Work Text:
Natsuki Subaru, son of Baron Natsuki Kenichi, was feeling many things right now as he stared at the floating screen before him, the soft rattling of the train carrying him toward his destination acting as white noise.
Growing up, he admired his father, a strong and fierce knight of the Lugunica Kingdom.
And he was not the only one.
Kenichi Natsuki was a lord whose subjects not only respected, but also loved, a rarity among nobles. From his joyful and strong attitude, to his power and resolve to defend their homes, to the skillful and dependable back he presented to those who followed him, many people found solace in him. The tale of how he had wooed Naoko from the Kamijo mage family was still told in songs throughout their domain.
Subaru thought he could have been like that.
Had hoped so.
To become a man worthy of being his father’s son.
To be someone his future subjects could rely on.
But he always fell short.
The footwork always eluded him, and the sword, while not weighing heavily in his hands, felt improper every time he wielded it. No other weapon, be it a spear, halberd, or axe, had fit him either.
But that did not stop him from trying. Again and again, from dawn until sunset, he desperately hoped that through sheer hard work, he would manage to overcome his lacking self and hold his family name with pride.
But as he grew older, a truth he had desperately tried to run away from finally caught up to him.
He was ordinary.
His father was not.
And no matter how much hard work he put in, he would never be able to close that gap.
He still remembered the sight of the sky itself being cleaved in two, his father’s proud and encouraging smirk as he looked down at him and promised to teach him that technique when he was ready.
...It wasn’t funny, the chasm between them.
But he still wanted to make them proud, so he tried taking a different avenue.
Magic, just like his talented mom.
His mother, Natsuki Naoko, was a soft but strong woman, even if she was a bit airheaded. Her talents in Yang and Earth magic had even earned her a place as a teacher at several accomplished academies. When he turned to her, a last hope in his eyes, she smiled and taught him everything she could.
Even if his attribute was not one of her own, his talent in Yin magic was impressive. Her eyes had practically shone with pride as she hugged him tightly and told him that he was amazing, that he had finally found something that was his.
But then his Gate broke.
And just like that, all his hard work, all his potential, all his hope, went along with it.
He still remembered his parents’ expressions that day, despair filling their eyes as they yelled at the healing mage to fix their son.
...He would never be what they deserved.
It was on that day that he accepted that.
He locked himself in his room, barely coming out, burying himself in study books and whatever else managed to distract him from his parents and his own sense of failure.
But still, there was a single, last hope.
One Subaru had already given up on, the past promising him that there too, he would amount to nothing.
The Status Window.
At the age of seventeen, everyone, noble and commoner alike, would have a translucent window that only they could see appear before them on their birthday, detailing their abilities, talents, and the powers hidden within them. Each of their basic attributes would be measured in grades, with F representing the average person.
Then there were Skills.
Powers born from the very nature of the person themselves, shaped by their potential, personality, experiences, and even desires. No two Skills were exactly the same, and those Skills were what allowed even complete nobodies to suddenly gain some footing in the world.
Even with his parents trying to encourage him, telling him that perhaps this would finally reveal what he was truly capable of, Subaru merely kept his head down and returned to his room.
What would it matter?
He was talentless. Unlucky. Uncharming.
What would having a Skill suddenly change?
His potential was merely that. Potential. A lie told in a hypothetical.
Having one Skill spoke of an average person. Two or three meant someone talented. And anything beyond that was the realm of people whose names would eventually be remembered.
People like his father.
Not him.
He doubted he would even get a single Skill.
He did not see his parents’ worried looks as he returned to his room.
When he woke up blearily the next morning, on the birthday that was supposed to be a happy day, he resisted opening his eyes for as long as he could. He knew what would be there, and being hit with the truth was painful, no matter how much you already knew it.
But he couldn’t keep his eyes closed forever.
So reluctantly, Subaru opened them and came face to face with the dreadful Status Window.
<Status Info>
Strength: D+
Agility: D
Endurance: C-
Dexterity: C
Magic: (-)
Luck: F(-)(-)(-)
...
Just as he thought.
He really was useless.
His father could probably look at numbers like these and laugh.
Never at him. He was too good for that.
But still.
A normal knight’s Strength should be around C. Every increase counted as its own rank, whether it was from D to D+ or C- to C, and the higher one climbed, the harder each step became. Crossing into a new letter was harder still. Raising a D to a D+ was difficult enough, but going from B+ to A- was something entirely different.
Despite all the help and teaching Subaru had received, despite all those mornings spent training until his muscles screamed at him to stop, he had only reached D+.
Dexterity was somewhat surprising, and Endurance wasn’t terrible per se, but other than that, the Status Window told Subaru the same story he had already learned years ago.
That he was just an ordinary person who had desperately tried to become someone special and failed.
Despite everything he had been given.
Opportunities most people would never receive.
And this was what he had done with all of it.
Even his Luck seemed to point mockingly at his face.
Luck: F(-)(-)(-)
As if the F alone had not already made the point clear enough.
Dammit...
Subaru lowered his head, nausea and shame filling him.
So this was it.
Seventeen years old.
The age when noble children finally learned what they were truly capable of, and proudly displayed their Skills to their parents to assure them of their bloodline’s continued prosperity.
And Subaru had finally received his answer.
Nothing.
He amounted to nothing.
He turned around and buried his face into his pillow.
At least his parents weren’t here. It was tradition for parents to wake their child on their birthday and celebrate the appearance of the Status Window with them, but he had urged them not to come today.
He didn’t think he could handle seeing their expressions.
...It was then that something caught the corner of his eye.
The Skill section.
A place he had been certain would be empty.
Except...
It wasn’t.
...Should he even look at it?
...
Subaru slowly raised his head again, curiosity filling him where hope should have been.
He stared.
Stared some more.
And gaped.
<Skills Info>
- Charm -
[Lolimancer]: The user possesses an unusually compatible existence with children and young adolescents. Those within this age group are more likely to feel safe around the user, lower their guard, and naturally seek out their presence. The stronger their desire for trust, safety, or comfort, the stronger this compatibility becomes.
[Grannymancer]: The user possesses an unusually compatible existence with women whose lives have stretched across generations. Such individuals are more likely to take a special interest in the user, grow unusually fond of them, and seek greater closeness than they normally would. The further removed they are from an ordinary human lifespan, the stronger this attraction becomes.
[Fatal Charm]: The user possesses an unusually compatible existence with those carrying unstable minds, extreme fixations, or deep emotional scars. Such individuals are more likely to become intensely drawn toward the user, with that interest often growing far beyond what would normally be considered reasonable. The more extreme their instability, fixation, or emotional damage, the stronger this attraction becomes.
“...”
‘Deep breaths. Take a deep breath, Subaru. There’s no way such insane Skills exist. So just close your eyes and open them again.’
He did.
And yet, they were still there.
And that wasn’t all.
- Affinity -
[Spirit Affinity]: The user possesses an excellent affinity with spirits, greater than even those naturally blessed by the will of Od Lagna. Spirits are more likely to approach and accept the user, with those of the Yin affinity showing an especially strong attraction.
[Yin Affinity]: The user possesses an exceptional compatibility with the Yin attribute. Understanding its principles, shaping its formulas, and developing new applications of Yin magic come naturally to the user, even without the ability to personally cast them through a Gate.
- Magic -
[Magical Understanding]: The user possesses an exceptional talent for understanding the structure and principles behind magic. The user can analyze existing spells, alter their construction, and create new forms of magic beyond established teachings. This Skill does not require the user to possess a functioning Gate.
Subaru’s breath caught, and something twisted painfully in his chest. He didn’t linger on Spirit Affinity, as rare as it was. Instead, his eyes caught on the two Skills after it and what they meant.
...So he really had been talented at something.
All those years, endlessly working toward making his parents proud, he hadn’t been running blindly.
...All that excitement in his mother’s eyes.
All those nights spent learning formulas until his head hurt.
It hadn’t been pity.
His mother hadn’t simply been trying to make him feel better.
It was real.
And his Gate had broken anyway.
For some reason, knowing that hurt far more than believing he had simply been useless from the beginning.
His eyes continued downward.
- Mental -
[Tactician’s Mind]: The user possesses a natural ability to carry their words and actions in a way that influences the hearts of others. This Skill grows naturally alongside the user and cannot be improved through conventional training.
Subaru stared.
Then stared some more.
What the hell?
So far, it seemed that every Skill he had was dead set on showing him he was never meant to be a knight. Even the Skills about magic didn’t include anything about mana capacity or casting efficiency.
What the hell did all of it mean about him, then?
His eyes slowly moved downward.
There was still another section.
- ??? -
[Re**** *y *e***]:
▓̷▓̴▓̸▓̷▓̶▓̷▓̴▓̷▓̴▓̸▓̷▓̷▓̴
̷̨̹̥̟̺̙̜̗̼̫̬̘̮͝
E̸R̶R̸O̴R̵
▓̵̑͐̈́̐́̋͗̍̏͌̿͒͠▓̵̛̎͗̐̋̀̚͠͝͝▓̷
I̵N̴F̷O̷R̶M̵A̵T̷I̵O̵N̶ ̷U̵N̸A̷V̴A̷I̸L̸A̸B̴L̶E̸
Skill’s cost is the user’s life.
Subaru blinked.
He looked once more at the grand total of seven Skills, each one ridiculous in its own right.
He spoke slowly.
“...What the hell?”
He repeated himself.
“What the hell.”
And one more time, loud enough to alert everyone in the mansion.
“What! The! Hell!”
-
-
-
That was a year ago.
A year in which so much had happened that Subaru could never have imagined he would end up where he was now.
After seeing the Skills he had, the first thing he felt was elation.
Finally.
Finally, he could work toward something concrete. Become someone who mattered.
But then reality caught up with him.
The Charm Skills?
Honestly, they were more dangerous and bothersome than anything else.
Especially Fatal Charm.
He had already dealt with more than one stalker, along with another who became disturbingly attached to him and decided that dying together would somehow be romantic. It had gotten bad enough that his parents had become increasingly protective of him whenever he left the mansion alone.
The Affinity and Magic Skills?
He didn’t have a Gate.
So what did having them really matter?
All the spells he came up with would ultimately be used by someone else. It wasn’t that he minded that too much. Spell creation and improvement were incredibly esteemed talents in their own right, and seeing something he had created actually work was satisfying.
But that was all he could get from it.
He could create and improve magic.
He just couldn’t use any of it himself.
And the spirits?
Honestly, that was on him.
For some reason, his affinity made lesser spirits act so erratically around him that they were basically useless in a fight. They would just act impulsively on their own whenever they thought he was in danger, usually ignoring whatever he actually wanted them to do.
Sure, he managed to befriend more than a couple, but forming a contract with an uncontrollable elemental force was not something he could do with a quiet mind.
It was only a theory, but Subaru figured he could probably only form a proper contract with spirits and above.
Y’know?
The extremely rare existences that definitely wouldn’t be hanging around their domain without anyone knowing about them.
So he came up empty on that front as well.
Tactician’s Mind was alright, but it wasn’t something Subaru noticed much of a difference in.
Which made sense.
Skills acted more as a playground for who you already were instead of just some completely new gift suddenly awakening inside you. Having one show up would just give shape to something that was already there and allow it to fully blossom.
But he sure didn’t feel a difference.
And he didn’t even touch the seventh Skill.
A Skill that needed its user to die?
Could a more useless Skill exist?
For a man with seven Skills, Subaru felt remarkably unimpressive.
Even now, as he was on his way to the most esteemed academy in the world, Pleiades Academy, he wasn’t really excited.
He had been accepted into the courses of Magic Engineering and Military Command.
Not exactly how he had once imagined himself arriving there.
He had always thought that if he ever entered a place like Pleiades Academy, it would be as a knight.
But he worked with what he got.
To become a good lord for his subjects.
To make his parents proud.
To become someone who could be happy with himself.
He worked endlessly on various spells, creating several simple ones of his own and improving the structure or casting of those already used by the mansion’s residents and some of the nobles who visited them.
For a young man with no formal magical education beyond what his mother had taught him, and with even that having stopped several years ago, they were impressive accomplishments.
He was also able to negotiate well with merchants, convince people to see things from his perspective, and take a commanding role in some of the smaller disputes and problems he was entrusted with.
Overall, he had become surprisingly capable in areas he had never imagined himself pursuing.
But one thing became very clear to him during that year.
People were dangerous.
Much more dangerous than they appeared.
He had even worked on the Status Window itself, managing to unlock its notification function, something that normally only happened after three years.
Whenever one of his Skills met the conditions needed to activate, the Status Window would notify him, telling him which Skill had been triggered and to what degree.
It was useful.
Especially when the alternative was finding out several hours later that the woman smiling at him from across the room apparently qualified for Fatal Charm.
But still...
He narrowed his eyes at the ??? Skill.
What exactly could it mea-!
“Umm, e-excuse me?”
A soft voice, reminiscent of silver bells, shook him out of his focus.
There was someone standing at the door to his compartment.
A beautiful silver-haired elf woman.
Subaru’s breath caught, entranced by her beauty for a second.
He knew instinctively that the woman matched the descriptions of the Witch of Envy, Satella, from four hundred years ago. Silver hair, amethyst eyes, and the pointed ears of an elf.
But honestly?
All Subaru saw in front of him was a cute girl.
He shook his head lightly to regain his composure. It was impolite to just sit there staring at her.
“Heya,” he responded with a wave and a smile. “I guess you’re my compartment mate for the ride?”
The girl stood there for a moment, as if bracing herself for a blow that never came, before her eyes widened and she nodded carefully.
“Yes. My name is Emilia, just Emilia. I-” She hesitated, looking down dejectedly. “I will understand if you have some problem with me staying in your compartment, but there aren’t any other seats available, so...”
Subaru softly frowned.
It had already been four hundred years, but people still spoke of the Witch’s name in fear. The terrorist group known as the Witch Cult certainly didn’t help.
He didn’t need a Skill to connect the dots. Emilia herself had even said there were no seats left.
Bullshit.
For such a fancy train to be packed to the point that not a single seat remained was possible, but unlikely.
It was much more likely people had chased her away from sitting next to them.
...He thought his fellow nobles were better than this.
It pained and irritated him to see that she already expected him to reject her before he had even said a word.
“Sure, I don’t mind.” His smile turned cheeky as he spoke in a playful, harmless tone. “Having a pretty girl like you around sounds way better than spending the whole ride talking to myself.”
Emilia’s eyes widened further, as if his answer had caught her completely off guard.
He didn’t let it deter him in the least.
He stood up and slowly approached her, making sure she could see he didn’t have any hostility toward her.
He reached his hand out for a handshake.
“Name’s Natsuki Subaru! Currently living off my parents’ allowance and pretending that makes me a respectable noble.”
Emilia finally broke out of her pause, a small giggle escaping her.
She tentatively reached out as well, shaking his hand and surprising him with how soft hers was.
“I’ll say it again, then. Please, feel free to call me Emilia.”
“Alright then, Emilia-chan!”
Emilia’s smile turned bright, a soft blush filling her cheeks.
It was then that Subaru heard it.
[Ding!]
[Grannymancer has activated! Compatibility level: Medium]
...
Really?
He knew she was an elf, but she looked so young...
Elves were pretty rare though, so he didn’t exactly know much about how they aged. Maybe even their elderly looked like Emilia.
Though that raised the question of how she had entered Pleiades Academy.
Maybe she was a teacher?
But still, it seemed like they would get alon-
[Ding!]
[Lolimancer has activated! Compatibility level: Medium]
...
That made no sense.
The oldest person Subaru had ever seen Lolimancer activate on was sixteen.
Was it her elven biology?
Did elves just age differently enough that the Skill was getting confused? Maybe their bodies matured quicker, or their sense of age worked differently, or-
No.
All of those ideas sounded stupid even in his own head.
Still, there had to be some explanation for both Skills activating at the same time.
Right?
[Ding!]
[Fatal Charm has activated! Compatibility level: Extreme]
...
...What?
Subaru looked down at their still joined hands, then back at Emilia’s radiant, happy expression.
His own smile stayed firmly in place.
Inwardly terrified, a single thought entered his mind.
...Was it too late to change seats?
End Notes:
- Subaru’s Skills, especially the Charm ones, do not have any mind control effect or ability. They are based on compatibility. More than anything, they act like a rule of the world. Just like how chocolate goes well with peanut butter, sweetness goes well with humans, and so on. Personality and circumstances are still taken into account. This is a real world, so it’s not just “Charm Skill activates = person instantly falls in love with Subaru”. Everyone, without exception, still has their own thoughts, feelings, preferences, and choices. The compatibility simply works on top of all of that. I just wanted to make that clear. In addition, the Charm Skills are not tied to one specific kind of feeling. They do not automatically make someone feel romantic or platonic toward Subaru. That still depends on the person, their personality, their circumstances, and how their relationship with Subaru actually develops.
Emilia here for example, has a strong desire for trust and comfort, but because of her maturity, despite her mental age being different from her physical one, it is only on Medium, since the comfort and trust she will desire from Subaru is different from the one someone like Beatrice would desire from him. But since her emotional scars and the damage she received with the association with Satella is high, the Fatal Charm is on Extreme.
And since I can see it coming up in the comments, here is the scale for Charm Skills:
Low, Medium, High, Extreme, Run, Abandon Hope.
(With “High” being the highest Subaru had ever seen before Emilia. Run would fit for Echidna and Shaula, and Abandon Hope for Satella, which are exclusive ranks for the Fatal Charm Skill.)
The rank of compatibility of a certain person can change at any time depend on growth, development in the relationship and other such things.
- Subaru’s Gate broke while he was protecting Otto when they were young, as the two were childhood friends. Otto still feels guilty about it even now, but Subaru has always assured him that it was his own fault for being so reckless with his Gate, much to Otto’s chagrin. Otto also joined Pleiades Academy and is Subaru’s best friend, acting as his brother and shield against some of Subaru's… more devoted fans.
- Subaru’s sense of responsibility and desire to be like his father is stronger here, since it comes with actual duties he is expected to perform and his lineage, so his sense of shame and ineptitude are stronger by consequence. But that doesn’t mean Kenichi and Naoko are different, at the end the most important thing for them is to make sure Subaru is happy. Even when they yelled at the healer to heal Subaru, they didn’t care about his Gate for themselves, but about what it meant for him. After the Status Window appearance, they managed to clear the air and misunderstandings between them and are much happier together, with Naoko and Kenichi supporting Subaru with all they can.
- I left how this would develop open by choice. One of the most enjoyable things I used to do before I started writing was thinking about how other people’s fics and oneshots could develop, so I wanted to leave the same experience here. Will Subaru have something closer to “Trash of the Count’s Family” protagonist Cale Henituse, with a mostly platonic and familial group around him? Will there be a harem? Will it end with a final, single pairing? Who knows? I didn’t think that far. That’s for you to enjoy and think about if you want. One thing for sure is, his popularity in the Pleiades Academy both gladdens and worries his parents.
- Od Lagna and Divine Protections exist, but they are separate from Skills in a way. Divine Protections are born from Od Lagna’s love toward a soul, rather than being an expression of the person themselves like Skills are. In a way, Divine Protections could be seen as a more advanced version of Skills, though that heavily depends on the Skill in question. Some Skills can hold power equal to or even greater than Divine Protections. Subaru’s Spirit Affinity, for example, is entirely his own Skill, yet it is stronger than several Divine Protections meant to accomplish something similar. Both are supernatural powers, but one depends on Od Lagna’s favor, while the other does not.
- The highest a normal Status attribute can usually reach is A+. Only a very small number of people manage to surpass that natural limit. Reinhard, being Reinhard, is one of them and sits at SSS+++ across the board. Usually, however, A+ is considered the peak of what an exceptional person can naturally reach. Wilhelm’s Strength, for example, would be S+, while Garfiel’s would be around at the edge of B+, with A- far away from him. Crusch’s Strength would probably sit around B- or B, but her strongest attributes would be things like Dexterity and Agility, reflecting that she is much more than just a straightforward physical fighter.
- Subaru has not died even once up to this point, so his twisted sense of responsibility hasn’t developed to the same extreme it did in canon. Instead, he went through hardships and trials that matured him like in canon, but he also experienced more normal dangers and problems for someone in his position, depending on how normal you consider Subaru’s life to be. Things like stalkers, obsessive people, and even an attempted murder against him. That is why he is worried about Emilia here. Fatal Charm activating at Extreme is not something he can just ignore. But as reluctant or cautious as he might be, Subaru would still always stand up to defend her or anyone else who genuinely needed his help.