Chapter 2
Adjusting
The grimoire opened up. A long black handle with a guard rose up out of the book. I grabbed it and pulled out a big, rusted greatsword.
'The Demon-Slayer! I can't believe I'm actually holding it!' I thought excitedly.
Despite being big and heavy, my strength training from back home allowed me to wield it.
'But, wait. This assassin lady doesn't use magic. How is this supposed to help me!?' I thought in a panic.
"What do you plan on doing with that?" asked Elsa.
"I'm going to use it to defeat you!" I said while pointing it at her.
"Oh, is that so?" she asked unimpressed.
I then dashed towards the woman. I was surprised at my own speed. However, Elsa was not. I swung at her, and she stepped back to dodge it. She then jumped forward to swing her knife. I brought my sword up to block it. While this was happening, the other woman was shooting icicles at her. Somehow, Elsa was able to avoid the icicles and my sword at the same time. It kept going like this for about a half-hour.
...
The sun had gone down, and it was nighttime now. Me and the half-elf woman were both exhausted from fighting against Elsa. I was leaning against the wall for support. Elsa, on the other hand, looked like she could keep going all night. Fighting, that is.
"Hey. If you've got some hidden, special power, now would be a good time to use it." I said to the woman.
"I do have a trump card, but if I use it, I'll be the only one left standing." she replied grimly.
"Well, there goes that idea." I said.
"I won't use it. Not when you're still here. Doing your best." she said to me.
Memories of my brief time spent with her appeared in my head. Despite not knowing her very well, I still cared about her, and I didn't want her to end up dying to Elsa again. I then realized the only way to spend more time with her was to get up and keep fighting Elsa.
"I finally remembered why I'm here in the first place! I'll defeat you, so we can live to see another day!" I said to Elsa while pointing the sword at her.
Elsa started attacking again. I was ready for her and raised my sword to block her strikes. I swung at her when I had the chance. It missed. In addition, I couldn't block all her quick strikes. I eventually ended up with a large number of cuts all over my body. I then tried to kick her, but she grabbed my ankle. She raised her knife to cut off my foot but something unexpected happened.
"That's enough." said a man.
Something fell through the ceiling. It created a big dust cloud that obscured our vision. After it cleared, we saw it was Reinhard. I used this distraction to free myself and ran towards the half-elf woman. Somehow, during this entire fight, the grimoire had been floating next to me. It seemed to follow me wherever I went. I decided not to question how it was doing that. I put the Demon-Slayer back in the grimoire and went over to her.
She was next to old man Rom who was still alive but just barely. She told me she was healing him only to get information out of him, but I knew she was trying to save his life. I then looked over to see how Reinhard was doing with Elsa.
'What the hell is that!?' I thought in shock.
All I could see was a blur dashing towards Reinhardt, over and over. I could only make out when their blades met each other, and made some sparks.
'She's been holding back this whole time! Wait! That means she was just toying with me and the half-elf woman!' I thought.
Suddenly, Reinhard stomped on the ground with his left foot. This created a small shock wave that stopped Elsa dead in her tracks. He then kicked her and sent her tumbling back several meters.
Elsa was amused by this. She tried to convince Reinhard to use the sword on his hip, but he instead picked up a random sword off of the floor. Elsa then started attacking Reinhard again. Reinhard disarmed her of one of her blades, but I knew she had a second.
"She has a second one, Reinhard!" I yelled out.
Reinhard jumped out of the way of her second blade. Elsa then ran circles around Reinhard while also attacking from different directions. Reinhard fended off all of her strikes, but if things didn't change, he would eventually get hurt.
"Reinhard won't fail to land the final blow, will he?" I asked the woman.
"He can't use his full strength because I'm using my spirit arts." replied the woman.
"What do those have to do with each other?" I asked.
"If Reinhard wanted to finish her off, all the mana in the air would turn away from me." she answered.
"Huh?" I asked her in confusion.
"I'm almost done healing him. When I tell you, let him know." She told me.
She then finished healing old man Rom.
"He's all right now. Go ahead." she said.
"Reinhard! I don't really get it, but do your thing!" I yelled out.
Reinhard's sword then began glowing white. It grew ten times in size before he swung it down on Elsa. As soon as it hit, there was a big, bright explosion that ended up destroying most of the loot house. After the light faded and the dust cleared, the sword that Reinhard held in his hand slowly crumbled to dust.
'There's not a trace of her left, let alone a body.' I thought.
"This is what's left after just one sword swing?" I asked to no one in particular.
"It's over now?" asked the half-elf woman.
"Yeah. Somehow." I said while staring at her.
"Why are you staring at me? That's rude." she told me.
"I'm just glad we're both still alive." I honestly said.
I then turned to Reinhard and thanked him for saving us. He told me that it was somebody else that brought him here. He turned his head towards Felt.
"Hey. That's…" the silver haired woman started to say.
"Calm down. If it wasn't for her, we'd be dead right now." I said to her.
"I suppose that's true." she replied.
Out of nowhere, a small noise caught my attention. From a pile of rubble behind me emerged Elsa. She rushed towards the woman. Reinhard started to move, but he wouldn't stop Elsa in time. There was only one thing to do. I pulled the sword out of the grimoire as fast as I could. At the same time, I pushed the half-elf woman out of the way. Right when Elsa was in striking distance, I swung my sword at her. It connected, and the momentum of the swing threw her backwards several yards away. However, she used the momentum to somersault and jump onto a beam that supported what remained of the roof.
"You got in my way again." she said to me with a glare.
"You know me. I just love getting in evil people's way!" I replied to Elsa.
"It doesn't matter. Soon enough, I'll disembowel everyone here. Until then, take care of your bowels!" she said to us before jumping away into the night.
Reinhard then asked the woman if she was alright. The woman was fine, but she was more concerned about me. I reassured her that I was alright. Besides, I had more important matters to deal with.
"I only have one question." I said to her.
"Ask away." she replied.
"What is your name?" I asked in a serious voice.
"Emilia. My name is Emilia." she answered while giggling.
"Thanks, Subaru, for everything." she said while holding out her hand.
All the memories of the fight popped into my head. Even though I had struggled to reach this point, it was worth it. I reached out and shook Emilia's hand.
'She has a really strong grip! Also, her hand's soft.' I thought.
Reinhard then commented on how I had survived as well as I did.
"It was this thing that protected me." I said while holding up the Demon-Slayer.
"That is a rather unusual sword. Regardless, you did excellent in holding your own against that crazy woman." he told me.
Right after he finished saying that, my stomach started bleeding badly. At some point in the fight, Elsa slashed at my stomach. Due to all the exhaustion from the fight, and the severity of the wounds I had received, I fell to the ground. I saw Emilia saying something to me, but I couldn't hear her because my vision and hearing were fading. Eventually, I passed out.
...
I woke up. The first thing I saw was an unfamiliar ceiling. I wondered how I got here, but then I remembered everything that had happened up to this point. I noticed I was wearing a robe instead of my usual clothes. I then looked at my stomach. The wound was gone.
'Did Emilia do this? The last thing I remember was seeing her face.' I thought to myself.
I then realized that the grimoire I used last night was missing.
'Where is it? Shouldn't it be around here somewhere?' I asked myself silently.
I then looked around the room but couldn't find it. I decided that since I wasn't in any immediate danger, I didn't need it right now. I exited the room and went into the hallway. For some reason the hallway was very long. It also had lanterns that glowed a bright blue. It looked like they didn't use fuel or electricity. I started walking down the hallway, and I saw a painting of a sunset hanging on the wall.
'Where is Emilia anyway? Shouldn't she have been by my bed waiting for me to wake up? That's always what happens in anime and video games.' I thought.
I then saw the same painting again. I thought nothing of it until I saw it again. I then realized that this must be a looping hallway.
"The only way out of this is to open a door at random!" I said to myself.
I then opened a door which revealed something unusual. It was a library with many books. Sitting at a desk was a short, young girl. She wore a big red dress, had blonde pigtails, and had green eyes. She looked annoyed by my presence. I asked her where this was. She said this was her personal library. She asked how I found my way in here. I was confused until I then realized why she was annoyed by me.
"I see! You're annoyed that I found this room by guessing on my first try. I've always been lucky like that!" I said to her smugly.
"I've had enough. Time to teach you a lesson, I suppose!" she said while walking towards me.
She then placed her hand on my stomach. I was expecting something to happen, but nothing did. She looked confused by this, and took a step back. It looked like she had seen a ghost.
"Are you alright?" I asked her.
"I can't gather any mana from you. This is most unusual, I suppose." she said.
"What do you mean?" I asked her.
She shook her head, and regained her composure.
She said to me, "I suggest you leave before I attempt to further understand your unusual condition."
She was pointing her finger at me. It looked she was about to use some kind of magic spell.
"Alright. I'll go." I told her while leaving the library.
Due to my lucky guessing, I found my way back to my room. I decided to keep on sleeping since there wasn't anything else to do. I crawled back into the bed and closed my eyes. During this time, I reflected on previous events, and realized something.
'I never told Emilia my name. How did she know it? Actually, it was probably Reinhardt who told her. More importantly, if I didn't meet Emilia in this loop, I wouldn't know Puck's name! When I was yelling out Puck's name during that fight, that must have seemed really suspicious. Oh well, nothing I can do about it now!' I thought.
I then dozed off.
...
Sometime later, I heard the door open. I heard two voices saying rude things about me sleeping in and being a deadbeat. I decided to confront them. I sat up, opened my eyes and saw two girls in maid outfits. One had pink hair, and the other had blue hair.
'They have maids in this world? Cool! Also, their dresses are way too short!' I thought while looking at them.
"It appears our guest is violating you in his mind, sister." said the blue haired one.
"It appears you are also being violated in the mind of our guest, Rem." said the pink haired one.
I then saw a golden opportunity to make a funny reference.
"The inner machinations of my mind are an enigma." I told them.
I imagined a carton of milk falling over, and spilling onto a table.
Suddenly, the door opened. It was Emilia. She was dressed in what appeared to be her sleeping gown. Surprisingly, it was a reasonable length, unlike her usual skirt.
"Are you alright? Is everything feeling better?" She asked me.
"Yeah, I'm fine. I'm a little tired from oversleeping, but that's it." I said to Emilia.
I yawned while stretching my arms and said, "I guess it's time to start a new day!"
...
After getting changed out of my robe into my trusty outfit, I explored the mansion a bit with Emilia. It was a lot bigger than I imagined. We went outside for some fresh air. I started doing push-ups, and Emilia asked what I was doing. I told her about how I did strength training everyday back home. I then showed her how to do it.
To my surprise, she did several push-ups in a row without faltering.
'She's strong!' I thought.
"Now I see where your strength comes from, Subaru." she said to me while standing up.
The two maid girls then appeared. They told Emilia that Lord Roswaal had returned. We then went into a dining room. Standing next to the entrance was the young girl with the pigtails. She told me that she had been watching me from the window, and thought I was being weird. Emilia then arrived and told me that this young girl's name was Beatrice. A rather strange looking man then walked in.
"Who invited the clown?" I asked everyone.
"Subaru. That man is…" Emilia started to say.
"No. It's quite alright. I am Roswaal L. Mathers, the lord of this mansion. It's nice to meet you, Natsuki Subaru." he told me.
For some reason, he seemed to not care that I called him a clown.
'Holy moly! That could've gone so much worse!' I thought.
We then sat down to eat dinner. I commented on how good the food was. Roswaal told me that the blue haired maid, Rem, cooked the meal. Rem told me that she was better than her sister, Ram, at everything from cooking to cleaning. I questioned what the purpose of her sister was. Ram glared at me after I said that.
Roswaal then told me how it was strange how I came to this mansion in the kingdom of Lugunica without understanding anything. I asked him what he meant. He told me that Lugunica's king is not present, and that the country is trying to find a replacement for him. Also, Emilia was a candidate for the royal selection. I understood what he was explaining, but it wasn't until a few moments later that I connected the dots. To everyone here, it was suspicious that I don't know anything, came to the mansion, and became acquainted with Emilia.
'Great. They think I'm some kind of spy.' I thought.
"Also, it's strange that you have no magic, but you can use this book." he said while pulling out the five leaf grimoire.
'No magic? What does he mean by that?' I asked myself silently.
"My grimoire! Where'd you get that!?" I asked him.
Roswaal nodded towards Beatrice. I turned my head to look at her.
"Why'd you take my grimoire!?" I asked her.
"I wanted to study it. Unfortunately, it seemed to resist any magic spell I used on it. I also couldn't read what was written inside. However, according to Emilia, she saw you pull a sword out of it." she replied.
"So, what if I can? I used that sword to save Emilia. That's all that matters!" I told her.
"If it wasn't for you, I would've certainly died. You're a true savior to me, Subaru." Emilia said to me.
Roswaal then stepped into the conversation.
"You did save Emilia, Subaru. Because of that, you may ask for anything you desire." he said while giving me my grimoire back.
'A reward? Well, I do need a place to stay, but it'd be weird if I was a freeloader here. Living here and doing nothing would be cool, but it would get so boring after the first week!' I thought.
'I know! I can work here so I can help support Emilia as a royal candidate! She's like, the nicest person I ever met!' I continued in thought.
"There's only one thing I want. Hire me to work here!" I said to him.
There was an awkward silence until Ram sneezed.
...
I ended up in a dressing room with the two maids. Rem took some measurements so she could tailor some clothes for me to work in. In the meantime, Ram took me around the mansion and showed me all the rooms.
Somehow, I ended up in Betty's room again. She got annoyed and flung me out with a spell. Ram explained to me that this was her spell, Door Crossing. It can connect any door to the mansion to her own room. It also changes the room's location at random. I then tried another door and found Betty's room again. I quickly closed it.
I then asked Ram what the library was for. Ram answered my question and told me that this was Roswaal's collection of forbidden books. Also, she said he was the greatest magic user in the kingdom.
'The greatest magic user? I guess that would make him the Wizard King of this kingdom.' I thought to myself in amusement.
...
We finished the tour of the mansion and ended up outside. Ram then explained all of her duties around the mansion. There were many of them, and I had to help her with them. It was evening by the time I got through all of them. I went back to my room, and collapsed on my bed.
"I'm exhausted." I said out loud.
"How does she do all of that in one day?!" I asked myself.
There was a knock at the door. It was Rem.
"Do you have a moment?" she asked.
"Yeah. Come in. I won't do anything weird." I said to her.
"When you say it like that, it sounds less believable." she replied.
She then opened the door and came in. She had finished tailoring my butler jacket. I tried it on, and it was a perfect fit. She also handed the pants to me. She didn't finish them, but I knew how to sew. I grabbed a needle and thread and started sewing the rest of the pants. Rem was surprised, but not impressed that I knew how to sew. Seeing that I could do the rest myself, she left my room. I stayed up until my pants were fully sewn. Once I was done, I realized something important.
'I need a pouch to carry around my grimoire. But, that needs leather. I'll have to ask Ram and Rem tomorrow if they have any leather that I could use.' I thought.
I then went to sleep.
...
After my uniform was done, I began butler work the next day. I worked in the kitchen, and sliced my fingers open multiple times with the knife. I cleaned the library and the bathroom while Ram stood and watched me. I worked in the garden pruning the bushes. Somehow, I managed to cut my fingers again.
As I worked with Ram and Rem, I got the feeling that Ram and Rem didn't trust me fully. Every time I would ask them a question, they would give very short answers. Also, I couldn't do much by myself without their intervention.
'Even though I'm a new person, this feels like a bit much!' I thought in annoyance.
When we were done for the day, I asked Rem if there was any spare leather I could use. I couldn't ask Ram because she had left to go see Roswaal.
"What do you need leather for?" Rem asked me suspiciously.
"To sew a holder for my grimoire. I can't just carry it around in my left hand forever." I answered.
"That does make sense. Follow me, then." Rem told me while walking away.
I followed her to one of the storage rooms. One of the shelves had many different sheets of leather. She grabbed two brown sheets of leather, and handed them to me.
"I believe this leather should work for your needs." she told me.
"Awesome! Thanks, Rem!" I told Rem honestly.
Rem seemed to be surprised by my gratitude. But, she quickly covered it up with her usual neutral attitude.
"There's no need to thank me, Subaru.' Rem said while walking out of the storage room.
I then took them to my room. I would start sewing later tonight, after my practice session.
At night, when everyone else was asleep, I would go outside and practice my swordsmanship. Even though I used to do ken-do in middle school, swinging an actual sword was different. Especially one that was big and heavy. It'd take a while before I'd actually get used to swinging it around.
Once I was done with my practicing, I went back to my room. I sat down at my desk, pulled out a needle and some strong thread, and started sewing. It didn't take long since I was basically sewing a big leather pouch. The hardest part was sewing on the belt loops so it could hang from my belt, but the whole thing only took about an hour.
Once it was done, I put the grimoire inside of it. It fit like a glove.
'Easy peasy, lemon squeezy!' I thought proudly.
I then jumped into bed, and went to sleep.
...
One night, I was outside with Emilia. I was watching her talk to the spirits again.
"It must be really boring for you to watch me, huh?" she asked me.
"Not really. Besides, we haven't had a chance to just talk for the past few days." I replied.
We then sat down, and Emilia told me I lacked ambition. She was confused about the time in the capital when I asked what her name was. She was expecting me to ask for more. I told her that what I want most is what I believe is best. Not just for myself, but others as well. She was also confused why I wanted to work at the mansion rather than become a permanent guest.
"Well, technically, I did that so I could support you as a royal candidate. I think you'd be a good ruler for this kingdom." I told her seriously.
"Thank you, Subaru. I'm really glad you feel that way about me." Emilia told me.
She then turned her attention to my hands which were covered in bandages.
"Do you want me to use my healing magic?" she asked me.
"No. My hands are fine like this." I told her.
"Why?" she asked.
"These wounds are the proof of my effort." I told her.
"Subaru. You idiot." she said with a sigh.
"Huh? Isn't this the part where you're supposed to fall in love with me?" I asked her jokingly.
"I never fell for you in the first place! Honestly Subaru, you're silly." she told me.
She then asked how my hands got injured. I told it that it was from working in the kitchen, getting bit by an animal, and other work around the mansion. I asked her if she wanted to come with me tomorrow to go visit the nearby village. She said only after my work and her studies were finished.
"Alright. I'll be waiting till then." I told Emilia before I left.
...
After going back inside the mansion, I opened a door and found Beatrice in the library.
"So now you can find this place whenever you want, I suppose?" she asked.
"That's right. Also, I wanted to say goodnight before going to bed." I told her.
"Get out of here already!" she said to me.
She used a spell to push me out of the room. I was sent flying into the hallway.
'Man. That really hurt!' I thought to myself.
I then went back to my room. As I was getting dressed for bed, I heard a knock at the door.
"Subaru. It's me, Ram." she said.
'Why is she here? Is she up to something?' I thought cautiously.
"Come in." I told her.
Ram opened the door, and walked in. I thought she had an ulterior motive, but she just wanted to teach me how to read and write. I thought it was nice of her to do that, but she said she was doing it for her own benefit. Once she was done, she ended up falling asleep on my bed.
I tried poking her to wake her up, but it was useless. She kept on snoozing.
'Any other guy would kill to be in a situation like this. Me? I'm flat out annoyed! She took away my warm and comfy bed! How am I supposed to get a good night's sleep!?' I thought to myself.
Ignoring this travesty, I got changed into my pajamas. I knew that if I just jumped into the bed with Ram still in it, she would kill me. I then had an idea. I went over to the bed where Ram was currently sleeping. I put a hand on Ram's shoulder to enact my idea.
'Instead of poking her, I'll just shake her vigorously until she wakes up!' I thought.
Ram's left fist was an inch from my face. Before I could even blink, the force from her punch went past me, and blew the bedroom door wide open.
'When did she even get up!? I didn't see her move!' I thought in genuine fear for my life.
Up until that moment, the fastest I'd ever seen anybody move was Elsa fighting against Reinhardt. Even then, I could just barely tell where she was. But, Ram was on another level.
"Care to explain yourself, Subaru?" Ram asked with a menacing tone.
"I wanted to wake you up." I said while letting my hand fall off her shoulder.
"Nonsense! What were you really intending to do?" Ram asked me.
"I was trying to wake you up because you're occupying my bed, and I don't have a pillow or a blanket to sleep with!" I explained quickly.
Ram relaxed slightly after I said this. I continued speaking.
"Actually, now that you're awake, you can just go back to your room, and sleep in your own bed." I said.
"No. I'll stay here." Ram told me.
'Why!? You have your own room! Just go there!' I thought.
"But how am I supposed to sleep?" I asked her.
Without answering my question, Ram stood up, and went over to the closet. She opened it. Aside from my butler uniform, and department store clothing, there was nothing else.
"I see. Wait here." She told me before leaving the room.
A minute later, she returned with a blanket and pillow. She handed them to me.
"Uh, thank you, Ram." I said.
"You're welcome, Subaru. Good night." she said while getting back into my bed.
"Good night." I said from the floor.
'That was a very frightening experience, but at least I can sleep now!' I thought before nodding off.
...
I woke up. The first thing I saw when I opened my eyes was bright light. Looking at the source, I found Ram. She had opened the curtains to let the morning light in.
"Good morning, Ram." I greeted her.
"Good morning, Subaru." she greeted back.
She then opened the window. Unfortunately, since I was laying on the floor, this gave me the perfect view up her dress.
'She's wearing black today? But, she always wears pink!' I thought.
Ever since I had arrived at the mansion, I had noticed how short Ram and Rem's dresses were. I didn't think it was a problem until I had decided to become a butler.
Whenever Ram and Rem walked up the stairs, climbed a ladder, or even bent over to pick up something off the ground, I saw what they were wearing that day.
Even though half of me enjoyed this, the other half of me didn't.
"Subaru. How much longer are you going to continue staring at me?" Ram asked me.
I then realized I had spaced out while looking at her.
"Sorry. I was just thinking." I said while standing up.
"About?" she asked for clarification.
"About the dresses you and Rem wear." I answered.
"What about them?" Ram asked.
"They're too short." I said bluntly.
A gust of wind blew through the open window, and lifted Ram's dress as if to prove my point. Unexpectedly, Ram did not pat down her dress.
"So?" she asked me.
"You don't care?" I asked in response.
"Not at all. It's much easier to move in this compared to a long dress. Plus, even if you tried to act on your perverted desires, you would ultimately fail." Ram answered.
'Fail? Is that a thinly veiled threat?' I thought suspiciously.
"That makes sense, I guess. Wait. Perverted desires!?" I replied.
Ram pointed downwards. I looked to see something I completely forgot about.
'Stupid morning wood! You made me look bad!' I thought.
"I can explain! You see, when a man wakes up in the morning—" I tried to explain.
"It's fine. After all, seeing a young maiden as beautiful as I would excite any man in the morning." she responded.
I sighed in relief.
"Anything else you wish to ask of me?" Ram asked me.
"No." I answered.
"Then, I'll take my leave." Ram said.
She walked towards the door, opened it, and left my room.
'Ram is an interesting one. She can be pretty scary, but she's a nice person! I think.' I thought to myself.
...
Later that morning, me, Ram, and Rem went to the nearby village to pick up ingredients for dinner. I didn't mention Ram's sleepover in my room to Rem because I felt she would get upset. At the village, I played with the kids and got bit by the same puppy as before. On the way back to the mansion, I talked with Rem and found out that she really does admire her sister. Also, she has a great smile.
Once my butler duties were done for the day, I went to see Emilia. True to her word, Emilia went with me to see the kids, and the village in general. Other then spending time together, nothing special happened.
When we went back to the mansion, I showed Emilia how my writing was progressing. She was impressed that Ram could teach me to write in a short amount of time. She then told me to work hard from now on and left to go to bed.
'What to do now?' I thought.
For some reason, there was a book of fairy tales on the desk in my room. I decided to read it in order to put Ram's teachings to the test.
'Looks like I can read and write! I'll have to thank Ram later!' I thought.
Once I was too tired to continue, I went to bed and dozed off.
...
The next day, I woke up and performed my butler duties. Like yesterday, Ram and Rem didn't trust me very much. I just minded my own business, and worked hard.
'Hope they can start trusting me sooner rather than later.' I thought to myself.
I remembered to thank Ram for teaching to read and write. She didn't show it, but I got the feeling she genuinely appreciated my gratitude.
I soldiered on through the rest of the day. Once it was nighttime, I took my grimoire with me outside to a flat, open area on the manor property. I pulled out the Demon-Slayer, and practiced with it. I couldn't do much other then perform the same swings over and over. But, at the very least, it would help me build up stamina in case I get into a fight.
'Plus, if my swordsmanship improves enough, I can protect the mansion if anyone attacks or breaks in!' I thought to myself.
"May we join?" somebody asked from behind.
I turned around to see who it was. It was Ram and Rem.
"If you're here to train with me, then sure! Though, you guys don't have swords." I said to them.
"Swords are too simple for a refined lady such as I." Ram stated.
"I don't use one." Rem said.
Ram then pulled out a wand, and Rem pulled out a flail. For some reason, they looked really serious.
'I don't like where this is going.' I thought nervously.
The grimoire floated in front of me with it's trademark red glow. As I grabbed the Demon-Slayer from it, Rem attacked. She swung her flail at me at an incredible speed! I barely had time to block it!
"Hey! Watch it! That could've killed me!" I told Rem.
"In a real fight, your opponent won't always go easy on you!" she replied.
'I guess that's true. But, still! That's no excuse to try to kill someone!' I thought.
She swung again. This time, I smacked it away. It didn't do much, other than annoy Rem. I then ran towards her. By doing this, It would make harder for her to attack. But, she jumped backwards to create distance so she could continue attacking.
'Darn it!' I thought.
The next swing she did was slower than the previous ones. I jumped over it to avoid it. I then had another idea. If I smacked her flail into the ground, it would get stuck there, and give me a chance to attack!
Once I landed on the ground, Rem swung her flail again. It was approaching from my left. Angling myself to the left, I swung down as hard as I could.
"Hah!" I yelled out.
There was a loud clang as my sword hit her flail head on. It was accompanied by a loud thump as her flail was stuck in the ground. She tried yanking on it, but it was stuck.
"Now!" I said.
I dashed towards her as fast as I could. In the blink of an eye, my sword was about to smash her into the dirt, just like her flail. However, it didn't work.
"Smart idea. Hitting my flail into the ground to deprive me of my only weapon. But, you underestimated my power." Rem calmly stated.
'Anakin Skywalker? Is that you?' I mentally joked.
Using only one hand, she had stopped my sword mid swing. She then pushed my sword away. I stumbled backwards from the force of her push.
'I put everything I had into that swing, and she pushed it away like it was nothing! She's way stronger than she looks!' I thought nervously.
"I'm done. Sister, I believe it is your turn." Rem said while walking away.
"I see I'll have to take this seriously." Ram told me while walking towards me.
"Bring it on!" I told her.
"Fura!" Ram yelled while pointing her wand at me.
A series of wind slashes flew towards me at high speed. Not expecting this, I barely dodged her wind magic barrage.
"Fura!" Ram yelled again.
Now that I knew what was coming, I was ready!
I thought confidently, 'Alright, Demon-Slayer, time to get to work!'
"Let's go!" I yelled out.
I cut down all the wind slashes Ram sent at me. Judging by the expression on Ram's face, she wasn't expecting this. Neither was Rem.
"My magic was erased? Impossible!" Ram said in anger.
For some reason, Rem had a concerned look on her face. I had no idea why.
"If that's all you can do, then I've already won this battle!" I gloated.
After saying that, I saw Ram clench her fists and grit her teeth.
She yelled out, "El Fura!"
A large slash of wind flew towards me. It was even faster than her previous spell. The only thing that kept me from being split in half was my quick reflexes. Raising the Demon-Slayer, I smacked the spell with the flat side.
'This is a really strong spell!' I thought.
The force behind her spell had pushed me backwards several yards. Once I had regained traction, however, I was able to use all my strength to send it back towards Ram. It flew towards her at high speed.
'Isn't she supposed to dodge by now?' I thought concernedly.
As her own spell approached her, she seemed to not care. At the last second, she dodged her own spell. But, it was strange how she did it.
'Normally, when a person tries to dodge something dangerous, they put their whole body into it. If it were me, I'd jump out of the way! She just stepped to the side like she was letting somebody walk past her. The only reason why she would do that is if that spell was weaker than what she normally uses!' I thought analytically.
The wind magic spell continued past her until it dissolved into thin air. Ram and Rem then walked towards me. From what I could tell, they no longer had hostile intentions.
"I must admit. That took me by surprise. Despite your mediocre strength and poor magic ability, you are a half decent opponent, Subaru." Ram stated.
Rem nodded in agreement with her sister.
'Half decent!?' I thought.
"Thanks. Though you guys are the real deal. If you were fighting seriously, I'd be dead right now." I responded with a nervous chuckle.
From my mental observations of Ram and Rem, I knew they were much stronger then they let on.
A sly smile appeared on Ram's face, whereas a frown appeared on Rem's face.
"Sister, it appears Subaru is much sharper than we first thought." Rem said to Ram.
"No need to worry, Rem. Subaru is unable to act on that information." Ram replied.
"Hey! I'm standing right here, you know!" I told them.
'They're calling me weak, right to my face! The nerve of them!' I thought in disbelief.
"May I ask about that sword in your possession?" Ram asked me.
"Sure. What about it?" I asked back.
"What magic does it use?" Ram asked.
"None! This is actually an Anti-Magic sword. It has the ability to nullify any magic it cuts!" I explained.
"Anti-Magic? Never heard of it." Ram said to me.
"Neither have I." Rem added.
Ram then walked closer to me.
"Oh. You're approaching me?" I asked her.
"I can't obtain that sword from you without getting closer." she answered.
'She totally just made a Jojo reference!' I thought.
"May I please see it, Subaru?" she asked me.
"Only if you promise to give it back once you're done with it." I told her.
"I, Ram, promise to you, Subaru, that I will give you back your sword once I am done with it." she told me.
I gave it to her. I expected her to struggle with it. However, she held it just fine. She did some swings with it. They were much faster than what I could do with it.
'Showoff.' I thought.
"Attack me with a magic spell, Rem." Ram told her.
"Sister, are you sure?" Rem asked Ram.
"Yes, it's fine." Ram replied.
Rem raised her right arm towards Ram.
"El Huma!" Rem said.
Two ice spears flew towards Ram. They were faster than Ram's wind spell.
"Magic Negation!" Ram yelled out.
She slashed the ice spears to dust. I then saw a devious smile appear on Ram's face. She pulled out her wand, and aimed it at Rem.
"Hey! That's cheating!" I said to her.
"Sister, I agree with Subaru on this one!" Rem added.
"Fura!" Ram said.
A series of wind slashes appeared from Ram's wand.
'Seriously?! It doesn't stop her from using magic? That's not fair at all!' I thought in disbelief.
Rem stepped to the side to avoid them.
"Sister, may I use it?" Rem asked.
"May Rem use your sword, Subaru?" Ram asked me.
"Go for it!" I told them.
Ram handed the Demon-Slayer to Rem. Just like Ram, she had no trouble swinging it around.
'Are all the girls in this world freakishly strong?' I thought.
"Sister, please attack me like I did to you." Rem told Ram.
"Fura!" Ram said.
"Magic Negation!" Rem said while swinging it.
Just like I did earlier, the wind spell was negated.
"Hey. Just so you two know, you don't actually need to say Magic Negation. It works without saying anything." I told them.
"Really?" Rem asked me.
"Yeah." I answered.
"I suppose that makes sense since it doesn't use magic." Ram stated.
Rem nodded in agreement. She then handed the Demon-Slayer back to me. I put it back in the five-leaf grimoire.
"That was fun. But, I am tired. Bedtime! Goodnight, you guys!" I told Ram and Rem.
"Good night, Subaru." Rem said to me.
"Good night, Barasu." Ram said to me.
'Barasu? What kind of a nickname is that?' I asked myself.
I ignored it, and went back inside. I journeyed back to my room, and went to bed.
'That training session was intense! They were holding back, but if I hadn't taken it seriously, they might have killed me.' I thought.
I then read between the lines of what just happened.
'Wait. Were they actually trying to kill me? No way. But, they have shown a lack of trust in me ever since I started working here.' I thought grimly.
'Oh well! I hope we can get along and build more trust in the future! Also, I wanna fight against them again sometime soon! That was a blast!' I thought contently before dozing off.
Author Note: Unlike the last chapter, this one diverged from the original story quite a bit! Since Subaru has no mana, he wouldn't die from the magic draining curse. If you think about, the magic draining curse was the reason he died several times over and over.
Also, while Ram and Rem randomly attacking Subaru seems unhinged, it should be noted that Subaru has been suspicious up to this point. He knew Puck's name despite not meeting him once. He's really interested in helping Emilia despite not caring that she's a Royal Candidate. He barely knows anything about the kingdom he's in. Finally, he's been practicing with a strange sword at night when nobody's watching. I don't know about you guys, but that's suspicious as heck to me!
My favorite part in writing this chapter was the fight scene. While it wasn't anything spectacular, it served it's purpose in showing that Ram and Rem are leagues above Subaru in terms of fighting ability. He's not a weak person. He's just nowhere near as strong as them. :(
Let me know what you guys thought of this chapter! :)