Felt skipped out on her lessons today. It was hard to tell if it was because she was being rebellious again or if it was because of the news about someone dying at Roswaal's manor. She didn't know anyone there nor did she have any attachments to them, but it's still sad to hear someone die.
As for Subaru, he was brainstorming what could've happened. He was already told by Reinhard and the other staff to not worry about it since it was an issue out of their control but something like that wasn't going to stop him. After a while, he did conclude one thing. Whatever happened occurred at night.
If this was because of the curse, then someone must've touched him in the day and activated the curse at night. The only question he had left was who was in the presence of him and Roswaal's staff during this time.
In this route, he saw Roswaal but they never made any physical contact with one another. Reinhard's staff couldn't be the culprits because it doesn't make sense to him that they would kill their own residents. After all, he had a good relationship with everyone here.
The only possibility under these parameters would have to be someone he passed by when he gathered the items to make the doll. He recalled bumping into a few people when Reinhard separated from him to inspect that murder case.
Well, he has an idea now but even this would be a long shot. He planned to take the same route he did that day and just hoped that whoever this shaman is the type to stay in one place. It sounds unlikely but unless he killed himself, there really isn't a way he could think of to track back to.
With his game plan set and stone, Subaru gets up and starts to make his way outside. On his way, he passed by Reinhard. "Hey, Rein. I'm going out for a walk."
"I advise against that, friend. I'm worried that you might run into trouble again."
"Right, I guess my case looks pretty bad, Especially running into that assassin and now a curse, doesn't it?"
Reinhard nodded. "That's right. It hasn't been a full week and you've had your life in danger twice already."
Subaru let out a chuckle. "Cmon, Rein. It's not like I'm going to run into another shaman or anything." It was ironic since he was hoping to run into them again.
Reinhard did see the reasoning behind that but still didn't feel quite right about this. Eventually, he went to a cabinet and came back with what looked like a map. He marked a spot on the map and gave it to Subaru. "If you feel anything wrong while you're out, I want you to go straight to Felix." The knight laid it out, revealing it to be a map of the whole city of Lugnica. "Felix should be stationed over here. If anyone looks suspicious, don't engage them. Just go straight to the knights. If anyone touches you in any way, note who it was and go straight to Felix."
Subaru chuckled at how detailed Reinhard was acting. "Sure, Rein. You really sound like an overprotective dad right now."
"I didn't mean any disrespect. I've noticed that you seem to run into many deadly situations and I can't help but feel concerned for your well being."
"You can always just come with me. It'll definitely be way safer if you're around." Subaru offered.
Reinhard shook his head. "I'm afraid that I can't. Until this matter is resolved, I don't feel comfortable leaving Miss Felt alone."
"Yeah, that makes sense." After thinking about it a little more, bringing Reinhard with him might scare the Shaman away. Well, assuming they're still around that is. "I'll see you later then, Rein."
"Likewise, friend. Remember, if anything happens, go straight to Felix."
After agreeing yet again, Subaru took the map and finally made his way out and followed the same path as he had days before. It immediately became apparent that bringing Reinhard wasn't necessary as the knights were a lot more active. He was sure if he cried for help, there would be several knights to come and help.
He didn't encounter anything he considered to be suspicious. Subaru could only guess the knight activity was Felix or Reinhard's doing because of him being caught with a curse.
Nothing eventful happened by the time Subaru reached the tailor shop. When he tried to enter the shop, he found the door to be locked. There was a sign on the door and after some careful deciphering, he was able to read the words 'Sorry' and 'Closed'.
"Darn, it's not even late." Subaru lamented to himself as he looked over the map Reinhard gave him. "Wait, the loot house isn't that far from here." This might be a good chance to help fulfill Felt's request to check up on Rom. At least he could get something from this.
…
After making his way through the slums, Subaru blankly stared at the overwhelming amount of rubble where the loot house once stood. And of course, there was no sign of Rom anywhere.
The black haired boy looked down in defeat as he asked himself 'What was I expecting?' It's been nearly a week since the incident so there wouldn't be a chance that this place would've been rebuilt yet. He was at least hoping Rom would be around somewhere but even that hope proved to be false.
"Today just isn't my day, is it?" Subaru dreaded out loud. He re-evaluated the map, trying to plan his next course of action. At this point, Subaru accepted that finding the shaman was a lost cause, especially with the heightened security. The best thing he could do at the very least was to check up on Rom. After some thought, he probably was taken in to get healed up since Rom did suffer a casualty during the incident.
"Alright, guess my next stop is the healing institute then." Subaru mused to himself. As he was about to get on his way, a familiar figure caught his eye. It was a middle age man who seemed to be casually walking past and over the rubble, not even looking a little bothered by the very uneven terrain.
"Hey, you're the shopkeeper of the tailor shop!" Subaru called out to the man.
The shopkeeper gave Subaru his attention and made his way over. "I'm sorry, young man, but have we met?"
Subaru blinked a few times. "We've met three times now, there's no way you could've forgotten about me that fast! I bought some fabric and stuffing from you a few days ago, too."
The shopkeeper adjusted their glasses as he locked his gaze on Subaru. "Is that so? In that case, thank you for your past business, dear customer."
Subaru knew this guy had a bad memory but this was just insulting at this point. Brushing that thought to the side, Subaru continued, "Oh yeah, I noticed that your shop was closed, did something happen?"
"Hm? Oh yes. The knights wanted to look through my shop."
To Subaru, that only brought more questions to the table. "Wait, so the knights were investigating through your shop? What for?"
"They're most likely checking on the mur-" Suddenly, the shopkeeper stopped himself and had a strange troubled look on his face. He soon returned to his smile and continued, "I'm sorry, I don't actually remember."
Well, that was unsettling, Subaru thought. Is his memory really that bad? He just couldn't help but feel sorry for the poor guy. "So the knights raided your shop. Is that why you're in the slums?"
Subaru was worried that the shopkeeper would forget that too but luckily for him, he did get an answer. "Oh, It's nothing like that. I had some errands to complete and the knights ever so happened to require an investigation in my shop. I'm actually on my way back now."
Hearing that, Subaru had an idea. "Say, do you have any kind of records of past customers?"
The shopkeeper lifted a brow. "What an odd question. Why would you want to know something like that?"
"Well, I guess you can say I'm trying to find someone and it's been really hard getting a lead." Subaru explained.
The man stroked his chin for a moment. "Well, I do believe I have something that could help. Come with me, dear customer."
"Wait, really?! You're a real lifesaver!" Subaru happily followed the shopkeeper as he led the way back to his shop. "By the way, I'm Natsuki Subaru."
The shopkeeper glanced at the boy briefly. "Nice to meet you, dear customer."
…
Subaru was kinda hoping to know his name but how the shopkeeper answered made it kind of awkward now. "Yeah… So do you have a name?"
"Why yes, I do have a name." The shopkeeper happily answered.
…
"So… What is it?"
"Hm? My name?"
Subaru eagerly nodded. "Yeah! I want to know that!"
…
The shopkeeper stroked his chin. It was almost as if he was really trying to remember what his name is. "My name is Mendax." He finally answered.
Based on that delayed answer, Subaru couldn't tell if he was having a hard time remembering his name or if he ended up guessing. Regardless, he was satisfied that he finally knew what to call the shopkeeper with obvious signs of Alzheimer's. "W-Well, nice to meet you, Mendax."
Eventually, the two made it back to the tailor shop. Mendax unlocked the door and opened it for Subaru. Subaru's jaw dropped as he saw the shop completely ransacked. Shelves were knocked over, product was scattered across the floor, and even a table was flipped over.
"Did the knights do all this?!" Subaru asked. He was starting to get a good understanding of how Felt feels now.
The shopkeeper on the other hand walked himself inside as if nothing was wrong. He casually lifted the knocked over table back to its feet and proceeded to look over some books that were scattered across the floor. "I wasn't there when they barged in but I'd assume so."
Seeing Mendax's calm demeanor made Subaru a little concerned. "You're really calm… Does this happen often?"
"To an extent. But it's no issue to me." Still with a smile on his face, he finds a little notebook and places it down on the table. "This book contains some information on promising customers I find."
Subaru immediately shifted his attention to the notebook. He was pretty surprised that he was just being given all this. "Are you sure? It sounds like you're handing over some kind of trade secret. Wait… Isn't this some kind of invasion of privacy?"
Mendax tilted his head. "Oh? So you don't want to look through it?"
Panicked, Subaru shook his head quickly. "I-I'll look through it! Thank you for your help."
The shopkeeper placed the book down on the table. "Take a look, I'll warm up some tea."
The boy agreed before taking a seat and looked through the book. He doubted that he'd actually find anything involving the shaman. In all honesty, he was hoping to find as many people as he could that were remotely in his vicinity during the time he was cursed. He thought that if there was another victim who died by the curse, he could pinpoint this Shaman through the process of elimination.
As Subaru read through this book, he was surprised at how detailed and organized this was. It was dated and so it was easy to get specific pieces of information. However, Subaru was still a beginner in reading this world's language so he took pictures with his phone of the pages he thought were relevant.
"I've never seen a metia like that before."
Subaru nearly jumped as he quickly hid his phone back in his pocket. The shopkeeper was back with two cups of tea in his hand. "Y-Yeah, it's actually one of a kind."
Mendax, who came back with the tea, set the cups down on the table and sat across from the scary eyed boy. "I see. I forgot to ask, who was this friend that you were looking for?"
Subaru squinted at this. "It's not a friend. They will NEVER be a friend of mine."
"So revenge then?" The shopkeeper sounded a little disappointed but that smile of his never wavered. "They must have done something horrible for you to be rummaging through a tailor shop."
Subaru let out a sigh. "It's not like that, they've cursed who knows how many people and I want to stop them before they can hurt anyone else."
Mendax lifted an eyebrow to this. "Curse? Did I hear that right?"
Subaru flinched. He was getting so comfortable that he let those details slip out. However, this was a nice guy. Maybe it would be good to spread awareness to minimize any potential casualties. After some hesitation, he went on, "Y-Yeah. There's a shaman in the city and I ended up getting cursed by them."
The shopkeeper stroked his chin as he was seemingly lost in thought. Subaru took a drink of the tea. It was very sweet and surprisingly very tasty.
After a moment of silence, Mendax started, "You seem really calm for someone who is cursed."
After taking another sip of the tea, Subaru followed up, "Oh, I'm not cursed anymore. A healer fixed that up already."
"Really? That's a relief to hear."
"Apparently I got some hardcore curse. If it wasn't for Felix, I'd definitely be a goner." Subaru followed that with a dry chuckle.
"Felix? Is that the name of the healer that removed your curse?"
Subaru nodded. "Yep. They're a life saver for sure. Though they do have a… interesting taste in fashion."
The shopkeeper stroked his chin again. "I see… I'm glad to hear you're doing just fine as well as being in contact with such a good healer."
Subaru scratched the back of his head, getting flustered. "I guess, I was just very lucky to be honest." Soon enough, Subaru got back on his feet. "It's been fun but I've gotta get going now. I also have a few errands I need to work on."
"Is that so?" Mendax reclaimed his notebook and extended his freehand to the boy. "I appreciated your hospitality very much, dear customer. I hope you have a pleasant day."
"Haha, you bet! And thanks for the tea, Mendax." Subaru shook hands with the shopkeeper before taking his leave.
…
"Yes, a pleasant day." Mendax said.
--
Some time after Subaru left the tailor shop, he made it to the healing institute. The place looked a lot more busy since his last visit as even knights were giving the healers assistance escorting patients around.
Eventually, the black haired boy managed to get one of the healer's attention. "Excuse me? I'm trying to look for someone who might be here. Could you help me out here?"
The healer in question stopped what they were doing and looked over to the boy. Luckily, they didn't seem to be preoccupied with anything important like the other healers were. "Sure, how may I help you, young man?"
"I'm trying to find out if a patient is here. His name's Rom."
"Rom?" The healer asked themself. They took a moment to recollect anyone named that and after some time, the healer shook their head. "I'm sorry, I can't recall anyone by that name."
Not wanting to run into another dead end, Subaru persisted. "Come on, he's a really old and giant guy. He also has red tattoos on his bald head."
Almost as if a lightbulb lit over the healer's head, they recollected, "Oh! You know that guy?"
Subaru eagerly nodded. "Yeah! He's a good friend of mine. How's he doing?"
The healer had a nervous look on their face. "He left without a word the day he arrived. Once he regained consciousness, he ran out like he was in a hurry."
…
Subaru let out a heavy sigh. "Come on… He's enormous, why is he so hard to find…?" The boy complained to himself. Before he could grimace any further, he asked, "Say, why are there so many knights here?"
The healer seemed to be caught off by that question and tensed up. "I'm sorry but I'm afraid we can't disclose that information."
"Really? Does it have something to do with a shaman?" Subaru guessed.
He seemed to be spot on as the healer widened their eyes at this guess and suddenly had a serious stern look. "How do you know about that?"
Seeing the tense atmosphere that suddenly emerged, Subaru quickly clarified, "I-I was cursed not too long ago. I'm cured now but I was a victim in this."
That answer seemed to work as the healer loosened up and relaxed a little. "I see, so you had a run in with the Shaman. I recommend you speak to one of the knights on any information you have then."
Subaru chuckled nervously and scratched the back of his head. "I kinda already did that. Turns out I wasn't much help."
The healer blinked a few times. "Oh…" There was an awkward silence between the two for a moment before they continued, "Well, since you're a victim and you already know about the shaman, I guess there isn't any harm telling you. The knights are here to question any patients who are found with a curse."
"Wow… The knights sure are taking this pretty seriously. How many people have been cursed?"
"Sadly, we have yet to find anyone. The knights are here as a precautionary measure in case we find one. Oh, please keep the existence of the shaman to yourself. That could both cause panic to all the people as well as alert the shaman in question."
Sweat ran down Subaru's cheek upon hearing that. Luckily, Subaru hadn't informed many people about the shaman so it should be fine. "R-Right, I won't tell a soul."
The healer nodded their head. "Thank you, is there anything else I can help you with?"
Subaru shook his head. "Not that I can think of. I'll be sure to stop by if I get unlucky and get myself cursed again though." He then followed this up with his signature thumbs up as well as a big grin.
The healer gave the energetic boy a concerned look. "I'd prefer it if you didn't get cursed again. Try to be more careful, young man."
"Hehe… No promises." Subaru finished as he made his way out, leaving the healer even more concerned than they already were.
After Subaru's visit with the healing institute, he made his way out from the upper class district and headed towards more of the middle class area. It was the same place where that appa guy was.
There definitely weren't as many knights around here then the fancy district. Subaru could only guess that it was probably because he technically lives there now and the Shaman would most likely be around there. At least the atmosphere was a lot less tense here.
Last time he was here, he was able to get information on where Felt's little tent was so he was confident that finding a sighting of an old giant would be a walk in the park. Sure enough, his intuition proved correct as a few stalls had mentioned seeing a big guy matching his description usually hanging out in alleyways.
Subaru couldn't help but feel overjoyed as he had finally gotten his first real lead in anything today. Needless to say, the boy rushed to any alleyway he could find. However, it wasn't a quick task in the least.
--
Two hours later…
--
"Why is that giant so hard to find?!" Subaru complained out loud. This was perhaps the 50th alley he searched with no luck.
Sure, he could just let this go and go back. After all, his main goal to begin with was to find the Shaman but he was convinced the knight activity would keep them on edge.
Subaru had taken a picture of that notebook from the tailor of possible leads using his phone but even he knew very well that it was mainly out of desperation.
Despite that, he didn't want to come back to the manor with potential junk. If he could find Rom, he could at the very least raise Felt's spirit.
Subaru clenched his head and let out a frustrated groan. "Why are there so many dead ends?" The boy dreaded. He was feeling overwhelmed by this whole situation and was mad at himself for missing his chance. He was starting to wish that he'd die by the curse so he could get another shot at this.
…
The boy felt a chill go down his spine at the thought of it. No, he thought. He shouldn't just throw away his life like that. He doesn't exactly know how 'return by death' 100% works. For all he knew, if he died again, he might come back to a bad spot, or worse, probably not come back at all.
Subaru was afraid of dying.
Shaking these thoughts out of his head, Subaru continued forth. He wasn't going to get anywhere by standing around after all.
"Oi! Stop where ya are and hand over your stuff!" A voice shouted from behind Subaru.
Turning towards the direction of the shout, Subaru was met with an all too familiar trio. "Ugh… You three? Really?" Subaru complained.
It was the three thugs he encountered before he started living with Reinhard. Why do I keep running into problems? He internally asked himself. Luck certainly wasn't on his side ever since he came to this world.
"Wait… That's the guy who was with the sword saint!" The fat thug pointed out.
"Yeah, you're right!" The thug with the long tongue confirmed.
The very short thug began to shudder. "T-The sword saint wouldn't happen to be with ya, would he?"
Seeing a perfect 'out' to this situation, Subaru gave off a smug smirk. "You mean Reinhard? We're actually good friends. I bet he'd be pretty upset knowing his friend got hurt."
Both the big and short thug looked very panicked. However, the long tongue thug kept his neutral expression. "So you're sayin' he's not with you right now?"
"Eh?" Subaru stared dumbfounded at the trio for a moment. He wasn't exactly planning to hear a comeback, especially that quickly.
Thanks to Subaru being caught off guard, the three thugs regained their posture and gave the boy a wicked grin.
However Subaru had a plan. With a smile, he gave the three a confident look. "I guess I have no choice, I'll have to resort to my trump card then." Those words were ominous enough for the thieves to brace themselves, getting ready for what's about to happen.
Subaru suddenly turned around towards the opposite direction and made a run for it.
…
The thieves blinked a few times in unison, processing what just happened. "Hey! Get back here!"
Thus a chase ensued. Thanks to Subaru's mind games, he did have a considerable head start. The boy was able to maneuver around the alleys, desperately trying to lose the thugs tailing him.
After a good amount of running, Subaru took refuge in another random alley way. He believes that he gave those three the slip.
The boy got down on his knees and panted heavily. "Darn, are those the only three thugs in all of Lugnica?" He complained aloud.
"Oh, I thought I recognized you." A new voice spoke out.
Subaru dreaded another awful encounter but was instead met with someone that proved his bad luck was finally beginning to turn. "Rom?! Is that you?!" The boy asked in disbelief.
The statement caused the old guy to give Subaru a confused look. "I don't see why it wouldn't be. What brings you around these parts?"
Subaru took a moment to take a look around at his surroundings and sure enough, that chase led him back to the slums. "I guess you can say that I was doing some detective work. But I ran into some hard-to-get-rid-of thugs and ended up here."
Rom stroked his chin. "If you don't say. By the way, do you have any idea where Felt is? I haven't seen her these past few days."
Subaru smirked and lifted up a finger. "I do happen to know. In fact, we've even been living under the same roof."
Rom looked a bit surprised. "Really? Don't get me wrong, I think you're a nice kid and all but don't you think marriage is a little too soon for you both?"
"What…?" Subaru stared dumbfoundingly at Rom for a solid moment before his face reddened and began to frantically wave his hands in front of him. "No no no no! It's nothing like that at all! I meant that we've been taken in by Reinhard and we've been there since!"
"Reinhard? You mean the sword saint? What on earth would he be needing you two for?"
Considering Rom was essentially Felt's guardian, Subaru thought he should fill him in on the circumstances she's in.
--
"So you're saying Felt's a candidate for the next ruler and you both have to stay with the sword saint until Felt has a chance to abstain from this election publicly." Rom summarized Subaru's tale.
Subaru nodded. "Yep, that about sums it up."
"Well, none of that told me why you're in that mess."
The boy scratched the back of his head nervously. "To keep a long story short, they all felt sorry for me and I'm staying with them as a guest."
"I see… Thanks for letting me know Felt's doing alright. That does put my mind at ease quite a bit."
"Of course! I'm just glad that I managed to actually find you. Where are you even staying since the loot house is gone."
Rom pointed over to a poorly and hastily constructed tent. "Over there."
Subaru stared at the tent in disbelief. This certainly explains why Felt was living in a tent like that before they met. "Y-You know, I'm sure Reinhard wouldn't mind keeping one more person."
"As much as I appreciate the offer, I'll have to pass. I personally don't want anything to do with the Astreas."
"Really? Did something happen between you two?"
"Just some old history. It's nothing that you should be worried about."
"Would you at least give the place a look? Maybe stopping by will change your mind."
This made Rom stop and seemingly consider Subaru's words for a moment. "Sure, I'll stop by. I should go see if Felt's doing alright with my own eyes."
Satisfied with that answer, he opted to take the lead. "Great! You won't regret this at all!"
"I'm not so sure. For some reason, hearing that from you is already giving me second thoughts."
Subaru flinched in an over exaggerated way, sort of pretending as if he was just shot. "Ah, that really hurts. I was just trying to be encouraging…"
Rom couldn't help but chuckle at this reaction. "It was just a joke, don't let it get to you too much."
Letting out a sigh of relief, Subaru smiled brightly as if that previous exchange never happened. "Alright! Off to the mansion!"
After that declaration being loudly proclaimed, the two started their way back to Reinhard's manor. In order to get there, they had to pass through the upper class district and they were frequently stopped by guards for questioning. Based on their attire, they certainly stood out. Luckily, Subaru was able to convince the knights to let them keep going every time thanks to using Reinhard's name.
Thankfully, that was the only trivial thing the two had to encounter on their way back to the manor. Once entering the premises, Rom glared at the building. He usually avoided places like this and couldn't help but feel weary of this whole situation. However, he let that feeling slide. After all, this was all to make sure Felt was alright.
"Welcome back, young man." Carol called out. She was currently tending to the garden out front. "Hm? Who's that large fellow you have with you?"
"This is Rom. He's kinda like Felt's grandfather." Subaru explained.
Rom casually waved to the old maid. "Don't mind me, I'm just here to see Felt, then I'll be on my way."
"Are you sure? I don't mind making some tea for you." Carol offered.
Rom shook his head. "Nah, I'm fine. Maybe another time."
"If you say so. Follow me, I'll let you in at least." Carol guided the two to the entrance and opened the door for them. Subaru didn't really need this since he sorta lived here but he didn't argue.
Once inside, Subaru did feel like he should yell out this, "Sorry for the wait, I'm back now!"
It wasn't long for a blonde girl to suddenly leap down from the second floor. It was as if she was waiting for the boy considering how fast she arrived. "There you are, big bro! What the hell took ya so long?!"
"H-Hey, you shouldn't be jumping down from that height, you could hurt yourself." Subaru halfheartedly scolded, mainly to avoid answering the question.
"Don't dodge my question! Why were you out and why didn't you tell me you were going?" The feisty girl persisted.
Subaru sighed as he didn't see anyway to avoid this conversation. "I was just out taking a look around. Nothing too bad or anything."
"You were gone for three hours!" She hissed. "And Reinhard refused to let me go to look for you!"
"Cmon, lil' sis. I'm back in one piece so there's nothing to worry abou- UGHHH!" Subaru's reassurance was put to an abrupt halt as the short girl kicked straight into the poor boy's stomach, causing him to kneel over.
"I don't care! Next time, you better tell me when you're going out and when you plan to come back. Last thing I need is for you to die by something stupid!"
Rom let out a chuckle. "It's good to see you're doing alright, Felt."
Finally noticing the old giant's presence, Felt widened her eyes. "Old man Rom?! When did you get here?"
"I ran into your friend here and he led me straight to you." Rom briefly explained.
"Wait, really?" Felt turned to Subaru. "Why the hell didn't ya say something?!"
"Ughh… He was right behind me…" Subaru groaned. "I didn't think he was that easy to miss…"
Not wanting to accept any blame in this, the short girl crossed her arms and let out a loud humph. "Maybe you should stop hiding stuff and speak up for once."
"That has nothing to do with it! I'm telling you, I'm innocent this time!"
"Yeah yeah, whatever." Felt waved her hand dismissively. "Hey, old man Rom! What took ya so long to get here anyways?"
"I was getting myself situated. I noticed my loot house was in pieces so I had to improvise a little."
Felt suddenly gave the old giant a nasty glare. "So you're saying that you didn't even bother to look for me?"
Realizing his poor choice of words, Rom widened his eyes and began to sweat nervously. "H-Hold on there, Felt. I know you're a capable girl so I just assumed you had everything under control. I-I was planning to start searching for you soon-"
Rom was suddenly stopped as Felt fiercely punched him in his gut. He ended up kneeling down in the same position as Subaru as the crimson eyed girl was fuming. "Shut it, old man! Next time, you better get off your lazy ass and do something!"
"U-Understood… Just go easy on this old man, will you?" Rom grunted out.
Felt crossed her arms and let out a loud sigh. "I swear, I'm surrounded by idiots."
During this exchange, Reinhard made his way on the scene, descending down the stairs like a normal person would. "Welcome back, friend. You've been out longer than I anticipated. Did everything go alright on your walk?"
Subaru instantly got back on his feet as if that kick never occurred and smiled brightly. "Sure did! I even ran into Rom while I was out."
"That's good to hear." Reinhard expressed happily as he turned to the old giant in question. "You were Felt's grandfather, correct?"
Rom too got up rather easily. It was as if they were pretending to be hurt by Felt's punches and kicks. The old man wearily stared at the knight. "What does it matter to you, Astrea?"
"I don't mean any ill intent. Due to Miss Felt's circumstances, it's imperative to get a better understanding of her social status." The knight explained
Not wanting to get in trouble with the knights, especially with the sword saint, Rom relented. "We aren't biologically related if that's what you mean. I just found her in the slums one day and took her in. Nothing more to it."
Satisfied with the answer, Reinhard nodded understandingly. "I appreciate your cooperation. If you happen to know anything else, feel free to come by here and inform me personally."
The old man shook his head. "I don't plan on coming back."
"Oh, that's unfortunate to hear. Still, feel free to stop by anytime if you ever change your mind." The knight offered.
Rom turned to Felt. "You doing alright here, Felt?"
"Huh?" Felt perked up. "Oh, well, I guess. I mean, everyone here can be frustrating sometimes but the food's good."
Rom nodded. "Good, I'll stop by to get you after that whole royal selection thing is over with."
Before anything else, Felt nudged the guy. "Hey, it's good to see you're still kicking, old man."
Rom let out a hearty chuckle. And with that, the old man walked himself out. Subaru was internally grateful that she didn't use this as an opportunity to escape.
"Hey, big bro." Felt called out, making her way towards Subaru.
"Huh? What's up?" Subaru answered.
The girl looked away, her cheeks a little red. "T-Thanks for finding old man Rom. I appreciate it."
The boy chuckled and began ruffling Felt's blonde hair much to the girl's dismay. "Anytime Felt. Glad you two could reunite."
Despite her gratitude, Felt growled as she flailed around. "How many times do I have to tell ya?! Stop touching my head!"
Getting a very nefarious idea, Subaru compiled and pulled his hand away. However, he was smiling mischievously. "No touching your head, huh? Guess I'll have to do this instead."
The short girl gave Subaru a weird look. "Huh? What are you talking abou- EEEEEEP!!!"
Subaru suddenly wrapped his arms around Felt and lifted her off the ground, giving the poor girl a bear hug.
"What the hell?! That doesn't mean you can do this instead, dumbass!" Felt yelled out as her whole face was red. Her arms were firmly planted at her sides and she was left to helplessly swing her legs around.
Subaru didn't exactly hear a 'let me go' or 'stop it' so he used that as an excuse to keep Felt locked up in his arms, chuckling to himself at how cute this was.
Both Reinhard and Carol wordlessly stared at the two with a dumbfounded expression. Neither of them had any idea what to exactly do about this.
"Grandmommy, we've finished prepping the kitchen for you." Flam said as both her and her sister arrived at the scene. The two stopped immediately as they saw Subaru aggressively holding onto an angry Felt.
The boy instantly made eye contact with the two little maids. Both of them had an unreadable expression about them. That look triggered a strong sense of dejavu for Subaru and he instantly panicked. "H-Hold on you two. It's not what it looks like."
…
A very familiar scene ensued.
--
Felt was standing beside Flam, laughing hysterically at Subaru who was currently pinned down with his left arm behind his back. Grassis was sitting down on the boy's back, keeping that arm in place all while the boy in question was squealing like a girl.
"A-Alright you two." Felt said, barely catching her breath from all her laughing. "I'm sure big bro learned his lesson."
Both of the twins looked towards Felt. "Big bro?" They asked in unison. After connecting the dots, Grassis quickly hopped off of Subaru and bowed to the poor boy who probably deserved it apologetically.
"We're sorry, guest-sama. I was under the impression that you were assaulting Lady Felt." Flam apologized.
Subaru was still on the ground, occasionally twitching. "I-It's fine… I probably deserved it…"
"Pfft, you think?" Felt added before letting out another chuckle. "C'mon, stop sulking and get your sorry ass up already."
With the help of the twin maids, Subaru was hauled back on his feet and let out a heavy sigh. "I'm the most unluckiest man in the world…"
Before Subaru could follow the girls to the dining hall, Reinhard stopped him. "One moment, friend. Have you visited Felix after your walk?"
Subaru blinked a few times and nervously scratched the back of his head. "Heheh… I kinda forgot. Sorry about that, Rein."
Reinhard widened his eyes. "Subaru, you need to go see Felix right now."
"Don't worry, I didn't run into anyone suspicious." The boy insisted.
Reinhard shook his head. He wasn't having any of this. "I'm afraid I can't accept that answer. If anything bad happens to you because of this, I don't think I could ever forgive myself."
Hearing the sincerity behind the knight's tone, Subaru relented. "Alright, I'll go see Felix."
Reinhard nodded. "Thank you, friend. I'll have Grimm escort you there."
"Nope!" Felt suddenly butted herself into the conversation. "I'm going too."
"My apologies, Miss Felt. You should stay here for the time being until the Shaman situation is dealt with."
"No! I haven't seen big bro all day. I need to make sure he doesn't get his sorry ass lost again."
Subaru smiled. "I dunno, it sounds like you just miss me." He teased.
Felt grit her teeth. "Stop making it weird! You're always getting yourself into trouble and it's your fault for making me concerned!"
The boy blinked a few times before a wave of guilt struck him. "A-Ah… Heheh… Sorry about that."
"Miss Felt, I'm afraid I cannot in good faith allow you to venture in the city for the time being." Reinhard said firmly.
Not wanting to get her mana drained again, Felt tried to go for a threat. "Listen here, if you don't let me go with big bro, I'll stop doing your dumb lessons."
Well, this was enough to make the knight at the very least hesitate. Reinhard took a moment to think and finally, "Very well, I'll allow you to join Subaru. However, I will be the one escorting you."
Felt rolled her eyes to that. "Yeah, I kinda figured that already."
"You also must stay within arms reach of me until we return."
…
"What?" Felt asked. "No way! That's too creepy!"
Reinhard nodded. "In that case, I cannot allow you to go."
"Urk…!" Felt gritted her teeth and clenched her fist tightly. She was honestly thinking about reconsidering now. However, the girl was far too prideful to back down now. "Fine, I'll stay that close to you. But I swear, if you do anything weird, I'll kick your ass!"
To this, Reinhard blinked a few times. "I'm afraid I'm unsure what you're referring to."
"Grr… Forget it, let's just get this over with." The trip that Felt was at first looking forward to was now one she was hoping to end quickly.
As the three made their leave, Felt tugged on Subaru's sleeve, catching his attention immediately. The girl had a smug grin as she whispered, "You sounded like a girl."
…
…
…
Kill me.
--
The trio finally made it to where Felix was supposed to be at. They all approached a pretty sizable manor. At this point, this was the third manor Subaru was going into and the excitement behind it had long subsided from the boy. Guess this world had an over abundance of mansions, he thought.
To put it lightly, the way here was certainly a noisy one. The fact that no punches or kicks were thrown during that time was downright a miracle.
Upon entering the premises, the group ran into an elderly butler. The butler in question gave Reinhard a rather tense look. "Reinhard." He simply said, the firm way he said it sent a chill through both Subaru and Felt's body.
"Greetings, grandfather. I apologize for coming here at such short notice but I must see Felix immediately." Reinhard briefed.
At the time, the butler was practicing out front with a sword. After hearing what Reinhard had to say, he sheathed his sword and put his full attention to the knight.
"I'll let him know you're here. Might I know the purpose of your visit?"
"Of course, I want him to check up on my friend's health." Reinhard explained, gesturing to Subaru.
The butler gave the boy a stern look. However, after a moment, his look lightened up suddenly and extended his hand out to the boy. "Greetings, young man. My name is Wilhelm van Astrea."
Subaru flinched. Based on how stern he was with Reinhard, it caught him off guard to see him suddenly loosen up. "N-Nice to meet you too! I'm Natsuki Subaru. Just your average jobless shut-in."
Wilhelm chuckled as the two shook hands. "I've never heard an introduction like that before."
"Heheh, I like keeping my debuts honest. I think it helps in boosting friendship points."
"What about you, young lady? Who might you be?"
Felt also flinched once Wilhelm's attention was brought to her, though she was able to compose herself better than Subaru had. "I'm Felt. I don't have any family name, it's just Felt."
"Grandfather," Reinhard intervened. "I'd appreciate it if we see Felix now."
Wilhelm made eye contact with the knight for a short moment. The intense atmosphere from earlier returned instantly. "Wait here, I'll let him know." After those words, he made it inside the manor.
Subaru let out a sigh of relief. That moment was certainly awkward for the boy. "If you don't mind me asking, Rein, do you two not get along well?"
"Yeah, ain't he your grandfather or something?" Felt added. She too found that exchange to be pretty weird.
Reinhard looked at both Subaru and Felt, his intense look being long gone at this point. "We just have some disagreements with one another. I guess we just haven't had the time to settle our differences."
Still feeling rather stiff from the encounter, Subaru just gave a halfhearted response. "Well, I hope you both can settle your differences."
The knight shared a genuine smile. "Thank you, friend. I hope for that as well."
Suddenly, Felix's head poked out from the front door. After seeing the three, he stepped out and smiled. "I didn't expect to see all of nyous so quickly. I didn't think Subaru-kun wanted to have his blood boiled that badly."
Despite the very cutesy way of saying that, Subaru couldn't help but shiver at the thought. However, Reinhard spoke up before Subaru had the chance to correct the cat boy. "My apologies for coming here on such short notice. I was hoping you'd check up on Subaru again."
Felix lifted his eyebrow and leaned uncomfortably close to the boy. "What did you do this time, Subaru-kun? Dyont tell me that you're playing with knives nyow."
Subaru blushed in embarrassment as he tried backing away from Felix. "Believe it or not, I didn't do anything stupid this time! I'm just doing a check up so no one would worry about me."
"You knyow, you could always have a healer at the healing institute do a check up. I'm not the only healer in all of Lugnica."
"Hey, I did say you'd be the first I'd go to didn't I?" Subaru defended.
Felix tilted their head and smiled rather menacingly. "I think you're right. Come with me so we can boil up that blood of yours." He then grabbed Subaru by his wrist and proceeded to drag him inside.
Seeing how he was helpless against being essentially abducted, he began to plead to the other two. "C-Cmon guys, help me out here!"
"I dunno, it kinda looks like the world is finally correcting itself." Felt surmised with a big ol grin.
"Y-You little traitor! Cmon Rein, back me up here!" The boy pleaded.
Unfortunately for Subaru, Reinhard merely smiled. "Fear not, friend. I know you're in capable hands."
Subaru was left whining as Felix dragged him away inside. The other two did follow inside as they were invited to come in by Felix. He didn't want to run all over the place giving updates after all.
Eventually, Subaru was dragged into a room for Felix to get started. "Jeez, Subaru-kun. You're going to get a lot of people mad if you keep acting as careless as you are."
"H-Hey! I already told you that I'm innocent this time! I promise!"
Felix waved his hand dismissively. "I heard. Let's just get this over with. You have some pretty awful timing you knyow."
"Did I interrupt something?"
Felix instantly shot up "Yes! I was sharing a lovely meal with a very special person. I would prefer to get back to that as soon as possible."
Subaru chuckled nervously. "S-Sorry about that. Nothing's wrong so this should be quick."
"I'm sure you are." Felix lifted up his hands, beginning to check him the same way as last time. "Listen, Subaru-kun. I don't know if you already know this but the knights are hard at work finding that shaman. Just stay indoors for the time being until this whole thing is resolved."
Subaru nodded and let out a sigh. The shaman was probably long gone by now anyways so the least he could do was not worry all his friends. "Yeah, you're right. I guess I just wanted to help."
"Good, Nyow I really hope I don't have to-"
Felix stopped and froze still. He had a shocked look about him before starting at Subaru seriously. "Subaru, who have you been with?" He said firmly.
"No…" Subaru muttered. "Please don't say what I think you're going to say."
"This is serious." Felix took a moment to consider his words before continuing. "You're cursed again. You need to tell me who you've been with right now."
"Th-That can't be right… There's no way I ran into the shaman again."
Subaru immediately began to recollect his memories for possible suspects. He did run into those thugs again. But they weren't even close to making physical contact with him. Grassis did pin him down but that wouldn't make any sense. Felt beat him up quite a bit but her being the Shaman made way less sense than Grassis. Then there was the Tailor, he just had tea and looked over his book. Other than that he… he…
Shook his hand…
"The tailor…?" Subaru asked himself. Was it really him? He was the only person he had practically no idea about. Was he really the Shaman that he was trying to find?
This revelation hurt his heart quite a bit.
…
Actually, it hurt his whole chest.
…
It hurt so bad that the boy began clenching his chest.
"Subaru!" Felix cried out in concern. He immediately began using water magic in hopes to try and stop whatever was happening to him. "Crap, the curse is active!"
Wait, the curse activated right now? Subaru thought. The pain was getting too much for him and he yelled out. However, no sound came out from him.
The door swung open, both Felt and Reinhard rushing in. "Is something wrong? I heard yelling." Reinhard asked. Well, at least they heard Felix.
His question was immediately answered as he saw Subaru silently laying on his back as he tightly clenched his own chest.
"Give me some room! I'm doing everything I can!" Felix yelled as he was desperately trying to counteract the curse that was swirling around his body like a vortex at this point.
Subaru felt really cold. Actually, he couldn't even feel his heart thumping. Did his heart stop?
"Big bro!!!" Felt cried, trying to rush forward. However, the red haired knight blocked her path using his arm. "H-Hey! Get out of the way! Big bro needs our help!" The distressed girl pleaded.
"Give Felix his space, he's trying his best." Reinhard spoke quietly. Subaru could see a pained expression on his face.
"Dammit!" Felix cried out as the curse he was trying to yank out skipped through his fingers. "Stay with me, Subaru! Hang in th-"
…
…
…
Everything went quiet all of a sudden.
Subaru weakly looked around, assessing what he saw. Felix was trying his best. Reinhard was holding back Felt with a very troubled look. Felt… Oh, she was crying, trying to reach for me.
Despite all his pain, he smiled. It was kinda nice to see all of his friends worry about him so much. He'll be sure to apologize when he gets healed up.
…
…
…
It was too late.