Emilia. Now…" Looking up with renewed energy and a gleam in his eye, he exclaimed, "…let's go get your stuff back!"
They made their way to the loot house, finding Old Man Rom, a literal giant of a man, and Felt, the blonde thief. Emilia reeled in her frustration as she kept Subaru's words in mind.
It wasn't their fault. They just wanted to survive.
Perhaps, as queen, Emilia could make their lives better.
Subaru proudly showed off his metia—he called it a 'sell fone'—with a sales pitch so well-rehearsed, even Emilia wanted to buy it. If anything, that only made her feel worse. It was clear that he was planning on using this to get out of poverty but was instead choosing to waste it on a foolish girl who couldn't keep track of her own possessions.
A flash of light lit up the dingy bar. "OW!" Felt cried as she covered her eyes. "What the—warn me next time!"
Subaru gave her an impatient look. "I said, 'say cheese,' didn't I?"
"That doesn't mean anything!" she shouted, and Subaru laughed heartily.
"I assure you," he said, getting them back on track, "you'd be missing out if you don't buy this now. My competition is offering what, ten holy coins? Maybe twenty?" He shrugged like it was a small amount. "That's a pretty sum, but I can guarantee that there are people in the capital who would cough up far more for a one-of-a-kind metia."
"He's right," confirmed Old Man Rom, a hulking but kind man. "I'd take this while you can. You could get outta this place if you sell that to some noble."
"Yes, but what if our other client offers us more?" Felt rebutted. "I could get us both out of here."
Rom shook his head, saying, "Nah, I'm too deep in this business. But you? You're still young." With a gentleness unbefitting his size, he guided Felt towards Subaru's outstretched hands. "Take the metia and you can start over."
Felt crossed her arms and looked away. "Not a chance, Old Man," she insisted. "I'm waiting for our other client and that's final."
Subaru pocketed the metia with a sigh. "So be it," he muttered. "Just be prepared, all right? Disputes between clients can get messy, and I don't want someone to pull a knife on you. So, if it comes to blows, just run, okay?"
The giant gave a hearty laugh at that. "Bwahaha! What do you take us for? We've seen everything here. I'd be more worried about your sorry ass."
"I wouldn't worry about me," Subaru countered. "I'm not one to stay dead." Turning to Emilia, Subaru continued. "Looks like everything is all good here. Why don't you head out, and I'll meet you?"
Emilia shook her head, offended. "You're selling a priceless artifact for my sake and now you expect me to leave your side?" she asked in disbelief. "I don't know where you're from, but that's not how it works in Lugunica." She frowned, realizing she never asked about his homeland. "Where are you from, anyway?"
"A small island nation to the east," he brushed off. "You wouldn't have heard of it."
She could tell he wasn't lying, but she knew there was nothing to the east. "I've studied geography extensively and I'm sure I would have—"
"Trust me," he said with a tone of finality. "Only a couple of people in Lugunica are from my homeland; you won't find it in any book or map."
"That makes no sense," she argued. "Surely, a sailor would have brought word of land to the east."
"Emilia," he stressed, looking pained, "you won't find it. I'd love to say something like, 'why don't I just take you there?' but I can't. Only extremely rare circumstances allow you to leave my homeland, and once you're summoned here, you can't go back alive."
Her eyes softened. She shouldn't have pushed him. "Subaru…"
"But hey, it's fine!" He grinned, but Emilia could tell it was to hide his suffering. "Sure, I sometimes miss it, but I've met so many wonderful people here. I wouldn't trade it for the world."
"I understand." She didn't but knew when to drop a topic.
He smiled softened into something genuine. "I'm serious. I got to meet you, didn't I?"
Emilia's eyes widened. "I—"
"Hate to break apart such a touching moment," interrupted Rom, causing the two to jump in their seats, "but our other guest has arrived."
Subaru whipped around to face the door, clenching his fists tightly. A woman stood there, silhouetted in the moonlight.
"My, oh, my, it looks like we have a full party." She stepped forward, revealing dark eyes trained on Emilia. "My name is Elsa. It's an honor to meet you all."
"I told ya, Felt," said Rom. "The metia's a much better deal. Now you've wasted the nice lady's time."
"Yeah, yeah," grumbled Felt. "Not like I care. I got what I wanted out of it."
Subaru stood up abruptly, almost knocking over the table. "Great! Glad that's settled. Come on, Emilia, let's head out."
"R-right," Emilia mumbled, perturbed by his nervousness. He'd been shaking the entire time, stealing glances at Elsa as if she were going to pull out a knife. Was this somehow connected to his anxiety?
He marched towards the door, a befuddled Emilia following close behind. "Nice meeting you guys," he called over his shoulder. Have a great life, thanks for—"
"Oh, dear," cooed Elsa. Subaru froze near the door, causing Emilia to almost bump into him. "It seems I forgot to mention my client's exact directive."
"Y-yeah?" asked Subaru, fearing the answer.
Elsa licked her lips. "'Offer ten holy coins for the insignia," she whispered, though everyone heard it. "If they refuse, offer ten more. If, by some chance, they don't accept your generous offer…'" She leaned in and gave a bloodthirsty grin, saying, "'…kill every last one of them.'"
From within her cloak, Elsa brandished twin daggers made of steel so dark, they were almost invisible in the night. She lunged forward with inhuman speed.
Her blessing, her curse, was targeting Emilia; Elsa would not, could not rest until the half-elf's bowels were in her sight. She could see it now...throbbing with the ichor of life, twisted and slick with fluid, her knife coated with the scent of blood! It was right there, so close she could taste it!
But the human boy intervened. He pushed the half-elf out of the way, and the blow only skimmed his side.
A shame. The blood of a half-elf tasted much better than a human's, and the side was nothing compared to the filet.
The half-elf's eyes widened in fear. "S-Subaru? You—"
"No time," he grunted. "Get Puck. He should still have some energy left."
She nodded and called for her spirit, and he appeared behind her, glaring at Elsa with sheer disdain.
"A great spirit!" Elsa cried, spreading her arms in reverence. "It will be an honor to slice you open."
"You can try," growled the spirit, a shield of ice appearing in front of the girl, "but as long as I have my daughter to protect, you won't even be able to scratch me."
"I see," Elsa murmured. "Your magic is wonderful. You truly are loved by this world, as am I. But which one of us is loved more?"
In response, the spirit sent a blizzard of crystals towards her heart, but she dodged it easily. It was a waste of energy on both sides; there's no use targeting the heart of a heartless killer.
Ice crystals aimed at her brain, on the other hand, she might want to dodge.
Else leaped into the air, somersaulting over the spirit's attack and behind its shield; she tried to slash with her knife, only to be tackled by the giant.
"I don't often bar people from this fine establishment," Rom growled, "bad for business, an' all that—but I'll make an exception for you." He raised his head towards the blonde. "Felt!"
She nodded. "Got it!"
Surrounded by a personal hurricane of wind magic, Felt dashed towards the downed Elsa, a dagger in hand.
"A Divine Protection!" cheered Elsa. "What a fine assassin you'd make." Despite being pinned by Rom, Elsa easily wiggled free, aiming a strike at Felt's stomach. With a burst of wind, Felt twisted in the air, choosing to be hit with the flat of the blade instead of the tip. The sheer force of the strike threw her across the room; she crashed into a barrel of liquor and was still.
"Felt!" Rom yelled as he desperately ran towards the blonde girl. Turning his back to an assassin? Elsa couldn't wait to see his organs spill. She threw one of her knives and grinned when it was knocked out of the air by an ice crystal. She loved it when her prey put up a fight.
"Don't hurt him!" the half-elf shouted. "I'm your target, right? Not them, me!"
Elsa giggled. "The role of the martyr suits you, darling," she taunted. "Emilia, was it?"
Emilia responded with a barrage of ice magic.
Elsa clucked her tongue and shook her head. "Now, now, that's not a very lady-like response to a simple question." Casually dodging attacks from both Emilia and Puck, Elsa slowly closed in. Emilia tried to back away but quickly found herself against a wall. A horizontal slash and her blade tasted flesh—sweet, glorious flesh! It tore and it ripped and it cut and it sliced—
But it wasn't enough. As soon as her knife pierced skin, a weight crashed into her back and her blade was misdirected, the cut no longer lethal. Elsa flung the weight onto a nearby wall as Emilia collapsed, holding her stomach, and gasping in pain.
Puck ceased his attack and flew to Emilia, his aura flaring. The half-elf was incapacitated, her stomach sliced open. The giant had long since escaped with Felt. There were no more obstacles. A shame: she had hoped this job would be somewhat challenging.
Elsa turned to find that the mysterious weight was in fact the boy from earlier, struggling to get up. Within the blink of an eye, she pulled out a knife and threw it, embedding it into his leg. He screamed in pain as his face clenched in agony.
"My, my, you're quite the nuisance," Elsa gently scolded. "Attacking a woman from behind? That's very naughty."
"Fuck you," he ground out through clenched teeth.
A light gasp escaped her lips as she covered her mouth with a deceptively delicate hand. "Dear me, that isn't any way to speak to a lady, now is it? Oh, I know! I'll just cut off your head; you won't be saying anything else when I'm done."
With a laugh full of unrestrained joy, she dashed forward.
Five meters away.
Four.
Three.
Two.
She never reached one.
At one and a half meters away, Elsa stopped breathing. She found herself lifted into the air, legs dangling under her.
"What's...happening?"
Fingers crushed her throat, but there was no hand.
"Th-that power…"
Beneath her, the boy's concentration never wavered, his eyes filled with smoldering hatred.
"Y-you are not loved by this world."
Her vision was fading as she began losing consciousness. Did she fail? Was her mission over? No, it was not. It was merely...postponed.
"You are loved by the witch!"