"Subaru, I received an important summons. There's no reason for you to go." Emilia said after Subaru started asking her about it.
"But you're fighting for the throne, right!? I want to help you in every way I can! Please!" Subaru responded passionately.
Emilia looked perplexed by his words. She didn't know what the correct thing to do here was. She didn't know why he was so loyal to her either.
"Miss Emilia, it seems there are people in the capital whom Subaru wants to thank. In fact, Rem too, has someone she wants to thank." Rem interjected.
Subaru smiled and gave her a pat. "Nice save, Rem!"
"That's right, Emilia-tan. There are people who saved us, and I want to go meet them again." Subaru used every excuse available to him.
"I don't see a problem with it~ Subaru should go to the capital to thank everyone. Especially our new supposed ally." Roswaal spoke up, with a smirk on his lips.
In reality, his expression betrayed his true thoughts. He was becoming restless inside. Just a minute ago, Subaru was saying that a new individual came under the name of Arkwright and proposed a band of friendship.
Another individual who was absolutely not included in his book. He had to find out who Luke Arkwright really was, and either get him under his control or kill him to tie everything up.
"Besides~ Subaru has to go get treated there. You damaged your gate, remember~? The demi-human emissary who came earlier is your planned healer~" Roswaal continued.
"That cutesy catgirl? She didn't seem too special, though. At least the old man wasn't so starstruck by the bunnies like we were." Subaru questioned, obviously finding it hard to believe.
He had severely damaged his gate during his time here. According to everyone present, a gate was much more complex to heal than physical injuries. Only a very skilled healer could even hope to fix it. So the catgirl was that person?
Roswaal's smile widened a tiny bit at the way Subaru was referring to Felix, but he wouldn't correct him just yet.
"Don't be so quick to judge~ Felix Argyle is the best water magic user in the country. It was incredibly difficult for Miss Emilia to hire him for this service." Roswaal said.
Hearing what he just implied, Emilia blushed in embarrassment. "Wait...!"
What followed was a lovely scene of the two bickering as Subaru teased her about caring so much for him, and Emilia trying to find a transactional reason for what she did.
After enjoying their silly antics for just a bit longer, Roswaal told them to get ready. "With a carriage, the drive to the capital should take only a few hours~ It would be sufficient to prepare for today and set off in the early morning tomorrow~"
The three of them nodded and went to prepare. The ceremony would begin two days from now. Arriving a day earlier would be the wisest decision.
Felix was sitting cosily inside the carriage, which was being driven by Wilhelm. The trees seemed to be running rapidly as Felix looked out the window before speaking to Wilhelm.
"I was surprised to see you treating both of them the same. A subordinate of Arkwight makes sense, but that boy? I thought you liked cutting heads off rather than chit-chat, nyah~"
Wilhelm didn't look offended at the tease, looking back to explain. "I merely took a liking to those boys' eyes. Both of them possessed the look of men who have personally experienced death."
He knew that look better than anyone. Essentially, after half a decade on the battlefield, Wilhelm could tell at a glance who was all talk and who had hardened their very souls.
"Nyow you've lost me. But if Wilhelm van Astrea is the one saying that, then Ferris will believe it.
Wilhelm stayed quiet, his face only tightening as he feared what might happen in the future.
It didn't take long for the next day to arrive. Emilia and the others had arrived, rented a high-end apartment and settled down by noon.
Now, she was going to the Council to report that she had arrived and learn whatever else was necessary that the sages would tell her.
But unfortunately, Subaru just constantly begged to accompany her. She knew he was holding only genuinely good intentions, so she allowed it.
And now they were here, standing together, holding hands in the middle of the city square.
"Emilia-tan, I like holding your soft hand, but maybe we should stop?" Subaru adored doing this on their dates, but PDA was still too much for him.
"Absolutely not! I know you. The second I leave you out of my sight, you'll do something stupid again." Emilia responded sternly.
They both immediately rewound their memories to the ride here, where Subaru managed to somehow get pulled off the carriage and got dragged.
They were going to continue bickering again, but a familiar face joined them.
"It's been a while, hasn't it~ Both of you look so charming right now~" The same grey-haired spirit that had attacked them on the first day walked up and teased.
Emilia instantly took a defensive stance, her hands and mana ready, while being worried that her cover would be blown and how she would protect the boy standing with her.
Subaru flinched back as the memories came rushing back in. Literal, terrifying, beast-like monsters had been summoned by this guy to try and kill him. And now he was just standing here like it was no big deal?
"Whoa, whoa, calm down~ I'm not here to fight. Trust me, if I could, you would see nothing but black~" Mahito grinned as he spoke.
"..." Emilia frowned at the thinly veiled threat as the crystal on her neck started shaking. Puck and Emilia had talked about it beforehand. He would not come out in order to not make her stand out unnecessarily. But this was pushing it now.
Gulping down his fears, Subaru steeled his nerves and was ready to step between the enemy and his girl, but someone beat him to it.
*Bonk*
Mahito clutched his head and feigned shrinking down, likely having expected what had just happened to him.
"You just can't help yourself around him, huh? Hello, Subaru, Emilia." Luke wrapped his arm around his spirit's shoulders and greeted them casually.
The appearance of their friend and now, apparently, political ally was a good sight to see. The tension relaxed a bit, but it did beg the question: How do the two know each other?
"Yo, Luke! It's been a while. Kind of an awkward place to be in right now, though... Because how do you two know each other...?" Subaru asked, genuinely confused and concerned. He was worried that the spirit might be tricking his friend.
The duo in question gave each other a questioning look, looking bewildered then visibly seeming to come to a conclusion.
Despite his fame as a Spirit Knight, barely anybody actually knew what Mahito looked like. Reinhard had no reason to spread it, and the other two had no idea that Mahito and Luke were connected.
"Ah. I guess I forgot to mention. Mahito here is my world-famous spirit. Pretty cool, right~? Luke bragged playfully as Mahito stuck out his tongue, looking innocent.
...Yeah, ok...
Emilia and Subaru were still concerned but accepted the fact. They trusted Luke's ability to handle him. It didn't mean at all that they trusted Mahito yet.
After getting over the whiplash of the reveal, it only took a minute to get back into normal conversation.
"Luke, how did you know where to find us? The Astrea manor is quite far away, and this district is quite large to spot two people so quickly." Emilia asked, her tone polite and friendly.
"It wasn't very difficult, actually. I actually used to patrol around here, so I know the layout quite well and it doesn't take a genius to figure that you would try to arrive a day early." Luke shrugged, treating it like it was nothing.
The truth, however, was a different story.
'Thank god I remembered the timing. Forget about that layout shit; if Mahito hadn't just come here suddenly, I wouldn't have found y'all.'
"Well, if it isn't our beloved knight himself, accompanied by the broke teenager and his missy." The burly shopkeeper spoke up from behind.
Kadomon Risch, the iconic yet too scary-looking shopkeeper, reignite some lost flames. He gave them some appas free of charge for helping Plum on their first day. Said Plum joyfully greeted Subaru and Emilia, and also again gave her verbal admiration towards Luke.
However, when she said that she wanted to be a great knight like him once she grew up, her mother firmly pulled her back inside and apologised. The four expressed awkward smiles at the scene.
'So that's the mother and daughter Luke mentioned. It'll be fun to see how much combat talent the kid inherited from her grandmother~' Mahito smiled at the thought. Watching her career would provide some entertainment.
As the group walked down the pavement, walking to the guard station near the noble district, Subaru spoke up.
It is important to mention that Subaru wanted to eat one of the fruits in the bag in his hand, but his other hand was busy holding Emilia's hand. The choice between food and holding her hand was an easy choice.
"That night, Reinhard got a weird look in his eye and took both Felt and Rom. And even you, actually. So what happened back then?" He asked.
"Hmm? Oh, I don't know if I'm allowed to say this or not. But he took her because Felt is a royal candidate for the throne." Luke responded.
The immediate silence was immense. Emilia covered her gaping mouth in shock, a typical cliché response. On the other hand, Subaru dropped his bag of appas, which thankfully got caught mid-air by the ever-helpful Curse.
"Let me get one of those; I'm starving." Luke reached into the floating bag and grabbed one, biting into it.
Eventually, Subaru rushed forward and started to shake his shoulder maniacally. "WHAT THE HELL DO YOU MEAN, ROYAL CANDIDATE! SHE'S JUST A KID!"
Luke shook him off with a single hand. "I get what you're worried about, but literally look to your right, dude. Emilia is literally a 14-year-old kid herself, or at least, that's what I've heard anyway. Felt is even older than her at 15, but she likes to claim she's 14 instead. The point is, we can't use our old world's standards here, ok?"
The answer made Subaru actually think for a second. Back during the dinner party in the first month, they had a dinner party(Which he will forever remember). In that, Emilia confirmed she was a teenager. Being 17 himself, he was having a hard time thinking of a counterargument.
"I'm 19, Megumi is 16, so I'm gonna guess, you're about... 17? Your eyes almost reach my own, so that's a fair estimate." Luke showed off their height difference with his hand, not trying to diminish him by any means, but it seemed to have the opposite effect on Subaru.
On the other side, Emilia instantly snapped her head up, her violet eyes widening with offence. She quickly straightened her posture, crossed her arms and puffed out her chest. "Luke! That is incredibly rude! I am not a kid. I am a fully grown, proper adult!"
"Proper adult? You wouldn't know why I'm saying this, but you're even more immature than me~" Mahito teased. Despite being the youngest here by far, he did make a fair point.
Her face flushed a bright pink, and she stomped her foot slightly before catching herself. "Th-that is a completely undefended accusation! Puck told me that I am mature for my age, and Puck is a Great Spirit, so his words carry immense... grandeur! Besides, you're not a Great Spirit yet! You are just a total dunderhead!"
Subaru blinked, forgetting his earlier anger and trying not to laugh "Did you just call him a dunderhead? Who even says dunderhead nowadays?"
She pouted in frustration at the constant teasing and being made fun of. She didn't take them to heart, however and joined in the laughs a few seconds later.
"By the way, we wanted to meet Reinhard to see how Felt and Rom were doing. Megumi told us that you aligned with them, so you should know about it." Subaru brought the topic up.
"Yeah, she's healthy and good. Reinhard and Higuruma have been teaching her social etiqutte and other stuff, but she's a pretty rowdy gal."
With confirmation that she was safe, they had no other reason to continue talking about it since it was impolite to discuss the inner workings of another camp.
Since the entire reason for going to the guard station was to contact Reinhard using the metias there, there was now no reason to go there. But apparently, Luke did have some business there, so might as well accompany him
It didn't take long to reach there, and as they walked up to the entrance, a handsome-looking purple-haired man walked up to them.
"It is good to see you again, Lady Emilia. Have you been well since the last time we met?" He politely bowed, showing genuine respect to her.
His gaze also drifted to the back of the group where the rising star knight was currently standing. The appearance of the famed invisible spirit, too, was interesting and memorable. The concerning thing was that his own six quasi spirits were telling him that the spirit was radiating pure negative energy.
"Yes, everything has been basically the same. You look good as well, Julius." Emilia returned the same politeness, letting go of Subaru's hand as she turned to face him.
On the side, Mahito leaned near Luke's ear, speaking playfully but analytically. "So this is that human 'rival' that we were constantly being compared to? If the studies about quasi spirits are true, I could probably make a scary face, and they'll be too scared to even come out~"
"You're the type of person who becomes shirtless for no reason in every major fight. I wouldn't wanna fight you either." Luke quipped back.[1]
Focusing back on Emilia and Julius, the latter knelt down and took her hand to kiss it.
Subaru looked like he'd learned that GTA 6 got delayed again, seeing a potential rival kissing her hand like that. He glared heavily towards Julius, who saw the glare but didn't take it seriously, brushing it off.
Emilia told him that Luke was here on official business and she was just accompanying him.
"It's just some political distraction nonsense by the sages. They clearly didn't want me promoted and are now trying to make my life difficult." Luke spoke up as she finished, being incredibly blunt about his opinion.
"This is our first time meeting, and it already seems to be off to an awkward start. As fellow Royal Knights, we should respect the Sage Council and not jump to hasty conclusions." Julius responded to his peer.
"Fellow Royal Knights? Respect the Sage Council? Do I detect a flicker of glazing there? My workload and tediousness of my duties have effectively quadrupled since I was made the oh-so adorable, HONORARY Royal Knight, which is just a glorified errand boy position, if anything." Luke didn't look like he was angry, but his voice definitely sounded frustrated.
Subaru and Emilia, recognising the tension, wisely chose to step aside and let the two men talk it out.
"The position wasn't forced on you, Arkwright. You are free to relinquish your duties anytime if they are too much for you. The sages and royal knights have been working hard to lead the nation and treat the royal race with utmost fairness and dignity during such difficult times. You are obligated to respect that." Julius continued, his face gentle and his voice firm.
For a brief moment, there was silence between the two spirit users. Mahito was completely expressionless. It was a certain thing he said that particularly irked him. As a Curse born of humanity's hatred towards each other, a major target of that exact thing was standing right there, and this human was casually pretending that it didn't exist.
The staredown ended when Luke smirked, snickering slightly as he walked to the entrance. "Keep that attitude when tomorrow comes. I'd like to see how fair the treatment is going to be."
The duo quietly slipped inside, and the massive doors closed. It didn't need to be said that the relationship between Julius Juukulius and Luke Arkwright had turned sour on the first day of meeting itself.
Inside, Luke immediately went towards the job listing board to hit his daily quota, imposed by the sages ever since his promotion.
The good thing was that a certain someone had already taken and accepted the most suitable jobs for him, making his day at least a little better because this process was abominably slow.
To just take and register the jobs he had to take, it was a 30-minute process, bare minimum, every single day for the past few weeks. Not only that, every job involved killing massive surges of witchbeasts near the surrounding forests outside the kingdom.
This meant that he had to spend basically more than half of the day just constantly travelling and fighting endlessly. Why were there so many witchbeasts spawning anyway?
"You look angry. Something wrong?" Megumi took the verification card from the receptionist as he approached Luke.
"It's nothing, just not able to control my emotions, I guess. More importantly, you tamed it, right? If so, give me Floodgate back when we're outside." Luke responded.
"Yes, with your sword, taming the deer was easy." Megumi didn't comment on the name choice for Luke's weapon anymore. It was his cursed tool that he 'birthed', so he wouldn't care about its name.
At the mention of the deer, Mahito had a slightly worried expression, which Megumi completely disregarded intentionally. He could choke the life out of him and never change a shade.
"Back to the spawn point, I guess..."
[1] Genuinely, Mahito and Todo are the only JJK characters who consistently become shirtless in every major fight. No wonder they're associated with touching and clapping