Subaru had woken up, and he jumped out of bed.
'Damn, why is it so cold?' Subaru wondered as he noticed Rem standing in the corner of the room.
"You're up quite early." Subaru chuckled.
"How else would I be able to enjoy the pleasure of watching you sleep?" Subaru stumbled backwards, putting his back to the wall.
"I suppose I should go and do my chores for the day." Subaru grabbed for the door as he watched Rem. She looked mischievous. Subaru ran out and slammed the door behind him. He grabbed a broom and started sweeping up the entire mansion.
"Hey Subaru." Subaru looked up and saw Emilia standing in front of him. She was wearing a new outfit Subaru hadn't seen before. It was a fluffy white dress with a purple collar.
"Hello Emilia, is it just me or is it cold?" Subaru noticed how strange Emilia was acting.
"Cold? N-no, it's just you, Subaru." She shifted her weight from one foot to the other.
"Well anyway, I'll be doing my chores; tell me if you need anything." Emilia blushed and walked past Subaru.
Eventually Subaru had done a sufficient cleaning of the mansion; all that was left was Beatrice's room. He immediately found the door that led to her library.
"Hey beako, nice day to read, I see." Subaru said as he sweeped dust off the floor with his broom.
"What did you just call Beatrice?" Beako asked, confused.
" 'beako'? Well, I guess I've gotten to know you a lot better, so I am giving you a name like a pet name." Beako was bewildered.
"Hmff, I am not a pet." Beatrice pouted cutely.
"Subaru, are you that person?" Subaru completely ignored this question.
"Don't ruin your cute face with a pout." Subaru said as Beako sent him flying out of the room and out of the window.
"What's her problem?" Subaru said as he dug himself out of the bush and went to the kitchen. He saw Rem chopping vegetables.
"Need any help?" Subaru said, grabbing a kitchen knife, he helped her peel the vegetables.
"Are there any other chores you need me to do?" Subaru asked, but Rem shook her head.
"I'll go check up on the supplies." Subaru said as he left the kitchen and walked through the mansion, he found the storage rooms and checked on all the supplies; there seemed to be enough supplies to last 1 month or so. Something caught Subaru's eye, though.
"What is this?" Subaru said as he picked up a strange-looking knife, there were purple and black and shaped like a set of kukris.
"I don't think anyone will mind if I borrow this." Subaru Jinxed himself.
"Nobody will mind if you borrow what Subaru?" He turned around and saw Roswaal standing in front of him. Subaru showed him the knife set.
"Oh that thing, I bought these for some reason, but I can't seem to remember why. You can have it if you like." Roswaal said, smiling; his face was half illuminated by the light from a window.
"Thank you, Lord." Subaru bowed as he placed the knife set into a rift. Roswaal turned to leave.
"By the way, sir Roswaal?" Subaru asked.
"What is it Subaru?" Roswaal asked, confused.
"Do you have any jobs I can do? I'm itching for some action!" Subaru shouted, pounding his chest with his fist. Roswaal smiled.
"Very welllll thennn I have a task for you; bring this paper to the village chief." Subaru nodded as Roswaal handed him a note. Subaru rushed out of the mansion and headed for the village.
"Roswaal told me to give this letter to the village chief." Subaru said to a young, blond-haired man.
"I can lead you to her." Subaru nodded, and they took off, arriving at a decently sized home.
"Hello, chief elder. Subaru has something for you." The door immediately opened when Subaru's name was mentioned.
"My my, what brings you here, Subaru?" The old purple-haired lady said.
"I was asked to deliver this to you by Lord Roswaal." Subaru said, handing her the letter. She peeled off the seal and started reading.
"Oh my goodness." She gasped.
"What is it?" Subaru questioned, but she shook her head.
"I'm afraid I can't tell you that; however, I will say you will be in for a wild ride." She let out a hearty smile before burning the letter.
"Eh well, I don't really care what's in the future; I'm just living in the present." Subaru exited the village and went back to the mansion. The moment he stepped inside, he felt something was off.
"Jesus, it's cold; I need to find out the source of this problem." Subaru checked the fireplaces in the mansion but found no flaws in them.
"I should probably find a way to keep myself warm." Subaru found a pile of blankets and put them in his room.
"What are you doing, my love?" Rem said as Subaru exited his room.
"Did someone hypnotize you? There's no way you're in love with me." Rem started to get angry at this comment.
"Are you saying my love isn't genuine?" Rem said as a horn started sprouting from her head.
"No, no, no, I'm sorry. I mean, uh, wait, please don't do this; I've got a gift for you." Subaru opened a rift, and a mace came out.
"You lost this in the forest, and I forgot to give it back to you." Subaru said as the mace landed in his hands, sending him flying onto the ground from the sheer weight of it.
"Thank you, Subaru." Rem said as she picked the mace up. Subaru stood back up and watched in awe at how easily she held it.
"You're crazy strong; I wish I was as strong as you." Subaru chuckled. Rem patted her left arm.
"Make sure you keep training hard, and you will someday be as strong as me." Rem said, sending both of them into a fit of laughter.
"Anyways, are you not cold in this weather?" Subaru asked, but Rem shook her head.
"I only bust out the thicker wooly maid outfit when it's really cold." Subaru was baffled.
"You must be good at everything—fighting, chores, and enduring the cold." Subaru chuckled.
"I can't compare to my sister." Rem responded, but Subaru shook his head.
"From what I've seen, you're better at everything compared to your sister. Don't sell yourself short."
"Speaking of your sister, where is she?" Subaru wondered where the lazy girl went.
"She's sleeping in because of the cold." Rem responded, making Subaru a little annoyed. 'God, I hate lazy people; they sit around and do nothing while everyone else pitches in.'
"Well, I guess I should go report back to Roswaal." Subaru said walking past Rem. 'I wonder what's in store for me. Well, it doesn't really matter in the slightest.' Subaru had entered the roswaals office.
Roswaal sat behind a large desk with piles of papers on it.
"I did the job you asked of me. Got any other odd jobs for me?"Roswaal shook his head, he was reading through a particularly large pile of papers.
"Hmm, this could prove to be troublesome." Roswaal spoke absentmindedly. Subaru decided to question him while he was still absent-minded.
"What could be troublesome?" Subaru asked, waiting for a response.
"It seems that you've become quite popular." Roswaal said, gasping, when he realized what Subaru just did.
"Popular, ehh, is that really bad?" Subaru wondered what possible problems popularity could impose upon Rosswaal.
"The cats out of the bag, you are a very popular man, and because of that, people know who you are; you were going to be my trump card." Subaru didn't exactly know why he would be a Trump card to Rosswaal.
"You know about return by-" suddenly time froze around Subaru and a black and purple fog enveloped him. A black shadow hand reached out and gently squeezed his heart. It hurt like hell even with how gently it squeezed; suddenly time returned to normal.
"I know about what?" Roswaal asked, confused. Subaru fell to the ground while clutching his chest. He rolled around in pain.
"Are you okay, Subaru?" Roswaal stood up from his desk, walking over to Subaru. Subaru got back up and let go of his death grip on his butler suit.
"Nothing; I just felt a little weird." Subaru said, trying to brush off what happened. 'So if I speak about returning by death with others, I get penalized? Let me try that again.' Subaru was dumbass at heart.
"It's nothing I can just return by d-" time stopped around Subaru confirming his theory. 'Wait, please. I'll stop talking about it. Just don't hurt me.' Subaru pleaded in his head as the hand got closer and closer to his chest. 'Wait, please, please don't do this. I promise to never speak about it again.' Subaru begged, and the hand retreated. Suddenly, a shadowy female figure walked out of the shadows and stared at him. The figure got closer and embraced him in her arms.
'This is pretty nice; I guess I should say it more often.' Subaru thought, but a black hand appeared from the fog again. 'I'm just joking; please don't hurt me.' The figure raised her face to him and kissed him on the cheek; it was a heart-melting kiss that made Subaru ecstatic. suddenly time resumed.
"What were you saying, Subaru?" Roswaal asked, confused, why Subaru was acting so strange.
"It's nothing anyway. Got any more tasks for me?" Subaru dodged the question as if he were playing dodgeball.
"No, not at the moment; you're a very hard worker, Subaru. I think a reward is in order. Hold out your hand." Subaru obliged, and Roswaal dropped five holy coins into Subaru's hands.
"By the way, how much is a holy coin worth?" Subaru questioned Roswaal.
"It's the highest value currency in Laguna." Roswaal responded, shocking Subaru.
"My work couldn't have been that satisfactory." Subaru was tempted to give the gift back to Rosswaal.
"Quite the contrary, your work is amazing; you do 3 servants' work by yourself, and you're extremely loyal to Lady Emilia." Subaru blushed at the last comment.
"Don't tell Emilia this, but I'm actually more interested in Rem." Subaru whispered into Rosswaals ear.
"My my, you are quite the ladies man." Roswaal let out a hearty laugh. 'Shit, I let the moment get to me; I like them both.'
"Anyways, I'm going to lock up for the night." Subaru turned around and started heading for the exit out of Rosswaals office; he waved at Rosswaal.
"By the way, is it just me or is it super cold?" Subaru asked, but Roswaal shook his head.
"I don't feel a thing." Subaru realized Roswaal was wearing extra-thick clothes. 'That bastard is watching all of us suffer in these clothes.' Subaru decided to leave it at that and went to his room. He put multiple blankets on his bed and hit the snoozies.
"Brr." Subaru woke up and realized his entire face was frozen. He quickly smashed the ice with his fist and got out of bed. His legs were shaking from the cold. 'Ok, something's up; it's not even winter yet; it's already this cold? Someone has to be behind this.' Subaru thought as he looked to the corner of the room and saw Rem sitting on a chair.
"If you're going to watch me in my sleep, at least make sure ice sickles don't form on my face." Subaru said but realized she was sleeping.
"Hmm, she must've fallen asleep from the cold; I better not wake her." Subaru whispered as he pulled two blankets off his bed and wrapped them around her.
'She's so cute when she's sleeping.' Subaru wrapped an extra blanket around him and left the room.
"Hey Emilia, is it just me or is it unusually cold?" Subaru asked when he saw Emilia in a pair of beautiful clothing.
"C-cold? I don't know what you're talking about, Subaru." Subaru was onto her. He started looking her up and down.
"Subaru, what are you doing? You're making me uncomfortable." Emilia blushed as Subaru looked her up and down.
"How are you not cold in this weather?" Subaru questioned, poking her.
"I use mana to regulate my temperature." Emilia responded by falling right into Subaru's trap.
"Maybe I should ask puck how to do that." Emilia shook her head wildly.
"I knew it! You're hiding something." Subaru bolted to Emilia's room. Before he could open it, she picked him up and lifted him over her head. Rem saw this happening and rushed towards the two of them.
"Help Rem; she's trying to steal me from you." Subaru said, shocking Emilia and sending Rem into a fit of rage.
"You dare try to take my beloved Subaru away from me. You will pay dearly for this." A horn sprouted from Rem's head. Emilia immediately dropped Subaru, and he rushed over to the door to her room. the knob almost gave him frostbite just from one touch. he ripped the door open and walked inside.
Lines of pure ice mana emanated from a floating blanket. It would look pretty spectacular if not for all the trouble it was causing.
"Checkmate I knew it. Hello puck." Subaru unraveled the blanket, and puck flew out of it.
"How did you find out?" Puck asked, but before Subaru could respond, a loud crashing sound was heard from outside the room.
"Damn it, they are fighting." Subaru rushed out and almost lost his head to Rems Mace. He dodged it by a hair.
"Calm down you two." Subaru said, but Rem ran to him and picked him up, sprinting away from Emilia.
"I didn't sign up for this." Subaru yelled as she ran faster than the wind.
"Rem must protect subaru; subaru must be protected." Rem said, patting Subaru on the head. Rem's death grip was even tighter than normal.
"My my, it seemssss your having quite a lot of fun, Subaru Natsuki." Roswaal said as Rem raced past him.
"Help me, please." Subaru said, warranting a chuckle from Rosswaal.
"I'm afraid you are going to have to solve this on your own." Roswaal said as Rem found a staircase and rushed down it, she ran through the door, making a rem-sized hole in it.
"Hey, Rem, stop it; you're hurting me." Subaru let out a few fake tears; this worked like a charm, and her horn disappeared. She placed Subaru down.
"Rem, you need to stop using that horn; it makes you go crazy." Rem shook her head at this. 'Maybe she fell for me a little too hard.'
"I can't control when it activates when I'm around you." Rem said matter-of-factly. 'She fell for me like I am the only true gravity in the entire world.' Subaru chuckled and brushed this off as not knowing how to control her love.
"Well anyway, I think we should go back inside, and you should apologize to Emilia." Subaru laughed as he and Rem walked back into the mansion through the Rem-sized hole.
"Well, well, it seems you were able to calm her down. Now back to the problem at hand." Roswaal said, standing at the top of the stairs.
"How are we going to deal with pucks—whatever you call it?" Subaru wondered if Rosswaal had a solution.
"He is having a mana release period." Roswaal said what Subaru believed to be gibberish.
"A what now?" Subaru was as clueless as ever; Roswaal let out a chuckle.
"A magical release period is where someone builds too much mana and is forced to release the excess mana." Beatrice said as everyone sat down in the dining room.
"So anybody can have them?" Subaru said, but Beatrice shook her head.
"I'm surprised you of all people don't have mana release periods; you're practically overflowing with so much mana it's nauseating." Beatrice said matter of factly.
"How can you tell I have a ton of mana?" Subaru questioned, wondering how she knew.
"You've got a constant 7-foot tall and wide mana aura emitting from you naturally." Beatrice said, shocking Subaru.
"I guess I'm not at my limit with mana beako." Subaru chuckled happily that he at least had impressive mana.
"Betty finds that idea insane." Beatrice shook her head, completely dumbfounded by Subaru's mana capacity.
"Well anyway, is there any way to cure it?" Subaru asked in a shiver.
"Not unless you can somehow force him to release all his mana at once, which would be completely insane." Beatrice said.
"Hmm, let me think, so how is the cold not spreading away from the mansion?"
"I put up a magical barrier to prevent that." Subaru had an 'aha' moment.
"Can you extend that barrier to the forest?" Subaru asked, and Beako nodded.
"But why would you possibly want that?" Beako was slow on the uptake.
"If it's going to be cold like this until the release period is over, then let's have fun." Subaru pointed to the sky and exclaimed:
"Let's have the Roswaal domain's first annual snow festival!" Subaru shouted, and everyone in the room gasped, except for Ram, who was trembling with tons of blankets on her.
"If we do this, then Puck can up his mana output, and we will have fun." Subaru said shocking everyone
"Now you're probably wondering why I gathered all of you outside here. Well, we are having the first annual roswaal domain snow festival!" The villagers cheered. The area in front of the mansion was covered in snow. Subaru's idea was coming to fruition.
"Now we're going to hold a contest, and the winner will get a very special prize!" Subaru pointed to the sky.
"What exactly will we be competing in?" Emilia said as rehearsed.
"Well, we will be holding a snow sculpture competition. There will be three judges; each one will judge your sculptures; the best person will get the reward." Subaru was hit by a round of applause that almost burst his eardrums.
"Now it is time for the festival to begin!" Subaru said as the townsfolk started creating sculptures, he watched them, taking notes on a clipboard of each one.
"What exactly are you making, Rem?" Subaru said looking at Rems already finished statues. It looks almost exactly like him, even getting the most minuscule details correct. Subaru didn't like how uncanny it looked.
"Is that really what I look like?" Subaru asked and was affirmed by a nod.
"This is how I see you at least." Rem said, proud of her depiction.
"I'll give you a 9 for effort alone; it's as if I'm looking at a snow version of myself." Rem was happy that Subaru gave her such a high score.
"Well anyways, I'm going to check out the other snow sculptures," Subaru bumped into Roswaal.
"All of these sculptures are grounded in reality; none of them have imagination, which is what makes them so lacking." Subaru made a flawless deduction that Roswaal nodded his head to.
"What is this?" Subaru asked, looking at Petra's sculpture.
"It's a bunny Subaru." Petra said as Subaru patted her on the head.
"10/10 for cuteness." Subaru said, causing Petra to blush.
"I give it an 8/10." Roswaal said, walking away.
"And I give it an 8/10 as well." An old villager with a clipboard said.
After a while of judging, Petra was declared the winner.
"Here's your prize." Subaru pulled a bag of chips out of a white and blue rift and handed it to Petra. She was ecstatic but didn't exactly know what to do with it.
"Here you open it like this." Subaru opened the bag of chips, and Petra pulled a chip out and ate it. She shared it with everyone in the village.
"Do you want a chip Subaru?" Subaru shook his head and chuckled. Petra decided to eat the chip she was offering him.
"Next annual festival we will have a different event and I will give out a different prize!" Subaru said, and all the townspeople laughed.
"Victory." Subaru and the townspeople exclaimed, pointing to the stars. After a bit of mingling, everyone left, and pucks release period ended.
"Subaru, would you like a drink?" Roswaal said as he offered him a wine glass with alcohol in it, Subaru was planning on rejecting it.
"To hell with it, I'm not in my homeland." Subaru downed the glass in one sip and seemed unaffected by the alcohol.
"This stuff tastes like piss." Subaru blurted out, getting a chuckle from Rosswaal.
"It's an acquired taste." Roswaal said, laughing. Subaru hoped to never acquire the taste of piss.
"Anyways, when you're done with the bottles, can I have them?" Subaru asked, confusing Rosswaal.
"I have spatial powers, so having a few glass bottles might come in handy."
"I sometimes forget your quite the rarity." Roswaal said with a creepy laugh, making the hair on the back of Subaru's neck stand up.
"I never did understand how your power worked, Subaru; I've never seen it in my lifetime." Subaru said as puck came out of Emilia's jewel.
"That's high praise coming from the strongest sorcerer." Puck chuckled.
"Emilia, how about you try a drink?" Roswaal said, handing a wine glass to her. Emilia downed the glass. After a few minutes of talking, Emilia was all over Subaru.
"Your black-out drunk from one glass?" Subaru said as Emilia threw herself onto him, pinning him to the ground.
"You're such a warm Subaru." Emilia lay on Subaru's chest. Subaru used all his might to gently raise his upper body.
"Chomp" Rem bit down on Subaru's suit shoulder. 'I'm trapped between two rocks'. Subaru was somehow able to wiggle out of their grips, so they decided to start hugging each other; it was the cutest thing Subaru had ever seen.
"Lovely day to be stargazing, isn't it beako?" Subaru found Beatrice sitting out on a balcony, looking up to the stars.
"Are you that person?" Beako asked, but Subaru shook his head.
"Maybe you're that person?" Subaru chuckled, shocking Beatrice into silence. She stared at him.
"Betty finds that idea absurd." Beatrice did not know how to respond to this. Her mouth Was ajar.
"Sometimes the craziest outcomes are often the most likely." Subaru had no idea what 'that person' is, but he liked throwing out inconceivable possibilities.
"I wonder, Beako, what exactly are you?" Subaru questioned, looking her up and down.
"I am the great spirit of shadow." Beako let out a nervous response.
"And?" Subaru pestered her with his philosophical conversations.
"I am, um, I am, I am?" Beako was stumped; nobody had ever asked her this question before; Subaru was a complete anomaly to her.
"It seems to me you're much more than what you let yourself believe." Beako gasped at this comment.
"Betty does not like your flattery." Her brain was being completely picked apart with surgical precision.
"If you think it's flattery, then you are dead wrong; you're much more than whatever you think you are.
"Uh-ah-the flowers are very beautiful." Beatrice was desperate; she needed to write down everything Subaru said and put his ideals to the test. If Subaru kept overloading her brain, then she might fail to comprehend.
"I'm more interested in those beautiful stars; they shine with a perfect bloom, much prettier than any flower." Subaru pointed to the stars in the moonlit sky.
"After all, you can't be me without reaching for the stars. It's just who I am." Subaru chuckled and reached for the stars, exclaiming 'VICTORY'.
"Betty believes you to be a most profoundly strange man." Beako stared at Subaru, as if trying to see into the very being of his soul, what made him turn.
"I've been told that my entire life; I guess it's an inherited trait." Subaru decided to break the façade of being silly.
"I always have wondered where my place in life is; it seems I'm just like you in that aspect." Beatrice didn't understand what he meant.
"Betty doesn't understand what you mean." Beatrice shifted around uncomfortably.
"You have the eyes of someone who hasn't quite found their place yet, just like me." Subaru pointed at Beatrice's beautiful eyes.
"Betty has found her purpose in life already; she finds your assumptions to be unfounded in reality." Beatrice tried to combat Subaru's cold, icy tone, but she had never seen him like this before.
"If you keep telling yourself that you found your true purpose without having actually found it, you will never be able to enjoy life. You must strive for more." Subaru decided to leave it at that and switched back to his goofy tone, happy that he could possibly help someone realize their true desires.
"Onto a less interesting topic: stars! Did you know that each constellation of stars has their own unique names? For example, that star system over there is named Regulus." Subaru pointed to what seemed to be a random set of stars.
"Here's another fun fact: I was named after a star!" Subaru expected Beako to respond, but she just gave him a blank stare.
"My my thatsss quite the interesting story, Subaru." Roswaal said from behind Subaru. Subaru turned around.
"If you really get to know me, I'm full of crazy stories!" Both Roswaal and Subaru let out coarse fits of laughter as they patted each other on the backs. They acted like dads whenever they were together.
"Betty finds your chats with Roswaal amusing." Beatrice tried to clear her thoughts: 'There's no way I'm that person; it's not possible.' Beatrice was filled with inner turmoil.
"My my, you seem to have thrown her for a loop." Roswaal and Subaru let out another fit of coarse laughter.
"Subaru, I think it's about time I make you aware of something super important." Subaru gave a nod for him to continue.
"Soon, Emilia and I will be departing to the capital for the royal selection; you will be coming with us." He stated.
"Why me? I would just get in the way." If it weren't for Roswaal being Subaru's boss, he would've flat-out rejected the idea. 'I know nothing about the royal selection; I doubt they would like an outsider being brought into it'.
"You are a very valuable asset to Emilia and me; you just need to stand there and look presentable; Emilia will do all the talking."
"I suppose I can do that; how long do I have to prepare for it?" Roswaal shook his head with a shrug.
"I will inform you when it is time to depart." Subaru decided to leave it at that.
'I should probably pop into the village and grab some supplies; I've got to be prepared for every outcome.'.
"Oh, and here are the bottles you asked for." Roswaal handed Subaru the 3 empty bottles. Subaru dropped them into 3 rifts that formed below them.
"They really are drunk." Subaru watched as Rem and Emilia hugged each other; it was adorable.
After all the partying was over, they all went to bed.
Subaru was in a vast white void; it felt as though he was free falling. 'Where am I?' Subaru was cut off from his thoughts when he saw it: the beautiful blue and white sword. 'I must have it; I must have this beauty'. Subaru was somehow able to walk; he walked towards the blade and noticed something.
'They dare chain my blade away! It's mine; nobody else can have it!' Subaru saw many blue glowing chains wrapped around the great sword; however, once he got close, he noticed something even stranger. He reached out his hand to grab the blade, but instead of his hand reaching towards it, a large blue and white rift appeared, swallowing up the blade.
'It's mine; it's mine; give it back to me!' Subaru threw a tantrum; he wasn't happy that 'his' precious blade had been taken away from him.
"Subaru?" Subaru heard a female voice overhead speak his name. When he looked up, he saw a black void.
'Subaru must've really needed that sleep if he slept this heavily.' Rem thought as she patted Subaru on the shoulder. It was time for their chores.
"Subaru, wake up, please." Rem tried to no avail to wake him up.
"Get up, Subaru!" Rem yelled as Subaru burst out of his sleep, jumping out of the bed and landing on the side opposite of Rem.
Please leave a review for each chapter you read, and also put your theories on what you think that Greatsword is about. Anyway, the next episode will be another filler, probably only 2.5k words, or more if I feel like it.
