Chapter 3: Among Friends
Waking.
There was something new to this feeling. Subaru had gotten used to waking up in the same spot, on the same bed of sand, with the same injuries for so incredibly long, that he had forgotten this feeling.
Keeping his eyes closed, he decided to try and guess what was so unique about it. What lie underneath him was a tickling sensation. The prickly feeling was familiar. Among the soft, but needle like sensation arose another distinct feeling.
It was a warmth that he had been deprived of. He racked his mind for a moment before remembering it.
Ah.
Comfort.
A sensation lost to the ages, had resurged from the depths of his being.
Opening his eyes, he took note of the area around him.
Beneath him was a bed of grass. Along the edges of his body, vines outlined his form, cradling him as if it were a bed. Around him was a somewhat sizable room that initially appeared to be a jungle. However, after closer inspection he could see that the vines were simply masking stone walls. To his right was another vine wrapped bed, which looked to be housing another person.
Curious, Subaru decided to lean himself up so he could get a better look at the individual seated next to him. Surprisingly, the bed of vines, as if it had a mind of it's own, folded forward like a recliner to assist him.
At first, he found himself alerted by this. However, he quickly allowed the thought to subside as he gazed at the bed of vines next to him, holding a young blue haired girl.
Upon seeing her, a wave of different emotions passed through him.
Relief, that she was safe.
Happiness, that he could see her again.
And finally Grief, now that he had been reminded of the state she was in.
Pushing himself to his feet, he began to make his way over to her.
"Betty is embarrassed that her contractor cannot go a single waking moment without being consumed by the thought of other girls, I suppose."
Hearing this familiar voice, Subaru jerked his head toward the entrance of the room, where a small, curly haired child was standing.
"Ba..Beeeaa...trrrr…"
He attempted to call out to her, yet his ability to form words with his voice had yet to recover from his years of silence and isolation.
"So it appears those silly girls weren't lying, in fact. You have practically become mute, I sup- Kyaaa!"
At his failure to finish what he was attempting to say, he instead found himself sprinting across the room and tackling the girl in a bear hug.
"Wha-What brought this on, I suppose?! You are worrying Betty, In fact!"
After embracing the girl for a moment, he pulled his face back and smiled, shedding a few tears in the process.
"Talk to me, I suppose! Will you tell me what is wrong with you, or will I have to rip it out of your dense head, I wonder?!"
Subaru stilled himself for a moment, before trying to form a response.
"I-...I c-can't...M-my..v-voi..ce...isss…"
Adopting a slightly irritated look on her face, the spirit grasped his hand with her own.
"Then this is the only way, I suppose."
For a brief instant, he could feel a connection plant itself in his mind.
"You can tell Betty here, in fact."
"..."
What sounded like her voice, manifested itself in his head.
Wha-Beatrice, is that you!? You never told me you could do this!
"Do you underestimate Betty, I wonder? Bubby and that silly half elf are no different, although Bubby can do it without physical contact, since he is not constrained to a physical vessel like I am, I suppose."
At first, Subaru was happy for the sudden change. He could now speak to her properly, but quickly found himself asking more questions that he had answered.
H-Hold on, does that mean you are able to read my thoughts?!
Beatrice's expression grew slightly more irritated at his question.
"Do you not trust Betty, in fact?! I can only hear what you want me to hear, I suppose. Betty would not try to deceive her contractor, in fact!"
Somewhat relieved at this realization, Subaru gave a light sigh. Inside, he wished he could share everything with her, but he knew that the consequences of such an action would be horrific.
Well, about my voice… Would you believe me if I said 'I kinda forgot how to talk'?
Beatrice's expression grew even more irritated for a moment, before fading into a worried look.
"…."
"You're not lying, I suppose…"
Blind sided by this revelation, Beatrice only found herself with more questions. Her expression began to shift, first changing from worry, to confusion, and finally ending with curiosity.
"Did that injury to your head do something to your brain, I wonder? You can speak without any issues here, but you cannot pass those words through your mouth properly… Just what happened to you, I suppose?"
Subaru considered what she had said for a moment, before waving his hands in the air and assuming a deceitful look.
Ah, yeah! My head, uh. Yeah! I was hit in the head with a rock, I got bonked REALLY hard, that definitely has something to do with it!
Beatrice only eyed him down with a sharp look.
"You're half lying, in fact."
Subaru simply brushed the back of his head with his right hand, looking towards the ceiling and let out a sigh.
I'm sorry, Beako. It's not something I can really explain…
Beatrice continued to trace the look on his face, then gave a frustrated sigh, before breaking out of her telepathy.
"Then Betty won't press you, I suppose. I'm assuming you have other questions, but it will be easier to answer them all if we meet with the others, in fact."
Subaru was apprehensive for a moment, but quickly gave up and let the little girl lead him out of the room and into a hallway.
Reaching the hallway, they continued straight, entering a set of stairs that led straight up.
"The others are currently challenging the trial, I suppose. They probably haven't made much headway, in fact."
Trial? H-hold on, where even are we?
Beatrice turned around and looked him directly in the eyes.
"This is the third floor of the Pleiades Watchtower, Taygeta, in fact."
Reaching the final step of the stair case, Subaru gasped at the sight before him. The room was white in every direction, and it was impossible to tell how large the room actually was.
He found himself disoriented at first, but quickly snapped back into focus as the spirit pulled him forward through the room.
However, before they could get much further, a thundering presence attempted to intercept them.
"Kyaaaa, in fact!"
Before it could reach them, Subaru quickly grabbed the little girl and jumped aside, narrowly dodging whatever had launched itself towards the two.
Turning around to see what kind of monster had nearly taken their lives, Subaru saw-
A barely clothed women landing head first in the floor, skidding to a stop.
"Owww Master, that's no fair!"
Subaru did a double take.
"Aah...Wha?"
The look on the boy's face radiated confusion. Somehow they had made it to the Watchtower? They were on the third floor? What's with this giant white room? And why is there a half naked lady hurling herself at him, and referring to him as her master?
Before he had time to ask any of these questions to Beatrice, she began to speak.
"This is the one who has been tasked with protecting the Watchtower, Shaula, I suppose. We mistook her for the Sage, in fact."
Subaru looked at the girl confused, before realizing who she was referring to.
Her?
Beatrice gave a subtle nod.
"Master! I've been waiting here patiently doing what you told me, can't I even get a huuug?"
Shaula quickly stood up and shot towards him once again, but he met her with another sidestep, as she flew into the floor again.
The girl turned around and puffed her cheeks.
"Hmph! So mean, don't you even care for a hot girl like me?"
Subaru only continued to look at her with confusion, before-
"Ah, so you're finally awake Natsuki-kun!" A familiar purple haired girl approached from his side.
Behind her was Julius, who flashed him an elegant smile.
"I'm glad to see you awake, Subaru. You've been out almost an entire day."
"Ahh..uhuh.." Subaru tried to welcome them back.
The two gave him a worried look as he struggled with his speech.
"The events that happened underground have left Subaru with some difficulty talking for now, I suppose. However, Betty can translate for him if he has anything he wishes to say, in fact."
The purple haired couple nodded their heads to Beatrice's words, seemingly knowing this was a possible outcome.
"So is it really true Master? You can't talk right after fighting that Hungry Horse King?"
Subaru looked at Shaula for a moment, before realizing she was talking about the centaur he had spent so long fighting. He then nodded his head, affirming her words.
"So ya really fought that thing?" Anastasia questioned him.
Subaru nodded his head again.
Julius eyed at him for a moment, with an inquisitive look.
"Forgive me for restating the question, but you actually managed to slay that monster by yourself, Subaru?"
The nasty eyed boy gave Julius a shrugging nod, once again affirming their suspicions.
Julius put his hand to his chin, contemplating something.
"Well obviously he did, Master is super strong!" Shaula chimed in.
The rest looked at Subaru once again, as if trying to get a confirmation to her statement.
Subaru merely shook his head, as if denying the 'super strong' part, but the tension in the air refused to lift.
Julius then stepped in, deciding to put the conversation on the back burner.
"Well, we can hold the questions for a later date. For now, we are currently attempting to decipher the trial. Come see for yourself."
The white washed expanse before them had vanished, and replacing it, an enormous library emerged.
After countless failures by the rest of the group, Subaru had effortlessly bounded the the hoops of the trial.
"Whoa! I didn't expect that to happen. Subaru, you made it look soooo easy!" Emilia gave Subaru a congratulatory complement for his unexpected victory.
Shaula attempted to jump in on the celebration, but was quickly distracted by a blue haired girl that was now tugging at her hair.
Subaru gave Emilia a dissatisfied look, before nodding to the little spirit that was holding his right hand.
"Subaru says not to worry about it, I suppose. Whoever created these trials is beyond demented. None of us possessed the knowledge needed to fulfill it's requirements in the first place, in fact."
"Mhm. I see." Emilia gave Subaru a dejected nod. She didn't like it when he would shut down her attempts to praise him like this.
Regardless, their celebration was short lived at the arrival of a pink haired girl, brandishing a look of surprise on her face.
"So the trial has been completed? I do not recall a library being here."
"Yep! Subaru just walked in and breeeezed right through it." Emilia seized the moment to praise Subaru for his efforts once again.
However Ram, in an effort to ignore her attempt, simply changed the subject.
"Ram has prepared today's meal without the help of lazy Barusu. If you wish to eat, the food will be waiting downstairs."
"Mhm. Thank you Ram. Since we just finished the trial, we are still exploring this library. We will be down shortly."
The pink haired oni gave a slight bow, and made her way back to the stairs.
Subaru found himself gazing at her as she left, as if his mind was pressed with something. Quickly pulling him out of that trance however, was Beatrice yanking on his sleeve.
He looked down at the girl, who adorned an expectant look on her face. Swiftly realizing the situation, Subaru gave her a smile and a wink.
I see. It makes sense I guess, I'm sure you miss the comforts of your old library. I'll find you when I need you.
After giving the girl a pat on the head, he watched as the spirit wandered off into the sea of books.
"Hmm. It seems these books carry the names of people. However, they all seem to have the same thing written in them… How peculiar."
Julius gave his thoughts as he flipped between the pages of one of the books.
"Yep, though I ain't seen any names I recognize just yet." The purple haired princess added.
Subaru ran his fingers across the backs of the books, looking to see if any could find anything of note.
Suddenly he stopped, noticing a set of characters that looked familiar.
His eyes narrowed at the name written on the book.
Elsa Granhiert.
He stopped to consider what he should do with the book. Should he tell the others? No, Beatrice is off looking around, he might lose focus if he had to run and find her. He would attempt to speak, but his voice still hadn't quite recovered. Besides, they all seemed to have the same thing written in them anyway. Might as well look in it.
Oh well. He shrugged his shoulders.
Taking out the book, he checked the covers, not noticing anything worthy of note. He began to open the book, to take a look ins-
"Gaaah!"
Subaru awoke, dropping the book onto the floor, clawing at his chest as he gasped for air.
"Subaru?! Subaru, what's wrong?!" Emilia rushed to his side, taking his shoulder.
"Emilia…" He blurted out her name, attempting to calm himself.
"Hu-what?" She stared at him with a confused complexion.
"Wh-my voice!? I can talk again!?" Subaru seemed just as confused as she was.
Initially, he had no idea how he had gotten his voice back, but looking towards the book on the floor, he began to realize.
"Ooooooh, I see. It all makes sense now."
Subaru pinned his finger to his chin, contemplating in thought.
The books visualized life experiences. If you were to peer into one with a name you recognized, you would be forced to take in the memories of that person from beginning to end. Perhaps along with those memories, he regained some amount of muscle memory?
That theory was the only one that made any sense to him, at least.
"Hmm. Is there something special about this book, Subaru?"
Emilia reached down to pick it up-
"No!"
Subaru quickly snatched the book up off the floor.
Emilia flinched a bit at his outburst, her face wore a puzzled expression as she looked back at him.
"I-I mean, this isn't something you want to experience for yourself. I think that since I recognized the name, the book was able to resonate with me, or something like that."
With the closed book in hand, he showed her the title on the neck.
"Elsa… Wait, she's dead isn't she?" Emilia only became more confused at the name written on the book.
"Well yeah, ehhh… It kinda makes sense though, I mean if…. Well…. Gah! How do I explain it!?"
Subaru ruffled his hair in frustration as he tried to find the right words for the situation.
"Alright, look. I think that the books just contain the memories of people who have died. Say, if I were to know the person, by reading the book, all the memories get sucked up into my head, almost like I watched their entire life happen in front of me… It's not a fun experience."
"Ohh, I see. That makes waaaay more sense to me." Emilia nodded her head, getting the gist of what Subaru was trying to convey.
"Anyway, we should go and tell the others."
"Mhm."
Eventually, they were able to find a purple haired couple, who were continuing to studying the shelves of the library side by side.
"Hey guys, seen Beatrice around?"
"Subaru? I thought you had lost your voice?" Julius replied with a surprised look.
"Ah, well about that… It's a long story. Anyway, I found out something about the books, you would probably want to know about it before you wander into the wrong one."
"Hm? What's that, Natsuki-kun?" Anastasia struck him with an interested glance.
Subaru explained his encounter with the book to the two. After a bit of theorizing, they seemed to have come to a conclusion.
"It seems these books are composed only of those who have passed away. I saw a few names I was familiar with, but had never met before. None of them had the same effect on me that yours did, which would confirm your theory about having to know them personally."
Julius stated his completed thoughts on the subject, and the rest gave a nod of approval at Julius' conclusive summary.
"Anyways, I believe you asked about Beatrice-sama before? I don't believe I have seen her."
"Ah, got it. I will take a look around so we can meet up for lunch. I'm absolutely starving right now!"
Anastasia gave a nod, and gestured towards Julius.
"Sounds good, me n' Julius'll go on ahead, we still need to find the way up to the second floor anyway."
The two left, leaving Emilia and Subaru to search for the missing Beatrice.
"So, what all did you see in the book?"
Subaru wasn't quite sure how to answer her question at first, but then understood what she was trying to figure out.
"Hmm, you mean Elsa? Like I said, the book just shows the person's life, but are you really sure you wanna know about Elsa that badly?" Subaru responded to her question with another question.
"Well, how do I put it… I think that when someone disagrees with me, I want to try and understand them you know? If that person really hated me enough to try and kill me, I feel like I should at least try to get to know them better…"
"Gahh! You're so innocent!" Subaru pressed his hands against his face as if he were talking to an adorable child.
"Heh?"
"E-Emilia-tan… I don't think she came after you because of any of that… But yeah, I suppose that's not a bad perspective to have. Well, since I would most definitely rather you not read the book, I guess I'll give you a quick run-down."
Emilia gave an expectant nod as he continued.
"She was not born a monster. Like anyone, your behavior is going to reflect the way you were raised to some degree. In her case, she just happened to be a victim of hate at a very young age. With nobody there to love her, she became concerned mostly for her own life. In the end, she was never able to break out of it, because she never had anyone who truly cared for her."
"So that's how it is. Then, do you think Meili might have become the same way?"
Subaru gave her a nod. "Actually, when I saw her memories, I saw the moment they first met. I think that it might actually help a lot with Meili down the road. Elsa was practically Meili's mother figure."
Emilia gave a slight frown.
"Mhm. Hopefully we can help her somehow."
The two continued to make their way down the hallways, looking for the missing spirit.
"Beakooooo!" Subaru put his hands together in front of his mouth like a cone, hoping to get the attention of the little girl, but never got a response.
"Huh. I wonder where she could have run off-"
Subaru's train of thought was interrupted as he rounded the corner, noticing familiar pink shoes poking out from the side of one of the bookshelves.
"Beatrice!" Subaru rushed to her side to see what was wrong.
Beatrice was laying her back against the shelf with her arms wrapped around her legs, and her head between her knees. Listening closely, Subaru was able to make out a few 'sniffles' between her breaths.
"Beako, talk to me. What's wrong?" Subaru gently put his hands on her shoulders.
Raising her head, Beatrice had a tears flowing down her cheeks. It appeared that she had been crying on her own for some time now.
"M-m..Mother…."
Subaru looked at her confused for a moment, before taking note of what was laying beside her.
It was a book. Upon closer inspection, Subaru's eyes widened at the name he saw.
Echidna.
"No…"
Subaru looked at Beatrice with sadness in his eyes.
"Here… it's alright. I'm here."
He placed his arms around her and pulled her close to him. Beatrice placed her head in his chest and continued to sob.
"Shhhh, it's okay. I'm here now, you can tell me."
"Betty…. B-betty saw it all… I sup-pose.." She tried to get her words out between her tears.
"I s-saw it… She w-wanted to save everyone.. b-but…. what she did to those people…"
Her sobbing only became harder for her to control as she went on.
"A-and then… B-betty...I… s-saw her die, i-in fact…"
Her cries had become uncontrollable at this point. Subaru continued to hold her as she cried her heart out into his chest.
"It's all right. I'm here for you. I'm not going anywhere."
Beatrice pulled her head back, piercing through his soul with her butterfly eyes.
"W-what if...B-betty's S-subaru…"
Subaru simply gave her a smile and replied back.
"I won't. I'm right here, and I'm not going anywhere."
Subaru was late for lunch.
After finally calming Beatrice, Emilia had shown him to the rooms downstairs, where he settled the now sleeping spirit into a bed.
The two then made their way to through the curving hallways, towards the room that the rest were dining in.
"Subaru, I'm sure you will make a great father some day."
Emilia had caught him off guard with her unexpected words.
"Wh-what's that supposed to mean? W-well, it makes me happy that you think that, but don't you think it's a little early for that kind of talk!?" Subaru blushed while he rubbed the back of his head with a flustered look, completely devoid of composure.
"I don't really get what you're trying to say. But I think the way you handled Beatrice was reaaally amazing."
Emilia clarified what she meant.
"Oh, that. Well, I would prefer to think of her as a little sister. Although…. I guess, even that wouldn't be accurate. She should be my great great great great great great grandmother or something like that, but she is still just a brat."
Emilia let out a giggle as Subaru attempted to explain his relationship with Beatrice to her.
"Besides, that's a weird statement coming from you, your father figure is a cat after all. Speaking of which, I have a few choice words for him once he gets back. Emilia-tan, you might have to hold me back, I might just have to-"
"Hmph. Typical Barusu, shamelessly gluing himself to whatever women he can find."
Subaru's monologue was cut short at the arrival of Ram, who was holding an empty bucket in front of her.
He stopped for a moment, finding himself in an odd stare, unable to break his gaze from her. He clearly had something he wanted say to her, but struggled to put it together in his mind.
"So you have fallen for Ram's charming figure? Am I just another lady you wish to add to your collection? You look at me with the eyes of a lustful dog. What a perverted man you are. Kindly crawl away and die, disgusting Barusu."
Subaru's face turned into a frown, before looking at the ground, as if mindfully considering her spiteful words.
At this, Ram lost her look of contempt. For an instant, one might have found a hint of regret in her expression.
"Ram, stop it! That's absolutely too far, I won't let you talk to Subaru like th-"
"Emilia."
Emilia's attempt at discipline was quickly interrupted by Subaru, as he glared at her with a tolerating smile.
"It's okay. I had something I wanted to get off my chest, if you don't mind."
She gave him a puzzled look, as he turned away to look at the pink haired maid in front of them.
"I just wanted to say, thank you."
Ram eyed him with a look of confusion. It appeared that her venomous words had not managed to land a direct hit, and she quickly found herself on the backfoot.
"Thank you for saving me. Really. I honestly thought I was never going to make it out of there. But you came for me. Even after I… A-after I…" Subaru began to lose his composure, before lifting his head and continuing.
"After I t-told you to stay. I messed up… But you came for me anyway. Thank you... Thank you, so much!"
The boys face struggled to keep it's composure as he wiped his tears on his sleeve. Ram found herself taken aback at the boys words, noticing that her mouth had fallen slightly agape.
"My apologies, Emilia-sama. Ram will take more care with her words."
Ram gave the half elf a deep bow, before turning to Subaru, with a look as if she intended to deflect his words of thanks.
"I am not the one you should direct those words to. If you wish to thank someone, you may thank Anastasia-sama. She is the one who first insisted that we follow after you to handle your mess."
Subaru returned her words with a "got it", wiping his nose as she continued.
"As for the meal, you may want to hurry along if you wish to eat something. That fake 'Sage' is gulping down food like as if she were a mabeast."
With that, Ram continued past them. Subaru leaned over to whisper a question into Emilia's ear.
"Why is she holding a bucket? Aren't we in the middle of a desert? Is she going outside to build sand castles?"
Emilia returned with a giggle and a corrective statement.
"No, silly. She is going to get some water from the Green Room."
"Green Room? Oh, that room with all the vines? I see I see."
With his finger to his chin, Subaru gave a nod as they continued down the hallway.
Finally making it to the others, they sat down to enjoy their meal.
"Sweet potatoes, huh? Ram never changes." Subaru figured he shouldn't have expected anything else.
"Yep, but I put a bit of mayo on mine and it's soooo good!"
Emilia held her cheek as she continued to eat.
"At any rate, we should be set on food for the next month or so." Julius added, before turning to look at a half naked girl sprawled across the floor, rubbing her belly.
"Maybe less."
Subaru turned to look at her before letting out a sigh.
"She sure pigged out. Speaking of food, what has she been eating up until now?"
Shaula slowly turned her head towards Subaru.
"Masterrrr, you got your voice back?"
Subaru looked at her perplexed for a moment, before continuing.
"Yeah, don't worry about it. Anyway, are you gonna answer the question?"
Shaula then sat up and put on a smile.
"I wish I could eat your guys' cooking all the time! I usually just eat whatever I kill when I'm on duty."
"You mean mabeasts? I recall a study about people eating them. Despite their taste, they are nutritious enough to keep you alive." Julius added from his wealth of random knowledge.
"Heh? Then why don't me just have Meili bring in one of those giant sandworms so we can roast it up for Shaula?"
Despite the fact that Subaru's question was clearly sarcastic, nobody seemed to be humored, instead choosing to be somewhat put off by the idea of eating a worm.
Meili crossed her arms and turned away from them, acting as if she never heard his joke.
"I don't wanna. I can't go back to eating those things. I want Master to cook for me from now on." Shaula let out a pout at his suggestion.
"Eh? Are they really that bad?" Subaru curiously asked.
"Poop. They taste like poop. Poop and dirt." Shaula stuck out her tongue and voiced her distaste.
"Oh, that kind of bad, huh?" Realizing Shaula's situation, Subaru did not have the heart to remove her from their group meals.
"So, what is it with you calling me 'master' anyway? Weren't you the one shooting at us while we were trying to make our way here?" Subaru suddenly dropped a cinder block of a question on Shaula's head.
"Wh-Eh…. Well, I didn't… Um.." Taken aback by his question, she found herself flustered trying to find an answer for him, before he interrupted again.
"Now that I think about it, I have a ton of questions! Do you guys mind helping me out here?"
After a long conversation, the rest of the group explained how Shaula had let them into the tower after being separated, and how Shaula found him underground in the Sand Palace. After most of Subaru's questions were put to rest, they moved on to another topic.
"Now that we've indulged you, I was hoping we could backtrack to an earlier topic. They say you managed to slay one of those creatures, which Shaula said are likely the most formidable in the desert. How did you manage such a feat?"
Julius once again found himself picking at the same question. Perhaps he was just interested in this kind of stuff? Maybe it was just a part of his nature as a knight.
"Hold on, did you say "one of"?" Subaru only deflected his question with another, as Shaula came back in to interrupt.
"Uhuh! There are lots of 'em, but they mostly stay in the underground parts. I figured you wouldn't recognize them, they didn't move in until a while after you had left."
Subaru wasn't sure if he should be shocked or relieved, but ultimately decided that it wasn't worth continuing to worry about.
"R-right. Well, there's not much to say. I just managed to kill it after a really long fight. Those things are resilient as hell."
Julius narrowed his gaze towards Subaru, feeling as if there was something he was trying to hide.
He knew that Subaru was practically useless in combat. He hadn't fought a Hungry Horse King before, but taking the word of Shaula, he knew that they had practically limitless regeneration, as well as formidable weaponry and even the ability to transform and armor their body. The idea of Subaru taking on one of these creatures alone, and coming out relatively unscathed was too farfetched to him. Not only that, but the boy was separated from his Great Spirit, and doesn't even have control over his own gate.
"Subaru, according to Anastasia-sama, the beast was slain with a sword, correct? Are you not more proficient with a whip?"
Subaru flinched at Julius' question before looking downward and forcing himself to talk.
"Ah, well, about that.. I kind of left my whip tied to Patrasche's saddle when I separated with the others…." Subaru let out a sheepish reply while scratching at his ear.
"Natsuki-kun."
Suddenly Anastasia began to speak, her eyes were closed and her brow twitching as she tried to keep a composed look.
"You mean to tell me… That you ran off without us… And you didn't even bring your own weapon?"
Her expression only became more and more irritated as she continued, but Julius interrupted her.
"Anastasia-sama, I believe you said you brought back the sword that you had found plunged into the beast, is that correct?"
Settling down a bit, Anastasia let out a sigh, before affirming the answer to his question.
"Yeah, that's right. That sword otta' be in the carriage down on the 6th floor."
Suddenly, Subaru butted with a question of his own.
"Carriage? Oh that's right! I completely forgot about that, where is Patrasche at!?"
"Ah, both of the ground dragons are currently stationed with the Carriage. If you would like, I can accompany you to the 6th floor." Julius candidly responded to his question, whilst offering to assist him at the same time.
With a nod, Subaru accepted his offer, and the two made their way to the depths of the Watchtower.
"There she is, the best girl of the Emilia camp!" Subaru placed his hand over Patrasche's snout, rubbing her with his palm.
"According to Anastasia-sama, that ground dragon of yours is incredibly astute. She regrets not finding her before you did." Julius praised the dragon alongside Subaru.
Patrasche raised her head and let out a snort, before returning her snout to her master's hands.
"Hey, don't act like that! If anybody here deserves praise, it's you!" Subaru grinned and rubbed her scales, as Julius watched perplexedly.
The bond between Subaru and the ground dragon was well maintained, and they appeared to be able to understand each other quite well. Julius was also friendly to his own, but he never imagined their relationship could ever be as strong as theirs.
Rummaging around in the back of the Carriage, Julius found the sword Anastasia had mentioned.
The blade was rather dull, having lacked maintenance for quite some time. He held it by the handle, and eyed the hilt.
Nothing was worth taking note of. Likely the blade of an unlucky mercenary who had stumbled into one of the many pits surrounding the Watchtower.
"So this is the blade you used, Subaru?"
"Yeah, that's it. It's not anything special, but I'm lucky I found it, otherwise I would have been a goner for sure."
"I see. I'm not normally one for using any old weapon off of the ground, but given that this blade has saved your life, perhaps it would be fair to make use of it? Besides, if you really were able to take down that creature with this blade alone, your skill with a sword is surely worth carrying one. I would be happy to perform maintenance on it for you." Julius once again elegantly offered his help. Truly befitting character for a knight among knights.
"Ah, well. You really don't have to do that for me. I mean, I'm used to sharpening the kitchen knives, and I doubt it would be too much different from that. I can also stitch together a leather sheath for it if I need to. Thanks though."
Subaru scratched his ear at the knight's offer, but subtly refused it, as he believed himself capable enough as to prevent indebting himself to Julius any further than he already had.
"I understand. If you wish for it to be left to yourself, I am in no position to press you any further. However, I was hoping you might be willing to humor me for a moment."
Julius walked up to the boy, stretching out his hand, offering the handle of the blade to him.
"Uh, say what now?" Subaru looked up with apprehension painted on his face.
"Forgive my forwardness, but I was hoping I might be allowed to see how far you've come since that day in the capital. Would you care for a friendly sparring session?"
Chapter 3, end.
Alright, so I have a few important things to note here for the future of this story. This chapter took waaaaaay longer than the others, mostly because of the amount of cross referencing I had to do with the source material. I really didn't want to mess up the order of events, or the layout of the watch tower if I could help it.
Also, even more importantly, I would like to make it clear that I will not be shooting forwards past the web novel. This story will have it's own twists and differences from the source material, but will ultimately be using the canon as a guide/ point of reference for future content. I anticipate that after chapters 5-6, I will have caught up with the web novel, and uploads will slow down to match it's pace.
One more thing, a few people dm'd me asking why Subaru never used Invisible Providence in his fight with the Hungry Horse King. That's because he knew that the effects it would have on his body would only turn him into a non combatant, and his escape would become completely impossible, even if he managed to kill the centaur with it.
I also want to say thank you to everybody who has left a review so far! I appreciate you guys leaving your feedback so far. I have been thoroughly motivated and inspired by all of your ideas! If you see any inconsistencies, I ask that you leave it in a review or a dm, I greatly appreciate what all of you have to say.
Thanks so much for reading this far! The next chapter is in planning, and I can't wait to get it out to you guys! Expect it to take 2-3 days to finish and upload. Thank you for everything and I hope you all have a happy new year!