Chapter Text
Otto Suwen doesn’t know what to make of Subaru Natsuki.
“Eh?! They eat hay? I thought dragons were carnivores!” Natsuki exclaims, gesturing to Frufoo, who is enjoying her dinner of various grasses. She huffs, amused by his outburst.
Otto resists the way his face keeps wanting to default into an incredulous expression, which is happening more and more often as he talks to his new client. Who thinks that land dragons are carnivores? “Perhaps you are thinking of water dragons. They are fearsome predators,” he suggests, giving him room to backpedal.
“Water dragons?!” Natsuki exclaims, as if he has never heard of them before, and that learning of their existence is particularly exciting.
Otto is beginning to get concerned. Scratch that, he’s already concerned. This isn’t the first odd thing Natsuki has said. It’s not even the fifth. From the very start he’d been odd, brazenly introducing himself as ‘Subaru Natsuki, clueless and broke beyond compare!’
He sees that Natsuki was being honest about the clueless part, still unsure about the broke part. Natsuki’s clothes are odd, a black shirt, dark pants, and a strange upper garment tied around his waist by the sleeves. Albeit dirty, they are definitely not the type the impoverished wear. He’s in good shape as well as well fed, but that doesn’t discount that, if he’s only recently been bankrupt. Natsuki is certainly leaving an impression but Otto isn’t sure what it is.
Then there’s the matter of the metia- wait, Natsuki!
“You shouldn’t pet strange ground dragons like that,” Otto scolds, putting his hands on his hips. “Not all of them are as friendly as mine!”
Natsuki takes his hand off Frufoo’s head and smiles sheepishly. “Ah, sorry! Sorry! Couldn’t help myself.” He does not sound very sorry. Seriously, he could have lost a hand doing that to the wrong dragon. “She’s such a good girl, though!”
Frufoo huffs. ‘At least he’s friendly,’ she says.
That he is. If there is one thing that this Subaru Natsuki has in spades, it’s friendliness. He’s like a friendly stay, bounding up to anyone who looks at him too long. How fast he’s closing the distance is a little unsettling.
“We have gotten off track. Your metia, Natsuki-san. How much did you get it for, if I may ask?” Otto enquires. A merchant he is, he hasn’t dealt in metias, especially not ones as unusual as the one Natsuki carries around. More information would be ideal.
“That’s a little hard to answer,” Natsuki muses, one hand on his chin. That’s a suspicious answer. Otto wonders if it’s actually his.
“Is it not yours?” Otto asks, then regrets his choice of words. It’s not good form to be (openly) suspicious towards a potential business partner. But dealing in stolen goods would be worse.
“It is! It’s more a matter of conversion. You’d be lost if you had to express the value of an item in a currency you’re unfamiliar with!” Natsuki declares, waving a hand to illustrate his point.
So he is foreign. That’s not too surprising - that jet black hair isn’t common to Lugunica. With how quickly he’s attempting to close the gap he’d think that he’s Kararagian, despite the lack of accent. But Otto has never heard of someone from Kararagi with black hair. This is confusing.
“But the old man at the loot house told me that it’s worth at least twenty holy gold coins!” Natsuki proclaims.
“The old man at the loot house,” Otto echoes.
“That’s right,” Natsuki confirms, a big smile on his face.
Otto sighs. What has he gotten into?
As it turns out, finding a buyer for a metia is a little trickier than one would expect, especially when working on such short notice as this. Finding one giving a good price is even trickier, as apparently Natsuki had it valued at over 20 holy gold. Otto cannot front that price up front and sell it for more later. He literally does not have that money.
In practice, that means that they are going to have to stick with each other for a while, days possibly. Strangely, Natsuki did not seem the slightest bit upset. If anything, it was the opposite.
Currently, Natsuki is craning his head to look at the city architecture as if he’d never seen a building before. He’s radiating wonder, a grin from ear to ear as he leans a little too far out for Otto’s comfort. Perhaps he’s from one of the small villages in the countryside?
“So, Natsuki-san, where are you from?” Otto asks, his curiosity finally getting the better of him. Upon being spoken to, Natsuki thankfully stops leaning perilously out over the road and turns to Otto with a thoughtful look on his face.
“I’d say ‘a small country to the east’ but isn’t this place the easternmost country on the map?” Natsuki says, rubbing his chin like some sort of intellectual. Otto furrows his brow at that odd statement.
“…do you not know where you are?” He can’t help but ask dryly. Natsuki waves off his question.
“Oh, you know how it is, one moment you’re stepping out a convenience store and the next you’re in another world fighting off an assassin,” Natsuki says flippantly, to Otto’s incredulity.
Another world?! Assassin?! What is this guy talking about?!
A sudden pat on the back makes Otto jump. It’s Natsuki, grinning at him happily, and invading his personal space like nobody’s business.
“Don’t worry! It’s not like you stumbled upon a dangerous conspiracy or anything!” Natsuki proclaims cheerfully, giving him a thumbs up that in no way makes Otto feel better.
“That just makes me even more worried!” Otto declares as much, waving a hand to empathize his point. He can’t imagine the kind of expression he’s wearing.
Natsuki just laughs.
Otto frowns, flustered. He’s almost distracted enough not to notice the deflection, or the sadness behind Natsuki’s blustery nonsense. Behind the gibberish, something he said was concerning.
Glancing sideways, Otto quietly observes Subaru Natsuki. Not knowing that he’s being observed, the happy mask that he had plastered on has fallen. Natsuki looks out at the city with a forlorn expression, facial muscles tight and stressed. There’s something dark in his mean-looking eyes, a deep sadness of a person who’s lost too much.
Otto had known that the happy-go-lucky attitude he’s been displaying had not been entirely truthful. It was a little annoying, honestly. Part of him had wanted to demand he stop acting, but Otto does not know this man, no matter how he seems to want to close the distance. He had no right to demand that.
He looks away.
“It’s getting late,” Otto says, watching as the sun slowly dips behind the rooftops, casting deep shadows over the roads. “I don’t think we have enough time today to make a sale. Where are you staying? I’ll drop you off.”
“Uh,” Natsuki says, making Otto’s heart sink. “About that…”
“You don’t mean to tell me you have nowhere to stay?!” Otto says incredulously. Maybe he should have seen this coming.
“Give me a break. It’s not like I intended to end up here! It was an accident!” Natsuki retorts.
“What do you mean?! How do you accidentally travel to the capital of Lugunica!?” Otto questions, loudly. They are starting to get looks from passersbys.
Natsuki shrugs. “Not a clue! All I know is that I was leaving a store in my hometown, then suddenly I’m here!” He claims with a strained smile.
“Are you telling me that you blinked and ended up in the capital?!” Otto exclaims. Is this a joke? This has to be a joke.
“That’s exactly what I’m saying!” Natsuki insists, just as loud as Otto.
Otto stares at Natsuki, watching his shoulders heave, how his eyes, mean as they look, poorly hide a deep fear. His judgement, as imperfect as it is, tells him that this story is not a lie. At least, Natsuki means to tell the truth. He could simply be mad, or confused, a victim to any sort of magic. There’s no telling what the truth is in this case.
If what he’s saying is true, then that means that Subaru Natsuki has, through no fault of his own, landed in the middle of a foreign country with no money, no connection, and from the astounding ignorance he’s displayed, no knowledge or skills to fall back upon. That is an astronomically bad situation, even in the eyes of Otto, who’s ran into foul matters more times than he cares to admit. Otto Suwen well and truly feels bad for this young man.
“In that case, you can stay with me for the night,” Otto concedes.
“Really? That’s a big relief. I was worried I’d have to sleep in the rubble in a half-destroyed building again. Well, it’s more that I passed out and was abandoned in a half-destroyed building, but that doesn’t matter. Thanks!” Subaru replies with great relief and gratitude, glossing over the extremely worrying situation he just revealed.
This might be a mistake. Subaru Natsuki is evidently a suspicious man. Everything about him is odd. The chances that Otto will be robbed in the middle of night by doing this has increased substantially. Not that he gets the sense that Natsuki is the type to do such a thing, but he’s been surprised before.
However, the payoff, if it works, is worth the risk. Despite his oddities, Subaru seems painfully genuine, if oblivious. If left on the streets, he’s liable to be robbed of the metia in his sleep. Therefore, it’s in defence of his profits to allow him to stay the night. There is a risk, but one that Otto is willing to take.
Later on, they’re both sitting in the back of his wagon. Subaru, having bothered him relentlessly with questions about his cargo that would have been suspicious had he not carried the air of a particularly curious child, sits down unceremoniously, and shoves his hand in the bag he has. It’d make a curious rustling sound, not like any bag that Otto has heard before. He doesn’t think it’d be worth much, though.
“Here!” Subaru calls. Otto reacts just in time to catch the object tossed his way.
“What is this?” He asks, looking down at it in confusion. It appears to be a sealed bag, of sorts. The material flexes under his fingers. Crinkly, it reminds him of Subaru's strange bag. There’s strange symbols written on the side, along with images of certain foods. He can’t help but think of how much effort must have gone into crafting this.
“Just a snack from my hometown. A little thanks for helping me out,” Subaru says. Otto blinks, a warm feeling growing in his chest. That makes sense, but how, uh, does he open this? There’s no drawstring or anything.
Subaru looks at him fiddle with the bag, amusement in his smile. “Pull apart the sides by the top,” he explains.
Blushing and faintly embarrassed, Otto does as he’s told. To his surprise, the seam at the top comes apart. Unfortunately, he may have pulled with too much force. Food spills out the top as one hand loses its grip. “W-wah!”
Otto looks at the spilled food, some kind of thinly sliced, crisp patties, with sorrow. He ducks his head, embarrassed, as Subaru laughs at him.
“I’m sorry,” Otto apologises.
“It’s not a big deal. It’s just some chips, try one!” Subaru chirps.
Otto picks one up from the bag, feeling the spices coating the ‘chip’ cover his finger tip. He eyes it. The food was unlike anything he’d ever seen before. With slight hesitation, he put one in his mouth.
It was… good. Quite savoury, and the spices are a bit strange, but it tastes nice.
“How do you like it?” Subaru asks. The look on his face suggests he’s waiting for some big reaction.
“It’s nice,” Otto concedes, shoving another ‘chip’ into his mouth. Subaru looks a little disappointed.
Otto gradually finishes off the foreign snack. He’s a bit sad when the bag empties, but there’s more important matters at hand.
“While we are at it,” Otto begins. “We may as well set out the framework for our deal.”
Subaru straightens up. “Sure, what do you need?”
“To clarify, you wish to sell your metia using my expertise as a merchant and split the profits, correct?” Otto asks, for the sake of clarification.
“That’s about it,” Subaru says, nodding.
“Is there anything else your metia can do aside from those… um,” Otto trails off. What did Subaru call those instant portraits?
“Photographs,” Subaru says.
“Yes, photographs,” Otto corrects himself, hiding his embarrassment. He recalls the initial sales pitch Subaru had given him, and his own experience of the metia’s capabilities.
It is an incredibly unflattering picture of himself, this photograph. Caught by surprise, the expression it captured is a mixture of being midway through a blink and his mouth hanging open. Otto felt both unsettled and privileged looking at it, like he’s rich and important enough to afford a portrait, but the artist hated him. Knowing his luck, that would happen.
“Not really,” Subaru says. He glances to the side, giving Otto the impression that he’s holding something back, but graciously, he lets it slide.
Otto puts a hand to his chin, thinking. He’s not surprised, metias typically only have one function, and this doesn’t lower the value at all. While he may not be that well versed on the value of metia’s, Otto instincts tell him that whichever old man Subaru spoke to was right. It was worth at least twenty holy gold coins.
“For my part, I want fifty percent of the sales profit,” Otto says.
Coming out with his maximum demand, Otto Suwen sets the stage for the negotiation of a century —
“Yeah sure, fine,” Natsuki agrees with nary a pause.
“–wha? That’s not how this is supposed to go, Natsuki-san!” Otto exclaims.
“That right? I can’t say I’ve ever dealt with merchants before.” Natsuki scratches his head as he says this.
Otto gapes. That kind of naivety and inexperience is - dangerous. Had he been a slightly less scrupulous merchant, he’d hang him up to dry!
“You’re supposed to haggle down the price as much as you can! If you accept the opening offer you will be fleeced of everything you own!” Otto explains.
“I’ll keep that in mind for next time,” Subaru tells him lightly. He doesn’t seem to be taking this very seriously.
Otto sighs deeply. This man. What a character this man is.
“Forty percent,” Otto says, rectifying his earlier offer to a more reasonable sum.
“Sounds good to me,” Subaru gives him a thumbs up.
A dark patch on Subaru’s clothes catches his eye. From afar, it’s indistinct, but Otto has had enough experience that alarm bells ring in his head.
“Hold on, is that blood?!” He asks with great alarm.
“Don’t worry about it. I got healed.” Subaru waves him off with a smile.
“Huh?!”
As it turns out, Subaru was wrong. His metia was not worth twenty holy gold coins. It was worth significantly more than that. Though haggling, and encountering a very fascinated collector of metias, Otto was able to sell it for twenty eight. Apparently, the noble had seen nothing like it. Unique among metias, he said.
It’s a fantastic profit. Otto muses as he takes his promised share. This will be enough to feed him and Froufoo for weeks. Not enough to set up his own store, but still a significant contribution towards his goal.
To the side, Subaru sits on the back of his carriage, his feet hanging over the ground. He’s watching the city with a blank expression unfitting for such a lively personality. Despite his recent increase of funds, he doesn’t appear happy at all. There must be something wrong.
Otto doesn’t know Subaru well, so perhaps it’s audacious to think this, he doesn't like seeing him like this. Perhaps it’s because Subaru closes the space between them like he was born to do so, but the question is on his tongue before he thinks of the consequences.
“Natsuki-san, where do you plan on going from here?” Otto asks.
Subaru shrugs. “Dunno. I guess I’ll try to find that old man again. Hell, maybe I’ll become a merchant myself. But what could I sell… mayonaise?.” He tilts his head, hand to his chin. As he says it, he doesn’t sound a sliver confident.
There’s no way that Subaru would be able to make it as a merchant by himself. They’d chew him up and spit him out before the day’s end.
“Perhaps you can find your may back home?” Otto offers. That is much more reasonable. He’d offer a hand, in that case, simply so that this won’t keep him up at night.
“… I don’t think that’s possible,” Subaru says quietly, looking down at his feet.
The implication is clear. Subaru doesn’t think he’ll ever see his family again. It’s tragic. And all too recognizable.
Forced out of his home and away from his family, now doesn’t that sound familiar? Otto thinks about what he’d do in that situation. No ground dragon, no wagon, no family connections to bank on. His gut shrivels. He doesn’t want to think of how he’d end up. The slums seem likely, slavery another.
There’s a desperation in Subaru’s eyes, the way he flicks to Otto and back.
Perhaps this friendliness is simply a means to latch on to the nearest friendly person in a bid for survival. Otto, honestly, cannot fault him for that, for what other recourse does Subaru have? It’s not bad to want help.
He… he doesn’t want Subaru to end up like that. He may be annoying and fake, but he’s incredibly earnest in a way that’s hard to come by. It’d be a shame for that light to be destroyed. Besides, it would help Otto sleep at night knowing he didn’t leave someone out to dry.
This’ll cost him. Subsidizing a whole person isn’t free, but Otto has come across a good chunk of money, and with Subaru paying his fair share, it’s not prohibitively expensive.
“Natsuki-san,” Otto says.
Subaru looks up. “Huh?”
“If you don’t mind, I’d like to hear more about your business plans. ‘Mayo’ you said? Perhaps I can be of assistance, in exchange for a share of your profits, of course,” Otto offers.
“…sticking around to help a hopeless guy like me. You really are a hopeless merchant,” Subaru sighs, closing his eyes, a small smile gracing his face.
“Is that really the way you should be talking about someone helping you?!” Otto squawks.
Seriously, the audacity of this man has yet to stop surprising him. Calling him hopeless while relying on him, how shameless could you get?! Certainly, Subaru Natsuki is the sort to bring trouble to all those around him, much like Otto himself. That’s why Otto has to help him, because nobody else would, that’s all.
It’s not like he’s fond of him or anything.