Chapter 3: The Loot House

By: ViolentBlue

There was a password. And Natsuki Subaru had forgotten it.

Great. Subaru racked his brain to try to remember the phrases that had been used while in the loot house; but came up with nothing that he could find. His memory was blank, and so Subaru resorted to the best and most effective solution possible.

Pounding on the door and hoping Rom lets him in.

He began knocking rapidly, "Hey! Rom! You in there? Open up!"

It wasn't long before the old giant opened the door to the loot house, looking at Subaru with a mixture of puzzlement and annoyance. "Yes? Don't you know to use the password instead of tryin' to knock my damn door down?! Especially since you're interruptin' my evenin' booze…"

Rom then paused looking both Subaru and Emilia up and down. "Wait a minute...haven't seen you around before here."

The first time Subaru had spoken to Rom he was much more nervous, given the giant's imposing figure and his recent experience with Return By Death. But now after everything that has happened to him, things were different. "Hey, listen. I know a girl named Felt is coming by to bring in some stolen goods to sell here. One of the things she stole is a small jeweled insignia. I want to purchase it."

"So you already know who swiped it, eh? Well, you're smarter than I give you credit for." The giant chuckled a bit, before continuing. "But if you wanna buy it, you better have a lot of money."

"Well, to be honest, I'm flat broke." Emilia's eyes narrowed slightly at the statement, Subaru could tell that she didn't think much of that as a negotiating tactic.

"Then what are you here for? If ya can't buy it, leave. You're already interruptin' my booze. And I don't like to have my booze-"

"I have a special item to trade for it. Specifically, a metia."

At the mention of a "metia" Rom's eyes widened slightly. Subaru knew he had gotten Rom interested in it just by that word alone.

"Well, come inside then. If you're offerin' somethin' that valuable, I suppose the least I can do for you and Felt is appraise it." Rom backed away from the door and left it open, both Emilia and Subaru walking inside. The door creaked and shut behind them.

Rom went to his position behind the counter, taking his large mug of booze in his hand; as Subaru and then Emilia walked up to sit at it. The walls were covered with different items. Weapons, armor, clothes, and various valuables were on display, many of them with prices marking how much they were. Emilia looked around, gazing at them. "Wow…"

"Lots of interesting stuff here, huh? I've built up a collection over the years. 'Though it's not all mine." Rom paused, taking a big gulp from his mug. "Folks come here to store stolen items here and in exchange for a cut, I sell them off to buyers who come here looking for 'em."

"So...you act as an accomplice to their thieving." Emilia said in a judgemental tone, frowning a bit. Subaru internally sighed.

I love you Emilia, but it really is not a good idea to insult someone else's occupation. And while they are in their home.

"Don't pay too much mind to my partner here, Rom." Subaru waved to Emilia. "She's-"

"Eh, don't worry about it. Takes a lot to get under my skin when you get to be as old as I am. The young lady isn't half-wrong either. Although I think of myself more a "middle-man" than anything else. Anyway, didn't you have somethin' to show me?"

"Oh, right." Subaru took out his cell phone, and opened it. He placed it on the counter before Rom. "This is the metia I told you about."

Both Rom and Emilia looked at it, Rom in particular paying close attention. "So...what does it do."

"I'll show you!" Subaru lifted it up and used his phone to take a picture of Rom, the bright flash annoying the giant slightly.

"H-hey-watch it!" The giant snarled, before looking in awe as Subaru held the phone's screen up to him. "What...that's my face…"

"This metia I am holding is a mystical object that is able to freeze a moment in time; enabling you to store moments, and view them later at your own leisure!" Subaru gestured with his hand to it, giving off a smile.

Feels like I've said that speech a bit more often then I would like.

Rom let out a low whistle, taking it from Subaru and looking it over and the photo on the cell phone. "Well...it certainly does what you said it did." The giant turned it over carefully.

"And how much do you think it would be worth?" Asked Subaru.

"Hmm, given I've never seen anythin' like this before...I'd charge at the very least 15- no, 20 holy coins for this metia."

Emilia's eyes widened slightly. Holy coins were the largest denomination of currency in Lugunica, and each one by itself was worth a lot.

Rom continued, "It's certainly worth a lot more than the insignia you were saying Felt was bringin' over. Hell, you could probably sell this metia for a lot more to a noble or the like." Rom handed it back to Subaru, who carefully pocketed the cell phone.

"So, that's it then?" Emilia asked.

"Basically. All we have to do is-" Subaru stopped his sentence, as he was interrupted by a nagging feeling. He couldn't put his finger on it, but felt that something was wrong around this visit. His fragile memories may have been broken, but he still retained enough awareness to trust his own instincts. The feeling however, passed as soon as it came, leaving Subaru slightly dazed. He shook his head, blinking. Emilia opened her mouth to speak, presumably to ask what he was going to say, but he didn't get to finish. A knock sounded on the door, and Rom simply walked over to it.

"That's probably Felt." The giant commented as he went to the door, and forgoed the usual custom of asking the password or code phrase he used for the building, opening it.

Guess he figures if he let us in here, might as well just invite others in without asking for a code phrase, mused Subaru, as he looked around. He gave Emilia, who looked slightly nervous about being here, a small smile. They were closer to getting the insignia now, and with Rom's vouching for the value of his "metia" the negotiations were likely to be a complete success.

Outside, a small, golden haired girl in her teenage years walked in. "Sorry I kept you waiting, old man. Took a longer route to get here to shake off my-" She stopped, looking at Subaru and the cloaked Emilia. "What are these two doing here?"

Emilia, recognizing Felt as the thief who stole the insignia from her earlier, quietly whispered to Subaru, "That's her…"

Subaru nodded, turning back to face Felt, and gave an answer, "I'm Subaru, and this is my partner. We're here on business, and wish to buy an item that you stole, an insignia." He deliberately left out Emilia's name, as if Felt or Rom knew who she was it would derail the entire operation.

Felt looked at him, raising an eyebrow. "I already have a buyer lined up for the item, are you with them?"

"No- no…" Subaru responded, thinking quickly.

...Damn. She didn't ask this question in past loops, I'll have to come up with something.

"We represent a separate party who also is interested in trading for the insignia." He gestured again to both him and Emilia.

"Uh-huh…" Felt nodded, eyeing them up and down. "And who would that party be? Just because I'm young doesn't mean I'm willing to trust just anyone, even if Rom let you in."

Subaru froze, racking his brain to come up with a suitable explanation, but luckily Emilia was there to step in.

"Our employer has requested that they remain anonymous, but I assure you we mean no harm toward you and are simply interested in a business transaction, nothing more. And we are confident that we can provide a payment that will more than satisfy you and beat any offer." Emilia said calmly, looking straight at Felt.

"They're offerin' quite the trade for that insignia, Felt. I think it'd be a good idea to listen to these two here." Rom supported Emilia's assertion, as he went back to his mug of booze and the counter.

Felt seemed to want to argue a bit more, but Subaru knew that if anything she would trust what Rom said. Getting the cell phone appraised first had been a good idea, and it was now paying off.

"Well, fine. If you say so, old man." Felt nodded, taking a seat at the counter. "So...listen up. If you want to buy the insignia from me, what offer do you make?"

Subaru said nothing, but silently pulled out the cell phone, setting it on the counter.

"What's...that." Felt crossed her arms, staring at the unfamiliar device.

"This...is a metia." Subaru grinned, launching into the same sales pitch he had used before on Old Man Rom. He flipped it open, snapping a picture of her, the flash making Felt put her arms in front of her.

"Yah! Don't do that! It's bright!" Felt complained, but her annoyed expression turned to surprise as Subaru showed her the resulting photo, showing her face. "Woah..what- what magic is that?"

"This metia has the magical power to capture a moment in time, and enable you to look at it later!" Subaru handed it to her, Felt seemingly very impressed.

"This is pretty cool...but, how much is it worth?" Felt looked to Old Man Rom, who nodded his head at her as he set down his mug of alcohol, reaching down to pour a cup of what looked to be milk for her.

"Well...I'd give it 20 holy coins at least, and you could likely sell it for more if you found say, a gullible noble." Rom commented, setting down the cup in front of her.

"And my buyer only offered 10 holy coins for it…" She paused, looking at the cell phone.

At the mention of the "buyer", the hair on the back of Subaru's neck bristled.

"So do we have a trade, then?" Asked Emilia.

"Hmm…" Felt looked at the cell phone. "20 holy coins, right Rom?"

"Yep. And I think it's a good trade. You should take it, Felt."

"But if the metia is worth 20, then we could get away with overcharging my buyer for it!" Felt's eyes widened at the prospect of all the potential money. She grinned. "They might end up having to pay 25, or 30 holy coins."

Rom for his part seemed to disagree with her. "Honestly Felt, think you should just take the boy's offer. 20 holy coins would get you out of the slums. You'd have a new life."

"But with more, I could do the same for both of us Rom! We both could have a new life!" Felt protested.

Rom shook his head. "It's too late for me Felt. I'm too old."

Felt didn't seem too happy at that, but it was clear her mind was made up. "It doesn't matter. I'm going to still meet with the buyer. Already said I would, and all."

Emilia did not look too pleased at the turn of events, she simply wished to get her insignia back with as little problems as possible. She drew the cloak a bit tighter around herself, and Subaru sighed. But that word again, "buyer". It set something off with him, the word reminding him of something that he felt he had forgotten.

Who's the buyer? He asked in his mind. I've met them before, but...who-

The sound of a sharp knock on the door interrupted his thoughts, and Felt immediately bounded over to answer it, not bothering to touch her drink. "That must be my client!"

Old Man Rom silently picked up his club, eyeing the door.

"You seem protective of her." Commented Emilia, looking at the old giant from beneath her hood.

"Well, I've known Felt for a long, long time. I've got no problem helping her out. It's why she has these deals here. I may be old, but I'm still strong enough to make anyone think twice before cheating or hurting her." Rom smiled slightly, looking at Felt walk over.

"That's very kind of you." Emilia smiled back. "I'm lucky to have had someone do the same for me when I was younger. They're still with me, luckily."

Subaru for a second had hoped that she meant him, but knew that she was clearly referring to Puck. For a moment, he felt all the weight of the past loops and timelines on him. He had been Emilia's friend, ally, and protector countless times over. He was the one who loved her, and the one that he knew deep down, she loved in return. They had gone on so many adventures together, having bonded and matured in times of crisis and in times of calm.

But none of that mattered now. He was in a new, completely fresh loop. And she didn't remember him. She never remembered. And she never would, as Return By Death was impossible to tell another about, less the Witch of Envy crush his, or someone else's heart. It was a painfully lonely existence, but once again he forced it from his mind. All he had to do was to meet with the buyer and-

That word again. "Buyer". It filled him with the same dread he experienced earlier. A phantom pain shot through his stomach, like someone had just cut into him. His breathing hitched, eyes widening slightly. He could feel his own body pumping out adrenaline in preparation, and there was a stir at the center of his chest where Invisible Providence lingered.

And as Felt opened the door, and he heard the sound of heels clicking as they entered the wooden floored building; Subaru realized that his intuition had been right. He had forgotten who Felt's client was.

Elsa Granhiert. The Bowel Hunter. A person he had defeated long ago in past loops both during his first day in Lugunica and at the Mansion and Sanctuary. She had been a constant thorn in his side, and responsible for many of his failed loops; especially when he had to go back to earlier save points due to his inability to progress. However, even though in the end Subaru had won, both Subaru and his friends had suffered many more deaths at her hands than she had at theirs.

And he prayed he would not die again, tonight.