Chapter 2 – More Wizards, More chaos
Within the destroyed Loot House Emilia watched as Reinhard leapt away into the distance with an unconscious Felt on his arms. She then proceeded to do the same with her own companion as Karen deactivated the Iron Spider legs when she suddenly heard a familiar voice yell at her from behind.
"Emilia-Sama!"
"Ram!" Emilia responded, relieved at seeing the maid.
"Emilia-sama, I've been looking all over for you. I only found you after asking around the market. I was told you were pursuing a thief. Why are you in this place? Did you catch them? Wait… Is that ugly weirdo the-" She was interrupted by a computerized voice as she berated the young man.
"It would be greatly appreciated if you could keep your unnecessary comments and suspiciousness to yourself." Karen stopped the maid in her tracks.
"What the-? An spirit?" Ram asked, perplexed.
"I'll explain on the way Ram, all you need to know is that this boy saved my life and he doesn't have anywhere to go at the moment, so I'm taking him with us to the mansion. His name is Subaru and I wish to reward him." If he has nowhere to go then hopefully he can settle in Arlam. She thought to herself, wanting to hold onto his company just a bit longer.
"…Understood, Emilia-sama. I'll fetch the carriage immediatly" Ram concluded, not satisfied completely with the girl's explanation but not willing to argue after all the trouble she has been through just trying to find her. She figures her master back home can take any further decisions.
"Thank you, Ram." Emilia says to the maid as she takes Subaru in her arms. Ram came back some minutes later with their carriage and the girls, alongside their new knocked out companion, left the Capital for the Mathers Domain.
The majority of the trip was spent in silence, with the young Avenger laying on the seat opposite of Emilia, and Ram riding on the driver's seat. However, Ram did take the opportunity to ask a few questions to the half-elf as she inspected Subaru in his sleep.
"Emilia-sama, if I may ask, where exactly did you find this… odd looking man?" Asked the maid carefully, trying not to irritate the 'spirit' that seemed to protect him in his sleep.
"Oh, I meet Subaru in an alleyway as I pursued the thief that had stolen my insignia."
"What?! Your insignia was stolen?!"
"Yes, I know, I'm such a dunderhead." Emilia thought back on the incident, frustrated with her air-headedness. "But Subaru here helped me track and find the thief girl that stole it from me. I have it back already, see?" She answered back at the servant with a smile at the memory of the boy helping her while showing her insignia with her left hand.
"That's good." Wouldn't do for Roswaal-sama's ambitions to end due to your mistake. This last part was left unsaid. "What happened to the thief then? Was it the giant that was slumped against the broken wall of that house?"
"No, that man was more like the grandfather of the thief. The actual thief was a blonde haired girl called Felt." Emilia explained. "When we were arguing for my insignia we were attacked by an assassin, but Subaru fought her off until the Sword Saint, Reinhard, came and defeated her. Or at least we thought he did, because then, the assassin jumped back from the rubble she was buried under and attacked me. Subaru intercepted her and forced her to run away, but he fell unconscious after that. Reinhard then took Felt with him, left and right after that you appeared."
"…I see." The boy's actions made him even more suspicious. How did he track the thief? And why did said thief target her insignia in the first place? Perhaps the thief and the boy are colluded. There is a possibility they know Lady Emilia is a Royal candidate. Maybe they are looking to extort her somehow. They could even be from another faction, looking to infiltrate into our domain before the actual selection begins. Thought Ram.
"Subaru is rather odd in, well, a lot of ways actually." Said Emilia, wanting to talk to someone about all the things he showed and did.
"How so?"
"Well… for starters, he is not a knight or mercenary; rather, he referred to himself as an Avenger. Also, his entire armor is a metia! The woman's voice from earlier came from the spirit in the armor." Emilia said, rambling about the weird man before her. "He also seems to be a foreigner, he gave this little girl, her name was Plum, a coin at the market, but the coin did not look like lugunican money."
A man covered in a metia, with a weird title and foreign money, he just becomes more and more suspicious by the second.Ram could not help but become even more wary of her lady's companion.
"He is really strong too! We had to travel to the slums through the rooftops to make it in time and he kept up with me even while wearing his armor. Moreover, when we fought the assassin, he managed to back her into a corner when they fought one on one. That was until Reinhard came in and beat her."
If he is that strong then he becomes even more dangerous. I really will have to consult Roswaal-sama behind her back. Concluded the maid.
Emilia then decided to get some sleep time as well, deciding to cut the conversation short as the fatigue of the entire day dawned on her. After a while on the road, they arrived at the Mathers Domain, just a few hours before sunshine. As they boarded out of the carriage, a maid almost identical to Ram received them, only to be suddenly on high alert as she sensed the smell on the unconscious man her sister was carrying out of the carriage.
Witch cultist! She thought in alarm. As she readied herself to spring into action, the voice of her sister snapped her out of her trance.
"Rem, I can sense your animosity towards the man and I share it, but this is Emilia-sama's guest, so please reign it in." The older twin whispered to her sister's ear.
"… Rem understands nee-sama." The girl responded in third-person.
"Rem, this is Subaru, he saved my life so I want to reward him. Please take him to one of the guest rooms, we can discuss everything when he wakes up." Emilia interjected, oblivious to the feelings of the twins in regards to the strange man.
"As you wish, Emilia-sama." The maid complied begrudgingly, while not showing it in her voice.
As Emilia went to her quarters to get some more hours of sleep in, the twins carried the man to the guest room at the opposite side of the mansion, far from her room. As they laid him on the bed, they attempted to take his armor off, only for the ever so loyal A.I. to interrupt them.
"I am aware of the animosity you hold towards Subaru."
"?!" Both twins suddenly jumped away from the man, readying themselves for combat. "Nee-sama, what was that?!"
"…Emilia sama said that the whole armor is a metia and that a spirit inhabits it."
"What?!" Rem exclaimed in alert.
"I am not a spirit. My name is Karen, an A.I. programmed to assist Subaru in combat and investigation. And in this case, to protect him while he is unconscious from outside threats, such as yourselves." Replied the faithful computer.
"So you assist him while commits atrocities then? If you are not a spirit then you must be some sort of abomination the witch cult came up with in their ambition to bring back their precious devil back."
"Rem? What do you mean?" Asked Ram, confused.
"He smells like the witch, nee-sama." Rem replied full of spite as she readied her morning star.
"WHAT?!" Ram panicked as she readied her wand, pointing it at Subaru on the bed.
"Your notions of who my master is, what he does and what he has done are completely skewed. We do not even know what the 'Witch cult' is."
"Don't you dare lie!" Yelled Rem as she swung the spiked ball towards Subaru's head.
"Wait, Re-!" Ram tried to stop her sister, only to find herself pinned to a wall with a blade to her neck the moment she looked away. Karen had used one the bionic limbs of the Iron Spider armor to deflect the morning star while using two to stand up from the bed and the final one to restrain Ram.
"Nee-sama!" Rem yelled in panic, seeing that her sister was put in danger because of her rash action. "Let go of my sister you monster!"
"Then stop attacking my master." Replied Karen calmly, leaning the blade even more against Ram's neck. "You don't know what he has been through these last few days, and the last thing he needs is a pair of idiots who know nothing about him attempting against his life. He is here because of the whim of your lady, so at least have the decency to respect her wishes."
"You have the gall to-"
"Rem, it's fine, the armor is right." Ram said while glaring at Subaru, or rather, at his armor. "He saved Emilia-sama's life. The only thing we can do is wait for Roswaal-sama to take a decision on the matter."
"But nee-sama-"
"That's final, Rem." Ram answered to her sister's protest, sternly.
"…Tsk!" Rem begrudgingly lowered her weapon as Karen lifted the leg from Ram's neck. The maid was facing away from the boy while giving him a hateful glare from the side.
"… I assume you won't let us remove the armor then?" Ram asked, rubbing her neck, feeling relieved there wasn't a cut.
"The removal of the armor is completely Subaru's decision." Karen responded.
"That is fine then. But at the very least let Beatrice-sama inspect him once he wakes up." The pink haired maid tried to reason with the suit.
"That choice will be up to Subaru, not me."
"…Understood. Rem, let's go. We must inform both Roswaal-sama and Beatrice-sama of the new… guest." Ram said the last word tinted with slight disdain.
Rem nodded, not before giving one last glare at the young man. "This isn't over." She warned.
"…" Karen did not bother responding, but she didn't retract the metallic limbs until her sensors made sure the pair was far away from the room. Only then did she bother lowering Subaru onto the bed and letting him rightfully rest.
"I don't know that ceiling." Subaru commented as he woke up a few hours latter with a yawn, stretching his arms while not fully remembering what had gone down in the last couple of days. Then his mind caught up with his body, forcing him to sit up with a startle. "Emilia!"
"Good morning, Subaru." Greeted Karen. "It is still an hour shy from dawn I estimate and you've been through a lot recently so you'd find it good to rest some more."
"Karen, where are we?! Where is Emilia?! Did Elsa-!"
"We are at a guest room within Emilia's mansion, some hours in carriage away from the Capital we were teleported to. She brought you here after the fight."
"O-oh, I see." Subaru relaxed. "What about the others, then?" He then asked as he inspected the room.
"Reinhard knocked Felt unconscious and left with her, although it did not seem like she was in trouble, he was not planning to arrest her. He seemed to recognize something in her, in fact. As for Rom, was left slumped in the Loot House."
"Huh. I-I see." Subaru felt bad about missing what went down after passing out. He felt sorry about Rom, he'll probably wake up to find himself homeless with his granddaughter missing. He wondered just what Reinhard could want with Felt. If he didn't want to arrest her then perhaps he wanted to take her in? He did look like a noble. Perhaps it was love at first sight and he'll turn her into his maid, although it'd be kinda creepy if it did go down that way. He chuckled at the thought. Wait, are there even maids in this world?
"Subaru, I must inform you of something. The maids here hold clear animosity against you."
So there are maids in this- wait, what?
"They tried to assassinate you while you were unconscious."
"What?! That's insane! Why?!" He asked, befuddled. He was sure he was safe within Emilia's own home, so to hear his life was attempted against surprised him.
"They accused you of 'smelling like the Witch'."
"The 'Witch'? Li-like Wanda? Like the 'Scarlet Witch'? Why? Pretty sure we've only seen each other a couple of times, and that was all in battle!"
"I do not know. My apologies."
"Don't worry about it, we'll just ask later." He said still a bit perplexed about what had gone down. "Actually… How am I alive if they attempted to kill me while I was sleep? Did Emilia intervene or something?"
"I stopped them by threatening to kill one of the two if they didn't stop their attempt to your life."
"…Huh." Subaru replied, dumbfounded. She didn't seem this proactive before about protecting my life. Did the stones actually affect not just me, but her as well? From what I dug up while messing around with the data gathering protocols this past two years was that Ultron developed a conscience from being exposed to the mind stone, and Ultron was built with the protocol of creating peace in our time, so… Did Karen develop into a conscience bent into assisting me to any length? That would explain the threatening to kill someone out of her own volition without me ordering the activation of 'instant kill' protocol. "…Hey Karen, would you kill for me?"
"Of course, anything to assist you."
Oh shit! I accidentally created a yandere murder bot! "U-uhhh, thanks I guess?"
"You are welcome."
"…I think we should explore around for a bit. I need to stretch my legs." Subaru said, trying to change the topic, not wanting to delve deeper into the mess he had created. He approached the exit only to feel a prickly sensation on his skin after touching the doorknob. "What?" As he opened the door, he didn't notice anything unusual on the rather luxurious hallway. His sixth sense, however, told him that there was something odd going on around him. Tempting fate, he began walking down the hall, realizing then what the oddity was. I can't see the end of the hallway!
As he looked around, trying to figure out how a corridor could be this absurdly long, he noticed the paintings on the wall. It would have been weird for a person to have more than one copy of a painting and then display it almost repeatedly along the same hallway. He also noticed how the door to the room he had just come out from was equally distant to the painting as all the other doors. "Ah~, I see now! This is like those looping hallways in escape rooms!" He figured. "In this situations the first door you find tends to be the correct answer, sooooo…" He suddenly rushed towards the door he came from, opening it.
He found himself in a library, or at least he figured it was one anyway, and in the middle of the it he found a small, blonde girl, with drills going down her sides, dressed in a pink and red gothic Lolita outfit. He also noticed how unusual her pupils looked, with a blue background to butterfly-shaped pink irises. "What a profoundly aggravating man you are, I suppose."
"Hey little girl, are you lost? You know, it's rather early in the morning, the sun has yet to show itself." Subaru tried to approach the blonde with a gentle tone.
"Who are you calling a little girl?! I'll have you know Betty is far older than you, in fact! And how did you figure the entrance to the Forbidden Library so fast?!" The little one answered back while glaring at the annoying man.
"Subaru, the energy radiating from her is similar to Puck's. There is a chance she is not human." Karen warned, still in high alert from the earlier confrontation.
"Oh, then, I apologize for my rudeness, I guess. As for your question, well, I've always been good at those sort of games." He resolved to answer, trying to defuse the situation. He grinned at the girl while continuing. "So, your name is Betty I take it?"
"…Beatrice, the Great Spirit of the Forbidden Library." She stood up from her stool, closing the book in her hands and setting it aside. She then raised her hand towards Subaru while approaching, menacingly. "And it's time for you to know your place. Don't you dare move!"
Karen immediately summoned the mechanical limbs from behind Subaru's back, startling Beatrice and forcing her to summon a myriad of black and purple crystals pointed directly at him.
"WOAH, WOAH, WOAH- CHILL, CHILL!" Subaru yelled in a panic. "Karen deactivate the legs!"
"But Subaru, she-" The A.I.'s protest was interrupted.
"Karen, please!"
"…Understood." Immediately after, the legs retracted onto Subaru's back.
"Beatrice, was it? We clearly started on the wrong foot here." The boy said. "I'm Natsuki Subaru. Nice to meet you or at least I want it to be nice." He approached his right hand, wanting to shake hers.
"…" Beatrice stared at him for a few seconds before dematerializing the crystals, yet not lowering her hand. "Just so you know I'm doing this at the request of the maids, to ensure you aren't a danger to this mansion and its inhabitants, I suppose."
"Um, if you need to do something, I'd appreciate it if you could elaborate first." He retorted.
"I need to collect mana from your body, to make sure you are not an enemy, in fact."
"Oh sure, that's fine, I'm okay with that."
"Will you be fine after the fact, I wonder?" The spirit mocked.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Karen interjected, annoyed at the tone of the little girl.
"I mean that removing mana from your body forcefully could lead to passing out."
Karen attempted to go on the offensive again but Subaru interfered. "Just trust me on this one." He whispered at his companion. "Karen, when she does her thing and if I do pass out, can you take me back to the room? And ASSURE me you won't attack anyone?" Subaru pleaded.
"…I swear."
"Good! Then… Do your thing, Beatrice!" Subaru braced himself.
The little girl proceeded to touch his belly only for him to suddenly feel pain from it as his body flopped onto the floor, as if a ragdoll he was. "Ugh… Your personality is definitely not human either…" He managed to complain before slumping unconscious once again.
"About time you noticed, Betty is a proud and noble being. Your standards just can't measure me human." He managed to hear the little girl mock him once more before finally sinking into his dreams.
It was morning outside, the chirping of the birds could be heard all over as the sunlight entered through the window, slight rays coming into the guest room Subaru was sleeping on from the gaps between the curtains before they were pulled apart, letting the radiance permeate the room completely. The twin maids came inside, still on high alert towards the man due to the occurrence earlier in the night but a bit more confident after receiving reassurance from Lady Beatrice that he would pose no threat unless provoked first. Rem, however, still had her grievances.
"Nee-sama, he is just too dangerous, surely he won't be capable of blocking us two with his metia if we attack at the same time." She whispered.
"I can hear you." Karen interrupted.
"…Rem, just bear with it. Everything will be settled once he faces Roswaal-sama." The older twin attempted to calm down her sister as she wished for her master to be the one to take the decision of what to do with the man.
"I recognize that ceiling." The awake once-again Avenger said, as he opened his eyes.
"Oh, he has awakened, sister." Rem said, quickly masking her disdain with a façade of professionalism as she saw the young man sit up from the bed.
"Indeed, he has awakened, Rem." Ram replied, doing the same.
"This are the two I mentioned earlier. The pink haired one is called Ram. And the blue haired one is Rem, the most hostile of the pair." Karen commented irritated while Subaru inspected the twins.
"Hey, uh, Ram and Rem was it? Cut the crap. Karen already told me about what went down earlier." Subaru argued against the siblings' audacity to act like nothing happened between them.
"…Figures. So, what have you come here for, scum? To die? Or to attempt against my sister and I again? Or perhaps against Emilia-sama and Rosw-" Rem quickly cut her act short at Subaru's provocation but was interrupted by her sister.
"Rem! Keep it to yourself! He is Emilia-sama's guest!" Ram was genuinely trying to stop her sister's actions from generating more problems before they could even figure out what to do with the man. Sure, she would rather side with her sister and get rid of him but at the end of the day, she knew her place. His fate was not her decision to make.
"Nee-sama, he reeks of it! The witch's scent cannot be a coincidence; he has to be part of that horrid cult!" Rem attempted to plead her case.
"Excuse me? I'm right here, quite rude to talk about my fate and all without actually talking to me!" An annoyed Subaru interrupted. "Moreover, what is this about smelling like a 'witch'? I've met one yeah, but-"
"YOU'VE MET THE WITCH?! I KNEW IT, YOU-!"
"For the love of god, just let me finish! And I thought I jumped at conclusions, geez!" Subaru complained, interrupting the noisy blue haired servant while rolling his eyes. "Yes, I've met A 'witch'. But I seriously doubt it's THE 'witch' you are talking about! To begin with, I'm not from around here."
"…Yes, Emilia-sama commented on you being a foreigner, not from Lugunica." Ram answered back, with a drop of sweat coming down the side of her forehead as she silently reached for her wand, Rem reaching for her morning star. "The mention of a witch, however, is not to be taken lightly though, no matter where in the world you are. Regardless of whether we are talking about the same witch or not, you still must be insane to say that you know one and not expect to be judged as a cultist."
"You are not understanding, I don't mean I come from abroad, I mean I come from-"
"Ram, Rem?! I heard yelling, is everything alright?!" Emilia entered the room in a panic. "Subaru! You are awake!" The half-elf visibly relaxed, seeing her benefactor in good condition.
"Emilia-sama! This man is-!"
"He's been defiling my poor little sister in his degenerated mind since he woke up, Emilia-sama." Ram quickly interrupted her sister, much to both her and Subaru's surprise.
Rem threw a quick glance at her sister with slight hurt, seeing her pick the side of the clearly suspicious man over herself, but through their 'synesthesia' she could also feel how cautious Ram wanted to act around him, not risking another confrontation that could result in one of the two dying. She decided to let things go for the moment and resolved on letting their lord take the final decision on the matter.
"Listen to this Emilia-sama. My dear sister was just violated by that man." Rem said while pointing at a dumbfounded Subaru, trying to keep the act going.
"Will you two cut it out?!" Subaru was getting tired of being the butt of their joke. "Wha- I mean, hey! Your outfit is actually really cute this morning, Emilia-tan! Whoever chose it totally gets it!" Subaru managed to improvise; sounding like a dweeb, snapping out of the confusion Ram and Rem's sudden change in demeanor threw him in, trying to keep the little charade as well.
"*Sigh* Can't you wake up more peacefully, Subaru?" Emilia said in a reproaching tone towards the boy without really dropping her smile. "And you two, don't tease him too much."
"Yes Emilia-sama." The duo responded in unison.
"Also, Subaru… What did you mean by 'tan'?" Emilia asked, curious to the meaning of the little add-on to her name.
"Ah! It's just, uh, a diminutive!" Subaru panicked, trying not to look even worse but failing miserably, he was just spouting the first words that came to mind. "It's just, uhhh, me wanting to give you a nickname so that our friendship will… blossom! Yeah!" What was that, you idiot! The young man yelled at himself inside his head.
"O-oh! Really? Well, I mean, thank you…" So he does want to be friends! The half-elf thought excitedly. "A-anyways, are you feeling alright? After that lightning came out of you when you repelled Elsa, you just sort of dropped unconscious, and Karen wouldn't divulge much… And I also heard that Beatrice played a prank on you, does anything feel off?" Emilia changed topics, wanting to know if he still felt unwell after the fight, especially so with her guilt of stringing Subaru along so much after Karen told her he was in a battle before meeting up with her.
"Not really, I feel fine! I was just exhausted, is all." Subaru replied with honesty. "I actually don't really know how the lightning thing happened, I mean, I can shoot Taser-webs from the web shooter but that was definitely stronger." Perhaps I'll need some time to adjust to any new mutations I might present. The last thing I need is grow extra arms during lunch. "Still, thanks for worrying about me!"
"No, I'm the one who should thank you. You barely knew me and I even lied to you, yet you chose to help me anyways and risked your life to do so. I had to repay you somehow."
Ram and Rem exchanged glances, they had lost any chance to interject or asks any questions as the suspicious man and their lady got distracted with each other.
Alright! New day, new chances! Time to look for a way home! But first… Thought Subaru while finally getting off the bed. "Do you have any spare clothes that fit me? I've been in this suit for so long my butt feels like a plank."
After his comment, Rem fetched some clothes for men from the wardrobe, coming back to the room rather quickly with a short-sleeved white shirt with buttons on the collar and a pair of black pants, alongside a pair of black shoes and socks as well. What was worse was that, while the pants and shoes fitted, the shirt was clearly a size or two bigger. The combination was so plain Subaru could tell the maid didn't even give it a second thought. "…Gee, thanks."
To say the garden of the state was big was an understatement. It felt as though the place was a football field full of decorated bushes and trees, pruned in all the right angles to look perfect. "I gotta say your home is ginormous, Emilia-tan." Subaru said as he went out into the garden, armor and suit removed, but left web shooter still attached to him. The previous load was wasted during the fight with Elsa, so he took the time to load in another one while changing clothes. "Well then, it's time once again. I guess it's time to start over a new day!"
Subaru began jumping in place, doing warm-up exercises, as Emilia looked at him, perplexed. "…What are you doing? Those movements look unusual."
"Radio Calisthenics. I'm just doing warm-up exercises, you know? To wake up your muscles and stuff. I figure I run and fight better without a cramp." Subaru rambled. "I've been doing them since I was a kid, even after my family and I left Japan for New York." The boy reminisced about his parents and his first homeland with a soft look.
"Ja…pan? 'Niu' York?" The girl asked perplexed about the new places she was being introduced to.Did I miss them in my geography studies? I can't seem to remember either of them in the map.
"Bounce on both feet to loosen your body! C'mon! Just do what I do!" The boy invited the half-elf excitedly.
"You are kidding! That's just so…" Emilia hesitated for a moment, but resolved herself to do it at the last second.
As the pair bounced and performed weird movements, the blonde spirit, Beatrice, spied them from the window, curious to the man and his oddities, but not willing to approach him to inquire further.
"Now, raise both arms and shout, 'Victory'!" Said Subaru while raising his hands.
"V-Victory!"
"Victory!" Puck yelled, manifesting from Emilia's hair after she uttered the same words.
"Hi, Subaru! Good morning!"
"Hey Puck, glad to see you are okay!" Subaru answered his greet. "It's actually been a rather chaotic morning for me, but seeing the pair of you alright makes it a good morning."
"You make it sound as though you are in constant danger." Emilia giggled, unaware of the truth behind his words.
"Well, I can tell you are not lying. I did hear Beatrice played a trick on you. Anyways, you saved Lia many times yesterday. From tracking the thief to fending off an assassin. I can never repay you enough, but please, do tell me if there is something you need, and if it is within my power I'll grant it to you!" The floating grey cat exclaimed with a smile and a wink.
"Well, I'd ask to pet you to my heart's content, but there is a lot of stuff in my mind right now. I don't want to impose on you, but can I hold onto that favor to cash it in later?"
"Sure, no problem!" Puck gave a positive response to Subaru as he could read in his emotions that there was no evil intent or malice in his words or demeanor. "It's okay Lia, I can sense no evil intent coming from him."
"The nickname of 'Lia' is adorable, by the way."
"Not as good as your 'Emilia-tan'!"
"You really are odd, Subaru." Emilia said, seeing him interact with her great spirit as though he was just another person to fool around with.
"Emilia-sama." The twin maids came outside to talk to the group, interrupting their moment. "Roswaal-sama has returned. Please come inside."
"I watched your whole pathetic display from upstairs, and I must say, you are a really an absurd man, I suppose." Beatrice mocked Subaru as he came inside.
"Geez, even the gothic Lolita has it out against me…" The boy rolled his eyes, trying to keep his cool through the barrage of insults that kept bombarding him since coming to this world.
"What does that even mean?! Your made up words irritate me!" The spirit protested.
"Just because you've never heard them doesn't mean I made them up. Moreover, you do realize all words ARE made up, right?" Subaru talked back with a shit-eating grin.
"Why you-!"
"Betty! How long has it been? Four days?"
"Bubby! I missed you! Will you stay with me today, do you suppose?"
"Sure!" Puck leapt from Emilia's shoulder onto Beatrice's open hands.
"Hehe! Yay!" The blonde spirit celebrated while spinning around.
Subaru found himself annoyed at the shift in demeanor from the little girl between the spirit and himself.
"Bewildered, aren't you? Beatrice just loves playing with Puck." Emilia giggled at his side.
"Who even says 'bewildered' anymore?"
"My, my! How unusual to see you here, Beatrice! I'm so happy that you decided to dine with me." Subaru turned around to see a man in a weird looking clown outfit. He lacked the nose and the shoes, but other than that, he certainly looked the part.
"I'm not here for that moronic fool, if that's what you are asking. I just came to spend time with Bubby." Beatrice glared at Subaru while saying these words but turned around to fawn over the grey cat with a smile after finishing her statement.
"So… where's the party? What did you hire a clown for?" Subaru looked at Emilia in genuine concern.
The clown froze in place, the maids looked at him enraged, Emilia was in shock and the spirits didn't care.
"Subaru, how do I say this…? That man is…" Emilia tried to defuse the situation.
"Oh, no, this is quite alright, Emilia-sama." The clown reassured the girl.
"Okay, talk to me, what did I do now?"
The clown laid his eyes on Subaru, inspecting him with a creepy smile. "My name is Roswaal L. Mathers, lord of this ma~nor, Natsuki Subaru."
Oh, come on! Just how do you expect people to even assume you are a lord if you dress like a clown!Subaru yelled in his mind "…Oops!"
As everyone sat down on the table, Subaru inspected the soup in front of him. Sure, he did not think the maids would attempt anything against him from the get go, especially in front of their lord and lady, but he wanted to make sure. He brought his left wrist near his mouth and whispered. "Karen, can you check the food or something?"
"Unfortunately, I lack the capability to test for poisons without the full suit to serve as a scanner." The computer whispered back.
"Drat." Well, I should just trust the spider sense then. Surely it will tell me if I'm in danger before actually gulping down. He concluded.
Taking a chance, he picked up a spoon and took a sip. "Woah, this is way better than Aunt May's meatloaves!"
"Hm~. Despite her appearance, Rem's cooking is quite impressive."
"What's that supposed to mean, 'despite her appearance'?" Subaru just blurted out a response without really thinking, getting on the defensive for the maid even if she did annoy him. He saw enough racism in the Capital; classism would just piss him off.
Who does he think he is? Answering Lord Roswaal like that… The blue haired maid thought while giving him a malicious side glance, not even considering the fact that he was attempting to defend her. "Sir, he means that I am not just a house cleaner as my apparel would suggest. I am also the one in charge of the cooking."
"…I see." Subaru responded, not wanting to elaborate.I cannot really say if I was just jumping at conclusions or she just hates me enough to not care what other people call her just so long as she gets to berate me.
"U-Um! Ram is not very good at cooking so Rem is the one that takes care of it!" Emilia chimed in, sensing the dense atmosphere in the room, trying to dispel the tension.
"So Ram takes care of the laundry then?" Subaru wondered.
"No, Rem also takes care of that too."
"…Housework?"
"Rem." Emilia answered back while looking down embarrassed; trying not to think about the image she had painted of the older sister.
"Then what does Ram even do?!" Subaru exclaimed in astonishment.
"She's good at housework and laundry! She just… lets Rem… do… it." Emilia was now avoiding looking in the direction of the twins, beet red, as her defense of the older one just backfired on her. The sisters, however, cared little for her comments, far more focused on keeping their hostility for the boy in check in front of their lord.
"Still, I must say, your circumstances are most… suspicious, Natsuki Subaru." The clown lord said. "You claim to not know anything about Lugunica when you were in the heart of the country of all places. I also hear you possess foreign money, which means you cannot even sustain yourself at the moment, and that your only possession was a metia in the shape of an armor possessed by a spirit. Tell me, can you read?"
"Your language? Not at all." If I recall correctly, the signs at the Capital were so odd, I thought about Japanese for a second but the more I looked at them the weirder the characters were.
"Then I assume you do not know the current situation within the country, yes?"
"…No, I don't. Is something bad going on?" Subaru found himself more and more alarmed at the implications of the man.
"The royal family has died out, and with no king to rule, the government is currently run by a council of elders."
"O-oh, I'm sorry to hear about- wait. You are not going to say 'Now that you know my secret I cannot allow you to live!' are you?" Subaru interrupted.
"Worry not, it is public knowledge after all!" Roswaal attempted to reassure. "What is worrisome, nevertheless, is how you made contact with a runner-up for the throne in the middle of such a crisis."
"Runner-up for the throne? Did you not say that the royal family died out?" Subaru questioned.
"That is indeed the case, but in such a case a Royal Selection must be conducted." Roswaal responded. "And you just so happened to aid a candidate for said race the moment you came to the Capital. Isn't that quite… coincidental?" Roswaal dropped his tone for a more serious one at the last word.
"Royal… candidate? But the only one I helped yesterday was…" Subaru turned to look from Roswaal to Emilia, who suddenly looked troubled. "You are a princess?!" Subaru managed to say before choking on his soup.
"I-I'm sorry! I just had to keep it a secret! I didn't mean to lie!" She showed him her insignia. "This insignia is the proof of my candidacy to the throne. Its shine determines whether one possess the right to claim it or not." She explained.
"*cough* You mean to tell me you allowed your right to the throne be stolen while walking around?!" Subaru deadpanned. "I mean, I'm clumsy but not that much." Not since getting my powers, at least.
"Don't say it like that! It's not like I allowed it to be stolen on purpose!" Emilia pouted while retorting.
"At any rate, Su~baru-kun, you have saved not only Emilia-sama's life but her candidacy as well. Had she lost her insignia she would have had to drop from the race. After all, if she can't protect one jewel, how can she qualify to be a ruler?"
"But you are suspicious of me all the same, aren't you? After all, I came out of nowhere to help your princess and all… wait, what is the relationship here, anyways? Before you mentioned anything about royalty, I kinda figured you were her uncle or something."
"Roswaal is my sponsor, you see. He backs my candidacy, allowing me to use his resources as my own."
"With that out of the way, I'd appreciate it if you could make your… origins clearer for me Subaru-kun. Even if you did save Emilia-sama, your behavior earlier in the day has put my staff on edge. I'd like to reward you, but I must assure my subordinates that you are not a threat first."
So the maids told him, huh. Subaru looked at him, his joking attitude gone.
"Roswaal? What are you talking about?" Emilia questioned her backer while looking at the maids, finally noticing the frowns and glares directed at Subaru they couldn't keep hiding anymore.
"He is talking about the fact that your maids attempted to kill me while I was unconscious, after you left for your room last night." Answered the Avenger.
"WHAT?!" Emilia yelled while standing up, horrified at the notion of what went down without her knowledge, staring at the twins in shock and anger.
"Subaru, I'd suggest clearing out any misunderstanding they have about us. If you have no grievances about revealing your identity in this world, then it's better to be honest and save us the trouble of staining the Iron Spider with the maid's blood." Karen suggested in an ominous tone from his wrist.
"Before I 'open up' about my origins, will you at least come out clean about your grievances? I've been through to many life or death scenarios lately; I think the least I deserve is a proper explanation beyond erratic yelling." Subaru said this last part while glaring back at the blue haired girl.
"You smell like the witch, you reek of her in fact! That should be enough to hang you!" Rem yelled, losing her composure at his arrogance.
"…What?" Emilia asked dumbfounded.
"This is true, in fact." Beatrice responded. "However, you are omitting the fact that I sucked his mana out to ensure he meant no harm maid. His gate is immaculate as well, like a baby's in fact, so you can't expect him to use any magic at the moment. You are quite prone to skipping details, I suppose." Subaru was surprised the spirit would back him up, taking into account the fact that she insulted him just as much as Rem. "Moreover, were he a cultist he'd have Gospel on him, but his annoying armor was the only thing in his possession, so you clearly made some assumptions."
"But that's-!" Rem attempted to defend her point of view.
"Subaru is innocent, I can confirm this." Puck, who was now on top of Beatrice's lap, defended him as well. For how irritated he was by the interactions the boy had with his daughter in the city, he didn't hate him. Especially so because he saved her life. "Although I can't completely read his mind, I can read his thoughts through his emotions and he has been nothing but honest in his intentions to help Emilia or the fact that he has no knowledge of our land, including the witch."
"But then why does he smell like the Witch?" Emilia asked worried about the fate of the boy that saved her.
"Can't say, I genuinely have no idea." Subaru answered her.
"He is telling the truth Lia." Puck responded with a smile and a wink.
"…Tsk!" Rem was frustrated. Even if Puck and Beatrice had confirmed his innocence, the fact that he smelled like the witch made her think that he was nothing but trouble. It is just better to kill him off right now then, before he becomes a filthy follower of hers! She couldn't help but think along this line.
"…Then, how do you explain the fact that you know a witch?" Ram asked in a calm but cold manner while frowning at him.
"You know a witch?!" Emilia asked in surprise once again, now worrying that the boy could really be the follower of such a despicable entity.
"Hm~, now that's an interesting developme~nt." Roswaal added that remark with a creepy smile while leaning his chin on his hands, his elbows pressed against the table. Now then, just what secrets do you hold, boy.
"Before I can explain that, can someone tell me already who the hell is this 'Witch' you all keep screaming about?! I mean, c'mon, man! You can't just keep piling up this stuff on me and not explain!" A fed up Subaru justified himself.
"While it's odd that you don't know about her, there is only one 'Witch' we could be referring to." Beatrice explained.
"Who?" Subaru asked with curiosity.
"The Witch of Envy, Satella." Emilia said, looking down with guilt and shame, trying to avoid Subaru's gaze.
"That's-"
"I'm sorry, you know… About lying like that."
"…It is said that she was starved for love. It is said that she destroyed half the world in her pain. It is said that her appearance is that of a silver haired, amethyst eyed half-elf." Beatrice continued her explanation in a monotonous tone, Puck in her lap visibly disliking the implications.
Subaru was astonished. The description of the Witch of Envy made it look as if she was Emilia's twin. Is that why the people in the city glared at her? Did she lie to me so I wouldn't have anything to do with her?
"…Well then! That just confirms the witch you are talking about and the one I'm talking about have nothing to do with each other!" Subaru attempted to dispel the vibe in the room with a smile and a loud proclamation to the difference between the two women. "The witch from my world was not at all evil, quite the opposite in fact. She was a hero, an Avenger, just like me."
"A hero?! What's that supposed to mea-!" Rem questioned, as she, Ram, Beatrice, Puck and Emilia looked at him in shock.
"Rem, I wish to inquire something first." Roswaal interrupted as he lifted his head from his hands.
"Roswaal-sama…" Rem turned to look at her Lord expectantly.
"Su~baru-kun, what exactly did you mean with 'my world'?" Roswaal asked, the connotation catching the attention of everyone in the room.
Subaru smiled. "Well, I'm glad you asked! As you know, I'm not from the kingdom. But then again, I'm not from any of 'your' kingdoms!" Subaru emphasized on that las remark.
"You mean to say you come from beyond the Great Waterfall?" Beatrice asked, dropping her speech pattern in her surprise. No… Surely he lies.
"I don't know what the 'Great Waterfall' is, but the answer would be both yes and no." Subaru said while reaching to his left wrist.
"…He's telling the truth again, somehow." A surprised Puck pointed out.
"Then what do you mean?" Emilia asked, perplexed beyond her belief. Just who are you Subaru?
Rem and Ram were staring at him, equally confused. He smelled like the witch, yet he is not a cultist. He knows a witch yet it's not the Witch of Envy.
"Karen? Display please." Subaru said, confident that his companion would project an image of his world through his wrist. One that would, hopefully, corroborate his innocence beyond reproach.
"On it." The A.I. responded. A bluish screen emerged from Subaru's left wrist. The sudden light alarmed both Ram and Rem into drawing their weapons, but they refrained from doing it due to their lord instructing them not to do so. Roswaal and Beatrice were surprised; they had never seen a device capable of displaying an image this perfectly. Karen began reproducing a video within the light.
"Hey everyone, yeah! Kickass party! Hey, what's up Liz? Subaru has told me a lot about you." It was a video of Subaru donning his mask in front of a mirror on the wall.
"…Who is Liz?" The half-elf asked in a slightly colder tone.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" Subaru questioned his A.I. in a panic.
"You told me to display something. I did."
"Yeah, but not that!" He pleaded with his wrist, much to the confusion of everyone. "Show them something about the Avengers!"
"Understood." Karen began the display once again.
"It is I! Thor, son of Odin!" An image of Subaru in front of the same mirror displayed, with the boy holding a drain opener in one hand while sounding boisterous.
"NO!" The young man protested again.
"Stop messing around!" A clearly annoyed Rem shouted at him.
"Okay, okay! Geez!" Subaru attempted to placate the screaming woman. "Just, show them an Avenger, please." He begged for his serious and confident façade up until now not to be destroyed further.
"Understood." Karen confirmed, playing a new video.
"So… your body is changing. Believe me, I know how that feels-" An image of a man, unknown to the audience, dressed in a silly blue uniform with white and red stripes running down his abdomen and an star on his chest played. The background was completely white, as if it was meant to be filled with something. Subaru hastily interrupts the replay midway through in panicked movements.
"WHY IS THAT EVEN THERE!" He yells at his wrist once more. "Lo-look, just-just do a replay of the battle of New York. Please." Subaru said in a defeated voice, looking down in embarrassment at the continuous display of his idiocy for not being specific from the get go.
"On it." Karen concluded her mischief, showing the group a most astonishing visage.
The recording seems to have been taken a fair distance from atop the street that could be seen in the background. The images showed buildings far taller than even the Royal Castle. The buildings looked as if they were made of glass, all of them stacked besides each other, height varying but all of them standing hundreds of meters above the ground. The buildings, however, looked to be in shambles. Some were on fire, others had all their windows broken and the dust and ash of a battle could be seen floating everywhere.
"Wha-What is this?" Emilia asked, befuddled.
"What is that place?!" Beatrice was in shock, not understanding the scenario or architecture shown to her.
Four people could be seen on the ground, surrounded by what looked like metal boxes with four wheels, in varying degrees of destruction. These metal boxes seemed to be carriages of some sort, but they all lacked reins or steeds. The people appeared to be talking to each other, discussing the situation. One of them was a blonde man with long hair, wearing a knight's suit of armor while holding a hammer. The other was the same man from the previous showing, but he had a round shield with stripes and a star in the middle attached to his left arm.
"That's the ridiculous man from before." Ram commented.
The third one was a red haired woman in a black outfit, with some small black things attached to her hips. The last one was a man that seemed to be an archer donning a black uniform as well. As they were talking, a fifth man came into the scene while riding some sort of two wheeled vehicle that moved by itself. As they continued their conversation, with the new person integrating into the group, within the distance a red and gold speck appeared, only to be followed immediately after by a gigantic, snake-like floating monster.
"WHAT IS THAT?!" Emilia yelled in terror for the five people.
"A MABEAST?!" Rem screamed out as well.
"Just what…" Ram could not even finish her sentence. She was well and truly confused by the whole showing.
"A new calamity, I wonder? It perplexes me that no one has ever seen it before, I suppose." Said Beatrice, trying to keep calm while regaining her speech pattern.
Puck and Roswaal observed in silence with a clear frown.
The speck and the leviathan approached the group as the fifth man, the least imposing of them, began walking towards the monster.
"Are they insane?! Why are they not running?!" Emilia questioned the sanity of the individuals on the screen.
As the monster zeroed-in on them, the man transformed into a giant, muscular green monster, stopping the flying snake with a loud roar and lifting it. As it was falling on its back, about to crush the green monster's companions, the red and gold speck reappeared, revealing themselves to be a man in a suit of armor similar to Subaru's. Something was shot from his arm, blowing the monster that was about to fall on his teammates in twain.
"It blew it in two?!" Rem shouted.
The way he transformed seemed similar to Garfiel… But I seriously doubt he could muster such an absurd raw strength. Ram thought, keeping to herself.
"That thing has to be the size of the White Whale! That's impossible, in fact!" Beatrice yelled.
Right after the monster died, strange, smaller humanoid monsters began descending from the buildings, screaming battle cries at the group of people on the street. The green monster yelled back, with the group rendezvousing around him. The recording then disappears from the screen, signifying its end.
"Subaru, what was that?!" Emilia asked him in a panic.
"That was my home." The boy replied. "What you saw was a battle that transpired some eleven years ago, when I was a kid. It was a battle to save my world from an invading force from another planet, called the Chitauri." Subaru explained.
"A battle to save your world? Wh-what do you mean?" The blue haired maid asked, now in a state of shock rather than anger towards the man.
"I mean what I mean." Said the boy, confidence returning to his voice. He got up from his seat, his left hand on his hip and his right at his chest. "Allow me to reintroduce myself. My name is Natsuki Subaru, also known as Spider-Man. And just like the people in that recording, I am an Avenger, a hero from the planet called 'Earth'."
"…For how unbelievable that all sounds… He hasn't lied once." Puck commented, sounding indifferent, yet looking visibly shaken by the showing.
"Th-then, how do you explain the fact that you know a witch?" Rem asked with caution.
"The witch I know is called the 'Scarlet Witch'. It's just a codename, really. She has these powers that allow her to move stuff with her mind or trap you in illusions, or project energy and the like. She is an Avenger, my, uh, senior you could say. I actually became one rather recently. Or maybe way back? Explaining it is sort of tedious, actually…" Subaru got rather confused at his own wording, not knowing how to explain the fact that he died and came back to life.
"But… If you came from a different world… Then how come you ended up in this one?" Emilia asked, worriedly.
"Well… we, the Avengers I mean, were fighting this big purple guy called Thanos and he had this golden gauntlet with magic stones called the Infinity Stones that are capable of, well, doing anything, really. This guy was strong, like CRAZY STRONG I mean! When Dr. Strange fought him, he summoned a black whole like it was nothing and then shot it at him. And-and when Mr. Stark fought him- ah, Mr. Stark is the man in that red and gold flying armor, he is the man that designed and built my suit, he is the best really, he-"
"Subaru, you are rambling, cut to the point." Karen warned, making him look at the people he was talking to. Although Emilia and Beatrice seemed to be paying attention, the rest looked confused as all hell.
"What I mean to say is that we were fighting this Thanos guy and then we lost, and the wizard, Dr. Strange, gave him the Time Stone that he needed to complete the gauntlet. Then Thanos left through a portal and a couple of minutes later all hell broke loose because everyone started vanishing into thin air and then I-" Subaru tried to summarize his speech, only to come out as more rambling. However, when it came to the topic of his death he suddenly stopped.
Wh… what the hell…? Subaru thought. He tried to move but nothing happened. He then noticed that no one was moving either, as if they were frozen in time. The world had lost its color and sound and then, just as suddenly, everything was covered in a thick, black and purple fog. Black hands sprouted forth from the fog, reaching for him. At first they gently caressed his face, their cold touch sending shivers down his spine, but then they started descending onto his chest. They phased through it and reached for his heart, beginning to crush it in their grasp as he felt everything. His mind was screaming but he couldn't move. MOVE! MOVE! As he attempted to move, he suddenly slouched forward, grasping for air, while holding his chest in pain.
"SUBARU!" Emilia yelled in panic, as he was on the ground on all fours, a hand to his heart.
"EMILIA-SAMA, GET AWAY FROM HIM!" Rem yelled while reaching for her morning star. "HIS SMELL INCREASED, HE REEKS EVEN MORE OF THE WITCH! I KNEW HE WAS A-"
"Subaru is suffering a cardiac dysrhythmia at the moment!" Karen yelled, trying to quell the situation. "It's as if his heart had been suddenly clenched by something!"
"His… heart?" Emilia asked, scared.
"EMILIA-SAMA, HE IS TOO DANGEROUS! PLEASE, LET REM-!"
"Shut it, maid. Although his increased odor is aggravating, the decision of what to do with the… boy is still in the hands of the half-elf, not you, I suppose." Beatrice pointed out while covering her nostrils.
"I suggest you… skip the more painful details and get straight to the moment in which you appeared in our world, Su~baru-kun." Roswaal attempted to mediate the situation, trying to calm Rem down as well.
"O-oh… Yeah…" Subaru managed to get up from the ground with Emilia's help. "Um… yeah, I… I should do that." He was visibly shaken. The confidence he had managed to speak with was gone. "We-we were fighting again against Thanos, after-after Mr. Stark saved our lives. But Thanos was winning again and he had all the Infinity Stones at hand. So, when he was about to make his wish I jumped on top of him and stole the stones from him. I-I… I integrated them into my suit, in my right arm, and then I snapped my fingers. Thanos and his minions, they-" Subaru paused, trying to make sure no one had stopped breathing or anything. All he noticed was an annoyed Beatrice and an angry Rem. "They turned to dust and died. Th-the stones were so strong though that I-I had to drop them, out of fear of my body exploding. But the energy of the stones kept dancing around me until I was suddenly teleported, flung away across space-time. That's how I ended up in the alleyway we met at, E-Emilia-tan."
"I-I see…"
"…Kuh! I never thought I'd doubt my own powers one day. He has been truthful. About everything." Puck commented.
"S-so, you are… far away from home huh? From your friends and family-" Emilia helplessly attempted to console the now saddened boy, only to be interrupted by her sponsor.
"And I suppose you are looking for a way ba~ck to them, are you not? Su~baru-kun?"
"I… I am. That was the plan, anyways. But it'll take time and a lot of trial and error I gather…" The Avenger answered with a tone of doubt.
"Then let me offer you a proposition. I still owe you for helping Emilia-sama after all." The clown paused. "Work as Emilia-sama's bodyguard and, in exchange, I'll fund all your projects!" He concluded with a smile.
"Roswaal-sama?!" Rem asked, shocked as to why her lord would offer such a luxurious offer to such a suspicious man. "He is a stranger! Even if all he says is true then-!"
"Rem, this is a sensible choice." Ram interjected her sister's train of thought.
"Nee-sama?! But why?!"
"Because… so long as he needs to create stuff for him to go back home, he will create items that the kingdom could benefit from." The elder sister pointed out. "Surely you've noticed… The peculiarity of his metia and Beatrice-sama confirmed that his gate is unused, so his powers don't seem to work based on mana. It's not magic nor divine protection. The things he uses are technology beyond what we currently understand. Or things that magic cannot explain."
"The technological advancement of the kingdom could improve Emilia-sama's standing with the citizens quite dra~stically! Surely you realize the advantages that a man like Su~baru-kun brings to the table, don't you? Emilia-sama?" The lord suggests with an ear to ear smile. "And while working on his projects he could work protecting you as well! You do lack a knight and he has proven his strength, we don't want any more situations where your life is attempted against, hm~?"
"The-the decision falls on Subaru… He is the one that-" The half-elf meekly said. She hated the fact that, for how she was technically the candidate, Roswaal had thought of so many more possibilities for helping Subaru than she could in an instant. She also despised that, even with Ram and Rem's hostility, she couldn't do anything to reign them in. She felt anger like she had never known at the pair for trying to take away the what could be her first friend when she had trusted them to take care of him. She'd make sure to punish them later, somehow, but for the moment she also lacked the resolve to even do that. She lacked leadership, so all she could do was nod along while trying to let Subaru take the final choice. "Subaru is the one that should decide what his reward should be…"
Subaru was not at all in the best mental state. Breakfast had been one disaster after another; his soup had gone cold already during the whole commotion. He had sat down with a decided attitude against the maids, full of teenage bravado, only for it to turn into arrogance as he confronted them. It then shifted onto admiration as he gushed about his origins, to finally turn into fear as the… dark force attempted to kill him. He was now feeling quite worried. Would it be the right choice? I could do some good for this world bringing inventions from my own here! And I'd get to… spend more time with Emilia… But I can't help but feel as though the clown is just trying to use me for his benefit. It's as if my senses are screaming at me that that's the case. As he thought this, he looked up from his pensive state to notice… That Emilia was looking at him. They had locked gazes and it had become awkward for either of them to look away from the other. As he started blushing, he let his budding feelings for the angel he had just met take control of the situation, rationality be damned. "…I'll take your deal, Roswaal!"
"Goo~d! Then it's decided, you shall be Emilia-sama's new bodyguard!" The clown confirmed. "Ram, Rem, please show him around the mansion and to his quarters."
"What?! Roswaal, they tried to kill him! If anything we should-!" Emilia complained at her backer's decision.
"I understand your grievances, Emilia-sama, but given what we've learned so far about our new sta~ff member someone must guide him around the premises and his duties." The man concluded.
"Even so, they attempted to kill Subaru! And they don't even seem remorseful about it! You can't seriously be telling me that they shall go unpunished!" Emilia pointed out while glaring at the twins, who sported indifferent faces to her reaction, further infuriating her. Their demeanor, however, shifted into slight panic when the temperature in the room began to drop, especially so around the half-elf.
"I must agree, Roswaal." Puck assisted in a serious tone, now floating above Emilia, trying to control her magic from bursting. "You can't go around ignoring what your servants did, as if it didn't mean anything."
"Well, of cou~rse. I think the decision on what to do with them should fall on the victim as well." Roswaal replied in an indifferent tone, his smile never fading.
"Roswaal-sama, with all due respect, nee-sama and I-" Rem attempted to protest.
"…If it is Roswaal-sama's wish, then we won't protest." Ram concluded, interrupting her sister.
"…" Rem cut her claims short at her sister's interruption. She looked resentful for a second, knowing that her synesthesia should have alerted Ram to her feelings on the matter. But her sister still chose to trust their lord's judgement instead of hers. It was the logical answer to their dilemma, but Rem's wrath just wouldn't allow her to think clearly.
"It's Subaru's decision then." Emilia resolved, calming her animosity. Surely, he'll make the right choice. She thought.
"…If it's my decision, then I say we let it slide this one time." Subaru answered rather quickly after a consensus was reached.
"Subaru?!" Emilia yelled, worried that he might be making a hasty decision.
"Emilia-tan, it's fine, really, I-"
"How is it fine?! They tried to kill you!"
"Yeah, they did. Them and a whole army. And even before that, thieves and murderers and the like. Even my ex-girlfriend's dad." Subaru reminisced while not looking exactly happy. "Point is; they are not especial for doing so. And if it's due to a misunderstanding, then I want to resolve it without anyone having to die or losing their job, I guess."
"Thank you, Barusu." Ram bowed, thanking Subaru sincerely for sparing them the consequences of her sister's rashness.
"…Thank you, Subaru-sama." Rem thanked while bowing as well, but with venom in every word.
"…I get the feeling there is still some sort of bad vibe in here, but whatever, we are co-workers now, so let's aim to clear out any bad mojo, okay?" Subaru responded, while looking visibly tired from the whole ordeal. "By the way, Ram? Can you not turn my name into a blinding curse?"
"Barusu." The pink haired deadpanned.
"…Okay, I'll allow it."
"…Subaru, we have to talk later, alright?" Emilia responded, while looking at the interaction with a troubled expression. "And you two… Don't try anything like that, ever again." She directed words full of spite in the form of a warning to the twins.
"We won't, Emilia-sama." Ram replied professionally.
Emilia took her leave, followed by Beatrice and Puck in the blonde's hands once more. "*clap, clap* Well then~, Ram, Rem, please show Subaru around!" Roswaal directed, standing up from his seat while clapping his hands. "I did say you would work as a bodyguard and inventor for Emilia-sama's benefit, but would you mind assisting on the household chores as we~ll? You could use the chance to break the animosity between my staff and yourself."
"Of course, after all, with what I've been told, and the fact that I don't see anyone else around, poor Rem must be the only one working her butt off here. I'd feel bad not helping." The boy mocked while looking amusedly at the twins.
"Humph, don't go around thinking you'll be anything but deadweight on your first day, trashy Barusu." Ram mocked back.
As they bickered back and forth however, Rem looked on, feeling nothing but spite for the young man interacting with her sister as though they were longtime friends.
AUTHOR'S NOTES
So… Karen. Doc Octopus much? I was re-watching the Sam Raimi trilogy the other day and I thought it'd be fun if she developed to be like the extra limbs from the second movie, even if slightly.
Also, as to why Subaru seemed more serious and less funny in this chapter… He might be Spider-Man, but he is also Subaru. His pride is bound to get in the way of making friends, especially in the first few arcs.
Anyways I wanted to ask you guys… Would you rather see more Re:Zero situations with an stronger, smarter Subaru? Or would you rather I introduce more Marvel stuff? Cosmic entities, like The Celestials, The Beyonder, The Watcher or even Galactus and the Living Tribunal, I mean. I do plan for The One Above All to appear way later on anyways.
For anyone wondering, I made the cover image, though I did redraw art I founded on Google Images for the pose. If I ever upload on Wattpad or AO3 I might add illustrations. See you in the next chapter!