Hey, so what happened in Sanctuary?
—
It's a little shorter than recent ones, but nothing really happens in Sanctuary because my brain hurts.
Edit: Obligatory "I fixed the italics and bolds."
—
Sunlight tousling their hair, Subaru and Emilia walk hand-in hand. Behind them are the carriages departing from Arlam village as well as Meiss and Rem. It was a fun note they departed on, but Subaru knows that a challenge awaits the two when they return to the mansion. The teen lightly squeezes Emilia's hand to take his mind off of that. Subaru turns to the beautiful half-elf and raises an eyebrow playfully.
"Soooo, what did Meiss talk to you about?"
Emilia swings their arms higher between them and tilts her head. Her pristine silver locks flow out behind her like waves on a beach.
"Why do you want to know? Jeeeaaalous?"
Subaru brings his unoccupied hand to his chest and closes his eyes. The gesture gives off a sense of truthfulness to the teen.
"While I try not to be that jealous dude, I am indeed that jealous dude. Hopefully that guy is smart enough to know that divine retribution would befall him if he makes any moves on the girl I love."
"Hk-"
Emilia looks away from Subaru with a red face. She mumbles something along the lines of "surprise attacks are off-limits," then pulls her hand away to cross her arms. The half-elf keeps her head turned away but Subaru can almost hear the pout in her voice when she speaks.
"Weeell, you seemed pretty buddy-buddy with Rem back there despite me being the girl you love."
"Who says buddy-buddy anymore? And are you jeeeaaalous?"
"Gah, you tease me too much!"
Subaru corrects his posture and strikes a righteous pose, befitting of his charisma(?). Emilia stops and watches him do a weird thing again.
"Ahh, but Emilia-tan… Your reactions to teasing are by far some of the cutest things I have ever see…n"
Subaru stops mid-word and turns his head slowly. Garfiel is walking past them. While that doesn't warrant such a reaction, the feeling around Garfiel does. He feels threatening somehow by just walking around. Ehh, nothing new.
The teen drops out of the pose and turns to watch Garfiel walk over to Meiss and Rem. Emilia leans over his shoulder and watches as well. The lion walks past the two who look deep in conversation. Meiss breaks away from talking for a second to give Garfiel a hard stare before looking away and attempting to resume talking with Rem. Garfiel seems to inflate, his anger making Subaru tingle a little as it's felt somewhere in his bones. Meiss notices Garfiel walking towards him and Rem and seems to inflate as well. Subaru feels a cold sweat on his back and moves to take a step towards the two bombs. Thankfully, Rem steps in and pushes the two apart with a hand to the chest.
"Please, Rem understands you two have formed a negative opinion of each other but refrain from quarreling in front of the villagers."
Subaru looks at the hand on Garfiel's chest and remembers the most recent loop. Everyone was eaten by the Ousagi, but before that… Subaru shakes his head. It would probably be a bad idea to interrogate Roswaal on his gospel without a strong ally present. Garfiel and Ram don't fit that description and Emilia is too preoccupied with the trial.
The pressure from Meiss deflates, and Garfiel starts walking away. A collective breath is released from those close enough to see the interaction. Not just from Subaru, but the villagers as well. They all shakily resume their finishing tasks and slowly climb into carriages.
I'm pretty powerless when it comes to preventing what's going to happen. That letter to Beako is a huge gamble, I hope she doesn't just throw it away and sulk.
Subaru turns swiftly and starts to make his way into Sanctuary.
"Subaru? What's wrong?"
…
"Nothing, just a bad memory."
Subaru continues on towards Sanctuary, oblivious to Emilia's gaze lingering on him as she follows.
—
Later that day, with starlight dusting everyone in silver, a group assembles in front of the Witch of Greed's tomb.
"Tch, that blonde bastard, lazin' around while important things're goin' on."
"Well, I'm jerst hopin' nuthin' vital ter the tomb wers damaged."
Lewes crosses her arms as she examines the slash in the tomb from beyond the iron fence. Garfiel, along with Subaru and Emilia, is standing by the opening in the fence. The blonde brings his arms above his head and rests his palms on the back of it to show how relaxed he is. He then glances at the guy next to him, Subaru. The teen looks back with a raised eyebrow.
Well, that was easier than expected. I thought that it would take more than just revealing my knowledge of the Lewes clones to get Garfiel to cooperate. Though to call it cooperation is a stretch… more like mutual non-interference.
Despite that conversation that happened earlier today, Garfiel's personal opinion of the mansion residents still remains low. Especially towards Meiss. It seems the two blondes are non-compatible personalities when meshed for extended periods. Subaru has some idea, since he can ｢Return by Death｣ and see their interactions… there aren't many positive ones. The two mostly didn't interact at all.
The only positive interaction between the two Subaru can think of is when they worked together against the Witch. Are their battle instincts compatible but not their personalities? Or is it that they are both stubborn but when faced with a common enemy they work together?
A tug at Subaru's hand brings him from the world of his thoughts. It's time.
Emilia takes a deep breath before letting go of Subaru's hand. The half-elf walks up to the fence and stops just outside the boundary. She steps over it, sending the purple flames alight with their recognition. The flames dance along the top of the fence and inside the tomb, beckoning the challenger. Emilia strides towards the tomb, a stiff breeze blowing her hair to the side for a second. Her form disappears after a few steps into the tomb despite it being well-lit.
Subaru finds himself worried. In the two loops he lasted long enough to encounter the Ousagi, Emilia's mental state was in disrepair. The fact that Subaru was there may have been the only thing keeping her from the absolute brink, the outside of madness. Subaru has been there before and he wouldn't wish it on anyone.
—
It's the same night, only it's now after Emilia has once more failed the trial. The half-elf painfully dragged herself out of the tomb and into Subaru's arms. Her expression instantly lost an amount of hurt after the teen's arms wrapped around her form, but it wasn't completely removed. Emilia fell asleep then and there, leaving Subaru to slowly and gently maneuver his arms in such a way that allowed him to pick up the girl.
Their commute back to Sanctuary proper is quiet and slow. Garfiel breaks away from the group and does whatever he does when he isn't grumbling or being an ass. Ram veers towards Roswaal's recuperation hut with an intense glint in her expressionless eyes. Only Lewes stays with Subaru on his way to Emilia's temporary lodging.
The loligranny somehow keeps stride with Subaru despite her short stature.
"Ya youngun's prob'ly don't have th' full layout er Sanctuary in yer minds yet. Though with th' way ya look't this one I'm guessin' ya know th' way."
"I do, and thank you Lewes."
They stop at the door of the house. Lewes opens it for Subaru. The teen turns his body sideways so that Emilia doesn't bump the doorframe. Lewes heads for what passes for a kitchen in the small space.
"Tea?"
"No thanks, after this there's a thing I need to do."
"Suit yerself; I'm thirsty."
Subaru nudges Emilia's door open with his foot and steps into the room. As it is temporary lodging, there aren't any items of personal importance to Emilia. Rather, this is Lewes' house. She had given it up to accommodate Emilia, Subaru is thankful to her for the privacy Emilia has because of it. After-trial Emilia is quite depressing.
Subaru slides his hands out from under Emilia, having set her on the bed. He is about to turn and leave when a tug on his arm pulls him back.
"Emilia-tan?"
Subaru turns back to see Emilia with her eyes open and hand holding his sleeve. Slowly, the half-elf rises to her feet. Subaru puts his hands out to help her and Emilia grasps both of them to pull herself up.
"Subaru."
Then Emilia melds into Subaru. Out of his scant number of hugs, this one is by far the hardest as Emilia squeezes him like her life depends on it. Yet the teen doesn't complain, he feels a light shake coming from her body. Slowly, Subaru breaks out of his stupor and wraps his arms around Emilia and onto her upper back. He doesn't hug as hard, but he hugs hard enough. The half-elf buries her head into Subaru's shoulder.
The feeling of each other is calming, despite the crushing grip of Emilia. The lingering scent of the tomb is offset by the lingering scent of the stars. Her trembling calms, and her grip slackens somewhat. Subaru adjusts his arms to fully wrap around Emilia's shoulders as her arms drop to hold his lower back.
Time passes. They don't mind. Time is irrelevant right now. This moment could last forev-
"Cough cough."
Subaru jumps and turns his head to the door. It's Ram. Prim and proper, the pink maid stands with her arms to the side as she coldly gazes at Subaru and Emilia.
"Perhaps this look upon Barusu's face was worth leaving Roswaal-sama's side for. Though I have to question your motives, Barusu."
"I have to question yours! Why is that the first thing you think of?!"
"I have to take into account your past actions, Barusu."
"Past actions… What past actions?!"
"Kings game."
"Oh. Oh yeah. I forgot about that."
Subaru turns back to Emilia, who still has her arms wrapped firmly, but not tightly, around him. She must feel Subaru move to face her again, yet she doesn't look up at him.
"Emilia-tan… It's getting late."
Subaru tries to disentangle himself from Emilia. No good, she tightens her grip around his back. Her hair parts as she looks up at Subaru's eyes. Those large amethysts look into his soul and study it, causing Subaru's breath to hitch and his face to grow hot. Emilia's gaze lowers from his eyes and lingers on his lower face for a second before she closes her eyes and mumbles "sleepy."
The half-elf finally breaks away from Subaru and spins to fall face-first onto the bed. Subaru smiles at the childish behavior before tapping her shoulder.
"You'll sleep better if your entire body is on the bed, Emilia-tan."
The half-elf mumbles something incoherent before shifting the rest of her body onto the bed. She flips over to face the ceiling and pulls a blanket up around her.
Wow, I guess Emilia's mom power is rubbing off on me. Is that good?
Subaru turns to the door and follows Ram through it. The teen looks behind himself as he starts to close the door. A huge smile morphs his face as he looks back at Emilia. Subaru brings his hand up to his face and plants a kiss into his palm before affectionately blowing it at the half-elf.
"Sweet dreams, Emilia-tan."
"Goodnight Subaru."
The teen closes the door behind him and stands with his back to it. He sees Ram standing over by what passes for a kitchen. The pink maid looks back at him with a smile. A smug smile. So smug a smile that it could destroy the confidence of any who see it. Familiar with this smile, Subaru isn't as affected. Though to say he wasn't unaffected would be to lie.
Face red, Subaru walks over next to Ram and vents by starting to make tea. Even though it is by no means perfect, Ram dutifully beat into the teen how not to poison someone with the drink. I, the author, have not drunk tea in any capacity in my short life and as such have no idea how long it takes to make, so however long it takes to make tea is what time passes.
Subaru holds one cup to his lips, sliding a second cup to Ram so she can judge. Deciding to drown his embarrassment, the teen down his cup in one gulp. He instantly regrets it as his hand shoots to his burning throat. Enduring the pain, Subaru gently places the cup he was using down before crying out in pain and curling into the fetal position.
"Reminds me of Garf, though at least Garf has less bad points. You should work harder Barusu, so that you can be worthy of chasing the perfect and cute Ram's back."
"Perfect?"
"What was that?"
"Um! I think divine would be a better word."
—
"Haa…"
Once more, starlight dusts Subaru as he waits outside the tomb. Another day has passed uneventfully. Subaru really is on the backburner this loop. He is being careful to not screw up anything, since there is a slight chance the fighting force at the mansion is able to repel Elsa. The teen doesn't really worry about the demonbeasts since they are a piece of cake compared to the guthunter.
Quite literally too. Subaru is confident it would take less time to kill, cook, and eat a demonbeast that it would be to eradicate the guthunter. That is if you want to chance eating demonbeast meat. Subaru isn't sure if it has any ill effects, but he wouldn't try it either way.
The alien looks to his side, eyeing the forms of Ram and Garfiel. Some memories from his latest ｢Return by Death｣ float up once more. The image of the two pinned together and gushing blood was an image that wasn't very nice on the eyes. Especially since Roswaal himself was the one who did the killing.
Subaru clicks his tongue as his gaze returns to the entrance of the tomb. Emilia's usual time to take the trial was anywhere between thirty and forty-five minutes. That time was approaching fast.
"Is sermthin' botherin' ya?"
"Yeah, nothing worth talking about though."
Lewes turns her head back to the tomb, gazing at it with an emotion Subaru can't quite identify.
"That youngin'll make it out, dun worry."
Subaru feels his lips disobey him and curl into a wry smile. The teen knows that Emilia will make it out, but she loses a little bit of herself each time she leaves the tomb. He has been spending time with her, making her as comfortable as he possibly could, but that doesn't seem to be having a positive effect on her trial. It doesn't seem to be having a negative effect either, so that's a plus.
What would happen if I wasn't here? How far gone would Emilia become? Such a dark path is something he doesn't dare think of. So Subaru banishes the thought from his mind.
…
…
Like so many times before, Emilia claws herself out of the tomb. No matter how many times he sees it, the pain it brings Subaru never lessens. And like so many times before, Subaru pulls her into a hug as soon as he can reach her. Emilia's foot remains over the threshold of the fence as she once more melds into Subaru, crying.
Subaru returns the hug and pulls her the rest of the way out of the tomb and it's small yard. He doesn't care that the dusty earth covers his pants as he does so. The teen looks up briefly, sighting the faces of Garfiel and Ram upon him and Emilia. The lion is watching them curiously. He then tilts his head to glance at Ram, only to look away and puff out his chest once she returns his gaze.
Subaru finds himself chuckling as he rises to his feet. Lewes looks at him funny for the small laugh, having not seen Garfiel and Ram. Emilia slowly disentangles from Subaru and steadies herself for the walk back to Sanctuary.
There is a small breeze tonight. It is felt by everybody as soon as they leave the scarred earth behind. Envy or not, witch miasma is a strong thing when exposed to it for a long time. Of course the more potent the stink, the faster it will harm. It's lucky for everyone that the tomb doesn't emit potent miasma, since going insane would be undesirable.
Subaru holds Emilia up and the two hobble towards Sanctuary. They are followed by only Ram this time, since Lewes walks off into the woods and Garfiel saunters off into Sanctuary's center.
They make it to Emilia's sleep-the-pain-away hut and enter. The simple layout doesn't provide any comfort as Emilia collapses into a small couch. Ram glances at her for a second before starting to prepare tea. Subaru gently sits down next to Emilia. I wonder why she didn't choose to go to her room?
The space is silent as Ram continues to make her tea. Within a few short minutes (is what I'm guessing how long it takes) the pink maid has completed her drink. She sets aside two more cups as she blows at hers to cool it. Deeming the liquid cool enough, Ram silently yet rapidly drinks the contents of her cup. She then leaves abruptly.
"Ram probably left to ogle Roz-chi."
"Ram wouldn't do something like that Subaru!"
Emilia looks at Subaru funny for suggesting something like that.
"Oi, it's true! I caught her ogling his body once while she was changing his bandages!"
Emilia draws back from Subaru in surprise, she creases her brows as well. The half elf brings a hand up to her chest and feels her heartbeat.
"…o…?"
Subaru leans in close, having not heard Emilia. He cups his ear and closes his eyes.
"I'm sorry, what was that?"
"Ah, nothing."
"Really? I thought I heard you say something."
"I-I didn't say anything."
"Are you sure?"
"Y-Yeah."
"Super sure? You can ask me anything you know!"
Emilia starts to stutter, and Subaru feels satisfied with teasing. The teen pulls away from Emilia and corrects his posture. Emilia is still stuttering next to him. Then she finally comes up with a question for Subaru.
"How are babies made?!"
Subaru nods. He then stands up, retreats from the couch, and points a finger at Emilia.
"What the hell! Nobody told you?!"
"Nobody told me!"
Subaru spins around before plopping himself back down on the couch. He crosses his arms and closes his eyes.
"This guy is not comfortable with telling you such sensitive information."
Subaru opens one eye to sneak a peek at Emilia. He hopes to see an expression of understanding.
Emilia is pouting.
Subaru instantly turns to face her and waves his arms apologetically.
"Ok ok, I'll tell you a bit…"
Folding his hands on his lap, Subaru thinks of some way to phrase the explanation. Emilia tilts her head and looks at him expectantly.
Subaru sits silently.
Emilia looks at him expectantly.
Subaru can't do it.
"AHHH!"
"What's wrong Suabru?"
Emilia holds her hands out worriedly as Subaru suddenly stands up and scratches at his scalp in frustration. He turns to Emilia and clasps his hands together in apology.
"I'm sorry, I can't!"
"Why not?"
"I just can't! It's embarrassing!"
"Why?"
"I JUST CAN'T! … Besides, you should learn this from a girl…"
Emilia puts a finger to her lips in thought.
"Well, after I beat the trial I can just ask Ram. I could also ask Meiss since he was ok with telling me that one time. Hey… why did you stop him?"
"The actions of my past self were defined by elevated embarrassment and a desire to safeguard you from the grisly details of conceiving offspring. At the time I deemed that Meiss was unworthy of enlightening you."
"Your manner of speaking changed sooo much."
Emilia reclines into the small couch with a determined look on her face to find the truth. Subaru does the same, but without the determined expression. The two sit there silently as the minutes pass by. Emilia yawns into her hand and rubs her eyes.
"You should take a break from the trial tomorrow Emilia-tan."
Emilia snaps to alertness.
"Wha? What's this all of a sudden?
"I've… noticed that you aren't really in the best mind right now."
Subaru softens his expression as Emilia looks down. She begins to fiddle with her hair.
"Is it that easy to see?"
Yes "No, I only noticed because I'm watching you all the time."
"Heh, I feel like that is something suuuuper creepy."
That is kinda creepy now that I've said it out loud.
Emilia reaches out and tugs at Subaru's sleeve. Her other hand rubs her eyes in a tired manner.
"I'm sleepy… You should get to bed too since it's so late."
"You're like my mom Emilia-tan."
"Mom… Subaru what is your family like?"
Subaru raises an eyebrow.
"I thought you said you were tired?"
"I'm willing to stay up a little longer…"
Subaru settles into a more comfortable position on the couch and advises Emilia to do the same. This will take a long time.
"Well, my dad is the most outgoing person you'll ever meet…"
—
Another day passes without fault.
The most eventful thing that occured was Ram finding Emilia and Subaru asleep on the couch and inflicting life-long torment upon them.
—
It's serene from up here.
You do realise we are moving so fast that the human body would splat if it hits the ground in fact?
Yeah, I know. I'll make sure to cushion your fall.
…
Let us land here I suppose…
The tomb?
…
A beam of light, wide enough for two people to be comfortable in, shoots across the sky. This spiraling beam of white aims for a remote village in the Mathers Domain. It touches down, boring a small crater into the earth next to the Witch of Greed's tomb. The light dissipates into a million dots of white like the stars behind it.
From the dissipating light emerges two people. One of small stature wearing burnt clothing and covered in blood and burns. The other of an even smaller stature wearing an extravagant red dress and hairstyle.
Upon standing again after the ten minutes of travelling, Meiss immediately collapses and groans in pain. He never actually got healed, so he is in the same condition as immediately after defeating Elsa. Feeling a churning in his stomach, the blonde activates his authority on his battered body so it doesn't hurt as much when he makes his way over to some bushes. Lining the edge of the scar in the forest, these bushes look nice. There is some sort of berry on them that would probably be poisonous if eaten.
Meiss covers them in his puke.
Beatrice looks at the boy heaving on a bush and rubs her eyes. The cute Betty has been reduced to a sniffling mess! How embarrassing in fact… That ignorant brat will get an earful after Betty calms down.
Meiss shifts away from the bush and lays on his side.
"Th-that was cool and all, but I wish I could have delivered a cool line. My stomach doesn't seem to want that though."
"You are speaking right now in fact
"You know what I- hUrk!"
Meiss continues his assault on the bushes as Beatrice walks over to him. She averts her gaze until he finishes.
"Betty wonders when they will come running because of our entrance. It shouldn't be too long I suppose."
Meiss chuckles and maneuvers his good arm under him in an attempt to push himself up. With a thud and a wince, he fails. The blonde groans again and flips over with the small amount of strength he has left.
"Ooh… My adrenaline got left at the mansion. The reserve mansion. That's still a shock."
Beatrice deems his continued talking as a sign he is done puking, and turns back to Meiss. She kneels down and reaches out to start healing him. The blonde reaches out and pushes her hands away.
"What? You've already refused Betty's services once, Betty will not let you do it again."
"Eh, this is more a question of 'are you able to heal me?' Your mana reserves must be pretty empty after using teika, even after draining my potent mana. It would hurt to see you disappear."
Beatrice pulls her hands back. Meiss smiles as she looks to the side. It must be frustrating not being able to do anything, but Meiss' concern was a real problem. Beatrice, being a spirit, would burst into mana if she ever ran out of juice.
The spirit crosses her arms and pouts.
"You are a bundle of wasted mage potential in fact. That gate of yours is over productive to the point of inducing mana poisoning after just one week, it also produces higher than average quality mana. Unfortunately, that crack in your gate that leaks mana is not going to save you from mana poisoning forever, it will only slow it I suppose."
"…Ok? Then I'm lucky you took my mana then. Thank you."
Beatrice pauses for a second before tsk-ing. The bushes on one edge of the dusty scar rustle, and out from the foliage emerges Garfiel and Ram. Following them are Subaru and Emilia. Any hostility present immediately calms once Garfiel and Ram realise who it is. Then the hostility rises somewhat when Garfiel realises who it is.
Ram raises an eye at Beatrice.
"Welcome to Sanctuary, Beatrice-sama."
Aggressively, Garfiel stomps over to Meiss. He looks down at the injured blonde for a second, looking over the state his body is in.
"Oi, th' hell happened?"
"Lots of things, anything in particular you want to know about? Keep it short, I feel like passing out."
Ram walks over to Beatrice. She is wondering what the little spirit is doing in this place. As far as the pink maid knows, Beatrice was contracted to stay in the mansion for an obscure reason.
"May I ask what you are doing here, Beatrice-sama?"
Beatrice folds her arms and curtly looks away.
"If you are wondering about the contract pink maid, then it is now null."
The spirit opens one eye to glance at Subaru, who is standing in awe at their quick travel speed. Emilia, being from this world and having a higher threshold for this kind of stuff, exclaims when she hears Beatrice say she broke her contract.
"You broke your contract?"
"Huff. It was beneficial I suppose."
"Hmm."
The half-elf desires more of an explanation, but decides to leave the conversation at that when she sees the state Meiss is in. She kneels over the boy and starts to heal him, only to glare at her hands when the healing doesn't start.
"You can't heal him here, the witch's miasma interferes too much with the mana in fact. Though if you were Betty or nii-chan, or maybe that cat-boy, you would be able to I suppose."
"Mhm… But then why aren't you healing him?"
"Uhm… What happened at the mansion was a handful, even for the likes of Betty. Her mana reserves are quite low now."
Subaru, having snapped out of his haze, now circles around Beatrice while laughing in a low tone. The spirit watches him circle her for a second before her irritation gets the better of her.
"You would be powerless to stop me if I pulled your drill-"
"BETTY CAN STILL CAST A SPELL OR TWO TO PUT YOU IN YOUR PLACE, YOU IGNORANT BOY!"
Garfiel's opinion of Beatrice goes from -2/10 to -0.5/10.
We're making great strides here people.
Ram watches this display with her usual apathetic expression. While she would no doubt see the mansion again, Ram is curious to know what transpired at the mansion. Surely something must have happened for Guest and Beatrice-sama to come to Sanctuary like this. Rather… Why had they come to Sanctuary? If something occurred at the mansion, it would make sense to stay there after the events concluded.
"Guest-sama, may I have a detail- Oh he's asleep."
Beatrice looks over, untangling her hand from Subaru's shirt and lowering her fist. The two walk over to the sleeping blonde and look down at him. Now a small circle of people standing over Meiss has formed.
"This boy really expended himself. You should let him rest in fact. Betty can tell you what happened I suppose."
The spirit then moves her hands under Meiss' shoulders and tries to lift.
…
"He's too heavy, can someone assist Betty please?"
Garfiel obliges, and motions to sling the boy over his shoulder.
"NO! His injuries are mostly internal! Being so careless with him will only make them worse in fact! Are you trying to kill him?!"
Eventually, Ram and Subaru carried him back to Sanctuary.
—
Math sucks.
This is my ultimate statement.
WiltedGalaxy17 :: No prob. Also thank you, it's nice when people think I draw good. After being good at drawing for a while everyone kinda gets desensitized to your work, which sucks. I intend to keep up the good work minus getting these done on time.
Tall-Gothic-Guy :: I really wanted everyone to contribute to the mansion fight, instead of having a character or two just sit there and watch people die. Leveling up Meiss, fisticuffs is definitely a thing that should happen, but his Authority is so OP that him becoming better at fighting would just be unstoppable. It will happen, but not in this Arc.
Astrogamer :: Thanks. When it comes to feels I feel I'm lacking, but that's probably just my inexperience. I've only ever written two published works, so that field isn't as developed as I would like it to be.