A/N:
July 18th: Added extra phrases to Beatrice's dialogue.
As the sun begins to rise, Subaru awoke from his slumber. He felt well-rested and full of energy for his upcoming duty as a butler. He held a sense of excitement of finally experience regular life in another world. No death. No pain. No huge worries. He still regretted the events in his first night of this world, but he acknowledged he could not do anything except moving forward.
Subaru prepared for his morning debut as a butler as he took his business in the bathroom and outfitted himself the new butler uniform that Rem made for him. He could not get over how different he looked with the uniform on.
Subaru made his way to the kitchen, where the twins were waiting to start evaluating his skills and work ethic. Regarding his cooking skills, he felt confident at being alright despite the only thing he made in his previous world was cup noodle.
Upon entering the kitchen, he spotted the twins and an assortment of kitchen tools and ingredients lying on the table.
"Morning, you two! Making breakfast is first on the agenda, I assume?"
Ram stood there with her arms crossed as if she already started evaluating Subaru the moment he walked in.
"At least your perception is decent, Barusu. Your first task is to peel these potatoes. I expect good results for a simple task like this."
"About that."
Subaru made some nervously, small noises.
"I never peeled anything before."
Ram stared Subaru dead in the eyes as if she views him as a useless being.
"How much cooking experience do you have, Barusu?"
"Pouring hot water into a container."
Ram heavily sighed due to her disappointment towards Subaru. She has much to teach to make Subaru a competent butler.
"Barusu, wash your hands, and I show you. Afterward, apply what you see into your work."
"Will do, Ram!"
Subaru washes his hand thoroughly watched Ram peeled a potato as Rem started working on making breakfast. Peeling a potato looks easy enough, so he decided it will be a relatively quick job for him.
Once Ram finished peeling one potato, she let Subaru start his batch as she continues her batch.
Subaru started peeling the potato until he cut his finger, causing Ram to take care of Subaru and drill peeling techniques.
Once he finished his batch of potatoes, Ram gave Subaru a look of displeasure.
"Barusu, these potatoes had great quality until your hands touched them. Nevertheless, you have to steam your batch and finish them for breakfast, lunch, and dinner."
"Why all three?"
"To show the progress of your cooking. At least you still have Rem's cooking to act as a counter towards your own."
During the debacle between Subaru and Ram, Rem finished making breakfast for everyone without saying a word. Subaru felt impressed by Rem's capabilities. He wondered if he can be as good as her. However, he has not seen Ram's cooking yet.
"Ram, how is your cooking compared to Rem?"
"I make the greatest steamed potatoes."
"Anything else?"
"Sister handles the rest."
"Should you help as well?"
However, Rem interjected out of nowhere.
"Sister is very capable in her cooking."
Subaru did not know how to respond to that.
"If you say so. Ram, I will start steaming the potatoes. At least I know how to do that correctly."
Ram rolled her eyes in disbelief.
"Try not to burn your fingers, Barusu."
Breakfast passed with Subaru being able to steam his potatoes which surprised Ram on his competence. For Subaru, he did enjoy Rem's cooking with his side dish of disfigured steam potatoes.
Concerning the chores for the rest of the day, he failed most of them as he kept injuring his fingers. Ram kept on ranting about his inability to do anything as Rem flawlessly handled everything. Watching Rem deal with the housework with ease pushed Subaru to work better. However, his progress is kept small due to his clumsiness.
Once night came and Subaru's work for the day finished, Ram came to his room again to continue lessons on reading and writing. Eventually, Ram would leave for sleep, and Subaru continued his studies for another hour before heading to bed.
The day made Subaru tired, but his progress and productive nature of his day made him feel at ease. His daily life as a butler is starting to look great.
On Subaru's second day, he produced slightly better results than yesterday, but he still struggled through his work. Ram continued to teach Subaru while berating him. Rem focused on her work while offering advice to Subaru randomly. The lessons continued at night, resulting in the similar slow progress of learning the language.
Subaru started to get used to his new schedule of work, relaxation, and studying. There is a lot to do, so a moment is never wasted. Also, his injuries show the fruit of his labor which he proudly accepted. Being sent to another world has its positives for once.
In the middle of the day during Subaru's third day as a butler, Ram took Rem aside.
"Sister, for the past two days, I noticed that you have been randomly staring at Subaru. Is there a reason for that?"
Rem was hesitant to answer. Last night, when she listened in to Ram's healing session with Roswaal, she overheard Roswaal telling Ram to pay close attention to Subaru to ensure he does not commit anything wrong and act according to if he did. However, unlike Ram, she smelled the scent of the witch on Subaru. The smell was faint, but the smell definitely came from him. However, she could not do anything to interrogate as Subaru did not commit anything suspicious yet. Also, he is a valued employee of Roswaal due to Roswaal directly offering Subaru the job.
Rem did not feel the need to tell Ram about the scent as she felt the job of dealing against witch cultists fell on herself as someone who still owns a horn.
Rem forged a forced smile to ensure nothing important to be said about her staring.
"Nothing particular, sister."
"Must be Barusu's messy hair."
Rem became confused by Ram's choice of reasoning. Subaru has unkempt hair, which does bother her slightly.
"Rem believes that is part of it."
"How about giving Barusu a haircut tomorrow? Supplies are running low, so Barusu should look better when he goes to the village with you tomorrow."
"If sister insists, Rem will do it."
Suddenly, a loud noise came from Subaru's direction, which prompted Ram to scold Subaru angrily.
Rem watched the event unfold as she pondered about Subaru. He looks harmless and clumsy, unfitting to be a witch cultist, but she feels guarded around him as if he is putting up an act. Judging Subaru is an issue due to the multiple factors surrounding him to put him as trustworthy.
Meanwhile, in the capital, Reinhard knelt before the council to give grave news. This is the kind of information that would throw the election into chaos before it has started.
"A few days ago, I dealt with an incident in the slums and found Emilia, stricken down with her companion, passed out. According to her companion, they sought after the insignia stolen by a thief, which led them to a loot-house. However, an assassin believed to be Elsa, the Bowel Hunter, attacked them. I originally believed the assassin killed Emilia, but her backer Roswaal could save her life due to the ice magic containing her. Two bodies were found nearby with unknown connections to the assassin."
The council looked at Reinhard in shock and started to talk among themselves.
"The candidates are not public. Who could have sent the assassin?"
"I saw we disqualify the half-devil for losing her insignia."
"This is absurd!"
"What if more assassins target the other candidates?"
"Someone with inside information about the candidates could have done it."
"There are already attempts on the candidates' lives, and we do not even have our final candidate!"
The council bickered amongst themselves for a while to decide on what to do.
Reinhard listened carefully to gain context in what the council wants from him next. They kept a heated discussion regarding the fate of the candidates in light of the new information. Eventually, Reinhard would tune out in boredom as the debate continued for another 30 minutes.
Finally, the council became silent as the leader of the council stood up.
"Reinhard, we have a new mission for you. We want you to track down this assassin and find out who employed her. This is a critical mission to root out the traitor that is threatening the transfer of power in the upcoming election."
"I will do my best to complete this mission."
"As a warning, if the assassin is found or employed by another nation, come back immediately as we can not risk you coming out from our nation's borders. Also, your mission to find the last candidate will continue as planned. Council dismissed."
The entire council stood up and left the room, followed by their bodyguards, leaving Reinhard alone in the room.
Hunting monsters is Reinhard's forte, but hunting a person would prove difficult. His presence of a sword saint would get in his way of obtaining information, so he decided to prepare a disguise.
For the next few months, the sword saint known as Reinhard would disappear to the Lugnica's underground in his hunt for the Bowel Hunter, Elsa.
On Subaru's fourth day, he decided to visit Beatrice on his break before his scheduled haircut from Rem. He avoided Beatrice for a few days to give her time. Hopefully, they both will be on even terms soon enough and maybe continue learning magic from Beatrice as he has not practiced since his first attempt in the library.
Subaru came across multiple doors to sense the right one before opening. Once he decided on a door, he opened it to reveal Beatrice in her similar position of sitting on a stool and reading a book.
"Hey, Beatrice! I thought that I should drop by once in a while. How's the library?"
Beatrice closed her book, placed her book on a nearby shelf, and stood up to face Subaru.
"What do you want this time, I wonder?"
"To check in on you, of course."
"If this is about last time, you can leave, I suppose."
"Wait! I just want to talk."
"Talk about what, I wonder?"
Subaru bowed down to Beatrice. He knew that he had no idea of the culture around apologizing in this world, but he stuck to what he has done before.
"I am so sorry for being insensitive a few days ago. You needed time, and I did not respect it. Please forgive me."
Beatrice stared at Subaru in silence for a minute as Subaru kept his bowing position.
"Apology accepted, I suppose."
"Since that is behind us now, is there a later time when we can talk about it?"
"Now."
Beatrice's sudden answer surprised Subaru. He did not expect Beatrice to accept so quickly.
Beatrice returned to her stool.
"Ever since Betty felt the absence of Puck from that half-devil's drained body, Betty knew Puck disappeared, in fact."
"I am so sorry that I could not do anything to prevent that during my time with Emilia."
"There is nothing to be sorry about due to you being powerless. Puck can handle himself, but he has met his end like others. The lives of spirits are long, so the loss of one hurts a long-time friendship, I suppose."
"How long did you live then?"
"At least 400 years."
Hearing 400 years made a few insensitive thoughts in Subaru's head regarding the manga and anime he has seen, but he quickly removed those thoughts.
"I see why then. Is there anything I can do to help?"
"Leaving, I suppose."
"How about I call you Beako?"
Beatrice became slightly agitated.
"Why the name, I wonder?"
Subaru gave a thumbs up.
"Well, you are my teacher, and I consider you a friend by now. Giving each other pet names is what friends do!"
"As if Betty will let you grant me a name like that!"
Beatrice sent Subaru out of the room again with her arms crossed and a disapproving face. However, Subaru noticed a tiny smile on the corner of her mouth.
"Mission success!"
Subaru felt happy due to relieving the tension between them and managed to brighten the mood at the end. He planned to visit more often and maybe even drag her out from the library for once.
Eventually, Subaru found Rem to start his haircut. The two kept silent as Rem worked on his hair, so he decided to get to know Rem more as they lacked interactions when Ram mainly taught him during work.
"Rem."
"Yes, Subaru?"
"What do you think of me? I can already tell what Ram thinks of me, but I am not sure about you."
Rem became silent as if she had trouble thinking of what to say. However, she finally spoke up.
"Subaru is a very hard worker despite Subaru's lack of skill. Rem is not sure how to approach Subaru because Subaru is different."
"Is it my eyes?"
"Rem meant in a good way. Subaru's personality is unique."
"Thanks, Rem. You are so different from your sister."
"Sister is not that different. Sister is better than Rem in many ways."
"What about your work here? You do so much more than Ram."
"Circumstances."
"Circumstances?"
"Rem is sorry, Subaru. Rem does not want to talk about it."
Subaru knew better than to not press upon Rem's issue due to his debacle with Beatrice. However, he took note of Rem's change in tone in the back of his mind.
"It is fine, Rem."
"Subaru, Rem is finished with Subaru's hair."
Subaru checked himself in the mirror. His hair tidied up while keeping the same style. Rem keeps impressing Subaru even more.
"Thank you for the haircut, Rem! We should get going to the village before Ram gets mad."
Rem simply nodded and went along with Subaru.
The walk to the village resulted in small talk between the two, which mainly concern work and language lessons. At the village, Rem showed Subaru currency and how to use it as they bought supplies. Afterward, Rem allowed Subaru to greet the villagers as a newcomer to this land, and the kids took a liking to Subaru, causing Rem to smile a the sight. Rem even giggled as a dog that one of the kids found bit Subaru's hand. The two gave their goodbyes to the village and carried their supplies back to the mansion.
On their way to the mansion, Rem decided to ask Subaru personal questions to know him better due to seeing him with the children ease her guarded nature against Subaru.
"What makes the kids love Subaru so much?"
"I guess that I am naturally good with kids."
Subaru chuckled at his silly reasoning.
"Kids somehow like me for a reason."
"Subaru's personality meshes with the kids well."
"That too."
"Children do love messing around people that they do not respect."
"That would make Ram amazing at handling children then."
Rem tilted her head down slightly as the talk switched to Ram.
"Sister is indeed amazing. Is she not?"
"Ram is a great person overall, but her personality can be conflicting towards people."
"Sister's self-assurance is a charm. Something I can not be. Also, how are your studies progress with sister? Sister offers her time to help."
"Ram is a great teacher but a killer in motivation, so I am trying my best to keep going. Sometimes she randomly sleeps on my bed during the middle of lessons which kills my mood at times."
"Sister is only doing that for stimulation for your motivation. Sister knows what is best."
"Rem, it is abnormal for you to have so much faith in Ram. You are fanatical like a demon."
Those last few words made Rem stopped walking, which caused Subaru to turn around. She has to figure out Subaru after hearing those words.
"Fanatical like a demon?"
"It is a cooler-sounding version of divine possession for demons. Great term, right?
"Subaru likes demons?"
"Demons laugh along with us about our future plans while the gods do not do anything, so I do like them. It does not matter if it is now or next year. Demons would keep laughing along, keeping people accompany."
After hearing Subaru's explanation, Rem felt really at ease with Subaru. He is the kind of person anyone would trust. He showed great relationships among people. He never acted out of line. He even trusted demons. Rem could not help but naturally smile.
Subaru made a very crazy pointing pose as he spun around.
"That smile is worth a million volts!"
The personality of Subaru showed how carefree he was. Everything Subaru has done shifted her view into trusting Subaru more as a fellow coworker.
Rem started to quickly walk towards the mansion to gain distance from Subaru as her blushing face came into view.
"Ram would be very angry if she heard you hitting on me."
"Wait, don't tell her!"
Subaru quickly picked up his supplies to catch up.
Rem walked away happily with a smile.
As Subaru finished his self-study session, he decided to sleep for the night. He started to get used to the work in the mansion as he felt less tired each day.
Overall, this fourth day as a butler is a resounding success. He managed to be on even terms with Beatrice and started getting to know Rem better. Nothing much changed with Ram, but she is helpful.
Subaru even met the villagers which he held great relationships with the children. They are a handful to handle but fun to be around. He planned to come to visit frequently and maybe show the children radio exercise.
Subaru kept thinking about good things about his day to help produce good dreams before drifting to sleep.
However, Subaru jolted from his bed as he felt the sudden need to wake up. He felt a sudden need to throw up and a terrible sensation which both went away as soon he woke up.
The quick switches of pain to being normal made Subaru realized something. He never expects it to happen to him while living in the mansion.
He did not know who did it. However, he did know the method to kill him did not include the sensation of being stabbed or sliced. The only thing he knew is that he died in his sleep.
A/N: More slice of life moments before the upcoming, awaited event. I had to cut down a lot on the slice of life moments, or this fanfic will have a progression of a snail. The pieces are set, and it is about time for this fanfic to lay of from the wholesome diabetes. There's a tragedy tag for a reason. Then again, the hurt and comfort tag did cover a fair bit of the wholesome moments, so I let that slide.