"Subaru, why would you need so much paper and paint?" The blue-haired maid asked, to the armored figure struggling to keep pace with her on the path.
Subaru was carrying most of the bulk of the purchases and was trying his best not to drop them all, "Because...Gah...I need something to practice my aim, and this was the cheapest option" Now if that wouldn't have spent everything he received in advance, he would have been happier, but life didn't want to leave him in peace.
"We should have enough targets to bring you to a minimum level of proficiency" The spirit estimated roughly.
Considering the potential amount of paper targets he bought, Subaru spent some time trying to decipher if that was a normal statement of a fact or a stealth insult but at the end he drew a blank and simply shrugged it off.
"The amount is still excessive, isn't it?" Rem questioned a little worriedly at the wobble in his step.
"Is fine...I have a bit of free time so...I probably will go through them fast" He finished while finally achieving the right balance.
Both of them kept walking in comfortable silence, until Rem finally broke it when they arrived at the mansion doors, "As for your haircut this night...Rem apologizes but we must reschedule to tomorrow, work around the mansion has piled up and Rem will need to stay up late to finish it"
"Do you need any help?" It really doesn't bother me" It's not like he was going to practice at night, so he had nothing to do.
"You haven't learned these tasks yet, maybe another time" She replied softly.
After they reached the door, Emilia greeted them from the other side. Rem excused herself with a bow and headed to the kitchen to deliver her purchases.
"Subaru? Would you like some help?" Inquired the half-elf in half-worry, half-confusion.
"No...I got it, it would hurt my manly pride if I were to need the help of...Woah!" Just as he was starting to boast, he missed a step on the stairs, almost falling on his back and dropping his purchases.
"Consider your pride harmed" Vega's sass was noted and ignored.
"Subaru you nincompoop!" She yelled at him while helping him with his items.
"You called me a what?"
With her help the only thing that got damaged was his pride, so everything was fine. On the way to his room Emilia asked him why he had made all these purchases as they walked to his room, and Subaru answered in the same fashion he had to Rem earlier.
"What was the village like?" She asked with curiosity.
"Lively, I even started spreading calisthenics there, everyone loved it, you should come with us next time!" He answered with enthusiasm.
With slight sadness in her voice, Emilia replied, "I don't think they would enjoy having me there"
Remembering one of their talks they had days before about her race and her specific problem, he tried to cheer her up, "You don't know until you try, I believe the kids would love you. But don't get too close to their dog, it bit Rem, what a jerk!"
Emilia smiled at his words, "Maybe next time"
###
###
"...S...ir...Creator wake up!" Vega's voice woke up Subaru from his slumber. Absent-mindedly still groggy from sleeping, he noticed his worried tone.
He was going to rub the sleep from his eyes when he noticed his current appearance, "What's wrong?" The now visibly armored man asked with confusion dripping in his voice.
"Our room has been hit by a heavy object" As soon as Vega finished the sentence, a slight sound of chains could be heard and another impact occurred, shaking the door.
Jumping into action, Subaru quickly snatched his only weapon and stood at the door side breathing heavily. After a few beats of silence, he opened the door with his free hand and pointed his weapon at the head of the potential threat. Who ended up being...
"Rem!?" In surprise, Subaru yelled as the blue-haired maid fell on him, dodging accidentally her falling morningstar which was stuck at the door frame for a moment before it fell right behind him.
He would have assumed she was completely dead was it not for her labored breathing. Her face looked like she was gravely ill, with her pale skin and pallid lips. He could hear how her gasps of air were shallower with every passing moment.
"Poison?" Subaru quickly wondered not seeing any injuries in her body, retracting his helmet, he questioned on the verge of tears, "Rem! Who did this to you?"
Her breath was heavy as she rasped out, "...u...tist" She raised her hand and firmly grabbed near his collarbone as she finished.
While holding her hand with his free hand, he yelled with tears in his eyes as he thought she wanted comfort on her deathbed, "Come on, stay with me Rem! Let me find Emilia, she will heal you!" Rem's eyes widened minutely in realization and her grip softened at his worry.
"Creator...She is not going to make it" Vega informed, sensing her rapidly slowing pulse from the grip.
"No! She only needs a healer!" He snapped back in denial, just as he was to pick her up, Rem's eyes slowly closed up and her grip slackened.
"Hey hey hey! Come on Rem, just hold on" A sudden noise from his side changed his focus of attention, after a few beats an incredibly scared Ram bursted out of one of the doors.
"REM!" Seeing Rem's lifeless body slumped on Subaru, while he had his weapon out made her assume the worst, "What!? YOU MONSTER! SHE TRUSTED YOU!" In her grief, she lost control of her magic, a vortex of wind blades manifested around her, ripping and tearing her surroundings, doing a cut motion with her arm, she sent an invisible wind blade in Subaru's direction.
"RUN!" Seeing the danger coming, Vega warned in vain.
"Wait! Ram, I didn't..." When Subaru tried to explain himself, he suddenly lost the ability to speak, "Huh? what?" his perception started to shift in movement, getting close to the ground, and doing several rolls until it stopped. With a direct visual of his headless body spouting blood like a fountain upwards.
"I...I don't understand" He was hearing things, but he didn't process them, his last images were of Ram running to Rem's body and crying on top of it.
###
###
Subaru slowly opened his eyes, staring directly into the ceiling of the guest room, he blinked several times, "What? Why would I be here?"
Processing the events that happened a moment ago he arrived at the conclusion with a gasp, he raised his torso holding his neck with both hands while hyperventilating, "I was decapitated by Ram!?"
""Dear guest!"" Two similar and familiar voices called out in worry.
Shaking off his initial reaction, Subaru moved his eyes to stare at the twins, only seeing in reflection worry and unfamiliarity, "No!,Is not fair!" He thought, tears cascading off his cheeks.
"Rem, go search for Lady Emilia!" Ram ordered her Sister, assuming that he was still reacting from the assassin attack they were told about, she hoped a familiar face would tranquilize him.
The blue-haired maid hesitated for a moment, but ultimately obeyed her sister with a nod, and left the room in search of the candidate.
"Is not fair!, is not fair!" Subaru was stuck in the same thoughts, all the memories they made together now only belonged to him, his hair cut by Rem, his hopeful travel to the village with Emilia, all gone. In his grief, he didn't notice the pink-haired maid closing the distance.
"Dear Guest, You must calm down" Seeing her get closer made Subaru reflexively jump backwards in fright, looking at her, he could only see her anguished face from the last loop.
After observing Ram recoil slightly, he only whispered in response, "I'm sorry" For scaring her or for the death of her sister last time, he didn't know.
"Dear Guest, you are in Lord Roswaal's mansion, you were brought by Lady Emilia" She explained hoping that would calm him. She took a step closer but rapid movement coming from the guest's chest stopped her.
"Like hell!" An artificial voice reverberated in Subaru's skull, a blink later and the suit HUD was online, he realized Vega had forcefully activated the armor.
"Vega? They don't remember, turn it off we are safe" He thought, still recovering from the mental trauma, it would take some time before he could approach Ram without heavily flinching.
"No! She just killed you Creator!" Subaru was shocked, this was the first time Vega outright refused a command this way.
Before he could retort, Emilia and Rem entered the room. At his armored visage, Rem instantly snapped into action, placing herself in front of Emilia and changing into a defensive posture.
"Wait, hold on, is my spirit, he is still panicking" Subaru quickly explained, waving his hands in panic, "Vega, we can talk about it later, please, calm down" After some moments of silence, the armor was retracted wordlessly.
"Jeez Subaru, I was worried for a moment" Emilia broke the silence with her relief.
"Sorry Emilia-tan" He answered back, he didn't want to cause them any problems.
She tilted her head in confusion, "Tan?"
The pain in Subaru's chest was unbearable.
###
###
"We must speak" Thought Subaru, taking advantage of the time he was given to dress himself to speak with his companion.
"There is nothing to talk about, take a reward and let's bail out of here" He answered non-emotionally.
"Vega, something killed Rem on the fourth night here..." he shuddered at the memory of her dying face, "We can't leave"
"In case you forgot, her sister CUT OFF YOUR HEAD!" The last part was yelled almost hysterically by Vega.
Subaru unconsciously placed his hand against his neck momentarily. Composing himself again, he answered mentally, "She must have thought we killed Rem, it will not happen again, on the fourth night we stay awake and check the mansion, I won't fail again"
A few moments of silence passed between the two, just as Subaru finished dressing, Vega answered with his coldest tone yet, "Understood"
The young man sighed just before stepping outside, hoping to catch Emilia on the field like the last loop
###
###
Emilia finished commuting with her spirits just as he arrived, which was for the best, remembering the last time he was near when she did that.
She turned around and smiled as she saw him, "Subaru, I am glad to hear you're okay. What happened?"
He waved off her concern, "Sorry, I was still reacting to yesterday's attack" Which conveniently wasn't a lie from his perspective.
A yawn interrupted their conversation, both pairs of eyes zeroed on the source of the sound, the flying cat slowly floating out of Emilia's hair while rubbing his eyes, "Good morning" The cat said the moment he saw both of them looking at him, he continued with a tired tone, "I can't thank you enough for saving Lia last night, I have a debt with you that must be repaid"
"Let me p-" Subaru went to exchange his debt by reflex, but he bit his tongue in time. With hindsight and a drilling by Vega last loop, he was made aware of what a blunder he made last time.
Both the half-elf and cat spirit turned their heads in confusion at Subaru sudden stop, he smiled awkwardly while he razed his mind searching for any kind of help, and Vega was unresponsive as of now, remembering one comment made by Puck when he arrived, he gave it a shot, "Emilia? Why do you have spirits contracted?"
Answering his question with confusion, she replied, "They can help me with some tasks, in healing and protection if Puck isn't around, why do you ask?"
"You should know this Subaru, you have one. Is it because he is connected to you in such a weird way?" Puck added after Emilia finished, the Great Spirit was curious about that last fact.
"Weird way?...Oh you mean the crystal" Honestly speaking after a week with it he started considering it the new normal, "Is...complicated" He refused to elaborate, mostly because he didn't know how to, he then proceed with his original intention, "I wanted to learn how to gather them"
Both Emilia and Puck stared at each other for a moment, and nodded smiling at him, "We can do that"
###
###
"Could you repeat that again, but this time, real sloooow?"
Emilia sighed and brought her palm to her face in exasperation, her spirit dealt with the frustration far better and levitated a little closer to Subaru, "As we said, you must speak to them, you must open yourself to them"
"How am I going to speak to them, if they are not here already?" His bewilderment was evident in his question.
"Not that way you dunderhead, you must call them out resonating with your Od" Emilia explained like it was obvious.
"With my what?" He instantly thought, just as he was going to vocalize it, a familiar voice came back.
"My apologies, I needed a moment to collect myself, the Od is in your world terms your soul, maybe try to focus on yourself?" His voice still had a strained sub-tone, but was calmer than last time.
Glad that his first friend was better, he took heed of his words, closed his eyes and tried to focus inwards, He had a weird feeling around his chest so he focused on that, "Come on spirits, I want to have a talk with you guys, only that" He waited and waited, but nothing happened in him, "It looks like it's going to take me...some...practice" He trailed off, seeing the shocked expressions of Emilia, Puck, and the maids, that had arrived while he focused.
Well, he half-saw them, there was a considerable amount of lights between them, "Next time, try not to call the entire neighborhood" Vega commented with mirth.
Well, at least his sass was back, that was recomforting in a way, now he had another problem to deal with, "Hey?" Was the best he could think on the spot.
Absolute pandemonium got unleashed the moment he finished his words, he was almost knocked out unconscious by the intense mental strain. Thankfully it mellowed out quickly after, Subaru assumed Vega placed order like last time, he really had to do something in appreciation in the future.
"Okay, let's….not do that again" Subaru commented aloud, to no one in particular, "I suppose all of you guys want a…...contract?"
Every speck of light vibrated with emotion at that, before he could continue Emilia interrupted with a gasp, "Subaru! You can't do that, if you contract more spirits than your body could handle you could go all BOOM!" She finished extending her arms to the air, childishly imitating an explosion.
"This is not a recommended option"
"Let's not" Clapping his hands grabbing attention to himself again he bellowed out, "Okay guys, we need to sort this out, sorry, but most of you have to go. Is not personal, but I need the best of you"
Everything stopped in the open field for a few beats, and then every single spirit started bouncing around hitting each other violently, and he was pretty sure a few stray spells were fired, Subaru blinked a few times before he snapped his eyes open in realization, "Vega...Are they duking it out with themselves?" He had a slight tone of horror at the chaos he unwittingly unleashed.
"This is going to be such a pain to deal with" Vega answered in a resigned tone
###
###
Luckily for everyone involved, Subaru and Vega managed to calm down the spirits, and establish a one day turn for every spirit involved, a considerable amount of them left at hearing the conditions, only minor spirits were willing to deal with it, but they were still more than his body could handle. So now Subaru walked into the mansion accompanied with several minor spirits in tow.
He arrived just when everyone was going to begin their meal, "Oops, sorry" He rubbed his head while taking a seat across from Emilia.
"Sister Sister, our Dear Guest has no modals on the table" The blue haired maid shouted-whispered to Ram.
"Rem Rem, our Dear Guest handles himself like a barbarian" Ram answered the same way to Rem.
Subaru could only gesture a bittersweet smile at their antics
He distracted himself enjoying the food, even a week after he still took great joy in the way it was made, he was going to get spoiled with constant restaurant worthy meals.
He zoned out a bit of Roswaal words, it was exactly the same as last time, his reaction when he asked to be a guard again was the same surprise as before, which was kinda weird.
"Hey Vega, do you believe Roswaal is those type of people who try to make entire conversations in the shower just to have the comeback ready, but it never happens?" Subaru mentally commented while walking automatically, missing the weird looks the maids were giving him.
He didn't have a face, but Subaru could feel the raised eyebrow expression perfectly, "…..Anyways, you should be careful with your actions Creator"
"Huh? What do you mean?" He said while taking a sharp turn.
"You are moving through the mansion like you already know its layout, the maids are giving you weird looks"
Subaru subtly took a glance at the maids and confirmed indeed that Ram was keeping an eye on him, "Oops, will have to be careful with that, thank you Vega"
###
###
Having finished the tour of the entire mansion, he finally got some alone time. Once inside his room, he closed the door, sat on the chair, took a heavy sigh, and started crying.
"Why why why? I was doing so good, it is not fair" Subaru cried for all the little moments he bonded withthe members of the mansion, all his work done, like it never happened.
His spirit respectfully stayed silent for the entire time, letting him grieve, he wished he could help, but the only thing he could do was keep the other minor spirits in silence. He really felt slothful in his duties.
Several minutes passed until his tears ceased, cleaning his eyes, he steeled himself for the next few days.
To calm himself, he decided to fix the grip of his handgun in silence, for the second time, one of his semi-contracted spirits, in particular an Earth one levitated near his broken repeater, "Broken?"
Subaru cracked a small smile at its childish tone, "Yeah, is broken, had a fight" He commented while doing the finishing touches on his work.
The brown speck of light got closer and started using the mana in the air calling out the attention of the artificial spirit, "Is he…"
Just as the young man finished attuning the parts, he tested it and aimed at the wall while smiling, which quickly morphed into shock when the earth spirit stood just on the front of the barrel, quickly shifting the aim to the table, "Fixed, fixed"
He tilted his head in confusion, and then realized what he meant, snapping his head to the direction of his repeater, he saw the two halves fused together, quickly leaning over it he grabbed it and tested it, "Vega? Is it in working condition?" A bit of hope in his voice.
Vega took some time to inspect the patch-job, "…..It could work, but is not going to handle much stress, the material that is holding it together is considerably inferior both in durability and magical conductivity, it will cost more mana to shoot"
The minor earth spirit deflated a little at his superior words, but bounced back when Subaru softly grabbed him and spun it around the room in joy, "Vega!? Give him extra pay for this!"
The rest of the spirits looked at their comrade with envy, but the small earth spirit didn't really care.
Calming himself down, and congratulating the spirit an extra bit, he sent them outside of the room. He wanted to have a private conversation with Vega.
"How do we deal with this?" He began.
"Wait, are you going with a plan now?" Incredulously wondered Vega.
"So what we know" He continued ignoring his sass.
Sensing the seriousness he switched to business mode, "Not that much, on the fourth night something attacked Miss Rem?"
Subaru raised from the chair and stood on the window looking at the outside "She didn't have any injuries on her, but she could have healed them, she has healing magic" She offered when she saw his injuries so he assumed it.
"But she didn't have any blood on her, so there must have been something wrong inside her. Wait a moment, why didn't Beatrice sound the alarm?" He realized that they hadn't heard from her all night.
"You are right. Maybe the assassin got to her first? Roswaal told us about her duties earlier, so it is not a hidden fact, and if there are magical cloaks that can stop magical attacks, is not out of question one which avoids sensors" Made sense for him, if some type of detection exists, some type of countermeasure should too. Probably.
"So our best guess, is that an assassin bypassed Lady Beatrice security, probably assassinated her, and was found by Miss Rem resulting in a quick fight?" She had her weapon out, so she must have used it.
"Sounds about correct, but why didn't we hear it? And it still does not explain her lack of injuries, poison in the air perhaps?" He walked back to the desk.
"You are ignoring the main problem, how are we supposed to confront it?" One doesn't just simply try to out assassin the assassin.
"You worry too much, is a classic rogue archetype, as we see by the fact it didn't follow Rem, so, he got killed by Rem or got injured enough to not follow her, if we get the drop it should be easy" And as his best guess it was a touch or air based poison, so not a problem for him in particular.
"That's it? That's your entire plan? Just get the drop of a trained assassin?" He murmured in exasperation.
"Yes, that's it, and now. Is time to peel off some appas" He said observing the Hour Crystal in his room, he still wished to help the maids after all.
###
###
"Failed, again" The now bane of Subaru's existence repeated for the umpteenth time .
"I can see it, no need to repeat it every time!" He had been stuck for a few hours doing shooting drills and his patience was wearing thin.
""""Work hard"""" The four minor spirits he had semi-contracted cheered him on.
Really this was punishment he assumed, somehow Vega managed to rope all of them on his plan, while the earth and water spirits created thin targets for him to shoot, the fire one shot at him small fireballs, which carried no real danger considering the thick plating he carried, but still hurt like hell, and the wind one threw random debris at his visor while trying to unbalance him, all to make him learn faster.
"Sir Subaru" a soft formal voice called behind him.
Turning around he saw Rem doing a small bow, "Hey Rem-rin, wha-Ouch!" a burning
sensation came from his right thigh, turning around he pointed with his finger at the only possible guilty spirit, "I see what you did you little sh-"
A soft "ahem" interrupted him, turning around he saw the maid still where she was before, but trying to hide a little smile, "The bath is ready Sir Subaru, if I may" She made a small gesture for him to follow her.
"Okay guys, your fun is over, we will continue next time" He was pretty sure he heard a few boos from them, but wisely ignored them, retracting the armor after they got inside the crystal, he followed the maid, catching up to her he said to her, "Don't think I missed your smile"
"Rem doesn't know what Subaru is talking about" She said, keeping her regal pose, but with a slight quivering smirk which disappeared when she smelt something weird.
"Uhh, looking at your face it looks like I really was in need of a shower, there is no need to copy your sister expressions, would be a shame to have wrinkles in such a pretty face"
The look she gave him back sent shivers down his spine, making him shut up.
###
###
"I really could get used to this" Subaru commented to no one with a pleased sigh, sinking in the bath water.
"That checkpoint was really convenient" Ignoring all the trauma he suffered, he was at least slightly glad of the convenience of it, starting from the beginning would have destroyed him.
"Hey Vega, did you h-" A singsong voice coming right next to him interrupted him mid-sentence.
"Shall we use the bath together" Subaru turned his head taking in all detail the smiling nude form of Roswaal, "Subaru-kun〜"
"Begone" He replied flatly, quickly turning around with another trauma to the list.
"This is my property, I can do with it what I please" The Lord said in a sing-song voice while...shaking his hips.
"Then do so! Don't bother asking me" Subaru answered harshly.
"Oh my, how rude, still you don't seem to understand" His eyes narrowed, "As part of my staff, are you not now part of my property as w-?" The magician went to grab Subaru's chin while speaking, but he collided with something metallic.
"My my, your spirit sure is fiercely protective" He laughed it off, with a dangerous glint in his heterochromic eyes.
Getting inside the bath, he stared for a moment at Subaru, just before Subaru could tell him off he said, "Truly masterful craftsmanship, one of a kind"
Realizing he meant Vega's crystal he simply shrugged, it was his starting equipment, of course it was one of a kind.
"Could I inquire who made the proceeeeeedure? Someone of that talent should be applaudeeeeed for their talent" His eyes filled with curiosity.
"….They never said their name" Subaru quietly flinched, it was truly a poor excuse.
The clown did not call him out, "What a shaaaaaame, maybe you could present them if one day you find them, would like to discuss topics with someone of that talent"
Subaru shrugged in a non-committal response, seeing no budge in his stance Roswaal changed topics, "You seem to be getting along quite well with Rem and Ram"
"You think so? Rem was cold at first, but I believe I managed to get closer with her, and Ram….scares me a little" He obviously left the fact that he was still recoiling slightly from her every time he saw her, considerably less than before but he couldn't shake off her enraged face from his mind.
"And between them, I wouldn't want to butt in too hard, it is obvious that Rem sees her sister too highly, last time I mentioned how she was better than Ram in her duties her look almost froze me over" He wisely refrained from keeping pushing in after that.
"I can see that as her reaction. To just charge directly into complex problems with no hesitation, is a good thing to have" Roswaal commented with a smile on his face.
Subaru gave a strained smile back, "I feel more I am being criticized than praised"
"No, I really believe is a good thing to have, if you get familiar with them and start getting treated like one of us, it really would be perfect"
"Still, I don't blame them, I am an outsider anyways, I probably broke the peace with my arrival, it should feel like normal after we get used to each other"
"I suppose" Roswaal answered back in a familiar peculiar tone.
Both men stared at each other for a few beats and giggled a little.
Calming down Subaru took advantage of his presence to satisfy their curiosity, "By the way Ros-chi, how do the maids warm the bath, I don't see any type of heater"
"Heater? No, the answer is simple, the underside of the bath is filled with fire crystals, when is time to heat the water, one must just infuse with mana the crystals and they will heat up, the kitchen uses the same technology"
"Oh, and because everyone has a little bit of mana, it can be used by everyone even without affinity, smart" Vega had already informed him of what he managed to extract from the spirits in the first loop, but it was very basic in content.
"Huh, you know more than you appear, indeed everyone possesses a gate, which in normal terms is a portal through which mana passes from your body to the exterior. Do you know your affinity?"
"I have Yin and my spirit has Yang, but we don't really know their applications" By their name he could only assume something awesome.
"How curiouuuuuus, two of the rarest elements in combination in the same body, Yang focuses on enhancing senses, physical characteristics, and can be used on offensive too"
"Perfect for my job" He realized how he was doing all of his support roles which until now were by pure instinct, now if he could learn more about it to expand his capabilities, that truly would be optimal.
"And Yin?" He was really excited at what he could do personally.
"Blinding, depriving of senses, slowing down movement" He started listing an overview of what he knew.
"Pure debuffs!" His heart pained at that, he felt one of Roswaal hands at the top of his head, while he had his eyes closed.
Finishing whatever he did he retracted the hand and looked at his eyes, "By the way, you have almost no talent in magic"
Subaru sunk his head in the water out of depression.
"I believe I can help with that, but not by much" Technically speaking Vega had control of Subaru's gate, so he could help in that regard.
He instantly popped out of the water upon hearing that last bit revitalized.
"Well, at least it is not a waste of time to train you in it, lucky for you we have a Yin specialist in the mansion" Roswaal informed.
"Really? Who is it?" He asked in excitement, he was willing to learn from the tutelage of anyone.
"Beatrice" Roswaal answered with a smirk and a wink.
"I refuse" He flatly answered, while getting out of the bath and walking away.
"You trulyyyyy are an interesting anomaly" The 400 year old mage whispered under his breath.
###
###
"That Roswaal, just rising my hopes to crash them" He muttered aloud while drying his hair
"I will not accept disrespect towards Lord Roswaal in front of me" A familiar but harsher than usual voice made him recoil in fright, seeing her angry look just made him retreat further into the wall.
"Subaru?" Her look shifted into worry the moment she spotted that his strange armor appeared by reflex too, but it retracted afterwards.
He turned around and laughed nervously, "Hey Ram, you scared me for a minute there"
Her worried look persisted for a moment longer, and shifted into her neutral look, "I will let it pass for once, I came to inform you to be in your room as soon as possible, my sister will arrive any moment" Finishing her statement, she turned around and walked away.
"Why would Rem go to my room?" Wondered Subaru on his way to his room.
"We asked for a sling for the repeater, maybe she wants to have a look at it?" Really there was no other motive that he knew of.
"I guess so" He answered back aloud.
"Please, try keeping your monologue to a minimum, it would bring a bad image to our camp to contract someone insane" A voice came right behind him making him jump in panic.
"I swear you and your sister are doing your best to give me a heart attack" Subaru gasped out holding his chest, turning around to look at Rem, who was carrying several miscellaneous items.
"Could probably restart it, maybe" The artificial spirit muttered mostly to himself.
Rem neutral look shifter into a determined one, "That's unacceptable for our hired guard, Rem will ask her sister to redouble her efforts to harden your spirit"
Changing the topic, he spoke to her, "Hope I didn't take too much of your time with my second petition" Mid-sentence he retook his trek to his room, with the maid in tow.
"Compared to your jacket and holster, this was no work for Rem, the only device Rem required to improvise was that type of hook" Really Subaru had no idea how one improvises that, but he already knew she was a miracle worker when the household is related.
"Still, Ram told me to wait for you in my room, it sounded important" He noticed all the books she was carrying with her
"Sister has noticed that you are illiterate, that problem will have to be fixed for your sake" She informed him firmly reaching his room.
"I am not really illiterate, the symbols are different from where I am from" He mentioned exasperatedly while opening the door and getting in.
She followed him inside, and placed the reading material on the desk, turning around she looked at him with a half-raised eyebrow.
Sitting in the chair in a hop, he picked up the writing plume and wrote "Natsuki Subaru wrote this"
Looking over his shoulder Rem took a long look at the words, "Rem doesn't understand what Subaru has wrote….It looks like Kararagi language? But different in some ways. Rem will assume that Subaru is speaking the truth" Finishing that, she grasped one of the books and opened it, "Still, Subaru will have to learn our language so he can be a functioning member on the society"
With that last sentence Rem indirectly inflicted a critical hit into Subaru self-esteem, "That's the past, just don't think about it"
Observing his cringing face, Rem turned curious, "Did Rem say something wrong?"
He waved her off, "No no, is fine, what's this? Children's books?"
"Yes, is the only learning material we had at disposal on the mansion, but it will do"
Both spent an hour, going faster than expected, a bit too much, "Subaru, did you lie to Rem?"
"Uh? Oh! Is just...I am kinda cheating" At her questioning look he explained, "My spirit has really good memory"
"I am only helping you because time is of the essence here, after we escape danger you are learning alone" While he didn't particularly mind acting as a translator too, by all his time with his Creator he knows that he would try to avoid learning if he did everything for him.
The look that Rem gave him was less than pleased, he quickly made up an excuse, "Wouldn't want to take that much of your time, doing this I can learn later on my own" He finished with a smile.
Quickly glancing at her, he assumed by her expression that it was a suitable answer.
He constantly missed the cautious glances she gave to his back.
###
###
"He is going for it!" Exclaimed Vega with haste.
"Got you!" Shouted Subaru after a quick burst of movement.
"Don't be so rude Sir Subaru, he only wants to play!" Cried out a small girl with bluish hair.
"Thanks Subaru, but it is only a puppy" Rem still was glad of his action.
"I couldn't let a beautiful girl get her hands hurt" He answered absentmindedly, more focused on the angry puppy.
"Blergh" The group of kids who were playing with the small spirits stopped and suddenly made sounds of disgust at his words.
"What's that supposed to mean!" Yelled Subaru looking at the kids, while slowly distancing himself from the dog who only growled at him.
Rem hid her mouth with her palm to hide a giggle, "We can leave already Subaru, Rem has finished her purchases"
All the kids released a soft whine of displeasure. Turning around Subaru acknowledged them, "I will come next time, "Be good children and keep up with the calisthenics for when I come back"
"""We will!""" The kids cheered from a distance, the small spirits flying back to him.
"You seem quite popular with the kids" Rem commented after some minutes walking.
"Kids have always liked playing with me" Turning around to look directly at her with a wink, "Probably is some innate protective instinct that makes them flock to me"
Rem continued walking without looking at him, "Considering a child's innocence is at the level of animals, Rem supposes that they understand who can they make fun of without consequence"
"What's that supposed to mean!?" Subaru yelled back at her gratuitous attack.
Rem ignored him, and shifted topics, "How is your occasional work with Sister going?"
"She is way too harsh! And she tries to slack off every time I get slightly proficient at it!" He complained, annoyed.
"She is doing it as reverse-psychology to motivate you" Rem said with full confidence.
Subaru turned around and pointed at her, "This adoration to your sister is out of the norm! It's as if you are demonically possessed!"
Rem paused for a moment and stared at him, "Demonically…..Possessed?"
Subaru resumed his walk slightly slower, "It's the demon version of, inspired by a god, sounds good doesn't it?"
The blue haired maid resumed her march behind Subaru, With an indistinguishable tone she continued, "Do you like demons?"
"More than gods that's for sure, they don't do nothing at all" Turning around he smiled at her with his eyes closed, "But demons laugh with you when you tell them your hopes for the future"
Opening his eyes, he witnessed Rem with a full blown smile, blinking a few times, committing this moment as a fond memory, he ignored some type of click noise, and couldn't help but blurt out, "That's a one million watt smile!"
She stopped smiling after that, "Rem will report this to Sister" She flatly said while walking past him.
"Wait! Don't please! I wasn't hitting on you or anything!" He implored, hoping to evade Ram's wrath.
###
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"This is it" Subaru thought to Vega standing near the mansion's door.
"I still don't like the plan, if the assassin has the drop on us we are on a disadvantage, and the maids think we went to sleep early, so they will not check on us, we could have used their help" Vega voiced his concerns
One thing of having so much free time and being his second time around is that in some way he could predict where the maids would be on the day, he didn't want to indirectly disturb them, and cause them to act suspicious so he kinda slipped through them.
"Subaru?" A soft sweet voice snapped him out of his mental conversation.
Glancing at his side he saw the Half-Elf who had a tired expression, "Hey, Emilia-tan what are you doing out here?"
"I saw you from my window, what are you doing outside so late, with all your things? Are you going to leave?" Her voice turned worried at the end.
"No! Is it just that I….." He made several sounds to stall her while he thought of something, finally striking something, he answered, "Nocturnal training, yes, if I have to do my job I must learn to work in darkness right"
Emilia made a thinking pose while concentrating, "I suppose you are right, but be careful! At this hour mabeasts can be lurking deep into the forest, so don't go too deep or you could get cursed"
"Note to self, curses exist, must study them more"
"I will be okay, hey what about tomorrow we go to the village" Emilia got nervous at that, but before she could retort he continued, "The children told me about a field with flowers this time of the year, is outside the village and we could go on a date"
"A date?"
"Oh right, I suppose it is something from where I am from, a date is when a man and a woman go out together" He explained to the half-elf.
"So, that means you had a date with Rem today?" Her words made him do a full stop.
"N…..wait" Thinking on it, technically he had, "Well I wouldn't mind going out with her"
"I accept" She said, snapping out of his thoughts.
"Huh?" Subaru proceeded to make his most intelligent noise of the day.
"I accept, let's go out on a date tomorrow" She repeated with a smile.
"Yes! Let's meet here tomorrow" At her nod, he turned around and walked out of the mansion with a smile plastered on his face, he was going to make it this time.
The moment he gained some distance on the road, he turned to the forest and got inside. Following the indications of his spirits he found himself in an advantage point of the mansion with an elevated view of it.
Bringing out his repeater he laid down on the ground with the complete armor, while he set himself up, Vega made a recommendation, "You, Earth spirit, could you cover us in dirt?" Sensing the confusion of Subaru he explained, "Camouflage whatever help us lower the chances of being detected"
The spirit did an affirmation noise and slowly covered him, after a minute it finished, Subaru shifted a little to check the structure, he confirmed that he could leave it easily but it covered him mostly, giving a bit of mana as payment to all of them he ordered them, "Scatter, keep an eye around the mansion and inside of it, if something weird happens, come back and tell me"
The spirits scampered after he finished his orders. Breathing in to calm himself, he kept a watchful eye, waiting for the moment to act.
The hours passed with no news, fatigue was kicking in after so long awake and alert, his spirits reported that Rem had already gone to sleep, which worried him, "He attacked at this hour, what changed?"
"Could it be that we spooked the assassin? Maybe he has retreated when he saw us leave the mansion" The spirit was wondering too what changed.
He waited for a few more hours but no dice, "It can't be this easy" He stood up, and slided down a slope. Ending up again on the main path he cautiously walked back into the mansion.
"We must have missed something, if we changed something, the assassin should have still attacked us, we were alone" He was tired, but the suit kept him mostly awake.
"Sir, go to sleep, I will keep watch with the spirits" The minor spirits could keep watch while he slept, he really didn't want to have a fight while his Creator was tired.
Yawning he did as told, too tired and confused to contradict him, arriving at his room he got in and instantly flopped on the bed in a dreamless sleep.
###
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"S—ir—Sir, wake up" An alarmed voice woke Subaru up.
Jumping out of the bed, he got ready, "What?"
"I've been told a messenger arrived from the village, the spirit didn't heard what happened, by Miss Rem is on the way here"
"Why would Rem inform me first…" A knock on the door distracted him, "Come in" he said.
Nothing happened, confused he walked to the door but when he was right about to open it a sound of chains filled the air.
"DUCK!" Came Vega's warning while his heightened reflexes worked overtime to make him drop to the ground.
The door exploded into splinters the moment he touched the floor, staring back at the now non-existent door, right where a furious Rem stood with her morningstar out, and something he never had seen, a bright horn in front of her forehead illuminating the room, "YOU CULTIST! I TRUSTED YOU!"
"W—what? Cul-Cultist? Rem what happ-" He was interrupted having to dodge the spiked ball which went where his head stood a moment ago.
"The children died because Rem hesitated, REM WILL NOT COMMIT THE SAME MISTAKE AGAIN! NOW DIE!" She said while swinging her morningstar again directly at his chest.
"I don't understand" Thought Subaru a moment later.