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(Re:Zero) Warlock of Fascination Chapter 3: The Half-Elf & Sword Saint
🕑 Added 2025-05-06 03:52:50 +0000 UTCChapter 3: The Half-Elf & Sword Saint
“I doubt this is a lot,” Castor shifted through the manifold of copper coins on the ground that he had collected from Kan, Ton, and the corpse of Chin, totaling forty-two. “However, we should at least be able to pick up a decent meal, and if we’re lucky, there’ll be a cheap enough inn nearby.”
He wasn’t going to get his hopes up, though. This was the Royal Capital, after all. He highly doubted it was a place renowned for its affordability. As a man hailing from Earth, he was all too familiar with the concept of outrageous housing pricing.
Subaru remained mute, his fingers fidgeting as Castor tracked his gaze to the puddle of blood Chin’s corpse had left behind before his friends carried him elsewhere.
“I’d ask what’s on your mind, but your thoughts are like an open book to me at the moment.” He approached Subaru, shoving one of Chin’s knives towards him. “They might come for revenge later, or we might end up running into a similar situation with a different group of riffraff. Either way, I think it’d be best if we’re armed when or if the time comes.”
He sheathed the knife that had pierced Chin’s throat in between the back of his pants and boxers, masking it by tugging the back of his shirt further down.
“Castor, did you really have to—”
“Don’t ask questions you already know the answer to,” he cut Subaru off, rolling his eyes. “I’m the one who killed him anyway, there’s no reason for you to be the distraught one.”
I really wish you’d wipe that look off your face, it’s not like I was itching to get blood on my hands, alright? I’m a man of knowledge, not violence. I just happen also to be a man who doesn’t want to die, that’s all.
He sighed. He didn’t need Mark of the Scribe to read the conflict written all over Subaru’s face.
Although weirdly, this might be a good thing. Witnessing death will surely be enough to snap him out of his “Isekai Protagonist” furor.
“Come on,” he patted Subaru on the shoulder, gesturing towards the alleyway’s entrance with the flick of his head. “I saw some stalls with some pretty cheap-looking grub we could snag for the time being.”
Subaru furrowed his brow. “Hold on. You can read the signs they have posted up? How?”
Castor shrugged, “No clue. It’s just kind of a thing I can do; it happened after that little headache I had earlier.”
“Wait! Don’t tell me you already got your powers before me—”
“Move! Move! Move!”
Once more, Subaru was interrupted before he could finish his sentence, just not by Castor this time.
Sprinting towards them out of the blue was a petite, fair-skinned girl with medium-length blonde hair and a black bow. She was holding something in her hands that neither Castor nor Subaru could make out from their distance.
“Finally! The cute heroine has arrived!” Subaru cheered, pumping his fist with a wide grin.
Great, we’re back to square one.
“Sorry strange man! No time to chat! Gotta go!”
With an impressive level of agility, she managed to jump across the walls of the alleyway that were at least five meters apart, climb onto the rooftop, and dart away in a matter of seconds, effortlessly making every parkourist on Earth look like toddlers barely capable of walking.
“Live strong! And don’t let the guards catch you killing people! Or stealing!” She called out a few last words before disappearing completely.
Well, that just happened.
“No! This can’t be!” Subaru fell to his knees, holding his head in his hands. “The heroine’s already gone! This parallel world’s just one disappointment after the other!”
I think I should seriously start considering looking for another partner.
“If it’s any consolation, that was probably just some random thief.”
“Thief? What makes you say that?”
“While she was passing us by, I saw her carrying some fairly expensive-looking item in her hand. It was like an amulet with a gemstone in the middle.” From the way she looked, it was pretty easy to discern that she wasn’t someone of high standing.
And since she was clearly running away from something, choosing an alleyway of all places as an escape route, it was just as easy to decipher that she wasn’t necessarily a law-abiding citizen.
That aside, Castor had noticed something peculiar about the girl.
Or more accurately, something Mark of the Scribe had noticed.
He wasn’t sure how to put it into words, but there was some glow around her, one that Castor had a gut feeling was the polar opposite to the Authority he possessed.
Did Castor have any evidence to back the claim? No, which is why he kept it to himself.
He could only hypothesize that it had something to do with her ability to move at an alarmingly fast speed, if it weren’t for Mark of the Scribe, Castor doubted he would’ve been able even to attempt to read her swift movements.
“Gemstone? How were you able to spot that at the speed she was moving? You definitely have powers or something—”
“You two!”
Yet again, this time, Subaru was interrupted, not by Castor or another alleged runaway thief.
Standing at the alleyway’s entrance with an apprehensive look on her face, a beautiful woman with long, silver hair shimmered under Lugunica’s sunlight. Her eyes were a distinct purplish-blue hue, and for some reason, she had pointed ears.
She wore an extravagant white and purple robe, indicating that she clearly belonged to Lugunica’s upper-class, and her baggy sleeves had the gilded emblems of eagles imprinted onto them. Her look was finished by a sole light-purple flower on her head.
“Woohoo! Another heroine has appeared! And this one’s a hottie!”
Castor had never been one for alcohol back on Earth; it dulled the mind after all, and he needed his mind in tip-top shape to absorb all the knowledge he pursued.
However, he was starting to reconsider.
“Heroi— What?” The woman stammered for a moment before recomposing herself, and Castor couldn’t blame her for getting stunned in the wake of Subaru’s eccentric behaviour. “No! I won’t let your strange words deceive me! Give back what you stole! Immediately! It’s imperative to me and I can’t afford to compromise.”
“What we stole?” Subaru scratched his head, “But we didn’t take anything? I mean, he did take a few copper coins.”
Seriously? You’re going to throw me under the bus just because you’re having a love-at-first-sight moment? Some pal you are…
“That’s not what I’m talking about, I’m talking about my insignia!” She put her hands on her hips, adamantly about getting whatever she had lost back.
“What seems to be the matter here?” And as fate would have it, another figure seemed interested in joining the fray.
Too bright! He’s way too bright!
One that caused Castor to immediately shield his eyes for some reason, as if he had just accidentally tried to look at the sun.
A man who seemed to be similar to Castor in both height and age had arrived. His hair was a fiery red like a blazing inferno, and his eyes were sparkling blue, with a deep sense of confidence and dignity shimmering within them.
He was wearing a double-breasted white long coat with a cutaway front, rolled cuffs, lapels, and lilac lining, exuding a sense of royalty just like the pointy-eared woman beside him.
Attached to his waist was a sheathed sword with an awfully exquisite design. The hilt was bright gold and had the figure of a dragon etched into the metal that had been used to curate the weapon.
Castor could see that he had the same glow as the thief-girl who had come running through earlier, except his was of a completely different magnitude.
If looking at her was like glancing at a passing firefly, looking at him was like pointing a flashlight straight down your eye.
Deactivate! Deactivate! Deactivate! Deactivate!
Fortunately, Castor managed to get Mark of the Scribe to turn itself off, preventing him from going blind.
“Sir Reinhard!” The silver-haired woman appeared to recognize the figure, confirming Castor’s assumption about them both being from the same class.
“Lady Emilia, it’s a pleasure to meet you again.” Reinhard put his hand on his chest and performed a slight, knightly bow. “Have these two caused you any trouble? If so, I’d be more than happy to assist even though I am off-duty today.”
“Hey! Don’t treat us like we're some common thugs, Mr. Handsome!” Subaru pointed at Reinhard with a fierce scowl, “As a matter of fact, we were attacked by a group of thugs earlier, and we defeated them all on our own! No thanks to you! Hmph!”
“My Divine Blessing of Veracity tells me you aren’t lying.” Surprisingly enough, Reinhard was speedy to agree with Subaru’s statement, as if his words somehow sufficed as foolproof evidence to the red-haired man.
Divine Blessing? That must have something to do with the glow that was around him! Maybe that’s how that girl was able to wall-jump like the laws of physics didn’t apply to her. Then again, this isn’t our world anymore, so the laws of physics might not be the same here.
“Uhm, Sir Reinhard.” Emilia hesitated, “If it isn’t too much trouble, could I ask you to assist me with something?”
“Of course Lady Emilia, I am at your service.”
“You see… I may or may not have lost my insignia, and I could really use your help recovering it…” Her facial expression alone made it clear that she was fairly embarrassed about the incident.
“What!?” Reinhard’s stoic expression broke momentarily, “This is really bad Lady Emilia! If you don’t get it back in time before the Royal Selection begins, your candidacy will be rendered null!”
“I know that! That’s why I’m rushing to get it back!”
And that’s when something Castor couldn’t even begin to process happened.
“Mou, Lia! You shouldn’t be giving out information like that in the open!”
A small, light-gray cat floated out of the crystal attached to Emilia’s collar, somehow capable of both floating through the air and speaking.
Now I’ve seen it all…
“Sorry Puck… I’m just really worried.” She pouted as the cat, presumably named Puck, stroked Emilia’s head with its miniature paw.
“Uhm… If I may interrupt,” Castor slowly raised his hand. “This insignia, you’re talking about, it wouldn’t happen to have a red gemstone embedded into it, would it?”
Emilia’s face came alive with hopeful delight, “Yes! That’s it! That’s precisely the one! Where is it? Do you have it on you?”
“I’m afraid not, but I did happen to see a small girl running through here with it. I’m guessing she stole it from you?” Castor wasn’t sure if he was getting involved in something he didn’t want any part of. However, it wasn’t like he had anything better to do.
Sometimes the best move was to just go with the flow.
“I know someone stole it from me, but I couldn’t get a good look at their face.”
Reinhard cleared his throat to get everyone’s attention, “Maybe you could describe it to me? Erm—”
“Castor, and this hopeless romantic next to me is Subaru.” He introduced himself, “And sure, I got a pretty good look at her face anyway.”
“That would be most helpful,” Reinhard said, like he was Doraemon. He pulled a piece of paper and pencil out of nowhere. “I’m pretty confident in my art skills, so I should be able to make a fairly good sketch based on your description, " he said as if he hadn’t just been given a Divine Blessing for drawing.
…
“Yup, that’s her,” Castor nodded, clearly impressed by Reinhard’s impeccable depiction.
I guess this is this world’s version of a police sketch.
“Great! Then we can all go look for this little rascal together!” Subaru pumped his chest, awfully motivated to help out Emilia, with absolutely no ulterior motive in mind whatsoever.
“Together?” Emilia looked taken aback, “You want to help me?”
“Of course! What kind of men would be if we just abandoned a woman in need?” Subaru wrapped his arm around Castor’s shoulders, making the bookworm consider slugging him right then and there.
“He seems to be genuine, Lia,” Puck reassured his daughter.
"Go look for it on your own," Castor's mood soured.
“You want to get access to a library, don’t you?” Subaru put on a mischievous grin, “You can’t do that unless you’re acquainted with upper-class people, remember?”
Oh, so now you’re intelligent all of a sudden? Real convenient!
“But I’m a half-elf…” Emilia muttered, as if the concept of Subaru wanting to help her was utterly alien.
“Half-elf?” Subaru paused, causing Emilia’s worry to heighten. “That’s why you’re so beautiful! Haha! The stories were true after all!”
“Beautiful…?”
“Hey, Castor.” Subaru’s face told the bookworm that he had another bright idea.
“What?”
“Don’t you think splitting up would be more efficient? We could cover more ground that way,” he winked at him.
You definitely make up for what you lack in mental prowess with audacity!
“Just go,” he breathed an exasperated sigh, pushing Subaru towards Emilia. “I guess I’m with you, Reinhard.”
The search for Emilia’s insignia had officially begun.
Comments
Accel14
Definitely.
Kurupt
I’m pretty sure Echidna is gonna love the MC especially with his authority
