Fate/World

(A/N: As of the latest chapter, they're officially a thing. Anyway, same deal, 250 PS.)

A few days later, I was having pancakes for breakfast and just generally enjoying the beginning of my day when Ellie climbed onto the chair across from me. The little one was glaring at me for some reason.

"Uh... what happened?"

Admittedly, most of my narciss-... confidence, went up in smoke when it came to dealing with family. My bravado withered away under her gaze and a strange nervousness settled in its place. I didn't know what I did, but I knew I was in the wrong.

"We don't go out anymore... hmph!" She huffed, crossing her little arms as she turned her head aside with closed eyes. "You don't love me anymore."

Awww. My heart couldn't take this...

"Oh come on, don't say that," I pleaded, a smile on my face. "There's no one I love more."

It was true that I was spending most of my time running around chasing various kinds of magecraft and other creatures pertaining to it but... could anyone really blame me? And even then, a significant portion of my motivation came from the very fact that I had to provide for them. Okay, that wasn't totally true. I loved all the adventures a lot too.

"Liar."

"No, it's true. I promise."

She opened one eye, "Really?"

"Yes, really."

"That's fine then. But, you have to take me out, okay? I wanna go to a park... I wanna go shopping! I want new clothes for Sir Thomas."

Sir... Thomas? Oh wait, right, that was the bunny doll she dragged along everywhere. I didn't even know that thing could change clothes to begin with. 

"Ellie, don't bother your brother." My mother called from the attached kitchen, walking out with a plate for herself and Ellie. Once she was settled in, she addressed me, "Are you heading out to that university of yours?"

I... couldn't face her.

With my shares in Carnac, it was no longer necessary for her to keep working. I'd been skirting around that particular bit of information for a good while now... because I didn't have any plausible explanation for the acquisition that wouldn't get me grilled by her. No one could possibly not question that kind of wealth, certainly not her.

She had no reason to trust Luviagelita like I did either.

"Are you thinking about that foreign girl? Hal... Those kind of folks... They don't... " My mother softly rubbed my hand with her palm, a sad smile on her lips. "That kind of thing only happens in fairy tales, Hal... I don't want to see you get hurt like me. Money like that-... it..."

They were sound words... completely reasonable. But, in this one case, they were wrong. Where were they even coming from anyway? Did she think I was depressed or infatuated or something?

"She's-"

Before I could even begin, Ellie cut in.

"Hal, you have a white hair."

"I... have what?"

Immediately dropping the heart-to-heart conversation with the woman who sired me, I bolted off to the bathroom for confirmation regarding those outrageous words.

-

"What's got you so down? You're usually very chipper around this time of day."

Luviagelita found me sitting at a cafe near Slur, the same rustic cafe we'd found Gurdoa under, with my head down, and steaming cup of bitter black coffee on my side. I depressedly stared up at her. She curiously stared down at me.

"I cried for an hour..."

"...?" The Edelfelt Princess tilted her head, visibly confused. Then, she slowly took the seat next to me before softly placing a hand on my shoulder. "What happened? Can I help?"

"I..."

"...Did someone bother you? I can have them on their knees... No, I shall remove their knees for such an affront. I need only a name."

That was... an unexpectedly brutal kind of reassurance.

"Can you beat depression?"

She tilted her head again... sipping coffee... MY coffee, like it was the most natural thing in the world.

"Ew, this is so bitter and-... and cheap! I thought you enjoyed tea like a man of taste." She spit it out to the side.

"Depressed bums only get shitty instant coffee. And, that's not very ladylike."

"...I don't have to be," Her pale cheeks grew red, "around you. Regardless, why are you depressed? I thought buffoons were always joyous."

"And I thought demonic banshees couldn't be nice but we're all proving stereotypes wrong today, aren't we?" I sighed, turning my head the other way to stare at a fat woman hulking down the road with a pink tee a few sizes too short and a small backpack. Oh... her hair was in a bowl cut.

"Dora the Explorer Diabetes Edition."

Luviagelita snorted. "Dora the Explorer and the Struggle Against Stairs."

"D-Dora the Exploring for Food."

"T...That's not very nice." She punched my shoulder, struggling to hold her laughter. "D-Dora the Explorer, the trea...treasure in the food isle."

I offered a silent thank you to the valiant stranger who'd cured my depression. She would never know the sacrifice she made that day.

"Bloody hell, that's a fuckin' whale! The hell did they feed that goddamn creature? Keep it down or she'll chase us, cause a fucking earthquake when she trips."

Londoners were... not very reserved with their words, I knew that... but I was drawn to the one who said those words all the same. Mostly because it wasn't no stranger that said them. It was...

"Hey Luviagelita... isn't that..."

"Indeed, it is."

"Did you two shag yet? Or are ya still skirtin' round it like a bunch of pussies? Maybe you really are a faggot, mate?"

It was that same motherfucker that cockblocked me last time, and called me a faggot when I was admiring my eyes.

"I will murder you."

"Fuck me for giving someone some elderly advice."

He shoved his hands in that thick trenchcoat of his and fucked off into some alleyway. I wasn't really interested in giving chase though... my depression was back. 

Now, one might wonder how someone as calm and collected as myself could ever get depression... Well, Ellie's words were true. I had white hairs. Not one, but a whole bunch of them, like a proper bloody patch. A proper prominent streak in my luscious dark manbun!

I was nineteen or something goddammit!

How'd that even happen?! Stress was the farthest darn thing from my mind ever since I woke up here!

"Well... the foreigner's proclivity towards food consumption aside, might I know what's got you so down?"

I pinched the streak of grey with a groan. "Look at this. I... I'm becoming an old man. It's unfair."

"That's all?" Luviagelita tilted her head, arms crossed under her 'generous' breasts in a way that seemed to push them up. Even I could see that she was genuinely confused by my words. Quickly, she hid her mouth behind her hand. "I've been noticing that come in for quite some time now... I-I thought you knew."

"Oi, don't laugh at people's misery, you crazy witch."

"W-Well... You shouldn't feel too bad." She twirled a lock of hair with her finger, raising her gaze as if that was somehow going to hide her tinted cheeks. "It makes you look more gentlemanly... I-I think."

I turned her way again, considering her words earnestly.

Truly, no man could ever say that a hot chick complimenting you did nothing for your self-confidence. I stared past her, at my faint reflection in the cafe's window pane. It was true. It made me stand out with a sort of refined grace, and god-willing I was a massive attention whor-... Er, I enjoyed attention, whatever form it came in. 

"You pay a lot of attention."

"Naturally." She huffed.

I deadpanned. "How's that supposed to be natural?"

"You... You don't need to know, buffoon."

"A buffoon managed to learn your family's signature magecraft at a glance. What does that make you... and your family?"

It was true. She knew it. I knew it. If anything, I was rather surprised that Luviagelita had not had more of an adverse reaction to that particular discovery. Well, it was also true that she could still beat my ass for a good bit in most situations.

"That's just because you're abnormal. Nothing else." She sighed. "A magus must always accept that there will always be abnormalities. Besides, it's not as if someone like yourself comes along every day."

So, she'd accepted that this particular case was out of anybody's hand and the best she could do was manoeuvre it in a way that suited her. That was... a lot smarter than...

"That's a lot smarter than what I'd expect from a blonde with ti-"

"What's that supposed to mean?!" She protested abashedly, raising a fist.

"Domestic abuse. This is domestic abuse."

"Shut up!"

An awkward sort of silence settled in after that. Well, awkward for her, I was deriving a great deal of amusement from the varied reactions of the people around us. Some smiled helplessly, others expressed annoyance while a good few just didn't care.

"So... why'd you come for me this early?"

Usually, she'd come find me after classes when it was important, or late into the evenings just to hang or something but never in the morning. She WAS the head of a prominent family after all, even though I didn't really know what that entailed past enjoying conflict and finding treasures for the Edelfelts.

"You're aware of how my family rose to its current status, yes?"

I shook my head.

"That is unfortunate then. Allow me to enlighten you." She leaned back in her chair, a small smirk playing on her lips. "It was during the Renaissance. We picked certain conflicts that were unrelated to us, intervening, and making off with what was most profitable with none the wiser. You could say we rose as adventur-"

"Thieves."

"You-... Adventurers! Not thieves. We explored tombs and ruins, gathered the greatest of treasures and magecraft, as adventurers. Picking our battles was elegant and smart, not cowardly."

I grinned. "That sounds like something a coward would say."

"If I were a coward, you would be in a basement-"

"In your sex dungeon?"

Her face froze for an instant, then she raised her hands as if she wanted to strangle me but managed to hold herself back.

"You wish. In a lab. Regardless! This way of being has not changed, even in this age." She relaxed back into her chair before retrieving an opened envelope from her small purse. "I received this not too long ago."

It had the picture of an angel... Not the kind you saw in modern fiction or even the statues I'd encountered before. No, this thing was ugly and disturbing to look at. It was one of those biblically accurate depictions. A fiery creature shrouded in wings, with countless eyes on its form that seemed to almost move even in this picture.

"... That brings up bad memories." I confessed, scratching the back of my head. "The last time I encountered something called an angel, I almost died."

"This has nothing to do with angels past the name."

Yeah, that definitely wasn't a flag. 

"It is an invitation to the inheritance of the late lord Ashborn. Naturally, I would like to have it for myself. It is of much value."

"...How do I come in, exactly?"

"I believe your... unique abilities, will be quite helpful in whatever challenge I might face. I could go myself and succeed, it is me after all. But I thought you would like such a chance." Luviagelita closed one eye, and stared me down with the other. 

I pursed my lips. "I think I've had enough of angels for now."

Clearly, that wasn't the answer she was expecting. Her eye widened, and she even trembled with a slight 'Eep'. I could practically see the question marks forming atop her head.

Well... it was a request from her. I supposed I could push down my distaste for that.

"I know you're not one to do things out of the goodness of your heart... so... I-I'll... pay," She conceded suddenly. "What do you wish for?"

Of course, the rich ass magus resorted to bribing me for my help. But honestly, I felt I'd be less of a man if I was greedy here after all she'd done for me.

"I want..."

She leaned in.

"A cane-sword."

"...?"

"Well, I am a magus, right? I have to look spry and mysterious. I'm gonna couple with a fresh suit. Oh yeah, give it an eagle head with red eyes." I geeked out.

For some reason, Luviagelita Edelfelt facepalmed so hard she left a red mark on her own face.

"It's you. I wasn't going to say no. And you know why."

Her face reddened, she averted her gaze.

-

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