Sanctuary

...

With the sound of the carriage's wheels digging through the road, I was sitting silently in my seat while observing the trees around us.

Otto was silently sitting beside me and I personally did not feel like talking at all right now. And while I took notice of the birds flying from one tree to another, I felt a sensation of passing through a body water overcome my body before dying down.

Immediately going on guard, I heard a commotion come from inside the carriage causing Otto to open up the slide behind him to peer inside.

"Everything ok back there?" Otto asked with a hint of concern and panic present on his face.

"Lady Emilia has collapsed!" Rem's voice replied back instantly panic. "The necklace has also been shattered!"

Otto then visibly shivered before turning towards me. "Should we stop the carriage Suburu? You should have heard her also right?"

However, I stayed silent as I looked around with my full concentration with mana strengthening both my hearing and eyes.

"Uh hello?" Otto said flatly before showing a sad expression. "Don't tell me I'm nothing but air now...."

Suddenly feeling a vibration go through the ground, I immediately turned towards Otto with a finger to my lips before immediately standing up and churning the mana inside my gate.

"Y'gat some nerve coming here and stinking up d'place stranger!" An angry voice came from above immediately making me look up at a falling figure rapidly approach me.

"D'know what y'thought was about t'happen. But y'met GARFIEL and I d'want any reeking figures like ye'here!"

Immediately pushing Otto off the carriage, I reinforced my legs and waited for the man to get closer to me. And as he rapidly fell towards me, he let out a laugh before throwing a nasty kick towards the top of my head.

Seeing it, I easily dodged it and threw a reinforced punch at full power towards his liver before he could touch the carriage and managed to land a solid hit.

*BOOM*

Immediately after feeling the impact, a loud boom resounded throughout the air as his body broke through the speed barrier and went through a lot trees caused a massive line of dust and destruction to in-sue.

Jumping off the carriage softly, I started to walk towards the area where Garfiel flew off and reinforced my eyesight to see exactly how much damage he took from that punch.

And with my eyesight, I caught him standing up with shaky legs as his face showed an expression of pain. My punch had done exactly what I wanted and made his legs weak.

Coughing out a bit of blood, he wiped it with his hand before looking towards me with a frown.

"T'was a good hit y'threw out."

But while he was standing, a aura of earth mana surrounded him and he casted a healing spell to make himself stand up straight. However, his healing magic wasn't potent enough to remove the issue with his legs.

"But d'believe t'Garfiel will fall t'just that now."

He then started to make a couple steps towards me and his aura started raise before a icicle of magic flew past and hit the ground the in front of him.

Smiling, I looked at one of my cuffs that was messy from my punch and straightened it out before walking towards where that icicle came from.

"D'walk away from me! 'The coward walks away from his problems', t'makes ye a coward!"

Silently ignoring him, I walked near Rem who was the one who threw the icicle before noticing Beatrice standing beside her with a deep frown.

"'The wise man walks away when fighting isn't required'." She said with an annoyed expression before turning towards me. "Is that that Garfiel person you were talking about? He's awfully annoying I suppose."

I only nodded at her question before turning towards Rem before pointing towards Garfiel. "Is Emilia alright? I heard she went unconscious before that guy attacked."

"Yes, she's still breathing, it seems she's only fainted."

Garfiel noticing Rem gritted his teeth in anger. "D'tell me y'trust t'guy Rem! T'bastard reeks!"

Rem and Beatrice then just sent a glare towards Garfiel before Otto came up whole rubbing his behind while crying silently and yelled.

"You could have thrown me softly Suburu!"

Otto then wiped his tears before looking at Garfiel with a serious expression which is starkly different compared to his usual state.

"I hope you know you're talking to the man who killed Sloth and took down the White Whale."

"I Don't care! I still don't want t'guy anywhere near Sanctuary. Y'understand right Rem?"

Rem hearing this just sighed deeply before raising her head towards Garfiel.

"Garfiel, Suburu has saved not only me but even Rem, Emilia, and the little girl beside me."

"Who's a little girl!"

Smirking demonically down at the loli-baba, Rem then looked towards me with a soft smile before walking up to me and giving me a hug.

"He's even the man who I'm in love with."

Garfiel hearing this suddenly froze in place and blinked as he looked at Rem hugging me.

"Huh? B'what about the cu-"

Frowning, Rem looked towards Garfiel with a glare causing him to freeze mid speech.

"Because I know him well enough to know he won't harm me. And I want YOU to at least give him a chance!"

Frowning, Garfiel took one last look between us and looked about to say something but just sighed when he looked at Otto, Rem, and Beatrice staring daggers at him.

"Sure, but I will tear him apart m'self if he acts out of line. Just b'cause y'like him doesn't mean I g'to.

He then let out a huff before flinching in pain and felt his side before looking at me with a smirk. "But t'punch of his is something I like."

Smiling I rubbed my wrist that was throbbing and sent him a smirk. "And you got a hard body Garfiel, but as they say, 'the dumbass who bites on molten iron only gets hurt' right?"

Hearing me use a familiar phrase, he took a good look at me before noticing me holding my wrist and started to laugh.

"y'got a bit of words to g'with t'wrist of yours."

Hearing him, I also raised my head to laugh with him. However, there wasn't anything light about our laughs. I could still tell he hated my guts but not as much as before.

And as he still didn't trust me, I sure as hell wasn't going to trust him either. And it seemed that Otto took to notice of the tone of our laughter and started to sweat a bit before turning towards Beatrice.

"I-Isn't there something off about them?"

Putting one of her eyes on him, she then closed them before letting out a sigh and started to walk back got enough carriage.

"They are just two idiots trying to one-up each other."

Otto then made a confused expression before turning towards Rem. "What does that mean?"

Doing the same exact thing Beatrice had done, she just sighed while looking at me before going towards the carriage with a forced smile.

"They are just having fun in their own way."

Now completely confused, Otto turned towards me with a miserable expression before poking me on the arm.

"Why are you two laughing? Did I miss a joke or something?"

Garfiel and I then stopped laughing before turning towards Otto, seeing him all confused and looking miserable, we then looked towards each other's faces calmly before starting to break out in laughter once again.

"Alright, I'll just go take care of the carriage....." Otto said with a sigh before going to check on Patrasche who was also looking at the two of us with amusement present in her reptilian eyes.

....

Now with our carriage parked in front of a small cabin present near the village of the Sanctuary. We had put up Patrasche in the stables and where greeted by Ram before being led inside by a now grinning Garfiel.

"C'mon in. T'ain't the prettiest inside, but a 'home is still home'."

Walking in, I immediately notice the smell of food being cooked and a table that has silverware already set up. The fireplace has been fed making the cabin have a cozy temperature while the decorations on the walls and table tops make it certainly feel 'cozy'.

"Grandma! I'm home!"

Hearing the voice, the sound of some cooking utensils being put down sounded out from the kitchen before a small figure came through the door.

Seeing this figure, I could see visibly Beatrice freeze from shock for a moment before bursting into tears and running towards her.

"Mama!"

...