"Villain me ? What a vile word to say to someone you just met. Don't you th-... oh wow "

Subaru said, turning to face the person speaking from the exit of the alley, but he was stunned at what he saw for the first time since he found himself in this world.

"Finally someone with a decent appearance". He muttered in a low voice.

She was a beautiful girl.

She had tied up her long silver hair which reached her hips, her piercing gaze was brimming with intelligence, her soft features were both seductive and youthful and she exuded an air of nobility that was dangerously charming.

She stood about 160 centimeters tall, her royal blue-toned garments weren't particularly flashy, and yet their simplicity emphasized her even further. The one conspicuous feature was the emblem on her coat, a bird resembling a hawk, and even its magnificence was nothing more than a supplement to her sublime beauty.

[Come on, wake up S-u-b-a-r-u~].

And all this time Subaru was staring intensely at the girl in front of the alley exit. Anyone who saw his stare would think that he is just a pervert, but the intention behind his stare is much deeper than what external appearances show.

But fortunately Nats was there to wake him up from his trance.

"Sorry nats I was just thinking " he relayed to Nats through his thoughts.

[Well you should think fast, Have you forgotten that we are standing on a pile of corpses and puddles of blood. and for the second time someone has seen us we have to do something about this girl NOW.]

Nats said with a little anger and concern to him about their situation and Subaru as if he had just grasped their situation he looked at the mutilated corpse then the girl then he put his hand on his forehead and sighed deeply.

'Damn it we should have left this place early.' He thought.

He gathered himself together and hid his knife in his pocket. He took a few steps towards the girl, but the girl, after seeing all the corpses and blood, sge glared suspiciously her at the strange boy, raising her hand in front of her with her palm open.

"You villain, please stand still and don't move or you will regret it".

As the girl said, Subaru stopped in his place, holding back a laugh at the way she addressed him 'What a strange girl' he thought.

"There I stopped now what are you gonna do huh? ", keep saying vilain while your palm up in the air to scare me ?, well guess what, I'm not afraid" he said sarcastically.

Then he started walking towards the girl again, but soon stopped.

"You better do as Lia tells you or you'll regret it, boy."

Yet another voice filled the alley, androgynous and high-pitched, as though speaking for the girl.

Subaru started looking around in surprise

Putting his hand inside his pocket, holding his knife tightly, he looked to all places, the entrance to the alley, to the corpse, the way the blonde girl ran away from, but he found nothing. Finally, he looked at the girl, squinting his eyes at her.

"Do you know where the owner of the voice is?".

Subaru asked the girl with an edge on his voice, As if she didn't feel the boy's change of mood and as if to show off, the girl held out her hand.

Her palm faced upward, and 'it' floated above her white fingertips.

"Now do you understand how much danger you're in, boy ?".

It said squinting its eyes at the boy 'It' being a cat small enough to fit in a palm, standing upright.

Its coat was gray and its ears were floppy, Well, setting aside its pink nose and the length of its tail. The sight of this bizarre cat-like being would cause the strongest of men of this world to tremble and scream of terror,But Subaru is not from this world...so.

"A rat ? No not just a rat a talking rat OH MY GOD NATS DONT TELL ME I FINALY LOST MY MIND OH MY GOD!!!!!"

This was the reaction of the boy from another world as he fell with his back to the ground with his hands to the sky screaming in despair at the possibility that he had finally lost his mind completely.

"Mom Dad I'm so sorry wherever you are your son has lost his mind finally, are you sad?, I know you would be if you knew, I'm so very sorry..hic hic "

[S-u-b-a-r-u~, please stop this, you're not out of your mind, at least not in the way you think].

"What do you mean not the way I thou-"

[NOTHING, I didn't mean anything, just stop making a fool of yourself please, Now get up from the dirty floor ].

"Damn I completely forgot".

While he was on the ground shouting to the heavens, the girl named Lia and the cat were staring at him with blank stares, as if wondering what the matter was with this boy. Finally, the cat turned towards the girl.

"I think this kid is crazy, maybe I should get rid of him. What do you think?"

The cat said as if he was completely indifferent, although what he said was considered a serious matter.

"No, never, we shouldn't, why don't we tell the knights, maybe they'll know what to do with him."

replayed the girl urgently while pointing her finger at the boy who was starting to get to his feet.

The cat smiled teasingly and flew to her shoulder to sit there like it usually does but his eyes were still on the boy.

"Umm, But if we go to the Knights,...they will probably ask you to introduce yourself by showing them your lost insignia."

she widened her eyes in comprehension as she cast her eyes all over the alley and with regret and sadness as she looked at the dead bodies and puddles of blood that had begun to incur. She finally looked at the boy who seemed to be talking to himself ?.

"It's still very, very, very wrong to take someone's life puck"

Finally the cat named puck sighed in resignation.

"Hey girl did you just say you lost something or maybe it was stolen?, am I right ?".

And just in time the boy's voice rang out, interrupting the girl-cat discussion, which was drawing to a close anyway.

"See?, maybe I know who stole your insignia, did I pronounce it right?".

Subaru said with a slight smile as he took the dust off his clothes he started walking towards the girl with steady steps ...But before the girl could answer him.

"Stop right there or I'll make you stop by freezing you to death".

The cat said with a sharp voice and narrow eyes. It floated in front of the girl, facing the boy, as if protecting her. Sharp stones of shiny ice floated above Subaru's face, ready to launch at any time.

The girl behind him stared at Subaru warily but also with some hope?.

And of course Subaru didn't miss it 'You see, Nats, I think we have hope of surviving this ' he said to Nats through his thoughts.

[Good now play it right or we lose]

'We never lose' subaru thought with a grin.

"Come on, rat, calm down, do you see? I'm not moving and look, I'm not holding anything in my hand, do you see?"

He said turning around again and again with his hands above his head as if to show him he was harmless.

The cat cast its eyes around the chaos in the alley, turning back to Subaru with its eyes still narrow.

"Well, that seems like a lot for a non-dangerous person to do, don't you think, kid?".

Subaru let out a deep sigh sitting on the floor looking back at the girl.

[Listen, S-u-b-a-r-u~, it seems that this girl Lia has a good nature, and also she seems naive, and from the way she looks compared to other people, it is clear to us that she is from a rich family. Do not miss this opportunity for us, S-u-b-a-r-u~. I am serious in what I say].

'Well go on Nats'

Nats said with complete seriousness in her voice in order to get him to listen to her, who in return demanded that she continue and showed her that his full attention was on her.

she, of course, was grateful for that, so she continued.

[That girl seems to be completely dependent on the cat and will obviously do literally everything he says so]

'So we have to convince the Rat to convince the girl but if we don't' Subaru already had an idea about this, but Nats confirmed it to hi m

[You...will have to use your...ability]

She answered him in a sad, broken voice, frightened at the thought that Subaru might get hurt.

'...Don't worry, Nats, I'll make it through' After a brief silence, Subaru understands what Nats feels, so he gently and confidently answers her.

[Please].

Subaru is back in the real world. His conversations with Nats usually only take a few seconds. he looks straight into the cat's eyes.

"do you want the truth".

He said to the cat in all seriousness, and as if the cat felt his feelings, he looked at the girl behind him, and the girl who had been listening the whole time nodded her head With a hint of hope.

The cat floated in front of the boy's head, looking straight into his eyes.

"Well boy I'm going to give you a chance I'm going to ask you a few questions and you're only going to answer with the truth Believe me if you lie to me I'll end your miserable life Do you understand me"

said the cat in an icy voice with sharp eyes directed at subaru who seemed oddly unfazed by it, still subaru nodded his head as a sign of approval.

"Well first, what's your name?"

"My name is Natsuki Subaru" he replied with a smile and the cat nodded his head back.

"Good, now tell me what happened here, how you ended up in this mess, and remember, don't lie, I'll know if you did."

Subaru nodded with his eyes closed to sort things out, counting a brief period of silence. He opened his eyes. He looked the cat straight into his eyes with a wide smile.

"Well, at first it wasn't me, in fact, I entered this alley to escape people's strange looks, because for some reason people stare at me like I'm a rare animal, NO! its more like I'm an ALIEN from outside this planet...WAIT now thanking about itIn fact, I am an ali-.."

"BE SILENCE, boy, and just get straight to the point."

An angry, icy sound was issued by the cat in front of Subaru but suprpisingly he was not afraid as instead of backing away he brought his face closer to the cat and looked at him with a wide smile and a crazed eyes.

'what's wrong with this boy' thought the cat after seeing the freshness in the boy's eyes

"What's wrong with you, rat?, that you haven't read a good story before?".He said sarcastically, but before the cat could answer, he opened his mouth again to speak.

"Well in case you didn't know I will tell you." Subaru paused to take a deep breath .

"to tell a good story you always have to start from the end".He said, pointing his finger at the dead bodies.

"And In your case, you seem to have seen the end, so I decided to start from the beginning and then flipping to the end from another character's perspective And I'm doing this to give the story bit of dynamism, otherwise, it's just sort of a linear story isnt that GREAT ?"

And finally he concluded his saying in a loud voice while his hands up to the sky still with a wide smile on his face and of couse the cat and the girl did not share the same feelings.

"Enough is enough, I'll get rid of you, boy"

as the cat started forming more ice stones over Subaru's head who in turn completely ignored the fact that he was about to die.

[SUBARU!!!].

But of course there is one voice that is worried about the boy more than even himself, this beautiful, worried and terrified voice shouted the boy's name out loud to wake him up from his anger, knowing that no one can hear this voice except the boy, and that was enough.

Subaru who of course before he could hear it felt feelings of anxiety and fear Nats had on him for that' What's wrong with me, making her anxious and sad about me like this, what a fool I am. I should forget my anger towards the rat, at least for the time being.' Subaru thought after he finally came to his senses.

he quickly did something unexpected. Subaru bowed his head while still in a sitting position, each hand on one knee.

"Please excuse my immature handling of this situation. I thought it would be easier to do it this way, but it was just a stupidity from my side It's not easy to apologize. I hope you see my apology comes from the heart. And I hope you forgive me. I don't know what got into me and I am ashamed of what I did."

This time, he said that in complete seriousness, his eyes closed tightly, and his smile was gone, as if it did not exist. Both the cat and the girl remained silent for a while. No one moved, but this silence did not last.

"...this is your last chance, don't miss it, boy".

Subaru nodded thankfully.

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"When I was sitting alone in this alley, suddenly these three appeared with a dead end behind me, and they were standing in the exit. They left me no choice. So I tried to persuade them to refrain from doing that, but of course they refused, as they promised me that they would kill me and take everything I had, so that is the only option I have left. It is to kill them, and of course I succeeded in killing two of them, but the youngest among them escaped... End of story". Subaru paused to take a deep breath after speaking non-stop while doing so Subaru gave a quick look at the cat ' Good it looks like the rat is satisfied'.Subaru thought.

After a brief silence, the cat nodded positively, but this time the cat flew near Subaru's ear, and in a low voice the cat whispered to him.

"Next question are you a member of the witch cult"

'witch cult? 'Subaru thought after he felt that this quition would decide his fate.

"No"

This was his short but clear reply, and the cat smiled his answer.

"Good, now the last question, do you have any intention of harming my daughter?".

Subaru for the first time was confused at what the cat said.

" daughter ?".

[ daughter ?].

Well not only him and as a result Subaru focused his eyes on the girl, examining her body from top to bottom. 'Well, she definitely has no fur, no tail, and also no ears on her head' he thought, holding back a laugh.

Now Subaru with his eyes back on the cat.

"No, I have no intention of harming your daughter, ."

he finished saying with a friendly smile now on his feet.

The cat flew to the girl's shoulder.

"All he said is the truth, Lia , now it's up to you to either leave him or get rid of him".

The girl who had finally understood the situation nodded her head thanking the cat.

"AND YOU IDIOT, you gotta stop calling me a rat, or you will regret it ."

"what ever."

The cat shouted loudly at the boy, who shrugged his shoulders as if he wasn't interested at all.

For the first time, the girl took the initiative and walked towards the subaru.

"You said your name is Natsuki right ?".

said the girl in a firm voice to the boy who tilted his head.

"No, that's my last name. People usually call me subaru".

"So, Subaru are you sure you've seen who stole my Insignia ".

This time the girl crossed her hands in front of her chest with eyes full of hope but the replacement of this hope with disappointment depends on the following answer from the boy.

"Yes I saw her...and better yet I chatted with her for a bit before she ran off...oh well".

Of course Subaru answered positively as he started to show her the place she ran away from and also describing how the thife looks and the clothes she was wearing.

And not long after the conversation began.

"Thank you Subaru I don't know how to repay you for helping me".

The girl said, bowing her head to the boy in gratitude, and the boy's eyes shone dangerously when he heard the girl's words.

"Well there is som-..!".

"I think not killing him and letting him go without informing the guards about what he did here was more than enough for this piece of information".

The cat suddenly appeared out of nowhere on the surprised girl's head, interrupting the boy in the middle of his sentence.

"Isn't that correct, boy ?".

said the cat to the boy who just nodded his head while gritting his teeth 'Damn you rat' he thought.

"Let's go, Lia, because we wasted a precious time in this alley".

The cat said to the girl who just nodded her head with a serious expression. The girl took a quick look at the boy.'What a strange boy". she thought before starting to run towards the exit.

'Why did I get the feeling that the boy's long apology was never directed at us, that boy is so strange'.The cat thought, but quickly shook his head at the thought.

"It doesn't matter, we'll never see that boy again anyway". he muttered

"Did you say something puck?."

said the girl and puck smiled at her.

"I just said we should hurry up and find what was stolen from you and quickly get back home".

she with a serious expression but a slight smile on her face nodded as she ran disappearing between the crowed of people in the street to never be seen again.

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While Subaru is still standing, looking at the exit from where the girl went, in fact, not much time has passed since she left.

"Was my apology enough to win your forgiveness, Nats ?".he said abruptly before starting to move towards the exit.

[Yes it's enough and I forgive you but please be more careful next time ok ?].

Subaru smiled warmly at her answer

"yes I will".

This is how the conversation took place between Nats and Subaru, while he started walking in the same direction that the girl with the silver hair took.

"Don't think you can get rid of me so quickly, rat, just wait and see hehehehe".

Subaru announced with a dark laugh, and he, too, disappeared into the crowd.