Chapter 1: The starting point

"...Cold," was the thought that inevitably occupied most of his mind. Ever since he arrived, no, probably even long before he arrived, the snow had been falling relentlessly and showed no sign of letting up. He noticed how the thick clouds of snow obscured the light, and the snowfield was blanketed in darkness even though it was daytime...

What was he doing in this place? How did he get to this place? Why did he have to be in this place? What did he have to do in this place? There were many questions he had to ask himself, but at this moment such matters could not matter less to him, better said, his mind could not give more importance to something that was not a means for his survival, his brain cells were desperately looking for some way to survive... he had to find a warm place to rest.

"I-if I don't find shelter... I doubt I'll make it," he would die, he knew it, but he refused to accept it. He had to live, he couldn't give up. He
walked without stopping, he didn't know where he was going, but it was too late to turn back. Looking for a cave, a house, a roof, whatever, he had to find something. Subaru no longer even knows exactly what he wants to find, his mind already fails him, his lungs ache, his body feels heavy and his flesh freezes.

Natsuki Subaru is just an ordinary human, summing it up in a nutshell. "A simple ordinary 15-year-old student, virgin and friendless." he is not prepared to adapt to such a harsh climate out of nowhere and a simple set of sportswear won't save him from the cruel environment he was sent to.
"A... house, it's a house right? ", it was a mumble in a low voice, he couldn't afford to speak, rather he hardly had the strength to do so anymore, but he did it anyway. He walked slowly, approaching the house... or, rather, the cottage. A part of him wanted to shout for joy, to be able to have found this was a miracle given the snow and the poor visibility, a miracle that he would not waste.
Making titanic efforts, he managed to get close enough, that cabin was definitely a bit bigger than the house where he lived... but those thoughts didn't matter, he must hurry, the snow had started to fall with more intensity and most likely a storm would occur reducing his efforts to nothing.

"It's open...", he whispered as he placed his hands on the door handle.
Finding that the door to the hut was open, he stepped inside without much thought. It was obvious that no one would leave the doors of his home
open, but it was not something that Natsuki Subaru was in a position to reflect on...
Feeling that his strength was failing him, that his body would not give more, that his conscience begged him to rest, he fell against the cold floor, he doubted that he would survive, how did he know? Well it was not necessary to be an expert, his whole being told him that the end was near, his body was almost frozen, he could not breathe and there was
no shelter for it... Feeling that he was losing consciousness, he closed his eyes.
A moment later he could somehow feel a source of heat enveloping his body, when he opened his eyes, he saw a kind of red sphere above him together with a hooded figure staring at him...

What was that thing, a hallucination, without the strength to find out, Natsuki Subaru fell unconscious in the house of some stranger...

"Well, I guess this should do it" as he finished applying the healing treatment to the unconscious boy on the bed, the hooded figure whispered this.
"He seems to have a great affinity with the water spirit... perhaps it is some finger sent by Lord Romanee-conti" the figure began to ponder the boy's identity, he did not possess a gospel and there was no mention of it in his, the latter was strange...
"I'll have to ask him some questions once he wakes up, I don't think there will be a problem..." The figure paused to sniff him in detail. "The love that was bestowed is certainly no small thing... how envious." there was no lie in that statement, even he, one of the most devoted and oldest members of the nearby cathedral did not compare to him, but the lack of his gospel was somewhat disturbing... "it is likely that he lost it and decided to go to the church in search of a replacement." That was the figure's conclusion as she left the room that had assigned her to the boy.

"Ughmn... ahhh... "The first thing that went through his head when he woke up was pain, his body hadn't fully recovered, but it didn't seem to be anything serious as he was able to sit up on the bed...

"I was on my way to school until... I was summoned to a parallel world huh..." It was a common thing in manga, being transported might even seem like a dream experience to some, to Subaru it really wasn't worth it, it was in the blink of an eye and the conditions he was transported in were terrible. Why did Subaru come to this conclusion quickly? Perhaps the lizard-faced man next to him had something to do with it.

"I see you've woken up already, love believer." a voice welcomed him, the figure behind the voice was that of an older man, but judging by appearance alone, Subaru couldn't tell... Is this what an older lizard man looks like? His skin was green, he had a tail and reptilian eyes. He also seemed to be... smearing it? Subaru doesn't know if it's his way of greeting or something else.

"You'd better go back to lie down under the covers, you were on the verge of death a few hours ago and I doubt very much that your body will recover quickly without proper treatment... I don't think we have introduced ourselves, my name is Halder" This man, Halder bowed to Subaru as he gave his name, apparently he was treating Subaru once he was unconscious, what was this "believer of love", was it a custom or a formalism?

"Natsuki Subaru, it's nice to meet you Halder-san... if I remember correctly I think I fell unconscious and had hallucinations... I think I owe you my life, thank you very much" he quickly started to recall the last thing he remembers, he was sure he would die, it could have been an angel he saw...

"It's nothing, it's part of the witch's love, I did it also because little Ena found you wandering in front of my house, it's her you should thank, she seems to like you a lot" Halder spoke as he was about to prepare two cups of tea.

"Ena? I don't remember seeing a girl... I was in a bit of a daze and only saw some lights..." perhaps it had slipped his mind due to exhaustion... although that wasn't the case.

"That's the first time I've met someone who doesn't recognize a formless spirit when they see one...you're maybe a finger" Halder said that as he summoned his quasi-spirit for Subaru to see.

Finger? what the hell does that mean?

"...I don't suppose, rather I don't know where I am or remember how I got here," Subaru couldn't know so he decided it would be best to be honest.

"I see, it certainly doesn't look like a lie given your attire...you're from the Lugunica Kingdom just in case."

"I think I was transported to another world..." went through Subaru's head, while it wasn't as cool as he would think, almost dying due to the harsh environment, it wasn't the "isekai" type he wanted to belong to, he couldn't be negative about his situation all the time either... but it would be better to keep some things to himself.
"I'm a nation east of here..." is the typical phrase that usually works, he didn't get to think what would happen if there were war conflicts with the nation to the east but it didn't really matter given his situation.
"So you're from Lugunica... you'd better take this and rest, let me know if you want to take a bath, I'll ask Ena to prepare the water for you." Halder offered a cup of tea to Subaru on the bed, though it was awful, Subaru drank it all as a minimum of courtesy to his Benefactor.

"Thank you very much Halder-san, I promise you that from tomorrow I will do my best to repay my debt" said Subaru bowing slightly to the man who helped him.

"Is it nothing, I can't be a faithful follower if I abandon a man as beloved as you" huh? Beloved? I should look into this later, but right now Subaru certainly wanted to be alone.

"I'm sorry, for all the trouble caused" Subaru said after old Halder left the room... moments later Subaru started sobbing, his face against the pillow.

"I see your body has already recovered, I applied some healing magic, but I had doubts about its effectiveness, but it seems you are very compatible to spirit magic... don't just stand there and come" Halder greeted Subaru, who had just gotten up and watched him eat breakfast.
"Yeah, compared to yesterday, I hardly hurt at all... wait healing and spirit magic?" Subaru paid attention to this term, it seemed to be that magic in this Isekai was a common thing.
"Ah yes, I guess it's quite rare outside of Gusteko's realm, I alone am not able to do something like healing magic, it's thanks to this little water flower, though I'm only able to close superficial wounds, seems like your affinity made it more effective" Halder gave his explanation revealing a minor water spirit as Subaru joined in to eat breakfast.

"That's certainly amazing, it seems those spirits are quite useful" Subaru said as he gazed at the various little lights gathered around the Halder.
"They seem to like you... at first I thought you were a finger... you have spiritualist wood from what I see, you should try it some day, maybe then you won't end up on the verge of death again because of a simple storm, for someone so loved like that to die would be cause for 1000 sacrifices" This sentence was said with a certain sarcastic tone, the tone and content of the speech was somewhat disturbing, I hoped it wasn't human sacrifices.
"You could at least say it like it wasn't something pathetic I really had a bad time you know!" Almost being on the brink of death, frozen alive and hopeless... it was certainly something not easily forgotten.

"Hahahaha easy it's just a joke, you'd be surprised how many reckless fools fall for underestimating a simple storm, it's not something to be underestimated, but that's the Doctrine of the Holy Church of Gusteko"
"Doctrine?" had something to do with being a "believer of love" or whatever.
" Haven't you heard of it?...Basically this whole environment is a test, where only the fittest survive, Gusteko is considered the Country with the harshest environment of the 4 nations, surviving here is a pride for these people, so it's usually normal to have certain corpses under the snow"
"What a harsh doctrine!" he shouted, even though he was new to this world, this kind of welcome was not something he could simply ignore.
"I guess you find it sick too, well it's something I can't deny comparing it to the doctrine of love... By the way, what were you planning to do... were you looking for the cathedral to take refuge by any chance?""...
If I'm honest with you, I don't lose, I have absolutely nowhere to go, but I also don't want to be burdened, I wanted to ask you where the nearest town is, and leave after paying my debt." What is he supposed to do? Usually in stories about isekai, there's a summoner who gives him information and a target... but just summon him in the middle of nowhere and leave him to his own devices? The best Subaru could do was head to a nearby town, pray that the summoning had gone wrong and whoever summoned him was waiting for him there.

"...we should go to the cathedral, you need to carry a gospel to receive Lady Satella's protection...she will guide you using the gospel, she would never abandon someone so loved, you should never go anywhere without her guidance" Halder seemed to quite admire this Satella...he seemed to believe she was of the same religion and Subaru didn't miss the fact that her kindness stemmed from her being someone "loved" and although it was somewhat low, it is something he could take advantage of.

"I feel like that would be great, Halder-san, I know you do this out of kindness and I'm sorry to cause you a lot of trouble" a part of Subaru felt bad about taking advantage of poor man, while he wasn't a believer of this Satella fellow, he supposed it was better than the doctrine of Gusteko's holy church, besides he didn't have much choice as he didn't want to antagonize his first acquaintance.

"Well, we'll leave tomorrow at first light, we'll arrive at dusk... no, I think we should leave shortly first and go through town to get you some proper gear, fortunately it's on the way there, but it's a bit longer" Halder said this as he folded his arms looking at the young man, he didn't have proper gear for long trips and his body was obviously not used to something like this.

"W-Wait Halder-san what do you mean get me equipment? Maybe you didn't notice, but I have nowhere to drop dead."

"Don't be ridiculous, I'll pay for it. Consider it part of the witch's love and always be sure to reward him with your devotion" Leaving the boy alone as he went to prepare for the journey, Subaru couldn't help but feel a weight of guilt, he was indebted enough to the man and now he manipulated him into buying what he needed... If this wasn't the definition of scum, what else could it be? he thought.

It was already night in the cold streets of the city of Albis, although it was freezing cold, Subaru was able to endure it thanks to the quasi-fire spirit "Ena" who had a contract with Halder. Apparently she was quite fond of Subaru because of what regulated his body temperature.
Although Subaru could endure this weather thanks to the quasi-spirit, and Halder didn't even seem to mind it because of his lineage... He couldn't say the same for the children who were freezing to death in the streets...

It was a hard blow to the worldview Subaru had as a simple student. While Halder told him about the dotrina imposed by Odglass, seeing it with his own eyes was painful... Before he wondered if he himself was the definition of scum, here was an example of what scum really was. There was a girl younger than him, lying dead in the street while people ignored him as if he was part of the scenery... according to Halder it is the fate of those who could not sell their bodies to get food.

"Is this normal?" Subaru asked, although he felt bad for not helping those people, he himself was aware that he was not in their same situation just by a bit of luck.

"You mean that?" replied Halder pointing to group of vagrants... "Yes, I told you before didn't I? I know it's different in Lugunica, but please don't even think of helping those sinners, they are not loved and besides, going against the laws of the Church of Gusteko is a crime that is payable by death. It is the law of the fittest, the best thing you can do with them is to hire their services, I can pay for it if you want to unburden yourself", at this last disinterested comment, Subaru wanted to yell at him, but he didn't do it. He was quite overwhelmed by the situation of the city, as well as the values of this world with his... he understood, that they were different cultures and that here there were no laws against what one would consider an atrocity in his world. What country lets its people die just to follow a stupid dogma?

"...Pass, we better buy what we need and get the hell out of here as soon as possible" he didn't want to be there, he couldn't stand it, the environment was harsh and the people were worse... the guys on the street were no older than him, he could see bruises, the worn out clothes and the look in their eyes... part of why Subaru did nothing to help them was because of that look... even though it was the first time he saw it, it was the look of someone who only expects death and nothing else.

"As you command, once we have bought what we need we will stay and leave early tomorrow morning, Subaru-sama" This would have surprised Subaru, but on the way to qui, he had already realized that he had some kind of Rank higher than Halder, they were not clear what criteria, but Subaru decided to play along, at least until he can stay stable to go to the neighboring Country, the border was not far and from what he had heard is a country with a more pleasant temperature and where that damn church has no power.

The law of the fittest? What an idiotic thing to say.

Subaru had arrived at the "Cathedral" which was certainly... interesting. Firstly, because it remains hidden underground, but even the term "hidden" was an understatement, apparently there was some sort of "Metia" that allowed them to remain hidden and also made people unconsciously avoid the area... and secondly it was security, apparently the role of Halder and another member was to monitor the area using their Spirit-men from end to end. Subaru didn't understand why so much secrecy, but apparently it was a group that opposed the ideals of the Church of Gusteko... to Subaru's joy, nothing could be more noble than being against those bastards.

"This place is huge...it looks more like a secret base than a monastery," he said as he surveyed the place.

Subaru was waiting for the copy of his "Gospel" to be brought to him, so he took the opportunity to explore the place. It was quite a big place, he had seen that they had an average sized library, a storage room and even a room for bathrooms.

"I have been looking for you Subaru-sama, please come with me, we have found a Gospel for you" It was an orange haired woman who reported this to Subaru, apparently she was in charge of keeping the Cathedral in order and for some reason she saw Subaru as her superior, saying her "smell" was proof of being one of those favored by the witch.

Accompanying the orange-haired woman, Subaru began to look at some portraits that were in the cathedral... there was a man with green hair and a gentle face in most of them... Subaru asked who it was, but they only answered that he was one of the founders of the cult, trying not to touch the subject.

"This is your copy of the Gospel, please avoid losing it again, Subaru-sama, if the case arises, you can request another one in some of the cathedrals" The woman handed him a black book, as she bowed and went back to continue with her duties.

"So that's a book huh... wait a minute Halder-san mentioned something about being a guide!", Subaru started to open the book, maybe it was some sort of guide towards his mission, the reason behind his summoning. Like the guides in a video game, if he was able to pass all the missions he would surely return home!
"This...". Subaru began to quickly flip through the book, amazed by its contents, that amazement quickly turned into a frown.
"But if it's
all blank... Am I being screwed!?" and his unfounded hopes are once again crushed.

Almost half a year later Subaru decided to leave the cult's facilities, rather he decided to leave Gusteko... it was not the first time that this idea came to him and he had tried to leave the place when he discovered the nature of that organization, particularly its execution room left a bad taste in his mouth. But all his attempts ended in failed attempts before he even started... Subaru had no power or knowledge to fend for himself at that time and not to mention that he had no money or connections except for the cult.

"The Dragon Kingdom... eh, I guess I should get going now..." The boy who was a few meters away from the entrance of the cathedral, took one last look before leaving, his destination currently was Albis City, he was 1 day away going on foot, the only thing he was carrying was clothes for harsh weather, a necklace with that has a precious stone, a backpack with some ornaments to sell... and the gospel. It was basically an extremely useful tool to interact with the cult, although I didn't want to have to do anything with them, it would be a lie to say that it didn't present its benefits.

The half year he spent in the cathedral; he did it being a "VIP member" of the group, so life in general went well for him... although his mental health was a separate thing, he spent most of the time surrounded by religious fanatics, some members emitted a sense of madness that certainly made Subaru secretly tremble and his visits to the nearest city in search of rest only opened a wound in his heart due to the corpses he saw in every corner, in one of his visits he decided to investigate the group a little, to discover that they were not only sick fanatics, but they were basically a terrorist group that was not only an enemy of the Kingdom, but of the world itself, hence the reason he undertook his journey alone... or that wouldn't be quite right..

"could you help me a little?" lightly squeezing the pendant he wore, Subaru summoned a small minor fire spirit he has hired, the spirit quickly began to regulate Subaru's body temperature, making him adapt to the cold environment.

Not all the time he spent was spent being lazy, he spent most of his time learning about the world and about magic. Some members taught him to read and write. While he had asked Halder to teach him how to contract with the spirits, so that he could survive the harsh climate and have the means to defend himself.

There in that cathedral, more specifically in the library of Mr. Romanee-conti were almost all the hidden accounts of known History, some of them written so many centuries ago that the ink had faded and were almost illegible. I did not know if this place was the only repository of such knowledge in the world, and the Cult, its only guardian and, if I thought about it, it was a rare opportunity for a stranger from outside that world, the privilege of being able to study these volumes about witches, lost magic and untold stories... it was obviously priceless.

"Where am I taking you buddy?" asked the man in charge of the carriage Subaru had rented, it would cost him a good amount, but the cult gave him access to draw the money he needed for his goals.

"To the city of Eternya" Subaru replied as he settled inside the carriage. The reason for this trip was why he was leaving Gusteko, the reason is simple, he detested it, even though he had somehow adapted to the climate through magic... its culture, its people, its food, everything, absolutely everything was repulsive...

"The most optimal way is to go through the forest of Elior and then to the mining city of Ganacks" taking out a notebook where he had traced the path on a map of the place, reviewing his plans Subaru began to plan his actions again, although it is true that it is the most optimal way, it was also true that it was one of the longest and most dangerous roads... this thanks to the fact that out of nowhere they decided to close the borders, so he had to find an alternative way... the elven forest was perfect, its climate was similar to Gusteko's and the presence of beast witches made it an uninhabitable place for the Lugunicans, so there would be no migratory control.

The library had a lot of information about the forest, particularly about the elves. Everything pointed to the cult having a friendly relationship with those people. It didn't bode well for him, but if things got ugly he would reveal that he was associated with that organization.

-And so began Natsuki Subaru's long journey.

I can adapt to the weather and I could deal with the witch beasts with Murak as long as I am cornered, was what Subaru thought, how naive he was to believe that those were the only problems.

"SHAMAK" quickly chanting and summoning an extensive black cloud using the Mana of the atmosphere, Subaru faced the worst enemy he could find... humans, rather, bandits.

"He was fleeing through the woods, move and get that son of a bitch," shouted one of the men as he struggled to get out from under the effects of the spell.

The bandits began to prepare their crossbows to attack Subaru, realizing that Subaru quickly decided.

"...Damn it Minya!" aiming at the group he had distracted by the previous magic, Subaru resorted to one of his best tricks, summoning his only quasi-spirit, a yin spirit by the name of Lena, Subaru conjured around nearly a dozen mana stakes, it took almost no time at all for them to take aim and head towards their targets. The result was obvious...

"Bhghhh..." Emptying all the contents of his stomach, Subaru knelt down in the middle of the snow as tears welled up in his eyes at the result he had caused.

It was definitely not a pretty sight to see, the stakes impaled the group of bandits, once that was done, the stakes would start to crystallize and destroy the rest. There were a total of 5 bandits, a small group that had cornered Subaru on his way to Elior Forest, most likely to enslave him. It was certainly the first time Subaru had killed a person... the fact that there were 5 of them and demi-humans didn't make it any less painful, but somehow he had to pick himself up to continue on his way.

"p-please..." One of the men, a cat-eared boy tried to say something as his mouth released large amounts of blood. Minya had impacted his torso and practiced shattered it, splitting it in two. There was no way to save him, but his pleading dug deep into Subaru's heart. He quickly kept silent like the rest of his companions.

The library of the cathedral where he had studied various books on magic even contained ancient information on shadow magic; witch magic as they called it there, given his affinity with that element Subaru had mastered some spells of that school and thanks to Lena's power he was able to use "EL" level magic without problems. He had enough level to be able to subjugate the Mabestias of the place, like urugarums.

"Just a little longer, Natsuki Subaru, it will all be over soon" he began to talk to himself as he stood up, trying to distract himself from what he had done and trying to blatantly pretend that nothing happened. Subaru was only 16 years old and although it wasn't the first time he had seen someone die, it was the first time he had been the cause of it, the first time he had caused it... and he certainly knew it wouldn't be the last.

He continued walking as he entered the forest cursed by the witch, a witch that would change his life forever.