Uploading date: 2/26/2019 [M/D/Y]

Re: Life in a fantasy world ~ Arc 4: Beginning of the End

Chapter 5: For mine and For yours

"Hiyaaah!"

The battle has only begun, three strikes have been let out, yet, it feels like it's about to end any moment now. Julius's swordplay is just too superior to my own, I was never even fit for a sword to begin with, even if these were only wooden swords...

"You seem to be getting a little tired, Subaru?"

"Oh really? Well I think that's because my gate's been split in half, thank you very much"

The sword on my hand has its weight too focused on the blade, I can't maneuver it like I would a dagger, and changing its orientation is also out of the question, right now, my only option would be to play it with brute force, but still, our level in skill would clearly wipe me out. But there is another way to battle…

"Standing still, how thoughtful of you!"

He lets out another strike, overhead, an obvious and readable strike, he's gotten soft on me. I grab my sword with both my hands and brought it up to block, the flat side facing Julius's blunt edge, and the moment they collided, I got my chance. The swords bounced off each other, Julius recoiled back a little bit, leaving me with my one and only opening.

"Die…!"

Before I move, I let out a pressurizing aura of bloodlust, basically informing him that 'if you don't block this next strike, it's over for you' and he reacted accordingly. Not backing down, he brought his sword down for a strike, it seems he's putting his all in this one, and so will I.

I grab the hilt of my sword and aim towards the incoming strike, putting all my strength into this one strike, I swing the blade, and they clashed head-on, full-force.

"Kh-"

I can feel the strain on the blade getting enormous by the second, I can already hear creaking, in a few more moments, just a few more moments, it's not long now…

Snap, we heard the sound, "It seems… I've lost…" Getting back on his feet, Julius retracted his blade, and I do the same, "Ah, looks like I lose as well, heh… what a coincidence..." And in the next moment, our swords snapped in half, the sheer force at which they impacted at was simply too much for them, and with that, the match is drawn.

"I trust that you'll uphold your end of the deal?"

"I wouldn't be a knight if I didn't… regrettably"

And according to the deal, a draw will be in my favor, the events of this battle, I can compromise them, twist them to my liking, maybe even bullshit the results and just say that I win, but let's spare Julius of that, besides, unwanted attention is unwanted after all. "The match had ended in a draw, both participants are at a condition where they both need immediate medical attention, and thus, have left the arena, that's all…"

Dropping my own broken sword on the ground, I turn around, heading for the door, "Don't you think your not taking enough of an advantage? I was expecting the worst possible outcome so I'm rather… I don't know if disappointed is the word but…" Julius drops his sword as well, nodding to the attendant that was to monitor our match.

"All I need is to change up the results so that it's alarming enough to stop the meeting and get Emilia-san out of that hell, once that's accomplished then my job here is done… Beatrice, you ready? We're leaving…"

A rift opened in front of me as I say that and from the other side I can see Beatrice peeking out, "One step ahead of you, I suppose, let's go already…" It seems she's already in the Karsten estate, she really didn't want to be in there now, did she? "Well then, be seeing you later Julius, maybe we can have a real duel next time, heh"

Entering into the rift in the air, I wave my goodbye to Julius, leaving him alone in the arena to contemplate on the events that have just occurred, "A troublesome man you are, Natsuki Subaru… I'll have to keep my guard up next time…" Facing towards the exit, Julius sighs.

"Haah… so, how did Emilia's speech go?"

"Betty left before anything of the sort could happen, I suppose"

"You were more useless than a log it seems…"

We entered through the doors of the mansion and we could see Ram waiting in the distance, "Barusu has returned rather quickly, perhaps my day is getting worse by the moment" Greeting us in her iconic sassy attitude, she bows, "Hello to you too Nee-san, Emilia-san should be coming back soon, we went ahead and got back here since we didn't have anything left to do…"

"So you're slacking on your job?"

"Which part of nothing left did you mishear?"

"If you have no use, make yourself useful, isn't that what I taught you?"

"I'm sorry but I don't recall you teaching me anything besides 'do my job' back in my butler days… in fact, I've spent so much time with you, I'm surprised I haven't learned anything..." Ram glared at me while tapping her foot on the ground irritatedly, "Perhaps you weren't paying attention when I lectured you on how to properly wipe the table?"

"Of course I couldn't pay attention, all I could really focus on was the floor and your feet as you told me to mop the floor relentlessly, the thought of taking a peek up surfaced my mind once just to spite you…"

"You didn't, of course, you didn't right? Would Barusu have such guts? No, would you have been such a terrible person that you'd do that? This is serious, answer the question Barusu! No, I'm the idiot for not distancing myself from this man, I'll have to end you right here right now, for my pride and my sister!"

"It's a joke, a joke! Can't you take a joke?!"

I grab her hands as she tries to claw at me, her face full of hatred and scorn, please take the joke already! "Betty shall be leaving you to your shenanigans then…" "Oi! Help out your contractor for once would you!" Not heeding my call, she zips behind the corner, out of sight, just how useless can you get!

"Subaru-dono, you've returned rather quickly"

I can hear the old man from the corner of my ear, and was slightly relieved, "Ghu…" Releasing each other from our hand lock, we created a bit of distance between ourselves, Wilhelm turned to me with a bow, "Well, some complications arose and I had to spar with a rather handsome knight due to our... differing opinions, in the end, I managed to end the meeting early"

"It seems you can't even do your job properly, as expected of a Barusu"

"Hey, that was my job you know!?"

"Are political enemies really what Emilia-sama needs right now?"

"Just trust me on this, I have everything under control, besides, when's the last time you've ever read about politics? Oh yeah, you don't read books in your free time so you wouldn't know"

"I've learned enough from watching Roswaal-sama to know that this is not the best course of action"

"Well, I've learned enough to know that it is, who's the guy who saved you all three times? Me, so I'd like it if you'd have a little more faith please"

"Kh- a sound argument…"

"Thank you very much"

With an annoyed Ram turning the corner to wash off her frustration elsewhere, I was left with the old man alone, but it was short lived as he had things to do as well, so we parted ways, and there I was alone, with nothing to do, "I'd like someone to talk to… but there's no one…"

.

I head outside, basking in the breeze on my own, "Okay, recap time, Anastasia is targeting us for obvious reasons, we've mostly distinguished the problem but she may take another shot at it, so we'll tread carefully. Julius seemed cool about the fight so I hope there are no grudges or anything, I don't really want to make the greatest knight our enemy… and the most important bit, Crusch Karsten…"

I look around the lawn, no one was there, but I'm definitely sure people are supposed to keep watch on me, you can't have a member of a rivaling camp run loose in your territory, that's just idiotic, "She also showed us to our rooms herself, you'd expect that to be the job of a servant, not the head of the house, even Emilia-san had Ram show me to my room, and you can't get any kinder than Emilia-san"

"If it isn't an act of kindness, it was an act of caution, wasn't it…"

"Indeed… well, you came running back. What happened, Ram"

From behind me, Ram approached, it's only been a few minutes since she's parted but she's already back again for more, "It's as you say, we're being watched, servants all around the mansion have been taking turns confirming your position, peeking through the window, around the corners and the like"

"So I was right"

"Well, you're also an idiot for saying it aloud"

"Ah, that's my bad… so, what else did you find with your clairvoyance?"

Although I asked a question, she didn't reply, instead, she turned around leaving, as if expecting I'd understand what that'd mean. Someone must be looking, she's more perceptive than me it seems, incredible, as expecting of Nee-san.

I follow behind her closely into the mansion, and we take a rather diverted route over to her room, I think it's her room anyway, could be just an empty room that no one was using, I can't remember which one was ours, "Now that I think about it, you've all been to my room, but i've never been to any of yours…"

"Don't worry, this isn't my room"

"I knew it…"

But wouldn't it be better if we were in our own rooms though? "Unless…" While she sat on the table, dusting off her maid outfit, I walk over to the closed curtain, moving it aside so I can take a little peek, "..." I see carriages, and tons of them coming from the back, was this what she didn't want us to see? Perhaps.

"There are many things inside, iron armor, weapons of all kinds, and they've also brought in large amounts of ground dragons, there seems to be a sense of variation between them all so they're probably going to be used in flat grassy ground…"

"If they were going to suit up for a battle, what scale does it seem like it'd be…"

"Not enough for a full-scale war, and it's too equipment for a restock, since they have ground dragons, their opponent is most likely a large mobile creature of sorts, I've also managed to spot a few magic canons, so their enemy is likely large in numbers, or large in size… And seeing that they brought in men as well, they're going to move very soon, having to feed that many men is going to be rather expensive, even for the dutchess"

So it seems they're going to take the initiative, lead the royal election with a surprise attack, "Going by her history of military achievements, she may be aiming on finishing off the Great rabbit, she's repelled them a few years ago, or maybe she's going to try and pin down the White whale, there wouldn't be any merit in doing anything but that…"

"So, what do we do about it?"

"To be honest… there isn't really anything we can do, taking the Great rabbit is one thing, those simple minded creatures can't even think for themselves, just starved beasts that will devour anything in their path, but the White whale is a different story, if they think they can win fighting it with this amount of troops, well, their digging their own grave…"

"You sure do know alot about Witches and the like, don't you?"

"Well, I was born in one of their communities, so it's as you'd expect…"

That being said, trying to stop them is futile, at this rate their going to die a gruesome death, well, might as well let them be, "Guess we better get going then, Emilia-san and Roswaal should arrive in a bit…" Agreeing with me, we left the room before anyone could find us, it would be bad if that was the case.

.

"Hey Emilia-san, did everything end well while I was gone?"

"Subaru… so you're alright, I'm relieved"

"Hey, did you think that I'd lose? I feel a little depressed now, have a little faith would ya…" Feels like people are not taking me as seriously as they're supposed to, even after I saved yall time and time again, where's the respect I deserve! "Anyway… how did it go?" I ask while straightening my body from it's slumping position.

"Yeah, I think I did pretty well, don't you think Puck"

"Yes, you did really where Lia, I made sure everyone else thought so too!"

"Oh no, I can already feel the shivers coming out"

I almost feel bad for those that had the guts to stand up against Puck, but they got what they wanted, so guess nothing to do about that, "So, what are our plans for the future?" I ask the two, we've put a lot of thought into this meeting that we haven't properly thought about how we're going to win this, and now that I think about it, how the hell are we gonna win this!

"Emilia-sama and I shall~ return to the mansion tomorrow, preparations have already been made for our next move…"

"As for Subaru, you're going to have to stay here so Ferris can monitor your gate, we'll be leaving Ram to accompany you"

I can feel Ram's scornful gaze upon my back, this isn't going to end well now is it, "I'll be fine alone don't you think? Besides, Beatrice will be staying as well, I don't see the need for Ram to be with me…" "Indeed, Barusu may be useless but he isn't a child, he can at least take care of himself, also, I abhor the fact of babysitting a grown man"

"Rude, she said you'd be accompanying me, not babysitting"

"Fret not~ Subaru-kun, that's not her only reason for staying back. Our~ negotiations with Crusch-sama has been held to a standstill, all the necessary requirements for~ an alliance are set, she just needs a little 'push' to get her to going… I'm that if you ever think of something, you could close the deal, you're Emilia-sama's representative here, so anything you says, goes…"

"I see…"

"I've given Ram all the details that you'd need, please consult it with her~ once you have thought of something"

I turn over to Ram and she gives me a confirming nod, good, it seems the next plan has been set. After settling a few other things the day passes by just as fast as my match with Julius ended, it was a rather quick day wasn't it?

.

"Hmm, seems like my next partner in crime shall be Ram Nee-san this time around…"

"What do you mean by 'partner in crime' Barusu… no, what do you mean by, 'this time around'..."

Giving me a questioning stare while crossing her legs, she's definitely annoyed by the looks of it, well, is there anything she isn't annoyed by?"Glad you asked" I chimed, "I know something bads gonna happen soon, that's just how fate is with me… it's been that way since I was little, and since you're here, you're going to have to overcome these hard times with me. Last time, I went with Rem, before that with Beatrice, and before that, Emilia-san, and you're next on the line, your turn was bound to happen sooner or later…"

"As if I'd play along, go solve your own problems yourself, and please die while our at it, damned womanizer"

"Well excuse me! Please refrain from describing me with such vulgar words, makes me sound like some harem protagonist…"

The afternoon sun was sinking down, orange hues streaking down, we were talking outside while having something to eat, "So, what exactly happened with the negotiations? Being left out of things was a little annoying, but I guess things go the way they go…" "Not much different from what Roswaal-sama told you, the conditions are as follows, the formation of the alliance between the Crusch and Emilia camps, the Crusch camp will provide their support while the Emilia camp will share their rights to the Elior forest mining sites"

Simple enough, seems their on the receiving end on this deal but that's to be expected, we underdogs have our own ways of doing things, "As for why she hasn't already accepted the terms…" "She knows we need this so she's going to make sure to get the most out of this deal, there's no rush for her, we won't back out so she doesn't need to worry" We don't have a good start at all, but, it's not impossible.

"Perhaps we could somehow use what we've learned about them today as a bargaining chip?" Ram voiced out, another possibility, probably our own possibility, "But as of right now, it would do us no good, it'd make use look aggressive, we won't be able to gain their trust that easily you know?"

"Then, what do you propose we do?"

"In time, it will come… in time, Ram…"

She turns her head away, watching as the sun finally dipped by the horizon, the sky then turning dark, revealing the many clusters of stars it once hid...

A/N

Okay, let's get this over with. University applications + Mock exams + Natural laziness = an unusual hiatus. If i don't get another chapter out by next week, you can assume I'll be inactive till mid-march, sorry and thanks for sticking around~

Hopefully the next chapter would be more satisfying...

Basscuss

YES YES YES YES YEEE~S! And so let the games begin!

On the right side, we have Julius and on the other side, we have Subaru!

Finally some action! The way Subaru antagonized Anastasia which then leads to him fighting Julius was GREAT! Really surprised how you pulled it off. Waiting for the next chapter!

Thanks! I put a lot of thought on how it would go down. I understand if you think the fight is boring though...