Subaru shot up, pressing his head, and panting heavily. He didn't feel nauseous anymore. The ringing was gone. His vision clear. No pain plagued him. And yet, he felt even worse than before.
"What a… horrible… dream." He clenched his chest, cold sweat now running down his back. "It had to be a dream… nightmare, right? Because otherwise. Otherwise…" His voice died down.
Because otherwise, there was only really one explanation for what happened. Which he would not accept. Which he didn't even want to consider, shoving it far away into the corner of his mind.
Like that, he sat there for a while, motionless. Just letting his pumping heart calm down, as his lungs slowly reduced their need for oxygen. Sitting there—meaning his guest bed in the Astrea estate. The very same he thought he had left behind a couple of hours ago. Where he appreciated the rays of the sun before, now he found no joy in them. Where he would have shot up to seize the day, now all he could do was to remain sitting, visibly shaken.
Subaru didn't know how much time had passed before he finally managed to get up. While his mind wanted to deny even the possibility of him receiving wounds, he knew he had to check, and felt the urge to do so. Going into the adjacent bathroom, he let his shaky fingers carefully glide over his head while scrutinizing his reflection in the mirror. But everything seemed fine. No wounds, no dried blood, and especially no pain when he pressured the places where the wounds should have been. Why was he even doing that?
"Right. Wounds. Head wounds. I got beaten down by a thug… we were cornered in the slums, Felt and I. Someone snuck up on me, and almost knocked me out. And then—
Hearing the cracking sound, as it suddenly emerged from his memories, stirred his insides. Covering his mouth, he forced down the bile that pushed upwards. The sudden onslaught of nausea elicited straight from his memories. His brain could very well remember it. There was no sense in denying it—it wasn't a nightmare. "The burning loot house. Thugs luring us into a trap. And then—"
Speaking to his reflection, he hoarsely whispered, "I died…"
The sudden realization made him recoil from his reflection. He could see his face, contorted by agony. He fought so hard against Elsa. Overcame the adversity of his first day. He thought the worst was over! How could that be!? Why did he die again!?
Subaru slowly crept back to the mirror. He was fine. Nothing happened. But he knew it wasn't quite that simple. For death leaves a mark, even if it gets undone by some magic ability. He could feel it. Even worse, getting saved through Return by Death—even if his death had been averted once again, he had no shining role in that. If anything, it was his fault that he and Felt got into danger again to begin with. That he let it happen.
"Damnit. I'm such an idiot. Why didn't I object? Why didn't I come up with an escape plan quicker? How could I have let them sneak up on me? We could have tried to run away otherwise! At least I didn't have to see her die again…" But it felt utterly wrong, that last thought. Especially because it's surely how it would have continued. He slammed his fist onto the sink, banishing such musings.
He needed to redirect his thoughts to another matter. "But then, if it was Return by Death… I didn't respawn at the appa salesman. Does it update? And if so, what time is it now?"
Realizing he wouldn't get anywhere by just talking to his reflection, he left the bathroom. No, if anything, he had first to find out if his thoughts really were correct. And find out what time and day it was. A confusing matter, but he was resolved to get to the bottom of it. If only to distract him from the feeling of having failed. And still having the tiniest glimmer of hope to prove himself wrong, somehow.
Yet just as he was about to leave his room, a light knock came from the door, causing him to halt. "Subaru, are you there?" It was Felt, speaking with a muffled voice. Upon hearing her voice, Subaru froze in place, his hand already resting on the door handle. If he were to talk with her, there was no doubt he would get his answers. But did he really want to? And if she were to suggest going to the slums again, to reach her grandpa—what would he say? Could he just pretend nothing happened, and follow her?
There was another set of knocks. "Subaru, man. C'mon, answer, before—"
Heavily gulping, Subaru turned down the door handle and opened the door. But before he could even take half a step outside, Felt pushed right into him, causing them both to jump back, slightly startled.
"I'm getting followed. Quick, let me in or we'll get caught!" hissed Felt, while the words Subaru attempted to utter got stuck in his throat. Seeing her steal quick glances down the hallway he stepped aside, letting her in, and closed the door behind her.
A familiar scene played before his eyes. Felt pressed her ear against the door, listening to something happening on the other side. But this time he was closer, meaning he could hear it.
"…lt-sama! Please wait!" called a pleading voice, accompanied by some bright, clacking steps.
Looking at Felt, he could see the conflicted, almost pained expression on her face. It surprised him—he had expected annoyance, or maybe even anger. But certainly not something akin to shame.
There lingered a tense silence in the room, as both waited until the steps were no longer audible. Carol must have continued her search elsewhere. Though Subaru wondered…
"Hey… Felt. What's up with Carol following you around? Shouldn't Emilia have distracted her so we could sneak out again?" he asked in a confused tone, tilting his head. "I'm not sure if we'll reach the hedge unseen like that again." Where Felt was confused about the first statement, Subaru mentioning the hedge simply baffled her. She regarded him with a raised eyebrow.
"Subaru, how the heck do you know about the hedge?" Felt asked, audibly distressed. "And what's that about Emilia? Don't tell me she found out!?"
Upon hearing Felt's questions, Subaru clenched his fists. "So we haven't even gone to the city yet, huh…," he mumbled. Defeated, he dragged himself over to his bed, where he let himself slump down, leaving a confused Felt standing at the door.
Looks like there really is no other way. So I was sent back even farther this time, well over a day.
While his initial shock had ebbed away by now, he was still disheartened by the grim reality he saw himself confronted with. Yet, as much as it pained him, he was at least completely sure now. Felt had already asked him to go to the city together, and from here on they would sneak out via the hedge, and after some initial hurdles, leave for the merchant district. Their adventure would inevitably end at the borders of the slums. And the next day…
"Man, Subaru, what's wrong with you?`Did you hit your head before I got here?" While he was entangled by worries surrounding their fate, Felt had walked up to him and was now mustering him carefully—and judging by her expression, a bit annoyed.
Subaru regarded her with a blank expression, before it eventually deformed into a wry smile, followed by a hollow chuckle. "Yeah, in a way…" It was barely audible, leaving Felt none the wiser.
"Well, seeing you can still laugh, you seem fine enough. We shouldn't waste too much time, or else we won't be able to make it to the slums and back, c'mon," she said, seemingly trying to get Subaru going. Unfortunately, she managed to do just the opposite.
Subaru became rigid once again, his breathing getting a bit strained. If we were to leave now, things will just continue like yesterday. With her grandpa lured away, they'll burn down the loot house, trying to get Felt out of hiding. Aside from the fact that we won't reach the slums today anyway. And even if we'd try to push into the slums, according to that guard there are fights going on. Definitely don't want to get killed by a gang in some turf war... again.
Lost in thought, Subaru stared dead ahead. Judging by her moving lips Felt was saying something, but he didn't really register it. Her words were nothing but some unintelligible background noises.
If we go there, that gang, the Golden Coins, are already looking out and waiting for Felt. Now that I think about it… it would be even today when we'd get spotted, leading directly to tomorrow's outcome. In other words… So is that it? Is it that simple?
"We can't go to the city." The words contained so much force, they managed to startle Felt, who until this moment was still trying to make them go.
"What? Why not? You really chickening out now or what?" Felt asked, stomping on the ground. It seemed his answer seriously displeased her, given by the frown and challenging tone. Then again, to her it must seem like a sudden change of heart.
That was a problem. While he definitely came to the right conclusion—them staying away wouldn't alert the thugs and thus avoid the whole mess—he still needed to reason with Felt to get her to abandon her plan. And judging by her rebellious nature, that was no easy task. Luckily, she had already dropped a hint as to how he might be able to dig himself out of this mess.
"We've been found out," he said, emphasizing it with a sigh. It had to be convincing.
Felt drew a grimace. "You gotta be kidding me. Is that why you mentioned Emilia? Did she find out?"
"... Yeah… I wanted to chat with her a bit before setting out, just to make sure she wouldn't be looking for us during that time. And floundered… I'm really sorry," he said, clasping his hands together and slightly bowing his head. Though unbeknownst to her, he had a slight smile on his lips.
"Ugh… and she said she wouldn't just let us go, eh? You…!" Felt was about to get loud, but was able to restrain herself—couldn't have a servant hear them now. "You really messed up," she hissed, letting her frustration out, even if suppressed.
"Looks like we can't get away undetected anymore…," Subaru said, still sounding downtrodden.
Felt groaned. "I'll find a way. Maybe I can convince her to change her mind, or something," she said defiantly, not giving up her plan in the slightest.
Hearing this, Subaru rubbed his temples. Why did she have to be so stubborn!? And even worse, if she were to talk with Emilia, she'll find out that he was lying through his teeth. After all, Emilia wouldn't have even the slightest idea what she was talking about.
"Wait, Felt, let me try to do that. I messed up, I'll try to fix it. Please?"
Felt glared at him, but in the end, dropped her hard gaze. "If you can't today, I'll do so tomorrow. I guess she won't be around 'till dinner anyway."
Subaru sighed. He had gained a bit of time to make a convincing story. Now there was only one other issue. Getting her to stay away from the slums until things cooled down again.
"But… maybe this isn't just bad, you know?" Subaru said, attempting to sound mischievous. "After all, would you really have wanted to return empty-handed to your grandpa? After having spent days in a noble's home?"
He remembered her disdain for nobles, how she had talked about them having too many coins anyway. And that she tried to tempt him into thievery—formulated a bit exaggeratedly.
And indeed, Felt perked up when she heard "empty-handed" and "noble". It seems he pressed the right buttons. "What do you mean, Subaru?"
"You know. Stealing from some people on the street is surely much more difficult than stealing from something literally presented to you. Or do you think it's wrong to steal from nobles?" The question was of course wrong. Were it meant genuinely, he would have needed to ask if she thought it wrong to steal from a host, by which you've been invited. But he didn't want her to agree.
"What a weird way to try and hide your blunder," Felt said in a stinging tone. "However… no. I guess you're right. Might as well make the best out of it, if we're stuck here for now. But I must say, I really didn't expect you to suggest something like that." It sounded almost disappointed.
Man, things are going much worse this time. But it doesn't matter. As long as I can keep her away from the slums, it's fine.
"Yeah yeah, don't give me that. And don't act like you didn't think about it anyway."
Felt stuck out her tongue. "There are no coins lying openly around, and getting away with something big, especially if made out of gold, isn't exactly easy. So yeah, I've been looking out. Unlucky."
Subaru closed his eyes. There was only one trick he could try to pull. "Seems like you didn't look in the right spots then," Subaru said, grinning. Felt raised an eyebrow, waiting for him to explain. "I heard some servants talking about having to be careful with the stuff in the easternmost wing. And remember? That's also the place where we aren't supposed to go, meaning…"
"… that's where the valuable stuff is!" Felt continued. "You think they have to be careful because it's so expensive? Could be just some fragile stuff, but I guess it's a better hint than nothing…"
Subaru continued to grin. That was of course also a lie. But the eastern wing was the only place where they've been told not to go, meaning Felt wouldn't know any better. And who knew? Maybe that was the reason they were told to stay away from that place anyway. And if things came down to worse, they'd get caught and heavily reprimanded, leading the servants to be extra vigilant. Meaning future escapes would be even more difficult.
"You didn't tell Emilia just so that you could get your hands on some valuables now, did you?"
Subaru flinched from the sudden smug-sounding and yet accusing question. "No, I certainly didn't!" he shot back immediately. "I really tried to keep our back clear. Just not very well…"
"Well, let's hope your thieving skills are better, otherwise we'll get caught even quicker than we would be trying to get away." She didn't sound exactly convinced, but at least she played along. "Also, there is just one slight issue with that plan. What if the servants were already tasked to keep an eye on us? I mean, they're already on my tail, but I can shake them off. But you?"
Right. If they had been found out, it was a possibility that they would both be placed under even closer surveillance. Though not really, as the servants didn't know a thing, but Felt thought that they were and—. Subaru shook his head. That net of lies was getting a mess.
"I could try to distract them. Tell them I saw you getting away. That way Carol and some others might set out to look for you. We might be able to buy some time to actually get through with it." Subaru didn't like the thought of lying even more, but he kinda had to now, didn't he?
"I guess that could work…," Felt said, though Subaru didn't see the smirk on her face. "Yeah, let's do it like that."
So they came to a conclusion. Subaru would ring false alarm of Felt trying to get away, while Felt would scout ahead for an open route, and they both eventually try to press forward to the easternmost wing. Where some treasure was waiting for them.
"With what did you get them to move so quickly?" Felt asked Subaru, who had returned out of breath.
"Told them I saw you jumping over the hedge, right into the noble district. And implied you might have been bored, looking to make some trouble for the nobles there." Carol seemed less than pleased when she had heard Subaru revealing Felt's alleged plans and was quick to gather some servants to look for her. "Might have overdone it a bit, but that should keep them away for a while."
"It's fine. I'm not doing anything of the sort, after all. We can just claim to have gotten lost, or whatever. And no one's been following you around?" She peeked behind him, but couldn't detect a soul.
"Nah, they're not onto me yet. Maybe Emilia didn't warn them about us yet." He had at least to make the eventual reveal that she "kept silent" a bit more believable.
"Wonder if we couldn't just have gone in that case. But whatever, let's do this first," said Felt, beginning to sneak along the corridors right into the easternmost wing.
It was allegedly the place where the Lord of the house had his chambers, so they better really not get caught. For all he knew, the Lord was even too busy to properly pay respect to his guests, leaving that to Reinhard. But their shiny premonitions aside, the corridor looked about the same as anywhere else. Meaning to get something, they'd definitely need to check some rooms. And hope no one was occupying them.
At least he didn't have to worry about locks, as Felt boasted she could open them with relative ease using nothing more than some thin, sharp metal tools.
"We really can't get caught here. Let's listen closely before we open a door. If we get busted, there's no talking our way out," whispered Subaru, to which Felt gave a decisive nod.
Before opening the first door, they pressed their ears onto the frame, listening closely if someone might be inside. But Subaru couldn't really hear anything—perhaps because his quick heartbeat overshadowed any potential sound from inside. He was far too nervous, not really being the type to do anything illegal or malicious to others, and thieving definitely fell into that domain.
After a heavy gulp, he looked over to Felt, who gave a short nod back. It seemed the coast was clear, so they decided to try their luck. With a shaky hand, Subaru grasped for the door handle, slowly pushing it down and putting pressure against it. If he had done it too quickly, it might have made a sound, hitting the lock. But to their surprise, the door just swung open.
Merely after one glance into the room, it wasn't hard to guess why. It was just an ordinary-looking guest room. If there were some treasures stored in this wing, then they were certainly not here.
"Tsk. What a lame start," Felt said, as she turned around and continued already to the next door. Subaru sighed, while he carefully closed the door. While he was happy that the room was empty and it didn't go wrong immediately, he was torn to continue in general, and rather would have called it quits already. But the choice was made—it was necessary—so he followed suit.
Wandering from room to room, they continued their heist. After a while though, there was a disappointing realization; unfortunately, most of the rooms seemed either to be empty guest rooms or storage rooms for furnishings or other stuff for decoration. And while there were some rather expensive-looking things among them, they knew it was useless to try stealing a golden chandelier or even some jingling silverware.
"Gemstones, or something like that. Or coins, if we would finally get across that damn room," Felt groaned. She didn't expect the rooms in this wing to be so similar to all the others. In her mind, the imagination of a real treasure room had formed, and she was intent on finding it. Which was more than convenient for Subaru, as he just had to keep her busy and fuel her greedy nature.
So they went down the rooms, without finding much—not that Subaru expected something to be there to begin with. But with each unsuccessful room, more and more time went by, and before they knew it, the sun began to set. Having reached the end of the corridor, there were now only two rooms left, one on each side.
"You wanna bet on which one we'll find something in? Left or right?" Subaru asked with a grin.
"Why are you still so upbeat, we haven't found a single thing… well, really movable thing," Felt said, shaking her head. "I'll go with 'right' though, just you watch!"
"Oh yeah? I think you'll be wrong," Subaru said, teasing her further.
With great enthusiasm, Felt walked over to the right door. As she stretched out her tongue, she made a grab for the door handle, ignoring to check for eventual sounds. Disregarding their precautions, she swung open the door.
"These damn… shitbags…," cursed the red-haired man, walking down the floor to his quarters. "Making me deal with their idiotic decisions. Can't even stand up for themselves."
He passed a servant who bowed deeply upon seeing him, but he couldn't have cared less about insincere shows of respect like that. All he wanted to do was to be done with the day. Or really, he wouldn't truly be done until he finally got rid of their so-called guests. "Still can't believe he'd do something like that. Pah."
Turning around the corner, he raised his eyebrow. He could have sworn the door to his room just made a clicking sound. "Huh… and I haven't even had a sip yet, hah!" Laughing it off, he first went to the room lying directly opposite, picking what would help him through the rest of the day.
With a bottle in each hand, he finally entered his room, carefully stepping over the countless bottles on the ground and eventually placing himself at his desk. After having poured the liquid into a glass that already stood prepared, he lazily swirled his drink, before eventually indulging in it.
"Ah, nothing beats the first one of the day," he said, as he unfastened his white cape and mantle. Having gotten rid of his boots and sword as well, he could finally relax and forget about his duties. It felt freeing, getting rid of these symbols of knighthood and the connected obligation, which he had come to detest.
Sinking into his chair, he just sat there a while, silently emptying one glass after another, letting himself properly calm down. Or rather, fixing his mood. Due to his habitual drinking, it took a while, or a larger amount, to eventually take its desired effect.
For there were many things Heinkel Astrea sought to forget, drowning them in alcohol instead. Though there was one that overshadowed all of them. Guilt. "Stupid drinks' not making me forget quick enough," he said, with an already slightly tipsy voice.
His gaze wandered to the corner of the room, where he had placed the most precious thing to him in the whole estate. The only thing that made his stay here somewhat endurable, now that he had such a shit ton of work burdened up. "Can't believe they're making me work like that… after… ugh."
He downed the rest of the first bottle, muttering some minor curses. Though secretly they were directed to himself just as well. Guilt.
Grabbing the second bottle, he got up and walked over to the object covered with a sheet of cloth. "I'm sorry…," he said, as he pulled it down. His watery eyes stared right into her sky-blue ones.
He slumped down on his bed and stared at the portrait before him. The only person that might not view him with disdain—as long as she wouldn't hear of all that had happened. And yet, he wished for nothing more than she would. That she would hear of everything, even if she would send him to hell after it. "I just want you to be back…"
Directly drinking from the bottle now, he rested his muddy gaze on the love of his life, deeply ashamed to be in such a state, guilty of not doing anything, and lost on how to go on. Such was the state of the deputy commander of the Royal Knights, for many, many years now. His life in shambles.
And yet, for some idiotic reason, they thought he'd be of any help. Quelling unrest in the kingdom, finding candidates, searching for some assassin. And then that.Heinkel sighed. He didn't care about any of it, but it was what kept him away from the one place he wanted to return to. "Unbelievable though," he eventually said, his speech now clearly distorted by the influence of alcohol, "the Star… load of bull. Acting all headless because of some cryptic prophecy nonsense."
Just as he was about to take another sip, he heard a weird noise. It sounded like a gasp of some sorts, coming right from his… wardrobe? "The fuck's that?" he lulled. Even with his senses getting clouded by alcohol, they were still sharp enough to pick something like that up, prompting him to put down the bottle.
With his cape loosely dragging behind him, he walked over to the wardrobe, stretching out his arms to open the doors and—
Subaru held his breath. After Felt had opened the door, a heavy stench of alcohol had come out of the room. Where each room before had seemed perfectly cleaned and maintained, this one seemed trashed. Dozens of empty bottles lay on the ground and the sheets were all over the room. Only on the desk stood one perfectly fine-looking glass.
The two wondered if they should even bother to check that room further, but that decision was taken from them when they heard a sudden noise from behind them. Steps echoed through the wing and they were moments away from getting caught. So Subaru shoved Felt into the room, closing the door behind them, and suggested hiding in the wardrobe. He did think about hiding in the bathroom, but if they were caught there, it would be even more awkward to talk themselves out.
So they hid in the surprisingly spacious room—well, walk-in wardrobe—which was filled with fine-looking garments, as well as some pieces of leather armor, hoping whoever was close wouldn't check that place. And even if, maybe they could cover themselves with some cape.
They couldn't really see much of the room from this point, with the doors of the wardrobe only allowing light to enter through a tiny crack. So when the person eventually entered, they only really heard his voice and threw each other a worried glance, as he started drinking. The pop of the cork was clearly audible.
Nervosity was followed by awkwardness, as they unintentionally were forced to listen to the man's words, as his speech deteriorated more and more into an incoherent mess. Yet, while listening to the man's words, Subaru felt bad for him when he began to whimper apologies, hinting at the reason for his excessive drinking.
While Felt didn't seem to care too much about his ramblings, letting her hands sink into some of the pockets of the clothes in the wardrobe instead—without any findings—that changed completely when the man mentioned something about a prophecy. She let out a slight gasp of surprise, earning her a panicked look from Subaru. Though as they crossed gazes, he could see she had the same look.
Subaru gulped hard. He could hear the man's footsteps coming closer. Both he and Felt pressed their hands on their mouths in an attempt to even cancel out the sound of their breathing. If it weren't for some miracle, they'd get busted in a few moments.
Just as the man had laid hands upon the doors of the wardrobe, Subaru was seemingly granted a boon by the world, as a sudden noise erupted from the other room—glass breaking.
The man cursed loudly, "Damn piece of shit cape! Bottle! Both!" He seemed to quickly shuffle around, and with an exasperated voice, slammed the bathroom door shut.
It was only after some moments of muffled sounds, that he finally released his breath again. But while Subaru took his time to relax, Felt pulled at his sleeve. "Let's move out, while we can!" she hissed, slowly opening the doors.
Carefully avoiding making any treacherous sound, they stepped around the many bottles and eventually reached the door. While Felt took care to open it carefully, Subaru let his gaze one last time wander into the room. His eyes widened when he saw the portrait in the corner of the room. "Looks like I at least found out where the missing one is, huh…," he mumbled, much to the dread of Felt.
"Shaddup and get a move on!" she hissed, tilting her head towards the exit.
Subaru grinned weakly and scratched the back of his head. Seems like he got a bit too distracted there. After having made sure that the door was shut, they both exhaled heavily.
"Man, that was definitely not worth all the hassle," said Felt, already checking the floor. But luckily, it seemed to be empty.
"At least we don't need to check what the last room contains to know it was for nothing," answered Subaru, pointing to the slightly ajar door. After throwing one more glance at the floor, she pushed the door to the last room open. Bottles after bottles of liquor seemed to have been stored there—without a doubt the man's private storage.
"Looks like we found what the servants were supposed to be careful with. Didn't expect it to be just some booze though." Felt's voice held some clear disdain, her prospect of riches to be stolen having been shattered by the man's drinking habits. "Could have been nice to take a bottle with us though, I know at least someone who might appreciate it."
"You sure it's such a good idea to steal alcohol? I mean, it's a fine gift, but not exactly the imagined haul… or age-appropriate."
"Oh don't give me that crap!" Felt shot back. "I'm 15 already, so don't think you can treat me like some kid. And I certainly wouldn't drink the stuff myself anyway." She stretched out her tongue once more and took an expensive-looking bottle out of the shelf. Subaru didn't feel exactly happy that they would steal something in the end, but he couldn't object at this point anymore.
But just as Felt was about to properly present her find, her eyes widened, and her smug expression melted away.
"It seems… you have… found… Felt-sama," a calm and stern voice spoke from behind, sending Subaru a shiver down his spine. He slowly turned his head, having been completely oblivious of the man's presence up until now. How could that be? They just threw a glance down the hallway, how could he have snuck up so silent and quickly!? But even worse, they just got caught red-handed.
Subaru could feel how the color of his face drained and sweat began to amass. "Grimm… I was just about to tell you…," but the words got stuck in his throat. There was no sense in making excuses. So he stood there, helpless—directly lying to someone without a good reason, or the belief of it being necessary, that he still couldn't really do.
"Please… put it… back," Grimm said, pointing to the shelf. There was no aggression, dissatisfaction, or urgency in his voice, and yet still it was said with absolute certainty, allowing no retort or alternative than to comply.
Felt smiled wryly, as she gave up on her loot, placing it back on the shelf. "Sure, I just wanted to show Subaru the weird-looking bottle, no worries."
The man hummed, though his face made it obvious he didn't believe it for one second. Felt could barely endure seeing him in the eyes either way, staring at her feet the whole time.
"Please come… with me. This place… is off-limits," the man said with a strained voice, making sure everything looked in order in the room, before closing it. Felt had meanwhile placed herself beside Subaru, not uttering a single word. Not that he himself felt any happier.
He had readied himself for some serious scolding for having trespassed, if not outright punishment. However, it wasn't like that. Maybe even worse, the man simply turned to them and spoke, "Dear guests, I shall… escort you—to your rooms. Dinner… will soon… be served. I will… tell the… young master… about this."
No. They wouldn't just get scolded by the butler. They hadn't been disrespectful towards him but to their host—and friend. He would have a real hard time explaining their actions.
After a wordless parting with Felt and Grimm, Subaru sighed. From a calm second day to one of lies and stealing. If it wasn't so effective at keeping Felt alive, he would have cursed the changes. "Ugh… still, one day is almost done. The sun's set, the thugs shouldn't have a clue that Felt's around and more than eager to walk right into their trap. Now, only to hold out till order is restored—probably when our paths separate anyway. At least Emilia won't be disappointed about us sneaking out."
And indeed, when the time for dinner came, Emilia didn't ask the servants to leave. Since they didn't sneak out, there was no reason to discuss something in private. Or at all? Unfortunately, she seemed far more distant than he remembered. Without a topic to discuss, it seemed she chose brisk answers and wasn't too inclined to engage in a discussion—at least none of his attempts to strike up a conversation worked. Then again, maybe he just expected too much, still vividly remembering their talk about their homes and stars. Though he looked forward to restoring that memory later that evening.
Letting his gaze wander to Felt, he noticed she too seemed rather distanced, seeming a bit gloomy over what had happened, picking at her food instead of greedily devouring it as she otherwise did. While he did notice her stealing some glances at Carol, and definitely the maid's stern gaze upon them, he still wasn't quite sure what to make of it. She didn't seem annoyed in the slightest.
Just like last evening, the group split up, with Emilia excusing herself, Felt wandering off, and Subaru being left to his own devices. Though, now that he already knew about ground dragons, he didn't really have a reason to go to the stables again, leaving him with even more time to kill.
Indecisive about what to do until he could meet Emilia in the garden, he wandered around the Astrea estate. Feeling even more stinging gazes on his back, he realized that he too seemed to be watched closely now, not unlike Felt was probably already so far. Though where in her case mainly suspicion was involved, the ones he received had a considerably more hostile aftertaste.
With a deep sigh, he turned a corner and entered the ancestral halls once more, where the many portraits of the Astrea family were displayed. "That reminds me. That portrait in the lord's room. It must have been the one that was missing here, huh?" he said, walking down the hall until he reached the spot. And since it was a blonde-haired woman, she had to be the spouse of the guy right beside her.
"...Hmm. He does look somewhat like Reinhard, albeit older. Seems like that's his father then? Meaning the person he was mourning would be…" Subaru closed his eyes. He didn't mean to pry, yet he couldn't help but feel sad for his friend's family situation.
"Better to pretend I didn't see anything at all. Wouldn't be something to ever address anyway," he mumbled, turning away from the portraits. "Ugh. This isn't how I imagined it to go at all." With a queasy feeling in his guts, he made his way to the gardens, wanting to end it with something pleasant at least.
But since he was way too early in the garden, he wandered around a bit, waiting for Emilia to eventually show up. Grimm could be seen tending to the flowers, and his expression didn't give away what he thought when Subaru passed him. However, Subaru had the slight feeling that he'd have to train alone tomorrow, after having been caught trespassing by the butler himself.
When he finished his second round through the gardens of the estate, Emilia finally appeared, standing on the green, though she hadn't begun communing with the spirits yet.
"Heeey, Emilia-tan!" he said, walking over to her. He could barely hide his excitement, finally being able to relax with her in the evening, grinning from ear to ear.
Emilia turned her head in surprise, raising an eyebrow at the sight of, "Subaru…? What are you doing here?"
"I was just walking a bit in the garden, catching some fresh air," he said, throwing her a smile. "Are you going to talk with your spirits again?"
"Yes… that's what I intended to do," she said, albeit a bit hesitatingly.
"Mind if I join you? I haven't had the chance to see too many spirits so far."
Just like last time, Emilia agreed, no less confused. To her, it must have seemed strange, if not boring for someone to just watch as she went about her daily routine, but Subaru didn't mind in the slightest. If anything, he was glad he didn't have to entangle himself in more half-truths or even lies—things Return by Death had forced on him. At least that's how he saw it.
He also still needed a way to keep Felt away from the slums a bit longer. Or maybe even the area around all of the slums, if they've been seen there somewhere. He doubted it would be possible to stop her once she was out, so it would have to be by holding her in the estate some more.
Time passed without him coming any closer to a solution, and Emilia finished her nightly ritual, indicated by the spirits' dematerialization. Subaru walked over to her, thinking that just like last time, he'd use the chance to compliment her—avoiding comparing her to a fairy though, remembering how that almost backfired.
"You looked truly beautiful surrounded by all those lights, Emilia-tan," he said, beaming.
"Still saying such things..." Emilia shook her head and narrowed her eyes, her tone leaving no secret of her disapproval. If he hadn't known it better, he would have said that she seemed more upset now than when he mentioned a fairy? Strange.
"Well Emilia-tan, do you have a moment more to chat?" he asked.
But upon hearing Subaru's request, she crossed her arms, throwing Subaru an inquisitive gaze. "If you don't have anything urgent, I'd rather head back now, since it's getting late," she eventually said with a frown.
Subaru stood there with wide eyes. He must have misheard, right? Or, his mind must be playing some trick on him. Not only because it was way earlier compared to last time, but… Emilia seemed to be much, much more against it.
"Please, wait a moment!" he said, almost sounding desperate.
All day he'd been forcing himself to act normal. To keep Felt away from danger, even at the cost of lying to her face. At least with Emilia, he thought he could relax and forget the shitty events of the past hours. To restore some normalcy that had been violently ripped away from him. And yet...
Seeing Emilia be so rejecting… hurt. Did the servants tell her of their stunt? "Did I do something wrong?"
Emilia kept her hardened gaze and looked directly into his eyes. While he at first was glad she didn't just walk away, he could feel how he grew nervous under her gaze. He began to fidget with his fingers, unsure what to do with her eyeing him so critically.
"I would say so, yes. I've heard you lied to Felt. Or the servants."
At the first moment, Subaru was speechless, his eyes widening even further upon hearing her words. Seeing that she didn't relent her gaze, he had to avert his, his face scrunching up at the mere thought. "You… You don't understand. I had to… She would've… Ugh."
I had to lie to them. She would've died if we went to the town. It's not like I wanted to!
But his thoughts remained unspoken—after all, how could he ever hope to explain that? Even more important though…
"You… Who told you that?" he eventually pressed out, forcing himself to face her displeasure.
"So you're not denying it," she said in a downtrodden voice. "It was Puck. I tasked him to ask you something, but when he arrived, he overheard you talking with Felt." Hearing that, Subaru's breath hitched.
If Puck heard everything, or even only some parts of what we were talking about, then… yeah. He must have heard me say that Emilia had found out. That the two of us talked about it—which of course never happened. But I didn't have a choice! I just tried to keep Felt away from the city!
"Knowing this, would you still ask me if you did something wrong? Using my name to lie to Felt?" By this point, Emilia glared at him.
"No… No, let me explain! I'm just doing this to protect her!" Subaru said, desperate to regain some footing. He knew he messed up. But he saw no other option to keep Felt away from the slums at that time. Felt would have gone alone, even if he didn't accompany her. So what other way was there, instead of just directly warning everyone of her plan, betraying Felt completely?
"Protect her? From what?" Emilia asked, raising an eyebrow. "How would lying to the servants end up in protecting her?"
Subaru paused. If he would tell Emilia now that Felt wanted to sneak out, it would be exactly what he told Felt had happened. But how else should he explain it? Isn't the harm done already? "From thugs in the slums!" Subaru finally said. "She wanted to sneak out… and I realized how dangerous that might be."
Emilia shook her head upon hearing that explanation. "Why would you tell the servants then that she escaped, instead of telling them that she intended to do so? Or involve me at all?"
Herein lies the core issue; Subaru was greedy. He didn't want to betray Felt by ratting her out. He didn't want to break his agreement to accompany her. Sure, it probably wouldn't have stopped her, but he also didn't want to disappoint her. So he thought of a possibility to keep it all. Make Felt believe he was still fully on her side. To find a way where he could have it all, satiating his intense desire, and in a way that leaves him completely inconspicuous.
"Because there was no other way!" Subaru said, clenching his fists.
Lying wasn't in Subaru's nature. He wasn't even particularly good in it, having both an easy-to-read face and obvious telling signs—not even mentioning his inability to manage his stories consistently. And yet this had been the only way to achieve what he had wanted… what had been forced on him, by Return by Death, being driven into a corner in mere seconds.
"You might think so. But to me, it sounds like an excuse," Emilia retorted, still glaring at him.
Subaru recoiled from having his thoughts exposed like that. Or rather, from receiving the final push to see his thoughts for what they truly were, being forced to see one of his innermost feelings.
What he did was not really born out of necessity, but of his intense desire to not disappoint anyone. A remnant of a childish wish, something which had haunted him for a long time now. In his old life, he had remained completely powerless, not even being able to imagine how to reach it. Here, he had thought he could turn it around—to make it better. Set things right. But instead, it all got turned on its head. He disappointed almost everyone, including himself.
Crestfallen, he reached for his chest, crumpling his tracksuit as he tried to get a hold of the choking pressure that began to emerge. "I… I just wanted to protect her… please, believe me, I didn't mean anything bad by it!"
"Even if you meant well… you're still a liar. Making it hard to believe you," said Emilia, her cold voice chilling Subaru. "It makes it difficult to believe anything you've said. That's why I'd rather be alone now."
As she turned around, Subaru stretched out his hand, as if he could try and hold the pieces of their crumbling relationship together somehow.
"I'm sorry! Please… I…," but he couldn't bring out more, with the prospect of all his established relationships turning sour.
Yet when she heard his words, Emilia paused, turning around once more. "… I won't be telling Felt that what you told her was a lie. Just… don't lie even more. And keep me out of your stories." But despite the finality of her words, she didn't leave immediately.
It seemed as though she was hesitating, as she saw how Subaru still held out his hand outreached, wishing for her to stay. Shifting around uncomfortably, she averted her eyes. "I guess… I thought that maybe…," she began, much more nervous than before.
"I just thought that maybe you'd do better," she said. Those last words carried bitterness, and unconcealed disappointment. Her eyes remained turned to the ground, as if afraid to meet his, yet a flurry of complex emotions could be seen along with what looked like a tinge of guilt.
Subaru did not really understand where those feelings came from. How could he? But the disappointment inherent to her words, Emilia's despondence and guilt, weighted down on his consciousness even further, eroding what little hope he had to make her understand. To fix this.
"But it might be for the best this way. I'm sorry... to have expected something like that of you," she eventually said, turning her eyes back to him.
"Stop… please… don't apologize," muttered Subaru, crushed by her disappointment. He couldn't bear the thought anymore.
It's not your fault… there's nothing for you to apologize for… if anything I… but…ugh.
Upon hearing the anguish in Subaru's voice, Emilia fumbled with her hands. "Ah. It seems I just made things worse... I'm sorry... ah… Good night."
With these hasty words of departure, she left Subaru alone in the garden. The moment she went out of vision Subaru dug his face into his palms, cursing himself for messing up so badly. From the prospect of a nice, relaxing evening to this full-fledged disaster.
Well done, Subaru. How could you have messed up that badly, you idiot? Ugh… I'll need to set things right. Emilia... At least Emilia said she won't tell Felt…
After having lingered some more in the garden, lamenting the outcome of his quickly pulled-together plan to keep Felt away from the slums, he returned to his room.
He couldn't even be bothered to slip out of his clothes, simply falling into his bed, being mentally too exhausted. Merely wiggling out of his shoes, he pulled the blanket over his head and hoped to quickly fall asleep. Yet, while his wish was granted, it was a restless sleep. Too great were the feelings of failure, pressure, and uncertainty, plaguing his mind even into his slumber.
Subaru rubbed his temples, tired from all the sorrows plaguing him. All day he had anguished over how to fix the mess, while simultaneously experiencing the many differences this time had brought.
In the morning, he stuck to his routine with some radio calisthenics. Grimm was out and about in the garden, certainly on his own routine as he had the previous time. If there was a difference, it's that Subaru was not crass enough to ask a favor of him this time. The butler's reaction as he busted them the day before still weighed heavily on his heart, preventing him from facing the man for too long. Though he did inform the butler of the hole in the hedge, which had been quickly boarded up.
During their meals Felt glared at Emilia, seemingly holding their inability to go to the city against her. While Emilia in turn remained silent just as she had said, enduring Felt's misguided anger with grace, Subaru felt like shit, knowing that it was because of his lie, and he was the one who actually deserved the flak for it.
Yet telling Felt the truth wasn't an option—she'd set off immediately for the city, he thought, which would have rendered all his efforts meaningless. If anything, that was about the only positive side to all of it; Felt not being well underway to getting ambushed by the Golden Coins.
And yet, he couldn't feel relief in that fact, because the worst thing by far was the depressive loneliness. A well-known feeling for Natsuki Subaru—having endured it for a long time in his old life, estranged from former friends. But here, things were finally looking better. Or would have been, had he not thrown it away in desperation, in his greed to keep it all.
He sighed, watching out of the windows of his room. Here he at least didn't feel the piercing gazes of the servants. Besides, not all was lost. Once the danger would have subsided, he could tell Felt and set things right with Emilia. Even if Felt would curse him for it, at least things would then be right again. And the same was of course true with Grimm, Carol, and the other servants.
"Everything will be just fine at the end. Now, I'll only need to endure it some more and—eh!?" Subaru leaned forward, having spotted something disconcerting occurring in the garden. Almost perfectly visible from his room, he could see Felt sneaking around the hedge. With just one glance he knew the expression she had—one of mischief and trickery.
Realizing what she might be about to do, Subaru attempted to call out to her, hammering against the glass of the fixed windows. However, she showed no sign of hearing him, being way too far away.
Unable to do anything about it, and with no servant in sight to stop her, Felt made one swift motion, a high jump over the hedge, and was gone.
Gnashing his teeth, Subaru ran out of his room, dashing right passed the servants out into the garden. "Shit shit shit. Felt, you idiot, why couldn't you just sit still?"
He hoped she only made some acrobatic move, lingering somewhere in the garden. But when he arrived, he couldn't see her anywhere. Meaning she chose to go regardless, even if the servants knew about her plan? Cursing her recklessness, Subaru searched for a nearby servant and found—
"Carol!" he called, out of breath, having run back into the estate.
After having finished rearranging the flowers in a vase, the maid turned to him and bowed. "Dear guest, do you need something?"
Feeling an urgency, Subaru could barely endure waiting. But at least it had allowed him to catch some breath again. "It's about Felt! She's just jumped over the hedge! I think she wants to run into the slums!"
"Dear guest… That sounds awfully similar to what you said yesterday," she said, raising her eyebrow. "Which as you surely know, turned out to be a false warning." While the first part had been said with some hesitation, the second one had been spiked with a certain undertone.
"It's different this time! I really saw her jumping over the hedge! It's dangerous in the slums for her, so please, help me stop her!"
Yet, while his desperation was noticeable without the slightest of doubt, the maid seemed unmoved. "Dear guest," she said, keeping her strict tone, "*if* she would have run away, as you claim, I'm sure she would get stopped if she tried to leave the noble district. After yesterday's incident we asked the guards there to do us that favor."
Subaru shook his head. "You don't get it! She'll get away regardless! She's in real danger!"
But the maid didn't seem to buy it. Not her situation being so dire—no, not even her having gotten away in the first place. "Dear guest, if that was all, I would like to return to my duties."
Clicking his tongue, Subaru left, giving up his attempt to convince her. It was yet another unforeseen consequence of his actions. "The servants won't help. Asking Emilia's out of question anyway. Damn it, I'll just have to catch up with her then!" he said, running out of the building again.
Not caring anymore about potential repercussions, Subaru decided to go for the quickest way and stormed out of the estate through the open main gate, right past two servants transporting some goods. Willfully ignoring their shouts, he pushed for the slums. Despite Carol's words, it was no problem to slip by the guard post, thanks to Felt's trick from last time.
He hadn't seen Felt along the way, meaning she either took a different route or was just that much faster than him. Still, he had to try to stop her, or at least get her away from there safely. Passing the merchant district, he left the shadow of the inner city's high houses and gasped.
A light cloud of smoke could be seen in the sky, lingering above the slums. He had hoped his vision deceived him and was just blurry, but even after he rubbed his eyes, the foggy mass remained. "I don't get it… why'd they attack now?" he asked with a haunting voice. He thought if Felt wouldn't show herself around the slums, the thugs wouldn't try to lure her out. That the danger could be completely avoided with it. "But then that means... Am I too late already?"
Even worse, it meant Felt would also have seen it. And was probably even quicker to meet her demise. Running across the unguarded bridge, he entered the slums. Whereas he and Felt had been sneaking around last time, now the thought didn't even occur to him, with how set he was on reaching the loot house before Felt would be in danger. His lungs had been burning for a long time, but there was no time to rest or slow down.
While there were some clashes audible, the main roads closest to the paths they took were clear, allowing him to quickly move through the slums. But when he closed in on his destination, the scent of burnt wood came towards him, sending him into a coughing fit. Too much was the strain on his lungs from before.
So he was forced to walk the last part to the loot house… Or what was left of it. When he entered the area with the lone-standing building, he doubted his senses again. Though the last time he saw the building it had been aflame, its original shape was still clearly discernible. Now, only some blackened, burnt remains stood there, freshly reduced to coal and ash.
Where before people stood around it, the already burnt-down ruin didn't seem to interest anyone anymore—not a single person was in the vicinity. The discrepancy was eerie, making Subaru even more on edge. After all, maybe the thugs still lingered around somewhere? Yet even if they were, he couldn't spot them as he circled around the loot house. Instead, he could see a flash of red emerging from the burnt-down ruin.
Subaru shook his head. He hesitated for a moment, having recognized the red of Felt's scarf. But time was of the essence, and he had to make sure to get away with her quickly.
Climbing over some scorched beam, he grunted, "Felt, while this sucks, we really need to get away from here." But as soon as Subaru came closer, he could hear a sob. Alarmed, he shoved aside another set of incinerated planks and stepped inside the remnants of the rooms she was in. "Felt, are y—ugk!"
Subaru's eyes shot wide open, as he stumbled backward. Before him cowered Felt, sobbing and whimpering. Cowered over black, burnt remains—of flesh and bones.
Pressing a hand on his mouth, Subaru tried to fight against the onslaught of bile that crept up.
Wait… wait, wait wait… why… is there a body? Why… Was her grandpa… in that fire? I thought they lured him away for some discussion? But that means…
Countless thoughts shot through his head, rendering him unable to properly process what he discovered—not to mention find a single word. His eyes were fixated on the thing lying in the former loot house as stumbled forward, stepping beside Felt.
Despite catching her attention, Felt didn't turn around, sniffing violently instead. When he turned to her, he caught a glimpse of her face and could see the multiple streams of tears that washed away the slight layer of soot that had settled on her face.
"Is… is that?" Subaru asked, stammering, barely being able to look at the remains before him.
Felt nodded barely visible, new tears forming in her eyes. "Granpa… I'm sure" she whispered, wiping away the new flow of tears, reddening her eyes even more.
The confirmation saddened Subaru. Even worse, he knew they had to get away from here.
"I'm so sorry, Felt… But we have to get away from here, quickly!" he said, urging her to get up. He looked around, worried that the thugs were somehow already luring them up. And even though he still didn't see anything, he grabbed her by her arm, trying to get her to move.
"Leave me alone! I'm not going anywhere!" she spat, pulling herself free of his grab. "Why are you here anyway!? Can't you see that… that…"
"We have to go exactly because of that! It's dangerous here, those who did that might still linger around!" he said, grabbing her anew.
"Those who did that…? Subaru, what do you know about that!?" By now her voice had become a growl, but at that moment he didn't even think about giving her an explanation. Subaru was oblivious to her thoughts, being completely preoccupied with his own worries.
Now, amidst the potential threat, surrounded by danger, Subaru felt cornered. He just wanted to get away from their lingering demise. "Come on Felt, we really need to get out of here. We never should have come here to begin with," he said, still trying to make her budge.
Felt however wanted to hear nothing of it, resisting his attempts of saving them, pulling herself free a second time. When he reached out a third time, she countered with a punch. "Spit it out, Subaru, what bastard did this!?"
"That's not important right now!" he shot back, startling her. "You should have stayed away from here! You should have listened when I told you we can't go to the city! Now we have to get away!"
"What do you mean by that…?" Felt said with a sudden ferocity in her voice. "Did you try to keep me away from the slums on purpose? Did you know there was trouble brewing here!? Did you know that…!" Her voice died down. "Did you know that granpa would… die?"
Subaru violently shook his head. "No, no. I mean, yeah, I knew it would be dangerous, but I had no idea that your grandpa would…," Subaru's voice changed towards a whisper at the end, "that he'd be home…"
"So you knew about it…!" she shouted, pushing him away. "If you had said anything! I could have warned him! If I had been able to go earlier today—no, even yesterday already, I could have warned him, and then he'd… he'd still be alive!" Hearing her shouts of pain and desperation, Subaru recoiled. He didn't have the will to refute her statements, didn't have the nerve to say that there was nothing that could be done. Because that wasn't true—and Subaru knew it.
The only thing he thought of was how to avoid their deaths, having run right into the thugs' trap last time. So he thought just staying away from that whole area would be the easiest way to avoid any trouble. And all things considered, it should have added up! The thugs said they were after Felt and that they wanted to lure her out after they'd seen her! So why? Why did everything go wrong?
Yet, while Subaru had been stunned by the vastly different circumstances this time, as well by his still lingering shock of having been confronted with Rom's death, his silence had been understood far differently by Felt. With trembling fists she stood up, glaring at him. "You stopped me! It's all your fault…!" Her eyes pierced right into him, shining full of anger—be it well-deserved or misdirected—but also producing new tears. "Because of you granpa's dead!" she shouted, carrying all the anger and sadness her loss had brought her. "I hate you!"
The shout hit him like a truck, his body shuddering from shock rather than fear. With his final relationship having been shattered, Subaru slumped down, his face contorted with agony—if not outright hopelessness. With the prospect of it all having been for nothing, he no longer had the energy to withstand the pressure, finally crumbling under it.
He had given his best to keep them away from danger. He had tried so hard to make it work out in the end, only to land in the same death trap once more. He knew they had to get out of here. Every moment wasted only brought them closer to death. And yet, as Felt's blistering hatred burned itself into his mind, Subaru lost all focus on his objective.
"It's not… my fault…," he muttered weekly, groveling on the ground. "It's… they said… I thought…"
But Felt had little sympathy left, crouching beside him and forcing him to look at her. "Who?" she asked in a cold, demanding tone. "Who did this? Spit it out already!"
Seeing Felt glare at him with such hostility was the final straw. "The… Golden Coin gang…," he finally said, still being restrained by some hesitation. "They're the ones that did… this. I thought… I could stop them…"
Felt's eyes shot open, realizing that the perpetrators were a local gang. "I'll make them pay," she shouted, shooting up.
"What a heartwarming thing to listen to," a heinous voice rang through, turning into a chuckle. "Too bad you tried to play nice with the wrong kind of people. Things might have turned out differently." After having kicked aside a pile of rubble blocking his path, he entered their field of vision. And Subaru's breath hitched.
"A real shame for all the goods though, stuff must've been worth a small fortune," the man said, looking around the ashes. "Oh well, a small price to pay for finally getting rid of that scum."
Where Felt had been confused by the man's appearance, her stance quickly changed into one of hostility again, her eyes having become narrow upon hearing the man's words. "You bastard! Don't you dare talk like that about old man Rom! Who're you anyway!?"
The haggard man grew a grimace. "Huh, are you dumb? Didn't you listen and hear what your pal said?"
Subaru trembled. The thugs had arrived, having come close while he was too shocked to hear Felt's words. The Golden Coin gang; the treacherous group of thugs that lured them into a trap last time and killed them subsequently. "It was them," Subaru muttered, slowly pushing himself back up. "That's one of the thugs!" he finally said, directing his rage to the haggard man before him.
The man frowned upon taking a closer look at the person that had just accused him of having laid the fire. "And what of it? He was jus—." But before he could finish his sentence, he had to dodge, stepping back a bit.
Felt had drawn her weapon, aiming for a quick slice at his neck before the man could speak another word. "You bastard! I'll kill you!" she shouted, her voice filled with rage. Upon hearing the man's admission, she had little reason to wait any longer.
"You stupid brat!" the haggard man shouted back. "Come in boys! It seems we're having a party!" Behind him, two more men stepped inside the ruins, each armed with brutish weapons.
"Hold up, Felt, listen!" Subaru urged, gaining her attention. While she looked greatly annoyed and looked at him with disdain, he wouldn't give up just yet. "We should really get away from here! This guy's from the Golden Coin gang, there's no way that's all of them! I hate them just as much, I truly do. But we really have to get away from here first!"
"Shut up! I'll avenge old man Rom all the same!" In her blind rage, there was no reasoning with her. "So fuck off, run away, I don't care!"
"Wai—damnit!" Subaru watched with dread as she jumped forward, trying to slash the haggard man once again—jumping right into a death trap.
If they'll be in any similar number to yesterday, there's more than a dozen of them waiting outside. There's no way we'll get past those, especially without a weapon. His gaze wandered between the front, where Felt was struggling against the thugs, and the back, where they were caught last time. Fighting's useless. If she hadn't jumped right into his trap, we could have tried to get away… but now I can't just leave her here to die either. Damnit!
Cursing Felt's stubbornness, Subaru scrambled to his feet. Only to be met by four more men entering, all armed and clearly set out for trouble. Without the raging fire and engulfing smoke occupying his senses, he could take a closer look at them at least. While they seemed brutish enough, with shabby clothing and dumb expressions, they also seemed to have been in more than one fight already, judging by some deep-running scars on a few of them.
Aside from the haggard man, they were all clearly simple musclemen, equipped with cheap weapons and here to dish out beatings. Which unfortunately didn't increase their chance to win a direct fight in any way.
Maybe even Felt had finally realized that, as she was forced to jump back when even more men came in. While she tightly held her weapon, she didn't move on to attack, only gnashing her teeth.
Though she still refused to acknowledge Subaru rummaging behind her, as he scanned the ashen ruins for anything useful. The remnants of the loot house consisted of charred, blackened wood, piles of burnt beams and planks, fallen down debris, and heaps of ash and coal spread all over the place, not having been eroded by the wind yet, thanks to the few pieces of the roof still holding strong—instead, reminding any onlooker of the fate this place had met. Which unfortunately didn't make it any easier to find something to defend himself with.
Surrounded by his underlings, the haggard man stepped forward. "So what now, girl? No longer wanna fight?" he asked mockingly, earning himself some smirks from the other thugs.
While Subaru was busy scanning the closer surroundings, another group of men had entered the ruins, this time from the backside as well. Meaning they were not only outnumbered even worse than last time, but completely surrounded.
Tightening the grip around her weapon, she growled at the man, just barely able to restrain herself from charging forward. However, it seemed the haggard man's provocation remained ineffective, leading to an awkward standstill.
"Well boys, g—?!" But just as the haggard man was about to give the order to attack, Subaru saw a gleam of metal—and pulled it as hard as he could, freeing it from the piles of charcoal blocking it.
The unexpected noise made the haggard man halt, watching amused when he saw what it caused.
Suppressing his limbs' shaking, he stepped forward with a blade in his hand, determined to try and get out of this situation alive. Even if their odds were grim, he wouldn't surrender just yet.
"Look at that, there's still some valuable stuff lying around. I'd almost have to thank you for that," he said with a grin. "Now do the world a favor and die!" With this, the thugs sprinted forward, forcing Felt and Subaru to engage them.
Getting rushed by the group of thugs, the fight was short and brutal. With no openings and little room to maneuver, neither he nor Felt held much ground, getting cuts and bruises all over them. Despite their best efforts, there wasn't really much hope of escaping this beating. The space was far too narrow for Felt to use her agility, making both of them just sitting ducks.
And in the back of his mind lingered the memory of the inevitable outcome of a loss—and the pain coming with it. Realizing it would only be a question of time before getting overwhelmed and meeting the same fate once more, he made a lunge at two thugs before him, attempting to push past and free himself from the hopeless position. However, his skill with the sword was nowhere close to sufficient for pulling off such a technique. With his strike easily deflected, the two thugs instead grabbed him, and threw him sideways into the sorry state of a wooden pillar, dusting him with soot in the process.
Closing his eyes, he prepared for a follow-up hit, now that he had let his guard down. Instead, he heard a frantic shout. "You moron! Get away, quickly!"
Confused, Subaru looked over to the thugs; however, they had turned heel and run. Though it did seem a bit dustier than before?
Huh? What happened? Is something going on?
A loud snapping noise erupted, disrupting his thoughts. Still not having located the source of the sound, he looked around, then up, and—.
Author's Notes:
First and foremost, many thanks to the beta-reader of this chapter, [LookingGlassInsect], whose many suggestions have considerably improved the impact of scenes! Hope to hear you agreeing to them delivering.
Comments from Chapter 6: Honor Among Thieves
OreosAreYummy: Thanks! I mean, it already has begun. Has also been mentioned to Subaru, although it's somewhat up to him to catch up on it. Unfortunately, he seems a bit preoccupied as of now.
Chris8719: Thanks! Indeed, it took quite a while of planing. And indeed, I do aim for many more chapters, so let's hope the support and interest in the story continues, fueling motivation.