Chapter Text
----------{Reinhard’s POV}----------
Reinhard Van Astrea, the Sword Saint, one of the three pillars of Lugunica, the strongest in the world.
Many revered the man for his almighty power.
Four hundred years ago, a man named Hoshin had a famous quote about someone being a ‘Jack of all trades, master of none.’
But Reinhard’s very existence acted like a slap in the face to that concept, for there was not a skill imaginable that he would fail to excel at. As a birthright, he was born greater than all else.
But even for all the infinite talent he possessed, today he stood in the market square of Lugunica’s capital facing an issue which only he was uniquely unequipped to deal with.
A day off.
That’s right. It had been more than seven hundred days since his last day off, more than two years.
And while Reinhard’s position as Sword Saint was a full time occupation, his secondary job as a knight had specific requirements in regards to mandating an allocated amount of time off per year.
Reinhard had not taken a day off for two years. Needless to say, the sages were starting to breathe down the neck of his captain, Marcos Gildark, unhappy with his ‘overworking’ of the Sword Saint.
This was why Reinhard had been forced to take the day off.
Luckily for him, it was a nice day out. The sun was shining, and the civilians around him were happy. As far as Reinhard was concerned, that was about all it took for him to consider today a good day.
[?] “AAAAHHHHHHHH, SOMEBODY HELP ME!”
As if to break the harmony of Reinhard’s good day, he suddenly heard a scream.
Without hesitation, Reinhard dashed towards the commotion at an almost blinding speed.
The scream was peculiar, one that he had honestly never heard before. Reinhard had hundreds of abilities and not one of them could help him decipher whether it was a man or a woman he was hearing.
‘A feminine male’s scream? Or perhaps a masculine female’s scream?’
It wasn’t often that Reinhard was unsure about anything. But whether it was a man or woman, they clearly needed help, and none were more qualified than Reinhard himself.
Plus, his inclination to help would bring him the answer to the question hanging so heavily on his mind.
A feminine male it was.
[Reinhard] “That’s enough.”
Reinhard’s voice echoed throughout the alleyway, causing all four men to look in his direction.
A boy stood alone at the end of the alley. He was being confronted by three thugs.
Reinhard took a step forward causing three of the men to flinch. He closed the distance, positioning himself beside the lone boy, hand clutching his blade's hilt.
[Reinhard] “Regardless of the circumstances, I will not permit any further violence against him. You’ve gone far enough.”
To anyone watching, he was the walking example of excellence, grace, and majesty. He portrayed nothing less than perfection, from his hair, to his face, to his clothes.
‘-!?’
But internally, for the first time in a long while, he was panicking. Not due to the three thugs in front of him—while he would never say so out loud, he knew without a doubt that he could defeat the trio with nothing more than a single breath, an exhale.
No, Reinhard was nervous because of the sword on his hip. The Dragon Sword ‘Reid’. The blade would only unsheathe itself if Reinhard were facing a worthy opponent.
In Reinhard’s entire life, it had only ever been drawn once, when he fought against Vollachia’s strongest combatant, Cecilus Segment.
And now, it had unsheathed itself once again.
Who for? Reid just so happened to unleash itself for the cowering boy whom Reinhard had just turned his back to.
[Thug] “N-No way…”
Reinhard could see the three men go pale and was glad, had his presence not arrived sooner to scare off these thugs, there was a very high chance the man standing behind him would have slaughtered them.
[Thug] “Blazing red hair and eyes blue as the sky… And that sword’s sheath with a dragon’s craw engraved in it.”
Reinhard knew how strong people thought. Men like Cecilus, whose incredible strength was usually paired with an equally incredible ego.
[Thug] “Reinhard… The Sword Saint Reinhard?!”
Reinhard’s grin did not waver. He needed to come across as confident to scare away these three men. Should a battle break out, he could not afford any bystanders.
[Reinhard] “Seems I won’t need to introduce myself… That title is a bit much for me, though.”
Internally he cringed, Reinhard instinctually spoke in the same self-demeaning way that he always did. Normally, he wouldn’t mind people underestimating his capabilities. But now was the one time he needed to assert his strength.
[Reinhard] “I’ll leave it at that if you flee. You’d better head out onto the street. But if you wish to use force, I shall be your opponent.”
He placed his hand on the hilt and looked back to the man he was supposedly protecting. Reinhard took a moment to analyze him, trying to find the source of his danger, or even a clear weakness.
[Reinhard] “It would be three on two, in that case. In terms of numbers, you would have the advantage. I do not know to what extent my meager strength can aid him, but as a knight, I shall face you.”
With the gesture of his blade and the implication of a fight, he hoped the thugs would be scared away.
[Thug] “Yo-You’re kidding! There’s no way!”
His efforts were a success. They ran away panicking.
[Reinhard] “I’m glad we’re both safe. Are you unhurt?”
Reinhard turned to the young man. Once again eyeing him up and down.
Upon first glance, there seemed to be nothing special about him at all, but after a moment of observation…
…there was still nothing special about him.
Okay that wasn’t a fair assessment, the boy had black hair and black eyes, which was highly unusual in Lugunica. Features like those would be found more commonly in nations like Vollachia or Gusteko.
There was also the matter of his strange clothing, which Reinhard couldn’t pinpoint to any of the four great nations. It appeared to have very fine stitching so perhaps it was a new style of noble fashion.
Even his face, figure, and hands seemed like those of a noble’s. No signs that he’d ever had to work hard, but still a slightly decent physique. But none of these observations could justify Reid lifting from his sheath.
Reinhard never lifted his hand from his weapon, after all, there was no reason to believe his own observations over Reid’s judgement. Many times in his life, he had faced legendary warriors — warriors, who, based off of their fame alone, would undoubtedly warrant being faced with only the strongest weapon — just for Reinhard to be forced to use whatever weapon he could find lying around instead, or maybe even just his hands.
Suddenly, the boy dropped to his knees and bowed his head.
[Black-haired Boy] “I am ever so thankful to you for saving my life, please allow me to express my gratitude. I, uh…”
This sudden reaction caught Reinhard off guard. The last thing he was expecting was for the boy to prostrate himself and start profusely thanking him for saving him from thugs he could surely handle on his own.
Reinhard also noticed the boy start to hesitate when it was time to give his name, perhaps he had to hide it for some reason.
[Reinhard] “Relax, you don’t have to go that far. They felt that they had lost their advantage when it became three on two. It would have been different if I were alone.”
Reinhard reached out a hand towards the boy to help him stand, which he took. The boy then dusted himself off and stood eye to eye with Reinhard.
[Black-Haired Boy] “Um, Reinhard-san… Can I call you that?”
[Reinhard] “There’s no need to be so formal. Um…”
Reinhard was signaling for the boy to give his name. After his hesitation earlier, Reinhard was sure his name had some kind of importance.
[Flugel] “My name is, um… it’s, uh… Flugel… yeah, my name is Flugel.”
Reinhard gave ‘Flugel’ a smile, even though he could tell the boy was lying.
[Reinhard] “It’s nice to meet you, Flugel.”
[Flugel] “You sure closed the distance smoothly… Uh, thank you once again, Reinhard. You were the only one who responded to my screams, how terribly lonely.”
Reinhard is sure he was not the only one who heard Flugel screaming, considering just how loud his screams were. It’s a good thing nobody tried to help. After all, it wasn’t a normal person who was calling for help.
[Reinhard] “For most people, it would be very risky to antagonize such fellows. In that respect, your decision to call for the guards was the correct one.”
[Flugel] “From the way you’re talking, you’re a guard? You don’t really look like one.”
‘Does he not know who I am? Even after those thugs introduced me and my title? Does this mean he’s never even heard of the Sword Saint?’
[Flugel] “TonChinKan said something about you being a… what was it? Sword Saint? Is that like a title?”
This more or less confirmed Reinhard’s suspicions.
[Reinhard] “My family is somewhat special, you see. Every day, it feels like the weight of their expectations could crush me.”
All of a sudden, Reinhard sensed Flugel’s heart rate spike. His face changed, and he looked desperate.
[Flugel] “Does that means you are strong?”
‘This is it.’ Reinhard thought. This man must be a Cecilus type, the kind of man that lives to fight other strong people. But unlike Cecilus, he wouldn’t even entertain the weak, and would instead use them as bait to attract other strong people.
[Reinhard] “That seems to be the word that my peers use for me most often.”
Flugel frantically grabbed Reinhard’s shoulders. He was lucky Reinhard’s Divine Protection of First Sight hadn’t deemed this action an attack, otherwise he would have cut Flugel’s life short. Instead, Reid stayed mostly sheathed, bar the centimeter of blade that slithered out.
[Flugel] “Reinhard, please—you have to listen to what I’m going to tell you.”
Flugel’s voice shook. He appeared to be scared.
[Flugel] “There’s going to be an attack… people are going to die!”
‘What?’
Was Flugel confessing that he was going to kill people? That wasn’t what it sounded like he was trying to say. He was distraught, panicked. And Reinhard couldn’t sense any bloodlust.
Reinhard placed his hand on Flugel’s shoulder.
[Reinhard] “Calm down, Flugel. Breathe. Tell me from the beginning — what’s going to happen?”
Flugel paused for a moment, inhaled, then exhaled.
[Flugel] “Haah, okay. Thanks, Reinhard.”
[Reinhard] “It's alright, Flugel. Now, please tell me what will happen.”
[Flugel] “Okay, I’ll start right at the beginning. There’s this black-haired assassin lady named Elsa…”
[Reinhard] “Elsa Granhiert?! The Bowel Hunter?!”
His eyes widened and he almost yelled. Reinhard hadn’t even noticed that he interrupted Flugel.
[Flugel] “Yeah Elsa Gra— wait a minute, The Bowel Hunter?! What the hell kind of a nickname is that!? It is pretty fitting, though…”
He honestly couldn’t believe what Flugel was saying. Elsa Granhiert, the infamous Gustekan assassin and serial killer, was in Lugunica?
[Reinhard] “…Please continue.”
[Flugel] “Okay, Elsa Granhiert has paid a thief girl from the slums named Felt to steal something from a certain girl.”
Reinhard’s eyes sharpened, his expression was deadly serious.
[Reinhard] “A thief? Do you know who she’s stealing from and what she’s stealing?”
Flugel swallowed the saliva in his mouth.
[Flugel] “I do. The person being stolen from is a gorgeous, silver-haired, half-elf girl with purple eyes. Her name is— er… I don’t know her name actually.”
Reinhard squinted slightly, hearing a perfect description of the Witch of Envy didn’t do anything to soothe his already flared up nerves.
[Flugel] “As for what she’s stealing, it’s a small insignia, about this big.”
Flugel held up his hand and used his fingers to indicate the size of the insignia.
[Flugel] “It’s black, with a golden looking dragon on it, and a red gem in the center.”
Reinhard’s eyes widened, that description was unmistakable. He was referring to the Dragon Insignia, the Insignia held only by those given the right to participate in the Royal Selection.
Meaning the girl being stolen from had to be be one of the four discovered Dragon Candidates.
Part of Reinhard started to believe what Flugel was saying. The details he was giving are extremely accurate. He shouldn’t even know about half of the things he had brought up so far.
[Reinhard] “Alright, so a thief will steal an insignia from a girl. What’s going to happen after that?”
[Flugel] “Well… Um… They…”
Reinhard didn’t rush him, he simply gave Flugel the space he needed to put his thoughts into words.
[Flugel] “Elsa is going to kill both of them.”
Flugel’s eyes were trembling, his hands were shaking and his teeth chattering. Reinhard’s breath hitched.
[Reinhard] “Flugel.”
Flugel looked up and met Reinhard’s calm, accepting eyes. They helped Flugel to regain his composure. His shoulders loosened, and he released a deep exhale.
[Reinhard] “I need you to tell me, Flugel. Where is this going to happen? And when? I cannot allow something like this to occur. Please, tell me everything.”
Reinhard was unsure what to think right now. On one hand, Flugel was worthy of the Dragon Sword Reid and that alone could make him enough of a threat to arrest. But on the other hand, just being worthy of Reid was not a crime. Reinhard could not arrest Flugel for being strong. If he really was — nothing at all had so far indicated he had any strength or power whatsoever.
Not only that, but judging by his observations, there was very little chance he was insane or crazed in any way. Meaning the things he was saying would really happen. And if that was the case, then Reinhard had to stop them.
[Flugel] “There’s a Loot House in the slums, it’s all going to happen there. And it’s going to happen in the late afternoon, early evening.”
Reinhard put his hand on his chin in contemplation.
[Reinhard] “The Loot House, I believe I know where that is.”
[Flugel] “Yeah it’s at the end of a long road, it’s hard to miss.”
Both men looked deadly serious at this point. Reinhard needed to dig deeper, he knew he was close to making a decision, but he needed to be sure.
[Reinhard] “Okay, Flugel, I’ll believe you. But I need to ask two questions first.”
[Flugel] “Really? You will believe me?! Thank you, Reinhard!”
Flugel took Reinhard’s hand and shook it frantically, flashing his signature grin. This genuinely surprised Reinhard.
[Reinhard] “W-wait Flugel, I have to ask you two questions first!”
[Flugel] “Right, right! Sorry! Please, ask away! I’ll answer anything!”
Reinhard pauses for a moment.
[Reinhard] “Alright, first.”
His eyes sharpen.
[Reinhard] “Flugel, do you have anything to do with the things you told me about?”
Flugel takes a half step backwards.
[Flugel] “Wha-What do you mean?”
His expression didn’t sway.
[Reinhard] “Were you the one to set these events in motion? Did any of your actions lead to the events happening?”
Fear flashed across Flugel’s face.
[Flugel] “What?! No! Of course not! Why would I do something like that?! And then tell you? I mean—”
He’s telling the truth.
[Reinhard] “Alright, Flugel. I believe you.”
[Flugel] “What kind of person would even— Wait really? You believe me so easily? I mean, I appreciate it, but even I can admit I look pretty suspicious over here.”
For the first time in this interaction, Reinhard had to stifle a laugh.
[Reinhard] “Sorry, Flugel. Believe was not the right word. I have Divine Protections that allow me to accurately observe somebody's physical conditions including their heartrate. Effectively giving me better judgement when telling if someone is lying or not.”
[Flugel] “What? Seriously!? That isn’t even fair! You can tell whenever someone is lying?”
[Reinhard] “That is righ-“
[Flugel] “I love Peas!”
…
…
The two men stared at each other, one of which had a determined look on his face as a long silence passed.
[Reinhard] “That is a lie, Flugel. That isn’t good, you should make sure to eat your greens every da—“
[Flugel] “What!? I really put my heart and soul into that but you could still tell? Man, I even believed it for a mo—“
[Reinhard] “Pftt, Hahahaha!”
Reinhard couldn’t help but burst out laughing.
[Flugel] “Pfft, hahahaha.”
Flugel couldn’t help joining in.
Seeing this, Reinhard cut off his laughter and cleared his throat.
[Reinhard] “Ehem, I apologize, I should not have broken my composure during such a serious conversation.”
[Flugel] “Come on Reinhard, it’s okay to laugh. Try and lighten up a little bit. Okay?”
Flugel brandishes his signature smile and pats Reinhard on the shoulder.
[Reinhard] “Oh-Kay?”
Flugel moves his body to look like an ‘O’ then a ‘K’.
[Flugel] “O! K! It means like alright! So, Okay!”
Reinhard’s thoughts could barely keep up with Flugel’s antics. So he just smiled.
[Reinhard] “Oh-Kay, Flugel. In that case, can you please tell me how you know everything you told me?”
For a moment, Flugel stopped breathing. Reinhard wasn’t expecting this kind of a reaction, he was convinced Flugel was safe. That, while for some reason Reid did deem him a worthy opponent, he was sure they would never actually have to fight each other. He was clearly a kind boy.
But now, he was hesitating. Why was he hesitating? Reinhard’s smile dropped and his eyes squinted.
[Flugel] “I, um…”
[Reinhard] “Is there a reason you can’t tell me? Would it put you in danger, perhaps?”
Reinhard chose to trust Flugel regardless.
[Flugel] “No, No that’s not it… damn it! You know what? I’ll try it!”
Flugel was shaking but he looked at Reinhard with determination painted on his face.
[Flugel] “Reinhard, the reason I know all of this is because I can return by d-“
‘What just happened?!’
[Reinhard] “Flugel?! What happened? Are you okay?”
Flugel was on the ground clutching his chest, breathing extremely heavily. Almost like his heart had been ripped out of his chest. Like he was desperate for air.
There were tears falling down his face while Reinhard rubbed Flugel’s back, hoping to soothe his pain.
Worry plagued the Sword Saints face.
[Flugel] “I… I don’t know… what was that… was it because… can I not?”
Flugel heaved like he was going to throw up then looked up to Reinhard with a tear stained face.
[Flugel] “Reinhard… I’m sorry. I wish I could tell you, but I can’t. I would lie to make you feel better, but I know you would see right through it. But please I’ll answer any other questions! Please just… believe me…”
He was clearly desperate and Reinhard could see it. But he had already decided he was going to trust the young boy.
[Reinhard] “Flugel, relax. Clearly there’s a reason you cannot tell me. It’s quite obvious you want to help those people. Don’t worry, I will choose to believe in your sincerity.”
Flugel looked dumbfounded and in awe. As if he was going to cry.
Reinhard stood up straight with a glint of light in his eyes and looked down upon the desperate Flugel.
[Reinhard] “I, Reinhard Van Astrea, successor of the Master Swordsman line, swear to do everything in my power to stop the Bowel Hunter and save those two girls.”
Reinhard reached his hand out to once again to help Flugel. He took his hand and rose back to his feet, but Reinhard didn’t let go of his hand and adjusted his grip to a handshake. He grinned and looked Flugel in the eye.
[Reinhard] “Just promise to tell me how you knew all of this, one day. Oh-Kay, friend?”
Starstruck. That’s the only term you could use to describe Flugel’s expression.
[Flugel] “Reinhard…”
Flugel’s face trembled as he tried to speak.
[Flugel] “Damn it… I can’t believe a damn Ikemen is going to make me cry.”
He rubbed his eyes, making sure not a single tear was able to escape. Flugel straightened his back and tightened his grip on the handshake.
[Flugel] “Thank you! Reinhard. For believing me… please save those people for me!”
Reinhard could not help letting a grin cover his face.
[Reinhard] “It is my duty. It will be done.”
The grip of their handshake weakened and eventually broke.
[Reinhard] “By the way, Flugel, what is an Ikemen?”
[Flugel] “Argh, damnit no! Don’t worry about it, okay? It means nothing!”
[Reinhard] “You are lying again, Flugel. Surely it is not some kind of insult?”
[Flugel] “No! No, of course it isn’t an insult it’s just a—“
Flugel stopped his panicked response when he saw Reinhard chuckling to himself. Flugel grinded his teeth.
[Flugel] “Tch, now you’re teasing me?! I just laid my heart bare like a maiden begging for help and you relentlessly bully me. Will this world offer me no solace?”
He covered his body like a damsel in distress. Pouring crocodile tears while pretending to wipe them away. Woe is Flugel.
[Reinhard] “Sorry, Flugel, I simply couldn’t help myself.”
A toothy grin plagued Flugel’s face.
[Flugel] “Well, since you apologized and you are going to save them for me, I suppose I can forgive you.”
Flugel gave Reinhard a thumbs up.
[Reinhard] “Alright, Flugel, I believe it’s time to head off. There are some other things I need to look into before heading over to the Loot House.”
‘I don’t want to leave him here, but I truly do have other things to attend to. I would offer him to stay at the estate otherwise.’
[Flugel] “Okay, Reinhard. But, while you are tending to those things, maybe you should go find some backup to help you. I know you’re the Sword Saint and all, but this chick is strong. Like, stupid strong! I wouldn’t want to be sending you to your death here, you know?”
For the sixty-third time today, Reinhard’s eyes widened. It truly had been a long time since anybody had worried about Reinhard. Or thought he could lose.
Reinhard only smiled.
[Reinhard] “Thank you, friend. I’ll be sure to keep it in mind”
Reinhard waved goodbye and walked away from the strange boy. Flugel was waving with both hands like a child whose father was going to work.
What a truly unordinary day, and he was sure it would only get weirder considering what was to come.
‘I wonder what our next encounter will be like?’
-----[]-----
Hours had passed, and Reinhard was now walking down a dirt road, indicative of the slums. Step by step, he closed in on the Loot House.
The sky’s hue relayed a transitional orange that slowly faded to a lilac purple. Its reflection on Reinhard’s fiery hair caused a dark burgundy to shine through.
Victims of Lugunica’s economic disparity stared at Reinhard as he walked by. They were not used to seeing the topic of legends walk through their end of the capital.
It didn’t take long before the Loot House was visible. Part of Reinhard felt nervous. Not because he was scared, but instead because he had spent the whole day contemplating the strange boy's words.
‘Is it true? Was Flugel right? Was he really telling the truth?’
As much as Reinhard trusted his Divine Protections and wanted to trust Flugel as well, he simply couldn’t deny that what Flugel had told him was hard to believe.
Fortunately for Reinhard, he wouldn’t have to wait long before he got his answer. He could hear a commotion coming from the Loot House.
He immediately broke into a sprint, closing the distance in mere moments before slamming through the front door.
Before anyone in the room could notice his presence, he saw a blade mere centimeters away from the arm of a giant. As easily as he breathed, Reinhard intercepted the blow and redirected the attacker into the far wall of the Loot House.
[Reinhard] “That’s enough.”
Reinhard’s voice boomed throughout the building, forcing all those inside to direct their attention straight to him.
He looked behind him and noticed an elderly giant man and a young girl with golden hair and red eyes.
[Reinhard] “Am I correct in assuming you are the thief, Felt?”
[Felt] “What the hell?! Aren’t you the Sword Saint?! What are you doing here?! No! How do you know my name?!”
Reinhard put on a calm face to reassure the two.
[Reinhard] “All questions I can answer, but first…”
He turns his head towards the dust cloud he created. Out of it walked a black-haired woman with purple eyes and a voluptuous figure. She brandished two Kukris that were indicative of her Gustekan origins.
[Reinhard] “Black hair and clothes, curved blades characteristic of the north. You are Elsa Granhiert, the Bowel Hunter. It seems Flugel was correct.”
A sickening smile crept onto the woman’s face.
[Elsa] “Oh my~ it seems my reputation precedes me. But your characteristics are even more famous. Red hair, blue eyes, and a sword with a dragon’s claw marks on it. You are the Sword Saint, Reinhard Van Astrea~”
[Reinhard] “It seems like I can skip the introductions, everybody seems to know who I am.”
Elsa giggled to herself.
[Elsa] “Well of course~ you are only the most famous man in the nation! A most excellent trophy~”
Elsa’s grin widened as she lowered into a battle stance, ready to pounce.
[Reinhard] “You surely exaggerate.”
[Elsa] “Incredible~ to think I’d encounter such interesting opponents, I suppose I’ll have to thank my employer.”
[Reinhard] “There’s a number of things I’d like to ask you. I recommend you surrender.”
Elsa scoffed at the knight.
[Elsa] “You think a starving predator could resist a splendid steak dripping blood?”
She seductively licks her lips and looks towards Reinhard with an ecstatic expression.
[Reinhard] “No, I suppose not.”
He turned to look at the young thief and old giant.
[Reinhard] “Please move to the corner and stay there.
They both nodded their heads in unison and ran to the corner of the loot house, where Reinhard would surely protect them.
Reinhard took a step towards the battle-ready Elsa and gave her his undivided attention.
Both understood that the battle had just begun. Elsa exhaled sharply and dashed towards Reinhard at blinding speeds, swinging her Kukri down upon his neck.
To anyone watching it seemed as if the attack would surely land.
[Reinhard] “I’d prefer not to be too violent against a female opponent, but… Excuse me.”
A shockwave so powerful it cracked the floor pulsed throughout the Loot House. It alone was enough to stop Elsa’s attack. Then, a roundhouse kick slammed into Elsa’s ribs, sending her flying back into the same wall she just left.
And once again, she arose from the rubble.
[Elsa] “You’re as good as the rumors say… No, you’re even better~”
Never once did Reinhard’s calm demeanor waver.
[Reinhard] “I’m not sure I can live up to your expectations.”
Elsa’s smile must have been painted on, because it never left her face. She pointed her blade towards the legendary sword on Reinhard’s hip.
[Elsa] “Will you not use the sword at your hip? I would love to experience its legendary sharpness~”
Reinhard could only respond with a shake of his head.
[Reinhard] “This sword can only be drawn when it is necessary. That it has not left its sheath means this is not one of those times.”
[Elsa] “It seems I’m being looked down upon.”
[Reinhard] “I find this judgement rather troubling as well. Therefore―”
Reinhard scans the room, until his eyes fall upon a worn down, two-handed sword. He kicked the blade up and caught it effortlessly, swinging it lightly as if to test it.
[Reinhard] “I shall face you with this. Are you dissatisfied?”
[Elsa] “Not at all. Aah~ Wonderful! Simply wonderful. Please, do entertain me~”
Suddenly Elsa lunged straight at Reinhard once again, only for her blow to be deflected as she retreated. She attacked just as quickly as she pulled away, often jumping from wall to wall, finding different angles to try and attack.
Although her title would indicate she might only target the gut, reality wouldn’t be so kind. She could only indulge such habits against lower quality opposition. Against such a powerful foe, she simply could not afford to do so.
So she targeted every part of Reinhard’s body. Vitals such as his head, neck or torso. But after repeated failure to reach those targets, she instead moved onto less vital areas, Reinhard’s arms or legs. But no matter where she tried to strike, she would never land.
Reinhard suddenly countered one of Elsa’s many attacks and immediately broke both of the blades she held.
She threw both of the broken Kukris aside.
[Reinhard] “Now that you’ve lost your weapons, I recommend you surrender.”
She smiled and lunged at Reinhard once more. Believing the woman to be unarmed he leaned back enough to dodge an unarmed attack. But unbeknownst to anyone in the Loot House, Elsa had a seemingly endless supply of Kukris at her disposal.
She did not brandish the blade until the very last moment. Reinhard saw the blade, but even with his monstrous strength and speed he didn’t have enough time to dodge. Elsa, just like everyone else watching the battle, thought her strike would land true.
As her strike swung down upon Reinhard’s head, an almost otherworldly force moved the trajectory of her strike out of the way so it would miss. Slashing to the left of Reinhard's head.
Seeing that her missed strike left her open, he countered with a powerful slash that once again sent her flying into the wall. She slowly stood up after the blow and staggered before her cloak dissipated into the atmosphere.
For the first time, Elsa’s smile had been torn from her face.
[Elsa] “What… was that? What happened to my attack?”
Reinhard had seen this before. Many people spent their lives dedicated towards becoming strong. Trying to reach the pinnacle.
Many times he had seen the moment when it dawned upon those people that, in front of someone like him, someone blessed by the world, their hard work meant nothing.
[Reinhard] “That was my Divine Protection of Initiative, which makes me immune to surprise attacks.”
Elsa’s eye twitched. Her teeth clenched. Was this all her life amounted to? A life of struggling, fighting, killing, doing anything to survive?
She had just spent the last four minutes throwing every strike she could muster. Harder and faster than she ever had. And she couldn’t even touch him.
And just when she had been able to outsmart her opponent and catch him off guard with a surprise attack, it was completely nullified by an ability he had been born with.
Was she born to be weaker than this man?
[Elsa] “When are you going to show me what you are truly capable of?”
This caught Reinhard slightly off guard, but he understood the sentiment. She had learned that she was beneath Reinhard, but now she wanted to know what heights he could soar to.
[Reinhard] “My apologies, I should have faced you using my full abilities from the start. I did not mean to belittle your ability.”
For the first time in the battle, Reinhard took a battle stance and readied his blade.
[Elsa] “What are you going to show me?”
[Reinhard] “The swordplay of the Astrea family.”
As Reinhard said this, the atmosphere warped, and all the light in the room began to distort. All the mana in the area was being taken by Reinhard’s swordplay.
[Elsa] “The Bowel Hunter, Elsa Granhiert.”
[Reinhard] “Successor of the Master Swordsman line, Reinhard Van Astrea.”
Elsa attempted to attack Reinhard one last time, but was intercepted by a strike that glowed brighter than the sun. An aura that filled the entire Loot House surrounded his blade as he brought it down upon her.
[Felt] “Wahhhhh! What the hell?!”
The single strike engulfed not just the woman, but also everything beyond her. Half of the Loot House had become less than ruins, closer to dust.
The rest of the Loot house was falling apart, but eventually the air settled.
[Felt] “Did ya get her?”
Reinhard gave a short glance around before saying,
[Reinhard] “It appears I did.”
Felt gives a sigh of relief.
[Felt] “Well thank Od for that, we would have been goners without you dude, thanks!”
[Giant] “She’s right, we were dead meat before you got here.”
Reinhard’s signature calm and composed expression covered his face.
[Reinhard] “I am simply glad I could help.”
[Felt] “Yeah, I really appreciate it, but I have to know, how did you know we were in danger? There’s no way a big shot like you was just patrolling the slums. And how did you know my name?!”
Reinhard expected to be asked these questions, but he didn’t really know how to respond. Did he tell the truth? That a boy he had never met before told him exactly what was going to happen.
[Reinhard] “Well, you see—“
A pile of debris suddenly flew upward and out of it flew Elsa. She was waiting for Reinhard to step just far enough away from the girl so that she could attack.
Reinhard saw it too late. He had wandered too far from the girl, and now there was no way for him to intercept the blow. He had failed.
Throughout Reinhard’s life, he was revered as a genius. But he never believed it. After all, a genius wouldn’t make so many mistakes.
When he was young, his father was punished by the knights for a mistake he had made. Reinhard felt bad for his father, so he used his Divine Protection of Mind Changing to sway the opinions of his father.
When his father, Heinkel, found this out, he bore an uncontrollable rage towards the boy. Forcing him to never use that ability ever again.
When Reinhard was five years old, he inherited the Divine Protection of the Sword Saint. At any other time it would have been a situation to celebrate, but Reinhard always had terrible timing.
He had received the blessing at the same time that the previous Sword Saint, his grandmother, was in the midst of her battle against the White Whale.
Reinhard had killed his grandmother. This is what his grandfather told him.
Heinkel tried to deny it, but Reinhard knew it was true, and in time, even his father would come to believe so as well.
Reinhard’s life had felt like a constant stream of mistakes and failures. How could he be surprised that he had failed again?
He had failed to save Felt and the giant’s life.
He had failed to keep his promise to Flugel.
He had failed like he failed his family.
He had failed like he always failed.
Like he failed his grandmother.
Like he failed his grandfather.
Like he failed his mother.
Like he failed his father.
He. Had. Failed.
“El Huma!”
Suddenly, bolts of ice intercepted Elsa’s attack on the young girl. Immediately after, a veritable barrage of ice caused her to retreat away entirely.
Reinhard may have failed, but he wouldn’t allow this opportunity to slip. He jumped between the two parties and glared at Elsa.
[Elsa] “Tch.”
Elsa could only click her tongue. She looked towards the source of the ice bolts and saw an Elven girl with silver hair and purple eyes. The target she was meant to kill. But with Reinhard here, and her in the state that she was, she simply had no chance of completing her job.
She flipped backwards onto the highest point of the Loot houses remains.
[Elsa] “Someday, I shall slice open the bellies of everyone in this room. So until then, do take good care of your bowels.”
Elsa then disappeared into the night, becoming one with the shadows, hopefully never to return. But everyone present knew that would be wishful thinking.
Reinhard looked towards the silver haired girl who saved Felt.
‘That’s the girl Flugel was talking about. Everything really is as he says. If that is the case, then she must be the Dragon Candidate, Emilia.’
The girl stepped into the wreck that used to be the Loot house and walked straight towards Felt.
[Felt] “Wha- What are you doing here? How persistent are you!?”
[Silver-haired Elf] “You are the one who stole my insignia! Please give it back to me!”
[Felt] “Y-You just saved my life?”
[Silver-haired Elf] “That’s right! Now please give me my insignia.”
[Felt] “Why?”
The silver-haired girl tilted her head to the left while trying to maintain her mean looking face.
[Emilia] “Why do I want my insignia? Well it’s very important to me and—“
[Felt] “No you idiot! Why did you save me?! You could have… you should have just left me to die!”
Felt looked like she was on the verge of tears. The Elf girl put a finger on her chin in contemplation.
[Emilia] “Well, saving you probably put me in your good graces, meaning you might give my insignia back. Also, leaving someone to die is reaaaally bad. Of course I would save you!”
Felt looked dumbfounded. Was this girl an idiot? Or just kind?
Reinhard couldn’t help but smile seeing this exchange.
‘These are the values of the person who may lead us one day.’
[Felt] “Wow, lady. I don’t know whether to call you kind or dumb.”
[Giant] “She sounds plain dumb to me.”
Felt snickered.
[Felt] “Haha, isn’t that right Old man Rom?”
Emilia huffed and pouted.
[Emilia] “Hmmmm, that’s no way to talk to the person who just saved you! And don’t call me lady! My name is Emilia! Just Emilia.”
[Felt] “Haha okay sorry Emilia, thank you for saving us, and sorry for stealing your insignia. You should really try to take better care of it, okay?”
Felt pulled the insignia out of her pocket.
[Emilia] “I don’t want to hear that from the person who stole it from me.”
Reinhard was watching the entire interaction. He looked towards the insignia as it left Felt’s pocket and, as expected, he saw the Dragon Insignia. But that was not what caught Reinhard’s eye.
The insignia that shined only when in the hands of a Dragon Candidate sat in Felt’s palm. And glowed.
Reinhard’s eyes widened. Before Emilia could take the insignia back, Reinhard had already grabbed Felt’s wrist and pulled it closer to his eyes. He stared at the stone and, sure enough, it was still glowing.
[Felt] “What the hell?”
Reinhard’s eyes shot towards felts without letting go of her wrist.
[Reinhard] “You! Felt! What’s your full name?! How old are you?!”
[Felt] “What? I don’t have anything fancy like a last name. If I had to guess I’d say I’m about fifteen, but what is this about?! Can you let go of me?!”
‘Flugel… did you know about this? Is this why you sent me here?’
Reinhard didn’t relinquish her wrist, but he did drop his hand making her own arm fall closer to her side.
[Reinhard] “I’m sorry, but I cannot do that. You are going to have to come with me.”
[Felt] “What!?”
[Rom] “The hell she is!”
Rom attempted to swing his club at him but before he could do anything, Reinhard’s hand was already in front of his face. He sucked the mana straight out of his body, causing him to lose consciousness immediately.
[Felt] “Old man Rom! What the hell did you—“
Before she could finish her sentence, Reinhard did the same to her.
‘Flugel, just how much do you really know?’
[Emilia] “Hey, I don’t know who you are, but you cannot just do that!”
When he turned, he saw Emilia with an ice bolt at the ready.
‘He even said she would be here, another candidate’
[Reinhard] “I apologize, Lady Emilia, but for reasons I cannot explain, they must come with me. They will not be in any harm. Should you doubt my intentions, I will have you know that I am the Sword Saint, Reinhard Van Astrea, and that everything I am doing now is in accordance with the Will of the Dragon, the Elders and the Knights.”
Hearing this disarmed Emilia.
‘His black hair, perhaps he’s a Stargazer from Vollachia?’
[Emilia] “If you are the Sword Saint… then why did you do this?”
[Reinhard] “I apologize for my ungentlemanly display, but unfortunately, this is my duty, and I must carry it out most efficiently.”
Reinhard bowed his head down to Emilia.
‘Did you want this to happen, Flugel?’
[Reinhard] “Lady Emilia, it seems we will meet again very soon upon the Elders’ summons.”
He looked towards the full moon, causing Emilia to turn her head to the sky as well.
[Reinhard] “This may be the last time we can gaze calmly upon the moon.”
‘Just who are you? Flugel…’
UPDATE - I never read King Selection First Contact which directly contradicts a couple of the things that happened in this chapter, for my sake we are just going to move forward under the assumption that it doesn't exist and that what i put down is canon instead. This will not be constant, I will try and avoid contradictions as much as possible but Tappei has just put out too much content lmao