Two Days Later
-Ram's Room-
The next couple of days passed by without much fanfare. As promised, Emilia didn't go tell the other residents about the bodyswap situation. She began to assist Beatrice in an attempt to figure out just who casted the bodyswap spell on Ram and Subaru. Unfortunately they've found nothing that has given them any leads as to who it could possibly be. What they've instead found is many books on tax records and other things related to taxes, much to Beatrice's frustration. She could swear at least half the library is filled with nothing but tax records of the Mather and Miload families as well numerous books on how taxes should be filed and kept, though Subaru believes that to be an exaggeration. Some of the rules and regulations stated in the books are outdated yet many others are still in practice, indicating the texts are somewhat old but not ancient. There were even a few books that kept note of how tax laws worked in other countries, like Vollachia. And they were all penned under the same author as noted by Beatrice, Tolman Miload.
Emilia asked if Beatrice had ever met Tolman, finding potential value in the books to bring her one step closer to winning the Royal Selection. Beatrice shrugged and said that he may have visited her Forbidden Library once or twice a very long time ago, but found him extremely irritating. All he did was talk about taxes for hours on end and Beatrice was forced to kick him out of the Forbidden Library by expelling him via magic, like she did with Subaru a few times.
Their failure having been noted by the other members in the know of the bodyswap, life resumed as normally as it could. Ram performed the chores Subaru would usually do and did a decent enough job at it. Subaru meanwhile tried to go above and beyond to prove that even in Ram's body, where he felt more weary and fatigued than usual, he would not wimp out and laze about.
Ram warned him a couple times not to push her body so much, but she eventually gave up and figured he would have to learn the hard way.
And as she predicted, by the 5th day, Subaru woke up feeling like a sack of bricks. Every part of his body felt sore and it takes nearly everything he has to move even a single body part.
"I told you to not work so hard and use magic when you felt lethargic, Barusu. Now look at your pathetic state." Ram shakes her head disapprovingly at him.
"I…ugh…" Subaru groans as he attempts to sit himself up, only barely succeeding.
Ram sighs, "No matter. I'll just be forced to inform everyone that 'Ram' is feeling sick today and will be unable to perform her duties."
"Is there…any way to do something about this?" He slowly asks.
"Until Roswaal-sama returns and gives you mana, nothing can be done. You foolishly used up the vast majority of it using our superior oni strength when you didn't need to and played around with my wind magic too much."
Flashback Start
Third Day Since the Swap Began
-Garden-
Subaru and Ram, each holding a pair of trimmers, have been hard at work cutting and trimming the various bushes around the Roswaal estate. It had been a few months since they were last cut so some bushes and trees were starting to look pretty gnarly. Ram used to be quite terrible at this task and almost always left it to Rem to do it. However, after obtaining a terrible score from Roswaal in a snow sculpture building contest, she has been greatly motivated to improve, wishing to someday build a brand new snow statue for Roswaal whenever Puck would have an outburst of mana again, this time without the "Barusu" influence on it.
Originally she had wished to collaborate with Rem again on it and somehow convince her to not include any Subaru influence on it, but ever since the Sanctuary incident, Rem refuses to have anything to do with Roswaal more than necessary. That especially includes any sort of architectural creations in Roswaal's image or that celebrate him in any way. As such, she's had to take many lessons and tips from Rem in order to improve to the point she could make anything she wanted out of various materials on her own, should it be trees, bushes, snow, stone, etc. Now, her competence at trimming bushes is about the same as Subaru, Rem and Frederica.
"Man at this rate, we're going to take forever!" Subaru complains. They've only done ten bushes so far and there are at least three times that to go. Not to mention the tall trees that need trimming.
"Less grumbling, more chopping." Ram responds tersely.
"There's gotta be an easier way…" Pondering for a few moments, an Eureka look appears on his face. "I got it!"
"Huh? What is it?
"Gate performance relies solely on the condition of the body and the amount of mana within it, right?"
"I don't see how it'd be any other way. Wait, Barusu don't tell me you're thinking of…"
"That's right! Ram, teach me how you use your wind magic!" He flashes a grin in her direction.
"No." She turns away and returns to her work.
"But why?!" He whines in a dramatic manner.
"Because I know you're just going to go around using it however you please. It's undignified, would expose our situation, use a bunch of mana, and you would probably destroy something. And keep your voice down, Petra is working over there you know." She points behind her to the girl in question, who's currently watering some tatoes.
"So many reasons!" He states in a more hushed voice. "Well, uh, I promise that I'll only use it for work reasons, and only when you're around!"
"If it's only for work and when I'm around, I suppose that could work. But if you do anything stupid, I'll tell everyone about the time I saw your sad 'thing'." She threatens with more sincerity than Subaru expected.
"That's way too threatening! Ok ok! I'll be super careful with it!"
So Ram ends up teaching him a few basic wind spells. The most complicated she teaches him is Fura, which sends out a single wind blade that can cut through tough materials like wood, stone, and certain metals with ease. Beyond that, she tells him how to generate wind in the palm of his hand, which she often uses to mix things in bowls. Then how to lessen the impact of a fall by generating a patch of wind beneath the body right before hitting the ground. Finally, she tells him how to direct the wind around himself to help boost his walking speed a little by having the wind push him from behind.
Subaru ends up really enjoying using the spells he was taught. Not only could he actually use a gate again and not have to rely on Beatrice, but the magic really boosted his quality of life. Dusting? No need for a feather duster, just blast some wind and the dust will fly away. Mixing ingredients? Just use wind and that'll free his arm from muscle cramps. Meili's dolls all over the place in her room? Just blast them under her bed and be done with it. Not to mention that he could cut freaking stone and metal if he wanted! Which he did indeed do. Safely and away from others of course.
His fatigue went up seemingly almost twice as much over the next couple days, but Subaru ignored it, finding the satisfaction and adrenaline rush of using wind magic to be greater than the fatigue. That didn't even take into account the fact that he figured out he could use the superior strength oni's possess to his advantage. While it didn't take nearly as much mana as using magic, carrying items his weight or even several times his weight still put a strain on his body.
Flashback End
"I…regret…everything…" Subaru flops back onto Ram's pillow, refusing to move a single muscle. "Is it…always this bad for you?"
"No, because I regulate how much mana I use. If I was in this situation where Roswaal-sama wouldn't be returning for a few days, I would only perform a handful of tasks per day. That way, I can keep my body in top condition and not regress into the state you're in now Barusu."
She takes a moment to breathe and collect her thoughts, continuing with, "You say that I'm lazy and I lack ambition, but that is simply not the case. It is true that I do enjoy my break time, sitting and sipping on my exquisite tea. However, even someone as 'lazy' as I wish to please Roswaal-sama as best as I possibly can. He has provided me with mana just so that I could live and perform my duties nearly every night ever since he brought in me and Rem after our village was destroyed. Did you truly believe I wanted to slack off and displease him as his maid after everything he's done for me and Rem? If so, you're an even bigger idiot than I could've ever imagined Barusu."
"No I…I had no idea. I knew you had trouble regulating your mana but to…to think it was this severe…" Subaru says, starting to feel guilty for how ignorant he's been of her condition.
"Now you know. If you had just listened to me for one second this could've all been avoided." Ram sighs in exasperation. "Whatever. What's done is done. All you can do for now is rest. Your strength will grow a little throughout the day, but it won't truly return until Roswaal-sama returns and gives you mana.
"But what about…changing our clothes and all that?" He asks, as both him and Ram are in their pajamas at the moment.
"I highly doubt you'll need to change if you're going to be in bed all day. However, I'll send Rem to care for you today. As for me, I'll do it myself."
"Wait! Ack…" Upon hearing that, Subaru tries to rapidly sit up until his aching bones punish him for moving too much too quickly. He lays back down, "But our agreement…"
"The only other people who know are Emilia-sama and Beatrice-sama. I certainly cannot imagine you've ever revealed yourself to them like that." Her eyes widen a little, "Unless you truly are a-"
"No!" He weakly shouts, "Of course I haven't! Ah…I'm…too tired to deal with this…*yawn*" Just like that, Subaru passes out almost immediately.
Ram takes a moment to straighten up the blanket and fully cover him up, as it's only covering half his body. She heads for the door, taking only a moment to look back at his sleeping figure.
The agreement…
Flashback Start
"Ram?" Subaru says.
"What is it?" She replies.
"Remember when you told me to never undress? I ask you to do the same. Never undress my body, ever. Aside from what's absolutely necessary to go to the bathroom." He says in a low tone that makes it seem as if he's threatening severe consequences if she doesn't do as he asks.
Ram unconsciously gulps at how serious and threatening he sounded just now. "I have no desire to gaze at your scrawny body Barusu." She replies in her usual uninterested tone.
Flashback End
Just what could he be hiding? It can't be that serious, can it? Whatever. I'll just close my eyes or something while changing. It can't be that hard.
-Hallway-
Exiting the room, she begins to walk down the hallway towards Subaru's room when she bumps into someone who has a very familiar canine grin.
"Hey Capt'n! Woah, watcha doin' walkin' 'round in those PJ's?" Garfiel laughs as he smacks Ram's back, irritating her.
"I'm on my way to change right now. So please excuse me."
"Ah! Actually Capt'n, y'know we haven't trained or exercised together at all these past few days. My amazin' self knows you've been busy with chores and all that. But ya can't forget to stretch yer legs once in a while!"
"Oh, I haven't been thinking about training lately. Sorry, but today's looking to be another busy day for me. I have to go get changed, tell everyone that Ram will not be working today due to having fallen ill, and that Rem will look after her for today."
"What? Is Ram gonna be alright?! It ain't serious is it?!"
She's initially shocked at his extreme reaction to this news, but quickly remembers that this guy has harbored an unfortunate crush on her for quite some time now.
When is he ever going to find some other girl to direct his gaze towards? If I was him, I would have given up by now.
"She'll be fine. It's only a little cold. Rem will care for her today."
Garfiel sighs in relief, "Ah I see. That's good. My amazin' self was worried for a moment there!"
"Then I'll be going." Ram tries to excuse herself when Garfiel blocks her way.
"Wait! It'd actually be good to go out in your PJ's right now. The looseness of that clothin' will make the planned leg stretchin' that much easier."
"Leg stretching?" She questions, feeling a sense of dread looming from his beaming smile.
"Yep! We haven't done that in a good while. So come on Capt'n! Let's get a move on! I ain't takin' no for an answer."
Forcefully grabbing Ram's hand and dragging her down the halls to the foyer and then outfront, Garfiel completely bulldozes over Ram's plans for the morning.
Thankfully they do run into Rem on the way, in whom Ram informs to go to her room, where "Ram" is waiting for her. She also informs Rem to tell anyone she meets about "Ram's" inability to work today. Rem freaks out in response but Ram tells her "she" will be fine, calming her twin down a little.
-Front Garden-
"Alrighty Capt'n! We're just gonna follow the regular procedure." Garfiel grins in excitement as he reaches down to stretch his legs in a warmup.
Ram desperately wants to head back inside to resume her original plan, but figures she'd look too suspicious if she tried to back out now. Having observed his and Subaru's training from a distance every once in a while, she knows that he tends to be rather enthusiastic about it.
"Yeah…!" She lamely tries to muster the same level of excitement Subaru usually has, "Let's do this quickly. Remind me how this goes please."
"Aw c'mon Capt'n! Y'know how this goes! First ya stretch out your leg like this." Garfiel extends his right leg to the right. Once he does, he bends his body to the left and lifts his extended leg into the air as high as it will go. In the process he balances his body by placing his left hand to the ground.
"I see." Ram, actually familiar with this stretch from some training she did as a maid some years back, easily manages to replicate Garfiel's movement. She was initially concerned Subaru's body would be unable to bend and stretch that much, but her worries were unfounded.
Garfiel does the same thing but for the other leg. Ram follows suit perfectly. They then sit on the ground and extend their legs, attempting to reach their toes with their hands. Both are yet again easily able to do this.
Many more leg exercises are initiated by Garfiel with Ram able to follow his movements with near 100% accuracy. Not only that, but she slowly found herself beginning to enjoy the exercises.
Barusu took this training seriously. I'm able to keep up with Garf easily. Well, I suppose this is to be expected with how much he seemed to enjoy doing it. Yet…I'm surprised. Huh. I suppose…compared to me, he might actually…
Ram shakes her head, refusing to complete that thought and admit such an outlandish conclusion. What are you thinking? Barusu is nothing more than some average butler who has attempted poorly to attract Emilia-sama's attention, has strangely good intuition, and managed to become the object of my sister's affection and love.
Soon they move on to some arm and shoulder movements. At first it goes fine, but Ram begins to notice some mild discomfort in her shoulders. She initially shrugs this off, as she's felt this discomfort a lot while working on her various chores and figured it was just some weird frailness of Subaru's body. However, the more she stretches and works her arms, the more intense the discomfort gets. Eventually, actual pain begins to settle in.
"I have to be done." Ram announces after their latest stretch.
"Why? Ya usually go on fer a bit longer."
"My shoulders are giving me some discomfort for some reason. Sorry, we can continue tomorrow."
"Oh…alright then Capt'n. If yer shoulders are hurtin', have Rem or Beatrice look at them. Don't wanna let that fester and get worse."
"I know. Thanks for your concern." With that, Ram heads back into the mansion.
I'm getting changed. While I'm at it, I'm going to look at Barusu's shoulders and see why they hurt so much.
-Ram's Room-
"Say 'ah'!"
"Ah…"
Bringing a spoon to his mouth, Rem nearly spills the contents onto his shirt due to her hand shaking. She's so giddy with excitement at this rare opportunity to feed Subaru directly that she can barely contain it.
"Will this really…restore my energy?" Subaru, having awoken only a little while earlier, asks her in a soft yet slightly worried voice. Rem had prepared a dish that is suspiciously similar to soup from his old world, saying that it will help him feel better.
She gives him a thoughtful look, "A little bit. Nee-sama unfortunately cannot take in mana well aside from the stub on her head where her horn used to be." She leans forward to touch said stub, causing Subaru to flinch a little at how sensitive it is. "Oh, sorry about that."
"No problem. Thanks Rem…you're a lifesaver. Sorry to cause you trouble like this after acting like such an idiot. I should've…listened to Ram when she warned me to not use up so much mana or exert myself too much. Now…I know why she doesn't work as much as the rest of us."
"You're not causing any trouble for me, even though you were very ignorant in heeding Nee-sama's advice."
"So comforting yet harsh at the same time…" Subaru groans.
Rem chuckles as she continues to feed him the soup, "I'm really happy to be able to take care of you like this. In fact, this is the first time I've ever seen Nee-sama's body so out of commission. I'm not worried, as all you need is some mana and you'll feel like you've been brought back to life in no time. It's so unfortunate that we have to wait for that clown to come back. If only I could…"
"No, you've…done plenty enough Rem. Feeding me, assisting me to the bathroom, talking to me…" Despite her saying otherwise, Subaru frowns a little in the guilt of making her do so much for him when he brought this all upon himself.
She gives him a very heartwarming, caring smile, "This is only natural. Now, as much as I wish to stay with you all day Subaru-kun, there are tasks I must attend to today. I'll check on you in a few hours. Does that sound good to you?"
He slowly nods, "Can you do me one favor?"
"As long as it's within my capabilities, I'll do anything for you."
"It's nothing crazy like that! I…just need you to tell Beako to visit me, is that alright?"
"Of course. I'll see you in a few hours, Subaru-kun." Holding the now empty bowl of soup in her hands, Rem proceeds to exit the room.
"Later Rem."
-Kitchen-
"How's Ram doing? Is she feeling better thanks to your healing?" Frederica, who's currently chopping some carrots in preparation for dinner in a few hours, as she plans to cook them slowly, asks Rem who just arrived.
She heads to the sink to clean out the bowl she arrived with, "Yes, Nee-sama is fine. Unfortunately part of her illness is caused by the low amount of mana currently stored within her. She unfortunately won't be able to make a full recovery until that clown comes back from whatever he's doing out there, but I did what I could in the meantime."
Frederica frowns at her behavior, "I know you don't work directly under Roswaal-sama anymore, but it's still very rude and disrespectful to talk like that about him behind his back. Still, I'm glad to hear Ram will be fine."
"If he actually had something worthy of respect, I would acknowledge it. As it stands, nothing will redeem him of what he attempted to do with Subaru-kun, manipulating him like that…" She grips her hands in slight anger. "The only thing that clown has going for him is that he's rich and is funding Emilia-sama's participation in the Royal Selection."
As Rem continues to talk negatively about her former employer, out of the corner of her eye she notices Beatrice walking by.
"Beatrice-sama!"
She stops in her tracks and turns to look at the blue-haired maid. "What is it? Make it quick, I suppose! Betty is on her way to see Subaru, in fact!"
"Ah, in that case, I have nothing to say."
Beatrice continues on her way, growling a little at having been stopped unnecessarily.
-Ram's Room-
"Betty understands, you just foolishly used up Ram's mana thinking there would be no consequences." Beatrice shakes her head and sighs at her contractor's idiocy.
"S-Sorry…" Subaru mumbles out an apology.
"No matter, I suppose. If it's only this, then everything will be fine, in fact. Once Roswaal injects you with mana, it'll feel like none of this ever happened."
"Gotcha. Any progress on how or why we swapped?"
Her cheeks stiffen at the question, "Not much, I suppose. Betty and Emilia found a few books that mention it vaguely just a little bit ago. What we know is that the spell isn't natural, in fact. There are a couple hints that lean towards it being some sort of Divine Protection, but nothing concrete. Sorry that there isn't more, I suppose."
Subaru weakly smiles at her, wishing he could reach and pat her head, "Nah you and Emilia did great. I feel you two will crack this case anytime now."
"That means we'll solve it soon, right? Betty will do her best to bring Subaru back to normal as soon as possible, I suppose. Now, rest up. That's an order, in fact. Betty will be back to check on you later."
"I'll do just that. But before you go, I need you to do something for me."
"And what would that be, I wonder?"
"Ram's planning to change into my butler outfit and she's going to see those scars and wounds on my shoulders. I need you to stop her from changing her shirt. She can change the pants on her own I guess…even if I don't really like the thought of it. But she must absolutely not see my shoulders under any circumstances."
"You really should've let me heal those, in fact." Beatrice sighs at how stubborn Subaru has been in refusing to let her heal those self-inflicted wounds. "Now look at the trouble it's gotten you into."
"I had no idea this was going to happen!" He protests, "Fine…I promise that if you stop her, I'll let you heal them as soon as I get back into my body."
"That's not enough, I suppose! Promise that you'll also never cut yourself ever again! Don't you know how painful it is for Betty to see those cuts and scars and be able to do nothing about it, in fact?!" Beatrice raises her voice as a couple tears begin to stream down her face, showing just how scared and concerned she is for her contractor.
"I…" Subaru hesitates for a moment, but seeing that pained expression convinces him, "I promise, so please…"
"No backing out on it, in fact!" With that, Beatrice runs out of the room to look for Ram.
"I hope she makes it in time." Subaru hopes aloud as he lays back down on his pillow in an attempt to get more sleep.
-Subaru's Room-
"His butler outfits should be right in here." Ram mutters to herself as she opens the closet door in his room. As expected, five pairs of identical butler outfits are currently being hung on a small metal rod. They're all the same, so Ram picks one at random to wear.
She looks over to his nightstand, where it's likely his underwear is stored. She ponders over whether it's worth seeing Subaru's "thing" so she can change her underwear.
Barusu's body can handle wearing the same pair of underwear for a day. It's worth it compared to the alternative. Thus, her decision has been made. First, the shirt.
Since no one is in the room and she isn't expecting anyone to barge in, Ram begins to undress right in the middle of the room. As her shoulders have been greatly bothering her this entire time, she decides to make exposing those and taking a look at them her priority. As soon as she does:
"Huh?" A sound of confusion escapes from her lips. Turning her head to the far left and right to observe his shoulders, she sees a great number of cuts and scars, some obviously recent while others are older. "What are these?"
Reaching into the closet, Ram locates a full size mirror that every closet in the mansion is provided with so that residents can look over their appearance if they wish. Pulling it out, she lays it against the wall and uses it to closely observe the scratches.
Squinting her eyes for a moment at the weirdly shaped cuts, she gasps, "These symbols!"
She barely recognizes them. Over a year ago she remembers teaching Subaru how to write in the Lugunican language as he somehow had no idea how to do it. As she helped him, she often saw a journal of some sort next to the papers he was working on. In that journal were various symbols she couldn't recognize, but figured were legible symbols from wherever he was from. As he got better at writing the language she taught him, he slowly began to write less and less in that weird foreign language. Eventually, she stopped seeing them altogether.
Yet here these symbols were again, etched directly into his skin. Of course she is still completely unable to read them. She never bothered to ask Subaru to teach her his original language. Now she begins to slightly regret that.
"What do they say? And why are they-"
Suddenly, she hears the door slam open and a panting Beatrice runs to her, "Stop, in fact! Don't change his…clothes…" Taking in the sight in front of her, Beatrice realizes she is too late. "Just great, I suppose."
Beatrice then mumbles to herself, "Sorry Subaru, I was too late. You should've let Betty heal them, I suppose."
-Library-
"Hah…who knew reading this much would be so boring." Emilia, having finished flipping through one of the thousands of books in the library that yielded no results, takes a moment to stretch out her limbs. "Still, I need to try my best! Subaru and Ram are counting on me and Beatrice to bring them back to normal." Undeterred by her boredom, Emilia is filled with limitless motivation to help out her dear friends in need.
Currently sitting at a decently sized desk that has two chairs, one for her and the other for Beatrice, she decides to get up to find a new book to glance through. Most of the books in the beginning and middle sections of the library have already been glossed through, so Emilia heads for the back where the untouched books lay to rest.
Finding some books on a bookshelf that have so much dust on them that they look like they haven't been touched in centuries, she pulls three of them off. She coughs a little from inhaling some of the dust that has been disturbed.
Taking a look at the titles, she finds one that could have potential while the other two are just more stupid tax books that she's seen what feels to be a million times at this point. Looking at the bookshelf once more to put the books back, the wall behind sticks out to her.
That's false, the wall itself isn't what caught her eyes, but the bright blue buttons that are ingrained into the wall. There are nine of them laid out in a square pattern. Having gained her curiosity, Emilia pushes the bookshelf away from the wall from the back. Now able to see the wall and buttons more clearly, there is a set of instructions above the buttons.
Input the worst year, followed by the best year.
Intentionally vague, Emilia furrows her eyebrows in frustration. She believes this hint has something to do with this library, but, "The only years I see in these books are all those ones in the tax books! Wait…the tax books?"
She remembers going through a book earlier that recorded one of the worst years for tax collecting she's ever seen. The only reason she remembers is just how upset and angry the author was for how bad the year was for them, and the author did not make any attempt to hide it. Quite the opposite in fact.
"And I think Beatrice mentioned being disgusted at seeing how happy an author was in another book at how great his year was in tax collecting? I'll have to look."
After some time, Emilia is able to find both books she's looking for by vaguely remembering the color binding used for them. She flips through them, finds the necessary years, pushes the appropriate buttons, and then:
"The wall…is opening?!"
To Emilia's shock, part of the wall swings open to reveal a hidden room. It's dark and smells of mildew a little, but Emilia's curiosity outwins her fear of entering the newly opened area.
It's actually quite small. Inside is only a single stone table. Laying on the table is a book that, like the ones Emilia picked up earlier, seems to have not been touched by a single being in centuries.
Emilia picks up the book, feeling more and more excited at possibly having found something extremely rare. Bringing it out so she can see in the light, she reads the title:
Bodyswap: How to Use
-Author's Corner-
A/N: Back with another chapter! Things are really heating up now. Ram found out about Subaru's scars and Emilia appears to have found the book that will finally explain how this bodyswap spell/Divine Protection is used. I hope you enjoyed the chapter!
I know the code at the end is probably not all that great. I'm not exactly that good at making clever codes to crack.
I have an important announcement. The next chapter will be the last. Everything will be wrapped up and the remaining major questions will be answered. Thanks to everyone who has stuck with me so far! I greatly appreciate it.
Thanks to Aftermather and Dirkmcdirt for beta-reading this chapter!
Deathenglegamers1144: No yuri moments this time lol.
Noragogoisverycool: Thank you!
Guest: I'm very glad you enjoyed the last chapter!