ARC II: The Country of Reinvention - Kararagi

Kararagi: Country of Reinvention

Two months since the Last Death (Five Deaths)

Everything was dark, completely dark. Subaru was surrounded by shadows, which watched him from a distance, not daring to approach him. Blinking, Subaru tried to understand where he was, the last thing he remembered was that he had been working on several new designs that still lacked the final details.

The lack of brightness was so extreme that it was impossible for him to see even the tip of his nose. Instinctively, Subaru thought of bringing his hands in front of his eyes, but then he noticed. His palms were wrapped around something, and no matter how hard he tried to let go of it, it was impossible.

Subaru knew he had to release that, whatever it was. He wasn't sure why, but his instincts weren't lying. He had to let go of whatever he was holding, but his hands refused to obey him. Maybe if he looked down... No, Subaru didn't want to do that. Something inside him told him that if he looked at whatever was on his hands, he would regret it.

So Subaru struggled harder, giving his all to let go of that something. However, no matter how much force he applied, how much he forced himself to release it, not even his fingertips had given way. Clenching his teeth until they grinded, and closing his eyelids until the space between them closed, cicatrizing and becoming one piece of skin, Subaru refused to give up and look down.

"Look... Look at the fruit of your actions..." Then, when Subaru was more than focused on not looking, on not stopping his useless efforts to release that between his palms, a voice from the shadows came to his ear. Subaru ignored it, insisting with stubborn determination. "Look... You cannot avoid it forever... You must observe the fruit of your actions..."

"No…" Whispering through his clenched teeth, Subaru refused to obey the sinister voice. He knew that if he looked, it would all be over, it would be his end.

"Look, look, look, look, look... You cannot avoid it forever... You must observe the fruit of your actions..."

"Shut up…"

"Look... look... look... look..."

"Shut up… shut up… shut up…"

"Look… Look… Look… Look!"

"I don't want to…" Without realizing at what point he had done so, Subaru had begun to exchange words with the ominous voice. As he clenched his jaw and eyelids tighter, and struggled insistently to let go of what he was holding, Subaru had started to shake his head in denial.

"Look! Look! Look! Look!"

"I don't want to! God dammit!" Finally stopping his teeth grinding, Subaru opened his mouth and yelled at the voice, obstinately refusing to obey it.

"Your resistance is useless! Look... Look at the fruit of your actions... Look at the sin that stained your hands with blood."

"Hnk!" Releasing a muffled groan, Subaru felt his body begin to give way. Slowly, her eyelids began to open against his will, while his neck began to obey the voice and started to bend so that his eyes could observe what he had between his hands.

"Observe the fruit of your actions..."

Finally, his eyelids opened and his head was completely lowered. Then, a scarlet glow began to illuminate the scene in front of his eyes. It was blood, the blood that drenched the entire gloomy room. The walls, the ceiling, the floor, everything was covered in blood that, as if it possessed bioluminescence, had overcome the darkness with its reddish glow.

Feeling the nausea take over his stomach, as his body began to shake violently, Subaru watched in horror where all the blood came from. Hetaro, Mimi, Tivey, Julius, Ricardo, Otto, Leith… Anastasia. All their bodies were mutilated, with their abdomens wide open. And, as if it were a vine, all their intestines were surrounding him, to the point that just breathing implied rubbing his body against the reddish skin of the bowels.

And that whole gruesome painting only served to highlight the scene that was unfolding in his hands. The blue-haired girl, with her green eyes protruding from their sockets, her pale skin, and her disjointed neck nestled between his hands, was staring directly at him with her lifeless gaze. Subaru, due to the shocking surprise, tried to release her neck once more, but, as expected, the action was completely useless.

"Observe the fruit of your actions..."

"No…" With tears forming in his eyes, Subaru shook his head once again in denial.

"The sin that stained your hands with blood... The scar that will mark you for life..."

"No… I don't want to… I…" Losing his breath, Subaru, unable to avoid looking, tried to plead his case; but once again, it was useless; everything he tried to do was futile.

"Observe… Observe… Observe…"

"Why…?" Melancholic, Subaru questioned the actions of the somber voice.

"Death is the way..." With his movement disabled, Subaru could do nothing but watch the little girl's corpse, as he felt the shadows around him approaching. "Observe the fruit of your actions... Observe what the path of death led to... Observe what the path of death will lead to... Observe the sin that stained your hands with blood..."

Each word that the voice said, was perceived as closer. Closer and closer, until his body felt oppressed by the presence of the congregation of shadows. He couldn't escape, he couldn't fight, he could only watch. In silence, Subaru was swallowed up by the tsunami of shadows, which without leaving a trace, plunged everything once again into darkness...

"Hnk! Koff! Koff!" Feeling a sharp blow to the back of his head, Subaru woke up with a start.

Squinting, due to the glare filtering into his room, Subaru groped with his hands. Feeling the edge of his desk, Subaru leaned against it and stood up. With his eyes slightly accustomed to the change of lighting, he stared at the place where he had awakened.

His room, like those in Priestella's inn, had the same architecture as his native country. Consequently, its floor and walls were patched with white tatami and its structure was made of wood. The light was filtered through the thin material of its windows and door, illuminating it completely without the need to use a lamp or have one of it open.

The room was not too big, it only had a bed to sleep on and a wooden desk, the same one on which he was leaning on. His bed, or rather, his futon was completely tidy; a sign that he had not slept in it. On the desk there were several scattered papers and a wooden chair was lying on the floor in front of it. Which explained his harsh awakening.

Just like the last few nights, Subaru had stayed up late, working on his designs. Without realizing it, he had fallen asleep in the chair, lying on his desk. Just as this was not the first time that had happened to him, it was not the first time he had woken up abruptly from a nightmare.

That was already something that used to happened to him before the trip to Priestella, but after what happened there, the nightmares had become more realistic and traumatic. Maybe that was one of the reasons why he was sleeping late working on his designs, maybe he was avoiding sleep… Sighing, Subaru shook his head. After rubbing his eyes, he reached down, lifted the chair and sat in it.

In complete silence, Subaru began to arrange the papers scattered on the desk. The first one he took was a sketch reminiscent of a barrel with two hoses, one with an arrow pointing to the barrel and one with an arrow pointing to the opposite side of the barrel. It was a water filtering machine. The idea was still in the early stages, so it wasn't quite well developed.

He had started working on it the night before, so it was only to be expected that the design would be no more than a rough draft. The reason why he had thought of making a water filter, was because a couple of weeks ago he had visited one of the traditional public baths in Kyo, the city where he was now...

After accepting Anastasia's offer to accompany her to Kararagi, the group that had traveled to Priestella was split in two. On one side were Julius and Hetaro who, together with a small part of the Fang of Iron, would return to the capital of Lugunica, with the aim of getting the best user of healing magic in the kingdom to treat the severe wounds of the little demi-human. And on the other side were Anastasia, Ricardo, Mimi, Tivey, most of the Fang of Iron and, of course, him; who had as their destination the home country of all the aforementioned, except Subaru.

Subaru, as he watched them depart from Priestella, had asked Anastasia about the mage that she expected Julius would convince to cure Hetaro. He was curious, as she seemed quite confident that her best knight would succeed. That's when he learned that Felix Argyle was the name of that person, one of the knights of the kingdom and the best user of water element magic in the country.

In addition, he was the knight of one of the candidates of the Royal Selection, Crusch Karsten, and a close friend of Julius. That explained Anastasia's confidence that Julius would get his help... Even so, Anastasia apparently was looking to make a deal with her rival, but since she did not mention anything else about it, Subaru decided not to ask about it.

Along the way, which took about the same time as the trip to Priestella, Subaru had time to improve his ties with those whose faces he had been seeing daily for nearly a month. It was then that he realized that Mimi and Tivey now treated him much more closely than before. Especially Mimi, who was not uncommon to climb onto his shoulders or into his lap and fiddle around with one of his reinvented artifacts.

And the two triplets weren't the only ones who now looked at him favorably. Ricardo, after hearing how Subaru had exposed and almost laid down his life, so that Anastasia and the triplets could escape from inn, also began to treat him with a lot more familiarity. And it wasn't that they were cold to him before, simply that he wasn't just Anastasia's new partner/employee anymore.

On the part of his new boss, she did not treat him any differently than she had before. If anything, the only thing Subaru could notice was an increase in her interest in him. But that also applied to all those who accompanied him. He had perfectly predicted the attack and the attackers, and also had collaborated during the siege, despite his lack of physical and magical power.

By the same token, Subaru had begun to notice that various rumors about him were spreading, and they were… curious, to say the least. One was a theory about his ideas; they said he really had the power to see into the future, and that explained why all his ideas were so novel and how he had obtained information about the attack. Another rumor said that he came from the future, which was a lesser variant of the previous rumor. Also they said everything was due to a Divine Protection, one of which none had ever heard; this was the most credible rumor among all of them.

But those were the positive or neutral rumors. There were also those who suspected that everything had been planned by him, in order to gain Anastasia's favor. Others thought he was a degenerate, and that was an impression that hung over mostly among those who were nearby when he killed Meili. Luckily for him, Ricardo didn't judge him for it; although it was also true that they had not addressed the issue once since it happened.

Ricardo, Mimi, and Tivey now trusted Subaru for his actions in which he put Anastasia's life on top of his own, so at least now he had the most powerful of the Fang of Iron on his side. Even so, there was only one person who, without hiding it, showed clear suspicion towards Subaru. And that was the mercenary warrior who saved him from being killed by Meili's mabeasts.

For some reason unknown to him, that demi-human tiger always looked at him with a scowl. He assumed it was due to what happened during the trance that led him to kill Meili. Subaru left the warrior's companions behind and exposed himself to danger, after they had saved him, only to cold-bloodedly murder a child; which, as much as she was an assassin, did not cease to be one. So Subaru couldn't blame him if he looked at it with revulsion, but that didn't change the fact that it made him feel uncomfortable.

Once the trip to Kyo, also known as the first city of Kararagi, was over, Subaru basically locked himself in his room located in Anastasia's main mansion. Since then, Subaru had rarely left the mansion. After what happened during his stroll around Priestella, the terror caused by the mere thought of leaving the mansion caused him unbearable anxiety and nausea.

It was almost two weeks before he could go out for the first time, and he only did so because he had to go to Hoshin Company's headquarters to meet with several members of the design department. His first departure from the mansion was as traumatic as he thought it would be. Cold sweat soaked his body, nausea made him vomit a couple of times, and the shaking in his legs barely allowed him to walk. And yet, he arrived at his destination without a single scratch. Of course, he didn't walk alone, as Tivey accompanied him.

And the triplet wasn't the only security measure Anastasia gave him. She also gave him a metia, with which he could contact her, Ricardo, Mimi or Tivey at any time, in case he needed their assistance. Once again, Anastasia was struggling to make sure that Subaru was comfortable, while he continued to give in to his damn weaknesses.

So Subaru pledged to repay at least some of that kindness by making an effort like he had never made in his entire life. For days, and even weeks, he locked himself in his room and drew sketches of up to fifty ideas that he squeezed from the memories of his world. Toys, kitchen utensils, work tools and even recipes, Subaru wrote down in his design notebook everything he thought might be useful in that world.

With the increase in the number of sketches produced, Subaru was forced to visit the main building of the Hoshin Trading Company more often. He, despite being considered a genius by many, was barely able to replicate the image of some objects from his world and half explain its functioning. Without the help of a skilled craftsman or blacksmith, giving the final details to the design would be impossible for him.

Leith was the one who usually helped him with that. Subaru explained to him in the best possible way the functioning of the object, and between the two they defined the inner workings of the reinvented artifact. If it weren't for the fact that Subaru, after turning into a shut in, became obsessed for a while with videos in which they cut objects to see how they worked inside, the job of finalizing the sketches would have been much more complicated.

Moreover, in the case of complicated objects, which, for example, work on the basis of electricity, the help of a skilled craftsman or blacksmith was even more necessary. Finding the magic mineral or the right material to assemble the artifact is something that only someone with experience in materials and ores from that world could do.

Therefore, now that Leith was in Lugunica, while he was in Kararagi, the need to visit the design department workers had increased considerably. If he didn't, he would end up with a bunch of unfinished drafts, which would only delay his work.

Subaru also visited the Hoshin Company's factory on a couple of occasions, where he spoke with craftsmen and blacksmiths who work in forging different tools and products for the company. Renovation Project, due to Otto, Leith, and him, would be carried out exclusively in Lugunica. Hence, Anastasia decided to set up a factory there, which would be run by Leith. Even so, Subaru knew that some workers from the Kararagi factory would be transferred to Lugunica, so she had taken the time to meet them and see their work...

Thus, after a little more than month of having left the mansion for the first time, Subaru had finally begun to get used to going out of the mansion; although always accompanied by Tivey or Mimi. So one day, after meeting Anastasia, she invited him to one of the city's baths; he, who did not even know that there were public baths in that world, did not hesitate to accept. He would go with Ricardo, the two triplets and her, so he could at least enjoy the bath without suffering anxiety attacks.

It was then that, after a month and a half of arriving in Kararagi, Subaru really took the time to appreciate the place. Sure, during his trips to the company building he had plenty of opportunities to do so. However, not only did he feel too nervous to do so, but the views of the route from the mansion to the company were not particularly striking.

Anastasia's mansion is located in the high-class area of Kyo, as you would expect from Anastasia Hoshin's home. And the company's building is in the center of the Free Trade Metropolitan Area, where the most important market in all of Kararagi and several of that world's most economically powerful companies are located.

The Free Trade Metropolitan Area is located right in the center of Kyo, and the upper-class district is not far away, so the mansion and the company building are only a twenty-minute walk away. A walk that, apart from the mansions in the high-class area, and the stores in the metropolitan area, had no other views to offer.

On the other hand, on the way to the baths, which crossed the most traditional area of Kyo, he was able to appreciate buildings, shops, parks and people, which reminded him of the culture of his country in the Taishō period. Women and men wearing kimonos or yukatas, buildings with Wafuu architecture, street shops and parks that reminded him of the trip he made to Kyoto a couple of years before being transported to that world. Kararagi really had a strong connection to his world, which reinforced his theory that Hoshin was a person from his world who ended up there; just like him.

The trauma had kept him from straying from the path he always followed when going to the company building, so his trip to the public baths was a refreshing experience that partially relieved the stress he had been feeling the last few weeks. He shared time with Anastasia and the leaders of the Fang of Iron, and was able to take a relaxing bath that reminded him of the customs of his country, causing nostalgia to overwhelm him.

To get rid of the nostalgic feeling, before it brought him to tears, Subaru distracted himself by thinking of ideas from his world that he could implement in that world. It was then that he realized how the baths in that place did not have any kind of filtration system. Just thinking about how difficult it would be to keep the facilities clean caused him a headache, so that's when one of the most complex ideas he decided to carry out was born...

"I already have the structure in mind, but I can't think of anything for the inner workings…" Muttering, Subaru looked at the sketch. After a moment, Subaru placed it on the pile of papers that had been formed and continued to tidy up the desk.

He organized a couple more sketches and, along with the ones already in the pile, they made five drafts that he would have to take to his next meeting with the guys in the design department. Most were already familiar faces to him, and he had even met five of them before arriving in Kararagi, although that only happened prior to being tortured by Elsa.

In that "timeline" he had only met them by sight while traveling to Kararagi. That they were alive and well was only because they were not at the inn during the attack. That day many people, both guests of the inn and employees, died from his slow action; a guilt that Subaru would have to bear for life.

Calming the trembling that had begun to shake one of his hands, Subaru took a deep breath and continued to rearrange his desk. He looked carefully at what was out of place and then noticed two envelopes at the bottom right. Without hesitation, he took them and held them to his face.

Both envelopes had the same address written on them, the only difference was the person to whom they were addressed. One was addressed to Otto and the other Leith. Since leaving Priestella, Subaru made sure to keep in touch with his partners, for he feared something might happen to them while he was away from Lugunica.

Subaru still had no clue about the person who hired the assassins. Nor did he know the reason behind said hiring. Thus, Subaru feared for the lives of everyone close to him. Especially if his theory that someone had been attempted to kill him for signing his contract with Anastasia turned out to be true, as Otto and Leith would then be as connected to the matter as he was himself.

Luckily, so far it seemed that both were well; although the time it took to get a letter from one point to another made that information not too encouraging. The topic he had discussed in correspondence with his colleagues, unsurprisingly, was related to Reinvention Project.

Thanks to them, he knew that progress in the capital was going from strength to strength, and probably by his return to Lugunica the operation would have finally begun. Of course, Anastasia also kept him up to date with that information, but reading it from his partners made him proud of how far the three of them had come together.

Satisfied with the thought, Subaru placed the two envelopes in a corner of the desk. He planned to have one of the company's personal couriers take that letter to Lugunica. Fortunately, the same messenger would soon be leaving with the rest of the mail from the workers of the mansion, so the man would only have to make one trip to deliver the set of letters.

And with that, he had already finished sorting the papers that were scattered on his desk. Satisfied, Subaru moved away from the desk and went to the dining room for breakfast. He was about to close the door to his room, when he noticed something that made him return to his desk. Underneath the wooden frame, in one of its corners, there was one last piece of paper that he hadn't noticed during the time he was tidying up.

Sighing, Subaru crouched down and crawled under the desk. Stretching out his hand, he took the paper with the tips of his index finger and thumb, thus retrieving the sheet. Staining up again, he carefully studied the contents of the paper, and as he did so, his frown grew slightly. What was there was an artifact he had not worked on for a month.

Subaru bitterly remembered his condition the first weeks he was in Kararagi. The tremors, the nausea, the terrible headaches, the endless nightmares. Also, it was not surprising that he woke up with the futon soaking wet the first few days. It was in that state that he began that personal... project. It was a reimagining of the lighter he had already worked on.

With a frame lined with icy magic ore, a magazine capable of storing Lagmite imbued with fire element magic, and a barrel, this was the reinvention of a gun. Of course, in that world apparently there was no gunpowder, so working with fire rocks was his only option. The problem with them was their instability, so in order to store several without ending up losing a hand in an accident, the icy ore cover was necessary. Even so, there were details that needed to be defined, but...

But doubt invaded him after several weeks working on the design. He feared that it would lead to the introduction of firearms in that world, and although magic existed there, the idea that anyone could shoot dangerous Lagmite with precision made him put the ide aside . One day it might turn against me… He thought, paranoidly. Still, the idea hadn't entirely left his head. He, who was weak, might need a weapon to defend himself.

Sure, Subaru practiced Kendo for part of his life, but compared to the sword skills of the people of that world, his skill was only compared to that of a child waving a branch. Any method of combat that depended on physical condition was not for him, and until that day he had not shown a hint of magical ability, so relying on the use of a weapon from his world could be his only way to defend himself...

"What should I do…?" He wondered as he placed the sheet of paper under the pile of designs. Without looking back, Subaru left the room, more filled with doubt than when he woke up.