A/N: Thank you for waiting so long for Chapter 3! The positivity from the last chapter was incredible! This community is by far amongst the best out there! Anyways, without further delay, enjoy Chapter 3!
Subaru was uneasy. Felt's client, who introduced herself as Elsa a few moments ago, had just walked through the front door of the loot house. She was a very tall and beautiful woman, with jet black hair and even darker eyes. They seemed devoid of all light, except for a slight glint of emotion that Subaru couldn't quite identify. However, perhaps her most noticeable feature besides her eyes was her breasts. They were extremely voluptuous and practically popped out of Elsa's scant, skin-tight outfit, which also exposed her navel. Subaru would've been in awe at the woman's figure if she hadn't been radiating such an intense aura.
"Good evening," the lady said with a thin smile, "I'm Elsa." A chill went down Subaru's spine as Elsa's soothing, almost motherly voice rang out to him, Felt, and Old Man Rom. Her eyes locked straight onto Subaru's, like a viper tracking its prey. Subaru couldn't help but shudder at the sight.
Licking her lips, Elsa asked, "And who might I have the pleasure of meeting with tonight?"
"Uh, h-hi there… Ms. Elsa. I'm Felt. Just Felt." Felt flashed a small smile towards the woman. She was clearly a bit nervous but still clung to her confidence defiantly. After all, a scary woman wasn't enough to extinguish Felt's fiery spirit, nor get in her way of making a large profit.
Felt pointed at the old giant behind the bar. "That's my Gramps." Old Man Rom crossed his arms and gruffed affirmatively in response. Felt then turned towards the dark-haired boy with nasty eyes. "And this is just…" Felt stopped and seemingly thought about what word she should use to describe Subaru. He was more than a stranger, but Subaru didn't know if she trusted him enough to call him anything beyond an acquaintance. He hoped she would, though.
After some silence, Felt finally continued. "This is my friend… Natsuki Subaru." Felt blushed ever so slightly as she pointed at her new friend.
Subaru couldn't resist smiling, his heart skipping a beat. "Yeah! That's right, I'm her friend! Damn, I made two friends in one day! I'm killing it! "
Now a bit more confident after making his second official friend in Lugunica, Subaru struck his signature pose and yelled at the dark woman, "Good evening, Elsa! Yep, I'm Natsuki Subaru and I'm completely broke. But, now I have two friends in this world so life's looking up for me!"
Elsa narrowed her eyes and flashed her creepy, thin smile. "Ara, is that so? Well, nice to meet you all. Especially you, Natsuki Subaru."
Subaru held his breath when Elsa said his name. Something inside of him screamed to get as far away as possible from the lady, but he couldn't abandon Felt when she finally was going to get her payday.
Noticing Subaru's discomfort, Felt ushered for Elsa to come inside and sit at the wooden table adjacent to Old Man Rom's bar. Felt took her seat and looked at Subaru. She tapped on a nearby chair, beckoning Subaru to sit next to her, much to his delight. The two took their seats across from Elsa at the head of the table while Old Man Rom stood in between everyone at the middle of the table.
"Now, onta business, Miss Elsa! Let's start the negotiations."
Elsa took a sip of the watered-down milk that Old Man Rom placed near her seat. She once again licked her lips, only this time it was to rid the film of milk on her face.
"Gladly… But, I do believe I have the right to know more about who I'll be negotiating against. After all, my employer gave me strict orders to come back with the insignia… and I don't plan on failing."
Subaru was confused. "Insignia?" he wondered.
Felt, also confused, asked, "Huh, whaddya mean, Miss Elsa? There's no one else here to negotiate for it… It's just you."
Ignoring Felt, Elsa stared at Subaru. "What do you intend to do with that insignia should you outbid me?"
"Uh, nothing?" Subaru pointed his index finger up, matter-of-factly. "Firstly, I don't know what you're talking about. Like at all. I don't have any need for some noble's insignia, trust me. Secondly, I'm broke! The last thing I'd be spending my money on if I had any is some piece of jewelry. I'm not sure why you want it, but I do know that Felt needs this deal to come through so I don't intend on getting in the way."
"Hmm? Is that so… It seems I was mistaken, then."
Felt was starting to get annoyed. "Enough with the pleasantries! I just wanna make my profit so what's your offer, Miss Elsa! I ain't takin' less than what it was worth to retrieve. Savin' Subaru's butt was practically worth another 30 holy coins on top of what ya owe me for, 'cause of how annoyin' he was!"
Old Man Rom snickered while Subaru pouted, crying out, "Hey!"
Elsa hadn't stopped smiling the moment she walked inside the loot house. Subaru thought this was creepy, but his thoughts were interrupted when Elsa took a bag of coins from in between her cleavage and plopped it on the table. "These are the holy coins my employer sent with me with."
"What price is your master putting on it?" Old Man Rom seemed to echo Felt's impatience. Subaru posited that they were both the kind of people to get down to business as quickly as possible.
"Hmm, ten exactly."
Felt's crimson eyes widened at the bag of coins. Subaru knew she never had seen anywhere close to that amount of money before, and it clearly showed on her face. As if confirming that she wasn't dreaming, Felt cautiously asked, "Ten… holy coins?"
Her smile unchanging, Elsa confirmed that, indeed, ten holy coins were on the table.
Felt whispered, "Holy shit, I did it…" More loudly, she spoke, "Holy shit! Gramps, I did it! We're gonna get out!" Tears filled Felt's eyes as the years of hardship and danger finally had a chance of disappearing. Never again would she be forced to do the nefarious in order to ward off selling her body. Jumping up and down as tears streamed down her face, she yelled, "Deal, lady, deal! You have a fuckin' deal!"
Old Man Rom seemed pleased, "Felt-chan, y'make this old man proud." Subaru swore that he even saw the smallest tear well up in the giant's eyes.
Subaru, meanwhile, was relieved that the blonde had made out with such a good deal. After experiencing the den that Felt "lived" in for himself, he, more than anything, wanted her to have a better life. If Subaru couldn't stand being at the den for just a few minutes, he could barely imagine how difficult it was for Felt to live there for years.
He doubled down on his earlier resolve at the loot house. He would save her no matter what. The cellphone was only the first step. He didn't know how exactly, but he'd become her hero. If only he was as powerful as the protagonists in isekai manga…
Seeing Felt jump up and down, pumping her fist in celebration, Subaru felt another emotion besides relief and envy. A deep thumping erupted in his chest. It was similar to when his heart pounded quickly from anxiety whenever he went to school. Only this feeling was more pleasant. Much more pleasant. Despite the girl's brash attitude, he appreciated her company so far. Actually, he found her to be quite adorable. Her golden hair, her small nose, petite frame, and, of course, her deep crimson eyes all enraptured Subaru. Subaru couldn't stifle the blush on his face as he looked at Felt.
"Well, it seems my employer didn't underpay after all. At any rate, before we continue Felt-chan, would you please be a dear and hand over the insignia?"
Felt, who was still cheering, barely registered Elsa's request. "Huh? Oh yeah, sure! Let me just get it from my hidin' spot."
Felt reached down her small black top and started fishing around for something. Subaru, of course, immediately noticed this and instinctively turned away, blushing even deeper. Incredulously, he asked, "Uh, Felt, what the hell are you doing?"
"What! It's the safest spot I've got! Nobody in all of Lugunica would ever get their hands on it this way... Especially not you!"
Old Man Rom shot a grimace at Subaru that would make even the finest knights shudder.
"Anyway… here it is!" In her hand, Felt held a dark violet ornament with an intricate golden trim. The golden trim created a beautiful contrast on the insignia that seemed to be in the design of a winged dragon of some kind. In the center lay a single red jewel. Subaru wondered if it was a ruby, but the way the gem was brightly glowing in Felt's hand was much too unnatural to be any stone that he was familiar with back on Earth.
Felt slid the insignia down the wooden table to Elsa. "Here ya are, Miss Elsa. I don't know why it's worth so much to ya and your employer, but honestly, I don't really care as long as I get my profit."
Subaru, feeling a sense of relief from the completed exchange, closed his eyes and let out a big sigh. "Damn… Now I can finally relax for a fucking second. It's been nothing but mayhem since I got here!"
Unfortunately, fate did not intend to let Subaru relax. Right before Elsa picked up the insignia, the door to the loot house was kicked open. A beautiful, young woman with long silver hair stood in the doorway. She was wearing an intricate white and purple trimmed top and short skirt and bore a single, emerald-like pendant around her slender neck.
With open palms pointed toward them. two icicles materialized from thin air, quivering as if pent up with a ridiculous amount of energy.
"Stop, thieves! Give me back my insignia!"
Subaru, Felt, and Old Man Rom were clearly surprised, but Elsa was unfazed. It was almost as if she was expecting the young woman to barge in. Smiling, Elsa tenderly looked at Felt and Subaru. "Ah, I see. So you're with them, then."
Before Felt and Subaru could tell what was going on, Elsa practically teleported in front of Old Man Rom, plunging an ornate black dagger into his chest. Blood spurted onto the negotiating table as Rom crashed down to the floor. His blood entirely coated Elsa's face and hands.
Looking at her stained fingers, Elsa brought her fingers to her mouth. She sucked every drop of blood that stained them. Licking her lips, she seemed grateful. "Thank you for that nice glass of milk, though, I much prefer this."
Felt's eyes darkened in horror. "H-how dare you put your filthy hands on Gramps, you bitch!" Felt pulled her knife out as the silver-haired girl began shooting icicles at Elsa. A small, floating cat was behind, assisting the girl, shooting yellow crystals.
Subaru remained seated, paralyzed. He nearly regressed to an infant-like state, unsure if he witnessed Old Man Rom's death or not.
"S-she's drank his blood. He's dead. The silver-haired girl is going to die. I'm going to die. Felt's going to die… Felt…"
The golden-haired crimson-eyed girl was going to die if he didn't do something. He had to save her. After all, he just resolved to save the girl that saved him back in the alleyway. Most importantly, though, they'd become friends.
He thought back to Felt's introduction to him, "This is my friend… Natsuki Subaru." Letting her die was not an option.
But what could he do? He was weak, powerless. How could he save her if he couldn't even save himself back in that alleyway?
Subaru desperately searched for an answer as the fighting continued in the background. Felt had been knocked down on the floor and the silver-haired girl and her floating cat were losing ground. He knew that time was running out.
Unfortunately, Subaru's mind was too foggy from anxiety to come up with a plan. Instead, he decided the only thing he could do was improvise in order to buy more time.
Standing up, Subaru yelled at the top of his lungs, "Reinhard! I still wanna see that mansion of yours, so hurry the hell up and find me!" He shifted his attention to Elsa, pointing a finger at her. He was scared beyond belief, but still managed to spit out his vitriol for the black-haired woman. "As for you, psychopath bitch, don't you lay a fucking finger on Felt!"
Still on the ground, Felt yelled at him with worry and anger. "Idiot! You'll die!"
Subaru ignored her. No matter what happened, he refused to die here. He etched that refusal deep into his soul, rejecting the possibility of leaving Felt, Reinhard, and Old Man Rom behind. He'd already abandoned his parents. He'll never leave behind anyone he cares about again.
Defiant, Subaru shot a quick thumbs up and flashed Felt a small smile. "Don't worry, Felt! I'm not planning on dying today."
Reaffirming his desires, Subaru summoned all of his courage and charged Elsa with a piece of broken glass from his watered-down milk.
"Ara? Seems you have more courage than I thought. Well done, it'll make seeing your bowels so much sweeter."
Elsa turned towards him and closed the distance between them in under a second. Subaru, having no time to react, could only brace himself for the knife's impact.
However, the knife's impact never came. Instead, it bounced off of Subaru's stomach as if it had slammed into solid rock. Visibly confused, Elsa swung again. This time, she aimed for his neck, but once again, the knife failed to pierce through Subaru's skin.
"Whoa! Huh? That must be a weaker knife than I thought, lady!"
Elsa smiled at Subaru. "Hmm? I'm surprised. Rarely do I underestimate my opponents." For the first time since he'd been summoned, Subaru felt like he finally started to have some control over a situation.
Elsa, meanwhile, was quite irritated; she still hadn't seen Subaru's bowels yet. Once again she lunged at Subaru. However, this time, he felt a sharp pain radiating through his heart. It was as if thousands of hot needles pierced his heart simultaneously. Whatever had been protecting his body before had faded.
As a result, instead of the knife bouncing off of his skin harmlessly, Elsa managed to plunge her knife deeply into his bowels, creating a wide gash. Crimson blood began to pour out of Subaru's stomach at a ridiculous rate, while a small section of his intestines was slightly hanging out of the gash. Subaru's knees buckled and he fell to the ground near Felt, vomiting up the contents of his stomach.
The pain was too much. "It hurts! It hurts! It hurts! It hurts!"
The last thing Subaru saw was a red-headed man bust through the loot house door.
Felt looked on in horror as Subaru collapsed to the floor, staining it with blood. Sure, she had only met him today, but the young man still put his life on the line for her and her Gramps. Most importantly, he had seen her as a person, not just as another slum rat…
Unfortunately, Felt herself was slightly incapacitated as Elsa stabbed her thigh just a few minutes ago. Still, she persevered. The boy… her friend, Subaru, was bleeding out on the floor because he foolishly tried to save her. He was weak. He had no power. But, he still tried to save her. Why did he save her?
She couldn't help but wonder how Subaru had survived Elsa's first two assaults. "How'd that knife bounce off of Subaru's skin like it was nothing?" She knew that Subaru and Rom wouldn't survive if a healer didn't come quickly.
Thankfully, her "buyer" was now distracted by the man just bust down the door, the half-elf, and her floating cat.
"Emilia-sama, Felt-san, please step away from this villain."
Felt immediately knew who the regal man was. "Reinhard-sama…"
"Ara, it seems like I'll get the pleasure of fighting the Sword Saint. Rarely do I get the opportunity to see such loved bowels." Elsa licked her lips. "Mmm, I'm looking forward to playing with them."
Reinhard's stoic expression remains unchanged. "It seems like I don't need to introduce myself. Though, to be honest, that nickname is a bit much for me. I don't know how much help my modest strength can be to my friend Subaru and these young ladies, but if you wish to resort to extreme measures, let me warn you. As a knight... I will have to fight back."
"Now, do you honestly expect a starving predator like myself to resist the temptation of such delectable prey?
Reinhard reached for a rusty sword leaning against the loot house bar. "It appears I won't be using the Dragon Sword today."
"Ah, a pity. The bowel hunter, Elsa Grainhert, would love to play with your insides…"
"The Sword Saint, Reinhard van Astrea. Face justice."
Elsa rushed towards Reinhard with two knives, aiming to stab him in the neck. However, Reinhard was too fast. He swung the rusty blade onto Elsa, dissolving the world into blue flame. There was an explosion, forcing Felt and the silver-haired girl to keep their eyes shut.
When Felt opened them, Elsa was gone. Only Reinhard and the silver-haired girl remained. The floating cat seemingly disappeared during the commotion. But, that wasn't important to Felt right now.
"Gramps! Subaru! Shit, this fuckin' insignia isn't worth the price it demanded so far…" She turned to the girl clad in silver and white.
"Lady… I'm sorry for stealin' your insignia. I never realized how serious it'd be and it's brought me nothin' but trouble! Just get the fuckin' thing out of my sight! But first… please, Reinhard-sama, Lady-sama! Help Subaru and the old man before it's too late!"
The silver-haired half-elf, who Reinhard called Emilia, asked Felt, "So this old man is part of your family, I take it?"
"Y-Yeah, something like that, I guess. Old Man Rom's the only person I have in this world. I suppose he's like my grandpa."
"I see. I only have one family member, too. He's always asleep at the most important moments, though. 'Course, I wouldn't say that out loud when he's awake. I'd never hear the end of it. At any rate, I'll do my best to stabilize them. Unfortunately, I can't guarantee anything given the severity of their conditions, though…"
Felt looked sullen but nodded. "Subaru… you idiot." She noticed his blood pooling on the dark wood floor.
Reinhard noticed the bloodied Subaru too. He grimaced. "Hang in there, my friend…" Turning towards Emilia, Reinhard expressed his gratitude, "Thank you, Emilia-sama. Please do your best to heal them while I leave momentarily to fetch Felix."
"Mhmm. I can't let a debt go unpaid. That boy bought us time, after all. With that in mind, I suppose I shouldn't let them get arrested for my sake. Reinhard, I'd be glad to take the boy home as a guest, at least while he's healing. Besides, I need to obtain as much information as possible about the situation. As for the girl and the Old Man… what will become of them?
Reinhard shifted his weight, turning to the small blonde. "In an official capacity, I cannot overlook what they've done here." He paused for a moment. With a regal smile, he continued, "However, as luck would have it, I just so happen to be off-duty today."
Emilia chuckled, "Well, aren't you a bad knight? At any rate, young lady, please return what you stole."
Complying, Felt reached for the insignia. "If it's so important, Emilia-sama, I suggest you keep it hidden so no one can steal it again."
"I appreciate the advice, though, it's a little strange to hear it from you."
Meanwhile, Reinhard moved towards the loot house entrance to retrieve Felix, but before he could leave, he noticed the insignia's crystal was glowing a bright red as Felt held it. Gasping, he sprinted towards Felt, tightly grabbing her arm.
Felt yelled, "What're you doing? Hey! You're hurting me! Let go of my arm!"
Reinhard looked mortified. "This can't be possible! What's your name?"
"Huh? It's Felt, why do you...? Family name? Look, I don't have anything fancy like a family name. Just let me go and get Subaru help!"
"Emilia-sama, I'm afraid I won't be able to keep my promise to you at this time. I'll be taking this girl with me for further questioning.
"May I ask you why? If it's just for stealing my insignia, then…"
Reinhard shook his head. "That theft alone is no small crime, certainly. But if I overlook what's unfolding before me at this moment, I know it would be the greatest crime of them all. I'll need you to come along with me. I'm sorry, but I simply can't allow you to refuse."
"Get over yourself! I'm not leaving without Gramps or Subaru!"
Judging from the regret in Reinhard's pale blue eyes, Felt knew that her request would likely go unheeded. Subaru would be taken back to Emilia's mansion and Old Man Rom would remain in the slums. She had no idea where she'd end up herself…
But, just before Reinhard replied, there was a faint voice that came from nearby.
"F-Felt… Thank God... You're okay." After verifying Felt was okay, Subaru's eyes went dark.
Darkness. Everything in his field of vision was darkness. He, alone with his thoughts, didn't know where he was or why he was there. He didn't even have a body. Only his soul remained.
He could have been in the darkness for minutes or millennia. it didn't matter, for there was no such thing as time. Nothing else existed save the concept of thought itself.
Yet, in this infinite darkness, one shadow began to separate itself. A shadow, unlike the boy or the rest of the darkness, possessed more than mere thought. It had a consciousness, a body, and mind… feelings. Intense feelings.
Wrath. Kindness. Hatred. Sadness. Joy. Terror.
These feelings reached the boy and consumed him. His thoughts became wrathful, kind, hateful, sad, joyous, terrible.
Yet the shadow had begun to emit another emotion; an emotion that overrode all others. Love.
It was not a pure sort of love. It was a violating love. A love that forced itself into the boy's consciousness, body, and mind. Over and over again, the shadow's love etched itself onto the boy's soul. His own thoughts became full of love.
But his loving thoughts were not towards the shadow. They were for another.
For who? He didn't know. He couldn't know. There was only the shadow and him. No one else existed. Did they?
Noticing the boy's thoughts, the shadow stopped. It began to take shape into a young woman with flowing, silver hair. She approached the small bubble of darkness that made up the boy.
A new emotion reached him. It was envy. An impossibly deep, infinite envy. Toxic envy, hateful envy, obsessive envy, sick envy, regretful envy.
She spoke.
"I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you."
Her words penetrated his soul. While the boy without a body had no physical sensations, it would have felt as if a jagged knife was repeatedly stabbing his two open eyes. She repeated herself over and over and over again.
Yet, still, the boy's thoughts of love were not for the shadow. They remained steadfast. They would not change. They could never change.
The shadow, desperate, begged him.
"Love me. Love me. Love me. Love me. Love me. Love me. Love me. Love me."
"Subaru, love me."
The formless boy had no mouth to reject her. But still, he mustered all of the strength in his being. It took everything he had, but he managed to construct a single word from the shadows.
"No."
Subaru woke up drenched in cold sweat. He had just awoken from a nightmare that felt like it spanned years and years. He was surprised it was even possible for him to wake up from such a terrible dream, yet here he was. Despite being safe, the memory of the shadow would never leave him. Her feelings of "love" traumatized him. Never again did he want to meet this shadow, even if she wasn't real.
Realizing he wasn't in immediate danger, Subaru rubbed his eyes and stretched his legs. Where the hell was he? He seemed to be in a very comfortable bed. "Huh? Where the hell am I now? I'm sick of opening my eyes just to find myself in strange, unfamiliar places."
Looking around, Subaru examined the red, ornate room he was in. The furniture was all velvet with small crests adorning them. He couldn't make out what the writing on the crests meant, though. There was also a beautiful golden chandelier directly above him. Lastly, there was a girl with crimson eyes and beautiful golden hair, fast asleep in a small chair right next to his bedside–
"Eh?! F-Felt! Why are you so close!"
Felt didn't respond. In fact, she didn't move a muscle. Subaru surmised that based on her snoring and the slightly ridiculous position she was in, she must have been in a deep sleep. Despite her funny sleeping position, Subaru still thought she was gorgeous. Her lips were a full, natural rouge color. Even though she'd be living on the streets her whole life, her skin was still fair and healthy. He couldn't help but blush at the sleeping girl. Subaru had only felt similar when reading about his favorite waifus and characters back in Japan, but this was different. Whereas in Japan, it was a purely physical infatuation, he now felt a mental longing towards the girl. He wanted to be close to her and…
Subaru was interrupted when he heard a knock on the white door in his room. A knightly man with red hair and a kind face– no, Reinhard, proceeded to enter. He seemed relieved.
He signed, "Ah, Subaru, my friend! You're awake, thank goodness!"
"Reinhard! Wh-where am I? What happened to Elsa? Why is Felt asleep on a chair next to me?"
"Well, it's a bit complicated… where should I begin?"
A/N: That does it for Chapter 3! Yep, Subaru's Authority of Envy manifested differently this time!
Special shout out to everyone on FF, Reddit, and AO3 who told me to take it easy and enjoy the writing process. This chapter was unusually difficult and time consuming for me to write, so I'm glad I took the time and didn't get burnt out.
Also, thank you to everybody who reviewed the last chapter! I read each review and honestly your kindness and interest in the story is what keeps me writing.
Lastly, leave a review and let me know what your thoughts and what you think so far!
Anyway, I truly hope you all enjoyed :)
See you all for Chapter 4, it's gonna be crazy! –susintentions
