Chapter 20: Disparities
The chill rushing through his spine reached down to his very toes, freezing him in his step. Even the beat of his rushing heart did not quell the cold he felt upon seeing her once again.
Subaru chittered with every step Rosaria took towards him. Paimon, upon seeing Subaru's expression, immediately turned wary of the intruder.
"You're afraid," Rosaria identified, quirking a brow in suspicion. "Why is that?"
Subaru couldn't move his lips to respond. With her return, the fear he'd been quelling upon leaving Mondstadt returned with her, hitting him in full force. Conscious thought left him as his primal instincts geared him to run away from the threat before him.
"Subaru, say something!" Paimon urged, whispering into his ear. Although, Subaru could not say anything, no matter how much Paimon begged him.
"… No matter, then," Rosaria said upon noticing his silence. "I'm Rosaria, a nun for the Church of Favonius. I only wish to ask you a few questions."
Hearing her introduction was what knocked Subaru out of his stupor. Despite his drumming heart he forced himself to swallow his own fears as he'd always done. Reminding himself once more that the Rosaria before him was not the same one that killed him, he steeled his vocal cords.
"What… W-What do you want?" he said, hating how low his voice still was when he spoke.
"I only wish to talk," she said, waving to him and moving deeper into his tent. Subaru hastily stepped to the side as she walked closer. Casting an unnerved glance, Rosaria shook her head and squatted down to a seat on the dirt. "Sit. This will not take very long."
Wanting to be certain of his defence, Subaru mustered enough will to summon two arms of Invisible Providence to stay at the ready. Never taking his eyes off the possible threat, Subaru quietly took a seat opposite her. Paimon, upon seeing him go down, decided to descend back to his side again.
"Who…" Paimon was the one to speak first. "Who are you?"
"I've already told you. I'm Rosaria, a nun from the Church of Favonius."
"O-Oh, did you? Paimon must not have noticed…"
"What 'questions' do you want to ask?" Subaru asked, wanting to get her out of their temporary abode as soon as possible.
"I merely want to know if you would be a threat to Mondstadt or not," she said, slowly pulling out a cigarette from underneath her robes. "You don't mind if I smoke here, yes?"
Subaru stayed silent. Taking it for approval, Rosaria moved closer to the open flap of the tent and lit up her cigarette with her lighter. She took a few experimental puffs and then set the stick down.
"Are you truly a member of the Abyss Order?" she asked, smoke spilling out of her nose with every word.
"Y-Yes, I am." Subaru was finding it much harder to keep up his lies with the threat that she posed against him.
"Hmm…" she hummed as she tapped the butt of her cigarette to her chin. "You're lying."
Subaru inwardly cursed. Of course, Rosaria of all people would be able to smell out lies.
"H-hey, come on!" Paimon screeched over him. "Stinky Space may have been a member, but he's a good guy now, isn't he?"
"No, I'm curious about why you're professing yourself as an Abyss Order member when you are not. Are you merely seeking negative attention? What are you trying to do with this lie that serves no purpose to you other than harm?"
Subaru clenched his fist in frustration, unknowingly rearing back the two Invisible Providence arms hovering over him. He had no idea what to do about that situation. Rosaria was someone that could see through any lie that he made, and he was far too afraid to lie properly anyway. Anything that he said would be like blaring a red signal that he was guilty of something and then she would pull out her spear and oh god oh god –
"Why do you think I'm lying?!" Subaru yelled out a lot more harshly than he intended, for he was trying to swallow his own pain while doing it.
"I'm not blind to people. In my profession, it would be unfitting to be so."
"I thought you were a nun?"
"I have jobs other than my services in the Church. Now, I need to know why you are lying."
Subaru bit his lip. His last-ditch effort had failed to reap fruit. He had no idea how he could tell her the truth even if he wanted. The only way he could do so was to tell her about Return by Death, but that was not only impossible but also would make things worse for them due to the miasma that would follow.
"I don't intend to harm you if that is what you're worried about," Rosaria said, almost piercing through his intrusive thoughts. "I noticed what you said to that boy on the bridge."
The mention of Timmy was what brought Subaru back to the ground.
"You merely cannot be a member of the Abyss Order. You are far too positive for it. No ex-Abyss Order member can play with children as you had done today morning nor speak so kindly to a boy in pain. I have already identified you as a good person, so all I need to know is your true objective for keeping up such a ruse."
"… Really?" Subaru was rather taken aback. He'd never anticipated Rosaria to keep such a close eye on him. All he remembered was the one who never allowed him to speak before ruthlessly killing him. But remembering further, he remembered how she had taught him to wield the polearm in that life. It was merely because she had no explanation for his actions that she saw him as a threat and killed him.
"You are right. I was never a member of the Abyss Order," he admitted, not wanting her to doubt him again for fear of her blade. "I… I needed the Knights to believe my information."
"What information?"
"Stormterror will invade Mondstadt 2 days from now. He will leave nothing alive in his wake."
Rosaria paused, surprisingly unfazed by Subaru's grim reveal. "And how did you acquire this information if you weren't a member of the Abyss Order?" she soon asked.
"I cannot say," he admitted as well. "There is a curse involved."
"And the rumours of you having amnesia?"
"They are true. However, I'm slowly remembering certain things."
Rosaria hummed, still taking puffs off her cigarette.
"P-Paimon can say that Subaru's right!" Paimon spoke up, pushing through her own fear. "Subaru told Paimon about this as well!"
Rosaria finally took the moment to catch sight of Paimon. "And what of this pixie by your side?"
"Hey! Don't call Paimon that! Paimon is Paimon!"
Subaru chortled at the sudden jab against his companion, somewhat quelling the nerves building up in him.
"I saved Paimon from drowning in a lake," he confessed, lightly ruffling her hair and healing from her grumbles. "She's been following me ever since."
"Hey! Don't reduce Paimon to a pet, Stinky Space!"
"Haha, you're the one who took it that way, you fairy loli!"
"Grr… Don't be mean to Paimon!"
Rosaria took another hit of her cigarette as the two casually bickered before her. She smiled upon realising that her fears of them being threats were unfounded.
"Subaru Natsuki, yes?" Rosaria asked, making the two break up their fight to look back at her, expressions falling as if they were looking at a trainwreck.
"O-Oh, uh, it's Natsuki Subaru, actually," Subaru said, feeling a little awkward after ribbing Paimon in front of someone like her.
"Well then, Natsuki, are you certain that Stormterror will show up in 2 days as you claim?"
"My name's actually Subaru, but yes. Unless I changed the Abyss Order's plans with my intervention, Stormterror will arrive on that day."
Rosaria quirked a brow at the stipulation he gave. "How likely do you think would it be if they changed their plans?"
"I honestly don't know. They could definitely change their plans as well. I've already stopped Anna who was their informant, so – "
"An informant?"
"Ah, anyone with the Abyssal Infection can be influenced by the Abyss Order… although there may be exceptions to it. Some people have not been influenced, at least from what they've said."
"… I see. And you cured Anna of her infection, rendering her safe from these 'influences', yes?"
"Yes. Although, I'm still very new to all of this. I'm only hoping that she'll remain out of contact, though."
"Understood. Continue."
Subaru finally looked at Rosaria in her red eyes. "I've already stopped Anna, so they may change their plans because of me."
Rosaria crossed her eyes. "And you had not thought of this possibility before you cured her?"
"I'm sorry, do you want a monstrous dragon to invade your home?! I wasn't thinking about any of that, alright! I was just trying to let the Knights know about Stormterror even though I had a small idea that Anna would show up. That's why I apprehended her spying on us and then somehow pulled the infection out of her."
"… You didn't know you could do that before? Take away a person's infection?"
"… I had my suspicions, but not really."
"Where did you get your suspicions from?"
"…"
"… Very well. And why have you left Mondstadt?"
"Jean-san asked me to. She said that it would be better for my safety and my reputation to keep my distance from the city for a while. She did say that I could return for the fight, however."
"I see." Rosaria sighed and dropped her cigarette onto the grass. Standing up, she swiftly stomped it out. Hunching, she made to head out of the tent, then turned back to face Subaru. "I wish you the best of luck, Natsuki Subaru."
Rosaria finally left the tent. Subaru, still wary, pulled his Invisible Providence closer to himself. When Paimon made to speak, Subaru quickly shushed her as he focused on the remaining noises around him. Rather, the noise of heeled sandals stepping on grass and dirt. Subaru listened to the footsteps as they finally faded away.
"Haah…" Subaru collapsed onto his back, finally drawing back his extended Invisible Providence arms. Spreading eagle on the ground, he heaved in and out, finally relaxing from the encounter he'd just had.
"Stinky Space? What's going on?" Paimon asked, hovering right in front of his face. "She seemed nice. Why were you so afraid of her?"
Pursing his lips, Subaru searched for a possible answer. The only one he could come up with was: "I can't say, Paimon. I'm sorry."
Paimon drifted away from his face slightly, ruminating on his admission with a small pout. "Subaru… can't you tell me what's going on? Paimon wants to help you…"
Subaru looked at Paimon's small frown completing her worried expression. Wincing slightly, he sat up and gently reached out for the adjusted Paimon. He softly ran his fingers through her white hair, making her press her eyes together at the feeling.
"I'm sorry, Paimon," he confessed. "I want to tell you, I really do. But it's just like I told Rosaria. This is a curse of mine, and it forbids me from telling anyone."
"… Paimon sees…" she grumbled under the caress of his hand, looking away. "Paimon still wants to help you, though."
"I know," Subaru nodded with a smile. "And I'll treasure your help whenever you can offer it."
Gulping, Paimon dropped under Subaru's hold and rammed into his chest, making Subaru wheeze at the impact. Catching his breath, he looked down to see Paimon clutching onto his chest in a hug that her small form could only entertain. In response, Subaru rested his right hand over her back and gently rubbed her, soothing her with every stroke.
"Come on, Paimon," Subaru said. "We've had quite the day. How about I make something for you?"
"… Really?" Paimon said, peeking through the fabric of his shirt. "You'll make food now?"
"Of course! You just need to ask! Although, I can't if we're busy, though."
Lingering in his hold for a moment, Paimon finally separated from him and drifted back to his side, wearing a softer smile than normal when presented with food.
"Go ahead, then!" Paimon said. "Paimon will be the judge for your food!"
"Got it!" Subaru rolled up his sleeves with a grin and called upon the feeling of his summoning inventory, keeping in mind the ingredients he wanted.
Subaru watched the flames slowly die out while the pot rested atop it.
"So… uh…" he murmured. "I may have forgotten to mention that I have no idea how to cook outdoors."
"Waah! What are we going to do?!" Paimon screeched out, fluttering about in the air. "How are we going to eat if you can't cook?!"
Subaru grimaced, looking back down at the few embers that lasted from the flame he tried to light. He knew that logs and sticks were needed to start bonfires, so he stacked up a small pile of stray branches and tried to light them up with his matchbox. Unfortunately, the flames were not spreading as he'd hoped. There wasn't enough heat to keep a pot of water boiling.
Subaru sighed, slumping at the sight of the failed fire. "What are we supposed to do now…"
"Hey, someone's coming this way, Stinky Space!"
From Paimon's call, Subaru looked up at the person approaching the two of them coming from the direction of Mondstadt's gates. It was a tall blue-haired woman with an eye shade that drifted from purple to yellow. She wore a skin-tight leotard emblazoned with different shades of black, grey and white, topped with white sleeves and an icy blue short cape fluttering behind her with every step she took. Her dark blue boots rode up to her thighs. Within her choppy blue head of hair rested a black headband. Nestled like a brooch above her breast and outlined by a small plumage of blue feathers was the glint of a light blue Cryo Vision.
"Excuse me, you there!" the woman yelled out, facing the two of them with her arms crossed. "Are you perchance… what was his name again… Subaru… Natsuki?"
His eyebrow twitched at the way his name was spoken. "Kaeya sent you, huh? Only he calls me like that. My name is Natsuki Subaru, not the other way around!"
Blinking at the rebuttal, the woman gently bowed, seemingly regal in her motions. "My apologies, Natsuki Subaru."
"Who are you, tall lady?" Paimon quipped from over Subaru's shoulder. "Oh, and Paimon's Paimon!"
"T-Tall Lady?!" she seemed to rebuke that address with her sudden jolt back. "I'll have you know that I am Captain Eula Lawrence, Spindrift Knight and Captain of the Reconnaissance Company of the Knights of Favonius!"
"… Eula… and um… what? Paimon didn't get that…"
"Hmph! To demean my name and status in such a way… Mark my words! Vengeance will be mine!"
"Waah! Paimon didn't mean anything bad by it!"
"Alright, Paimon, that's enough from you for now…" Subaru groaned out, patting Paimon on the head. "Sorry about my partner here. She's a pain."
"Hey! That's cruel, Stinky Space!"
Subaru ignored Paimon and stood up, keeping his focus on Eula. "Eula Lawrence, right? I can't believe Kaeya sent me a Captain of all things… that guy's way too over the top."
Eula shook her head. "He did say he'd cover my bar tab for a few days for this, so I'll begrudgingly accept this position."
"You really aren't hiding how much you're hating this, huh?"
Eula paid no heed to Subaru's comment, instead choosing to look down at the campfire he'd tried building. "… what is that supposed to be?"
"That bad, huh?" Subaru chortled. "It's my attempt at a fire. I was going to set out lunch for the day, but as it turns out, campfires are far too different from stoves."
"All you've used is tinder in this. Where's the kindling?"
"Kindling? What's that?"
"… Pay close attention."
Heeding Eula's orders, Paimon and Subaru went out to find dry bits of leaves and tiny shreds of wood. Upon returning, he noticed that Eula had set up a small tent of logs that she procured out of nowhere and set his previously collected twigs within.
"Good, hand over the kindling."
Eula accepted the small pile of burnables and set them within the logs. Huffing, she flicked her hand and sparked into existence a small canister of oil. Pouring a small portion into the wood and the stuff beneath, she picked up the matchbox Subaru set down before and set the kindling and tinder within on fire. Lightly blowing it, she made the fire slowly rise past the logs as well. Finally, she set a small metal grate over it, then placed Subaru's pot of water over the top.
"I hope you learned this sufficiently. Starting a campfire is an adventuring essential. Kaeya told me that you are an aspiring adventurer, these are essentials to being so."
"Thanks!" Subaru said. "Want to join us for lunch, then?"
"Hah. Of course not," she rebuked with a wave. "I have not paid for a meal from you. It wouldn't be fair of me to partake."
"Nonsense! You helped us set up the fire, isn't that payment enough?"
"… I suppose that is a fair due owed. Very well. I will join you in lunch, but it must meet my standards."
"Oh, you don't need to worry about that!" Paimon added, flipping over to her side. "Stinky Space here is hopeless with camping stuff, but he says he's a good cook!"
"… I believe the word you're looking for is 'chef'," Eula clarified. "However, if you speak so highly of his skills, then I will put my trust in him. Although, if you do not meet my standards, then I will have my vengeance."
Subaru gulped. "… right."
Sighing, Subaru approached the stove and waited until the water in the pot came to a boil. In the meantime, he placed a second pot on the same grill and lightly oiled it. He cut up some bacon and minced garlic and onions. He tossed the bacon into the second pan and let it cook down. When the water pan came to a boil, Subaru summoned a small bag of pasta noodles and placed it into the pot alongside a large helping of salt.
"A pasta dish?" Eula commented from nearby.
"Yep! Watch and learn."
Setting the bacon to the side, Subaru began cooking the onions and garlic in the bacon fat along with some chilli flakes. With a few tosses, he got them to turn translucent. He then summoned a small box of tomatoes and roughly chopped them and threw them into the same pan, mashing them all together into one sauce. By the time the sauce was ready, the pasta was cooked to a near al dente stage. Summoning a pair of tongs, Subaru threw the pasta into the awaiting tomato sauce. Stirring it all together, he finally added salt and pepper as needed, alongside some of the pasta water to help thicken the sauce further.
"And there we have it!" Subaru announced, presenting a plate of the dish to Eula. "Campfire Pasta in Tomato Sauce!"
"It appears more like a simplified Arabiatta with bacon, in truth," Eula dictated.
"Ooh, ooh! Let Paimon have a plate!" Paimon cried out trying to reach for the plate Subaru was offering. However, Subaru pulled it out of her way.
"Paimon… we're giving this plate to Eula, okay?"
"… Fine… but where's Paimon's?"
"Just a minute." He set Eula's plate down before doling out another plate for Paimon. "Is this good?"
"More!"
"I need to eat too, you fairy loli!" He shoved the plate into Paimon's arms. "I'll give you a second serving if we have any left!"
"Aww…" Even though she bemoaned the loss of extra food, she still eagerly dug into the plate offered to her with a smile. Looking at her, Subaru chuckled softly as well, finally piling a plate for himself.
"Very well," Eula said. "I will try the dish now."
"Wait, you hadn't tried it yet?"
"I was waiting for you to finish serving. It would be poor of me as a guest to eat before my hosts."
Subaru waved his hand, trying to ease her. "You don't need to worry about that stuff here, you know? Heck, that dish was just something I roughly put together as well."
"… I see. In any case, I will try it now." Saying so, she tidily twirled a portion of the noodles onto her fork and ate it.
"… so?"
"Paimon loves it!"
"I'm not asking you, you fairy loli!"
"… It's…" Eula gently dabbed her lips. "Well made. The texture is there. The pasta doesn't feel overcooked and the flavours work well together. The lack of cheese is complemented by the addition of bacon, even though the flavours are different."
Subaru nodded, glad to see that his food made someone else happy.
"I just wish that some of the other spices in Arabiatta were present."
"Hm?"
"You are currently missing fennel seeds and basil; two vital ingredients in this mode of pasta. The tomatoes have too much of an acidic bite without the fennel to counteract it. The basil would give it further depth of flavour. I would recommend revisiting this recipe, but it is a good attempt for someone making a dish out of the blue."
"… Eula, you know how to cook?"
"Of course, I do," she said, resting a hand on her chest. "My team in the Knights of Favonius occasionally heads out into the wilds for our duties. It is our responsibility to cook for ourselves and for the rest of our team."
Subaru nodded respectfully. "That's nice… you really care about them, huh?"
"And just who do you think you are, trying to glean into me from just a few words about my crew?!"
"Ah, wait, that was not – "
"Vengeance will be mine!" she said, aggressively pointing the prongs of her fork at him.
Subaru slumped his shoulders at Eula's words. "Okay then…"
"Stinky Space! Can I have seconds?!"
"Shut up and wait for us to finish, you flying baby!"
"Hey! Stop calling me that, Stinky Space!"
"You stop calling me that as well!"
Subaru stashed away the dirty dishes into a box within his inventory, putting the act of washing the dishes later. He watched as Eula gently sprinkled water atop the fire, slowly putting it out. Meanwhile, Paimon had headed to the nearby stream after attempting to dive into the pasta with her entire body, only to discover that tomato sauce can leave stains behind.
"I believe I should come back to business now," Eula said upon setting out the fire. "Kaeya told me that you needed help with being an adventurer."
"Hm?" Subaru commented, drinking from his satchel of water. "Kaeya didn't tell you anything about me?"
"Was there more for him to tell?" Eula asked in return.
"Well, yeah, there are some things he forgot."
"… such as…?"
"Um…" Subaru looked away, stashing away his water without a second glance. "I used to be a member of the Abyss Order."
Eula blinked at the unexpected comment. "… Yes, Kaeya certainly should have mentioned that."
"I just want you to know what you're getting into with this, you know?" Subaru said, trying to explain why he chose to reveal that to her. "Pretty much everyone in Mondstadt knows this, and the Knights are the only ones who know the truth of the matter."
Eula looked away for a moment. "… I can understand that. The truth is…"
"That I used to be a member. Moreover, I was basically controlled the whole time I was with them." Subaru showed off the black veins on his right arm. "Because of this, see?"
"You're Infected?"
"No, this isn't the Infection. I used to be, but then this cured me. Moreover, I can cure anyone I touch as well. The Knights are pretty sure that the Fatui are doing this to keep them from running out of business."
"… I see. If I told you that I was Infected, what would you do?"
"Well, I would cure you."
"And the cost?"
Subaru shook his head. "Nothing. It's free."
"Truly? Why aren't you charging for it?"
"Well… I just don't want to," Subaru said, not having thought too hard of his reasons for doing so. "I guess… too many people have suffered at the hands of this infection, and I'm kind of responsible for it spreading in the first place, so I want to help."
"Then… what would you need to do to cure someone of it?"
"I'd need to touch the source of the infection, that's all." Subaru grabbed air with the fingers of his right hand. "It'll hurt though, but it's only temporary."
Eula paused for a moment at Subaru's words, then crouched and reached for her right boot. With one swift motion, she pulled off the footwear and the sock beneath it. Revealing her naked foot to him, Subaru noticed the blotch of black veins running along her calf.
"It does occasionally hurt, but I tend to ignore it," she explained. "I'm just lucky that the Infection hadn't reached a much more vital area."
"Eula-san… there's something I need to ask," he started, looking back up to Eula's multicoloured eyes. "Have you ever experienced blackouts of any kind? Blank spots in your memory that you can't explain? Woken up in places you didn't recognise?"
"Why would you wish to know something like that?" she remarked, raising a brow. "I have full faculty of my senses, mind you."
"Just… humour me for a moment, please."
"… Fine." Eula pondered upon Subaru's question with a light hum. "… No, I can't say I have," she shook her head. "I'm the Captain of the Reconnaissance Company. I'd be certain to know of any blank spots in my memory with my status."
"Then what's the relation…"
"What relation?"
"It's nothing, don't worry about it." In truth, Subaru was wondering about how Anna was controlled by the Abyss Order, and how Bennett and now Eula never showed signs of being manipulated in such a way. "I can heal that now if you'd like. Are you ready?"
"… we should wait for nightfall," she reasoned, bending low to wear her sock once more. "I believe this act will leave me far too drained to help you for the rest of the day."
Subaru quirked a brow in confusion. "Sorry… what are we going to be doing, then?"
"I'll need to teach you how to be an adventurer. I certainly don't understand why Kaeya didn't get an actual adventurer to do so, but I'm not going to complain about his payment. Please come with me, Natsuki."
"Hey, don't call me that! I'm Subaru, Natsuki's my family name!"
"Isn't your name Natsuki Subaru, though?"
"No, it's an Inazuman thing, even though I'm not from Inazuma… seriously, Amber made the same mistake when we first met too…"
"You've met Amber?" Eula asked, widening her eyes. She paused in her gait and turned back to him, wanting to focus on the conversation.
"Huh? You know her?"
"Yes. She's a loyal and trustworthy partner of mine. My company works closely with Outriders, after all. In fact, I had wondered why Kaeya hadn't approached her to help you instead of me. She's certainly fitter for the role than I am."
"… Have you heard of how Amber got into a mitachurl fight?"
"I've heard of the mitachurl fight and how some outlander and a knight defeated it bare-handed… but was Amber connected? Was she the knight involved?"
"Yes, but seriously, what kind of stories are these guys making up about me?!"
"… You?"
"Yeah, I beat a mitachurl, I know! But Amber did about 70% of the work! Why does no one get that?"
"I see… you don't seem like you're strong enough to defeat a mitachurl, however."
"Thanks for the vote of confidence! But all I've got is a good strength and speed stat. I can also use the whip out of pure muscle memory and have recently learned the basics of a polearm. I ended up hospitalised after that fight too. Still, if it weren't for Amber, I'm sure I would have died."
Subaru let out a sigh of relief. It seemed that the Witch was okay with him saying that much of his past life.
"… Tell me, what do you think of her?" Eula asked, crossing her arms.
"She's the strongest person I've met so far," Subaru honestly responded.
"Are you sure? She doesn't use her Vision very well, after all."
"Not that way. I mean with her heart. Amber's probably the most courageous person I've met so far. I walked up to the girl, told her I had a way of summoning an army of hilichurls and a mitachurl to myself and I needed her help with it, and she just spurred me on."
Eula remained silent upon hearing Subaru's words. She lightly crossed her eyes and looked away, pondering over them.
"To me, she's the definition of what a Knight should be," Subaru carried on. "It's only because of her that I've been able to carry myself this far. Heck, I've said this to Jean-san as well."
"If you speak so highly of her," Eula turned back to look at Subaru. "Then why hasn't Kaeya contacted her instead of me?"
Subaru looked at Eula with a wary glance, then grimaced. "I don't know… maybe I do. It's not about Kaeya, though. It's Amber."
Eula tilted her head slightly, nudging him to continue.
"I get the feeling that she's been… avoiding me for some reason. I don't know why, or even if I'm just being paranoid about it, but after everything that happened yesterday, I hadn't seen her even once."
"That certainly is unusual. Amber is not the type of person to leave someone behind. Had you, mayhaps, done something to offend her?"
"No, not that I know of! I mean… I want to know what I did, but I can't without meeting her to find out."
"Do you know when Amber stopped seeing you?"
Subaru bit his lip softly. "Well… she was there to greet me at the hospital, and then we went to the Knights together. I started telling them about my past 'employer' and about Stormterror's arrival and then discovered that Anna was listening in on us. I think… that's it. I hadn't seen her ever since I healed Anna from her Infection."
"… Please let me into the loop here: Stormterror? What do you mean?"
"Hey, what are you two talking about?!" another voice joined the conversation. With a glance, they discovered Paimon floating up to the two of them.
"We're talking about Amber, Paimon," Subaru said, wanting to steer the conversation away from the can of worms that was Stormterror.
"Oh, Paimon knows!" she said, shimmying in the air. "The last time Paimon saw her was when we went to keep an eye on that Infected girl together!"
"Right! You were with her, weren't you?" Subaru remembered. "How was she?"
"Umm, I'm pretty sure Paimon already said this, but it looked like she didn't have breakfast."
"Breakfast?" Eula noted. "Is Amber not eating enough?"
"No, that's just Paimon's allegory," Subaru explained to her. "She means that something was off about her."
"Hmm, off how?"
"Well," Paimon carried on. "Amber was breaking her words. L-L-Like this, see! And she wasn't smiling at all!"
Eula's expression fell. "I see… then something truly had affected Amber from what you'd done. Maybe… you healed someone with the Infection, did you not?"
"Yeah, I did."
"Then it could be that…"
"Could be what?"
"I'm sorry, Subaru, but it is not my place to say," Eula refuted him. "It would be treacherous to my role as Amber's friend to reveal her secrets, after all."
"… I understand." Subaru sighed and dropped his head, gently rubbing his own face. "I just wish that she'd speak to me again, though."
Eula smiled softly. "She certainly does have that effect on people. It truly is a shame that you did what you'd done, but it is best that you just leave her to her own devices for now. I will see if I can talk to her as well."
"Thank you, Eula-san." Subaru nodded gratefully at her.
A/N: I could have gone a little further with this chapter, but I was in the mood to upload. I was sitting here before my laptop with two cups of V60 filtered coffee brewed in the evening with my new filter paper and listening to Friedrich Habetler's Steel Ball Run fan-made soundtracks while beta-reading this chapter by myself as always. So, I thought that this moment would be best topped with an upload, even though I could talk about more stuff. Although, it's best I stop it here. I want my next chapters to have enough content without a super-short chapter before the next Stormterror confrontation. As of now, I have enough planned for the next chapter to be interesting and set up the confrontation.
With my room smelling of coffee, I want to write about the wonders of Genshin as well. I've been having some pretty good luck recently. Soon after getting Raiden Shogun, I also got the Staff of Homa for Hu Tao. Unfortunately, I couldn't C1 her at the same time. For now, I'm not going to be pulling anything in a while, though. I hate it whenever I have to stock up primos, though. It's like I'm holding back a part of the fun in Genshin without the gacha aspect.
For this chapter, I had always planned a peaceful confrontation between Subaru and Rosaria in this moment. She has no reason to kill him this time, after all. Also, Eula's in the story too! I feel like she's not only never included in any banners, but she's hardly used in events as well. I had a bit of trouble noting her manner of speaking because of this. I actually wanted Subaru to meet Mika instead of Eula, but then I remembered that he's supposed to be in Varka's expedition at this point in time. So, too bad that I had to literally delete everything I'd written for him.
Finally, Subaru's discussion about Amber with Eula. Their relationship at this point is going to be a pretty key aspect of this and the next arc, and I fully intend to capitalise on this. So yeah, expect a couple of rocky interactions between them for a while.
Overall, the chapter isn't really anything great. I do intend to amp up the action a little more in the next chapter, so look out for that. I'll probably upload a Red Star chapter before that, though.
Also, JoJoLands is out! I'm loving Jodio, really. A Chaotic Neutral guy like him is a breath of fresh air in JoJos. I'll talk more about this in my Red Star upload, though.
Review!
artem-abramov-2004: Sometimes it's good to be like Naruto, you know? Talk-no-jutsu your way through anything.
Steppe114: Thanks! Sorry for the two month break, though. I was lazy.
Guest (please label yourself somehow): Rosaria and arc 2 Rem are actually built to be pretty similar. And no, they won't go down the same route. The thought of Rosaria of all people calling Subaru '-kun' just gives me shivers. Although her spying on him sleeping could be pretty believable, it's just not happening.
Guest (please label yourself somehow): That's... not a bad idea, actually. I'd have to think about how to implement it a little further, but that does fit into the overall story as it is now. Thanks, I may end up using this! Let me know some way to address you to credit you for the idea, though.
Maidenless Runt: I already have a plan for gluttony, don't worry about that. Although, I haven't been keeping up with Arc 7 as much as I should. I last read chapter 15, I think.
Guest (please label yourself somehow): With Mona reading Subaru's future, yeah, I fully expect her to see his deaths in some way. His constellation will be Pleiades, though. That should be pretty obvious.
bob: Yeah, but they're a different kind of witch. They just label themselves as witches, while the Witches of Sin have something within them (Witch Factors) to mark them as witches. I already knew of the Hexenzirkel even before the latest event, I've referenced Alice before, haven't I?
For those concerned about my driving test, I passed the second time. I'm fully licensed to drive now. Thanks for the wishes. I'll see you next chapter.
