As the months go by, Julius and Schwartz actually start to make a name for themselves.
Their main goal is still to recover their names from Gluttony, but the Archbishops arenāt exactly the easiest to track down.
But that doesnāt mean there isnāt stuff to do.
It starts off mainly with mabeast attacks. On top of his weird prescience, Schwartz is a magnet for monsters ā which is inconvenient at times, but Schwartz is shockingly good at using it to bait powerful man-eaters to where they can be easily disposed of (mainly by Julius). Julius is hesitant about this at first, and many times after that too, but Schwartz is never shy to use it when he feels that someone might be in danger.
They do this on their own at first. Schwartz has an odd way of just knowing when a nearby town is in danger, and Julius has promised himself that heāll trust his companion more from now on, so they often quietly take care of mabeasts and other threats behind the townsā backs and go on their way. Their wanted posters are still up, so itās easier to just stick to themselves like this.
But they take down enough of these monsters and save enough people that word spreads anyway, with rumors of distant sightings of the two men coinciding with dangers erased in the dead of night sprouting up wherever they go.
Eventually they even start getting requests. Farmers with fields plagued by mabeast pests, traders wanting an escort to a nearby town, mercenary groups ā they even manage to make a bit of money just by helping out. And theyāre REALLY GOOD at it, because Julius is ā was the Knight of Knights, and Schwartz. Has some sort of inexplicable knack for this.
Julius drains Schwartz of mana every week or so, to keep him healthy. Schwartz doesnāt think itās totally necessary, but Julius insists. Schwartz has a rather concerning lack of self-preservation.
This, alongside their constant traveling keeping them totally isolated and Juliusā own conviction to trust Schwartz more than he has been, encourages a very close relationship to foster between them. Julius is careful to avoid the word ācodependent,ā even in his mind.
And thatās how it goes, for months.
And then word of these two very helpful mabeast hunters apparently reaches the White Fang.
The White Fang had been hunting them already, for a long time ā but Schwartz always had a way of skirting around them, avoiding them ahead of time through his weird intuition. But one day it fails them, and when Julius and Schwartz are drinking together at a bar to celebrate a successful hunt and keep up morale (Schwartzās idea, but Julius is pretty sure he just wanted to try alcohol), Julius feels a tap on his shoulder and turns to see none other than Ricardo.
Schwartz panics almost immediately, nearly falling out of his seat in his scramble to ā do something, but Ricardo raises his hands in surrender and offers to buy them both another round so long as they hear him out. Schwartz tries to veto it, but Julius ā he misses Ricardo, okay? And maybe he just wants to have a drink with his old friend again. Even if said friend has ā forgotten him.
Schwartz relents when Ricardo promises not to try and kill them, though he still looks suspicious. Julius scolds him and says that Ricardo isnāt one to break a promise. Ricardo asks if theyāve met before and Julius has to pretend that he hasnāt just been stabbed through the chest.
Ricardo asks if the two of them can join the White Fang on a hunt. Apparently theyāre pretty accomplished, and this particular thing theyāre trying to take down is causing them some difficulties. He only gets as far as admitting that itās put some of them in danger before Julius immediately agrees, and Schwartz wouldnāt be able to stop him if he tried (though admittedly he doesnāt try very hard).
Julius and Schwartz join the group, and Julius puts on his absolute best behavior. Heās cordial, and knightly, and does his best to restrain himself from being overfamiliar no matter how much it might hurt. He slips up now and then, but always apologizes and backs away as soon as he realizes what heās done.
Schwartz makes no such effort. Aside from being considerably more paranoid than usual, Schwartzās core personality does not change a bit. Heās bold, rash, overly casual, overfamiliar ā all the traits that Julius has come to find endearing, but nervously remembers finding off-putting during their first few weeks together.
As a sign of his great restraint, itās not until learning that Schwartz is also practically illiterate that Ricardo dubiously asks Julius if Schwartz really was a knight. Juliusā answer is pretty uncertain, because heās trying to trust Schwartz, and he DOES trust that Schwartz doesnāt mean any harm ā butā¦Schwartz, a knight? ā¦He still canāt really say he believes that, no matter how much he may want to. But he also canāt admit that out loud, if only for Schwartzās sake.
Attitudes towards Julius slowly warm. Attitudes towards Schwartz do not. Julius tries his best to stick up for Schwartz, even if it feels like a knife is stuck in his chest when their suspicious gazed turn to him instead, their newly-kindled warmth dimming just that little bit. Two steps forward, one step back, and he wants to kick himself whenever he thinks of Schwartz as a burden thatās causing those steps back away from what he so dearly, dearly wants returned.
Theyāre supposed to be hunting mabeasts, but it turns out that the reason why these beasts have been so hard for the White Fang is that an Archbishop keeps interfering.
Schwartz doesnāt explain how he puts that together. He has one of his episodes, and then he yells for the White Fang to retreat. They donāt listen, and Julius canāt blame them even if he protests that they really should listen because Schwartz is always right ā and then the Archbishop shows up and itās too late.
Julius is already stepping in to protect his former friends before he realizes that he recognizes this one, because Roy Alphard is the Archbishop that stole his Name.
It takes everyone to take him down ā Ricardo, the Pearlbaton triplets, even Schwartz, who mid-fight breaks out an ability that Julius has never seen before. The ability to hoard pain, to take it upon himself so that the mercenaries and the former knight can keep fighting. Julius yells at him to stop it at first, but itās no use. Schwartz is annoying like that. They win, and Roy Alphard is defeated, and then Schwartz collapses in exhaustion as the pain slowly returns to the injured parties.
Juliusā Name doesnāt return. It hurts, it hurts a lot, butā¦
Mimi asks him eagerly if he can show her that cool sword trick he did earlier. Tivey slides him a bowl from the communal celebration dinner as he sits by his side. Hetaro asks nervously and eagerly if heās ever fought an Archbishop before. A couple of the older warriors come by to give their congratulations on a battle well fought, speaking warmly and openly. Ricardo says that, if Julius is interested, perhaps he can join them as a mercenary.
Schwartz is not included in the offer, he knows. Schwartz is still very, very suspicious. They have good reason for that, he knows.
Julius asks to think about it.
