The Capital's outskirts were not as strange to Natsuki as the centre was, mostly because he saw such things in documentaries about destroyed African countries. The whole place smelled of shit; it was in the streets with the fumes of the open sewers, inside the buildings with the chamber-pots of those who could afford them, and sometimes on the torn rags of those who wandered in-between the clay-and-mud huts. The only respite was that the sun has set, and most of the disgusting scenery was lost in the dark.
Subaru gagged. Even though his first loop also brought him to the outskirts, it seemed he didn't travel very far into them. "How are people allowed to live like this?"
"Hm?" Satella was barely keeping up with his brisk walk. "Pardon me?"
"I said, how are people allowed to live like this?" Subaru said, feeling a slight rage bubble up the walls of his throat. "Why is nothing done? This feels more like a humanitarian crisis than an impoverished part of the city."
"Ahh..." Satella went silent, an awkwardness crawling into the conversation.
'"Satella?" Subaru felt like he was talking to a wall. He noted that. Why would a noble not have something to say in such a world? Even a person who was uncomfortable with the topic wouldn't stay silent for so long.
"I-I'm not sure..." She was clearly nervous. "It's terrible, I know, that's why I'm thinking of ways to fix it."
"Hm, thinking. Right..." Subaru stayed quiet. "So you're saying you have a way of fixing this?"
"N-no, well, n-not yet. Not until I get my insignia back." Satella began sounding uneasy, Subaru's aggressive questioning making her uncomfortable.
On the other hand, Subaru gave an acknowledging mumble, his mind beating with a burning question.
IN WHAT MODERN WORLD DOES THE BETTERMENT OF THOUSANDS RELY ON A PIECE OF JEWELRY...
He stopped abruptly, Satella bumping into his back, Subaru ignoring the impact almost completely. "We're getting nowhere, and we've been walking for an hour or so. We'll need more guidance. Let's split and try to ask some of the locals." It was strange to him how he said 'locals,' they haven't left the city, yet it was as if they were in a totally different country.
Satella stayed quietly behind him. Subaru turned around, "So? Anything? You in on the plan or..?"
"Oh... I..." Subaru felt something, a low chill run down his spine. How could he have not noticed? Simply from how she talked, she clearly wasn't used to having her opinion asked, especially on the further plan of action. His mind recalibrated his image of her. No, this wasn't a high-ranking noble, rather a puppet. Someone much bigger was sitting in the puppeteer's seat, and he just walked in on something that is not his.
"I don't think that this is very safe," Satella mumbled.
"Just in our first meeting, you were firing icicles the size of crossbow bolts. I don't see how-"
"It's past daylight," Satella said as if that explained something to Subaru.
"Yes, I seem to see that," Subaru replied with a dry yet humorous tone. "Still, that doesn't really change the situation much."
"My spirit won't come out; there's no mana without sunlight," Satella explained slightly louder, clearly having enough of Subaru's questioning. "So I think that we should stay together but do the same thing as you proposed!" She raised her voice but quickly clapped a hand over her mouth.
Subaru chuckled. "Okay then, should've just said it as is. Let's stick together, though if you don't mind, I'll ask the questions first."
"S-sure." Satella nodded, smiling about something.
The 'questioning' didn't go well. Their first victim was a homeless man, some drunk sitting on the windowsill of a tavern, the torn clothing on him looking as if it was hardening from all the grime on it.
Subaru steeled his nerves. As much as he thought his idea was going to work, something was gnawing at the back of his mind. "Hey, excuse me."
The drunk turned his head and stared at the duo with undividable attention, only possible for someone who has downed what smelt like a distillery. "Wh-wh-wh-"
The drunk squinted, and his face turned into a mask of disgust. "What the-th-the fu- are ye's doing 'ere!? GO BACK TO YE CASTLES, YOU RICH CUNTS! GO AWAY! GO AWAY!" He jumped off of the windowsill, planting face-first into the ground but beginning to get up, a mad fire lighting up in his gaze.
Satella tapped Subaru's shoulder. "I think that maybe-"
"Yep! Got it!" Both of them turned around in unison and bolted, the screams of the alcoholic echoing after them as they disappeared into the back-alleys.
Their next attempt was a rough-looking woman leaning on one of the walls of what looked like a church. Subaru gulped. While the drunk looked a bit menacing, this one seemed to be more like a tank than a human being.
"Excuse me." Subaru's pull for attention seemed to have set her off, a blade appearing in her hand as soon as Subaru pronounced the first syllable.
"Well, lookie! We've got ourselves a squealer and a well-dressed one at that! What's in yer bag, sweetheart!?" Subaru's eyes went wide as he began to slowly back away.
"I... Uh..." His stammering was cut short by a blade sailing through the air, slicing his cheek. "Run!"
The two stopped to catch their breaths next to a lit-up window, giving just enough light for them both to see each others' outlines.
"Subaru *huff*, I don't *huff* think your plan *huff* is working." Satella pronounced breathlessly.
"*huff* Miss Satela, *huff* if a plan *huff* doesn't work *huff* at first *huff* it just means that you *huff* taken the wrong approach," Subaru replied, before straightening out. "Our last encounter actually *huff* explained something quite self-evident, now that I *huff* think about it."
Satella also straightened out, her breath recovering quicker than Subaru's. "A-and what would that be?"
"We're too well-dressed." pronounced Subaru self-assuredly while unbuttoning his school blazer and handing it to Satella. "To them, we look as either money-bags or over-privileged royals, but no worries, I have just the remedy for that. Could you please hold this?" He passed her the school bag as well, Satella receiving his possessions with a confused expression.
"And now-" Subaru looked around and walked up to one of the murky puddles covering the mud roads of the outskirts. "-I transform..." He took a deep breath, and to the background noise of Satella's protests, threw himself into the puddle.
The wind blew unrelentingly, and Subaru sneezed. "Ghhhhaaaahhh CHOO!" A shiver went down his spine, as even his blazer couldn't really protect him from the wet pants and shirt clinging to him like frost.
"Subaru, while I appreciate your efforts, maybe this is-"
"I said, I'm fine! And besides, now that we've got the information needed, we might as well get on with it!" He said in a nasal voice. Clearly, ripping his trouser-legs and cuffs was a bit overboard, but hey, at least that got him the information he needed. The guy at the tavern didn't even question why he was wet; the ruined appearance was enough. The good thing was he also remembered how the thief looked like; otherwise, they'd really be in trouble.
The royal and the student stopped in front of the large yet clearly abandoned tavern, yet another one.
"So, this is the hiding spot of the 'Felt' girl, if the guy wasn't tricking me." Subaru pronounced with a little bit of pride. "Let's hope that we are not too late to intercept her." He continued optimistically.
He took a step forward, only to feel a pull on his blazer sleeve. He turned around to be met by Satella's worried gaze. "Subaru... Something... is off here..."
"Well then, I'll check it out first, but quietly." He smiled, "Don't be too worried; what's the worst that could happen?"
Satella nodded, though her gaze still seemed to scan the building with distrust.
Subaru slowly began creeping towards the tavern's entrance, his steps crunching the gravel. As he got closer to the door, Satella's words rang out in his head. The building was tranquil, not even a creak. Did someone tip the thief off? Did they already leave?
"Only way to find out..." He whispered to himself as he pushed the door with a heavy creak, the moonlight spilling over the room.
Step...
Another...
He felt something as if he stepped into something, something sticky.
Subaru squinted into the darkness.
Another step...
A strong smell of iron hit him, his eyes finally focusing to see a head full of blonde hair in a pool of blood.
A scream began to battle its way up from his lungs to his mouth as he stumbled back and tried to scramble back to the exit, away from the blood, away from the building, the outskirts, this world. Instead, his back met something.
He slowly craned his neck.
The moment was short. He saw a pair of purple eyes burn within the darkness of the room, perfectly contrasting the luminescence of the moon.
Then he felt his torso disconnect from his legs.
"gaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
His vision blurred as he screamed and screamed and screamed, his life literally draining from him.
The doors slammed. "Suba-!" There was a low whistle as if someone swung a stick and another impact on the floor. Subaru could see, yet the pain burnt like a blinding light.
In his last seconds of consciousness, he saw something roll into his vision. Satella stared back at him, empty gaze and... no neck. Her serene gaze pierced Subaru, and he gave out one last silent scream as the darkness consumed him.
The world swung back into view, and Subaru sunk to his knees. This time he was ready for nausea; it was something else that hit him. The terror, the helplessness, but also a rage...
Subaru gritted his teeth. "Goddamn wasted effort..."
The revolutionary opened his eyes and shivered slightly as the breeze blew in his face. The rain has finally calmed; only the dripping of water from the gutter pipe and the usual howl of the night wind disturbed the dark city streets' serene silence. He stood up from his leaning position and walked out into the streets, rechecking his weapons as he went. Sometimes it felt like even with weapons, he wasn't safe, as if those same eyes were staring in the back of his head, even as one of the most powerful men in this city, nay, this world. But those eyes have burnt something into him, and he had to manage it one way or another.
His hands itched to take out the Bocco powder again, but he only balled them into fists. There'd be time for this after the meeting.
The path from this specific Guard post wasn't long from the meeting place. Left-Right-Two block forward- Another Left- Follow the street signs to the tavern but turn left- another left. His legs carried him automatically as he thought over the agenda of today's meeting again. In some ways, it reminded him of his student council. He laughed to himself. A student council running a country, this is exactly what the meetings felt like.
He took the stairs down into the basement and knocked on the door. The Infantryman opened it, looked him over, saluted and opened the door completely.
"They're waiting, sir."
"So they are."
He straightened his jacket, checked that his flower was pinned well and nodded to the Infantryman, who opened the second door and let the revolutionary inside.
The room had a cosy feeling, the cushioned armchairs, the roaring fireplace, the only thing ruining the atmosphere being the cold stares.
"You are late." Reminded a familiar voice.
"Well, let's just say I got caught up in the humdrum of the calm and careless life." He responded sarcastically and then sat down in the last free seat and nodded. "So, let the meeting begin."