"NOT YOUR BURDEN TO BEAR"
The voice echoed throughout the pitch black void until the voice reached a mirror. Each word slammed into the mirror causing it to shatter. Each shard of glass fell to the ground as timed slowed, revealing events of unfathomable horrors.
The first shard showed Subaru clutching his stomach, dead on the floor while holding a womens hand. The Second showed a similar view except he wasnt holding a womens hand, but instead staring lifelessy at another with pure ecstacy in her eyes. The Third showed him with a knife in his back with 3 thugs standing over him in a panic.
Before the Forth could reveal another horrifying fate, the 3 shards sped up and hit the ground all at once and shatterd into a million pieces.
"Ghk-AHHHH!!"
Subaru bolted out of his dream with a cold sweat on his face. He was looking directly in front of him with hazy vision, trying to comprehend what he just saw. Once he got his bearings he noticed the voice that's been calling his name for the past ten seconds while clutching his hand. He looked to his right and a saw a women with unkempt yet somehow smooth silver hair and amythest blue eyes staring at him with worry and dread on her face.
Emilia was shocked out of her sleep once she heard Subaru's screams of agony. She had been sitting all night by his side while holding his hand much to pucks dismay. Once she dozed off she had hoped that her savior would wake up in peace and she could finally get to know who this mysterious boy truly was.
All those plans went out the window once she saw the pure terror on his face.
"E-Emilia?"
Emilia cupped his face with her right hand and looked directly into his frightened eyes
"Yes Subaru... It's me." She looked at him the softest eyes possible. She had a million questions right now but now wasn't the time. He needed to be comforted not questioned so she tried her best to change the atmosphere.
"I'll be honest I wasn't expecting you to jump out of bed like that, you were sleeping like a baby earlier." She said it with a teasing tone hoping to lifts his spirts.
Subaru grimaced at the thought of his savior comparing him to a child. But then furrowed his eyebrows in confusion as that statement just registered for him.
"Wait earlier? how long were you in here?"
Emilia had no immediate response for this. Frankly anyone would be disgusted to know that a women with the exact appearance of the jealous witch was watching them sleep. But alas lying was not her forte and any attempts of it would immediately be seen through. She only had one option, the truth.
"T-The whole night...Look I'm sorry I know it's weird but I was reeeeeally worried about you alright? You blacked out on me and you almost died and you got hurt because of me and you didn't even get a proper reward and and-"
"OK OK I get it alright sheesh. I'm sorry I had you so worried like that. Last thing I want is you freaking out over me."
It wasn't the answer she expected but it did anger her. He treated his near death experience as if it was trivial. Putting herself above his own problems despite only knowing her for over a day. He had no way of knowing it but he had essentially slapped the girl in the face for that comment. All her efforts into saving the boy and he treats himself like this? unacceptable.
"Subaru you freaking- ugh. Look I appreciate the sentiment but I'd rather hear a thank you rather than an apology..."Ohkay"?"
"I-I...your right. Thank you Em-san."
Emilas ears perked up at the new nicknames.
"Em-san?"
"W-Well I kinda wanted to give a proper nickname since I went through soooooo much trouble just to get your name. If it's too personal I'll change it up if you want?"
"NO! I mean... no it's fine. I just... don't get alot nicknames so it suprised me is all."
"Really? Your friends not to big on nicknames or something?"
"Well I'd kinda need friends to begin with y'know?"
Subaru looked at her like she just grew a second head after saying that.
"Ok now your just taking a piss. No way someone as beautiful as you has trouble making friends." He said this with clear skepticism.
Emilia saw it as him simply teasing her again. It's common knowledge that her resemblance to the witch would have her ostracized, related or not. How ignorant would one have to be to not understand this?
"E-Enough with the jokes jeez. Of course I wouldn't have any friends... you see how I look."
'Her looks? I mean she is probably the most gorgeous woman I've ever met but something tells me her not having friends isn't because there intimidated by her looks. Im guessing this has to do with that Half-elf thing from yesterday?'
"Yeah you mentioned that earlier. About how being a half elf is like a curse or something? care to elaborate?"
Now it was the Half-elfs turn to be shocked.
'H-He really dosen't know?'
"You really don't know? Even children know about the jealous witch. Well the short and sweet version of it is that a silver haired half-elf destroyed half of the world 400 years ago, causing decimation, famine, and the rise of dozens of monsters hellbent on eradicating the rest of the world."
After that VERY summarized form of events, Subaru took his hand to his chin and processed what he just heard.
"hmm gotta say not a very nice person. Definitely getting coal from Santa every year. But what's that got to do with you exactly?"
Upon hearing that the girls patience started run dry. Why was this so hard to understand!?
"Have you not been listening!? I'm the exact description of the witch! THE LITERAL DEVIL!!" She roared the last part with seething hatred. Weither it was out frustration or self loathing neither of them knew.
"Ok sure but were you around 400 years ago?"
"Well no but-"
"And were you the one that did all those terrible things?"
"OF COURSE NOT!"
"Then what's the problem here. Ok ya look like some Eldritch monster 4 centurys ago big deal."
Emilia had no retort for that. She was in disbelief after hearing those words. NO ONE, not even Puck, had said that to her yet objectively speaking it made complete sense.
"You can't just- I mean just cause I didn't- alright I wasn't the one that did all that but-"
"But nothing. You did nothing wrong. Your just a victim of circumstance. If the world wants to chastate you for something you have no control over then they can all piss off."
At this point she was slack jawed. Her mind haulted trying to process what he just said. It defied all her logic, everything she thought she understood about her position. Everything that defined her was flipped upside by the boys word.
"Your an amazing person, no doubt about that. I'm still not sure why I was brought here or what my purpose is but if my new life starts with me being friends with a badass mage then I'll gladly take the red pill."
Emilia was a little confused with the last part of his statement but she got the overall message. While her mind was haulted her body reacted in a way neither of them expected too. Tears started to form in her eyes uncontrollably.
"*Sniff Sorry I promise you I don't do this very often. I don't know why I end up crying around you all the time"
"Yeah I'll admit I was starting to worry that my secret power was making girls cry or something!"
"Hehe you dunderhead there's no magic for that!"
"Hehe who says dunderhead nowadays?"
They had reached an impasse at this point so Subaru was the first to ask one of the bigger questions plaguing his mind sense waking up.
"Come to think of it where am I right now?"
"Oh right! *Ehem your currently in my benefactors estate. Roswaal L Mathers was kind enough to let you stay here till you recovered although im sure he'll let you stay aslong as you like."
As she said this a cheeky grin appeared on Subarus face.
"Stay as long as I want huh. Is that his words or yours hmm~?"
Emilia was able to read between the lines and while she didn't understand the meaning, she knew that he was implying some sort of intimacy. The Half-elf was beyond embarrassed at the prospect.
"H-His of course! I gain nothing from having you stay here! I've already repayed my dept of you saving me so now we're even! Don't expect special treatment from me just because were... f-friends."
'She's so easy to read. Honestly it should be illegal to be this cute!!'
"A-anyways now that your up we'll be having a meeting to discuss what transpired the other day. Feel free to browse the mansion!" She said this as fast as possible with beet red ears and proceeded to sprint-walk towards the door at record speed.
*Slam*
And she was gone.
'Damn she's so cute! What did it I ever do to deserve this kinda treatment?'
As he thought this, Subaru got up from the bed with gusto and proceeded to stretch his legs. The carpet on his bare feet felt like heaven to his very sore feet from walking across an entire capital yesterday. he walked across his room and opened the door to reveal an almost never ending hallway.
'Damn she's fast. It was only a couple pf seconds between her bolting and me opening the door and she marched this long ass hallway in that timeframe!? I wonder if super human stuff like this is common or is Em-san just built different?'
He proceeded to walk down the seemingly neverending hallway to see what his new life had in store for him. Alone with his thoughts, the vidid dreams he had echoed in his mind as he tried to decipher what the hell all that was.
'Ok what the in the Freddy Kruger FUCK was that?! The mirror, the shards, those... I don't even know what those were. That was more than a dream. The pain feels like a fleeting nightmare now but when I first woke up... That was more than a dream that's for damn sure. It all felt so real, like I was living it, or I guess dying in it. And then there was that voice, who was that? It sounded kinda like Emilia but... off. It felt like 2 people talking at the same time and they gave off entirely different vibes. One sounded sad and the other one sounded...angry? Happy? No like it had lost something and was pleading to have it back, it was...posseive.'
He countined to walk and walk across the unfamiliar hallways with no real destination. Once he started to bring himself out his thoughts, he started to noticed something odd with the mansion.
' Ok I've been walking for damn near 10 minutes and I've seen that same picture over and over again. Hah, winding Hallways, of course! I'm not a novice when it comes to these things! If my luck hasn't run out after summoning redhead yesterday then my instincts are telling me that...'
As he thought this last statement he looked to the double doors on his right and grabbed both doorknobs.
'THIS IS IT!'
He opened both doors with enthusiasm and was met with an ever expanding library. It was jaw dropping how many books were in here and while he was no stranger to wide scale library's, this was his first time seeing one with such a medieval and fantasy type vibe to it.
"W-Wow"
"You barge into someone else's room and all you can do is gawke at its interior without even giving a proper introduction? Had I not already been informed of your residency here I would've thrown you out already I suppose."
He looked down from the ever enchanting library and was met with someone who's cuteness overshadowed the Library's beauty in a heartbeat. A little girl with blonde spiraling twin tails that reached down to her waist was the first thing he noticed. The second was the frivolous pink dress that was extenuated with a comedically large bow-tie on her left hip. The third and most odd description of her was the pink butterflys within her blue pupils.
He was so mesmerized with this otherworldly appearance that he just looked at her for a solid ten secounds. The little girl was not amused as her eyebrows furrowed and she began to raise her hand.
"Hmph if you don't even have the common decency to introduce yourself then your existence is a waste of my time in fact."
Her hand started to form dark winds of pressure with the intent of blowing the intruder away but before she did, Subaru finally came out of his stupor.
"W-wait wait wait wait wait! I'm sorry for that its just I was so memoriesd by all of... well this"
"Hmm I suppose that's natural given that this is one of the most grand Library's across lugunica if not the 4 great nations. Many have come here seeking knowledge on various matters. Have you come to do the same in fact?"
"Uuh considering I had no idea this place existed till a couple seconds ago that's wasn't the first thing that came to mind. I was kinda expecting to be brought outside after escaping that looping corridor so..."
"You expect me to believe that you just barged into my domain with no intention to do so? My entrance is able to connect to any door within the Mathers domain and somehow you just guessed that this was the right one in fact?"
"Well when you put it like that I guess that those sound pretty intentn- WAIT YOU CAN MOVE THIS LIBRARY!?"
"Ugh Lower your voice you devil. Yes its an advanced form of yin magic that allows me to traverse anywhere across the mansion I suppose, very useful for dealing with suspicious individuals."
The young lady said the last part with an intimidating glare that went completely over Subarus head. He was far to enamored with the concept of teleportation magic that you could practically smell the excitement off of him. He darted towards the girl and she took an immediate stance expecting him to attack but what he did instead... she was not prepared for in the slightest.
"...Thats...so...FREAKING COOL!! HOW THOSE IT WORK!? IS IT A SORT OF MANA ABSORPTION THING LIKE HOW EM-SAN THOSE? DO YOU NEED TO THINK ABOUT THE DESTINATION BEFORE HAND OR IS IT SORTA RANDOM? EITHER WAY IS COOL BUT THOSE IT ONLY WORK ON DOORS OR CAN YOU TELEPORT YOURSELF AS WELL?! MAN IM DYING TO TRY THAT OU-"
"Enough of your dribble I suppose!"
"Eh- GUWA!!"
The twin tailed girls patience ran out after the bombardment of questions. She took her hand and proceeded to push him with an invisible force. Blasting him out of the twin doors.
*bam*
"Hmph, barging into someone's room and grasping at any knowledge he can find, the nerve of him."
As she said this her eyes softened ever so slightly.
"That look in his eyes... the last time I've seen someone light up at the prospect of learning like that was..."
Her eyes softened further as she looked at a slightly ominous black blook
"Could he be?"
"Damn that lolis got a couple of tricks up her sleeve. Miiiightve went a little overboard with the questions but did she seriously have to throw me across the floor?!"
"Guest-sama if you could kindly get up from that sorry position. I would hate to have to scrub that area of the floor from foreign containments."
"Jesus you make me sound like I'm an ali-"
His breath caught in his throat as he locked eyes with the person that was berating him. A stunning pink haired maid with bangs covering her left eye is what his own eye's settled on. Her outfit was a mixture of black and white that seemed to be tailored specifically for her. Her gaze was a look of overall indifference as she stared at the less than steller state of the boy in front of her.
"B-beautiful"
The words came out his mouth before he even realized he said them and he immediately cringed for saying something so outlandish, and to a stranger no less. The maid's eyes widend for a split second and then immediately shifted back into there neutral look.
"Guest-sama please try to keep your lustful urges in check. I would hate to have to remove parts of you in self-defense."
"Damn that's harsh! But I can't blame you sense that was pretty much the worst first impression I could've possibly made." As he said this he lifted himself up and was now towering over the maid
"Hmph atleast you have an once of self awareness. I can excuse your lecherous comment just this once as it is only natural that you would fall victim to my charms."
"I would be vomiting at how high your hubris is but it would kinda fall flat considering what I said earlier huh?"
"Heh right you are guest-sama, now come. Roswaal-Sama and Emilia-sama are expecting you. Try not to make a fool out of yourself though I doubt thats something you'll be able to control."
"Damn, your fun." He said this with clear sarcasm
The room housed a group of people that Emilia was expecting for this meeting. Roswaal, her benefactor who was seated at the very end of the table. His demeanor seemed awfully serious despite the strange clown outfit and makeup. He had an ever present smile adorned on his lips and while Emilia never saw any problems with it previously, after her recent "experience" with a sadistic assassin the Half-elf couldn't help but shiver every now and then from it. All in all the man was an enigma however he wasn't the strangest person here as Emilia DID NOT expect to find the great spirt of yin sitting just across from her.
Emila had seen the spirit from time to time since arriving at the Mansion but it was always on accident via her door crossing or so if she wanted to talk to puck. But even then she almost never left her library so the fact that she was here right now and didn't reach out for puck left her very confused but somewhat hopeful that they could have an actual conversation for once.
Speaking of puck he was sort of impassive at the moment. Usually puck would start a conversation when things were noticeably silent but he wasn't doing that this time for some reason. He had the same reassuring presence as usual but his silence was not helping Emilas ever-growing anxiety at all.
And lastly we have the blue haired maid standing next to the Roswaal. Not much to say on her aside from the fact that she looks identical to Ram.
"Um h-hi beatrice, it's rare to see you outside the library."
"It's none of your concern Half-elf, I simply came her to inspect are new guest."
As the great spirt said this Roswaals eyes lid up and his smile grew even further.
"My myyyyyyy beatrice for you to show such iiiiiiiinterest with a guest here is quiiiiiite unexpected"
"Do you consider him a threat?" He asked this question without his usual demeanor that didn't go unnoticed by anyone present.
"That remains to be seen clown but from what I've seen from the boy so far, he is an improper fool with an insatiable thirst for knowledge that if left unchecked will get him into trouble."
Once she said this Emilia jumped out of her seat with a scowl on her face.
"H-hey that's not fair! Subaru may be eccentric at times but he isn't a fool and he most CERTAINLY isn't dangerous!"
Both great spirts were suprised at Emilas outburst but Roswaals smile immediately came back upon hearing it.
"It seems our dear Subaru-kuuuuun has left quite the impression on you. You've told me of the maaaaaan's accolades yesterday but I can't help but nooootiiiice a bit of bias in your statements towards him."
"Its not bias if it's the truth. Subaru he... he's down alot for me..."
"I see... well we'll just have to judge him for ourselves now won't weeeee beatrice?"
"Hmph."
Once the conversation was over the 5 sat in relative silence until the Half-elfs ears caught the sound of an all to familiar voice coming closer to the door. Her enthusiasm skyrocketed once the voice grew closer and closer towards the door.
"Barusu do you honestly expect me to believe that you know an entirely different language?"
"Believe whatever you want Ram. I'm telling ya I'm not illiterate I just don't speak the same language."
"So you delude yourself into believing that you created a different language rather then accepting the fact that your simply uneducated. The lengths you go to to keep the last remnants of your pride is truly astounding."
"FINE! I'll prove you wrong by writing a whole book of stuff from my homeland IN MY LANGUAGE!"
"Even if you were serious it would only be seen as random scribbles and an overall waste of time for everyone involved."
"AAAAHHH THERES JUST NO WINNING WITH YOU!!"
"Heh" Smugness was radiating off her like an aura at this point.
"Why you little-" Before he could throw his own jab at Ram. Said maid had opened the door to reveal his savior, the loli, the great spirit, a woman that looked identical to Ram, and a...clown? All sitting across a long table with all of them starring at the newcomer with different emotions.
"Subaru! It's so good to see to see you!"
Emilia was the first to address the boy and she did so with much more vigor than she intended. To Roswaal It only further cemented the bias she had towards the boy. The 2 great spirts slighty cringed at the display of hypocrisy meanwhile said Half-elf didnt even realize what she had done as she was entirely focused on Subaru at the moment.
"H-hey Em-san! Glad to know I'm missed despite me literally seeing you 20 mintues ago." Subarus eyes darted around the room trying to make contact with literally anything else except the sparking eyes that radiated in front of him. Her eyes looked liked jewels the way they shined infront of him and it was taking every once of willpower for him not to fall in love right then and there.
"Hehe I guess you've gotta point it's just... this the first time I've seen you without something urgent going on. I mean you woke up from a panic attack and all."
"Hey like I said it was just a bad dream alright. Now why was I called here? I doubt the loli over theres the one that called me."
"I know not what that term means but if it's insulting in any way you'll pay dearly in fact."
"Calm your drills Trixie, less of an insult and more of an observation."
"And now you address me with ANOTHER foolish name! Have you any decorum whatsoever devil!?"
"HAH and this coming from the oh-so-gracious loli that blasted me into a wall earlier."
"YOU WHAT!? Beatrice why would you do that!? Subaru are you alright!?"
"Hmph, it's his fault for berating me with all those idiotic questions in fact!"
"Ok 1 rude, and 2 YES I'm fine Em-san really."
""Fine" is a relative term for an idiot such as Barusu."
"ignore her."
"heh."
"Mmmmm... "Ohkay", if you say so Subaru."
"I gotta teach you how to say that word properly. Anyways why am I here again?"
"Well it waaaaas to get you properly aquatieeeeed with the other residents but I see you've already done that yourself, minus Reeeeeem."
Subaru locked eyes with the blue maid standing beside Roswaal. Once he did a chill ran up his spine.
Emilia noticed it as well and looked between Subaru and the maid to see what had him so spooked. Once she sat her eyes on the maid however she saw nothing out of the ordinary. It didn't ease her worries by any means but whatever it was it probably didn't have anything to do with the maid and more so Subaru himself.
'I'll have to ask him about it later and see if he's alright. Od knows I'm not after yesterday.'
Meanwhile Subaru was doing mental gymnastics trying to figure out if he just imagined that bone chilling glare from the maid.
'What's up with her? She seems cold just like her sister but not in the casual way. She seems almost... hostile.'
"...Right and I'm guessing your Roswaal? Funny how Em-san and Ram gave you almost opposite descriptions yet you don't really fit either of them."
"Oooooohhh and how would you describe me Subaru-kuuuuun?"
"I'll tell ya later. Kinda like my head resting on my shoulders yknow."
This time he was met with a glare from Ram. It wasn't hidden whatsoever but it was nowhere near as hostile.
"An odd waaaaay of phrasing but wise nonetheless. Regardless that's not the only reason you are here. My dear Emiliaaaaaaa has gone through extensive detail on how you helped her in her endeavoooooors yesterday."
"You say that like there was alot to tell? Emilia was the one that did most of the work yknow."
"And yeeeeeet she gives you most of the credit. But I digress, weither you assisted greatly or very little, you helped stopped the assassination of the potential ruler of lugunicaaaaaa. No small feat by any meeeeeans."
"Wait... potential rulers?!"
"Why yeeeeesss. Emila here is one of the 5 potential rulers of this land and that Insigina was proof of her candidacy to the thrown. Should she have looooost it, she would have lost her right to participate in the election before it even begaaaaaan."
"Holy Shit I was spot-on with the Ice-Queen bit wasn't I?"
...
...
...
...
...
Puck was the first to break the silence. His stoicism completely shattered after that comment.
"Pfffftttt Subaru your a complete enigma yknow that?"
The next was Emilia as she bursted into laughter.
"hahaha S-sorry sorry! Subaru y-you-you find out I'm the potential ruler of the entire country and that's the first thing you say!?"
The rest of the cast looked at the 3 in confusion as they were not present for the coincidental nickname.
Subaru was red in embarrassment at this point. He knew it wasn't exactly the most appropriate response to finding out you helped potential royalty but this was Natsuki Subaru after all.
"I-I. Sorry it was the first thing that came to my mind I guess."
"*Ehem Regardleeeeeess you are now in a diverging path of sorts. I would like to discuss it further but I would rather not do it on an empty stomach, Reeeeeeem deeeeeear?"
"Yes Roswaal-sama."
Rem immediately began distributing plates and silverware while Ram presented meals for each occupant.
While they were eating Subaru couldn't help but comment on how good the meal was which raised Rams smugness to a whole knew degree. Not due to pride in herself but pride In her sister for preparing the food.
Midway through eating Emilia decided to break the silence as she was growing impatient to discuss her recent... adventure.
"Roswaal, earlier when I told you about the Bowel Hunter you said that you had means of tracking down her employer?"
"Why yeeeeesss Emilia, I have an associate working on it as we speak. However dooooo be patient as we both knooooow that interfering with the famous assassins guild can be disastrous if not handled carefullyyyyyy."
"I see..."
Emilia was extremely dejected upon hearing that. Not only those the Bowel Hunter want her head specifically, but there's also a third party she knows nothing about. Paranoia was eating away at her like a parasite knowing that someone was actively out to get her. And that's not even to mention this "Mama" person. She made it pretty clear that she wasn't the person that hired her and even if it was, an alias that vague would get her nowhere.
'This getting out of hand. first an assassin, then 2 different partys that either want to kill me or worse. And thats not even mentioning what all of that was. We're they visions? No it all felt way to real. Was it some sort of time... rewind? AHHHH this makes no sense whatsoever! I've been pondering this all night yet I've gotten nowhere and I can't even tell anyone about it!? this is all just so...'
"Oi Em-san, your muttering again. Mind adding us into the conversation?"
Emilia came out of her thoughts to see Subaru staring at her with extremely worried eyes.
"Eh!? OH it's nothing important I'll tell you later! For now we need to discuss your reward for helping me yesterday"
"Didn't we already do this song and dance? I already got you name plus you let me stay recover here."
Emilia eyes furrowed after hearing this.
"Ugh Subaru you dunderhead! I was going to tell you my name regardless. Stop trying to weasel yourself out of proper reward I'm serious!"
"Ok Ok Em lemme think."
'Alright, a reward. Hmmmm what exactly could I ask for? Residency in the mansion? Kinda already got that if what Em-san said is true. Maybe I could ask them to let me work here? Tempting since I would get paid AND it gives me an excuse to see Emilia every now and then. No no no there's only one real request especially after what happened yesterday.'
"Hmmmm Hey Ros quick question"
"Yeeeeeess?"
"Who's the best magic user here?"
The atmosphere took a sharp turn once he said that. Emilia and Puck understood his intent and had a good idea what he was going to ask but everyone else had different ideas in mind. A stranger just asked all the present occupants of the Mathers Mansion who was strongest person present. It would immediately be seen as a challenge and while Subaru didn't intend to make it sound like that, his next words would determine if he was a threat or not.
"My myyyyyyy a rather strange question and a difficult one at that. I myself am the greatest magician across all of lugunica and hold the title of red , green and yellow. beatrice here is the great spirt of yin, keeper of one the most vast library's known to man that has been around for 400 years, and dear puck is just as old and holds the title of great spirt of fire."
"Uuuuhhh"
"Basically all 3 of us are evenly matched Subaru. In an actual fight there's no telling who would come out on top"
"Thanks Puck. Then it's decided!"
He smashed the palm of his hand into his fist with zeal as he stood up from his chair and marched towards the end of the room to face everyone.
"Beatrice-sama, Puck-sama, Roswaal-sama."
The honorifics weren't lost on them as Beatrice and Roswaal were kinda suprised at the boy's sudden respect. Puck simply smirked at his more than deserved respect.
He bowed his head infront of everyone present.
"PLEASE LET BE YOUR APPRENTICE!"
...
...
...
"Achoo"