Interlude: Sword Demon and the Young Instigator

It's been a week since Auntie Carol scolded me for my cool fog magic. I was tending the garden as Haruo told me. I was planning to play with the mana stones Heinkel bought for me but Auntie Carol went mad after seeing me play with them. She scolded me for thirty minutes on why they are dangerous, why I should treat them with care, and why I shouldn't hit them with a hammer to test their limits. My genius was being held back by her and I was getting frustrated by it. Even her punishments were getting crueler. Cleaning the table, cleaning the library, washing the dishes, letting her squeeze my cheeks without cake. She mostly preferred the last one. She still didn't show me that cool sword style; She said I should master the sword before learning it. Auntie Carol is such a liar.

* Hmph *

I continued to pout while tending the flower garden. That was my new punishment for trying out my new "flashbang". It didn't work but it was a clever idea. Why was she mad at it? I only threw a yang crystal with the hope that it would create a bright light. It was not my fault that it set the grass on fire. She even managed to put it out with a bucket of water. There was no reason to be mad at. She should be less mean. Sometimes I do good things too I mean, I helped her wash the dishes once. But she squeezed my cheek after that. Why did I even get my cheek squeezed for helping her? At least she promised to go shopping with me to Flanders after I got mad at her.

I was trying to dig a proper place using the hand growler to plant carnations. They looked pretty so I wanted more of them at the flower bed. Maybe one day I will bring a beautiful girl here to impress her with my gardening skills. No, she probably wouldn't be impressed. What kind of man likes flowers anyway? I need to hide this part of me to look more manly. While I was tending the flowers I heard Auntie Carol arguing with someone. He looked… cool. He seemed to be around his fifties and was handsome. I never thought long hair could look good for men. Maybe I should let my hair grow longer. His hair was mostly white apart from some brown strands. He was also as tall as my father. He even had TWO SWORDS. I never saw someone using two swords in real life. I mean, Reinhard can probably do it but … I need to see this cool uncle fighting. He suddenly stopped talking and looked towards me with cold, blue eyes. I immediately returned to what I was doing to avoid suspicion. I stared at him too long. Maybe I should apologize? I continued to plant carnations. I was thinking about what color carnations will be when they grow up until I felt a firm grip on my shoulder. I didn't even think while I swung the hand growler in my hand towards the person who was holding my shoulder.

[?: Be careful with that young man. You could hurt someone.]

The cool gentleman was looking at me with eyes filled with understanding. He managed the grab the growler's tip with two fingers. He didn't even flinch at my reaction. This uncle was too cool. He then looked behind me to examine the seeds I just planted.

[?: What did you plant there?]

I shouldn't answer as I know or he would think that I like flowers but he was expecting an answer so I decided to lie.

[Subaru: I don't know. I hate them. Auntie Carol made me do it as punishment.]

The old men looked at me with suspicion. He then decided to ask for my name.

[?: What's your name, young gentleman.]

[Subaru: You say first. You are the one who approached me.]

He chuckled at my answer. I think he realized I made a fair point.

[Wilhelm: My name is Wilhelm va… Wilhelm Trias.]

[Subaru: Why did you say your name twice?]

He looked at me for a moment before answering;

[Wilhelm: I don't know. I must be getting old. You still didn't tell me your name?]

[Subaru: It's Subaru. Natsuki Subaru.]

After hearing my name he got up and started to walk towards the mansion. He looked back towards me for a moment;

[Wilhelm: I'm glad we met, Natsuki.]

He continued to walk towards the mansion until he arrived at the entrance. After that, he knocked on the door and one of the maids let him in. I still wondered what cool uncle might be doing at the mansion. Haruo and his father were at Flanders so he's probably not here for them. I decided to follow him to see what he was doing inside the mansion. I grabbed one of the potted plants to have an excuse if I get caught. The pot had a white rose in it. It looked pretty enough to be kept inside. This would make my excuse more believable. I started to walk around the mansion to find the cool uncle. My excuse seemed to be working since all the maids that asked me what I was going to do with the pot believed my lie. I decided to check the library to see if the cool uncle was there. If he is there, I'm going to hide somewhere close to the door so I can watch what he is doing.

[Wilhelm: Where are the Od dammed old reports… There must be a correlation between the cult and that beast.] (Od is someone's life force in the Re:Zero world. It's also used as a reference to Od Laguna.)

This was the cool uncle's sound. I quickly hid behind the wall next to the door's entrance. It seems like the cool uncle was looking for something. What did he mean by "that beast"? I learned about the witch cult by Auntie Carol so he was probably talking about them. But what did those bad people had to do with a beast. Did they tamed amo…

[Wilhelm: I know you are here boy. You can come in. I was leaving anyway.]

I just stared at the cool uncle looking at me, staying at the entrance of the library. He didn't seem mad but he seemed to be expecting an explanation. Unlucky for him, I was prepared for this situation;

[Subaru: I was looking for a place for this rose. I thought it will look good in the library.]

[Wilhelm: I thought you hated them.]

What should I say… got it;

[Subaru: I don't usually come to this boring library. I'm gonna put it here so I won't have to look at it again.]

Yes, that should convince him. Sometimes, my genius is frighte…

[Wilhelm: Hmm … It seems like you are lying to me.]

But how… This cool uncle must have superpowers.

[Wilhelm: There are a lot of open books on that table. Not to mention a wooden sword, hammer, and lots of… scorched parts? What did you do on that table, Subaru?]

He caught me. I need to find a way to save myself from this peculiar situation.

[Subaru: I don't hate them anymore.]

[Wilhelm: I beg your pardon?]

[Subaru: No need to beg. You can have it. Why should I even pardon you for something anyway? Did you do a bad thing, cool uncle?]

The cool uncle stared at me for a moment and then started laughing for half a minute.

[Wilhelm: I .. I was…]

He continued to laugh and then finally managed to speak. What was funny about what I said?

[Wilhelm: I was going to ask what you don't hate anymore.]

[Subaru: Flowers. I don't hate them anymore.]

[Wilhelm: Do you like them?]

The cool uncle was pushing his chance. I wasn't going to give another inch…

[Subaru: Why should I say that to someone I don't know.]

[Wilhelm: You make a fair point, young gentleman]

[Subaru: It's Subaru. Natsuki Subaru.]

[Wilhelm: Is your name Subaru or Natsuki?]

[Subaru: ehhh… Isn't it clear? It's Subaru.]

[Wilhelm: Very well Subaru. It was a pleasure to meet you but I'm going to leave now.]

He took a glance at my table to see what was the last book I read. The Flower of Battle was just in front of the chair I usually sit in. I was looking at the cool moves. Especially the one that included using a rusty sword that your opponent could and then using the opening to disarm them. It was awesome. I wondered how the writer Wilhelm van Astrea tough… wait a minute;

[Subaru: You lied to me.]

The old man was about to leave after glancing at my table so I finally managed to catch him off-guard. I ran towards the table to grab the book and show him the writer's name.

[Subaru: It's you, isn't it. Wilhelm van Astrea. Are you Reinhard's uncle?]

For a moment, he looked at me with cold eyes. I was scared until his looks softened and he spoke;

[Wilhelm: Is there anything you liked about that book?]

Why did he avoid my question? Well, I could ask about this to Reinhard rather than this uncle so I decided to answer his question;

[Subaru: I liked the move with the rusty sword.]

He was looking at me with calculating eyes. He was probably listening to my opinions about the book so I continued;

[Subaru: There was a picture where a hooded man approached the red-haired pretty lady in the book]

He was looking sad. Maybe he didn't like my choice. Well, sucks to be him because that was the coolest move there;

[Subaru: The hooded man lets his sword get cut while moving towards the pretty lady, after that he hits her hand with the broken sword's pommel to disarm her. He then held her sword against her throat.]

I decided to take a breath and continued

[Subaru: It's a cool move but I never understood why the hooded man dropped the sword and kissed the lady. You should ask her for permission, right. You can't just go in and say "If you don't want this, then dodge"… Are you okay cool uncle?]

He was teary-eyed. Maybe he knew about the lady. He then got a hold of himself and spoke with a sad smile on his face;

[Wilhelm: That was the whole point of the move. Your way seems fine as well. "If you don't want this, then dodge". What are you going to do if she doesn't dodge?]

[Subaru: I … I don't know.]

[Wilhelm: Well, it's your decision what to do when the day comes, young man. I must take my leave now. Farewell.]

[Subaru: See you later cool uncle Wilhelm.]

I watched as he slowly left the room. I was really curious about that beast. I also wondered what happened to the pretty redhead lady. Anyway, I didn't saw Auntie Carol in the manor while I was looking for the cool uncle. That means I could tinker with the crystals until she comes back. Time to make another one of my cool inventions. I will make that cool flashbang work.

That chapter took way longer than expected since I write like an Alcoholic

Well, I'm a kinda workaholic but that's beside our point

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First I must thank PoliticanSeal for beta reading and making the story readable. The amount of grammar he had to correct was absurd.

I also want to thank all of you for your reviews, I'm checking all of them and I must say I'm moved.

...

After this interlude we're gonna have a bit of a time skip.

You will know how much the next chapter

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While I don't want to spoil what I will make of the characters I can easily say that you will see them again

Again I don't want to spoil what will happen next but next Arc Subaru will RbD (when or where I won't tell)

I'm not gonna let him live an easy life but I don't want to throw a truck at him (yet)

I will make the events as natural as possible.

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See you in the next chapter

Prologue: My Fair Mischievous Lady