After some rest, each of the camps once again began to pile into the main showing room.
As Emilia and her companions arrived, they were shocked to find that the Merchant Princess and the Vollachian Matriarch, as well as their respective camps, had already taken their seats.
Despite most of both parties taking their original positions, there were two individuals who were missing from their initial spots.
Those two had happened to be seated on either side of her Subaru.
"Um, excuse me, I believe you're both in the wrong seats," Crusch called out from behind Emilia, just as shocked as she to find the position of their rival candidates.
"I don't see a name under here," Anastasia responded with a smirk, mockingly checking under the seat.
The other members of her camp only deadpanned from their seats, hardly bothering with asking why Anastasia was behaving in such a way. She had that look in her eyes. The same one she'd have when she had found something of extreme value and knew that with some effort, big profit was coming her way.
In other words, she had found something, or rather someone, that was extremely valuable.
And she had no intention of sharing, she was a self-proclaimed "greedy gal" after all.
"Hmph, hardly, mineself has only taken mine rightful place after all. A commoner such as yourself should understand that those above her belong at such a station." Priscilla smirked from behind her crimson fan. Her gaze at the Duchess being that of superiority.
What place did she have in questioning a goddess such as herself?
"Oi, oi, ya should give the boss lady back her spot!" Garfiel growled as he pointed a finger rudely at the opposing candidates.
"That's right, Emilia-sama has far more right to sit next to Barusu than one such as yourself," Ram added, her disgust at Priscilla hardly being disguised.
Beatrice simply continued to sit on her contractor's lap, the spirit's small body being inside Subaru's tracksuit jacket as her legs were folded on Subaru's thighs.
"Beatrice-sama!" Rem shouted from behind her, confused at what the spirit was doing.
Being disturbed from her pleasant slumber, Beatrice let one of her arms push out of the opening in the jacket and rubbed her eyes.
"What is it, I suppose? Betty doesn't care which of you wenches sit next to her Subaru in fact. Let Betty rest with her contractor." She responded to Rem, annoyed that she had to give the maid her precious time that she could be using to relax with Subaru.
The trio of Rem, Emilia and Crusch fumed at the spirit's words, why would she let those two of all people be next to Subaru?
"I suggest ya listen to the cute gal, we ain't leaving anyway. Not to mention, it's our camps that'll be shown next anyway, the least ya could do is share." Anastasia bartered with the angry women, hoping that they'd just shut up and sit down elsewhere.
"Eh, Emilia-sama…" Otto interjected awkwardly.
"Yes, Otto-kun?" Emilia responded through gritted teeth.
"While I don't like this situation any more than you do, perhaps we should concede just this time, they do hold a valid point. Not to mention that…" The grey-haired merchant trailed off as Emilia's stare bore into his skull, silencing him from going any further.
"And what would that be, merchant?" Crusch asked Otto tensely.
"Hmph, while the spineless mutt may not be able to say it, be grateful that mine divine self will." Priscilla drew everyone's attention back to herself as she pointed her fan at Emilia and Crusch.
"You two are not to be trusted with him. Your actions, which have already caused him significant harm, should be more reason than enough for you to take a seat elsewhere." Priscilla's face twisted into a snarl before continuing;
"Let it be known that it is mine right to be here, the lot of you should be on your knees thanking mineself that you aren't thrown out entirely because of your past transgressions. So long as mineself does not allow it, no more harm shall befall him, especially from you two." The Vollachian Matriarch finished, flourishing her fan in front of her as she glared at the insipid mongrels that had injured Subaru.
As the surrounding audience members watched, both Emilia and Crusch did a double-take, their minds wandering to the moment Subaru was suddenly awoken without being healed properly. The pair cringed at the memories of agony the young man they loved had undergone.
Though the pain was brief and the wounds were temporary, the new knowledge of what Subaru had undergone through his journey, fueled the feelings of guilt as it began to consume them. They had just added even more suffering to his life.
Rem was still growling, dissatisfied that she had to continue watching as others shared the close proximity to her hero that she desperately needed.
"Then let Rem be with her hero! The likes of yourselves don't need to be concerned with Rem's Subaru-kun!" She yelled.
"Rem-san, I understand that there is nothing more you wish for than to be by Subaru-dono's side, but please, I agree with Otto-kun on this matter. We can't keep arguing amongst ourselves if we wish to continue watching." Wilhelm pleaded from behind, having grown tired of the feuding, a sentiment that many nodded to.
"Besides, nyah can just steal the seats back after the next break." Felix chirped, trying to lift the mood of the room.
Rem looked back at the two, particularly at the Sword Demon who had experienced having gone without his love for some time.
Slowly, she allowed herself to calm down. While not entirely satisfied with the situation, the least she could do was resume her normal seat and ensure the two newcomers didn't try anything with the unconscious Subaru.
Crusch sighed loudly, frustrated with the predicament she had found herself in.
"Emilia-san…" She whispered.
Emilia met Priscilla's glare with one of her own, not backing down from the challenge.
"You'll promise to give our places back afterwards?" She asked, her tone stern and unwavering.
Priscilla smirked behind her fan and let out a snort.
"Hah, quite the naive mongrel aren't you." She responded
Emilia released some of her power, frost appearing below her and dropping the temperature of the room a few degrees as some of the occupants moved themselves a little further from the candidate.
"I'm not that naive anymore." The half-elf fired back.
Seeing as the two wouldn't stop, Anastasia decided to intrude.
"Yeah, I can promise ya that this'll be all yours afterwards." The Merchant Princess conceded, understanding that useless squabbling would just hamper her efforts in acquiring Natsuki Subaru. She may be greedy, but her proficiency as a merchant came from timing, hence, she needed to back off for now.
"Hmph, mineself promises a bastard such as yourself nothing." Priscilla haughtily commented, too prideful to even consider such a proposal.
Emilia, understanding that this was the best she could get without resorting to direct conflict, allowed herself to be satisfied with the outcome and moved to the seats behind Subaru instead.
Seeing their respective leaders stand down, the rest of both parties decided to follow suit, each moving to the comfy chairs and focused back on the display in front of them.
The screen turns on, showing a comfy room, its walls being covered in shelves. Each shelf holds a wide assortment of books and scrolls, their faded colours and musky scent indicating their age.
At the centre of the room sat a young man in his signature tracksuit, hunched over in frustration as he read carefully over the words of his native world on his current document and struggled to write down what he read in his newly learned language.
"A study? Startin' ta' think this place looks familiar." Ricardo mused, stroking his chin as his lighthearted comment seemed to rouse some energy around the room.
Anastasia leapt at the sight of what the young man was doing, the action is noticed immediately by the audience.
"Anastasia-sama?" Her knight questioned, the room also seeming to be a place he had seen before but couldn't quite recall.
"Hoshin's texts…" The Merchant Princess said faintly, far too busy familiarising herself with the sight before her as she fluffed her scarf in anticipation.
Most of the cast were shocked, the evidence not only indicating that this must be Anastasia's turn, but that she would leave him with documents as important to her as this.
"So he's with us in this one is he?" Julius replied, also feeling a surge of excitement within himself as he could only imagine the shenanigans Subaru could get up to in Anastasia's camp, especially with him.
"We get boss bro!" Mimi cheered, adorably waving her staff.
"A translator? Of course, he'd have such a responsibility." Crusch thought aloud, remembering the young man's role in her own story and the potential growth he had undergone as a result.
The thought brought a soft smile to her face as she gazed at the back of his head.
Priscilla simply observed the scene with neutrality, both understanding Subaru's ability to uncover knowledge from such a significant figure in history, but also frustration that the way he appeared here seemed to lack any of the confidence she would have instilled in him.
"Hmph, at least the mongrel put him to some use."
Emilia on the other hand looked at the scene in shame, once again being demonstrated how she was lacking as a leader. What made it even worse is how Subaru had seemed to be making so much progress in his time with the others, in contrast to the amount of suffering he had been subjected to under her care.
The half-elf clenched her fists in failure, she'd rectify this mistake with all her heart if she had to.
Scattered about the room were even more papers, each with haphazardly drawn designs on them and lengthy descriptions, detailing the purpose and specifications of the components. This wasn't to mention the heap of scrunched up paper balls lying in one of the corners of the room, clearly failed attempts.
"Are those plans of some sort? I don't think I've seen anything like it before." Otto commented, observing the designs with curiosity.
"Do ya think it'll be somethin' cool?" Garfiel responded, stars in his eyes as an idea from Subaru could only be awesome.
Anastasia also perked up in excitement, no doubt herself in this viewing was going to make a fortune off of his ideas. Sure the ideas would also better people's lives, but she had to be at the top to make that a reality.
Looking to her side, she watched the slumbering young man softly.
No, that ain't right, we'd both be on top. Ain't no way we're lettin' another little girl have to fend for herself on the streets.
Her heart started to clench at the memories.
"Ah, still scribblin' away are ya?" A deep voice echoed from the doorway, being from none other than the leader of the Iron Fang himself.
"Ricardo! You're here." Subaru responded, being broken out of his thoughts by the sudden interruption.
Ricardo whistled, admiring himself on-screen and brought out both of his sturdy arms to flex his biceps.
"Damn, what a handsome fella that one is, might even be able to' give me a run for my money."
Al shook his head as Tivey facepalmed and Mimi started giggling.
"He appears to have a good relationship with us," Julius noted, picking up on the casual way the two interacted.
Could we perhaps be the same way? He thought to himself as the knight became uncharacteristically fidgety.
"Yeah, just got back in fact. Had it not been for the few bumps on tha' road we would have been back a little earlier." Ricardo responded with a toothy grin.
The wolf-man surveyed the room, observing the various pieces of paper that littered the study and looked back to Subaru.
Ram sighed at the clutter, whether she believed what was on screen or not as an actual possible reality, the amount of mess in the room was undoubtedly that of Emilia's knight.
"Damn Barasu, if you were in Roswaal-sama's camp, Ram would always make sure you clean up after yourself." The pink-haired maid scolded Subaru, a feeble attempt to swat away the lingering thoughts of Subaru actually choosing to be in a camp other than the one he's currently in.
"I guess Subaru-kyun is still Subaru-kyun nyahaha." Felix giggled.
"Of course..." Wilhelm added, a faint smile forming on his face.
"Say, ya still workin' on one of them wacky ideas ya had? What was it, a kaar or something?" He asked Subaru, scratching his head in confusion as the thought of one of Subaru's concepts gave him a headache.
"Oi, wha' do ya mean about ma' cap'n having wacky ideas hah?" Garfiel called out, outraged that someone would doubt an awesome idea his captain would have.
"Beatrice-sama, would that be one of the vehicles you mentioned being in Subaru's world? The one that replaced earth dragons?" Reinhard asked Beatrice, eyes wide at the revelation.
Everyone turned their head to the spirit, awaiting her response.
Beatrice however, ate up the crowd's attention, eager to flex her knowledge of Subaru's past and of course, show off to some heathens in the audience that it was she who was the closest to the young man.
"Hmph, since you were so polite, Betty can spare you some of her knowledge in fact. Betty's Subaru referred to such a thing as a 'car' I suppose. They were a mechanical box of metal that people would drive to destinations across great distances. They were very fast and could run longer than an earth dragon as they didn't eat or sleep." The small great spirit smirked pridefully, making sure she pointed her gaze at each of the women that looked on in envy.
The rest of the crowd looked on in amazement.
"S-so, Subaru-sama is making plans to make it in real life? That's amazing!" Petra exclaimed with childish glee, proud that she had a crush on such an amazing person.
Frederica patted the little maid adoringly, the sight of a happy Petra always making her smile.
"Indeed, Subaru-sama has always been one for such innovative ideas, to think that a whole society had access to methods of transport." The beast maid added.
Otto frothed at the mouth, thinking of the potential when it came to trade. This would be even more significant in this world as the nations were landlocked, hence a change in transportation over solid ground would be a game-changer.
Anastasia seemed to be thinking along the same lines as Otto, however, her aspirations were far loftier. Not only could they be used for trade, but she even considered the implementation of places specifically for the manufacturing of such vehicles which could be sold to the public. Of course, it would be a luxury item, but in time accessibility could be expanded.
Simply put, there were many possibilities, and this was from only one of Subarus ideas.
Fluffing her scarf, the Merchant Princess closed her eyes and recalled a memory of gold coins in a bag being shaken in front of her. The sound strengthened her resolve as she reopened her eyes to look at Subaru once more.
She had to have him.
"What did I tell you, it's called a car, and it's not wacky! See we used to have these things where I came from that would be like a metal box on wheels, no earth dragon needed." The young man responded, letting his pen down and running one of his palms along the paper in front of him in a childlike manner to mimic the vehicle driving along, even committing to the act so much that he started humming to portray the engine.
The audience began to laugh, admiring Subaru's antics.
Emilia had a fond smile on her face, recalling distant memories with her knight as she watched him attempt his best to demonstrate how a car would run.
"Oh Subaru, why are you sooooo cute?"
Rem also viewed the scene in delight, her hero acting so adorably being a blessing to her heart as she vowed to burn the sight into her mind.
Crusch felt her heart melt at the scene, engraving into her soul that she would ensure this scene would be reenacted in reality, he deserved that much at least.
Beatrice reflected on the times her contractor would regale his whimsical tales of his past, especially the strange contraptions that were commonplace such as this "car." He made the same noises as now. She laughed at her contractor's idiocy.
"Betty's Subaru never changes, I suppose."
Priscilla looked on with mixed feelings, while she desired him to act with more maturity and confidence, as one befitting her side. She couldn't but help see that this side of the young man certainly held some appeal, he was an entertaining individual after all.
Ricardo just stared at Subaru, tilting his head to the side in confusion as he still wasn't getting it.
"...Right...Anyway, what are ya workin' on now?""Just going through some of these documents Hoshin wrote, Anastasia-sama would usually be racking my brain for ideas but she seemed to want this more."
"So the fluffy merchant is using big bro for a lot of things huh?" Felt spoke, slightly concerned that Anastasia was taking advantage of Subaru and working him too hard.
"Indeed Felt-sama, let's choose to believe that Anastasia-sama treats Subaru well," Reinhard responded in an attempt to alleviate his lady's stress.
Several Females narrowed their gaze however, the soft tone Subaru used when uttering the Merchant Princess' name not being missed on them.
Anastasia rested her hand over Subarus, pondering if there was perhaps something deeper to their relationship than what had been shown so far.
"Huh, well, in that case, I'll have to apologise in advance for doing this to ya," Ricardo smirked at Subaru.
Julius shook his head, starting to piece together why the two shared such a long interaction.
Al also shook his head, letting his hand run down his helmet in exasperation.
"Of course, there'd have to be another reason."
"And, what would that be…?" The young man looked at Ricardo and his sharp teeth in fear.
Suddenly, a trio of happy faces moved without subtlety as their typically white and orange cloaks are stained with large splatters of brown and dark green. Each step from the small triplets leaving a lovely deposit of fresh soil on the floor.
"Hey, hey! That's us!" Mimi exclaimed excitedly, letting her body jump in joy.
Tivey shared the excitement, waving his fists at the appearance of himself and his siblings.
Petra and Felt watched the two in envy, both only being able to recall memories of their interactions with Subaru either on the screen or in person.
Anastasia sighed at the screen, annoyed at the trio moving about a room with such fragile documents without care. They were lucky she found them cute, otherwise, they'd earn themselves far more than a scolding from her.
"Big boss bro!" A cheery voice called out in glee.
"Hmm- ah! What did I tell you three about rushing in here!" Subaru responded to Mimi, outraged that despite the number of times he had scolded them for such behaviour, they refused to listen.
Turning to the more mature members of the trio, he gave them a heated glare and mentally asked them why they hadn't kept the energetic Mimi from her usual antics.
He, however, was met with tired smiles as they simply joined their sister.
The Anastasia camp all laughed, understanding the difficulty that was attempting to restrain the energetic Mimi.
"Damn brats, traitors y-!" Subaru couldn't finish as the three bounded around the sides of his desk and cannonballed into his side.
Frederica smiled at the scene, recalling Subaru's reputation with the children of Irlam village.
"Subaru-sama always seems to have good relations with the younger ones." She commented, looking down at Petra beside her.
"While Rem's Subaru-kun can get along with everyone, he is undoubtedly very good with children." Rem nodded with her colleague's assessment, able to vividly remember the amount of care her hero had shown towards the village kids, even going so far as to familiarise himself with their aspirations and dreams.
The sudden act pushed him off his chair and onto the floor, the offending triplets in tow.
"Ah, guess the little rascals found ya, hahaha." The hulking wolf-man laughed with a grin as the triplets happily greeted Subaru.
"Pfft, you damn! You're supposed to stop them from doing this!" Subaru scolded Ricardo from the floor as the dirty members of the iron fang began to climb on him for a group hug.
"Forget close, they're practically a little family." Al laughed at the scene as Subaru, in a futile attempt, began to try and pry the little demihumans off of himself.
The rest of the crowd watched the scene with smiles, most just happy that Subaru seemed to be living in such an environment and far from any potential danger.
Rem in particular observed with a wistful gaze, imagining what a family of herself and Subaru would look like, not to mention the undoubtedly feisty half-oni children that would be running around.
The young maid hoped that she could be rewarded with such a reality.
"Wha...now how could someone like me stop 'em from saying hello?" Ricardo asked innocently, bringing his large hands behind his head and whistling.
"Yeah, yeah, we missed you, boss bro!" Mimi chirped, her large eyes looking at the pouting Subaru with joy.
At the sight of the three hugging him with smiles, Subaru slowly let a tired smile form on his face, embracing the three.
"Yeah, missed you guys too." He said, barely above a whisper.
Emilia felt her heart clench, Subaru's soft whisper having such a significant effect on her as she can only remember the intimate moments she had shared with him when he used that tone. Small tears fell from Emilia's eyes as she clasped her hands in front of her.
Crusch also felt her heart skip a beat, half in adoration for the young man on screen and half in pain at the sight of such a tired smile. She may wish for him to work hard and succeed, but how could she not feel concerned at such an image?
The group held the same position for some time as they enjoyed each other's warmth.
As the three embraced, Mimi shifted her head in Subarus's arms and looked at him pleadingly.
"Uh oh." Ricardo laughed, knowing exactly what this meant.
Julius allowed himself to chuckle in response as well, the triplets were notorious for employing such tactics when hungry.
"Well, ain't ya little one's quite the troublemakers. I doubt Natsuki-kun is going to turn this down." Anastasia smiled.
"Say, big boss bro…" She trailed off, looking to Hetaro.
"Yes? I already don't like the sound of this." Subaru mumbled, sensing that this greeting may have some ulterior motive.
"Since you're on the floor and not busy working, we were wondering…" Hetaro also trailed off, looking at Tivey in a similar fashion that his sister looked at him.
"If you'd be able to cook for us…" Tivey finished, mentally twiddling his thumbs as he asked Subaru with an abashed expression.
"Seriously?" Felt questioned, expecting something a little...more.
"As much as I'd like to disagree, Natsuki-san truly does have a talent when it comes to cooking," Otto responded with a small smirk.
Felix looked at the merchant in confusion.
"Um, Otto-kyun, Subaru isn't the greatest when it comes to the kitchen nyah."
"Hah? Mine amazin' self can vouch for the Cap'n. When it comes to cookin', Cap'n is one of the hardest ta beat." Garfiel added.
"Garfiel Tinsel, we have all seen how much Subaru-sama struggles with preparing tatoes alone," Crusch noted, recalling Subaru's rather bloody encounters with the vegetables.
Emilia shook her head with a smile, amused at everyone doubting her Subaru's cooking abilities.
"Crusch-san, while I would agree with you, please remember that Subaru only has trouble when it comes to cooking things from our world."
"Emilia-sama?"
This caught the attention of many.
"It's true! Subaru-sama always thinks of the yummiest foods! There's so many I can't even count them all." Petra giggled, her mouth-watering at some of Subaru's strange yet savory treats.
Al observed in sadness, thoroughly missing the familiar tastes and scents of a life that seemed so far in the past.
Subaru deadpanned at the three before returning his eyes to the mercenary leaning on the door frame.
"And I'm guessing you were on this too?" Subaru asked him with a bored tone.
"Well...maybe?" Ricardo raised his hands in innocence, his toothy grin however being far more incriminating than he realised.
Anastasia giggled, her mercenary leader was never one for subtlety or guile, then again, besides herself, the rest were quite the rambunctious bunch.
"I'm telling ya, had the kid right in the palm of my hand." Ricardo bragged to the little ones sitting on his lap, the first just sighing with a facepalm and the second kicking back with childish laughter.
The Merchant Princess smiled and looked to her side at Subaru, wishing that they could share this same sight at some point in time.
Subaru sighed at the now four individuals who had orchestrated this plan to have him cook.
"You guys know Anastasia-sama has chefs for this, right?"
"But we want your cooking!" Mimi complained, lightly hitting her small fists on Subaru's stomach in indignation.
The little girl's response earned head nods from the boys in support.
"Subaru-dono's cooking seems to be quite popular." Wilhelm nodded, his hand caressing his chin as he nostalgically remembered the cooking of his late wife.
Felix squeezed his knee and gave the butler a comforting smile.
Softly pushing the triplets off him, the group on the ground slowly got up, Subaru's clothes now having a healthy coating of soil on them as well now.
Garfiel and Otto laughed at the state their friend was in, even more so at his scowl as he weakly attempted to clean himself off which just resulted in the dirt clinging to his hands as well.
Furrowing his brows, Subaru massaged his forehead with one hand.
"Grrr…" The young man growled, before having both his hands reach onto the orange heads of hair below him.
"Fine, you're lucky you guys are cute," Subaru muttered, surrendering immediately as he knew that the onslaught of begging would start if he didn't comply.
"He's always had a weak spot for cute things hasn't he?" Reinhard mused, recalling how he exchanged a hefty favour for simply being able to rub the ears of Emilia's great spirit.
"Big Bro is pretty honest with his feelings," Felt responded, a cheeky smile etching itself on her face.
The Sword Saint looked back at his lady, a smile akin to hers on his face as well.
"Of course."
"Yay!" The triplets and Ricardo hollered in victory.
"And I'm not going to even bother what you want," Subaru said in exasperation, slapping both of his cheeks before continuing;
"All right, the three of you go get cleaned up, I'll get it all started so it's ready when you're finished. Ricardo, you'll have to help me."
"Sorry, no can do, I've gotta give the boss lady our report, just get Julius to help ya."
"Julius is back?" Subaru asked in shock, eyes wide at the revelation.
Julius as well as many members of the cast sat forward, the possibilities of what relationship the two shared being a popular question among them.
Some of the audience winced, however, cringing at thoughts of how the two initially met and the...unfortunate events that preceded it.
"Yeah, and he's gonna be your assistant for the day, have fun and don't forget to make extra for me." Ricardo didn't look back as he waltzed off with a wave.
"Quite the hard worker, aren't you pal." Al chuckled, nudging the wolf-man beside him.
Ricardo just gave him a toothy grin.
"What can I say? The boy musta been pretty good for me to go to all that effort to ask for leftovers."
Subaru just sighed before sluggishly moving towards the door and off to find Julius.
After spending a few minutes trailing through the hallways of his current home, Subaru found himself at the doorway of the purple-haired knight's room.
Peering inside, he discovered the knight facing the opposite direction as he appeared to be polishing his weapon, thoroughly wiping his sword with grace as he seemed to be focusing on something else.
"Quite serious nyah, aren't you Julius-kyun~." Felix giggled, the scowl being directed towards him just making the cat-boy laugh even harder.
"Well, Julius has always had the picture of a perfect knight, it doesn't surprise me that this would extend into his more personal life." Reinhard defended Julius.
Julius glowered, he surely acted casual around Subaru, right?
Breaking him out of his thoughts, Subaru cleared his throat loudly.
"There's only one person who would do that," Julius smirked as he turned himself around and looked at Subaru playfully.
"You're also back," Subaru noted with neutrality.
"Yeesh, hahahaha, ya two seem to always have a tense relationship." Ricardo pointed out, trying to lift the knights' spirits.
Julius watched the scene with some sadness that he didn't seem to be as close to Subaru as Felix did in his showing.
Crusch however, wasn't convinced.
"Surely there is more to this, perhaps we should leave judgement until the end." She spoke in Julius' direction.
The knight glanced at her with thanks and turned back to face the screen.
"Of course, Anastasia-sama's negotiations were successful, however, we had run into a little trouble on our return, it would seem that there are still fools out there willing to risk it all for some petty gold."
"But you're all okay?" Subaru asked, a tinge of worry slipping out.
"Looks like she's got a point," Al remarked, not being the only one to catch that sliver of panic that made its way out of Subaru's mouth.
Julius' expression brightened, listening even more intently.
Emilia watched the scene happily, pleased that Subaru was making friends, even if he was a little dishonest about it.
"Jeez Subaru, couldn't you be a little nicer to him?" Emilia giggled.
Julius caught onto this, his smirk growing into a more genuine smile.
"No cuts or bruises. My, it almost sounded like my friend was worried about me." Julius teased Subaru, only to have the youth recoil and pout.
Once again, Subaru didn't fail to disappoint as the cast chuckled at his reactions.
"So this is how we interact then?" Julius smiled, while a little hurt that they didn't seem to get along as he did with Felix, the purple-haired knight was still satisfied with what was displayed.
At least things would never get boring with him around.
"Nah, I wasn't worried about you, just our lady is all." Subaru attempted to deflect Julius' words but, his response was far from convincing.
The knight softly shook his head, placing his sword back in its scabbard and getting up to speak with Subaru.
"It's good to be back." Julius patted Subaru's shoulder, only to be shrugged off by his friend.
The knight couldn't help but notice the slight smile on Subaru's lips, however, decided against commenting as he was satisfied with the amount of teasing he had done now.
Felix and Reinhard watched Julius with fond looks, happy that their friend was able to see these events play out and shake some of his insecurities about his friendship with Subaru.
Julius observed his friend's faint smile with one of his own and turned to face the same young man sleeping in the rows in front of him.
The knight's smile grew even wider.
"I'm sure you had a reason to come all this way just to see me? I was going to say hello, but was informed that you were busy at work so I didn't want to disturb you." Julius asked Subaru inquisitively.
"I was, until three brats tackled me off my damn chair, begging me to put all my work on hold so I can cook for them!" Subaru complained however Julius couldn't sense any frustration in his voice.
The audience looked at Subaru fondly, also picking up that he wasn't being entirely honest with the outcome of such an interaction.
"Rem's Subaru-kun is always so generous." the oni maid giggled behind her hand, the way Subaru terribly deflected his true feelings amused her to no end. He should just stick to doing what he did best.
Shamelessly declaring his feelings with that iconic pose of his.
Rem's heart skipped a beat, desperately wishing he could do so now.
"I see, that would explain the dirt."
"Yeah, and Ricardo backed out so I'm here to ask you for some help, the cooks are nice but..."
"Yes?" Julius asked, having an idea of what Subaru would want to say.
"Eh, nothing. Anyway, I need an assistant and you're the last option left." Subaru placed emphasis on Julius being his final pick.
Felix facepalmed as did many others.
Emilia frowned as well, looking at the back of her knights head.
"Oh, Subaru…"
"C'mon Cap'n, it ain't gunna kill ya ta' play nice a little," Garfiel muttered, feeling somewhat bad for the knight as his captain attempted to deny actually liking Julius at every turn.
"Of course, I suppose we had better get started if we want to feed those hungry mouths," Julius responded, eager to help.
The two made their way to a large kitchen, its sides composed of cold brick and its surfaces clear of any clutter. The spacious room had various wooden cabinets, each housing a multitude of cooking utensils.
Both putting on an apron, they began to collect the ingredients and prepare the meal, Julius doing most of the cutting and Subaru either collecting ingredients or mixing.
"Ya both seem to make a good team when ya working together." Ricardo nodded, watching as the two, despite their complicated friendship, seemed to know each other's thoughts as they glided about the kitchen floor.
"Mmm, although I can't help but wonder what they're preparing," Otto responded, also admiring the teamwork.
"Looks like a dish they used to make back home, small dough balls with meat inside," Al replied, noticing the familiarity between what the two were making and his rough memories of Japan.
The reply made several stomachs grumble in response, the thought of unique food as well as it being prepared by Subaru being a winning combination.
"Well, ain't it nice to see ya two getting along." A bright voice cheerily commented.
"Anastasia-sama." Both young men responded although Subaru's tone held noticeably more affection and less formality to it than Julius's.
"Oh? That tone Subaru-sama used seemed to be not one used between master and servant." Frederica noted, unaware of the glares in her direction.
Otto attempted to finish the thought for her,
"Indeed, but that of man and wo-"
Priscilla cleared her voice loudly, silencing the grey-haired merchant.
"Mineself is commanding you, mongrel, to choose your next words carefully, lest you be put down like the other vermin." The Matriarch finished, not taking her eyes away from the screen as everyone could feel the heat emanating from her.
Otto shut his mouth immediately, the silence being a satisfying answer to Priscilla as she seemed to calm her fury.
Beatrice just sighed and snuggled closer to her contractor.
"Why must Betty's contractor have to put up with all these women, I suppose."
The merchant princess eyed them both up and down before turning to Subaru.
"While I don't mind ya in an apron, ya look a little...dirty." She addressed the current predicament Subaru's tracksuit was in.
"Anastasia-sama, please don't say it like that," Subaru muttered, a slight tint of red spreading across his cheeks.
Al and Ricardo, like the mature adults they were, began to holler in response. The pair making various grunts and chuckles at Anastasia's statement.
Felt and Garfiel joined in on the rowdiness, adding their own voices as the quintuplet of people started to cause unrest in the crowd.
Anastasia fluffed her scarf confidently, relishing the animalistic snarls from several directions around the room as she grasped Subaru's hand with confidence.
"My Anastasia-san, aren't you a bold one." Crusch growled as she shook in her seat with frustration.
"Mmm, it's not right for a Royal candidate to say things like that." Emilia agreed, being only kept in check by the fact that said Mechant Princess was too close to her precious Subaru for her to freeze over the entire area.
Rem stared at Anastasia from her side, her wide eyes appearing like an abyss that would consume the thieving woman whole.
"Anastasia-sama, Rem would advise you that to treat her hero so carelessly is something that would cause Rem great upset." She concluded, her tone ice cold.
"An audacious mongrel if I've ever seen one, quite the fool to not recognise that your place is out on the streets." The Vollachian aggressively stated, wishing to throw the woman onto the curb herself.
The statement caused Anastasia to look at Subaru's sleeping face in determination.
Closing her eyes, she ignored the others as she thought to herself.
Never again, we ain't lettin' that happen.
Anastasia smiled a little at the comment and shook her head.
"Not in that way ya naughty boy, get your head out of the gutter. I'm assuming my little commanders had something ta do with this?" She questioned.
"Yeah, please don't think I'm just slacking off. I'd still be translating if I wasn't shot out of my chair." Subaru replied.
Gazes drifted to the small mercenaries on Ricardo's lap, Tivey looking sheepish as he rubbed the back of his head whereas Mimi gave a small victory sign.
The wolf-man just chuckled
"Easy, I'm not blaming ya. It's good to see ya taking a break, although, ain't there something else you could have worn?"
"Um, aside from the tracksuit and the clothes I have in the laundry, there um...really isn't much." Subaru rubbed his head sheepishly, mentally wishing for this embarrassing moment to end.
Anastasia grimaced as the women who were previously ready to rip her apart, looked at her with smug expressions, the situation demonstrating that she was hardly fit for the young man.
"Hmph, a natural outcome for a commoner such as yourself, to miss even the most basic of details." Priscilla smirked behind her fan.
"I agree, quite the dereliction of duty." Crusch added, for once in her life agreeing with the uptight bitch.
Anastasia put one of her hands underneath her smooth chin and thought about Subaru's response.
Both Julius and Subaru looked at each other with raised eyebrows, confused as to what Anastasia was thinking about.
"Hmmm...I got it." The merchant princess suddenly clicked her fingers and looked at Subaru.
Members of the Anastasia camp began to tense, they had a feeling the next scene wouldn't be well received.
"Let's go on a shopping trip, Natsuki-kun."
"Huh?" Subaru responded unintelligibly
"After ya finish with the food, both of ya will come with me to find some more clothes. It'll be fun and I can dress you up." Anastasia giggled cheerfully.
Anastasia blushed at the reply, she sensed that they might have been close but she never thought it would've been that close.
Various glares around the room saw the Merchant's face get a little red however, the sight seeming to ignite a wildfire in response.
"That's it, time to reduce the total candidate number down to four." Crusch spoke out loud, getting out of her seat like she had to do a chore.
Emilia began to conjure ice, her gaze showing that she wouldn't hold back, Rem and the others would just have to deal with being in the crossfire.
The ground shook as Rem slammed her foot into the floor, a bestiall growl unbefitting maid resounding throughout the theatre.
"You. Want. To. Dress. Rems. Subaru-kun?" The oni gritted, each consecutive word filled with more aggression than the last as she slowly made her way out of her seat.
"You dare! The insolence of a rat such as yourself never ceases to amaze mineself!" Priscilla glared at the Merchant Princess as she was on the verge of snapping her fan in half.
In response to the sudden hostility, each of the respective camps got out of their seats, all ready to defend their lady as they stared each other down. In particular was Anastasia's camp, as Julius had leapt out of his spot and arrived directly in front of the Merchant Princess herself.
"Miss Barielle, I'd like to ask you to cease your attempts at summoning your sword." A thunderous voice echoed, it's tone dripping annoyance.
"I'd also ask the rest of you to attempt to restrain your emotions."
"The audacity that a commoner such as yourself would ask mine divine self to stand down." Priscilla snapped at the voice."
"Why should Rem hold back! To take advantage of Rems Subaru-kun should be punishable by death!" The oni maid yelled, unfortunately resulting in nods from several other women.
"I shan't waste my time arguing, either meet my demands or I stop this entirely, remove your memories and allow you to continue on your merry way. The choice is yours." The voice replied.
The audience were taken aback, even the feuding individuals as well seemed to temporarily withhold their hostility.
All eyes wandered to Subaru, everyone despairing at the thought of losing such memories, not to mention the creeping guilt of what Subaru's journey entailed and the possible situations he could let himself get into again if he remained unchecked.
What was worth more? Fighting over an event that has never occurred or the loss of so much that they had gained recently?
The first to sit down was Emilia, she had already sworn to rectify her mistakes and help Subaru far more than she had been doing. The task would be nigh impossible if she couldn't even remember anything, she was familiar with losing precious memories after all.
Rem sighed loudly and plonked herself back in the seat behind her, following Emilia's example as she watched Subaru's sleeping face. She had already promised to help her hero out of his self-destructive behaviour, this was non-negotiable.
Crusch also sat down, her heart and mind in various places.
One by one, the audience tiredly made their way back to their original positions, not willing to acknowledge the recent situation.
Priscilla was the last to back down out of all in the room, although back down wouldn't be quite accurate.
The Vollachian eased herself slightly, losing the stiffness in her shoulders as she flourished her fan in front of her. She wouldn't admit defeat but she understood what was at stake.
With the room once again at relative peace, the showing continued albeit with a much more tense atmosphere.
"Wait-" The black-haired youth was cut off as his companion replied to Anastasia.
"An excellent suggestion, Anastasia-sama." Julius nodded, also happy at the opportunity to hang out with his tsundere of a friend.
The brief positive exchange between Subaru and Julius brightened the mood somewhat, everyone being drawn back into the display at the front of the room.
Julius felt himself calm greatly, noticing how delighted his counterpart was at the opportunity.
"Eh…seriously what is this situation, are you both plotting against me or something?" Subaru grumbled pitifully.
"So they're going shopping now? Here's to hoping this ain't that eventful." Ricardo muttered, his companion beside him cursing the wolf-man for jinxing it.
"If it's the same kid we've been watching pal, that's just wishful thinking." Al responded as the next scene loaded up.
Ram on the other hand was in deep thought, her mind reaching only one conclusion as she thought of the Merchant Princess' past words in the viewing.
"Tch, looks like your perverted side will be shamelessly displayed for all to see, Barasu."
========================================Author's Notes======================================
Howdy, now before anyone says anything, we did have to make a few...er, exceptions to some things in this chapter. The first is that yes it is somewhat canon that Subaru actually had a concept of the car going, only that it was the engine and this was in the Wrath:if side story so take this with a grain of salt as for all we know Subaru could have drawn car pictures and just scribbled down the sound they make and flaunt that as a plan idk. Second is that Subaru is kinda shit at cooking, just take this as him getting carried by more talented individuals like Juli in this chapter, just picture him as the idea guy who can formulate plans no one would think of. Otherwise, big shout out to the Beta readers, Cake, Bread, Syra and Sub to name a few, I rely on these guys quite a lot since I'm quite awful at writing and need to be handheld when my imagination starts to out-run me. On another note, this chapter felt kinda weak to me but I had to do it to flesh out Subaru's relationships with the Ana camp so yeah. The next few chapters should be pretty fat in terms of length and content so look forward to that. Also, also, yes we are bringing out Natsumi Shwarz, what better way to do it than introduce this lovely young woman than a dedicated shopping trip chapter? Also, also, also, keeps fucking up my formatting so if you notice the inconsistency in chapter titles being in the actual chapter or not, blame the fuckers who run this website and designed this shitty format system.
Lastly, can we please appreciate the trebuchet?