Arc 1: A Parallel Paradise!
Chapter 4: Thy Dream.
"Hey, wait up!"
Subaru calls out to her silver-haired savior as she exits the entrance of the alley, panting heavily as the girl stopped in her tracks and turns to look at her in confusion.
"What? Just so you know I can only spend a little bit of time with you."
"I sense you're being a bit lenient… Forget that. You lost something important, right? Let me help you."
Subaru confidently pointed to herself and let out a cheerful grin grace her feature, the silver-haired girl blinked a few times in surprise.
"But you said you don't know anything…"
"It's true that I don't know her name or where she's from, but at least I remember her face! Besides, I think I have a method to locate her!"
The ensuing silence was painful to Subaru. Subaru is aware that she has a habit of speaking fast and not knowing what she's talking about when she gets flustered. Right now, the bad habit is on full display for the silver-haired girl to see.
"You're strange…" the girl said, putting her finger to her mouth, her tone filled with suspicion as she looked at the white-haired girl in front of her.
"Just so you know, I can't do anything to thank you."
"I don't need to. I want to thank you. That's why I wanted to help." Subaru replied.
"I didn't do anything deserving of thanks. I told you. I've already received compensation for healing your wounds."
Subaru looks at the girl in front of her. Her smiles turn weak.
"Then I'm going to help you for my own sake too. My objective is… let see… yeah! One good deed per day!"
Subaru points her finger at the confused girl, showing her finger a one-digit number in confidence. However, deep down beneath her mask of confidence, Subaru secretly wondered what the hell was going on, but at least it seems she managed to make her point across.
The girl blinks, looking at the side unsure of what to do and was considering Subaru 's proposal when suddenly her cat poke at her cheek with its paws.
"I don't sense any malice in her. I think you can just accept her offer." The cat slowly turns its head to Subaru, eyeing and grinning at her.
"After all, the more shield between you and ruffian the better."
Subaru's smile twitches at the cat's words. It makes sense for it to consider Subaru as a meat shield, after all, she was just a stranger that popped into existence today, and she had wasted the girl's precious time in order to save her in the alley, and now she suddenly wanted to help the girl.
"I mean it though, I can't do anything to thank you." The girl turns to Subaru once again.
"No problem. Just leave it to me!"
The girl looks reluctant before finally accepting Subaru's offer. The cat let out a wink at Subaru before disappearing.
As the girl turned to leave, Subaru turned around and quickly produced the White Tome from her plastic bag.
―There must be something inside this book… After all, it warned me about those bandits…
Subaru opened the first page that had warned her about her previous ordeal. Seeing nothing change, she frowns and turns to the next page. However, the next page that greets Subaru is blank. Her frown deepens as the rest of the pages are blank. The feeling of uncertainty begins to set inside Subaru.
―What is the meaning of this? Why doesn't it update? Is it broken? Do I do this quest wrong?
Her eyes suddenly widen as she remembers the previous description on the first page. She quickly turned it back to the first page.
"Thou will get robbed, and thou will save a maiden."
Sweats begin to form and trickle down her forehead as the implication of the text finally dawns on Subaru. She got robbed just then, but she didn't save any girl, in fact it was the silver-haired girl that saved her.
―Did I do this quest wrong? Or rather… is something dangerous about to come?
"Hey! Are you coming with me or not?"
The voice akin to the silver bell calls out to her. Snapping her attention away from the white book in her hand.
"Yeah! I'm coming!"
Subaru quickly put the book back inside the plastic bag before chasing after the girl. Fear and uncertainty filled her eyes as she watched the figure of the girl ahead of her become smaller.
One hour has passed since the first friendly interaction of Subaru in this different world.
Both of them have been searching for the thief everywhere, first by going to the plaza with the fountain on the center, then at the bridge where Subaru fell in the canal, Subaru tries to pried open a barricaded door at a closed down abandon building, that of course attract the attention of demi humans walking by, they then tries to ask the citizen by showing a poorly attempt drawn of the blonde hair girl and it yield no result. And when they finally found someone matching that description, it turned out it was a completely different girl.
Their investigation had stalled. There were several factors that made the search difficult.
First, Subaru was unfamiliar with this town. Given that she had just been summoned to this world, it made sense. Additionally, it seems the girl was unfamiliar with the area as well. So, it seems to be their first time coming to this town. So, in a sense, they both are birds of a feather.
Second, the character and symbol written around the town didn't help Subaru at all, since she was pretty much illiterate in this world. Given that she doesn't have any trouble at all communicating with the locals, she hasn't thought much about it, but it is clear to Subaru now the symbols and weird characters were in fact the handwritten common language of this world. She couldn't even read the road signs since she couldn't understand them.
Usually in this kind of situation, the protagonist would somehow understand the written symbol, words of the parallel world and can communicate with anyone somehow, however in Subaru case, only half of that is true. Subaru is glad that at least she can understand the people of this world's spoken language, otherwise she would be as good as dead.
Additionally, Subaru new body seems to be less energetic than her previous body, it got to the point where the silver-haired girl was forced to slow down just for Subaru to catch up to her. It's as if this body has never done any physical work at all.
―Still, why do you have to raise the difficulty like that on me? The world is not kind at all…
Subaru can only let out a sigh because of the unlucky situation she found herself in.
Currently, they were on the top floor of a tall building, giving them a higher vantage point, trying to see anyone that resembled the blonde little girl. Subaru sitting behind the rail while the silver-haired girl leaning against the rail by the stair. Her cat resting on the rail.
"I talked big, but isn't this town too huge to find one little thing in?"
Subaru's face droops helplessly. She talks big, but in the end, they found nothing. Even her supposed method that she boldly claims earlier, which was just actually cheating by searching the content of the book in hope of it telling the objective and future, proved fruitless.
Of course, that results in the silver-haired girl being irritated with the bold useless claim she made earlier, making them waste time instead of searching.
"It's the capital of Lugnica. You didn't even know about that um…"
The girl replied, slowly looking toward Subaru. Her cat, standing on the rail, slowly brightened up with a cheerful smile.
"That's right. We haven't asked your name yet. Should we all introduce ourselves?" The cat cheerfully waved its arms.
―Should I create a new name for myself?
Usually, in this kind of situation. After creating a character in a Role-playing game, the player is required to name their character.
If this weren't real, Subaru would undoubtedly name herself as Natsumi Schwartz. However, right now, her circumstances are too unknown for her to act rashly. Subaru decided…
Subaru turned to look toward the girl at her back and smiled brightly.
"Oh, yeah, you're right. I'll introduce myself first then."
Subaru slowly gets up; she points one finger toward the sky and leaning to the side in a pose.
"My name is Natsuki Subaru. Not only am I clueless, but I'm also broke beyond compare!"
Subaru then extends her hand in an invitation toward the girl.
Subaru gave her name honestly, deep down Subaru knows she can't replace the beautiful name that her parents have given her, for someone such as her… she was named after star clusters, The Seven Sisters or Pleiades.
"Nice to meet ya!" Subaru cheerfully greets them.
Overall, it's an embarrassing introduction but she has to do it to make people like her even if she has to act like a clown. Her confidence cannot falter if she wants to make people like her.
"When that's all you say, you really do sound hopeless." The cat replies before taking flight.
"And I'm Puck! Nice to meet you!" With that, the cat now identified as Puck settled down again on the silver-haired girl's shoulder.
"It's very unusual to find someone as clueless as you. Where are you from?"
Subaru smiles brightly at the girl's question. She has already prepared an answer as she always imagines this kind of scenario in her room back then. Subaru crossed her arms around her chest as she let out a smug smile.
"Well, following the usual pattern, a small island nation to the east."
"Lugnica is the easternmost nation in our continental map. There's no nation to the east here."
Subaru's whole demeanor falters as she panics.
"No way, really? There's nothing east of here?"
"You have no idea where you are, you have no money, you can't read, and you have no one who can help you. You might be in an even more precarious position than I am… um, Subaru, was it?" The girl looks at Subaru in pity.
"Yes, that's my name." Subaru fakes a cough to hide her blush as feels happy that the girl acknowledges her existence instead of mocking her, especially calling her name.
"But you look pretty, like you have been sheltered your whole life." Puck said as he flew closer toward Subaru, eyeing her up and down.
"I… have no answer, I used to look well built for someone who is a shut-in." Subaru could only let out a sigh of defeat.
"I'm not sure I understand what a "shut-in" is, but that means you're from a respectable family right?"
The girl asked her as she moved closer toward Subaru and grasped her hand.
"Your fingers too. They're very pretty. They're evidence that you don't live like a peasant at all."
Subaru could only look dumbfounded as the girl inspected her hand.
"You look like someone who lives in a mansion and has never done any work yourself."
Subaru looks away trying to hide her face that is no doubt blushing now, her hand leaving the warmth of the girl's hand.
Even if Subaru herself is a girl now, which she now thinks, this body looks to be around her previous body age before she was transported to this world, she still isn't accustomed to talking to the girls. As expected of a shut-in like herself.
"I-I use… to have… ah nevermind! I know your cat's name now, but I haven't heard yours yet." Subaru replies as she looks at the girl.
"My name?"
"Yeah." Subaru nodded to the girl's question. She wanted to know her savior's name.
The somewhat pitiful question causes the girl to fall silent for a bit. The girl then looks to the side in silence. Subaru panicked as she thought that the girl perhaps wants to keep her name a secret. Perhaps Subaru has offense the girl with her question, perhaps she's-
"I'm… Satella." The girl whispers.
"Oh?"
The girl closed her eyes before opening it again after a few seconds.
"I'm… Satella."
She repeated without any emotion. Looking ahead pass Subaru. Her attitude suggests as if she doesn't want to be called by that name. It was as if she's putting a wall between her and Subaru. Subaru felt the name was somehow fake, but if the girl's want her to be call like that, then she has no choice but to comply.
Subaru also felt like she couldn't really use that name at all. After all, as a Japanese she was taught to call someone by their surname instead of their personal name. So, she wonders if the girl has a surname. And if she has a surname, then she doesn't have to call the girl by that name.
The girl turns away from Subaru and continues.
"I have no family name. You can just call me Satella."
"I see… Satella…"
Subaru gives her a cheerful grin. If the girl doesn't have a surname. Then she will be fine if she calls her by her personal name.
"That's a nice name."
The girl looks shocked at the proclamation. Behind the scenes of the exchange, Puck observed both of them from the sidelines, Puck muttered before slipping back under the girl's silver hair.
"… You have a terrible taste."
These words did not reach either of them.
"Right, time to get back to asking around!" Subaru let out a cheerful grin and pumped her fist in the air as the girl looked at her with a blank expression.
