01
Beatrice had not been the only one with a frown on her face. Behind that blue butterfly eyed girl there had been a deep dark pit that had been eating away at her heart ever since that boy had left and moved along in the world. It wouldn't be fair to the others if she had said she was the sole person suffering.
What had caused that beginning of mass suffering had been something so little none would have guessed it had been the reason. One singular soul that didn't have much of anything at all unexpectedly had the most value out of everyone in that little group. Why was that ?
Beatrice, who had not left that borrowed room or showed any emotion besides anger and sadness watched as the carriage in front of her was being loaded with resources and luggage that would normally last two months if used correctly stack and be tied down to the back of the second compartment in the carriage.
She had faintly remembered the reason for this trip.
To find a Ryuzu clone that had miraculously ended up in Kararagi that held some secrets that only Rosswal seemed to know.
The group had only been told to pack their bags and that it was something important that Rosswaal needed to do. Yet that was not the reason she had decided to partake in this journey.
Natsuki Subaru the boy who had brought her out of that hard to breathe library and exposed her to the real world. As well as her one and only contractor in what had been 400 years since being born and made to serve Echidna the witch of greed had disappeared in some far off land.
Roswaal had also been 400 years old in a way, but. He didn't value Subaru the way she valued him.
When things got hard and Subaru found himself scratching at his own flesh and blood it had been Betty who had brought him back to the world. When Subaru had needed help when his own physical capabilities couldn't play a factor it had been her who had lended him magic.
It had been her that kept him alive even after his gate had expired.
She was the sole reason he was alive.
Without her he would end up dying as he would explode into one million pieces. And without him Beatrice couldn't find another reason to live again for as long as she did. If Subaru somehow died she would've bound his soul to her so that they may never split apart.
That's just how important she was to him. She needed to return back to his side and take his mana like she would normally do.
"Beatrice ? "
It had been the devil herself to have broken her concentration.
Beatrice looked up in displeasure as she made a face that seemed like she had eaten something sour and had stuck out her tongue to forget the taste.
"What is it you want from little ol me, I suppose."
The girl who had long silver hair, purple eyes, and elf ears tilted her head at Beatrice who had been staring at her intently, seemingly waiting for her to respond.
Not that she wanted her too.
"What a pretty day isn't it ? "
"That would be irrelevant if things had not been made like this."
In truth the day had certainly been beautiful. The clouds had parted and the sun beamed down. No heat was present and it wasn't so cold to where they had to bring wool jackets to maintain warmth on their slender bodies. To her it had been a good day physically.
But that had not been true for what's within.
In her personal world things may not have been the same. It was rather gloomy when she looked at it. And this half devil girl didn't make it any better with her constant optimism.
She had been the one to send him out yet passing by her room it had appeared that she might have been the most obsessed out of them all.
And Beatrice wasn't the only one who felt that way.
If by some odd chance Subaru showed up right now and said he wanted to apologize for leaving then it would be the half elf who would look at him with crazy eyes and be the first one to tie his arms and legs together at the dawn of night to prevent him from ever leaving again.
Maybe it had been best for him to leave before this persona of hers manifested any earlier.
"So~ what made you leave the room Beatrice, I was starting to get worried. "
Beatrice hated that look in her eyes. She had looked like she cared but deep down that half demon could care less what Beatrice or the others thought. If by some off chance something harmed that boy then that person better be prepared to receive an ice flower to the chest.
That was how crazy that girl was, and Beatrice wanted no part in it. If she could she would find Subaru in secret and run off with him before this girl ever got hands on the poor boy.
(When I find you we'll definitely stay away from this girl.) Beatrice thought.
"Rosswaal sent that half beast girl to come fetch me, I suppose. She said be ready by the earliest morning and to bring pillows as the trip will be long but as a spirit I don't require such things."
She may have regretted that later but she didn't care.
"Wow, You're going to be sooo sleepy. "
Emilia clasped her hands together and made the face of a child who was happy for being able to eat sweets that day. Her silver haired swayed in the wind and Beatrice found herself becoming angry at that small motion.
"Hmmm ?"
Emilia had looked to the side and caught a glimpse of two individuals that threw their luggage into the carriage like it had been nothing. When they locked eyes they gave off wonderful childish smiles and made their way towards the silver and cream colored hair girls.
These two were also some girls she disliked, especially the blue haired one.
"Greetings Emilia-sama."
"Hello Emilia."
Both the maid girls bowed their heads but when the pink one opened her eyes and saw the other struggling she grabbed her by the collar and brought her down as well. Even if the blue haired maid had at one point been the better one out of the two a few events happened and she had quickly and smoothly been dethroned by her sister.
The maids brought their attention elsewhere.
"Hello Beatrice-sama it is good to see that you have left that room."
Ram spoke with such care that Beatrice almost let out a smile of pride.
"I suppose coming outside has been beneficial for my skin, I will admit it does become stuffy after a while."
"So~ how is Garfiel doing, I haven't seen him in awhile, are his injuries okay ?"
"Yes, Garf's injuries are healing fine so he and Frederica will be staying at the manor Emilia-sama. "
Beatrice sighed it had been a shame that those two couldn't come. Garfiel who had been the only one to not change and Frederica who was just easy to talk to(sometimes) were the only ones that Beatrice could handle, the others just felt like an annoyance.
"Ah."
It was Rem who had stuck her hand out and it was Ram that dismissed her. It appears that Rosswaal called for assistance from the driver seat of the carriage, apparently the packages are getting more difficult to load with just a single person, and since Rem was the physically stronger one out of the twins it had been a perfect setup for the head maid to do. And also for that blue haired twin to clear her head for once.
"Ah so Garfiel and Frederica can't go, so what about Otto ?" The half elf tilted her head once more.
Ram also tilted her head. She had not known whether that boy had decided to come. Wait, what had he been doing for the past week ?
"Isn't that him, I suppose ?"
Turning to the left they all looked at the massive mountain that had been rocking back and forth. A moving mountain was not something you see everyday. And something you won't see at all is what was at the bottom of that mountain of things. Below carrying all that weight had been Otto who was struggling to carry what seemed to be suitcases stacked on top of each other.
Why he had needed that luggage was unknown even to them.
The look on his face had the same expression of a nervously shy boy who had been spoken to by a girl in what had been years.
The girls stared at him and watched him go to the back of the carriage to where he came face to face with an angry blue haired oni.
"Well I guess that would be him. That stupid pig who needs all of that ?"
"Haha Ram, that's not a very nice way to speak to people." Emilia covered her mouth with her hand and closed her eyes to show her innocence.
Beatrice shivered.
"Kararagi… "
"Ah what's that Beatrice ? "
"Oh it's nothing I suppose, just a chill."
"Are you sick ?"
"Cease your thoughts, spirits don't get sick."
Beatrice quickly found her nose stuffy but didn't bother grabbing a blanket or anything to keep warm so Emilia had been the one to smile and hand over a blanket to Beatrice who made a hmph sound as she regretfully took the item in her hand.
Rosswaal called them over and so the 3 girls headed towards the carriage in unison and soon hopped on waiting for Otto to suck up the pain Rem had given him and prepare to drive that carriage for who knows how long till they got to the destination point.
Once they made it to a that, Clind will be there to intercept them and use his strange ability to teleport the group to the town just outside of Kararagi. Everyone was inside ready to leave so when the ground dragon kicked off and the carriage took off everyone waved at the mansion looking back at a bandage covered Garfiel and Frederica in a maid outfit wave goodbye as the remaining individuals took off.
At that very moment nothing bad could have possibly happened.
But the same couldn't be said for a spiky haired boy across the world who had yet to discover an obstacle that only he would have to handle.
02
"Do you know where the tavern is ? "
It had been a girl no older than 15 that came to his side asking for help. She had light brown hair, young looking features, and was quite short. The reason she had approached Subaru out of everyone in the room was because she had noticed his striking sanpaku eyes that had resembled her closest friend who also had sanpaku eyes as piercing as his.
Pandora had not been around and left Subaru to his own devices saying that there was something she must do and that she'll be back when the time is right and not to worry. With a kiss on his cheek she had left and Subaru found himself wandering the streets of Kararagi hoping to find something to do.
If he had to admit it then it was rather boring not having Pandora around even if she was more of a mystery to him than anything. Her mysterious yet flower-filled smell had left his nose so when he eventually found her again he would surely hug her from behind and not let her go despite any protest.
This girl that had come up to him had the face of a child he couldn't ignore.
"Uh I was just heading there for something to eat, if you want you could follow me. " Subaru had tried to be as gentle as possible to which he felt a smile grow on his face as he truly felt like he had been doing some good.
"Uh, are you going to lead me somewhere and take me away ?"
"!"
And just like that his efforts had been thrown out the window and so was his pride when the girl wrapped her arms around her chest and backed away with a face saying that he was creep and she would be waving at the authorities if he had stuck his arms out and tried leading her away.
Subaru felt his heart break as if an arrow had pierced it.
"Eh, why would I be doing something as sinister as that! I hope you know I have a girlfriend and she's worth the entire world. "
"You have a girlfriend, pff. "
"Hey did you just laugh under your breath I hear you !" A vein popped out of Subaru's head. She must've been holding that in because as she was caught her laugh bursted out so loud that one must have heard something so funny it would be outrageous to not hear.
She held her belly in her hand as the corners of her eyes grew weak.
"Haha~ That was funny. What's your name if I may ask ?"
"Natsuki Subaru, you ? "
"Colette."
The girl relaxed up and looked at Subaru before coming to the conclusion.
"You're not from Kararagi, aren't you ? "
"Well i'm not from here or anywhere at that ?"
Colette seemed confused and continued anyway.
"Don't worry i'm not from around here either, i'm here with my friends and a person that helped us in our journey. They should be at the tavern so I'm sure you'll get a reward for escorting me the way there."
Colette tiptoed to Subaru side and got a little too close for comfort. It would have been weird for this girl to be so close to his arm but since he was escorting her he didn't see what was wrong in this interaction. Her arm wrapped around his arm to the point where her chest touched his arm at certain points.
If Pandora was here she would have surely made this girl disappear into some far off land, not that Subaru would know of course.
The two left from the crowded area and walked towards the tavern that was not too far away from where they stood. And as they went Colette found herself asking questions on the way as she sank her chest into his side without Subaru noticing the gesture.
Not many people would wonder about this as the two almost looked like brother and sister.
"Hey hey Natsuki-san, what are you doing in Kararagi ? Are you going to become a merchant ?"
"Of course not I was going to meet the uhh great spirit of wind I think. "
The girl stopped her feet and looked at Subaru dead in his eyes. The drastic change in mood had caught Suabru off guard as he almost tripped on his feet and fell face first into the ground. Colette had a straight face so it was hard to tell what she was thinking but Subaru could make one possibility she might've said.
"You know you will die if you approach that beast. My master told me about it, she said to never approach that cavern unless I wanted to die. "
Yes, this had been what Subaru was expecting.
"I know and that might be true but either way I have no choice so I shouldn't go in with 100% fear in my heart. "
The two continued walking.
"Why is that ? "
Colette tilted her head in confusion
"It is something I must do, that is all. "
"You're weird."
"I know."
He had not told her about the problems with his gate but if he had it wouldn't have changed anything at all. He still would be a fool to ever consider meeting that machine of death for a goal of life.
"Ah I think that's them !"
Colette ran off as they approached the Tavern that must've been the main spot for tourists as many unusual people gathered around there. If it had just been a normal drop off he would have tilted his hat and walked off looking all the more cool.
But since he was heading here anyway and was invited by Colette he saw her wave back at him giving him permission to head over to her and what seemed to be 3 other people with her.
Another girl about her age was there. It was interesting because she had strange Sanpaku eyes and long dark hair just like himself. Subaru felt comfortable knowing there was someone similar to him. Another girl had also been there but she was much older than the others.
Her body was more mature with long gold braided hair that reached far past her shoulders and clear blue eyes. But what caught Subaru's eye was the one in the back.
And she seemed to notice as her eyes grew big.
In what felt like a few months this had been the first person Subaru had met in which he had known in his past, well that's what he thought.
Standing in the back was a Ryuzu clone that had a look of shock on her face as she locked eyes onto Subaru.
"Ryuz- "
And when he went to speak he had felt something awful fill his body sending him into complete unconsciousness. But before his vision faded and the girls around him all looked in panic, the clone girl walked up to him and whispered some words in his ears.
He hadn't known whether he was hearing correctly because of the blood falling from his ears but he did make out a few words.
"Till we meet again Natsuki Subaru…. Too early."
What she had said in the middle was lost and his vision had fully faded and.
"Do you know where the Tavern is ? "
It had been a girl no older than 15 that came to his side asking for help. She had light brown hair, young looking features, and was quite short. The reason she had approached Subaru out of everyone because she had noticed his striking sanpaku eyes that had resembled her closest friend who also had sanpaku eyes as piercing as his.
Yes, he had remembered this well.
Subaru had not spoken and the girl tilted her head in confusion with a frown.
Subaru touched his chin. Something was weird in the interaction: the clone had obviously recognized him but still decided to kill him. It was quite weird that Subaru shook off death more easily than the last time he died but that wasn't the problem.
The clone had told him something he could not remember. But he couldn't let that go away without at least getting to the reason so he knew what he must do.
"Yea I know where the Tavern is but why do you need to go there ? "
A simple change in pattern could be what made life or death for Subaru. Whether this had been another step leading to his death or one step closer to discovering the truth all he could do was try and make changes to gather a new piece of the puzzle one by one.
03
Zarestia had found her way into a small town on the outskirts of Kararagi. The one that should not have been there was close as the trail of wind started to pick up and.
"My my is this really that important ? "
The platinum haired girl who spoke in an emotionless doll-like way had a smile on her face as she lifted up the lightsphere. Zarestia frowned at this, what had that girl's goal been she didn't know.
But she knew she couldn't underestimate her power. That had been the reason she had lost it in the first place.
"Give it back and I will guarantee your life." Zarestia said but just as she knew it had meant nothing to the platinum haired girl.
"Why should I do that Great spirit of wind ? I quite enjoy this game !"
Zarestia roared as she threw a blade of wind that cut the girl in half just for her to return once more.
"Why do you keep coming back !?"
The platinum haired girl who went by the name of Pandora touched her chin and tilted her head and after a long pause she gave an answer to the spirit that looked as if she had been fighting for days.
"Well if it's for my beloved Flugel I'll do anything even if that means finding his reincarnates and taking them all for myself. "
"You're sick."
"Says the one who enjoys murder and bloodshed. "
And just like that Zarestia launched another attack.