Everyone saw me take out Glistening Moonlight, and saw me assume the same stance I had once used against my Teacher during the spar we had back in the villa. Shifting one of my legs backward, and pointing my rapier out with my arm slightly elevated while keeping it horizontal. You can see this stance quite well when you fight against Phillip in Sky the 3rd.
"Naoto...", Vita uttered, seeing how serious I was to challenge not just any Jaeger. THE Jaeger. Not the Red Ogre. Not the War God. Not the Northern Jaegers. Not even Sara. No. The man before me is the Jaeger King. Rutger Claussell. It is sad that he dies during Cold Steel's story through a three day bout with the War God, but he does end up becoming one of the Divine Knight pilots, Zector. One of the few Immortals to walk this continent, at least for a little while. Seeing this, Vita's shock soon turned into a mixture of confusion and anger.
"What in Aidios's name are you hoping to get out of this!?", Vita exclaimed. It was clear she was worried.
"Stay out of this, Vita. You haven't trained in swordsmanship, so you wouldn't know. You've overcome your own hurdles, haven't you?", I asked, remaining serious.
"That...", Vita responded, but didn't answer right away.
"So this is more of a test of skill, if any. Ya know ya will lose regardless. Instead, ya want to see if ya can handle stronger opponents. And I certainly fit the bill.", Rutger said, answering on Vita's behalf.
"That's the gist of it. You presented me with an opportunity by crossing paths. Gotta take the chance when I can, right?", I asked back with a smile.
"Haha!, I'm beginnin' to like you more, Your Highness. Ya like to strike while the iron is hot. I like that. That sort of decisiveness is exactly what ya need to determine whether ya lose or win on the battlefield.", Rutger replied with a laugh. Hearing this, the tension eased around us. "Very well. Let me entertain ya a bit. Go bring it out.", Rutger continued, looking at Behemoth.
"Understood, Boss.", Behemoth replied. He vanished all the way into the resort building. Each passing moment felt like an eternity. After a little while, we saw the Behemoth return, and held onto a rather massive weapon. I mean it was huge. It was a gigantic gun-glaive. I know Rutger can carry it around with ease, but that isn't something you should carry twenty-four seven. Even the handle alone was half the size of his body. It can switch between a close-ranged sword and a mid-ranged rifle. A multi-purpose weapon that even I would like to have at some point. Weapons have their own classification system, and I'm sure this fits the bill of an S-Ranked Weapon.
Rutger grabbed a hold of it, and swung it around with ease. The glaive unleashed its inner mechanisms, showing me the rifle's chamber. It went through the entire sword. Seeing this, Fie's eyes were in shock.
"You really are going to fight Naoto, daddy?", Fie asked, looking at us in surprise.
"I need to match His Highness's expectations, Fie. It's always good to stretch a little.", Rutger said, grinning at Fie.
"You better kick that Jaeger's ass, Big Brother! Jaeger King or not!", Sherryl exclaimed without holding back.
"I do not think there is any chance of that happening.", Tio responded.
"You might be right for once, squirt. You sure you aren't biting off more than you can chew here, Naoto?", Van asked, looking on with worry.
"I don't see a problem with this.", Ennea said, shaking her head to the side. "If you want to fight, then fight."
"I didn't think a little prince like you would be proficient in the way of the sword, but it looks like I'm wrong. I think I'm looking forward to this.", Firebird said with a look of anticipation in her eyes.
"Ya think so too, eh, Firebird? I did not expect ya to bring up the name of your Master, for that matter either. The Sword Fox...", Rutger uttered.
"I know, right? Some back in the Royal Army called him a demon for how ruthless he was. If anyone knew back then that Teacher had taken on a disciple, I dare not think what could happen.", I replied, smiling. "You don't have anything holding back, do you, Jaeger King?"
"Nah. This is more like it. Why don't we get the show on the road?", Rutger asked back, easily swinging his glaive around like it was nothing. He didn't even break a sweat. Seeing this, Sherryl frowned.
"Will Big Brother really be alright? Isn't this weapon a little too big...?", Sherry asked with a worried look.
"Haha, where'd your earlier enthusiasm go? But your worry is sound. Even I wouldn't try to fight something that big.", Van responded, nodding his head.
"It was the Young Master who initiated this. There's no backing out now. From what I can see, he'll be in for a good ass beating.", Lechter replied. He could now be seen properly seated up in his chair now after the earlier fun is now over.
Hearing Lechter say that, my eyes twitched a bit, but at the end of the day, Lechter is right. Even if he is crude about it. What Lechter says most of the time does wind up being true thanks to that gut of his. But so what? I want to see how I fare against one of the strongest people on this continent. The Jaeger King is no joke.
However, just as we were going to enter our battle stances, we all heard a voice reach our ears. It was as if they spoke directly into our minds. It seemed to carry...a hint of disappointment?
"You really are trying to overstep your own bounds, boy. So this is what you have been up to?", A familiar-sounding voice said. We all came to a sudden halt. Most seem confused, but Vita and I were surprised to hear this. As for Tamamo, her ears perked upward, and her two tails started to happily spin around. Vita felt nervous sweat start dripping down her back.
"This voice...It can't be!?", Vita exclaimed in shock.
At this time, all of our eyes were drawn to a dense crimson magic circle that appeared out of the blue near us. On the sand no less. We soon saw not one, but two figures arrive.
I saw a plum-haired girl arrive next to a golden blonde-haired girl whose hair was unruly as ever. The first girl seemed equally confused as the rest of us as she darted her eyes around. But it didn't take long for her to spot me next to Rutger. A look of relief immediately appeared in her eyes. At the same time, my mind froze, not expecting to come across this girl here.
"Oh Naoto, thank the Goddess that you're alright!", The girl said, only to rush toward me. She gave me a big hug, ignoring the fact that I still held onto Glistening Moonlight.
"Emma...", I uttered, still surprised to see this girl before me. As for Vita, she gulped.
"Grandmother...", Vita uttered, observing the girl beside Emma. Who else could it be but Roselia?
"Kyuuu~", Tamamo happily said, only to see Roselia and Emma appear on Nemeth island, likely through a long-distance teleportation incantation. Perhaps even the same spell Vita used to come onto our cruiser a couple days ago. Tamamo jumped off of Vita, and happily ran toward Roselia, only to climb up her shoulder. Seeing two tails on Tamamo now, Roselia raised her eyes.
"Would you look at that? It seems this bout of training did pay off for you. You already grew a second tail.", Roselia said, scratching Tamamo's cheek. It was clear Tamamo was happy to see her.
"Kyuu.", Tamamo said, answering Roselia. Vita remained shocked for a good moment seeing these two arrive, but her face grew serious.
"Why did you bring Emma out of the village, Grandmother? You know she's still too young to become a Wandering Witch.", Vita said, and began berating her. Seeing Roselia flinch to Vita's anger caused me to chuckle.
"I'm the Elder, so I can decide what I want to do. You have no say, Vita. Once this was brought up in the village, Emma came storming my way saying she didn't want to get left out again. As you can see, I made an exception.", Roselia said, looking at the plum-haired girl beside me.
"So you lost, Master.", I replied, chuckling. Emma blushed out of embarrassment hearing that.
"Don't you know how worried I was, Naoto? Vita's words alone weren't enough. I needed to confirm your wellbeing with my own eyes. Thank the Goddess you're alright...", Emma uttered, not letting her hug go. Hearing this I heard Lechter cough.
"Haha, I'm happy for such a happy reunion like this with Young Master, but there is a time and place for everything.", Lechter said. It was then Emma realized where she was, and her cheeks turned a deeper red. Hearing this, I shrugged Lechter aside, and laughed.
"Haha. I really am sorry for not telling you, Emma. It is very nice to see you again.", I replied, smiling at her. It was then she parted from her hug, and calmed down a bit.
"Flattery will get you nowhere.", Emma said, feeling more calm now.
"Fair. I didn't think I would see you two come onto the island, but as you can see, Rutger and I were about to do something here.", I said, pointing at the Jaeger King next to me with his gigantic glaive in his hand. Emma's body tensed up seeing such a large man in front of her, before she backed away, and retreated toward Roselia.
"Hey now. I don't bite, missy.", Rutger said, grinning. But he welcomed the two nonetheless.
As for Sherryl and Tio, they turned quiet for a good moment, and observed Emma from afar during this. Let's just say they were comparing Emma...to themselves, if I had to take a guess?
"New threat detected.", Tio uttered, keeping her usual dead look in her eyes.
"Shut it.", Sherryl retorted after hearing Tio say that.
Hearing all of this being said, Roselia let out a dry cough.
"There is a reason why we came here. That I can assure you, Naoto. I've come to retrieve Tama, and to let you know your request is now ready. I can feel an abundance of Mana inside Tama, so it is likely time for her to undergo her second change. I can see she already went through her first one.", Roselia said, looking my way. Tamamo's second change, huh? Does that mean she'll gain another tail soon? This likely won't be the last one either. Tamamo will go through several changes, and very well may end up with nine tails to match her Race. I still need to review her info as well, as she might have already benefited from this second tail. Maybe I'll wait to do that until she gets her third tail?
Vita raised her eyebrows at Roselia's words.
"An incantation prepared by Grandmother? What is it?", Vita asked, unsure.
"One that you needn't worry about for now, Vita. Be a dear and look after Emma, alright? I will not be available for a period of time once this incantation is cast.", Roselia asked. Emma became excited after hearing that.
"Really, Grandmother? You'll let me stay with Naoto and Vita?", Emma asked.
"Only for a little while. I know how worried you have been. It's the least I can do. Just stay out of Naoto's way, alright, Emma? It looks like the two of you are about to host a duel.", Roselia said, looking at Emma first, then glanced her eyes my way.
"Yeah. You are free to stay and watch, if you want to, Master.", I suggested.
"Umu.", Roselia replied, nodding her head. "I am not sure if I can stay for the full thing, but this is the first time we've seen each other in a while, Naoto. I have not really rewarded you yet as your Master. You are nowhere near as strong as enough to face off against this brat. If you attack him as you are now, I fear you may only tickle this Jaeger.", Roselia said, looking back at the Jaeger King. Firebird's eyes turned wide in shock, wondering if she heard that right.
"Did this little girl just call the Boss a brat?", Firebird asked. Killing Bear also had similar shock in his eyes. As for Fie, she was more curious.
"Who is this, daddy?", Fie asked, unsure.
"I dunno, but I feel a great power comin' off you, missy. Experience speaks for itself, as they say. Ya are more than welcome to stay for a while. Sounds like you got somethin' to give. I will allow it before our match starts.", Rutger said, only to jab his glaive into the sand. It now stood vertical. He then proceeded to sit down cross legged, waiting for something to happen.
"Thank you. I will not interrupt what is about to happen. All I require is some of Naoto's time. Come over here.", Roselia said, and beckoned me over.
Curiosity got the better of me, so I decided to see what Roselia was going to give me.