I'm sure you've heard the beginning part of this story countless times already…
In that case, I'll just get straight to the point. Mainly because I really do not want to write Subaru buying chips for the 8th time.
--
As Subaru opened his eyes, he realized that he was no longer at the crosswalk. Instead, he found himself inside a large spacious room filled to the brim with books.
"Eh?"
Subaru immediately darted his gaze all around the room. His first thought was that he was drugged and kidnapped into a strange room, but that idea was immediately discarded. He wasn't bound to anything and why would anyone want to kidnap a nobody introvert like himself?
Before he could get a clear idea of what was going on, someone immediately made their presence known.
"If you value your life, you better not move an inch."
Subaru turned to the direction of the voice, and there stood a short girl with a very menacing look. She was about four and a half feet tall, wore a fancy frilly dress, blonde hair tied into spring shaped twintails, and had blue eyes with pink butterfly shaped pupils.
The girl's attire made it seem like she was some kind of princess from a fantasy world. If it weren't for the fact that she looked very cute, he probably would have taken her serious demeanor a little more seriously.
…
That was it! This was the start of some kind of fantasy adventure. That, or some really weird dream. Regardless, he's seen enough manga and anime to know where this was going, so there was no way he'd let this moment go to waste.
"Ohhh! I get it now! You're the cute goddess who's about to brief me on my fantasy adventure, right?"
For a short moment, the girl dropped her very serious demeanor and just stared at Subaru blankly. After putting her guard back up, she raised her hand in the boy's direction. "Don't think you can throw Betty off with your nonsense, boy. Try anything foolish, and I'll make you regret it, in fact!"
Even though the sight of a very pouty cute girl was adorable in its own right, he knew this could end very badly. If his manga and anime knowledge meant anything, she could very well be the OP loli archetype that could blow up castles and stuff with magic.
"Woah there, don't be too hasty now," Subaru quickly spoke. If she didn't summon him, then maybe this was his future party member or even the first quest giver. "Let me at least introduce myself. I'm Natsuki Subaru, a shut-in neet with no particular special skills that I can think of!"
The girl glared at him, clearly not pleased with that introduction. "You must be full of yourself if you think you can fool Betty with your lies. If your words are what they say, then how would you explain suddenly appearing in the forbidden library from thin air, I suppose?"
"The forbidden library?" Subaru took another look around. Yeah, this place definitely looked like a library, but he didn't think this place looked like something as fancy as a forbidden one. "Does that mean these books are something magical? You know, like necromancy or maybe permanent stat buffs?"
The girl's eye twitched in annoyance. Not wanting to endure the suspicious individual's antics anymore, she approached him while maintaining her guard. "Betty won't humor your foolish questions any longer. If you value your life, it'd be wise to reveal your intentions for being here, and how you managed to get inside the forbidden library, I suppose."
Oh yeah, in this girl's eye, he must've just popped into existence right in front of her. No wonder she looked so on edge.
Subaru chuckled nervously, realizing that he indeed was the elephant in the room. "S-Sorry about that, I just got a little excited and forgot to consider that you might have no idea what's going on. Anyways, I have no idea what's going on, either. At one moment, I was walking home, and before I knew it, I suddenly found myself here. I just figured you were the cause of that."
The girl halted her advance momentarily as if to consider Subaru's words. "So you're saying that you have no idea how you got here?"
He nodded. "Yes, ma'am."
The girl intensely stared at Subaru for a while as if trying to look right through him. Eventually, she reached her hand out in a much more refined manner. "If what you're saying is true, take Betty's hand so I can confirm you aren't a treat, I suppose."
Subaru immediately obliged and reached for her hand. He figured she was going to perform some kind of harmless personality check spell or something. "Like this, right? Is this supposed to be some kind of- AAAAAGHHHH!!!"
A strong surge of pain jolted throughout his body. The pain was so unbearable that he flopped on the ground in an instant. After he let go of the girl's hand, he found himself too exhausted to get back up.
"W-What did you do to me…?"
"I merely drained the mana from your body. Luckily for you, Betty has deemed that you are not a threat."
"Ugh… did you really have to do that…?"
That was the last thing Subaru managed to say before falling unconscious.
--
Subaru eventually woke up and saw a very familiar ceiling. One he had definitely seen before mere moments ago. He found himself lying on the ground in the very same library, and upon further inspection, that girl was still here sitting on a stool reading a book. "It's you!"
Right as Subaru uttered a sound, the girl sighed in annoyance and shut her book. "You're incredibly noisy."
Subaru got back to his feet and pointed at her accusingly. "What was that about?! You nearly killed me!"
"Betty isn't irresponsible to create such an embarrassing mishap. Though, that might've been a blessing for you now that I think about it, I suppose."
"Why you…!" Subaru grit his teeth but managed to keep his cool. Surely whatever she did proved he was good, right? "Betty, was it? Did I at least prove that I'm friendly?"
"We are not on friendly terms for you to address me as Betty. To you, I am Beatrice. As for your validity, I have only confirmed you aren't a threat. However, even though you're incredibly weak, that doesn't prove you don't have any ill intentions, I suppose."
"Oh come on! What do I have to do for you to trust me?!"
"Don't make assumptions. Betty is giving you the benefit of the doubt for now. I'm only stating that I'm unsure what your intentions are, in fact. "
Subaru sighed. He just decided to roll with it for now. "Fine, would you at least tell me where I'm at? You know, are we still in Japan?"
Beatrice perked her brow. "Japan? Betty has never heard of such a place. You're currently residing in the forbidden library which happens to be inside the manor of one of Roswaal's descendants."
"Sorry, but I have no idea who Roswaal is. So if you don't know Japan, do you know what country we're in? I just want to make sure I really did transport to another world."
"Another world?" Beatrice looked over at the boy a bit more curiously but shook her head in disbelief. "The country you are in is Lugnica. Hopefully that will enlighten your weird train of thought."
"Lugnica, huh?" Subaru grinned happily. That means he was in a different world and he really was going on a fantasy like adventure. "Yes! I really did get summoned into another world!"
Beatrice deadpanned at his response. "Really? If that's your conclusion, then this Japan must be an isolated village full of idiots, I suppose."
Subaru wanted to argue more with this but decided against it. This was probably just some kind of NPC fail safe to keep the setting realistic or something. "Oh well, just tell me what I should do now then. Will it be a fetch quest? Or maybe a lore dump on how there's a prophecy that a hero is going to go slay an ancient evil."
…
"Perhaps you're right. Betty should've just drained all your mana instead."
Subaru immediately took a step back and shuddered as the memories of how painful that felt surfaced back in his thoughts. "Sorry, sorry. This is my first time doing this. Could you please help me, Beatrice?"
Beatrice sighed and finally set her book down before leaning on top of it. "Since you asked more normally this time, I'll indulge your request. The only thing Betty knows is that you just appeared from thin air right before my eyes. I don't have the slightest clue on how or why it happened, but such matters are of no concern for me, I suppose."
"Ugh…" Subaru groaned. "So just to make sure I get what you're saying, you're telling me that you don't know anything about my situation and you're not planning to do anything about it?"
"Such an ungrateful one, you are. As I said earlier, you're in the forbidden library located in Roswaal's Manor. That means if you leave those doors, you'll have to deal with the inhabitants on the manor."
"Oh right, you did say that. Now that you mention it, I would look like a trespasser to everyone here, wouldn't I?"
Beatrice nodded. "At least there's something in your head that works."
Subaru's brow twitched at the girl's response but let it go for now. He was too eager to get things rolling after all. "Couldn't you give them a heads up that I'm harmless, and maybe I can explain my situation to them?"
"Betty doubts that my words alone would convince them. The inhabitants here can be quite paranoid, and unlike me, they are quite ruthless when it comes to suspicious individuals."
"What do you mean 'unlike you'?! You nearly killed me just a moment ago!"
"Betty did no such thing! I already told you that your mana was only drained, in fact!"
"Yeah… Very reassuring…" He sighed before contemplating what course of action he should take next. After some thought, he realized what kind of setting this is. This must be a scenario where the starting NPC trains him in magic in order to fight off the next obstacle, like an introductory sequence. In this case, the bad guys are the inhabitants of the manor that Beatrice was talking about. "So, does that mean you're going to train me to use magic so I can defend myself?"
Once more, Beatrice looked at the boy in disbelief. "Just how ignorant are you? Magic isn't something that anyone can just pick up. Betty doubts that you'll be capable of such a thing considering how poor your gate is, I suppose."
Ah yes, a gate. A term he has never heard of before. "A gate? I'm sorry but I'm getting kind of lost here. Do you mean like a door?"
She couldn't believe this. There was no way he was this stupid, right? "I have no idea what you're playing at, but your silly tricks won't fool me, in fact."
Subaru could see this was going nowhere. If he didn't do something quick, there could really be a chance where this girl will kill him. Luckily for him, he was an expert at the art of begging. "I'm not playing around! I'm clueless and I seriously have no idea what's going on!" He then dropped to his knees and bowed to Beatrice rather pathetically. "Cmon, I'll do anything!"
The girl sighed and rubbed her temples. She was still convinced that Subaru was trying something but seeing just how pathetic the boy was acting, she figured that there was nothing to lose in humoring him.
"A gate is a part of your very being," she said. "With your gate, you can use magic assuming you have the affinity to do it. The issue is that your gate is so small that it could explode through the slightest amount of over usage. It's as if your gate forgot to grow along with you for your entire life."
"Aww… Really? Is there a way to increase my gate? Maybe something like a leveling up plan?"
"… Betty will choose to ignore your braindead terminologies. As for improving your gate, there is very little that can be done about it at this point. Unless you manage to find a way to be reborn, starting again as an infant, there isn't any way to expand your gate's capacity naturally, to my knowledge."
"So what you're saying is that a gate is like an organ in my body that's supposed to develop as I grow?"
Beatrice rolled her eyes. "That's one way of putting it, I suppose."
Is it because he was just summoned here that his gate is so small? Maybe having a gate is something specific to this world. Regardless, it sounded too risky to try any kind of magic, so he'll probably have to look into it later.
Right now, he just wanted to know his reason for being summoned here. Since this girl didn't know anything, and apparently leaving this room is dangerous, he wondered if staying cooped up was really the best option.
Well, being the introvert he was, nothing would've really changed if that's the case. Instead of a cramped up room he stays in, it's just a roomy library.
In a defeated tone, Subaru finally decided. "Guess there isn't anything I can really do right now, huh?"
"If you're that desperate to do something, you can start by ceasing your barrage of stupid questions."
Did his starting NPC really have to have this kind of personality? Oh well, since this is apparently a forbidden library, maybe he could learn something cool from these books. There had to be some kind of secret technique that'll make him OP somewhere, right?
"Say, you wouldn't mind if I read some of these books to pass the time, do you?"
Beatrice waved her hand dismissively before she herself got back to reading the book she already had with her. "If that will get you to stay quiet, then so be it, I suppose."
Subaru grinned happily and gave the short girl a classic Japanese style bow. "Thank you, Beatrice. You're the best!"
The girl let out an annoyed huff. "Didn't you say you were going to read?"
"Yeah, I'll leave you be now."
Subaru looked over the books around the library. He wasn't exactly sure where to start, not that there was a pop up tutorial or anything, so he picked the closest book to him. Upon exploring its contents, there was one thing he knew for sure.
This discovery was so important that he had to bring this up to Beatrice. "Hey, Beatrice? I can't read any of this."
…
A visible irk formed over the girl's forehead. "Why would you ask Betty to read if you lack the necessary skill to do so?"
"Hey! It's not my fault! I didn't know this would be written in a different language."
Beatrice shook her head in disappointment. "Then you better start learning how to read, I suppose."
"How am I supposed to do tha-" Subaru stopped himself halfway through his rebuttal. An idea formed in his mind, and then he smiled cheesily at Beatrice. "Actually, would you mind teaching me how to read this?"
"Yes, Betty would mind, in fact."
It was hard for Subaru to keep up his pleading face after that blunt blow, but he managed not to falter. "Pretty please? I'll owe you a huge favor if you do."
Beatrice perked her left brow, seemingly catching her interest, albeit by a little. "And what is it that you could possibly offer to Betty?"
"Well, you know, it's a favor. I'll do any one thing you ask of me. Or, try my best at it."
The girl stayed silent for a moment before putting her book down to give Subaru her full attention once more. "If it will get you to cease your constant pestering, then I guess there's no helping it, I suppose."
Subaru's eyes gleamed. "Yes! Thanks, Beatrice. You're the best."
Beatrice, for the most part, ignored the boy's enthusiasm so she could actually teach him.
…
Well, 'try' at least.
Over time, it was pretty obvious that Beatrice had zero teaching skills, at least when it came to reading. She just read a book out loud and expected him to look over her shoulder to follow along. Since he couldn't read, it was pretty easy to get lost.
"Could you slow down? I lost track again."
"Why should Betty slow down just because you're too incompetent to keep up?"
"This has nothing to do with that! How do you expect me to keep track of where you're at if you never point it out? I would like to remind you that I don't know what any of these words say!"
"You're lucky I'm even utilizing my time to hone your poor reading skills." Before Subaru could complain any further, Beatrice pointed to the book. "If it will get you to stop complaining, then Betty will fulfill your pointless request, I suppose."
Even though the way it was brought up was incredibly rude and warranted scolding, Subaru let it go considering since he did get what he wanted in the end.
There were hundreds of better ways to teach and this girl chose perhaps the slowest method. Overall, this will just have to do for right now. Something was better than nothing after all.
--
Several hours had passed.
Subaru hardly made any progress, and whenever he asked questions, Beatrice prompted him to stay quiet.
At this point, he could save time if he just taught her how to teach instead. It was ironic, but Subaru thought that she could probably use a lesson herself.
Before he could put that thought to the test, he eventually ran into another problem: that being food. He'd be good for now since he had his groceries with him, but after today, he wouldn't know what to do.
"Hey, Beatrice?"
The girl sighed. "Did you seriously lose track again? Have you gone blind?"
"No, no. It isn't that. I was just wondering if you had anything to eat here."
Beatrice stopped pointing at her book and gave Subaru's question some genuine thought. "That's right…" She mused to herself. "Since you're human, you'll need to eat food in order to survive, in fact."
"You're saying that like you forgot. Why did you even say it like that? Are you not a human too? Oh wait, are you like some kind of magical granny loli race?"
"What did you call me, boy?! Betty could just blow you out of this room instead if you prefer!"
Subaru couldn't help but chuckle at Beatrice's attitude and lifted his hands. "Sorry, sorry. But really, if you're not a human, then what are you?"
Beatrice let out an annoyed huff and crossed her arms. "Betty is a great spirit, or is the very concept of spirits also foreign to you?"
"Ehehe… Would you be mad if I said yes?"
Beatrice was eerily quiet, contemplating if she really should just blow this boy out of the library. Eventually, she sighed, deciding against it. "Betty will tell you another time. It would be inconvenient if you wound up dying of starvation inside the library so I'll prioritize getting food for you, I suppose."
"You're going out? Will you be alright?"
"You should worry more about your own safety. Betty isn't the one trespassing where they don't belong, in fact."
"Oh right… Do you think it would be alright if I tagged along then?"
"Betty still hasn't confirmed if you're a threat or not. If you're still intent on proving your sincerity, I would suggest you stay put for the time being."
Subaru sighed. He really wanted to explore this new place but figured gaining Beatrice's trust should take priority. After all, where else is he going to find a guide? "Alright. If that'll get you to open up, I'll do it."
"Good, you better not make any messes or else I will make you regret it, I suppose."
"Yeah, yeah. I didn't plan to."
Beatrice gave Subaru a doubtful look before finally leaving the room.
Now alone, Subaru went back to browsing the books. He knew all too well that he couldn't understand a thing but maybe he'll get lucky and find something that he could make out at least.
Several minutes had passed and his luck proved to be as useless as ever once he made zero discoveries. He even contemplated taking his chances with the other residents because he was that bored.
Before that thought could even cook, Subaru caught a glimpse of a peculiar book from the corner of his eye. It was behind the stool Beatrice was sitting on, and it was tucked away in such a position like it was trying to be hidden.
He had no idea why but a surge of curiosity plagued the boy's mind. Was this something Beatrice was reading before he showed up or was she always trying to hide it? He reached towards the book and-
"What are you doing, I wonder?"
Subaru nearly jumped as the loli of impending pain returned. This time however, she was holding a silver tray which carried some sandwiches.
"Warn me next time! I didn't even hear you come in."
"Why does Betty have to contribute to such a meaningless routine? You're the one intruding, so you should be the one to announce that you're still in here, in fact."
"There are so many things wrong with that statement!"
Beatrice rolled her eyes and placed the tray of sandwiches down on an end table. "It would probably be in your best interest to sustain yourself instead of panicking over trivial matters."
Subaru looked over at the tray before sighing to himself. Admittedly, he was really hungry right now. "Fine, but this isn't over yet!"
Beatrice simply brushed off the boy's comment before sitting back down on her stool and pulling out a new book to read.
Subaru sighed before taking a sandwich. Before he ate, he glanced over at the short girl. "Are you not gonna eat too?"
"Are you too daft to remember anything I've told you? Betty is a great spirit, as such, I don't need food to sustain myself like you humans."
"Yikes, I'm just trying to break the ice between us. Eating food together usually helps with that."
"What makes you believe I would want to get along with an idiot like you?"
At this point, Subaru just gave up trying for the time being, and shrugged. "Fine, suit yourself. Feel free to join in if you change your mind."
And with that, Subaru took a big mouthful of the sandwich. It was actually pretty good. He didn't take Beatrice to be the culinary type, especially considering she doesn't eat, apparently.
Beatrice on the other hand let out an annoyed huff, and buried her nose back into her book.
By the time Subaru finished his sandwiches, the two sat in the room in an astoundingly awkward and boring silence. At first, Subaru waited for Beatrice to say something, hoping she'd change her mind about being anti-social. However, she was a lot more stubborn than he thought.
Eventually, the boy realized that this was gonna go nowhere unless he was the one to initiate things. "So," Subaru started, "Do you want to ask anything about me? I know you don't trust me yet, so why not get that roadblock out of the way?"
Beatrice sighed, set her book down, and leaned over it. "There is one thing Betty is curious about. When are you going to learn how to read?"
Subaru stood up. "Seriously?! I might learn to read faster if you learn how teach me better!"
The great spirit crossed her arms. "There is nothing wrong with Betty's teaching! You're the one who's a lousy learner, in fact!"
"You can't be serious! Do you really expect me to learn by trying to keep up with your reading? You don't even show me where I'm supposed to follow along with you!"
"I've already pointed that out plenty of times! You're just an idiot!"
"You call that pointing it out? I feel like you're trying to show off rather than teaching me, you damn loli!"
Beatrice squinted her eyes. "What did you call me, boy?!"
Being too caught up in the moment, Subaru didn't stop venting out his frustrations. "A loli! Just a stubborn loli! You're a loli who can't even be a good tutorial NPC!"
"I have no idea what half of those terminologies mean, but you won't get away with making fun of Betty, I suppose!" She lifted her hand towards Subaru, allowing him to visibly see the air spiraling around it.
It was at that moment Subaru realized that he might have gone too far. Knowing that this was not going to go in his favor, he raised his hands in surrender, his tone doing a complete 180. "W-Woah there, we don't have to take it this far. We can just talk it out and- WAAAAHHHHH!"
Subaru was blown away by wind magic and was flung across the library before hitting against a bookshelf. He groaned as he fell to the ground as many books fell on top of him.
Beatrice stood tall and prideful with her arms crossed. "I could have easily blown you out of this room, so be grateful that Betty didn't. It would be in your best interest to clean this mess up. When you're done, Betty might consider not banishing you from the forbidden library, I suppose."
Not wanting to incite the loli's wrath again, Subaru bobbed his head obediently. "Y-Yes, ma'am…"
The girl let out a loud humph before returning to her stool, taking a seat. Subaru on the other hand recovered from his dizziness before starting to clean up the mess of books from Beatrice's attack.
Subaru shivered as he wondered just what kind of hell staying here would be.