A Calm before the Storm

.....

"SUBURU!"

*clash*

"ARTHUR!"

*clang*

"It seems Barasu is back to doing weird thing with children sister." Ram suddenly says.

Rem hearing this just smiles as she looks at us. "Indeed sister, it seems he's back to normal."

Ram takes notice of her sisters expression.

"Something good happen recently?"

Rem then turn to Ram and laughs. "I guess you could say that."

Yeah something good happened indeed. When I woke up I was greeted by Rem who started apologize.

Having enough of her self deprecating attitude I decided to give her a reality check. I watched far to much evangelion in my last life to allow that self denial stuff to slide.

Thankfully, it worked out and Rem has started to open up to others.

"Oh big sis Rem is here!" A little girl with orange hair and green eyes then appears. "Oh and it's Ram too!"

"Hey Petra." Rem says while smiling down at the little girl. Ram just sends a glance towards Petra to acknowledge her existence.

"Oh it's you Petra?" I say rustling her hair from behind. "How is the rest of the children?"

"Sister, Barasu is touching little girls while smiling again."

"HEY THAT CAN BE TAKEN WAY OUT CONTEXT!"

Petra noticing our shenanigans giggles. "Well it's been 3 days since the barrier was broken and almost all of them are allowed to play with me again. Oh yeah! Where is Betty!"

Hearing her ask about Beatrice makes me shiver. Poor Beatrice was treated as a Barbie doll. Just remembering it makes me pity her.

"She's at the mansion right now. Maybe you could come visit her sometimes." I say before making an evil smile. "I can guarantee you getting the right door with me around."

Noticing my smile Petra frowns. "You better not be bullying Betty."

"Trust me I'm not." I reply with a complicated face. "I'd say she's the one bullying me."

"Suburu you coming!?" Rem yells out from behind me.

hearing this I pat Petra on her head one more time and promise Arthur his daily match for tomorrow. I then pick up a barrel and rush towards Rem.

"Yeah be right there!"

.....

It's been about 5 days since the Wolgram attack. My days have consisted of sword training, knife throwing. Yes, knife throwing.

To work on this, I've been working on my dexterity by flipping a coin between all my fingers. And I can currently roll 2 in between my fingers on both hands at the same time.

I got a pair of practice knives with a set of actual knives from a blacksmith at the village. He gave them to me as thank you for saving his kid in the attack.

I've been working on my accuracy and can currently land 3 out of 4 shots in a 25 meter distance. However I'm not confident at hitting a moving target at all.

My gate thankfully didn't get damaged from my attack so I can safely practice my casting speed and control. For an hour, I just cast the same spell over and over again as fast as I can until I run a bit low on mana.

As a result of this training my ability to convert and control the atmospheres mana through my gate has increased. This means I can safely cast El Shamac 3 times on its own. Shamac amounts to 60. Murak amounts to 20 on its own.

"Suburu what are you doing here?" Emilia asks as she finishes talking to the spirits. "Did you already finish your sprints around the mansion?"

"Nah, today's a rest day." I say as I wave my hand. "But is it just me or has this week been rather peaceful?"

Hearing my question Emilia can't help but frown. "It seems that you've only been through trouble while working here."

You don't say?

"No, No, No." I say waving her comment off. "Only a little bit of bad luck, but I'm alive and happy so that's all that really matters."

And noticing the awkward silence I then try to start a conversation.

"Say Emilia?" I question catching her attention. "Why exactly DO you want to become ruler of Lugnica?"

Hearing my question Emilia is surprised before she calms down and brings her gaze towards the sky.

"Suburu." She says as she takes a deep breath. "Do you know what the people of the kingdom think of me?"

"Yes, I've heard some tales of a 'Witch of Frost' and I also have heard about your appearance." I truthfully say.

"Well as you probably already know, I was outcasted because of it. Back then it was only me and Puck barely surviving off selling mana crystals. She says as she brings her Knees to her chest. "But Roswaal didn't mind my appearance and invited me to the Royal Selection."

Of course he didn't react. Roswaal probably read about you in his book.

"Ever since then I've spent all my time studying and interacting with the villagers." She says as she begins to show a smile. "The villagers showed me kindness despite my appearance. They treat me extremely well even though my own selfishness is forced upon them."

But her smile immediately turns into an frown. "But as you know I've been shunned due to my appearance and race, I've also seen how Demi humans are treated and despise it."

"After experiencing the kindness from both Roswaal and the villagers, I've decided to aim for a kingdom where our relationships between races can be mended. And me becoming ruler can speed up this process."

Hm? It seems she isn't as childish as I thought. She certainly has the idea, but she is still not ready for such a position. Puck is the only thing holding her back.

And It seems the hatred between races here runs deeper than I originally thought. And it's much worse as compared to my world.

"How very interesting." I speak out looking at the sky. "Your ideals truly are respectable."

"Is that a compliment?" Emilia asks as she throws a childish smirk at me.

"No." I speak out. "It was a statement."

"I see." Emilia says as she gives a soft smile.

We then sit silently and stare at the sky without saying a word both lost in our thoughts.

....