Author Note: Hey all, it's been a while. Sorry for not updating in a bit, but the going's been rough. I was going to pretend that I somehow didn't update my story in 6-7 months, but after listening to a couple of friends of mine, I've decided that you guys deserve an update on what the hell is happening with me. The first thing that I'd like to get out of the way is my health. The good news, I am in good health as of now. The bad news this that my updates will still be coming slow. Why do you ask? Well, my family is splitting up, and like always, I'm between a rock in a hard place. I'm not going to get into details because I don't like writing depressing shit. This chapter would have been ready on April 27 if it wasn't for all this crap. Like when I sit here and write, I've got no one here but the negative thoughts floating around in my head.
Yeah, not the most motivating stuff to try and write to. Well enough of that. First, I'd like to apologize to the people that sent me PMs. I was too much of a coward to face you guys. I will be responding to PMs later. I would also like to apologize to the people that I pushed away during this time.
-Line break-
It's quiet now. Nothing stirs at this time of night.
A couple of hours have passed since that "episode" of hers. Since then, Lisa changed her beloved's clothes and got out her maid uniform and something more comfortable for the occasion. Right now, the former bowl hunter lies in bed with Subaru. Her head lies against his back as she listens to nothing but the rhythmic sound of his heart beating in his chest. She could lie here for days if it were possible. Despite the position she was in, she wasn't neglecting her duty as his bodyguard.
She was alert even in her comfortable position. Her blade was not far, how so if someone threatened Subaru's safety, she would be combat-ready at a moment's notice. Even while she was listening to the pacifying sound of his heartbeat didn't dull her senses. She was indulging in her desire, and he was also the safest that he could be right here.
Lisa couldn't sleep because of the heat in her lower abdomen. She still wasn't used to being in such proximity to her beloved. It took a great deal of self-restraint for her not to get riled up. She needed to get used to his presence. Now that she's secured her position by his side, she needs to be aware of what's happening around him at all times. She couldn't afford to be distracted by his funny mannerisms, his silly jokes, his lovely voice, his scary-looking eyes, and the precious smile that he had.
Okay, that was a lot of things. But it was something that she had to do. She remembered when Pride said her name when she fought Reinhard and was so distracted by him that she didn't even realize her wounds weren't healing. Not only that, she charged in because of the pure adrenaline and euphoric feeling that his presence gave. She still would have lost without this affecting her, but that wasn't the point. All that she needed to do was to stall for him, but she failed after being struck down by a single hit.
Then a thought came to her, was this all too good to be true? What if this was just a dream? Just a fabrication conjured from her mind in her final moments of living out her fantasy with Natsuki Subaru?
If it really was a dream...she hoped that it would never end…!
A sharp intake of air snaps her back to reality.
Subaru awakes with his heart pounding in his chest and cold sweat forming on his brow. The pressure on his stomach gave him flashbacks of when he bumped into the bowl hunter in the slums. She had placed her hand against his gut with a look of sadistic glee as she went on about how she could smell his fear.
"Sorry, did I wake you?" Lisa says softly. She slightly loosens her hold after realizing that she might be holding on to him a little too tightly.
Subaru stays silent for a moment as he thinks of a response.
"Nah...I just…had a bad dream." He said, trying his best to regain his bearings. Being disemboweled wasn't his most pleasant memory. He gave a glance around the room and noticed how dark it was.
"What time is it?" He inquired. Not that he cared, but it was just some chat to help get his mind off of that.
"Late," She says simply.
"Ah…"
For a moment, it's nothing but silence between them. Lisa knows he's afraid and that she should let go, but she can't. She was selfish, and she knew it, but she couldn't bring herself to let go. However, what she thinks he's afraid of and what he was actually fearful of were two different things.
"I apologize for my actions earlier..."
'Earlier? What is she...? Oh...OH! That really happened?!' Subaru could feel his face burn at the mention of their rather intimate encounter.
"I overstepped my boundaries. I shouldn't have forced myself on you like that."
"O-oh that…" Subaru tries to continue, but his words get caught in the back of his throat because of his embarrassment.
"If you are upset about what I did-" She begins, but Subaru finds his voice and stops her.
"No, I'm not upset...It was...it was just...surprising. Maybe you could tell me before you know…" Subaru trailed off. Unable to voice what they did, he tries to find a way to change the subject. Then he realized what position he was in.
They were spooning, and right now, he was the little spoon. He felt his pride as a man take a blow. He didn't attempt to move because he knew that her strength exceeded his by far. That became apparent when Lisa had pinned him underneath her. Her legs had clamped around him like vice grip would, so he couldn't move his bottom half a single inch from where she had him. Her arms pushed down on his chest, stopping lateral movement and keeping his back against the floor.
"You're doing it wrong!" Subaru half-shouts in an attempt to both defend his pride and to get his mind out of the gutter. Thinking about what happened earlier and the fact he could feel her "assets" pressed against his back made him feel like his heart would burst from his chest.
"Hm~"
"The guy is supposed to hold the girl like this! Not the other way around!"
"Is that so?" Lisa paused for a moment as she processed the information. "I like my way better."
"Huh? Why?"
"Because I'm the only one that can gaze at your back like this." She says in an almost infuriating lackadaisical kind of way. However, despite her tone, Subaru could feel her trembling. It was hardly noticeable, but they were there. Slight tremors made her hands twitch as she held onto him.
'Is she having one of those moments? Like during our ride here?' Subaru thought to himself. If she was, Subaru had to admit she got a lot better at hiding it. If he weren't paying attention, he wouldn't have noticed at all. It was actually kind of crazy that she could keep her emotions from spilling into her voice with such ease.
Subaru realized that she was holding him fondly, but there was a certain uneasiness to it. Like she was afraid of letting him go. It didn't take a genius to figure out that this was probably because of something that happened to him in her original world. He had died three times already. It hasn't been a week since he's been isekai'd, so if his other self had the same track record as him, he could only imagine how many times he had to be saved by her.
Once again, Subaru feels like a jerk for not noticing any sooner. Lisa had saved his life, gave up her name for his sake, and is willing to continue to protect him in this world that seems like everything was out to kill you. But look at him, just an ungrateful coward flinching at her touch like a frightened animal.
He wouldn't allow that to continue any longer. The Return by Death user places his hand on top of hers and squeezes it gently. He would grow used to this so he would no longer think of the cruel bowel hunter toying with his guts.
"I'm not going anywhere, Lisa," The boy said firmly. As soon as he utters those, the slight tremors in her hands go away. For the first time since he's been brought to this world, he feels like he did something right.
Lisa's response to this statement was to simply nuzzle against his back. Choosing not to comment on the slight wetness that her face was left his back gave him time to think.
First and foremost was that he was now sure about the way he felt about Lisa. He still liked Emilia; that was a fact. After spending time with both, her and Emilia, things became a whole lot clearer.
The way he felt for Emilia was more of a love at first sight kind of deal. From the moment he first saw her yearned for her. That became more apparent now after he had spent more time with her this morning. The feeling was so strong that one could say that it was like he was being compelled to do so.
But Emilia was so out of touch. She was a lovely girl, but she thought that someone else seeing her as a friend was a faraway dream. So it felt like pushing the prospect of romance was way too much.
Then there is Lisa. If you had asked him yesterday about the way he felt about her, he would have been unsure. Pretty damn sure about the way he felt.
He had feelings for her. He finally found out why he felt nervous when they were alone. At first, he thought it was just because she was a beautiful woman. However, the initial high of having a hot bodyguard began to wear off when he got used to seeing her face.
Despite this, the feeling in his chest didn't go away. In fact, he could even say they grew stronger after today's events. But there was one issue. She was too good.
How was this a problem? It was because he knew that she would be willing to do everything for him. Face the world for him, do his work for him, make his food, wash his clothes, and deal with any of his problems. The dangerous thing is he might just let her.
Subaru didn't want to go back to that life. If he let her, he would be the same as he was back at home. He hated that version of himself, and he didn't want to revert to that.
It was at this moment that Subaru made a decision. Today would be the only day he would indulge in his slothfulness, and tomorrow would be a new day.
Now all he had to do was sleep.
That task was easier said than done. Even easier if these soft mounds weren't pressed against his back.
-Line break-
Ba-bump Ba-bump Ba-dump
Subaru's maid stirs in her sleep as the sound of his heartbeat plays a lovely toon for her.
Lisa opened her eyes and saw the earlier morning blues coming through the window. She is still for a moment before she frowns.
She had fallen asleep. Not like any of her regular rest periods, though. Lisa considered herself a light sleeper, and because of this, she usually wakes up a couple of times at night because of mundane things. That didn't happen last night, which meant she didn't keep her guard up. In her defense, last night could hardly be called a standard rest period.
Last night was a milestone for her because it was the first time she slept in a bed with her beloved. That wasn't an excuse for her to justify her failure, though. She tasked herself to become used to his presence so it wouldn't affect her performance.
She could confidently say that she had failed between her falling asleep and her "episode" yesterday.
That didn't mean that she wouldn't give up. Lisa would keep trying until she was comfortable with the results. She would get to that point; eventually, that was without question. After overcoming her deep-rooted obsession with guts, she was confident that she could just about do anything given enough time.
However, that raised the question of how long that would take her?
…
…
…
...Yeah, she didn't have the answer for that.
She knew that this would be the biggest hurdle that she would have to overcome in her life—the reason being that Natsuki Subaru is her everything. There isn't a moment that goes by when she isn't thinking about him in some capacity. Whether it concerns his safety, how cute he is when he's trying his best, or her fantasizing when he isn't around.
Well, that last one happens even while he isn't around, but that isn't the point. The point was that he was quite literally and without exaggerating her Everything.
What made that task even more daunting was his personality. In her previous world, she was used to chasing the back of this impossible person that hated her being. She did everything he asked and felt joy from completing any task he gave her while she hoped that he would eventually return her feelings.
Suppose he was anything like the Sin Archbishop of Pride. She would imagine that she could keep herself under control. This, of course, wasn't the case. Because unlike she was to Pride, Subaru fancied her. He would steal glances at her face and other parts of her body when he thought she wasn't paying attention. When she would lock eyes with him, she would notice his cheeks flush. On top of this, he didn't deny her advances.
Because of that, she found it incredibly difficult to hold herself back. Especially when she was receiving her payment, she originally planned for maybe a few hugs and kisses and stuff like that before backing off, but one thing led to another. She ended up losing control of herself in the moment. She was indefinitely thankful that she didn't hurt Subaru in her lust-crazed state or did something she couldn't take back. She was just glad that she regained her bearings before she…before she…
Lisa felt sick. She forces herself to think about something else, and then she suddenly hears a voice.
"I'm not going anywhere Lisa," She feels butterflies in her stomach after she remembers how he had eased her worries from the night before. The maid realizes that Subaru still is holding on to her hand. How sweet.
Lisa wanted to lay next to the boy for a bit longer; if she did, she would be neglecting her duty. She shifts her body and slowly releases him from her embrace, but now Subaru's still on her other arm. She's halfway done, but now she's debating calling it quits and just waits for him to wake up. She shakes her head before carefully slipping her arm out from under him to avoid waking him.
She gets out of the bed soundlessly and looks at Subaru's face a little longer than she should.
'I should get going,' She thinks to herself before she turns her back away from him but finds that she can't bring herself to step forward. She faces the sleeping boy and leans forward, gazing at his face. Something just felt off.
Not that she's got a closer look, she finally realized why it didn't feel right. She closes the distance and places a gentle kiss just above Subaru's brow. She backs away with her flushed.
'...Ah...I've always wanted to do that.'
Now that was something off of the "Things to do with Subaru" list that Lisa may or may not have in her head.
"I'll be right back," She whispers as she steps away from the boy and makes her way to the door.
Once the maid is in the hallway, she slowly begins making her way to the kitchen and thinks about what she should make for Subaru. At first, she was unsure if her food was good, but after Subaru's shock at the food, she no longer had to worry about that. The only reason she had been uncertain of herself was that the people that ate her food were Meili and sometimes Blue. Lisa felt her mood fall when she thought about annoying demi-human.
Blue was the source of her ire a lot of times just because of how close he was able to get to Pride. He was found at what she could tell was rock bottom. The Archbishop took the stray in and gave him purpose, a second chance at life. Not that she had cared about that.
What she hated was the fact that he was practically glued to him. The leech always hogged up space next to him. Not that she could have claimed that spot, but she would have rather seen Meli there instead of him. It was all because of his healing magic that Subaru kept him so close.
The boy was the best healer she's seen.
...That didn't stop her from wanting to decapitate him when she saw him standing by the Archbishop's side, The spot that should have been reserved for her.
It was times like those when she hated her proficiency in taking lives. It was because of it that Pride always sent her off somewhere so that she could get rid of a thorn in his side. She was happy to do things as he said, but she wished that she was proficient in healing magic so he would keep her closer.
She had no interest in magic then, but after the introduction of Blue, that changed quite a bit. Lisa tried everything; she even struck up the mysterious Roswaal once but left empty-handed. In the end, she had accepted the fact that magic just wasn't for her. As much as she hated it, it was true. The boy was incredibly proficient in healing magic; he was also almost impossible to kill just like her.
Lisa steps around a corner, and her thoughts suddenly get interrupted when a blue hair maid bumps into her. Unfortunately, because of the unexpected collision, Rem drops what she is holding, which happens to be a rather expensive-looking decorative vase. On reflex, Lisa catches the vase before it can make contact with the floor. She sees the other maid breathe a well-hidden sigh of relief.
"Sorry I didn't see you, Lisa-san," Of course she didn't. Lisa was an assassin, and she prided herself in being able to move around almost entirely silently.
"No, it was my mistake, Rem. I wasn't paying attention. How clumsy of me," Lisa said with a sheepish look on her face. She hands the vase back over to the fellow maid.
"What are you…" Rem began to say but trailed off when she saw that Lisa was already halfway down the hall.
"Annoying leech," Lisa muttered under her breath as she walked away from the oni twin. Even now, it seemed that Blue was somehow able to get under her skin. Thinking clearly now, she understood why she was thinking about him in the first place. Blue had said the archbishop would idly comment sometimes about how his food could be so much better with mayonnaise. She didn't know what it was, but it seemed that he was rather fond of it.
Could Subaru share the same sentiment? She would have to find out later.
Not long after this, Lisa found herself inside the mansion kitchen, she's only been here once, but she had a good understanding of where everything was kept. But looking at it now, she notices that things appear to be running critically low here. The spices seemed to be running especially low, and that was terrible news.
Still, it wasn't too bad. Lisa was sure she could make something with this rudimentary amount of supplies.
-Line break-
Almost an hour later, Lisa makes it back to Subaru's room with the meal she cooked up. She had ended up using up the rest of the spices, but that didn't really matter. Lisa didn't care if the other inhabitants of this place had bland food as long as Subaru had the best that she could offer.
She walks over and notices Subaru stirring in his sleep. Seeing as he'll wake on his own soon regardless, she decides to wait.
After a few minutes, Subaru opens his eyes and finds himself looking at Lisa standing at his bed.
"Goodmorning, Subaru-sama…"
"Oh...uh..good morning Lisa."
"…"
"…"
"Um, how long have you been standing there? And what's that smell?"
"Only for a couple of minutes. And as for the smell…" Lisa turned around and picked up a tray behind her holding the meal that she made.
"I wanted to surprise you." She sits on the edge of the bed, purposely keeping the food out of his reach. She skewers one of the cut sausages and brings it over to him. Then something unexpected happens. If what she wanted to do wasn't evident before, it was now.
Subaru turns away from the tantalizing piece of meat, and in that instance, Lisa feels her blood freeze. Was her cooking not up to his standard? Sure it wasn't as good as yesterday, but she did the best she could given her limited supplies.
"I'm sorry, is the food not to your liking, Subaru-sama?"
Subaru's head snaps back to face her, and he immediately feels bad when he sees the look on her face. He hadn't turned away from her because he didn't like the food. It was because he wanted to start pulling his weight today, so he refused to allow himself to get lazy.
"N-no, it's nothing! It's just that I'd like to feed myself,"
"Truly? I suppose if my master wants to feed himself it is well within his right to do so," She hands over the tray without issue. Subaru noticed the disappointed look on her face and thought to himself if she was looking forward to it that much.
"Thank you, Lisa," Subaru begins eating but realizes that things feel off.
It felt weird to be the only one eating while the other sat and simply just watched.
"Did you eat anything yet? It feels wrong for me to be enjoying myself while you don't have anything in front of you."
"Not yet, my master. I made sure to fulfill your needs before I indulge in mine."
"That's no good," Subaru shakes his head before pushing the tray slightly over to her.
"I have to decline Subaru-sama. I had made it for you. Please enjoy it to its fullest." That wouldn't do, and she wasn't budging. Luckily Subaru thought about something. Subaru straightens his back and in an authoritative tone.
"I order you to enjoy this meal with me, Lisa-chan."
"Oh my, my first order. If you desire me to enjoy this meal with you, I can't help but accept." She would move closer to Subaru with her cheeks tinged pink.
"Subaru-sama, as your servant, I have but one selfish request that I would ask of you."
"I'm listening."
"I'd like you to feed me," She says with a coy look on her face. Subaru didn't have a problem with that. This counted as him doing something in his own right? He looked down at the plate, and now that he was paying closer attention, he could tell that this was a serving for just about two people.
'Did she plan for this?' Even if she did, it didn't matter. After all, who could say no to a face like that?
"I'll accept, but don't get any funny ideas!"
Time passed, and soon the dish that Lisa had made was finished. Moments ago, she had left the room to put away the silverware that they had used, and during this time, Subaru got to think about how similar, and different they both were.
They were both similar in the sense that both did love being praised and showered with attention, but that is as far as it went. Unlike Subaru, when Lisa is given that sort of attention, that only encourages her to work harder. Subaru knew himself enough to know that he would let himself off easy if he constantly had someone encouraging his actions. He would only grow lazy, and all the while, seek more praise.
Now that Subaru thought about it. If he were that way, how successful would he have been back in his previous world? He probably would have lived up to all the expectations others set for him by being his father's son. Constantly shooting for top marks and studying daily, he was sure that he could live up to it.
He would have guessed that maybe things could have been different if his parents weren't always satisfied with his performance no matter what he was doing. If he passed his test, he was praised for doing a good job. If he failed, he was praised for at least trying his best. And when he stopped going to school, he was praised on the occasion that he didn't sleep for two days or if he was up early enough to eat breakfast with his mom and dad.
Now he knew why his parents were always okay with him being so lazy. It was because that didn't hold any expectations for him. They loved him too much, and they wanted him to enjoy his life.
Now Subaru was faced with the same situation as before. Given no expectation from others, Natsuki Subaru would turn into a lazy sack of shit. The teen felt himself scowl at the thought of that.
"Shall I get you ready for the day, Subaru-sama?" The Return by Death user didn't notice her return, and because of that, he had jumped at the sound of her voice. Recovering, the boy looks up and sees that she is holding his neatly folded tracksuit.
"No, it's fine. I'll do it myself." Subaru takes the folded clothes from her. If she was annoyed or let down at that notion, she didn't make it apparent.
He starts getting ready, but it isn't until he starts taking off his shirt that he realizes that Lisa is still in the room. She hadn't moved from her spot. She was just standing there watching him.
"Lisa?"
"Hm?"
"Could you leave the room for a moment?"
"There is no need to be embarrassed about me watching you change. I've seen your body before." Subaru felt his ears heat up when he remembered how she had seen him.
"Please?"
"As your bodyguard, I'd like to stay here as I would be able to protect you from danger."
Wow, she was rather adamant about leaving. What danger was she talking about? Weren't they safe in this mansion? Subaru assumed that this was simply an excuse to watch him change.
"Fine, you don't have to leave. But only if you turn around." Lisa turned her back away from him, signifying that she was okay with what he said.
It didn't take long for Subaru to change, so the boy found himself wandering the halls with Lisa hanging closely behind him, thinking about what he could do to start today. Actually, he knew what to start with.
Radio calisthenics! He had wanted to show Emilia them yesterday, but he didn't get the chance to. He knew that Emilia wakes up every morning and talks to the spirits like yesterday because she told him about it while in his room.
So he was sure he would meet her again there, and he would be able to introduce Emilia to his homeland exercises.
He takes a detour and walks out into the mansion yard. It wasn't challenging to find Emilia because she had a mass of floating lights around her.
"Emilia-tan!" Subaru shouts.
She jumps as she loses focus and a lot of the spirits seem to disappear. However, some are floating idly. She sees Subaru and immediately turns away from him.
"Emilia-tan?" Did he make her upset somehow? Was it something he did yesterday? No, he was sure that they were on good terms the last time they spoke. With that aside, he concluded that it was because he had screwed up her focus.
When he got closer, he noticed that her pointy ears that were poking out of the locks of her hair were both red. He couldn't turn back time… Wait, he could, but that wasn't the point. All he could do now was apologize.
"Are you feeling okay? You don't have a fever or anything, do you?"
"N-no."
"Are you mad at me for breaking your concentration? Sorry I didn't mean-" Subaru starts in a cautious tone, but he gets interrupted by her.
"No! I'm not mad. It's just..." Her back is rigid as she is unable to find her words.
"It's just..." Subaru trails on, urging her to continue. Emilia takes a deep breath before turning around to face him and Lisa.
"Congratulations!" She shouts abruptly at the two of them.
"Eh? Um, thanks, Emilia-tan, but what am I being congratulated for?" Subaru says while scratching the back of his head.
"For you and Lisa's baby!"
Subaru's face falls flat as It takes him a moment to process what she said but then it clicks. How could he have forgotten! Before he had lost consciousness, he vaguely remembered it now. While he was losing consciousness, someone opened the door, and that person happened to be Emilia.
Taking his shock as silent anger, Emilia starts explaining her actions.
"It was an accident! I heard a loud noise and thought you might've hurt yourself, so I came in, and I saw…you two making a baby." Emilia covers her face, which happens to be the same color as a tomato.
Subaru sputters a response, but in that very instance, the outside world seems to fade into white noise as Lisa gets a dreamlike look on her face.
'To bear Subaru's child…ah…' She puts a hand over her womb subconsciously. This is something that she would sometimes fantasize about—the product of her and his love for each other.
But each time, the child would be different. Sometimes a boy, sometimes a girl. At times she would see the child having a fairer skin tone like Subaru's. Other times, the child would have a complexion like herself. The child's eyes would often change much like their other features. Sometimes they take after Subaru and be a shade of brown, or they could take after her and be purple. Even so, something that seemed always to stay the same was always the general shape of the eyes.
Scary, just like their father's.
They would be living far from any problems in a modest house in a grass field. It would just be her Subaru, Meli, herself, and the child. In some of these fantasies, she would still be pregnant with the child. She would try to cook or do some other things, but Subaru would insist that he could take care of things.
She would try to ease his worries and continue, but Subaru would always stop her. Because of that, she would have to do other activities like teaching her younger sister how to sow. Meli always liked the dolls that she used to make, so she decided that it was time to teach the practice to her.
In their practice, time would fly, and Subaru would come in on them. He would send Meli to bed after they ate together, and Subaru walked her to their room. Then they would have their time before they went to sleep. She'd worriedly ask him to stop pushing himself, but he reassures her that it's no issue and plants a tender kiss on her brow before moving down and giving one to the child growing inside of her.
"Lisa…"
"Lisa!" She's snapped back to reality.
"Come on, back me up! Tell Emilia you're not pregnant." Lisa huffs, a disappointed look crosses her features.
"I don't recall taking Subaru-sama inside of me so I can be pregnant, Emilia." Did she really have to say it like that?!
"Please stop lying to me. You were kissing; I saw it with my own eyes!"
"I was displaying my affection for my beloved. That isn't to say that I am pregnant."
The color drains from Emilia's face.
"So you don't know? Did no one tell you?"
"Know what, Emilia? Please enlighten me."
"That...when a boy and girl kiss, they make a baby."
An awkward silence fills the air. A soft breeze passes between the two as Lisa stares at the half-elf. From that moment forward, Lisa knew that she didn't need to worry about the girl. She was too naive, so there was no chance of her ever beating her in this race. She already won.
They hear a soft slap and turn to see Subaru with his hand against his face.
"...Emilia."
"Yes?"
"That isn't how babies are made."
"Eh?" Emilia blinks, a clueless look on her face.
After a long and awkward conversation, Subaru convinced the half-elf that Lisa was not having a baby anytime soon.
"If that's the case. Where do they come from?"
"Ask Puck."
"But-"
Subaru refused to elaborate.
-Line break-
A little while after that mess, Subaru finally was able to do what he wanted when he first came out here.
"Follow my lead, you two! Radio calisthenics number 2! Bounce up and loosen your bodies!" Subaru shouts enthusiastically. Lisa would have been satisfied with just watching him but was happy to join the boy after he had wanted both Emilia and herself to try it.
"Right away,"
"O-okay,"
Both Lisa and Emilia follow his instructions. Lisa is mimicking his movements relatively easily despite it being her first time doing this. On the other hand, Emilia is struggling to keep up because of the unfamiliar actions and the fact that her mind is elsewhere.
As they exercise, Emilia looks over to the left past Subaru and observes Lisa. She hadn't done anything particularly bad, even though Emilia feels her brow crease as she unintentionally glares at her.
This whole situation was...frustrating.
"Now, raise both of your arms and shout-" Subaru breaks her train of thought when he suddenly grabs her hand. The action causes butterflies to rise in her gut before he raises both her and Lisa's arms in tandem with his.
"-Victory!"
"Victory!" Lisa follows through with the cry, and Emilia realizes that she was supposed to shout it as well.
"V-victory?" A delayed half shout was the best she could come up with on the spot. She inwardly cringes at her poor performance, and thankfully her best friend doesn't comment on it.
"Geez, do all of you have to be so loud?" The great spirit makes himself known as he materialized with a yawn.
"Puck!" Before the Great spirit could even react, he gets snatched up by Subaru.
"Already?!"
"As my reward, I did say I wanted to pet your fur anytime I wanted, hahaha."
Subaru annoys Puck before he realizes that he's slacking off. He releases his hold on the spirit and wonders what else there is to do.
"Emilia-tan, Emilia-taaaan," Subaru said while moving closer to the half-elf.
Emilia reels back at the sudden closeness, but Subaru moves again, his eyes gleaming.
"Erm, yes, Subaru?"
"Can you teach me magic?"
Magic? That was something she was good at. The half-elf opens her mouth, but she freezes up.
She only knew how to cast spells through Puck's gate via spirit arts, not like an actual magician. Would her guidance even help him?
"I think I could help with that." Puck swoops in for the save. After sensing her emotions, he knew that she was likely to embarrass herself.
"Really?! Well, for where do we start?"
"Well, the first thing that you need to know are the basics…." For the next couple of minutes, Puck explained to Subaru how magic worked—first starting with an explanation of how gates worked and ending with the four magic attributes.
"How do I know what my affinity is, Puck-sensei?" Subaru said while scratching the back of his head.
"I'll just have to find out," The great spirit said while uncoiling his tail and pressing it against Subaru's forehead. A glow radiated from the spot Puck touched, and then he heard the spirit's voice in his head. Internally Subaru was excited about the possibility of his magic affinity. He was sure any of them would be pretty cool.
"Your affinity is...yin."
"Yin?! Wait a second; I thought you said that there were only 4? Did you make a mistake?"
"In addition to fire, water, wind, and earth, there are two more attributes known as shadow and light."
"Oh, does that mean I have an innate talent that only appears once in 5,000 years?!" If this was the case, then he lucked out. Seeing his excitement, Emilia chimes in.
"With shadow magic, you can obstruct an opponent's vision, block sound, slow movement, and things like that,"
'So I'm the support role? I guess that's fine because I'll make sure I'll be a dependable person."
"I know of a spell called shamac that you might be able to cast. Would you like a demonstration?" Puck said with a smug grin because he knew what the answer was.
"Yes!"
"Alright, Shamac!" The great spirit moved forward and swiped down with one of his paws. The moment he did that, the world around Subaru went dark like the lights went out. The teen tried to speak, but he heard no words come from his mouth. The cool breeze that was blowing disappeared, and that's when he realized that he couldn't feel anything but the ground beneath his feet. Was this supposed to happen? Did something go wrong?
Panicking, Subaru put his hands out in front of him and tried to scream for help. Unfortunately, his foot hit something, and he started to tip in a direction that he assumed was forward.
"-Help me!" His senses suddenly returned, and he found himself in Lisa's arms. Looking around, he realized that the world was tilted. That was when Subaru knew she had caught him before he could fall.
"I'm right here, Subaru. Are you alright? Where does it hurt?"
"No, I'm fine, Lisa, really." He said after regaining his balance. He gave a sheepish laugh but felt the cold sweat on his brow. Yeah, he was sure his words fooled no one.
"Wow, I've never seen so react to shamac like tha-" The moment Puck approached, he felt a wave of malice directed towards him. He looks at the source and realizes that it's coming from the maid. None of the emotion was visible on her features.
"Yeah, sorry for worrying you guys. I guess...I'm kinda scared of the dark," That wasn't exactly a lie, but it wasn't the whole truth.
"You're afraid of the dark? I guess that makes sense…" Emilia comments with an understanding look on her face.
"Wha-what do you mean by 'that makes sense?!" Subaru shakes his head before changing the subject.
"Nevermind! So I can do Shamac, right?"
Just as quickly as the malice came, it left the moment Subaru started talking. That got Puck thinking. He now knew that Lisa was overprotective but was she just really good at hiding her emotions, or did they just flip like that.
"Yeah, Shamac is the easiest yin spell there is, so a novice such as yourself could cast it."
"I'll show you, but first, I'll have Lia backup just in case you explode."
"Ex-explode?! Why would I explode?!" Subaru shouts incredulously. He was going to laugh it off as a joke for a moment, but Puck seemed to be serious.
"Well, it's because your gate is tiny and unused. Besides, with me teaching you, it shouldn't be too much of an issue." It was at that moment that he felt a hand press onto his arm.
"I know you want to learn magic, Subaru, but after hearing the spirit, I cannot allow you to continue."
"But I could become a powerful mage with Puck's help!"
"Erm, I don't think that would be possible. Not for a long, long time."
"Why? Is it because of my weak gate?" Puck nods and Subaru's face falls.
"Well, I guess there's no point and in hurting myself if nothing will come from it." Subaru sighs. That was a buzzkill, and he was looking forward to learning something cool today. He knew he had a unique ability, but the only way it activated was if he died. Dying wasn't at the top of the list of things he wanted to do, and he wanted to think that Return by Death was a fallback, not his primary ability.
"Since we're on the subject of magic, do you know any magic yourself, Lisa-chan?" Subaru turns to face her with a curious expression.
"I've tried but not to any success."
"What if Puck showed you?" That was interesting. A great spirit should know a lot about magic, so that wasn't a bad idea. If the great spirit were willing, she wouldn't decline.
Puck was oddly silent during this because that got him thinking. He had nothing against the maid, but she was weird. With his emotional reading abilities, he could tell that she was madly in love with Subaru. So much to the point that he had to have to ignore them because they were overbearing passively. That's why when he was receiving malice from her, it felt alien. So that drew his curiosity if he could get a read on her with direct contact.
"I'd be willing," Puck chimes in.
"That would certainly be interesting. I accept your offer."
"Alright, just like what I did with Subaru, I'd have to find out your affinity, so give me a moment," Puck moves from his spot on the boy's head and moves towards the maid. When the great spirit touches her forehead with his tail, she can hear his voice making a silly noise in her head. Then the noise stops.
"Huh?" A puzzled look crosses his face. He confirmed that Lisa really wasn't hiding her emotions. He wasn't sure if that was a good or bad thing, but that certainly isn't normal. Noticing Puck's odd silence, Subaru tries to get his attention.
"Is something wrong, Puck?"
"Erm, maybe? Maybe not? I'm honestly not sure but what I know is that her gate is...weird. If you want to find out what's wrong with your gate, you'd need to talk with Betty. She knows more about things like that than I do." Puck explained. He confirmed that Lisa really wasn't
"So, what is my affinity?"
"Oh, I forgot, your affinity is wind."
"Do you know of any wind spells?" Lisa said passively.
"You still want to try? Even with your strange gate?"
"Will it be an issue?"
"I can't give a clear answer on that." The great spirit said honestly.
"Then why don't we find out?" Puck's response alone was enough for her to continue. Since it wasn't a definitive yes or no, she needed to see if it was possible. She simply couldn't pass up the opportunity to expand her arsenal of skills and the possibility of getting closer to an old goal of hers. Before she could continue, she remembered how excited Subaru was about the prospect of him learning magic. Now that she is going to learn despite possibly being in danger probably made her look like a hypocrite.
"If this works, then that means I'd be okay with you learning how to use shadow magic. Before then, could you step back? Puck did say there was the possibility of exploding."
"Okay…" Subaru turned away and started walking towards Emilia absentmindedly before he suddenly stopped in his tracks.
"Wait, how are you so calm after saying something like that?"
"Because it would take a lot more than an explosion to keep me down," Lisa said in a manner that made it seem like it was common sense.
Subaru's mind stuttered at that moment. A lot more than an explosion? What more did that entail? How strong was Lisa? Those were the thoughts that swirled around in his head.
Not being able to respond, Subaru continued walking towards Emilia. He already knew that the people in this world were on a whole other level than his original world. But even so, he still at least considered them in the "human" range. Felt could move as fast as the wind and be felled by a single coordinated strike from the bowel hunter was all it took to take her out. Rom was a massive old man that could most definitely shatter his skull with a single punch, but that didn't matter once his throat was cut open. He died the same way he would've if he were afflicted with the same injury.
Finally, like when Lisa fought her counterpart, the bowl hunter turned into all but a black blur. Yet Lisa was able to meet each attack and strike with one of her own despite being put on the back foot. In the end, it was a single slash that took of the bowel hunter's arm and took her out of the fight-
No, no, no, that's not right. Not at all. Out of the time in this world, only one person was an outlier to this rule, and it was none other than the bowl-hunter. For a moment, he wondered why that wasn't the first thing he thought about, but in his heart, he knew the reason.
He didn't want to. He remembered the dread that seized his heart when he saw that Lisa's killing blow started healing as the bowel hunter spoke casually. Lisa is the same, at least on a physical level, so does that mean-
THOOM!
A burst of wind suddenly washes over him, and the unexpected sudden force knocks him forward. Luckily, he was able to catch himself before this face could kiss the pavement. His palms burned, but he ignored the pain; Subaru got back up as fast as he could and looked at the dust and speckles of wet soil. They were landing with soft pitter-patters, like rain. It wasn't until he looked closer and noticed that some of the soil had a slightly red hue followed by the scent of iron that he's unfortunately become accustomed to.
Subaru felt his body seize up and his heart hammer against his chest as panic set in.
Suddenly he starts shouting.
"...sa...Lisa...LISA!"
Laying on in the grass, the mutilated maid starts recovering from her torpor as her freshly regenerated eyes start receiving images.
-Chapter end-
AN: Again, sorry for the wait. This chapter was originally supposed to cover the rest of the mansion loop, but I didn't want you guys to have to wait any longer for this. Anyways, I hope that I was able to display how obsessive best girl is in this chapter and give some perspective from other characters. I also apologize if my grammar is worse than normal in this chapter. This chapter was only partially beta read when I released it. I'll fix it when I wake up. Good night.
Edited 10/15/2021 Some grammatical errors fixed.