For those wondering what exactly happened in the last chapter: Spectre erased all of Meili's memories and created false memories, making her think she is the adopted child of that woman, living in a small village. It was either that or being fed to the giant hornets ans giant scorpion that The Spectre summoned.
Spectre placed Meili somewhere Capella will never be able to find her.
One week has passed since the annihilation of the Ma-Beasts at the hands of The Spectre. Afterwards, the Spirit of Vengeance erased the memories of Meili Portroute, the real culprit behind the Ma-Beast attack, and replaced them with false ones before giving her another chance at life.
Due to his heroic actions of not only saving Emilia, but also Rem, Subaru earned the respect of both Roswaal and Ram. Though Beatrice was still a though nut to crack.
...
Originally, for Natsuki Subaru, morning was a time for sleeping, and certainly not a time for vigorous activity. For him to be bathing in the early morning sunlight and doing radio calisthenics before a crowd, a mere month ago such a thing would have been unthinkable.
But then again, getting summoned to another world and being given God-like powers was pretty unthinkable in itself.
It was such a big transformation that one would think they've hit their head or something. In fact, he did have memories of a rather strong impact to his mind, such that it wouldn't be surprising if his way of thinking had changed a little. However, even taking that into account it wasn't like this was a situation he was all that opposed to.
"And for the last part stretch your arms to sky, Finishhh~! Victory!"
"Victory!"
A chorus of voices followed Subaru's instructions, stretching their arms to sky; radio-calisthenics complete. Hearing shouts of joy rise up from the crowd, Subaru lightly wiped the drops of sweat from his brow.
In front, as if to surround him, was a crowd of inhabitants from the village bordering the Roswaal mansion. From the looks of it, he would say roughly half of the villagers were gathered.
The radio-calisthenics he had started light-heartedly seemed to have unexpectedly caught the heart-strings of this world's inhabitants. In this village he had given rise to a great movement, one that had driven the non-committal Subaru into a situation where he couldn't quit even if he tried.
"Subaru, we finished the exercises!"
"Give us a stamp, give us a stamp!"
"Sweet potato, sweet potato!"
"Daaaa! Stop it, stop crowding around me so early in the morning, and settle down! You guys are seriously too energetic, it must be nice to be young! You don't have to be so rushed, the stamps aren't going to run away. Line up."
After coming in contact with the group of children that Rem told him about the week prior, Subaru's expression carved into a bitter smile. Showing no hints of defiance, the children followed his instructions and formed a straight line in front of him. Seeing this Subaru gave a satisfied nod and turned his head.
"Well then, Emilia-tan, if you'll do the honors."
"Yes. Here you go."
Emilia stood directly behind him, holding a small sack before handing it over, her lips wavered between a bitter and happy smile. Opening the received bundle, inside were long thinly shaven raw sweet potatoes.
Seeing the sweet potatoes appear the children raised excited voices, as if responding to the shrill voices Subaru took up a sweet potato.
"Alright I'm going to press it down now, take out your paper."
Taking out the container of ink from the same bag Subaru dipped the end of the sweet potato in, pressing down the inked-potato onto the paper presented by the first child. Emilia watched the children's faces turn to joy as a picture emerges onto the surface.
"Carving the flat side of a potato to make a potato-stamp. Subaru, you always come up with weird things."
"If you cut off the inked part then you can use it as emergency rations, and this picture has more sense than you'd think. By the way, I name today's masterpiece 'Monday's Puck'.
What appeared on the paper was a distorted print of a cat, bringing out a feeling of languor. It captured the key characteristics fairly well, anyone looking at it could guess the model at a glance.
"I'm really surprised, it looks just like Puck. Subaru, you're really good at art."
"Well, I've had ample time that I've wasted away practicing to draw like this. I only know the basics though, since I gave up half-way. This is all I can do, carving images of cats onto potatoes in a world that doesn't even have potato-stamps; it's only good for spoiling innocent little kids."
"That's a pretty unpleasant way to phrase it. And doesn't this picture of Puck somehow look like it lacks energy?"
"I told you it's called 'Monday's Puck', I wanted to try and capture that hidden negative feeling where you know that there's an entire week ahead of you. Those poorly drawn ears were on purpose."
Hearing Emilia's impression, Subaru tried to emphasize his artistic intent. All the while being pestered by children holding out papers to be stamped, on which the number of radio-calisthenics participation stamps was steadily accumulating.
It was like he's re-creating one of those summer vacation stamp-rallies, Subaru thought with a bit of playfulness.
Every day before sleeping he carved out a new stamp, as there were always a lot of kids looking forward to what kind of stamp they'd get. Entertaining children, Subaru demonstrated the nimbleness of his fingers in a rather odd way.
He enjoyed chatting with the children for a while as they clamored around him, finally exchanging promises for tomorrow's radio-calisthenics exercise and bidding farewell with a wave of his hand. Subaru talked with each of the group of adult participants before accompanying Emilia back to the mansion.
"Aahhh, I'm worn out. Emilia-tan, sorry taking up your time like this."
"It's fine, Subaru. Besides, Ram and Rem both have their work at the mansion. And it's not like I dislike this anyway."
"When you say you don't dislike it, could that possibly be spending time with me...?"
"No. I meant getting to know the villagers who I hadn't been involved with in the past. You know how it's been because it was like I thought I had drawn up a line around myself.
She coldly shot down Subaru's words who was now wildly inhaling through his nose; Emilia gave a shy laugh. From under her hood, her face's white profile was interrupted by a glimpse of lovely-red lips, Subaru felt the blood rise unintentionally to his cheeks from the charmingness of it.
Emilia's current appearance was closest to what she wore when they first met in the capital. A lightweight short skirt, over the top of which was a white robe with falcon shaped embroidery, her beautiful silver hair entirely concealed under her hood. Subaru stood next to her in a contrast, as he was wearing his cheap-looking grey jersey.
Comparing his clothes, appearance, and various other specs to Emilia's, in his heart he couldn't help but let out a sigh. He was desperate trying to even things out, but from the start their positions aren't even in the same arena.
Sure, Subaru was clearly more powerful with The Spectre inside of him, but Emilia was royalty, with a higher position and authority.
"Anyways…"
The one to break the silence was Emilia, as Subaru was still brooding in deep thought. She bent over in front of Subaru, looking down at him from an angle with both arms crossed.
"You've become quite familiar with the villagers, haven't you? Could it be that you're more of a celebrity now than Ram and Rem?"
"Well, in a certain way I'm like a hero that saves children! Kind of like the superheroes that go around saving people, so maybe that's being talked about somewhat?"
Even though he dressed it up as a joke, Subaru (technically, Spectre) had done more enough to be an actual superhero in the eyes of the villagers and their children, just like how the characters look up to the superheroes in those American comic books he read.
Towards Subaru's playful words Emilia kept silent with a finger on her lips, tilting her head at Subaru.
"It's probably something a little different from a hero."
"Ah, yeah I guess they wouldn't be talking about it, but if it wasn't the forest incident then I wonder what else it'd be."
Being praised for his role in the rescue-business wasn't something that was needed by Subaru, since it was The Spectre who technically did all the work. However, Subaru's morality was also something that was worth praising ― otherwise The Spectre's merciless nature would have made him no different than a serial killer.
Emilia smiled with her peach-colored lips as she let out a small laugh.
...
After some time walking, Subaru and Emilia eventually arrived at Roswaal mansion. But there was something different today when they came.
"There's a carriage coming in front of the mansion."
"Hmm?"
Piqued by her murmurs, he turned to where she was looking. Subaru narrowed eyes and confirmed its existence.
In front of the Roswaal mansion's main gate there was a single dinosaur-drawn carriage approaching. At a glance Subaru could tell this dinosaur-drawn carriage was different from the other carriages he was familiar with.
Most notably, the dinosaur that was pulling it looked like a velociraptor while all the others he's seen looked like stegosaurs.
"I sort of remember these things darting around everywhere in the capital."
On the first day he was summoned, he remembered looking out from the marketplace onto the road the figure of these things running past kicking up a great amount of dust ― it would be difficult to forget such a scene. But the fact that the word 'horse-drawn' was understood, Subaru could ascertain that there were indeed horses in this world.
Although from the fact that he was observing a dinosaur pulling the carriage here, he guessed that these animals was the standard in this world's society.
"If I'm not mistaken they were calling that a dragon-carriage?"
Even though it looked a lot more like a dinosaur, Subaru found it a little odd that everyone called them earth dragons.
"…Yeah? Because the one pulling the frame is an earth dragon, calling it a dragon-carriage is only natural, right? Ee, it's a lie, could it be my common sense is wrong? Does it have a proper name?"
Responding to the zero-knowledge Subaru's question was Emilia, whose own breadth of knowledge was now increasingly suspect. For the girl reading too much into his words, Subaru shook his hands in denial.
"It's just that I'm lacking in knowledge. Emilia-tan is right about this, probably, so have some confidence."
"Really? You're not teasing me? Don't start any embarrassing rumors about me, okay? If you lie I'll whack you, you know."
"Whack, that's not a word you hear nowadays…."
Just like that, they came up to the carriage while talking. Looking the dinosaur (or earth dragon, whatever it was called) up close it was shocking how big it really was. On the carriage it was pulling there was a stand built to seat a coachman, sitting on which was a person who fit the bill, spotting the two approaching he began to climb down to the ground.
"Welcome back. I beg your pardon for parking our vehicle in front of your gate."
With conduct fitting for an old-gentleman, he greeted them while offering a bow. If the one escorting this carriage was like this then the passenger was surely a distinguished person in their own respect. Peeking inside from the coach's window, there wasn't even a trace of a shadow inside carriage's room.
In other words...
"The envoy is already inside the mansion holding an audience with the count."
"My, how polite. How should I put it, I'm embarrassed to be stealing looks like this. Anyway, I'm not used to things like this so I'd hope if you could overlook it."
Subaru blew it by responding in an overly honest manner, trying to cover with polite sounding language was too much to ask for. Standing next to him, Emilia made a look like 'you-know-how-to-speak-properly-right?'. Subaru felt the difference in social standing between him and her keenly.
Covering for the now silent Subaru, Emilia stepped in front to face the coachman.
"You said envoy… by chance could it be?"
Facing the subjectless question, the coachman gave a quick bow and demonstrated he was well informed.
"It's exactly as Emilia-sama has guessed, this matter is related to the selection of the next king."
Hearing the words 'king-selection', Subaru raised his face. Even just hearing it now, this was a far-off phrase for him.
Emilia's face spontaneously stiffened, and Subaru frowned at this turn of events. Seeing their reactions, the old gentleman held his bow and continued.
"I imagine you'll hear this officially from the envoy. Please, if you would return to the mansion."
"I wonder if it's a summons?"
"For anything further I would request that you hear out the envoys message."
Facing the coachman, who clearly knew his role, bowing her head, Emilia replied "Very well." with a hardened face.
"Let's go."
Giving a short declaration, and without turning to face Subaru, Emilia began walking and heading towards the entrance to the mansion.
A little later, Subaru ran after her. Turning his head once more for another look, the coachman stood facing them with his head still lowered, seeing them off in silence.
...
Sent off by the coachman, the two were greeted as they entered the mansions entrance lobby.
"Welcome back, Emilia-sama."
Said Rem with a composed face lacking that was in expression.
Raising her head, that emotionless face was something Subaru hadn't seen in a quite a while. Recently inside the mansion, or at least in front of Subaru, he often saw her going around smiling happily. He wondered if she was acting like this on purpose.
Taking into account that the two had returned together but she had only called out to Emilia, this seemed likely.
"I'm back. I'm sorry for being out. It seems like a visitor came?"
"An envoy came from the capital to see you. Right now Roswaal-sama is receiving them, would you care to join them?"
"Of course. It's originally something that's my problem so I can't very well be left out of it."
Exchanging nods with Rem, Emilia began walking up the stairs, looking back at the bewildered Subaru.
"Um, Subaru what are you going to do? Can you return to your room on your own?"
"What am I, a child?"
Feeling her nervousness fade a little, Emilia tilted her head towards Subaru's proposition. But the one who interrupted those words wasn't Emilia with the troubled expression.
"Elder sister is already present. There is no need for another servant. You understand, Subaru-kun?"
"Umm…"
Refusing to say 'yes' or 'no' to Rem's words, his reply got garbled in throat. Responding to Subaru, who was still struggling to find an objection, Emilia motioned lightly with her hands.
"Since it's like that, sorry. Rem, could you guide me there?"
"Yes. Suburu-kun, please return to your room."
Throwing out those words of apology, Emilia had already turned away from Subaru. As Rem lead the way, Emilia's silver hair swayed as she climbed the stairs and disappeared.
"Well, better do as they say."
Subaru folded his arms and sighed quietly to himself. He was getting left behind both physically and mentally, but he had to endure it just this once.
"Besides, I wouldn't be of much use with my shabby understanding of this world."
Despite the fact that it has been two weeks since he first came to the mansion (1 ½ months from his mental perspective), when one talked about what he had learned, it was limited to various basic house-chores and the reading of letters.
So to speak, he was on the same level as one of the village children helping out around their homes.
Even though he had a reality-bending ghost living inside of him, getting involved with not just some meeting of aristocrats, but the decisions of a country's very top, this was something outside of his line of duty. He should probably stay out of it.
With that, he accepted being left behind.
"Well then, I guess I'll head back to my room and begrudgingly go to sleep."
If he was to follow Emilia's and Rem's viewpoint, they probably wanted him to go back to his room, sleep, and do tonight's practice of writing down characters. Or, going with plan B, opening up one of the doors and go complaining to the mansion's resident hikikomori-girl.
With an all-powerful being bonded to him, he should know better.
...
"Don't you get tired waiting out here the whole time? How about taking a short rest?"
Hearing this, the old man sitting on the driver's platform opened his eyes in surprise, looking at Subaru and the tray in Subaru's hands.
The location was once again outside the mansion, up next to the dinosaur-carriage parked in front of main gate. He poured tea for the old man who was looking at him with a surprised and half-smiling face.
"Thank you for the trouble. This is quite unexpected, pardon me for being situated up high here."
No sooner than he recovered from the initial shock, the old man nimbly dropped down from the coachman's stand. With his movements there was almost no sound as he landed, Subaru faintly held his breath. The coachman's stand was high up enough that using the phrase 'jumped off' would have been appropriate.
It was even higher than Subaru's eye-level, it didn't seem possible to jump without support unless one was prepared for a little numbness in your legs.
However, flipping Subaru's assumptions on their head the old man calmly walked on, coming up to the presented tray he gave a short bow.
"I'll avail myself to your kind offer. My throat was indeed getting a bit dry, you see."
"Ah, no problem. I didn't know your preference so I just brought out the most expensive tea."
Presented with the tray, a gentle smile carved its way onto the old man's face. Subaru watched with particular interest as the wrinkles around his mouth rose and seemingly met halfway.
His stature was taller than Subaru, his head was dyed pure white with abundant hair that showed no sign of thinning. His attire was that of a coachman, that is a formal, extremely expensive looking, black uniform. His back was straight, the muscles under his clothes showed no sign of age and one could tell at a glance they were finely toned.
In summary, the person standing in front of him was one who could make others nervous whether they intended to or not.
"I'm just an old bag of bones. There's no reason to be on edge."
For Subaru who was absentmindedly thinking that, he was abruptly called out to by a gentle voice. Taking up the cup, the old man brought it to up to his mouth before offering some words. Noticing the indiscreet stares he was receiving, the old man smiled to punish Subaru.
"This is a good flavor. This is perhaps too good a thing…"
"It's not an over-exaggeration, this is really our most expensive tea. If a certain pink-haired maid found out I was drinking this, she'd get seriously angry."
Looking at it broadly, Ram had an unexpectedly delicate tongue and was well versed in things like tea. If she knew he had taken out one of the 'absolutely forbidden' highest grade tea leaves to use on his own, that in itself would was setting himself up for quite the sermon. But in a very 'Subaru-like' manner.
"Without the tea leaves ever leaving the kitchen, I properly prepared the tea there and brought it out… that's one of my 'ikkyusan' reasoning, I wonder if she'll buy that."
"Hmm, quite the schemer, I see."
"Anyway, my name is Natsuki Subaru. I'm currently apprenticing as a servant at Roswaal's mansion. Could I request your name... sir?"
Being an inexperienced person that he was, Subaru should accepted this fact about himself, and try his best to cling to the benevolence of the elders. Seeing Subaru say this in the most polite way possible, the old man's expression turned to surprise and softened even more.
"My how polite. I am called Wilhem. I am currently serving under the Crusch house, devoting myself to the job."
In front of the old man calling himself Wilhem, Subaru tried rolling the name once off his tongue.
"Thank you very much for telling me your name. In addition to this thanks, could you tell me the reason for today's visit… err, is it acceptable for me to tread into such matters?"
"In regards to your question, the envoy is currently inside discussing just that."
"That's true, I suppose. You can't afford to be careless and let your word slip, huh?"
Wilhem turned to Subaru and his eyes widened slightly in surprise. He was apparently not expecting such humility and understanding from Subaru. This was followed by a another friendly smile that formed on the old man's face.
"You are very understanding, Natsuki Subaru. I have seen earlier that you have quite a close relationship with the king-candidate, Emilia-sama."
"Gee, Thanks...? I guess...?"
Somewhat frowning, Wilhem smiled bitterly at Subaru before going on to say...
"You realize she might very well be the next Queen of Lugnica, do you not?"
"The current state is just an extremely lovely girl, and an unskilled servant. Because the future is limitless, if we only talk about probability then you end up not being able to move when the time counts you know? Wilhem-san when you got married, didn't you think of your wife as the most beautiful person in the world?"
"My wife...?"
Wilhem faltered for a moment at Subaru's argument. But quickly returned to watching Subaru intently, his pupils flashing with an emotion that could probably be called admiration.
"I see, it is exactly as you say. I too thought my wife was the most beautiful in the world. I had the feeling like everyone was looking at her. Such that I felt miserable that I maybe wasn't worthy of her."
"Really? Huh, I never knew you felt that way. Talk about opposites attracting each other."
Lately with those kinds of feelings, Subaru had been imagining the future possibilities of his love. Part of him thought of impressing her with his incredible power (which to some extent, he did), but another part of him felt like he was undeserving of her. Because he had a job of avenging the innocent and punishing evil, Subaru was beginning to think twice about him and Emilia being together.
He was so awe-struck by her beauty and charisma that he didn't realize of the possible consequences that might follow after. Was it allowed for him to be with a mortal? Were there any rules about mortals and hosts for Divine beings falling in love?
And when (or if) he completes his mission on this world, would The Spectre just be transported to another host, in another world, and have him die again? Because that's where Subaru was before all this happened.
He's going to have to ask Spectre about this later.
"You have quite an amusing way of thinking there. Truly interesting, I must say. But still, in the end, I am but a mere coachman. When it comes to these affairs I am not well versed."
"Are you sure about that? You at least already realized who the hood-wearing Emilia-tan was, don't you think using the excuse that you're a 'simple coachman' is a little bit too extreme?"
Wilhem looked blankly and said nothing to Subaru's objection at first. He then closed his eyes, and said...
"You have a bad habit of judging people, Natuski Subaru..."
Something about this old man felt a little bit off for Subaru. Whether it was because of The Spectre or his own instincts, Subaru sub-consciously felt there was more going on than meets the eye when it came to Wilhem. Subaru decided to not press the subject any further.
"It seems we're out of time."
"Huh?"
Subaru let out a ridiculous-sounding voice. Responding to him, Wilhem pursed his lips silently, motioning towards the direction of the mansion with his hand. Subaru turned his head, looking in the direction indicated. Off in the distance the entrance door of the mansion began to open.
Beyond the opened doors Subaru could see two figures, the ever-familiar blue-haired maid, Rem, and an unknown person accompanying her. This must be the envoy Wilhem spoke about. The second individual, noticing Subaru had been staring at them, had a mischievous smile form to their face as they rapidly approached the dinosaur-carriage.
"Hey! Even if I'm a beauty staring that much at me is still rude you know."
No sooner than the moment they stood before Subaru, a white fingertip pointed straight at him. One eye closed as they made their declaration.
Subaru was afraid this person was likely the envoy. A cute girl with a charming face and flaxen hair evenly cut to shoulder length. Her height was rather tall for a girl, almost the same as Subaru's. However her figure was naturally much more delicate, one-by-one her features revealed her gorgeous femininity or would it be more accurate to say girlishness. Her flaxen hair was decorated with a white ribbon, her big eyes shone with curiosity and had an almost cat-like charm to them, and currently on her head.
"Nya nya?"
The same color as her hair, a pair of animal ears claiming the top of her head trembled as if responding to his murmurs. In this world sub-species were completely natural, aside from seeing them in the capital there hadn't been any other opportunities to interact with them, seeing the real thing up close like this was a real treat.
After all...
"I'm an appreciator of all things fluffy, there's no way that I can't pursue this existence in front of my eyes… dammit, quite down, my right arm…!"
Looking at it as a spectator he could imagine the sensation of the fluffy fur covered ears, just by standing in front of him her mere existence was a deadly poison for Subaru. With a desperate look he suppressed his trembling right arm, somehow managing to pull away from the girl and create some distance. She stared blankly at Subaru's suspicious behavior.
"Arere, am I hated? Feri-chan, failed."
She giggled, sticking out her tongue mischievously. Subaru's throat froze over in fright, this was a completely different kind of horror than before.
This was a classic rarely seen even in his own former world, the overly done legendary 'cutesy-girl' routine. He wanted to beat up anyone who dared attempt this overly cheeky routine in person, however...
Faced with this overwhelming cheekiness all of his willpower was taken from him, was what that meant. Also, since the one doing it was wrapped up in it they were too cute to lay a hand against, was the second meaning that layered on top of the first. The result was that Subaru had choice other than to let this pass.
Towards the location Subaru stood shivering in a very wrong way, she gave a cutesy and turned to face Wilhem.
"I'm back Wil-jii, sorry for making you wait outside. Were you bored?"
"No, no. This young man over here was kind enough to keep my old bones company, it was an unexpectedly fun way to pass the time."
"Fumyuu?"
Hearing the dressed up description Wilhem had given of our conversation, the girl had a perked up expression. Eyes like a cat, her pupils narrowed, and her mouth warped giving off a feeling somehow like a 'ω' shape.
"Aaaaaaa, now I get it. I see, you're the boy Emilia was talking about. I understand."
From top to bottom she looked at Subaru as if tasting him, finally clapping her hands together as if giving approval. Feeling the gaze Subaru sub-consciously moved to cover himself with his hands, twisting his body as if trying to escape.
"No, stop it. Just because I'm a boy, if you stare at me like that I'll get embarrassed you know!"
"Don't say that, honey. You've got a pretty good body there, no needless meat. So much so if you weren't already somebody's property I'd have a taste myself."
Going along with Subaru's over-the-top reaction, she hit back with an equally-absurd response. Normally girls would respond with a giggle, having someone play along like this was a first for Subaru.
"Somehow I've got a strange amount of energy. I wonder if this feeling is a physiological reaction?"
Rather than feeling disgusted, Subaru's instincts were screaming out louder now. In front of his eyes stood a teasing-eyed girl, clearly the natural enemy of the person named Natsuki Subaru. A snake against a slug. A slug against a frog. A frog against a snake.
Subaru's compatibility with this girl, he was on the weak side and she was on the strong side – this was something he could tell instinctively.
Subaru's usual inappropriate behavior wasn't coming out. Facing the Subaru had by now completely lost his nerve, the girl hit the accelerator to max and stepped it up even further.
Throwing her arms out she wrapped around Subaru's neck and snuggled up next to him.
"What the...?"
"Don't move. I'm checking something out right now."
Since they were about the same height, her face was now right next to Subaru's. Her voice whispering directly into Subaru's ear, his whole body felt like it was being tickled.
His face turned red from the sensation. He looked to his surroundings for help, finding Rem loitering near the mansion's entrance he instantly turned pale.
She had on a blank face, one could see from afar she was unconcerned with what was happening. Towards the now gasping Subaru, Rem gestured her hands in a small mincing motion. It wasn't like this gesture had any meaning in particular, but the intent was clearly conveyed to Subaru.
"I'm going to tell Emilia"
"No!"
Making a snap judgement he moved his body, somehow managing to peel away from the clinging girl. He didn't violently flung her away, but instead pushing her shoulders away.
Unsteady on his feet, Subaru ended up falling on his butt. In the ten or so seconds that this all happened, various emotions processed through Subaru's head. Sitting with his feet collapsed under him and his shirt disheveled, he cried sorrowfully
"I didn't want to, why did you… even though I only love Emilia-tan!"
While feigning comical tears, secretly he was disappointed. With a kind touch a hand firmly grasped his shoulder. Looking up reflexively, the one behind him was Wilhem.
"Please take this."
Held softly in his hand was a white handkerchief. Taking it from his hands, Subaru thanked him as he struggled to his feet. This was the compassion of an adult, experiencing it in person he fought the urge to bury himself in Wilhem's arms.
Returning the handkerchief unused to Wilhem, Subaru looked to the girl for an explanation for her previous behavior. She bent her lips in thought.
"It was just as I had heard, inside your body it's like the flow of water is completely stagnant. I'd do something about it, but there's no time right now."
Leaving behind these words, the girl ended the conversation.
"Now then, let's hurry back to our lovely Crusch-sama, Wil-jii. If we're away for too long there's no knowing what she'll do."
"It is as you say."
Agreeing with her proposal, Wilhem abides with few words. Offering Subaru one last bow, he picked up a now empty cup on the ground and returned it to the tray.
"Thank you for the treat. Subaru-dono, may you be in good health."
Climbing up to the coachman's stand in a flash, Wilhem held the dinosaur's reigns in his hand. Towards Subaru, who was staring speechlessly at this feat, the girl held her hands together as if praying.
"So then, we haven't really time for introductions but we're busy. So sorry."
Leaving behind a wink, she turned her body towards the dinosaur-carriage. Reaching his hand out towards her back, he put a voice to the numerous unresolved questions racing through his head.
"Please wait. I have so many questions to ask you."
"I think it's fine if you go ask Emilia honestly. Well then, may our fates meet again. Byyye."
Cutting down his question in a single chop, she disappeared into the carriage with a smile. Understanding he'd been completely swept up by their pace, Subaru's hand dropped in frustration. Wilhem said his goodbyes and the carriage set off along with the dinosaur's neigh.
The frame creaked as the wheels began to turn. Every time the dinosaur stepped forward powerful marks remained on the ground, gaining speed quickly.
With the wheels moving forward, the frame began to move. The carriage picked up speed quickly as it traveled over the road, kicking up a cloud of dust as it faded into the distance.
All that was left was the completely shocked and now-dumbfounded Subaru.
...
Later that night, inside Roswaal Mansion, Emilia informed Subaru that tomorrow she will be heading for the capital to participate in the Royal selection.
Of course, Subaru initially wanted to come along as he cannot stand not being involved in Emilia's important affairs, but thanks to The Spectre's reality-warping powers, he figured that if anything bad were to happen to Emilia, he will be able to fix it.
"All right, I'll stay in the mansion. But I'll make sure that me and Spectre will be ready to protect you in case anything happens."
"That's very kind of you, Subaru. But I don't think I'll need you or Spectre-sama's help for this."
"When there's a Royal selection with so many candidates for the throne, there's bound to be someone who'd want you or some of the other candidates dead. Me and Spectre will make sure that doesn't happen!"
Emilia couldn't help but smile at Subaru's determination to keep her and the others safe. Having seen first hand the display of The Spectre's immense power, she was certain that any wannabe-threat would be no match for them.
"Very well."
She nodded.
The next day, Emilia and Roswaal went to the capital in order to participate as one of the Royal candidates of possible becoming the next ruler of Lagunica. As agreed, Subaru stayed in the mansion, with Rem and Ram to keep him company.
Having talked with the Spirit of Vengeance, Subaru decided wait until he hears from The Spectre about Emilia possibly being in trouble.
"Subaru-kun, Rem will make delicious applesauce if you'd like."
Rem said, holding bowl of apples in her hands. She looked at him with a kind smile, fondly remembering how he saved her life, and showing her such kindness. After the incident with the Ma-Beasts, Rem fondness for Subaru increased to the point she had fallen in love with him, despite knowing Subaru's feelings for Emilia.
"Thanks Rem, but there's no need. I'm just waiting for Spectre to give me a message if Emilia or the others are in danger."
"Rem understands."
Subaru smiled. He always liked Rem, she was so kind and friendly towards him. Ram, while not quite as cheerful as her sister, still respected him ― or at least she respected The Spectre.
Just then, Subaru's heard The Spectre's booming voice inside his head.
"Boy, it is time to go."
This instantly put Subaru on high alert, startling Rem.
"What? Is Emilia-tan in danger."
"Subaru-kun...? Is Spectre-sama speaking to you?"
Rem couldn't help but ask with a worried expression on her face.
"The Witch Cult in planning to assassinate Emilia in a few days. If we take action now, we will stop them."
The Witch Cult? Subaru had never heard of that name before. But whatever the reason, whoever these guys were, he was going to take action and stop their planned assassination.
"Then there's no time to lose!"
Without warning, Subaru ran past the confused Rem as fast as he could, but not before he turned to inform her about the situation.
"Rem, Spectre told me that there are a group of people called the Witch Cult that are planning to kill Emilia and possibly the others! You stay here with Ram, Spectre and I will take care of them."
The blue-haired instantly froze in place upon hearing the words 'Witch Cult'. She stood there, trembling as her pupils shrunk. She had an absolutely horrified look on her face. This was something that did not go unnoticed by Subaru.
"Hey Rem, are you alright?"
"...Did you say... Witch Cult...?"
"You know them?"
Subaru couldn't help but ask, noticing the animosity and rage coming from Rem's voice. The blue-haired maid now had an absolutely furious look on her face. Did she have a history with these guys, Subaru wondered?
"Subaru-kun... the Witch Cult destroyed Rem's home, killed our parents, and took sister's horn..."
At this point, tears began pouring from Rem's eyes as she went on. Remembering the flashbacks of her tragic childhood. Of how her sister lost her horn while saving her.
"They took everything from Rem! For that, Rem will never forgive them! Rem wants to join Subaru to stop them! Rem will―!"
Her hate speech was abruptly stopped when Subaru placed his arms around her, and softly pulled her into a hug, causing Rem's angered state to disappear and be replaced with a look of shock.
"S-Subaru-kun...?"
"Rem... I know how you feel. I understand that. I understand your pain. But I can't risk worrying about you and Ram, too. So Spectre and I have to do this alone."
"But Rem can―"
"Listen to me, Spectre and I are more than powerful enough to end them, and you know that. Don't worry about me. I'll be fine. I only ask that you and your sister stay put in the mansion."
Rem looked at him uncomfortably, tears were still streaming from her eyes. But eventually, she quietly nodded in agreement. Rem was fully-aware of how powerful The Spectre was. For all she knew, his power may very well exceed even that of the Witch of Envy.
But Rem still found it hard to agree with Subaru on this, as she was afraid of losing him like how she lost her parents, and how her sister lost her horn to the Witch Cult.
"Rem understands. Rem will stay here."
She said with hesitation, still not entirely sure about this.
"Thanks, Rem. I know I can count on you!"
Subaru grinned, giving her a thumbs-up, which made Rem blush slightly.
Subaru was currently walking through the woods all by himself, with his hands in his pockets. After he left the mansion, he immediately began heading to the location of where The Spectre said the Witch Cult was closest. Subaru quietly looked around, scanning his surroundings, trying to figure out where they're base was.
As he was walking, Subaru heard the faint voice of someone saying...
"He carries the scent of love..."
Subaru immediately stopped in his tracks and smirked before turning around to look for the source of the voice.
"Alright. You can come out of hiding. I know you're here somewhere."
There was silence, and Subaru was instantly on guard. He was ready for anything. And it wasn't long before cloaked individuals rose from the ground, completely surrounding him. Subaru was now surrounded by at least 20 individuals, all wearing some strange clothing. They stayed silent as they stared at Subaru.
"Oh, myyyyy~! Have we found another believer in love? Excellent! The fruit of our efforts are the result of our diligence! Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yesssssss~!"
Subaru turned his head to where the maniacal voice came from. Emerging from the cloaked individuals was an odd-looking man. He had short dark green hair that was cut neatly along with gray emotionless eyes. He wore a black, green, and red robe along with clerical attire. But perhaps one of his more subtle features were his bloody fingers.
The strange man walked closer to Subaru until he was only 5 feet away from the teenager.
"That scent on you... It's love, isn't it?"
He asked Subaru with a maniacal grin that seemed like it would tear his cheeks apart.
"Heh. I'm glad I could get your attention. Otherwise this smell would have been for nothing."
This comment from Subaru caused the insane man's grin to shrink before disappearing, replaced by a look of confusion.
"What...?"
Without bothering to say anything else to the Witch Cultist, Subaru smirked at the man, at which point his face turned from excitement to shock and confusion.
"What's this?! The scent of love has disappeared from you?! How?! How is this possible?! Who are you to dare mimic the sweet, sweet scent of love from the beloved Witch?!"
The man exclaimed out loud, throwing his arms in the air before pointing at Subaru with a demanding finger.
"Why don't I show you?"
With that, Subaru began transforming into The Spectre. The insane man and the other Witch Cultists looked in shock and surprise as the teenage boy transformed into the green-cloaked bringer of divine judgment. The Witch Cultists will now face judgment from The Spectre.
"Petelgeuse Romanee-Conti, the Sin Archbishop of the Witch Cult, representing Sloth. You and the other Sin Archbishops shall face judgment from The Spectre!"
Prior to this encounter, The Spectre used his powers to mimic the scent of the Witch of Envy in order to lure the Witch Cultists to him, like a bolas spider mimicking the pheromones of female moths to attract males moths before killing them.
While he could have easily hunted them all down, this proved to be a more efficient way of getting the job done.
Petelgeuse and the other Witch Cultists looked at the Spirit of Vengeance in shock and disbelief. This was something they had not planned for.
"What's this? Are you perhaps in league with the Witch? No, you don't seem like it."
The Spectre turned and gave Petelgeuse a look of disdain and annoyance.
"Do not make such foolish mistakes, Archbishop. I am force far beyond the Witch of Envy. Compared to the likes of me, she is nothing. Nothing but a mere speck of dust..."
These words quickly changed Petelgeuse's demeanor. He was now filled with rage after hearing The Spectre bluntly insult the person he and his followers so dearly worshiped. The madman pulled his own hair in anger before he raised his arms to the sky.
"Unseen Hands!"
Invisible tendril-like hands pried out of Petelgeuse's back and went straight for The Spectre, intending to rip him to pieces. However, the Unseen Hands unexpectedly stopped mere inches from The Spectre's face, much to the shock of Petelgeuse himself.
"What?! Nothing like this should be possible! Unacceptable!"
Petelgeuse shouted at the top of his lungs. Unable to comprehend how or why his Unseen Hands have suddenly stopped.
"In the land beyond the living, all things are possible."
With a flick of his wrist, the Unseen Hands suddenly turned on the witch cultists around them, and began slaughtering them. Petelgeuse could only look in shock and horror as his fingers were brutally massacred by his own Authority that he now had no control over.
Five cultists were instantly decapitated, while five more had their bodies torn cleanly in half. Three tried tried fight back, but were effortlessly smashed into bloody puddles by the invisible appendages. Another four had their hearts torn from their chests, and the last three had their limps brutally torn off by the Unseen Hands, leaving them to bleed to death.
In as little as 5 minutes, all of the witch cultist aside from Petelgeuse were brutally dispatched in various horrific and bloody ways. The Spectre and Petelgeuse were now surrounded by the severed bodies of the witch cultists, as well as a very large pool of blood.
Petelgeuse was completely lost at what just happened. He could only stare at his now-dead fingers laying on the ground before turning his gaze to The Spectre.
"Y...You can control my Unseen Hands...? ...How...?"
"Petelgeuse, you were once a noble soul with the best intentions for Emilia. But you were corrupted when Pandora attacked your village, and tricked you into killing Fortuna. For that, you have my pity."
Petelgeuse's eyes widen, and his body begins trembling upon hearing that name. A single tears sheds from his left eye. As he stood there, unable to move, Spectre raised his hand and pointed at the Archbishop.
"I hope you will turn for the better after you are reincarnated. Farewell."
Shortly after he said that, Petelgeuse's body began crumbling away and turning into dust. The Archbishop didn't even bother to resist, he could only stare at The Spectre with his shocked expression before his entire body eventually turned into dust and faded into the wind.
Under normal circumstances, in the case he was killed, Petelgeuse's spirit would have escaped his body and possessed one of his remaining fingers or some other suitable host. But due to The Spectre's immense and unique magical power, his soul was instead forcefully sent into the afterlife, making sure Petelgeuse will never come back again.
"Although he is dealt with, I still must dispose of the Archbishop's remaining fingers."
With that, The Spectre teleported away to go and finish the remaining witch cultists.
After 2 hours, The Spectred hunted down and killed the rest of Petelgeuse's fingers in equally-brutal fashion, including one member named Ketty Muttart who was posing as a merchant, as well as disabling the magic formulas, preventing them from exploding and killing any people.
The Spectre appeared in a secluded part of the forest before reverting back to Natsuki Subaru.
"Alright. I think we got them all." Subaru said.
It hasn't been exactly easy for Subaru to watch The Spectre brutally massacre those witch cultists with his reality-bending powers. But considering their horrific crimes and history with Rem and Ram, Subaru won't have trouble sleeping tonight.
"Indeed, we did. However, there is one other threat that requires our capabilities."
"What? More witch cultists?"
"No. Though that, too, will come in time. We are needed to eliminate a Ma-Beast. One that is responsible for the death of Wilhem van Astrea's wife."
Subaru's eyes widen in shock upon this explanation.
"You mean that coachman who's serving under Crusch, who's one of the candidates for the throne?"
"Precisely. His wife was the previous Sword Saint. And as such, Wilhem himself is an incredible skilled swordsman."
Subaru could hardly believe this. No wonder that man seemed so depressed and modest when he met him. And to think that his wife was the previous Sword Saint, a title now belonging solely to Reinhard. Subaru felt pity for Wilhem, wondering how he himself would have reacted if Emilia, or Rem, or Ram died.
"As we speak, Crusch herself has been gather as many soldiers, resources and weapons as possible in order to find and destroy this Ma-Beast in the next few days."
Again, Subaru was at a loss for words. But he was quick to regain his calmness. He sighed softly.
"Alright, then. Guess we're going Ma-Beast hunting again."
A few seconds later, Subaru appeared in what appeared to be a desert wasteland, with the only thing that can be seen for miles was a very large tree, which Subaru estimated was will over 100 meters tall.
"So this is the place where this Ma-Beast is gonna appear, right?"
"Indeed. As with the Witch Cult before, I am mimicking the scent of Satella in order to lure the Ma-Beast to us."
...
After an hour of waiting, Subaru suddenly heard a loud and very deep sound just like that of a whale, but far more sinister. Looking up, he saw something in the sky way above him in the distance.
From his perspective, it looked something like a white fish swimming in sky ― which, considering the world he was in, wasn't that far fetched. But upon a closer look, Subaru realized that it was actually a large white whale-like creature that was around 50 meters large, and with a small horn protruding from its snout. Finally, the flying whale had a glowing pinkish wheel-like appendage on its back.
"I take it that's the Ma-Beast, then?"
"Indeed. It is known as the White Whale. It was created by the Witch of Gluttony, Daphne, many years ago, along with two other powerful creatures. Together, they are known as The Three Great Demon Beasts."
So there were two more of these things out there? Subaru was honestly not that surprised anymore.
"Well then, let's get this over with."
Once again, Subaru transformed into The Spectre. The Spirit of Vengeance looked up at the approaching White Whale with a calm and stoic look. Raising his hand, The Spectre snapped his fingers.
In an instant, a circle-shaped portal opened directly above the White Whale, who failed to notice it. Then, without warning, two incredibly large tentacled emerged from the portal, and with surprising speed, went after and wrapped themselves around the White Whale's body, stopping it in its tracks as it screeched in surprise and shock.
Not long after, the owner of the tentacles began emerging from the portal. It was a gigantic cephalopod-like creature that resembled an octopus, and with a unique ability to fly. It greatly resembled an giant pacific octopus, as its body consisted of a head and eight tentacles. But unlike a true octopus, it also had small spikes running across its long tentacles, and its body was a bluish-green color.
His habit of killing his victims in ironic ways has lead The Spectre to summon this monster, known as The Kraken, to dispose of the White Whale.
The Kraken was more than twice the size of the White Whale; each of its tentacles individually were 160 meters long, and its head alone was over 57 meters long.
The White Whale let out a loud roar as it struggled to escape The Kraken's grasp, but the tentacles that were holding it tightened their grip. Soon, another tentacle moved in and wrapped around the White Whale's jaws, clamping them shut and preventing the Ma-Beast from opening its mouth.
The Kraken growled softly as even more tentacles started wrapping around the struggling White Whale, making escape impossible.
Under normal circumstances, the White Whale would unleash its magical mist from its mouth for both offense and defense. But the fact that one of The Kraken's tentacles was currently wrapped tightly around its jaws, keeping its mouth closed, nullified that option.
Holding the White Whale with almost all of its tentacles, The Kraken was ready to start eating. The octopus-like monster began pulling its prey at the hub of the tentacles, where its parrot-like beak was located.
The White Whale's eyes widened in fear, and began thrashing even more violently, desperately trying to break free and escape. But as strong as the Ma-Beast was, The Kraken's strength simply exceeded it.
The White Whale's muffled cries echoed through the land when The Kraken took its first bite from its tail. These muffled cries increased as the octopus-like monster continued to consume the still-living White Whale, starting with its tail.
Tons of gallons of blood rained from the sky, as well as a few chunks of flesh belonging to the White Whale.
All the while The Spectre stared calmly at the carnage that was happening in the sky.
Later that night, after the Royal selection was over, things didn't exactly go well for the Emilia Camp. On top of facing prejudice due to her resemblance to the Witch of Envy, Emilia failed to gain any support from the nobles.
But when she returned to the mansion, Emilia was unprepared for the news she received from Rem and Ram.
"Subaru... saved me from the Witch Cult?"
Rem nodded.
"Indeed, Emilia-sama. Spectre-sama informed us about the assassination that the Witch Cult was planning. So Subaru-kun went and stopped them. Rem also wanted to join Subaru-kun, but Subaru-kun told Rem and sister to stay here."
Emilia could not believe what she was hearing. To think that the Witch Cult was secretly hiding and planning her assassination in the shadows... Emilia couldn't help but feel guilty at herself.
She felt guilty for not taking Subaru's warning seriously. And if it wasn't for The Spectre's intervention, she, and possibly her friends, would surely have died in those upcoming days.
"Hey, Emilia-tan! How did the Royal selection go?"
Subaru called out as he walked up to Emilia and Rem with his usual friendly grin.
Emilia couldn't help but stare at Subaru with astonishment. She didn't know how to respond due to still feeling guilty at herself. Eventually, she found the strength to speak.
"Subaru... I'm sorry."
"Come again...?"
"I'm sorry for not taking your advice seriously, Subaru. You told me to be wary. You knew there will be villains looking to assassinate me at the Royal selection. But I... I didn't listen. I was so focused on becoming the next candidate that I never thought of looking out for my own safety."
"Hey, don't punish yourself like that, Emilia-tan. That's why I'm here. To watch your back in case someone wants to hurt you or anyone else."
Emilia couldn't help but smile, but she still felt like hating herself. Never again will she take Subaru's warning or advice lightly.
More importantly, this news will also likely boost the Emilia Camp's status and increase Emilia's chances of becoming the next ruler of Lagunica.
...
Meanwhile, in an estate, within that same city, the Matriarch of House Karsten and the possible candidate to become the 42nd King of Lugnica, Crusch Karsten, was sipping tea and doting down information with her pen.
Crusch herself was young woman with almond-shaped amber eyes and long dark verdant-green hair that reached down to her lower back. She was wearing a formal outfit that consisted of a deep purplish-blue long-coat trimmed in white with golden epaulets on the shoulders, and with white blouse underneath, blue trousers, black white-laced knee-high heel boots, white gloves, and a blue cap with a single horizontal white stripe along the middle. The cuffs on her coat were burgundy red with white frills; the inside of her coat and an armband on her left arm bearing the emblem of the Karsten House are very much the same shade of red.
As she was writing down, much to her surprise, two estate guards came in and bowed to her.
"Crusch-sama! Forgive our rude entrance, but urgent news has reached us just now!"
"It is a dire message! And is being reported to all the candidates as we speak!"
"What is it?"
One of the guards hesitated for a moment before finally speaking.
"...Crusch-sama... it is being reported by countless eyewitnesses... and there is evidence found in the adjusted area..."
Crusch remained silent, patiently waiting for the big reveal of this supposed urgent message.
"The scourge of the last four centuries, the White Whale... has been killed."
Elsewhere in the mansion, Roswaal L. Mathers was in his room, by himself. Normally, he would often be joined by Ram, but tonight was different. However, Roswaal was not completely alone in his room. In front of him was the hologram of a mysterious being, with whom he was currently conversing.
The being in question was incredibly tall (at least 8 or 9 feet), and had grey skin with a rock-like texture. But the most startling feature about this entity were his eyes, which glowed with a crimson-red light. He wore dark-blue leather-like clothes, gloves, boots, and a belt wrapped around his waist with a 'Ω' symbol.
"Do you have the half-elf, Roswaal?"
The being spoke with a very deep and menacing voice.
"Yes, indeed. She is in the mansion as we speak. And soon, I will give her to you as promised. But remember to hold your end of our deal."
"Worry not about that, Roswaal. I will grant you your wish."
Roswaal grinned with satisfaction.
"It's a pleasure doing business with you... Darkseid."
That's right! Darkseid is in my story!
Regulus and Lye will also eventually appear in the story. And since Rem didn't get her memories eaten, she's also going to do more.