-Ram's Room-
"First off, you are not to undress, ever." Ram says sternly with no room for argument.
However, one is brought up anyway by Subaru, "I get that. But how am I suppo-"
"No means no. That's my body, no matter whose soul is within it. I will not allow you to do as you please with it, especially anything perverted."
"Who said I was going to do anything perverted?!" Subaru shouts back at her, frustrated.
"Quiet, in fact! Do you want someone to come in here?" Beatrice scolds Subaru for making too much noise. Though no one may notice anything out of the blue if they were to suddenly barge in here, she'd like to have everything settled by the time they have to meet up with everyone else.
"Sorry…"
"As long as you understand, I suppose."
"Now then, moving on." Ram says, "I realize that we must do our…business. It's unavoidable, and I will NOT have you ruin my underwear or any of my other clothes because of it."
Subaru asks, "Then how…"
"Whenever you must go, inform me immediately. I will then lead you to the bathroom and blindfold you. After that, we'll go in and you will do your business."
"Um…Ram? I don't exactly like having people watch over me in the bathroom. That's like…beyond embarrassing…"
"I object to Ram's unreasonable rules, in fact! What were you planning to do when you had to use the restroom?" Beatrice furrows her eyebrows at the maid.
"I would simply go. Unlike Barusu, I have no interest in what is down there. Frankly, it's rather annoying and I'd cut it off if I-"
"No! I BEG you! Please don't!" Subaru pleads.
"Such hypocrisy, in fact!" Beatrice deeply frowns in frustration. "If you're allowed to go to the restroom normally, then so is he. Betty won't let you inconvenience him like this, I suppose."
"Beako!" Subaru's so happy how much she's sticking up for him he could almost cry.
"...Fine." Ram finally relents. If she's being honest with herself, she does see how ridiculous her demand was just now. However, "I'm still not letting him change on his own. I'll take care of that."
Subaru understands that she just doesn't want him to see her naked body, which is completely reasonable. He may not be as opposed to it as Ram, but he doesn't really want her seeing his body on full display either. While the bathroom issue may be unavoidable, they can aim to eliminate as many chances to see the others' naked body as much as possible.
"Alright. Then I guess I'll dress my body too."
Ram looks at him like she wants to object, and even opens her mouth. Though she then closes it. After a moment, she reopens her mouth to say, "Go get your butler outfit Barusu. I'll change into that. After that we'll discuss further rules and plans for the day."
-Hallway-
Subaru nods and heads out the door. He doesn't get more than a few steps down the hall before he runs into Rem.
"Good morning Nee-huh?" Rem initially smiles and greets him before cutting herself off and frowning. "What…?"
O-Oh no! Am I not imitating Ram well enough?! Subaru panics. Beatrice had already figured out their situation. And while he's very grateful to have her assistance in this chaotic stream of events, it'd cause unnecessary trouble if everyone knew about their situation!
The good news is just like Rem and Subaru, Rem and Ram have an excellent relationship with one another. They love each other dearly just like Subaru and Rem do. The main difference being the sisters' love is platonic while Subaru and Rem's is on a more romantic level. Though they haven't pursued their romantic relationship all that much due to Subaru's love for Emilia and having her as his #1 in his heart.
So, acting as Ram's kinder side who she shows only in front of Rem and Roswaal as far as Subaru knows shouldn't be difficult at all. Yet has he somehow screwed up already?
"Um...m-morning Rem. I hope you slept well last night." Subaru greets with a slightly forced smile. Dang it! Why did I stutter?! Ram never stutters like that! Her expression is so unusual from how she usually looks at Ram so I have no idea what she's thinking!
"Yes, um…morning Nee-sama. I'm sure you'll be pretty happy to hear this. Roswaal is really wanting steamed tatoes for breakfast this morning. I'm sure Subaru-kun and Frederica-san would appreciate having a break from cooking for him."
Trying to remain calm, he replies, "Really? Well, I'll proudly do my best for Roswaal-sama. It has been quite a while since we've had that. Now, um, I have something I need to do before going to the kitchen. See you in a little."
Subaru immediately runs off before Rem can reply. Reaching his room, he quickly grabs the butler outfit. Leaving the room, he makes sure that no one is watching him as he returns to Ram's room.
-Ram's Room-
"Back." Subaru announces.
"I heard what happened out there, I suppose. Rem seemed a little suspicious of you." Beatrice says.
"Don't worry. I don't think she figured out I wasn't Ram."
"That was passable." Ram says with no distinguishable emotion. "However, I do not stutter my words like that. Make sure to prevent yourself from doing that in the future."
"Yeah, I know."
"Oh, Betty should inform you of this, I suppose. The witch's miasma has moved from Subaru's body to Ram's body."
"Seriously?! You should've told me sooner! Rem probably smelled it on me and is now super suspicious that her sister has the scent all of a sudden!"
"Betty admittedly hasn't thought of that, in fact. So few aside from those Witch Cultists can sense it, Betty included. Rem almost never mentions it, so Betty had forgotten." Beatrice tilts her head down in disappointment at herself. If she had informed him sooner, they could've made some sort of excuse for Rem as to why Ram has the scent.
"I've never been capable of sensing the miasma unlike Rem, but knowing my body expels it like body odor is beyond disgusting. More so as Rem can unfortunately smell it. Barusu, prostrate yourself and beg for forgiveness for making my body abhorrent to stand by." Ram's piercing gaze nearly shatters Subaru's frail heart.
He complies with her order, "I'm sorry! I'd do something about it if I could! Really!"
"Nee-sama, it's alright. Whether you have the witch's scent or not, I'd still love you as my dear elder sister." A new voice makes itself known in the room. Everyone turns to the door to see that a blue-haired maid has entered.
"Huh?! W-What are you doing here Rem?" Subaru, shocked by her sudden entrance, forgets to properly act and speaks as his usual self but with Ram's voice.
"Sorry. What Beatrice-sama says is correct. I can now sense the witch's miasma on Nee-sama's body. Due to that, I became suspicious and went into the adjacent room as I saw her come out of her room. Wait, I guess I should say he."
"So, you heard everything I suppose?" Beatrice asks.
Rem nods, "Yes. I'm a little upset none of you came to tell me, especially as it involves the two most important people in the world to me. Anyway, this is really surprising! To think Subaru-kun and Nee-sama swapped bodies…"
She steps forward and observes the two as if they're strangers. "How did this even happen…"
"Sorry Rem, I just didn't want to bother you with our bothersome predicament." Ram explains the reason for not telling her.
She pouts, "Geeze. You need to learn to bother your little sister with stuff like this from time to time! But anyway, knowing you're Nee-sama yet you have Subaru-kun's voice and body really is strange. I'm going to have trouble getting used to this…"
"I suppose Rem knowing is fine. Betty knows she probably won't leak it to anyone else."
"I swear to Emilia-sama that this won't be discovered by anyone else!" Rem proudly declares. "After all, no one else is able to detect the witch's scent."
"You swear to Emilia? Does that mean you're planning on telling her, I suppose?" Beatrice's butterfly eyes narrow on the blue-haired maid.
She firmly denies and then asks, "Subaru-kun, Nee-sama, how does it feel to be in each other's bodies? Is it uncomfortable at all or are you adapting well?"
Subaru answers first. "I think I'm fine. It's not like our bodies are that different in terms of overall build. It's pretty easy to adapt." He flexes one arm and swings the other around in a rotating motion. His arms then move towards the hair covering his left eye, "Although these bangs are seriously getting in my way. I don't understand how you sisters don't find being able to only see out of one eye annoying. Hey Nee-sama, do you have a hair clip or two that I could use?"
"No. Even if I did, I wouldn't give it to you." She replies.
"Why?"
She tactlessly sighs, not saying anything beyond that.
Rem answers in her stead. "Subaru-kun, I'm sorry our hairstyle is bothering you so much. I wanted to try growing out my bangs one day several years ago and Nee-sama decided to do so as well. We ended up really liking it and kinda…well…never changed it. Like ever. So, um, if you were to put a hair clipping to move the bangs up you're going to be the center of attention. And I'm certain that's the exact opposite of what everyone in here is wanting."
"That's right, in fact. Give it up Subaru." Beatrice digs the final nail in the coffin in there being any hope of Subaru seeing out of both of his eyes normally.
"Ah! I just remembered, I promised Meili-san I'd help sew one of her torn dolls back together. So I'll need to head out for now. Subaru-kun, Nee-sama, you both have my full support and I'll help however I can. Is there any plan on how you'll go back to your original bodies? Actually, how did you two swap bodies in the first place?"
"No idea. I just woke up and was in Ram's body like this. No explanation given." Subaru responds, shrugging. "Beako is going to go to the library to try to figure this out. Although it could take up to a week to find anything, at least according to her. So we'll have to act as each other until then."
"Don't make it sound like Betty is making unreasonable requests, I suppose! Hmph!" Beatrice puffs her cheeks out in a cute manner, causing Subaru to chuckle a little.
"I see…" Rem frowns at the miniscule amount of information they have. She directs her attention to Ram's body before redirecting to Subaru's. She tells Ram about what Roswaal desires for breakfast, which makes her smile at this rare opportunity to cook one of her best dishes for her master.
After that, she puts a hand on the door knob. Before turning it, she looks at Subaru and says, "Subaru-kun, um…I'm sure you'll probably not want to hear about this in your current state, but…"
"What is it Rem? I'm sure it can't be that bad."
"Remember the date you arranged with Emilia-sama? It's tomorrow."
"Oh yeah! I'm so looking forward to that! It's gonna be one of the best days of my…oh…" Subaru, initially extremely excited at recalling the date he planned with Emilia about a week ago, slowly trails off as it dawns on him. He's in the wrong body!
"Rem-san! Where are you? You told me you were going to fix my doll today! I'm starting to think it'll never get fixed!" A child's voice rings throughout the hall, sounding both annoyed and upset.
A troubling look forms on Rem's face as she looks behind and into the hallway. "Sorry, I need to help her out. I've been putting it off long enough. If anyone needs anything, then please come to me. I'll help however I can!"
With that, Rem exits the room and looks for Meili. As soon as the door shuts, Subaru turns his head to Ram.
"No." She says.
"But I didn't say anything!" He retorts.
"Your pleading eyes are telling me your exact thoughts Barusu. My answer is no. Cancel your date with Emilia-sama. You can always go out with her another time."
"I-It's not that easy Ram! You know how busy Emilia-tan is with studying for the Royal Selection! Not to mention how time consuming it is to keep up diplomatic relationships with both the Crusch and Anastasia factions. That and the fact I often go on shopping trips with Rem, and Beako wants me to pamper and spoil her rotten all the time. There's not many opportunities for alone time."
"Hey! Don't call me rotten, in fact! You should realize just how much of a privilege it is to pamper a Great Spirit such as Betty. Betty doesn't let anyone else do it. I suppose."
Subaru grins widely as he bends over to pick the Great Spirit up, causing her to shriek in shock for a moment. "H-Hey! What do you think you're doing with Betty, I suppose?!"
"Spoiling you rotten, of course!" He sets her on his shoulders and begins to rock his body from side to side, as if he's playing with a child.
"W-Well…" Beatrice blushes a little. "T-This is fine, in fact! Betty doesn't mind being carried around by Subaru, even if he is in Ram's body. Just don't leave me alone, I suppose."
"Never planned on it! Though…what am I going to do about Emilia-tan…" His tone shifts to one of worry as he tries to figure out his next plan. He sets Beatrice down.
"Why did you put Betty down, I suppose? You usually carry me for longer…" A sullen look forms on her face as she asks this.
Subaru ignores her as he focuses on just how exhausted he's feeling. That knocked the wind out of my sails way more than I expected. What's going on with me? Ever since I've woken up my entire body feels like it's being weighed down by a sack of tatoes. Mmm…tatoes sound really good right about now.
"Put it off for later. I still have one more thing that we need to talk about." Ram says sternly. Watching the Great Spirit and her contractor goof around like this makes her feel a tiny bit jealous. As for why, she's not sure.
"Yeah? What is it?"
"My acquisition of mana from Roswaal-sama."
"Ah…" Subaru is well aware of the fact that Ram cannot regenerate mana naturally due to having lost her horn. To compensate for that, Roswaal would routinely give her mana every evening. He's never known how exactly the procedure goes. She'd never tell him and the only other person who does know, Rem, withholds the knowledge from him solely to respect her privacy. The only thing he does know is that they tend to take a long time and that once in a while when passing by Roswaal's office, he'd hear her moaning, which would send chills throughout his body. Whatever they're doing, he wants no part of it.
"It's quite regrettable to say this, but I have no choice but to leave it to you to accomplish this. It's imperative that Roswaal-sama does not detect anything amiss. If he figures out he's giving Barusu his mana…"
"Would he even react? I feel like he'd be the type to laugh it off as if it were some sort of sick joke. Anyway, I don't want to do it. Can't it be avoided for a few days?"
"Certainly. If you wish to end up in an helpless pathetic state and be unable to do anything but lie on the floor as an annoying obstacle. Don't tell me you're that lazy Barusu. That's a new low for you."
"I'm not lazy! And I wouldn't lie on the floor like that! If anyone is lazy around here, it's you! But…fine. It's a simple mana transfer, right? Essentially what Beako and I do but in reverse."
"Yes. That reminds me. Beatrice-sama, are you still in your contract with Barusu?" Ram asks the Great Spirit.
She nods, "Betty can still feel the connection with Subaru, in fact. While Betty can sense Subaru's soul within Ram's body, my body refuses to accept mana from her body. Betty will need to continue absorbing from Subaru's, in fact."
"Will it be uncomfortable or painful?" Ram asks, slightly concerned about the procedure. She's very used to having mana poured into her body. She's never had it sucked out forcefully before.
"Does Roswaal complain whenever he gives you mana?"
"No. He never has."
"Then there's your answer, I suppose. Now come on, Betty is antsy to get this show on the road.
"Antsy? Get this show on the road? You say some very peculiar things, Beatrice-sama." Ram tilts her head, giving a very Subaru-like look of confusion.
"Subaru taught me these sayings, in fact!" Beatrice crosses her arms and gives a smug smile to Ram.
"Of course he did…" She eyes him with a glare, causing him to sweat a little.
After this, the topic of changing clothes comes up again. Finally, the time has come for them to switch out of their bed clothes and into their proper work clothes for the day. Beatrice is told to leave the room, to which she does.
"Barusu, put this on!" Ram says, holding a blindfold.
"Alright…" He puts it on.
"You can't see anything, right?"
"Yep."
"Are you sure? If you're lying to me…"
"I'm very sure Nee-sama! Come on, let's just get this over with please…"
Ram sighs, "Very well. Don't move a muscle unless I tell you to."
This feels so weird. I know this isn't my body, but it's so embarrassing having her see me naked like this. Subaru thinks as Ram takes off the various layers of clothing.
"Huh, you're surprisingly staying rather still and not trying to do anything lewd. Ten points." Ram says as she walks back to him with her maid outfit in hand, having to step away from him for a moment to go into her closet to grab it.
"Of course I'm not trying anything like that! But what are the points for?"
"For being a decent human being. Now, step here." Ram directs him as he puts on the maid outfit.
"Oh wow! How thoughtful…wait a minute! Are you mocking me or actually complimenting me?"
"Who knows?"
Subaru sighs at this very Ram-like answer coming from his own body.
It's a surreal experience for Ram to dress her own body from an outsider's perspective like this. She's able to view herself from thousands of different angles that she never could have before, and is able to see herself in a more objective light.
As I thought, I do look quite lovely.
Eventually they finish and move onto Ram, who has similar thoughts to Subaru about being embarrassed. As he removes the clothes, his eyes widen.
All over his upper arms are scars, and lots of them. Some are more fresh than others. If one were to take a close look at them, it'd be very easy to see that these were self-inflicted and not the result of an accident, like falling into a thorny bush. Why? Well, while some of the cuts are general straight or curvy lines, others are carved in such a way that they form symbols from the Japanese language. They say various things, such as:
"Why?"
"Why me?"
"How?"
"Stop this…"
Crap, I've been so focused on the fact we swapped bodies that I forgot I had these. There's no way she can know about this. I know I've told Beako not to heal them, but I'm going to have to tell her to.
To cope with all of his traumatic deaths over the past year and even in the past few months, along with it being a response to some of his intense nightmares, Subaru has routinely stabbed or cut himself on his upper arms and legs. The wounds are not very deep nor do they cause too much pain, at least not compared to his deaths. But still, if one were to look they'd definitely notice all the scars he has. Not wishing to be questioned on it, he's kept it a secret from everyone aside from Beatrice.
He didn't want to tell even Beatrice at first, but being his contracted spirit who sleeps with him at night, she was bound to find out eventually, which she did. He couldn't give any detailed explanation, lest he risk triggering the taboo. However, he did say he was suffering from severe nightmares and just ended up doing that as of a result. Horrified, she wanted to heal them all. However, feeling like he deserved the scars, as well as reminding him that he's lived yet another day without dying, Subaru barely managed to convince her to leave them alone.
"Ram?"
"What is it?"
"Remember when you told me to never undress? I ask you to do the same. Never undress my body, ever. Aside from what's absolutely necessary to go to the bathroom." He says in a low tone that makes it seem as if he's threatening severe consequences if she doesn't do as he asks.
Ram unconsciously gulps at how serious and threatening he sounded just now. "I have no desire to gaze at your scrawny body Barusu." She replies in her usual uninterested tone.
Though she says that, she can't help but wonder, Why did you ask me like that? Are you hiding some sort of secret? He doesn't seem to be the reserved type. Still… Looking down at her chest, she frowns. As long as I'm in his body, I feel like I have the right to know what's going on. But I doubt I'll get any answers out of him. Rem may know. She's closer to him.
Once Ram is dressed in the butler outfit, they both take a look in the mirror side by side.
"Wow, I really do look just like you Ram." Subaru comments.
"I can say the same about you Barusu. Fifteen points."
"For?"
"Not messing up in dressing me. With this, as long as we act like one another completely, no one should detect anything awry."
"Dang! Am I actually getting affection points from-"
"No. I am simply complimenting you on not screwing up." She interrupts, making sure there is no misunderstanding. "Dream if you wish to receive my affection. I have no idea what Rem sees in you."
"Well, to be fair, she has no idea what you see in Roswaal-hmph?!" Subaru finds that his mouth is being blocked from speaking any further by Ram's, or rather, his own hand.
"That's quite enough Barusu. Let's go, I need to cook tatoes for Roswaal-sama."
"Ah…yeah."
-Subaru's Room-
"Don't think you're getting away from this, in fact!" Beatrice grips to Ram. The former thought that after the two changed clothes, the latter would come straight to her so she could drain her, no, Subaru's mana. Instead, she found Ram trying to sneak off into the kitchen like a guilty dog who's done something bad. Calling out to her, Beatrice dragged her into Subaru's room.
"My apologies, Beatrice-sama. I don't want to intrude on your relationship with Barusu by doing this."
"You intruded the moment you swapped bodies with him, I suppose!" She shouts in frustration. Throughout the morning Beatrice has slowly been figuring out that in order to maintain appearances, she's going to have to spend a lot more time with Ram than normal. And, as a consequence, less time with Subaru.
Betty never asked to spend time with this maid, in fact. She groans in despair. Sitting on the bed, she gestures for Ram to sit next to her.
"Hold out your hand." Beatrice tells her as she holds out her own right hand. She does as instructed. Beatrice grabs ahold of hers.
"Hk!" Ram lets out a small sound as she feels the mana in Subaru's body getting sucked out of her like a vacuum. She's so used to having mana flowing into her from an outside source, like a faucet. Her fingers tingle a little at the strange sensation. It doesn't really hurt, but it feels a little uncomfortable.
She equates what she's experiencing now to how her mana typically drains whenever she has to fight. A lot of mana is expelled to form the wind blades she uses to attack with. However, while it's the closest resemblance she has to experiencing the drainage of mana at a rapid pace, it's not exactly the same. Whenever she fights she willingly forces the mana to flow through her body and out her gate. Here, an outside entity is forcing her mana to travel out of her gate without any assistance or interference on her part.
"All done, in fact." Beatrice announces after about half a minute.
"I see, so this is how you get your mana." Ram says, feeling a little more of the fatigue she's extremely familiar with. Though compared to her general state before she and Subaru swapped bodies, she's still feeling way more energetic.
Barusu must be struggling immensely with the weariness that plagues my body. I doubt he'll be able to get any work in today. Luckily for him, I'm feeling rather lively today, so I believe I'll be able to handle more work than usual.
Ram honestly couldn't blame the poor butler if he collapsed while working on his first chore of the day. The lethargicness of lacking mana has been plaguing her ever since she lost her horn. Over the years she's slowly grown accustomed to the fatigue and has determined how much she can work without going over her limit. Subaru isn't used to dealing with a mana deprived body like hers, so she figures he will not last very long.
"Yes. Betty is unable to absorb mana from the atmosphere. As such, Betty relies on her partner Subaru for the mana, I suppose. Now that this is done, let us go eat I suppose."
Beatrice hops off the bed and leaves for the kitchen, not once looking back at Ram.
Wondering if she's going to find Subaru collapsed in a hallway at some point today and also thinking back to how serious Subaru acted when he told her not to undress beyond what was absolutely necessary to go to the bathroom, Ram heads for the kitchen to cook steamed tatoes for Roswaal.
-Author's Corner-
Turns out the conversations and details of the morning events went on for way longer than I initially expected them to. Day 1 will continue in the next chapter.
Thanks to Aftermather for beta reading this chapter!
AcceleratorLO: Thanks! And this is a T rated fic. So none of that will be happening.
SentinalSlice: When Ram lost her horn, she lost the ability to absorb mana from the atmosphere. Due to that, Ram generally has smaller quantities of mana compared to everyone else. And when someone is low on mana, they feel tired, even when they're not doing much of anything. Subaru and Beatrice won't be spending as much time together due to the latter needing to research, but I'm sure Subaru hanging out with her will definitely help recharge his batteries.
Deathenglegamers1144: Heh.