Chapter 6: This is how me and my bro bonded

Same Day, 422

If someone asked me about past 'best friends' and 'Bros', I would quickly find myself explaining quite the complex predicament.

Attempts had been made, mingling with classmates was something common during pauses in-between lessons and I was generally detached from class' life.

I wouldn't go as far as label myself an outcast in that period as I managed to spend a minimum effort in getting together with some pseudo-friends, those kind of individuals that you share a friendly relationship with but would be keen to refuse to give needed help with some fake excuse.

At first I hated Pseudo-friends, kind of messed up my childhood and all, but then I understood the logic behind this subclass. Immediate help was a must for classmates and cheating in tests was sometime required because... teachers.

What makes a teacher hateful and easy to hate? 1) The fact said teacher doesn't care to do his job properly and 2) the adult isn't even paid enough to deal with childish crap.

The second category could get some forgiveness, the former are those scumbags students generally hate at school.

But I suppose this little deviation is senseless, as we were talking about friendship and-

When I say that I 'am buddying' with Fourier, a character in the story that is so well-liked even without screen-time, I am not pulling some 'optimistic' BS on the matter.

It took me just few hours of talking after his identity was revealed to the entire room and I was completely elated to have met someone like him. The kind of happiness that makes you actually concern about people's future and urge you to give Fate itself the bird while trying to save those worthwhile individuals.

I guess I need to explain a little more the 'why' this was possible and the 'why' someone so keen to go full-depression to actually endure-no, enjoy being together with someone as socially adept as the blond.

The topics used by both weren't so far casually picked. The first chat having kickstarted a slow process of bonding, where the lengthy set of topics chosen by both sides were somehow connected to the previous ones but also selected to better fit with the interest of the other.

There was caution in not making the conversation stale while also keeping it moderately quiet to not sound over-bearing for each other.

There was respect, which was returned. There was care, which was returned too.

But I bet the one genuinely surprised by how things turned out to be, the most at least, was Fourier himself as his face was incredibly expressive in showing some early surprise.

Surprise that the reveal barely dented the friendship was slowly being built there and his growing smile proved the cheerfulness returning back to his mind.

The main discussion survived through the brief interactions the prince was supposed to entertain with the fellow members of the entourage and the local nobles, the latter quite intrigued by the fact I, the Mayor, was keeping thing going smoothly.

The pre-trial event lasted about an hour more, ending by lunchtime and- "Of course my good friend would be kind enough to invite be for lunch."

I frowned at his cheeky tone, but I admit I was smiling myself. "Indeed, what kind of friend would leave a rich prince to be devoured by his own hunger?"

He chuckled. "A very annoying one, John." He poked at my shoulder. "But a very funny one too."

"So I should just refuse? I do find 'annoying' quite a pleasant adjective on myself." The mock pout was worth the cheek and soon we were already enjoying the delicious dishes offered by the hardworking servants in the kitchens.

I was quite surprised when Miklotov McMahon asked to join us, not so much about when Wilhelm van Astrea did the same as he was supposed to guard the Fourth Prince of Lugnica.

"The twins, they are quite educated." The two demi-humans perked at the curt compliment coming from the elder and I gave a genuine look of surprise. "They do have an interesting predisposition to logic, different from each other, but still the potential to have a grand future."

I let a nod out. "I have merely started to taught them Math's basics and some grammar to catch up with their... 'past condition', but I suppose I can understand your reasoning, Honorable McMahon-" "Please, call me Miklotov."

The old man chuckled. "You should learn to relax just a little more, young man. Formality yes, full subordination is just rude."

I looked sheepish for a moment, maybe I was being too stiffy and even Fourier nodded at that statement. "You do look like an old man with how you behave, John." The prince pointed out with a small smile, his Yaeba showing a little. "Maybe the truth is you are actually one-"

"How about no and I am going to leave you to eat wood?" What would have been perceived as a threat in normal circumstances actually was felt more like an embarrassed comeback, which the blond replied with another cheeky smile.

"Then I would have to send you to the dungeon to eat dust at that point, good friend." We shared a chuckle, the escalation kind of senseless now that it sounded so fake to everyone.

The Sword Demon didn't spoke much, merely giving some quips once in a while during the friendly bantering and nothing more. I suppose he was still grieving for his wife's death, even after so many years had passed and... I wonder what kind of individual Reinhard is.

While he had shown quite the stereotypical heroic personality in the series, it could also be true that the hate from his grandfather would have some hidden effect on the Sword Saint.

The trial started with the local Judge Foreni addressing Hornos with the list of accusations against him while also asking for each his pleading in each of them.

Most of those he kept with 'Innocent' while the lesser claims he decided to claim 'Guilty'. I suppose this was his attempt to reduce the issues against him but... that would have worked perfectly if he would have been able to afford an Attorney.

Much to my surprise, while most of the world was still stuck in Feudalism, the Judiciary System of the Dragon Kingdom was quite modern for its times. I would go so far to compare it to the flexibility of the English Law System.

There was something similar to the Habeas Corpus, there was the opportunity for the accused to afford an attorney to defend his situation but there were no court-appointed lawyers. I suppose it was a light improvement compared to Gusteko and Vollachia, the former being closer to Tsarist Russia while the latter having something similar to a non-Imperial Prussia.

The Prosecutor for the case was relatively young, not inexperience but also quite expressive in his body language of the nerve-wracking pressure on him. He was supposed to not fail something this easy, especially since there was no real opposition to his task.

So the due process began, the exposition of the proof gained from the past investigations bringing Judge and Jury to pale at the seemingly endless list of evidence that was burying even more the hopes for the 'merchant' to get out of the situation without few decades to spend in Jail. The predicament was literally influenced by the lack of a cross-examination, of a standard defense...

And yet Hornos was looked calm. Far too calm for someone that was supposed to be actually facing an execution.

I was sitting right beside Fourier, while on the other side I had Orestes watching the scene with some similar confusion. I tugged at the knight's armor, drawing his attention on me.

"Get the guards to patrol the area. I have a bad feeling about this." He nodded and slowly got out of his chair as to leave the room- *BOOM*

We all jumped as a quick explosion crashed one of the walls down, triggering chaos by the public stand. I gritted my teeth and bit down some swearing as I barked at the guards. "Secure the criminal!"

In world where spies are essential in warfare, I should have imagined that Gusteko would go this far from getting Hornos out as quickly as possible. The Guards and Militia were surely storming towards the tribunal with the loud blast echoing through the whole town but I was hardly convinced they would have been quick enough to intercept the escaping foreign force.

We were currently outnumbered but... we had some quality fighters. Orestes joined the fray with a single battle-cry, mowing down two grunts with a simple swing of his bastard sword.

Wilhelm jumped in and scattered four of the attackers like petals to the wind, his sword so quick that I couldn't even catch up its actions.

I blinked as Fourier tugged at my sleeve, a sword in his other hand. "I am going in." I narrowed my eyes, ready to protest his intervention but he still entered the small battlefield.

I scowled and felt conflicted on what should I do. Useless in fighting here and frankly, I didn't have any weapon on me- Right at that thought I saw a detached limb falling right in front of me, a sword still held by it.

...God, are you kidding me?

I didn't even ask for a sign and- You know what, I needed to man up here. Useless sure but a coward? I ain't one.

So I picked the blade out of the lifeless hand and rushed inside the limited conflict, my eyes spotting a single thug seemingly disoriented by the mayhem around him.

The perfect prey for someone that sucked in fighting. I slowly waltzed between the couple of fighters, trying to pass unnoticed by the dizzy soldier and, closing my eyes, I thrusted the sword into him.

A loud squelch, I felt blood pouring out of the sword and I squinted a look, regretting instantly as the sight in front of me was terrifying. The sword had punctured through his jugular, the sound of rasped breathing surprisingly reaching my ears as I slowly retracted the blade, my face white at what I just did.

Someone died. It could have had family, or maybe he was a terrible man with the scummiest personality... but it was still a shocking experience.

In that moment of numb realization, I felt someone slam on my back, forcing me to fall face-first on the floor. Adrenaline was driving my mind crazy and I rolled away just in time to avoid getting killed by a sword now stabbing the floor.

I looked up and my eyes widened at the man using the deadly blade. The red-faced Hornos looked even more pissed at his failed attempt at my life, but his crazed smile countered whatever sanity he seemed to have until before the trial.

"You are dying here, boy." Heh, I guess I am. I mean, we are still talking about Re:Zero, this kind of mad shit was going to happen to everyone at least once in a while and I guess I was filling for Subaru's role as sacrificial lamb here.

My inner monologue was interrupted as the man tensed up after just finishing to raise his blade once more to finish his job. He looked down on his chest and I did the same, a white, pointy sword piercing his torso from behind and I spotted a familiar golden mane.

"I was dropping by and... my, oh my, it would say that you do fit well the part of the damsel in distress, my dear friend." I snorted, trembling a little as Hornos finally fell off the blade and onto the ground near me. I accepted the helping hand and was about to reply to his cheeky remark when-

"Get DOWN!" My throat felt sore at yelling but I was glad that Fourier quickly complied, the soldier trying to stab the prince failed to land a hit on the dodging youth. I grasped tighter the hilt of my own sword and slashed at the man's face.

Against any prediction, the blade did met land on the foe but... not the way I had expected. It pierced the side of his head, protruding thought the brain and instantly killing the bastard.

I blinked, feeling lunch slowly rising down my throat at the ever-familiar scene. It did remind me a scene from Call of Duty but... this close-up and realism was just insane.

Quickly releasing the sword out of the man, his corpse fell down with a thud and the prince slowly roused from his crouched stance.

"T-That was a close one." We were both staring at each other with wide-eyes and I nodded at his comment. "I-Indeed."

Few moments later and the rest of the remaining intruders was dealt with. Some other groups had been ready to cause problems in the city, but the mobilization of the Guards had been quick to repel whatever ambush they were trying to setup to support their retreating main force.

While there had not been any hint that would suggest that the perpetrator of the assault was Gusteko, any attempt to mask this attack as something created by Hornos himself would be in vain.

His bandit force, or whatever was left from the past few raids, was highly-disorganized and made mostly by disloyal mercenaries. They wouldn't have been able to afford an attack of this magnitude.

I was quite surprised to learn that there had not been a single casualty on our side, just some lightly wounded guards while others, those that were still inexperienced regarding real fighting, were merely shaken by what had just happened to them.

Despite the good news, I still felt sick inside. The fearing faces of those I had just killed were... dreadful to be reminded of. And yet my mind was having a field day in flashing those moments continuously, forcing me to take a seat away from the dead zone.

Surprisingly enough I wasn't the only one feeling quite bad from what had just unfolded in front of us. Fourier looked deflated, his usual smile was now replaced by a sad line as his own mind was surely reminding him how close he had come to die.

I suppose being fearful of dying by the mysterious illness that was taking down the Royal Family one by one could create a strong attachment to life. A will to fight back the adversities and keep living.

If I had not reacted at the sight, if I had not been quick enough to- to react. Oh man, I was lucky. But luck was not a good thing to have.

It meant that a change was needed, one that would help me not get killed by some assassin or simple thug because of my inherent inability to fight.

Maybe Orestes would agree to offering some advice on the matter. Maybe I could get the boys to train too.

"You alright?" The question felt foreign without the usual tone, but I still glanced at the blond. He was trying to smile, a shaky result was what he got.

"I am peachy." He sighed and I nodded. There wasn't much to say and frankly, I wasn't in the mood for chit-chatting.

Coping with death wasn't so far something easy to stomach, especially for someone that never fought in his entire life.

"W-What about you?" Red eyes blinked once, then he stared at me.

"I feel like... crap?" I frowned at the word choice and I saw his lips twitching into a smile. Mine did the same and...

"D-Does that mean that I will have to- to address you as 'Your Poopiness'?" Dumb joke, I know but it was silly enough to make him finally crack a smile.

"D-Dad would probably find it appropriate for me." He let out a small sound, the beginning of a chuckle. "F-Felix would probably join in too and-" Finally he stifled one and I smiled a twitchy smile. "She would probably say that it isn't becoming of royalty."

He was talking about Crusch, wasn't he? I guess that I will have to... poke at that. After all, I didn't know what he was talking about.

"Fourier, do I hear that you have someone you are hiding from me?" He twitched on his spot, his eyes diverted to the ground but his cheeks were indeed heating up in embarrassing.

"N-Nobody important." I raised a cheeky brow at that attempted diversion.

"Then I guess you could talk about... 'Her'." He crossed his arm close to his chest and tried to keep quiet... but I wasn't letting go yet. "C'mon, you told me 'she is not important' and I wouldn't mind hearing about your secret friend."

He opened his mouth, hesitation ever-present in his face, then he closed it. Finally he spoke. "I-I guess that I could tell you about her- but I want you to keep your trap shut about this in front of others."

I sipped at the cup of cool water. "Deal."

He sighed tiredly. "'She' is Crusch Karsten, she is the heiress to the Karsten Family." A small dreamy smile on his face was now there for me to see. "She is... cool."

I blinked in surprise. "Cool?" I tilted my head in confusion. "What kind of cool?"

"Everything about her is... cool."

I know that love makes people go down like this but... seriously, cool? Was that the best he could come up with.

"Is she beautiful?" I asked bluntly, the prince blushing at the question. "Is she strong?"

"Yes."

17 June 422

The rest of the previous day was spent fixing up the damage caused by the aggressors, taking their bodies away from the city and burning them away from Erindor. A little bit cruel, I suppose, but I didn't have any of their names, nor I knew to whom I was supposed to send their corpses back.

Still a bit shaken, the plans of the Royal Entourage went unchanged, readying up to leave the town early in the morning.

Or at least that was for most of them all.

"The prince has requested to stay in your manor for at least a week." McMahon explained as he was ready to enter his carriage by the gates of the city. "I found his plea acceptable because of yesterday's ordeal and... I think he would recover quickly by staying with someone familiar for a while."

"I suppose... it can be done. But what about Mr. Wilhelm?" The Sage nodded at the question but looked to be ready for it.

"The Sword Demon is going to receive an extension to his mission. He was given the choice to return to the capital and for other guards to replace him in the duty but he was content to pick the extra work in exchange of an adjustment to his pay."

I wonder if the old man was doing it truly for money or because he cared for Fourier. It wasn't stated much but... I think that his connection to Fourier was one of the reasons why he joined Crusch's camp in canon.

Half an hour later, the set of carriages was already leaving the city and I was on my way back to my home. With what had just happened, I bet Gusteko will have to send some representatives to reply to any possible accusations the King was going to forward their directions.

An attack had happened and the man the unknown group was trying to take away was a known spy for the nation, they were going to do something about this failure.

Yet I realized right in that moment that my luck was even bigger than I had initially thought.

Sure, there had been an assault but...

I didn't have to face a pseudo-vampire obsessed with guts.