Chapter 3
Here we go with the Arlam Village Arc. I want to warn you that there will be two or three people dying, but it's to help the story and Subaru being the manipulator he is while showing bits and pieces of his kind self.
With that out of the way, on with the show!
The Next Day...
"I am really not used to wearing clothes like these since it feels a bit stiff around the neck," Subaru said as he adjusted the collar around his neck not to make it look like he was being choked to death.
Subaru and Reinhard were now riding in a dragon carriage, heading north of the capital to Emilia's location. Of course, as a knight of the kingdom, Reinhard already knew where she resided.
Both were sitting in front of the other. Reinhard was in his military uniform, and Subaru, well, he was in some nice clothes.
"Was the outfit really necessary? I look ridiculous!" Subaru exclaimed, uneasily stretching his collar.
"Please don't say that this outfit is designed to match the best of your image, Subaru-sama!" Reinhard replied with a smile.
"...I'm really not used to this."
Indeed, Subaru was wearing a black three-piece suit with gold boutons and shoulder ornaments, along with half a cape that went down his left arm.
According to Princi, he did look more handsome in this. After all, Reinhard's sense of fashion was in a completely higher league. Still, Subaru was only one for fancy clothes when he was doing business with the seedy underworld. This was because Subaru had previously lived a life of a shut-in before becoming a Demon King. Hence, these kinds of extravagant clothes were something he only wore when necessary for business.
However, since Subaru wanted to keep up the act that the Sword Saint bought and didn't want to hurt Reinhard's feelings about the fact that he had picked up these clothes, Subaru decided to bear with it and sighed as he turned his eyes to the window of the carriage, admiring the view of a more rural Lugunica.
'The land looks so peaceful and plentiful for the future demons to roam around freely and enjoy causing minor chaos with the children.' Subaru said as he did recall seeing children who were born from Fiends that found a mate but were outcasted by society due to the government seeing them as monsters or weapons, which pissed off Subaru as he didn't see them as tools but innocent children who were stripped of a life of love and affection.
This is why Subaru takes great pleasure in killing the wannabe Demon Slayer Hunters and takes the children with him to a place where they can be free and happy.
"So, where is Emilia living actually?" Subaru asked, trying to get Reinhard to speak.
"Emilia is living in the mansion of Sir Roswaal Mathers, who is her sponsor for the race for the throne. Sir Roswaal is from one of the most powerful families of the kingdom," Reinhardt explained. Subaru nodded, enjoying the new information that filled in the gaps that neither Elsa nor Princi could explain to him.
"Like yours?"
"You could say that, yes. The Mathers family are the greatest mages of the kingdom for generations."
"So, Emilia is a candidate for the throne along with me. How many other candidates are there?" Subaru asked, as he wanted to know the competition before making his next move.
"There are three other candidates along with you and Emilia-sama. Crusch Karsten from the Karsten house, Anastasia Hoshin from the Hoshin trading company of Kararagi, and Priscilla Barielle from the Barielle noble house."
"I see," Subaru said as he noticed a detail so shocking he had to keep his jaw from hanging by shouting his next question at the knight beside him. "Wait, there's something off here. How come they're all girls there except me?!"
Reinhard could only shrug with an innocent face.
"I am unfortunately unable to answer this, Subaru-sama. All we know is that the dragon stones design the candidates, those the dragon himself deems worthy of contracting with him."
"The dragon…" Subaru wondered, picking up his insignia from his pocket.
As he held the golden jewel in doubt, the ruby in its core began to shine slightly as if it would remind him of his candidacy.
"Hm. I wonder what that dragon wants from me, though; so far, I'm fairly sure I've never met him." He questioned, rubbing the bright jewel of his insignia and feeling the warmth from the light.
"Very few ever had this honor, Subaru-sama," Reinhard answered. "The great dragon watches over our kingdom far over the great waterfall. But his will is somehow linked to these royal stones, passed down in the royal family."
Subaru raised his eyebrows as he picked on the last words of the sword Saint, realizing there were obvious questions he should ask the knight.
"If there is a candidacy to elect a new king, then that means..."
"Ah…" Reinhard said in a low voice, with a clear glint of remorse behind it.
"I am sorry. I should have informed you beforehand." He sighed with a tired smile. "The candidacy… began after the royal family of Lugunica went extinct."
"Extinct? How?" Subaru asked, as he knew of some demons that can wipe a person from existence in the blink of an eye or even destroy one's existence, like the Chainsaw Devil dog he killed and made sure the beast wouldn't get in his way.
Reinhard nodded his head. "An unknown disease appeared within the walls of the royal palace. Killing all of the members of the royal family one by one. A disease so powerful, not even the best healers of the kingdom managed to cure it."
"I see… " 'How curious. Perhaps this disease was genetically manufactured as a weapon to destroy the kingdom. Still, they couldn't make enough of it, so they only targeted the important people to cause chaos in the kingdom,' Subaru said in his mind, using the moment of silence that fell inside the carriage, with both men left in their thoughts.
One reminding them of his past and the other wondering about the future.
"As for the candidates, I already know Emilia because of what you explained to me, but what of the others?" Subaru thought with a hand on his chin. Breaking the silence, he raised his eyes towards his knight and said, "Let's start with Lady Karsten."
"Crusch Karsten is the duchess of the Karsten house. She's part of one of the noblest families in the entire kingdom, the closest to the royal family. From the few times I had the chance to see her in action, she is very competent in what she does."
"I see. What about Anastasia Hoshin?" Subaru continued, asking for the discussion to continue.
"Miss Hoshin is at the head of the Hoshin trading company, merchants. She comes from the western country of Kararagi. Unfortunately, I know very little about her for that reason." Reinhard said with a smile.
"Hm. So she's not a noble from Lugunica, and so far, she seems to be the only one in the same case as me, even though I'm nowhere near the head of a company." Subaru thought out loud. "What about the last one?"
"Priscilla Barielle…" Reinhard continued, sighing tiredly.
"Oh?" Subaru laughed, his tone curious. "Do I detect that the great Sword Saint has a despicable view of her?"
"Lady Barielle is quite the character," Reinhard answered with an uneasy smile. "She became the baroness of the Barielle lands after marrying Sir Leip, who sadly passed away, which made her the heir of another noble family of the kingdom."
"A baroness? So is her house as powerful as the Karsten house?" The candidate asked in curiosity.
"Not at all." Reinhard continued. "The Karsten house took over the crest of the Lugunican Lion. A gift of the royal family to show their trust towards them. The Barielle barony is also close to the royal family but nowhere near as powerful."
"Hm. And Emilia?"
Reinhard shook his head.
"Miss Emilia doesn't seem to be coming from any known house in the kingdom. The fact that she does not bear any family name tells as much." He explained.
"Then how did she even join the selection?"
"Sir Roswaal Mathers, of course." The sword saint continued. "He offered to be Emilia-sama's sponsor for the throne. While she might not have any notorious background, Sir Roswaal's support is more than enough."
"So, she's just a nobody who got the support of a powerful house." The calm black-haired boy chuckled as he rubbed his forehead in relief. "Yeah, she is in the same case as me."
As he thought this, a striking question popped into his head, setting his curiosity aflame. He couldn't help but ask it out loud, "So, have you met all the candidates?"
"I did not meet anyone other than you, Lady Emilia, and Lady Crusch," Reinhard replied. "What I told you is merely the basics I heard from other royal knights. Or rather, the 'neutral' basics about them."
"Neutral?" Subaru laughed before quickly understanding what I meant. "Oh? Some are harsh about them, which is understandable in any election-"
"Ah, no." The sword Saint chuckled. "This is not what I meant."
Subaru tilted his head in confusion as Reinhardt continued his explanation.
"Two of my friends are the personal knights of other candidates, " he admitted, shaking his head. "Whenever I hear them speak about their ladies, well, let us say that their opinions are very biased."
"Well, can you blame them? They won't serve the candidate if she's not someone they would believe in to win this election." Subaru thought with pensive eyes. "Or is that not how it works?"
"It is," Reinhard confirmed. "For a candidate to have a knight, this one must pledge an Oath to her."
"Like that awkward speech you made earlier?" Subaru laughed, mocking his friend, who became red in embarrassment.
"T-Thag was nothing but the procedure a knight has to follow…" The knight said in a failed attempt to justify himself.
As Subaru laughed loudly at his friend's antics, a thought suddenly came to his mind.
"Do all candidates have a knight?" He questioned.
Reinhard shook his head. "In my knowledge, Only Lady Karsten, Lady Hoshin, and of course you."
"So Lady Barielle and Emilia don't have one. Do you know why?" Subaru asked.
"It might either be because they don't feel a need to or because no knight pledged their loyalty to them," Reinhard explained.
"What about you?" Subaru innocently asked as he was curious about the man's intentions.
"Me?"
"I mean. Now, I guess you are the knight of a candidate, but why didn't you try to pledge an Oath to another candidate before me?"
"I was, unfortunately, not in a position to do so." The knight admitted. "The great council has tasked me to search for the fifth candidate for the throne."
Subaru raised his eyebrows in surprise. "And to become the candidate's knight?"
Reinhard stayed silent for a moment before shaking his head with a warm smile.
"No. I was only tasked with finding you. My pledge to you was of my own free will."
"It's not that I dislike your pledge to me, but why did you choose to become my knight?" Subaru said, his eyes curious. "I'm nothing but a rookie here, so why?"
"I am certainly unable to answer this question, Subaru-sama."
Subaru was quick to raise an eyebrow towards his friend, taken aback by these sudden words.
"I believe calling it intuition or instinct would be the best way to describe it," Reinhard said gleefully.
"..I see." Subaru smiled in relief as he liked this knight more and more as he got to know him. "Thank you, Reinhard."
The sword Saint only smiled back.
The candidate then leaned back in his chair. He was thinking out loud.
"Crusch Karsten is a born noble from the closest house of the royal family, Priscilla Barielle is a noble who married into a baron's family, Anastasia Hoshin is a foreigner who owns a company, Emilia is being sponsored by one of the most powerful houses of the kingdom, and then there's me, a complete nobody of this kingdom and anything related to it, who literally got here yesterday. Damn, I'm starting really bad, aren't I?" Subaru said as he mocked his situation.
Reinhard laughed gently alongside him.
Subaru then lost himself in his thoughts, heaving a faint sigh. Still looking at the window, he pondered the situation, which appeared more complex than anything now that he had an overview of it.
"The competition will be fierce then. I suppose I deserved it for getting too full of myself this morning." Subaru commented, remembering his thoughts about becoming a ruler of his kingdom.
But then he grinned, seeing his reflection in the glass of the window.
"Though it's not like I dislike challenges." Subaru confidently said, turning to his side to meet with Reinhard.
"I am truly glad for you to take it this way, Subaru-sama," Reinhard answered. "However, there is one more thing. I must warn you before we get there that Sir Roswaal is quite the extravagant character."
"Extravagant? In what way?"
"...You'll see." The sword saint waved off, avoiding any elaboration.
"You know that you're just creeping me out right now?"
At some point, the carriage started to come out of the woods to get on the road that led to a village. His curiosity peaked; Subaru looked by the window to inspect it.
It was a rather big village with multiple houses, a market in what looked like a central plaza, and children playing all around who immediately started to approach the carriage as soon as they saw it.
"Do you know that village?" He asked his friend, eyes not leaving the sight.
"I believe it is called 'Arlam.' There might be more than a hundred people living here, " the knight answered, inspecting the outside as well.
Subaru smiled and asked Reinhard to stop the ride before they both got down to greet the children approaching them.
Although initially a bit hesitant due to their fancy-looking clothes, the children quickly gained confidence, as Subaru was really good with kids. Even Reinhard was impressed by how quickly he befriended them.
Lucas, Mildo, Meina, Dain, Cayn, Petra, and Meili, he memorized all their names in a flash and was already speaking as he had known them for a long while, and surprisingly, they loved that. He was so kind and funny to them.
"Your clothes are so good-looking! Where did you get them?!" Petra, the little girl with shoulder-length reddish-brown hair and cyan eyes, her irises shining with wonder at the older boy's fancy outfit.
"My friend over there made them for me in a matter of time. I guess you could call it 'the secret sewing technique of the master swordsmen line.'" Subaru chuckled at the girl lightheartedly.
"Please, Subaru-sama. Wait, there's no such technique!" Reinhard exclaimed in bewilderment, suddenly realizing that his previous humble rejection of the kind words had turned into horror that he may have missed a valued skill of the sword.
His worry was quenched once Subaru mounted with a hand on his stomach as giggles came out of his mouth.
Every one of the kids started giggling happily, believing what Subaru was chuckling about deserved them to follow with their laughter. Not to mention the look on Reinhard's face when he thought he'd missed a sword skill for a moment. Dain and Cayn approached him while Subaru was talking with Petra.
"Say, say! Are you a knight? Your sword looks so cool!" Dain said in awe.
"Yeah, it's big and shiny! Can you show it to us?!" Cayn continued, jumping in place.
Reinhard smiled while putting a knee down to be at their level.
"Unfortunately, I cannot. This sword won't be drawn unless needed, whether to face a threat to our beloved kingdom or a dangerous foe," Reinhard gently explained.
Both brothers, along with slight disappointment, were absolutely taken by the sword saint's words. He had such a cool way to express himself, and his smile was so bright it could almost blind them!
Shortly after, the village chief went to meet them, absolutely astonished to see the sword saint and a noble in his village. He wanted to prepare something, but Subaru and Reinhard quickly refused, saying they were just here to meet with the Margrave, who supported the village.
After having a good time with their company, Subaru and Reinhard returned to their carriage and headed toward the Mathers estate. Inside, Subaru felt a glare on him from the crowd. He didn't know why, but he felt that something was pressuring him. When he turned to Reinhard, he found his friend looking at the window as well, with his eyes narrowed toward someone.
"Reinhard?" Subaru inquired.
"I think we should stay on guard, Subaru. Something is amiss in that village, so we should be cautious until we know more." Reinhard answered with caution. Subaru acknowledged Reinhard's words with a nod as the carriage started moving.
However, a small and faint smile appeared on his lips as he knew this would happen.
'Excellent work, Meili. And if she is here, then there is no doubt that the one Elsa called 'mother' is here as well, which will be perfect for me as I'll be able to gain so much political power I'll be able to blow the others out of the water.' Subaru said in his mind as he was going to enjoy the next few days at the Emilia Camp.
After a little while, they finally saw Roswaal's manor. A big domain, perhaps bigger than the Astrea's manor, with perfectly cut bushes right at the entrance, going all the way to the door. Actually, everything just seemed perfectly clean and neat; Subaru started to wonder about the number of servants you would need to take care of that.
'Given that he is a Margrave and has a lot of power, he should have about fifty servants to tend to this place, given how clean and welcoming it appeared to be.' Subaru pondered, noting that the number of servants here was close to the number at his old base back in Japan.
The dragon carriage stopped not far from the entrance alley, allowing Reinhard and Subaru to take their time before reaching the door.
"So here's the place. Quite noble as well, isn't as impressive as your domain but noble anyway." Subaru commented as he had a better look at the outside appearance.
Reinhard smiled while opening the carriage's door.
"Shall we go?"
Subaru steeled himself as he stepped out of the carriage, followed by his friend as they walked towards the entrance.
"Oh boy, now that I think about it, I'm super nervous! Do I look okay? Tell me I don't have a hair sticking out of my nose or something." Subaru asked as he touched his face and hair to play the part that he set up for his appearance in this new world.
"Don't worry, even the kids told it to you at the village. All the boys glared at you with jealousy while Petra complimented you." Reinhard chuckled.
"We're talking about a child, Reinhard. The opinion of a child is a lot different from that of a grown maiden, don't you think?" Subaru asked as they approached the front door. It then opened to let two nearly identical women in maid outfits go out and meet the young men approaching the mansion.
They both bowed down in respect before the duo.
"Greetings, head maid of the Mather's mansion, Rem, at your service."
"Greetings, maid of the Mather's mansion, Ram, at your service."
"How may I help you?" Both said in synchronization.
Subaru looked at them both in awe with stars in his eyes, admiring their figures in the notorious black and white uniform.
"Oh damn. Twin maids?! This world is really the best!" Subaru exclaimed with a nod.
"Sister, sister, it looks like this man is looking at you with filthy eyes," The blue-haired maid said in a nearly innocent voice.
"Rem, Rem, how terrible this man might be assaulting you in his vile mind." Her sister continued.
"Uh?! I just got here, and I'm already labeled as a psycho pervert?! I don't know if I should be proud or scared of myself right now." Subaru questioned in fake worry.
Obviously, Subaru was joking. It was as clear as day; everyone knew it, but still, his behavior only made him and Reinhard snort.
The pink-haired maid looked at him with an indifferent look- or rather, a very disappointed and pitiful one, as if she were looking at the most disgusting and pathetic thing she had ever seen.
The blue-haired one, though, looked scary, as if she was trying to kill him. Her eyes were cold, and along with a dead-serious expression, even Reinhard had some chills down his spine.
Both the sword saint and the candidate looked at each other, confused by the situation. They weren't speaking, but they understood each other perfectly. 'What the hell do we do now?' until a soft voice pulled them out of their mutual thoughts.
"Ram, Rem, who is this-"
When she went down the stairs to see what was happening at the door, she immediately smiled and rushed towards it with an expression that could be interpreted as relief and joy.
"Subaru!" She exclaimed with a bright voice.
If they were a little bit more intimate than they are at the moment, she would certainly throw herself in his arms right now. Unfortunately, the little interactions they had together consisted of short talk before going their separate ways after he met her with Plum, which only allowed her to grab him by the arms with a smile.
"I'm so glad you're okay!"
"Well, I was worried about your well-being, so of course, I would come to see you to express my gratitude."
Emilia smiled wide. She stepped back a bit to have a better look at Subaru and chuckled while elegantly covering her mouth with her fist.
"Well, it looks like you've traded in your unusual attire for an even more extravagant one. It does really suit you, though!" Emilia complimented him.
Reinhard quickly took the opportunity to smug and turn towards Subaru, along with a wink.
"Well, I wore it just for you, Emilia-tan!" Subaru said as he gave her a thumbs up.
"Eh? Tan?" She repeated as she noticed the little add-on to her name.
"You could say it's an honorific from my homeland for the special people you are close with." He answered with a wink.
Hearing her be qualified as 'close' with someone, Emilia couldn't help but blush slightly and glance away in embarrassment. The twins behind the half-elf looked indifferent to this adorable moment.
The uniformed grand knight standing beside Subaru, however, looked to be jealous-
"C-come on! Don't stay here! Please Come in!" Emilia said quickly yet adorably, urging them to follow her inside the mansion.
Both of them happily obliged the invitation under the glare of an already tired Ram and indifferent Rem.
'I knew I should've brought Princi with me. She would honestly make for better company than these maids, who are truly the opposite of my view on maids. Maids are supposed to be the picture of elegance and beauty, but these two basically look like they're a bunch of robots instead of humans, though that would be wrong to say since their scent is similar to that of a demon.' Subaru said in his mind as his nose was very sensitive to the scent of others and could tell that the maids were definitely not human.
His thoughts then changed as he observed the interior of the Mathers mansion. It was just like the exterior would suggest it would be, a fancy place with a lot of useless decorations to show how rich you were; that was Subaru's way of describing it, at the very least.
'After all, what's the point of useless decorations if they serve no actual purpose other than flaunting one's ego?' Subaru said as he recalled seeing rich people think their wealth and status affected Subaru's choices. But he didn't care about such trivial matters. He didn't want to flaunt his status and power, so he stayed under the radar of others and enjoyed the simple things in life.
"You really live in a great place, too; everything is so neat! I suppose you have a real army to clean that up!" Subaru exclaimed to the silent princess while staring at a few paintings they were walking by.
"Well. You're right." Emilia answered with a low voice, her beautiful eyes dimming slightly. "This place is really big but irrational as it may seem since there are only four of us here."
Subaru noticed the bit of sadness in Emilia's voice. He realized how hard that should be. She was basically the only resident, along with the master, who probably had his own business to deal with, and the twins, who most probably were working all day to take care of the entire estate by themselves. Along with her scheduled working spirit not showing off much, she had to feel so alone.
"Eh, so it's only you two who take care of all that? Jeez, that's some pressure!" Subaru directed toward the maids in an attempt to divert the conversation and to keep the pretty elf from feeling her loneliness while he was there.
The twins nodded at him without really answering him. Subaru understood that they didn't like him very much; he was a bit confused about the reason, but he didn't want to meddle. He was here for Emilia, not for them, since they weren't anything worth talking to about instead of pawns for his plans.
Instead, the maids turned toward Emilia. The look on their faces showed that they were looking for an explanation. Far from discussing their lady's orders but rather to understand the situation in which they were right now.
"Ah! Yes, Ram, Rem, do you remember the person I told you about who saved me yesterday? It's him! His friend is the kingdom's Sword Saint." Emilia explained to them.
The maids looked at them again and then at each other as they bowed down together. They were in such flawless sync that one could be afraid of how they seemed to think the same thing at the same time.
"In the name of Lord Roswaal Mathers, we thank you for protecting our lady from the harm that could have been brought upon her by our negligence."
Their voices rang at the same time; Subaru stood for a moment in awe before the perfect voice synchronization the maids performed. Indeed, they seemed to think alike.
"No problem. Saving such a beauty, the pleasure's all mine." Subaru exclaimed.
"You're not beating around the bush when it comes to words, aren't you, Subaru?" A voice rang in the air.
A little cat spirit appeared just in front of the half-elf, poking out of a green crystal at Emilia's neck.
"Puck! Good to see you're doing well!" Subaru said as he grabbed the cat's paw as if to shake it.
"The Same goes for me! You know Lia was very worried about you since the Sword Saint took you away! Seeing you here certainly eased her stomach!"
"Puck?!" The half-elf exclaimed, her red cheeks most apparent on her face.
"Really?! What a failure!" Subaru exclaimed. "I have no shame at all! Making someone so wonderful worry about me. I should commit seppuku to keep at least a little of my honor!"
Emilia blushed even more, adorably looking away while squeaking for a second. Reinhard couldn't help but let out a small chuckle under his breath.
"I don't really think it's possible to keep something you never had," Ram commented.
"Indeed, It would only stain a poor, innocent blade with dirty blood." Her sister continued.
"Did I do something so bad to you two for treating me in such a way!?" Subaru instantly shot back as he was slightly annoyed at the two maids.
Emilia gained a bit of her composure back and started to lean towards the maids with her finger up.
"Don't take it to heart, Subaru! And you, don't tease him too much! He is our guest and my benefactor!" She ordered, defending the black-haired boy.
"Yes, Emilia-Sama. We apologize."
"Good!" Emilia said with a satisfied expression, turning towards the pair of young men with another kind smile. "Have you guys eaten yet? Would you have lunch with us?"
Emilia was speaking with a slightly excited tone, so faint it could normally be hard to notice, yet there was one man who did.
"Thank you, Emilia-sama, but we at."
Reinhard was startled by Subaru's tap on his back, allowing him to speak instead of his friend.
"We'd love to! Thank you for the kind invitation." Subaru continued in place of the knight.
"Yes, Subaru-sama insisted on seeing you right away after his awakening, after all." Reinhard grinned and cleared his throat, 'correcting' himself.
Subaru's smile suddenly disappeared, replaced by a cracked one as he felt his face heat up in shame, turning to his friend with such an expression that Reinhard found it rough to contain his laugh.
But after seeing Emilia's reaction, which was an equally shy and cute face, he took a breath and lifted his thumbs to Reinhard while holding his nose.
"Nice," Subaru whispered.
"T-then, please, come this way!" Emilia said, telling them to follow.
Emilia cheerfully led the way, followed by the maids and the duo.
Subaru climbed the stairs and inspected the corridor on their way to the dining room. He already had a pretty defined idea of what the interior could look like, but it was still impressive. How can such a manor with so many rooms only have four residents?
His curiosity taking the edge off him, he decided to go towards a door to see what the room looked like.
He opened the door to meet a giant library, along with a little girl with drill twin tails, sitting on a stool.
"Hmpf! Quite the shameless man you are to enter a room without knocking, I suppose!" The little girl spoke out loud.
Emilia, the maids, and Reinhard all scooted closer to Subaru.
"A-a cute drill, loli?! I thought you said there were only four in this mansion?!" he said as he turned towards Emilia.
Beatrice looked at him, visibly on edge after getting called by that word, which she didn't know the meaning of, though she was sure it didn't have a positive connotation.
Ram and Rem were slightly impressed, while Emilia looked at him with surprise and shock.
"Well, Beatrice is the great spirit that lives in the library, but none of us can open the right door! The emplacement changes every time, and she rarely comes out. How did you find it?"
"Ah, I get it!" Subaru chuckled with an assured look on his face. "If it's a puzzle, then I'm rather the lucky guesser to solve them quickly. Call it fate..."
Subaru closed the door and moved forward a bit until he reached another completely random one and opened it to the library again.
"Or luck, I'll get it!" He finished with a satisfied grin.
Everyone was genuinely speechless. Even Ram didn't know how to react as it seemed easy for that man who came from nowhere to find the library's location so easily.
"I'm surprised there is a great spirit here," Reinhard said in a low voice towards the pink-haired maid.
"Beatrice-sama has been tasked to watch over the library in the Mathers estate for a long time now," Ram explained without bothering to turn towards him. "She lives in her library and protects the mansion occasionally."
Subaru widened his eyes in surprise as he overheard her speak; the thought of a girl staying alone in a room while they would all leave together seemed wrong for him.
"Anyway, we're on our way to get lunch. Why won't you come with us?" Subaru decided to invite her, trying to get her to join them.
"Hmpf! A great spirit like Betty does not need to share anything with-"
"Hey there, Beatrice! You look well!" The cat spirit floating over Emilia's shoulder cut her off with a cheerful flare in his tone.
"Bubby! I missed you!" She exclaimed, jumping from her seat to go towards Puck.
Subaru recoiled in confusion as he saw the little girl jumping towards the cat spirit with a face of pure bliss, her tone of voice considerably changing.
"Well...You could say that Puck is the only one she acknowledges..."
"I see. She is not the social type, huh? Well, even if the path is hard, there's always a way," Subaru thought out loud, winking to the half-elf. "Watch this."
Subaru smiled at Emilia as he cleared his throat.
"So, like I said, why won't you come with us and enjoy some company rather than staying in here alone?" He spoke out to her.
"Hmpf! Betty doesn't need the consideration of such a rude man, I suppose!" Beatrice spat out.
Emilia winced a bit to hear her speak and behave like this. She really wished she could have more interactions with the little spirit. Sometimes, she thought it could be really beneficial for both of them to earn a friend and ease this feeling of loneliness.
Right now, she was already set to turn back and head toward the dining room without her again, even though she was glad that Subaru had tried to bring her out until she realized that Subaru didn't seem to be done just yet.
"Eh, I didn't say me, though~," Subaru replied with confidence.
Beatrice turned towards him once again with a raised eyebrow.
"I said us. Which also includes Puck." Subaru winked, catching the spirit off guard as she turned towards the grey cat.
"Come on, Betty, come with us!" Puck urged her.
"Yes! If you ask, of course, I will Bubby!" She happily replied.
Subaru honestly felt jealous of the discrimination Emilia was performing on him. Emilia chuckled as she realized this right away.
As Beatrice went out to join the group, she threw a glare at Subaru and Reinhard, especially at his sword.
"So you're Reid's descendant…" Beatrice said as she inspected the red-haired knight.
Reinhard nodded as he bowed in front of Beatrice, showing the utmost respect he could as a knight in front of a great spirit.
"Hm. At least, it looks like your behavior is much more appropriate to the title you hold." Beatrice said as she waved off, nodding to his proper etiquette.
Reinhard looked down in shame. Subaru noticed and felt bad for him. He wondered why his friend frowned.
" Hey. Who's Reid ?" Subaru asked. Beatrice looked back at Subaru, ready to bitterly answer the one she judged as nothing but an annoying pest.
However, before that, like an urge she couldn't control, the great spirit's eyes turned towards the knight in question, noticing the feeling of guilt and distaste reflected in his eyes, and all of a sudden, she froze in place.
The memories of another man with dazzling red hair appeared in her mind, the last visions of a person long gone, of another time, nearly from another life. Someone she cherished, someone who smiled at her, oddly similar to the young sword Saint standing before her.
"Beatrice? " Puck called, noticing the unusual look in her eyes.
"It is nothing, I suppose," Beatrice answered, her voice lacking the cheer she would normally have when addressing her brother.
Subaru and Emilia glanced at each other upon seeing the little girl's sudden change in attitude.
However, thinking she did so for his sake, Reinhard only gave a slight bow of his head as thanks. He was smiling at the great spirit's decision not to reveal anything related to his ancestor.
They all returned to their walk towards the dining room with Emilia and Subaru at the front, speaking of his awakening at her request, Beatrice and Puck enjoying each other's company, and finally, the twins and Reinhard.
"Is Sir Roswaal present at the moment?" Reinhard asked the maids.
"Our Lord departed this morning, but he should be here in a minute for lunch, Reinhard-Sama," Rem answered him.
Reinhard nodded as he thanked the maid for her answer, thinking about the situation coming ahead. Surely, Lord Roswaal wasn't a fool; he would certainly understand that there would be more to Subaru than just someone wanting to express his gratitude, especially if someone like the Sword Saint himself were by his side.
Arriving at the room, Subaru wasn't impressed by the luxury of it anymore. He already had his fill of rich people's furniture at the Astrea's mansion. Thus, they all took a seat while the maids took their leave to bring the food.
A short moment later, a man entered the room—someone wearing rather eccentric clothes and clown-like makeup. In Subaru's mind, there was no doubt: he was a jester to entertain people while they ate, but seeing Reinhard standing up to show his respect, he instinctively did the same.
"My, my...If it isn't the great Sword Saint and?" The clown spoke.
"It's Subaru! He is the man who helped me with my little misadventure yesterday!" Emilia answered with a bright voice.
Roswaal narrowed his eyes towards the black-haired boy and stepped towards him with a large smile on his face.
"How marvelous! I was quite saddened to miss the opportunity to meet Emilia-sama's benefactor when she told me that she couldn't bring him here after the Sword Saint's request.
"What the hell is wrong with his way of speaking.."
"I'm sorry, what? The Sword Saint's request?" Subaru replied, turning towards his friend with a condensed, narrowed gaze.
Reinhard quickly looked away, sweating. He knew that Subaru wouldn't be pleased to learn that he had taken him away from Emilia. However, after thinking about it, he wasn't mad at all. Wouldn't it be inappropriate for two candidates to be in the same place? Or he wouldn't be a candidate without Reinhard.
"As I said, all the pleasure is mine! Emilia-tan is so pretty. It would have been a crime not to help her!" Subaru proudly exclaimed, making the half-elf look away in embarrassment.
Roswaal was honestly pleased to see so many people around him while eating, as even Beatrice was out of her library. He even found that situation to be rather more interesting because all these people were unique, even though, from anyone else's point of view, he was the most unique of all.
"Well, even though I do recognize Subaru-kun's will of meeting Emilia-sama, I must ask what the honor for me is to receive the Sword Saint himself?" Roswaal inquired, wishing to know more about his guests.
"I am merely here as an escort for Subaru-sama." The charming knight replied distantly.
"Oh? An escort?" Roswaal repeated with curiosity.
Subaru threw a glance at Reinhard with alert eyes, trying to warn him not to reveal anything that would get them in trouble.
"Y-yes." Reinhard continued. "As a guest of the Astrea house, it is only natural that I would accompany him."
"You did say there was something about Subaru you needed to confirm, though." Emilia reminded him a bit hesitantly. "This is why you insisted on housing him, after all…"
"A threat," Subaru continued, discreetly nodding to Reinhard so he could take over the conversation.
"What?" The half-elf replied in surprise.
"Well, think about it, Emilia-tan! You're a candidate for the throne, and suddenly, a guy who comes from nowhere accosts you and helps you! This is totally suspicious! Honestly, Reinhard did nothing but his job as a knight here!" Subaru explained.
"I see…Wait, Subaru!" Emilia exclaimed. "How do you know I am…-"
"I told him," Reinhard replied to his friend. "When I…' questioned' Subaru-sama, he asked about your situation."
'And by question, he means pledging himself to me and becoming my knight.' "Nice assist, Reinhard!" Subaru said/praised internally, winking to his friend.
"Is that so…" Emilia concluded.
"So, you two just decided to bother this place for no reason other than to give thanks, I suppose," Beatrice said in a disinterested tone.
"Beatrice!" Emilia retorted, turning towards both Subaru and Reinhard.
"I'm sorry! Please don't take her words to heart. Beatrice is just not used to this."
"I am certainly more used to meeting people than you, in fact!" Beatrice yelled as Subaru waved the air with a grin to show there was nothing to worry about. Subaru then turned towards Beatrice.
Subaru said with a proud voice, "You've got a sharp tongue; I give you that. But you'll need more to cut through me. I'm so used to slurs and insults that I became bulletproof to such cheap stuff!"
"Are you trying to brag about yourself getting insulted?" Beatrice answered in disgust. "What a gross individual you are."
"I, too, believe this isn't something you should take pride in, Subaru-sama…" Reinhard tried to comment in vain.
"It's not about being able to take insults. It's about now showing your true colors when others will say such comments to you. When ruling a kingdom, you must be prepared for those who will give you ridicule due to them not thinking you're worthy to be a ruler." Subaru said back, in a calm tone, as he didn't see their surprised expressions.
The others then could see Subaru was different as they continued to eat with the others.
Later that evening.
After a hectic morning and speaking to Beatrice to gain some more information on the Astraea family, Subaru decided to head towards his quarters. He walked alone until the sound of footsteps came up from behind him, alerting him to stop his thoughts as he turned around in surprise to meet the eyes of the blue-haired maid.
"Oh, it's just you," Subaru said with an annoyed sigh as if he was done with her. "What are you doing here?"
Rem did nothing but stare at him with a cold gaze.
"Are you okay?" Subaru asked, not feeling comfortable with such silence and annoyed by this girl's attitude. His demonic side wanted to punish her for thinking she could look down on him.
"Where are you headed right now?" Rem asked, her tone cold and piercing as icicles. Subaru replied to her.
"To my room." He answered with a monotone.
"Very well. I shall escort you. Please come this way." Rem said as she walked past him without bothering to look at him.
"I'm pretty sure that I can find my way myself. I don't need to be escorted by someone who looks like they wish to kill me." Subaru resisted, as the overwhelming dark aura made him distrustful of the girl.
"I insist," Rem said with gritted teeth, and seeing the maid's insistence, Subaru decided to comply and follow her.
"You know…" Subaru said to break the silence. "I don't know why you're this cold towards me, but we would certainly have more fun if we were at least nice to each other."
"I have no obligations nor any will to behave as such, " Rem said coldly. "This much enters into the professionalism of a maid."
"Really? Damn. The way you talk about a waste." Subaru sighed. "Maids were always the greatest example of elegance for me. You're breaking that vision of mine."
"I have little care about this."
"Cold," Subaru commented off-handily. "Yeah, forget about it. There is no way you and I would ever get along, much less be friends."
"I believe so, too," Rem said before stopping before the door of his room.
"Here you are. I believe this is where you will reside for tonight." Rem said as she looked at the door.
Subaru stared at the blue-haired maid, expressionless, before entering his room. "Yeah, thanks."
Now alone in his room, Subaru removed his vest and walked closer to the window, observing the outside of the Roswaal manor under the moonlight.
"Why does that girl look at me as though I have done something to her? How troublesome…" Subaru thought to himself before a knock on his door brought him out of his thoughts.
"Yes?"
The door then opened to a red-haired knight holding several books in his hands.
"Eh, you're not wasting any time, are you?" Subaru chuckled as he moved a chair for his friend.
"It would be unwelcome since what kind of ruler doesn't know how to read or write?" Reinhard commented as he put the books on the table. "But do not worry. I am confident that you will have no issues learning our language."
The next few hours they both spent together could be described as an entire session of Reinhard teaching Subaru about the basics of the alphabet of this world.
"I think it would be enough for now. You made impressive progress." The knight praised.
"Thanks!" Subaru answered as he leaned back on his chair. "But it's still a pain in the ass! I'm supposed to have passed these kinds of things since middle school."
Subaru stretched his arms up while Reinhard looked at the yard of the mansion by the window, thinking,
"You okay, Reinhard? You seem on edge for a while now." Subaru pointed out. "Are you still worried about the village?
"If that wasn't enough, I feel that something is wrong within this mansion as well." The knight admitted, looking at his liege.
Subaru narrowed his eyes. He was not pleased to hear something like that, and after what he had lived through, he wondered if his experience had something to do with the sword saint's suspicion.
"First the village, and now here..." Subaru thought out loud, already aware of the threats in both areas.
"Something on your mind?"
Reinhard stared at the book, trying to find a link between his past experiences.
"Do you think the Bowel Hunter could have followed us?" Subaru speculated. "She seemed angry when she left and assured me that she would come back."
"Unlikely, but not impossible, she already showed us that she had a good recovery. I wonder if she is even human."
"Indeed, the feeling is mutual..."
"But I don't think it would be her. Honestly, I would say to be more careful about the maids."
"Ram and Rem…?" Subaru said, visibly taken aback by the sword saint's suspicions. "I know they have quite the antisocial and unfriendly personalities, but could maids really be this much of a threat?"
'So he detects that they hold resentment towards me? This'll make the next stage easier to deal with since not only will I be able to deal with a disobedient dog but also possibly show the village why their lord is useless and should not be trusted.'
"I don't believe they would be simple maids, Subaru-sama…" Reinhard continued. "But it would be unbecoming of me to make further assumptions without any evidence."
"As you said then." He sighed tiredly. "Let's just stay on guard for now then."
"…If I may, Subaru-sama…I would rather we come back to the Astrea's domain; your safety is jeopardized here."
Eyes fixated on the window, Subaru thought about his friend's words in silence before making his own decision.
"As are Emilia and the villagers," Subaru said determinedly. "I'm not going anywhere knowing there is a potential threat here that could harm her or the other residents."
The bravery of his master really affected Reinhard, but he still looked worried. Bravery was a virtue worthy of a man and even more so of a king, but would he really want to risk the life of his friend for it is a virtue worth a life?
Subaru smiled and gave him a light punch to the arm.
"Get it together." Subaru gently said. "We're both here, and we have each other's back. We'll work this out. There's nothing we can't do if we trust each other."
Hearing this much, Reinhard began to smile unconsciously. He thought that Subaru had a way of touching everyone's heart. He took a breath and began to bow when Subaru stopped him, raising his fist towards him. Reinhard looked intrigued but quickly understood.
He raised his fist as well and stuck it on Subaru's. Reinhard didn't know why, but he liked that.
"From where I come from, this is something you do only with the people with whom you have a strong bond. This is my way of saying that I trust you."
Reinhard was out of words. This little thing could be referred to as a handshake, but it was unique to him and Subaru, and Subaru was truly wonderful to him. It was something unique to him and his friend, the ultimate proof of their mutual respect and trust. Reinhard never felt so happy to have met someone in his life. That's where he knew that for as long as he lived, Reinhard would follow this man; he would follow his friend and his king.
"Then you have my word that I won't disappoint you." Reinhard confidently answered.
The moonlight fell on the grand Margrave estate moments later, making the capable knight excuse himself to his young liege and backtrack towards his own given guest room to gain some long-awaited sleep. However, as Subaru was preparing to get to bed, a weak knock rang against his door.
Surprised because of the time, it was with wary steps that Subaru approached the door of his bedroom until the voice of his guest was heard.
"Subaru? Sorry, are you asleep?" A low and feminine voice spoke.
'Emilia?' Subaru thought to himself as he opened the door to meet with the silver-haired royalty.
Subaru was mesmerized and said nothing. One could even say he was bewitched, unable to avert his eyes from the beauty in front of him, shining like a lone star in a cloudless night sky. He was admiring her, and he could have certainly remained like this for hours.
"Subaru…?" She called him, worried about his silence.
"Ah…" He let out a gasp as he got extirpated from his thoughts. "Sorry! I just...Well."
Emilia only answered by tilting her head, awaiting an explanation.
"Did anyone ever tell you how dangerously beautiful you were? This hypnotism truly comes from another world…" Subaru sighed with an honest smile.
"You are saying weird things again…" Emilia whispered, pouting. "I would like you to speak clearly so I could at least understand what you're saying…"
Subaru narrowed his eyes and looked at her suspiciously. He wanted to mock her a bit for not understanding that it was a compliment, but the expression on her face gave him a sense of deja vu. His memories quickly reminded him of one of his first loops.
'What are you thinking, calling me by the name of the witch?'
His face quickly took a darker expression, which didn't go unnoticed by the half-elf, who worriedly called his name again.
Subaru raised his eyes to her once more, his brown irises staring deep into her amethyst eyes, and smiled.
"You are beautiful, but I wonder what gives me the honor of having such a sight for myself tonight?"
Even if she didn't respond, her immediate reaction of burying her face behind her hands was enough for Subaru to know that this time, she understood what he wanted to say.
'She isn't used to compliments, is she?' Subaru thought to himself.
"I-I would like it if you could stop mocking me…" Emilia whispered.
"I am not, though. I believe in every word I say, " Subaru said, laughing. "But anyway, what brings you here?"
"Ah, I…" Emilia stuttered, looking like she searched for the words to speak; "I just wanted...To talk to you, I guess?"
"You guess?"
"I-I mean…!"
Subaru laughed faintly as he waved his hand before her, stepping aside to allow the princess to enter.
"Please, enter and take a seat." Subaru invited her with a gentle voice.
Smiling at such kindness, Emilia happily obliged as she stepped inside and sat down on the bed as Subaru took a seat at his desk.
However, the only thing that arose after this was an awkward silence. Emilia did want to see him and have a conversation, but just now, she realized that she had planned nothing but the first part of the plan.
Now, she was at a loss for words and didn't know how to avoid looking more ridiculous.
"Are you okay?" Subaru broke the silence, looking over the shy girl who didn't even dare to look in his direction.
He perfectly knew the situation she was in right now; as god only knows, he was there multiple times. But seeing her the more embarrassed only added to her cuteness, which was, unfortunately for her, something that Subaru couldn't get enough of.
"Y-yes! I'm okay! But, Mm...You know...I…"
"You don't know what to talk about, right?" Subaru jokingly pointed out, not wasting a second to tease the princess.
Emilia only looked down in shame.
"There's nothing wrong with that," Subaru said as he gently laughed. "Sometimes you just want to spend time with a friend to kill your loneliness."
Hearing this made Emilia widen her eyes towards him.
"I know," Subaru said in a hushed tone. "It can happen to anyone. You're not an isolated case. Even though, regarding where you live, I understand it would be a tad worse for you. Especially since these two maids aren't helping at all."
"Ram and Rem aren't bad people, you know." She smiled as she shook her head. "The issue is certainly coming from me here."
"And why would it?" Subaru questioned with a curious expression. "I'm not the kind of guy who talks shit behind people's backs, but seeing how they've been behaving towards me and Reinhard, I really do think it's a "them" problem rather than a "you" problem."
Emilia's expression became even more startling as she stared at Subaru with wide eyes. It took her a moment to realize that he was serious about what he had just said—and somehow needed clarification about what she meant by that.
"Subaru…" she said in a weak voice, clenching her nightgown. "Do you... know who I am?"
"Mh?" Subaru closed his eyes to think. "A silver-haired beauty who runs for the kingdom's throne?"
"No…" Emilia answered, too ashamed of what she was about to say to care for his little comment. "I am…"
"A half-elf." Subaru cut her, gently gazing upon her.
Emilia did nothing but clench her robe harder.
"Yeah, I knew it," Subaru answered. "This might explain why you're so cute, after all."
"Eh?" Emilia gasped, looking at him in shock. "D-did you…"
"Were you waiting for me to say something else?" Subaru questioned. "Admonish you for some reason, maybe?"
Even though she remained silent, Subaru needed only the look in her eyes to obtain his answer.
"Too bad," Subaru told her. "Because I'm clueless as hell."
"What do you mean…?"
"I know nothing about how and why half-elves would be discriminated against here," Subaru admitted. "What I know, though, is that I have no reason to hate them, nor do I have any reason to hate you, Emilia."
If she entered this room with the feeling of not knowing how to react because of her eagerness, this was something far, far bigger that took place at the moment.
Emilia was a silver-haired half-elf. She was the very definition of what a devil could be.
No matter where she went or what she did, this would follow her everywhere: the looks people would give her, the words they would speak about her.
The doors closed to her, the children that were hiding away from her.
This was the quotidian she began to grow used to the one of someone born to be hated.
While it was certainly a cruel and unhealthy thing to do, the silver-haired princess began to accept it. This wasn't something she could fight. This was her fate. She would always live to hear these words, nothing but these words. Attached to someone she never knew, someone she had no affiliation with.
Thus, there were things that she resolved never to be able to hear. She even started to doubt the existence of hope or kindness in people.
If only that boy had not appeared out of nowhere to help her. If only she had never met him, and if only he had not decided to meet her one more time.
Then maybe.
She may still be able to hold a straight face right now. Maybe she wouldn't be looking at Subaru with a stream of tears running down her cheeks.
"Emilia," Subaru said in worry as he rushed to her side, delicately putting his hands on her shoulders. Without giving him the time to speak further, the half-elf let her head fall forward against his chest, burying her face away from him.
"I'm sorry…" Emilia said faintly. "But please, don't look at me right now.."
Even if Subaru would usually be horribly embarrassed, the situation itself only allowed him to smile in relief, to know that she wasn't hurt, to know that those tears weren't because of pain.
"Of course," Subaru answered and, after a moment, allowed Emilia to gain her composure back.
"H-hum...I'm…" She stuttered.
"It's fine," Subaru reassured her. "What happened in this room will not be heard by anyone."
Emilia looked up to him again, expressionless.
"You are...Really strange, Subaru…"
"I don't know how I'm supposed to take that, but…" Subaru laughed. "Sure."
"Mhmh…" Emilia began to smile warmly. "It's not in a bad way...At least, not in my opinion."
Emilia then stood up, noticing Subaru that it was time for her to leave.
"Thank you for this, Subaru." She gently told him.
"It was my pleasure," Subaru answered in the same tone, smiling one last time as he carefully gazed upon the lady, making her way into the dark hallway to gain her room.
As soon as the silver-haired lady left and closed his door, the boy's knees locked in place, waiting until it was sure that the half-elf was truly far away in the long hallways of the manor from his room.
Once a good chunk of time had passed, Subaru's knees wobbled him to rest on the floor of the room. A drunken smile of bliss and relief was plastered on his red face.
"Ahhhh~... What an interesting girl Emilia-tan is. I do feel bad for her, though. She wasn't here to have a late-night chat..." The boy sighed, a little saddened, as he remembered the state this woman was reduced to because of his little words of comfort- as if she truly needed such small things in her life.
It was as if not being able to get comfort from her friends was something she had grown used to. A fact so horrible and twisted to the boy that it made him not want to think about it anymore.
"She deserves better than those twins. Don't they know how to lighten up even for a bit to make her smile? Emilia needs some form of friendship from these cold robots, at least. And that cat isn't helping from what I've seen in his memories." Subaru said as he lay on his bed and recalled using his powers to ensure that he planted the seed into her mind that they knew each other, which helped Subaru's case.
However, before Subaru could allow sleep to take hold of him, he heard a sound coming closer and closer from the depths of the darkened hall outside his door.
'Hm. So the maid has decided to strike first then.' Subaru said as he then left his room and closed the door behind him before smiling to himself.
'It's time to play with these girls and show them what a real demon is,' Subaru said as he tapped his foot on the ground. A field of sorts began to surround the entire mansion.
As Subaru walked forward, he heard the sound of chains as a force came towards him, and all he saw then was the color black.
All black.
A body fell in the middle of a decently sized pool of blood.
A chain slowly hits the ground, accompanied by a hoarse and powerful heavy breathing, like an animal looking down at its prey.
"You will not harm my sister, Witch Cultist!" Rem shouted as she glared at the body of her target before her sister approached her with concern.
"Are you okay, Rem?" Ram asked as Rem nodded in response.
"Yes. Subaru is dead and will not harm anyone ever again." Rem said as the two sisters were about to leave before they heard the sound of a loud bang of sorts blast through the air. Ram coughed up blood as she looked down at her chest and saw a hole there instead of her heart.
Suddenly, the sound of laughter of the person that Rem supposedly killed cackled through the hallway as two maids turned back to see Subaru Natsuki standing up, much to their shock, as his clothes seemed to be fine and there were no scars on his body.
"What's the matter, little maids? Have you never seen a man come back from the dead?" Subaru asked, his eyes glowed like hot coals in a fire. He lifted his left hand and formed a finger pistol before smiling at them.
"Bang."
Rem's eyes were only red as she saw her sister's head had a hole in her forehead. She then collapsed on the ground, which made Rem yell as she was about to charge at the witch cultist with her star until the shattering sound shocked her as she saw the head of the Morningstar was destroyed.
"Do you think I'm scared of a weak weapon like that?" Subaru asked, still holding his finger pistol. Rem suddenly felt the chain leave her hand, and she looked at her left arm to see that it was no longer there.
"Are you looking for this?" Subaru asked as Rem's eyes widened as she looked at her left arm in Subaru's right hand. He then drank some of her blood and smacked his lips as if he tasted something delicious.
"I see. You are an Oni, a type of demon that loves to kill and slaughter people mercilessly. I'm surprised that your master allowed such horrible demons like you to be maids when you are far from suitable for such a role." Subaru said as he dropped his right arm and changed his left arm to a bow, and an arrow began to form.
"I suggest you start running since we're going to play a game. If you win, then I'll let you live, but if you lose, then you'll die. It's called Hunter and Prey. You have ten seconds to run." Subaru said as Rem began to run as she held her left stump to stop the bleeding while. Subaru chuckled to himself before looking down at the pink-haired girl. He saw her forehead before his face became an apologetic one.
"What a sad fate you put yourself in. You were serving the man who killed your whole family and people all for some sick form of love and lying to your sister? What a cruel thing of a sister. I guess a lost horn was a good enough punishment for you but not for me." Subaru said as he transformed his left hand into a blade and stabbed his right hand to let the blood leave his body as it entered Ram's mouth.
After a few moments of silence, Ram's eyes widened in shock as her body began to twist and turn, and her old blood began to enter her body. Still, her body changed to become something more demonic as a bright pink horn began to emerge from her forehead, her skin began to darken, and her crimson eyes began to burn brightly. Her pink hair grew a bit more to reach the middle of her back as the wind began to surround her until her maid uniform was fully formed once again. Ram then turned to Subaru, and her eyes had a look of recognition in them as she bowed to him.
"I apologize for my actions, Subaru-sama. What are your orders?" Ram asked, her mind now focused on fulfilling her new master's wishes and desires. Subaru then patted her head while a chain formed in his hands and attached to a collar around Ram's neck.
"Well, I'm going demon hunting with my little dog. Now let the hunt begin." Subaru said he was going to enjoy this evening under the moonlight, and no one would even be able to hear her screams once he was done with her.
Scene!
Now, before you all ask why no one heard or noticed the fight, it is because Subaru used the Eternity Devil to trap both him and Ram and Rem inside another dimension separated by time and space. This means no one can get in or out without Subaru, and thanks to Subaru being a true Demon and learning how to convert other beings to demons. He is able to give Ram a rebirth that has now made her a loyal demon to Subaru but a deadlier version of Ram with her horn.
I hope you like the chapter since the next chapter of this story will be The Oni's Screams.