Chapter 3: Loot-house Roshambo
The trio found themselves now parked in front of this "loot-house."
Their journey here from the inner-slums had taken slightly longer than expected, as Felt had begun to feel carsick halfway here, and it took Subaru giving her the front seat so she'd feel less nauseous.
By this late in the day, the sun was beginning to set in the sky and everything was being illuminated in a hue of orange and pink.
Subaru and Felt exited the car out of the passenger side door, and headed towards the loot-house before turning back to see YN remaining in the car.
Subaru gave YN a tilt of his head with a raised brow in response to him staying put, and when he looked to Felt with the same expression, as if seeing if she too thought it was strange, she replied with only a shrug.
Felt: It's probably better for someone to wait here and make sure whatever that 'khar' thing is, doesn't get stolen.
Subaru: H-How would anyone manage that?! It's huge! And heavy.
Gaining an air of pompous attitude to her, Felt turned to head towards their destination as she answered.
Felt: My old man could pick that up and walk off with it. If someone in these slums wants it bad enough, they'll find a way to take it.
Out of reflex, YN reached across to the passenger seat and locked the door the two had just used to exit. At this, Subaru weakly looked towards his driver now.
Subaru: So, you wanna wait out here?
With a shrug of his own, through a halfway rolled down window, YN replied.
YN: I mean, three's a crowd, right? B-Besides, I can keep watch out here in case anything strange happens or someone else follows you in.
Subaru: I see, well, a look out would be appreciated.
YN: That I can do.
To that, as Subaru began to walk off with Felt, he stopped.
Subaru: Ah! Hold on lemme grab something really quick! Just a second.
To his momentary delay, Felt rolled her eyes, and turned her expression over to their destination as she tapped her foot impatiently.
Approaching his window, Subaru used a minute gesture to get YN to lean in closer so he could hear what must be a whisper.
Subaru (whisper): I'll just say it…
Sighing after he said that, his face turned to one that was rather serious, with a tone of voice to match.
Subaru (whisper): If you see a woman with dark hair dressed in black come and interrupt us inside, just drive away. —Run. She'll kill us all.
YN could only look back at Subaru with a startled expression upon hearing his words. Blinking twice, he finally responded.
YN: …That bad, huh? What's the deal with her? I'm surprised you haven't mentioned this person until now.
With a defeated look, Subaru explained.
Subaru: She's the one who put Felt up to stealing what I'm after. If I can't get a deal finalized before she shows up, we'll be in big trouble.
YN couldn't think of anything to say.
Why didn't he mention this danger beforehand? We could have at least tried to think of what to do just in case.
Other than Subaru's own dreadful expression upon describing this person and what she'd do, YN hadn't a way to know what kind of danger they were up against. Yet, in the purest sense of danger, he had no weapons of his own that he had brought along with him on this trip.
From how he described that silver-haired girl using magic, him and I probably don't have any fighting skills to hold our own in this world.
With that, Subaru and Felt walked to the loot-house's front door, and after a moment of standing in front of it, they disappeared inside.
Alone, YN moved his car, and parked down the street from the loot-house. Sheltered between a half-collapsed building on one side, and some dilapidated barrels and crates to the other, he was mostly concealed in the shadow the setting sun was casting across the slums.
Further away though, it was harder to see, so YN retrieved a pair of cheap binoculars from the belongings in the back hatch of the car, and proceeded to watch the loot-house from afar. It was around this time though too, he wished he could have some way to communicate with Subaru should he spot something. Outside of a way, his overwatch of this location was essentially useless.
As the sun continued to set, the light that let him just see through a crack in the window frame of the loot-house fell into the shadows, rendering him unable to observe any longer. Setting his binoculars down, he noticed movement in his rear view mirror from the gap the damaged items he hid behind left in not perfectly concealing him.
A girl with silver-hair and elf ears was once again in that mirror.
Rather, this time she was walking down the road, outside of his car and not in the backseat. A welcome change of pace.
Not really thinking, YN instinctively ducked down in his seat to at least hide himself. Laying across both seats, he was at least in a way he could see this silver-haired woman in his side mirror as she passed him by, not noticing the concealed car at all.
In his head, he tried counting to the pace that she walked before he dared to peer back up and over his dashboard to watch where she was headed.
I've seen all sorts of demi-humans since arriving to this world… But I can't say I noticed any elfs until just now… But that's definitely the girl Subaru described seeing, and she's definitely not the same elf I saw.
The silver-haired girl was on a direct b-line to the loot-house YN was also watching over.
That's strange… Subaru and I had to figure out where this loot-house was by getting directions from Felt, and since I had first picked him up, Subaru was telling me about this place like he'd been there before… But he also said Felt was the one who had suggested the loot-house to begin with? And how is that this girl he described knows where her stolen insignia is going? What's the point of us even heading here then? I'm so lost.
From all what Subaru had told him, versus what he knew, versus what he had head from others and was now seeing, YN couldn't make fact from fiction. The more things went on, the less he felt he could trust Subaru's words.
He seems to have good intentions though, that much isn't mistakable.
YN was puzzled by the order of events, struggling to think that maybe he didn't have everything in line.
I guess I've been awake for more than an entire day straight at this point. Maybe I'm just too tired to keep everything in-line?
Amidst his mental monologue of self-doubt, he noticed the silver-haired girl enter the loot-house through the front door, not needing to knock at all like Felt and Subaru had.
Hastily, YN put the binoculars back up to his eyes to see if he could see inside the structure, but couldn't recognize anything from the darkness it was still cast in with the setting of the sun.
He decided he needed to get closer for proper reconnaissance.
Everyone that Subaru mentioned is in attendance. And I don't see any sign of that woman in black he warned me about.
Poking his head out of the rolled-down window, YN looked up and down the streets nearby before timidly stepping out of his car, and using the key to lock the door after himself.
Carefully, YN walked around to the backside of this loot-house.
Jeez, this place looks like it's about to join its neighbors and just collapse in on itself.
The backside was definitely more neglected than the front, so much so there were holes and gaps in the wall of this place. Approaching closer, YN could faintly see shimmering flashes of light come from the cracks between the boards that made up the walls. Sidestepping with his back against the wall now, he went to peek through a broken, boarded up window, and when he did, his eyes went wide with surprise.
YN: —?!
It was there he saw the drama unfolding inside. The silver-haired girl stood resolute by the front door, her hands raised, and at her command, large crystals of what appeared to be ice formed and launched at a silhouetted figure that seemed to move in in-human ways.
He almost couldn't believe his eyes at what he was seeing. Crystals of ice, large enough to halt his own car, and shot fast enough to be lethal were just being hurled around at something that, even at their velocity and rapid pace, couldn't hit.
What the hell?!
What caught YN's attention more than anything else though, and which made him jump, was Subaru yelling at the top of his lungs from what must have been right on the other side of the wall he was concealing himself behind.
Subaru: —Puck! —Shield!
Not even a fraction of a second later, that same dark-figure that was bouncing about this loot-house interior collided with the silver-haired girl. Expecting her to at least be knocked back, the figure instead came into contact with a wall of white, as if a giant snowflake had materialized to guard this girl.
And from out of the impact, a small, gray cat-like figure emerged from behind that snowflake-shield, floating above the silver-haired girl.
Arms crossed, it turned to look exactly where Subaru's voice had come from, and shot what appeared to be a casual thumbs-up gesture to him accompanied by a wry smile, perhaps in thanks for his warning-shout.
What is going on?!
The more YN watched this escapade go on, the more questions began to arise than be answered. But, what became evident was that Subaru seemed to have some kind of knowledge of events, and that definitely shaped how he was reacting to things in this altercation now.
From this, YN was determined to ask Subaru on this later, should he have the chance.
I'm not just sleepy. Subaru better not use my obvious drowsiness to dissuade me from getting any funny ideas about how he's handling this. There's clearly something up.
Maybe because it was because he was also from a different world like he was, but YN was certain Subaru was less cautious with his words than he had been with Felt.
All in all though, throughout this time, I don't think Subaru has lied. —He's stretching the truth, sure. But I guess if I want proper answers, I'll need to work with him. For the time being, he's the only person whom I can relate to in this world, but I'll be sure to have him give me a full explanation on all these oh-so-too- many happenstances.
That however, wasn't the main priority as of this second. Rather, there was a battle raging inside.
Still, YN was shocked to see what was unfolding on the inside. That very same little gray cat, floating about, was also shooting ice-crystals of their own. Volley after volley, the two combined batteries between the cat and the silver-haired girl finally managed to get a hit on this black-figure jumping about in this room.
Before YN could get a good glimpse at the struck figure though, a wall of ice obstructed his view of anything else.
Damn it!
Readjusting his vision, he moved to peer in at a different angle, and as he did, he caught a glimpse of where Subaru finally was.
Held down in the corner, he was beside Felt, but what stole YN's attention now, was a new figure; a gargantuan man that was in the far-flung corner of the room, bleeding badly from a head injury. Yet, just as before, another wall of ice blocked all that from view too.
YN: D-did they get it? I don't see that black-figure anymore—
Whispering to himself out loud, his words were cut off when that same black-figure re-materialized between his view inside this window, and the wall of ice.
YN stopped his outside thoughts when the figure re-materialized between his window view and the wall of ice.
It was a woman.
A woman with black-hair in a single braid.
A woman dressed in black…
Subaru was right again about this lady showing up… But how?
With some unheard words from beyond the window, the floating cat above the silver-haired girl retreated, leaving only herself to deal with this woman in black.
Unable to do anything else, he continued to observe the fight, awestruck by what he saw.
With only a few tactile guards by the silver-haired girl, the woman in black had managed to overpower her, and launch her behind what appeared to be a bar or a counter for a store-front.
I have to help… —But what good can I possibly do?
YN's mind groaned thinking of what he should do, and what he even had at his disposal to do anything to begin with.
It's not like I thought I'd have to fight on this trip! I didn't bring anything I could use as a weapon!
Could he use the car? No. The car was far too small to have the inertia to carry itself through a wooden wall and still have any power to even wound this woman who had taken being hit by one of those earlier ice-crystals.
YN thought and thought and thought, his vision not being able to take itself off the fight still unfolding inside.
From the corner though, that same gargantuan man had gotten up finally, and with a groan, he tried swinging what appeared to be a crude, wooden club at the woman in black. Only getting a few unsuccessful swings in, he was quickly dispatched by her with a unique looking knife that she held,
RIght before she was set to finish him off, Felt launched her sword to parry the blow. The short blonde had perhaps saved this large man from the lethal blow, but he was more injured than before, and was fully taken out of commission. With this exchange, the silver-haired girl had pulled herself up again, and went into take her spot again in this fight.
Fighting someone this strong head-on isn't going to work! Someone has to get the drop on her and use the element of surprise… But who—?
As he pondered what to do, YN realized there was still one factor this extremely skill-full woman in black wasn't aware of—
YN (whisper): Me…
YN was determined to find an opening and help, —to turn the tide of this fight, but he still needed a weapon of some kind.
He peered back in through the window, scanning the floor by the front door for a sword, a knife, a club, a fork… Anything he could quickly grab and charge at this woman in black, but there was nothing but rubble from their fighting.
It was then that YN heard something drop down from behind him landing on the ground with a *THUD*. Kicking his adrenaline into overdrive, he turned and fell against the wall of the loot-house next to himself in surprise.
YN: —?!
Making her escape as her silhouette ran against the moon's gentle light a-top the roofline of a nearby collapsed shanty, Felt it appeared had abandoned the loot-house and the fight inside.
YN: —tch…
Still, he was determined what he needed to do was dire. He was done being an observer.
Circling back around to the front door, YN grabbed the handle, and let himself inside. Stepping in, he reclaimed unnoticed thanks to everyone having their back to him, but he was surprised to see in the time it had taken him to go around to the front, Subaru had grabbed the gargantuan man's club, and was in the middle of pointing it at her before lunged at her in turn.
With that, Subaru and this woman in black began a desperate skirmish.
Subaru was saved from the few choice slashes this woman would have made with her knives in these close quarters thanks to the silver-haired girl's precision shots of ice countering her bladework.
With this, the dark-haired woman changed her position in the fight, and began swaying side to side, keeping Subaru's back to the silver-haired girl, making her shots more difficult to hit without possibly harming Subaru inadvertently.
Clenching his fist at his side, YN's adrenaline pumped through his veins as he bided his time, waiting for the most opportune time to run in and deliver what was essentially a sucker-punch. But, given the strength and intentions of this assassin-woman, he didn't feel the moral quandaries really outweighed the need to end this fight.
He knew he had to make his surprise attack count though. YN thought diligently about his foot-work on this strike, —how he needed to reach the woman in black on the correct foot to really give himself the maximum strength he could put into his punch.
Subaru though, in the midst of his fight, was about to come to one final blow with this woman. He had reached up high with the club he was wielding, ready to strike directly down, but in a fake-out attempt, he instead chose to go for a round-house face-kick. Yet, despite his attempt to be clever, his foot was easily caught in her hand, immobilizing him.
Not swaying about anymore, YN saw his opportunity had come. Fist tight, counting his footsteps, visualizing the punch itself, he aimed his strike for the back of her head, hoping this would knock her out, or at the very least, make her lose her footing enough that others could step in to subdue this assassin. From how things lined up, it was going to make the silver-haired girl's opportunity to engage with more ice-projectiles a risk to YN, but for him, the element of surprise was needed.
Dashing past the elf, it caused her silver hair to sway in the wake of the wind. She didn't immediately understand who or what had just passed her by, but at the same moment, Subaru's own attention was taken by the knife coming down from the black-haired woman's hand that was held above her head, ready to amputate his held leg.
In the the single footstep he was away from getting his sucker-punch off, YN felt his adrenaline pumping harder through his body than he could ever remember feeling it before, like something else was fueling him in addition to that.
From behind his adrenaline, he felt another force, propelling him forward. He didn't have time to ponder what that could possibly be, but this was the footstep, perfectly time and distanced, to end this fight, he felt.
He had the momentum.
He had the adrenaline.
He had the angle.
And most importantly, he had the element of surprise.
He couldn't have hoped for things to fall into place easier. In this newfound fantasy world, he had rolled a twenty with his attack it seemed.
As soon as YN launched his arm forward, a full send of all of his limited power, his eyes locked with Subaru.
Subaru had just noticed him, and time seemed to slow down. No sooner than Subaru's eyes turned back to the woman though, her entire head had already turned to meet YNs eyes, a smile on her face.
In the blink of an eye, the woman had released Subaru's foot and sidestepped away, as if she was given a premonition of YN's attempted strike from seeing Subaru's momentary glance towards him as he approached.
With YN's fist flying forward with nothing to stop it, it continued onward. Shifting his entire weight far too forward, causing a massive shift in his center of mass, it in turn had caused a sporadic change in motion for his inertia.
Needless to say, he was falling from losing his balance.
YN slammed into Subaru's still extended leg, bringing him inward towards him, causing their heads to collide side to side before falling to the ground.
YN: —Gah!
Subaru: —Cha!
Collapsed, they both slowly sat upward, clutching their respective heads and groaning from the radiating pain of the blunt head-to-head impact.
Sitting back up, YN and Subaru both groaned and grabbed their heads.
YN: Ouch… That hurts…
Subaru: …Ehhhhh, I gotta give you points for style, but your delivery was way off.
Despite their conjoined pain, they were still barked at by the elf that was seemingly on their side.
Silver-haired Girl: Now is not the time!
Before either of them could answer her, the second one, —the black haired one they struggled against, spoke up too.
Black-haired Woman: I've grown rather tired of this. First, one gets away, and then another enters the fray. *Sigh* It looks like it's time I finished this~~.
Just as she began to lunge at the two holding their heads on the ground with a pair of knives, something, —or rather someone, propelled themselves through the roof of the loot-house and between them and the woman in black.
Subaru: Reinhard!
Standing resolute in a regalia of white, a red-haired young man seemed to radiate a heroic aura of unmatched power, which no-one could deny made them feel secure in this fight by his presence alone, despite not having even said a word yet.
With his arrival, so began round two of the loot-house melee.
Moments after he had appeared, and before the fight began, this red-haired man introduced himself as this "Reinhard" Subaru had spoken of to the woman in black, —Elsa Granhiert, as she'd later introduce herself. Supposedly though too, she was known moreover as "The Bowel Hunter,' who hailed from the northern provinces.
In the midst of their parlay, Reinhard was unable to draw the sword at his hip, or really, as he had said, it refused to allow itself to be drawn. In lieu of this, he was forced to use a junked sword that was laying at his feet, knocked off its rack among all the fighting and destruction the loot-house had occurred this evening.
In the meantime, the silver-haired girl had rushed over to the fallen giant, where YN had snatched some cloth from the debris and was trying to keep pressure on the gargantuan man's wound.
Girl: I need you to move aside so I can heal him.
Barking this order at him with a serious tone and fierce eyes of amethyst-purple, YN furrowed his own brow at her.
YN: What? Are you nuts? I've just got the bleeding to go down but I let up on the pressure now, he'll start gushing again and I have now idea how much more blood this guy can stand to lose.
Girl: Your efforts are appreciated, but I really must demand that you to move aside and allow me to remove this bandage.
YN: Did you not just hear a word I said?! No! Unless you plan to stitch close the wound I—
Subaru couldn't take them bickering at a moment like this and intervened.
Subaru: Just listen to her and move over!
Girl: I know you're only doing what you think is right, but please—
About to make YN think he was the only one with common sense here, this silver-haired girl's voice remained stern, but gained an air of sympathy to his view-point it seemed. Halfway through saying what she did too, her hands began to glow a deep blue color.
Girl: —You only have the means to treat him, I have the skills to heal him.
As much as it tore YN to do it, he let up on the wound he was applying pressure to and let the girl have her way with this. Hovering those glowing hands over the wound, the blue-hue they had grew in intensity, and the bleeding began to subside.
YN: —?!
He could only tell it was some sort of healing, —magic based. Needless to say, it was something he hadn't experienced seeing, or even knew of in this world.
In awe, YN and Subaru watched as the wound began to close.
Subaru: So, in your opinion, will Reinhard really be able to defeat Elsa?
As the fight went on, Elsa was using hit-and-run tactics whilst Reinhard deflected them back. To Subaru's question though, the silver-girl shook her head 'no' while still performing her magic over the wounded giant.
Girl: Reinhard hasn't even gotten serious yet. If he were, he would have used up all the mana out of the air by now, and he knows I still need some to heal this man of his injuries.
YN: He's aware of that?
Given a nod by her, YN understood now why she had been so forceful in getting him to step aside.
The longer I held things up, the longer I was making Reinhard have to fight…
Girl: Once this wound closes, I need one of you to signal to him that he can stop holding back.
A few moments more of healing and the wound was back to normal flesh and skin on this giant, and to that, Subaru stood and shouted.
Subaru: Alright, Reinhard! Let her have it.
Reinhard: I understand. Thank you for helping him.
At that, Reinhard lifted his sword and began charging what must be some king of magical strike, making the entire loot-house begin to rumble with mana rushing in.
Feeling the mana wash over his body from how much was pouring in from every gap and crack in the wall, YN suddenly felt some kind of strange muscle-strain in his abdomen, and he began to feel very weak and heavy. Wheezing through his next few breaths, his breathing became heavy and shallow. Unable to get a deep breath in, his knees began to buckle from the pain he felt coupled with a lack of breath.
W-What the hell? Did that Elsa lady manage to poison me? We haven't seen use anything let that but—
In the midst of his troubled thinking, YN collapsed backwards despite his best effort not to. At the very least, he wanted try going down to one knee, but didn't even have the strength to manage that. Back against the wall, his sudden fall had caught Emilia's attention despite the finale of the fight being the main show. Alarmed at this, she crossed Subaru's line of sight and bent down to match his height better.
Girl: H-Hey! What's wrong? Were you injured? I don't see any blood… —H-Hey! Don't pass out!
YN's head was tilted downward, and once it fell completely, the girl made an effort to lift it back up so she could see if he was paying attention to her words or not, yet, as her amethyst eyes met his own—
Girl: *Gasp!*
A pair of very bloodshot eyes stared blankly back at her.
At this point, even Subaru was concerned enough to take his eyes off the soon-to-be final blow of the fight at hand, and step over.
Subaru: H-Hey what's going on? Is he alright?
With an alarmed look, she held her hand close to where YN had felt that pain in his abdominal area, and turned to Subaru with her same look that wasn't subsiding.
Girl: He's lost all of his mana somehow! It's like his Gate was opened up and began to pour out everything to his Od as soon as Reinhard began gathering mana…
The girl stared in disbelief.
Why did this happen? This shouldn't happen! She thought to herself.
To the half-conscious YN and the still standing Subaru, the terms this silver-haired elf-girl was using made little sense to them. Be it primitive medical understanding or some kind of way things worked uniquely to this world, they didn't know. Despite their obvious confusion, she looked back over her shoulder and shouted with an even more concerned tone.
Girl: Reinhard! Hurry and attack! We've got another problem over here!
Reinhard, at those words launched his attack, sending the entire structure of the loot-house into low orbit with just the swing of his blade.
The three in the back of the loot-house; the elf-girl, Subaru, and YN found themselves in what was now a moon lit patio decorated with rubble. To the two of those that were left standing, the cold outside air filled their lungs with a fresh sensation as they could only breathe and observe the destruction all around them until one noise broke the silence of this moment.
YN: *GAAAAASSSPPP*
Rocketing to an upright sitting position, YN's body drew in wind and life force that could finally return to him since Reinhard was done.
YN: *Pant* That was, *pant* awful. *pant* Was I somehow drawing in mana? *pant*.
The silver-haired girl at this labored words turned towards YN and put a hand to her chest, giving him a shake of her head.
Girl: Not quite. It's more like you were suffocating from lack of mana. That's how Reinhard has to fight though; he has to utilize all the mana in the air. That's why I needed you to let me heal that man, so Reinhard could start his actual fighting.
To her words, even if they were spoken with a sympathetic, almost pitying tone, YN simply looked down at his trembling hands, slightly stained still from holding the bloodied cloth on the giant's wound.
YN: I-I see…
Left to his own shaky sense of self, YN kept to himself whilst the girl offered words of thanks to Subaru and YN for risking their lives to retrieve this pendant they had pined over since arriving in this world. In exchange though, Subaru asked for nothing more of reward than knowing what this girl's name truly was, which was Emilia.
No sooner than he had been given a bashful introduction, the Bowel Hunter whom they were sure had been vaporized by Reinhard lunged out from behind a pile of rubble, aiming straight for Emilia. But somehow with quicker movement, Subaru used to the club from before to block her strike.
Unsuccessful for the last time, and without enough strength to keep up with Reinhard for a second time, Elsa leaped up and away, and vowed her revenge upon them as she slipped away in the cover of the night.
However, Elsa's strike had a delayed effect on Subaru's gut, which created a nasty gash on his abdomen, to which he passed out from.
On the floor, covered in his own blood again, Emilia immediately set about healing Subaru, and after he was stabilized, her and Reinhard spoke. In the end, despite saying he wouldn't levy any punishment at first, the knight had something change his mind suddenly, and with great concern on his voice, he took Felt with him as "punishment" for her thievery against Emilia.
The giant, who everyone referred to as "Old Man Rom," remained passed out, but otherwise healed and stable.
With Reinhard and Felt's departure, the only two left conscious here were the likes of YN and Emilia. While YN was open enough with Emilia that he had informed her of that day's events, he did not mention his and Subaru's shared origin out of caution. At the very least though, he did briefly tell her of his "car" that held his belongings and pointed over to it from where they stood, bringing up that she had walked right by it unwittingly on her way to the loot-house.
They had only been speaking for a few minutes like this before YN abruptly changed the topic as he slowly went down to one knee in a rather unsteady way.
YN: Uhh, I'm really sorry to have to leave you alone like this, but I don't think I'm being left with much of a choice either way…
To his abrupt words, the elf-girl turned to him, blinking twice in way that she couldn't tell if he was being serious or not.
Emilia: Wha-what? Why so abruptly?
YN looked down at his hand, shaking more now than it had been before, and opened and closed it a few times before responding.
YN: When I ran into Subaru this morning, I had already been awake for almost an entire day on little sleep, and now that it's been another entire day almost, I'm simply just at my limit.
Slowly stretching out on the ground, YN really was ready to slumber where he had just been standing.
YN: Between fearing for my life multiple times, my adrenaline, and this mana debacle I had to endure, I really can't keep my eyes open anymore.
In a way he knew was selfish towards this girl, his eyes really did begin to close, and his voice became softer as he went on.
YN: I realize I'm leaving on your own here… But I have a major favor to ask of you.
Strangely, all Subaru had asked for was her name in exchange for everything that had gone on, so Emilia had halfway expected his friend to ask for a real reward; like money or something else along those lines. Yet to her even greater surprise, all he requested in his drowsy, slurred speech, was much simpler.
YN: Please do something with my car. —Hide it, move it, take it home with you, I don't really care… Just don't leave it out here to get stolen.
To what she thought was only reasonable of her to do anyway, Emilia smiled softly to YN and nodded her head as she replied.
Emilia: Yes, I can see what I can do.
The half-elf continued her smile and cast her gaze down to the ground as she continued her agreement.
Emilia: It's the least I can try and do for the strangers who have helped me so much today.
With a deep breath, YN replied to her as best as his near-slumber mind would let him.
YN: I-I didn't do much. This was all Subaru's idea. I'm just a wayward traveler who was along for the ride.
Emilia: It still takes a good person, —a kind person, to accompany a stranger to help another stranger.
Emilia brought a hand to her chest and gazed up to the moon as she said that, and in a more serious tone, trying to make a serious face to her listener who she knew wasn't looking, asked her question.
Emilia: I'll want to ask why you two knew about this when you both wake-up though… —About the pendant, Felt-chan, the loot-house… All of it.
In his own sleepy sense-of-self, and not wanting promise too much to her in regards to information about them, YN nodded nonetheless.
YN: Fair enough.
And with that, YN closed his eyes, and let his body begin to be refreshed.
For a few moments longer, Emilia took her gaze back off the moon, and stared down at the two random strangers who had come to her assistance in this time of need she found herself in, both of them resting, fast asleep, in regards to that.
Looking at them, she cupped her hands as she brought them closer to her chest, this time, lightly touching the green crystal that adorned her neck on a string. This crystal though, which housed her contracted spirit, Puck, was letting him rest like all those around her still..
I wonder…
Looking down specifically to YN, Emilia had noticed something that even he had failed to, it seemed. Least to say, his obliviousness to it had caused her to doubt herself to what she had felt and seen, but now reflected back on it, she felt confident that she was correct, after all, it involved something she was particularly good at.
—Does he know? I was certain I felt it, but maybe he just didn't notice because of how tired he said he was… But with my abilities, I'm almost certain of it.
As Emilia stood under the moonlight and reflected on the day's happenings, one sudden, unrelated thought struck her hard enough to get her to wonder it aloud.
Emilia: How am I supposed to move that 'car?'