After a small vote, all italicized speech means they are thinking.

So,

"I love Crusch" TonkaDev then turned away from Crusch

Means they are thinking

After Crusch had officially welcomed Subaru to the Karsten household, Crusch assigned the task to move the crates into the appropriate area. The task was being done by some of the Karsten households maids. Currently, Subaru is in the main Karsten office, ready for the questions they might ask.

There were two sofas facing each other. Subaru on one side, Crusch and Felix on the other. Wilhelm was standing in the middle.

"I have heard of all the details from Wilhelm-san, it was quite the tale for such a short period of time, Natsuki-Sama." Crusch started the conversation officially. Right before entering the room, Crusch got filled in on all the details.

"He was quite the handful, but his antics were still enjoyable for an old man like myself." Wilhelm decided to continue from what Crusch said.

"Crusch-Sama doesn't have all day nyowh (now), so let's get started with some simple questions." Felix said. He didn't mind Subaru, but currently, he was a potential threat to Crusch, and as such Felix will be on guard with him until it's confirmed that he is safe.

"Now, Felix, even if it's for questioning, we still have to be hospitable to our guests, but you do have a point, it's been long enough, so shall we begin." Crusch eyes changed from caring to calculating. An aura around her grew larger. Similar to the other times, it was a different color, this time it was yellow.

"What do these colors mean, and why does nobody else see these auras? Is it truly just me?" Subaru thought to himself. He was expecting more of a generic Isekai power-up, but having any at this point would help out a lot. "Even if this is a power... How the hell am I supposed to use it if I don't know what the colors even mean?!" Subaru was starting to get irritated at his powers, isn't there supposed to be a girl that comes and teaches you how to use your powers?!

"Please don't feel tense, Natsuki-Sama, if you truly have nothing to hide, just tell the truth. You won't get anywhere otherwise." Crusch decided to remind Subaru one last time that lying won't get him anyone in this questioning.

"Depending on the answers they give me, I might have to dodge them instead." Subaru thought to himself. He didn't want to be labeled as a cultist, but if he is forced to describe who might have summoned him, then he might as well be labeled dead. "Even if I ran away in the wagon, Wilhelm would have just thought I was a cultist and k-k-killed me. I think I made the right choice by trying to keep him happy." With that, the questioning begins

"Crusch-Sama, I would like to ask the first question if I may," Wilhelm said

"You may speak, he is your guest, after all, Wilhelm-San."

"Subaru-Dono, where is your hometown?" Wilhelm stared at Subaru while asking the question. This has been the point of contention for most of his time knowing Subaru. He must be foreign if he knows so little about Lugnica."

"Should I answer with a Far away place… or should I tell them I came from another world." Subaru thought to himself, but then he noticed something very interesting. Whenever he thinks about saying he came from a far away place, Crusch's aura turns red, but whenever he thinks about saying he came from another world, her aura changes to a lighter yellow.

"Does that mean I see what effect my answers will have on people before I say it? This power may not be the most glorious power I can think of, but maybe it can save me here." With that, Subaru turned a little bit more confident at the results of this conversation.

"I know this sounds crazy, but I come from another world. I don't know what happened, but at one moment I was in my bathroom, and at the next, I was in the middle of the road." Subaru said. He tried to mix in how he got here so they don't ask about it. "I just need to avoid the topic of the ghost girl."

You could see the surprised faces of everyone in the Crusch camp. They expected to hear a lot of different stories, but this one was truly out of the left field. The one with the most amount of surprise was Crusch herself. She expected to see wind around him, but he was being completely honest with her.

"Y-You come from beyond the great waterfall, Subaru-Kyuh?" Felix said. Felix's thought process did a complete 180. If he is beyond the great waterfall, wouldn't it be beneficial to have him on our side?

"It doesn't seem you are lying, Natsuki Subaru. You may turn out to be more interesting than I expected." As Subaru predicted, Crusch's aura turned a light shade of yellow. She still had a poker face that wouldn't let up for now, unlike Felix, but her thought process was still similar.

"You may be a great asset, Subaru-sama." Crusch thought to herself

"Crusch-Sama, may I ask if he is speaking the truth." Wilhelm asked

"Yes, Wilhelm-san, he seems to be telling the truth." Crusch said to Wilhelm and then turned to Subaru. "Subaru, are you sure there was nothing in between you going into the rest, and you landing on the road.

"Let's see, should I say I looked at a mirror, then I was brought here, or should I say I have no clue?" Subaru then tried to check if the aura would change, but neither of the answers seemed to change anything. "Guess I'll go with the second one, the less they know, the better."

"I don't have a clue how I got here after I went into the bathroom." Subaru responded to Crusch's questions. Subaru technically didn't lie, since he didn't know how he got here, but he did stretch the truth.

"I see, so you're from a place we don't know off, and you have no clue how you got here. That seems like an interesting situation to be in" Crusch commented on what she knew so far. She knew that he was hiding something, but for now, she doesn't know if it was worth trying to make him tell her.

"Well then, let's get straight to the point, Subaru-Sama. Are you a danger to Lugnica? Please respond with Yes, or No. Anything else will be taken as a yes." Crusch said.

In response to Crusch's question, Wilhelm put his hand on a sword. A red aura flared up from Wilhelm.

"If I get this one wrong, say goodbye to my head, but it should be easy enough to avoid." Subaru thought to himself.

"No" Subaru plainly said.

A short silence was presented after the answer, waiting for Crusch to give her judgment upon Subaru.

"Wilhelm, you can calm down. He is safe" Crusch said while waving her hands as a gesture for them to calm down. Just as fast as it came, Wilhelm's aura stopped flaring.

"Ah, so Subaru-Kyuh isn't a witch cultist. So, now I can officially see him as human, and human boys have raging hormones, so stay away from Crusch-Sama!" Felix said in a joking manner.

"Ah, Felix, how can I be serious when you say those kinds of things." A tired Crusch responded

"Natsuki-Sama, since you have nowhere else to go, why don't you stay as a guest with us?" Crusch proposed the offer to Subaru. She believed he wouldn't have any luck finding money soon, so she thought it would be a great opportunity to gain knowledge from him.

"You are seriously going to let me stay here rent-free? You are as great as Felix say's, Crusch-san." Subaru didn't think about what he was saying too much, since he was just grateful to have somewhere to be.

"Well, it's not completely out of the goodness of my heart. In Lugnica, we believed in fair trade. So, for me to lend you a place to live, you have to tell me useful things about your world. He also has to create something useful every week you stay here. If you agree to those terms, then I can let you stay" Crusch made her offer to Subaru. She had plenty of guest rooms, and spare space, so having him around would barely be a burden. Depending on what he gives her, he could be paying back the rent 10 fold.

Just before Subaru could reply, a loud shout was heard in the distance.

"Give me back my insignia you thief!" The shout of a girl was heard

"There seems to be some trouble nearby, Crusch-Sama. Shall I go assist the girl? It would certainly improve your image." Wilhelm requested

"Hm, that would be true, and it only seems to be a small-time robbery so the chance of damage is low. If that's the case, then I allow you to intervene. Do well, Wilhelm-San." Crusch permitted Wilhelm to stop the thief.

"If Wilhelm-San is going then I-" Subaru tried to tag along since that may have been his heroine but was promptly stopped

"You're not going anywhere Natsuki Subaru, we need to finish our conversation. Based on Wilhelm's evaluation of you, you'll probably bring him down, so please do not interrupt." Crusch shut him down

Just like that, Natsuki Subaru's pride has taken a 100-point hit.

"I gotta be able to do something to help?" Subaru tried one last time

"Are you saying you don't want to help me? I may not be the most lady-like…" Crusch laid the bait, but a different animal than the one she wanted got it first.

"No Crusch-Sama! You are the most lady-like in the whole world! Anybody would fall to your beauty, your grace, your char-" Felix was about to go on a monologue

"Sorry to interrupt Felix, but I would like Natsuki-Sama's answer." Crusch said. Crusch did appreciate Felix and everything she did for him. He always helps her calm down, thinks rationally, and has saved her many times before, but sometimes his praise for her does go beyond normal.

Subaru slumped his shoulders and laid back. "Well, if that's what you need, Crusch-Sama." Subaru responded. With that Wilhelm quickly sprinted away to go and catch the thief.

"Now, back to our topic Natsuki-Sama, do you agree to the terms?" Crusch said as she put out her hand.

"Well, I don't think I'll get any better terms. Thanks for letting me stay." Subaru said, as he reached out and shaked her hand. Crusch had a smile on her face, showing that she was satisfied.

Crusch crossed her legs and said, "Well, your "payment" will start tomorrow, Felix will show you to a free guest room nearby. He'll catch you up to speed with how things operate here."

"Why do I have to do it Crusch-Sama, can't you get a maid to do it." Felix said

"Well, I want you two to get along, so this should help." Crusch said with a smile. Felix was going to respond, but the smile got him.

"Fine, Crusch-Sama." Felix said with his cat ears drooping. "Subaru-Kyoh, do you know how to read? We can't have someone that doesn't know how to read, living with Crusch-Sama." Felix said, obviously a little annoyed

"When I saw the signs on the ride here, I couldn't read it, so I'm guessing no." Subaru said

"Well, this will be a long ride" Felix groaned

After Subaru was shown his room, and taught some basic things about the world, along with some of the alphabet, Felix left Subaru to his own devices in his room.

His room was pretty bland, it had a small bed in the corner, a closet with a lamp on top next to it, the floor also had a green carpet, and there was one big window.

"For a rich person's fantasy guest room, this is dull." Subaru thought to himself. Subaru then yawned.

"Well, it seems to be night outside. The stars seemed to be different from what I know... Maybe I'll ask Felix about them sometime. Guess I'll go to sleep for now."

With that, Subaru turned off the lamp and headed to bed.

"Ah, this is the real start to my isk-" Subaru was interrupted by a decently strong wind.

"The door is closed... So why were their winds, and why was it so cold?" Subaru was somewhat confused. The average temperature of the room was going down fast. "Maybe Lugncia gets cold at night." Subaru thought to himself

Subaru got out of bed, to try and find someone that would give him an extra blanket for the night. As he got to the door, the cold increased. He went through with it anyway and reached for the doorknob.

His hand never reached the knob. It was completely frozen before he could process what just happened.

"Ah, my hand. Feels cold" Subaru then looked at his hand

"Wait, why am i-, AHHHH" Subaru fell and started to scream

"MY HAND, no, no, no, my hand!" Subaru was screaming and trying to move away from the door. His shoes started to freeze. His blood started to stop, and the cold was moving through his body. He no longer had the power to say anything. He kept trying to make it but every second it got harder, and harder.

"No, I can't die like this. I wasn't supposed to die like this?! God, please I'm sorry for saying I wanted to die. I take it back, I take it all back. Spare me, Spare me, please! No, I can't, I won't"

All Subaru could think about was begging to be spared

"NO, I won't let you, I won't let you! I'm going to live, Live, LIVE!" Subaru thought until his body was completely frozen.

The last thing Subaru heard was

"Love and Suffering… are the same person with a different mask."

Another Chapter completed!

Thanks for all the support in the past two chapters, they mean a lot to me.

-TonkaDev Out!