"Rem, Rem, our guests seems all to comfortable does he not?"
"Ram, Ram, he might in fact be chronically lazy."
Subaru's eyes snapped back open, and he sat up to see the voices speaking to him.
"Why am I getting slandered first thing in the morning. Give a guy a break...".
Subaru's voice trailed off as he saw the two maids in front of him. One with blue hair, and another with red.
"Rem, Rem, he is so captured by our looks he is speechless."
"Ram, Ram, this pathetic man is driven purely by lust, isn't he?"
"No way! Two super cute maids! This world is finally lookin' up Subaru!" The two maids looked at him, confused and unimpressed. Subaru continued "Hello there lovely ladies, my name is Subaru Natsuki, and it is nice to meet you". He held out both hands, looking for a handshake, but the girls didn't seem to understand this.
The red-haired maid looked at him, seemingly disappointed by what she saw. "I am Ram. This is my sister Rem." She pointed to the blue haired maid beside her. "We are maids in the employ of sir Roswal L. Mathers."
"I see..." Subaru fell back into his bed, putting both arms under his pillow. "If that's all, then I might go back to sleep now." Subaru stated "Wake me up if Emilia comes to see me."
As Subaru closed his eyes again, he heard footsteps slowly start to approach him. Then, he felt two hands on his shoulders, slowly moving towards his neck.
"A massage huh? You maids are too kind." As he said this, he felt a freezing a sensation that jolted him out of his bed. The blue haired maid, Rem, stood there with ice formed around her hands. She seemed quite pleased with herself, her little ice magic having the intended effect on the guest.
"What the hell was that for!"
"Guest-sama, not to disturb your rest, but you must prepare yourself for lunch. Our master has invited you to have a meal with him later." As she said this, she made an innocent look towards Subaru.
"Okay... You have just told me that you know. No need for your little pranks."
Rem smirked at him "Rem thought this would be most effective."
Ram chuckled at her sister's antics. Then she turned towards Subaru, and her face grew more stern. "You are to be at the dining room in 2 hours. It is just down the hall to your left." She pointed towards the door as she said this.
"Alright, alright... I'll see you then I guess." Satisfied with this answer, the two maids moved to exit the bedroom. As they did they whispered to each other and giggled profusely. Subaru felt a playful indignation at the maids gossiping, but let out a sigh as they finally left him alone.
"This seems like it's going to a whole thing." he said to himself as he got dressed for the day.
Subaru, now dressed, was walking outside in the gardens of the mansion. He spotted Emilia a short distance away from him, talking with Puck under a covered bench, and headed towards them.
"Hey there Subaru. You seem to be doing better." Emilia beamed as she said this.
"Yeah, I feel great! I was sure I'd have a scar, but I don't see a scratch on me!"
"Yes. Beatrice's healing magic is amazing. You should thank her if you get the chance."
"Beatrice huh... I think I met her this morning. She's the little girl in the library right?"
"Wow Subaru." Emilia seemed surprised to hear this "Beatrice is usually hard to find with her door crossing magic. You must be really lucky."
"Door crossing magic is nothing for an RPG master such as myself!" Emilia seemed confused as to what he meant, but she laughed.
"I don't understand anything you say Subaru, but I'm glad to see you in such high spirits."
As they continued to talk, Subaru told Emilia about his morning. How he had met Beatrice. How she had drained him, and then how he was rudely woken up by the two maids. Emilia smiled and laughed as he feigned anger. Subaru asked her if she would be joining him for the lunch with Roswal, to which she affirmed. Then Puck came out and Subaru pet him enthusiastically.
More time passed, and Emilia and Subaru headed together towards the mansion, to meet with Roswal for lunch.
Subaru sized up the man in front of him. He was wearing what appeared to be clown makeup, and was dressed in a gaudy purple cape. The man was also a full head to taller than Subaru, his elevated height seeming to reflect his position as boss of the mansion.
"Wellllll, Subaru-san. Thank you so much for assisting Emilia in the capitalllllll. It seems like you took quite the beating for helping her."
"Ahhh it was nothing" / I only died three times/ he said sarcastically in his head "I was happy to be of service." he let out a small chuckle as he said this.
"By the way this food is delicious." Subaru continued, he wanted to redirect their attention for the sake of modesty.
"Whyyyy Yes. Rem is quiteee the talented chef."
Subaru looked at the blue maid, smiling at her to signal his approval of the meal, but she kept her eyes forward, deliberatly ignoring him. I: Yeah well, frick you to I guess /
"Back to the topic. Youuuu will forever have our gratitude Subaru, getting Emilia's insignia back was of great importance to all of us. As such, I haveee decided to grant you one wish. Anything you want, so looooong as it is in my power."
Subaru took a minute to think. He wanted to stay close to Emilia in this mansion, after all, she was the one connection he had. After mulling it over in his head for a while, he cracked a cheeky smile at the two maids.
"In that case..." Subaru said mischievously. "Please allow me to work in this mansion!"
Roswal smiled at this "Is that reallyyyy what you desire?"
"Yes. Definitely." Subaru responded confidently "I am broke and stupid, so manual labour is all I am good for! Please employ me!" Subaru put his palms together, pleading Roswal.
"Very well then. Ram, Rem, you are to help Subaru as the newest butler of the Mather's mansion."
As Subaru looked to Ram and Rem, he saw an exasperated look from the both of them.
"Very well master. We will do as we are told." The implication that they were being forced was a clear jab at Subaru.
"Wow guys, don't get too excited!" Subaru let out sarcastically, but neither of the maids seem to find this funny.
Ram responded with a sigh. "If your that eager Barusu, then you can help us with the dishes after yur finished eating."
With that, Subaru's life as a maid began.
A few days had past, and Subaru had begun his maid work in earnest. Currently the three maids were going room to room, changing all the sheets in the mansion.
"You are less useless at folding than I thought you would be Barusu." Ram said, observing him doing the sheets. "Although overall you are still useless as a butler".
Subaru ignored that last comment but responded to her. "Yeah, well it was a rule in my household. Do your bed every morning before breakfast. My mom would yell at me if I didn't."
"I see. So you are a mama's boy as well as a pervert. Not very surprising, right Rem?" Ram looked her blue-haired sister as she said this.
Rem seemed to be staring into the void, but she refocused herself when she heard her sister say her name. "Yes. Absolutely correct."
Ram could feel that something was bothering her sister, but decided to ignore it. It probably was nothing anyway.
Time passed as they continued to work. Subaru observed as Rem pat down the sheets pristinely, ironing out every crease with precision. Meanwhile Ram just stood by the bin with the fresh sheets, seemingly idle as he and Rem did all duties.
As they finished their duties, Ram spoke up. She told them that later, he and Rem would have to go down to the village to pick up cooking supplies. He and Rem affirmed that they would go.
No one spoke after this, and they finished their work silently.
Subaru was walking down a small footpath towards the village, with Rem walking a few paces in front of him. He didn't know why, but Subaru had a feeling that Rem didn't like him. She never spoke to him unless spoken to, and her responses were always very curt. He thought over his interactions with her, but he failed to find anything that would've upset her.
Right now, an awkward silence hung over the both of them. Or at least, Subaru perceived it to be awkward - Rem seemed unbothered by it. / Would it kill you to make some small talk? /
"Hey Rem" he started, "Aren't you a little cold towards me. I feel like I get on well with your sister, but it would make me sad if we can't also be friends."
Rem turned towards him, and she seemed angry. "Rem is not your friend Subaru, and neither is sister. You can't come to this place and think you can do whatever you want."
Subaru was taken aback, her hostility towards him had been more than he expected.
"Okay. Okay." he said dumbly. He couldn't think of anything good to say after seeing how much Rem disliked him.
They got to the village, and began their work. Going to a few houses to pick up stock. As they did this, a few of the village kids began to trail Subaru.
"Hey mister, who are you? I've not seen you before."
"My name is Subaru Natsuki!" he said in an over-the-top way, pointing at the sky. "I am the newest maid of Roswal-sama". His exagerated swagger made the children laugh.
"Ahahahaha. A maid? But your a boyyy!"
"Hey mister come play with us and show us your maid skills" Another child said.
Subaru looked at Rem, who was dutifully doing her work.
"I can't right now. I need to help out Rem, sorry." He responded. He didn't want to get further on Rem's bad side.
"Ohhh come on! It'll only be for a minute!"
"Yeah! Come and play!"
Subaru tried to resist, but as they chants of the kids grew louder, he found himself playing with them before long.
"Here we go!" Subaru held one of the boys by his ankles, spinning him around. "This is what you get for being naughty."
"Ahahahaha. Mister is going too fast!" The boy called out joyfully.
In the corner of her eye Rem spotted this and nearly cracked a smile, but stopped herself. / He can't be trusted /.
Then another kid came up to Subaru, a little blue haired girl holding a small dog.
Subaru popped a squat to get down to her level and grinned "Who do we have here? Aren't you a cute one!" He went in to pet the dog, but as he did, the dog bit him.
"Ouch! Not so cute after all I guess..." a small trickle of blood leaked from his hand.
After that Subaru got back to work, and they finished their tasks as the sun was setting.
Back on the trail to the mansion, the golden light of the setting sun seemed to make the whole landscpe glow. Subaru felt a soft breeze, and reflected on his work so far. He was really enjoying himself. The only improvement would be... He looked to the girl in front of him.
"Rem." he called out, and she turned to face him "I can see that you don't like me, but I really hope we can be friends."
As he said this, Subaru felt his face warm up slightly. "I know that's kinda out of the blue... But I think you're really cool, and you're an awesome maid. Definitely better than your sister, but don't tell her I said that."
His compliments seemed to have the opposite of the intended effect. Rem turned to face him with an angry look on her face. "Rem doesn't think you know what you're talking about. And Rem definitely doesn't think we can be friends."
With that she turned away. The rest of the walk was made in silence.
Getting back to the mansion, Subaru had dinner with Emilia and then went back to his room to retire for the day.
As he got in bed, he thought back over the events of the day. Subaru felt like he and Ram actually had quite a good relationship. She enjoyed bullying him, and he enjoyed bantering with her. It was nice that she was so open with him.
"So why not with Rem then..." he let out to himself.
/ She really hates me huh /. It bothered Subaru that Rem was so cold towards him, but he wasn't worried. He would have plenty of time to win her over. He wondered if he should talk to Ram about it. / I will definitely crack her at some point. /
As those thoughts passed through his head, Subaru closed his eyes and began to drift off into the comforting embrace of sleep.
Several hours later, Subaru's door creaked open. It was Rem. She slowly approached Subaru's sleeping form and looked down at him with disgust.
"You stink... You damned cultist" she whispered "You may have fooled the others, but Rem has a good nose."
Rem slowly moved her hands towards Subaru's neck. She wasn't about to let the witch cult encroach on Roswaal-sama's mansion. Not on her watch.
She was about to strangle him, when suddenly Subaru started wheezing. The boy's breathing became more shallow, and Rem hesitated. Then, the boy started to convulse. At first he was only twitching, but soon, Subaru's whole body was shaking.
/What's wrong with him? Is this a seizure?/
After a few moments an unconscious Subaru vomited all over the bed, and all over Rem. The vomit mixed with his saliva and a yellow foam started to emerge from the corners of his mouth.
As this happened, Rem looked down on him unsure of what to do. She had come to his room at this hour to kill him, but it seemed like she might not have been necessary. She hesitated for another moment. She thought of when he was playing with the children at the village, and how kind he looked then.
"Hey- Wake up!" Rem started shaking him, but to no avail. Rem could feel the stiffness in his muscles as she held him, his whole body having seized up. "This isn't funny Subaru!".
She laid him on his side, so that he wouldn't choke on his own sick, but Subaru's condition seemed to be getting worse.
Then, suddenly, all movement stopped. Rem grew increasingly worried. She held her hand under his nose, but she didn't feel any breath coming from it. She placed her hand on his neck, and her eyes widened.
"No way..." she could feel that his heartbeat had stopped.
/Subaru... are you dead? /
Rem blinked. The room around her was lit up. Ram was standing next to her, gazing down at Subaru.
/ Huh? What is this? /
Subaru let out a large yawn, and slowly opened his eyes. He turned in his bed to face the maids, and gave them a confused look.
"Rem, Ram, what is it?" he asked "Does Roswaal need us?"
"Rem, Rem, it seems our guest already knows who we are." Ram said, looking at her sister.
"What?" Rem did not understand what was happening. She had realized that she was no longer in Subaru's room, but had somehow been transported back to the guest room where Subaru had stayed the first night.
"Always a joker, aren't you Ram? Of course I know... " Subaru stopped himself mid sentence, as he looked at his hands. / The cuts- they're gone. /
Subaru was in shock "No way... did I... die?" he muttered under his breath.
Rem's eyes widened. Just what in the world was happening? She had seen Subaru die, but here he was in front of her. And the way he said that... Something was off. However, one thing concerned Rem more than anything else. The witch's scent on Subaru had grown much, much stronger.
"Hello, it is nice to meet you." Subaru said sadly. Then perking up, he jumped on his bed and shouted "My name is Subaru Natsuki - don't you forget it!"
Rem stood at the back of the room, watching over Emilia, Roswaal and Subaru as they ate lunch together. It was quite astonishing, but she had accepted it. / I can't dany it. I seem to have gone back in time. /
She had returned to Subaru's first day at the mansion, 4 days in the past. She did not know what had caused her to time travel, but she thought someone else might. Her gaze settled on Subaru. She would question him later, and see whether her theory was correct.
"Youuuu will forever have our gratitude Subaru, getting Emilia's insignia back was of great importance to all of us. As such, I haveee decided to grant you one wish. Anything you want, so looooong as it is in my power."
Not missing a beat, Subaru asked "In that case, can I work here? Alongside Rem and Ram?"
Roswaal smiled at this "Is that reallyyyy what you desire?"
Subaru broke into a grin "Absolutely!"
"Very well, then I welcome youuuuu Subaru, as the newest maid in the Mather's mansion."
That night, Subaru, Rem and, Ram were in the kitchen preparing dinner. Rem was standing next to Subaru, peeling potatoes with him.
Ram started to speak "Barusu, when it comes to peeling you hold the knife and - "
"Turn the vegetable? I know. I'm not a total novice." Subaru finished her sentence proudly.
"I see" said Ram.
There was little doubt left in her mind now. Rem was almost certain that Subaru had travelled back in time with her. Or, more likely, she had travelled back in time with Subaru.
"Hey, Rem, what is it? I feel like your staring at me a bit too much." Subaru started "Although I would probably stare at me too to be honest."
"Actually Subaru, Rem has a task for you. Would you follow Rem for a minute?" she said "This shouldn't take too long."
"Uhh sure." He said uncertainly.
Rem increased her volume a bit, directing her voice to Ram. "Sister, Rem is taking Subaru out for a minute, we will be back to finish dinner soon."
"That's fine with me" Ram responded, her eyes not shifting from the boiling pot in front of her.
Subaru and Rem exited the kitchen and began walking towards the otherside of the mansion.
"What is it Rem? Are we going to be doing something fun?" Subaru asked excitedly.
Rem tried to be as non-chalant as possible. "There is a guest coming soon, I need you to help me prepare a room for them."
"Oh. Uh sure."
They walked further down until they reached a room on the other side of the mansion. Rem opened it, and walked in.
"Subaru."
"Yes?" he asked.
"Rem is going to do the bed. Can you go get a vase as decoration. We can't have the room be too desolate can we?"
Subaru smiled, and held his hand to his head as if to salute her "Aye Aye Captain. One vase coming right up." He jogged out of the room and headed down the hall.
Rem sat on the bed. There was no denying it now. Subaru had also gone back.
She soon heard quick footsteps as Subaru returned holding a big blue vase.
"Rem? What's up? I got your vase." He showed of the item proudly "Huh? Are you not doing the bed?"
Rem took a deep breath "Subaru. How did you know where we keep them?" / checkmate, bastard. /
Subaru stared into Rem's eyes. In the darkness, her blue eyes seemed to be shining dangerously. Rem stood up and walked towards Subaru.
"Uhhhmmm. I think you guys must have shown me this morning. I'm not really... sure..." The jig was up for Subaru. He realized this as he saw the look in Rem's eyes.
Then, she asked an impossible question.
"Could it be that you've done this before?" She let out a devilish smile as she said this to him. "Come on Subaru, think long and hard."
Rem reached under the bed, and pulled out a massive, spiked ball-on-chain. "Your answer better be the truth."
Subaru gulped as he saw this. He thought for a bit, but decided that honesty might be the best way forward. It was unfortunate, but Rem had cornered him.
"Rem, you might not believe me but -" Subaru gathered his courage to utter those last cursed words " I can- I can return by death!"
Subaru blinked in surprise. He had expected that cold hand to reach his heart, but nothing had happened. / No way. Is she... safe somehow?/
Rem looked confused. "Return by death? Explain this to Rem." Her tone sounded threatening.
"When I die, I get sent back in time. I don't understand it, and I can't control it either. I know that it sounds crazy, but it's the truth! You have to believe me Rem." His tone was pleading. He was begging Rem to believe him.
"..." Rem mulled it over in her head, and everything began to fit into place.
It sounded impossible, but after what she had seen Rem had to believed him. Slowly, she asked another question, "Tell me Subaru. Why did you bring Rem back with you?"
The question seemed to have absolutely frozen Subaru. In his brain this question did not compute.
"Rem, what do you mean by that?"
She restated her question more confidently, "Why did Rem return by death with you?"
/ No way. No effing way./ Subaru thought to himself
"Rem" he said seriously.
"Yes?"
"Do you mean to tell me that you also travelled back in time?"
"Huh?"
Tears started to form in the corners of his eyes "So then you remember going to village, and you remember me asking you to be friends?"
"Yes. As I said Rem returned with y-" she was cut off befor she could finish.
"Rem!" Subaru shouted excitedly "Rem! This is... This is..." Subaru had started to cry. "I didn't think it was possible..."
Subaru felt as if a massive weight had been taken been taken off his shoulders. Here was someone else that could understand what he was going through. A relationship that had been maintained after death.
Rem looked at the boy intensely. She had assumed that he was with the witch cult, but maybe she had been wrong. / If his motivation had been to attack the mansion, it doesn't make sense that he would die. And he certainly wouldn't bring me back with him. /
"Subaru" she started "Answer one more question Rem has."
Subaru, who was still in tears, responded quietly. "Yes, Rem. Anything you want."
"What is your connection to the witch cult?"
Subaru paused for a moment. His demeanor showed that he didn't understand the question. "Rem. I don't know what that is."
She couldn't detect any deceit in his response. His behaviour showed that he was being genuine.
"I see" she said "Subaru, let's go back to the kitchen and help Ram. We can discuss all of this further tonight."
Rem put away her weapon. She did not sense any ill intent from Subaru, who was aggressively wiping the tears streaming down his face. / So you're just a normal boy then. Subaru... /
With that, they made their way back to the kitchen.
After dinner, Subaru had made his way back to his room. He sat on the bed, waiting for Rem to appear.
When she did, they began to talk.
Rem had many questions for Subaru, but he seemed almost as confused about his situation as Rem was. He explained to her how he had been transported to this world a few days ago, how he had had a few loops fighting the bowel hunter. How he had made a promise to protect Emilia, and how that was his reason for staying at the mansion.
Rem listened quietly to his story. As unbelievable as it sounded, everything he said seemed consistent with how she had seen him act up to this point. She decided, against her better judgement, to trust the boy.
The days continued to pass by uneventfully. Subaru had noticed that Rem's previous hostility towards him was no longer there. He was glad. If Rem was looping with him, it would great to work together with her.
Rem for her part, was wondering whether she should confess to Subaru that she had witnessed his death in the previous loop.
On the fourth day, they again made there way down to the village. Just as last time, Rem observed Subaru as he played with the kids. His affinity for children seemed to be the final proof Rem needed to confirm that kindness she saw in Subaru. This time she let herself smile, and laughed as Subaru was teased for being a boy-maid.
As they came back from their little trip, Subaru saw how the setting sun once again made the landscape around him glow. He looked at the blue haired girl in front of him. She was quite pretty in the golden light of the evening.
He decided to speak up. "Rem" he hesitated for a moment "I know we got off on the wrong foot. But I'll tell you this once again."
Rem turned around to see Subaru bowing deeply in her direction.
"I hope that we can be friends. You really are an awesome maid!" he finished.
Rem seemed surprised. / You're an honest boy, aren't you Subaru. / She smiled softly at him.
"Yes Subaru." Subaru raised his head to see her warm smile. "Rem hopes so too." Subaru felt his cheeks heat up slightly.
After a moment, she decided to tell him the truth about what she had seen. "Subaru... I need to tell you something."
"Y-Yes. What is it Rem?"
"It's just that-" Rem didn't want to upset the boy in front of her. "The truth is, that night... I saw you die."
Subaru seemed taken aback by this, he didn't respond.
"Rem was suspicious of you, she didn't think she could trust you!" Rem waved her hands in the air as if to dispel the meaning of the words she had just spoken "Of course Rem trusts you now! B-But anyway, Rem had come to Subaru's room to investigate her suspicion, but she saw Subaru shaking in his bed, throwing up. Rem was scared, it seemed like you were having a seizure. After that, we returned to the first day... Ano, I'm not really sure what to make of it." she said that last part quietly. Rem looked down at the ground, she felt slightly guilty not mentioning that she had intended to end him herself.
Subaru took a moment to process this information.
"Rem. Can I ask you for a favor?" he said after a bit.
"Yes Subaru. Ask Rem." she responded. / I owe him this much, don't I /
"Tonight, can you stay with me? I'm kind of scared, to be honest." he said "I just want someone there in case something happens again."
Rem stared at him for bit. She understood his fear.
"Yes Subaru. Rem can do that." She spoke her words softly, comforting the boy "Rem will stay up with Subaru all night if he wants."
"Thanks..." Then Subaru cracked a huge grin "Rem what do you mean by that? What are we gonna be doing staying up all night together?" he teased her.
"Baka" Rem gently punched the side of his head. Then turned around and continued walking towards the mansion. "And just when Rem was being kind to you aswell."
Subaru followed her, and before long they had made their way back to the mansion.
It was late now, and Subaru and Rem sat on the bed in his room. Rem was treating the wound that dog had made on Subaru's hand, wrapping it in a fresh bandage.
"He's a nasty creature isn't he" Subaru said "You would think I learned my lesson, but I guess I'm a little slow."
Subaru's self-deprication made Rem laugh a little. "Rem thinks you are nice to always be playing with the children"
Subaru went quiet after that, feeling slightly embarrassed at Rem's compliment. It didn't help that she was holding his hand in hers. The softness of the maid's hands made Subaru tense up a little. / What are you thinking Subaru. You want Emilia don't you? /
He stared at the cute form of the girl in front of him. / Maybe... /
"If Subaru stares so intently at Rem, she won't be able to focus." she said quietly.
"Hahaa. Right, sorry." he responded "Thanks again Rem, for staying with me, for treating my wound, for everything. I don't know what I'd do without you."
"Subaru..." she didn't really know what to say. She smiled at him "You're very welcome."
Suddenly, a wave of nausea washed over Subaru. At first, he held it back thinking it to be nothing, but soon he felt sharp pains all over his body. Rem felt him tense up, at looked at him. The expression he was making- it was a clear sign of discomfort.
"Subaru are you alright?" she asked.
"Yeah Rem... I-I'm fine" he was panting now "I just need to... need to..."
Before he could finish his sentence, Subaru keeled forward, yelling out in pain. He vomited on the floor between both of his legs.
Rem felt a sinking feeling in her stomach having witnessed it all before. They both knew now, it was likely that...
/Subaru, is he going to die? / / Is this how a die?/
"Subaru!" she exclaimed, worry clearly present in her voice "Stay with me here! We need to get to Roswaal, or Beatrice! Someone who can heal you!"
By this point, Subaru had tuned out from anything she was saying, the physical pain was too intense to pay attention to anything else.
Rem picked Subaru up in a princess carry and ran out the room, making her way to Roswaal's quarters. Through the pain, Subaru still felt a bit of surprise at Rem's strength.
"Rem..." he uttered, pained.
"Don't worry Subaru! I got you, so stay awake!" her voice was shaking a bit now, her panic was clear.
"Rem..." Subaru's breathing was ragged, every breath felt like his lungs were filling up with hot lava. He started to bleed out from every orifice as he attempted to hold on. Blood spilled out from his eyes and from his nose. His face had gone completely blue, and veins were popping out from his neck and forehead.
"Next time..." Subaru tried to finish but it was too late. The familiar sensation of death began to creep up on him.
"Subaru! Subaru! Don't, come on. Subaru!" Rem was shouting now, sprinting with the boy in her arms.
Then she felt him go limp.
