Here is the rework of the second chapter! with more than 5K added to it. Hope you enjoy your read!
Chapter 2: The scent's cost.
After the sword saint's long-awaited revelation, the room had been silent for a moment. As a confused black-haired boy was in deep thoughts, mulling over the words just spoken to him.
With one hand covering his mouth and his narrowed eyes gazing towards the insignia he held in his palm, Subaru didn't say a word. From the asphyxiating silence grew an anxious pressure, crushing all those who assisted to the event
The only one somehow managing to keep a composure was Reinhard, patiently waiting for Subaru's answer. In the knight's mind, it was obvious that someone chosen by the insignia to rule over the kingdom would show commitment to this task…Or that was what he wanted to believe.
Truth was that Reinhard couldn't predict how Subaru would react. He knew very little of the final candidate for the Lugunican throne., Not even knowing if this was what Subaru wanted or if this would be of interest to him in the slightest…
Reinhard just knew that he couldn't fail.
As a knight, for the kingdom and the sake of its prosperity, he had to make sure Natsuki Subaru would become a candidate. As appointed by the dragon himself.
Suddenly, Subaru closed his eyes and took a deep breath, taking his thoughts off the sword saint. He was eager to fulfill his duty, but he also knew that holding the position of a candidate was no easy task.
As rare as it was, all this heavy thinking made him start to sweat a little bit from his forehead.
Taking everyone by surprise, Subaru ended up exclaiming out loud, "Aaaaaah Thank goodness!"
The servants glanced at each other in confusion, trying to understand this rather unexpected reaction.
When he finished expressing his relief, Subaru turned toward his friend once again, witnessing his visible confusion.
"No, don't worry Reinhard! I'm just relieved!" He said with a bright smile. "I mean, for a moment I just thought that I had been summoned to a parallel universe with the worst stats a man could have!"
Even though Subaru's words were difficult to understand for Reinhard, the clear joy and excitement the newly made candidate showcased were enough to make the knight realize that the news had been taken rather well.
The situation now cleared up, the servants in the room decided to take their leave, taking the dishes plates and dishes with them. Letting both the knight and the candidate have a needed talk.
"So...Is this why I've been summoned? To be the king...? Hehe, that's not so bad either."
Subaru started smiling, he held the insignia tight in his palm, as if he was embracing his new life. Such enthusiasm from his new master allowed Reinhard to feel relieved as well. He was surprised, but to see Subaru ready to take on his new role made him very happy.
After completing the rough task that had been bestowed on his shoulders, he had immediately received a new mission, one that he was ready to take.
"I am truly glad you came to acknowledge your upcoming duties, Subaru-sama." Reinhard spoke as he got up from his seat, walking closer to the candidate. "While being named as a candidate by the divine dragon is the greatest honor one could have, it is also far from being an easy task."
Subaru's eyes followed the sword saint until the latter stopped just a few feet away from him. Reinhard kneeled on one knee, in the most elegant manner a knight could, bowing his head down as he stuck his fist against the ground, taking Subaru aback.
"This is why I humbly request that you allow me to be by your side. As your knight, sword, and shield. I beseech you to use me as you will., I swear to be the tool you need to support your candidacy and allow you to reach your goal-"
"Alright, alright! Stop! Damn it, Reinhard what the hell is that?!" Subaru exclaimed as he waved his hands around, embarrassment clear on his face as he urged the sword saint to get up.
"I…I-" The sword saint stuttered, his eyes betraying his worry and incomprehension towards Subaru's reaction.
"What did I do wrong…?" He wondered, fearing the worse to come.
"You don't need to go that far! That's super embarrassing! Like I said, I was just the simplest middle-class guy just a moment ago! There's no need to treat me like that all of a sudden, especially not someone as impressive as you!" Subaru continued, begging his friend to stop his noble request.
Reinhard just froze in place, as he tried to understand what had just been told to him now. While he had thought he failed to hold up the etiquette proper to a knight, the reality seemed to hold another meaning.
Subaru continued, "Come on! You could've just said 'I'll help you' or something, that would've done the trick." rubbing the back of his head with a shy smile on his face as he stood up, he then offered his hand for the bewildered knight to take.
"I don't understand…" Reinhard uttered, accepting his master's benevolence as he slowly stood up. "Why would you refuse the honors due to a person of your status?"
"Because I don't hold a candle to you!" He laughed nervously. "And aside from that, I'm the one guy here that has nowhere to go…And you're the one asking me if you can-…Damn it, scratch that!"
Reinhard stayed silent, his mind drowning in confusion as he just listened to Subaru. He didn't understand why he would say such things. He didn't understand why a candidate for the throne would think of himself unworthy to receive the vow of a knight but most importantly…The sword saint's confusion layed with Subaru's bizarre belief. To think a mere knight was far above him, all while in the knight's very eyes… the opposite was the case.
"Thank you, Reinhard."
Hearing this, the sword saint lifted his face to meet with the warm expression of his new friend.
Not missing a beat, Subaru continued, "If you're fine with it, I'll gladly take you up on the offer!"
A strange feeling ran through Reinhard van Astrea's mind upon hearing those words. Bafflement would be too light of a word…It was so much more, more complicated, something that barely made sense to him.
But one thing was sure, out of this complex maze of thoughts that raced at insane speed within his mind, relief was the dominant one. A sentiment he rarely had the chance to feel, one that could even be qualified as alien to the greatest knight.
"Reinhard?" Subaru called, noticing the redhead man's silence.
"I…Am the one who should thank you, Subaru-sama…" Answered Reinhard, slightly bowing his head to him once more.
Dejected, Subaru said in a tired voice, "We'll need to find something for that as well…"
Sealing their new bond of friendship with a smile, Subaru sat down and leaned back into his chair. He started to stare at the ceiling, remembering everything he went through as soon as he opened his eyes and found himself in the capital of Lugunica. Away from his home, from his life, from his parents…
Being trope-savvy on the 'summoned to another world' subgenre, Subaru knew that he had been summoned for an important reason. Thus, the fact that he had been given nothing more than his grim "Return By Death" honestly disappointed him.
For someone who had just spent many years of his life stuck in his shell, wasting his life it was a chance of a lifetime that only a fool would throw away, and right now, he could be anything but this fool.
Right now, his wildest fantasies were taking shape before him
Holding his insignia up his eyes again, he realized that right now… He had the chance to become a king.
"Wait...If the insignia means that I'm a candidate..." Subaru thought out loud, turning his eyes towards his friend. "DOES THAT MEAN WHAT I THINK IT MEANS?!"
"Yes, Emilia-sama is also a candidate for the throne." And just like that, the young man's excitement about his candidacy disappeared as fast as it came. He surely was overjoyed at the idea of becoming the ruler of a nation, as anyone would be at his place, but if it meant to forsake his love at first sight…
"Ugh, this world is so cruel..." He silently whimpered, cursing the world who forced him into making this unfair choice.
"Well…" Reinhard began to speak, searching for his words"Nothing prevents you from having a good relationship with the other candidates. I believe it would only be for the greater good since the race for the throne should be won fair and square. In that regard, what could provide better stability than trust between the candidates?" He explained, trying to cheer up his friend.
"Uh?!"
Like a spark that managed to fire up his spirits once more, Reinhard's statement put stars in Subaru'seyesJust by looking at them, the knight understood that he did well.
"That's it! That's exactly it, Rein! Dammit, what would I do without you!?" He exclaimed as Reinhard scratched the back of his head with a shy smile. "Right, let's go!"
"What?"
"I said: let's go! Come on!"
Subaru opened the door in haste, only to be stopped by the two small figures standing behind it. Both girls were almost perfectly identical, having short pink hair with yellow ribbons in them and wearing white and pink dresses.
"O-oh, hey there…" Subaru said as he slowly turned toward Reinhard, who joined the little group. "Are these two part of your family?
Reinhard simply smiled at him as he turned towards the twins.
"Good morning, Flam and Grassy. Allow me to introduce you to Natsuki Subaru-sama, the fifth candidate to the throne of Lugunica. Be careful to treat him with the utmost respect." He then turned towards Subaru. "Subaru-sama, those are Flam and Grassy Remendis, the granddaughters of Carol and Grimm Fauzen. Both of whom are loyal servants of the Astrea family."
Both twins then wordlessly bowed in front of the black-haired candidate, showing respect due to someone of his position.
Gently laughing, Subaru said "Hey, you two don't need to be that shy! I swear I'm not a tyrant or anything!" He then kneeled at their level when he noticed how quiet they stayed.
They titled their heads to him, confusing Subaru.
"They are not afraid, Subaru-sama. They are just naturally reserved, please know that they can fully understand us, as well as understand each other." Reinhard explained.
"I-I see…"
"Well, it's a pleasure to meet you two! I'm sure we'll become great friends, so I look forward to working with you!" He exclaimed as he stretched both his hands for them to shake, which they did even though they remained expressionless.
"Alright!" He smiled as he stood up, turning toward Reinhard. "Now, let's go to Emilia's!"
"Wait a moment, Subaru-sama…" Reinhard replied, preventing him from going further. "This much is impossible at the moment."
"Uh? Why?!"
"The rules of the candidacy state that it is forbidden for the known candidates to meet before the selection begins," Reinhard explained.
Outraged and failing to control the tone of his voice, Subaru shouted, "What?! You gotta be kidding me!"
"Subaru-sama…"
"This is not okay Reinhard! I need to check up on her! Just to be sure she's alright! O-oh! And she healed me! Yeah, I can't just brush that off, that would be horribly rude of me!"
Reinhard winced as he simply shook his head.
"I…Am sorry. But those are the rules all official candidates of the kingdom must follow." Reinhard concluded, his voice showing his reluctance to disappoint his master.
"Wait…" Subaru interrupted his face one of hope and delight. Yet, the knight couldn't help but feel the slight hint of scheming enthusiasm in those ugly eyes of the boy which built up unease. "You just said it!"
"Pardon me?" Reinhard asked, now officially troubled
"Official candidate of the kingdom!" Subaru exclaimed.
"Yes?"
Pointing the Sword Saint with his finger, Subaru gleefully exclaimed, "That's the thing! We just discovered it, right? So the kingdom doesn't know! I'm not an official candidate at all... not yet, at least! I'm just a simple civilian!"
"I…I am not sure that-"
"Am I wrong though?" Subaru inquired, challenging Reinhard's stare.
"Subaru-sama…"
"And, even Emilia has no idea that I'm a candidate, right?" He continued.
"…"
"So, therefore, the only thing that would happen if I go meet her right now... would just be a man thanking a woman for her precious help, am I wrong?"
"…You are not," Reinhard said with a sigh of defeat, realizing that Subaru was right and wouldn't back down.
"Then nothing is stopping us! Let's go!" Subaru urged in triumph.
"Very well…" Reinhard replied. "However…" the knight wasn't able to finish as the boy ran out.
"Uuh..."
Subaru and Reinhard were now sitting in a dragon carriage, making their way to the place where Emilia was on a road leading towards the north of the capital. Of course, due to his position of knight of the kingdom, Reinhard already knew where she resided.
Both were sitting in front of the other. Reinhard in his military uniform and Subaru...
"Was the outfit really necessary? I look ridiculous!" he exclaimed as he uneasily stretched his collar.
"Please don't say that, this outfit is designed to match the best of your image, Subaru-sama!" Reinhard replied with a smile.
"...I'm really not used to this."
Indeed, Subaru was wearing a black suit in 3 pieces with gold boutons and shoulder ornaments, along with half a cape going down his left arm.
Honestly, he did look more handsome in this. After all, Reinhard's sense of fashion was in a completely higher league. But previously living a life of a shut-in, these kinds of extravagant clothes were something he never thought he would wear one day.
Since he didn't want to hurt Reinhard's feelings regarding the fact that it was him who picked up these clothes(after making them), Subaru decided to bear with it and sighed as he turned his eyes to the window of the carriage, admiring the view of a more rural Lugunica.
"So, where is Emilia living actually?" Subaru asked, trying to get Reinhard to speak.
"Emilia is living in the mansion of Sir Roswaal Mathers, which is her sponsor for the race of the throne. Sir Roswaal is from one of the most powerful families of the kingdom."
"Like yours?"
"You could say that, yes. The Mathers family are the greatest mages of the kingdom since generations."
"So, she is a candidate for the throne along with me...How many other candidates are there?"
"There are three other candidates along with you and Emilia-sama. Crusch Karsten from the Karsten house, Anastasia Hoshin from the Hoshin trading company of Kararagi, and Priscilla Barielle from the Barielle noble house."
"I see…Wait, there's something off here!" Subaru's eyes widened in horror as he noticed a detail so shocking he had to keep his jaw from hanging by shouting his next question at the knight beside him, "How come they're all girls there except me?!"
Reinhard could only shrug with an innocent face.
"I am unfortunately unable to answer this, Subaru-sama. The candidates are designed by the dragon stones is all we know. Those the dragon himself deem worthy of contracting with him."
"The dragon…" Subaru wondered, picking up his insignia from his pocket.
As he held the golden jewel in doubt, the ruby in its core began to shine slightly, as if it would remind him of his candidacy.
"Hm. I wonder what that dragon wants from me though…So far, I'm fairly sure I've never met him." He questioned, rubbing the bright jewel of his insignia.
"Very few ever had this honor, Subaru-sama." Reinhard answered. "The great dragons watch over our kingdom far over the great waterfall. But his will is somehow linked to these royal stones, passed down in the royal family."
Subaru raised his eyebrows as he picked on the last words of the sword Saint, realizing there were obvious questions he forgot to ask.
"If there is a candidacy to elect a new king…"
"Ah…" Reinhard said in a low voice, with a clear glint of remorse behind it.
"I am sorry. I should have informed you beforehand." He sighed with a tired smile. "The candidacy… began after the royal family of Lugunica went extinct."
"Extinct?"
Reinhard nodded his head. "An unknown disease appeared within the walls of the royal palace. Killing all of the members of the royal family one by one. A disease so powerful, not even the best healers of the kingdom managed to cure it."
"I-I see… "
After this, a moment of silence fell inside the carriage, with both men left in their own thoughts. One reminding of his past, and the other wondering about the future.
"Then for the candidates, I already know Emilia…But the others…" He thought with a hand on his chin, breaking the silence as he raised his eyes towards his knight. "Let's start with Lady Karsten."
"Crusch Karsten is the duchess of the Karsten house, she's part of one of the noblest families in the entire kingdom, the closest to the royal family. From the few times, I had the chance to see her in action, she is very competent in what she does."
"I see…What about Anastasia Hoshin?" Subaru continued, asking for the discussion to continue.
"Miss Hoshin is at the head of the Hoshin trading company, merchants so to speak. She comes from the western country of Kararagi…Unfortunately, I know very little about her for that reason." Reinhard said with a smile.
"Hm…So she's not a noble from Lugunica…So far she seems to be the only one in the same case as me, even though I'm nowhere near at the head of a company." Subaru thought out loud. "What about the last one?"
"Priscilla Barielle…" Reinhard continued, sighing tiredly.
"Oooh…" Subaru laughed nervously, "Why do I have a bad feeling?"
"Lady Barielle is…Quite the character." Reinhard answered with an uneasy smile. "She became the baroness of the Barielle lands after marrying Sir Leip who sadly passed away, which made her the heir of another noble family of the kingdom."
"A baroness…Is her house as powerful as the Karsten house?" The candidate asked in curiosity.
"Not at all." Reinhard continued. "The Karsten house took over the crest of the Lugunican Lion. A gift of the royal family, to show their trust towards them. The Barielle barony is also close to the royal family, but nowhere near as powerful."
"Hm…And Emilia?"
Reinhard simply shook his head.
"Miss Emilia doesn't seem to be coming from any known house in the kingdom. The fact that she does not bear any family name tells as much." He explained.
"Then how did she even join the selection?"
"Sir Roswaal Mathers, of course." The sword saint continued. "He offered to be Emilia-sama's sponsor for the throne. While she might not have any notorious background, Sir Roswaal's support is more than enough."
"So, she's just a nobody who got the support of an ultra-powerful house…" The nervous black-haired boy chuckled as he rubbed his forehead in relief. "Yeah, she is in the exact same case as me."
Even more, relief washed over Subaru as his worries about being inadequate and unprepared were somewhat placated by these facts from the mighty capable knight beside him.
'Man… I'm so glad Reinhard knows this information or else I would've stayed feeling panicked and deficient about my own campaign… or whatever the name of this election's parties are.'
As he thought this, a striking question popped in his head that set his curiosity aflame; he couldn't help but ask it out loud, "So you met all the candidates?"
"Aside from you, Lady Emilia and Lady Crusch, I did not meet any other," Reinhard replied. "What I told you is merely the basics I heard from other royal knights. Or rather, the 'neutral' basics about them."
"Neutral?" Subaru laughed, before quickly understanding what I meant. "O-oh…Some are harsh uh…"
"Ah, no." The sword Saint chuckled. "This is not what I meant."
Subaru tilted his head in confusion.
"Two of my friends are the personal knights of other candidates." He admitted, shaking his head. "Whenever I hear them speak about their ladies… Well, let us just say that their opinions are very biased."
"Well, can you blame them? They won't serve the candidate if she's not someone they would believe in I guess." Subaru thought with pensive eyes. "Or is it not how it works?"
"It is," Reinhard confirmed. "For a candidate to have a knight, this one must pledge an Oath to her."
"Like that awkward speech you made earlier?" Subaru laughed, mocking his friend who simply became red in embarrassment.
"T-This was nothing but the procedure a knight has to follow…" The knight said in a failed attempt to justify himself.
As Subaru laughed loudly at his friend's antics, a thought suddenly came to his mind.
"So…Do all candidates have a knight?" He questioned.
Reinhard shook his head "Only Lady Karsten, Lady Hoshin, and of course you, in my knowledge."
"So Lady Barielle and Emilia don't…Do you know why?" The male candidate-to-be asked wearily, feeling a bit relieved for some reason that Emilia didn't have a knight… yet.
"It might either be because they don't feel a need to, or because no knight pledged their loyalty to them," Reinhard explained.
"What about you?" Subaru innocently asked.
"Me?"
"I mean. Now I guess you are the knight of a candidate but… Why didn't you try to pledge an Oath to another candidate before me?"
"I was… Not in a position to do so." The knight admitted. "I have been tasked by the great council to search for the fifth candidate of the throne."
Subaru raised his eyebrow in surprise "And to become the candidate's knight?"
Reinhard stayed silent for a moment, before shaking his head with a warm smile.
"No. I was only tasked to find you. My pledge towards you…Was from my own will."
"Not that I dislike it but… Why me?" He said as he rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment. "I mean...I'm nothing but a rookie here."
"I am certainly unable to answer this question, Subaru-sama."
Subaru was quick to raise his eyes towards his friend, taken aback by these sudden words.
"I believe calling it intuition or instinct would be the best way to describe it." Reinhard said gleefully.
"...I see." Subaru smiled in relief. "Thank you, Reinhard."
The sword Saint only smiled back.
The candidate then leaned back in his chair. Thinking out loud.
"Crusch Karsten is a born noble from the closest house of the royal family, Priscilla Barielle is a noble who married into a baron's family, Anastasia Hoshin is a foreigner who owns a company, Emilia is a beauty having the sponsor of one of the most powerful houses of the kingdom, and then there's me, a complete nobody absolutely clueless of this kingdom and anything related to it, who literally got here yesterday…Damn, I'm starting off really bad aren't I?" Subaru said as he mocked his own situation.
Reinhard simply laughed gently alongside him.
Subaru then lost himself in his thoughts, heaving a faint sigh, still looking at the window about the whole situation that appeared more complex than anything now that he had an overview of it.
"The competition will be fierce then...I suppose I deserved it for getting too full of myself this morning..." He commented, remembering his thoughts about getting summoned to become the king.
But then he grinned, seeing his reflection in the glass of the window.
"Though it's not like I dislike challenges…" He confidently said, turning to his side to meet with Reinhard.
"I am truly glad for you to take it this way, Subaru-sama." Reinhard answered. "However, there is one more thing. I must warn you before we get there that Sir Roswaal is...Quite the extravagant character."
"Extravagant? In what way?"
"...You'll see." The sword saint waved off, avoiding any elaboration.
"You know that you're just creeping me out right now?"
At some point, the carriage started to come out of the woods to get on the road that led to a village. His curiosity peaked; Subaru looked by the window to inspect it.
It was a rather big village with multiple houses, a market in what looked like a central plaza, and children playing all around who immediately started to approach the carriage as soon as they saw it.
"Do you know that village?" He asked his friend, eyes not leaving the sight.
"I believe it is called 'Arlam', there might be more than a hundred people living here." The knight answered, inspecting the outside as well.
Subaru smiled and asked Reinhard to stop the ride before they both got down to meet the children getting near them.
First a little scared because of their fancy-looking clothes, they quickly gained confidence as Subaru was really good with kids. Even Reinhard was impressed at how quickly he befriended them.
Lucas, Mildo, Meina, Dain, Cayn, Petra, and Meili, he memorized all their names in a flash and was already speaking as he knew them for a long while, and surprisingly, they loved that. He was so kind and funny to them.
"Your clothes are soooo good looking! Where did you get them?!" Asked the little brunette named Petra, her blue irises shining with wonder at the older boy's fancy outfit.
"My friend over there made them for me in a matter of time…I guess you could call it 'the secret sewing technique of the master swordsmen line'." Subaru chuckled at the girl lightheartedly.
"Please Subaru-sama-Wait... there's no such technique!" Reinhard exclaimed in bewilderment as his previous humble rejection of the kind words was suddenly turned into horror that he may have missed a valued skill of the sword.
His worry was quenched once Subaru mounted with a hand on his stomach as giggles came out of his mouth.
Every one of the kids started giggling happily, believing what Subaru was chuckling about deserved them to follow with their own laughter. Not to mention the look on Reinhard's face when he thought he'd missed a sword skill for a moment. Dain and Cayn approached him while Subaru was talking with Petra.
"Say, say! Are you a knight? Your sword looks so cool!" Dain said in awe.
"Yeah, it's big and shiny! Can you show it to us?!" Cayn continued, jumping in place.
Reinhard smiled while putting a knee down to be at their level.
"Unfortunately, I cannot, this sword won't be drawn unless needed. May it be to face a threat to our beloved kingdom or a dangerous foe." He gently explained.
Both brothers, along with slight disappointment, were absolutely taken by the sword saint's words. He had such a cool way to express himself and his smile was so bright it could almost blind them!
Shortly after, the village chief went to meet them, absolutely astonished to see the sword saint and a noble in his village. He wanted to prepare something but Subaru and Reinhard quickly refused, saying they were just here to meet with the Margrave that supported the village.
After having a good time in their company, Subaru and Reinhard returned to their carriage in direction of the Mathers estate. Inside, Subaru felt...A glare on him coming from the crowd. He didn't know why, but he was feeling that something was pressuring him. When he turned to Reinhard, he found his friend looking at the window as well with his eyes narrowed towards someone.
"Reinhard?" Subaru inquired.
"I think...We should stay on guard." He answered with caution.
Subaru acknowledged Reinhard's words with a nod as the carriage started moving.
After a little while, they finally saw Roswaal's manor. A big domain, perhaps bigger than the Astea's. with perfectly cut bushes right at the entrance, going all the way to the door. Actually, everything just seemed perfectly clean and neat, Subaru started to wonder about the numbers of servants you would need to take care of that.
The dragon carriage stopped not far from the entrance alley, allowing Reinhard and Subaru to take their time before reaching the door.
"So here's the place...Quite noble as well, isn't as impressive as yours but, noble anyway." He commented as he had a better look.
Reinhard smiled while opening the carriage's door.
"Shall we go?"
Subaru steeled himself as he stepped out of the carriage, followed by his friend as they walked towards the entrance.
"Oh boy, now that I think about it I'm super nervous! Do I look okay? Tell me I don't have a hair sticking out of my nose or something..." Subaru asked as he touched his face and hair.
"Don't worry, even the kids told it to you at the village, all the boys glared at you with jealousy when Petra complimented you." Reinhard chuckled.
"We're talking about a kid Reinhard, that's a lot different from a grown maiden don't you think?!"
As they were approaching the front door, it opened to let 2 nearly identical women in maid outfits go out and meet with the young men approaching the mansion.
They both bowed down in respect before the duo.
"Greetings, head maid of the Mather's mansion, Rem, at your service."
"Greetings, maid of the Mather's mansion, Ram, at your service."
"How may I help you?" Both said in synchronization.
Subaru looked at them both in awe with stars in his eyes, admiring their figures in the notorious black and white uniform.
"Oh damn...Twin maids?! This fantasy world is really the best!" He exclaimed with a nod.
"Sister, sister, it looks like this man is looking at you with filthy eyes," The blue-haired maid said in a nearly innocent voice.
"Rem, Rem, how terrible, this man might be assaulting you in his vile mind." Her sister continued.
"Uh?! I just got here and I'm already labeled as a psycho pervert?! I don't know if I should be proud or scared of my own self right now." He questioned in fake worry.
Obviously, Subaru was joking. It was as clear as day, everyone knew it but still, his behavior only made him and Reinhard snort.
The pink-haired maid looked at him with an indifferent look or rather, a very disappointed and pitiful one like she looked at the most disgusting and pathetic thing she had ever seen.
The blue-haired one though...Looked scary. Her eyes were cold and along with a dead-serious expression, even Reinhard had some chills down his spine.
Both the sword saint and the candidate looked at each other, confused by the situation. They weren't speaking but they understood each other perfectly 'What the hell do we do now?' until a soft voice pulled them out of their mutual thoughts.
"Ram, Rem, who is thi-"
When she went down the stairs to see what was happening at the door, she immediately smiled and rushed towards it with an expression that could be interpreted as relief and joy.
"Subaru!" She exclaimed with a bright voice.
If they were a little bit more intimate than they are at the moment, she would certainly throw herself in his arms right now. That's what he thought and that would be a dream allowing him to die happy. Unfortunately, the little interactions they had together consisting of a short talk before getting his wound open wide, only allowed her to grab him by the arms with a smile.
"I'm so glad you're okay!"
"Well…It's mostly thanks to you, so of course, I would come to see you to express my gratitude."
Emilia smiled wide, she stepped back a bit to have a better look at Subaru and chuckled while putting her fist before her mouth to elegantly cover it.
"Well, it looks like you dropped your unusual attire for another even more extravagant one. It does really suit you though!" She complimented him.
Reinhard quickly took the opportunity to smug and turn towards Subaru, along with a wink.
"Well, I wore it just for you, Emilia-tan!" He said as he gave her a thumbs up.
"Eh? Tan?" She repeated as she noticed the little add-on to her name.
"You could say it's an honorific from my homeland, for the special people you are close with." He answered with a wink.
Hearing her be qualified as 'close' with someone, Emilia couldn't help but blush slightly and glance away in embarrassment. The twins behind the half-elf looked indifferent to this adorable moment.
The uniformed grand knight standing beside Subaru, however, looked to be jealou-
"C-come on...Don't stay here! Please Come in!" Emilia said quickly yet adorably urging them to follow her inside of the mansion.
Both of them happily obliged the invitation...Under the glare of an already tired Ram and indifferent Rem.
The inside of the Mathers mansion was just like the exterior would suggest it would be, a fancy place with a lot of useless decorations just to show how rich you were, that was Subaru's way of describing it at the very least.
It was spacious and well kept at the front of the mansion, stylish and actually quite pretty.
"You really live in a great place too…But man, everything is so neat! I suppose you have a real army to clean that up!" Subaru exclaimed to the silent princess while staring at a few paintings they were walking by.
"Well...You're right." Emilia answered with a low voice, her beautiful eyes dimming slightly. "That place is really big but as irrational as it may seem, there's only four of us here."
Subaru noticed the bit of sadness in Emilia's voice. He realized how hard that should be. She was basically the only one resident along with the master who probably had his own business to deal with and the twins who most probably were working all day to take care of the entire estate by themselves, along with her schedule working spirit not showing off much...She had to feel so alone.
"Eh, so it's only you two who take care of all that? Jeez, that's some pressure!" He directed towards the maids, in an attempt to divert the conversation and to make the pretty elf from feeling her loneliness while he was here.
The twins simply nodded at him without really answering him. He understood that they didn't like him very much, he was a bit confused about the reason, but he didn't want to meddle. He was here for Emilia, not for them.
Instead, the maids turned toward Emilia. The look on their faces showed that they were looking for an explanation. Far from discussing their lady's orders but rather to understand the situation in which they were right now.
"Ah! Yes, Ram, Rem, do you remember the person I told you about who saved me yesterday? It's him! His friend is the kingdom's Sword Saint." Emilia explained to them.
The maids looked at them again and then at each other as they bowed down together. They had such flawless sync that one could be afraid at how they seemed to both think the same thing at the same time...
"In the name of Lord Roswaal Mathers, we thank you for protecting our lady from the harm that could have been brought upon her by our negligence."
Their voices ringing at the same time, Subaru stood for a moment in awe before the perfect voice synchronization the maids performed. Indeed, they seemed to think alike.
"N-no probs! Saving such a beauty, the pleasure's all mine!" He exclaimed.
"You're not beating around the bush when it comes to words aren't you Subaru?" A voice rang in the air.
Popping out of a green crystal at the neck of Emilia, a little cat spirit appeared just in front of the half-elf.
"Puck! Good to see you're doing well!" He said as he grabbed the cat's paw as if to shake it.
"Same goes for me! You know Lia was very worried about you since the Sword Saint took you away! Seeing you here certainly took a lift-off her stomach!"
"Puck?!" The half-elf exclaimed; her red cheeks most apparent on her face.
"Really?! What a failure!" He exclaimed. "I have no shame at all! Making someone so wonderful worry about me… I should commit seppuku to keep at least a little of my honor!"
Emilia blushed even more, adorably looking away while squeaking for a second. Reinhard couldn't help but let out a small chuckle under his breath.
"I don't really think it's possible to keep something you never had," Ram commented.
"Indeed, It would only stain a poor innocent blade with dirty blood." Her sister continued.
"Did I do something so bad to you two for treating me in such a way!?" He instantly shot back.
Emilia gained a bit of her composure back and started to lean towards the maids with her finger up.
"Don't take it to heart, Subaru! And you, don't tease him too much! He is our guest and my benefactor!" She ordered, defending the black-haired boy.
"Yes, Emilia-Sama. We apologize."
"Good!" She said with a satisfied expression, turning towards the pair of young men with another kind smile. "Have you guys eaten yet? Would you have lunch with us?"
Emilia was speaking with a slightly excited tone, so faint it could normally be hard to notice, yet there was one man who did.
"Thank you Emilia-sama, but we at-"
Reinhard got startled by Subaru's tap on his back, allowing him to speak instead of his friend.
"We'd love to! Man, I'm starving!" Subaru continued in place of the knight.
"Yes, Subaru-sama insisted on seeing you right away after his awakening after all..." Reinhard grinned and cleared his throat, 'correcting' himself.
Subaru's smile suddenly disappeared, replaced by a cracked one as he felt his face heat up in shame, turning to his friend with such an expression that Reinhard found it rough to contain his laugh.
But after seeing Emilia's reaction, which was an equally shy and cute face, he simply took a breath and lifted his thumb up to Reinhard while holding his nose.
"Nice." He whispered.
"T-then please, come this way!" She said, telling them to follow.
Emilia cheerfully led the way, followed by the maids and the duo.
Up the stairs, Subaru was inspecting the corridor during their way to the dining room. He already had a pretty defined idea of what the interior could look like, but it was still impressive. How come such a manor with so many rooms only has 4 residents?
His curiosity taking the edge of him, he decided to go towards a door to see what the room looked like.
He opened the door to meet a giant library, along with a little girl with drill twin tails, sitting on a stool.
"Hmpf! Quite the shameless man you are to enter a room without knocking, I suppose!" The little girl spoke out loud.
Emilia, the maids, and Reinhard, all scouted closer to Subaru.
"A-A cute drill loli?! I thought you said you were only 4 in this mansion?!" He said as he turned towards Emilia.
Beatrice looked at him, visibly on edge after getting called by that word, which she didn't know the meaning of, though she was sure it didn't have a positive connotation.
Ram and Rem were slightly impressed while Emilia looked at him with surprise and shock.
"Well, Beatrice is the great spirit that lives in the library but...None of us can open the right door! The emplacement changes every time and she rarely comes out so...How did you find it?"
"Ah, I get it!" Subaru chuckled with an assured look on his face. "If it's a puzzle then I'm rather the lucky guesser to solve them quickly. Call it fate..."
Subaru closed the door and went forward a little bit until reaching another, completely random one and opening it, to the library again.
"Or luck, I'll get it!" He finished with a satisfied grin.
Everyone was genuinely out of words. Even Ram didn't know how to react as it seemed easy for that man who came from nowhere to find the library's emplacement that easily.
"I'm surprised there is a great spirit here..." Reinhard said in a low voice towards the pink-haired maid.
"Beatrice-sama has been tasked to watch over the library in the Mathers estate for a long time now." She explained without bothering to turn towards him. "She lives in her library and protects the mansion occasionally."
Subaru widened his eyes in surprise as he overheard her speak, the thought of a girl staying alone in a room while they would all leave together, seemed wrong for him.
"Anyway, we're on our way to get lunch, why won't you come with us?" Subaru decided to invite her, trying to get her to join them.
"Hmpf! A great spirit like Betty has no need to share anything wit-"
"Hey there Beatrice! You look well!" The cat spirit floating over Emilia's shoulder cut her off with a cheerful flare in his tone.
"Bubby! I missed you!" She exclaimed, jumping from her seat to go towards Puck.
Subaru recoiled in confusion as he saw the little girl jumping towards the cat spirit with a face of pure bliss, her tone of voice considerably changing.
"Well...You could say that Puck is the only one she acknowledges..."
"I see, she is not the social type uh? Well, even if the path is hard there's always a way…" He thought out loud as he winked to the half-elf. "Watch this."
Subaru smiled at Emilia as he cleared his throat.
"So like I said, why won't you come with us and enjoy some company rather than staying in here alone?" He spoke out to her.
"Hmpf! Betty doesn't need the consideration of such a rude man, I suppose!" Beatrice spat out.
Emilia winced a bit to hear her speak and behave like this. She really wished she could have more interactions with the little spirit. Sometimes, she thought it could be really beneficial for both of them, to earn a friend and ease this feeling of loneliness.
Right now, she was already set to turn back and go towards the dining room without her again, even though she was glad that Subaru tried to bring her out…Until she realized that Subaru didn't seem to be done just yet.
"Eh, I didn't say me though~." Subaru replied with confidence.
Beatrice turned towards him once again with a raised eyebrow.
"I said us. Which also includes Puck." He winked, catching the spirit off guard as she turned towards the grey cat.
"Come on Betty, come with us!" Puck urged her.
"Yes! If you ask, of course, I will Bubby!" She happily replied.
Subaru honestly felt jealous of that discrimination she was performing on him, Emilia chuckled as she realized it right away.
As she went out to join the group, she threw a glare at Subaru and Reinhard, especially at his sword.
"So you're Reid's descendant…" She said as she inspected the red-haired knight.
Reinhard nodded as he bowed in front of Beatrice, showing the utmost respect he could as a knight, in front of a great spirit.
"Hm. At least, it looks like your behavior is much more appropriate to the title you hold." She waved off, nodding to his proper etiquette.
Reinhard couldn't help but look down in shame, Subaru noticed it and felt a little bad for him. Just what was the reason for his friend to frown like that?
" Hum… Who's Reid ?" the black-haired boy inquired to both of them, making Reinhard stay silent.
Beatrice looked back to Subaru, ready to bitterly answer the one she judged as nothing but an annoying pest.
However before that, like an urge she couldn't control, the great spirit's eyes turned towards the knight in question, noticing the feeling of guilt and distaste reflected by his eyes, and all of a sudden, she froze in place. The memories of another man with dazzling red hair appearing in her mind, the last visions of a person long gone, of another time, nearly from another life… Someone she cherished, someone who smiled at her, oddly similar to the young sword Saint standing before her.
"Beatrice? " Puck called, noticing the unusual look in her eyes.
"It is nothing, I suppose." She answered, her voice having lost all cheer she would normally have when addressing her brother.
Subaru and Emilia threw a glance at each other upon seeing the sudden change in the little girl's attitude.
Reinhard however, thinking she did so for his sake, only gave a slight bow of his head as thanks. Smiling for the great spirit's decision to not reveal anything related to his ancestor.
They all returned to their walk towards the dining room with Emilia and Subaru at the front, speaking of his awakening at her request, Beatrice and Puck enjoying each other's company, and finally the twins and Reinhard.
"Is Sir Roswaal present at the moment?" He asked the maids.
"Our Lord departed this morning, but he should be here in a minute for lunch, Reinhard-Sama." Rem answered him.
Reinhard nodded as he thanked the maid for her answer, thinking about the situation coming ahead. Surely Lord Roswaal wasn't a fool, he would certainly understand that there would be more to Subaru than just someone wanting to express his gratitude, especially if someone like the Sword Saint himself would be by his side.
Arriving at the room, Subaru wasn't impressed by the luxury of it anymore. He already had his fill of rich-people-furniture at the Astrea's mansion, thus they all took a seat while the maids took their leave to bring the food.
A short moment later, a man entered the room. Someone wearing rather eccentric clothes and clown-like makeup. In Subaru's mind, there was no doubt: he was a jester to entertain people while they ate but seeing Reinhard standing up to show his respect, he instinctively did the same.
"My, my...If it isn't the greeeaaaaat Sword Saint aaaaaaand?" The clown spoke.
"It's Subaru! He is the man who helped me about my little misadventure yesterday!" Emilia answered with a bright voice.
Roswaal narrowed his eyes towards the black-haired boy and stepped towards him with a large smile on his face.
"How marveeeeeelous! I must say I was quite saddened to not meet Emilia-sama benefaaaaaaaactor when she told me that she couldn't bring him here after the Sword Saint's request."
"What the hell is wrong with his way of spea-Wait.."
"I'm sorry, what? The Sword Saint's request?" Subaru replied, turning towards his friend with a coldened narrowed gaze.
Reinhard quickly looked away while sweating, he knew that Subaru wouldn't be pleased to know that he took him away from Emilia. However, after thinking about it he wasn't mad at all. Wouldn't that be inappropriate for two candidates to be at the same place? Or maybe he wouldn't be a candidate at all without Reinhard...
"As I said, all the pleasure is mine! Emilia-tan is so pretty, it would have been a crime to not help her!" Subaru proudly exclaimed, making the half-elf look away in embarrassment.
Roswaal was honestly pleased to see so many people around him while eating, as even Beatrice was out of her library. He even found that situation to be rather more...Interesting because all these people were unique, even though from anyone else's point of view, he was the most unique of all.
"Weeeeeeelll even though I do recognize Subaru-kun's will of meeting Emilia-sama, I must ask what the honor for me is to receive the Sword Saint himself?" Roswaal inquired, wishing to know more about his guests.
"I am merely here as an escort for Subaru-sama." The charming knight replied distantly.
"Oh? An escort?" Roswaal repeated with curiosity.
Subaru threw a quick glance to Reinhard with alerted eyes, trying to warn him about not revealing anything that would put them in trouble.
"Y-yes." Reinhard continued. "As a guest of the Astrea house, it is only natural that I would accompany him."
"You…Did say there was something about Subaru you needed to confirm though." Emilia reminded him a bit hesitantly. "This is why you insisted on housing him, after all…"
"A threat." Subaru continued, discreetly nodding to Reinhard so he can hold over the conversation himself.
"What?" The half-elf replied in surprise.
"Well, think about it Emilia-tan! You're a candidate for the throne and suddenly a guy that comes from nowhere accosts you and helps you! This is totally suspicious! Honestly, Reinhard did nothing but his job as a knight here!" Subaru explained.
"I see…Wait, Subaru!" Emilia exclaimed. "How do you know I am…-"
"I told him," Reinhard replied for his friend. "When I…'questioned' Subaru-sama, he asked about your situation."
"Nice assist Reinhard!" Subaru praised internally, winking to his friend.
"Is that so…" Emilia concluded.
"So, you two just decided to bother this place for no reason at all aside from giving thanks, I suppose?" Beatrice said in a disinterested tone.
"Beatrice!" Emilia retorted, turning towards both Subaru and Reinhard.
"I'm sorry! Please don't take her words to heart, Beatrice is just…Not used to this."
"I am certainly more used to meeting people than you, in fact!" Yelled the little blonde.
Waving the air with a grin to show there was nothing to worry about, Subaru turned towards Beatrice.
"You got a sharp tongue; I give you that. But you'll need more to cut through me. I'm so used to slurs and insults that I became bulletproof to such cheap stuff!" He said with a proud voice.
"Are you trying to brag about yourself getting insulted?" She answered in disgust. "What a gross individual you are."
"I too, believe this isn't something you should take pride in, Subaru-sama…" Reinhard tried to comment in vain.
"I don't take pride in getting insulted! Who does that?! I said that I was a hard nut to crack! Don't take words out of my mouth!" Subaru yelled back, trying to defend himself, but the only things he earned were giggles and deadpanned expressions.
"I'm already being treated as a joke here! Ahhhh!" Subaru whaled in his head, filled with despair at his ruined interaction cycle. But once he noticed the angelic innocent giggle coming from Emilia, he couldn't help but feel delighted with himself.
"Man… She's so beautiful when she laughs like that…"
The boy seemed less despaired about his embarrassing moment as he continued to eat with the others.
:::::::::::::::::::::
After getting stuffed by the generous food table, everyone went to their rooms for a bit of rest since the lord and the two guests had just arrived from their own long journeys. Subaru and Reinhard were sent to a guest room reserved in the enormous mansion.
Unsurprisingly to anyone that knew him, the black-haired candidate-in-secret was unsatisfied with being cooped up in a room again after his long nap in Astrea's mansion. So the boy had set out on 'exploring' the big mansion on his own, definitely not hoping to run into a silver-haired goddess that walked on the same ground he di-
Subaru walked through the mansion's hallways while enjoying how manly he was for being single.
Until he finally stopped in front of a door that he felt a sudden urge towards.
"Yo Beatrice! Have a moment?" Subaru gleefully called as he entered, already used to the feeling of catching the grand library and the girl protecting it.
"Certainly not for the likes of you I suppose!" The blonde spirit shot back instantly.
"Great! Actually, I have a rather difficult question to ask, and since you seem to be the kind of girl who knows everything...Maybe because you live in a library?" He questioned, more to himself than to her.
"Even if Betty would be knowledgeable enough to answer you, why would I do that for someone like you, I suppose?"
Subaru simply clicked his tongue as he made a confident expression, pointing at the little girl with his finger.
"Well, it's a win-win situation! Remember what I did earlier to make you have some quality time with Puck? You help me and I'll create some other occasions too! Everyone will be happy." He told her with a wink.
"…"
Beatrice felt cornered, she was ready to throw him out with a blast of magic out of her library, but to think he would be able to do that for her...
"Speak, I suppose." She said as she closed the book on her lap.
"Nice! Well, my question might startle you a bit but I think that for now, you might be the most qualified person I would know of, with who I could talk about this." He gently told her as he took a seat as well. "So keep it for yourself, alright?"
Indeed, before his visit, Subaru had some discussions with Roswaal, to know more about him or this mansion since he was Emilia's sponsor. Roswaal explained who he was and spoke about his residents too, including the 400 years old spirit of the library.
"I have to say that you might have picked my curiosity now, I suppose." She sighed with narrowed eyes, ready to hear what he had to say.
"All right...Well, I'm coming from another world, Beatrice." He admitted to her.
Beatrice raised her eyebrows in surprise, failing to understand the meaning of the boy's words immediately.
"Not just a country far away from here." He continued, noticing her demand to speak more. "But literally from another world. With other continents…Other countries, cities and civilization..."
"Are you trying to explain that you might come from a place situated over the great waterfall, I suppose?" Beatrice asked him with a severe tone.
"…Yes and no." He answered in a serious and doubtful voice.
"You don't make any sense, I suppose."
"I'm trying to explain!" He replied again, trying to find the correct words.
Beatrice wordlessly gazed upon him as she put a book back on the shelf to her side.
"Then explain. With clear words, I suppose." She urged him.
"I never heard of this place in my life…Lugunica that is. I never knew about its existence, the same goes for the other countries here. And magic as well." He finally told her.
"Magic as well?" She repeated, trying to reach a book as she stood on the tip of her toes.
Seeing her struggle, Subaru stood up and walked towards her to grab the book and hand it to her.
"Yes. To put it simply, magic doesn't exist in my world." He explained. "And never existed as far as I know."
"This is impossible, in fact." She coldly answered. "Mana is the essence of life itself."
"It's true though!" He exclaimed to her, visibly upset for her refusal to listen.
"People can't shoot ice with their hands, they can't move so fast they become invisible to the eyesight, they can't blast an entire house with a sword! And…" Subaru hesitated a bit before speaking, an expression of pain on his face.
"And?" Beatrice said with a raised eyebrow.
His hesitation became greater with the little spirit's demand to continue his words. It wasn't a question of revealing his power. More about revealing what he lived, something he didn't want to share.
But something about Beatrice made him feel like she would be understanding of his words. Maybe with her knowledge, she could help him to find a way with that power. To control it, to take advantage of it…
Taking a deep breath, Subaru raised his head towards the little girl "And they can't return when they d-"
However, as the words were going out of his mouth, his heart began to beat so slowly he could hear it echoing between those walls when everything seemed to be frozen in time. Only his gaze and his consciousness seemed to be able to interact as his body was paralyzed.
Out of fear, instinct, or some unknown force, he couldn't find out. But the point was that his whole body was impossible to move no matter how much force he was exerting.
In front of him, Beatrice, motionless, stood with a staring gaze.
And as he sought to approach her by all possible means, chills began to grow throughout his body ... A feeling of fear growing and taking possession of his very mind, until that shadow taking the form of a hooked hand slowly approached him, piercing his back and slowly caressing his heart...
"ARGH!" He yelled as he fell to his knees, holding a hand to his chest between heavy panting.
"What is it, I suppose?!" Beatrice yelled, her steps stopping as she put a hand on her nose.
"The witch's scent…?"
"Beatrice…" He painfully called as he looked up to her. "Are you okay?! Did you…Did you see that?"
The spirit narrowed her eyes in clear suspicion, throwing a glance around her to see if there was anything relating to his words.
"…"
But even when her suspicions were heavily raised towards someone reeking of the scent like him…She couldn't help but take pity on the black-haired boy who was in clear pain.
Seeing him still on his knees trying to breathe, she turned towards the short table on her side, grabbing a cup in which she poured some tea.
"Here, I suppose." She said as she handed the cup to him. "Drink."
Subaru looked up to her with teary eyes, still breathing so heavily that his voice became hoarse.
"Thank you…" He said in a low voice before taking the cup and gulping the cup in one go.
"I wasn't hurt or anything…But I definitely felt my heart getting grabbed…And the fear taking me over…" he thought to himself as he brought the cup away from his lips and gazed at its emptiness. "That hand…It came to me when I was about to speak about return by death…"
"So." She said in a stern tone. "What was that, I suppose?"
Seemingly calmed down, Subaru looked back at her with thoughtful eyes.
"…I don't know." He admitted. "I just…Suddenly felt a heartache. Sorry about that, I didn't want to scare you."
Beatrice only narrowed her eyes in suspicion once more, carefully looking upon the young boy who stood up and walked past her.
"Sorry for disturbing you…We'll talk about this another time." He said without turning back. "Thank you for your time."
Beatrice kept gazing towards him until he closed the door of her library, the previous events replaying in her head, as the scent of the witch still tickling her nose.
"Consider yourself lucky that you were by the Sword Saint's side, I suppose." She said as she looked at her hand.
"Otherwise…" She sighed as she took her seat back, gazing at the empty cup she previously handed to him.
"Another world…" She whispered, her eyes wandering to another black book on her side.
"What kind of fool is that boy, I suppose…"
"Damn it…" He cursed between gritted teeth. "What the hell was that…?"
Walking in the corridors of the mansion, Subaru made his way back to his room, a hand on his heart in remembrance of what he just lived.
"So I got that special power…And when I try to speak about it, I get attacked uh…" He wondered as a painful smile formed on his face. "What sort of cliché trope is that?"
However, as he walked alone, the sound of footsteps coming from behind him alerted him to stop his berating and turn around in fear…To meet with the blue-haired maid.
"O-oh…" Subaru said with a relieved sigh. "It's just you Rem…Damn you scared me."
Rem did nothing but stare at him with a cold gaze.
"…Are you okay?" He questioned, not feeling comfortable with such silence.
"Where are you headed right now?" She asked, tone cold… piercing.
"…To my room." He answered uneasily.
"Very well. I shall escort you. Please come this way." She said as she walked past him without bothering to look at him.
"I'm…Pretty sure that I can find my way myself, you know…" Subaru quietly resisted, the overwhelming dark aura making him distrustful of the girl.
"I insist."
Seeing the insistence of the maid, Subaru decided to comply, and follow her.
"You know…" He said to break the silence. "I don't know why you're this cold towards me but…We would certainly have more fun if we would at least try to be nice to each other."
"I have no obligations, nor any will to behave as such." Rem coldly answered. "This much enters the professionalism of a maid."
"Really? Damn you talk about a waste." He sighed. "Maids were always the greatest example of elegance for me. You're kind of breaking that vision of mine."
"I have little care about this."
"Cold." He commented off-handily. "Yeah, forget about it. There's no way you and I would ever get along."
"I believe so too." She said before stopping before the door of his room.
"Here you are. I believe this is where you will reside for tonight." Rem said as she designed the door.
"..." Subaru kept looking at the blue-haired maid, expressionless, before entering his room. "Yeah, thanks."
Now alone in his room, Subaru took off his vest before walking closer to the window, observing the outside of the Roswaal manor under the moonlight.
"Why do I have a bad feeling with that Rem…" He thought to himself, before getting brought out of his thoughts by a knock on his door.
"Yes?"
The door then opened to a red-haired knight, holding several books in his hands.
"Eh, you're not wasting any time are you?" Subaru chuckled as he moved a chair for his friend.
"It would be unwelcome, what kind of ruler doesn't know how to read or write?" Reinhard commented as he put the books on the table. "But do not worry. I am confident that you will have no issues learning our language."
The next few hours they both spent together could be described as an entire session of Reinhard teaching Subaru about the basics of the alphabet of this world.
"I think it would be enough for now, you made impressive progress." The knight praised.
"Thanks!" the tired candidate-to-be answered as he leaned back on his chair. "But it's still a pain in the ass! I'm supposed to have passed these kinds of things since middle school."
Subaru stretched his arms up while Reinhard was looking at the yard of the mansion by the window, thinking.
"You okay Reinhard? You seem on edge for a while now..." Subaru pointed out. "You're still worried about the village?
"If that wasn't enough, I feel that something is wrong within this mansion as well." The knight admitted, looking to his liege.
Subaru narrowed his eyes, he was not pleased to hear something like that, and after what he lived, he wondered if his experience had something to do with the sword saint's suspicion.
"First the village and now here..." Subaru thought out loud.
"Something on your mind?"
He stared at the book in his hands, trying to find some sort of a link between all the events he lived until now.
"You think the Bowel Hunter could have followed us?" He theorized. "She seemed angry when she left. And assured that she would come back."
"Unlikely, but not impossible, she already showed us that she had a good recovery. I wonder if she is even human..."
"Yeah, the feeling is mutual..."
"But I don't think it would be her, honestly, I would say to be more careful about the maids."
"Ram and Rem…?" Subaru said, visibly taken aback by the sword saint's suspicions. "I… know they have quite the antisocial and unfriendly personalities but could maids really be this much of a threat?"
"I don't believe they would be simple maids, Subaru-sama…" Reinhard continued. "But it would be unbecoming of me to make further assumptions without any evidence."
"As you said then." He sighed tiredly. "Let's just stay on guard for now then."
"…If I may, Subaru-sama…I would rather us come back to the Astrea's domain, your safety is jeopardized here."
Eyes fixated towards the window, Subaru thought about his friend's words in silence, before taking his own decision.
"As is Emilia's." He said with determination. "I'm not going anywhere knowing there is a potential threat here that could bring harm upon her or the other residents."
Reinhard was really taken by the bravery of his master but he still looked worried, bravery was a virtue worthy of a man and even more for a king...But would he really want to risk the life of his friend for bravery? Is a virtue worth...A life?
Subaru smiled and gave him a light punch to the arm.
"Get it together." He gently said. "We're both here and we have each other's back. We'll work this out, there's nothing we can't do if we trust each other."
Hearing this much, Reinhard began to smile unconsciously. Thinking that Subaru had a way to touch everyone's heart...He took a breath and began to bow when Subaru stopped him, raising his fist towards him. Reinhard looked intrigued but quickly understood.
He raised his fist as well and stuck it on Subaru's. He didn't know why but...He liked that.
"From where I'm coming from, this is something that you only do with the people with whom you have a strong bond. That's my way of saying that I trust you."
Reinhard was out of words. This little thing could be referred as a handshake but unique to him and Subaru was truly wonderful to him. It was a thing unique to him and his friend, an ultimate proof of their mutual respect and trust. Reinhard never felt so happy to have met someone in his life, that's where he knew that for as long as he lived...He would follow this man, he would follow his friend and...his king.
"Then you have my word that I won't disappoint you." Reinhard confidently answered.
The moonlight fell on the grand margrave estate moments later, making the capable knight excuse himself to his young liege and backtrack towards his own given guest room to gain some long-awaited sleep. However, as he was preparing to get to bed, a weak knock rang against his door.
Surprised because of the time, it is with wary steps that Subaru approached the door of his bedroom until the voice of his guest was heard.
"Subaru? Sorry, are you asleep?" A low and feminine voice spoke.
'Emilia?' Subaru thought to himself, as he opened the door to meet with the silver-haired royalty.
Mesmerized, Subaru didn't say a word. One could even say that he was bewitched, not able to avert his eyes from the beauty in front of him shining just like a lone star in a cloudless night sky. He was admiring her, and he could have certainly stayed like this for hours to come.
"Subaru…?" She called him, worried about his silence.
"Ah…" He let out a gasp as he got extirpated from his thoughts. "Sorry! I just...Well."
Emilia only answered by tilting her head, awaiting an explanation.
"Did anyone ever tell you how dangerously gorgeous you were? This hypnotism truly comes from another world…" He sighed with an honest smile.
"You are saying weird things again…" Emilia whispered with a pout on her face. "I would like you to speak clearly so I could at least understand what you're saying…"
Subaru narrowed his eyes to her suspiciously, he wanted to mock her a bit for not understanding that it was a compliment but, the expression on her face sending him a sense of deja vu, his memories were quick to remind him of one of his first loops.
'What are you thinking, calling me by the name of the witch?'
His face quickly took a darker expression, which didn't go unnoticed for the half-elf who worriedly called his name again.
Subaru raised his eyes to her once more, his brown irises staring deep into her amethyst eyes, and smiled.
"You are beautiful. And I wonder what gives me the honor of having such a sight for myself tonight?"
Even if she didn't respond, her immediate reaction of burying her face behind her hands was enough for Subaru to know that this time, she understood what he wanted to say.
'She isn't used to compliments isn't she…' He thought to himself.
"I-I would like it if you could stop mocking me…" Emilia whispered.
"I am not though. I believe in every word I say." He chuckled. "But anyway, what brings you here?"
"Ah, I…" She stuttered, looking like she searched for the words to speak; "I just wanted...To talk to you, I guess?"
"You guess?"
"I-I mean…!"
Subaru laughed faintly as he waved his hand before her, stepping aside to allow the princess to enter.
"Please, enter and take a seat." He invited her with a gentle voice.
Smiling to such kindness, Emilia happily obliged as she stepped inside and sat down on the bed, as Subaru took a seat at his desk.
However, the only thing that arose after this was an awkward silence. Emilia did want to see him and have a conversation, but just now she realized that she planned nothing but the first part of the plan.
Now, she was at loss for words and didn't know what to do to avoid looking more ridiculous than she already was.
"You're okay?" Subaru broke the silence, looking over the shy girl who didn't even dare to look in his direction.
He perfectly knew the situation she was in right now; as god only knows that he was there multiple times. But seeing her the more embarrassed only added to her cuteness, which was, unfortunately for her, something that Subaru couldn't get enough of.
"Y-yes! I'm okay! But, hum...You know...I…"
"You don't know what to talk about, right?" He jokingly pointed out, not wasting a second to tease the princess.
Emilia only looked down in shame.
"There's nothing wrong with that." He said as he gently laughed. "Sometimes you just want to spend time with a friend to kill your loneliness."
Hearing this much, made Emilia widen her eyes towards him.
"I know." He said in a hushed tone. "It can happen to anyone, you're not an isolated case. Even though, regarding where you live, I understand it would be a tad worse for you. Especially since these two maids aren't helping at all."
"Ram and Rem aren't bad people, you know." She smiled as she shook her head. "The issue is certainly coming from me here."
"And why would it?" He questioned with a curious expression. "I'm not the kind of guy who talks shit behind people's back, but seeing how they've been behaving with me and Reinhard, I really do think it's a "them" problem rather than a "you" problem."
Emilia's expression took more of a surprising shape as she stared at Subaru with wide eyes. She took a moment to realize that he was serious about what he just said. And somehow, clueless about what she meant by that.
"Subaru…" She said with a weak voice, clenching her nightgown. "Do you...Know who I am?"
"Mh?" He shut down his eyes to think. "A silver-haired beauty that runs for the kingdom's throne?"
"No…" She answered, too ashamed of what she was about to say to care for his little comment. "I am…"
"A half-elf." He cut her, gently gazing upon her.
Emilia did nothing but clench her robe harder.
"Yeah, I knew it." He simply answered. "This might explain why you're so cute, after all."
"Eh?" She gasped, looking at him in shock. "D-did you…"
"Were you waiting for me to say something else?" He questioned. "Admonish you for some reason, maybe?"
Even though she stayed silent, the look in her eyes was the sole thing Subaru needed to obtain his answer.
"Too bad." He told her. "Because I'm clueless as hell."
"What do you mean…?"
"That I know nothing about how and why half-elves would be discriminated against here." He admitted. "What I know though, is that I have no reason to hate them, nor do I have any reason to hate you, Emilia."
If she entered this room with the feeling of not knowing how to react because of her eagerness, this was something far, far bigger that took place at the moment.
Emilia was a silver-haired half-elf. She was the very definition of what a devil could be.
No matter where she went and no matter what she did, this was something that would follow her everywhere. The looks people would give her, the words they would speak about her.
The doors closed to her, the children that were hiding away from her.
This was the quotidian she began to grow used to. The one of someone born to be hated.
While it was certainly a cruel and unhealthy thing to do, the silver-haired princess began to accept it. This wasn't something she could fight, this was her fate. She would always live to hear these words, nothing but these words. Attached to someone she never knew, someone she had no affiliation with.
Thus, there were things that she resolved to never be able to hear. She even started to doubt the existence of hope or kindness in people.
And if only that boy didn't appear out of nowhere to help her. If only she never met him, if only he didn't decide to meet her one more time.
Then maybe.
Maybe she would still be able to hold a straight face right now. Maybe she wouldn't be looking at him with a stream of tears running down her cheeks.
"Emilia…!" He exclaimed in worry as he rushed to her side, delicately putting his hands on her shoulders. "I'm sorry...Did I-"
And without letting him the time to speak further, the half-elf let her head fall forward against his chest, burying her face away from him.
"I'm sorry…" She said faintly. "But please, don't look at me right now.."
Even if usually he would be horribly embarrassed, the situation in itself only allowed him to smile in relief, to know that she wasn't hurt. To know those tears weren't because of pain.
"Of course." He answered.
After a moment, allowing Emilia to gain her composure back.
"H-hum...I'm…" She stuttered.
"It's fine." He reassured her. "No one will hear about what happened in this room."
Emilia looked up to him again, expressionless.
"You are...Really strange, Subaru…"
"I don't know how I'm supposed to take that but…" He laughed. "Sure."
"Mhmh…" She began to smile warmly. "It's not in a bad way...At least, not in my opinion."
She then stood up, noticing Subaru that it was time for her to leave.
"Thank you for this, Subaru." She gently told him.
"It was my pleasure." He answered in the same tone, smiling one last time as he carefully gazed upon the lady making her way in the dark hallway to gain her room.
As soon as the silver-haired lady left and closed his door, the boy's knees locked in place, waiting until it was sure that the half-elf was truly far away in the long hallways of the manor from his room.
Once a good chunk of time had passed, Subaru's knees wobbled him to rest on the floor of the room. A drunken smile of bliss and relief was plastered on his red face.
"Ahhhh~... That's how it feels like to talk to a girl that's outta your league! What an intense girl Emilia-tan is!"
Although the princess hadn't done anything intense or tiring in the slightest, Subaru's heartbeat hadn't let out any momentum ever since the casually clothed angel he called EMT entered his room to speak with him.
"I do feel bad though… She wasn't here to just have a late-night chat..." The boy sighed, a little saddened, as he remembered the state this amazing woman was reduced to because of little words of comfort he gave. As if she was truly in need of such small things in her life.
As if not being able to get comfort from her friends was something she had grown used to… A fact so horrible and twisted to the boy, it made him not want to think about it anymore.
"She deserves better than those damn twins… Don't they know how to lighten up even for a bit to make her smile? EMT deserves some form of friendship from these cold robots at least!"
As the clearly sleepy King-to-be had started dozing off on the ground of his room, his thoughts were centered all-around Emilia and her life in this mansion with the other residents.
He couldn't find anything pleasant to remember of any of them other than that Roswaal guy, and even then it's just a feeling screaming 'creep' about the man.
"Can't believe I thought up plans for evacuation in case something happened… Reinhard should just carry all of them while I save Emilia-tan once aga-..."
"Oh… SHIT!" The boy's shout instantly allowed his tired sleeping brain to register what he had forgotten since Emilia's visit.
"There might be an attack on the mansion! I still haven't warned Emilia and the others yet!" Cursing himself one final time for the lovesickness that made him forget to warn the girl he cared for so much.
"I need to let her know!" His mind settled, Subaru steeled his muscles to stand up from the hard floor and take off out of his door and into the hallways of the mansion.
He needed to make sure Emilia was alerted of this invisible danger. Running through the darkened hallways, he shook off the feeling of the eerie horror vibe he would get whenever playing those western games in his old home. Subaru needed to rush before it was too late to alert Emilia.
Then in the middle of the process, he heard a sound. That was coming closer and closer from the depths of the darkened hall.
He didn't understand at first but quickly realized it could be what he feared.
Without any hesitation, taking his courage in his hands, he turned around quickly towards the sound and...
Black.
All black.
A body fell.
In the middle of a decently sized pool of blood.
And a chain slowly hitting the ground along with a hoarse and powerful heavy breathing. Like an animal looking down at his prey.
Not far from that, a door in the hallway opened abruptly with a crash. A man with dazzling red hair got out of it.
His vision was blurred but the body on the ground could still see it. In his indescribable agony, he recognized him. He raised his hand with the little strength he had left towards him and tried to call his name. And slowly...While the man was rushing towards him screaming something that he couldn't hear because of his smashed head...He closed the only eye he had left.
"R...ein..."
And by the moonlight's shining of his final scene, like a play playing before him, Subaru couldn't help but feel relief as the world cut to black.
No Reinhard.
No ominous breathing from an unknown assailant…
And no more brutal, cruel, god-breaking pain coming from his mutilated side and wounds.
For one second, the boy was happy in the darkness as relief washed over him…
A blurry image, a faint sound, a purple flash.
And Natsuki Subaru's eyes opened once more to a lit-up carriage with a refreshed Reinhard holding the door open for him and smiling charmingly. Not at all panicked or furious like he had been underneath the moonlight inside of the mansion's hallway before the dark overtook Subaru.
"Shall we go?"
Natsuki Subaru only stared at him with a haunted look full of despair.
Return by Death has been activated again. He'd died and lost all of his progress… again.
Subaru's eyes dimmed with tears for one moment. Reinhard's were filled with worry and urgent readiness to help.
And the entire world turned normally, uncaring for Natsuki Subaru's newly lost life in this new fantasy world of his.
Now it feels more refreshing, right? It also makes more sense in my opinion. Don't hesitate to tell me your thoughts on this rework!
