"I mean it, Rein, I'm just fine now. Nothing bad happened." Subaru insisted
Subaru eventually made it to the dining hall. This was supposed to be the start of the first 'how to train your Felt' lesson but Subaru's little breakdown earlier caused Reinhard to be concerned.
Subaru couldn't understand why but it was as if Reinhard had some kind of third sense or something because he kept insisting.
"When you say nothing bad happened, what exactly occurred to make you think that?" Reinhard asked. It was as if everything Subaru said was detected as some kind of lie.
That was when it finally hit Subaru. Reinhard must have some kind of OP ability that could sense if he was lying or not. "W-Well, I guess something happened last night and it kinda spooked me."
Reinhard looked seriously at Subaru for a moment, going through all the potential possibilities in his head before he reached his own conclusions. "I see, so a bad dream, perhaps?"
"Something like that." Subaru said. That was vague enough to not be considered a lie, right? Regardless, it seemed to work as Reinhard seemed to finally relax a little.
"So that's what it was. I feared something serious might have happened to you. It seems that my worries were unwarranted." Reinhard smiled before continuing, "I believe now would be a good time to start with our lessons now."
Here it is, the first lesson on how to use silverware.
…
…
…
"I know what a fork is! I'm not stupid!" Felt argued.
"In that case, this lesson should be easy." Reinhard smiled. With a click of her tongue, Felt shoveled some of the food with her fork. Before she could take a bite, Reinhard intervened. "Not like that, you're supposed to use your fork like this." The knight demonstrated his silverware prowess, and just like the last loop, Felt didn't care.
Subaru couldn't help but chuckle at this. It was kinda nice in a way to relive these little moments.
Felt suddenly pointed her fork to Subaru, taking his chuckle the wrong way. "Hey! What's so funny?"
Not wanting to experience death by fork, Subaru protectively waved his hands in front of himself. "It's nothing, us eating here together like this is just kinda nice, lil' sis."
Felt looked at him with a confused look for a moment. "Lil' sis?" She asked herself. After a moment, she just nodded and smiled. Looks like she still likes that nickname. "Yeah, I guess it's pretty nice. Especially the food. Glad this place has at least one redeeming quality." Being in a better mood, she resumed eating.
--
"There you two are! What's with the hold up?" Felt asked as Reinhard and Subaru entered the room they were going to start their real lessons.
"We were just going over the schedule plan. Just making sure it's lil' sis friendly." Subaru assured.
"You make it sound weird. What do you even mean?" Felt locked her eyes on Subaru, staring at him suspiciously.
"Trust me, you'll thank me later." Subaru smiled and gave the girl a thumbs up.
Felt let out a sigh. "Fine, I want to get this over with anyways."
Reinhard started to teach Felt and Subaru the first lesson soon after. The lessons proceeded practically identical to last time where Felt had a hard time keeping her posture and Subaru was knocking it out of the park.
Subaru was doing so well, it prompted Reinhard to say, "Keep your back straight, Miss Felt. Try following Subaru's lead."
"Grrr… What the hell, big bro? Are you actually a girl in disguise?!" Felt asked, very clearly using this to avoid continuing the lesson.
"That does remind me, you don't need to actively partake in these lessons, friend. I planned them out to be best suited for ladies after all." Reinhard mentioned.
Subaru already knew that a special little hot head wouldn't like that. She had made it clear countless times that they were doing this together. "It's fine, Rein. I already promised Felt we'd be doing this together."
Felt nodded. "You got that right! We're both going through this hell together!"
"Well, if that's what you want, then I have no problem with it." Reinhard said before continuing.
It was kinda embarrassing for Subaru to constantly act ladylike in these lessons but he decided it wasn't too bad. At least he wasn't going to have to wear a dress or anything like that.
After working through the lessons for some time, though it was mainly watching Felt struggling to bow and being polite about it, Carol made her appearance. "Master Reinhard, Lord Roswaal is here. He wishes to have an audience with you and Subaru."
Everything is proceeding almost identical so far, Subaru thought. Now he had to speak with Roswaal and say he was going to work for him. He planned to keep everything the same so he can figure out what happened to him on the fourth night.
The more he thought about it, the more he was puzzled by this whole ordeal. The main confusion was the mere presence of Reinhard. Wasn't he the most powerful and OP person in the world? Unless his return by death malfunctioned somehow, there wasn't any possible way anyone would sneak in and attack.
"Subaru? Are you doing alright?" Reinhard asked, snapping Subaru out of his train of thought.
"I'm fine, Rein. I was just lost in thought." Subaru smiled and gave Reinhard a thumbs up.
Reinhard stared at Subaru suspiciously for a moment before letting it go. "Do you want to see Lord Roswaal? You don't have to see him if you don't want to."
"I'll come! I should put my training to the test anyway."
Reinhard couldn't help but chuckle at this. "Do refrain from actually taking my lessons into practice. Unless you want others to mistake you for a lady, that is."
Subaru's face suddenly grew pale. That was right, these lessons were supposed to be for Felt after all. He was glad that his excitement got the better of him during the last route for him to actually take those lessons into real practice. "Y-Yeah, you're probably right, Rein."
--
"Just name anything you want and if it's within my power, then it's yours."
"Really? In that case…" Subaru stood up, a very familiar look of determination embedded in his eyes.
--
You abandoned our partnership to go work for some clown!
--
Subaru suddenly froze. A very disgusting feeling chilled through his body. Why was he stopping now? He was going to repeat everything so he could find out what happened that night.
He was probably going to die this time around so he had to swallow up this feeling and keep going with his plan.
--
Leave me alone…
--
It felt as if his heart stopped. Felt was really hurt by this. That disgusting feeling he had was regret. He hated how he made Felt cry after that. And now, he hated himself more that he was just about to make Felt go through all that again.
Was it really worth it to do that to her all over again?
--
I promise I'll make things right.
--
Subaru closed his eyes and took a deep breath. After resolving his thoughts, he continued;
"Let me visit the Mathers estate anytime I want!"
…
…
…
Both Carol and Reinhard stared over at Subaru with worried looks plastered on their faces. Roswaal on the other hand hadn't changed his joyous looking expression. "What a veeery~ fascinating wish, Subaru. You really are quite interesting."
Subaru chuckled a little and scratched the back of his head nervously. "I just want to stop by anytime and make sure Emilia's doing alright."
Roswaal stared straight into Subaru's scary looking eyes for a few moments, as if trying to study them. Afterwards, he got himself up. "How noble of you, Subaru. I'm sure Miss Emilia would appreciate the geeesture~ As much as I'd love to stay, I'm afraid I have to attend to other matters. I'll be looking fooorward~ to your visit, Subaru."
Subaru blinked a few times. "You're going already?" Roswaal stayed a while longer last time. Perhaps his wish changed things this time around.
"Fear not, I'm sure our paths will cross again. Perhaps sooner than you might think." Roswaal waved goodbye before Carol escorted him out.
After Roswaal left, Reinhard turned his attention to Subaru. "If you don't mind me asking, what brought you to request that?"
"Like I said earlier, I just want to check up on Emilia from time to time."
Reinhard looked at Subaru for a few moments rather intently. It was clear that he knew that Subaru was hiding something. However, Reinhard let it go as he didn't sense any ill intentions from him. "Just be careful, friend. Most people would find your actions to be rather suspicious."
Subaru just smiled at this. "That only tells me that you trust me, doesn't it, Rein?"
Reinhard in return smiled at the boy's flattery. "Of course, friend. You haven't done anything to warrant anything else. You even protected Miss Felt, it would be foolish of me to believe you had any ulterior motives."
"Gosh, Rein. You're gonna make me blush."
"Really? I had no idea you swung that way…" Reinhard stroked his chin, starting to re-evaluate his outlook on Subaru.
"I didn't mean it like that!" Subaru shouted before Reinhard could get any wrong ideas about him. After clearing the misunderstanding, Reinhard and Subaru returned to the practice room only to find it empty.
"That's strange… Miss Felt should've been in here waiting." Reinhard said.
Oh right, Subaru thought. This was around the time when Felt tried to escape. If he recalled, the twins should be dragging her in right about-
On cue, the door swung open. Flam and Grassis casually walked in as they were hauling Felt in by her legs. It was kinda adorable to watch her try to grab the ground like a cat clawing the floor. "Let go already, will ya?!" Felt demanded.
The twins finally released her as they made it back to the room and Felt quickly hopped back on her feet and brushed herself off. Before anything could be added by the feisty girl, Reinhard spoke up. "I'm glad you're putting in the effort in getting along with others, Miss Felt."
Felt glared at the knight, taking his gratitude as a sign of provocation. "You better not be makin' fun of me!"
"That wasn't my intent. It just seemed like you were getting along with Grassis and Flam." Reinhard explained.
"So I take it that you tried to escape again?" Subaru asked.
"We saw Lady Felt trying to crawl out the window." Flam explained, not giving Felt the chance to defend herself. "In fear of her safety, my sister and I gently took her away from that dangerous situation and politely returned her here."
"Gentle my ass!" Felt yelled. "You both pinned me down and started draggin' me away!"
The twins bowed apologetically to Felt. "Sorry, we'll try a different method next time."
"How about ya both leave me be?!"
Subaru snuck up behind Felt during the bantering and got on his knees being eye level with her. He then whispered, "You got beat up by a little girl~" He couldn't help it. The opportunity was just too perfect to pass up.
Felt growled and elbowed Subaru's side. It actually didn't hurt that bad compared to her usual swings. "It's not my fault! These bean sprouts pack a punch! Oh yeah, what happened with that noble guy down there?"
Reinhard recalled the occurrence. Subaru braced himself for Felt's wrath but at the end of the recap, she clenched her stomach and started laughing.
"Really? You get offered the reward of a lifetime and ya ask for that?" Felt wiped a tear off herself. She found this so funny that she was tearing up a little.
"What do you mean? It's a perfectly reasonable reward! I also finally get to check up on Emilia whenever I want." Subaru defended.
Felt lifted an eyebrow, still smiling from her recent laugh fest. "Really? That half elf? Didn't know you were into that sorta thing, big bro."
"Hey now! Emilia is a very sweet girl and is super beautiful!"
Felt let out a sigh. "Yeah, she's pretty nice. She forgave me just like that after I took her insignia and all. But still, doesn't the fact that she's a half elf make ya feel a little nervous?"
Subaru looked at Felt quizzingly. "What's so bad about half elves? Are they like war mongrels in this world?"
"Are ya messin' with me? The witch was a half elf with silver hair. First ya can't read, then you come from a country that ya made up and now you're sayin' that you never heard of the witch?" Felt asked, looking at Subaru with concern.
"Well, I heard a little bit about it but I don't really get what it means." Subaru revealed, scratching the back of his head nervously.
"Well, we can take a small break in our lessons to teach you a little bit of Lugnica's history. It's important to not offend anyone over ignorance." Reinhard suggested.
"Yeah, you could even get your ass kicked in the slums if ya talk like that." Felt agreed, mainly so she could get out of her own lessons.
Thus, the remaining hours were spent teaching Subaru a more detailed history lesson on Luginica's history. A lot of what was said sounded more like a myth to Subaru, especially the part where the witch apparently devoured half of the world. But this was a different world after all with magic so he didn't really have a reason to deny it.
"So Satella is the main reason why half elves are so hated? Kinda sucks to have a whole species hated over one person." Subaru sighed.
Felt cringed at the mention of Satella before Reinhard started, "Refrain from using the witch's name. That is considered blasphemy of the highest order."
"Yeah, considering how she took out half the world, I can understand that." Subaru nodded. He looked out the window, noticing it was getting around in the afternoon. "Hey, why don't we take a break? I've been meaning to go out to do something."
"I would prefer to finish up our first lesson but I am not opposed to a break." Reinhard smiled, giving his stamp of approval.
"Yeah! Now we're talkin'! Getting outside sounds kinda nice right about now." Felt got up and stretched, being all too happy to get out of this cooped up room.
"Actually, I need you to stay here, lil' sis."
Felt blinked a few times before stomping on the ground. "Hey! What gives?! You're not gonna try to run away, are ya?!"
Subaru waved his hands in front of himself. "No, no. I just need to do something and it'll only work if you stay here."
"Why?! What're you tryin' to hide?!"
Subaru smiled. "That's a secret. It'll be better if you don't know."
"Just spill it! What are ya hiding?!"
"Can't say, it's called a surprise for a reason."
Felt was about to burst her anger but something stopped her and thought for a moment. "Fine, I just remembered I wanted to check something out here. I guess I'll see ya around, big bro." She waved to Subaru before leaving the room, once again ignoring Reinhard completely.
Subaru faced Reinhard. "Could you come with me, Rein? I actually need your help with this."
"Of course, friend. How can I be of help?"
Subaru suddenly got to his knees and planted his forehead to the floor. "Please let me borrow some money!"
Reinhard looked at Subaru for a moment and smiled. "If that's all you want, then no problem. You have been a great help to Miss Felt after all. Where exactly were you planning to go though?"
"Oh, that's right. We're going to the tailor shop I got kicked out of the other day."
Reinhard looked at Subaru with a lifted brow. "There? Are you sure?"
Subaru gave him a thumbs up. "Sure am! I have a real good feeling this time around."
"If you insist. Try not to offend the shopkeeper this time."
--
Eventually, Subaru made it to that tailor shop. He was gathering all the fabrics and stuffing required to make a doll with. Since he didn't anger Felt this time around, he's sure the doll surprise will be a lot better.
"Hmm, you sure know what you want." The shopkeeper said. The shopkeeper was a man looking to be in his forties. He was nearly balding and wore glasses.
"Yeah, I'm glad you still have this. Would've thought it would be gone by now." Subaru smiled as he was just finishing gathering everything he needed.
The shopkeeper adjusted his glasses and squinted at Subaru. "Really now? Have you visited here before?" The shopkeeper seemed to be pretty forgetful and he was very glad that he didn't remember him, especially the last loop.
Subaru nodded rather energetically. "Sure did and now I'm here to purchase something this time!" Subaru placed all the items he gathered on the counter and the shopkeeper looked them over.
"Good taste. I hope you have two gold on-" Before he could even finish his sentence, Subaru had already placed the two gold coins on the counter. "My, you seem well prepared, sir."
Subaru was just all smiles as the shopkeeper gathered the coins. The shopkeeper couldn't help but notice the coin bag on Subaru's person. "Isn't that the sign of house Astrea?"
Remembering where this conversation was going to go, he waved his hands in front of himself. "It is but I'm just out shopping for them."
The shopkeeper lifted an eyebrow. "I see. Is one of them with you right now by chance?"
"I was but some kind of emergency happened so I'm here alone now."
"Hmm… Pity." The shopkeeper merely shrugged before extending his hand out to Subaru. "Well, it's been a pleasure doing business with you, sir."
The two shook hands and Subaru went on his way.
The shopkeeper's smile hadn't changed as he watched the boy go. "Astrea, huh?" He muttered to himself.
--
It didn't take long for Subaru to rondevu back with Reinhard. The two began to make their way back to Reinhard's manor. "Did you get everything you need, friend?" Reinhard asked as they walked.
"Yep, it's all here. Thanks again for the assist, Rein."
"No need to thank me, I was more than happy to be of help. Though, I do apologize that I couldn't join you in your purchase. An urgent matter came up and I couldn't ignore it."
"Oh yeah," Subaru started. That urgent matter came up last time too but he didn't think about it too much last time. "Say, what exactly did happen?"
"Someone died." The knight bluntly said.
Well, that news was enough to spook Subaru. "Someone what?! How did that happen?"
"There was a fight in the marketplace and someone died in that fight. The suspect claimed that they didn't even touch them. Right now, he was taken in by the other knights for further questioning."
"Oh. Guess people will say just about anything to get out of trouble." Subaru sighed.
"They were telling the truth."
Subaru blinked a few times. "Wait, he was? How could you tell?"
"I have a divine protection that can sense if one is lying or not."
Subaru had to stop himself from pumping his fist. He did call it after all. "So, what's going to happen to them?"
"After questioning, he'll most likely be let go. I've already informed the knights at the scene of the legitimacy of his claim so there shouldn't be any issues there."
Subaru nodded. "Yeah, that makes sense."
The two arrived back at the mansion around this time. As they approached the front door, Subaru stepped to the side and gestured for Reinhard to enter first.
Reinhard didn't pay it any mind and opened the door. Unfortunately, Reinhard then gestured to Subaru to go in before him. "After you, friend." The knight said with a smile.
"I-It's fine. It's your place so you go first." Subaru said shakily.
"But you're our guest. It would be more polite if you enter first." Reinhard insisted.
"Since I'm the guest, I choose that you go first."
At this point, Reinhard could easily sense an ulterior motive from his friend. "Is something wrong?"
"N-Not really. I guess you can say I have a very bad feeling about going in first right now." Subaru meekly explained, vividly remembering what's waiting behind that door.
"Hmm… I see… In that case, I'll respect your decision." After agreeing, Reinhard walked inside. In the matter of seconds, something launched down from the ceiling entrance and landed directly on top of the knight.
However, Reinhard's reflexes were far too great and easily caught the falling object. Turns out he caught a certain blonde girl's foot.
Felt was trying to ambush them but the knight easily thwarted her attempt. The crimson eyed girl blinked a few times and looked down at Reinhard in disbelief. "No way! How didn't that work?! Do ya have eyes on top of your head or something?!"
"Ah, hello, Miss Felt. Has your evening been well?" Reinhard nonchalantly asked.
"Don't just pretend like this is nothi-" Before Felt could finish her rant, gravity finally betrayed her and she lost her balance. Still being caught in Reinhard's hand, she was now dangling upside down, kinda like how a fisherman holds a recently caught fish for a photo shoot.
Both Reinhard and Felt stared awkwardly at each other for a second before Felt began to flail around. "Don't just stand there! Put me down!"
Immediately complying, Reinhard flipped Felt right side up and set her back down on her feet. "My apologies, Miss Felt. I was caught off guard there."
"Like hell you were! What do ya call that a second ago?! Instinct?!"
"You are correct. That was all pure instinct." Reinhard confirmed and nodded.
Felt growled and began flailing her arms at the knight with the latter effortlessly blocking each and every one of them. "That's bullshit and you know it! You must have some kind of power that tells you where I am at all times!"
Reinhard shook his head. "Divine protections don't exactly work like that. There isn't any kind of divine protection that will pinpoint your exact location."
As the two bantered, Subaru let out a sigh of relief. He was just glad that he didn't get the blow this time around. Now that he thought about it, wasn't he changing too many things this time around? Subaru was starting to worry that this would create a butterfly effect and things won't pan out how it should've been and he wouldn't be able to be perfectly sure what happens on that night.
Then again, does he even want that? It's not like he wants to die or anything. However, Reinhard's here so it couldn't have been some kind of attacker. So did his return by death trigger somehow without his knowing. This power is something he's still unsure of how it exactly works except that it seems to trigger after dying. He was just still clueless what could've possibly happened.
"Hello? Anyone in there?" Subaru snapped back to reality as he saw Felt standing in front of him and waved her hand in front of his face.
"Sorry about that, I just had something on my mind." Subaru scratched the back of his head as he gave off a cheerful front. However, it didn't take a Reinhard for Felt to know that something was off.
"You don't have to tell me that. You've been spacing off all day too." Felt crossed her arms and stood tall as she confronted Subaru. "Seriously, what's happening?"
Subaru didn't feel comfortable about exactly telling about his return by death right now so he avoided the question. "Cmon, it sounds like you're really worried about me."
Felt frowned at this and gritted her teeth. "Are you really that dense or that much of a dumbass? Of course I'm worried about ya! I'm not gonna stand back and watch as my family suffers!"
Subaru flinched at this. Felt sure wasn't the type to hold back. "It's fine. I'm not suffering or anything that extreme."
"Fine, but I'm serious about this!"
"I agree with you, Miss Felt." Reinhard started. "However, if Subaru doesn't feel comfortable sharing, then you should respect his decision."
"Like you have any room to talk!" Felt snapped. "I bet this has something to do with you! We wouldn't even be in this mess if it weren't for you!"
As much as Subaru wanted to change the conversation, this wasn't exactly the direction he wanted it to take. "It's alright, lil' sis. I promise Reinhard has nothing to do with it."
"Then will ya stop keeping me in the dark and tell me already?" Felt turned her attention back to Subaru, staring at him expectedly. "Look, whatever's going on, I want to help."
Well, these were people Subaru considered friends. Besides, he was sure he couldn't bottle up something like that forever. Subaru let out a sigh, he was going to keep this to himself for now but he might as well just get it out of the way, especially if everyone was getting upset over it. "Fine, I'll tell you. But please don't laugh. This is pretty serious to me."
Felt nodded, awaiting to hear what Subaru had to say.
Subaru took a deep breath. "The truth is, I can re-" Subaru stopped as it suddenly felt as if time stood still in that moment. Just then, it felt as if something grasped his heart. After a while, that feeling stopped and time seemed to resume.
Subaru's chest was in pain after that. He dropped to his knees, grasped onto where it hurt, and grunted in pain.
"Big bro!" Felt cried as she immediately checked on Subaru.
Even Reinhard was concerned as he too went to check up on his friend. "Subaru? Are you alright?"
What just happened? Subaru thought. Don't tell me, will I die if I try to tell anyone? Subaru got himself back up and started breathing heavily.
Before he could provide an explanation, Felt spoke up. "I get it now. You're just feeling sick."
Reinhard, who was under the same impression, added, "If you're feeling sick, we could take you to a healer."
Subaru finally got himself together and shook his head. "I-I'm sure it'll be alright. In fact, I'm feeling better already."
Felt let out a sigh. "Don't push yourself, big bro."
"Friend, I suggest you go get some rest. I'll get you when lunch is ready." Reinhard said.
He wanted to deny the suggestion to get some rest, but he was very aware that he made everyone worry. The least he could do was ease all their concerns for him. With a hesitant nod, he made it to his room and flopped himself on the bed, staring at the ceiling.
"Damn it!" Subaru suddenly shouted and gripped his hair. "What is going on?! I don't understand!"
Subaru vented out for a few moments. He was really starting to hate this. All of this was confusing him and the realization that he had to go through this all on his own stressed him out more.
His venting came to a stop once he heard a knock on his door. Looking over, he saw one of the little twins make their way in with a little cart holding a teapot and a teacup. "Guest-sama? Are you feeling alright? I heard you screaming."
Subaru sat up and chuckled nervously. "It's alright. Just a long day I guess, Flam. Wait, or is it Grassis?"
"It's Grassis." The little girl began to pour a honey colored liquid in the teacup. "I heard you were sick so my sister and I made you some tea."
Gosh, now he's getting the little twins worried. He must look very pathetic right now, Subaru thought. "Sorry, I didn't mean to worry you all."
Grassis only shook her head as she took the cup of tea and handed it to Subaru. "There's nothing for you to be sorry for. Things like this can happen."
"You know, you and your sister are surprisingly mature for your age. And you both are very considerate too." Subaru commented.
"It's our duty to be professional with our work. We saw you were unwell and it is our duty to make sure we comfort you to the best of our ability."
Subaru grinned and patted Grassis's head. "Regardless, I appreciate it. Everyone here has been so welcoming."
Grassis's cheeks lit pink ever so slightly. "In that case, we're happy that you're having a pleasant stay."
Subaru started to drink the tea while Grassis stood by the little cart, refilling his cup when needed. It was both peaceful and silent, the tea even helped Subaru quite a bit to relax. After some time had passed, Grassis suddenly spoke. "Lunch is ready. Allow me to escort you, guest-sama."
"Wait, really? How can you tell?" Subaru asked. Grassis had been here the entire time after all so unless she was a pro at guessing, there shouldn't be any way she would know that.
"My sister told me. We can telepathically communicate with each other."
Subaru blinked a few times. Well, that makes sense why they speak at the same time a lot. "Jeez, it feels like I'm the only one in this place that doesn't have some kind of special power."
Not wanting Subaru to feel down, Grassis quickly thought of something. "Well, you're pretty lively."
"Anyone can be lively! I'm talking about some kind of mystic legendary power that could make me a hero. Something like flying or maybe eye lasers!"
Grassis blinked a few times before taking a moment to think of something else. "You're good at swindling money."
Subaru was confused for a moment there until he realized what she was talking about. "W-Wait… You saw that…?" Subaru's face grew pale as he recalled when he asked Reinhard for money earlier today.
"We shouldn't keep everyone waiting." Grassis stated as she took the lead in getting out of the room.
"Hey, you didn't answer my question! How much did you see there?!" Subaru quickly followed the little maid, desperately trying to know what they did. However, Grassis seemed to be pretty good at ignoring him during these trying times.
The rest of the day proved to be uneventful. Everyone constantly checked up on Subaru's well being. Even the lessons were taking longer than usual as Reinhard stopped constantly to ask if he was sure he wanted to take the lessons today.
"Is there any pain when you sit down, Subaru?" Reinhard asked. Right now they were being taught the proper way to sit.
"Of course he is! Why do we need to stiffen our shoulders anyways?" Felt answered for him.
"It doesn't hurt at all, I can keep going." Subaru said, providing his own answer.
Getting out of her chair, Felt walked up to Subaru and gave him a weird look. "Would ya stop pushing yourself already? If you're not feeling good, then go rest or something."
"Wow, you're actually nominating to take on the lessons by yourself? I guess you're really growing up, lol' sis." Subaru teased, mainly to help ease the tension.
Felt ended up chuckling at this. "Yeah right, you're the one who seems to be way too eager to do these lessons with me. But seriously, stop being a dumbass and rest already."
"I'm just fine now. Trust me on this." Subaru insisted.
Felt turned over to Reinhard. "Hey Reinhard, can the lessons end for today?" Reinhard didn't immediately answer, instead he just stared at Felt expectantly. "Grr… Please?"
Finally hearing what he wanted to hear, he happily nodded. "Of course, Miss Felt. You both are relieved for the rest of the day."
Felt immediately turned back to Subaru. "There, no more lessons. Now get your stubborn ass to bed."
Subaru stared at Felt dumbfounded for a good moment. That went so smoothly, almost as if it was planned beforehand. "Wai-"
Before he could say a word, Felt starched his wrist and began to drag him off. "If you're not gonna listen to reason, then I'll just have to force it outta ya."
In the end, Subaru ended up going to bed early that day.
Luckily for him though, he at least had something he could do in his room. After Felt left, he went on to start his sewing project.
Last time it took all night to get it done but doing it a second time helped him save time and managed to finish making the Subaru doll like last time. He even had extra fabrics to use so he started to make extra little side projects this time around.
All and all, it was a really great distraction from everything that happened today. He didn't have to worry about other people being concerned for him. He should've just set out to do this from the start.
…
…
…
But still, he thought that he could've gone through that a little better.
--
This time around, Subaru woke up early on his own. Not even his alarm on his phone had the chance to go off. What's even more surprising is that he didn't even feel that tired.
"Well, no point just lying around I guess." Subaru said to himself as he got himself out of bed. "You know, I haven't done my morning exercises in a while. Well, I guess it's technically only been three days."
After preaching his mini monologue, he got dressed in his signature tracksuit which was now patched up and got himself started for the day. Since he wasn't feeling tired, he was gonna skip out on making coff and just go straight to stretches.
He went out front in the court yard and flinched as he saw an all too familiar little maid standing on her tippy toes as she trimmed the hedges along the manor walls. Subaru had to admit, those girls are dedicated.
"Wow, Grassis. You're up really early." Subaru commented as he started looking over the little girl's work.
"It's Flam. All the staff get up around this time to clean the manor before the others wake up. It makes for a refreshing atmosphere." Flam explained before returning to her hedge trimming.
Subaru couldn't help but chuckle. "I've never seen such a hard working kid before. When I was your age, I was too busy playing by myself and complaining about it."
"Are you feeling better today, guest-sama?" Flam asked as her eyes never left the hedges.
"Yep! I'm a million times better! Say, I was about to do some stretches, wanna join me?"
The little maid just continued doing her work. However, she did answer him. "I'm busy right now. Perhaps another time."
"Cmon, you and your sister work really hard. You should loosen up your limbs a little." Subaru pleaded.
Flam stopped what she was doing and faced towards Subaru. "That's a fair point. I'll get my sister and we'll join you shortly."
Subaru smiled as he walked to the center of the courtyard. "I'll be waiting!" Subaru proudly declared.
Subaru didn't have to wait long actually. Flam just waited beside Subaru and Grassis arrived in about a minute. Subaru could tell it was that telepathy thing the twins could do.
Subaru started his stretches and the twins were following along really well. It was kinda surprising for their first time. Though the creepiest thing about this was that the twins were doing the stretches in perfect unison.
"And then; VICTORY!" Subaru shouted out as he stretched his arms and legs out wide.
The twins get in the same stance and at the same time; "Victory." It was said very halfheartedly.
"Not like that, you have to give it your all. Shout it out as if today's the best day of your life."
The twins re-evaluated their way of saying it as they thought about the key words 'best day of their life'. After some thought, they went back in the same stance and, "Victory." Still very halfhearted.
Subaru stared at the young girls in disbelief. "You didn't change your tones at all! It was exactly the same!"
"Not at all." Flam said.
"We smiled this time." Grassis further added.
Subaru shook his head. "Are you two even capable of raising your voice?"
The two blinked at the same time and tilted their heads. "You wanted us to raise our voice?"
Subaru nodded, happy that his point was finally getting across. "That's right. You're supposed to yell it out for the whole world to hear."
"Wouldn't that mean you didn't do it right either?" Flam pointed out.
"Your victory shout wasn't loud enough for the whole world to hear." Grassis added.
"I-I don't mean literally! Are you two trying to tease me?" Subaru was getting pretty flustered at this point.
In response, the two shared perhaps the sweetest smile Subaru had ever seen from these girls. "Yep~"
Caught off guard, Subaru processed what they meant and pointed to them. "What?! So you are teasing me?! I thought you two were too serious for that!"
"Didn't you say to loosen up a little?" Flam inquired.
"Well yeah, but I didn't expect you to do a complete 180 and act out of character."
"Well, if it makes you feel uncomfortable, we'll just return to our duties." Grassis said as the two started to walk away.
Before the girls could leave, Subaru slid in front of them, stopping their retreat. "Wait, I didn't mean that. I was just caught off guard. I mean, it's really impressive how mature you girls are considering your age."
The two girls bowed their heads in appreciation. "We appreciate your compliment." After expressing their gratitude, the twins left to resume their duties.
"Jeez, it feels like everyone here can be a handful. Well, like I'm one to talk." Subaru said to himself as he was left alone. "Wait a second… Those brats skipped out on their victory cry!"
--
After Subaru's walk of shame, he met everyone for breakfast. And of course, the first thing that was brought up was; "Big bro! Is that sickness still kicking your ass?"
Reinhard shook his head disappointingly at the blonde girl's words. "Miss Felt, it's proper to tell your acquaintances good morning."
"Then it's a good thing he's not that." Felt gave off a triumphant smirk which only left the knight disheartened.
"My apologies, I should've worded that better…"
"Hey, good morning lil' sis and good morning Rein." Subaru said as he took a seat at the table.
Reinhard's eyes seemed to lighten up and immediately gestured to Subaru. "That right there is how you're supposed to greet anyone in the morning, Miss Felt. I suggest you take Subaru's example to heart."
"Why does that even matter? Can't I greet friends and family however I want? It's not like I'm tryin' to impress them."
"I wholeheartedly agree with you, Miss Felt. However, it's still important to practice the way you speak to others so you don't slip up when it matters most." Reinhard reasoned.
"I don't care if it's for practice! I'll do that practice crap during those lessons of yours, not in my everyday life!"
Subaru couldn't help but chuckle at the sight of this bantering. "Cmon guys, you don't have to wring each others necks this early in the morning."
"There's no need to worry, friend. I'm merely guiding Miss Felt down the path that will give her a bright future."
"Like hell you are! You're acting more like a nagging dad!"
"Miss Felt… I had no idea you saw me as a father figure." Reinhard sounded pretty proud of himself as he said this.
Felt lost her patience after that remark. She growled and without any warning, she swung her foot at Reinhard. Maintaining his perfect streak, the knight caught the kick with ease as Reinhard looked rather confused.
"Miss Felt? Have I said anything to upset you?"
"Don't play dumb! You know damn well what you said! There's no way in hell that I'd ever see you as a father! Not in a million years would that ever cross my mind!" Felt yelled, incurring her wrath on the knight who didn't seem all too affected by it.
"I see, it was wrong of me to make such a bold accusation. I apologize from the bottom of my heart." The red head then took a sincere bow to Felt.
Felt still wanted to hit the knight but knowing where that'll go, she clicked her tongue and looked away from the knight. "Good, if you ever pull that crap again, then I'll rip ya a new one."
"I'll be sure to keep that in mind." Reinhard said with a smile.
After that lovely moment, Carol served breakfast to everyone. It was delicious as always, enough so that Reinhard had to keep reminding Felt on proper table manners.
Eventually, Subaru started the conversation to go visit Emilia. "Hey Rein, I was thinking about going to see Emilia at Roswaal's place. You think we could plan something?" Subaru already knew Reinhard made plans to visit beforehand for them all to visit but he just couldn't resist seeing Felt's reactions.
"Yeah, that sounds pretty fun. Count me in." Felt said with a smile.
That was strange, last time Felt sounded a lot more jealous. Subaru thought. Oh well, it might have something to do with that butterfly effect he started.
"Certainly, friend. I'll make reservations tomorrow."
…
…
…
"Huh?" Subaru looked at the knight in shock. They were supposed to go today. Subaru cursed himself for really screwing things up. "A-Alright. Um… Did you have anything planned today then?"
"Actually, yes. An associate of mine will be stopping by later today. They're the one who fully healed your stomach wound."
Is this why things are different? They're still worried about that? Subaru asked himself. "I'm fine, Rein. I was just feeling under the weather yesterday. It's seriously nothing for you all to be worried about."
Reinhard suddenly wore his serious look. "Subaru, I'm afraid that I can't risk that. I know you were in pain yesterday and I refuse to stand back and do nothing if there's something I could've done to help."
Seeing how serious Reinhard looked and sounded, Subaru relented. "Alright, you win. I guess a checkup wouldn't hurt. So when is this doctor coming?"
"They should be arriving any minute now. I wouldn't be surprised if they pulled up at the front gate already."
Subaru couldn't help but sigh. "Got it, but some kind of heads up would be nice."
"I know, right?!" Felt was really quick to agree with Subaru there.
It turns out Reinhard wasn't exaggerating on this medic arriving soon. Just as breakfast was finished, Carol alerted everyone that someone by the name of Felix arrived. Normally this would only require Subaru and Reinhard to be present but the red haired knight thought this would be a perfect opportunity to evaluate Felt's introduction progress. She might not be in the proper clothes for this but teaching her how to act correctly takes priority over looks right now.
When the guest had arrived, Felt stepped forward with a fiery determined look. However, that all diminished in an instant as Felt placed her hands over her hips and smiled cheerfully. "Hey, are you the one that helped out big bro?"
There wasn't any elegance in that, no respect, and this wasn't at all what Reinhard taught her to do. Felt knew this very well but she was absolutely determined to go against what Reinhard told her to do purely out of spite.
In front of Felt was perhaps the most stereotypical looking cat girl one could imagine from a fantasy setting according to Subaru. Subaru was just left in awe as he didn't even pay attention to Felt's overly casual 'greeting'.
The cat girl's ears twitched slightly as they were now looking down at the short blonde. "Big bro? Oh! Do nyou mean Subaru-kun?"
Felt nodded energetically. "Yeah! So you're the one that healed him up after hugging a knife?"
"Hey! I'll have you know that I was attacked! I'm not that stupid to be hugging knives." Subaru argued.
Reinhard suddenly placed a hand on Felt's shoulder and bowed to the cat girl, forcing Felt to bow with him. "My apologies, Felix. Please forgive Miss Felt's manners."
The cat girl referred to as Felix shook her head. "Oh it's nyo big deal at all, Reinhard. And yes, I'm the one that patched up Subaru-kun. Gotta say, they sure did a nyumber on his poor tummy."
Felt squirmed out of Reinhard's hold. "Get your hands off of me! And don't apologize for me! If that's how I wanna greet people then you better deal with it." She then faced Felix. "And you, thanks for helping out big bro, I appreciate it."
"Again, it was nyo trouble at all." Felix then fixed her gaze onto Subaru. "Hmm… Nyou look just fine to me. Are nyou sure he needs extra treatment, Reinhard?"
"Slow down there! I haven't given my introduction yet. I'm Natsuki Subaru, I'm jobless and broke beyond compare!" Subaru really sounded proud of that.
"This is Felix Argyle, as you already know, he was the one that brought you back in good health after bringing you here." Reinhard introduced the cat gir-
"Wait, he?" Both Subaru and Felt asked in unison. The two began to circle the cat… boy… as if trying to discover anything on him that proves he's really a guy.
"Awww, Nyou ruined all the fun, Reinhard. I was going to see how long it'd take for them to find it out on their own." Felix playfully pouted.
"I'll try to be more mindful next time." Reinhard bowed apologetically.
Felt looked over to Subaru and smiled rather mischievously. "You know, big bro, you should probably wear something like this in the lessons, it'll go well with all those poses of yours."
Subaru's face grew pale at the very thought of that. "Nope! We're not even going to think about that until you get yourself dressed for the part."
"Like hell! I'd rather die than be caught in some dumb dress!"
Felix scoffed which immediately stopped Felt and Subaru's little debate. "As myuch as I find your squabble to be adorable, I do have things planned today. I'd like to get through this checkup sooner rather than later, you nyow."
"Oh, sorry, I promise I won't take long." Subaru assured.
Reinhard led Felix and Subaru to a different room. When the cat boy and the black haired boy were alone, Felix had Subaru lie down on his back in the bed and had him take his shirt off.
"Alright, nyow I'm going to use water magic to check any abnormalities in your body." Felix explained.
"Ah, is that why you had me take my shirt off so it wouldn't get in the way?"
"Nah, I was just seeing if nyou'd actually do it."
Subaru looked at Felix in shock. "Hey! I thought you said you were in a hurry!"
"I am. That doesn't mean I can't get a quick laugh~" Felix giggled before placing his hand on Subaru's chest. His hand glowed blue as he did this. "Yeah, Reinhard was just being worried for noth- huh?"
Felix blinked a few times as he suddenly had a shocked look on his face. "This can't be right…"
"Um… Is something wrong, Felix?"
"Subaru, have you made any physical contact with anyone recently?" Felix asked in a stern tone. Definitely different from his cutesy tone from a mere moment ago.
"Why? What happened?"
"You… You're cursed"