Re:Hare

by Nanfrost

An alternate timeline where after the events of Arc 4, The Great Hare was sent back to the beginning of the story, where there it will get to meet a certain boy just as clueless as itself. Would it fall back into it's old ways? Or would its decisions bring about a ripple throughout this seemingly pre-determined story?

4. Peaceful Sleep

"Are you doing alright, Shirogi?"

"...mm."

The question came from the girl with silver hair, sitting opposite of it. Currently, they were sitting in a compact space made from what seems to be wood. And in front, a creature was responsible for pulling this strangely shaped object forward. At least, from what it had seen, this was the conclusion that it had arrived at.

But there wasn't just the two of them. Another was currently sleeping peacefully next to it. A young boy with jet black hair, wearing clothes that seems otherworldly compared to the two. Due to what had transpired not long ago, the girl named Emilia had decided to bring him back with her. Which brings things back to the present.

They are now heading back to the girl's home in order to properly treat the young boy, whose head is laying neatly on its lap. It found the boy's seemingly careless behaviour to be puzzling. The fact that he could sleep so soundly, without a care in the word. Vastly different from itself, where sleep was unheard of. And the little times that its hunger did subside a little, leaving it to its exhaustion, it couldn't let its guard down unless it wanted to be eaten.

Those were all it had ever known up until now, and yet, it is struggling to recall much of it. Regardless, the boy's sleeping face quickly distracted it from those thoughts, focusing now only on his expression. It didn't mind how unguarded he looked while sleeping.

As it continued to stare, its mind started to ponder. Particularly about this new location that its going to. Despite having the two of them with it, this was still an uncharted territory, and therefore, it can't help but feel slightly nervous. Afraid? That, it wasn't sure. So at the very least, it will be wary.

However, as it tries to do so, the girl in front of it suddenly speaks up.

"You don't need to be so nervous, Shirogi. I'm sure that you'll get along with everyone!" Raising both her hands, the half-elf says with enthusiasm, seemingly convinced by her own words. Seeing her being so positive, it couldn't help but relent its guard again, though it didn't even have much to begin with.

Strange, the more it interacted with her, the more relaxed it felt. There was an aura exuding from her that it can't help but feel comforted by. Maybe it should have been more wary. More concerned, and more suspicious of her due to her actions, and yet, it couldn't bring itself to do that. If anything, she only makes it even more interested in her. How very strange.

"Emilia-sama, while I do admire your enthusiasm, we can't be too sure about that." Interrupting the warm atmosphere of the two, a cold and sharp voice cut through the air, directing towards the half-elf. Ah, there was another.

"Mmm, I know, but a little optimism can't hurt anybody, right Ram?"

"That is true. I am also glad to know that you are alright, Emilia-sama" In order to control where the creatures were properly going in the right directions, a person must be in charge of guiding and holding them. Which is why there was another. A girl slightly higher than it, whose clothes were clad in white and black. Though what truly stood out from her, was the color of her hair and eyes. The pink color of her hair matches almost perfectly with her amber like eyes, with one of them covered by an overgrown side of her hair.

After the fallout, with the boy being knocked out and the red-haired man leaving them, carrying the two others, she arrived at the scene. From the little snippets of their arguments, it would seem that the half-elf was supposed to meet up with her, however that was not the case. After that, the girl then helped carry the boy with them into this wooden structure, and proceeded to ride off almost immediately. Not a word was spoken during the entire ride, until now.

"We are here now, Emilia-sama."

As the girl's voice rang out in front, the entire shack seemed to shake, before stopping completely. It slowly peaked its head through the window, absorbing in the surroundings. A lustrous green land, filled with nothing but trees.

To some, this was a normal view. But to it, one that has been trapped inside a dark void, with nowhere to go and nothing to look at, this was truly a sight to behold. Through all those years in absolute solitude, it never once thought that there would be a day where it could feel the painful shine of a ball of flame, cascading onto its skin. A landscape stretching miles and miles, covered

In nothing but the green of life. It was simply beautiful.

"Shirogi?"

"...?!" Completely entranced by the scenery, the girl's voice caught it off guard, startling it a little.

"Ah, sorry about that. Are you alright?"

"...Mm." It shocked its head, before reaching over to a stick protruding out of the construct. It didn't expect itself to be so enamoured by such a sight, but it certainly didn't feel any regrets for it.

With a twist, the wall in front of it opens, allowing it to step outside of its boundaries. There, it was able to take in the surroundings even better, inhaling the fresh air. This was truly intoxicating beyond words, it could almost lose itself just from simply admiring the view.

As the little rabbit quickly forgets about everything else, the half-elf began to drag the body of the boy out of the carriage, carefully as to not injure him any further. The pink haired girl, after settling down the ground dragon, quickly steps towards her and extends her hands. Now the silver-haired named Emilia was carrying the boy's shoulders, while Ram was holding onto his feet. It was quite an odd sight.

In the not so far distance, another person began stepping out from behind a gate, only opened once she had confirmed the identity of everyone. Sensing another presence, the rabbit snaps out of its trance, and turns its head towards the new person.

They wore an almost exact copy of the pink haired clothing, with little to non distinction between them. What was different about her was her hair and eyes. Instead of pink, it bears a lighter blue, having one of her eyes covered up by her hair.

As the girl quickly approached, it became nervous, unsure on what action it should take. However, seeing the girl moving over to the other three instead, a breath of relief was let out. But that didn't last long, as it then realized that it was away from everyone else, and so it decided to rejoin the larger group.

But as it walked towards them, a shiver was felt throughout its body. Turning its head over to the source, it wasn't able to see anything, but a tall and looming building standing before it. There was no way for it to spot anyone from this distance, but it knew. Something or someone was watching it. This only reinforces its mindset to be wary of this place.

---

"There!" With a loud thud, the body of the young boy was thrown onto a giant pile of mush. It wasn't sure what this was called, but looking at the boy's expression, it could guess that this thing was comfy.

"Puck? Are you there?" Emilia's voice rang out, calling the spirit's name, yet there was nothing. She then lets out a sigh, before turning towards it.

"If you don't mind, would you be able to wait here for a bit, Shirogi? I'm going to find someone that can heal him."

"..." It glances over to the two girls standing behind the half-elf, and considers her offer. It didn't took long to make a decision.

"Hmm? Wha!" Just like last time, it held onto the girl's hand. For some reason, this made her flustered.

"O-ok! You can come with me! But please, don't do this so suddenly next time!"

"Mm." And once again, it worked.

"Don't worry, Emilia-sama, we'll make sure nothing happens to him while you're gone." One of the girls spoke.

"Alright, thank you Ram, Rem. I'll try not to be gone for too long. Well then, shall we go Shirogi?"

"Mm."

---

As they walked through a long hallway, crossing many placed pots along the way, Emilia only stayed silent. Finding it strange, it stared at her.

"..."

"...Huh? Oh! S-sorry for that! I was just thinking about something."

"..."

"If you are wondering what I was thinking about, it's about the one that we are finding."

"..." What would that be? It wondered.

"It's just...finding her might be a bit difficult. And even when we do, I'm not even sure if she's willing to help."

"?" This only raises more questions. What does this mean?

As it continued to be puzzled by her, the crystal on the silver-haired girl's necklace began to glow with a white light. Then, multiple small sparks appeared and quickly grouped together, shaping into a familiar form. With that, the light dimmed and the spirit appearance was shown, a Great Spirit resembling a gray cat.

"Puck!" With great joy, Emilia yelled out the cat's name.

"Mmmm, morning Lia. How's my girl doing~?"

"I'm doing fine. It's good to know that you are alright, Puck." Letting out a wide smile, she proceeds to rub the spirit's head, to which it took willingly. Then, the cat moved its eyes.

"We are back to the mansion already? And...oh! You're that demi girl from last night right?"

"...mm…"

"If you're here, then that must mean the boy is here too. So where is he?"

"I managed to put him onto a bed, but we still need to find her to help heal him."

"I see. You need help?"

"Of course I do, it would take too long otherwise."

"Alrighty then! Let's get going!" Saying that, the cat then flew off towards the end of the hall. The half-elf then proceeds to follow behind the spirit. Eventually, it followed suit.

---

"This one."

"This one?"

"Yep, Betty is definitely here."

"Ok."

"..." This was it? Was what flashed through its head as they all stood in front of a wooden frame, with a similar looking stick poking out. It wonders why this one is different from the rest, as they have already walked past a couple of them.

As it continued to ponder though, the frame was opened, revealing the insides. What immediately caught its attention was how huge the place was. Much larger than the one it saw in the last place where the boy slept. Not only that, there were seemingly hundreds of tall structures placed around the place, surrounding the area with nothing but them. And sitting in the middle of them all, lies a small little girl.

Her appearance uses pink as its base, with stripes of dark brown and white splattered around her. She wore a fluffy coat, with her tights extending all the way down to her feet. Her hair was shaped like drills, with them pointing down. On her head was a small crown, though for what purpose it would serve, no one knows.

At first, her face was indifferent to their arrival, uninterested in who they were. But that quickly changed as soon as she laid her eyes on the cat, then her expression brightened up like a candle.

"Bubby!" She yells for the spirit before getting up from her sitting position and begins running. Specifically towards the cat. Once reached, she extragarrated rubbed her spirit all over her cheeks, whispering something to it. She was paying absolutely no heed to the other two that were present there.

"Mmm, good to see you as well Betty. Hey, can you help me with something?" As the girl kept rubbing her against him, Puck used this time to ask her.

"And what would that be?!" Quickly, she turns the spirit back towards her, staring at him with eyes full of hope. What is she expecting?

"Ah, we just need you to heal someone real quick. He's only a couple of corridows away from here." Without any tangent, Puck went straight to the point.

"...Is that all?" The girl asked, her face visibly twisting into a sad frown, disappointed by the cat's request.

"Aaaaand then we can play?"

"Very well then." And just like that, her face immediately lits up, though not as cheerful as before. That was quite strange.

"Well then, should we move then, I suppose?" The girl then turns over to the half-elf.

"Yes, thank you Beatrice."

"Hmph, no need to thank me, I suppose. I'm only doing this just so Bubby could play with me, I suppose." The little girl, now known as Beatrice, bluntly replies to Emilia, crossing her arms. She then notices another presence. "Who's this one, I suppose?"

"!" As it stared at her, the girl only came closer. It instinctively moved back, quickly setting up its defense towards her. During this whole time, it never once realized something that should have been so obvious to point out, yet only now did it spot it. Her eyes. Something about them reminded it about something. About...someone. Try as it might, however, its memories of the past are blurry at best, and at worst, there was nothing to remember. Right now though, it could only walk away from her.

As the little girl kept getting closer to her, a voice rang out from behind.

"Um, her name is Shirogi, Beatrice. I invited her to come here." Emilia spoke up, a bit confused about the weird atmosphere that was slowly enveloping the scene.

This stops the girl in her tracks, her eyes still locked onto it firmly. It can feel sweats beginning to form. However, Beatrice then opens her mouth.

"Shirogi?" She asked the half-elf.

"H-hai. Since Shirogi couldn't talk, we decided to give her a name to call for convenience. The boy was the one that came up with it…"

"..." She continued to stare at it. At this point, it could almost feel its hands twitching, ready to tackle her if she was going to try something. However, she then relents, backing away.

"...What a strange name, I suppose." Saying those words, Beatrice then turns away. "Let's go then, I suppose."

"O-ok!" Emilia quickly followed her. Seeing them walking away, it breathed a sigh of relief. Relief that nothing truly happened. Relief that it didn't have to resort to doing anything.

"Sorry about that, Shirogi. Betty can be like that sometimes," noticing it, the cat spoke to it, "so don't hate her for it, alright? She doesn't get well with anyone normally."

"...Mm." It quietly answered, with that the spirit then moved away. Its legs were weak, but it could still walk. This was strange for it, as besides that one time, it was perfectly fine with walking. But for some reason, while facing that girl, it could barely held its ground against her, almost like...she was the one that was suppressing it down.

This made it shivered, but nonetheless, it moved forward. It can still feel her intense gaze at it even when she no longer is looking at her. And it doubts that this feeling will be going away anytime soon.

---

"There. He should be fine now, I suppose." Her hand hovering over the boy's exposed stomach, who had also been changed into only a coat to cover him, the bright light that was present there slowly dimmed, until it finally dissipated completely.

"Mmm, thank you soooo much, Beatrice." Seeing the girl finishing her work, Emilia nods at her, her voice filled with gratitude.

"Hmph, I'm only doing this for Bubby, I suppose."

"Hai hai."

"If that is all, then I will go play with Bubby then, I suppose."

"Ah, Betty…" The spirit slowly drifts towards the girl's ears. She lift up her ear towards him.

"Hmm?...Wha! What do you mean not now, I suppose?!" Her eyes lit up, Beatrice yelled in shock.

"Sorry Betty, but I promise that we can play later."

"B-but!"

"Please~?"

"...Mfm." The girl pouted, her frown becoming more obvious with every passing moment. "Fine, but you better promise that, I suppose."

"Mhm, I promise."

Hearing his response, Beatrice then promptly turns around and leaves. Although she was walking in a very forceful manner, as if to express her anger. After she had left, Emilia looks over to the rabbit girl, slightly starling it.

"Mm….Shirogi."

"?"

"Do you...want to look around for a bit?"

"..."

"We still have a bit of time before breakfast, so I was wondering if you are interested in looking around the place. There's quite a lot that I want to show you as well."

It can kinda guess how big the place was just from the looks of it, and it can't say that it wasn't a bit interested in how everything is connected. However, if it came down to it, it would rather stick with what it knows than to explore something completely foreign to it. In this case, the girl was familiar to it. The mansion was not.

"Oh but if you don't want to, I guess you could stay here with Rem and Ram until Subaru wakes up?"

"..." As if an epinany had occurred to it, a decision was instantly made. There was no way it was going to stay here all alone with strangers. And so, it quickly shook its head at the girl's offer, and was about to grab onto her again, until she pulled back.

"You almost did that again! Jeez, but oh well, I guess you do want to take a look." Hiding her hands from it, Emilia then turns to look at the two girls standing behind her. "I'll be leaving him to you two then, is that alright?"

""Yes, Emilia-sama."" Both responded at the same time.

"Ok, then let's head out Shirogi."

"Mm."

---

As they journeyed through the mansion, slowly but surely, the rabbit girl was able to gauge just how massive the place truly was. From its long hallways leading to more long hallways. Rooms that have different functions uniquely to it. And open spaces filled with small holes, each containing water. All of this, and it hasn't even gone outside yet.

It had a passing thought about the places it had seen. Homes that it had travelled to during its time wandering. However, those memories, like many others, were too hazy to recognize. It might have encountered similar places like this one, or maybe even more impressive ones, though it would have no recollection of those places even if it tried to look for it. And so, that thought was simply just that. A thought.

As they take another sharp turn into another long hall, Emilia suddenly stops. She then turned her gaze over to her right, and began to fondle the handle, leading to a room. Opening it revealed the contents inside, bearing only a small, plain looking bed placed at one corner of the room, with a table situated next to it.

As it peaked inside, it wondered why the half-elf decided to open this room out of everything else. Until the girl looked at it and express a smile, though it was a slightly forced one.

"Umm, this is a bedroom. And uh, no one is currently living here so...If you want, you can have it. Only if you want it of course!"

"..." As it stared at the nervous silver-haired girl, its mind processed what she had said.

It's own...room? Truly, something that it had never expected to be asked. How could it? It never had the luxury of time nor freedom for it, and it doubts anyone would let it have one. For it, the snow was its home, and the cold was its blanket. That was all it had ever known, and until now, it still thought that would be all it knows. But now, standing in front of it, being offered something beyond its wildest dreams, if it ever had one, it could stood in silence.

"...Hahh, Lia…" Suddenly, a voice interjects.

"What is it Puck?"

"You could have just said that you wanted company, you know?"

"H-huh?! What do you mean by that?" Her eyes widened, she could only stare at the spirit in shock.

"Isn't that right? This room is awfully close to yours, and if you wanted, you could have chosen anywhere else."

"I-I...Um..I-" Unable to come up with any retorts, Emilia was stuck in a hard place, embarrassed that her little scheme was found out so easily, and by her own spirit! This had also grabbed the attention of a little girl staring at her still.

She's near here? With another element added, its gears started to turn. What seems like a very tempting offer now has another purpose. To be near the girl.

"...mm…" And so, it promptly agreed. Immediately, the girl's expression went from embarrassment to surprise, before fully transitioning into a wide smile.

"Then it's settled, this is your new bedroom! We are going to need to add quite a few things in here to brighten it up a little, but I'm sure we can come up with something great! Oh! That's right, we should also give you a change of clothes." As the girl excitedly starts rambling, the latter remark caught its attention.

Change of clothes? Does that mean what its currently wearing? What's wrong with it? Not only that, should it take it off? As when it formed this body, this clothing had essentially came along with it, so taking it off would mean…

A slight shiver went down its back, discouraging it from thinking any further. It then held its arms together, catching the attention of the half-elf.

"Mmm, you don't want to change your clothes? But it's been dirty from what happened yesterday, so I don't think it's a good idea."

"..."

"We'll have it be cleaned up and ready for tomorrow, but for now it's better for you to change into something else."

"..." Taking a long and deep thought, it starts to reconsider. It's not like anyone would really know, so perhaps it will be alright? But the thought still greatly disturbed it. Regardless, it decided that not changing would be more trouble than worth.

"...mm…" With an awfully long pause, it agreed. The half-elf seemed relieved by it.

"Alright, let's go check out if there is anything that fits you. There should be some inside one of the changing rooms here."

"Wouldn't it be better if you used yours, Lia?" The spirit remarks.

"Eh?" The girl could stare at him dumbfounded. "What do you mean by that?"

"I mean you can give her some of yours. Plus it would be a nice bonding experience between the both of you~."

"Um...I...would that...be ok?" She looks at it, her eyes showing clear hesitation in her words. It wondered why for a moment, before nodding at her. This surprises the half-elf, as if she didn't even think that it would accept. How odd.

"O-ok then, let's head to my room." With that, she quickly left the two and began sprinting away. Using this time, the cat flies over to its ear.

"Thanks for doing this. If you can, I want you to be friends with her alright? She doesn't really have anyone, so this would help her open up a lot more."

"...Mm." Though it did not know much, the fact still stands that it was interested in her. So getting closer to her seems like the right way to go. A decision to go along with her. To understand her. To understand her actions, and to know who she really is. That is what it had decided to do.

And so, it began to follow suit behind her, a small thought still lingering inside its mind.

...Decide….

---

"In here." Opening another room, the three proceed to step inside. It was noticeably bigger than the others, with many more objects placed around the room. A large glass situated in a corner, with tables scattered around the place. It truly felt like someone had been living here. And next to the bed, which was just as big as the one in the young boy's room, a large wooden closet could be seen, of which Emilia walked towards.

With a single motion, she promptly opens the closet wide, revealing a slew of different pieces of cloth, all hanging neatly on the top of it. The half-elf then gestures to it to come closer.

"Let's see…" She then picks out the different clothes. Some were dark in color, some were too colorful. This continued for a few minutes.

"Hmm….maybe this one will...no, a bit too big. How about this? Eh, doesn't look that nice."

"..." Emilia continues to flick through her clothes, raising up to the rabbit girl as estimate. Her reluctance and nervousness were no longer present, instead was replaced with joy and excitement as she scoured through her closet.

As it watched her enjoying the little activity, it couldn't help but smile a little. It liked how she looked when she smiled, it wanted her to always look like that. So, it continued to stand still and let her have her way as long as she wanted.

After a little while longer however, its eyes caught onto something. As it did, it reached into the closet, surprising the half-elf. As the girl watched on, she realized what it was trying to grab.

It was a small dress, hidden deep behind her other clothing. With long sleeves, a small gap was seen starting from the torso, it bore a cyan with a tinge of blue as its color. Overall, it was a nice dress, one that didn't try to make itself stand out, but just the right balance between dark and light. Emilia seems to agree with its choice.

"Hmm, it's not the same color as yours, but it can still work. Let's try it on."

"Mm."

---

"Alright, let's see…" Saying that, Emilia slowly back away from the girl, bringing her full body into view.

In front of her was the rabbit demi-human, now no longer wearing her signature white coat. Replacing that was a simple dress, covering just above the girl's knee, which was also bolding white stockings. Her hair was straightened out, making her small rabbit ears slightly more visible. In conclusion, there was only one word to describe her.

"You're so adorable, Shirogi!"

"...Mmm…" As the half-elf's eyes continued to sparkle, it could only look away. Somehow, it found her intense gaze much more different than the one from the little girl that it had met. Instead of bringing it fear, it was...something else. It was uncomfortable, and yet it did not hate this feeling. How very strange.

Another thing was how...bare it feels. Like it wasn't even wearing anything. It wasn't sure if this is because of it taking off what is essentially parts of itself, or that this is just how the dress feels. Either way, it did not like this one bit, trying to cover itself up with its hands, while Emilia was busy circling it.

The half-elf was also wearing something different. Similar in design to it, but with a pink as its base color. It also came with a rope-like necklace, which is used to hold the crystal from where the spirit is apparently originating from. In short, it found it to be fitting for her.

"My my I do have to say, you two look absolutely fantastic~" Says Puck as he nods his head, admiring the view in front of him.

"Alright, I'm going to bring these over to the cleaning room. While we are doing that, let's go check up on Subaru as well." Emilia says, picking up the clothes left on the bed.

"Sounds good to me~"

"Mm."

With that, the trio proceed outside. Just when they were about to head towards anywhere however, a voice rang from behind them.

"Why heeeello there, Emilia-sama~"

As it turned its back, the silhouette of man was visible. His clothing was unusual, even more so than the young boy, with strange accessories attached to certain parts of his clothes. His face was completely white, with blue lines slithered across his eyes. Speaking of them, even that was bizarre, with two of them being completely different colors. Blue and yellow. Just staring at him was enough to make it slightly uneasy. He looked way too odd, and his voice only made it even more perplexed.

"Oh, hi Roswaal." The half-elf calmly says to him, seemingly unfazed by his weird tone of voice. Perhaps she was already used to his weirdness, or perhaps she just decided to no longer care.

"I see that Emilia-sama has come home safely. I was a bit wooorried when you came back so late."

"I'm sorry for making you worried then. A lot of unexpected things happened."

"Ram had told me aaaall about it. Besides the boy, the girl next to you also helped, correct?" He quickly glances over to it, before returning his creepy gaze towards Emilia.

"Yes, her name is Shirogi."

"Then I must offer my sincerest thank you to you then, Shirogi-san." With that, he lightly bows before it.

"M-mm…" For some reason, his aura felt familiar to it. Though why, it does not know.

"Well then, how is the boy, aaanyways?"

"He's currently resting not far from here. Do you want to meet him, Roswaal?"

"Of cooourse I do, Emilia-sama. But I can wait until breakfast, it will be smoother that way."

"If you say so. Well then, I guess we'll be taking our leave." Emilia then swiftly turns away and begins to walk. It quickly followed suit, wanting nothing more than to get far from him right now. It didn't like his tone of voice nor the way he stretches out some of his words. It was unsettling, and combining it with that ominous expression he constantly parades around, it only intensifies that feeling.

As the three quickly disappear from his vision, the man lets out a smile.

"A deviation...but how much significance would this leave, I wonder." A whisper towards himself, as he began to walk the opposite direction. A smile was still ever present on his pale face, now more intrigued than ever.

---

"I wonder if he is awake yet?" The half-elf asked as they were reaching closer to his room. After they have gotten away from the creepy man, both of their clothes were then given to Rem for cleaning, and now they are on their way to check on the boy.

"I wonder what he will think about your new appearance, Though for some reason, I can't help but think that it would be something stupid again, hehe."

"...mm." It silently replied, not sure on how to feel about that. Walking around with this dress was certainly an odd experience. It felt lighter, much lighter. Its steps were barely audible, and its legs and arms were more exposed than before, though it felt like all of its body was exposed. This was so awkward to it that it couldn't help but question why it even decided to agree to this.

...Decide. That thought passed through its mind again. It has been happening ever since it came here. To decide…

No, not just when it came here. This was way before everything, way before it even met the two. It was always there, lingering deep inside its consciousness, waiting until it finally confronted it. That thought just so happens to be growing stronger ever since it met them.

As its mind began to wander off, the half-elf girl notices its face being in a trance. She decided not to interrupt. And so the journey to the boy's room was filled with unusual silence, with no sound being omitted from anyone. The only exception was the footsteps echoing throughout the hall. Everything was calm, with nothing that could possibly destroy this quiet atmosphere, at least until-

BANG

"Eh?!"

"!" An object suddenly threw across their visions, hitting straight into the wall. It was so unexpected that the three of them had no idea how to process it, until Emilia was the one who snaps out of it.

"W-what was that?!" She yelled.

"Hmm? Why are you here, I suppose?" Walking out of the doorway, which the object was supposedly throw out from, Beatrice stood in front of them.

"B-beatrice? What did you do?"

"Taking out an annoying bug, I suppose."

"Bug? Ah! Subaru?!" Turns out what hit the wall was none other than the boy that they were going to check up on, who is now laying on the cold hard floor. The silver hair half-elf ran over to him to check, it quickly followed her.

"Hmph! He was the one that came into my Forbidden Library and provoked me first. I just simply taught him a lesson, I suppose."

"You didn't need to throw him like that though! What if he gets injured again?"

"No need to worry, I made sure not to go overboard, I suppose. Besides, I can always just heal him again."

"Jeez...Shirogi, let's carry him back."

"Mm." As the two slowly dragged the newly unconscious boy back to his room, it felt a gaze from behind. A feeling that it just had the displeasure of experiencing not too long ago. It didn't dare to look back.

Observing the two girls dragging the trash away, Beatrice only looked on, particularly towards the one with the cyan dress. Something about her was very odd, but she couldn't quite put into words how so. Or maybe, she didn't want to acknowledge it.

"It can't be…" A whisper to herself only, she narrowed her eyes. Regardless, whether that...girl was really what she thinks it is, it's not her problem to begin with. So long as it doesn't do something extremely rash, she could care less. And so, Beatrice silently closes the door.

---

Where...am I? As he slowly opens his eyes, trying to regain some balance to himself. The scenery before him became slightly clearer than before.

This...is my house? Subaru has returned to his world, specifically in his house. But this wasn't his room, instead this was the front door. Why was he here?

Oh yeah. I was planning to go out. He remembered why now, he wanted to go to a convenience store to buy something to eat and read some of the manga there. He wondered why he was spacing out just now, why he suddenly forgot what he was doing.

Maybe staying up so late playing video games all the time wasn't such a good idea. He chuckled a bit at his own pointless thoughts, mocking himself internally for stating something so obvious. Regardless, he tied up his shoelaces and stood up, reaching his hand out for the door handle.

Wonder what I should buy? As he asked himself those questions, a voice suddenly rang out from behind him.

"Take care."

"..."

Mom? Why is she up so late? As he tried to figure out the answer, his nervousness began to take a hold of him. Normally both his mom and dad should be asleep by now, which is why he always chooses this exact frame of time to go out every night, just so they wouldn't know about it. Unless…

….It's my fault. His mother would have never stayed up this late if he hadn't sneaked off the house just to get some snacks all the time, therefore causing her to worry about him. And yet even so, instead of scolding him or telling him that he shouldn't do this, she only gave him a kind word, wishing him well on his journey.

Why? Why can't she just tell him how disappointed she is at him? Why can't she just tell him that she hated him? That she no longer loved him after what he had done? Why? Why still care for him? Why? Why? Why?

If she had only said that, if both of them had just said that, he would have felt better, knowing that he already had failed them, that he no longer needed to try anymore. Yet they don't, instead they showed him love and care. Why? He didn't understand, he can't understand, he doesn't want to. How could they love someone like him? Someone who would choose to sneak away to avoid being caught? To completely destroy their life just because they didn't feel like wanting to go on anymore? Why? Just why?

"..."

CREAK

Without saying anything, he opened the door. He couldn't say anything, how could he? For someone like him, who was going to sneak out after staying up all night doing nothing but playing games, has the right to look at her? Let alone talking to her. He can't, he doesn't want to, and so he left, not even making a single sound.

Strangely, he couldn't see anything in front of him, even though there were street lights around his neighborhood, but he couldn't care less about it. He doesn't want to be here, he doesn't want to face her any longer. He can't.

Walking into the darkness, he instinctively closed his eyes.

---

"...huh?"

All he saw was the ceiling, a very unfamiliar ceiling at that. No…he knows this, he had already seen this.

Oh yeah. Now he remembered, he was sleeping on a bed, and woke up. It seemed like he met some girl in a library looking room, then she placed a hand on him and seemingly knocked him out. If that is the case, then this is the second time he woke up? No wait, third time.

So it was all a dream huh? He was simultaneously relieved and surprised to think that he could create such a vivid dream like that, though he hated what the dream was about. He didn't want to think about it anymore. And so he tried to push himself up, until he heard someone's voice.

"Oh, he has awakened, Sister."

"Indeed, he has awakened, Rem."

"Hmm?" As he got up from his bed, he turned to look at the direction of the voices, and what he saw was nothing more than magical to him. There stood two girls wearing maid outfits, which is to him, the very personification of elegance. And now, standing in front of him was exactly that, he couldn't help but be baffled yet happy at the same time, raising his fist up.

"Thank you for the wonderful sight!"

"How terrible. You are being violated by our guest's mind, Sister."

"It is terrible. You are experiencing the ultimate shame in our guest's mind, Rem."

"Don't underestimate my capacity. You are all fair prey in my consciousness!" Wriggling his fingers rapidly at them, he felt slightly more relieved. At least with this he can forget about that dream, this is another world after all. He can rebuild what he couldn't back then, so right now, he'll do what he can.

Suddenly, a knock was heard. He turned his gaze towards the door, spotting the half-elf girl standing there, along with the rabbit demi-human. Staring at them, he immediately noticed the change in clothing, and let out a wide grin.

"Can't you wake up a bit more peacefully, Subaru?" The half-elf softly spoke, her face was a mix of relief and disappointment.

"Whoever designed that outfit totally gets it!" Totally oblivious to that however, Subaru points at her.

"I don't know what you are talking about, but knowing that it's something stupid is disappointing."

"Really? Am I really that predictable? But anyways, you look great!"

"Thank you for the compliment then."

"Listen to this, Emilia-sama. My dear sister was just violated by that man."

"Please listen to this, Emilia-sama. Rem was held prisoner and shamed by that man." The two maids then point their fingers at him. These two….they really are going at me huh? Well, I guess I did say those words to them. Regardless, this made him feel better and before he knew it, he had already forgotten about the dream by now. And so, with that, he finally manages to get his feets off the bed and onto the floor.

"Don't tease him so much, you two."

"Yes, Emilia-sama. My Sister is very sorry."

"Yes, Emilia-sama. Rem is sorry as well." They are talking perfectly in sync with each other huh? Although he had seen shows that had characters who talked like this, it was still odd to him, especially when this isn't a show, but actual reality.

"How are you feeling Subaru?" Looking away from the maids, Emilia asked him.

"Oh, I'm just a bit groggy from oversleeping, that's all. Other than that, I feel perfectly fine!"

"Is that so? That's a relief then." She lets out a sigh, with any sense of worry she was having dissipated. He wondered why she had such a face, but decided to not talk about it.

"You saved me right, Emilia-tan?"

"Eh? "Tan"?"

"Ahh, you can just ignore that...but really, thanks for saving my life. I really mean it." Covering his slip-up, he then took a deep bow while still sitting on his bed.

"No, I should thank you instead. I really didn't do much, while you risked your life for my sake."

"Heh, I guess I did...But still, I want to give you my thanks." To her, it might not have been much, just a simple action of helping a stranger. But just that was enough for him. Being thrusted into another world without any prior warning, he was completely and utterly lost and had no idea what to do. It didn't help that almost no one was willing to give him some assistance, then again it was because of this that having her being the one who gave him a hand meant so much more, so he can't really argue about it.

"If you say so then. There's also someone else who wants to see you as well."

"Oh? And who could that b-Ah!" Glancing towards the doorway, he spots the silhouette of a little girl. Hair white as snow, with her small rabbit-like ears hanging on her head, was the demi-human girl Shirogi. Seeing her alright gave him a sense of relief, knowing what happened last time. But that feeling was then quickly changed to excitement upon seeing the clothes the girl was wearing.

It was similar in design to Emilias, but had a different hue to its fabric, being the color of cyan mixed with a bit of blue. It fit very well on her, effectively making her more cuter than she already was. He didn't have any problems with that being the case obviously.

"That looks amazing on you Shirogi!"

"!...mm." Seemingly caught off-guard by his compliment, she gave her usual response with a slightly flustered expression. This only made her look way cuter however.

"Alright alright, that's enough. You should go and dress up now, Subaru. Then we can go have breakfast." Said the half-elf as she gestured to him to get up.

"Ok!" Jumping off the bed, he then headed towards the bathroom to change. But before he entered the room, he paused for a few seconds, then turned his head back to the half-elf.

"...Um...do you uh know where my clothes are?"

"It's in the closet over there, mister forgetful guest." Said the pink-haired maid as she pointed in the direction of the furniture.

"Right, but why am I forgetful if I was unconscious during the entire time?!"

"Just please change before we can think of anything else to criticize your poor character, mister easily tempered guest." Said the blue-haired maid pointing in the same direction as the other one.

"Alrig-Wait, you just mocked me again!"

---

"You live in a pretty big place, Emilia-tan."

"Mhm, although there aren't that many people that live here to warrant such a massive place, so it often feels empty."

They were on their way to the dining room, passing through multiple hallways and corridors. The place definitely fit into what his definition of "royal family houses" looked like, and so it was surreal to him that he is currently walking and living inside one right now. This was certainly not what he was expecting to experience in his life.

Walking behind the two of them were both the maids, and just on his right side is the demi-human girl. Observing the girl up close, he couldn't help but feel the need to touch her ears, even for just a little. It was a miracle that he could hold back on his impulses. Though seeing her suddenly so close to him also made him wonder about things.

One of those was a question of who she is exactly. At first he thought that she was someone that summoned him to this world, but judging from how she doesn't meet him immediately and also the fact that she doesn't seem like she knows anything about his ability, he quickly came to the conclusion that she wasn't the one. Though if that's not the case, then who is she really?

Thinking about this, he remembered being told by the cat spirit that the girl was apparently following him, but why is that? Was there something about him that caught her interest? Well except for his out of place clothing, he doesn't see much else to him, so it can't be that. Or is it because she wanted to steal something from him? No, he doesn't look like he had anything on him anyways...wait, those three guys attacked him despite that so maybe she was trying to steal? Or...not?

Just trying to come up with an answer was already too much for him to handle already, but the more he thought about it, the more he wondered. And all of that isn't even touching on who she even is. At this point, he might as well ask her outright than speculate, though this was definitely not the time or place for that, so for now, he decides to shove the matter out of the way and focus on it another time.

"So, how many people are living here, Emilia-tan?" Taking his mind elsewhere, Subaru asked her. The half-elf gave him an odd look before answering.

"Mm, there's me, Puck, Rem and Ram, Beatrice and also the lord of the mansion himself." Emilia recited their names, using her fingers to count as well. "And with you two, that makes eight people."

"I see, what's the lord guy like?" I already got to know Rem and Ram a bit, and that little girl in that giant library is probably Beatrice, so what about the man behind it all? Was what he thought.

"Hmm...He's quite odd." After much consideration, Emilia could only give out those words for the man.

"Odd?"

"Honestly, I'm not too sure about him either. Even when I have lived here for a while now, I still don't quite understand him." Emilia further says, making Subaru more curious about this man.

"Is that so...must be pretty mysterious then."

"I could say so to you as well, Subaru."

"Eh? How so?"

"Your clothes for example. It's not like anything I have ever seen before, and your hair is also quite odd."

"Well, I guess you're right with that." Now that I think about it, I really stand out like a sore thumb. I should probably get some new clothes to wear.

"Your eyes are also quite scary."

"Hey! It's not like I can change that part of me alright? It was just genetics!"

"Ge-generics? What is that?"

"D-don't worry about that, it's nothing really!" I forgot that this is a medieval-like world after all, so I can assume that things here aren't nearly advanced in any way. Well, not that it really matters to me. This is still an isekai world through and through!

"Ah, look Subaru. There he is."

"Hmm?" Turning his gaze over to where the half-elf was pointing, a tall man wearing a peculiar outfit was seen standing in the hallway. Paying more attention to his face, the man was wearing strange make-up. It made him think of one thing.

"A jester?" Subaru remarks. "Your lord guy must be pretty rich to have someone like that in your household, though that is to be expected I guess."

"Eh?...what do you mean by that?" Confused, the silver-haired girl asked.

"Him.", he points at the clown, "Though I gotta say, pretty weird to have them here so early in the morning."

"...Subaru, that's the lord of the mansion." Emilia softly says, delivering the revelation in the most deadpanned voice he had heard.

"Eh? W-wait! That's the lord?!" Utterly shocked, he could only stare at the man, his jaw visibly hanging down.

"Mhm, come on, we should hurry then." The half-elf quickly moves forwards, accompanied by the two maids.

"O-ok…" Still in a state of shock, Subaru could only respond with a single word. "Well...I guess this is a part of being transported to another world. Maybe the dress code here is much different from my place."

"..."

"Ah? Oh Shirogi! Sorry about that!" Turning his head back to see the demi-human girl lightly tugging at his sleeve, observing him and patiently waiting for his next move. Subaru became flustered by this, and promptly looked away.

Agh! I made a cute girl wait for my nonsense, unacceptable! Slapping his cheeks, he then turns back to face her, "Alright! Let's go!" and began to valiantly march towards the dining room. The girl followed suit.

---

"Aaaaand that is the summary of what has been going on, Natsuki Subaru~" With his weird way of speaking, the mansion lord named Roswaal had just finished re-telling the events that's been going on in the capital.

The death of the royal family, leaving the throne vacant and the country temporarily under control by the council. This leads to the four candidates being chosen by an insignia that a certain girl nearly has it stolen from her. And with that, one of them will be chosen to be the rightful heir of the throne.

All in all, I think I did a pretty good job then. Indeed, if it wasn't for him, there was a high likelihood of Emilia losing her insignia, and thus before the fight for the throne could even commence, she would no doubt be disqualified for such a blunder. With that being said tho…

"I can't believe you managed to get such an important thing stolen from you."

"Y-you don't need to tell me that ok? I already acknowledged my mistake." Her voice slightly higher than usual, Emilia remarks, sounding more like a young child wanting to avoid being punished by their parents. It was cute of her, was what Subaru thought.

"Anyways, it's good that things didn't go as bad as they could have gone." Recalling back his past memories, or well, his past lives, Subaru could feel a slight shiver running down his back.

Even now, the sight of that woman and the battle that proceeded after it still felt surreal to him. He still questions whether or not all of that really did happen. But there was one thing that he couldn't mistake, no matter what. It was the reality that he had died, and came back.

Why he gained such an ability in the first place was a complete mystery to him, but nevertheless, it was this power that saved him from death multiple times, so right now, he feels quite thankful for whoever gave him such power.

However, it would have been much nicer if it didn't involve me dying...Death being in his current knowledge, the only way to activate it was not great news to him. So even if he could come back, he will still need to die for it to happen.

If anything, I would like to avoid that as much as possible. Besides, I should be safe in this mansion anyways.

"Well then, with all of that aside, I suppose we should talk about your rewaaaard, right~?" Interrupting the boy's thoughts, the man in even more strange clothing says.

"Reward?"

"Indeed. It would simply be hoooorrible manners of me, the one who is the backing of Emilia-sama, to not thank you for your great help, after all." The man named Roswaal elaborates.

"I see...then I can ask for anything then?"

"Anything that you so desire. I will do my beeeest to adhere to it."

"Alright, if that's the case, my request would be-", with the push of the chair, the black-haired boy valiantly stood up, and just as manly, pointed his finger into the ceiling, "-to make me a butler of this place!"

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

Clank

A sudden sound erupted through the eerie silence, demanding all the attention towards the source of it all. At the far corner of the table, sitting neatly by themselves, was a snow white haired rabbit girl, shoving food into her mouth.

She wasn't paying much attention to the conversation. Actually, was she ever really paying attention at all? Was what went through most of their minds as they watched the girl devour the remaining scraps on her plate.

Finishing her most certainly delicious and messy meal, the girl finally took notice of the gazes placed upon her. Turning to look at the audience, the girl stared as her mouth still moved slightly. Then, as if she had realized her situation, swiftly moves her hand over to her mouth, wiping it clean. It only stained her sleeves however.

"Ah! Don't do that!" Grabbing a handkerchief nearby, Emilia wiped it across the little girl's face. Then continues down to her food stained sleeve.

"...cute." Subaru uttered, his voice only faint enough for him to hear.

"...Ahem," with a short cough, the jester hastily recovers, "If that is what you wish for, then I shall grant it." and proceeded to break away from his usual speech pattern.

"Ah, cool then."

"Now, as for the other one...Tell me, Natsuki Subaru. What is your relaaation to this girl?" The jester asked the young boy, his voice growing noticeably quieter.

Subaru fell into a brief silence. Sorting through his thoughts, the only conclusion he could come up with was-

"Mm, We are...companions?" It was the best answer he could give. Better than not saying anything at least. Besides, considering what they went through in such a short time, calling her his companion makes sense.

"I see…" The man in strange attire nods, his expression bearing slight surprise. Subaru couldn't tell what the man was thinking, but he decided to not dwell on it too much.

"Well then, in thaaaat case, I shall have her be appointed as a guest here. For as long as she so desires. Is that alright with you, miss…?" The man turns his gaze towards the rabbit girl, waiting for his affirmation.

Still having her mouth cleaned, the girl notices the looks she was being given. She quickly turns over to meet them. Her eyes darted from one person to another, staying perfectly silent. As if waiting for someone to give her a signal.

"...Shirogi." Unable to bear the poor sight, Subaru spoke up.

"!" She then snaps her head at him, locking eyes onto his. His body suddenly felt colder than before. A lot colder. It startled him greatly, not knowing why he is feeling this way. He decided best to ignore it.

"Um, would you be fine with staying here? Specifically as a guest?"

"..." Her eyes softened a little, and simultaneously, the coldness that he felt dissipated. How weird. Shirogi still only looked on, however.

"Ah, Roswaal-san?"

"Yes, Emilia-sama?" A voice interjecting into the air, belonging to the half-elf.

"Shirogi is unable to speak. Um, we found out about it when we first met her." Emilia spoke, before suddenly, her eyes flashed. "Oh yeah! I could help to teach Shirogi how to speak and write! That should definitely help her!" And gave a wonderful idea.

"Hmm…" Roswaal stayed silent for a while, before gazing back up to her. "Well, I suppooose so long as she doesn't mind it." He then looks back to the girl in question.

Shirogi, still quite oblivious to what was happening, decided to violently nod. And with that, came the end of breakfast...well, lunch more like.

---

"Mmmm...Something feels a bit off."

"And what would that be?"

"That I'm actually just wearing a female outfit?" The boy bluntly states, his arms flapping about the air.

"Since there are only me and my sister Ram who work here, we only have these types of clothing." The blue hair girl plainly says, her face unchanging nor her tone. "However, besides the slightly longer sleeves, you seem to fit quite nicely in it."

"Hah? Now what do you mean by that?"

"I mean exactly what I said."

"Then you're wrong then! There's no way I fit into this!"

"Don't try to pass the blame onto my sister, Barusu. It's your fault for being born frailed of any masculine traits." The girl, bearing striking resemblance to the other but instead had pink hair, huffs, leaning into the wall with her arms crossed.

"Hey, I can't just change what I look like, alright? And why did you have to turn my name into a blinding curse?!"

"You should be thankful to me for having blessed you with my words. It's the only thing that stands out to you."

"Why the hell would I be thankful for that! You're destroying my pride here!"

"Hmph." No longer paying attention to him, the maid directed her gaze towards the blue-haired one. "Rem, take Barusu's measurements."

"Yes, sissy." The maid named Rem proceeds to pull out a yellow rope. "Spread your arms please."

"O-ok…" Subaru nervously raises his arms. As Rem begins to take his measurements, Subaru's body constantly shifts, his cheeks getting redder every moment.

"Please stop moving, you're making this weird." Rem remarks.

"I can't help it, ok? This is my first time doing this, and with a girl no less."

"It's truly a miracle that you haven't stained any innocents other than us." Ram quickly and in sheer confidence, jabs back at him.

"Agh! Why are you two keep ganging up on me? What did I do wrong!" Frustrated, Subaru lets out a defeated sigh, before noticing the presence of two other individuals.

"Emilia-tan, save me!" Locking onto the half-elf's direction, Subaru squirmed before being quickly jabbed by Rem. "Gah!"

"Please, stand still Baru-Subaru."

"You almost said my name wrong there! But anyways, I need your help, Emilia-tan!"

"Hehe…" Instead of doing anything, the girl only stood there and giggled, amused by the current predicament the boy is encased in.

"E-emilia?" Shocked, Subaru could only muster up her name, completely abandoning the weird calling he gave her.

"Mmm. Rem, Ram, don't toy with him so much."

""Yes, Emilia-sama."" Hearing their response, the boy finally slumps his shoulders, relieved that the worst is over.

"So, what brings you two here?" Subaru proceeds to ask the half-elf.

"Well, Shirogi wanted to watch you apparently."

"Eh?" The boy turns over to it, who promptly hides away from his gaze. Back then, it didn't paid much attention to the conversation if at all. Instead, it could only recall the taste of the meal it ate. It was trying to test whether or not its hunger had come back, so it decided to eat without paying any heed to others. This however, only led to it consuming the whole plate due to how good it was.

It only blindly nodded, not knowing what it was even getting itself into. This place was unfamiliar to it. It was spacious yet oddly empty. Only a few lived here, which only cements the loneliness of the place. So it decided to do the most logical thing. To stick to what it knows. What it felt to be the most safest to be with. And that was besides the two that it had been with ever since it came back.

(decided)...

Granted, even if it wasn't allowed to, it would still desperately stick to them like glue. But it seems there is no need for it to be that desperate.

Emilia looks over to the girl, before returning her gaze towards the boy.

"So would it be fine then?"

"Hmm...Sure!" With that, a sense of relief spread across its body. Relaxing its shoulders.

"Alright! Emilia-tan, Shirogi, watch me be the best butler you will ever see!" Flashing a grin towards them, the boy raises his thumb.

"Before you do that, let me finish my measurements first." With a swift motion, The blue haired maid wraps the rope around the boy's neck, forcefully pulling him towards her. "So stop squirming."

"Agh! I-I'm sorry."

"Hehe." Emilia giggles before the sight. "Well then, I'll leave Shirogi here with you."

"Eh? You're going somewhere, Emilia-tan?"

"Emilia-sama has better, more important matters to attend to. It would be very unwise for her to remain here with you, Barusu."

"I see, but did you really have to add that last part in as well?"

"Try not to tease him so much you two."

""Yes, Emilia-sama."" The two maids simultaneously reply, almost as if they have practiced doing this. The half-elf takes their responses with a nod, seemingly used to their rythmed behaviour.

"I'll leave Shirogi to you then Subaru. Try your best, ok?"

"You bet I will!" The boy promptly smiles at her. Thankfully, he didn't forget to stay as still as possible unless he wanted to face the blue haired maid's wrath.

"Before you do anything however, I will have to give you a tour of this mansion." Ram says.

"Oh right, I barely know the layout here." Realizing such a dumb mistake, he looks towards the maid. "Thanks, Ram."

"Save what little brain you have to remember the layout please." Ram sighs, before looking over to Rem. "Are you done with his measurements, Rem?"

"Yes, I'll go make it now." The girl quickly grabs the necessary materials, before leaving the scene.

With the three of them left, Subaru focuses his gaze onto Ram, waiting for her to move. The demi-human however, is still only staring at Subaru, not relenting for one moment. Like she couldn't care less about anything else.

"Follow me then." Giving a quick glance over the girl, Ram decided to just ignore her odd attachment to the boy, and began to walk forward, guiding them away.

---

As the trio continued their touring, it continued to follow him. Not leaving his side for one bit, practically clinging onto him. The words of the girl in front of it didn't quite matter, for it had already seen the rough layout of the place, guided by the silver-haired girl. Though it wouldn't say that it has remembered everything.

Regardless of this, it could only direct its attention to the boy in front, and only the boy. The only one currently that it knows of. The only one that exudes familiarity. Someone that it could be comfortable enough to stay near. Even when it felt relaxed being near the girl named Emilia, this boy gave it the most comfort. Only he can. The one who bears the smell resembling to its mother.

With that said, it recalled something from the not too distant past. Something that it used to have. The one that temporarily pushed it to keep moving. Yes, that thought, that goal. It can still remember its feeling from then.

To tear him apart.

The thought made it sweat a little, realizing how...intense it was not too long ago. This made it wonder how its past self would react to the current situation now. Instead of mauding at him, ripping him, tearing him like it had originally wanted. It was very much compiling to simply follow him around. Oh it wondered what that past version might have thought.

But with that being said, what does it want to do now? This is what it had questioned itself back then, when it made a decision. A decision to follow the boy. To accompany him wherever he was going. That was what it had decided then…

No, there was another. At that moment, it also wanted to follow the girl. Simply because it was curious, almost fascinated by her strange behaviour. The way that she gently looks at it, and heals its injuries despite having no need to. Extending her reach to others unfamiliar to her, all of her actions have been most strange to her. And so she caught its attention.

It wanted to know more about her, about him. That thought unknowingly became it's temporary drive to move on. Shifting its focus completely away from its original intent, now occupied with a slightly more sophisticated objective. For all intents and purposes, things seemed to come out all well. Yet its mind still lingered on something. Something that has been silently aching away at it since it could even possibly be remembered.

Is this...really what I should be doing? Was the question that it had. Despite making all those decisions, a part of it kept wondering if making one was something it should even do. Why did it even make one? Why was it even allowed to make one?

Through its entire life, it never needed to make a decision, for its existence was made for just one purpose. To consume every living thing in its wake. Never stopping. Never relent. And never stop growing in numbers. That was all it was made for.

And yet here it is, wandering inside a human's home, itself bearing a human appearance. All these people. All these...meat. Literally placed right in front of it, just waiting for it to take a bite. But it didn't. It never did.

So now, it could only think to itself. Why is it like this? What changed? Where was the urge? Where was the drive? Where was...it's endless gluttony? All of it, seemingly disappeared without a trace, leaving it in a confused and voided mindstate.

For a being capable of destroying and consuming every living creature, created for only such a purpose in mind. For it to lose that...what would be left of it? What even is there left? A one minded creature like itself, to have something like this happen, it should have broke. No, it did break. A long time ago.

It couldn't quite recall how long that time was, but it can still retrace its feelings from back then. And there was nothing but sheer dread. Dread from essentially nothing. That feeling of emptiness, devoid of any sense of purpose, of the need for anything. That very feeling destroyed it.

It lost what it once had. What it had only ever was supposed to be. The one thing that was forever constant to it. Disappeared. As if the time spent with it was nothing more than a specter in the sky. Leaving it to decide on what to do next.

Decide….Why was it left like that? Why, after all that time. After all those moments. After every passing day in its endless days of gluttony, did it have to be on that day? What was so special about that day? Why did it even happen in the first place?

Decide? Did it not care? Was it simply just a tool to be used? To be played with until there was nothing more to do, just to throw it away like a broken toy? Was that really it? Nothing more, nothing less?

Decide? Decide? For what felt like an eternity, it wallowed in agony. Not from pain, even when it was getting shredded into pieces by itself. But from the sheer void that it could feel born from inside from it. That sheer inescapable feeling of nothingness. To feel nothing. To know nothing. To exist for nothing. It couldn't handle it, so it broke. It cried. It lashed. It clawed. But no matter what it did, that feeling stayed.

Decide decide decide... So it did what was logical to it. To wait. For the hunger to come back. For the feeling to dissipate, replacing it with the familiar bloodlust. Thinking of nothing but flesh and bones. To just simply continue eating itself over and over. But that never came. It was waiting for a one sided promise that will never come to be.

Decide decide decide decide… After waiting for nothing to come, what was it supposed to do? Continue its vainful wait? Or to just continue massacring countless versions of itself in hopes of something to happen. For something to spark inside of it? It could do that, but why was it allowed to think about it? Why was it allowed to even think about anything at all? To rationalize its thoughts. To think abouts its predicament. To feel something that it never needed to feel. To decide what it wanted to do.

Decide decide decide decide decide decide. This wasn't right. This couldn't be right. It was never made for this. It was never made for anything else. So why was it like this? Why is it becoming like this? This is wrong. Everything about this is wrong. It was wrong. And it shouldn't be able to decide that this was wrong!

Why why why why why why why. What is wrong with it? Why is this happening? To allow itself to do all of this. How disgusting of it. How putrid for it to do such a thing. Going back everything that it had ever stood for and represented simply because it decided to do so. Who gave it this right? Why does it even deserve to possess such a thing? AND WHY IS IT STILL THINKING.

Shut up shut up shut up shut up shut up shut up shut up shut up shut up shut up

JUST SHUT UP

"Shirogi!"

"...?" Looking up, its eyes meeting with the black-haired boy. His gaze was focused on it, worry clearly etched onto his face. But why? What are you so worried about?

As it pondered, it realized where its hands were, and what they were holding onto. The boy's sleeve, its fingers digging deeper into him. Upon realizing this, it quickly let go of him, its hands shaking.

"Shirogi...are you ok?" Confused by the little girl's rapid movement, Subaru asked. During the entire tour, she had been clinging onto him, only getting closer and closer until she just held onto his arm. At first he was embarrassed, but that feeling soon turned into worry as he saw her face.

As for the rabbit, It just stood there, unable to figure out what to respond. Not that it could even do that anyways, but something like this doesn't seem like it could just say nothing and move along. The boy needed an answer.

"What's going on here?" Another voice, the source coming from the one behind him. It was the pink haired maid, who was giving the two of them a tour around the place. As she got closer, the maid glanced over to it, her eyes immediately narrowing deeply. This only made it more nervous.

"Barusu, what did you do to her?" She quickly made a remark to the boy. But her tone didn't have the same light-hearted mood as before. It was serious.

"Wha? Why did you think I did something?!"

"I should have known that having you near a girl would be dangerous. You truly are disgusting, Barusu."

"Waahhh! Stop stop stop!" Determined to prevent this from escalating any further, he quickly puts his arms into a cross motion. "You got it all wrong, I didn't do anything!"

"Then what is it really?"

"I...I think Shirogi doesn't feel so good.", he glances over to her, "Maybe we can stop for today?"

Hearing that, Ram gave him a suspicious look, before turning over to the one being discussed. Without any warning, she then placed her hand onto its forehead, slightly starterling it.

Her eyes were staring at it, leaving it with no way to look away. It started to panic, its nervousness skyrocketed. And yet, she continued to hold a firm grasp of its head, seemingly determined to hold onto it. Realizing it would be futile to try to escape from her, it decided to just let the maid have her way.

...Decide. Again. It was doing it again. Why does it keep doing this? Why can't it just stop itself from doing this? It shouldn't even be allowed to think about doing anything. It only needed to know one thing. To think of only one thing. But now...it can't even remember what it was.

As it slowly slips back into its mindscape, a sudden motion snaps it back out. Ram's hand was no longer sitting on its forehead, rather, it was now on both its cheeks. This time it couldn't even look away from her, forced to maintain eye contact.

A few moments pass, until her eyes, which were quite tensed throughout, soften a little. She then lets go of it, turning her head over to the boy behind her.

"There doesn't seem to be anything wrong with her. However, Barusu."

"H-hai?"

"Accompany her back to her room."

"Eh? But I thought you said-"

"Even so, it's better to be sure. So stop whining and go."

"O-ok then."

"And don't you dare do anything to her." Ram quickly dishes out a sharp remark towards the boy.

"I'm not gonna! What do you even take me for?! Besides, if you're that worried, why not come with us?"

Ram quickly glances over to it, before returning to meet the boy's questioning gaze.

"Idiot Barusu, stop asking all these dumb questions and just go already."

"Hah?" Dumbfounded, he could only let out a shocked sound. As he was about to say something however, Ram's face caught his attention. It wasn't the face of someone who was angry at him, nor irritation. It was worry. But it wasn't directed at him. Then…

"...Alright. I'll go with her." I don't know what's going on, but this is probably the best choice. If it wasn't, Ram would have most likely not let him go with Shirogi, alone at that. That's what he had concluded with the short time he has had talking to her.

With that, he walks towards the demi-human girl, standing still as if confused about the whole situation. Well, he can't blame her. Even he doesn't quite know what's going on. Regardless, he continues with Ram's plan, taking Shirogi to rest.

…Wait. But where is she supposed to rest? This question immediately halted his movements, as sweats began to show on his face. He had only awoken a few hours ago at best, and had only seen half of the layout of the place. Hell, he didn't even have time to properly ask why there are so many rooms here when only so few people actually live here. How was he supposed to know which room is Shirogis?!

Alright, calm down me. This is perfectly fine. Despite that, there was an easy solution to this, and that was to ask the one who knows the answer. In this case, the girl in front of him. But in that case, it would be her showing him rather than telling.

With that quick thinking, his previously paused movements resumed, and he opened his mouth.

"So uh...can you tell me where your room is?"

"Ah." As soon as he said that, an audible gasp was heard, specifically behind him. Well...he figures that would be the case. But it wasn't his fault either, no one told him about this after all. Still, he wonders if this was going to make Ram's impression of him even lower than before. No, it was definitely lower now.

Yet, the girl in front of him seems unresponsive. Instead, she just stared at him, emotionless.

"...Um, I mean your room Shirogi. Like...your bedroom?"

"...!" Finally, a hint of emotion flashed through the girl's eyes, seemingly realizing what he meant. This gave him a big sense of relief. Even so, he started to feel a dangerous aura emanating from behind him. That wasn't good.

Luckily, the rabbit girl proceeds to grab ahold of the boy's sleeve, and begins dragging him along with her. Subaru didn't protest, for he definitely didn't want to stay anywhere near the pink haired maid. At least for the time being.

And so quickly, both of them disappeared as they took a turn at the end of the hallway, leaving the maid behind. With that, Ram breathes a heavy sigh, her hand touching the sides of her head. Seeing how pathetic the boy was being dragged away, when he was supposed to be the one to do that was truly unbearable for her. It was a miracle she didn't just abort the plan and took the girl by herself.

However, Ram knew better. Even if it wasn't to her liking, this was the best course of action. That's what she had gathered as the three of them walked around the mansion. Throughout the tour, even though the boy was stupidly ignorant of everything, she noticed. That the demi-human wasn't paying any attention to her surroundings, or anything at all for that matter. It was like she didn't care about anything, except for one thing.

Always walking close to him, never leaving too far away. Her eyes fixated on his back, refusing to let him out of her sight. All her behaviour didn't feel like what a normal person would do, rather...an animal, focused only on its prey before it. It was strange. Very strange. And yet, she couldn't quite put a grasp on what her intentions may be.

Why was she so fixated on him? Why is she clinging so much to him? Like letting him go would mean losing her sight in the world. What was so special about him? All these questions kept piling up, with no clear enough answers to boot. And now coupled with this sudden fiasco, she truly didn't know what to conclude with all of this.

"Hahh...I have failed you, Roswaal-sama." Letting out another sigh, Ram whispers under her breath. Not too long before the meal, she was requested by her master, Roswaal, to keep an eye on the two, and report back to him whether or not they were suspicious. She has gotten a good amount of time to assess the boy, and from what she could see for now, he seems unsuspicious. If she had to be more blunt, he was painfully oblivious about everything, and an idiot as well.

But for the girl, only more questions piled on more questions. Not once could she truly get a hold of what the girl was really thinking. It could be that she just couldn't fully pick up on her, or she was too good at hiding her true thoughts. Either way, it was unfavourable to her, and there was nothing that she could do about it, until she had collected enough evidence.

She could only simply accept defeat for today, and continue to observe the both of them from now on. At least, until she was certain. Thankfully, it would be easy enough to keep track of both of them, since the girl seems to never let go of him. As for why she does not know, but for now, it's better to set that aside, for she was already too tired from everything.

Ram then begins to walk the opposite direction of the hall, hoping to find her sister and help her in any way, before pausing for a moment.

"...Would he really won't do anything to her?" She whispers to herself, her mind now switching over to worrying about the girl's safety.

"...No, surely he wouldn't be that dumb." Ram says, reassuring herself of what little belief she had in the boy, before pacing herself towards a sharp turn at the end of the hall.

---

Hmm, I already know this, but man, this place really is huge. Was what crossed his mind as Subaru passed the third turn of the seemingly endless hallways. The girl was still holding onto him, but he was only slightly lagging behind her now. Though he is beginning to wonder whether or not she even remembers where her room is.

That is until the girl suddenly stops. Her eyes facing a door on their is the one then? As if to answer his question, the girl walks forward and reaches over the handle. Although, it took her a few seconds for some reason, before she finally opens the door.

As the inside was revealed, he wondered what was in store in the room. And to his surprise...there was nothing. Well, almost nothing. There was a small bed situated neatly in a corner, with a window sitting in the middle of the room, but that's really it. No decorations, no pots, no flowers, no nothing. Just some simple plain looking bed with a table beside it. This...was not what he was expecting.

"Um….is this really the right room?" Surely this can't be right? Surely the lord of the mansion could do better than this...and yet as if to betray his expectations, the girl walked into the room, as if nothing was wrong with it.

She then moves over to the bedside, and slowly, she bends her her hips down to the mattress, before falling flat onto it with a thump and a bounce.

"...Gonna have to talk about this with that weird lord…" Even though he was an outsider, this was simply too bad of a treatment, especially for guests. But that would be for another time.

"Ok then, guess I'll go?" With that, Subaru began to turn away, before he could go anywhere though, a loud rustle came from behind him. Looking back, the girl was quickly standing up and moving towards him. This confuses him, until she suddenly holds onto him once again and begins dragging him deeper inside.

"Wha? W-wait a minute! What are you doing?" Slightly panicking, he yelled, contemplating whether or not he should call for help. Despite everything they have been through, he still didn't quite know who this girl truly is, and why she's so weirdly attached to him. But even so, whatever this situation is slowly devolving into, he did not want to be treated any worse by Ram or Rem, and certainly not by Emilia.

"So please, let me go!" Yet his voice was futile, as the girl effortlessly pulled him towards her bed, before throwing him across it like he was nothing but thin air. This fact greatly terrifies him, as he then recalls how abnormally strong the demi-human was despite having such a small frame.

"H-hold on Shirogi! Let's not rush things here, alright? We barely know each other after all!". Trying everything that he can, the boy desperately pleads to the incoming rabbit girl, whose motives were completely unknown to him. "So please! Don't do this!" He then closes his eyes.

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Flop

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh….ah?

Subaru opened his eyes, and slowly, he looked down. There, resting peacefully on his lap, was the rabbit demi-human. Her breath stabled and calm, she had already dozed off as soon as she had hit his lap.

"...Hahhhh…" With that, he breathed a sigh of relief, all the tension quickly existing out of his body. Guessed it was just his wild imaginations in the end. Truly, his mind was way too quick at diluting things into a dangerous route. He lightly slapped himself on the cheeks, too weak to go for another slap. All the screaming had entirely depleted his energy, and he only had just woken up not too long ago no less!

Then again, it's not like he could move anywhere with Shirogi on his lap like this unless he wanted to disrupt her, so maybe he should just take another nap to pass the time. His work still hasn't started after all.

...Wait wait wait. Shirogi is sleeping on his lap. This single revelation immediately puts his mind into overdrive.

"..hah...hah...hah.." The short breaths coming from the girl just made his mind begin to twist and turn even faster. This was happening. He was having a girl sleeping on him. Never would he ever thought in his wildest dreams that something like this would happen. He's ecstatic, joyful even! But most of all, he was feeling absolutely-

Terrified.

This has never happened to him before, so Subaru feels it would be right for him to panic a bit, but he wasn't just panicking a bit. Both his mouth and nostrils were exhaling quickly, trying their best to keep his heart from pumping any faster. Excitement turns into dread. Joy turned into sheer stress. It was quickly consuming him whole, and he had no idea how to combat it.

This was bad. Really bad. He needs to calm himself down, or else he might do something that he'll most definitely regret later. Alright alright! Breathe in….breathe out….breathe in...breathe out…

Feeling his heart slowing down a bit, he peeked at the sleeping girl. Her face was relaxed, her hands still holding onto his sleeve. She was sleeping without any care in the world, almost like a child.

"..." He could only stare at her in awe. No longer just admiring how cute she was, but everything about her. This continued for a while, before he slowly drifted into his own sleep.

Natsuki Subaru slept well that day.

---

AN: Did ya missed me? Welp, either way, this was a long time coming. Can't believe that it would take me this long to make this...

Welp, anyways, Imma need to talk for a bit. This was deinitely the most hardest chapter for me to write. Not in the case that its dealing with anything special or difficult to put into words, but because I genuinely didn't know where to go or how to keep writing this. In truth, I still don't. But somehow, I was still able to push through, so that's something.

Now, I can't say that the next update would be coming soon or not, or it would take even longer than this. But I am still working on this, that's at least all I can say. Many things is happening irl and I have got a lot of things to work on, but writing this is something that I still enjoy.

Apologies if this didn't lived up to the same quality as the others before it, this really took a lot outta me. But hopefully, I'll be able to do a bit better for the next one, and maybe, just maybe, it won't take so damn long lol.

With all that being said, I hope you enjoy reading this, and I shall return once more, on any day that I feel like it lol. Hoepfully...

PS: Read Houseki no Kuni. It's good, trust me. You won't regret it.