A.N.: Hello there! Bit of a short one to get started, but going forward the chapters will be bulkier, though perhaps not as much as the ones in my previous fic!

I am back once more with a new fanfic project; This one in a fandom that I have not written for before... Sounds interesting! I hope you will enjoy this story, and I will the meat of the notes at the end. Do be warned, there be spoilers for quite a few things going forward, especially for season 1 and 2 of the anime; If that is fine by you, then by all means continue on! With that said, onto the story!

Divine Blessing of Deathsight.

A useless ability that had taken far too long for Harisson to figure out. According to his parents, he was four years old when discovered that not everyone could see numbers floating above people's heads after asking them if they had ever seen a number besides zero. He was nine years old when he started figuring out what these numbers even meant, when a child from the village fell into a river during winter, no longer breathing when a brave adult managed to drag them out after jumping in after them. Harisson watched, mistified, as the red zero above the head of the child went to one as the adult cried out that their heart had stopped. Thankfully, the child survived. Brought back by repeated chest thumping and a healer's visit from a close city. That was the day Harisson understood what the red number meant. Those who'd had a very near brush with death, close enough for their life to hang in the state between.

When they'd gone to visit the city with their parents to help manage the stall where they sold their produce, he'd occasionally see people with a red one above their head. Once, he even saw an old man with a two above their head.

He was fourteen when he first discovered what the black number meant.

One of the builders working on one of the shops in the commercial plaza had fallen after getting his feet tangled in some poorly placed rope, all the way from the roof to the pavement before anyone could intervene. They'd hit the ground head first, dying on impact. As the crowd panicked, cries for the guard mixing with shouts of alarm, Harisson had watched in horror as the black number above the man's now fractured head turned to one before both numbers faded away.

Harisson had tried thinking of a way to make his power useful, to help people. He'd failed. Perhaps if he'd been smarter, like the scholars of the capital, he'd have come up with something. But Harisson was no scholar.

And so, when the opportunity came for him to train under an innkeeper, he'd taken it. The owner had been a kind old woman, who could use the help with running the place as much as he could use the training she could provide him. He'd learned a lot under her, from managing the finance of a place like this to cooking and preparing drinks. He owed her a lot, and even as he moved out of the city following a letter from his father he'd promised to come visit whenever he could.

A distant relation of theirs who owed an inn in a village a few days of travel away had recently decided to move onto different things, and was looking for someone to hand the place to. Seeing this, Harisson's father had made sure to put his son forward as an option. It was a brilliant opportunity; A village like that would be seeing regular activity without being as busy as the crowded city; Perfect for a relative beginner like himself. Even better, it was located within the domain of the Margrave himself! The moment Harisson had finished reading his father's letter, he'd packed up his affairs, dealt with the last of his business in town and moved out. The cost of hiring a ground-dragon carriage had been expensive, costing him much of his savings, but that was fine by him. If he could make this work, it would all be worth it. A small smile spread over his lips as the carriage took off into the early morning.

This was a new start. A new beginning!

"...And this is the key to the cellar." Harisson stared intently at the small bronze key, doing his best to memorize it among the two dozen others attached to the keyring. "Last one here is for the cabinet of drinks, to lock it up during the night. Any questions?" Harisson grinned at the burly man standing in front of him.

"Any trouble makers I should be on the lookout for?" The man laughed, shaking his head.

"Ha! None among the regulars. Good folk the people around here. You'll be fine. Travelers and merchants, well that's always a coin flip." He tapped the counter. "If anyone causes you some issues, I've left you a little something to defend yourself in case it goes too far. Though I'd advise first relying on the other villagers for help, and if it gets really bad you can try and get some help from the manor." Harisson nodded. That was reassuring; He'd dealt with drunks before, but he was far from considering himself even an amateurish fighter. "It's not worth getting injured just to teach an idiot a lesson. If it does get to that point though, again go to the manor. A few of the people there use healing magic." Harisson let out an inner sigh. Magic... now wasn't that a wonderful thing. Unlike his useless ability.

"That's good to know. I'll try and avoid trouble." He grinned at the older man. "So, the capital huh? You're moving up the world, old man!" A boisterous laugh was soon followed by a slap on the back that threatened to send him sprawling on the floor.

"Oi! I ain't so old you can call me that." A proud smile spread on the man's face. "And yeah, I was surprised myself... but I want to make sure I can give my Olia the best education I can. As much as I love this village, I can't offer her that here." His expression softened as he looked down at Harisson. "Still, this is a big change for you as well huh? Remember, if there's any issues or you're running into trouble, just send me a letter and I'm a dragon carriage away." Harisson sighed.

"Come on Aris. I'm not going to make you come all the way from the capital." His eyes widened as a hand was placed on his head, messing his hair.

"Don't be stupid. You're family. And you're doing me a favor taking over here. It's good to know I've got someone I can trust to take care of the place." Aris stared at the large open room around them, full of recently cleaned tables and chairs. Harisson stayed quiet. "I've put a lot of work into building this place up." The man's voice was full of emotion as he spoke, a nostalgic smile on his face. "I'm going to miss it."

"You're always welcome to visit old man." Harisson grumbled, pushing the hand off his head. "I'll make sure to keep it all nice and clean for you."

"I appreciate it kid."

"Don't call me that. I'm twenty years old."

"Stop calling me old man and I'll consider it." Aris chuckled as Harisson rolled his eyes, a small smile on his face. "Well. I guess that's everything then." Harisson couldn't help but feel a twinge at knowing the man would be leaving today.

"Right. Need a hand carrying your stuff?" Aris shook his head.

"It's alright. I've got everything handled." Without hesitation, the burly man opened his arms, dragging Harisson into a hug. "You take care of yourself, yeah? The place's important, but your health is as well. Don't run yourself into the ground." Harisson froze for a moment, before slowly relaxing.

"...Right. I'll do my best."

"Good." Aris pulled back. "Well then. Take care, Harisson. And again, welcome to Arlam."

Harisson hummed to himself as he finished double checking the inventory given to him by Aris before the man's departure. By now, he should be a few hours into his trip to the capital. Hopefully he won't run into any trouble.

Something caught his eye as he examined the room. A gaggle of faces staring through one of the windows, immediately dropping from view the moment he turned towards them. Harisson tilted his head, before shrugging. He hadn't gotten the chance to properly introduce himself to the villagers; No doubt Aris had informed them someone would be coming to take over from him, but well most of the day had been spent getting Harisson acquainted with the inn itself.

A knock at the door brought him out of his thoughts. He paused. It was quite late; And tomorrow would be his first day of work. He should probably get to bed soon... but then again, he did want to get to know the people of the village. Aris had nothing but good things to say, and Harisson didn't want to come across as aloof.

"Come on in! The door's not locked!" A moment of silence, before the door was swung open, a group of half a dozen kids or so poured into the inn.

"Wow! Aris wasn't lying! It's a new guy!" Exclaimed one of them, pointing at the bemused Harisson.

"New guy!" A snot nosed kid agreed, a wild grin on their face.

"Come on, you're all being rude!" A young girl reprimanded, turning towards him. "I'm sorry sir, they're all very excited!" She said, an apologetic smile on her face.

"It's fine, it's fine!" Harisson said, an amused smile spreading on his lips. "It's nice to meet you all. I'm Harisson. I assume Aris already told you guys I'm taking over the place then?" Reflexively, he looked at the numbers over their heads. Nothing but zeros. Good.

"Yeah! He said some brat is taking over for him!"

"Brat!"

"Bratty brat!" His eyes twitched in annoyance.

"That damn old man..." He shook his head in annoyance. "Anyways, yes I'll be running the place from now on. I hope we get along." He frowned, looking through the window. "It's quite dark. Shouldn't you all be home by now?" The girl's eyes widened.

"I told you guys! Ugh, you couldn't wait until tomorrow!" She grabbed the gaggle of children, dragging them out behind her. Harisson had to stop himself from snorting in amusement at the sight. "Sorry again sir!"

"I told you already, it's fine!" He called out. As they were about to head out, she paused, turning back towards him.

"Oh, and these ones are Mild, Meina, Cain, Dine and Lucas!" She rattled off, pointing to the kids one after the other. "I'm Pettra! Welcome to the village!"

He barely had the time to answer a thank you before the door closed, the sound of the children arguing slowly fading away. A soft chuckle escaped him as he went back to his task. Energetic kids, these ones. He pitied the oldest one... Pettra, was it? His eyes drifted to the door behind the counter, a tired sigh escaping him. Right. The order for the mansion. He needed to have that ready for when they'd come pick it up tomorrow. Aris' had prepared most of it, but with the move out he'd run out of time.

Rolling up his sleeves, Harisson opened the door, faced with a variety of produce. Time to organize. And then, he could get some well deserved sleep.

"Natsuki Subaru enters the scene!" The exclamation followed the sound of the front door swinging open, startling Harisson out of his task; The glass he was cleaning very nearly falling to the ground, only caught by the reflexes of someone who'd done this many times before. "Oops... sorry, a bit loud there." The black haired youth, who'd struck some strange pause the moment he'd opened the door, was now busy rubbing the back of his neck with a slight blush of embarrassment. "Hope I didn't scare ya!"

"N...no, it's all right, just surprised me a little..." Harisson froze as he looked at the younger man.

Impossible.

Incomprehensible.

"I..." Harisson couldn't get the words out of his mouth, his eyes wide as he stared just a little above their head at the black number.

Three.

That... that wasn't possible. His blessing must be wrong. Had to be.

"Eh, I know I can be a little surprising, but even I will be a little embarrassed if you stare at me for so long!" The youth who introduced himself as Subaru said, stepping further into the inn. "So, you're the innkeeper right? I'm new to the mansion, it's nice to meet ya!" Harisson, gulped, taking a moment to center himself.

"R...right. Sorry, just... first day nerves. I just took over from the previous owner."

"Oh, so you're starting a new job as well! Nice, let's both do well!" Subaru grinned, giving him a thumbs up. Hesitantly, Harisson gave one back, giving a tentative smile back. "Let me introduce myself properly; My name is Natsuki Subaru, butler at the Margrave mansion! I'm broke, no longer jobless and helpless! I'll be in your care!" Harisson blinked at the odd introduction, almost enough to distract him from the ominous number floating above Subaru's head. The red number was, strangely enough, only one. That in itself wasn't odd, but... the black number stared back at him. Harisson felt a chill go down his spine.

"Harisson. I'm the new owner here. Nice to meet you." He turned towards the back. "You're here to pick up the order for the mansion I'm guessing then?"

"Got it in one!" Harisson nodded to himself, going into the backroom to grab the two bags of supplies as his mind raced. His blessing had never been wrong before. Had never lied about the truth of what he saw. And yet... This was an impossibility. One could not die more than once. That was a simple truth. If there was a magic that allowed one to return from the dead, Harisson had yet to hear about it. So how could this be?

Heading out of the room, he handed over the two bags one at a time, feeling the weight in his arms as he lifted them up. Subaru grabbed them confidently before bending over suddenly.

"Gah! Heavier than expected!" His eyes frowned in determination. "Don't underestimate a neet with nothing better to do than workout!" With a grunt of exertion, the youth lifted the bags, Harisson cocking an eyebrow at the sight. "Alright, back to the mansion before the kids can find me again. Don't want to risk spilling the bags. Thanks a lot mister!" Harisson nodded, the words he wanted to say so badly stuck at the back of his throat.

"No problem mister Natsuki."

"Gah, that's too formal! Call me Subaru!" Harisson chuckled.

"Alright then. Subaru." The door opened, Subaru grunting as he held the bags up. "Say, Subaru..."

"Yeah?" The black haired young man looked back, clearly struggling to keep both bags up.

"Have you..." Harisson gulped. "Have you died before?" Subaru froze, his eyes wide. A moment of silence passed.

"C...come on, that's silly! I'm right here aren't I?" Subaru quickly turned away. "Anyways, thank you very much and see ya!" With that rather abrupt goodbye the youth was gone, the door clattering close. Harisson stared at it for some time before sighing deeply, collapsing into a nearby chair.

That had been a suspicious reaction if he'd ever seen one. That question had hit something... what, he wasn't sure. Still, even if that was the case... What the hell did it mean? Harisson cursed himself. The kid had clearly freaked out at the question. Congrats Harisson. Great way to approach the subject. Just, ask it directly. Idiot. He shook his head. No use in beating himself down. He'd just have to give it a better shot next time.

He got up, a smile on his lips as the first customer of the day entered the inn. Still, the haunted look that Subaru had had... the sheer pain in those eyes... It had made Harisson deeply uncomfortable.

What the hell had he seen to make him look like that?

So many questions. And it was his first day too.

Od damnit.

A.N.: And there we are! My goal with this fanfic is first and foremost to have fun and entertain folk, so your opinion whether positive or negative is very much appreciate; I have been wanting to write a coffeeshop or similar AU for a while now, but thought it would be even more interesting to make it within the world of Re:Zero, with all of its witches, cult, monsters and of course the dreaded return by death! I have to admit, I'm very excited to write for this story, and will be posting the second chapter for this story in the next couple of days, as I am almost done with it and consider this chapter more of a prologue than anything else.

If you have any questions regarding the story, what happens within it or out, feel free to ask, though I reserve the right to answer cryptically if it involves heavy spoilers for future chapters!