Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Prologue: The Dragon Tablet

It was a fine day in Lugunica– the sun was high up in the sky, casting its brilliant light across the entire world. The sky was a bright blue and laden with clouds, giving off an extremely peaceful air.

Merchants bustled about through the streets, pulling along carriages filled with various goods and products. Knights patrolled alongside, keeping a vigilant eye out for any wrongdoing.

“Aaah… such a nice day. I’d love to go out and feel the air…” One muttered, leaning against a wall within the audience chamber of the royal castle and staring out the window.

He was clad in armor made of a thin steel, an iron sword hung loosely from his waist. The armor seemed to chafe against his body as he rubbed his arms and legs, or possibly it was from nerves. After all, he was guarding one of the most important artifacts in Lugunica.

“They seriously all had to go take a toilet break at the same time? No, they’re definitely screwing with me here…” He moaned to himself.

As a very timid man, it was not uncommon for his colleagues to play tricks on him. Be it leaving him to guard the room alone for a minute or two, or even pretending there was some break in that they needed to attend to asap. His life was riddled with many of these inconveniences.

“It’s always, ‘Come look at this, Bich Asphuck!’, or, ‘There's someone breaking in, Bich Asphuck!’.”

He lamented the constant usage of his name. Originally he had been named “Bich Yusuk”, but he was forced to change his name to “Bich Asphuck” due to marrying his wife.

However, bothering his wife with such unnecessary things would only serve to strain their barely amicable relationship.

Letting out a long and drawn out sigh, Bich took a throwaway glance at the stony dragon tablet sitting on a pedestal at the end of the audience hall. It was just that single glance, but something on the tablet caught his eye.

“What…?” Whispering to himself as he walked up to the artifact, the second he saw what was on it, he began to doubt his own reality.

“A black haired man… but what about the royal selection? Why would it change? And so suddenly at that?”

Questions riddled his mind. Black hair. Why black hair, of all colors? And why did it not give a broader spectrum of people? There might be hundreds of people with black hair in Lugunica!

“Oi, Bich Asphuck. What’re you up to.” A crude voice sounded from behind, making him flinch slightly.

“Seymour Buttes! You need to look at this, quick!” Pointing frantically at the Dragon tablet, Bich moved downwards from the pedestal and got right up into the face of Seymour with a distressed expression.

“T’hell’s up with you? Yer actin’ all…” His voice trailed off when his eyes met the Dragon Tablet, his expression slowly shifting from confusion, to shock, and then complete horror.

“Ya didn’t mess with it, right?” He muttered, voice shaking. Drawing his gaze downward and meeting Bich’s eyes, he noticed just how wide they were.

“I didn’t! I swear to the dragon that I didn’t do a thing! You get what this means, right? The entire royal selection is completely useless! It doesn’t matter!”

Hearing this, murmurs spread through the crowd of about four or five other knights behind Seymour. They were not close enough to the tablet to read its contents. However, upon Seymour’s reaction, they all immediately stiffened.

“The council. Do they know about this?” His tone suddenly shifted from its carefree and crude manner to a more dignified approach.

Bich gulped. “N-no. They don’t. It only just changed.”

“We need to inform the council at once.” He said, sweat dripping down from his face.

With a nod in response, Seymour flipped around and made his way through the crowd of knights, all still staring at the Dragon Tablet with awe. Bich followed close behind, tailing him with a nervous expression.

The two vanished through the corridors, and the audience chamber was left in silence.

Chapter Text

To say that the knights of Lugunica were in disarray would be an understatement, to say the least. Having been gathered in the audience chamber for an announcement, the entire knights regiment were shifting uncomfortably in their heavy steel armor, whispering to one another as they waited for the council of wise men to arrive.

Outside, faint streaks of orange and red tainted the sky along with the setting sun. It had been a few hours since they had initially received the announcement of the dragon tablets change.

“To call every knight to the castle at once means it’s gotta be a real big deal, nya~.” A cat-eared knight spoke. He had quite the feminine appearance to such an extent that a passing glance could have you mistaking him for a woman.

“The Dragon Tablet has apparently changed things regarding the royal selection, Ferris.” Another knight beside him replied, flicking small strands of purple hair out of his face. He wore a dignified appearance that befitted a knight.

He was not one who typically put stock in rumors, yet even he had to admit that they occasionally carried a grain of truth.

“Maybe it’s about the fifth candidate, nya? Ferris heard Reinhard’s been having all sorts of trouble with that, you know~?” He said while sticking his tongue out playfully.

“It’s possible you may be correct,” The purple-haired knight sighed, casting a throwaway glance towards his side. “But ironically, he is the last person to arrive besides the council of wise men.”

“Maybe he’s getting his Lady to look all proper, nya?” Ferris teased, resting his hand behind his head as he swayed back and forth. “He can be such a doting knight when he wants to be~. Kind of like you, Julius.”

Julius’s lips pressed into a thin line as he let out an exasperated sigh. “I am not ‘doting’, Ferris.”

“Denying it just proves it, nya~. You’re so obvious.” Ferris laughed.

Just as he was about to reply back, the doors at the end of the hall swung open and revealed five people– the council of wise men. A noticeable tension fell on the gathered knights while they took their places in the chamber.

Following their slouched shoulders and tired eyes, Julius’s gaze flicked towards the pedestal at the front of the audience chamber. What he expected to see there compared with what he did see was vastly different.

“The Dragon Tablet has been covered up…?” He muttered, his voice so low that not even Ferris right beside him could hear.

A large black cloth of some kind had been draped over the Dragon Tablet that obscured anyone from viewing what was written on its surface. His eyes narrowed nervously.

“They’re looking pretty roughed up, nya~. Wonder what happened?” Ferris spoke under his breath, tone cautious. He did not seem aware of the Dragon Tablet's strange concealment.

“Is the sword saint not present?” The council members whispered amongst themselves, eyes scanning the room for any trace of the red-haired man.

“It seems that he is late. How unusual. Be that as it may, this cannot wait any longer.” The eldest of the council, a stooped man with a long white beard and green eyes that observed the entire regiment of knights closely. Standing up, he addressed the knights below with a steady voice tinged with many undiscernible emotions.

“I am sure that all of you are wondering why you have been called here.” He began. “The Dragon Tablet has decided to change matters regarding the royal selection.”

A ripple of murmurs spread through the knights once again. Even Ferris’s ears twitched uncomfortably as he shifted in his place. Julius was not any different either.

“So it was the royal selection…” Ferris said, looking quite weary.

The small silence he left seemed to linger indefinitely, making even the most refined of knights like Julius sweat. All of their apprehensive and rigid eyes fixed directly on the man giving the announcement.

“It has requested for the abolishing of the Royal Selection entirely, in favour of a single person.”

“Hk–!?” Both Julius and Ferris flinched violently at this revelation, though Julius hid it much easier than the latter did.

It was as if a bomb had gone off in the hall. Protests erupted from the knights, some yelling, some whispering, while others simply stayed quiet. Disbelief and confusion echoed throughout every single one of their voices.

“That can’t be true…! Just completely abolished, as if it never mattered in the first place?”

“Who could possibly warrant something so drastic…?”

“This is absurd!”

The uproar only grew louder, voices overlapping and swelling up until they finally reached their breaking point. They looked to each other in confusion, not willing to believe that the Royal Selection truly was to be abolished.

“Quiet.” The dull yet commanding voice of Mikolotov McMahon cut through the air, and the halls slowly returned back to their original quiet.

Folding his hands together in front of him, the wise looking old man took in a deep breath before he spoke. “Regarding the matter of who it wants to sit on the throne, that of course is much more… difficult.”

His last words were undeniably strained, and the other members of the council nodded their head solemnly along with his statement.

“It wishes for a boy of black hair chosen by the dragon jewels,” Mikolotov continued, closing his eyes. “However, it has not given us any further details”

“Just black hair, nya~. What kind of qualification is that…?” Ferris asked, visibly distraught. He was biting his lip so fiercely that it almost drew blood.

Julius too had quite the disoriented look. Just the mere concept of the royal selection being abolished this far in made absolutely no sense to him, and felt cheap to the woman he had pledged his loyalty towards.

“But why? Were the gathered candidates not satisfactory?” Julius wondered.

But it made no sense for that to be the case. After all, it was none other than the dragon jewels that had chosen them. Why would the dragon tablet be suddenly going back on its word? And that was not even mentioning the fact it requested their usage again to find the black-haired boy.

There must be some other reason, he thought.

“Hold on, don’t you think “black hair” is a little bit too vague? There could be hundreds of them in Lugunica right now!” One knight yelled out from the crowd. It was a slightly disrespectful yet necessary measure to answer the question that they unanimously shared.

“Quite possibly. That is precisely why you are here.” He spoke resolutely, closing both eyes in a finalizing manner. “However, it is not me who will be issuing your orders.”

Waving a hand towards his side, a man with green hair and a goatee of matching color walked up to face the crowd, his armor making very quiet shuffling noises as he walked. Julius immediately recognized him as Marcos Gildark, who was the man that often relayed Heinkel Astrea's orders to the knights in his stead.

“Knights of Lugunica.” Marcos began, his voice dull yet authoritative. “You are to find the black-haired boy and bring him to the royal castle at once. We will be stationing dragon jewels within designated places through the country that you are to bring them to.”

A ripple of uncomfortability made its way through the crowds. They looked at each other apprehensively, unsure of what to do and or to say.

“Ferris doesn’t like this one bit, nya.” The cat-eared knight beside him grumbled, undisguised animosity etching onto his face. “This makes absolutely no sense to happen so late.”

“Regardless of our own views, the Dragon Tablet has spoken what it wants.” Julius said reluctantly.

Ferris shot him a venomous glance, and Julius turned his gaze away. He did not want his friend to see his inner turmoil. Noticing this, Ferris flattened his ears.

“As if some nobody with black hair could ever be more fit for the throne than Lady Crusch. Honestly, it’s insulting.” Ferris scoffed, crossing his arms defiantly.

Raising a hand to silence the noise beginning to fester in the room, Marcos began to speak. “You will depart at once. However, you are to speak of this matter to absolutely nobody who was not here within these walls.”

“Understood!” The knights called out, they all tapped their swords to the floor in perfect unison, with Julius at the forefront. Although he had his own internal discourse regarding the situation, he had resolved himself to keep it to his heart.

“You are dismissed.” Marcos commanded, and the knights slowly began to filter out.

—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The sound of heavy wooden doors closing with great force echoed through the royal castle, making the man who currently walked towards them boil with unease. He had been late after all, there was no denying that.

With hair that blazed red like a brilliant flame, and azure blue eyes that reflected the sky itself, the personification of the word “hero” made his way into the Royal Castle. Before he could do so however, he was met with hundreds of knights all in full uniform filtering out of the castle.

The hero swept his gaze across the entire regiment who seemed entirely lost in conversation, his eyes eventually meeting with Julius Juukuilius, who stared at him with a slightly distraught expression.

“Reinhard. You were late.” He said, sounding completely defeated.

“My apologies. I got caught up dealing with an incident.” Reinhard replied, closing his eyes and shaking his head with a slight smile. Julius just sighed in response.

“The announcement. You do not know why we were called, do you?” Julius asked wearily.

Reinhard paused for a second, thinking back. “No, I do not think so. What was the announcement about?”

Julius opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted by the cat heard knight that appeared from behind him, a visibly annoyed and disgusted look on his face. “They abolished the royal selection.”

Furrowing his brows, Reinhard looked on with incredulity. “Abolished? But why?”

“The tablet wanted some random black-haired kid. It’s completely ridiculous!” He yelled in anger, his tail flicking about violently.

But something caught Reinhard's attention. Not Ferris’s reaction, or Julius’s solemn expression, but at the description that they had apparently been given by the Dragon Tablet itself. It was about a black-haired boy.

“Could it be…?” Reinhard thought, tightening his gaze to the floor. Julius tilted his head in confusion.

One name came to mind, and a memory. It was just a name and appearance, yet with what Ferris had said it made it much more significant. Unease began to boil in his chest, along with the rapid thumping of his heart.

“A-Allow me to thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for saving my life! I, Natsuki Subaru, deeply admire your selflessness!”

Fiddling with the hilt of his sword as this memory surfaced in his mind, Reinhard knew that he had possibly made a very grave mistake. His instincts had told him there was something special about the strange boy, and he had even offered to take him along with Lady Felt.

Subaru had denied it, saying that he would take up a temporary residence in the capital in order to not incur any further debts. Or so he thought.

Did you already know of this before, Subaru? Are you avoiding your role?

It seemed out of place for Subaru to deny even Emilia’s request to take him in, given how infatuated he seemed to be with her. The only logical response was that he had somehow known of the Dragon tablets change beforehand, and was taking measures to avoid being found.

“I see,” Reinhard murmured. “So it was you.”

Julius stared at him, sharpening his gaze. “What do you mean by that? Reinhard, don’t tell me you–” He was cut off by Reinhard's dismissive wave.

“Natsuki Subaru.” Reinhard spoke quietly, only to the two knights closest to him. “We must search for Natsuki Subaru.”

“Natsuki Subaru…?” Ferris said in a wondrous tone. His ears perked up at the name, immediately recognizing just how foreign it sounded. Balling his hands into fists, a look of unrestrained anger and sickness present on his face.

“That name’s not Lugunican. Why would the Dragon Tablet want a foreigner?”

“Ferris, I hope you are not insulting Lady Anastasia with that remark.” Julius immediately replied to the distasteful comment from the cat-boy, making him snarl in response.

“Not like it matters anymore. It’s all been torn down.” Ferris’s emotions were beginning to pilot him, disregarding logic and influencing his words.

Julius’s gaze hardened. “Ferris, calm yourself.”

“Oh, stuff it, Julius,” Ferris snapped back, ears pressed flat, voice trembling with anger. “Lady Crusch poured her heart into this stupid selection—and for what? For some tablet to toss everything aside for some outsider brat? It’s disgusting, nya!”

Wincing, Julius could not deny his own frustration either. Even Reinhard closed his eyes with an apathetic stare, not willing to release his own view on the situation. All three of the knights fell into silence, staring at each other.

Ferris was idly muttering to himself, while Reinhard simply stayed idle. Julius on the other hand had a much more inquisitive look.

“Reinhard, how did you know we need to look for ‘Natsuki Subaru’?” He asked, prompting Reinhard to look at him with a regretful stare.

“Because I was with him not even an hour ago.” Reinhard sighed, his hair casting a shadow over his eyes. “I knew there was something off about him back then, yet I did not act on it.”

Ferris blinked, completely bewildered. “You– you met him? So what was he like? Is he any fit for being king?”

“He is…”Reinhard hesitated slightly, unsure of what to say. “Eccentric, to say the least. Though there is much more to him than one might initially presume.”

‘So he’s completely useless, nya!” Ferris growled, practically kicking the floor in his frustration.

“This is the possible future ruler you are talking about, Ferris.” Julius reprimanded, careful to keep his voice free of any bias. “Refrain from making premature judgements.”

Ferris clicked his tongue but did not say more. His body spoke for him after all, ears pressed against his head and tail swishing around behind him in agitation. The resentment and anger was practically leaking out of his yellow eyes.

“Do you have any idea where we can find this ‘Natsuki Subaru’?” Julius turned back towards Reinhard, raising an eyebrow. “Given that the sword saint believes he is the one the Dragon tablet speaks of, it is safe to assume he should be the one we look for first.”

“How do you know he didn’t just run, nya~?” Ferris asked.

Reinhard pondered this. He had met with Subaru of course, yet it was impossible for him to gain a solid read on the boy even with his armada of divine protections. After all, he knew of the loot house incident and Lady Emilia's involvement within it, even though the latter had never seen the boy in her life.

On top of that, nobody in the slums seemed to recognize him either, so his unusually familiar attitude with Felt could not be explained either. Natsuki Subaru did not seem like the person who would run away when it comes to saving others, yet Reinhard had no clue if he was truly avoiding the role of king.

That’s based on the assumption he knows about it. There is a possibility he himself is unaware of the fact.

“I am unsure. It is possible.” He said reluctantly.

Hearing Reinhard's familiarity yet also blatant ignorance about the boy, Julius let out an exasperated sigh. “But he is still in the capital, yes? In that case, we should be able to find him.”

Reinhard nodded and affirmed him with a simple “Yes, I believe so.”

His words settled on their shoulders like weights. The remaining knights around continued to divide into 7 different divisions, each heading towards different groups of carriages. The sun had long since set, and the full moon cast a dim glow on the entire city.

The Sword Saint looked up at the sky, now adorned with the faintly shining stars. “Today may be the last chance we have to gaze calmly at the moon.”

With a final confirming nod, the three knights, albeit reluctantly, began their mission to discover the black-haired boy known as Natsuki Subaru.

—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Yeah, just a room for one please. It’d be nice if I had someone to come along with me, but I guess I’m alone today.” The boy grumbled to himself, handing a few copper coins to the accountant behind the desk.

Upon being handed his room key, he lingered for a while in the inn’s main room. Due to this, the accountant could not help but notice his odd clothing and general appearance.

With clothes that looked completely out of this world, to black hair that seemed to blend into the night itself, it was his eyes that caught her attention. They were sharp and mean-looking but undoubtedly held a deep kindness behind them.

“Ugh, I guess this is what I get for turning down both of their offers. Damn, what was I thinking?” He groaned, covering his eyes with his hands while his legs flailed about. The accountant noted how odd of an action this was.

Leaning against her table, she continued to watch the boy with mild curiosity as he mumbled words that she could not hear to himself. There was something about the boy that drew her in, yet she could not pinpoint what it was.

Was it the look in his eyes that seemed to have come face-to-face with death itself, or the permeating stench that his body continued to emit?

It’s vile. If he were not a customer, I would have killed him without a second thought. She grumbled to herself, casting her gaze to the small knife that was hidden underneath the table.

After a few more minutes, the boy sighed to himself and made his way up the stairs and into his room. The accountant’s eyes followed him subtly as he did so, continuing to narrow suspiciously.

The sound of the room’s door shutting echoed through the halls, and the accountant was finally free from the agonizing pressure she felt.

It was the witch's scent.