Chapter 4: Kararagi
Halibel had woken up in his apartment not wanting to work that day or to do anything for that matter. The previous night he had stayed working with the rest of his shinobi companions more than usual. He remembered stopping a robbery in an alleyway while he tiredly went back to his apartment. Owning the apartment let him just enter whenever he pleased after all.
One of the many benefits of being a proprietor in the town of Bannan and the strongest person in the country.
Standing up from the floor because apparently, he fell asleep the moment he closed the door - he went to brush his teeth. After being done with that task he walked to the door because someone had been knocking on it.
[Who knocks this early]. Walking slowly towards his destination not wanting to do this so early- [ ah, it was about to be earth time. ] Halibel realized, surprised that he had slept that long. That was after all, longer than he usually does. So looking at his time magic crystal and realizing it's not as early as he had expected, he opened the door, seeing that it was one of his shinobi comrades who had been the one waiting.
"Sir Halibel, there have been some disturbances in the nearest Malbeast forest." His junior enunciated.
"Ah got it, got it. I'll go check it out!" Halibel responded in a more serious tone. If there was someone in a Malbeast forest then it was probably a Malbeast user trying to get Malbeasts.
They could be dangerous, but not overly so since they were in the weakest known Malbeast forests, where only Wolfgrams inhabited, but that doesn't mean they couldn't still cause some havoc. That or it was a dumbass trying his luck and fighting against some of them. Either way, he had to go check it out, so it didn't matter much.
Although he wondered why he had to be the one they came to? Any other person on his squad could probably check it out as well. He guessed they were tired from the previous day as well, the one in front of him sure looks like he was.
He could understand. They had captured a whole bandit group and it had been a more organized group than they usually are. They deserved a break.
After the shinobi left by jumping on the roofs of houses, because of course, they would. Halibel closed the door. Changing Kimonos and putting on sandals he walked up to the window and jumped through it because doors were overrated and it was more fun this way.
He didn't even notice when he boosted his body with mana, it was normal for him at this point.
Running towards the closest forest, which was still 2 hours away mind you, although with his speed getting there would be a matter of minutes. He chose to stay close to the shadows so that he could surprise the culprit, whether it be friend or foe. That would be depending on what they were doing.
When he was close enough to the forest, he could smell burned flesh thanks to his extremely sensitive, albeit efficient nose. Out of his two guesses of who was in there, it seemed like the second option was correct. Although it could just be a failed Malbeast recruitment. Either way, he would have to confirm it, not that he wasn't already doing that.
???: "Thanks, Girls I really appreciate it."
He heard someone nearby and although he was confused by that sentence he ignored it for now. In just a few seconds and making sure he would take his target by surprise, he reached them. Putting his hand on their shoulder he spoke.
"Hello."
Subaru Jumped at the sound of that voice and quickly turned around and see what that was, He saw it was someone who had sneaked behind him.
The person that had just appeared looked like a human fox. They were wearing a black kimono with some worn down purple and what looked like pale green on the bottom inside. He looked to be very tall, taller than Subaru, was biting what looked like golden kiseru, and had sharp teeth.
Subaru took a few steps back this was to put a few feet in between him and the new individual and because he felt a bit intimidated by the new presence. Still, Subaru had a feeling it wouldn't matter if he did or didn't.
They both stood there looking at each other in tense silence. All of this under the watchful eyes of his spirits who just observed in silence, not sure what to do but ready to protect Subaru in case a fight was to start.
The staredown continued on for what felt for eternity in Subaru's perspective, that is until they spoke.
"What a scary face!!!" Subaru was expecting many things to be said by the person in front of him. This was not one of them. He felt bewildered and confused by that statement but also felt a sense of obligation to answer back at such an insult.
"Shut up you fox it's not my fault I was born like this!!"
"Hey, I'm a wolf, not a fox you know."
"Sure whatever you say."
The tense silence was broken by this surprising exchange and Subaru felt his shoulders drop. He hadn't even noticed when he tensed them up, it felt like it had been on instinct.
It was then when Subaru realized what the other person's aim was.
"You meant to break the tension didn't you." This was not a question he was just stating a fact.
"Oh I've been figured out," Said the figure in fake surprise and a smile on his face.
Ignoring the obvious sarcasm Subaru felt he should know a bit more about this person who managed to sneak up on him so easily. To do this and in an attempt to hide his intentions he asked, "Well are you going to tell me your name or what?"
"Why the cold response? You know I came here because I was told some insane person was throwing magic around here" deviating from the question, this was said by the fox (or wolf?) Subaru didn't care right now.
"Do you have anything to do with that?"
"Yes" was all that Subaru answered. He could not deny it after all. If he did the raging fire behind him and malbeast corpses would give him away anyway.
"Oh" Halibel did not expect such a straightforward response and was left a bit surprised." So you are the crazy guy who came to this forest and has been shooting magic around."
"Stop calling me crazy!!!" screamed back Subaru. He felt he was receiving so many underserved insults and was even getting a bit depressed. "And no I did not come here. I woke up here" he answered back.
Now, Halibel was really good at knowing if someone is lying or not by their facial expressions and body language. For the past decade, no one had been able to trick him after all. So he found himself surprised when he noticed this boy was speaking the truth.
That meant that he had no idea of how he got here or who took him here.. It was a bit hard to believe. After all who would take someone to a malbeast forest and not even tie him up. There is only one reason why someone would wake up unconscious in a place like this. Still, he had seen crazier things in his life so it was not impossible to understand.
"If that's true then how did you get here?" Asked a confused Halibel, and understood that Subaru was most likely not a threat. But he still kept his guard up. He had just met the kid after all so he could not trust him blindly. His training had shown him better.
Shrugging to this Subaru replied "I don't know" because he really didn't. he wasn't sure who or what summoned him to this world. If he did then he wanted to complain to whatever brought him here because who summons someone in the middle of a forest full of terrifying beasts? It was almost as if they were trying to kill him.
If that was their intention they succeeded.
"Do you at least know where you live or something?" Halibel continued his questioning of the black-haired boy.
Subaru realized that he had yet to introduced himself and was feeling slightly more at ease (not completely) with this man's presence. He decided it would not harm to do so. Not counting his spirits no one knew him after all.
"Nope I'm lost and broke beyond compare," he answered back, "The name is Natsuki Subaru by the way."
Chuckling at his introduction but also with a bit of worry he answered back "My name is Halibel."
Before Subaru could reply, one of his Spirits evolved again. This time it was Lucy. Who had, not unlike the rest of his contracted spirits, been watching the conversation the entire time. Like the other two times his spirits evolved, she shinned brighter for a few seconds and became a quasi spirit.
Subaru was left baffled once again by the pace at which his spirits were evolving. Even so, he could not deny he felt a bit of pride for them. "It seems you've evolved Lucy I can't deny I'm proud of you. Not just you but all of you. Anyway's It seems congratulations are in order." Subaru with his typical smile said this towards his contracted Spirit.
"Y-yeah of course I would evolve. I'm awesome after all." This was what she answered back. Subaru being able to hear the embarrassment in her voice only smiled wider. It seems his prase had been super effective.
"Are you a spirit user?" Asked Halibel who seemed was his turn to be quiet during an exchange.
Subaru had honestly forgotten for a second he was here. He mentally kicked himself and answered back.
"Yeah, I am" was his answer but also quickly added, "Although I just contracted them like a few hours ago."
Halibel found himself quite impressed by Subaru. It looked like he had managed to contract 6 spirits and all were different types plus 3 of them were quasi spirits. Contracting 6 spirits of all affinities was an achievement. In a few more months the others would bloom into quasi and in a few years, this kid could be a decent warrior.
He decided to ask how old the others were.
"So Subaru-san how were the lesser spirits when you contracted them."
"Huh? Subaru-san doesn't say that. It makes me feel old."
"Fine fine I won't say Subaru-san anymore Su-san."
"T-That's just a shorter version!!!" Seeing that he would probably fail at convincing him to not call him that Subaru gave up. "And to answer your question when I contracted them they were a few weeks old the oldest one, Gaia, was 2 months old." He finished once again his chest filled with pride over this achievement.
'What?!?" Now Halibel did find himself surprised. He was not an expert on the subject but he knew that spirits took over 2 years to mature fully. Yet these spirits evolved in a matter of hours. He had never heard of spirits evolving so fast. [His spirit affinity must be crazy. He could be really strong if trained by someone.]
He would hate to see Subaru's potential not be maximized and he could also see the desire to get stronger in his eyes.
He thought of something that could work. Halibel hoped Subaru did not see what he would ask as a shady thing or the wrong way. Actually, he would be surprised if he didn't.
"So Su-san you said you have nowhere to live right?"
"Yeah I don't," Subaru thought that was a weird question. He did say he was lost and broke right?
"How about you come and li-"
"THAT'S SO SUSPICIOUS" Screamed back Subaru. That made it sound as if they were going to kidnap him. Although this Halibel person seemed a nice guy he wouldn't believe him so easily.
Halibel was glad that he at least knew not to listen to a stranger. Except that would be a problem now.
"Wait, wait, don't make assumptions!" replied quickly Halibel, not wanting the misunderstanding to continue he added, "I am a house manager so I can give you a room."
He did not add that another reason he was helping him was that he liked the boy. After all, he did not give him respect everywhere he went. It felt like a nice change.
"Oh, so hotels exist in this place" Subaru looked in deep thought as he said this. That was a different thing altogether.
"I don't know what this "hotel" you're talking about is but I assume is something similar."
[Yeah, hotels don't exist here] noticing this detail Subaru 'noted it' and saved it on the back of his mind.
"How would I even pay you, I'm broke, remember" He also added, "I doubt you're doing this out of the goodness of your heart." [No way he's doing this for free after all. No one is that nice.]
"Oh, of course not you see I'm running low on money and although I could do some jobs I don't really want to. With you living there I would get paid without having to do work and you get a place to live it looks like a good deal to me.
"So that's your ploy. You Lazy dog" Subaru did mean that insult. Halibel looked like the type of person who would be a playboy after all.
But that was not all.
He did not completely believe what he said. When you rent a room to someone you are expected to pay for it. So using that as an excuse was not really smart, still, he would play along with it for now. He decided he should keep an eye out for anything just in case.
Ignoring the insult Halibel continued " I would give you a one-month time limit so that you can pay me back." He finished by saying "How is that?"
Subaru was about to refuse the offer. Before he said the words however he started considering it more and its benefits. [I don't have a place to go and his offer is tempting. My gut is also telling me that I can trust him.]
He decided that before making a decision he should ask his spirits for their opinions. After all, they were all in this together now. He did say they would take care of each other in the contract.
"What do you guys think of the offer?" He asked mentally to his Spirits.
On the other hand, his Spirits were surprised that Subaru had asked for their opinion but also oddly happy about that. "You should take it!" Answered both Aqua and Kazu in unison." "I think it's a good offer," said Gaia. Even if it was a bit suspicious she thought it was fine. "You should" Answered a timid Luna with Ruby agreeing and finally a short "yes" from Lucy.
The exchange lasted less than 10 seconds and Subaru, after hearing their responses, decided on his response.
"*sigh* I guess I will take your offer to consider yourself lucky now you will get paid for doing nothing." He added an almost unhearable "lucky" at the end.
Subaru was not saying this because in his mind he lost against Halibel. Not at all.
"Hey, hey I'm the one giving you a roof you know. Aren't you the lucky one? I'm even giving you a deadline instead of asking for the money now." Catching Subaru's sarcastic response Halibel followed his game. However, there was something that happened at that same moment.
Subaru did not realize it but, it was at this moment when Halibel was able to finally let his guard down in front of Subaru. Although he trusted he was being genuine the entire time now he could fully believe it. After all, no one would accept to follow a stranger unless they really meant no harm or already had a plan. He would trust his gut and say it's the first option.
"Dammit, although you revealed your intentions earlier, I still can't deny that!!!" Subaru conceded defeat while Halibel chuckle at his response.
He knew he needed some money to get by. He considered what were his options. [Maybe I can sell something. But what?] Thinking deeply He remembered his grocery bag. [Maybe that could work?]
Looking back he saw his bag a few feet behind him. He walked towards it, grabbed it, and checked its contents.
Noticing his phone was there he pulled it out. He was considering selling it [I don't really want to do this but I don't have much of a choice. ] His phone had pictures with his parents. He didn't want to give it away but he did not have much of a choice if he wanted to make some money.
He comforted himself by thinking [It's low on battery anyway's it won't last long.]
He walked back to Halibel and showed him his phone.
"How much would this sell for?"
Halibel finding himself intrigued by the device asked "hmm what is that?"
Subaru putting on his best marketing voice said "This is a device that can store a moment frozen in time." To prove his point he took a picture of Halibel who let out a small "Ah" in surprise and showed it to him.
"That's pretty impressive Su-san but I don't really have much use for it." He added, "plus your face looks like you're trying to trick me somehow."
"It seems I've been caught!!" Subaru was surprised. He was sure he could trick a playboy like him, it seems he underestimated him.
"Whahahaha" Halibel laughed at Subaru's failure at trying him. After a minute he managed to calm himself down, all while being watched by a furious but embarrassed Subaru. "Still that could probably go for good money. You should try and check with a buyer or trader. I could help you with that."
"That would be helpful, please do, Thanks" Subaru found himself surprised at his kindness but also thankful.
"No problem Su-san follow me" Halibel started walking back in the direction of Bannan. This time Subaru following from behind. Although this would usually send his shinobi instincts into alert, for some reason, although they just met he knew they would be good friends.
Unknown to Halibel in Subaru's mind he unconsciously thought the same thing.
On the walk back to Bannan a surprised Subaru further confirmed that his affinity was unnaturally high as all three Aqua, Kazu, and Luna evolved into quasi-spirits in that time. He also heard from an also surprised Halibel that it usually takes two years for that to happen. He had already heard this from the spirits in the forest but hearing it from someone else was a whole different deal.
He learned the basics of history thanks to Halibel. Turns out kararagi is one of the four large kingdoms alongside Lugnica, Vollachia, and Gusteko, and was founded only 400 years ago by someone named Hoshin. He was also quite surprised when he found out about the "ten cities" and the "Great heir" system. It seems like the Great heir system made mayors have control of one city each by an election to make sure not one person gets all the power.
Subaru was a bit surprised by that last one. It sounded like modern world politics. It actually sounded similar to elections back on earth. He would have expected a king to have all the power.
When he asked about this he received his answer as a simple-
"That's Lugnica."
How was he able to memorize this almost perfectly you may ask. Well, it turns out Lucy had a spell that increased the speed his brain can process information. Subaru would be sure to abuse that spell as much as he could and use it to learn everything faster.
He wanted to ask more questions but decided he would leave it for later when he had actually slept. It had been a crazy day after all. He spent the rest of the walk back talking with his Spirits and Halibel to get to know each other better. He could say he felt more at ease with Halibel and honestly. He was getting attached. It had been a while since Subaru had a friend he could talk to and although Halibel did not understand some of the wording he used Subaru could say he was happy he was able to talk to him this way.
When they entered the city of Bannan Subaru was perplexed at what he saw.
He could instantly recognize there were Wafflu and Wasou elements the moment he saw the houses and how people dressed.
The streets he was currently walking on did not make him feel he was in a different world. He felt as if he went back in time to the Edo period or maybe a bit forward like the Meiji era and Taisho era. He saw people walking down the streets in kimonos. There were also many demi-humans wearing them so that just made him more confused deciding he would ask about this later.
It all looked so similar to Japan it made him wonder for a second if he really had been transported to another world.
When they arrived at the tenement house Subaru had to say it was not that bad. When he asked Halibel why no one else lived here he said he had no idea. He decided he should probably look inside the building before judging it any further.
Walking to the second floor and turning left he opened the door to his room he saw the contents of it.
The room looked average. It was nothing like those 5 stars hotels he heard about on the internet but It was not a rat's hole either. It had tatami mats on the floor that seemed to be made of knitted grass and the walls were painted white. Only white no colors around it.
Entering further he walked around and saw the kitchen to the left of where the living room( that only had a small low table in the middle) was at. It looked like an average Japanese kitchen. Although he did notice there were many things that looked like crystals on the stove. [It probably uses magic.]
Yup, he was so gonna burn it down.
Putting those tragic thoughts away he walked to his bedroom and entered it. It had an average bed that was made for one person only. It also had a wooden desk on its side where you could put books and the such.
He liked it and saw nothing wrong with it. It was a bit dirty but he could take care of that. He asked himself why no one lived here again. Maybe he got one of the good rooms?
He shrugged and decided it was not important.
"So what do you think" Asked Halibel for his opinion wondering what he thought of it.
"It's pretty good."
"Told ya it would be."
Subaru ignored that comment and instead asked, "so I have till the end of the month to pay you right?"
"Yeah but don't worry about it too much." As he said this he started to walk away to his own room. He would probably go out to his shinobi duties later so that meant he had to get his weapons. Well, more than what he already had anyways. "You can probably make a bit with that Metia you have there."
"Thanks for everything" After thanking Halibel for all he'd helped him Subaru started walking away. Although he probably had other motives for helping him. The fact that he'd helped him stayed true, and Subaru was thankful for that.
"It's No problem Su-san. Good night." As Halibel said this he turned around and gave him a smile before entering his own apartment.
Subaru stayed silent for a moment before asking his spirits what they thought about the apartment. They all answered positively to it. Honestly, they had no idea what a good apartment would be because they had never seen one. But it looked like Subaru likes it so they do as well.
Subaru decided it was time for him to go to sleep. According to the magic time stone, it was around midnight so he probably should sleep. At least he thought it said that.
He still needed to learn a lot, but that could wait until tomorrow.
Laying down on the bed he noticed it was comfortable and he liked it. But even then he felt weird not having the feeling of his own bed under him. The one he had slept on for years bed in Japan. He still found it slightly difficult to wrap his head around it. Being summoned to another world...[Why did it happen to me specifically] he wondered.
As he tried to sleep the memories of this day came back to him. And along with those memories also came the one of his death. He had tried to avoid thinking about it the entire day and it had worked so far.
But now that he was in a space of quiet where he could think in peace and noting to disrupt him there was no avoiding them.
He had arrived in this world and not even an hour later he had died and he hadn't been able to do anything to stop that.
Before he knew it he found himself crying at the memory of it. How much it hurt at the time. [Why did it have to happen, What did I do wrong. Why did he have to suffer that pain, why was he so weak, Why-]
He felt a warmth similar to the forest spirits. wondering what it was he took off the sheets of his body and saw his 6 contracted spirits. They were embracing him or more like trying to but they could not hold him as you would in a hug since they had no physical body. It ended up being more of an awkward hug. Still, Subaru felt the sentiment and was thankful for it.
"Thanks, girls," he said in a whisper and a smile on his face as they answered with a mental "your welcome to Subaru" In their own respective ways.
Subaru fell asleep shortly after.
The next day Subaru had woken up to his new apartment. Opening his eyes he looked around and found himself confused as he realized this was not his room.
It was missing all of his anime posters and he could not see any of his manga collection. turning around He was blinded by the sun,(he was sure he was covering his window using the curtians, why was it opened?) It took him a few seconds but finally when his eyes adjusted to the light of the sun he noticed. This was not his room.
The first thing he noticed was the walls were painted white. He knew his walls were colored yellow so he found that weird but not really worrying [ Maybe I still need to wake up all the way?]
Still, that's not the weirdest thing he noticed. No, it wasn't that but it would be that, all of his merch, whether it be anime waifu figures( especially his silver-haired ones, those were really important to him.) his posters, and manga. None of it was there.
This discovery quickly made him jump out of bed to observe the room better. Unfortunately, he stood up too quickly and ended up tripping on his own feet thus falling on the floor. letting out an "ouch" as he hit it. Cursing his luck and standing back up he took a look once again and noticed that this was in fact, not his room.
It was then when the memories of the past day hit him all at once.
With a slight headache attacking his head, Subaru had remembered what his situation currently was and why he was here.
"Right I'm not in Japan anymore but in another world." The words were spoken with sadness imbued in them.
Subaru felt a sense of loss. He knew he would probably never get to see his parents again or get back to japan altogether. Right now apart from Halibel he knew no one here and knew almost next to nothing.
But he had forgotten something important. That is until it hit him. [Actually-].
He remembered about the 6 Spirits he made a contract with. How could he forget? After all, they were with him just last night when he went to sleep.[Do they even sleep?] wondering this he decided to ask them that himself.
[ Umm come out?] Mentally, he unsurely called them forth and saw them materialize out of thin air.
He wasn't sure how that worked, maybe they just heard him somehow. Or were they always there? He decided to put in his "questions for later" file on the back of his head.
"Good morning," Subaru said in a casual tone.
"Good Morning" They all answered simultaneously.
Subaru wondered if they practiced that. It was too perfect for it to be random right? Or maybe since they were all contracted to him it was natural. He decided it was best to not question it.
"Do you guys even sleep?" He decided to ask this and get it over with.
"No, we don't" answered Gaia to Subaru's question.
"It's not necessary for us to sleep," answered Luna in a low tone.
"I see" Although he still had a question "Can you sleep?"
"Yes!!!" Answered Aqua followed by an equally excited "yep we can" from Kazu.
"Yeah but it's better for us to stay up in case someone attacks your defenseless self." Said Lucy in her characteristic tsundere manner.
"You don't get bored or anything?" As he said this, Subaru started to move towards the kitchen. He realized he hadn't eaten anything since arriving and was now feeling hungry. He figured he should eat something. It was already around eleven after all.
The sounds his stomach made could attest to that.
"No, not really plus we can just de-materialize." was what he heard back.
Subaru was not sure what the biology of spirits was. Because of that, he decided he should put the subject aside for now and focus on his still rumbling stomach.
Moving to the kitchen he grabbed his grocery bag. He had left on the table last night after going to sleep since he had been tired from everything that had happened that day. Opening it up to see its content he grabbed his ramen. He'd rather save the chips for later.
He would need to buy some food later but for now, this would have to do.
Going to the sink he realized it's similar to the one in Japan. Practically the same but a bit less modern. While putting some water in he wondered [I wondered if they have a sewer system here.]
So far from what he had seen he deduced this world was not as technically advanced as Japan. Although similar it looked to be a few centuries behind and so he wondered if it used magic somehow to make this work.
Finally having the water he tried to get some fire and heat up the ramen. failing as he was unsure operate it. He could tell this unlike the sink did use some type of magic to operate. Most probably one of those magic stones she saw.
Fearing that it blows up if he uses it incorrectly Subaru decided it was best not to touch it.
"Damn it, I can't get this thing to work" Subaru in a disappointed tone conceded defeat. [Well at least I can't burn down the apartment] he purposely ignored the "yet" his mind wanted to add to the now finished thought.
"Fire...That's it!!" In a stroke of genius, Natsuki Subaru realized the answer to his predicament.
Turning to face his Spirits he pointed a finger to his fire spirit, Ruby, and said.
"Ruby, help me light this up."
"W-what?" confused Ruby said towards the boy.
Subaru decided to elaborate.
"You see I can't get this fire to operate and so I figured you can help me get some fire." Subaru was confident this could work, or maybe because he was hungry he was making a dumb decision? It was time to find out.
Ruby on the other hand was not sure how the stove worked either. She decided to obey Subaru and prepared to use some fire to lit the stove on.
Before either of them could follow up with the plan a conveniently timed knock happened on the door.
Subaru signaled Ruby to stop what she was doing and checked through the peephole to see who was at the other side of the door. He saw that Halibel was the one that was knocking. Deciding it was fine to open it he proceeded to do so.
"Morning Su-san, how are you doing?" Asked a smiling Halibel.
"Good although I would like to know why you are here so early." He did not think it was early but he still wanted to know why Halibel was here at this time. He thought they were going to go sell his phone for the money later in the afternoon. Then again they never agreed on a time so he was probably at fault.
"Ah It's just that I heard you screaming that you were going to use magic to burn the oven and I rather not have a house fire," Halibel said this in both a concerned and teasing tone to the now sheepish boy.
Subaru, his hand scratching the back of his head, and with a nervous laugh answered back "Okay thinking back on it maybe it wasn't the smartest idea."
Halibel laughed at Subaru's expense. He asked for permission to enter his room and showed Subaru how to operate the fire stones. This would make sure he did not blow up his just acquired apartment.
They decided they should go to the trading shop right after Subaru finished his meal so that they don't go too late.
While he was eating they talked for a bit. Subaru told his spirits and Halibel some stories from his "hometown" (turns out there is no small island nation in the east direction since Lugnica was the furthest one. He would have to keep that in mind.) and after a few more minutes finally decide to depart. Of course, he promised he would tell them more later, especially his spirits, who were eager to know more about their contractor.
"Alright let's go" Said Halibel to the black-haired boy.
"Right" Turning to his spirits Subaru asked, "Are you girls ready."
"Yeah!!" Both Aqua and Kazu replied excitedly while the rest seemed to agree with the statement.
"Alright then let's go" As he said this, Subaru along with Halibel departed from the apartment.
"So what can you trade in the shop?"
They had already walked over half an hour to get to this so-called "Trading shop" and Subaru could not stop comparing Japan to Kararagi. He current help but wonder if someone else like him had had a hand in founding Kararagi as all the others were nothing like this. At least that's what he had heard. [Maybe that Hoshin guy was a Japanese?]
Subaru was also aching to explore for himself and see what else he could find. But he knew there was a lot to do before he could do that.
One of the things he would need for that would be money and so he asked this question.
"Well, you can trade a lot of things" This unhelpful answer reached Subaru and annoyed him slightly. He knew the wolf was messing with him so he asked again this time in more of an annoyed tone.
"You know what I meant, don't give me only half-answers."
"Wow, no need to get mad, Su-san. I was just messing with ya." Taking a small pause to puff smoke from his kiseru he continued. "Well you can trade stuff that is worth a lot of money, trade money for information, and you can claim bounties.
"Wait, when you say bounties do you mean money for capturing people?! That's awesome" Subaru's adventurous side made him excited at the prospect of bounty hunting. But this also caught him by surprise and that led him to almost trip again. Thankfully he was able to stabilize himself, of course not without receiving some weird looks and a snicker from Halibel.
"Well, it's really only the requests for murder and such. For the bounty hunting stuff, you would have to go to an employment agency."
Subaru felt his excitement go down at the mention of murder. He was not so keen on the idea of killing someone. He decided to go back to the original goal although a bit wearier now knowing what sort of thing went on in there.
"Alright putting that aside, are we almost there? We've been walking for over half an hour!!!"
"Calm down Su-san, we're actually already here" Finally stopping after the long walk Halibel tells this to Subaru.
"So this is how it looks."
The building, unlike what he was expecting, was not anything fancy. It was made out of stone and painted green with some brown in the mix. It was 2 floors high and did not have any windows. Subaru guessed it was to make it harder to rob the place. He also guessed there would be strong guards so whoever did that was stupid.
"Alright, let's go in then."
"Right" Following him, Subaru entered the place.
"That went well" Letting out a breath of relief was Subaru who was currently carrying a bag of coins in his hand.
"What did you expect?" Asked an amuse Halibel at Subaru's antics.
"I don't know, maybe a robbery while I was there, or they would try to scam me because of my lack of knowledge or even threaten me when I refused to accept their offer!!!" Dramatically, Subaru revealed his thoughts to Halibel.
"I don't know what gave you that Idea but usually that never happens."
Subaru ignored the "usually" because he expected this. Even if it's another word things like robbery, and poverty never change. He knew he was lucky to have stumbled into Halibel or he might be in a similar position.
"I guess too much anime and movies gave me the wrong idea."
"I'm not sure what you're saying but I think it's time you buy some things you know have some money."
"A Helpful answer! I did not expect that from you."
"Now that's just mean. Are you really going to bully me like that?"
"Alright fine I will stop for now then but before that, I have a question for you." Subaru's tone changed to a more serious one and he stopped walking. Halibel was able to easily see the change of tone in the conversation. Because of that, he decided to take it more seriously.
"I see, go ahead and ask Su-san. I will answer to the best of my abilities.
"Alright then here goes" Waiting for a few seconds almost as if he was unsure of what he was going to say he asked.
"Tell me the real reason why you're helping me so much."
Subaru asked this because of two reasons.
First, he knew that no one could be this nice without having second intentions. That was just human nature. Although to be fair, Halibel was not a human but a wolf. Regardless, Subaru still thought it applied.
Second, Subaru was not entirely comfortable with Halibel yet. It had only been yesterday that they met after all. He could not get comfortable with someone that quick. Especially after his experience of death. It only made sense to be wary.
So when he saw people giving him respectful glances and calling him "Mr" he suspected that Halibel was probably not a simple "tenement house manager." The only way for that to be true would be that people frequent his place a lot so they can get a room to stay. But from what he could see that was not the case.
At that moment Subaru could have sworn that if he had a knife, he would have been able to cut through the tension with it. Or maybe it was just him?
For a few tense seconds, Subaru and Halibel both stood there in the middle of the road just looking at each other. Subaru, beginning to get impatient, decided to ask again but before he could do that Halibel answered.
"Before you judge I did not mean anything bad with my intentions. Now that I got that out of the way, this is the reason."
Halibel took his kiseru out of his mouth to answer the question. To his side a nervous Subaru was watching, waiting. Then finally.
"You have a lot of potential." Was the wolf's answer.
"P-potential?" Subaru was confused. What did he mean by that? He expected Something different but the answer he received was 'potential'. It made him confused.
"Potential at what" He wanted to know what he meant specifically.
"Potential at being a fighter of course." Putting his kiseru back in his mouth he continued " From what you told me, your spirits evolved in only a few hours when it usually takes them 2 years to evolve from a minor spirit to a quasi-spirit."
"I can also see the desire to get stronger in your eyes."
I'm correct with that right." He finished looking straight at Subaru as he said that. It was not a question but a statement.
Subaru knew he was correct. He wanted to get stronger along with his spirits. He did not want to feel helpless like he felt that time in the forest. If he could get stronger with his help then he would gladly accept it.
So he did.
"Alright, I will accept your reason since I also want to become stronger. If you can g-
"Aaa wait Su-san I wasn't finished yet" Halibel being interrupted Subaru that he had yet to finish talking.
"Oh really? I see, continue then."
"You've gone and ruined the atmosphere now."
"Doesn't matter now does it?"
"How cold!!! Anyways, I do consider you my friend and here in kararagi losing one is an incredible loss. I want you to be aware of that ya know."
That lifted a weight out of Subaru's back. He hadn't noticed but, deep down he was afraid Halibel was only using him because of the potential he apparently showed. It was nice to be reassured this was not the case.
"Alright, alright I understand I also consider you my friend you know. Although it's probably since you're the only one I know."
"Don't go bullying me like that. Not after I just told you my health-felt feelings."
"Anyways getting that aside, you said you can find someone that can help me get stronger. Can you introduce me to them?"
"Ah about that, you already know them, you see."
"I do?" Subaru found himself surprised at this. He was pretty sure he had not met anyone apart from Halibel. [ Is he talking about that dude that I traded my phone for money? I don't think so they did not look the fighter type. Maybe it's just me? Or maybe I missed them.]
"Was it that guy at the store? He did not look the fighter type although I could be wrong."
"No it's not him, he just sits there all day." A plain and simple response to Subaru's question confirmed his Suspicions.
"I'm not surprised, he does look like that type of guy. No offense to him of course" That would be a bit hypocritical of himself to say. After all, he was pretty much the same since he always stayed holed up in his room. The difference being he did not get money from it.
"Well, who else could it be then. I've met no one else here except for you. Unless you're the one planning to train me."
"You guessed it."
"Wait seriously!!!" He said that as a joke and he got an unexpected answer. He did not expect Halibel himself to be the one that would help him train. He did not have the fighter aura he would have thought he'd had. Although he did not know how strong individuals presented themselves in this world. He at least thought they would be more recognizable.
"You don't look that strong either" He decided to voice out his thoughts.
"Ah, you wound me!!! Just because I don't look like it doesn't mean I'm not."
"*sigh* Alright, I guess I'll just have to trust you on this then" With a resigned tone Subaru accepted he had no choice but to trust him on this since he did not know any better alternatives.
What Subaru did not know at the time was that in all of kararagi there was no better alternative to help him get stronger.
"Alright, then I should probably go buy some stuff for my room and also pay you. I'd rather not end In debt. That is unless you are also willing to let me stay for free as well." Speaking jokingly he said this towards a bewildered Halibel who quickly denied the offer.
"This and that are different matters Su-san. I can't let you stay for free, especially when you have the money to pay."
Hearing the expected response Subaru was not surprised by the answer. "Alright then since you're my friend and all then come to help me find some history books or something. I will need them if I want to learn how to write and read plus learn the history of course."
Deciding not to ask why he wasn't aware of simple History Halibel in a joking tone responded "Now you're just taking advantage of me Su-san. It's a bit depressing."
"Sure, sure whatever you say." With a smile on his face, Subaru followed Halibel, who had a similar smile, to a nearby shopping district. It seems things were looking up for him ever since he got out of that forest and he hoped things continued like that.
Laying on his bed a mentally exhausted Subaru thought back to all of the events that happened ever since he arrived at this new world.
First, he found himself in a forest with no idea where he was, and after walking for a few minutes he had an encounter with a few Malbeast. Because of this, he experienced death. He still felt shivers travel on his back whenever he thought about it but he reminded himself that he had managed to kill them and that it was over. But thinking of that led to another thing.
The ability he had called "Return by death" he had been ignoring it but he could not deny that it was there. He should talk to Halibel about it. Maybe they could figure out where it came from and how he got it.
Maybe it was the power that all protagonists got when they arrived at a new wor-
No, he refused to think about his situation like that any further. This was not a video game and he was not a hero that could overpower any situation. The day at that Malbeast forest had taught him that.
Even so, he would strive to get stronger with the help of his spirits.
"You will help me right?" Subaru knew what the answer would be but he still wanted to know. Wanted to hear them say it. He wanted reassurance.
"Of course we will!!!" As usual in her excited tone, Aqua answered this towards Subaru.
"We will have your back," Kazu said with enthusiasm that rivaled that of Aqua's.
"Y-yes" Ruby as well answering with her usual shy tone.
"Well of course you would be hopeless otherwise" In her tsundere manner Lucy said this towards our black hair protagonist.
Luna did not vocally answer but did move up and down in a nodding motion. That was enough for Subaru. He knew what she meant and could feel the feeling transmitted through their mental link letting him know all he needed to know.
"We will all help you but I'm sure you knew that," Last but not least the composed Gaia said these words towards the boy.
She was right and Subaru knew it. But it was still nice to hear it coming from them personally. All of them.
"Seriously thanks, I appreciate it. I really do" These were his true feelings and he was not ashamed to admit them.
Telling his spirits they can dissipate he watched them do so with awe. It was incredible to see them de-materialize in front of his eyes as if they were never there.
Things truly were going well so far and he hoped they continued to do so in the future.
With those thoughts in mind, Subaru fell asleep with a smile on his face.
I would like to thank "LittleRunningDemon", "AnticMaster", and another user that did not want to be named, for helping me with beta for this chapter.
Yay I made my deadline of 2 weeks(I know Im 1 day late but let me have this) Im proud of this 8k word chapter.
This is more of an informative chapter and us seeing Subaru start and adapt to his new life so that's why we don't have much action or dialogue with the spirits. I promise I will try to add them more in the next chapter.
Well anyways next chapter we have some time skips coming up so look forward to that.
don't forget to review and any criticism you might have.
They fill me with energy.
Anyways I will stop talking now and will see you next chapter.