Felt If

This boy's name was Natsuki Subaru and he had been transported to this new world only yesterday. The last thing he could recall was being in the loot house beside a beautiful girl with silver hair he'd been trying to help and a red haired super knight named Reinhard. After taking a second to recollect that, he felt a wave of accomplishment as he remembered that the silvered haired girl finally revealed her name to him.

Emilia.

That was such a cute and beautiful name for a goddess such as her after all! Subaru took a few more moments to remember what else happened and frantically patted his stomach, eagerly searching for any kind of cut. To his surprise, there wasn't anything there. He remembered that his stomach cut open thanks to the bowel hunter and that painful sensation made him lose consciousness. He was very satisfied to know that he didn't end up dying. He would've lost his mind if he had to redo all that again.

Subaru finally observed his surroundings beyond the new ceiling. He had awoken in a fancy looking bed inside an equally fancy room. This room wasn't anything too grand but it did give off a 'I'm in a rich person's room' vibe.

Subaru got himself off the bed and approached a window in the room. Outside, he saw a large spacious garden. Beyond the garden, he saw the familiar buildings that were around the market which told him that he was still in the city.

“So, I’m still in the city…” Subaru muttered to himself as he put together his next course of action. “I guess this is the part where I go find the npc!”

After shouting out his plans to no one but himself, he rushed to the door of the room. After trying to exit, he nearly rammed into a familiar red haired knight.

“W-Woah!” Subaru cried out as he fell back, nearly hitting the doorframe. He looked up to the tall man to realize it was none other than Reinhard, the very man who destroyed the loot house. “Reinhard?! What are you doing here?!”

Reinhard, who effortlessly dodged Subaru’s charge, smiled at his confused friend. “Subaru? What a coincidence, I was just about to check and see how you were doing.”

Subaru blinked a few times before getting back on his feet. “Um, I mean, I appreciate that. But really, why are you in this place?”

“Ah, my apologies, you are currently in my home. I made food for you and milady, so we can discuss this then.” Reinhard bluntly answered before starting to walk off, expecting Subaru to follow along.

As much as Subaru wanted to explore, he still had so many questions for the overpowered knight. “H-Hey! Wait up!” Subaru shouted out as he rushed over to Reinhard’s side.

As the two went on their way, they approached a door that was being banged against from the other side and the door itself was visibly shaking to the rhythm of the banging.

“I said open up, dammit!” A familiar feminine voice screeched out from the other side of the door. Reinhard calmly opened the door, only to be met with a flying kick. However, the abnormal man caught the kick with ease, causing the perpetrator to lose their balance and fall on the floor.

Subaru instantly recognized this person to be Felt, the girl from the poor house. Felt, who was currently sitting on the ground, stared daggers at Reinhard. “Don’t block my kick, you bastard! You better tell me what the hell is going on here!”

“What’s with the aggression, Miss Felt? Is the room not to your liking?” Reinhard asked with genuine confusion as he knelt down to help Felt up.

Felt on the other hand pushed his hand away. “I can get up myself!” The girl growled before getting herself back on her feet. Without any warning, Felt swung her fist to the knight which the latter caught with ease like he did with her kick. “I said don’t block it, you bastard!”

Reinhard smiled nervously as he scratched his head with his other hand. “I’m sorry, Miss Felt. I’m just acting on instinct.”

“Oh yeah? Is it your instinct to go around abducting people too?!” Before Felt could argue any further, she noticed Subaru beside Reinhard with a troubled and confused look on their face. Felt pointed at Subaru accusingly. “Wait, it’s you! You have something to do with this, don’t you?!”

“Wait! You got the wrong idea! I just woke up a few minutes ago. I don’t know what’s going on either.” Subaru desperately explained, holding his hands in front of his face as he braced himself for any kicks from the girl’s wrath. Luckily for him, it never came.

“So you’re a victim too, huh?” Felt returned her hate filled gaze back to Reinhard after listening to Subaru’s case. “Don’t just stand there! Tell us what the hell you think you’re doing kidnapping us here!”

“There’s nothing to be concerned about. I assure you that I’ll explain everything shortly.” Reinhard stepped to the side, gesturing Felt to follow. “I have breakfast prepared if you both are hungry.”

Felt clicked her tongue before reluctantly following behind. She was admittedly pretty hungry after all. “Fine. But I swear, I’ll kick your ass if it’s something stupid!”

Subaru walked beside Felt while Reinhard led the way. He glanced over to Felt who was currently crossing their arms with a pouty expression on their face. Subaru couldn’t help but chuckle at the sight of this.

“Hey! What’s so funny?” Felt snapped. Her dagger filled glare aimed at Subaru.

Subaru kept smiling before answering Felt. “Sorry, I’m just relieved to know that I’m not the only one confused over what’s happening.”

The short girl looked confused for a moment before sharing her own smile. “Yeah, I guess we’re in the same boat right now.” Without any warning, she swung her leg around, roundhouse kicking Subaru’s side.

The attack caught Subaru off guard as she clenched the side Felt kicked in pain. “Yeouch!!! What was that for?!”

Felt placed her hands over her hips as she chuckled to herself. “I’m just checking to see if that hole in your stomach is still bothering you.”

“Well, kicking it won’t help it!” Subaru yelled out. Other than the pain from the kick, his stomach wasn’t hurting at all. Whatever Reinhard did, it sure worked wonders. “So Felt, are you feeling alright?”

“What the hell do you think? I woke up in a locked room for crying out loud!”

Subaru frantically waved his hands in front of him, trying to calm the short tempered girl before he could take another kick in the gut. “Th-That’s not what I mean. I meant were you injured or anything? I don’t really remember anything after my stomach tried to run away.”

Felt calmed down a bit and giggled at Subaru’s sense of humor. “Yeah, you didn’t miss all too much though. After I returned that insignia, mister knight over there was babbling nonsense before putting me to sleep with magic or something.”

She was right, that didn’t sound like a lot at all. Guess he had to ask Reinhard for the full story then.

“Hey, thanks for your help though.” Felt added before Subaru could get too lost in thought.

“You don’t need to thank me. I didn’t really do much of anything.”

“Bullshit!” Felt argued. “I’d be a goner if you didn’t get my back!”

“I’m not exactly sure what went on at the loot house but I have to agree with Miss Felt. Everyone there survived and the only casualty has already been healed and can take a kick in the gut now.” Reinhard added with a genuine friendly smile on his face.

Based on how that was worded, Subaru instantly knew that he was considered to be the casualty. “Don’t joke about that! I really could’ve died, you know!”

“Oh, my apologies. I was trying to compliment how valliant you were.”

Eventually, the three made it to a dining room where Reinhard happily served them breakfast. Felt stared at the food suspiciously for a moment as if she never saw a plate of food in her life. Soon enough, she scooped some of the food in her hand, ignoring the silverware, and ate it that way.

“Woah! This is pretty good!” Felt proclaimed before starting to shovel the food in her mouth with both hands. The sight made the two boys look at the seemingly starving girl nervously.

“U-Um, Miss Felt. I believe it would be more ladylike for you to use the silverware to eat.” Reinhard explained, trying his best to hide his surprise over the situation.

“I can eat however I want! Besides, you shouldn’t have the right to tell me how to eat, kidnapper!” Felt snapped back. However, she instantly went back to devouring the food.

Reinhard was caught off guard by this and was too embarrassed to say anything else. Both Subaru and Reinhard started to eat their own respective meals.

“So, can you tell us what exactly happened after the loot house incident?” Subaru piped up, still eager to understand what kind of predicament he’s in.

“Yes, Miss Emilia closed your wound after you blacked out. I took it upon myself to bring you here to ensure you were fully healed.”

“Oh… So Emilia isn’t here then?” Subaru asked dejectedly.

“That’s correct. She did want to take you with her but I reasoned it would make more sense if I took you in instead since I was closer. I feared that you might’ve died of internal bleeding if you weren’t given immediate professional care.”

As much as Subaru lamented the missed opportunity of being nursed back to health by the cutest girl in the world, he did understand the reason behind it. After all, he managed to make it this far. He created a future where no one died, and that in itself was satisfying enough.

Reinhard took notice of Subaru staring off to space before he reassured him. “There’s nothing to worry about. Emilia said that she’d come by to check up how you were doing.”

Subaru let out a sigh of relief upon hearing that. “That’s good to hear. I need to thank her for helping me out.”

However, a certain annoyed golden haired girl piped up amongst the boy’s chat. “Don’t pretend that I’m not here! Nothing that you said tells me why I have to be here!”

Reinhard took on a more serious look before getting out of his seat. The gesture caught the two kidnapped victims off guard and flinched. “Before I give you an explanation, I would like to reconfirm something.”

Reinhard walked to Felt and extended his hand to her. In the knight’s hand was an insignia that looked exactly like the one Emilia had.

“Wait, you have one of those too?!” Felt asked in shock. If she knew that there were more of these, she wouldn’t have bothered trying to take it from Emilia.

“Miss Felt, I need you to hold this.” Reinhard asked firmly. Felt complied, hoping that cooperating will get this over with faster, and took the insignia as instructed. Once in her hand, the red gem on the insignia started to glow. The girl didn’t react to the glowing as she just assumed that it always glowed when touched.

Reinhard simply nodded before getting back to his seat, leaving the insignia with Felt. “There’s no mistaking it. The dragon gem has recognized you as a priestess.”

“Eh?” Felt blinked a few times. “Hold on, what the hell are you talking about?”

“Yeah,” Subaru agreed. “What exactly does it mean to be a priestess?”

“In Luginica during times without any heirs to the throne, we look upon the divine dragon to choose its next ruler. As the prophecy goes, the divine dragon will recognize five priestesses to be worthy of taking the throne. Afterwards, it is up to the people to decide which one of the candidates is best fit to be their next ruler. This process is called the royal selection.”

Subaru took a moment to take in all of this before jumping out of his seat and pointed at Felt. “Hold on a second, you’re telling me this little girl is a princess?!”

“Just wait a minute! There’s no way I’m some princess!” Felt added.

“In this case, it doesn’t matter if you’re a princess or not. The divine dragon has recognized you as a priestess and there’s no going back from that.” Reinhard explained, revealing that there’s nothing that can be said about this situation.

“Well, I never asked to be the ruler of this stupid country!” Felt screeched, having enough of this.

Reinhard had a visible confused look on his face. “So you don’t want to participate in the royal selection?”

“Hell no!” Felt snapped back instantly. “I get to choose what I want to do with my life! Not some red stone!”

Reinhard started to scratch his chin. “I didn’t anticipate this… Well, I suppose you can always withdraw from the selection.”

“So I can decline? Why the hell am I here then?! You’re just wasting my time now!” Felt ran towards Reinhard to kick him but the knight effortlessly caught her hand before her attack could land.

“Don’t worry, Miss Felt. I assure you that you are still needed here.” Reinhard calmly explained as Felt pulled her hand away from the knight’s grasp.

“Will you stop keeping me in the dark already? Tell me what I need to do so I can get out of this stupid mess!” Felt crossed her arms, eagerly awaiting for a solid explanation.

“After the Royal Selection is announced, you should be able to announce your resignation.”

“That’s it, right? No other weird crap you’re keeping from me?”

Reinhard nodded. “As far as I’m aware, that should be it.”

Felt let out a heavy sigh as she went back to her chair, slumping herself down into it. “Fine, when is this going to happen anyways?”

Reinhard rubbed his chin as he pondered the question. “I’m afraid I can’t answer that. With everything that’s going on, it could take awhile. I’d say a month if we’re lucky.”

“Hold up, you’re saying I’m stuck here for a month?!” Felt leaned back up from her chair, looking annoyed yet again.

Reinhard nodded. “If everything goes smoothly, yes.”

“You really want to piss me off, don’t you?” Not wanting to press on about this any further, Felt let out a defeated sigh. “Fine, but you better make sure things go smoothly or else I’ll kick your ass to the other side of the city!”

The knight only laughed lightly at this threat. “Well, I’ll make sure to work extra hard, Miss Felt.”

There was a moment of silence at the table. The three shared glances at one another for a little bit. Feeling awkward about this silence, Subaru piped up. “So what about me? Am I free to leave?”

“Well, I would like to make sure your wounds are fully healed. But I don’t see any problems with-“

Before Reinhard could say any more, Felt interrupted. “Like hell you are! We got in this mess together so we’re getting out of this together!”

Subaru was a bit surprised by the outburst but he couldn’t help but chuckle. “Yeah, I guess I shouldn’t leave so soon. Felt will surely feel lonely without me.” Subaru teased.

“Don’t get the wrong idea! It’s just gonna piss me off if you’re free to go while I’m stuck here for a whole month!”

Subaru walked over to Felt and placed his hand over her head, lightly ruffling her hair. “Well it turns out I have nowhere to go. So I wouldn’t mind staying with you.”

Felt flinched at the head pat. “H-Hey! Quit it! This is just for fairness. Don’t go thinking you can get all chummy with me!”

“We’re going to be together for a while, right? I don’t think it would hurt if we- YEEEOOOOOCH!!!” Subaru yanked his hand back as the vicious girl bit his hand.

“You don’t learn, do you? I said I’d bite you if you touched me like that!” Felt nearly growled as Subaru rubbed his hand, blowing on it as if hoping that would make the pain go away.

“Subaru? Do you need your hand healed too?” Reinhard asked with genuine concern.

“No, I’m fine. I think a muzzle would probably be better though.”

“Hey! I swear, I’ll kick your ass if you pretend I’m some kind of dog!” Felt barked.

Subaru, not wanting things to go down that route, relented and waved his hands in front of him. “Alright, alright. I was just trying to be friendly.”

With a loud hmph, Felt crossed her arms and looked away. “There are tons of other things you could do to be friendly, dumbass.”

“Oh yeah? Well what do you have in mind then?” Subaru countered.

Felt shrugged. “I dunno, I never really had anyone who wanted to be my friend. But, I can tell you that whatever it is you’re trying isn’t doin’ you any favors.”

Right as Subaru deadpanned, Reinhard started, “Well, if you don’t mind me making a suggestion, I think two friends would partake in activities such as sparring or walking in the shopping district.”

“Hey, not a bad idea, Reinhard! I kinda suck at fighting so how about we all hit the market?” Subaru suggested with enthusiasm.

“That doesn’t sound bad but would Reinhard let us out?” Felt nearly scowled.

“Well, if it is the three of us together, I don’t see why not. I did plan to visit an old friend to ask a favor. Besides, I never said you couldn’t go outside.” Reinhard added.

“So I am allowed to leave?!” Felt asked.

Reinhard shook his head. “It’s a bit more complicated than that. Until the royal selection situation is all done, I have to keep you in my custody.”

Felt growled and angrily stomped her foot on the ground. “I told you to not treat me like some kind of dog!”

Reinhard tilted his head with confusion. “I’m sorry, Miss Felt. But I don’t quite remember ever implying that you were one.”

“Don’t play dumb! You’re saying I need to stay with you all the time!”

“That’s correct. However, I still don’t see where you being a dog is brought up.” Reinhard explained.

“I bet she’s still upset about the muzzle joke. Really, you shouldn't let jokes like that get to- GAAAAH!!!” Subaru went on before limping to the side as Felt gave him a roundhouse kick.

“Canit! If I hear the word muzzle out of you one more time, I’ll shove one in your mouth!” Felt hissed.

“I-I’m sorry. I won’t do it again. H-How about we go out now.” Subaru desperately suggested.

Reinhard nodded as he got up. “Yes, I think a nice walk would do us all good.”

Felt stretched her arms out. “Yeah, that does sound kinda nice right about now.”

And with everything decided, the three went off on their little outing.

Chapter 2: Trust

Chapter Text

The outing Subaru planned didn’t go well at all. As of right now, Subaru was walking beside Reinhard as the latter was carrying an unconscious Felt in their arms.

“U-Um, Reinhard?” Subaru spoke up eventually during the long silent walk. “Was putting her to sleep like that really necessary?”

“I am pretty disheartened that things had ended up this way. However, I assure you that Miss Felt’s safety takes priority.” The red haired knight firmly stated. He really did feel bad about having to resort to draining some mana to keep the short tempered girl at bay. Perhaps a gift of some sort will make it up to her, he thought.

“If you don’t mind me asking, is stopping by the loot house that bad? We would have you there to keep an eye on things if things get dicey.” Subaru tried to reason.

“Regularly, I’d tend to agree with you but I can’t afford to take any dangerous risks like that. Like I said earlier, the slums can be a dangerous place, especially for nobility.” Reinhard sighed as he looked down at the sleeping girl he was carrying.

Subaru’s brow twitched. He did generally agree with the notion that the slums can be dangerous but there were a few things that had to be considered. First, Felt was still in her street clothes so for anyone to mistake her as a noble would be next to none. Second, Reinhard single handedly destroyed the loot house in a single blow. At this point, Subaru couldn’t tell if Reinhard was full of it or if he genuinely was that ignorant of his own power.

Regardless, Subaru let it go and shrugged. “If you say so. Weren’t you going to see someone?” He remembered Reinhard mentioning that he was going to visit a friend during this trip.

Reinhard nodded. “That’s right. We’re actually heading that way now.”

“What exactly did you plan to do there? Are you planning to kidnap more girls?” Subaru teased, he even chuckled a little at his own joke.

In response, Reinhard tilted his head with a confused look on his face. “Huh, what could I have done to give you such an impression of me?”

Subaru didn’t respond. He just looked to Felt then back to Reinhard. Subaru wore a very puzzled expression as he was coming under the conclusion that Reinhard really is that dense. “Forget it, I really need to teach you what jokes are.”

Reinhard’s eyes widened at the sudden realization of his friend’s intentions and chuckled. “I apologize, friend. I guess I’m still a little on edge with everything that has happened.”

A little on edge? Subaru thought. He should be the one on edge with everything. Reinhard has proven already that he quite literally has nothing to worry about.

“Ah, we’re here.” Reinhard stated as the three were approaching a sizable manor. This one was even larger than Reinhards.

Subaru just looked over at the manor for a moment. Considering how he had woken up in a mansion and with Reinhard’s standing, it was kind of expected that he must have a lot of wealthy friends. Subaru started to feel bad now as he realized that he was equivalent to a homeless nobody.

The three approached the front door and Reinhard handed Felt over to him. “If you don’t mind, would you carry Miss Felt for me?”

“Huh? Oh! Sure thing.” Subaru carefully took the sleeping girl in his arms, carrying her the same way Reinhard had been. After the transfer, Reinhard knocked on the door.

After a few moments, a man wearing a butler outfit opened up the door. “Ah, Master Reinhard.” The butler bowed to the knight. “I apologize, I didn’t know you were paying us a visit.”

Reinhard smiled at the butler. “I should be the one apologizing. I was wondering if Captain Marcos was still visiting.”

“Yes he is. In fact, he is getting ready to head back to the capital at this very moment. Would you like me to take you to him?”

“I’d appreciate it. Thank you.” After Reinhard’s confirmation, the butler let the three in. “Wait here, I’ll be back shortly.”

Subaru nodded as he took a seat in a chair inside the waiting room. The butler led Reinhard off to a different room, leaving Subaru and Felt alone in the room.

Subaru felt rather disheartened for not having an opportunity to greet himself to the butler as he had his poses and over glorified introduction ready in his head. Holding the little sleeping beauty in his arms really ruined that plan.

Actually, he took a moment to observe Felt. Even though she was forced to sleep by a certain someone, she looked very peaceful like that. It just melted Subaru’s heart at just how cute this scene looked and smiled while he savored this moment.

“You know, you’re kinda cute.” Subaru muttered to himself before placing his hand on top of Felt’s head, lightly ruffling her hair. It was actually kinda nice, especially not getting bitten immediately afterwards.

“Nghhh…” The girl muttered, her eyes slowly opening.

Huh, guess I spoke too soon, Subaru thought to himself. He quickly moved his hand away and made sure they were as far away from her as possible.

“Huh…? Where am I…?” Felt meekly asked, her sight still adjusting from just waking up.

“Rise and shine, Felt. Are you feeling alright?”

“Hm…? Oh… It’s you… What are you doing he-“ Felt stopped. She was finally awake enough to really see the situation she was in. She found herself being cradled in Subaru’s arms.

For a moment, she blinked a few times in confusion, looking straight at Subaru. Her face slowly contorted, seething in anger soon after. “Grrrrr!” Felt growled at him.

“No wait! You got the wrong ide-“ Subaru’s plea was cut short as he was punched straight in the face. This punch had way more force than any of Felt’s bites or kicks. It was a miracle that didn’t knock him out right there and then.

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Several Hours Earlier…

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It was a beautiful day out today and the streets weren’t all too busy. The trio consisting of Subaru, Felt, and Reinhard just made their way into the market district.

“So guys, what’s the plan?” Subaru asked as he was looking around at the new sights. This was definitely in a different part of the city as all the stalls and shops looked a lot nicer and more refined than the ones he first saw when he initially transported into this new world.

“How should I know? You were the one who insisted on going here.” Felt scoffed. Despite it being nice to be outside, she found it irritating since Reinhard refused to let her out of his sight. “That reminds me, you said you didn’t have money, right? What exactly did you plan to do here anyways?”

This piece of information seemed to catch Reinhard by surprise. “You don’t have any money, Subaru?”

With a proud smirk, Subaru stuck his thumb up. “That’s right. I’m completely broke without a cent to my name!”

“That’s not something to be proud of!” Felt snapped.

Reinhard rubbed his chin. “You’re worse off than I initially thought… I was right to take you in.”

Subaru went to a complete stop as he saw a stall that was selling several different colored fabrics. An idea popped up in his head as he darted over to the stall.

“Hey! Slow down, will you?” Felt shouted out as he ran to follow Subaru.

“Wait you two! Don’t venture too far!” Reinhard cried out like some kind of over protective parent as he followed suit.

Subaru was standing over the different fabrics, grinning like a maniac which even the shopkeeper governing the stall couldn’t help but share a look of concern at the boy. “Um… How can I help you, sir?” The shopkeeper asked.

“Oh don’t mind me, I’m just doing a little window shopping.” Subaru responded. Hearing that Subaru could be a potential customer, the shopkeeper nodded and smiled heartily at the boy in the strange tracksuit.

“Take your time then. Let me know if you see anything.”

Subaru nodded as he went back to observing the fabrics on display. Eventually, the other two caught up.

“What was that about? You aren’t trying to bail on me, are you?” Felt asked once she caught up, leaning in to see what Subaru was intently looking at. “Fabric? What are you, some kind of tailor?”

Subaru shook his head. “Not at all! But making clothes does sound like a good off time activity.”

Felt just eyed Subaru suspiciously. “Alright, what exactly were you thinking of then?”

“Haha, that’s top secret.” Subaru smirked before turning to Felt. “Actually, do you know how much this costs?”

“Why are you asking me? The price is written right there.” Felt pointed at a sign that was above each of the different fabrics.

Subaru stared intently at them for a good moment before turning to Felt with a nervous smile on his face. “Hahah… I forgot to mention, I don’t know how to read.”

Felt just stared at Subaru for a second before dropping on the ground, laughing like crazy. “Really?! You’re broke and illiterate?! How did you manage to survive this long?”

A visible irk appeared over Subaru’s forehead before snapping at the laughing girl. “It’s not my fault your country can’t take yen!”

“Did you say he was broke?” Felt stopped laughing as both her and Subaru turned in the direction of the person who asked that question. It was the shopkeeper who had a pretty irritated look on their face.

“Ahah… Well, about that…” Subaru started, having flashbacks about getting kicked out by the appa guy from the other day.

Before Subaru could think of a proper excuse, the shopkeeper went on. “I’m running a business here! Stop wasting my time and get out of here!”

Feeling awkward about the whole situation, both Felt and Subaru ran off from the yelling shopkeeper’s wrath. After getting a good distance away, Felt let out an annoyed sigh. “All these bastards around here only care about money. Someone as broke as you really shouldn’t be announcing that you have nothing around here.”

“Last I checked, you were the one who blurted out that I’m broke!” Subaru countered.

Felt smirked and let out a little giggle as she recalled the occasion. “You’re the one who blurted out not being able to read. Plus it’s that shopkeeper’s fault for eavesdropping on our conversation.”

Subaru nodded to that. “Yeah, they also shouldn’t have kicked us out! I think that’s just poor customer service!” Subaru proceeded to explain.

Felt leaned herself back against a wall. “Well that’s just how it is here. If you don’t have the goods, they’ll just kick you to the gutter.”

“You sound like you have quite a lot of experiences with that.” Subaru said as he sat down, leaning back against the same wall Felt was leaning on.

The girl in question sat down beside him and looked up towards the sky. “I guess you could say that. I’ll tell ya, growing up in the slums sure as hell isn’t easy.” Subaru glanced over to Felt and smiled at her. She immediately noticed and gritted her teeth. “Why the hell are you smirking?! If you’re looking for a fight, I’ll give it to you!”

Still smiling, Subaru shook his head. “No, it’s nothing like that. I guess seeing you move forward in such a tough situation is pretty cool.”

Hearing the boys answer, Felt smiled. “Heh, I did work my ass off to get where I’m at now so I’d better be cool.”

“You both get along really well.” A voice suddenly piped up.

Both Subaru and Felt quickly looked towards the source of the voice. The two saw Reinhard who was just standing a few feet away with a delighted smile on his face.

The two instantly became flustered as Felt quickly jumped to her feet. “How long have you been there?!” Felt asked, her cheeks still red.

“I never really left. I’ve been here the whole time.”

Felt growled as she walked towards Reinhard and swung her leg around, kicking the knight across his face. That was Felt’s goal at least, Reinhard just caught her foot in midair like he had done every single time Felt tried this.

“Miss Felt? What might I have done now to warrant such behavior?” Reinhard asked, tilting his head as he genuinely looked confused.

“Do I really need to say it?! At least say something once and awhile so we know you’re still with us!” Felt growled yet again.

Reinhard calmly guided her foot back to the ground and simply nodded. “I understand. I’ll try to be more active in our conversations. I just thought it would’ve been rude of me to interrupt your heart to heart conversation.”

“There wasn’t any heart to heart! Stop assuming stuff!”

Subaru placed a hand over his chest as he groaned. “Ahhh, and here I thought we were getting along.” Subaru complained.

Felt glared at the complaining boy. “Shut up! I’ll be glad to kick your ass instead!”

“Yeah, yeah. I’ll stop.” Subaru waked his hands in front of him, mainly as a safety percussion if Felt decided to kick him anyways.

Finally settling down, Felt turned to Subaru. “So, what else do you have in mind?”

“Hmm… Well, this is my first time in Lugnica. Are there any good tourist spots? Maybe some fun Lugnica customs we can try out?”

“Hah, like this hell hole has anything like that. The main source of entertainment around here is complaining how nobles ruin other people’s lives.” Felt retorted.

“Is that so? I don’t recall hearing that kind of conversation as often as you make it seem.” Reinhard pointed out.

Felt just glared at the knight. “Obviously, you’re probably what everyone complains about!”

“Er, Felt?” Subaru butted in. “Don’t you think that’s a little uncalled for?”

“Like hell it is! This kidnapper deserves way more than just complaining!”

Not acknowledging Felt’s remarks, Reinhard changed the subject. “I do have an idea, Subaru. There’s a facility nearby called the healing institute.”

Eager to forget about the prior conversation, Subaru immediately responded. “That sounds like a great idea, Reinhard! I think we should get going right away.” Without even giving anyone a chance to add anything, he got on up and began leading the charge.

“Subaru, it’s that way.” Reinhard quickly pointed out before Subaru wandered off too far.

“H-Huh? Oh right!” He quickly did a 180 and resumed his march. He still had no idea where he was actually going but this was perfect to derail that awkward conversation. Luckily for him, it worked just as he’d hoped

With the help of Reinhard constantly pointing out the directions, the trio arrive at their destination. Reinhard began to lead the way once inside. “This is the healing institute. This is where the most talented healers commonly gather.”

Subaru raised his hand as if trying to imitate a student asking a question to their teacher on a field trip. “What do those healers do here, senpai?”

Before Reinhard could answer the question, Felt interrupted. “Since when did he get that title?!”

Not acknowledging Felt’s question, Reinhard proceeded to answer Subaru. “Most of the time, they share their knowledge amongst other healers. They also use this place to heal patients with more serious diseases or research diseases that can’t can’t be healed with healing magic.”

“I dunno, it sounds more like an over glorified clinic to me.” Felt added.

“Will you show us around? I never actually seen healing magic in action before.” Subaru pleaded. He was also secretly planning to get in touch with one of these healers and maybe he’d learn how to do healing magic himself.

All his dreams shattered as Reinhard shook his head. “I cannot. This is as far as we’re allowed to go. The rest of the facility beyond this point is vacated for the healers and patients.”

Felt nodded. “Yep, over glorified clinic.”

Subaru fell to his knees as he wore a look of despair. “Well, there goes my plan to awaken a hidden healing power inside me.”

That comment made Reinhard lift an eyebrow. “Healing magic is fairly rare. Not to be disrespectful, but the likelihood of you just happening to have healing magic is next to none.”

“I didn’t hear it's impossible so I still have a chance!” Subaru countered, still wishing his dreams to have a unique skill in this world would come true. Well, other than his return by death that is.

“Well, I guess that’s true…” Reinhard muttered to himself as he started to ponder the possibility.

“Didn't you just say that was impossibly rare? How would you even know if he can cast any magic?” Felt asked. She may respect the guy for saving her and all but it wasn’t realistic to think that he had some random superpower.

“Hm… I do know of a metia that can measure one’s affinity to the elements. There should be one at the barracks if I’m not mistaken.” Reinhard recalled. The one there was used on criminals to determine how much of a threat they pose but he was sure the knights wouldn’t mind just to see a friends’ potential.

“Sweet! I guess we know our next stop then!” Shouted Subaru as he was already making his way to the exit.

“Already?! We just got here! I mean, yeah, there really isn't anything to do here but can’t we at least take some kind of break?” Felt practically pleaded. She had been all over the place today. True, she does a lot of moving thanks to her job as a master thief but this had been in the noble district of all places.

Already getting back outside, Subaru glanced back at the group as Reinhard started sharing his own opinion. “I agree with Miss Felt. We’ve gone quite the distance already after all.”

Subaru was pretty eager to discover some secret talent within him but seeing how annoyed Felt was looking caused him to relent. It was like looking at a child that was about to break down. With a sigh, he took his pursuit down a notch. “Yeah, you’re right. A little rest doesn’t sound bad at all.” He laughed a little.

A certain golden haired girl let out a sigh of relief. “Good, and chill a little! I’d rather not make a lap around the whole city!”

“R-Right. I’ll keep that in mind.” Subaru meekly replied. After taking a second to think about it, they had been all over the shopping district and god forbid how long they were running around doing that.

Reinhard clapped his hands together as a way to get the other two’s attention. “With that decided, there’s an inn nearby we can stop by. Since you’re interested in knowing the customs of Lugnica, Subaru, it would be a good idea if-“

“Hold it right there, Reinhard.” Felt suddenly interrupted. “I haven’t had a say in anything since we started this! If you ask me, it’s my turn to pick our rest spot.”

Both Subaru and Reinhard had a look of embarrassment after listening to Felt’s side of things. They had to admit, Subaru was pretty passionate about his endeavors and Reinhard had been too distracted by them to really see the whole group’s wants and needs.

“I apologize, Miss Felt.” Reinhard started. “You are indeed correct. If you already have a place in mind, I’ll be more than happy to accompany you there.”

With a triumphant smirk, Felt walked to the front of the group. “Oh believe me, I know just the place.”

With that, the three went off to this spot Felt had in mind.

Or at least they were doing that. Reinhard started to get suspicious after they left the noble district and went out of the way down an empty alleyway. Out of concern, Reinhard quickly went in front of the group, standing in the way for the others to continue.

“My apologies, Miss Felt, but going this way would be too dangerous.” Reinhard even bowed elegantly to the girl to show both courtesy and sincerity.

Felt on the other hand just confused by all this. “What the hell do you mean that it’s dangerous? This is just a short cut to the slums.”

“That is precisely why I can’t in good faith allow you to do that. For reasons I’ve already explained, I cannot take any unnecessary risks that would put your life in danger. I pray that you understand my intentions.”

Felt crossed her arms as she gave the knight the stink eye. “Fine, I guess there are plenty of other paths to get to the loot house anyways.” Felt proceeded to turn herself around and started making her way to a different path but was halted once the knight grabbed hold of her arm.

“Miss Felt, I’m afraid I didn’t make myself clear. I meant that the Slums are too dangerous to venture off to. I implore you to pick a different location to rest.”

“H-Hey! Let go of me!” Felt scowled as she yanked her hand away. “Listen here, you’re just being paranoid. I grew up in the slums and I’m still kicking. Besides, I got you and big bro with me, I can’t really see how it can get safer than that.”

Subaru blinked a few times as he pointed to himself. “Wait, since when was I your big bro?”

Subaru’s question wasn’t acknowledged as Reinhard had a much more pressing matter to focus on. “I understand, but the bowel hunter is still loose. Knowing that, wandering off in secluded areas like the slums is far too risky. Even this alleyway is pushing it way too far.”

Felt wasn’t backing down. With a look of determination, she stared Reinhard dead in the eyes. “You both agreed to rest in the spot I chose. If I say we’re going to the slums, then we’re going to the slums whether you like it or not!”

With a loud huff, Felt proceeded to move forward, walking past Reinhard. However, the knight snatched her arm halfway before any distance was made. “Forgive me, Miss Felt, but I can’t agree to this.”

Seeing how things currently stand, Felt wore a serious look on her face as she quickly swung her foot to Reinhard, intending to kick him away. However, just like every time thus far, Reinhard easily caught it using his other hand.

“Dammit, Reinhard! Let go-“ Before Felt could complete her sentence, Reinhard lifted his hand in front of her and the girl suddenly felt an all too familiar wave of fatigue rush through her body. That familiar feeling of her energy very quickly left her as she couldn’t even stand anymore.

Suddenly, Felt collapsed and Reinhard caught her and held the now unconscious Felt in his arms.

Subaru, who finally snapped out of his state of shock from this ordeal, rushed forward. “Felt! Are you alright!” Subaru cried out.

“No need to be alarmed, Miss Felt is just fine. I just calmed her down.”

“Calm her down?! She’s out cold!” Subaru worryingly began to check Felt, making sure she wasn’t going through anything abnormal. Who is he kidding, he watched Felt get knocked out using some weird magic trick. “What did you do to her?!”

“I drained some of her mana. I assure you, it isn’t anything dangerous.” Reinhard explained as calmly as he could.

Subaru was just about to lash out at Reinhard again but recognized a pained expression over the knight’s face. It was a look of genuine shame.

That look was enough to let Subaru collect himself and let out a sigh. “Honestly Reinhard. You really shouldn’t be treating girls like that.”

Reinhard let out a dry chuckle, that look still stained on his face. “I never thought I’d be lectured over such things. Perhaps I still have a lot to learn.”

With a proud smirk, Subaru gave the knight a thumbs up. “Oh more than you know. Luckily I’m a pro on how to treat a lady properly so I wouldn’t mind at all helping out a friend.”

“Friend…” Reinhard muttered to himself. He then smiled a little more confidently. “I suppose I should thank you for being such a thoughtful friend.”

As much as Subaru enjoyed this praise, he turned his attention back to the unconscious girl. “So what’s the plan, Reinhard?”

“Well, We’re quite a ways away from the inn I suggested earlier… Ah! Follow me, I have an idea.” Reinhard turned around as he walked himself back to the main road with Subaru following behind.

---------------------------------------------------------

Present Time…

---------------------------------------------------------

Subaru was sitting next to Felt in the waiting room of the Manor that Reinhard led them to. He had a hand over his face, covering his black guy a certain short tempered girl gifted him with. The two were just sitting there in silence for several minutes, neither of them making a sound.

After a while, Felt let out a sigh, finally breaking this awkward tension between the two. “So, how’s your eye holding up?”

Subaru let out a chuckle and turned to face Felt, moving his hand out of the way to show his black eye for the world to see. “Hah, it hurts like hell. You sure have one hell of a punch, I’ll give you that.”

Felt couldn’t help but share a prideful smirk. “And you better not forget it, big bro.”

“So, how about you?” Subaru asked, leaning back on the chair as he glanced at Felt.

This made the girl in question look at Subaru dumbfounding. “Me? Why the hell are you asking me? I don’t have a bad eye.”

Subaru couldn’t help but laugh at this before shaking his head. “No, not that. I meant how are you holding up? Like, being in the dead center of all this mayhem.”

“Oh… That…” Felt took a second to ponder the question before sharing her answer. “Honestly, I don’t really know. It’s quite a lot to take in.”

Subaru nodded. “I gotta admit, I’m kinda jealous.”

Felt nearly flinched at that response but decided to throw him a comeback. “Really? I didn’t know you were into getting kidnapped. You’re certainly into some weird stuff.”

“Huh? Hey wait! That’s not what I meant at all!” Subaru shouted to which Felt began to chuckle to herself. After that was settled, Subaru continued. “I meant to be given an opportunity to do something so great. Like, being the ruler of a country must be a pretty sweet gig.”

“Probably, but isn’t that a lot of work? I mean, they run a whole country after all.”

“Well yeah, but isn’t that just work in general? You’re a master thief that’s apparently well renowned. That must be a lot of work too, right?”

“Of course it’s a lot of work! But the difference between that line of work and becoming a ruler is I grew up in that field and I’m really good at it. But a Ruler? I don’t know a thing about that! I’d rather stick to what I know.”

“Felt…” Subaru understood where Felt was coming from. Back in Japan, he’d always fear getting a real job. He had just been scared to get into something he never tried and he just would prefer to stay in his room and watch anime. True, that may be an awful example considering Felt is trying to make money so she can survive in society and Subaru was living life as a freeloader but that was besides the point.

He didn’t think living the life Felt was currently going through was a good thing. She may be good at it but a thief is still a thief. “If you don’t mind me asking, weren’t you trying to work for something greater? Something about living somewhere out of the city?”

Felt recalled her exclaiming such a thing to him when they first saw each other and the girl let out a chuckle. “Yep, the second this hot mess is over with, I’ll sell that metia thing you have and I’ll go do just that.”

Subaru’s eyes widened at the girl’s plan. “You can’t just sell my stuff without my permission!”

Felt burst out laughing. “Hah, I was just messing with you. In all honesty, I’ll probably just get back to work, I’d say maybe a year or two before I actually get there though.”

Subaru let out a nervous chuckle, not sure if she just won’t turn around and take his phone anyways. However, he took a moment to think about how Felt was living in a poorly constructed tent before this and all it took for it was for him to bump into it for it to get wrecked. Felt shouldn’t be living like this, he thought to himself.

“If you want my opinion, I think you’d do well as a ruler.”

Felt stopped her giggling and lifted an eyebrow. “Didn’t you hear what I said? I don’t have any idea what it’s like to be a ruler, as much as I appreciate you thinking so highly of me, I’m just a novice when it comes to all that political bullshit.”

“You’re probably right about that, but I still think you’d be a good ruler. I’m pretty sure one thing a ruler needs is the drive to work hard. I’d say you have more than what it takes to do that.” Subaru shot Felt a thumbs up.

Felt just chuckled at that and shook her head. “If you say so, but I’m pretty sure there’s more to it than just that. What about you? Surely you aren’t going to leech off of Reinhard forever.”

Subaru put on a fake look of despair. “Oh no! My plan had finally been revealed! What will I do now?!”

Felt nearly growled. “I mean it! Do you even have a plan?”

Subaru stopped his act and laughed nervously. “Not really, to be honest with you. I mean, I had considered selling my metia to live a quiet life.”

“Hey! You can’t steal my ideas either!”

“I’ll have you know I thought about it first! But anyways, I might do other things. I think I could do pretty well as an inventor. I could run my own shop and make a name for myself that way. There’s a lot of cool stuff back in my homeland that I’m sure Lugnica would love.”

“Really? Where do you even come from?”

“I come from an island in the far east. It’s a place called Japan.”

“Japan? Never heard of it. Wait, there shouldn’t even be any islands in the east! There’s no way you came from past the waterfall!”

“Oh, Felt? If my business idea goes well, how would you feel about working with me?”

Felt was nearly raked aback by this. “Wait, work with you? You don’t even know if your idea would even work.”

Subaru shrugged. “Well I’ll never know if I never try.”

“Hmm, I guess if it’s with you, it wouldn’t be too bad… What would I even do if this happened?”

Subaru got up from the chair with an all knowing smile. “I’d have the perfect job for you. You’d be the shop’s mascot!”

The girl blinked in confusion as she took a second to process what Subaru said. After it finally hit, her cheeks lit up and jumped out of her own chair. “M-Mascot?! Why would I be the one to do such a dumb job?!”

“Simple, your cute charms will definitely attract countless customers! With your help, we can be rich!”

“Slow down there! I know I’m cute and all but that’s just ridiculous. The stuff you make should be the only thing that matters.”

Suddenly, Subaru smiled rather deviously. “You aren’t backing down because you're embarrassed, are you?”

Felt started stuttering. “O-Of course not! I just think a mascot is stupid. Now just shut up!”

“Well, I guess mascots would get a lot of attention. If I left you by yourself, you’d probably get overwhelmed and- GYAAAH!!!”

Subaru was suddenly kicked in his side by Felt. “I said shut up!”

Afterwards, the two just sat back down in their respective seats, silence returning to them like it had before.

Their sitting in silence was put to a halt as a certain red haired knight and butler entered the waiting room.

“Oh, there you are, Reinhard.” Felt said in a strange calm tone as she got herself back up on her feet, walking towards the knight.

“Ah, It's good to see you back on your feet, Miss Felt. I’ve finished with my duties here and we can resume our activities.” Reinhard reported.

Felt was standing in front of Reinhard with her arms crossed. She was wearing the biggest poker face Subaru had ever seen. “Mhm…” And with that, Felt’s face contorted in anger as she lept in the air and slammed her foot straight down on Reinhard’s head.

…

Except it didn’t happen like that.

Reinhard caught her foot right before it even touched his hair. Since Felt was airborne, she quickly lost balance and swung upside down. That barely lasted though as Reinhard was quick to set Felt back on her feet.

“I have a feeling what that might be about and I apologize for having you go through that.” Reinhard calmly apologized before bowing elegantly to the still fuming girl.

Felt didn’t respond right away as she went to kick him again, thinking it would be easier since he was in such a position. However, that was easily blocked like every single one of her attempts.

“Grrr!!! What the hell is wrong with you?! Do you have any fucking idea what it’s like to pass out and just wake up somewhere else?!”

The girl’s outburst caught the butler by surprise. “Did something between those two…?” The butler muttered to himself.

Subaru quickly swooped in beside the butler and whispered to him. “It’s just been a rough day. I think you should just give them some space.”

The butler who was nervously sweating at this point from all the tension nodded in agreement. “W-Well, I hope you both can solve your differences. I bid you a good day, master Reinhard.” After giving Reinhard a quick bow, he swiftly walked away from the scene.

After the butler left, Reinhard started, “I apologize for using such methods but I assure you, your safety is very important. I couldn’t forgive myself if something happened to you, especially if I could’ve easily prevented it.”

“That’s not a real excuse! Whatever you did to knock me out isn’t something you should be doing so casually!” Felt hissed. She wasn’t as mad about not going to the slums, just being put to sleep like that was a lot more infuriating.

“She has a point.” Subaru spoke up. “It isn’t really good to use that sleep magic of yours on other people just to get your way.”

Reinhard stood up straight as he finally began to reflect on what exactly he had been doing. The thought of how people would feel after this happening didn’t occur to him before and now he regretted his actions. “I understand now. I wasn’t aware that I had been hurting you by draining your mana. I promise I won’t do that to you ever again, Miss Felt.”

“Good! You better or else I’ll- wait… You were draining my mana?!” Felt asked in complete and utter shock. Even Subaru was shocked at this revelation. This man really was a monster Subaru thought to himself.

Reinhard only tilted his head. “I’m sorry, have I not informed you?”

“N-No! You fucking didn’t!” Felt snapped, still a bit startled at the thought that she had her mana sapped from her and twice apparently. “L-Let’s just go back…”

“Are you sure? We have plenty of time to visit the barracks.” Reinhard pointed out.

“We’ll do that tomorrow. I think I’ve had enough for one day…” Without another word, Felt wearily walked herself out. Reinhard and Subaru followed after her. Even Subaru had to agree with Felt, the mood kinda just died for him.

Thus, the three had returned to Reinhard’s manor.

Chapter 3: Lousy Expectations

Chapter Text

Nothing eventful happened when the trio came to Reinhard’s manor. Felt ended up taking a nap since she hasn’t had much proper rest from getting her mana sapped. Reinhard stayed nearby Felt’s room like some kind of guard dog. Finally, Subaru went out to finally explore this place like he wanted to when he first got here.

Like a child being brought to an amusement park, he was rushing around, eagerly scanning through every room he’d come across as if expecting to find some kind of secret passage. After Subaru’s search, he had come to the conclusion that there was hardly anything noteworthy here except for the huge bathroom that was comparable to a private bath house. For such a sizable place, he’d assume there were more people inside but no, it was devoid of all life except for himself, Reinhard, and Felt.

Sure, it was all fancy, spacious, and really well kept but it was just missing something. There just didn’t seem like anything to do here, not anything Subaru would like to do at least. He can’t read so the library was out of the question. He has no fighting experience and he wasn’t too keen on using Reinhard as a sparring partner for the training equipment he came across. And he couldn’t really clean or tidy up anything as all of that seemed to be already done, Subaru didn’t expect Reinhard to be this much of a neat freak.

Finally accepting there wasn’t anything to do here after a few hours, he met back up to where he last left Reinhard and Felt. Once Subaru had arrived, he found Reinhard in Felt’s room and the two were chatting with each other though Felt was sitting on the bed with her arms crossed and was looking very annoyed.

Before Subaru could properly greet the pair, Felt instantly took note of him and smiled, looking a lot happier than she had been a few seconds ago. “Perfect timing! I need your help with something.” The golden haired girl called out.

“Oh, sure. What is it?” Subaru walked inside the room. There weren’t any seats available so he stood by the door.

“You remember how I said I’d step down from that election, right?”

Subaru nodded. “Yep, you made that very clear this morning.”

“I did! So could you tell this idiot that learning how to be a ‘proper lady’ is just a waste of time? I’m going back to the slums after this shitstorm anyways so learning how to act like a candidate would be a huge waste of time!” Felt ranted.

“Miss Felt, the first thing you’ll have to watch out for is your wording. A lady shouldn’t be swearing so much.” Reinhard lectured, already taking the job of ladifying Felt seriously. Well, trying at least.

“Well I’m sorry for still being pissed off about your little kidnapping scheme!”

“I assure you, that was all a pure coincidence, no scheming was involved. Secondly, language. I suggest using ‘mildly irritated’ instead.”

Felt growled after that last part. “Mildly?! There isn’t anything mild about any of this!”

Seeing how Felt was at Reinhard’s neck yet again, Subaru scoffed to get the two’s attention. “If I can ask, is there a reason why Felt needs to act all ladylike?”

“Yes! Thank you!” Felt added before Reinhard could provide his explanation.

“I’m well aware of Miss Felt’s disinterest in participating in the royal selection. However, I hope that you two can understand that there are rules that must be followed. You’ll have to state your resignation in front of the council. Since you’ll be before a large number of high standing individuals, it’s important to have proper manners in front of everyone.”

“And why the hell should I? I already told you I’m going straight back to the slums so why should I kiss those snobs’ feet on my way out?!”

“Now Felt,” Subaru interjected. “I think what he’s trying to say is that you shouldn’t be making powerful enemies.”

Felt finally stopped for a moment and actually considered what Subaru said. However, the short girl was still pretty riled up so she still found something to complain about. “See Reinhard? Couldn’t you have worded it like that at least.”

“My apologies, Miss Felt. I thought I'd already made that point clear so I didn’t see the need to elaborate. So I take it you’re willing to learn proper etiquette now?”

“Now slow down there!” Felt nearly shouted as loud as she could. “I understand the reason now but I still refuse to even associate myself with such dumb crap! Besides, I don’t give a damn about what some noble thinks of me or how many enemies it’ll make.”

Reinhard was caught off guard by the feisty girl’s declaration. “M-Miss Felt, I pray that you understand that everything I’ve done thus far is to not only help you but for the entire kingdom as well. If it helps, would you at least do it for Lugnica?” Reinhard pleaded, he was rather desperate to just get on some kind of common ground with Felt.

“Screw this kingdom! Everything can burn down for all I care!”

“But Miss Felt-“

“Don’t you think that’s going a bit too far, Felt?” Subaru interrupted Reinhard before he could finish his plea. “I mean, a lot of people live here and if it were to burn down, wouldn’t a lot of people die?”

Felt was taken aback by that comeback and from Subaru of all people. “H-Hey! You’re supposed to be backing me up here!” Felt said, trying to dodge the question.

“Felt…” Subaru simply said in a calm tone.

Felt, finally admitting defeat, let out a sigh. “Yeah… I don’t actually want the kingdom to burn, I just meant that metaphorically. But I’m still not taking those dumb lessons!”

“What would you do here then? You can’t exactly get back to ‘work’ and there really isn’t anything to do here.” Subaru said that last part dishearteningly.

“I’m usually out on patrol so I haven’t exactly prepared my home for any long term guests. I do have a library, you could read a lot about Lugnica’s history since you’re a foreigner and all.” Reinhard offered.

However, the offer made Felt start chuckling and Subaru looked nervous. “Haha, the dumbass can’t read either, ya know.” Felt pointed out.

This made Reinhard look on in total shock. “Surely you jest.”

Subaru shook his head and chuckled sheepishly. “No, she’s right. In my homeland, we use a completely different writing system.”

“Other writing system?” Felt asked, perking up an eyebrow. “I never heard of other writing systems other than the standard.”

“I haven’t either.” Reinhard added. “It’s actually hard to believe there are other countries that would stray away from the standard way of writing.”

“Maybe his made up island comes with the made up writing.” Felt teased and even giggled a little at her own quip. “I gotta admit though, you have a crazy way of making excuses for yourself over being illiterate.”

“I’m not making excuses! I’ll learn how to write your guy’s way eventually!” Subaru declared as he made his signature pose just to show off how determined he was.

“Well, if you plan on staying here for a while,” Reinhard started. “I could have Carol teach you. I’m sure she could help you out in that endeavor.”

Both Subaru and Felt blinked at this piece of information. “Who’s Carol?” Both of them asked simultaneously.

“Carol is a maid that works here. I should introduce you to the staff at some point.”

This didn’t make any sense to Subaru. He had scanned this establishment for the past couple hours already and he had not found anyone else besides Reinhard and Felt. “There are other people living here?!” Subaru shouted.

Reinhard nodded. “That’s right. I had them leave this morning to get more assistance since I’ll be having you and Miss Felt here for the time being.”

That made sense to Subaru. It would explain why he couldn’t find anyone else. Also, added help would make a lot of sense considering how a certain feisty blonde girl was.

“Hey, why are you staring at me like that?!” Felt suddenly shouted.

Subaru snapped out of his train of thought as that said blonde girl shouted at him. “It’s nothing, I guess I’m just relieved that we’ll have more company.”

“I don’t know, I feel like just adding more knights here is a little ridiculous. I mean, I get that this is a big deal and all to you but is it really that necessary?”

“Let me clear that misunderstanding, Miss Felt.” Reinhard piped up. “I’m not bringing any other knights. My servants are just bringing some of their relatives to assist them in their duties.”

“If they're not knights, then I guess it’ll be fine.” Felt relented, she didn’t really like the idea of having so many watch dogs all over her but she can manage if she isn’t going to have every single person here constantly tell her what to do.

“Anyways, I’ll show you all in no time that I’m not making things up!” Subaru declared as he pointed at the two.

“Not to fear, my friend. I believe you.” Reinhard assured.

“Don’t get me wrong, I want to believe ya. It just sounds kinda weird, ya know?”

Subaru could understand that. After all, he was transported into this world with no explanation nor purpose blatantly written out for him. God, after thinking about it, he must sound crazy right now.

“Before we get too off track, I’d appreciate it if Miss Felt gave etiquette training a chance.” Reinhard said, putting the conversation back on track.

“Oh for the love of… How many times do I have to say no before you give up?!”

“There really isn’t anything to do here. Besides, wouldn’t learning something new be fun?” Subaru asked, trying to stop Felt from unleashing her wrath.

“I’d rather learn something I’d actually use in my everyday life. Where the hell is etiquette gonna take me in the future?”

“Well, if we end up shooting for that shop idea, I think it would be great. It would be like running a legit business as professionals and it would make us both look good.”

“Shop?” Reinhard intervened. “I didn’t know you two were planning on opening a shop. If you want, I know a few people who might help with that.”

Felt bit down on her lip as this was starting to turn towards a topic she didn’t want Reinhard to be butting in on. “Grrr! Fine! It’s not like I can leave anyways!” Felt agreed, mostly in order to avoid bringing up a certain embarrassing conversation.

The approval made Reinhard look overjoyed and that was more than enough to forget about that shop thing they were mentioning. “That’s wonderful to hear. If you don’t have anything planned already, we can start immediately.”

“Not so fast, I’m only gonna do this under one condition. Big Bro will have to do this with me.” Felt stated as she pointed over to Subaru.

Subaru looked dumbfounded at the short girl. “Me…? Wait, why do I have to do that?!”

Felt turned to the bewildered boy with a smug smirk on her face. “What’s wrong? Didn’t you say that this would benefit the both of us?”

“Well, I don’t see a problem with that. I think it would be fun.” Reinhard added, smiling like an innocent child.

Letting out a sigh, Subaru relented. “Alright, I’ll be there to learn with you.”

Despite his tone, Subaru really didn’t mind at all learning with Felt. In all honesty, he was planning to stop by anyways. The only thing he had an issue with was being obligated to partake in all of them now.

“To start with-“

“No!” Felt nearly screamed out, abruptly interrupting what Reinhard was saying. “There’s no way in hell we’re starting this right now!”

“Right. You must’ve had a pretty exhausting day. You two are free to make yourselves at home. If you need anything, I’ll be happy to give you a hand.”

“Good!” Was all that Felt really had to say about that before getting out of that room, leaving Subaru and Reinhard alone in the room.

Reinhard was about to get out of the room as well, seemingly to tail Felt but Subaru stopped him. “So you said there were servants here and they were getting more, right?”

Reinhard nodded. “That’s right. I intended to recruit them to help assist in Felt’s path into becoming this country’s queen but seeing her lack of interest for that, it will be more to help make both of you feel at ease during your time here.”

“I’m pretty excited to meet them!” Subaru declared as he imagined a bunch of cute maids with those adorable maid outfits. He even creepily wiggled his fingers around just thinking about it. “Say, when should they be getting back?”

“I sent them out this morning. I’d say they should be coming back any moment now. By the way, are you feeling alright?”

Subaru was a bit caught off guard by this question. He was feeling perfectly fine and he didn’t think he did anything to imply otherwise. “Yeah, I’m just fine. Why do you ask?”

“That’s good to hear. I feared that you’d be very confused with everything that had happened today. I’m glad to know that those worries were unneeded.”

“Oh don’t get me wrong, I’m still confused out of my mind and I have a very small idea what exactly is going on! But I’ll find all that out later, honestly, I think that question should be directed to your kidnapped victim.”

Subaru laughed lightheartedly at his comment but Reinhard only gave off a sorrowed look. “I did ask that to Miss Felt after her nap but she was only enraged and tried to kick me.”

Subaru just chuckled at the explanation. “Yeah, I’d probably be pretty mad too if I were in her shoes. You know, suddenly being put to sleep and being on house arrest when I wake up wouldn’t make me the happiest camper.”

Reinhard lifted an eyebrow. “House arrest?”

“Yeah, it’s where someone is imprisoned in one’s own home.” Subaru exclaimed.

“Hm, I never would’ve thought to call it that.” Reinhard then took a second to really reflect what Subaru had said before facing back to him. “If you don’t mind me asking, could I have your opinion on how you’d do things differently?”

“Sure thing. First and probably the biggest thing, I wouldn’t of… well… drain someone’s life force to put them to sleep. I’d probably just explain things right there and then. Though I’d be some knight in this case so I’d also reassure her that she isn’t in any trouble and I just want to help them.”

“I see… How insightful.” Reinhard commended. “However, what if she refused to cooperate? What method would you use to apprehend her?”

“That’s simple, I wouldn’t. I’d respect their choice and leave them be.”

Reinhard looked at the boy dumbfounded. “That wouldn’t be an option. You’d be committing the largest act of treason there could be and not only would you be terminated from the knights, but you’d also be executed.”

Subaru’s face grew pale. “Yikes, just for letting a girl go? This is a pretty strict country. Well, in that case, I’d bribe her.”

Once again, Subaru’s answer left Reinhard dumbfounded. “Bribe her? That wouldn’t be knightly at all and it would ruin your name.”

Subaru chuckled at this. “I’d rather be known as a knight who bribes little girls than the knight that kidnaps them.” Before anything else could be said, Subaru suddenly looked distraught. “Wait, they both sound pretty bad.”

“I wouldn’t blame you. This is all for Lugnica and as knights, it’s our duty to help protect and prosper the kingdom.”

“Well, don’t overdo it. I don’t think kidnapping girls is a good thing no matter how you look at it.”

However, before their conversation could continue, a familiar voice could be heard coming closer.

“I said let me go! Who the hell do ya think you are?!”

Both Reinhard and Subaru looked over to the door to see an old lady in a maid uniform walk in, dragging Felt with her by their hand. After coming into view, the old lady let go of Felt and the blonde girl practically jumped a few feet back and growled.

“What was that for?! You can’t just grab me like that and drag me around!”

“You were climbing over the gate.” The old lady responded. “That was dangerous so I brought you back inside for your own sake.”

To Subaru, it sounded like Felt was trying to escape and this old lady caught her.

Reinhard only smiled at the fuming blonde girl. “You should be more careful, you’re lucky Carol was there to make sure that you didn’t hurt yourself.”

“Shut up! Being here isn’t any better!”

“Oh? If there are any safety hazards that I’m unaware of, I’ll be more than happy to fix that.” Reinhard then gave Felt a bright smile which only seemed to anger her more.

“That’s not what I’m talking about, dumbass!” Without any time for anyone around to react, she angrily stomped away.

“Ugh, kids these days…” The old lady let out a sigh before composing herself and bowed her head towards Reinhard. “We returned from getting our grandkids, Master Reinhard. My husband is showing them around right now.”

The knight nodded. “Thank you, Carol. This is Subaru, he’ll be staying here for the time being.”

The maid who was referred to as Carol looked towards Subaru and bowed like she had with Reinhard a moment ago. “Pleasure to make your acquaintance, dear guest.”

Subaru waved his hands in front of him, smiling embarrassingly. “Hahah, just Subaru is fine.”

Without commenting, Carol faced Reinhard. “Does this young man need the same treatment as that feisty girl?”

“Not at all. Subaru has the right to leave if he so wishes.”

Subaru was glad Felt left before she could hear any of that. He was sure all hell would break loose if that piece of information was shoved in her face.

“You said that you had your husband and grandkids here, right?” Subaru asked Carol. “Would you introduce them to me?”

“I don’t see why not. Did you have anything for me, Master Reinhard?”

Reinhard shook his head. “You’re fine. Just keep up the great work.”

With a nod, the old maid gestured over to Subaru. “Don’t just stand there, put those legs to use.”

Subaru flinched at this kind of response but obliged and followed Carol. The two made their way down the hallway, after a bit of this, Carol broke the silence.

“So, are you the young lady’s guardian?” The old maid asked nonchalantly.

Subaru only smirked at this. “Not at all. We only met yesterday.” He sounded pretty enthusiastic while saying this and even proud. That made Carol only look at him with a concerned look on their face. It was the kind of look you’d give someone as if to silently judge their sanity.

“I see… Then I take it you’re the kid who had their belly cut open. Master Reinhard had to get the best healer in Lugnica to fix you up.”

“It was that bad?!”

Before he could get an answer, the pair came across two small girls walking down the hall side by side. They both had peach pink colored hair with yellow ribbons on the sides. They both wore matching pink dresses and looked perfectly identical as if they were clones.

“There you two are. Did Grimm already show you around?” Carol asked the clones.

In unison, the girls nodded. “Yes, grandmommy. We should be ready to start immediately.” The one on the left said.

“Dear guest, these are my grandkids. The one on the left is Flam and Grassis is on the right.” Carol then put her attention back on the twins. “And you two, this here is Subaru. He’s our guest.”

After the introductions, the pair of girls bowed in unison to Subaru, not saying a word at all.

“Wait, they are the extra help?! They look even younger than Felt!” Subaru was shocked at this revelation. His fantasies of beautiful maids shattering as the variety here had revealed itself to include the elderly and children, nothing in between.

“Don’t worry, sir.” The twin on the left, Flam, said. “My sister and I are twelve so everything should be fine.”

“That’s even worse! Doesn’t this country have any child labor laws?!”

“We will be getting compensated for our service so there isn’t a need to overthink it. I do appreciate your concern though.” Flam calmly explained, making Subaru give up.

After the awkward moment that was exclusively felt by Subaru, Carol spoke up. “I’ll make everyone Dinner. You two, go inform Master Reinhard.”

The twins wordlessly bowed to Carol to show their understanding before heading off. Carol on the other hand returned her attention back to Subaru. “If you could follow me, I’ll escort you to the dining hall.”

“You’re fine. I already know where that is. I’ll go get Felt.”

Carol looked at the boy in surprise. “Do you now? Alright, thank you for your help, dear guest.” And with those words exchanged, Carol took her leave, leaving Subaru alone.

“Alright, I should get Felt before she tries to escape again.” Subaru said to himself before running off towards the direction he last saw the girl. Luckily for him, Felt was found just sulking in her room, probably still mad that she was stopped by an old lady.

“Hey Felt, they’re making food right now. You wanna join us?”

Finally acknowledging him, the petite girl ended her sulking session and walked towards Subaru. “Sure.”

“Huh…” Subaru was kinda surprised how easy this was. He was pretty sure this was going to be the start of some kind of verbal war where a lot of compromises and bribes would take place.

“What? Ya got a problem with that?” Felt clenched her fist, already aiming it at the boy.

“N-Not at all! I just thought you’d still be mad to see everyone.” Subaru already had his hand in front of his face, preparing himself for the little girl’s wrath. Luckily, his words were able to settle her down.

Felt couldn’t help but chuckle which in itself surprised Subaru further. “Don’t be dumb. I’m not stupid enough to starve myself over a little clash.”

“That makes sense, I was honestly expecting to see you yeeting yourself out the window.”

“Yeeting? There you go saying stuff that doesn’t make any sense again.”

After exchanging a few laughs, the two started to make their way to the dining hall. “Hey, Felt?” Subaru started as the two walked beside each other, Felt turned to him, awaiting to hear what he had to say. “I know this might sound really stupid but are you doing alright?”

“Yeah, that is pretty stupid.” Felt placed her hands behind her head before letting out a sigh. “It’s been a pretty shitty day, all things considered.”

Yeah, that was about what he expected to hear. He genuinely felt bad for the girl, how she was basically abducted by this world’s version of the police and is being kept here against her will just because some stone started glowing.

“Thanks though. You know, for sticking around and going through this mess with me.” Felt’s cheeks warmed up slightly as she said this. It felt a tad bit embarrassing after all.

Subaru chuckled. “I could tell that you appreciated it, especially when you tried to leave me behind not even thirty minutes ago.” Teased the boy, not sounding mad or anything, just giving Felt a hard time.

It was enough to break any sincerity she had and grit her teeth. “Well you’re allowed to leave anytime you want! We could easily meet up somewhere once I break out!”

“Well how would I do that?!” Subaru countered, now taking the defense. “Last I checked, there isn’t really a loot house anymore!”

“I’d be around! Your creepy face isn’t that hard to miss anyways!”

“My mom says I have the face of an angel!”

“Well your mom clearly doesn’t know what angels look like!”

“Oh? And you do?!”

“I’m pretty sure angels don’t look like that! This whole world would be screwed if they did!”

The two were glaring at one another while they clashed. However, Subaru stopped and began laughing again. The random mood change only angered Felt more.

“What’s so funny?!” She hissed.

“Haha, nothing, I just think it’s pretty lively around you.” And as if he already forgot about the potential consequences, he began to ruffle the girl’s head.

“H-Hey! Don’t go sentimental on me out of nowhere! I swear, I’ll bite you again!”

Subaru’s eyes widened and quickly pulled his hand away. For some reason, he remembered the pain of this girl’s bite for the first time, almost as if those last two times finally stuck in his head. Matter of fact, it even surprised Felt a little.

“Wait, why’d you stop?” The girl asked, sounding confused. However, she was quick to catch herself and stood tall, even crossing her arms to look imposing. “I-I mean good! You should at least warn me when you’re gonna pull that crap out of the blue!”

Not wanting to risk another punch in the face on the same day, Subaru didn’t push the matter and just agreed. “R-Right, I’ll be more careful. So… Dinner?”

“You’re the one leading the way. Don’t tell me you’re lost!”

“Well, good thing I won’t tell you that!” Subaru loudly declared before continuing to lead the way to the dining hall.

…

“You’re lost, aren’t you?” Felt asked after Subaru wandered around aimlessly for the past ten minutes.

The question caused Subaru to stop and place and turned to Felt, giving the most heartfelt looking smile he could to her. “Not at all! I haven’t seen everything here so I thought taking a little detour would be nice to pass the time instead of sitting and waiting.”

Felt eyed Subaru suspiciously before sighing. “You could’ve done this after we ate, ya know.” Despite the unneeded detour, she made the most of this time to mentally map out everything they came across in her head. This could make great use when she inevitably tried to break out again.

This went on for a few more moments until the blonde girl noticed something oddly suspicious, they still hadn’t made it to the dining hall and she noticed them revisiting certain locations, especially that vase over there, this was definitely the third time they passed it.

“Are you sure you know where you’re going?” Felt asked, a very unimpressed look was plastered on their face.

A now nervous Subaru looked to Felt, chuckling nervously. “Maybe just a little.”

She just had that same look on her face for a moment longer, staring Subaru dead in the eyes before she burst out laughing. “Damn, you really are something else. Cmon, let someone who knows what they're doing lead on.”

Thus, Felt took the charge in leading the way to the dining hall.

…

“Hey Felt?” Subaru asked after ten more minutes of walking. “Didn’t we pass that vase already?”

Being visibly irritated, Felt stomped over to the vase and suddenly chucked it against the wall, shattering it to pieces. The sudden aggressive action even caused Subaru to jump. “Nope! That’s because there isn’t any damn vase!”

“Woah there, tiger. No need to lash out at the appliances just because you’re lost.”

“And who’s fault is that?! I assumed you knew where you were going so I wasn’t keeping track!”

“Well that doesn’t mean you can hurt the furniture, what did the poor guys ever do to you?” Subaru asks in an over exaggerated tone.

Suddenly, the short tempered girl smirks rather menacingly. “You’re right, let’s fix that.”

“Wait, why are you smiling like tha- GHAAA!!!” Subaru cried in pain as he was suddenly kicked in his side, leaving him to groan in pain. “What was that for?!”

“I was just apologizing to the vase.” Felt answered with an innocent looking smile.

“How does kicking me translate into apologizing?!”

Felt just giggled at how flustered Subaru was getting. However, that was put to a halt as the duo suddenly felt a cold chill jolt down their spines. Taking a look where the vase once was, a very stern looking man wearing a butler outfit was standing beside the remains of the said vase, giving both Subaru and Felt the coldest of looks.

Not wanting this tension to break him, Subaru tried to ease it up a bit. “H-Hey, you must be one of the other servants. I’m Subaru and this here is Felt. We’re trying to find the dining hall to meet up with the others.”

The old butler didn’t say a word. He just continued to stare at Subaru with that very cold look of his.

“U-um… Would you take us there? P-Please!”

Felt stood still looking panicked. She didn’t know why but that look had some strange power that just locked her in place. Hell, she didn’t even have the nerve to speak up right now.

Another moment passed of the butler staring menacingly at the duo. Luckily for the two, the tension lessened when he wordlessly swept up the destroyed vase into a dustpan and started walking away.

Subaru, not wanting to comment on what just happened, quickly composed himself and followed behind the butler. “T-Thanks! I appreciate it.”

That was enough for Felt to get back her bearings and followed suit. “Hey! Wait up!”

The rest of the walk was just awkward silence. Subaru tried to strike a conversation with the old man at some point but that scary look of his just instantly shut him up. It didn’t take long at all for the group to have finally made it to the dining hall, finding all the remaining inhabitants patiently waiting in their respective seats with tasty looking plates of food in front of them.

Felt on the other hand instantly took notice of the young pink haired twins who too were joined at the table and pointed at them. “What the hell, Reinhard?! How many more girls are you planning to abduct?!”

The sudden accusation made Flam and Grassis tilt their head in perfect unison, looking towards Felt in confusion. Reinhard scratched the back of his head as he too shared a confused look. “Do you mean Flam and Grassis? They’re the extra staff that I mentioned earlier.”

Felt glared at the knight with clear suspicion in her eyes. “They’re the new hires? They look even younger than me! Quit lying and admit they’re your next victims.”

“I assure you, Miss Felt, these two are not here against their will. I offered them the position to work here and they accepted.” Reinhard tried his best to reassure.

Luckily for the knight, the twins assisted him. “Master Reinhard is correct.” The girl on the left started. “Grandmother informed us about the situation and my sister and I happily volunteered.” The twin on the right finished.

“Oh crap, you’re for real?” Felt asked, finally starting to accept the truth after hearing the twin’s side of the story. However, she kept her suspicious glare locked on Reinhard. “I’m not letting my guard down. I got my eye on you.”

“I wonder what occurred that warranted such a cold stare?” Reinhard asked himself, which only made both Felt and Subaru look at him dumbfoundedly.

To those two, it was pretty obvious at this point and Subaru couldn’t help but point out that fact. “I think it might be from your rather forward way of tackling issues.”

“Tch, ya think?” Felt clicked her tongue. She didn’t add to that though as she sat herself in one of the empty seats. “Let’s eat already. I’m starving.”

Subaru chuckled a little and sat beside Felt. There were plates of food already set out before the two and saying it looked and smelled delicious was an understatement. With everyone present, they all began to eat. A certain blonde haired girl chowed down more wildly than the others which made them give nervous glances to the starving girl.

“T-Try using the silverware, Miss Felt. That way you won’t get yourself dirty.” Reinhard advised, trying his best to sound respectful as possible considering the circumstance.

“I said we’re doing that tomorrow.” Felt nonchalantly stated as she continued to eat the same way she had this morning, just shoveling the food in her mouth using her hands.

Reinhard really wanted to intervene but he did agree to wait till tomorrow and he’d hate to go back on his word. Regaining his composure, he bowed his head towards Felt. “You’re right. I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me, milady.”

Reinhard didn’t even get an answer. The young lady was just continuing to eat like she had been. It wasn’t long though as a hand rested on her shoulder which successfully stopped her. “What is it now-“

Felt stopped talking and her face turned pale as she noticed who it was that grabbed her shoulder. Towering over her was that scary looking old butler. Despite being clearly intimated, Felt did her best to brush off that feeling. “W-What? Ya got a problem with the way I eat?”

The old man didn’t say a word, he instead picked up one of Felt’s untouched forks and handed it to her. Felt just stared at the fork dumbfoundingly for a few seconds before glaring at the old butler. “I said I’m not doing this right now! Back off already!”

However, the butler didn’t back off. He stood still in that same position, staring at Felt with that frightfully stern look of his. Sure, Subaru had a scary look of his own but it was nothing compared to this guy. Eventually, the stare down was slowly eating away at Felt’s resolve and started to falter.

“I-I said back off…” Felt nearly muttered, revealing that she was really cracking under the pressure. Sure enough, the butler silently stood his ground. It was as if he was just some kind of intimidating statue at this point.

Eventually, Felt finally cracked under the pressure and shakily grabbed the fork and started using it for its intended purpose. Satisfied, the butler finally left Felt and sat himself beside Carol who was just watching the whole scene with amusement.

“Good job, dear.” Carol said to the old butler which caused him to smile. The smile he emitted was nothing like his stern look and all tension it gave off vanished during that small moment that he smiled. After that bizarre moment, the butler finally started to eat himself.

A moment of peace fell upon the table for several moments. Everyone is now eating their food in a rather peaceful manner. Well, until a certain boy wearing his jumpsuit decided now was the best time to speak up. “Say, Carol, you never introduced me to the butler.”

Carol who was almost done with her food anyways looked over to the old man then back to Subaru. “Huh, I guess you’re right. Forgive me, it slipped my mind. This is my husband, Grimm. He can’t talk that well anymore so don’t go thinking he’s giving you the cold shoulder.”

Well, that explained a lot Subaru thought to himself. He was under the impression that he was just giving him and Felt the silent treatment. Even Felt was a bit relieved by this piece of information, it’ll certainly help with not seeing him as someone so intimidating.

“O-Oh! That’s great to know. I thought there was tension between us at first.” Subaru nervously chuckled to himself before continuing, “Well I’m Natsuki Subaru. I’m jobless and broke beyond comparison!”

“Don’t forget to add illiterate to that list of yours.” Felt added with a smug smirk across her face.

“Th-That’s out of my control! Besides, that’s at the top of my to-do list for things I’m working on.”

Carol waved her hand in a dismissive manner. “Master Reinhard had informed me of that already. We can start after you eat if you want.”

Eager to prove a certain blonde girl what’s for, he eagerly agreed to the arrangement. After eating, Carol led Subaru to his room, bringing the twin maid, Flam, along as an assistant of sorts. Carol had Subaru wait by a desk in his room as she gathered several blank sheets of paper as well as that classic feather and ink to write with.

After everything was gathered, the lesson had started. However, the only material that was gone over was this world’s alphabet. It wasn’t too hard to learn it since it was mostly changing certain characters from his own alphabet. That didn’t mean that the lessons weren’t lengthy, this still was the equivalent of learning a brand new language except everyone spoke the same way.

“I must admit, you’re picking up on this faster than I thought.” Carol praised. Even Flam nodded, agreeing with her grandmother’s intuition.

“What are you talking about? It’s been like three hours and I still haven’t figured out the alphabet.” Subaru complained.

“You can’t honestly expect to learn something like writing in a single afternoon, young man. Even a child would take about a week to only learn the simplest form of writing.”

Subaru blinked a few times as he wasn't even close to that bridge yet. “Well, I guess you’re right, I guess I have all week to catch up.”

Carol shook her head. “At the pace you’re going, I’d say you’ll catch up to the kids in about two weeks.”

“Wait… I thought you said I was doing great!”

“I said you’re doing better than I thought. I thought it would take you a year to two.”

Subaru just looked as if he experienced the biggest betrayal of his lifetime. “What are you talking about?! I’m not some kind of idiot!”

“You’re not?” The young twin, Flam asked as she tilted her head. She genuinely believed Subaru was just that.

“Don’t worry, young man. You’re still seen as an idiot. Don’t let anyone take that away from you.” Carol calmly explained.

“No please, I would LOVE for someone to take that away.” Subaru replied.

Subaru took a little more time to review today’s lesson before the day had finally come to an end. He was understandably pretty exhausted and when Carol and Flam left, Subaru flopped himself on the bed letting out a long groan.

“Uuuugh…”

That was all said before climbing in bed and reflected on everything that had happened. After the loot house incident, he learned that Felt was some kind of princess. With that knowledge, he did the most honorable thing one could do and goof off and look around Reinhard’s manor.

“I’m so pathetic… I should’ve checked up on Emilia…” Subaru lamented to himself.

In all truth, there wasn’t any real way to contact her at this time. Reinhard already mentioned that she promised to stop by at some point in the future. He was just worried about her considering there was literally an assassin threatening her life. He really wished that he went with her instead.

He thought that he’d just have to wait for Emilia’s arrival. He was sure that no one would mind if he hopped aboard the Emilia train.

…

Oh yeah… There was Felt he had to consider. He didn’t want to leave that poor girl alone with everything that had happened.

Subaru shook his head and sighed yet again.

“I guess staying here wouldn’t be bad either.”

Chapter 4: Clowny Lessons

Chapter Text

Subaru was fast asleep, knowing his life isn’t in any danger really helped the boy in putting his mind at ease. However, that was eventually put to an end once the pink haired doppelgängers let themselves in.

“Good morning, guest-sama.” The two girls said in perfect unison and bowed towards Subaru who was very groggily waking himself up. His vision was still blurry as he didn’t prepare himself to wake up this early. Subaru managed to at least figure out that the twin maids were the ones to wake him up.

“You two…?” He asked exhaustedly.

Without wasting any time, Flam continued. “We were informed that you’ll be participating in Lady Felt’s candidacy training.”

Oh right, I was going to be doing something like that, Subaru thought. However, he was still too tired and just yanked the covers over himself. “Five more minutes…” He groaned out, nearly passing out again.

The twins blinked and looked at one another for a moment. They then shrugged in unison and bowed to Subaru. “Understood, we will return in five minutes.” And with that, the twins left the room, leaving Subaru to continue his sleeping montage.

The time spent sleeping once again was really relaxing. Subaru was also kinda surprised that he even got away with it. Usually in anime when someone said that phrase, they would try extra hard to get them up or something along those lines.

As if on cue to his thoughts, he felt a very powerful force strike his stomach. It was as if someone drop kicked him, aiming directly in his stomach. The pain shot him up from the bed, letting out a loud groan as he instantly saw who his attacker was.

It was Felt who had indeed drop kicked him.

“GYAAAAAH! What was that for?!” Subaru cried out. Five minutes hadn’t even passed since the twins came by.

“Do I really need to answer that?! You were trying to bail on me so I decided to knock some sense back into ya!” Felt answered as she was still standing on top of Subaru.

“Alright, I get it. But you don’t need to launch yourself at me like a missile!”

“I don’t know what a missile is but I’ll launch myself at you however I want if you’re gonna stay in bed like some kind of troll! Besides, you promised that you’ll go through this with me. It’d be pretty shitty of you to abandon family like that.”

Subaru raised an eyebrow to this. “Family? Oh yeah, I’ve been meaning to ask you about that. I remember you calling me your big brother at some point. Is that some kind of alibi for something?”

“That thing? Not really. I mean, you stuck your neck out for me and you really saved my life from that crazy bitch. I seriously would be dead if it weren’t for you. And that’s what family does, they stick up for one another.” Felt smiled, showing genuine appreciation.

Subaru smiled as well and lightly chuckled. “I guess you got a point there, little sister.” While Subaru was lightly chuckling, that comment made Felt look rather annoyed and stomped her foot down. Since she was still standing on top of Subaru, Felt essentially gave his stomach another kick which stopped the boy’s chuckling and let out another gyaah sound. “ H-Hey! What gives?!”

“I dunno, when I hear you say it like that, it pisses me off.” Felt explained as she crossed her arms, looking very clearly disturbed. “Call me something else.”

Subaru took a second to think and placed his hands over Felt’s feet before he answered, just in case she got mad again. “Well, how about lil’ sis?” He then braced himself to endure another kick. Luckily, that kick never came.

“Hm… Lil’ sis…” Felt muttered. “Yeah! It has a nice ring to it! I knew you’d come up with something less embarrassing.”

“But lil’ sis is just a shortened version of little sist- GYAAAAH!!!” Subaru was suddenly interrupted as Felt stomped her foot down.

“Yep, it really does have a nice ring to it. Glad you agree, big bro.” Felt declared as she silenced the poor boy beneath her with her stomping. Hell, she added another kick just for good measure which this time around made Subaru retaliate to Felt’s surprise. Once Felt stomped her foot down again, Subaru managed to catch it this time and toppled her over beside him. “Hey! What gives?! Don’t go blocking my ki- AHAHAH!!!”

Felt’s scolding was suddenly interrupted as Subaru began tickling her. Subaru was now smiling smugly as he had finally got the upper hand for once. “Counter attack!” Subaru shouted out loud as he mercilessly tickled the short blonde.

Felt was in tears, laughing her ass off as she helplessly flailed around. “H-Hey! G-Get off! Hahah!” That was the best the poor girl managed to say in this tickle torture she found herself in.

Unfortunately for Felt, her pleas fell on deaf ears as Subaru continued his tickling onslaught. This scene didn’t last long, after a few minutes, the twins returned to the room. “I hope you’ve gotten enough additional rest, guest-sama. I think it’s time to-“ Flam stopped what she was saying as the twins were now witnessing Subaru mercilessly assaulting poor Felt.

The two looked at one another and nodded in unison before both Flam and Grassis rushed forward. Before Subaru knew it, he found himself pinned down in an arm lock. After realizing the position he was in, Subaru began to helplessly squirm around. “Ow ow ow!! I give, I give!!”

Despite the boy’s plea for mercy, Grassis, the twin that had him pinned, kept her stance. Felt, who was escorted to the side by Flam, took a second to catch her breath and smugly smiled at Subaru. “I guess what goes around comes around.”

“W-What do you mean?! You’re the one that started it!” Subaru cried out before nearly yelping in pain again. “OW OW OW!!! L-Loosen up, will you?”

Grassis silently remained still, doing a phenomenal job at apprehending the boy. Flam then spoke to Felt. “Lady Felt, are you alright?”

Felt couldn’t help but chuckle rather triumphantly. “Yeah yeah, I’m sure big bro learned his lesson so you can let him go?”

The twins blinked and asked in unison, “Big bro?” Grassis was quick to get off Subaru and rushed beside her sister then both Flam and Grassis bowed to the still whimpering Subaru profusely. “We’re sorry, guest-sama. I was under the impression that you were assaulting Lady Felt.” Flam explained.

Subaru got himself up and stretched a little. He was about to give those girls a piece of his mind but he stopped after seeing the two. They were just kids after all. He let out a sigh before smiling at the two. “It’s all under the rug. Just be careful next time. A-And be a bit gentler too.” Subaru nervously chuckled at his last remark before the twins bowed once again.

“If you would, Master Reinhard is still waiting for you both.” Flam explained, gesturing to the door so that they could get on their way.

“Sure thing. Just let me change first.”

Felt’s brow twitched at Subaru’s response. “Would you hurry up?! I want to get this dumb thing over with already.”

Fearing another attack, Subaru frantically waved his hands in front of himself. “I’ll be fast, I promise.”

With a heavy sigh, Felt stepped out of the room with her arms crossed. The twins followed right behind her, leaving Subaru alone in the room once more.

“She sure is a handful.” Subaru muttered to himself after the girls left and got himself changed back into his signature tracksuit. He didn’t really have any other clothes after all other than the bed wear that this place provided him. Perhaps he could ask Reinhard or one of the staff to help fix that at some point.

Subaru got himself out of the room shortly after, regrouping with the girls. “Please follow us.” Flam instructed as she led the way beside her sister. Subaru and Felt followed behind.

Felt was still smiling pretty smugly at Subaru and leaned close to him, whispering up at him. “You got beat up by a little girl~”

He had indeed got his ass handed to him by the little twin named Grassis but there was no way he was just going to admit that. “I-I was just going easy on her. It would tear down my moral code if I attacked a little girl.”

Felt wasn’t buying it at all, her smug smirk she still wore proved just that. “I dunno, it sounded like you were screaming like a girl back there.”

“Manly! It was a manly scream!” Subaru countered.

Flam glanced back at the two. “Your manly scream sounded feminine to me.” Grassis nodded, agreeing with her sister’s insight.

“Not you guys too…” Subaru slumped down in defeat which earned him a cheeky chuckle from Felt.

Soon enough, the group arrived at the dining hall to find Reinhard sitting alone at the table with a plate of untouched food in front of him. Across the table, there were two more plates of food. Reinhard smiled once everyone had arrived. “Good morning, I was starting to fear that something may have happened.”

“Nah, a certain someone was just trying to bail in their own special way.” Felt said.

“I wasn’t trying to ditch you! I just wasn’t expecting to get up this early!”

“My apologies, I should’ve mentioned that Miss Felt’s lessons are going to start at this time and will proceed until after dinner.” Reinhard clarified.

Felt blinked a few times as this piece of information was only brought to her attention just now. “That’s all day! I might’ve agreed to do this but there’s no way in hell I’m turning these lessons into a career!”

“I doubt it’ll be all training.” Subaru added. “Why don’t you tell us the schedule you had planned, Reinhard. That way, we’ll know what to expect.”

“That’s a reasonable plan. Well to start with, we’ll be going over proper manners over the table so breakfast will be part of our lessons. Afterwards, we’ll be going over h own to properly introduce yourself to others. Depending how long that takes will determine our next activity.”

“So it’s more of a ‘we’ll get there when we get there’ lesson plan?” Subaru confirmed.

“That’s an interesting way of wording it but yes, the length of these lessons entirely depends on how quickly you both can learn them.”

“You hear that, Felt? The faster we get these done, the more we can do in our day.” Subaru explained with a smile.

“Well, if that’s how it’s gonna go, then I guess it wouldn’t be too bad.” Felt submitted, even letting out an annoyed sigh.

Reinhard shook his head. “Actually, the plan was to immediately start the next lesson. We’ll be cycling lessons until lunchtime where we’ll review this morning’s lesson. We’ll resume our lessons afterwards and we’ll once again cycle through them until dinner. Our lessons will all be over for the day by then.”

Both Subaru and Felt stared at Reinhard with a dumbfounded look. Felt was slowly scooting herself closer to the door they came in from, getting ready to book it but Subaru placed his hand on her shoulder causing her to stop.

“Don’t worry,” Subaru whispered. “I’ll talk to him after we eat.” He then gave Felt a thumbs up but Felt didn’t respond, she just continued to wear that same weirded out look.

The two awkwardly took their seats and finally began their first lesson. The lesson itself was very simple, in all honesty, it was pretty insulting. Reinhard’s only instruction for this was to use silverware to eat their food.

This was of course enough to enrage Felt. “I know what a fork is! I’m not stupid!”

“In that case, this lesson should be easy.” Reinhard smiled, seeming to be genuinely proud. With a click of her tongue, Felt shoveled some of the food with her fork. Before she could take a bite, Reinhard intervened. “Not like that, you’re supposed to use your fork like this.” Thus the knight demonstrated his silverware prowess, something that Felt couldn’t care less for.

After his demonstration, Felt just stared at Reinhard for a moment and just gobbled the food that was still scooped on her fork. This food tasted amazing too, one thing this place makes up for is certainly its food.

Reinhard just assumed Felt was clearing her fork for her next attempt and just watched expectantly, kinda like watching an infant about to take their first steps. This annoyed Felt and was about to scoop some more food the same way as before. However, Subaru was the one to stop her this time.

“Cmon, just humor him a little.”

“With what? He should be happy that I’m even using his dumb fork.”

“I said I’ll talk to Rein after this, if you can do this for me, I promise the workload he’s trying to haul on us will be drastically reduced.”

Felt gritted her teeth. “I don’t know what you’re trying to pull here.” She then let out a sigh. “Fine, but I’ll kick you if you don’t keep your end of the deal.”

The blonde girl reluctantly took the food in her fork like Reinhard had instructed. It wasn’t hard or anything, it was just annoying for the young girl, especially that stupid happy look Reinhard was giving her. It looked like he was some kind of proud parent.

“Will ya stop looking at me like that?! It’s creepy!” Felt hissed.

In return, Reinhard just scratched the back of his head and smiled. “My apologies, I didn’t mean to offend you. I’m just overjoyed to see how quick of a learner you are.”

“It’s just eating! There shouldn’t even be some kind of complicated method for that to begin with.” Felt said. She was about to strike at her food again before Reinhard yet again interrupted her.

“You should wipe yourself with your handkerchief before resuming your meal.”

“Grr…! Why does that matter?! I swear, you’re trying to piss me off on purpose, aren’t you?! What about big bro? You haven’t said a word to him on what he should be doing.” This caused Subaru to give off a triumphant smirk. Before Felt could call him out anymore, she finally noticed that his plate was clean, devoid of any food. “Hold on, where did all your food go?!”

“Hahah, while Reinhard was too busy focusing on you, I strategically took out my target as fast as I could!” Subaru proudly declared before patting his stomach.

“What the hell?! We’re supposed to be doing this together! And Reinhard, why didn’t you lecture him? Are you that hellbent on making my life miserable?”

“I didn’t mean to have Subaru discounted. This training is more aimed towards you so I was under the impression you wanted Subaru as emotional support.” Reinhard reasoned

“Oh he’ll be supporting me by doing everything you’re making me do! If I have to eat weirdly, then so does big bro!”

“My apologies for my ignorance. I will correct our lessons from now on to fit both of you.” Reinhard bowed, showing his respect.

“Cmon lil sis, you’re not going to make me do everything you have to do, right?” Subaru pleaded, already getting a bad feeling about this.

“Yes you are! What are you even worried about? It’s not like they’re gonna put us in a dress.”

Subaru let out a sigh of relief and smiled. “Yeah, I guess you’re right. I guess I shouldn’t worry too much.”

“…”

Reinhard stayed silent for his own reasons. Almost as if he had something in mind that involved a dress.

The lesson wasn’t kept track of for the remainder of the time, leaving Felt to finish her food the way she wanted to. Reinhard decided to not pursue it any further since he now understood that Subaru will have to be taught too and decided to leave it for the next lessons.

After eating, Reinhard was about to lead the group to the next room. However, Subaru kept his word and took Reinhard off to the side to talk to him in private.

“So Rein, I wanted to talk to you about Felt’s lessons.” Subaru started.

“I assumed as much. There’s nothing to worry about though, I only intend to have you participate in lessons that fit your qualifications.” Reinhard smiled.

“I do appreciate that but that’s not what I meant. I mean the length of the schedule if that makes sense.”

Reinhard rubbed his chin as he recalled the schedule he had planned out. “I find it perfectly reasonable. All the proper lessons fit in and it gives both you and Miss Felt the rest of the day off after dinner. Perhaps you’re right though, I see no harm in adding another lesson or two afterwards.”

“N-No, I’m not asking for more lessons! It’s actually the opposite.” Subaru frantically corrected.

Reinhard looked genuinely surprised at this feedback. “Are you sure? My apologies, I haven’t trained myself in the arts of teaching. Anyways, what was it you wanted to suggest?”

“Well, I guess more time to do our own things. The current plan hardly gives us any breathing room and I think that will only make the lessons harder to… process, if you get what I mean. Right now, we’re supposed to cram everything from morning to late evening.”

“Hmm… That sounds reasonable. You seem to have experience with this, would you mind helping me redo our schedule?”

Subaru smiled brightly and gave Reinhard a thumbs up. “Sure thing, Rein!”

“Thank you, we can start this later. I would like to get Miss Felt in top shape as soon as I can.”

“Only if I call the breaks until we do so.”

“Reinhard nodded. “Of course, I will trust your judgment on the matter.”

With the schedule discussion out of the way, the two returned to Felt who had their arms crossed and was impatiently tapping her foot on the ground. Flam and Grassis were standing beside her, looking like they were her personal attendants. “There ya are. Did you sort out that bullshit lesson plan?”

Subaru nodded and gave her a thumbs up. “Sure did! Everything should be smooth sailing from here on.”

Letting out a sigh of relief, Felt walked beside Subaru and Reinhard with the twins following at a distance. “Good, let’s get this over with already.”

The group settled down in one of the vacant rooms which looked pretty spacious compared to the other rooms and was mainly empty. Kinda like a very roomy living room. Reinhard explained that this room is where all their other lessons will take place and the lesson they will be starting with would be ‘proper manners’.

A drop of sweat ran down Subaru’s face and gulped audibly. He could already tell this lesson would take weeks to complete. Maybe Reinhard really knew what he was doing when conducting the original lesson plan.

Regardless, the lesson had begun.

---------------------------------------------------------

Some time later…

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“Now bow your head and position your hands like this.” Reinhard instructed, bowing a specific way to Subaru and Felt.

Subaru had no problem following along, performing each pose masterfully like the renowned poser he was. That couldn’t really be said for a certain crimson eyed girl. Felt was honestly giving it a try at first but she ended up feeling weird and stopped going forward with it.

“Grr… Do I have to keep my back straight like this? It doesn’t feel natural at all.” Felt complained.

“Bowing in this position is a must. Any other way would make most nobles assume that you’re either disrespecting them or you’re foreign.”

“Wouldn’t it be easier to just say I’m foreign?”

“That would make things worse, that course of action would either have you deported to whatever country they think you're from or have you detained and questioned under the assumption you’re a spy.”

“Why the hell is the law so strict in this country?! Those high up pigs are so damn paranoid.” Felt sighed before trying the bow again. She held up this time but she sure felt uncomfortable doing it. “There, ya happy now?”

“That’s wrong, the correct thing to say is ‘Pleasure to make your acquaintance, my name is Felt’.” Reinhard corrected.

“Well there’s nothing pleasant about this! How about this for a greeting?” Felt then swung her foot at Reinhard to kick him.

The knight just caught it and calmly repositioned her foot back to the ground. “That’s not what I said. Allow me to repeat myself-“

“Yeah yeah, pleasure to meet ya or something. God, this is irritating the hell outta me.”

The lesson was put to a stop as Carol made her way into the room, bowing her head to Reinhard.

“Master Reinhard, Lord Roswaal is here. He wishes to have an audience with you and Subaru.” Carol briefed.

Subaru’s eyebrow lifted. “Me? Some lord wants to see me?”

After thinking about it for a second, this might just be the call he was waiting for. Some lord who already knows of him is asking for both him and the most OP person he’s ever met. This must be the event where he’ll be told about a prophecy that he’s a summoned hero who will save the world!

Reinhard nodded to Carol. “Thank you, let him know we’ll be there shortly.”

After Carol left the room, Subaru asked Reinhard, “So, who’s this Roswaal guy?”

“Lord Roswaal is a brilliant mage who has been a great help to Lugnica. He is also appointed as the capital’s court mage.”

A mage too? This was really going his way, maybe he can tell him his affinity that Reinhard mentioned during yesterday’s outing, Subaru thought.

“Sweet! Let’s go meet this guy! Wanna come along, lil’ sis?” Subaru offered his hand to Felt who had already taken advantage of the initial intrusion to sit down.

“Nah, I’m sure this Roswaal fella is just another stuck up noble. Besides, I didn’t hear that they wanted me so I choose to opt out on this one.” Felt crossed her arms with her classic stubbornness.

“Miss Felt does have a point. She can wait here or get to know my home more if she chooses.” Reinhard said.

“Wait, really?” Felt asked. She was honestly expecting to hear some kind rebuttal or excuse over why she should tag along.

Reinhard nodded. “Indeed. Like you said, he didn’t call for you by name so you have every right to not participate.”

“Well good! At least you have some common sense in that thick skull of yours.” Felt commented, just being glad that she finally has an actual choice.

“Aw, what happened to sticking together?” Subaru mentioned. “I’m sure it would be a nice learning experience to be around nobles, like a practice run.”

“Look, I appreciate you looking out for me and all but this is the first time I’m given a choice in this place. Just give me this.” Felt practically pleaded.

“Alright, you win. Try not to get lonely without us.” Subaru teased.

“With how persistent you’re being, I’m sure you’re the one who’ll feel lonely without me.” Felt smirked as she laid out her counter tease.

“Ah, guess you got me there. I’ll definitely get lonely without my trusty little mascot.” Subaru said with a mischievous smirk.

“Urk!!!” Felt flinched and her whole face reddened. She hopped back on her feet and stomped her foot on the ground. “Quit joking around like that!”

As much as Subaru wanted to tease the poor girl even more, the thought of having his face kicked in stopped him. “Yeah, yeah. Cmon Rein, let’s not keep that Roswaal guy waiting.” Subaru didn’t even wait for any more responses, he just made his way out of the room and Reinhard followed suit.

Soon enough, the two made it to the manor’s entrance hall and found Carol pouring a cup of tea to a particular looking individual. The individual in question wore purple clothes and a cape. His face was painted white and had a purple symbol painted over his left eye. Overall, he looked like a clown.

“Woah, this Roswaal guy must be a pretty fun guy to bring his clown around.” Subaru said.

Everyone in the room faced their attention to Subaru. Carol had a look of disappointment, Reinhard looked genuinely concerned, and the clown… well… he just looked happy to be here.

“Friend, this is Lord Roswaal.” Reinhard whispered to Subaru.

Subaru looked panicked at that moment and started apologizing profusely to the man who was clearly dressed like a clown and not a lord. “I’m sorry! I didn’t mean it!”

“Myyyy~ You really are quite the interesting one, Natsuki Subaru.” The man that was known as Roswaal said to Subaru. “Allow me to make a prooooper~ introduction; I am Roswaal L. Mathers, Lord of the mansion of Margrave Mathers.”

“Well, you already know my name already but let me give you an introduction of my own! I’m Natsuki Subaru! A shut in who’s broke beyond compare.” Subaru proudly declared much to Carol and Reinhard’s dismay.

Roswaal on the other hand just kept his delighted looking smile “That certainly was quiiiite~ the introduction, Subaru. Now allow me to share with you the purpose of my arrival.”

Both Reinhard and Subaru took a seat with the latter waiting in anticipation. “I’ve come to express my sincerest gratitude for what you’ve done for Miss Emilia.”

Subaru’s eyes lightened up at the mention of Emilia. “So she’s with you?! That’s amazing! Where is she? I really wanted to catch up with her.”

“I’m afraid Miss Emilia is still in my domain. She has some rather iiiimportant~ studies to take care of.”

“Oh right, Emilia is a royal candidate too, I guess that makes sense.” Subaru sighed. He was really looking forward to an official visit from Emilia. “Wait a minute… What exactly is your relationship with Emilia?!”

“Simply put, IIII’m~ Miss Emilia’s sponsor. I am looking after her and ensuring she does well in her candidacy to take the throne, so to speak.” Roswaal informed which helped relieve that spark of jealousy he randomly felt there.

“Ah, alright. So basically I saved the life of a political beauty. I’d say I’ve done a pretty good job in doing so! I definitely should be getting some kind of reward.” Subaru boasted.

“I agree wholeheartedly. You have done me a greeeeat~ service after all. Just name anything you want and if it’s within my power, then it’s yours.”

“Really? In that case…” Subaru stood up, a look of determination embedded in his eyes.

“Keep a position open for me in the future and hire me to work for you until then!”

…

Felt has no idea why but she randomly sneezed.

…

It wasn’t long after their meeting concluded and Roswaal departed. The Clown Lord really only thanked Reinhard for his assistance and left soon after.

“If you don’t mind me asking, friend.” Reinhard started after both Subaru and himself began to head their way back to Felt. “If you wanted a job, I’d be more than happy to hire you here.”

“That’s not the point. I just want to help out Emilia in her side of the candidacy. I figured she should get all the help she needs.” Subaru said, hiding the fact that he just wants to get closer to Emilia.

“Really? Well, if that’s the case, wouldn’t it make more sense to ask to be a permanent resident?”

Subaru faced Reinhard in utter shock. “Wait, that was an option?!”

“Lord Roswaal did say anything you wanted, I’m sure that would go under the lines of things he has the power to do.” Reinhard explained, letting out a light smile at Subaru’s sudden mood swing.

As the two were rear by the room, they spotted quite a peculiar sight. Subaru and Reinhard started witnessing Felt being dragged by both Flam and Grassis, one twin grabbing Felt’s left leg and the other grabbing her right. Felt was screaming profanities as well as trying to grab the floor. Felt didn’t seem to have noticed the boys as she was effortlessly dragged back inside the room the duo initially left them in by the twins.

Subaru only watched in awe at that whole scene before them while Reinhard chuckled. “Miss Felt is quite a handful.” Reinhard mentioned.

“So… Did she try to run away again?” Subaru asked, still in his state of awe.

“It would be rude of me to assume such things. I’m sure it was some kind of misunderstanding.” Reinhard said, looking at the brighter side of things.

“Yeah… Let’s go check up on her.”

Finally, the duo went inside the room just to find an enraged Felt yelling at the twins.

“What did ya do that for?! I said stop!” Felt snapped.

Both Flam and Grassis were calmly facing Felt, being unaffected by the feisty girl’s yelling. “My apologies, Lady Felt.” The twins said simultaneously with Flam continuing, “After you used the restroom, we noticed you climbing out the window so we took it upon ourselves to bring you back safely.”

Subaru let out a heavy sigh after hearing that. Felt was definitely trying to run away again.

The sigh caught the attention of Felt and shot her gaze on Subaru. “H-Hey! When did you guys show up?!”

“Enough to hear that you tried to run away again! Is that why you didn’t want to join us?!” Subaru complained.

“Not really, the opportunity kinda just presented itself and I just took it.” Felt casually exclaimed.

“What kind of opportunity? A personal escort from two girls that are smaller than you?” Subaru teased.

A visible irk formed on the feisty girl’s forehead and flailed her arms around. “It’s not my fault! These bean sprouts are tougher than they look!”

With a big goofy smile, Subaru approached Felt and got on his knees, being at eye level. “You got beat up by a little girl~” Subaru teased in a feminine way, trying to mimic Felt’s voice.

Felt blushed and growled at the all too familiar line. Without saying another word, Felt swung her foot at Subaru and kicked him across his face. The act was so fast that Subaru didn’t even have a chance to cry out in pain. Instead, he fell on his side with that goofy smile stained on his face.

“H-haha… W-Worth it…” Subaru muttered.

Felt’s wrath didn’t subside. In fact, that little comment only fueled it further as she now began to kick the boy while he was down, earning her low grunt sounds after each kick. “Stop it! You look like a damn pervert when you smile like that!”

Eventually, Reinhard intervened, putting a swift stop to this sorry scene. Everyone took a moment to collect themselves, except for Flam and Grassis, they were pretty damn good at keeping their neutral fronts this whole time.

They took this time to update Felt what happened during Roswaal’s visit. To put it simply, she was not happy. Felt went to kick Reinhard but easily caught it. “What the hell Reinhard?! Why didn’t you say something?! At least say that big bro’s already working for ya!”

“My apologies, Miss Felt.” The knight apologized “However, this is a decision that Subaru made and as his friend, I will respect his decision.”

“Grr… Fine…” Felt stomped her way to Subaru and kicked his side, letting out a grunt. “And you! What the hell are you thinking?! Are you that stupid?! You dumb fucking dumbass!!!”

“Calm down, I’ll explain everything, just stop kicking me.” Subaru pleaded, still rubbing his side from the initial kick. He knew Felt would be upset but he didn’t expect all hell would break loose.

“Go on then! Lemme hear your brain dead excuse on why you thought it was a brilliant idea to decide your future without me!” Felt hissed.

Wait, without her? Subaru thought. He decided to brush it off for now as there was a much more pressing issue to contain. “You remember Emilia, the girl you stole the insignia from?”

Felt only nodded, still waiting on the boy’s excuse.

“She’s a royal candidate too. Since you don’t want to be queen, I thought I should help her out with that.”

Felt still didn’t look any less angry. “And how does that give you the go ahead to jump sail and wag your tail to another girl?! You promised to stay with me, dumbass! Or have you forgotten?!”

“Slow down there, I’m going to join her after you announce your resignation. I’m still keeping my end of the deal by sticking with you until then.”

This was enough to settle down Felt, at least a little bit. “If that’s how it is, then fine. But I’m still not happy about this! Next time, ya better talk with me about stuff like this stuff!”

Subaru sighed in relief as he finally reached some kind of understanding. “For sure. Why are you against this though? You’re not jealous, are you?” Subaru teased at the end there.

This was more than enough to catch Felt off guard and blush. “I-It’s nothing like that! I’m mad that you’re letting yourself get poached like that!”

Not convinced, Subaru shook his head and smiled. “You don’t need to hide it. If you’ll miss me that much, you can always- GHOOOH!!”

His speech was interrupted once Felt punched him hard in the stomach, instantly taking the air out of his voice. “I said I’m not jealous!”

Finally deciding to intervene, Reinhard stepped forward. “You both have plenty of time before anything is set and stone. Surely you both can solve your differences until then.”

Felt let out a sigh and finally relented. “Yeah, as much as I hate to admit it, you’re right about that. Guess I gotta teach this numbskull his priorities at some point.”

Subaru weakly gave Reinhard a thumbs up. “N-Nice assist, Rein…”

After that hot mess was over with, the trio resumed their lessons. Luckily, they made good progress beforehand and they managed to finish in about an hour.

“Hey, Rein.” Subaru started not long after their first lesson, second if you consider breakfast. “I think now would be a good time to take a break. We’ve been at this lesson for hours.”

Much to both Subaru and Felt’s delight, the knight agreed. “Understood, shall we regroup in the dining hall for lunch?”

Subaru nodded. “Sounds good to me. Actually, would you be willing to stop by that market from yesterday with me?”

“I don’t have a problem. We should be able to make it there and back just in time.” Reinhard concluded.

“You two goin’ out again? Count me in.” Felt declared with a big smirk.

“Actually,” Subaru intervened. “I just need Rein for this.”

This caught Felt by surprise and the blonde girl gritted her teeth. “What’s wrong with me coming along?!”

“That’s a secret. But I promise you, it’ll all be worth it in the end.”

“Stop with this! What are you hiding?!”

“If I tell you, that’ll ruin the surprise!”

“Surprise?” Felt tilted her head in confusion. Suddenly, she just thought of something. “Alright then. I actually just remembered that I wanted to check something out here anyways. Guess I’ll see ya around, big bro.” Felt rushed herself out after that, not even bothering giving Reinhard a proper goodbye.

Subaru let out a sigh of relief, that was a lot easier than he had anticipated. “Alright, guess we should get going now.”

Reinhard nodded. “I agree, where exactly was it you wanted to go?”

Subaru smirked. “That tailor shop we got kicked out of.”

The knight lifted an eyebrow. “There? Are you sure?”

“Sure am! Though I do have to ask you for a huge favor.”

“Certainly, what is it, friend?”

Subaru dropped to his knees and groveled to Reinhard. “Please lend me some money! I promise I’ll pay you back once I get a job!”

Reinhard blinked a few times and chuckled. “Well, you’ve been a great help to Miss Felt so I don’t mind compensating you a little for that deed.”

“Thanks Rein! You’re the best!” Subaru got back up and thus the two started their very uneventful trip to the tailor and back. Luckily for Subaru, the tailor shop owner didn’t seem to recognize him so he didn’t get kicked out this time.

Subaru was all too excited, after all, he really wanted to exercise his one and only good quality about himself; sewing.

Chapter 5: It Never Mattered

Chapter Text

“Yeah! I’m so pumped! There is nothing that could ruin this day for me!” Subaru stated out loud.

After his meeting with Roswaal just the other day, he decided to come visit the Mathers Domain today. He was finally going to reunite with Emilia. Yes, he knew it’s only been four days but it was a very long and painful four days for the poor boy.

“Well, what if that half elf is too busy to see ya?” Felt, who was accompanying him, asked.

“Don’t jinx it! I know Emilia will be available, this is destiny after all!” Subaru declared.

Felt simply rolled her eyes. “Cmon, why are you so obsessed with her? According to what ya told me, you only knew her for an hour or something.”

“It was love at first sight! When you grow up, you’ll get it.”

Felt proceeded to stare at Subaru with a disappointed look before turning to Reinhard who was sitting across from the two. “Hey, can’t this thing go any faster? I kinda want to see big bro face reality.”

“I don’t see a reason to rush the dragon carriage. We should be arriving there shortly anyways.” Reinhard assured the two.

“Perfect!” Subaru started, “I’ll show you just how compatible Emilia and I truly are, lil’ sis!”

Felt let out a sigh. “I’m just going to come out and say it. Will you shut up about her? I kinda liked ya better back at Reinhard’s prison when you weren’t drooling over that half elf.”

Still lost in his delusions, Subaru continued, “She has a name you know. It’s Emilia.”

“Grr… Fine, Emilia! Now shut the hell up before I make you!” Felt glared at Subaru the same way she usually does with Reinhard. Luckily, the intimidation behind that glare was finally enough to snap Subaru out of it.

Subaru closed his eyes and chuckled meekly as he scratched the back of his head. “You’re right, sorry about that. I just hadn’t had much sleep last night and I’m kinda excited.”

“You don’t have to tell me that. You really showed it back at that village.” Felt recalled before leaning back in the carriage seat, finally satisfied that Subaru finally let it go.

“Miss Felt, if your living space is uncomfortable, I can assist you in fixing that.” Reinhard offered, being very clearly concerned that Felt compared his home to a prison.

“Oh boy, hope ya brought a quill because we’re gonna be here for a while.” Felt smirked rather devilishly, being more than happy to express all of her complaints.

“I don’t think that’s necessary, I’m positive I’ll remember and fix any issues you have.” The knight cheerfully reassured, being blissfully ignorannt of the ear torture he is about to endure.

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Earlier that morning…

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“BEEP BEEP BEEP”

Subaru slowly sat up from his bed and turned off his alarm on his phone. He made sure to set it early this time so he wouldn’t have to rely on his Felt drop kick alarm. True, it was a one time thing but he was not going to have a repeat of yesterday morning.

He was barely hanging in there. After all, he only slept for about two hours last night working on his sewing project. He would’ve done it in the afternoon after all those lessons but Felt insisted on hanging out with him the whole time. She even participated in the writing lessons Carol provided him despite her disinterest in all of Reinhard’s lessons.

Regardless, night was the only real chance he had to privately work on it. Luckily, he finished just in time to even have any sleep. Right now, his hard work was hiding in a sealed box that Reinhard lent him.

Subaru let out an exhausted yawn as she rolled out of bed and got himself dressed in his tracksuit, he was glad that he finally had the thread to patch that hole up. He got himself out of the room and barely found his way to the kitchen, surely this world had coffee. He’d be absolutely screwed otherwise.

“Good morning, guest-sama. You’re up early.” A gentle voice spoke up once Subaru found the kitchen.

Subaru frantically glanced at the source of the voice and found one of the young twins, Flam, in a cute little apron. “Oh, good morning Flam. Fancy seeing you here.”

“I’m Grassis, my sister is currently waking Lady Felt.” The twin who was actually Grassis informed.

Subaru flinched at this. “O-Oh, sorry. I don’t see you talk much so I thought you were Flam.”

“When we’re together, I leave most of the talking to my sister since she’s older. It usually scares our guests when we talk at the same time.”

Well, hearing that sounds scary in itself, Subaru thought. “W-Well anyways, I was trying to make myself some coffee, think you can help me out?”

Grassis tilted her head, looking at the boy quizzingly. “Cough-eh?”

“You know, black liquid, very bitter, but does wonders to keep you awake.”

Grassis stood up straight and looked as if a lightbulb lit up above her. “Oh, you mean coff. Certainly, I’ll be more than happy to make you a cup of coff.” The little maid bowed her head before gathering the proper ingredients.

“So coffee is called coff in this world?” Subaru asked himself. First it was apples being called appas and now it’s coffee being called coff. What’s next, potatoes are just tatoes? Subaru sighed at the very thought.

After focusing back to reality, he gazed on a peculiar sight. He saw Grassis standing on her tippy toes atop a tall stool reaching for a small bag on top of a cupboard. Even with all that extra elevation, the poor girl was still too short to reach it.

Subaru just smiled as he marveled at the sight of such a cute scene. He then walked beside the young maid and reached the bag for her and handed it to her. “Here you are. If you’re having trouble reaching things, don’t be afraid to ask for help. I’d be more than happy to give you a hand.”

Grassis calmly took the bag and looked away, getting all flustered. Subaru even could’ve sworn her cheeks turned a little pink. “That won’t be necessary, it is my duty as a maid to provide for our residents. I couldn’t possibly ask a guest to perform my own duties.”

Subaru couldn’t help but chuckle. “Cmon, I’m not doing anything around here, the least I could do is to be your little helper. Or, I guess big in this case.”

Grassis shook her head. “I couldn’t possibly-“

“You’re too young to be working yourself to death.” Subaru interrupted. “I can tell you’re a hard worker, both you and your sister. All I’ve really done is horse around and poke fun at Felt. Let me say it this way; I want to help you, Grassis.”

The little maid’s blush deepened a little before finally relenting. “If that is your wish, then I have no choice but to oblige. I’ll be counting on you, guest-sama.”

“Oh right, there’s no need to speak to me so formally, you can just call me by my name.” Subaru said with a smirk.

This flustered the poor little girl further and looked down. “A-Alright, Subaru-sama…”

After that interaction, Grassis went back to making the cup of coff. There weren't any more items needed that were on any high shelves so Subaru didn’t have a need to help with that. However, he did help Grassis by handing her the ingredients that she called for. Eventually, the cup of coff had finally been made.

Without wasting any time, Subaru eagerly downed that coff. “Ah, bitter.” Subaru complained.

His complaint made Grassis giggle. “You could’ve just asked me to add sugar to it.”

“Nonsense! What kind of man would I be if I didn’t drink straight black coff?”

“The type of man that screams femininely?” Grassis asks while tilting her head.

“H-Hey! I thought we agreed to never talk about that again!” A flustered Subaru cried out.

“Hehe~ Sorry, I’ll be more careful.”

After finally getting energized thanks to the coff, he went to the dining hall to start this morning’s lesson. He found Reinhard and Felt already in there waiting with breakfast laid out. Subaru just stared at this in disbelief. How is there breakfast here? Grassis was the only one he saw in the kitchen and he definitely knew that little girl didn’t make all this.

“How is breakfast already made?!” Subaru asked in disbelief.

“Carol just set it here. She just left to clean” Reinhard exclaimed.

“Th-That’s not what I meant! I mean I just left the kitchen and no one was in there making breakfast!”

“Oh, Carol has her own kitchen she cooks in. If I remember correctly, it’s so she can keep it the way she likes it.”

“Oh, I get it now.” Subaru let out a sigh of relief before getting himself seated.

The lesson proceeded in a very similar way it had been yesterday except that Reinhard was keeping an eye on Subaru so he wouldn’t speedrun eating his food again.

After a while, Subaru asked, “Hey Rein, how far is that Roswaal guy’s mansion from here?”

“Not that far, if we go now, we could definitely arrive there within 2 hours by dragon carriage.”

“Really? That’s awesome!” Subaru pumped his fist.

This made Felt stare at Subaru suspiciously. “What are you so happy about? Are you planning on making a run for it?”

Subaru eagerly shook his head. “No no, I just thought I should pay them a visit, kinda like getting an early look at the place.”

“Mhm, sure.” Felt was still suspicious.

“I’ve already arranged for us to go there after breakfast.” Reinhard informed casually.

Both Subaru and Felt shot their gazes onto the knight. “What the hell?! Why didn’t you say anything?!” Felt shouted.

“My apologies, I didn’t see the need to bring it up. I also thought it would be a pleasant surprise for Subaru.” Reinhard smiled innocently.

“Grr… Why wouldn’t this concern me?! It’s kinda a big deal if you’re letting my only partner in this damn place get poached!” Felt yelled.

“I’m sure Subaru will return. I’m sure he already promised to stay with you until your resignation, correct?”

“We’ll yeah but I’m smart enough to know that idiot will get caught in the moment and break that promise! If he’s going there, then I’m coming too!”

Subaru smiled. “I wouldn’t mind you tagging along. I actually thought it would be some good practice for our lessons.”

“Oh I’m just going to make sure you don't do something stupid! Last thing I need is a traitor!” Felt hissed.

“If I may add,” Reinhard started, “I have the carriage ready outside. When we’re done eating, we can head out immediately.”

With a nod, the three finished up the breakfast lesson posthaste.

---------------------------------------------------------

Present Time…

---------------------------------------------------------

“And my room!” Felt continued. “Out of all the rooms in that mansion, I ended up with the only one without a window. Believe me, I scouted around and every single room has at least one window except for mine which has nothin’! Even big bro has a window in his.”

“I-I see. So move you to a room with a window.” Reinhard recited to himself as he made another mental note.

Initially, Reinhard was politely listening while taking mental notes of Felt’s complaints. However, she just kept going to the point Reinhard was forced to use a divine protection to enhance his memory.

“Hmm… I guess that’s it.” Felt said before leaning herself back in her seat. She looked a lot happier, almost as if a weight had lifted from her shoulders.

Reinhard on the other hand was smiling politely however he had a visible stray drop on the side of his forehead. The fact he actually was even trying to listen to all those unreasonable requests was remarkable in itself.

“Very well, Miss Felt. I will look this over and see what changes I can reasonably make for you.” Reinhard concluded, finally being spared from this ear torture.

The carriage had already arrived at the mansion a little while ago but Felt insisted on finishing her list of complaints. Since that was finally over, the three finally got out and now stood before the mansion of Roswaal L. Mathers. This mansion was a little bigger than Reinhard’s and their garden of hedges in front looked a lot more elegant.

The trio consisting of Subaru, Felt, and Reinhard approached the mansion entrance with the latter leading. By the entrance, there were two maids standing in wait, one with pink hair and the other with blue. Needless to say, this was more than enough to catch Subaru’s attention.

“Cute twin maids? This Roswaal guy has everything! This is going to be great!”

Felt glanced at Subaru who currently had a disgustingly perverted look on his face. “Don’t we already have that at Reinhard’s place?”

“They don’t count! They’re too young to be prey for someone’s fantasies.”

“Sister, sister, our guest appears to be a deadbeat pervert.” The maid with blue hair started, clearly hearing the conversation that was happening in front of them.

“Yes indeed, Rem.” The Pink haired maid added in stereo. “Truly the personification of a loser.”

That comment made Felt chuckle. “Look at that, these two get it.”

“Why is everyone against me today?!” Subaru whined.

“If I had to guess,” Reinhard inquired. “I think it might have to be-“

“That was rhetorical!” Subaru interrupted, already seeing where Reinhard was going with that.

“My apologies, friend. I just couldn’t stand the sight of no one taking your side.”

After things settled a little, the twin maids of Roswaal’s Mansion started. “Our lord, Master Roswaal, is ready to see you.”

“Really?” Subaru asked. “That was fast.”

“You’ve been parked there for quite awhile. We’ve informed our lord of your arrival several minutes ago.” Rem informed Subaru.

“A-Ah, sorry about that, a certain little girl was- OOOMPH!”

Subaru was interrupted as that said girl elbowed him in his gut. “Whatever, thanks for waiting on us or something.”

Even though that wasn’t exactly what she was taught to say, the fact she was being remotely friendly to other people in some kind of way brightened Reinhard’s eyes. He once again has that proud parent look.

Felt just ignored it this time. In all honesty, she really wasn’t in the mood to create any outbursts right now. Her level of calmness even caught Subaru’s attention. He decided not to call her out on it though as his excitement to see Emilia triumphed over his superstition at the moment.

The maids ended up leading the way inside and straight to Roswaal’s office. The man in question was wearing the same attire as the other day, he was even wearing his make up in the exact same way.

This was the first time Felt had seen Roswaal in person and she just suddenly burst out laughing. “Really?! This clown is this Roswaal guy?!”

As Felt was laughing, the pink haired maid gave a cold glare at her. “Refrain yourself from making any more rude remarks to Master Roswaal.”

Roswaal who was looking as happy as he was yesterday signaled to the pink haired maid. “It’s fine Ram.” Those simple words were enough to calm the maid referred to as Ram and she politely apologized for her outburst. “So what is the purpose of this visit? Are you ready to start woooorking~ here, Subaru?”

“Hah, I wish. I actually wanted to stop by and take a look at the place so I know what to expect when I start.” Subaru explained.

“Is that so?” Roswaal asked and stared straight into Subaru’s eyes seriously for a brief moment. He then waved his hand to the side with a smile. “If thaaaat’s~ all, then feel free. Rem, why don’t you show Subaru around?”

The blue haired maid bowed her head. “Of course, Master Roswaal.”

Rem stepped forward and began to guide the trio out of the room so she could begin her tour, leaving Roswaal and Ram alone in the room.

“Ram…” Roswaal started when it was just the two of them. “Keep an eye on them, especially Subaru.”

Ram simply bowed her head. “As you wish.”

---------------------------------------------------------

Rem had been showing the trio around the manor for some time now. During that time, Felt turned to Subaru with an annoyed look on her face.

“Didn’t ya say that you only wanted to come here to see that half elf?” Felt whispered.

“It’s Emilia and yes.” Subaru answered in a whisper.

“Really? So are you lying to me or the clown?”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

Felt let out a sigh. “Seriously? Are you lying to the clown about wanting to look around or are you lying to me about just wanting to see Emilia?”

That was a bizarre question to ask, Subaru thought. Now he was starting to wonder what had gotten into Felt. “Um, Felt?” Subaru started, “Are you feeling ok?”

The girl gritted her teeth as she looked increasingly annoyed. However, before any kind of answer or even outburst could be made, a gentle voice piped up.

“Subaru?”

Suddenly, all those concerns were put to an abrupt end when Subaru laid his eyes on the girl of his dreams, Emilia.

“Mili! I’m so relieved to see you’re alright.”

Emilia blinked a few times. “Mili?”

“Oh, it’s a nickname I just came up with for you.”

Emilia ended up giggling a little. “You come up with the silliest things. I actually wanted to ask you, are you feeling alright? Has anything been feeling off to you these past couple of days?”

“I’m just fine, your healing really saved me back there.” Subaru then bowed to Emilia. “Thank you so much.”

Emilia waved her hands. “No need for all that. It’s the least I could do for everything you’ve done for me.” Soon enough, Emilia’s attention shifted to the other two people in the group. “Wait, you’re that girl from the loot house.”

Felt who was currently crossing her arms nodded. “Yep, and that girl has a name.” Felt said in a rather rude tone. Enough so that Reinhard was fast to intervene.

“Miss Felt, the polite thing to do is to introduce yourself.” Reinhard informed Felt.

“Fine, my name’s Felt.” She didn’t do anything else, Felt just continued to cross her arms with that annoyed look on her face.

That action in question concerned Emilia. “I’m sorry, I should’ve asked you for your name first. I didn’t mean to upset you.”

Felt just brushed that apology to the side. “Yeah, yeah. No big deal.”

Despite how evasive and rude that was, it was enough to ease Emilia, only to a certain degree though. “R-Right… I-I just remembered I needed to do some studying!” Emilia declared, clearly feeling awkward about this whole situation. “I’m happy to see you’re doing better, Subaru, but I’ll have to catch up with you later.”

“W-Wait Mili!” Subaru cried out. But he wasn’t fast enough as Emilia had already retreated to a nearby room.

Subaru turned to Felt and snapped at her. “What was that for?! You didn’t have to be so mean to her!”

Felt didn’t look like she cared one bit. “What? I gave her my name and told her it was fine.”

“Miss Felt,” Reinhard added, “I believe the issue was your tone. You sounded rather threatening to Miss Emilia.”

“So what?!” The blonde girl shouted. “If she wants to take it that way, then that’s on her!”

“That wasn’t nice to Emilia at all! You need to apologize to her!” Subaru insisted.

Felt was having none of it. “I have nothing to apologize for! Just leave me alone!”

“Please stop arguing.” Rem said, finally causing Felt and Subaru to stop fighting. “If you continue to act disorderly, I’m afraid Rem will be forced to get Master Roswaal involved.”

Not wanting to upset his future employer, Subaru calmed down. “Sorry about that. L-Let’s just get back to the tour.” Subaru nervously said.

Felt didn’t say a word, she just shrugged and returned to crossing her arms.

With the drama semi-settled, the group resumed with the tour. However, Subaru was still worried about Emilia. Right when Rem was showing around their bathing room, Subaru snuck away without anyone noticing and went straight back to the room he saw Emilia retreat to.

He opened the door and walked on in, closing the door behind himself. “Hey Mili, I’m sorry abou-“ Subaru blinked a few times as he realized something very peculiar. He was in a giant Library. In fact, this room looked a lot larger than what he saw the half elf enter. Did he get the rooms wrong?

“What an aggravating man you are to poke your nose where you shouldn’t, I suppose.” A girl who was about as tall as Felt proclaimed. She wore a pink frilly dress, had blue butterfly-like eyes, and blonde hair that was tied into spiral twin tails. She was sitting on a pile of books that was about as tall as her and she herself was reading a book, not even facing Subaru once he walked on in.

Honestly, with how everything was set up, he would’ve sworn he went into some kind of tutorial room. Regardless, Subaru scratched the back of his head and chuckled nervously. “My bad, I was just trying to check up on a friend. You wouldn’t happen to have seen a beautiful silvered hair girl walk in here, would you?”

“As of right now, you and Betty are the only ones here, I suppose.” The girl answered.

“Oh really?” Subaru asked disappointingly. He then began to glance around the room a little. After further inspection, he realized that there shouldn’t be any way a place like this could fit at this edge of the manor. “By the way, what is this place?”

“This is Betty’s multi-purpose room that works as a library and bedroom, I suppose.” The girl calmly answered.

“Talk about a token response.“ Subaru took a closer look at the girl. “Cmon, you should smile a little. It’ll definitely make you cuter.” Subaru in turn smiled, holding the ends of his cheeks to give the girl a smile.

That remark made the girl furrow her eyebrows ever so slightly. “The only smile you deserve is a sneer.”

“I guess I understand why you’re so mad.” Subaru started. “It’s obvious that this library is a secret room and the first door I open happens to be that said secret room.”

The girl tightened her grip on the book she was holding.

“Well, I am pretty lucky when it comes to that sort of thing. So what are you supposed to be? One of those manual girls?”

Finally having enough of this. The girl closed her book and stood up on her feet. “Betty’s had just about enough of this. It’s time to teach you a lesson, I suppose.”

Startled by the girl’s sudden advance, Subaru nervously backed up. “H-Hang on, what are you going to do to me?”

With a dead serious look, the girl spoke in an equally serious tone, “Don’t you dare move.”

Subaru, who was successfully intimidated by this loli, gulped and stayed still as instructed.

“Anything you’d like to say?” The girl asked.

“Um… H-How about don’t hurt me?”

Ignoring the boy’s request, the girl placed her hand on the boy’s chest.

Huh, this wasn’t as bad as he thou-

Before Subaru could finish his thought, a strong shock of sorts shot through his body. Before he knew it, he was lying on the ground in both pain and exhaustion.

“W-What did you do to me…?” Subaru managed to ask despite his current state.

“I only collected the mana from your body, I suppose.” The girl said. “It confirmed that you are not an enemy.”

Did she say collect mana? Like Reinhard? He thought. Is draining mana from people some kind of common ability this world has? God, what a terrifying thought.

Despite all the pain, Subaru managed to chuckle. “H-Hah… So this is what it’s like to be in Felt’s shoes…”

The girl looked at the boy quizzingly. She didn’t expect this kind of response. “You’re laughing, I suppose? What an ultimate pervert you are to be enjoying this.”

“I-I’m not enjoying this at all, you damn loli! T-This just reminded me of someone...”

“Now you’re insulting Betty? Just who do you think you are? I suppose.”

…

The girl let out a sigh as she realized that the boy finally passed out. This strange boy only brought her more questions and an even bigger headache.

---------------------------------------------------------

A few minutes earlier…

---------------------------------------------------------

“… And over here is where we put the towels.” Rem explained, just about finished up with the bathing room.

It was around this time Felt noticed something was off. It was too normal. The crimson eyed girl glanced over to Subaru just to notice he wasn’t there. “Huh? Big bro?” Felt began to look around the room, trying to find if he was doing something stupid again.

“I saw Subaru go inside the room Miss Emilia went in.” Reinhard ever so calmly mentioned.

“He what?!” Felt snapped. “Why the hell didn’t ya stop him?!”

“Well, the whole purpose of this visit was for him to reconcile with her. I didn’t sense any ill intentions so I saw no reason to stop him.”

“Grrr… That’s it! I’m gonna kill him!” Felt declared before stomping off.

Unlike Subaru, Reinhard sensed something a lot more dangerous from felt. It was as if she truly intended to kill poor Subaru.

“Don’t do anything rash, Miss Felt. I’m sure he is just apologizing to Emilia on your behalf.” Reinhard tried to reason.

“Don’t worry, I’m not actually gonna kill him. I’m just gonna knock some sense into that dumbass’s thick skull.” Felt said in a rather pleasant tone while wearing a very pissed front.

Well, Reinhard could sense she wasn’t lying so it should be fine. He just couldn’t help but worry for his poor friend. “I hope you can forgive me, friend.” Reinhard silently said to himself on the off chance his instincts were wrong.

Felt continued to stomp her way straight to that room and barged herself in. The first thing she saw was Emilia who was sitting by a desk with a stack of papers. She was looking over them before Felt let herself in.

Emilia looked over at Felt and gave her an awkward smile. “O-oh, hi Miss Felt. Do you need anything?”

Felt didn’t answer Emilia’s question immediately as she began to look around, seeing that Subaru wasn’t in here. “Grrr… Where did that dumbass go?!”

Emilia blinked a few times at the strong language used and lifted her hands up. “Please calm down. Just take a few deep breaths and we can sort this out calmly.”

Felt who wasn’t calming down at all glared at poor Emilia. “Stop stalling! I know he’s hiding here somewhere. Just tell me where he is and I’ll be on my way.”

Emilia tilted her head in confusion. “Do you mean Subaru? He never came in here.”

“Bullshit! I know he’s in here!” Felt was just about to lose it as she began to stomp her way closer to Emilia. Reinhard was just about to take Felt by her wrist but the appearance of a little floating cat stopped everyone in the room with what they’re doing.

The little cat looked pretty mad and Felt was taking his hateful glare head on. “I would back up if I were you, unless you want to turn into an ice sculpture.” The little cat said menacingly.

The sight of the cat reminded Felt that Emilia was a spirit arts user and her contracted spirit was no joke. Seeing the danger she was about to get herself in finally calmed the little girl’s wrath and took a deep breath. “Look, I’m just trying to find big bro. I was told he went inside here.”

The little cat was still staring coldly at Felt. “You heard Lia, he isn't here. I suggest you leave if that’s all you’re here for.”

“Puck, I can handle this.” Emilia interjected.

Puck looked over to Emilia and nodded. “If you say so, Lia.” Before letting Emilia do what she was about to do, he turned back to Felt. “Don’t you dare lay a finger on Lia.” After those parting words, Puck vanished.

“Felt, what’s wrong?” Emilia simply asked.

Not wanting to upset that cat spirit, Felt took a second to properly collect herself before starting, “I’m just having a bad day and it’s not helping that big bro running around like a headless chicken.”

Emilia nodded and smiled a little. “Yeah, Subaru really seems to like causing commotions.”

“You think? Recently he’s been acting like a brain dead moron.” Felt sighed.

“Really? What’s he been doing?”

“Don’t worry about it. He’s just acting stupid and I’m just trying to snap him out of it.”

Emilia looked into Felt’s eyes for a moment. “Felt, are you alright? Do you want to talk about it.”

Felt was just about to tell her to not worry about it but she decided that it would probably feel nice to just get it out of her system. “Fine, I’ll tell you. I’m mad at big bro for deciding to work here.”

Emilia took a second to process that and looked shocked. “W-Wait, Subaru is going to work here?!”

“Yeah, didn’t anyone tell ya?”

Emilia shook her head. “No, this is the first time I’m hearing this. So why are you mad that Subaru is going to work here?”

Felt took another deep breath and sat herself on the floor, leaning back against the wall. “I guess it’s a future plan he decided on without me.”

“What do you mean?”

“It’s hard to explain. I guess I envisioned him doing something else with his life and all of a sudden he throws that out the window so he can be a butler for some clown.”

“I see… Did you tell him how you feel about this?”

Felt shrugged. “A little, I already made it clear I wasn’t happy about it, that’s for sure.”

Emilia took a second to think. “Well, how about you tell him more in detail. Like, why exactly it makes you so mad and what concerns you have. I’m sure that’ll clear everything up!” Emilia smiled happily at the very thought of Felt and Subaru making up.

Felt took a moment to ponder Emilia’s suggestion and nodded. “Yeah, you’re right! I’ll tell that idiot what’s what!”

“Yeah! I believe in you, Felt!” Emilia happily cheered the little girl on.

After that moment both of the girls chuckled. And Felt got herself back on her feet. “Hey Emilia?” Felt started, “Sorry about my attitude earlier. I really shouldn’t have lashed at you like that.”

Emilia just gave her signature sweet smile. “I forgive you. And thank you for taking care of Subaru. I can tell you two are really good friends.”

“Pfft, I can see why big bro likes you so much. Try not to break his heart too badly.” Felt said with a grin.

“Eh?” Emilia looked really confused at this.

“Miss Felt. I found Subaru.” Reinhard mentioned out of nowhere.

“You did?!” Felt shot up. “Cmon, where is he?!”

Without saying a word, Reinhard ook a step out of the room and pointed at a different room across from them. Felt wasted no time storming into the room and what she saw was so disgraceful that she might end up losing it again.

“Yep, I’m really gonna do it.” Felt declared as she set her eyes on Subaru who was neatly tucked in a bed and fast asleep.

Before the fuming girl could get any closer, Reinhard held her shoulder, stopping them in place. “Wait, Miss Felt. I wish to confirm a suspicion of mine.” Reinhard walked over to Subaru and hovered his hand over the sleeping boy’s head.

Reinhard’s hand glowed blue for a moment and faced back to Felt. “I believe the best thing we can do right now is to let him rest. It appears that the mana from his gate nearly vanished and he’ll need time to replenish that.”

Felt blinked a few times. “Hold on a sec! Are you saying that you drained big bro’s mana?!”

Reinhard stared at Felt confusingly. “I don’t recall saying that I did such a thing. Rest assured, I didn’t have anything to do with Subaru’s current state.”

“I think Subaru ran into Miss Beatrice and offended her in some way.” Emilia, who followed suit due to her concern for Subaru’s safety, suggested.

“Why are all these mana drainers coming up out of nowhere?!” Felt blurted out. She was convinced that this whole royal selection fiasco is only going to make her life worse. The crimson eyed girl just let out a sigh and sat down at the edge of the bed. “Fine, I guess I can wait a bit. But after this, we’re out!”

“Didn’t you guys just get here?” Emilia asked.

“We did, but I’m not going to risk getting myself tangled up with another Reinhard!”

“Miss Felt, I’m sure that Miss Emilia said that the individual who did this is named-“

“I heard big sis the first time!” Felt interrupted Reinhard before he could state his reminder.

“Big sis? Wait, why are you calling me that all of a sudden?” Emilia asked.

“What? If big bro can give ya a nickname then I have every right to do so too.” Emilia couldn’t help but giggle at that response. “Hey! What’s so funny!”

“I just find it sweet how both you and Subaru are so close.” Emilia followed that up with a sweet smile.

The way she said it really sounded genuine and Felt had just about exhausted herself from yelling. So, she just shrugs at this comment and waved her hand to the side dismissively. “Yeah, whatever.”

Eventually, Reinhard and Felt decided to return to the tour with Rem. Rem had been suspiciously unreactive to this whole situation and was mainly just observing from the sidelines. Regardless, feeling more comfortable around Felt, Emilia decided to help Rem finish the tour.

Regularly, this whole tour was supposed to be for Subaru but Felt refused to just sit and wait for who knows how many hours for Subaru to wake up.

---------------------------------------------------------

Two hours later…

---------------------------------------------------------

“I don’t know this ceiling…” Subaru muttered to himself as he finally started to wake up.

He leaned up out of the bed and glanced around the room he was in. The layout looked like one of the many rooms the blue haired maid showed him during the tour. Subaru couldn’t help but let out a sigh of relief. This means that his encounter with the library loli didn’t kill him.

Considering how long Felt was out last time from this, he guessed he’d been out for probably an hour or two. The sudden realization made Subaru’s face pale. “Felt’s gonna kill me…” Subaru dreaded. “M-Maybe I should just wait in here for a little-“

And on cue, the devil herself suddenly bursts through the door. Those crimson red eyes seemed to stare right through him as the little devil approached the boy with her arms crossed. She was walking rather slowly which only added to the intimidation she exerted.

This intimidating aura caused Subaru to instinctively raise his hands in front of himself defensively. “I-It’s not what it looks like! I just took a wrong turn and got lost! Please don’t hurt me!” Subaru pleaded.

Felt just stared at Subaru for a few seconds before bursting out laughing. “Holy shit, big bro. You sound so pathetic right now.”

Well, after that intimidating aura vanished in an instant, Subaru started to defend his honor. “Hey! I was just apologizing! There isn’t anything pathetic about a simple sorry.”

Still chuckling, Felt added. “What about the part where you said, ‘Oh please don’t hurt me! I’m too pathetic to die!’.”

“Now you’re just putting words in my mouth!”

“You just woke up and you’re already starting a commotion.” Emilia said as she let herself in the room.

“Oh, Mili!” Subaru suddenly jumped on his knees in the bed and bowed to her. “I wanted to apologize to you on Felt’s behalf!”

Felt glared at Subaru. “I’m right here, you know!”

Emilia sweetly giggled at the apology. “There’s no need for that. Felt and I already made up.”

“You did?!” Subaru was flabbergasted by this revelation and gave Felt a puzzled look, almost as if he was silently pleading to Felt to confirm this.

“Don’t look so surprised! Me and big sis settled our differences and it’s all under the rug now.” Felt sounded rather proud as she explaIned this.

Subaru let out an exaggerated sniffing sound and pretended to wipe his eyes. “They grow up so fast.”

“What the hell are you talking about?! I’m not some kind of spoiled brat!” Felt hissed. “What are you still doing there? Let's get out of here already.”

Subaru looked confused. “Get out? But we just got here.”

“You’ve been out for two hours! You should’ve thought of that before wandering into someone’s room and sleeping in their bed!” Felt argued.

“Oh, that reminds me… How did I get here? The last thing I remembered was being in your guy’s secret library.”

“Secret library?” Emilia wondered. “Oh! You must mean Beatrice’s forbidden library! I’m actually surprised you managed to find it.”

Subaru sheepishly laughed. “Yeah, I have a habit of stumbling across secret rooms in dungeons. So I take it that you moved me in the bed?”

Emilia shook her head. “No, we all found you in here like this. Ram assumed that you just wandered in the guest room and took a nap.”

“Ram? That’s the pink haired maid, right?” That’s strange, Subaru thought. If no one moved him, then the only possible person who could’ve moved him in that bed could’ve been… oh, it appears that he’s dealing with a tsundere loli.

Subaru couldn’t help but chuckle to himself at this revelation. “We’ll, thanks for looking after me, Emilia.”

“Me? I mean… We really only checked up on you every few minutes.”

Felt started growling, getting increasingly annoyed the longer Subaru and Emilia were interacting with each other. “GET OUT OF THAT DAMN BED!!!”

Nearly stumbling on the sheer force of those words, Subaru finally got himself out of the bed and into his own two feet. “I’m up, I’m up. You really need to chill a little.”

“Me?! Chill?! You were the one who wandered off! You were the one to take a two hour nap! I’ve just about had it with you today!!”

Yikes, Subaru thought. “Alright, I’m up now. We can get going right now. Lemme just say goodbye to
Emilia first.”

Felt seemed to look more annoyed. “Fine, just hurry up.”

Subaru nodded and turned to Emilia. “Well, with how little time I had to work with, it’s been nice to finally see you again.”

“Yes, it’s good to see you’re still your cheerful self.” Emilia agreed.

Before Subaru could add anything, Felt snatched Subaru’s wrist and started dragging him off. “There, let’s go!”

“W-Wait! I didn’t say goodbye yet!” Subaru pleaded.

Unfortunately, Emilia waved to Subaru with that lovely smile of hers. “Goodbye, Subaru. I’ll see you later.”

Subaru frantically waved his free hand back to her. “I’m looking forward to it, Mili!”

After being pulled out of the room, Reinhard was seen outside waiting beside the door. The knight then followed behind Felt and Subaru with a cheerful smile on his face. “Hello, friend. Good to see you’re doing well.”

“Yep, being dragged around by a 14 year old, wouldn’t have it any oth- GYAA!!” Subaru was interrupted as that very same 14 year old stopped to stomp on the boy's foot.

“I’ll have you know that I’m 15!” The feisty girl practically hissed before continuing to drag Subaru away.

“Miss Felt, surely dragging him like that isn’t necessary.” Reinhard proposed.

“YES IT IS!!! He’s just going to wander off again the second I take my eyes off of him!”

“That was just a one time thing. I promise it won’t happen again.” Subaru tried to reassure.

This time, Felt stopped and turned to face Subaru. He had never seen such an angry face on her before. “Why should I trust you?!” She snapped. “What have you possibly done that’ll make me believe you won’t just get your sorry ass lost again?! Please, big bro, tell me. Tell me that I was just imagining things and you really didn’t wander off and fell asleep.”

Subaru was at a loss of words. He had no idea Felt would be this mad over this. “Lil’ sis… What’s gotten into you?”

Hearing him say that, Felt let out a sigh and finally let go of him. “It’s been a long day, ok? I just wanna get out of here already.”

Subaru nodded. “Alright, let’s get going then.” Subaru was still concerned for Felt of course but he thought that it would be best just to give her what she wanted for now.

Felt didn’t say anything. She merely nodded in agreement and continued until the group left the manor and started their way back to Reinhard’s manor.

Needless to say, the ride back was a silent and awkward one.

---------------------------------------------------------

Why…?

---------------------------------------------------------

When the group came to Reinhard's manor, Subaru convinced Reinhard to suspend today’s lessons. The knight happily accepted this as he too believed Felt wasn’t exactly in the right mood to go about learning.

“So, we have the rest of the day to ourselves, wanna check out Rein’s crazy garden, lil’ sis?” Subaru suggested.

“Nah, I’m pretty beat. I’ll go check to see if Reinhard has enough common sense to give me a real room.”

Now she’s willing to be around Reinhard willingly? Yeah, there is definitely something going on with her, Subaru thought. “Well, in that case, we can go check it out together! If the room turns out to be a bust, I’ll be sure to find something you like.”

“I’m good. I can handle that stuff myself. Besides, any room should be better than what I have now.”

Subaru noticed that she sounded really bland about the way she was explaining this and really took note that she was being pretty evasive. Suddenly, he thought of just the thing that’ll patch this strange hole between the two. “Alright, I guess I’ll see you around then, lil’ sis.”

Felt didn’t respond. Instead, she turned around and walked away.

Subaru rushed back to his room to gather his project that he worked on last night. It was still sealed in the package and was exactly where he left it last. With a grin, he snuck to where Reinhard was showing Felt her new room.

Originally, he planned a coordinated path, expecting Felt to complain about every room she went through. To his surprise though, Felt just hunkered down in the first room Reinhard suggested, saying that was good enough. It was so surprising that even Reinhard expressed his concerns.

“Miss Felt, is something troubling you?” The knight asked.

“Why does everyone keep asking me that?! Would you all just get off my ass about that already?!”

“We’re all just worried about you. I assure you, we don’t intend to be a bother.”

Felt glared at Reinhard. “Oh would ya look at that, you are bothering me.” Felt said sarcastically. “Just leave me alone already!” After yelling that, she threw her shoe at Reinhard and the knight just caught it, placing it down beside her bed.

“My apologies, Miss Felt. I won’t pry any further.” Finally giving in, Reinhard left the room. He walked past Subaru who was trying to hide behind a vase stand. As he passed, he gave Subaru a thumbs up and winked at him before whispering, “Good luck.”

Subaru blinked a few times, a bit caught off guard that Reinhard easily noticed him. However, he was thankful that he understood his plan and support. Well, it seemed like it at least.

After waiting a few minutes, mainly to let Felt cool off a little, he let himself in. Felt glared at him, not looking too pleased. “Hey! There’s something called knocking ya know!”

“Sorry about that. I just wanted to see how you’re liking your new room.” Subaru said with his hands behind his back, hiding the box from the little girl’s sight.

“It’s just fine. It has the window I want. You can go now.” Felt rudely said.

Damn, he was going to have to act quick, Subaru thought. “H-Hey wait! I haven’t given your housewarming gift yet!”

The strange word was enough to catch Felt’s interest. “Housewarming gift?” She asked.

“That’s right!” Subaru then revealed the sealed box and handed it to the girl. “Here you go!” Subaru proudly said.

With a hint of interest on her face, she opened the box. Inside, she found a well made doll. It felt soft when she held it in her hands and the stitching and materials looked pretty high in quality. The only downside about this was that it had a very odd resemblance to a certain back haired boy that wore a tracksuit.

Felt gave it a good look before finally sharing her opinion;

“Oh, cool.”

…

That’s it…?

…

I spent all night making this for her and that’s all I get…?

…

She sounded very halfhearted about it. She didn’t even thank him. She seemed very indifferent about his hard work.

“That’s it…?” Subaru muttered.

Felt lifted an eyebrow. “You said something?”

Right now, Subaru was pretty mad. “What’s wrong with you?!” Subaru yelled.

Felt flinched at the sudden outburst but overall it didn’t affect her demeanor. “I should be the one saying that! Why are you mad all of a sudden?!”

“You! You’ve been acting weird all day! This isn’t like you at all!”

Felt glared at Subaru. This one was so potent that it would put all of her Reinhard glares to shame. “Me? Acting weird?” She asked. “DON’T YOU FUCKING GIVE ME THAT!!!” She screeched.

Still seething with anger, Felt continued, “You really wanna know what’s gotten into me? That’s easy! You! You’re the one that’s been pissing me off!!!”

Subaru was caught by surprise by this. “Me?! What did I ever do to you?!”

“Do I really need to say it, dumbass?! You lied to me!”

This finally caused Subaru’s rage to subside and became confused. “Wait, lie to you?”

“Of course you wouldn’t remember! Should’ve figured you were all talk”

“I-I don’t understand… What are you talking about?”

“Lemme jog that crappy memory of yours! You said that we’d be partners once this whole thing is over!”

Finally, the pieces were starting to form. “Wait, you mean that shop idea? Are you really upset about that?”

“WELL WHAT IF I AM?!?!” Felt screamed. This time, tears started to form in her eyes.

This sight left Subaru speechless.

“Yes! I’m pissed that you abandoned our partnership to go work for some clown!” Felt continued.

“B-But wasn’t that all theoretical…?” Subaru nervously asked.

“So it was all theoretical to you?” Felt asked, her tone finally starting to soften up. “Guess it was stupid of me to think I actually had a chance to finally get a good life.”

Subaru was finally getting it now. “Wait Felt-“

“I honestly thought I could have a real job with a friend.” Felt interrupted. “Guess that was just me.” At this point, tears were steadily streaming down Felt’s face.

“Felt…” Subaru muttered.

“Leave me alone…” Felt requested as she was about to break down and cry.

“Please Felt, I didn’t mean to-“

“Subaru… Please…” The girl tiredly said.

This was too much for Subaru to handle. He headed out of the room. Before leaving, he turned to Felt one more time. “I promise I’ll make things right.” Then he closed the door.

Subaru could hear faint sounds of muffled crying from the other room. He let out a sigh and went off to give her some space.

He had no idea that would hurt her as much as it did. “I guess I really am a dumbass.” Subaru halfheartedly laughed to himself, trying to lighten his own mood from the guilt that was plaguing him.

Nothing eventful occurred until dinner time. Everyone gathered in the dining hall and Subaru was relieved to see that Felt decided to join them. It just disheartened the boy to see how tired she looked.

Everyone, including the servants, had a general understanding what had happened so no one pried. Everyone just ate their meals in peace. This was about as equally as awkward as the ride back here.

Subaru did notice one particular thing with Grassis and Flam. The two were a lot easier to recognize this time around. Grassis seemed to be sneaking glances at him and her cheeks were constantly a light pink while Flam had her eyes locked on Subaru with a very ominous look in her eyes.

Hm, guess everyone’s acting strange today, Subaru thought.

Eventually, dinner concluded and everyone was about to wander back to their own activities. Subaru tailed Felt seeing how she looked a lot more calm than before.

“Hey, lil’ sis? You got a minute?” Subaru asked when the two were alone in the halls.

Felt stopped and turned to face Subaru. “What?” She asked. Felt didn’t seem annoyed. If anything, she just sounded tired.

Subaru suddenly planted his forehead to the ground, practically groveling to the girl. “What I did was really messed up. I really liked what we had before this and I’m willing to do anything to make it right. If it will fix things between us, I’ll even give up on working for Roswaal.”

This certainly caught Felt by surprise. In fact, it was definitely enough to wake her up a little. “S-Stop groveling like that, you dumbass! Get up!” Subaru was quick to comply. Felt then let out a sigh before continuing in a more serious tone. “Do you really mean it?”

Subaru nodded. “Yes, I’ve never been more serious in my whole life!”

“Tch, have you ever been serious?” Felt halfheartedly joked before sighing again. “Fine, I’ll forgive you. But you’re gonna have to make it up to me, got it?”

Once again, Subaru planted his forehead back to the ground. “Thank you, lil’ sis! I won’t let you down!”

“H-Hey! I said no groveling!” Felt shouted. After he got himself back up, Felt continued, “I’ll be working you like a dog tomorrow you know. But after that, I’m sure we’ll be even.”

Subaru gulped at the sound of that. However, he wasn’t going to back down and gave the short girl a salute. “Got it! I won’t let you down, lil’ boss!”

“Lil’ boss? Don’t call me that! It just sounds like you’re making fun of how tall I am!” Felt argued.

“I mean, you are about two-thirds my size. But that’s not something to be ashamed of! You have time to grow after- OOOMPH!!!”

Subaru was interrupted once the feisty girl kicked his stomach, instantly silencing him. “I said shut it!”

Subaru reformed himself and chuckled nervously. “Yeah, just got a little carried away there.”

“You think? Look, I’m kinda tired, we can go over this tomorrow, got it?”

Subaru performed another salute. “Loud and clear!”

The two finally parted ways, making their way to their own respected rooms. The atmosphere felt a lot less tense now that things were cleared up between Felt and Subaru.

Subaru continued his reading and writing lessons for the rest of the afternoon before finally ending the day.

Today was quite an emotional roller coaster for him and was kinda relieved it had finally come to an end.

---------------------------------------------------------

…

---------------------------------------------------------

“Good morning, guest-sama.”

Subaru let out a yawn, and stretched. He took a moment to realize it was Grassis and Flam. “Morning Flam, morning Grassis.” Subaru tiredly said.

After another moment, he finally noticed something. “Crap! My alarm didn’t go off!” Subaru desperate pulled out his phone and immediately noticed something off.

“Three days off?” He asked himself. “Must be some glitch from being in a different world and all.”

“Guest-sama?” Flam piped up. “Is everything alright?”

Subaru smiled and scratched the back of his head. “Yep! Perfectly fine. I should probably get going before my official Felt alarm clock kicks in.”

The twins looked at Subaru in confusion. The two just brushed it off before gesturing for Subaru to follow suit. “If you could, allow us to take you to Master Reinhard and Lady Felt.”

“Thanks girls. Let me get changed real quick.”

The twins nodded and stepped outside.

Subaru started to get himself changed and noticed something odd. “Wait… Why is there a hole in my tracksuit?” He wondered. There’s no way the stitching could’ve undone itself.

Suddenly, a thought occurred to him.

“No…” Subaru dreaded. “No no no no. Please, anything but that.”

Subaru rushed on a different set of clothes that were available, the same he wore on the second day here. After rushing out of the room, he faced the twins.

“Say, weird question. How long have I been here now?”

Both Grassis and Flam looked at him with concern now. “Guest-sama? Are you feeling unwell?” Flam asked.

“Sorta, I-I’m just tired and my sense of time is a little out of whack.”

The two blinked before shrugging in unison. “You’ve only been here for a day. This is the start of the second.”

No…

Subaru dropped to his knees. “You’ve gotta be kidding me…” Subaru said to himself. “Everything was just fine. How did this happen?”

The twins gave off concerned looks. “Guest-sama? Are you alright?” They asked in unison.

Subaru didn’t answer, instead, he continued to complain. “Does that mean everything I’ve done up until now didn’t even matter? Why?! It doesn’t make any sense!!!”

Chapter 6: Too Obvious

Chapter Text

“I mean it, Rein, I’m just fine now. Nothing bad happened.” Subaru insisted

Subaru eventually made it to the dining hall. This was supposed to be the start of the first ‘how to train your Felt’ lesson but Subaru’s little breakdown earlier caused Reinhard to be concerned.

Subaru couldn’t understand why but it was as if Reinhard had some kind of third sense or something because he kept insisting.

“When you say nothing bad happened, what exactly occurred to make you think that?” Reinhard asked. It was as if everything Subaru said was detected as some kind of lie.

That was when it finally hit Subaru. Reinhard must have some kind of OP ability that could sense if he was lying or not. “W-Well, I guess something happened last night and it kinda spooked me.”

Reinhard looked seriously at Subaru for a moment, going through all the potential possibilities in his head before he reached his own conclusions. “I see, so a bad dream, perhaps?”

“Something like that.” Subaru said. That was vague enough to not be considered a lie, right? Regardless, it seemed to work as Reinhard seemed to finally relax a little.

“So that’s what it was. I feared something serious might have happened to you. It seems that my worries were unwarranted.” Reinhard smiled before continuing, “I believe now would be a good time to start with our lessons now.”

Here it is, the first lesson on how to use silverware.

…

“I know what a fork is! I’m not stupid!” Felt argued.

“In that case, this lesson should be easy.” Reinhard smiled. With a click of her tongue, Felt shoveled some of the food with her fork. Before she could take a bite, Reinhard intervened. “Not like that, you’re supposed to use your fork like this.” The knight demonstrated his silverware prowess, and just like the last loop, Felt didn’t care.

Subaru couldn’t help but chuckle at this. It was kinda nice in a way to relive these little moments.

Felt suddenly pointed her fork to Subaru, taking his chuckle the wrong way. “Hey! What’s so funny?”

Not wanting to experience death by fork, Subaru protectively waved his hands in front of himself. “It's nothing, us eating here together like this is just kinda nice, lil’ sis.”

Felt looked at him with a confused look for a moment. “Lil’ sis?” She asked herself. After a moment, she just nodded and smiled. Looks like she still likes that nickname. “Yeah, I guess it’s pretty nice. Especially the food. Glad this place has at least one redeeming quality.” Being in a better mood, she resumed eating.

---------------------------------------------------------

“There you two are! What’s with the hold up?” Felt asked as Reinhard and Subaru entered the room they were going to start their real lessons.

“We were just going over the schedule plan. Just making sure it’s lil’ sis friendly.” Subaru assured.

“You make it sound weird. What do you even mean?” Felt locked her eyes on Subaru, staring at him suspiciously.

“Trust me, you’ll thank me later.” Subaru smiled and gave the girl a thumbs up.

Felt let out a sigh. “Fine, I want to get this over with anyways.”

Reinhard started to teach Felt and Subaru the first lesson soon after. The lessons proceeded practically identical to last time where Felt had a hard time keeping her posture and Subaru was knocking it out of the park.

Subaru was doing so well, it prompted Reinhard to say, “Keep your back straight, Miss Felt. Try following Subaru’s lead.”

“Grrr… What the hell, big bro? Are you actually a girl in disguise?!” Felt asked, very clearly using this to avoid continuing the lesson.

“That does remind me, you don’t need to actively partake in these lessons, friend. I planned them out to be best suited for ladies after all.” Reinhard mentioned.

Subaru already knew that a special little hot head wouldn’t like that. She had made it clear countless times that they were doing this together. “It’s fine, Rein. I already promised Felt we’d be doing this together.”

Felt nodded. “You got that right! We’re both going through this hell together!”

“Well, if that’s what you want, then I have no problem with it.” Reinhard said before continuing.

It was kinda embarrassing for Subaru to constantly act ladylike in these lessons but he decided it wasn’t too bad. At least he wasn’t going to have to wear a dress or anything like that.

After working through the lessons for some time, though it was mainly watching Felt struggling to bow and being polite about it, Carol made her appearance. “Master Reinhard, Lord Roswaal is here. He wishes to have an audience with you and Subaru.”

Everything is proceeding almost identical so far, Subaru thought. Now he had to speak with Roswaal and say he was going to work for him. He planned to keep everything the same so he can figure out what happened to him on the fourth night.

The more he thought about it, the more he was puzzled by this whole ordeal. The main confusion was the mere presence of Reinhard. Wasn’t he the most powerful and OP person in the world? Unless his return by death malfunctioned somehow, there wasn’t any possible way anyone would sneak in and attack.

“Subaru? Are you doing alright?” Reinhard asked, snapping Subaru out of his train of thought.

“I’m fine, Rein. I was just lost in thought.” Subaru smiled and gave Reinhard a thumbs up.

Reinhard stared at Subaru suspiciously for a moment before letting it go. “Do you want to see Lord Roswaal? You don’t have to see him if you don’t want to.”

“I‘ll come! I should put my training to the test anyway.”

Reinhard couldn’t help but chuckle at this. “Do refrain from actually taking my lessons into practice. Unless you want others to mistake you for a lady, that is.”

Subaru’s face suddenly grew pale. That was right, these lessons were supposed to be for Felt after all. He was glad that his excitement got the better of him during the last route for him to actually take those lessons into real practice. “Y-Yeah, you’re probably right, Rein.”

---------------------------------------------------------

“Just name anything you want and if it’s within my power, then it’s yours.”

“Really? In that case…” Subaru stood up, a very familiar look of determination embedded in his eyes.

---------------------------------------------------------

You abandoned our partnership to go work for some clown!

---------------------------------------------------------

Subaru suddenly froze. A very disgusting feeling chilled through his body. Why was he stopping now? He was going to repeat everything so he could find out what happened that night.

He was probably going to die this time around so he had to swallow up this feeling and keep going with his plan.

---------------------------------------------------------

Leave me alone…

---------------------------------------------------------

It felt as if his heart stopped. Felt was really hurt by this. That disgusting feeling he had was regret. He hated how he made Felt cry after that. And now, he hated himself more that he was just about to make Felt go through all that again.

Was it really worth it to do that to her all over again?

---------------------------------------------------------

I promise I’ll make things right.

---------------------------------------------------------

Subaru closed his eyes and took a deep breath. After resolving his thoughts, he continued;

“Let me visit the Mathers estate anytime I want!”

…

Both Carol and Reinhard stared over at Subaru with worried looks plastered on their faces. Roswaal on the other hand hadn’t changed his joyous looking expression. “What a veeery~ fascinating wish, Subaru. You really are quite interesting.”

Subaru chuckled a little and scratched the back of his head nervously. “I just want to stop by anytime and make sure Emilia’s doing alright.”

Roswaal stared straight into Subaru’s scary looking eyes for a few moments, as if trying to study them. Afterwards, he got himself up. “How noble of you, Subaru. I’m sure Miss Emilia would appreciate the geeesture~ As much as I’d love to stay, I’m afraid I have to attend to other matters. I’ll be looking fooorward~ to your visit, Subaru.”

Subaru blinked a few times. “You’re going already?” Roswaal stayed a while longer last time. Perhaps his wish changed things this time around.

“Fear not, I’m sure our paths will cross again. Perhaps sooner than you might think.” Roswaal waved goodbye before Carol escorted him out.

After Roswaal left, Reinhard turned his attention to Subaru. “If you don’t mind me asking, what brought you to request that?”

“Like I said earlier, I just want to check up on Emilia from time to time.”

Reinhard looked at Subaru for a few moments rather intently. It was clear that he knew that Subaru was hiding something. However, Reinhard let it go as he didn’t sense any ill intentions from him. “Just be careful, friend. Most people would find your actions to be rather suspicious.”

Subaru just smiled at this. “That only tells me that you trust me, doesn’t it, Rein?”

Reinhard in return smiled at the boy’s flattery. “Of course, friend. You haven’t done anything to warrant anything else. You even protected Miss Felt, it would be foolish of me to believe you had any ulterior motives.”

“Gosh, Rein. You’re gonna make me blush.”

“Really? I had no idea you swung that way…” Reinhard stroked his chin, starting to re-evaluate his outlook on Subaru.

“I didn’t mean it like that!” Subaru shouted before Reinhard could get any wrong ideas about him. After clearing the misunderstanding, Reinhard and Subaru returned to the practice room only to find it empty.

“That’s strange… Miss Felt should’ve been in here waiting.” Reinhard said.

Oh right, Subaru thought. This was around the time when Felt tried to escape. If he recalled, the twins should be dragging her in right about-

On cue, the door swung open. Flam and Grassis casually walked in as they were hauling Felt in by her legs. It was kinda adorable to watch her try to grab the ground like a cat clawing the floor. “Let go already, will ya?!” Felt demanded.

The twins finally released her as they made it back to the room and Felt quickly hopped back on her feet and brushed herself off. Before anything could be added by the feisty girl, Reinhard spoke up. “I’m glad you’re putting in the effort in getting along with others, Miss Felt.”

Felt glared at the knight, taking his gratitude as a sign of provocation. “You better not be makin’ fun of me!”

“That wasn’t my intent. It just seemed like you were getting along with Grassis and Flam.” Reinhard explained.

“So I take it that you tried to escape again?” Subaru asked.

“We saw Lady Felt trying to crawl out the window.” Flam explained, not giving Felt the chance to defend herself. “In fear of her safety, my sister and I gently took her away from that dangerous situation and politely returned her here.”

“Gentle my ass!” Felt yelled. “You both pinned me down and started draggin’ me away!”

The twins bowed apologetically to Felt. “Sorry, we’ll try a different method next time.”

“How about ya both leave me be?!“

Subaru snuck up behind Felt during the bantering and got on his knees being eye level with her. He then whispered, “You got beat up by a little girl~” He couldn’t help it. The opportunity was just too perfect to pass up.

Felt growled and elbowed Subaru’s side. It actually didn’t hurt that bad compared to her usual swings. “It’s not my fault! These bean sprouts pack a punch! Oh yeah, what happened with that noble guy down there?”

Reinhard recalled the occurrence. Subaru braced himself for Felt’s wrath but at the end of the recap, she clenched her stomach and started laughing.

“Really? You get offered the reward of a lifetime and ya ask for that?” Felt wiped a tear off herself. She found this so funny that she was tearing up a little.

“What do you mean? It’s a perfectly reasonable reward! I also finally get to check up on Emilia whenever I want.” Subaru defended.

Felt lifted an eyebrow, still smiling from her recent laugh fest. “Really? That half elf? Didn’t know you were into that sorta thing, big bro.”

“Hey now! Emilia is a very sweet girl and is super beautiful!”

Felt let out a sigh. “Yeah, she’s pretty nice. She forgave me just like that after I took her insignia and all. But still, doesn’t the fact that she’s a half elf make ya feel a little nervous?”

Subaru looked at Felt quizzingly. “What’s so bad about half elves? Are they like war mongrels in this world?”

“Are ya messin’ with me? The witch was a half elf with silver hair. First ya can’t read, then you come from a country that ya made up and now you’re sayin’ that you never heard of the witch?” Felt asked, looking at Subaru with concern.

“Well, I heard a little bit about it but I don’t really get what it means.” Subaru revealed, scratching the back of his head nervously.

“Well, we can take a small break in our lessons to teach you a little bit of Lugnica’s history. It’s important to not offend anyone over ignorance.” Reinhard suggested.

“Yeah, you could even get your ass kicked in the slums if ya talk like that.” Felt agreed, mainly so she could get out of her own lessons.

Thus, the remaining hours were spent teaching Subaru a more detailed history lesson on Luginica’s history. A lot of what was said sounded more like a myth to Subaru, especially the part where the witch apparently devoured half of the world. But this was a different world after all with magic so he didn’t really have a reason to deny it.

“So Satella is the main reason why half elves are so hated? Kinda sucks to have a whole species hated over one person.” Subaru sighed.

Felt cringed at the mention of Satella before Reinhard started, “Refrain from using the witch’s name. That is considered blasphemy of the highest order.”

“Yeah, considering how she took out half the world, I can understand that.” Subaru nodded. He looked out the window, noticing it was getting around in the afternoon. “Hey, why don’t we take a break? I’ve been meaning to go out to do something.”

“I would prefer to finish up our first lesson but I am not opposed to a break.” Reinhard smiled, giving his stamp of approval.

“Yeah! Now we’re talkin’! Getting outside sounds kinda nice right about now.” Felt got up and stretched, being all too happy to get out of this cooped up room.

“Actually, I need you to stay here, lil’ sis.”

Felt blinked a few times before stomping on the ground. “Hey! What gives?! You’re not gonna try to run away, are ya?!”

Subaru waved his hands in front of himself. “No, no. I just need to do something and it’ll only work if you stay here.”

“Why?! What’re you tryin’ to hide?!”

Subaru smiled. “That’s a secret. It’ll be better if you don’t know.”

“Just spill it! What are ya hiding?!”

“Can’t say, it’s called a surprise for a reason.”

Felt was about to burst her anger but something stopped her and thought for a moment. “Fine, I just remembered I wanted to check something out here. I guess I’ll see ya around, big bro.” She waved to Subaru before leaving the room, once again ignoring Reinhard completely.

Subaru faced Reinhard. “Could you come with me, Rein? I actually need your help with this.”

“Of course, friend. How can I be of help?”

Subaru suddenly got to his knees and planted his forehead to the floor. “Please let me borrow some money!”

Reinhard looked at Subaru for a moment and smiled. “If that’s all you want, then no problem. You have been a great help to Miss Felt after all. Where exactly were you planning to go though?”

“Oh, that’s right. We’re going to the tailor shop I got kicked out of the other day.”

Reinhard looked at Subaru with a lifted brow. “There? Are you sure?”

Subaru gave him a thumbs up. “Sure am! I have a real good feeling this time around.”

“If you insist. Try not to offend the shopkeeper this time.”

---------------------------------------------------------

Eventually, Subaru made it to that tailor shop. He was gathering all the fabrics and stuffing required to make a doll with. Since he didn’t anger Felt this time around, he’s sure the doll surprise will be a lot better.

“Hmm, you sure know what you want.” The shopkeeper said. The shopkeeper was a man looking to be in his forties. He was nearly balding and wore glasses.

“Yeah, I’m glad you still have this. Would’ve thought it would be gone by now.” Subaru smiled as he was just finishing gathering everything he needed.

The shopkeeper adjusted his glasses and squinted at Subaru. “Really now? Have you visited here before?” The shopkeeper seemed to be pretty forgetful and he was very glad that he didn’t remember him, especially the last loop.

Subaru nodded rather energetically. “Sure did and now I’m here to purchase something this time!” Subaru placed all the items he gathered on the counter and the shopkeeper looked them over.

“Good taste. I hope you have two gold on-“ Before he could even finish his sentence, Subaru had already placed the two gold coins on the counter. “My, you seem well prepared, sir.”

Subaru was just all smiles as the shopkeeper gathered the coins. The shopkeeper couldn’t help but notice the coin bag on Subaru’s person. “Isn’t that the sign of house Astrea?”

Remembering where this conversation was going to go, he waved his hands in front of himself. “It is but I’m just out shopping for them.”

The shopkeeper lifted an eyebrow. “I see. Is one of them with you right now by chance?”

“I was but some kind of emergency happened so I’m here alone now.”

“Hmm… Pity.” The shopkeeper merely shrugged before extending his hand out to Subaru. “Well, it’s been a pleasure doing business with you, sir.”

The two shook hands and Subaru went on his way.

The shopkeeper’s smile hadn’t changed as he watched the boy go. “Astrea, huh?” He muttered to himself.

---------------------------------------------------------

It didn’t take long for Subaru to rondevu back with Reinhard. The two began to make their way back to Reinhard’s manor. “Did you get everything you need, friend?” Reinhard asked as they walked.

“Yep, it’s all here. Thanks again for the assist, Rein.”

“No need to thank me, I was more than happy to be of help. Though, I do apologize that I couldn’t join you in your purchase. An urgent matter came up and I couldn’t ignore it.”

“Oh yeah,” Subaru started. That urgent matter came up last time too but he didn’t think about it too much last time. “Say, what exactly did happen?”

“Someone died.” The knight bluntly said.

Well, that news was enough to spook Subaru. “Someone what?! How did that happen?”

“There was a fight in the marketplace and someone died in that fight. The suspect claimed that they didn’t even touch them. Right now, he was taken in by the other knights for further questioning.”

“Oh. Guess people will say just about anything to get out of trouble.” Subaru sighed.

“They were telling the truth.”

Subaru blinked a few times. “Wait, he was? How could you tell?”

“I have a divine protection that can sense if one is lying or not.”

Subaru had to stop himself from pumping his fist. He did call it after all. “So, what’s going to happen to them?”

“After questioning, he’ll most likely be let go. I’ve already informed the knights at the scene of the legitimacy of his claim so there shouldn’t be any issues there.”

Subaru nodded. “Yeah, that makes sense.”

The two arrived back at the mansion around this time. As they approached the front door, Subaru stepped to the side and gestured for Reinhard to enter first.

Reinhard didn’t pay it any mind and opened the door. Unfortunately, Reinhard then gestured to Subaru to go in before him. “After you, friend.” The knight said with a smile.

“I-It’s fine. It’s your place so you go first.” Subaru said shakily.

“But you’re our guest. It would be more polite if you enter first.” Reinhard insisted.

“Since I’m the guest, I choose that you go first.”

At this point, Reinhard could easily sense an ulterior motive from his friend. “Is something wrong?”

“N-Not really. I guess you can say I have a very bad feeling about going in first right now.” Subaru meekly explained, vividly remembering what’s waiting behind that door.

“Hmm… I see… In that case, I’ll respect your decision.” After agreeing, Reinhard walked inside. In the matter of seconds, something launched down from the ceiling entrance and landed directly on top of the knight.

However, Reinhard’s reflexes were far too great and easily caught the falling object. Turns out he caught a certain blonde girl’s foot.

Felt was trying to ambush them but the knight easily thwarted her attempt. The crimson eyed girl blinked a few times and looked down at Reinhard in disbelief. “No way! How didn’t that work?! Do ya have eyes on top of your head or something?!”

“Ah, hello, Miss Felt. Has your evening been well?” Reinhard nonchalantly asked.

“Don’t just pretend like this is nothi-“ Before Felt could finish her rant, gravity finally betrayed her and she lost her balance. Still being caught in Reinhard’s hand, she was now dangling upside down, kinda like how a fisherman holds a recently caught fish for a photo shoot.

Both Reinhard and Felt stared awkwardly at each other for a second before Felt began to flail around. “Don’t just stand there! Put me down!”

Immediately complying, Reinhard flipped Felt right side up and set her back down on her feet. “My apologies, Miss Felt. I was caught off guard there.”

“Like hell you were! What do ya call that a second ago?! Instinct?!”

“You are correct. That was all pure instinct.” Reinhard confirmed and nodded.

Felt growled and began flailing her arms at the knight with the latter effortlessly blocking each and every one of them. “That’s bullshit and you know it! You must have some kind of power that tells you where I am at all times!”

Reinhard shook his head. “Divine protections don’t exactly work like that. There isn’t any kind of divine protection that will pinpoint your exact location.”

As the two bantered, Subaru let out a sigh of relief. He was just glad that he didn’t get the blow this time around. Now that he thought about it, wasn’t he changing too many things this time around? Subaru was starting to worry that this would create a butterfly effect and things won’t pan out how it should’ve been and he wouldn’t be able to be perfectly sure what happens on that night.

Then again, does he even want that? It’s not like he wants to die or anything. However, Reinhard’s here so it couldn’t have been some kind of attacker. So did his return by death trigger somehow without his knowing. This power is something he’s still unsure of how it exactly works except that it seems to trigger after dying. He was just still clueless what could’ve possibly happened.

“Hello? Anyone in there?” Subaru snapped back to reality as he saw Felt standing in front of him and waved her hand in front of his face.

“Sorry about that, I just had something on my mind.” Subaru scratched the back of his head as he gave off a cheerful front. However, it didn’t take a Reinhard for Felt to know that something was off.

“You don’t have to tell me that. You’ve been spacing off all day too.” Felt crossed her arms and stood tall as she confronted Subaru. “Seriously, what’s happening?”

Subaru didn’t feel comfortable about exactly telling about his return by death right now so he avoided the question. “Cmon, it sounds like you’re really worried about me.”

Felt frowned at this and gritted her teeth. “Are you really that dense or that much of a dumbass? Of course I’m worried about ya! I’m not gonna stand back and watch as my family suffers!”

Subaru flinched at this. Felt sure wasn’t the type to hold back. “It’s fine. I’m not suffering or anything that extreme.”

“Fine, but I’m serious about this!”

“I agree with you, Miss Felt.” Reinhard started. “However, if Subaru doesn’t feel comfortable sharing, then you should respect his decision.”

“Like you have any room to talk!” Felt snapped. “I bet this has something to do with you! We wouldn’t even be in this mess if it weren’t for you!”

As much as Subaru wanted to change the conversation, this wasn’t exactly the direction he wanted it to take. “It’s alright, lil’ sis. I promise Reinhard has nothing to do with it.”

“Then will ya stop keeping me in the dark and tell me already?” Felt turned her attention back to Subaru, staring at him expectedly. “Look, whatever’s going on, I want to help.”

Well, these were people Subaru considered friends. Besides, he was sure he couldn’t bottle up something like that forever. Subaru let out a sigh, he was going to keep this to himself for now but he might as well just get it out of the way, especially if everyone was getting upset over it. “Fine, I’ll tell you. But please don’t laugh. This is pretty serious to me.”

Felt nodded, awaiting to hear what Subaru had to say.

Subaru took a deep breath. “The truth is, I can re-“ Subaru stopped as it suddenly felt as if time stood still in that moment. Just then, it felt as if something grasped his heart. After a while, that feeling stopped and time seemed to resume.

Subaru’s chest was in pain after that. He dropped to his knees, grasped onto where it hurt, and grunted in pain.

“Big bro!” Felt cried as she immediately checked on Subaru.

Even Reinhard was concerned as he too went to check up on his friend. “Subaru? Are you alright?”

What just happened? Subaru thought. Don’t tell me, will I die if I try to tell anyone? Subaru got himself back up and started breathing heavily.

Before he could provide an explanation, Felt spoke up. “I get it now. You’re just feeling sick.”

Reinhard, who was under the same impression, added, “If you’re feeling sick, we could take you to a healer.”

Subaru finally got himself together and shook his head. “I-I’m sure it’ll be alright. In fact, I’m feeling better already.”

Felt let out a sigh. “Don’t push yourself, big bro.”

“Friend, I suggest you go get some rest. I’ll get you when lunch is ready.” Reinhard said.

He wanted to deny the suggestion to get some rest, but he was very aware that he made everyone worry. The least he could do was ease all their concerns for him. With a hesitant nod, he made it to his room and flopped himself on the bed, staring at the ceiling.

“Damn it!” Subaru suddenly shouted and gripped his hair. “What is going on?! I don’t understand!”

Subaru vented out for a few moments. He was really starting to hate this. All of this was confusing him and the realization that he had to go through this all on his own stressed him out more.

His venting came to a stop once he heard a knock on his door. Looking over, he saw one of the little twins make their way in with a little cart holding a teapot and a teacup. “Guest-sama? Are you feeling alright? I heard you screaming.”

Subaru sat up and chuckled nervously. “It’s alright. Just a long day I guess, Flam. Wait, or is it Grassis?”

“It’s Grassis.” The little girl began to pour a honey colored liquid in the teacup. “I heard you were sick so my sister and I made you some tea.”

Gosh, now he’s getting the little twins worried. He must look very pathetic right now, Subaru thought. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to worry you all.”

Grassis only shook her head as she took the cup of tea and handed it to Subaru. “There’s nothing for you to be sorry for. Things like this can happen.”

“You know, you and your sister are surprisingly mature for your age. And you both are very considerate too.” Subaru commented.

“It’s our duty to be professional with our work. We saw you were unwell and it is our duty to make sure we comfort you to the best of our ability.”

Subaru grinned and patted Grassis’s head. “Regardless, I appreciate it. Everyone here has been so welcoming.”

Grassis’s cheeks lit pink ever so slightly. “In that case, we’re happy that you’re having a pleasant stay.”

Subaru started to drink the tea while Grassis stood by the little cart, refilling his cup when needed. It was both peaceful and silent, the tea even helped Subaru quite a bit to relax. After some time had passed, Grassis suddenly spoke. “Lunch is ready. Allow me to escort you, guest-sama.”

“Wait, really? How can you tell?” Subaru asked. Grassis had been here the entire time after all so unless she was a pro at guessing, there shouldn’t be any way she would know that.

“My sister told me. We can telepathically communicate with each other.”

Subaru blinked a few times. Well, that makes sense why they speak at the same time a lot. “Jeez, it feels like I’m the only one in this place that doesn’t have some kind of special power.”

Not wanting Subaru to feel down, Grassis quickly thought of something. “Well, you’re pretty lively.”

“Anyone can be lively! I’m talking about some kind of mystic legendary power that could make me a hero. Something like flying or maybe eye lasers!”

Grassis blinked a few times before taking a moment to think of something else. “You’re good at swindling money.”

Subaru was confused for a moment there until he realized what she was talking about. “W-Wait… You saw that…?” Subaru’s face grew pale as he recalled when he asked Reinhard for money earlier today.

“We shouldn’t keep everyone waiting.” Grassis stated as she took the lead in getting out of the room.

“Hey, you didn’t answer my question! How much did you see there?!” Subaru quickly followed the little maid, desperately trying to know what they did. However, Grassis seemed to be pretty good at ignoring him during these trying times.

The rest of the day proved to be uneventful. Everyone constantly checked up on Subaru’s well being. Even the lessons were taking longer than usual as Reinhard stopped constantly to ask if he was sure he wanted to take the lessons today.

“Is there any pain when you sit down, Subaru?” Reinhard asked. Right now they were being taught the proper way to sit.

“Of course he is! Why do we need to stiffen our shoulders anyways?” Felt answered for him.

“It doesn’t hurt at all, I can keep going.” Subaru said, providing his own answer.

Getting out of her chair, Felt walked up to Subaru and gave him a weird look. “Would ya stop pushing yourself already? If you’re not feeling good, then go rest or something.”

“Wow, you’re actually nominating to take on the lessons by yourself? I guess you’re really growing up, lol’ sis.” Subaru teased, mainly to help ease the tension.

Felt ended up chuckling at this. “Yeah right, you’re the one who seems to be way too eager to do these lessons with me. But seriously, stop being a dumbass and rest already.”

“I’m just fine now. Trust me on this.” Subaru insisted.

Felt turned over to Reinhard. “Hey Reinhard, can the lessons end for today?” Reinhard didn’t immediately answer, instead he just stared at Felt expectantly. “Grr… Please?”

Finally hearing what he wanted to hear, he happily nodded. “Of course, Miss Felt. You both are relieved for the rest of the day.”

Felt immediately turned back to Subaru. “There, no more lessons. Now get your stubborn ass to bed.”

Subaru stared at Felt dumbfounded for a good moment. That went so smoothly, almost as if it was planned beforehand. “Wai-“

Before he could say a word, Felt starched his wrist and began to drag him off. “If you’re not gonna listen to reason, then I’ll just have to force it outta ya.”

In the end, Subaru ended up going to bed early that day.

Luckily for him though, he at least had something he could do in his room. After Felt left, he went on to start his sewing project.

Last time it took all night to get it done but doing it a second time helped him save time and managed to finish making the Subaru doll like last time. He even had extra fabrics to use so he started to make extra little side projects this time around.

All and all, it was a really great distraction from everything that happened today. He didn’t have to worry about other people being concerned for him. He should’ve just set out to do this from the start.

…

But still, he thought that he could’ve gone through that a little better.
---------------------------------------------------------

This time around, Subaru woke up early on his own. Not even his alarm on his phone had the chance to go off. What’s even more surprising is that he didn’t even feel that tired.

“Well, no point just lying around I guess.” Subaru said to himself as he got himself out of bed. “You know, I haven’t done my morning exercises in a while. Well, I guess it’s technically only been three days.”

After preaching his mini monologue, he got dressed in his signature tracksuit which was now patched up and got himself started for the day. Since he wasn’t feeling tired, he was gonna skip out on making coff and just go straight to stretches.

He went out front in the court yard and flinched as he saw an all too familiar little maid standing on her tippy toes as she trimmed the hedges along the manor walls. Subaru had to admit, those girls are dedicated.

“Wow, Grassis. You’re up really early.” Subaru commented as he started looking over the little girl’s work.

“It’s Flam. All the staff get up around this time to clean the manor before the others wake up. It makes for a refreshing atmosphere.” Flam explained before returning to her hedge trimming.

Subaru couldn’t help but chuckle. “I’ve never seen such a hard working kid before. When I was your age, I was too busy playing by myself and complaining about it.”

“Are you feeling better today, guest-sama?” Flam asked as her eyes never left the hedges.

“Yep! I’m a million times better! Say, I was about to do some stretches, wanna join me?”

The little maid just continued doing her work. However, she did answer him. “I’m busy right now. Perhaps another time.”

“Cmon, you and your sister work really hard. You should loosen up your limbs a little.” Subaru pleaded.

Flam stopped what she was doing and faced towards Subaru. “That’s a fair point. I’ll get my sister and we’ll join you shortly.”

Subaru smiled as he walked to the center of the courtyard. “I’ll be waiting!” Subaru proudly declared.

Subaru didn’t have to wait long actually. Flam just waited beside Subaru and Grassis arrived in about a minute. Subaru could tell it was that telepathy thing the twins could do.

Subaru started his stretches and the twins were following along really well. It was kinda surprising for their first time. Though the creepiest thing about this was that the twins were doing the stretches in perfect unison.

“And then; VICTORY!” Subaru shouted out as he stretched his arms and legs out wide.

The twins get in the same stance and at the same time; “Victory.” It was said very halfheartedly.

“Not like that, you have to give it your all. Shout it out as if today’s the best day of your life.”

The twins re-evaluated their way of saying it as they thought about the key words ‘best day of their life’. After some thought, they went back in the same stance and, “Victory.” Still very halfhearted.

Subaru stared at the young girls in disbelief. “You didn’t change your tones at all! It was exactly the same!”

“Not at all.” Flam said.

“We smiled this time.” Grassis further added.

Subaru shook his head. “Are you two even capable of raising your voice?”

The two blinked at the same time and tilted their heads. “You wanted us to raise our voice?”

Subaru nodded, happy that his point was finally getting across. “That’s right. You’re supposed to yell it out for the whole world to hear.”

“Wouldn’t that mean you didn’t do it right either?” Flam pointed out.

“Your victory shout wasn’t loud enough for the whole world to hear.” Grassis added.

“I-I don’t mean literally! Are you two trying to tease me?” Subaru was getting pretty flustered at this point.

In response, the two shared perhaps the sweetest smile Subaru had ever seen from these girls. “Yep~”

Caught off guard, Subaru processed what they meant and pointed to them. “What?! So you are teasing me?! I thought you two were too serious for that!”

“Didn’t you say to loosen up a little?” Flam inquired.

“Well yeah, but I didn’t expect you to do a complete 180 and act out of character.”

“Well, if it makes you feel uncomfortable, we’ll just return to our duties.” Grassis said as the two started to walk away.

Before the girls could leave, Subaru slid in front of them, stopping their retreat. “Wait, I didn’t mean that. I was just caught off guard. I mean, it’s really impressive how mature you girls are considering your age.”

The two girls bowed their heads in appreciation. “We appreciate your compliment.” After expressing their gratitude, the twins left to resume their duties.

“Jeez, it feels like everyone here can be a handful. Well, like I’m one to talk.” Subaru said to himself as he was left alone. “Wait a second… Those brats skipped out on their victory cry!”

---------------------------------------------------------

After Subaru’s walk of shame, he met everyone for breakfast. And of course, the first thing that was brought up was; “Big bro! Is that sickness still kicking your ass?”

Reinhard shook his head disappointingly at the blonde girl’s words. “Miss Felt, it’s proper to tell your acquaintances good morning.”

“Then it’s a good thing he’s not that.” Felt gave off a triumphant smirk which only left the knight disheartened.

“My apologies, I should’ve worded that better…”

“Hey, good morning lil’ sis and good morning Rein.” Subaru said as he took a seat at the table.

Reinhard’s eyes seemed to lighten up and immediately gestured to Subaru. “That right there is how you’re supposed to greet anyone in the morning, Miss Felt. I suggest you take Subaru’s example to heart.”

“Why does that even matter? Can’t I greet friends and family however I want? It’s not like I’m tryin’ to impress them.”

“I wholeheartedly agree with you, Miss Felt. However, it’s still important to practice the way you speak to others so you don’t slip up when it matters most.” Reinhard reasoned.

“I don’t care if it’s for practice! I’ll do that practice crap during those lessons of yours, not in my everyday life!”

Subaru couldn’t help but chuckle at the sight of this bantering. “Cmon guys, you don’t have to wring each others necks this early in the morning.”

“There’s no need to worry, friend. I’m merely guiding Miss Felt down the path that will give her a bright future.”

“Like hell you are! You’re acting more like a nagging dad!”

“Miss Felt… I had no idea you saw me as a father figure.” Reinhard sounded pretty proud of himself as he said this.

Felt lost her patience after that remark. She growled and without any warning, she swung her foot at Reinhard. Maintaining his perfect streak, the knight caught the kick with ease as Reinhard looked rather confused.

“Miss Felt? Have I said anything to upset you?”

“Don’t play dumb! You know damn well what you said! There’s no way in hell that I’d ever see you as a father! Not in a million years would that ever cross my mind!” Felt yelled, incurring her wrath on the knight who didn’t seem all too affected by it.

“I see, it was wrong of me to make such a bold accusation. I apologize from the bottom of my heart.” The red head then took a sincere bow to Felt.

Felt still wanted to hit the knight but knowing where that’ll go, she clicked her tongue and looked away from the knight. “Good, if you ever pull that crap again, then I’ll rip ya a new one.”

“I’ll be sure to keep that in mind.” Reinhard said with a smile.

After that lovely moment, Carol served breakfast to everyone. It was delicious as always, enough so that Reinhard had to keep reminding Felt on proper table manners.

Eventually, Subaru started the conversation to go visit Emilia. “Hey Rein, I was thinking about going to see Emilia at Roswaal’s place. You think we could plan something?” Subaru already knew Reinhard made plans to visit beforehand for them all to visit but he just couldn’t resist seeing Felt’s reactions.

“Yeah, that sounds pretty fun. Count me in.” Felt said with a smile.

That was strange, last time Felt sounded a lot more jealous. Subaru thought. Oh well, it might have something to do with that butterfly effect he started.

“Certainly, friend. I’ll make reservations tomorrow.”

…

“Huh?” Subaru looked at the knight in shock. They were supposed to go today. Subaru cursed himself for really screwing things up. “A-Alright. Um… Did you have anything planned today then?”

“Actually, yes. An associate of mine will be stopping by later today. They’re the one who fully healed your stomach wound.”

Is this why things are different? They’re still worried about that? Subaru asked himself. “I’m fine, Rein. I was just feeling under the weather yesterday. It’s seriously nothing for you all to be worried about.”

Reinhard suddenly wore his serious look. “Subaru, I’m afraid that I can’t risk that. I know you were in pain yesterday and I refuse to stand back and do nothing if there’s something I could’ve done to help.”

Seeing how serious Reinhard looked and sounded, Subaru relented. “Alright, you win. I guess a checkup wouldn’t hurt. So when is this doctor coming?”

“They should be arriving any minute now. I wouldn’t be surprised if they pulled up at the front gate already.”

Subaru couldn’t help but sigh. “Got it, but some kind of heads up would be nice.”

“I know, right?!” Felt was really quick to agree with Subaru there.

It turns out Reinhard wasn’t exaggerating on this medic arriving soon. Just as breakfast was finished, Carol alerted everyone that someone by the name of Felix arrived. Normally this would only require Subaru and Reinhard to be present but the red haired knight thought this would be a perfect opportunity to evaluate Felt’s introduction progress. She might not be in the proper clothes for this but teaching her how to act correctly takes priority over looks right now.

When the guest had arrived, Felt stepped forward with a fiery determined look. However, that all diminished in an instant as Felt placed her hands over her hips and smiled cheerfully. “Hey, are you the one that helped out big bro?”

There wasn’t any elegance in that, no respect, and this wasn’t at all what Reinhard taught her to do. Felt knew this very well but she was absolutely determined to go against what Reinhard told her to do purely out of spite.

In front of Felt was perhaps the most stereotypical looking cat girl one could imagine from a fantasy setting according to Subaru. Subaru was just left in awe as he didn’t even pay attention to Felt’s overly casual ‘greeting’.

The cat girl’s ears twitched slightly as they were now looking down at the short blonde. “Big bro? Oh! Do nyou mean Subaru-kun?”

Felt nodded energetically. “Yeah! So you’re the one that healed him up after hugging a knife?”

“Hey! I’ll have you know that I was attacked! I’m not that stupid to be hugging knives.” Subaru argued.

Reinhard suddenly placed a hand on Felt’s shoulder and bowed to the cat girl, forcing Felt to bow with him. “My apologies, Felix. Please forgive Miss Felt’s manners.”

The cat girl referred to as Felix shook her head. “Oh it’s nyo big deal at all, Reinhard. And yes, I’m the one that patched up Subaru-kun. Gotta say, they sure did a nyumber on his poor tummy.”

Felt squirmed out of Reinhard’s hold. “Get your hands off of me! And don’t apologize for me! If that’s how I wanna greet people then you better deal with it.” She then faced Felix. “And you, thanks for helping out big bro, I appreciate it.”

“Again, it was nyo trouble at all.” Felix then fixed her gaze onto Subaru. “Hmm… Nyou look just fine to me. Are nyou sure he needs extra treatment, Reinhard?”

“Slow down there! I haven't given my introduction yet. I’m Natsuki Subaru, I’m jobless and broke beyond compare!” Subaru really sounded proud of that.

“This is Felix Argyle, as you already know, he was the one that brought you back in good health after bringing you here.” Reinhard introduced the cat gir-

“Wait, he?” Both Subaru and Felt asked in unison. The two began to circle the cat… boy… as if trying to discover anything on him that proves he’s really a guy.

“Awww, Nyou ruined all the fun, Reinhard. I was going to see how long it'd take for them to find it out on their own.” Felix playfully pouted.

“I’ll try to be more mindful next time.” Reinhard bowed apologetically.

Felt looked over to Subaru and smiled rather mischievously. “You know, big bro, you should probably wear something like this in the lessons, it’ll go well with all those poses of yours.”

Subaru’s face grew pale at the very thought of that. “Nope! We’re not even going to think about that until you get yourself dressed for the part.”

“Like hell! I’d rather die than be caught in some dumb dress!”

Felix scoffed which immediately stopped Felt and Subaru’s little debate. “As myuch as I find your squabble to be adorable, I do have things planned today. I’d like to get through this checkup sooner rather than later, you nyow.”

“Oh, sorry, I promise I won’t take long.” Subaru assured.

Reinhard led Felix and Subaru to a different room. When the cat boy and the black haired boy were alone, Felix had Subaru lie down on his back in the bed and had him take his shirt off.

“Alright, nyow I’m going to use water magic to check any abnormalities in your body.” Felix explained.

“Ah, is that why you had me take my shirt off so it wouldn’t get in the way?”

“Nah, I was just seeing if nyou’d actually do it.”

Subaru looked at Felix in shock. “Hey! I thought you said you were in a hurry!”

“I am. That doesn’t mean I can’t get a quick laugh~” Felix giggled before placing his hand on Subaru’s chest. His hand glowed blue as he did this. “Yeah, Reinhard was just being worried for noth- huh?”

Felix blinked a few times as he suddenly had a shocked look on his face. “This can’t be right…”

“Um… Is something wrong, Felix?”

“Subaru, have you made any physical contact with anyone recently?” Felix asked in a stern tone. Definitely different from his cutesy tone from a mere moment ago.

“Why? What happened?”

“You… You’re cursed”

Chapter 7: Another One

Chapter Text

Needless to say, today was perhaps the most chaotic day in Subaru’s life. Practically everyone in the manor was panicking and worrying for Subaru as Felix was trying his absolute best to remove the curse Subaru had. Felix was the best healer in all of Lucinica according to Reinhard and even he was having difficulties removing this curse.

“Hey, what exactly would this curse do to me? I know you said I could die but how exactly?” Subaru asked as he was lying down on the bed.

Felix was very invested in inspecting Subaru and was constantly trying to just pull the curse out of him. He’s been at this for half an hour already. “That’s impossible to nyow. The curse would have to activate for us to even get an idea. Nyow stay still, I think I got it nyow.”

A strange black mist emitted from Subaru’s hand. It did this a few times already but every time Felix tried to grab it, it’d constantly slip out of his hands. However, this time around he grabbed it firmly and yanked that sucker out. After the black mist faded away, Felix let out a loud sigh of relief.

“Whew. I don’t nyow who did this but they really nyow their stuff. I have never seen such a complex curse in my life.” Felix stretched a little after that hard work was finally over.

Subaru sat up in the bed he was operated on. “So you said curses aren’t usually like this?”

The cat boy shrugged. “Nyot really. It could be as simple as a little tug or as difficult as a hard yank. That curse you had was very slippery. The only time I’ve seen it do that was if there were countless curses on someone.”

Subaru blinked. “Wait, so I was cursed a whole lot of times?”

Felix shook his head. “Nyot at all. You only had one curse. That’s why I found it weird that it was so hard to get out. Honestly, you’re very lucky you had me today. Any other healer would say it would be best to put you out of your misery!”

Subaru shuddered at the very thought. “W-Well thanks for saving me once again, Felix. Would you have any clue who could’ve done this?”

Felix nodded. “Yep, that’s very easy actually. Anyone that made any physical contact with you between my last checkup with you and nyow.”

Well, there’s no way it could be anyone in the manor so it definitely had to be someone during one of his outings, Subaru thought. During Subaru’s first outing he recalled only carrying Felt. He didn’t remember too much other than that as that happened before his return by death checkpoint. As for the second time when he visited the tailor, he did bump into several people. That was during the time when Reinhard left to see what the commotion was all about. Oh right, and finally there was the nice shopkeeper. But it couldn’t have been him as he didn’t seem suspicious in the least.

Subaru suddenly jumped, his thoughts being completely interrupted as his ear was gently nommed by Felix. “Subaru-kun, you sure seem to doze off a lot. That was actually why Reinhard called me up here in the first place you nyow.”

“S-Sorry about that, I was trying to remember who touched me but it could’ve been anyone. Yesterday I was bumping into a lot of people.”

Felix let out a sigh. “That’s a shame. That means we can’t rule out who this shaman could be.”

“Hey wait, where can I find you if I get cursed again?”

Felix shrugged. “Wherever my lady needs me. You shouldn’t rely on me to do everything you nyow. I’m nyot always gonna be there to fix up every scrape on you. I’m only here today because I had a very small opening in my very busy schedule and I’ll have you nyow I’m pretty late nyow because of your carelessness.”

“Sorry about that, I guess I’m just a high maintenance patient. Don’t worry though, I’ll be sure you’re the first person I go to when I get into trouble again.” Subaru smiled and gave Felix a thumbs up.

Felix chuckled at this. “And I’ll be sure to boil your blood just a little~”

Subaru quivered at the very thought of that. “I-I’ll keep that in mind.”

After Subaru and Felix’s exchange, the latter went over with Reinhard what Subaru should be looking out for and to keep physical contact to a minimum, at least until the shaman has been dealt with. While that exchange took place, Felt immediately rushed over to Subaru.

“Big bro!” The short girl cried as she ran over to him.

“Hey, lil’ sis. How’s it- OOOMPH!” Subaru knelt over and clenched his stomach as Felt suddenly punched him.

“I knew it! I knew something was going on with you!”

Still recovering from the sudden attack, Subaru slowly stood up straight. “Yeah, guess the news was pretty shocking, wasn’t it?”

Felt glared at Subaru. “What do you think?! Do ya have any idea what it’s like to suddenly hear; hey, so big bro is cursed and he might die any second now.”

Subaru blinked a few times at this. He didn’t think Felix would word it like that. Subaru placed a hand on Felt’s shoulder. “Look, I’m not dead. I’m right here and I’m perfectly fine now.”

Felt looked into Subaru’s scary looking eyes for a good while. “Fine… But if you aren’t feeling well like this again, you better tell someone! I know you can be stupid sometimes but this is rediculous!”

Subaru moved his hand away from Felt’s shoulder and to the back of his head. “Yeah, I’ll tell you if something like this comes up again.”

Finally loosening up, Felt lets out a sigh of relief. “You better or else there’ll be hell to pay. Now c'mon, I wanna get some fresh air for once.” The demanding girl snatched Subaru’s wrist as she practically dragged him away without even giving the boy a chance to share his opinion on the matter.

Subaru didn’t really mind the idea of being outside for a little so he went along with Felt’s lead. Everything seemed to be just fine, that was until Felt led the way to the back of the manor. Felt even looked around in a suspicious manner as if to make sure no one followed them.

Well, despite Subaru being suspicious these past few days, this wasn’t going to stop him from pointing out anyone else’s odd behavior. “Erm, lil’ sis? Did you want to play back here?”

“Eh, something like that. You’re gonna help me get over this fence.” Felt pointed to the said fence as Subaru only wore a deadpanned look.

“Really? Now you’re going to use me to help you leave me?” Subaru asked with an ‘Are you serious?’ look on his face.

“You know very well that you’re able to leave anytime you want! After you help me out, we’ll meet up at the loot house.”

Subaru let out a sigh. “You know everyone here will be worried about you.”

“Screw what they think! If you hadn’t forgotten already, you were about to die. If it weren’t for me insisting something was wrong with ya, you’d be dead!”

This caught Subaru’s attention. “Wait, what are you talking about?”

Felt crossed her arms. “Are ya deaf?! I pestered that idiot knight to have ya see a medic. He insisted that since you said you were fine then we should respect your words. I called him out on that and said if his so-called friend is suffering, then he’s a lousy one for doing nothing!”

Subaru flinched at this revelation. He had no idea Felt was the reason this happened. “Oh… I had no idea…”

“Don’t look so surprised. Now help boost me up.” Felt pointed at the spot she was expecting to get said boost.

“Hey wait, I really appreciate you helping me out but I still don’t want to cause trouble with everyone here.”

Felt glared at Subaru. “Look, you were about to die and the people here were gonna do nothing about it. Staying here is more trouble than it’s worth and there is no way in hell I’m just gonna sit back and let myself be a target to whoever this curse giver of yours is. For all we know, it could be someone here!”

Seeing how hellbent Felt was on getting out, Subaru let out another sigh. “I doubt anyone here is the shaman. They’re all very nice.”

“So what? They’re keeping me here against my will anyways! I don’t care if he’s a knight, kidnapping is still kidnapping!” Felt argued.

Subaru looked over at the fence before the two. “Are you sure you even need my help? I could’ve sworn I saw you hopping between buildings before.”

This caused the crimson eyed girl to get a little flustered. “Hold up, you’ve seen me before?! Why didn’t ya say anything?!” Before anything could be said about it, Felt quickly shook her head. “Never mind, just keep a lookout for me, will ya?”

Without even waiting for an answer, the short girl quite easily hopped over that fence. It was probably around fifteen feet tall and the fact she did it so smoothly was impressive in itself.

With a triumphant smirk, Felt turned to Subaru who was on the other side of the fence. “Alright, big bro. I’ll see ya at the loot house, got it?”

Subaru seemed surprisingly calm about this all of a sudden. “Yeah, sure. By the way, lil’ sis…”

Felt perked her eyes up. “What is it, big bro?”

“There’s someone there…” Subaru pointed over to something behind her.

“Huh…?” Felt slowly turned around and in front of her was an all too familiar resident of the manor. Standing tall in front of her was Grimm. He was silently looking down at the girl with that terrifying look and it was as if a terrifying aura was emitting from him. Subaru may have a scary look but this butler put that to shame.

“…” Grim didn’t say a word, he just stared at Felt.

“W-What the hell are ya doing here?! I thought you were inside!” Felt yelled out.

“…” Nothing. He continued to stare at the girl.

At this point, the tense mood was starting to get to Felt as a single drop of sweat ran down the side of her face. “L-Look, I’m just looking around so ya don’t have to look at me like that.”

“…” There was still nothing. Not a sound, not any signs of movement, just that intense staring.

Feeling defeated, Felt lowered her head and slowly walked her way back to the front gate as Grimm followed behind. Subaru walked alongside her from the other side of the fence, watching the blonde girl’s walk of shame the whole time.

After escorting Felt back in the Manor’s courtyard, Grimm simply nodded and faded back in the background. After his disappearance, Felt let out a sigh of relief. “What the hell was his problem? He didn’t have to be so scary.”

“I mean, you did jump the fence.” Subaru pointed out.

“So what?! I told Gramps that I was just looking around! He had no reason to glare at me like he did.” Felt crossed her arms and let out a loud huff.

“Gramps? Never mind, why are you so scared of Grimm? I mean, yeah, he’s pretty intimidating but Reinhard quite literally blew the loot house into a pile of rubble and you don’t bat an eye trying to hit him.”

“You wouldn’t understand! He might not be as strong as that kidnapper but he defies everything!”

Subaru lifted an eyebrow. “You were scared of him ever since day one. What could he possibly have done to you?”

“Oh let me tell ya…”

---------------------------------------------------------

The first day…

---------------------------------------------------------

Felt just stormed out of the room after convincing Reinhard to not start that etiquette training today. She was expecting that knight to follow her like some kind of bloodhound but to her surprise, he stayed back with Subaru. They looked like they were talking about something.

Felt suddenly smirked as an idea popped up in her head. They were distracted and she could easily use this opportunity to get out of this hell hole. Sure, it wouldn’t be fair to Subaru after having him agree to take those lessons with her but the idea of getting out of this hell hole sounded a lot better.

“Eh, I’m sure big bro will understand.” Felt muttered to herself. Knowing that this place was empty, she easily navigated to the front door and let herself out. She made her way over to the front gate only to find it locked.

With how tall these fences were, any normal person would be trapped here. Luckily for Felt, she wasn’t any normal person. She was a master thief and some lock wasn’t going to stop someone like her. The girl pulled out a hair pin from the bottom of her dagger holster. It was a shame that her dagger was compensated but she can always get a new one, she was just glad that her hairpin wasn’t taken away as well.

Felt easily maneuvered the hairpin in the lock and in the matter of seconds, the lock popped open. She walked herself past the gate and let out a hearty laugh. “Damn, this was way too easy!”

However, the girl’s bask of glory was short-lived as a group of maids and a butler was standing in front of her. There were three maids and one butler, one maid looked really old and the butler looked just as old. The other two maids looked perfectly identical with the only difference being the bangs of their hair and those girls didn’t even look to be any older than her. All four of them were staring at Felt with a very unimpressed look.

Being way too overconfident in her skills, she simply waved at the small group. “I’d love to greet myself to ya all but I’m afraid I gotta run. Live strong!” And with those parting words she used her divine protection to dash herself up in the trees and made a run for it, hopping swiftly from tree to tree.

“Yeah! This was way too ea-“ Her self praise was swiftly interrupted as her scarf seemed to get snagged on something and it caused her to lose her balance and began to dangle from one of the trees. “Dammit! What the hell was tha-“

Once again, she stopped herself as she found the source of this interruption. Right here, her scarf was pinned to the tree by a sword. “D-Did someone throw this at me?!” Felt asked herself. As she was getting the sword out, she felt something grab her foot.

Looking back, Felt saw that butler from before staring sternly at the little runaway. “…” He wasn’t saying anything, just staring like he was pissed.

“Did you seriously throw a sword at me?! You coulda killed me, dumbass!” Felt screeched.

The butler seemingly ignored Felt as he casually yanked the sword out of the tree, finally freeing Felt’s scarf. However, Felt was now trapped in this old man’s grasp. “Hey! What the hell do ya think you’re doing?! Get off of-“

Before Felt could finish, the butler actually set her down and let her go. Felt blinked a few times as now both the butler and her were staring each other down. “Oh… Um… Thanks?” Felt was not actually expecting to be let go.

The butler on the other hand didn’t change his stern look one bit. Without a word, he pointed back to the direction of the manor. Felt was smart enough to know what he meant. She did want to run away again but something about this guy was really throwing her off and in all honesty, it scared her.

“R-Right…” And without a fight, Felt shamefully walked herself back in the direction of the manor.

---------------------------------------------------------

“And then I tried to hop over the fence but that old lady snatched me and tossed me over her shoulder before I could. That’s about it.” Felt finished.

Subaru rubbed his chin as he processed Felt’s story. “So you got your butt handed to you by Grimm and you’re scared of him now.”

The answer Subaru received was a kick to his side. “Were ya even listening?! I’m sayin that it’s like he didn’t care! He let me go and made me go back on my own!”

“Ow…” Subaru complained as he rubbed the spot he was kicked in. “I heard your story but it just sounded like you got served.”

Felt crossed her arms and looked away. “I should’ve figured that you’re too stupid to get it.”

“Oh yeah! Before I forget, I have something I’m pretty sure you’ll like.”

This easily caught Felt’s attention and her pouty demeanor instantly vanished. “For me? What is it?”

Subaru formed an X with his arms. “Nope! Telling you will ruin the surprise! You’ll have to follow me if you want to know what it is.”

“You mean that surprise from the other day? I guess you never really told me what that was all about… Sure, lead the way, big bro.” Felt began to follow Subaru’s lead.

Subaru proudly marched to his room and once there, he turned back to Felt. “Now wait right here and cover your eyes for me.”

Felt’s crimson eyes stared at Subaru suspiciously. “I swear, if you touch me, I’ll bite your hand off.”

Subaru instinctively took a step back. “What? No! Am I some kind of pervert to you?!”

Felt shrugged. “Probably, I mean, you do some pretty weird stuff. I even saw ya making those twins do some weird poses yesterday.”

“We were doing a perfectly normal stretch routine! There was nothing weird about it!” Subaru defended.

Felt smirked before teasing the poor boy some more. “I dunno, it sounds like you’re trying to hide your perverted operation to me.”

“They’re twelve! Why would you even think that I’d do something as illegal as that?!” Subaru quickly shook his head as he realized that this was getting way too off track. “At least turn around, I’m trying to make a memory of a lifetime for you.”

Felt chuckled as she finally listened and placed her hands over her eyes. “Cmon, big bro. I was just messing with ya a little.”

Seeing Felt finally complying, Subaru let out a sigh of relief. “I only need a second.” And with that, Subaru rushed into his room and pulled out his little present that was in the sealed box safely hidden under his bed.

After securing the item out from the box, he rushed out while hiding it behind his back. “Alright, are you ready?”

Felt answered by removing her hands from her face and she looked over to Subaru. “Well? Let's see this surprise of yours.”

“H-Hey! You’re supposed to say ‘Yes, I’m ready.’ Don't just look without any warning! Luckily I planned for this and helped to not ruin it.”

Felt crossed her arms and began to look annoyed. “Who cares? It looks like you’re hiding it behind your back anyways. Quit stalling and show me already.”

Finally getting to the point, Subaru revealed the doll he made for her. It was still designed after himself but hey, the design still looked cute.

Sorta…

After taking the doll, Felt examined it a little. A small moment of silence occurred before the blonde haired girl burst out laughing.

Subaru was taken aback by this behavior. “Hey! What’s so funny?!” This was a much better reaction compared to last time but it still felt demoralizing.

Felt barely recovered from laughing, it was apparent that she found this hilarious. “All this was for a weird doll that looks like you?”

“I’ll have you know that it took me all night to make that!” That was a lie. Thanks to making the doll the first time, he certainly saved a lot of time this time around thanks to the memory alone.

“Pfft, whatever you say, big bro.” Despite her rude comments, she was smiling happily.

“Well if you don’t like it, I’ll just make you something else.” As Subaru tried to take the doll back, Felt swiftly pulled it away from his reach.

“Slow down there, I never said I hated it. Besides, this little guy will never find a good home in your reach.”

Subaru blinked a few times before smiling. “Ah, so you’re going to adopt him then?”

Felt chuckled. “Yeah, I doubt you’d be smart enough to do it yourself.”

This irked Subaru a little. “Stop treating it like a child. It’s just a doll you know.”

“What? You’re the one spouting about adopting it.”

Well, Felt did have a point there. Subaru relented and sighed. “I guess you’re right. Well I’ll try to make better surprises next time.”

Felt shook her head. “No need, it was good enough.”

This caught the boy’s attention as he smiled deviously. “Oh?~ Could it be that the tsundere in you is finally making its debut?~”

Felt looked very confused. “Soon da-what? Wait, are ya making fun of me?!”

Ignoring her question, Subaru continued, “My, to think lil’ sis would have such a cute side to her~”

“Grrr… You better canit or else I’ll kick your ass!”

Clearly having his excitement get the better of him, he just went on. “You know, I’m pretty sure there’s a tsundere loli at Roswaal’s mansion. I think you two could-“

“I SAID SHUT UP!!!”

…

Subaru might need to see Felix again.

---------------------------------------------------------

It was now nighttime. Luckily, Felt didn’t send him to the hospital.

The lessons were more behind then last time because of everything that happened and Felt really was more rebellious about participating more than usual. Subaru concluded that it had to be because of him getting cursed considering the timing.

“Are you alright, guest-sama?”

Subaru flinched, snapping out of his train of thought and looked over to Grassis. Today she was the one teaching him how to read which in itself was kinda embarrassing to have a little kid teaching a high schooler about reading and writing.

“I’m fine, today was just pretty eventful.” Subaru clarified.

The little maid nodded, agreeing with Subaru’s assessment. “I agree. I heard you were going to die from a curse.”

Her too? Felix really shouldn’t have added the dying part. “Look Grassis, I’m stronger than I look. Some curse isn’t going to take me down.”

Grassis suddenly leaned uncomfortably close to Subaru, staring at him intently. After her evaluation, she finally revealed her results; “I doubt it.”

Subaru looked down in defeat. “You didn’t even hold back…”

Seeing how Subaru’s attention was recaptured, Grassis continued with the writing lesson. “Now write this character a few times.”

Subaru nodded as he followed the little girl’s instruction. This was a nice change of pace at least, Carol was way more strict in her teachings and didn’t hold back one bit. Grassis was a lot more easy going.

As the practice continued, Subaru was distracted by a strange movement from the corner of his eye. Out the window, he saw another nearby window suddenly open and to no one’s surprise, Felt’s head peeked out from it.

Subaru couldn’t help but watch this as Felt looked around a bit. Soon her head pulled back in the building and a rope sprung out from the open window. Felt got herself out and slowly descended down the rope until she was out of sight.

Subaru continued to stare out the window dumbfounded for a few moments until the scene suddenly changed as a ladder suddenly posted itself up towards the window Felt escaped from. Following that scene, he saw Grimm climbing up the ladder with one hand as his other was carrying a bewildered looking Felt over his shoulder. She wasn’t struggling or anything, she just had that ‘ what just happened?’ look on her face.

Subaru blinked a few times as he subconsciously pulled his phone out and took a picture. The flash went off and it caught the attention of both Grimm and Felt. Grimm was visibly confused and simply waved to Subaru. The boy kindly returned the gesture and waved back to him.

However, Felt remembered exactly what that phone can do. Knowing what Subaru did, she began kicking and screaming, trying to flail out of Grimm’s grasp. It was strange though, Subaru could barely hear a thing. These must be some sound-proof walls.

After Grimm hauled Felt back inside, Subaru turned his attention over to Grassis. “Hey Grassis? I suddenly have a bad feeling about this room. Let's go to another room.”

Grassis tilted her head. “Are you sure, guest-sama? Would you like me to get Master Reinhard?”

Subaru shook his head. “No, I don’t think he can stop what’s about to happen.”

Concerned about what Subaru was talking about, Grassis agreed and the two moved to a different room. Needless to say, Subaru could hear loud banging and crashing noises from his room while they were settled.

Fearing that he might actually die, Subaru ended up sleeping in that room for the night.

---------------------------------------------------------

Today was now the fifth day. By the looks of it, Subaru didn’t return by death. The primary evidence for this was not only waking up in that different room but he also found two sleeping girls by his sides.

At first, he was relieved that he didn’t go back but that relief turned into panic as he finally realized the seriourity of the situation he was in. He was in bed sleeping with Flam and Grassis. He could practically hear the police sirens already.

Without even thinking, Subaru quickly got off the bed. “What do you both think you’re doing?!”

The twins lifted their heads up in unison and tiredly looked over to Subaru. “Huh…?” The twins took a moment to survey their surroundings until it finally hit them. “Oh, this is our room.”

“Huh…?” It was Subaru’s turn to be confused. As he was putting the pieces together, it finally hit him. He didn’t return to his room last night and Grassis led him to a different room. That means he was brought into the twins room and ended up passing out. Last thing he remembered was sitting at the desk.

“Wasn’t I sleeping on the desk over there? How did I end up in the bed?” Subaru asked.

“You seemed adamant on not returning to your room last night so I moved you into our bed. The desk didn’t look comfortable to sleep on and there’s a lot of room on the bed so it shouldn’t be cramped with the three of us.” Grassis calmly explained.

Subaru let out a sigh of relief at the innocent explanation. At least no one showed up to spark any misunderstandings. “Thanks, you two. But could you take me to a different room next time? I don’t want to get in trouble if anyone sees this.”

The twins tilted their heads in unison. “What’s there to get in trouble for?”

Subaru would never tell these innocent girls such a thing. He just took a deep breath before saying, “N-Never mind. Sorry for waking you two.” And without further delay, he left the room, leaving the two clueless girls behind.

Subaru needed to get dressed still so he returned to his room. What he saw next was even more traumatizing than waking up with two minors.

…

Nevermind, nothing could ever top that.

Regardless, he found his room in pieces. Dressers were knocked over, closets were rummaged through, his desk was flipped to its side, his clothes the manor provided him were scattered all over the floor, and lastly, there was a blonde petite girl sleeping soundly in the center of his bed.

Of course, it was Felt.

Subaru was just glad that he didn’t decide to stay in his room last night. He definitely would’ve been a goner otherwise.

However, Subaru didn’t have time to think about this. Right now, he had to think of a way to take the ticking time bomb off of his bed. In order to test the girl’s awareness, Subaru tossed one of the clothes at Felt while he waited by the door in case anything went wrong.

“Nghhh…” Felt muttered out in her sleep before rolling to her side. Luckily, she was still fast asleep. Subaru let out a sigh of relief as he knew it was all clear. Very slowly and carefully, the boy approached the sleeping girl and cautiously carried them in his arms.

He panicked once Felt grumbled and squirmed around a little but she stopped as she comfortably slept in Subaru’s arms. He let out a silent sigh of relief and started to tiptoe his way out of his room. Everything was going really smoothly so far, he couldn’t think of anything that could go wrong.

…

And as if the world wanted to prove him wrong, his door burst open right in front of him. It was Reinhard and he had a worried expression on his face. “Subaru! Have you seen Felt?! She wasn’t in her-“ The knight stopped mid sentence as he saw Subaru carrying Felt in his arms. Let’s just say Felt wasn’t exactly sleeping anymore. Now with his worries subsided, Reinhard smiled at the two. “Oh, my apologies. I didn’t mean to interrupt.” And with that, he closed the door.

Subaru’s gaze was locked on the closed door in disbelief. It felt as if his heart stopped after he heard Felt’s voice. “Care to explain why you’re holding me like this, big bro?” It was said in a very serious and stern tone.

Subaru didn’t say a word. He slowly walked back to his bed, set Felt down on it, and walked out of the room. After closing the door, he started running as if his life depended on it.

As he ran, he heard his door slam open and heard Felt yelling at the top of her lungs. “Hey! Get your dumb ass back here!”

“I’m sorry but your big bro is in another castle!” Subaru shouted back as he didn’t stop running. He didn’t dare look back in fear at what he might see.

Eventually, the boy turned a tight corner and quickly slipped into a random room. He held his breath in order to not make any noise. Footsteps swiftly passed by which showed the effectiveness of his plan and Subaru gasped for air. “I-I barely made it…” Subaru said to himself.

“Welcome back, guest-sama. May we help you with anything?”

That voice was one of the twins. Subaru couldn’t tell which one since they sounded exactly alike. Before he could answer, he took notice that the room he slipped into was the twin’s room. He hadn’t realized that he took the same path back.

“Oh, sorry about that, I was trying to save myself from-“ Subaru stopped mid sentence once he looked towards the twins. The two were in the middle of changing. One of them was already dressed and they were helping the other get their cute little maid dress on.

However, Subaru’s eyes widened in fear as he saw that little maid completely in her underwear. The intense fear of being imprisoned forever plagued his mind and he knew very well his run wasn’t anywhere near over.

“I’m sorry!” Subaru cried out, he was even crying as he rushed out of the door.

“Guest-sama!” The twins cried out in unison. They both sounded very concerned for the poor boy.

---------------------------------------------------------

Subaru had an epiphany. He realized that the curse was only trying to save him from the horror he would go through on this day. It was only trying to put him out of his misery.

“Defying fate was a mistake…” Subaru muttered to himself, his tone lacking any kind of emotion.

Suddenly his arm was punched. It didn’t hurt or anything, it was more of a rough nudge if anything. “Get over it already, ya crybaby.” Felt demanded before returning to her food. Right now, everyone was gathered at the dining hall for breakfast.

The nudge was enough to return to normal only to complain. “You wouldn’t understand! Anyone in my shoes would be traumatized and never be the same again!”

“I dunno, you sound fine to me.” Felt concluded before stuffing her mouth with steamed tatoes.

“Miss Felt, please refrain from eating the tatoe whole.” Reinhard advised before demonstrating the proper way of eating it.

“Yeah yeah, I know how to eat a tatoe. The thing is, I’m gonna eat it how I want.” Felt responded as her mouth was full.

“Miss Felt, please swallow your food before talking. It’s rude behavior and it’ll make your peers feel uncomfortable.” Reinhard lectured.

Felt didn’t answer. Well, verbally at least. What she did was flip Reinhard off.

This behavior was enough to make Subaru concerned and helped him forget about his personal problems altogether. “Um, lil’ sis? Are you doing alright?” Subaru whispered.

Swallowing her food, Felt answered. “Yeah, I’m just fine.”

Well, that was a blatant lie. Subaru didn’t need Reinhard’s lie detector power to figure that out. Subaru placed his hand on Felt's shoulder and persisted. “I know something’s wrong. If I have to tell you when I’m feeling down, that goes for you too.”

Felt let out a sigh. She really couldn’t fight that logic. “Fine, but not in front of everyone. I’ll tell ya later.”

Subaru nodded and finally started to eat his own food. “Oh yeah, did you make any plans for us to visit Emilia, Rein?”

Reinhard nodded. “I have, we’ll be heading out after we finish breakfast.”

“You guys are going out? Count me in!” Felt said. Despite her sour mood earlier, she sounded pretty excited this time. She always seemed excited to go out though.

“Before we go, I wanted to check on something, Felt was going to help me with that.”

Felt lifted her eyebrow at Subaru’s excuse. “I did?”

Subaru didn’t answer that verbally. Instead, he just looked to Felt deadpanned.

“Huh? Oh… Ohhhhh! Yeah, I was gonna help big bro out with… something.” Felt said, finally getting it.

Reinhard knew very well they were hiding something but he didn’t press on it. He didn’t sense any ill intentions from them after all. He also heard what they were whispering about earlier and knew it would’ve been rude to intrude on a private conversation. “I understand. I’ll be waiting by the dragon carriage.”

After breakfast, everyone split off. Subaru just took Felt to the side so he could start that conversation he wanted. “So, can you tell me what’s going on now?” Subaru started.

Felt crossed her arms. “I still don’t trust anyone. It feels like I’m the only one here that remembers that ya got cursed and everyone is treating it like nothing happened.”

“Well, I'm pretty sure they’re just keeping a good atmosphere. I’m pretty positive that no one here is that shaman that cursed me.”

“I don’t care if you’re pretty sure! I'm not gonna let my guard down and risk my life over an assumption like that.”

Oh boy, this was one tough nut to crack, Subaru thought. “Look, what will it take for you to trust everyone here? I don’t think it’s healthy living like that.”

Felt took a second to think and let out a sigh. “I honestly don’t know. I’d be a lot more willing to trust everyone if it weren’t for Reinhard abducting me!”

Well, she did have a point there. Subaru still wanted to help ease Felt’s worries though. “Well, I am allowed to leave anytime I want to. Is there something you’d want me to do out there for you that would help make you trust everyone here some more? And no, helping you break out isn’t an option!”

Felt took a second to think before looking down, getting all flustered as she thought of something. “Well… I’m kinda worried about old man Rom. If you could, would you check up on him and tell him I’m doing alright?”

“Rom? Oh yeah! That giant! If that’s all you want, then I’ll go check up on him for you. I’ll even give you a bonus and tell him to come visit sometime.” Subaru was all smiles.

Felt in return smiled, her cheeks adopted a light shade of pink as well. “T-Thanks. That would mean a lot to me.”

Subaru blushed a bit at this. He usually saw Felt in her angry state and seeing her all flustered like this was just so cute. “So cute…” And of course, Subaru began to pat Felt’s head.

Felt’s cheeks deepened as she looked a bit panicked. “H-Hey! Get your hands off of me! I swear I’ll bite you!”

“Cmon, lil’ sis. Isn’t it supposed to be normal for big brothers to pat their cute little sister’s head?” Subaru was not moving his hand at all. He was intent on patting Felt.

“Since when was our relationship ever normal?!” Felt retorted.

“I guess you’re right… You’d probably be the cat in that case.”

“Cat?! Grrr… That’s it!”

Already knowing what’s to come, Subaru quickly moved his hand away from her head and placed both of his hands on her shoulders. He was pushing the feisty girl back as she was chomping the air like a vicious alligator.

“Alright, alright. I’ll stop. I just wanted to tease you a little.”

Felt surprisingly stopped. “Fine, but I’ll beat you up if you try that again.”

Subaru let out a sigh of relief at how easy that was before letting go. “Alright, let’s meet up with Reinhard.”

“Yeah, sounds good. Hold on, what’s on your hand?” Felt pointed to Subaru’s left hand.

Subaru inspected his hand and didn’t see anything. “Huh? I don’t see anything…”

“Cmon, it’s right here.” Felt took Subaru’s left hand. He didn’t fight it at all as he wanted to know what Felt was seeing. She must have really good eyesight if she can really spot something that sma-

Chomp!

“GYAAAAAH!!!”

---------------------------------------------------------

Both Felt and Subaru were making their way outside after their little talk. Before they could make it to the door, Reinhard opened it and came back inside. He was holding a letter and he looked stern and serious.

Subaru waved at the knight. “Hey, Rein. We were just about to meet you by the carriage.”

“I’m sorry to say but we have to cancel our plans.” Reinhard said in a serious tone.

Felt glared at him. “Hey! What happened this time?!”

Reinhard looked down at the letter before continuing. “A resident at the Mather’s Estate was found dead earlier this morning and they won’t be accepting visitors until further notice.”

Subaru’s eyes widened as he immediately thought of the worst. “What…? Please… Please tell me Emilia’s ok!”

Reinhard placed his hand on Subaru’s shoulder. “Emilia is alright. The letter said it was one of the staff.”

Subaru was slightly relieved at this but he was still panicking. “What happened?! Did they catch the guy who did it?!”

Reinhard shook his head. “I’m not sure. It only says that one of their staff died this morning and they won’t be accepting any visits until further notice.”

Subaru’s mind was wandering. He was trying to pinpoint anything that could’ve happened. “C-Could it have been the shaman…?”

“I am not sure. I’m not aware of their circumstances but it would be in our best interest to give them some space.” Reinhard calmly explained.

Felt who was in a state of shock finally spoke up. “I-I’m going to my room…” She really sounded spooked from all this.

Once Felt left, Subaru continued to ponder what could’ve happened. Last time when he was there everything seemed fine over there. All the residents looked young and healthy so it couldn’t be some kind of health issue. But this happened on the same day he looked back. Could it be that they were cursed by the same person and Subaru’s only safe now because he had his curse removed before the fifth day?

Chapter 8: Nonexistent Reunions

Chapter Text

Felt skipped out on her lessons today. It was hard to tell if it was because she was being rebellious again or if it was because of the news about someone dying at Roswaal’s manor. She didn’t know anyone there nor did she have any attachments to them, but it’s still sad to hear someone die.

As for Subaru, he was brainstorming what could’ve happened. He was already told by Reinhard and the other staff to not worry about it since it was an issue out of their control but something like that wasn’t going to stop him. After a while, he did conclude one thing. Whatever happened occurred at night.

If this was because of the curse, then someone must’ve touched him in the day and activated the curse at night. The only question he had left was who was in the presence of him and Roswaal’s staff during this time.

In this route, he saw Roswaal but they never made any physical contact with one another. Reinhard’s staff couldn’t be the culprits because it doesn’t make sense to him that they would kill their own residents. After all, he had a good relationship with everyone here.

The only possibility under these parameters would have to be someone he passed by when he gathered the items to make the doll. He recalled bumping into a few people when Reinhard separated from him to inspect that murder case.

Well, he has an idea now but even this would be a long shot. He planned to take the same route he did that day and just hoped that whoever this shaman is the type to stay in one place. It sounds unlikely but unless he killed himself, there really isn’t a way he could think of to track back to.

With his game plan set and stone, Subaru gets up and starts to make his way outside. On his way, he passed by Reinhard. “Hey, Rein. I’m going out for a walk.”

“I advise against that, friend. I’m worried that you might run into trouble again.”

“Right, I guess my case looks pretty bad, Especially running into that assassin and now a curse, doesn’t it?”

Reinhard nodded. “That’s right. It hasn’t been a full week and you’ve had your life in danger twice already.”

Subaru let out a chuckle. “Cmon, Rein. It’s not like I’m going to run into another shaman or anything.” It was ironic since he was hoping to run into them again.

Reinhard did see the reasoning behind that but still didn’t feel quite right about this. Eventually, he went to a cabinet and came back with what looked like a map. He marked a spot on the map and gave it to Subaru. “If you feel anything wrong while you’re out, I want you to go straight to Felix.” The knight laid it out, revealing it to be a map of the whole city of Lugnica. “Felix should be stationed over here. If anyone looks suspicious, don’t engage them. Just go straight to the knights. If anyone touches you in any way, note who it was and go straight to Felix.”

Subaru chuckled at how detailed Reinhard was acting. “Sure, Rein. You really sound like an overprotective dad right now.”

“I didn’t mean any disrespect. I’ve noticed that you seem to run into many deadly situations and I can’t help but feel concerned for your well being.”

“You can always just come with me. It’ll definitely be way safer if you’re around.” Subaru offered.

Reinhard shook his head. “I’m afraid that I can’t. Until this matter is resolved, I don’t feel comfortable leaving Miss Felt alone.”

“Yeah, that makes sense.” After thinking about it a little more, bringing Reinhard with him might scare the Shaman away. Well, assuming they’re still around that is. “I’ll see you later then, Rein.”

“Likewise, friend. Remember, if anything happens, go straight to Felix.”

After agreeing yet again, Subaru took the map and finally made his way out and followed the same path as he had days before. It immediately became apparent that bringing Reinhard wasn’t necessary as the knights were a lot more active. He was sure if he cried for help, there would be several knights to come and help.

He didn’t encounter anything he considered to be suspicious. Subaru could only guess the knight activity was Felix or Reinhard’s doing because of him being caught with a curse.

Nothing eventful happened by the time Subaru reached the tailor shop. When he tried to enter the shop, he found the door to be locked. There was a sign on the door and after some careful deciphering, he was able to read the words ‘Sorry’ and ‘Closed’.

“Darn, it’s not even late.” Subaru lamented to himself as he looked over the map Reinhard gave him. “Wait, the loot house isn’t that far from here.” This might be a good chance to help fulfill Felt’s request to check up on Rom. At least he could get something from this.

…

After making his way through the slums, Subaru blankly stared at the overwhelming amount of rubble where the loot house once stood. And of course, there was no sign of Rom anywhere.

The black haired boy looked down in defeat as he asked himself ‘What was I expecting?’ It’s been nearly a week since the incident so there wouldn’t be a chance that this place would’ve been rebuilt yet. He was at least hoping Rom would be around somewhere but even that hope proved to be false.

“Today just isn’t my day, is it?” Subaru dreaded out loud. He re-evaluated the map, trying to plan his next course of action. At this point, Subaru accepted that finding the shaman was a lost cause, especially with the heightened security. The best thing he could do at the very least was to check up on Rom. After some thought, he probably was taken in to get healed up since Rom did suffer a casualty during the incident.

“Alright, guess my next stop is the healing institute then.” Subaru mused to himself. As he was about to get on his way, a familiar figure caught his eye. It was a middle age man who seemed to be casually walking past and over the rubble, not even looking a little bothered by the very uneven terrain.

“Hey, you’re the shopkeeper of the tailor shop!” Subaru called out to the man.

The shopkeeper gave Subaru his attention and made his way over. “I’m sorry, young man, but have we met?”

Subaru blinked a few times. “We’ve met three times now, there’s no way you could’ve forgotten about me that fast! I bought some fabric and stuffing from you a few days ago, too.”

The shopkeeper adjusted their glasses as he locked his gaze on Subaru. “Is that so? In that case, thank you for your past business, dear customer.”

Subaru knew this guy had a bad memory but this was just insulting at this point. Brushing that thought to the side, Subaru continued, “Oh yeah, I noticed that your shop was closed, did something happen?”

“Hm? Oh yes. The knights wanted to look through my shop.”

To Subaru, that only brought more questions to the table. “Wait, so the knights were investigating through your shop? What for?”

“They’re most likely checking on the mur-“ Suddenly, the shopkeeper stopped himself and had a strange troubled look on his face. He soon returned to his smile and continued, “I’m sorry, I don’t actually remember.”

Well, that was unsettling, Subaru thought. Is his memory really that bad? He just couldn’t help but feel sorry for the poor guy. “So the knights raided your shop. Is that why you’re in the slums?”

Subaru was worried that the shopkeeper would forget that too but luckily for him, he did get an answer. “Oh, It’s nothing like that. I had some errands to complete and the knights ever so happened to require an investigation in my shop. I’m actually on my way back now.”

Hearing that, Subaru had an idea. “Say, do you have any kind of records of past customers?”

The shopkeeper lifted a brow. “What an odd question. Why would you want to know something like that?”

“Well, I guess you can say I’m trying to find someone and it’s been really hard getting a lead.” Subaru explained.

The man stroked his chin for a moment. “Well, I do believe I have something that could help. Come with me, dear customer.”

“Wait, really?! You’re a real lifesaver!” Subaru happily followed the shopkeeper as he led the way back to his shop. “By the way, I’m Natsuki Subaru.”

The shopkeeper glanced at the boy briefly. “Nice to meet you, dear customer.”

…

Subaru was kinda hoping to know his name but how the shopkeeper answered made it kind of awkward now. “Yeah… So do you have a name?”

“Why yes, I do have a name.” The shopkeeper happily answered.

…

“So… What is it?”

“Hm? My name?”

Subaru eagerly nodded. “Yeah! I want to know that!”

…

The shopkeeper stroked his chin. It was almost as if he was really trying to remember what his name is. “My name is Mendax.” He finally answered.

Based on that delayed answer, Subaru couldn’t tell if he was having a hard time remembering his name or if he ended up guessing. Regardless, he was satisfied that he finally knew what to call the shopkeeper with obvious signs of Alzheimer's. “W-Well, nice to meet you, Mendax.”

Eventually, the two made it back to the tailor shop. Mendax unlocked the door and opened it for Subaru. Subaru’s jaw dropped as he saw the shop completely ransacked. Shelves were knocked over, product was scattered across the floor, and even a table was flipped over.

“Did the knights do all this?!” Subaru asked. He was starting to get a good understanding of how Felt feels now.

The shopkeeper on the other hand walked himself inside as if nothing was wrong. He casually lifted the knocked over table back to its feet and proceeded to look over some books that were scattered across the floor. “I wasn’t there when they barged in but I’d assume so.”

Seeing Mendax’s calm demeanor made Subaru a little concerned. “You’re really calm… Does this happen often?”

“To an extent. But it’s no issue to me.” Still with a smile on his face, he finds a little notebook and places it down on the table. “This book contains some information on promising customers I find.”

Subaru immediately shifted his attention to the notebook. He was pretty surprised that he was just being given all this. “Are you sure? It sounds like you’re handing over some kind of trade secret. Wait… Isn’t this some kind of invasion of privacy?”

Mendax tilted his head. “Oh? So you don’t want to look through it?”

Panicked, Subaru shook his head quickly. “I-I’ll look through it! Thank you for your help.”

The shopkeeper placed the book down on the table. “Take a look, I’ll warm up some tea.”

The boy agreed before taking a seat and looked through the book. He doubted that he’d actually find anything involving the shaman. In all honesty, he was hoping to find as many people as he could that were remotely in his vicinity during the time he was cursed. He thought that if there was another victim who died by the curse, he could pinpoint this Shaman through the process of elimination.

As Subaru read through this book, he was surprised at how detailed and organized this was. It was dated and so it was easy to get specific pieces of information. However, Subaru was still a beginner in reading this world’s language so he took pictures with his phone of the pages he thought were relevant.

“I’ve never seen a metia like that before.”

Subaru nearly jumped as he quickly hid his phone back in his pocket. The shopkeeper was back with two cups of tea in his hand. “Y-Yeah, it’s actually one of a kind.”

Mendax, who came back with the tea, set the cups down on the table and sat across from the scary eyed boy. “I see. I forgot to ask, who was this friend that you were looking for?”

Subaru squinted at this. “It’s not a friend. They will NEVER be a friend of mine.”

“So revenge then?” The shopkeeper sounded a little disappointed but that smile of his never wavered. “They must have done something horrible for you to be rummaging through a tailor shop.”

Subaru let out a sigh. “It’s not like that, they’ve cursed who knows how many people and I want to stop them before they can hurt anyone else.”

Mendax lifted an eyebrow to this. “Curse? Did I hear that right?”

Subaru flinched. He was getting so comfortable that he let those details slip out. However, this was a nice guy. Maybe it would be good to spread awareness to minimize any potential casualties. After some hesitation, he went on, “Y-Yeah. There’s a shaman in the city and I ended up getting cursed by them.”

The shopkeeper stroked his chin as he was seemingly lost in thought. Subaru took a drink of the tea. It was very sweet and surprisingly very tasty.

After a moment of silence, Mendax started, “You seem really calm for someone who is cursed.”

After taking another sip of the tea, Subaru followed up, “Oh, I’m not cursed anymore. A healer fixed that up already.”

“Really? That’s a relief to hear.”

“Apparently I got some hardcore curse. If it wasn’t for Felix, I’d definitely be a goner.” Subaru followed that with a dry chuckle.

“Felix? Is that the name of the healer that removed your curse?”

Subaru nodded. “Yep. They’re a life saver for sure. Though they do have a… interesting taste in fashion.”

The shopkeeper stroked his chin again. “I see… I’m glad to hear you’re doing just fine as well as being in contact with such a good healer.”

Subaru scratched the back of his head, getting flustered. “I guess, I was just very lucky to be honest.” Soon enough, Subaru got back on his feet. “It’s been fun but I’ve gotta get going now. I also have a few errands I need to work on.”

“Is that so?” Mendax reclaimed his notebook and extended his freehand to the boy. “I appreciated your hospitality very much, dear customer. I hope you have a pleasant day.”

“Haha, you bet! And thanks for the tea, Mendax.” Subaru shook hands with the shopkeeper before taking his leave.

…

“Yes, a pleasant day.” Mendax said.

---------------------------------------------------------

Some time after Subaru left the tailor shop, he made it to the healing institute. The place looked a lot more busy since his last visit as even knights were giving the healers assistance escorting patients around.

Eventually, the black haired boy managed to get one of the healer’s attention. “Excuse me? I’m trying to look for someone who might be here. Could you help me out here?”

The healer in question stopped what they were doing and looked over to the boy. Luckily, they didn’t seem to be preoccupied with anything important like the other healers were. “Sure, how may I help you, young man?”

“I’m trying to find out if a patient is here. His name’s Rom.”

“Rom?” The healer asked themself. They took a moment to recollect anyone named that and after some time, the healer shook their head. “I’m sorry, I can’t recall anyone by that name.”

Not wanting to run into another dead end, Subaru persisted. “Come on, he’s a really old and giant guy. He also has red tattoos on his bald head.”

Almost as if a lightbulb lit over the healer’s head, they recollected, “Oh! You know that guy?”

Subaru eagerly nodded. “Yeah! He’s a good friend of mine. How’s he doing?”

The healer had a nervous look on their face. “He left without a word the day he arrived. Once he regained consciousness, he ran out like he was in a hurry.”

…

Subaru let out a heavy sigh. “Come on… He’s enormous, why is he so hard to find…?” The boy complained to himself. Before he could grimace any further, he asked, “Say, why are there so many knights here?”

The healer seemed to be caught off by that question and tensed up. “I’m sorry but I’m afraid we can’t disclose that information.”

“Really? Does it have something to do with a shaman?” Subaru guessed.

He seemed to be spot on as the healer widened their eyes at this guess and suddenly had a serious stern look. “How do you know about that?”

Seeing the tense atmosphere that suddenly emerged, Subaru quickly clarified, “I-I was cursed not too long ago. I’m cured now but I was a victim in this.”

That answer seemed to work as the healer loosened up and relaxed a little. “I see, so you had a run in with the Shaman. I recommend you speak to one of the knights on any information you have then.”

Subaru chuckled nervously and scratched the back of his head. “I kinda already did that. Turns out I wasn’t much help.”

The healer blinked a few times. “Oh…” There was an awkward silence between the two for a moment before they continued, “Well, since you’re a victim and you already know about the shaman, I guess there isn’t any harm telling you. The knights are here to question any patients who are found with a curse.”

“Wow… The knights sure are taking this pretty seriously. How many people have been cursed?”

“Sadly, we have yet to find anyone. The knights are here as a precautionary measure in case we find one. Oh, please keep the existence of the shaman to yourself. That could both cause panic to all the people as well as alert the shaman in question.”

Sweat ran down Subaru’s cheek upon hearing that. Luckily, Subaru hadn’t informed many people about the shaman so it should be fine. “R-Right, I won’t tell a soul.”

The healer nodded their head. “Thank you, is there anything else I can help you with?”

Subaru shook his head. “Not that I can think of. I’ll be sure to stop by if I get unlucky and get myself cursed again though.” He then followed this up with his signature thumbs up as well as a big grin.

The healer gave the energetic boy a concerned look. “I’d prefer it if you didn’t get cursed again. Try to be more careful, young man.”

“Hehe… No promises.” Subaru finished as he made his way out, leaving the healer even more concerned than they already were.

After Subaru’s visit with the healing institute, he made his way out from the upper class district and headed towards more of the middle class area. It was the same place where that appa guy was.

There definitely weren’t as many knights around here then the fancy district. Subaru could only guess that it was probably because he technically lives there now and the Shaman would most likely be around there. At least the atmosphere was a lot less tense here.

Last time he was here, he was able to get information on where Felt’s little tent was so he was confident that finding a sighting of an old giant would be a walk in the park. Sure enough, his intuition proved correct as a few stalls had mentioned seeing a big guy matching his description usually hanging out in alleyways.

Subaru couldn’t help but feel overjoyed as he had finally gotten his first real lead in anything today. Needless to say, the boy rushed to any alleyway he could find. However, it wasn’t a quick task in the least.

---------------------------------------------------------

Two hours later…

---------------------------------------------------------

“Why is that giant so hard to find?!” Subaru complained out loud. This was perhaps the 50th alley he searched with no luck.

Sure, he could just let this go and go back. After all, his main goal to begin with was to find the Shaman but he was convinced the knight activity would keep them on edge.

Subaru had taken a picture of that notebook from the tailor of possible leads using his phone but even he knew very well that it was mainly out of desperation.

Despite that, he didn’t want to come back to the manor with potential junk. If he could find Rom, he could at the very least raise Felt’s spirit.

Subaru clenched his head and let out a frustrated groan. “Why are there so many dead ends?” The boy dreaded. He was feeling overwhelmed by this whole situation and was mad at himself for missing his chance. He was starting to wish that he’d die by the curse so he could get another shot at this.

…

The boy felt a chill go down his spine at the thought of it. No, he thought. He shouldn’t just throw away his life like that. He doesn’t exactly know how ‘return by death’ 100% works. For all he knew, if he died again, he might come back to a bad spot, or worse, probably not come back at all.

Subaru was afraid of dying.

Shaking these thoughts out of his head, Subaru continued forth. He wasn’t going to get anywhere by standing around after all.

“Oi! Stop where ya are and hand over your stuff!” A voice shouted from behind Subaru.

Turning towards the direction of the shout, Subaru was met with an all too familiar trio. “Ugh… You three? Really?” Subaru complained.

It was the three thugs he encountered before he started living with Reinhard. Why do I keep running into problems? He internally asked himself. Luck certainly wasn’t on his side ever since he came to this world.

“Wait… That’s the guy who was with the sword saint!” The fat thug pointed out.

“Yeah, you’re right!” The thug with the long tongue confirmed.

The very short thug began to shudder. “T-The sword saint wouldn't happen to be with ya, would he?”

Seeing a perfect ‘out’ to this situation, Subaru gave off a smug smirk. “You mean Reinhard? We’re actually good friends. I bet he’d be pretty upset knowing his friend got hurt.”

Both the big and short thug looked very panicked. However, the long tongue thug kept his neutral expression. “So you’re sayin’ he’s not with you right now?”

“Eh?” Subaru stared dumbfounded at the trio for a moment. He wasn’t exactly planning to hear a comeback, especially that quickly.

Thanks to Subaru being caught off guard, the three thugs regained their posture and gave the boy a wicked grin.

However Subaru had a plan. With a smile, he gave the three a confident look. “I guess I have no choice, I’ll have to resort to my trump card then.” Those words were ominous enough for the thieves to brace themselves, getting ready for what’s about to happen.

Subaru suddenly turned around towards the opposite direction and made a run for it.

…

The thieves blinked a few times in unison, processing what just happened. “Hey! Get back here!”

Thus a chase ensued. Thanks to Subaru’s mind games, he did have a considerable head start. The boy was able to maneuver around the alleys, desperately trying to lose the thugs tailing him.

After a good amount of running, Subaru took refuge in another random alley way. He believes that he gave those three the slip.

The boy got down on his knees and panted heavily. “Darn, are those the only three thugs in all of Lugnica?” He complained aloud.

“Oh, I thought I recognized you.” A new voice spoke out.

Subaru dreaded another awful encounter but was instead met with someone that proved his bad luck was finally beginning to turn. “Rom?! Is that you?!” The boy asked in disbelief.

The statement caused the old guy to give Subaru a confused look. “I don’t see why it wouldn’t be. What brings you around these parts?”

Subaru took a moment to take a look around at his surroundings and sure enough, that chase led him back to the slums. “I guess you can say that I was doing some detective work. But I ran into some hard-to-get-rid-of thugs and ended up here.”

Rom stroked his chin. “If you don’t say. By the way, do you have any idea where Felt is? I haven’t seen her these past few days.”

Subaru smirked and lifted up a finger. “I do happen to know. In fact, we’ve even been living under the same roof.”

Rom looked a bit surprised. “Really? Don’t get me wrong, I think you’re a nice kid and all but don’t you think marriage is a little too soon for you both?”

“What…?” Subaru stared dumbfoundingly at Rom for a solid moment before his face reddened and began to frantically wave his hands in front of him. “No no no no! It’s nothing like that at all! I meant that we’ve been taken in by Reinhard and we’ve been there since!”

“Reinhard? You mean the sword saint? What on earth would he be needing you two for?”

Considering Rom was essentially Felt’s guardian, Subaru thought he should fill him in on the circumstances she’s in.

---------------------------------------------------------

“So you’re saying Felt’s a candidate for the next ruler and you both have to stay with the sword saint until Felt has a chance to abstain from this election publicly.” Rom summarized Subaru’s tale.

Subaru nodded. “Yep, that about sums it up.”

“Well, none of that told me why you’re in that mess.”

The boy scratched the back of his head nervously. “To keep a long story short, they all felt sorry for me and I’m staying with them as a guest.”

“I see… Thanks for letting me know Felt’s doing alright. That does put my mind at ease quite a bit.”

“Of course! I’m just glad that I managed to actually find you. Where are you even staying since the loot house is gone.”

Rom pointed over to a poorly and hastily constructed tent. “Over there.”

Subaru stared at the tent in disbelief. This certainly explains why Felt was living in a tent like that before they met. “Y-You know, I’m sure Reinhard wouldn’t mind keeping one more person.”

“As much as I appreciate the offer, I’ll have to pass. I personally don’t want anything to do with the Astreas.”

“Really? Did something happen between you two?”

“Just some old history. It’s nothing that you should be worried about.”

“Would you at least give the place a look? Maybe stopping by will change your mind.”

This made Rom stop and seemingly consider Subaru’s words for a moment. “Sure, I’ll stop by. I should go see if Felt’s doing alright with my own eyes.”

Satisfied with that answer, he opted to take the lead. “Great! You won’t regret this at all!”

“I’m not so sure. For some reason, hearing that from you is already giving me second thoughts.”

Subaru flinched in an over exaggerated way, sort of pretending as if he was just shot. “Ah, that really hurts. I was just trying to be encouraging…”

Rom couldn’t help but chuckle at this reaction. “It was just a joke, don’t let it get to you too much.”

Letting out a sigh of relief, Subaru smiled brightly as if that previous exchange never happened. “Alright! Off to the mansion!”

After that declaration being loudly proclaimed, the two started their way back to Reinhard’s manor. In order to get there, they had to pass through the upper class district and they were frequently stopped by guards for questioning. Based on their attire, they certainly stood out. Luckily, Subaru was able to convince the knights to let them keep going every time thanks to using Reinhard’s name.

Thankfully, that was the only trivial thing the two had to encounter on their way back to the manor. Once entering the premises, Rom glared at the building. He usually avoided places like this and couldn’t help but feel weary of this whole situation. However, he let that feeling slide. After all, this was all to make sure Felt was alright.

“Welcome back, young man.” Carol called out. She was currently tending to the garden out front. “Hm? Who’s that large fellow you have with you?”

“This is Rom. He’s kinda like Felt’s grandfather.” Subaru explained.

Rom casually waved to the old maid. “Don’t mind me, I’m just here to see Felt, then I’ll be on my way.”

“Are you sure? I don’t mind making some tea for you.” Carol offered.

Rom shook his head. “Nah, I’m fine. Maybe another time.”

“If you say so. Follow me, I’ll let you in at least.” Carol guided the two to the entrance and opened the door for them. Subaru didn’t really need this since he sorta lived here but he didn’t argue.

Once inside, Subaru did feel like he should yell out this, “Sorry for the wait, I’m back now!”

It wasn’t long for a blonde girl to suddenly leap down from the second floor. It was as if she was waiting for the boy considering how fast she arrived. “There you are, big bro! What the hell took ya so long?!”

“H-Hey, you shouldn’t be jumping down from that height, you could hurt yourself.” Subaru halfheartedly scolded, mainly to avoid answering the question.

“Don’t dodge my question! Why were you out and why didn’t you tell me you were going?” The feisty girl persisted.

Subaru sighed as he didn’t see anyway to avoid this conversation. “I was just out taking a look around. Nothing too bad or anything.”

“You were gone for three hours!” She hissed. “And Reinhard refused to let me go to look for you!”

“Cmon, lil’ sis. I’m back in one piece so there’s nothing to worry abou- UGHHH!” Subaru’s reassurance was put to an abrupt halt as the short girl kicked straight into the poor boy’s stomach, causing him to kneel over.

“I don’t care! Next time, you better tell me when you’re going out and when you plan to come back. Last thing I need is for you to die by something stupid!”

Rom let out a chuckle. “It’s good to see you’re doing alright, Felt.”

Finally noticing the old giant’s presence, Felt widened her eyes. “Old man Rom?! When did you get here?”

“I ran into your friend here and he led me straight to you.” Rom briefly explained.

“Wait, really?” Felt turned to Subaru. “Why the hell didn’t ya say something?!”

“Ughh… He was right behind me…” Subaru groaned. “I didn’t think he was that easy to miss…”

Not wanting to accept any blame in this, the short girl crossed her arms and let out a loud humph. “Maybe you should stop hiding stuff and speak up for once.”

“That has nothing to do with it! I’m telling you, I’m innocent this time!”

“Yeah yeah, whatever.” Felt waved her hand dismissively. “Hey, old man Rom! What took ya so long to get here anyways?”

“I was getting myself situated. I noticed my loot house was in pieces so I had to improvise a little.”

Felt suddenly gave the old giant a nasty glare. “So you’re saying that you didn’t even bother to look for me?”

Realizing his poor choice of words, Rom widened his eyes and began to sweat nervously. “H-Hold on there, Felt. I know you’re a capable girl so I just assumed you had everything under control. I-I was planning to start searching for you soon-“

Rom was suddenly stopped as Felt fiercely punched him in his gut. He ended up kneeling down in the same position as Subaru as the crimson eyed girl was fuming. “Shut it, old man! Next time, you better get off your lazy ass and do something!”

“U-Understood… Just go easy on this old man, will you?” Rom grunted out.

Felt crossed her arms and let out a loud sigh. “I swear, I’m surrounded by idiots.”

During this exchange, Reinhard made his way on the scene, descending down the stairs like a normal person would. “Welcome back, friend. You’ve been out longer than I anticipated. Did everything go alright on your walk?”

Subaru instantly got back on his feet as if that kick never occurred and smiled brightly. “Sure did! I even ran into Rom while I was out.”

“That’s good to hear.” Reinhard expressed happily as he turned to the old giant in question. “You were Felt’s grandfather, correct?”

Rom too got up rather easily. It was as if they were pretending to be hurt by Felt’s punches and kicks. The old man wearily stared at the knight. “What does it matter to you, Astrea?”

“I don’t mean any ill intent. Due to Miss Felt’s circumstances, it’s imperative to get a better understanding of her social status.” The knight explained

Not wanting to get in trouble with the knights, especially with the sword saint, Rom relented. “We aren’t biologically related if that’s what you mean. I just found her in the slums one day and took her in. Nothing more to it.”

Satisfied with the answer, Reinhard nodded understandingly. “I appreciate your cooperation. If you happen to know anything else, feel free to come by here and inform me personally.”

The old man shook his head. “I don’t plan on coming back.”

“Oh, that’s unfortunate to hear. Still, feel free to stop by anytime if you ever change your mind.” The knight offered.

Rom turned to Felt. “You doing alright here, Felt?”

“Huh?” Felt perked up. “Oh, well, I guess. I mean, everyone here can be frustrating sometimes but the food’s good.”

Rom nodded. “Good, I’ll stop by to get you after that whole royal selection thing is over with.”

Before anything else, Felt nudged the guy. “Hey, it’s good to see you’re still kicking, old man.”

Rom let out a hearty chuckle. And with that, the old man walked himself out. Subaru was internally grateful that she didn’t use this as an opportunity to escape.

“Hey, big bro.” Felt called out, making her way towards Subaru.

“Huh? What’s up?” Subaru answered.

The girl looked away, her cheeks a little red. “T-Thanks for finding old man Rom. I appreciate it.”

The boy chuckled and began ruffling Felt’s blonde hair much to the girl’s dismay. “Anytime Felt. Glad you two could reunite.”

Despite her gratitude, Felt growled as she flailed around. “How many times do I have to tell ya?! Stop touching my head!”

Getting a very nefarious idea, Subaru compiled and pulled his hand away. However, he was smiling mischievously. “No touching your head, huh? Guess I’ll have to do this instead.”

The short girl gave Subaru a weird look. “Huh? What are you talking abou- EEEEEEP!!!”

Subaru suddenly wrapped his arms around Felt and lifted her off the ground, giving the poor girl a bear hug.

“What the hell?! That doesn’t mean you can do this instead, dumbass!” Felt yelled out as her whole face was red. Her arms were firmly planted at her sides and she was left to helplessly swing her legs around.

Subaru didn’t exactly hear a ‘let me go’ or ‘stop it’ so he used that as an excuse to keep Felt locked up in his arms, chuckling to himself at how cute this was.

Both Reinhard and Carol wordlessly stared at the two with a dumbfounded expression. Neither of them had any idea what to exactly do about this.

“Grandmommy, we’ve finished prepping the kitchen for you.” Flam said as both her and her sister arrived at the scene. The two stopped immediately as they saw Subaru aggressively holding onto an angry Felt.

The boy instantly made eye contact with the two little maids. Both of them had an unreadable expression about them. That look triggered a strong sense of dejavu for Subaru and he instantly panicked. “H-Hold on you two. It’s not what it looks like.”

…

A very familiar scene ensued.

---------------------------------------------------------

Felt was standing beside Flam, laughing hysterically at Subaru who was currently pinned down with his left arm behind his back. Grassis was sitting down on the boy’s back, keeping that arm in place all while the boy in question was squealing like a girl.

“A-Alright you two.” Felt said, barely catching her breath from all her laughing. “I’m sure big bro learned his lesson.”

Both of the twins looked towards Felt. “Big bro?” They asked in unison. After connecting the dots, Grassis quickly hopped off of Subaru and bowed to the poor boy who probably deserved it apologetically.

“We’re sorry, guest-sama. I was under the impression that you were assaulting Lady Felt.” Flam apologized.

Subaru was still on the ground, occasionally twitching. “I-It’s fine… I probably deserved it…”

“Pfft, you think?” Felt added before letting out another chuckle. “C’mon, stop sulking and get your sorry ass up already.”

With the help of the twin maids, Subaru was hauled back on his feet and let out a heavy sigh. “I’m the most unluckiest man in the world…”

Before Subaru could follow the girls to the dining hall, Reinhard stopped him. “One moment, friend. Have you visited Felix after your walk?”

Subaru blinked a few times and nervously scratched the back of his head. “Heheh… I kinda forgot. Sorry about that, Rein.”

Reinhard widened his eyes. “Subaru, you need to go see Felix right now.”

“Don’t worry, I didn’t run into anyone suspicious.” The boy insisted.

Reinhard shook his head. He wasn’t having any of this. “I’m afraid I can’t accept that answer. If anything bad happens to you because of this, I don’t think I could ever forgive myself.”

Hearing the sincerity behind the knight’s tone, Subaru relented. “Alright, I’ll go see Felix.”

Reinhard nodded. “Thank you, friend. I’ll have Grimm escort you there.”

“Nope!” Felt suddenly butted herself into the conversation. “I’m going too.”

“My apologies, Miss Felt. You should stay here for the time being until the Shaman situation is dealt with.”

“No! I haven’t seen big bro all day. I need to make sure he doesn’t get his sorry ass lost again.”

Subaru smiled. “I dunno, it sounds like you just miss me.” He teased.

Felt grit her teeth. “Stop making it weird! You’re always getting yourself into trouble and it’s your fault for making me concerned!”

The boy blinked a few times before a wave of guilt struck him. “A-Ah… Heheh… Sorry about that.”

“Miss Felt, I’m afraid I cannot in good faith allow you to venture in the city for the time being.” Reinhard said firmly.

Not wanting to get her mana drained again, Felt tried to go for a threat. “Listen here, if you don’t let me go with big bro, I’ll stop doing your dumb lessons.”

Well, this was enough to make the knight at the very least hesitate. Reinhard took a moment to think and finally, “Very well, I’ll allow you to join Subaru. However, I will be the one escorting you.”

Felt rolled her eyes to that. “Yeah, I kinda figured that already.”

“You also must stay within arms reach of me until we return.”

…

“What?” Felt asked. “No way! That’s too creepy!”

Reinhard nodded. “In that case, I cannot allow you to go.”

“Urk…!” Felt gritted her teeth and clenched her fist tightly. She was honestly thinking about reconsidering now. However, the girl was far too prideful to back down now. “Fine, I’ll stay that close to you. But I swear, if you do anything weird, I’ll kick your ass!”

To this, Reinhard blinked a few times. “I’m afraid I’m unsure what you’re referring to.”

“Grr… Forget it, let’s just get this over with.” The trip that Felt was at first looking forward to was now one she was hoping to end quickly.

As the three made their leave, Felt tugged on Subaru’s sleeve, catching his attention immediately. The girl had a smug grin as she whispered, “You sounded like a girl.”

…

Kill me.

---------------------------------------------------------

The trio finally made it to where Felix was supposed to be at. They all approached a pretty sizable manor. At this point, this was the third manor Subaru was going into and the excitement behind it had long subsided from the boy. Guess this world had an over abundance of mansions, he thought.

To put it lightly, the way here was certainly a noisy one. The fact that no punches or kicks were thrown during that time was downright a miracle.

Upon entering the premises, the group ran into an elderly butler. The butler in question gave Reinhard a rather tense look. “Reinhard.” He simply said, the firm way he said it sent a chill through both Subaru and Felt’s body.

“Greetings, grandfather. I apologize for coming here at such short notice but I must see Felix immediately.” Reinhard briefed.

At the time, the butler was practicing out front with a sword. After hearing what Reinhard had to say, he sheathed his sword and put his full attention to the knight.

“I’ll let him know you’re here. Might I know the purpose of your visit?”

“Of course, I want him to check up on my friend’s health.” Reinhard explained, gesturing to Subaru.

The butler gave the boy a stern look. However, after a moment, his look lightened up suddenly and extended his hand out to the boy. “Greetings, young man. My name is Wilhelm van Astrea.”

Subaru flinched. Based on how stern he was with Reinhard, it caught him off guard to see him suddenly loosen up. “N-Nice to meet you too! I’m Natsuki Subaru. Just your average jobless shut-in.”

Wilhelm chuckled as the two shook hands. “I’ve never heard an introduction like that before.”

“Heheh, I like keeping my debuts honest. I think it helps in boosting friendship points.”

“What about you, young lady? Who might you be?”

Felt also flinched once Wilhelm’s attention was brought to her, though she was able to compose herself better than Subaru had. “I’m Felt. I don’t have any family name, it’s just Felt.”

“Grandfather,” Reinhard intervened. “I’d appreciate it if we see Felix now.”

Wilhelm made eye contact with the knight for a short moment. The intense atmosphere from earlier returned instantly. “Wait here, I’ll let him know.” After those words, he made it inside the manor.

Subaru let out a sigh of relief. That moment was certainly awkward for the boy. “If you don’t mind me asking, Rein, do you two not get along well?”

“Yeah, ain’t he your grandfather or something?” Felt added. She too found that exchange to be pretty weird.

Reinhard looked at both Subaru and Felt, his intense look being long gone at this point. “We just have some disagreements with one another. I guess we just haven’t had the time to settle our differences.”

Still feeling rather stiff from the encounter, Subaru just gave a halfhearted response. “Well, I hope you both can settle your differences.”

The knight shared a genuine smile. “Thank you, friend. I hope for that as well.”

Suddenly, Felix’s head poked out from the front door. After seeing the three, he stepped out and smiled. “I didn’t expect to see all of nyous so quickly. I didn’t think Subaru-kun wanted to have his blood boiled that badly.”

Despite the very cutesy way of saying that, Subaru couldn’t help but shiver at the thought. However, Reinhard spoke up before Subaru had the chance to correct the cat boy. “My apologies for coming here on such short notice. I was hoping you’d check up on Subaru again.”

Felix lifted his eyebrow and leaned uncomfortably close to the boy. “What did you do this time, Subaru-kun? Dyont tell me that you’re playing with knives nyow.”

Subaru blushed in embarrassment as he tried backing away from Felix. “Believe it or not, I didn’t do anything stupid this time! I’m just doing a check up so no one would worry about me.”

“You knyow, you could always have a healer at the healing institute do a check up. I’m not the only healer in all of Lugnica.”

“Hey, I did say you’d be the first I’d go to didn’t I?” Subaru defended.

Felix tilted their head and smiled rather menacingly. “I think you’re right. Come with me so we can boil up that blood of yours.” He then grabbed Subaru by his wrist and proceeded to drag him inside.

Seeing how he was helpless against being essentially abducted, he began to plead to the other two. “C-Cmon guys, help me out here!”

“I dunno, it kinda looks like the world is finally correcting itself.” Felt surmised with a big ol grin.

“Y-You little traitor! Cmon Rein, back me up here!” The boy pleaded.

Unfortunately for Subaru, Reinhard merely smiled. “Fear not, friend. I know you’re in capable hands.”

Subaru was left whining as Felix dragged him away inside. The other two did follow inside as they were invited to come in by Felix. He didn’t want to run all over the place giving updates after all.

Eventually, Subaru was dragged into a room for Felix to get started. “Jeez, Subaru-kun. You’re going to get a lot of people mad if you keep acting as careless as you are.”

“H-Hey! I already told you that I’m innocent this time! I promise!”

Felix waved his hand dismissively. “I heard. Let’s just get this over with. You have some pretty awful timing you knyow.”

“Did I interrupt something?”

Felix instantly shot up “Yes! I was sharing a lovely meal with a very special person. I would prefer to get back to that as soon as possible.”

Subaru chuckled nervously. “S-Sorry about that. Nothing’s wrong so this should be quick.”

“I’m sure you are.” Felix lifted up his hands, beginning to check him the same way as last time. “Listen, Subaru-kun. I don’t know if you already know this but the knights are hard at work finding that shaman. Just stay indoors for the time being until this whole thing is resolved.”

Subaru nodded and let out a sigh. The shaman was probably long gone by now anyways so the least he could do was not worry all his friends. “Yeah, you’re right. I guess I just wanted to help.”

“Good, Nyow I really hope I don’t have to-“

Felix stopped and froze still. He had a shocked look about him before starting at Subaru seriously. “Subaru, who have you been with?” He said firmly.

“No…” Subaru muttered. “Please don’t say what I think you’re going to say.”

“This is serious.” Felix took a moment to consider his words before continuing. “You’re cursed again. You need to tell me who you’ve been with right now.”

“Th-That can’t be right… There’s no way I ran into the shaman again.”

Subaru immediately began to recollect his memories for possible suspects. He did run into those thugs again. But they weren’t even close to making physical contact with him. Grassis did pin him down but that wouldn’t make any sense. Felt beat him up quite a bit but her being the Shaman made way less sense than Grassis. Then there was the Tailor, he just had tea and looked over his book. Other than that he… he…

Shook his hand…

“The tailor…?” Subaru asked himself. Was it really him? He was the only person he had practically no idea about. Was he really the Shaman that he was trying to find?

This revelation hurt his heart quite a bit.

…

Actually, it hurt his whole chest.

…

It hurt so bad that the boy began clenching his chest.

“Subaru!” Felix cried out in concern. He immediately began using water magic in hopes to try and stop whatever was happening to him. “Crap, the curse is active!”

Wait, the curse activated right now? Subaru thought. The pain was getting too much for him and he yelled out. However, no sound came out from him.

The door swung open, both Felt and Reinhard rushing in. “Is something wrong? I heard yelling.” Reinhard asked. Well, at least they heard Felix.

His question was immediately answered as he saw Subaru silently laying on his back as he tightly clenched his own chest.

“Give me some room! I’m doing everything I can!” Felix yelled as he was desperately trying to counteract the curse that was swirling around his body like a vortex at this point.

Subaru felt really cold. Actually, he couldn’t even feel his heart thumping. Did his heart stop?

“Big bro!!!” Felt cried, trying to rush forward. However, the red haired knight blocked her path using his arm. “H-Hey! Get out of the way! Big bro needs our help!” The distressed girl pleaded.

“Give Felix his space, he’s trying his best.” Reinhard spoke quietly. Subaru could see a pained expression on his face.

“Dammit!” Felix cried out as the curse he was trying to yank out skipped through his fingers. “Stay with me, Subaru! Hang in th-“

…

Everything went quiet all of a sudden.

Subaru weakly looked around, assessing what he saw. Felix was trying his best. Reinhard was holding back Felt with a very troubled look. Felt… Oh, she was crying, trying to reach for me.

Despite all his pain, he smiled. It was kinda nice to see all of his friends worry about him so much. He’ll be sure to apologize when he gets healed up.

…

It was too late.

Chapter 9: ████ ████████

Chapter Text

...

I love you...

...

---------------------------------------------------------

Liar...

---------------------------------------------------------

Today, Grassis went to Subaru's room on her own to wake him up. Regularly, she'd have her sister accompany her but she wanted to be Subaru's little helper today. After that little coff interaction, she wanted to get to know Subaru more.

"Good morning Subaru-sama." Grassis bowed her head to Subaru.

However, Subaru was staying perfectly still. Not even budging an inch.

"Subaru-sama?" Grassis walked over to Subaru's bed and began to shake him. "You need to wake up, Master Reinhard and Lady Felt are-"

Grassis's eyes widened. Subaru felt cold and he was completely motionless.

In a panic, she yanked the covers off of Subaru. His body looked perfectly normal. She placed the back of her hand over his neck to check for a pulse and discovered Subaru had none.

Subaru was dead.

"How...?" Grassis began to tear up. She quickly used her divine protection to telepathically contact her sister.

'Sister! Our guest... He's... He's...!'

Even through her own thoughts, Grassis couldn't finish that sentence. There was silence for a moment before she connected back to her sister.

'Master Reinhard and I are on our way.'

---------------------------------------------------------

Liar...

---------------------------------------------------------

"Master Reinhard...?" Grassis barely peeped. Reinhard was doing the best he could to find a way to help Subaru and understandably, the poor little girl was distressed.

Reinhard looked very distressed himself. He couldn't believe his friend died in their sleep, in his own home no less. "I don't understand... There aren't any wounds, it's as if his body gave up on him in his sleep..."

Felix informed him that the internal bleeding was patched up, he also couldn't think of a possible motive why anyone would be capable of sneaking into their home and doing such a thing. The only logical conclusion would be if Subaru was cursed at some point.

Everything was so peaceful and he doesn't recall crossing any shady individuals.

"My friend... I should've paid more attention!" Reinhard cursed himself. If only he watched Subaru more closely, he'd still be alive. If only he was stronger. "Please... Forgive me."

"Hey, what's taking you guys so long?" A familiar crimson eyed girl came into the room. "Really? Is big bro refusing to wake up again?"

Reinhard swiftly took Felt's hand. The knight had a dead serious look on his face. "Felt... I'm so sorry..."

Felt tilted her head. "Can't you make just a little more sense? I feel like you guys are keeping something important from me."

"Miss Felt, I'm afraid that Subaru..."

---------------------------------------------------------

Liar...

---------------------------------------------------------

Felt glared at Reinhard. "That's a pretty shitty joke."

"Miss Felt..." Reinhard started. He got down on his knees, bowing apologetically to the girl. "Please forgive me."

This time, Felt's eyes widened. She stared at Reinhard for a while and then looked over to Subaru who was still in the bed. "No!!! I know you're messing with me! He's just sleeping!"

Felt ran to the bed and drop kicked down into Subaru's stomach.

There was no response.

He was cold.

He wasn't breathing.

"B-Big bro...?" Felt was shaking. "T-This isn't funny anymore! Wake up!" She stomped her foot down on Subaru.

...

Nothing.

...

Felt dropped to her knees, now beside Subaru's body. "I SAID WAKE UP!!!" In a fit of rage, Felt began to repeatedly punch Subaru's face.

...

Nothing.

---------------------------------------------------------

Liar...

---------------------------------------------------------

Felt dropped her hands to the side and gritted her teeth. "Who did this Reinhard?! I'll kill the bastard who did this!"

"I am unsure who did this, Miss Felt."

There was a moment of silence for a little bit. Tears began to form in the golden haired girl's eyes.

"Liar..." She muttered.

Felt grabbed Subaru's collar and yanked him closer to her. "You said you wouldn't ditch me!" She screamed, now crying uncontrollably.

"Miss Felt..." Reinhard reached over to the crying girl. However, she quickly tried to smack the knight's hands away.

"DON'T TOUCH ME!!!"

Despite her smack not hitting the knight, Reinhard backed off regardless.

Without saying another word, Felt let go of Subaru and ran out of the room.

---------------------------------------------------------

Liar...

---------------------------------------------------------

"STUPID STUPID STUPID!!!" Felt screamed out as she fiercely punched and kicked her bed.

Everything else in the girl's room was practically obliterated. The wardrobe was knocked over. Her desk table was broken in half as well as the chair that was used to do so. Overall, the room looked as if someone raided it.

Fury burned in the girl's crimson eyes as she began to bite down on one of her pillows like a rabid animal. Felt had never been this mad before and there wasn't a culprit vent out that frustration on. The best she could try was to break her own stuff.

"Miss Felt?" Reinhard said as he let himself in the room. " I understand you're upset. I'm very upset over this situation as well. But there are better ways to go about this."

Felt glared at the knight.

That's when it finally hit her.

"You... You did this..." Felt muttered, each word filled with overwhelming malice.

That caught the knight by surprise. Especially knowing that Felt was 100% convinced of this. "Miss Felt, I assure you that I had no involvement over what happened to Subaru."

"LIAR!" Felt screamed. "It was you that dragged us both here! Weren't we supposed to be safe here?! This is all your fault!" Tears began to leave Felt's eyes.

"YOU KILLED BIG BRO!!!"

"..."

Reinhard didn't have an answer for that. After all, what Felt said was true. Subaru died under his supervision. Therefore, the fault does belong to him.

"Miss Felt..." Reinhard started. He knelt down, bowing apologetically to the girl. "I vow to find the culprit responsible and bring them to justice."

...

"Get out."

"Wait, Miss Felt-"

"I SAID GET OUT!!!" Felt screamed as she snatched one of the broken table legs and threw it at Reinhard.

The knight effortlessly caught the tossed object. However, Reinhard nodded. "Very well, I will leave you be." The knight got back up on his feet and left the room.

With Reinhard gone, Felt collapsed in her bed. She reached under her other pillow and pulled out the doll that Subaru made her. She tightly wrapped her arms around the doll and began to cry uncontrollably.

"This isn't fair... T-This isn't fair..."

---------------------------------------------------------

Liar...

---------------------------------------------------------

One week had passed since Subaru's death and Felt still locked herself in her room. She was no longer doing any of those lessons, not like she had a reason to anymore.

The girl's escape attempts were much more frequent as well as brutal. It was so bad that Grassis and Flam weren't allowed to try and stop her anymore in concern for their own safety. The only time the staff could rest from playing prison guard was when Felt exhausted herself.

Despite not being allowed to try and stop Felt, the young twin maids did attend to her needs. Although it was mainly delivering food to her front door. Felt absolutely refused to associate herself with anyone else here.

She hated this place.

She hated how unsafe she felt.

And most of all, she hated Reinhard.

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK

Felt glared at the door. "Go away." Her demand wasn't as loud as it usually had been. The girl had been exhausting herself with her countless escape attempts this past week and it had finally begun to catch up with her.

"Lady Felt, I brought you food." The person on the other side said.

It sounded like one of the twins. With an exhausted sigh, Felt started, "Fine, bring it here."

Usually she demanded for her food to be left by the door but she was a lot more lenient with the twin maids. They were the ones who seemed genuinely heartbroken over Subaru's death so she had at least some common ground with someone here.

The twin opened the door and very cautiously made her way into Felt's room. The way she was acting really annoyed the blonde haired girl.

"C'mon already, I'm not an animal." Felt ushered.

The little maid flinched as if caught off guard but recomposed herself instantly and proceeded to walk in with more confidence. Without uttering a single word, she placed the tray of food she was carrying by the edge of the bed, that being the only stable spot to place it other than the floor. She then bowed her head and began to walk out.

That was a new one, Felt thought. Usually anyone who came to see her always persisted to rejoin everyone. "Hey, Flam was it? Did you all finally give up?"

The little maid stopped and turned to Felt. Normally the twins had a very calm expression but this twin in particular looked very nervous. "I'm Grassis... I didn't think you wanted to talk still so..."

Grassis began to fumble with her words, not entirely sure how to finish that sentence.

Felt waved her hand dismissively, though still looking pretty exhausted. "I'm glad at least someone in this hell hole has some common sense."

Not knowing what else to say, Grassis rested her hand over her other, standing there silently and awkwardly. After a long moment of silence, Grassis finally spoke up, "I'm really sorry about what happened to Subaru-sama..."

Felt glared at Grassis. "Stop it. You're starting to sound like Reinhard." Reinhard always said that. He kept apologizing for Subaru and it pissed the girl off beyond any measure.

"I'm sorry! It's just... I-It's just..." The little maid looked down. "It isn't fair..."

...

Felt blinked a few times. After a moment, she began chuckling. Not that what the maid said was funny or anything but she felt a little relaxed. She thought that Grassis actually gets it.

"Yeah, this isn't fair at all." Felt agreed.

Despite Felt showing to be more relaxed, Grassis was still looking down gloomily. After a moment, The crimson eyed girl scooted over, making more room on her bed. "Do ya feel like talking?"

Snapping back to reality, Grassis shot her head back up. "O-Oh! Um... I'm not too sure..."

Felt clicked her tongue. "Tch, C'mon already, quit stalling and sit with me."

Despite the little maid's hesitation, she relented and sat beside Felt. "Sorry..."

"Quit saying sorry, I heard you the first dozen times."

Grassis complied by not saying anything at all.

Eventually, Grassis took notice of the doll that was sitting on Felt's lap. It bore a striking resemblance to a certain spiky haired boy. "Did Subaru-sama make that?"

"This?" Felt lifted up the doll and looked at it for a moment. "Heh, yeah. I bet that dumbass was trying to use this as some kind of peace offering."

Grassis tilted her head and blinked a few times. "Peace offering? Did you two have a fight?"

"Pfft, it's more like struggling to tame big bro's stupidity." Felt chuckled a little before looking back down at the doll. "I guess I'm a little glad that we at least left on good terms..."

...

"Lady Felt... Is there anything I can do to help you?"

"Unless it's a way to get out of this prison, I don't want any help."

Grassis nodded. "I'll be happy to help you leave."

Felt blinked a few times as that answer caught the crimson eyed girl off guard. "Wait, are you serious?!"

The young maid nodded. "I am. With everything that has happened, I believe we've proved that we aren't capable of protecting our guests and that you should have every right to leave if you want."

...

"Huh..." Felt was at a loss of words. She honestly didn't expect to get any help from anyone in this manor. "Well, I guess let's plan a prison break then."

"That won't be necessary. I'll just convince master Reinhard to let you go."

"Tch, as if that's gonna happen. I'm better off leaving in the middle of the night than trusting that dumbass to be reasonable."

Grassis got back up on her feet. "I will try. If master Reinhard still refuses, then we'll go from there."

Felt rolled her eyes. "Good luck I guess. Doubt it'll go anywhere though."

---------------------------------------------------------

Liar...

---------------------------------------------------------

"THAT LYING PIECE OF SHIT!!!"

Felt was screaming out profanities as she furiously kicked the wall of an alleyway. A few days had passed since she had that conversation with Grassis and she managed to finally be free of that manor.

Despite her rage, she had to give that little maid credit for actually keeping her word. She was relieved to no end that she was actually let out without a fight.

What pissed her off was Reinhard. She knew he could've done something that didn't require her to stay there and it took the death of someone important to her for that idiot knight to actually try.

That conversation was still stained in the girl's thoughts.

...

"Miss Felt, you are no longer required to stay here if you don't want to." The knight suddenly declared.

Felt gave Reinhard a look of disbelief. "Holy shot, that squirt actually convinced you?!"

"Grassis didn't need to convince me. After the incident with Subaru, I took it upon myself to get in contact with the council. After informing them of the situation, it was agreed upon to drop your standing as a royal candidate and you may withdraw without having to make a public statement."

The blonde girl processed those words and glared daggers at the knight. "You're saying that you could've done this from the start?!"

Still keeping his calm, Reinhard answered, "Due to various circumstances, I do not have the ability to make such decisions without consequences. However, due to the recent potential break in as well as the murder of Subaru occurring in my own home, I recognize that I have proven to be incapable of protecting the inhabitants."

This really didn't go well for Felt in the slightest. Before she went ballistic on Reinhard, he suddenly handed her a large and rather heavy coin purse. "I will provide you with the proper funds to make up for my incompetence. Just know if you ever change your mind, I'll be more than happy to keep you here and I promise to not let this mishap ever happen again."

Normally, Felt wouldn't accept a charity case like this but considering what was lost, she believed that this wasn't even enough. Regardless, the pissed off girl was just happy that this was finally over and didn't have to wait for who knows how long.

"Good."

That was all Felt said before taking her belongings from her room and left without saying a word.

...

"FUCK YOU! FUCK THE KNIGHTS! FUCK THIS ENTIRE COUNTRY!" Felt howled.

She kept kicking the wall as if that was her new life's purpose. With all the money Reinhard gave her, she could easily start that life she always wanted. Normally, such a thing would excite the young girl to no end but the cost of it all ruined it.

She was unnecessarily a prisoner and still would've been for who knows how long. The loot house was destroyed which caused Felt to worry about Rom all the time. And finally, her first friend was ripped away from her.

Yeah, she only knew Subaru for about a week but it was great. For a moment, she thought that her life was finally turning for the better.

"Grr...! Is this just a joke to you?!" Felt yelled to no one. "Is fucking with my life that goddamn funny?!"

Felt stomped her foot down on the ground. However, she stopped instantly as she felt something soft and fuzzy beneath her foot. After seeing what she stomped on, the young girl panicked and knelt down.

"Shit shit shit!" The girl chanted as she checked for any damages. Eventually, Felt sighed in relief after confirming that the doll that Subaru gave her looked fine.

...

For a good while, she stared at the doll. This is her only momento from Subaru that she had. Felt grit her teeth as rage bubbled back inside her. She finally knew what to do now.

"I'll avenge you." She muttered to the doll. "I'll find the bastard who did this and I'll gut them like a pig!"

The blonde girl knew it had to be her. The culprit would never be caught if it were up to the knights. Even if they did find them, they'd probably just put him in prison.

That idea didn't go well for her. Whoever did this had to die.

With conviction in her eyes, she raised her fist in the air.

"For big bro."

---------------------------------------------------------

...

I love you...

...

I love you...

...

I lo█e yo█...

...

█ ██v█ y██...

...

█ ████ ███

Chapter 10: Confrontation

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

…

I love you.

…

---------------------------------------------------------

Subaru shot out of bed and clenched onto his chest, finally letting out a yell. The boy began to breathe heavily as he realized that he was no longer in any pain.

Finally calming down, Subaru glanced around to only find that he was back in his room. He also noticed two frightened little maids standing beside his bed.

“G-Guest-sama?” Flam started. “Are you feeling unwell? Do you need to see a healer?”

Both Grassis and Flam were shaking a little from the sudden act Subaru caused. From their point of view, the boy sprung out of bed screaming as if he was in pain and the two couldn’t help but worry about his well-being.

“I’m fine, girls. I just had a bad dream. No need for any doctors or anything.” Subaru waved his hands in front of himself as he quickly came up with an excuse in hopes to calm the little twins’ worries.

Luckily, they seemed to have bought it as the two let out a sigh of relief in perfect synchronization. After all this time, he still can’t understand how they can do that as if they rehearsed this beforehand.

“Please refrain from causing any sudden outbursts like that in the future, you scared my sister.” This time around, the two girls said this at the same time as they gestured to the other in perfect unison as if there was a mirror between them. Yeah, Subaru had to agree with Grassis that one time, this is kinda creepy.

“R-Right, I’ll be more careful…” Subaru nervously assured.

With their worries subsided, the twins bowed their heads and Flam started, “Please get ready, Master Reinhard informed us that you’ll be joining Miss Felt’s candidacy training.”

With that said, the two left the room, leaving the boy alone in the room to get ready.

After finally being alone, Subaru let out a heavy sigh. “I died, didn’t I…?” He dreaded.

Last thing he recalled was being in a tremendous amount of pain at Felix’s place before losing consciousness. Well, he could’ve been cured and just transferred over here in his sleep. That would be the best case scenario.

Subaru got out of the bed and looked at his phone. He let out another sigh after finding out that the time was set back by a few days. “So I guess this is my new save point, huh?”

The boy started getting ready for the day as he reflected on everything that he knew at this point. There was no doubt in his mind that the shaman was the tailor. The reason behind this was still a mystery.

What he did know was that people would be in danger as long as he lived. He wasn’t sure of the exact casualty count but he knew that he himself was one of them and possibly one of Roswaal’s staff.

If things go exactly as they had been last time, Roswaal should be showing up. Giving them a heads up would probably do them good. But what if they start questioning him on how he learned of that information? He could possibly die if he tried to tell anyone about return by death and would have to do this all over again.

“All over again…” Subaru muttered. All of those fun times with everyone were just forgotten about, weren’t they?

“Ugh… This isn’t fair!” He yelled to himself.

“Guest-sama?! Is everything alright? Are you sure you don’t need a healer?” Panicked questioning came from behind the door. No doubt it was from the two maids.

“Huh? N-No, I’m fine! I-I’m just having a hard time getting dressed.” He lied. The boy didn’t want to cause another scene like the last loop.

The twins let out a sigh. From behind the door, it was hard to tell if it was out of disappointment or relief. Regardless, the two little girls let themselves back in.

“In that case, we’ll be more than happy to assist you in getting dressed.” Flam explained as the two little maids began to inch closer and closer to Subaru.

The spiky haired boy panicked as he instinctively backed up. “I-It’s fine, girls. I know how to dress myself.”

“You do not need to feel embarrassed, guest-sama. We are maids so it is our duty to aid you in such matters.”

“No really, you shouldn’t. I’m pretty sure this would be some kind of breach in priv-“

Subaru’s pleas were cut short as the two little girls practically pounced on the poor boy. They were very strong so his struggles weren’t even noted by the two.

In short, Subaru’s pride as a man had been reduced to nothing that day.

---------------------------------------------------------

“You look really well in those clothes, friend.” Reinhard commented on Subaru’s appearance. He used the clothes the knight left in the wardrobe and it was nice to see him using them very stylishly.

“But at what cost…?” Subaru asked in a defeated tone. Despite him looking rather dashing, his face displayed one of despair as he slouched in his seat.

“Yeah, I gotta agree with big bro. He’s starting to look like a noble snob now.” Felt backed up.

That wasn’t exactly what came to mind but at least Subaru had someone who was on his side. Kind of. Honestly, he wasn’t sure but he’ll take what he can get right now. “Thanks, lil’ sis…”

Felt flinched at that, not expecting to be called by such a nickname. “Lil’ sis?” She swayed her head around as she played that name in her mind. Soon enough, she nodded her with a big smile. “Yeah! Of course big bro. Why didn’t you wear your other clothes if ya don’t like those ones?”

“The thing is…” The boy grimaced. “I wasn’t given a choice…”

Felt blinked a few times. “What are you talking about? Wasn’t it the two squirts that-“ She suddenly stopped herself as she finally pieced it together. In an act of betrayal, the crimson eyed girl broke down laughing. She was even leaning over the table to keep her balance from how out of control her laughter became.

Instantly taking back his usual posture, Subaru stood up from his chair. “Hey! There’s nothing funny about this! I was unrightfully assaulted here!”

Felt could barely hold in her laughter. Despite that, the giggling girl answered, “Did you seriously get your ass kicked by those two? That’s just way too funny!”

“We’ll see who’s laughing when it happens to you!”

“Pfft, like I’d ever let a couple of bean sprouts take me down.” Felt was all smiles, occasionally chuckling.

“Miss Felt, please refrain from speaking in such a way about the staff.” Reinhard scolded which was enough to ruin the mood for the feisty girl.

Felt glanced over at the twins who had that neutral look on their face. “Hey, are any of you two offended?”

The twins shook their heads in unison. “We are not in the least, Lady Felt. Thank you for your concern though.”

With a big smug smirk, Felt turned back to Reinhard. “See? It’s all good.”

While Reinhard continued to lecture Felt over her manners, Subaru began to think about his next course of action. He knew Roswaal should be arriving shortly but he didn’t plan to say anything about the curse. Subaru remembered how interrogative Reinhard can be and there’s no doubt in his mind that the knight would question how he got that information and he can’t exactly say he can return by death.

The best plan he had was to get cursed and have Felix discover it as fast as he can. He would play it out that everything fell on him by pure coincidence without the need of him to explain himself.

“Hello? Anyone in there?” Felt called out to Subaru as she punched his arm.

Subaru held his arm as Felt didn’t even try holding back on her punch. Actually, it felt as if she was trying to punch him as hard as she could. “Ouch! You don’t have to punch me like that!”

The blonde haired girl shrugged. “I dunno, that silly look on your face is telling me a different story.”

“Hey! What part of my face screams ‘punch me’ to you?!”

The crimson eyed girl let out a little chuckle. “Cmon, don’t take it too seriously, big bro. Now will ya hurry up and eat? I want to get these dumb lessons over with.”

“Huh?” Subaru noticed that everyone had finished their food already and his plate was left completely untouched. “Was it really that long?!”

“Are you feeling unwell, friend?” Reinhard asked.

“I’m fine, Rein. Just spacing out a little. I’ll finish this quickly.” Subaru proceeded to chow down his food quickly. He already had his plan thought up so he figured that he should just act normal for the rest of the day. He’d enact his plan when the time was right.

Reinhard gave Subaru an investigative look for a moment before nodding. “Very well, don’t hesitate to tell me if anything is ailing you.”

Subaru nodded as he rushed eating. He was kinda relieved Reinhard wasn’t as persistent this time. He guessed it had to do with not worrying the twins this time. Well, not enough to have them tell Reinhard that is.

---------------------------------------------------------

Everything proceeded normally. Roswaal came by to give Subaru his reward and the boy asked to have the right to visit them anytime.

This time around, Subaru skipped out on the event where Felt gets hauled in by the twins. Instead, he left with Reinhard to see the tailor after the meeting. Luckily, Reinhard didn’t seem suspicious about this. He just told Carol to inform Felt that they’ll be back shortly.

Perhaps it was because they left earlier than usual but they didn’t run in to that murder that took Reinhard’s attention during the last two times. Honestly, everything was going smoothly for the usually unlucky boy that he couldn’t help but feel uneasy.

“Friend, are you sure that you’re feeling alright?” Reinhard started. “Ever since we headed out, you seem very tense.”

Subaru tried to give the knight a reassuring thumbs up. “Yep! I’m perfectly alright here. I guess you can say that I’m just feeling a little on edge right now.”

Reinhard gave the boy a very inquisitive look for a good moment. “You do have a point. The bowel hunter is still on the loose after all. Rest assured, as long as you’re by my side, I will do everything within my power to ensure your safety.”

“Thanks Rein, I feel safer already.” Subaru gave the knight a reassuring thumbs up.

Eventually, Subaru and Reinhard arrived at the tailor shop without any complications. Before they entered inside, Subaru took a deep breath as he took a quick moment to go over his plan in his head.

He just had to go in, buy the materials, and shake Mendax’s hand. He’ll ask Reinhard to go see a healer later and then they should find the curse on him and everyone will know it was the tailor without him having to explain return by death.

“Subaru?” Reinhard called out, snapping Subaru out of his thoughts. “If you don’t feel well, I’d be more than happy to have you visit a healer.”

Normally, Subaru would’ve continued to assure the knight that he was fine. However, he realized that this could actually work in his favor in getting the ball rolling a lot sooner. “I guess seeing a healer wouldn’t be too bad. Let me pick up the things I’ve been meaning to get here first.”

That answer satisfied Reinhard immensely as he nodded. “Of course, friend. I appreciate your willingness to look out for your health.”

“Right…” Subaru muttered shamefully considering how reluctant he’d been previously.

The two finally entered the shop. Mendax was inside and gave a friendly smile once they entered. “Welcome dear customers, is there anything I can help you with?” The shopkeeper welcomed them with his friendly demeanor.

Immediately following the script from last time, Subaru stated, “I already know what I need, gimme a moment.”

“Oh? You sound well prepared. In that case, take all the time you need.” Subaru immediately began to gather all the items he needed to make the doll. As he was doing that, Mendax glanced over to Reinhard as if he just noticed him for the first time. “A knight? Might I know your purpose for being here?”

“Don’t pay me any mind. I’m just accompanying my friend.” Reinhard informed the shopkeeper.

“I see… Feel free to tell me if anything catches your fancy.”

As Subaru was just about finished gathering the items, he realized that he should ask for Mendax’s name. He wasn’t exactly sure what types of things the knights had to know before pursuing anyone here so he should be safe and ask for it. With Reinhard around, he should make sure he doesn’t say any information that he shouldn’t know about in this loop just to be safe.

“You know,” Subaru started. “I never got your name.”

The shopkeeper turned his attention back to Subaru and nodded. “Yes, I believe that I don’t know your name as well.”

“Right… I’m Natsuki Subaru.” It was a quick introduction. A lot less wordy than his usual.

“I see, nice to meet you, dear customer.”

…

Subaru sighed internally as a sense of dejavu washed over him. “So, what’s your name?”

The shopkeeper perked their brow. “Hm? My name?”

The black haired boy nodded, getting annoyed of having to go through this again. “Yep, I’d like to know your name.”

Just like last time, Mendax stroked his chin as if trying to remember what his name was. Seeing him like this was giving Subaru his doubts if he really was the shaman. After a moment, he finally answered. “My name is Mendax.”

“Right, so I would like to get all this.” Subaru set down the fabrics and stuffing he wanted to get on the counter.

The shopkeeper briefly looked over the items. “Hm, that should be two gold pieces, dear customer.”

Subaru was already in the process of pulling that out. However, there was one problem. He forgot to ask Reinhard to lend him some money. The boy nervously chuckled. “Sure… Gimme a second.”

Subaru quickly rushed over to Reinhard and whispered to him. “Hey Rein? Could you possibly lend me some money?”

“Don’t worry friend, I’ll be more than happy to make this purchase for you.” Reinhard said with a smile.

Subaru nearly panicked as that could probably make things worse. He was pretty sure that Reinhard didn’t have the ability to detect curses considering he made him see a healer for that. So if Reinhard got cursed, it would needlessly put him into danger.

“Hahah… I’d rather pay for my own things. I’m pretty sure it would make me look bad.” Subaru tried to reason.

The red haired knight shook his head. “There’s no need to worry about that. I won’t think any less of you if I perform the exchange.”

Subaru began to sweat. “E-Erm… I’ve never purchased anything here before so I want to get some learning experience!”

Much to his dismay, Reinhard looked at Subaru with a more serious look. “Friend, I know you mean well but I insist on conducting this exchange. I promise to explain my reasoning later.”

The boy was at a loss. Whenever Reinhard insisted on anything, he was hardly unswayable. Subaru figured that he’d have to work this out another way. “Alright…” He reluctantly agreed.

Reinhard calmly approached the shopkeeper and placed the two gold onto the counter. “Excuse me, Mister Mendax. How long have you been a tailor here for?”

The shopkeeper lifted a brow by the question that felt as if it came from nowhere. He adjusted his glasses before answering, “Hm, what an interesting question… What brought this up?”

“This building had been vacant only until recently and I was wondering if you’re its new inhabitant.”

“Ah yes, that is true.” Mendax nodded and stroked his chin, taking a second to think. “I’ve been a traveling merchant for quite some time and I settled here around a month ago.”

Reinhard had a stern look on his face. “In that case, may I see this establishment’s registration papers?”

Mendax looked to the knight puzzlingly for a moment before returning his smile. “Sure…”

The shopkeeper stepped off to the side to one of the cabinets holding several stacks of papers. After a short while, he took out a few papers and brought them back to Reinhard. “This should be it.”

Reinhard looked at the papers and placed his hand down onto the sheet before returning his stern gaze back to Mendax. “These are fake. I’m afraid I’ll have to take you to the guard station for some questioning.”

The shopkeeper didn’t waver his smile, he just went along with it and nodded. “Is that so? If I may ask, what makes you believe that these are fake?”

“The type of ink used for establishment registrations does not match the type of ink here. Now, come with me.” Reinhard was very stern this whole time and it even gave shivers down Subaru’s body.

The boy in question was just watching this whole exchange in disbelief. He had no idea what brought this up all of a sudden and he didn’t know what to really think of it. It was like witnessing a serial killer getting arrested for tax fraud. The person that was most likely the shaman is getting interrogated for a completely different reason. What confused Subaru the most was how Reinhard suspected the tailor for anything. In Subaru’s eyes, he shouldn’t have had any reason to be suspicious of this guy.

Mendax obliged as he slowly walked around the counter and to Reinhard. “Understood. May I have your name at the very least?”

“I am Reinhard Van Astrea. I will be the one escorting you to the guard station.” Reinhard answered without hesitation.

For perhaps the first time, the tailor had an upset look on his face. “You mean the sword saint? I wasn’t expecting it to be that Astrea...”

“What do you mean by that?” Reinhard asked, paying close attention to Mendax’s words.

The shopkeeper shook their head before smiling again. “Nothing.”

After a short moment of silence, Reinhard began to escort Mendax out of the shop. The tailor in question was following him obediently, almost as if he understood very well that there was no way out of this and accepted that fact.

Reinhard spoke to Subaru right before he made his way out. “Friend, would you please return back to the manor? I’m afraid that this will require my attention for the time being.”

“I don’t mind coming with you, Rein. I’m sure I can help out in some way.” Subaru pleaded. He was still bewildered over the sudden actions that took place and he still had a bad feeling about the shopkeeper. It wouldn’t be that easy, right?

“That won’t be necessary. Since you’re not a knight, you wouldn’t be allowed inside. Especially if questioning is taking place. I would greatly appreciate it if you returned to the manor and let Miss Felt know that our lesson plan will have to be postponed for now.”

Subaru blinked a few times. He almost forgot that they left Felt on her own at this point. “Fine, just, please keep a close eye on him.”

The shopkeeper who was waiting patiently up until now looked over to Subaru. “Hmm, have we met before? You sound like we’ve met before.”

Subaru gulped. “Y-Yeah! Remember yesterday when you kicked me out?”

Mendax stared at Subaru for a moment before breaking eye contact. “Ah, so that’s what this is about.”

Subaru let out an internal sigh of relief. After thinking it over, he believed being near the tailor wasn’t a good idea. Knowing that he might be the shaman really helped out with that feeling. “I-I’ll be going now. I’ll see you later, Rein.”

---------------------------------------------------------

Was that it?

Based on how easy that was, Subaru wasn’t even sure if the tailor was the shaman anymore. Back with Elsa, her confrontation was lengthy to say the least.

By no means was Subaru disappointed. If it really is over, then good. The thing was, it all just felt very anticlimactic. That feeling just made him wary if this was all really over. In video games, this would be the time where the story makes you think it’s over but it turns out the super evil boss was waiting just around the corner all along.

Subaru placed a hand over his head and let out a sigh. This was real life. He wasn’t in some kind of anime. The real world was usually pretty dull to even pull something like that off.

“I guess I’ll just wait for Rein to get back.” Subaru concluded out loud as he started to approach the manor.

As Subaru entered, his neck nearly broke as a wild Felt seemingly dropped from the ceiling and drop kicked down on his head. The poor boy immediately slammed face first into the ground at the sudden ambush.

Despite him clearly being in pain, the inconsiderate girl began to kick his side. “Hey, get up. It wasn’t that bad.”

“Wasn’t bad?!” Subaru immediately shot back up, practically proving Felt’s claim right there and then. “You could’ve killed me! What were you even thinking?!”

“I was wondering where the hell you went for the past hour.” The petite girl placed her hands on her hips and gave Subaru a suspicious stare. “You weren’t trying to ditch me, were ya?”

“Ugh, I swear, every time I go out to do something, you always jump to that conclusion. You could always come with me if you get lonely that easily, you know.” Subaru complained.

The girl’s face instantly lit up and instantly punched the unsuspecting boy in the gut, causing him to slump over. “I-I never said I was lonely or anything! I’d just be pissed if you backed out on your promise!”

“Ugh… Yeah… Sure, tsundere…”

Felt blinked a few times. “Soon da-what? Wait! You’re trying to make fun of me, aren’t ya?!”

Despite all the pain he was in, he managed to give the fiery girl a smug smirk. This of course came with a cost as it enraged the shortie and began kicking the boy repeatedly.

“Get that stupid smile off your face, you damn masochist!”

“I-I’m not- Gah! Enjoying this you- Gah! Hotheaded sadist!” Subaru protested between the kicks.

It took awhile for the two to settle down. After finally getting their bearings, Subaru briefly let Felt in on what was going on.

“No lessons? Sweet!” Felt cheered happily.

“Heh, yeah… So everything I planned for today was promptly crammed into the gutter. Is there anything you wanted to do?” Subaru asked. He honestly had no clue what to really do as he already used up most of his brain power to conduct the ‘catch the shaman red handed’ plan and to be frank, he was too mentally exhausted to come up with anything else right now.

The golden haired girl thought for a moment. “Hmm… How about we-“

“And no, attempting to escape is not an option!” Subaru butted in, already anticipating that answer.

“I wasn’t gonna suggest that! Not while those little devils are here!” Felt defended strongly.

“Little devils?” After taking a moment to piece together what she meant, Subaru suddenly smirked. “Oh? Did those ‘bean sprouts’ evolve into devils?~”

Felt’s face became as red as her eyes as she was quick to respond. “T-That’s not what I meant! They’re just really strong for their size. Don’t go trying to twist my words or anything!”

The black haired boy chuckled. “You got your butt kicked by a little girl~”

Felt didn’t know where that came from but it enraged her all the same. “Grr! Do you really want to get your ass kicked aga- H-Hey! What the hell are you doing?!” The poor girl began trying to push Subaru’s hand away as he just randomly began to pat her head.

“Don’t worry about it, now we’re both in the ‘get our asses kicked by little girls’ club.” Subaru said rather proudly.

“Who the hell would want to join such a stupid club?! Now get your hand off of me or I’ll reunite you with my teeth!” The feisty girl nearly hissed.

Remembering the pain of the last couple of times he got chomped, he instantly yanked his hand back. “Alright, alright. You don’t have to bite me to prove your point.”

Felt rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. “Good. I told ya to at least warn me, didn’t I?”

“Hmm…” Subaru rubbed his chin. “So you’re saying I can pat your head as much as I want if I tell you first?”

The crimson eyed girl momentarily looked dumbfounded. After realizing her mistake, her whole face reddened. “W-Wait! I don’t mean like th-that! Permission! Yeah, you n-need permission first! That’s right!” The poor girl sputtered her words as fast as she could in a panic.

Subaru took a moment to contemplate her words before shrugging. He might as well test this theory since he has nothing else planned for the time being. “In that case, can I pat your head, lil’ sis?”

The still flustered girl nearly lost her balance before frantically waving her hands in front of herself. “W-What the hell?! Y-You can’t just say a whole bunch of embarrassing stuff like that all of a sudden!”

Mmm, he could feel it now. He’s just one step away from tearing down that wall. With a very calm expression, he started. “Ah, sorry. I guess you don't want me to pat your head.” And with that, he went for the killing blow; “If you’re not comfortable with it, then I won’t ask to pat your head again.”

“W-what?! N-No, I mean… Wait, you c-can’t just…!” Felt couldn’t come up with the words. It was as if she had finally snapped into a flustered mess. Finally having enough, she let out a loud, “Dammit!” And like that, she snatched Subaru’s wrist and began dragging him away.

“Huh…?” Subaru began to feel guilty now. Maybe he went too hard on the poor girl. “Erm… Are you alrig-“

“SHUT UP!”

The boy flinched and did exactly what the clearly pissed off girl said. She eventually dragged him all the way to her room and slammed her door shut. Subaru braced himself for whatever physical torture awaited him.

But, it never came.

Instead, Felt was standing in front of him with her arms crossed as she avoided eye contact. She was blushing madly. “So? W-What are you waiting for?”

Now Subaru reached a new level of confusion. “Erm… Could you clarify maybe?”

Still not making eye contact, Felt answered, “Y-You wanted to pat my head so badly so hurry up. O-Oh! And don’t make it weird either!”

“Wait, you’re serious?”

“Grr…! Hurry up before I change my mind!”

Not wanting to test Felt’s patience any longer, Subaru carefully placed his hand on top of her head. Feeling the girl’s soft golden hair without any resistance this time around was pretty nerve wrecking.

“Is that alright?” Subaru asked as his nerves were getting the better of him. He had not once patted this girl’s head without putting his fingers on the line so he was feeling a little on edge.

“Y-Yeah, it’s fine…” Her words were barely audible. Felt continued to break eye contact, her cheeks as red as cherries.

Subaru had never seen her look so… Vulnerable? Cute? Honestly, this was a side of her that he never thought existed and upon seeing it, he had no idea how to describe this. It was as rare as finding a limited edition figurine on sale.

“Erm… Can I feel through your hair?” Subaru cautiously asked. After all, this was a very rare event and he didn’t exactly want to trigger the doom ending by rushing things.

“I-I said don’t make it weird!” Felt raised her voice which promptly shut Subaru down.

“R-Right… Sorry…” Subaru shook his head, getting his thoughts back on track as he put all his attention back to the head patting. He was just glad that he didn’t get punched for saying that.

…

“Fine… Just be careful…”

Subaru blinked. “Huh?”

Felt kicked the clueless boy’s shin. “I-I said it’s fine! Just don’t go tugging on it.”

The kick didn’t hurt anywhere near as much as her usual but it was enough to throw Subaru back on track. Without saying another word, he carefully sunk his fingers into her golden hair.

Very slowly, he ran them through, really feeling just how soft her hair was. Felt had messy hair so he paid extra attention not to tug at any folds or knots.

The girl who this hair belonged to had her eyes closed and her cheeks continued to be red. She was keeping still and simply let Subaru do his thing.

Subaru was starting to wonder if this super cute girl in front of him was actually Felt. However, he had his hand bitten enough times to know asking wasn’t a smart idea.

The boy audibly gulped as he prepared for a compliment. “Erm… Felt…?”

Felt opened her eyes and glanced up to him, trying her best to not show too much of her boiling face. “Yeah?”

“I think you look very-“

KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!

The two nearly jumped and backed away from each other. “What is it?!” Felt yelled out, sounding pretty annoyed. Most likely from the moment being stolen from her.

The door opened revealing Carol. “Oh, you’re both here. That saves me the trouble. The knights are requesting to see you both.” Before the two could respond, Carol squinted her eyes as she inspected them more closely. “My apologies, I didn’t mean to interrupt.”

“N-Nothing happened!” Felt quickly spoke up. As much as the two wanted to hide it, their bright red faces were more than enough proof that something had indeed been interrupted.

The old maid merely chuckled. “Ah, to be young again… Just come down when you two settle down.”

Before any more denials could take place, Carol left.

…

“Well…” Subaru started. “I guess we should get going.”

Felt grit her teeth, staring daggers into empty
space. “Grrrr…!”

Subaru looked at the seething girl worryingly. “Lil’ sis? Are you alri- Oomph!”

Without any warning, the short girl punched the boy’s stomach with all her strength. “What the hell was that?!” She yelled. “Why didn’t you say anything, you brain dead moron?!”

“Ugh…” The boy groaned. “W-What were you expecting me to say…?”

Felt shrugged. “I dunno, something that wouldn’t give anyone the wrong idea.”

“You sure did a great job at that, little miss appa cheeks.”

After that cheeky response Felt swung her foot into Subaru’s side. He was left on the ground in pain as the flustered hothead kicked him repeatedly.

---------------------------------------------------------

“You two sure took your sweet time.”

There sitting in wait was a familiar cat boy. He was impatiently tapping his foot on the ground as he waited for Subaru and Felt to come down. Subaru knew immediately this was Felix but decided to keep quiet since they technically never met yet.

Felt gave a suspicious look at the cat knight. “Who’re you? Did Reinhard hire you too?” The last thing the girl wanted to hear was obtaining more hired help.

Much to her relief, he shook their head. “Nyot at all. I just happened to run into Reinhard and he wanted me to give you both a medical examination.”

Felt rolled her eyes. “Don’t need it. You also never answered my question.”

Felix gave off a girly giggle. “Sorry, my name is Felix. I’m a knight. Also, due to certain circumstances, I’m afraid that I must insist on giving you both this examination. This is all for your health after all, nya~”

Circumstances? Subaru thought. Did they find out that the tailor was a shaman? “Say, you said due to circumstances that you need to do a checkup. What’s the reason behind that?”

Felt nodded in agreement. “Yeah, I’m not gonna do anything if I don’t even know what it’s for.”

Felix shook his head. “That information must be withheld for nyow. I hope you both can understand this.”

Not liking the answer, Felt crossed her arms and looked away. “And I hope that you understand that I’m not gonna do it then!”

The cat knight let out an exhausted sigh. “You’re Lady Felt, right? I promise you that I'm not doing anything nefarious. I just want to make sure you’re both healthy, nothing more.”

“Then is it really that hard to tell me why the hell this is being brought up all of a sudden? I already told you I’m not doing something shady unless I know the reason for it.”

Before Felix could counter that logic, Subaru spoke up. “If it’s alright to ask, does it have anything to do with that tailor?”

Felix let out another exhausted sigh. “Fine, I’ll tell you but you both need to understand that this information stays in this room, got it?”

Subaru nodded. “Got it! My lips are sealed.”

Felt on the other hand rolled her eyes. “Not like I’ll have the chance to go out much anyways.”

Satisfied with the answers, Felix continued. “Yes, this is about that tailor. After some investigation, we were able to find out he is a shaman thanks to Reinhard’s interrogation. We also have suspicion to believe that he has accomplices. Since his arrest was sudden, the knights are trying to keep silent about this to hopefully get the upper hand.”

After the cat boy’s explanation, he winked at the two. “Nyow I hope you both keep this a secret.”

Subaru agreed. “You got it. I’m just happy this is all over.”

Felt perked a brow. “What do ya mean, big bro? You sound like you knew about this already.”

The black haired boy flinched. “I-I just felt suspicious around that guy. I’m just glad my intuition was right.”

“Ahem, nyow that I told you, I hope you’re both ready for your examination.” Felix persisted.

Felt waved her hand dismissively. “Yeah yeah, let’s just get this over with.”

The examination was like the time when Felix checked up Subaru for his curse during the last loop. He used water magic to check for any abnormalities. Felt was just fine and Subaru didn’t have a curse on him. Subaru was relieved, the idea of starting out cursed would’ve been a headache.

With the checkups finished, Felix started to get going. “Thank you for your cooperation. I’ll be on my way nyow.”

Felt was left a little surprised at how simple that was. But she let it go, a win is still a win after all. “Yeah, thanks for being the first knight that’s not trying to abduct me.”

“Wait Felix,” Subaru stopped the cat knight. “I know that you’re pretty busy and all but do you mind telling me when Reinhard will be back?”

“Dyont worry about it, Subaru-kun. Considering the circumstances, ensuring that both of you are healthy is more important. As for Reinhard, nyo idea.” Felix finished his last point off with a shrug.

Subaru nodded. The boy still couldn't stop worrying about the whole situation. He knows that Reinhard should be fine considering how strong he is and apparently they discovered the tailor was a shaman without his help. Well, except for bringing the all seeing Reinhard on the scene.

“I guess I’ll wait for him to come back then.” Subaru assessed aloud.

With that, Felix took his leave. Still with nothing else planned, Subaru decided to take this time catching up on his friendship points with everyone. After all, now that everything has been reset, he’s essentially a stranger.

Subaru started wandering the manor aimlessly after leaving Felt to her own devices. Eventually, he came across a very familiar scene of a certain little maid having a hard time reaching something from the top shelf in the kitchen.

“Well, gotta start somewhere.”

---------------------------------------------------------

Several hours had passed. Reinhard finally managed to show up right as the current inhabitants just finished eating dinner.

Subaru was both relieved and anxious to see the knight. He was glad that he seemed to be alright and eager to bombard him with questions. However, before he could start with his opener, Reinhard beat him to it.

“Do you have a moment, friend?”

“Yeah! I was actually just about to ask you the same thing.”

Reinhard smiled. “What a pleasant coincidence. There is much to discuss so I suggest we settle down somewhere first.”

After agreeing, the two settled themselves in a different room.

“I would first like to give you this.” Reinhard handed Subaru a sack. The boy looked inside and was shocked to find all the material he picked out from the tailor.

“Woah! You didn’t steal these, did you, Rein?”

The red haired knight had a worried look on his face. “I’m afraid to ask what brought you to that conclusion. Rest assured, this was purchased legally. After my duties, I took it upon myself to get the exact items you were seeking from proper shops.”

“Oh yeah, that reminds me, whatever happened with the tailor?”

“I took him to the guard station and asked him several questions. After confirming my suspicions, I happened to run into a reputable healer and asked them to check on both you and Miss Felt while I sought for your requested materials. I trust that they treated you well?”

Subaru nodded. “Yeah, Felix was a lot kinder this time around.”

The knight lifted a brow curiously. “Oh? Have you two met already?”

Subaru nearly panicked. Luckily, he thought of something immediately. “W-Well yeah! I guess we kinda first met when he healed me from the assassin.”

Reinhard gave an understanding nod. “Ah yes, I suppose that is true.”

Subaru sighed internally. One thing he noticed was how Reinhard was avoiding to inform him about the shaman. Luckily, he managed to squeeze that out from Felix so he had a viable reason to bring it up now.

“Felix said that the tailor was a shaman. How did you guys come up with that?”

“Felix informed you about that? Hmm, I was hoping to withhold that information for the time being.”

Subaru chuckled nervously. “H-Hahah… Sorry about that. I guess I got really curious.”

“Well, since you know this much already, keeping it hidden any longer would be meaningless. After questioning his reasons for the falsified documents, he told many lies. I wasn’t expecting him to be a shaman at first but after several hours, he eventually slipped up and revealed himself to be one.”

Ah, so he was crushed by the pressure, Subaru assumed. “What gave it away?”

“By the time we informed him that he’d be paying a fine, he happily agreed and shook my hand. That’s when I knew he attempted to curse me.”

Subaru’s eyes widened. Reinhard can also detect curses being put on himself? That would’ve been helpful to know sooner! “H-Hey wait! You did get that curse off of yourself, didn’t you?!”

“Not to worry, friend. I have a divine protection that makes it impossible for me to get cursed. I appreciate your worry though.”

Subaru stared dumbfounded at the knight. Immune too? Was there anything this guy couldn’t do? He wondered. “Say Rein. You wouldn’t happen to have some kind of ability that could make me have something like that, would you?”

Much to the boy’s misfortune, the red haired knight shook his head. “My apologies, friend. I’m afraid such a divine protection doesn’t exist.”

Of course there wouldn’t. The world just figured that Reinhard should have all the abilities in the world because why fucking not?

Subaru let out an exhausted sigh at the realization that he really was useless. “I guess it really is over, isn’t it?”

“It’s all thanks to you, friend.”

“Eh…?” The boy gave Reinhard another dumbfounded expression. “Hold up, you don’t need to be modest or anything. You did all the work of finding him out.”

“Not at all. You were also suspicious of the shopkeeper and you did the right thing by having a knight accompany you. If it weren’t for that, he never would’ve been apprehended.”

“Wait, how did you know I was suspicious of him?”

“You were acting very strangely this morning and you seemed to get more tense when we entered the shop. I feared that you were going to get scammed so I took it upon myself to ensure such an event never took place.”

…

Oh.

So that’s what happened.

Subaru inadvertently got the shaman arrested because once again, Reinhard had a BS power that makes him pick up on social cues better or something and they were interpreted the wrong way.

“Regardless friend, I’m glad you’re alright. After finding out he was a shaman, I was greatly worried for both yours and Miss Felt’s well being.”

“Y-Yeah, I appreciate it Rein…” Subaru was still bummed out how useless he felt. Overall, it just felt like he got someone else to fix his own problems. First Reinhard solved the problem with Elsa and now he solved the problem with the Shaman.

He was the one summoned to this world. Where was his spotlight? Was he ever going to have the chance to shine?

“Is something troubling you?”

“Ah, I’m fine, just thinking.”

---------------------------------------------------------

ago…

---------------------------------------------------------

Today was a day like any other inside the tailor shop. Nothing eventful had occurred for Mendax, the shop owner, for quite some time and overall, it’s been quite relaxing.

As Mendax began to check up on his supplies, a customer made their way in. Instinctively, the tailor immediately greeted them. “Hello sir, is there anything I can help you with?”

The person before the tailor was a tall man. He was dressed in a purple attire and wore a matching top hat. The only other notable thing about him was the white face paint he wore.

“Why yes, I was wondering if you happened to be the owner of this fine establishment.”

Mendax nodded. “Yes, that would be correct.”

The man in the face paint smiled after being informed of this. “Excellent. I was hoping to propose to you a business ooooprtunity~”

“I appreciate the offer but I’m afraid that I’m not accepting any third party contracts at the moment.”

The white face customer maintained his smile just as Mendax was. “That’s too bad, and here I was hoping to reward you haaaandsomely~”

Before Mendax could follow up, the man continued, “By the way, how long have you owned this establishment for?”

“I’d say for about a week. I just settled down from a trip not too long ago.”

“Is that so? I happen to know the head that deals with business licensing for Lugnica. I do hope you didn’t have any trouble considering how many people are establishing businesses lately.”

“Not at all, I guess I happened to be lucky.”

Roswaal’s smile suddenly shifted to more of a mischievous one before continuing. “I also happen to know that this building we’re in is supposed to be vacant.”

Mendax lifted a brow. “Is that so? They must’ve forgotten to fix that then.”

Roswaal nodded. “Yes, I suuuuppose~ so. You mentioned that you settled down here recently after a trip. May I inquire where you've visited?”

“Of course, I did some trading in the west and stopped when I came here.”

“Veeery~ interesting. I have one more question then. Are you associated with a shaman?”

…

For the first time during this conversation, Mendax hesitated. After an eerie moment of silence, the tailor finally spoke up.

“That’s quite the accusation there, dear customer. What could have possibly brought that to your mind?”

“Just a rumor I recently heard. Nothing to be alarmed of.”

“Ah, rumors you say? Who could come up with such a far fetched theory?”

Roswaal clapped his hands together. “Well it certainly has been fun speaking with you! Unfortunately I’m quite the buuuusy individual so I must be on my way.”

As the white faced man started to make his way out, Mendax panicked and reached his hand out to him.

“Wait now, I would like to know who’s spreading these rumors.”

The man stopped and turned to the suddenly desperate tailor. “It’s juuuust~ a rumor. Why would you be so eager to know the source of such a silly thing?”

A little flustered, Mendax frantically collected himself. “I erm… I just don’t want to lose business from such a lie.”

“Oh really now? You look quite desperate right now. If I didn’t know any better, I’d have to guess you’re hiiiiding~ something.”

Mendax flinched at those words. After another moment of collecting himself, he took a deep breath. He knew by now that this man already knew of his identity based on how he was cleverly speaking.

Just to be safe that anyone was listening in, he approached cautiously.

“You said you wanted to do business earlier. I just remember that I had a little free time under my belt.”

Delighted by this answer, the white faced man instantly dropped his intimidating stare. “My, what’s spleeeendid news!”

The man leaned over the counter before briefing him. “There’s an individual who will happen to enjoy your shop quite a bit. What I simply want from you is to give them a ‘warm’ welcome.”

Mendax instantly understood what he was implying. Going along with this, the tailor followed up. “I see, who may this individual you speak of be?”

“They’re affiliated with house Astrea. You’ll know when you see them. I doubt you’ll miiiiss~ them.”

“Astrea?” Mendax squinted after hearing that name. He knew this wasn’t good. “I’m not sure I could handle such a request.”

“Oh? If it’s too much for you, then I guess it caaan’t~ be helped.”

Seemingly giving up easily, the white faced man already started to make his way to the door. “I hope your conversation wiiiith your friend goes well. It would be a shame if you were interrupted.”

The tailor’s eyes widened. Does he really know about that? No, he can’t risk it. “Wait, you said just a warm welcome, right?”

The man stopped right by the door before glancing back at Mendax. That mischievous smile returned to his lips after being called to. “That is correct.”

“I suppose I can make it happen then. Where can I find you after it’s done?”

“Perfect. I’ll be in the western part of the slums in five days. We can fiiiinish~ things there.”

With that, the man finally left.

After his departure, the tailor wore a grin expression across his usual smiling face. How could he have known so much, he thought. He knew that he wasn’t careless in his actions. Everything was well coordinated. Was there a mole? Actually, that was the most logical explanation. Unless there was some magical way to gather his whereabouts, that was the only way.

Mendax let out a heavy sigh.

“Mother will not like this…”

Notes:

Greetings readers.
I would first like to thank you all for making it this far. If it wasn’t clear already, making these past couple of chapters was difficult.
I had an idea in my head that sounded good at the time but after writing it out, I didn’t end up liking it.
If I don’t like something, I will not hesitate to scrap it and try again. Unfortunately, I did this a good handful of times and after I got somewhere I was satisfied with, my motivation was very… I’m sure you can take a lucky guess.
Even this with what I have now for this chapter. This is attempt 3 at writing this and I still feel as if it was rushed and very lackluster. However, in my eyes, it’s at least tolerable. In truth, I just wanted to get this arc over with and I’m happy I finally got it out of the way.
Actually… This arc isn’t 100% over. There is one aspect I’m sure you all have seen already that needs to be addressed. However, it would make more sense following up on that in a far later chapter. Even now, this is giving me a headache despite this arc being finished.
If you did happen to enjoy this chapter and the last couple or if you even liked this plot point, more power to you. I did a lot of compromising and maneuvering to reach this conclusion and if you actually enjoyed it, well, I’m glad that at least someone enjoyed it.
Regardless, enough of my self pity.
Thank you for making it this far and I can finally make the two full on fluff chapters I’ve been dying to write.

Chapter 11: Two Girls Dancing

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

A week had passed since the incident with the shaman.

Subaru doesn’t know much of the aftermath from the situation except that he’s still supposed to keep that information confidential. That probably means the knights still couldn’t find any accomplices.

Despite that, Subaru had been living a lot more peacefully now that the random drama subsided. He used this opportunity to finally make more permanent and concrete bonds with the manor’s inhabitants since the worry of it all being taken away from him was no longer present.

Right now, Subaru was practicing his writing. At first, it was taught by Carol for the first few days but for some reason Grassis had been persistent in teaching him instead.

He remembered in the last loops that it was supposed to be a one time thing but he didn’t expect that the twelve year old would wind up being his new teacher instead. It was pretty embarrassing that someone younger than him was the one teaching this. The biggest change about this exchange was that his reading and writing lessons were moved after breakfast and before the Felt lessons.

“Ok, that should be it for today, Subaru-sama.” Grassis said, concluding today’s lesson.

Subaru got up to his feet and stretched out his arms. “Alright! So, what do you think, Grassis? I bet you’re impressed with my pro skills.”

The young maid nodded as she looked over Subaru’s work carefully. “You’re doing really well for a beginner. I think you’ll be finished in no time.”

“Alright!” Subaru cheered.

Grassis’s cheeks turned a little pink as she began to fiddle her fingers together. “Now that we’re done for today, I was wondering if you had any plans.”

“Hm? Well, the turn-Felt-into-a-princess lessons haven’t started yet but I’m sure I’ll be good until then.”

Seeing her chance, Grassis looked up to Subaru confidently. “Then will you help me make lunch for everyone?”

Subaru chuckled and placed his hand atop the little girl’s head. “Of course. I did say I’ll help whenever I can after all.”

Grassis locked her eyes on the smiling Subaru as her cheeks reddened further. However, this perfect moment was put to an end as a loud yelling was heard from outside the room followed by a crash.

Worried that they were under attack, Subaru rushed out of the room to see what was happening. The boy wasn’t prepared for what he found.

Within the hall, he saw Felt running as if her life depended on it and a distance behind her was Reinhard chasing the girl in question. That wasn’t all, Reinhard was carrying a bright yellow dress with an excited smile on his face. Subaru could only assume that the only reason Felt wasn’t caught by Reinhard yet was so he could preserve the dress that was being carried.

“Get the hell away from me!” Felt cried out.

Felt’s plea fell on deaf ears as the knight continued to chase the poor girl with that excited look on his face. The way Reinhard chased her so enthusiastically and without saying a word looked pretty creepy.

Subaru ran after the two in hope of getting to the bottom of whatever was going on. Before he ran off, he waved to Grassis. “Sorry, Grassis. I’ll have to give you a rain check on that!”

Grassis puffed her cheeks out and looked adorably upset as her golden opportunity was robbed from her. She wanted to join Subaru but she already volunteered to cook for everyone. The little maid ended up getting her sister to help.

---------------------------------------------------------

Subaru somehow managed to catch up to Felt and Reinhard in the entry hall. The scene he walked in on was certainly one to behold. Felt was currently clinging onto a curtain above a tall window like a cat would while Reinhard was calling up to her saying that was too dangerous.

Whatever was going on, Subaru knew he had to put a stop to it. “Hey!” He called out. “Can someone tell me what’s going on here?”

Felt instantly darted her attention to Subaru. “Big Bro! Perfect timing!”

Felt kicked at the wall and swung herself off the curtain, making a leap of faith directly towards a certain unsuspecting boy. The girl then rammed into Subaru like a cannonball which caused him to instantly fall back. After using the poor boy as a landing cushion, she immediately darted down one of the hallways.

Subaru was left on the ground in both shock and excruciating pain. Luckily for him, Reinhard had enough common sense to postpone his chase and check on his friend.

“Are you alright, friend?”

“Ughhhh… I think she cracked a bone this time…” Subaru complained.

Reinhard wore a panicked look. “I’ll get a healer right away!”

“W-Wait! It’s fine!” Despite his pain, Subaru managed to jump back to his feet. He didn’t want to inconvenience anyone over something like this. “Could you just tell me what that was all about?”

“Of course. I had a dress tailored for Miss Felt and I needed her to try it on so I can be sure the measurements were taken correctly.”

“Wait… How did you get her measurements to begin with?” Subaru only gave Reinhard a quick glance before he changed his mind and shook his head. “Actually, I don’t wanna know. So why is Felt running away from you?”

“Once I asked Miss Felt to try on the dress, she refused. I implored her of the importance of doing so and then she started running away.”

Subaru blinked a few times. “Um… alright… What were you planning to do when you caught up with her?”

“I would ask Miss Felt to wear the dress. If she continued to be uncooperative, then I would slip her into the dress.”

“…” Subaru was at a loss. Surely he wasn’t actually serious about that, right? “Rein, remember when I told you to treat girls better? Forcing girls to change their clothes is just… creepy…”

“I understand your point, friend. However, I still haven’t been informed when we’ll be gathered for the royal selection. It’s imperative to have everything prepared beforehand posthaste. That would also include looking presentable.”

Subaru let out a sigh. “I get that protocol is important to you and all but that shouldn’t give you the right to strip away people’s basic human rights.”

“Normally, I’d tend to agree with you but these circumstances are serious. I only want to ensure Miss Felt stays in a safe environment. I could never forgive myself if something happens to her, especially if it could’ve been prevented beforehand.”

“That does sound noble and all but aren’t you overreacting? You’re making it sound like Lugnica is run by the mafia or something.”

“Mafia? My apologies but I’m afraid I don’t know what a mafia is.”

“It’s just another word for a group of people who run organized crime but that’s besides the point. I don’t think it’s right to be manhandling girls regardless of the circumstances. What kind of dress were you trying to make Felt wear anyways?”

“That’s right, I never showed you. This is the dress I had tailored for her.” Reinhard proceeded to show the yellow dress he was carrying.

Upon taking a closer look, the dress looked very fancy, definitely fitting for royalty. Subaru even thought the color scheme would really go well with Felt’s hair. Actually, the more he inspected the dress, the more curious he became of what Felt would look like in such a cute dress.

“Tell you what, Rein. How about you leave this to me? I’ll try to convince Felt to try on the dress.”

“I have full faith in your abilities. While you’re at it, have Miss Felt wear this with the dress.” Reinhard carefully handed over the dress and then he gave Subaru a cloth necklace with a shiny red jewel.

Subaru carefully collected the dress and accessory. “I’ll see what I can do.”

Now that Subaru had full control on this operation, he left to start with his first course of action: putting the dress away. He’d probably have his ass handed to him if he marched to Felt with the dress in hand so he needed to start this on equal grounds.

As he made his way to his room to drop off the dress, he plotted ideas on how to go about this. He could take a good guess as to why she wouldn’t want to wear the dress. It was very fancy and she’d probably say something like ‘I don’t want to look like a noble’ or something like that. Maybe he could relate this to his ‘start a shop’ idea. She always seemed very excited when they talked about that.

“Oh yeah, I have to find her first.” Subaru said to himself. After all, she did run off last he saw her and who knows where that feisty personality is hiding. Subaru sighed and shook his head. “She can really be a handful, huh?”

At this point, he had reached his closet and opened it up to put the dress in. Before he put it in, he had to make room for it. All he had to do was move Felt out of the way and he should be good.

…

“Hey! Why are you in my closet?!”

“What do you think?! I’m hiding from Reinhard!”

“I get that but why does it have to be in my closet? Aren’t there plenty of other places to hide?”

“If ya couldn’t tell, I was in a desperate situation! That psycho was trying to make me wear stuff like some kind of pervert! This just happened to be the closest room that I’m familiar with.”

Subaru sighed and shook his head. In the end, he let it go since he was going to try and find Felt afterwards. “Oh well, this works out since I was going to find you after I dropped this off.”

“Hm? What’re you talking about?” It was then Felt finally locked her crimson eyes on the all too familiar yellow dress in Subaru’s care. She looked back at Subaru with a dead serious look in her eyes. “So you’re on his side…”

Subaru took a step back. “W-Wait! It’s not what you think! I swear you’re reading this the wrong- UGHHHHGGG!!!”

It was too late. Felt shot herself from out of the closet and rammed her head directly into Subaru’s stomach like a rocket. This was more than enough to knock the poor punching bag of a boy over and once more, Felt was on the run, already dashing her way to the door.

Despite being toppled over, Subaru managed to save the dress from getting ruined. That was perhaps the only lucky thing he managed to get from all this other than not dying. Before Felt could disappear, Subaru desperately called out to her. “I-I’m not going to force you to wear it!”

Fortunately for him, Felt instantly stopped and turned to him. “You’re not?”

Subaru let out a heavy sigh of relief at seeing her listen to him. He struggled to get back up to his feet before continuing, “I just want to talk about it. If you’re still not interested in wearing the dress, then I won’t force you.”

Felt was still having doubts, her suspicious look made that quite obvious. “Fine. But I’ll kick your ass if ya try anything funny, got it?”

The on edge boy very cautiously put the dress in the closet like he was originally planning. “See? I’m just putting it away.”

Despite his desperate attempt to reassure the feisty girl before him, she didn’t look any less at ease. He could just feel it in the atmosphere that an inevitable kick will come for him at any moment.

“Speak up already! What’re you waiting for?!” Felt ushered.

“I am! Just give me a second!” Subaru pleaded before he turned his attention to the little ticking time bomb. “Let me hear your side first. Why don’t you want to wear the dress?”

“Don’t play dumb! You know what it looks like! It’s over the top and it spells noble crap all over it! I agreed to do those dumb lessons but I never signed up to play dress up, ya hear?!”

“Yeah, those clothes are pretty fancy. I could see how it would be embarrassing for you. But we are going to a huge political event so wouldn’t it make sense to wear fancy clothes? I mean, even where I’m from it’s a custom to look nice for important events.”

“I already told you guys that I don’t give a damn what people think of me! I’m going back to the slums after this and I sure as hell don’t want to drag around some stupid frilly dress all over the place.”

“You could always sell it afterwards. It’s not like you’re obligated to keep it or anything.”

Felt stopped and took a moment to consider Subaru’s words. If anything, she was upset that she didn’t think of that first. “Huh, maybe you’re onto something there. Sure, I’ll keep the dumb dress.”

Subaru let out a sigh of relief. This was a lot easier than he thought. “Alright, I could get one of the twins to help you put it on if you want.”

“Hey! I said I’d keep the dress! I never said anything about wearing it!”

Subaru let out another sigh but this time of exhaustion. This was about the level of difficulty he was expecting. “Cmon, lil’ sis. I’m sure whoever made that dress worked very hard on it. The least you could do is try it on.”

Felt stomped her foot. “That’s their own damn fault! I never asked for a dress to begin with and I sure as hell don’t want one! I’m only agreeing to do half the stuff Reinhard’s asking because you’re doing it with me. So unless you wear a stupid dress too, I’m not doing it!”

…

---------------------------------------------------------

…

“And that’s why I need to wear a dress.”

Reinhard looked a little puzzled at Subaru’s request. “Are you sure about this, friend? You don’t have to go this far if you don’t want to.”

“I said that I’d convince Felt to wear the dress and if all it takes is to dress up like a girl, then that’s a small price to pay in my book.”

The knight nodded. “If you’re alright with it, then I’ll support your decision.”

“Master Reinhard,” Carol, who just happened to be around, spoke up. “I do have some old clothes that might fit the young man if he’s interested.”

“Yeah!” Subaru happily cheered. This process should go by a lot faster now, he thought. “Thanks for the assist, Carol!”

Reinhard shared an approving smile. “If Subaru’s alright with it, then I have no objections.”

Carol nodded her head and gestured for the spiky haired boy to follow. “Let’s have a look. I don’t mind making adjustments if they're needed.”

---------------------------------------------------------

This was around the time the lessons normally started. Felt was currently taking refuge inside Subaru’s room as she had a gut feeling that Reinhard was going to force her in a dress anyways. Though considering that she had been here for a few hours without any interruptions could easily mean that Subaru managed to make him back off. However, she knew very well how dense that knight was. It would be stupid to drop her guard over such a baseless assumption.

After some time, someone knocked on the door.

“Lady Felt, lunch is ready.”

That voice belonged to Carol. Felt had been hiding here for awhile so it made sense that lunch would eventually come. However, she was on edge as to how Carol knew she was here. “Who told ya I was here?!”

“You weren’t in your room so I guessed you’d be here. Good to see my intuition still works.”

Felt gritted her teeth. She probably shouldn’t have said anything since now there’s a good chance that Carol will let Reinhard know about her hiding out here. “Whatever. I was getting hungry anyways.”

After that response, Felt got herself out of Subaru’s room and let Carol lead the way. The old lady in question had a peculiar poker face about them. “Right this way.”

Felt stared at Carol suspiciously. “What’s with the look, Granny?”

“Look? Ah, I’m just forcing myself not to laugh.”

“Not laugh?! What’s so funny about me hanging out here?! I’ll stay in any damn room as I please! Except for Reinhard’s. I don’t even wanna know what he hides in there.”

“Don’t worry, you didn’t cause it. You can thank that friend of yours for that.”

Felt rolled her eyes as she knew exactly who Carol was referring to. “Tch, figures. What did that idiot do this time?”

“I think it would be best for you to see it yourself.”

“Really? Is it that bad?”

In all honesty, Felt felt a little bad. He probably did something insane to make Reinhard let go of the whole dress thing. She had to admit that he was pretty reliable when it came to this sorta thing but she wished that he didn’t have to make himself look like a complete and utter dumbass in order to do so. In the end, she did appreciate that idiot going so far for her.

However, that thought would change once she saw exactly what Carol was talking about.

Felt finally arrived at the dining hall to find Reinhard seated along with the little twins. There was also someone else there that she didn’t immediately recognize. There was a girl with long black hair and wore a simple but cute black dress.

Felt let out an annoyed sigh. “Seriously Reinhard? How many girls are ya planning to abduct?”

The black haired girl finally turned to Felt and gave her a smile. “I don’t believe we’ve met. I’m Natsumi Schwartz. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance.” After her introduction, she bowed courteously.

Felt silently stared at the girl for a good solid moment. After that moment had passed, Felt collapsed on the ground and began laughingly like crazy.

The girl who called herself Natsumi blinked a few times and looked at the laughing girl nervously. “U-Um, are you ok there?”

“Pfft, I should be asking you that.” Felt wiped a tear away before getting back up, still visibly trying to recover from laughing. “So what’s up with this? Did you wanna wear that dress instead or something, big bro?”

Natsumi flinched as a panicked look stretched across her whole face. “I-I don’t know who you're talking about. I’m a young gentle maiden who just so happened to-“

Felt kicked Natsumi.

This time she landed her kick in ‘Natsumi’s’ most vulnerable spot. The one weakness of all men that should never be mentioned aloud.

The black haired ‘girl’ dropped to her knees and placed her hands over their crotch. With tears in her eyes, she looked up at Felt with the most pained look one could make and spoke in a very squeaky voice. “W-Why would you do that…?”

Grassis and Flam had rushed over to ensure they were alright. Reinhard looked worried over the whole situation. Carol and Grimm looked the least bit affected as they just waited to see how this whole thing would roll out.

“You know…” Felt continued. “I think you’d be a lot more convincing if ya didn’t overreact like that over a little nudge.”

Still with tears in their eyes, ‘Natsumi’ went on in that very squeaky voice. “Th-That wasn’t a nudge…”

It took some time to recover from the traumatic assault but to no one’s surprise, it was revealed that the girl named Natsumi Schwartz was actually Natsuki Subaru in disguise. Admittedly, he did a great job at dressing like a girl. Felt probably would’ve been fooled herself but Subaru’s face was too recognizable, especially his scary looking eyes.

Everyone was gathered at the table eating normally. Felt was giving Subaru weird looks as the boy in question was sitting across from her and in between the twin maids. Grassis was scooted close to him constantly making sure he was ok while Flam sat on the other side and was seemingly giving him a cold stare.

Getting annoyed with Subaru’s whiny attitude, Felt finally spoke up. “Oh suck it up, I didn’t even kick ya that hard.”

Subaru was still dressed up as ‘Natsumi’ and he nearly erupted at the girl. “That’s bull crap and you know it! Do you just kick every random stranger you see?!”

“Nah, just dumbasses.”

“Why you-!”

“That reminds me.” Felt interrupted. “Why the hell are ya dressed like that anyways? Did you make some kind of deal with Reinhard to be the royal candidate instead of me?”

“I’m pretty sure he wouldn’t let me. I was just trying to convince you to wear the dress Reinhard got you.”

The crimson eyed girl narrowed her eyes, giving the crossdressed boy a suspicious look. “How exactly does wearing girl clothes help ya there?”

“Cmon, you said it yourself! You said you’d wear the dress if I dressed up with you!”

“You’re seriously doing this because of that? Are ya desperate to watch me change or something, you perv?”

“What?! I didn’t say anything like that! I just wanted to encourage you to participate in all this.”

Felt continued to stare at Subaru suspiciously for a while longer before shrugging. “Fine, I’ll wear it.”

Subaru blinked a few times. “Wait, really?”

“Yeah, if you’re gonna go this far over some dumb dress then I might as well. I don’t even wanna imagine what stupid crap you'd try to pull next if I refused.” Before anything else could be said, Felt raised her fork and pointed it directly at Subaru menacingly. “I swear though, I’ll rip you a new one if ya try anything funny.”

“For the last time, my intentions in all this are pure!”

Felt lowered her fork at this point and laughed at Subaru’s silly and desperate display. Before any more arguing and bantering could occur, Reinhard spoke up. “I’m delighted to know you’ll be trying on your dress. If it’s alright with you, I believe it’s time to expand upon your lessons when it comes to your posture.”

Felt darted her gaze to the knight, looking at him just as suspiciously as she had with Subaru. “What the hell are you talkin’ about?”

---------------------------------------------------------

After eating, Reinhard guided Subaru into a large spacious room. It looked as if a ball could be hosted here. Felt arrived soon after being accompanied by Grassis and Flam.

Right now, Felt was wearing the yellow dress that Reinhard had gotten for her. The dress really suited the short girl and the red gemmed necklace she wore with it really complimented her crimson eyes. In short, she really looked like a princess now.

Despite Felt wearing such gorgeous clothes, it couldn’t get rid of her disgusted look that was directly aimed at Reinhard after he had explained the lesson plan.

“There’s no way I’m doing that.” Felt answered bluntly.

“Not to worry, Miss Felt. I will be more than happy to be your partner in this. I’m confident in my ability to-“

“No!” She interrupted. “I’m not dancing! You can make me walk weirdly, you can make me eat like a clown, you can even convince me to dress up but this is crossing the line!”

“I understand that you may find this activity trivial but I assure you this will benefit you in more ways than one.”

“I’m not gonna let you bullshit your way into having me do your creepy fetishes! I don’t care how important you think this is, I’m not dancing with you!”

“I’m unsure what makes you think that, Miss Felt. But I swear on my name that learning the art of dancing will improve anyone’s elegance and posture, including your own.”

“I don’t care if it will or not. You’ve pushed this way too far now. I am not going to be this country’s ruler and there’s no way in hell that I’m gonna live out as a noble slob once all of this is over. I’ll agree to do your lessons that I think will help me out in MY future but dancing sure aint one of ‘em.”

Seeing Felt’s fiery determination caught Reinhard by surprise. After all, he was sure that she’d be encouraged once she wore the dress. “Please, Miss Felt, I implore you reconsider your stance over this matter.”

“Erm, Rein?” Subaru finally interjected. “I don’t mind doing it instead.”

The bickering between Reinhard and Felt ceased as they looked towards Subaru with shocked expressions. “Eh?”

“I appreciate your willingness to participate but I don’t believe this activity is appropriate for you.”

Subaru smirked. “Actually, I think it is. I’m dressed for the part, am I?”

Both Reinhard and Felt gave the all too eager crossdresser concerned looks. Eventually, Reinhard spoke out in hopes to clear any misunderstandings he had. “I have no objections if you really want to join but are you sure about this? I’m worried that others may get the wrong idea about yoy.”

At this point, Subaru approached the concerned knight. “I’m very sure. Trust me on this.” Once he was right next to him, Subaru started whispering something to the knight.

Felt was staring at the two suspiciously as it was clear that he was purposely keeping her out of the loop in this. After the whispering stopped, Reinhard widened his eyes as if he was just bestowed life changing wisdom.

“Ah, of course. I understand now.” The knight bowed courteously toward Subaru and graciously offered his hand. “Ahem, the lesson will now begin. I will start by inviting you to take my hand, Lady Natsumi.”

Subaru smiled as graciously as he could and took the knight’s hand. “I kindly accept your invitation, Rein.” Subaru spoke out in his girly voice, almost as if he had a lot of practice doing this.

Felt was left in the background watching as Reinhard started to teach Subaru to dance like a maiden. The short girl knew very well that those two were planning something but couldn’t exactly pinpoint what. This was Subaru after all so she knew it was something incredibly stupid. “I don’t know what you’re both up to but I’m still not gonna dance, got it?”

For that moment, Reinhard glanced towards Felt. “You do not have to worry, Miss Felt. We have decided that you do not need to participate in this lesson for today.”

“Wait, seriously? Did big bro really tell you off?”

“I wouldn’t put it in those words but we have agreed to a compromise.”

“Compromise?” Felt stared confusingly at the dancing pair as she tried to piece this bit of information together. She had a very bad feeling about this. However, she ended up letting it go. If Subaru was willing to take the bullet for her, then who was she to complain about it? “Fine, but I got my eye on you.”

Both Reinhard and Subaru carried on after that. Subaru was fast to pick up on the dancing taught by the knight and within an hour, he was keeping up with Reinhard. Felt had her arms crossed as she watched from the side. At first, she was giggling to herself at how stupid this looked but as time went on, something about this irked her.

In the beginning, Subaru fumbled around in Reinhard’s arms and tripped over himself countless times. But eventually, they were starting to dance more steadily and professionally. This started to make the crimson eyed girl feel sick as they were starting to look like two love birds. The thought that Subaru and Reinhard were in love with each other was hilarious on paper but seeing it in action like this just felt wrong for some reason.

“Grr… Are you two done yet? I’ve got better things to do than watch you two flirt with each other.”

The two turned to Felt and they both seemed surprisingly calm about her little comment. It was as if they were fully aware what this looked like and didn’t care about it.

“My apologies, Miss Felt. The lesson will be for another two hours. You will be relieved afterwards.”

“What?! Do you really expect me to sit here and do nothing?! Cmon, big bro, say something!”

Subaru smirked and wagged his finger. “I’m sorry but I’m not your big bro right now. I’m taking on the form of Natsumi Schwartz.”

Felt’s eye twitched after being told that. At this point, she felt sick from looking at this. She couldn’t put her finger on it but watching Reinhard and Subaru dance like this really pissed her off. In a way, watching Subaru dance so maidenly felt like she was being insulted.

“Fine!” She shouted, not being able to take this eyesore anymore. “I’ll join your damn dance lesson, alright?! Just stop it already, you two!”

“That’s great to hear, Miss Felt. We can start immediately.” Reinhard said almost immediately. It was like he was waiting to jump on this opportunity.

Subaru smiled as he took a few steps away, hoping to fade in the background. “Don’t worry, I bet you’re going to like it, lil’ sis.”

Before he could get far, Felt quickly snatched his wrist, preventing Subaru from making his escape. “Oh no you don’t. You’re gonna be the one dancing with me, got it?”

“Eh?” Subaru blinked a few times. After processing Felt’s demand, he frantically shook his head. “I-I couldn’t do that! I’ve never danced before and besides, Reinhard’s the teacher here.”

“Tch, so what? If you guys want me to dance so badly then I’m doing it under my terms.”

“Isn’t the whole point of this to get instructions on how to do better? You haven’t tried it yet and I think you’d learn more if it was with Reinhard.”

“Did it look like I ever cared about doing this in the first place? Besides, I was watching the two of you go at it this past hour so I know what to do.”

“But… But…” Not knowing what to do, Subaru turned to Reinhard. “Cmon, Rein! Help me out here!”

Reinhard in response smiled. “I appreciate Miss Felt’s willingness to participate and I believe having you two practice together will help the both of you immensely.”

“N-No! That’s not what I meant!”

Felt on the other hand smirked rather mischievously. “You heard the knight, it’ll be great practice.”

“W-Wait! If I’m going to do this, I should change out of this dress.”

“Nope! If I have to wear this dress all day then you’re gonna do the same.” Felt raised her fist and aimed it towards Subaru. “You’re not thinking of backing out on your word, are ya?”

He gulped and shook his head desperately. “N-No! Of course not! I-I just thought it would make dancing easier!”

“Since there isn’t a problem, then stop stalling and let’s get this over with already.”

Subaru slumped his shoulders in defeat. “Fine…” He reached out to the feisty girl for her hand and was met with a punch in his gut anyways. “OOOMPH! Hey! What gives!”

Felt’s cheeks were slightly reddened as she pointed at the boy accusingly. “You can’t just grab me like that without warning! Aren’t you supposed to ask first like what Reinhard did?”

“She’s right.” Reinhard immediately added. “Since you’re the one initiating the dance, it’s your responsibility to ask politely.”

“Oh yeah… My bad…” After recovering from the punch, he composed himself and offered his hand towards Felt. “Would you like to dance with me, lil’ sis?”

“Hell no!”

…

“Are you kidding me?”

Felt crossed her arms and humphed loudly. “There’s no way I’m gonna do this in front of everyone. I’ll start when Reinhard and the maids leave.”

“Oh?” Subaru was smiling devilishly. “There’s nothing to be embarrassed about. It’ll just be you and- OOOMPH!” All smugness had instantly vanished with a single punch.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t quite hear ya. Mind repeating that?”

Not wanting to see this escalate, Reinhard spoke up. “I trust the two of you can be productive by yourself. I’ll return in an hour to touch up on your progress.”

Subaru was kneeling over as he held an arm over his stomach, trying to shield it from any more sneak attacks as he used his other hand to give the knight a very shaky thumbs up. “S-Sounds good…”

With that, Subaru spent this time recomposing himself as Reinhard, Grassis, and Flam left the vicinity. Felt was standing across from him with her arms crossed.

“Quit overreacting, you’re embarrassing yourself.”

Subaru shot up and glared at the snarky girl. “Who’s fault do you think that is?!”

“Yours, obviously.”

He slumped back down and sighed. He didn’t have the energy to argue with this girl any longer and just dropped it. “If you’re still mad about this then you don’t have to dance if you really don’t want to.”

“It’s just a dance. I’m not gonna throw a fit over something stupid like that.”

Subaru’s eyes twitched at those words. “Isn’t that all you’ve been doing today?”

The girl stomped her foot down and balled her fists. “Well I’m sorry for not liking the idea of getting stripped down and dressed like a doll under my own free will!”

Seeing her get mad instinctively made Subaru step back. “You’re right. Just please calm down.”

She let out an annoyed humph and reached out her hand. “Whatever, are we doing this or not?”

“Yeah, I guess we should…” He took a deep breath as he vividly remembered what happened moments ago. Subaru didn’t want to get kicked again so he asked, “Would you like to dance with me now?”

“Do you really need to ask that? Just take my hand already, dumbass.”

“Ugh… Why do I even bother?”

Subaru cautiously took Felt’s hand like he was taught and did the same when placing his hand over her hip. The crossdresser had done this with Reinhard mere moments ago without an issue but doing this with Felt had a different feeling to it. Perhaps this was the feeling lion tamers have. He was convinced that he had to keep himself looking confident or else he’d get eaten alive. Probably.

Felt on the other hand was proceeding fairly normally. She mimicked what she had watched earlier and held the boy’s hand in hers while taking his shoulder using the other hand. She showed no signs of hesitation and after getting in position, she looked up to Subaru expectantly.

“What are you waiting for? Don’t just stand there.”

“Would it kill you to act just a little nicer? Isn’t the whole point of dancing to enjoy the moment?”

“Gimme a break, I’ve never danced before. You’re the one teaching so isn't it also your job to set the mood or something?”

“Yes, but this is a partnership thing. It can’t go well if you don’t help contribute.”

The golden haired girl sighed. “Fine, what do you want me to do then?”

“Huh?” Subaru was taken aback by that response. He was already mentally and physically preparing himself to get assaulted so to see her agree and ask for advice was really strange. “O-Oh! Just try to follow my steps, ok?”

“I will when you start making them.”

“Oh yeah, sorry about that.” Without any more delays, Subaru took the first step. Felt looked down at her feet as she tried to follow his track, looking hyper focused while doing so.

Subaru repeated these steps, moving in random directions while alternating which foot was used. He waited for Felt to catch up with every move he made. Seeing her taking this seriously had a very unique charm. The way she was dressed combined with the way she was holding on made her dance partner watch in awe.

He couldn’t put his finger on it but this special display felt very similar to the time he was given permission to pat her head. She just looked so adorable by the way she was moving and how focused she was in doing so. Most of all was her willingness to go through with it.

Eventually, the girl caught her dance partner staring at her weirdly and it made her give them a cold look. “You’re looking very creepy right now. You better not be thinking of anything gross, you perv.”

“H-Hey! What kind of man do you take me for?!”

“Tch, dressed like that, you sure as hell don’t look like one.”

Subaru sighed as he really couldn’t argue on that one. Sure, dressing up like this did make his plan work but maybe he should’ve done something else. “I just think you look cute in that dress. There is nothing perverted about thinking you’re cute!”

The girl’s cheeks instantly flushed red as she nearly jumped back in shock. “D-Don’t start spouting embarrassing stuff like that out of the blue!”

Seeing how red she’d gotten made Subaru smirk. “Oh? When would you like me to compliment you then?”

“W-What‘re you going on about?! Why are you acting super weird all of a sudden?!”

“Hahah, sorry. I just think you’re doing a great job right now.”

Felt growled and kicked Subaru’s shin. Normally something like that would’ve made him drop but the kick itself wasn’t that hard this time. In fact, it wasn’t even hard enough to warrant a yelp.

“Jeez, you could’ve just said that to begin with, idiot.”

Subaru was giving her a weird and suspicious look. He wasn’t sure what she was playing at but he knew better than to let his guard down. Despite that, he did enjoy seeing this side of Felt and couldn’t resist prodding further.

“Lil sis, do you not like being called cute?”

Once more, Felt looked startled and her face lit up. “What the hell?! Did you already forget what I said about being creepy?!”

Subaru shook his head. “I just want to leave you a compliment without making you mad all the time. I’m not trying to make this creepy.”

…

Felt finally calmed down and sighed. “I know, I know. It’s just embarrassing when you say stuff like that all of a sudden, alright?”

Subaru nodded understandingly. This truly did remind him of the head pat situation so he figured he’d try the same technique. “If it makes you uncomfortable, I could stop complimenting you.”

Almost as if being whacked by the all mighty dejavu hammer, Felt widened her eyes and began stumbling over her words. “I-I never said I hated it or anything! Look, I’m ready now so you can start complimenting away if you’re that eager to do it.”

“Heheh, in that case, I’ve been dying to say that you look super adorable in your new dress! You honestly look like a real princess now.”

“Yeah, yeah, I get it…” Felt muttered as she looked away now. She had been holding onto Subaru this whole time and now she was a blushing mess in the boy’s grasp.

“And your necklace…” Subaru continued. “They really compliment your eyes. I could even mistake them for priceless rubies.”

This time, the crimson eyed girl chuckled at the mention of eyes. “You think so? Well, you don’t look half bad yourself. If it weren’t for your creepy eyes being so memorable, you definitely would’ve had me fooled there.”

Subaru irked at this. Despite that, he proceeded to answer her in a calm tone. “Nothing is wrong with my eyes. You just don’t know what truly great eyes are.”

“Nah, I’m pretty sure you’ve just never looked at yourself in a mirror before.”

Subaru stopped dead in his tracks at this girl’s audacity. He recalled the moment when he took Felt’s picture and she straight up denied it being her at first. He definitely would tell her this.

However…

Suddenly stopping the way he did caused Felt to lose her balance and tumbled into him. That resulted in him also losing his balance and crashing into the girl in return. Being the larger one between the two, Subaru fell on top of Felt like a domino. Luckily for them both, he managed to stop his fall by planting his hands to the ground between the short girl before he accidentally squished her.

After catching his breath, Subaru looked down at Felt who was below him. “Are you alright?”

“Ugh… I’m fine. Watch what you’re doing next time, dumbass.”

Seeing her not immediately resort to violence made Subaru happy inside. Perhaps dancing has taught her to be more softer somehow. “Yeah, I will, I’m glad you’re alright then.”

“Yeah, now what-“ Felt slowed her words down as she finally began to assess her current situation. “Are you doing…?” She finished. Her whole face began to match the color of her eyes after recognizing how close Subaru was to her.

Subaru blinked a few times as he too had finally got a better understanding of the situation. He soon widened his eyes as she stared at the flustered girl in shock. “I-It’s not what it looks like so please don’t get mad. I just tripped and we just happen to be in a very weird and probably suggestive situation-“

Subaru was silenced as he retrieved a healthy dose of Felt fist which was applied generously on his face.

“If you know, then get the hell off of me!!!”

---------------------------------------------------------

1 hour later…

---------------------------------------------------------

At this moment, Grassis had a very focused and determined look about her. The little maid was currently dancing with a cross dressed Subaru and she couldn’t be any happier. The boy in question was having a little bit of a hard time considering just how small she was but he managed. He occasionally rubbed at his eye since he had an ugly black eye and it was incredibly sore at this point.

The golden haired hothead who made that black eye was in the same room dancing with Flam. After causing a ruckus which resulted for Reinhard to rush back in, the knight suggested changing partners. Since she absolutely refused to dance with Reinhard, she ended up dancing with Flam. Grassis seemed a little bit too eager to dance with Subaru for some reason but hey, she didn’t really care. The twins looked exactly the same anyways.

Felt couldn’t help but feel something off as she danced with Flam. Quite often, the little maid’s calm and collective demeanor dropped for moments at a time when she glanced towards Subaru and her sister with a very ominous and sour look. It was a little annoying since she actually wanted to get better at dancing now. After all, seeing Subaru one up her the way he was is just too insulting for some reason.

“What’s up with you?” She finally asked.

Flam immediately turned her attention back to Felt and apologetically bowed her head slightly. “I’m sorry, Lady Felt. I will be sure to give you my full attention now.”

“You sure? That’s the third time already. Did you wanna dance with your sister instead? Or are you eager to dance with that idiot like your sister was?”

The little maid shook her head. “I didn’t mean to make you think that. Master Reinhard entrusted me to be your partner and I intend to do my best.”

Felt rolled her eyes to that, clearly not convinced. But she didn’t exactly care to pry. “If ya say so. Just quit getting distracted all the time.”

The maid nodded as she put all her focus back to her. Across the room from those two, Subaru stopped for a moment to rub his eye once again. Grassis looked concerned by this. “Are you sure you don’t want to see a healer, Subaru-sama?”

“H-Heh… It’s fine. I’d hate to bring down a rare teaching opportunity for everyone over a little bruise.”

“I’ll trust you but please don’t push yourself.”

Subaru chuckled and patted the young girl’s head. “I will, thanks for looking out for me all the time.”

Grassis’s cheeks heated up and nodded confidently. “Of course, Subaru-sama! It is my duty to ensure everyone’s well being and comfort.”

Subaru enjoyed the moment a little longer. It was nice doing all this without having to keep his guard up all the time.

“Hey! You’re doing it again!” Felt cried out.

Subaru looked over to find Felt chewing out Grassis’s poor sister as she was apologizing to Felt profusely. Subaru felt a little bad now. Maybe Flam was mad that she couldn’t dance with her sister. Now that he thought about it, he wasn’t sure if he checked up on Flam often.

Lately the two girls have been easier to recognize and he noticed that between the two, Grassis had spent more time with him. Maybe she was feeling left out. Despite that thought, Subaru put his attention back to dancing with Grassis.

He was going to fix that later. After all, the main focus today is to dance.

Once more, the boy smiled. This was great. Everything was so calm and peaceful now. Assuming another shaman attack doesn’t happen out of the blue, he believed that his future would be looking bright.

Notes:

It’s been awhile, hasn’t it? I haven’t updated this one in over three months. Hmm… since you all decided to stick around for this long, I believe I can provide an explanation.
In truth, I just wanted to write other works. By no means have I been inflicted with the plague known as burnout. I just wanted to write one work over the other and so I capitalized on that. It may have something to do with my sheer disappointment/regret of including the new shaman as this story’s arc but who knows?
Hmm… I believe that sums it up. In short, just wanted to work on other pieces.
…
…
…
Eh… I’m kinda bored. Let’s see what kind of questions you guys have asked me…
…
Q- “How difficult is it to write around Reinhard’s myriad divine protections? In a comedic story, it practically writes itself where he has a power for just about any bizarre situation. But in a more serious one like this, does that run the risk of breaking the plot?”
A- “Eh, before I wrote this fic, the very first thing I did was look up every single known divine protection in the Re:Zero universe. After looking at them all, I found a specific pattern to them and stuck with that rule as well as how Reinhard uses his divine protections in the source material.
In short, it isn’t that hard in my opinion. Though I do find it pretty funny to watch people say that Reinhard could fix x problem using x divine protection that doesn’t fit in the divine protection algorithm at all. People’s ignorance and blatant lies are hilarious.”
…
…
…
Wait… just one question?
…
Huh…
…
Well, I guess I can answer questions that I’ll just boldly assume you have.
…
Q- “When will Felt and Subaru hook up?”
A- “Whenever I feel like it. Maybe after (spoiler) rips out (spoiler) and then (spoiler) but not when (spoiler) to the (spoiler) and then no one would know the donkey got on the roof.”
…
Q- “Writing this is illegal, you pedofile!”
A- “Maybe, who knows? I actually got kicked out of a well known discord server who prioritizes on sharing Re:Zero fanfics because of this very story. They really didn’t like the idea of a 17 year old hooking up with a 15, maybe 16, year old. Kinda hilarious if you ask me. Especially since Tappei himself made an if story where Subaru hooks up with Petra. Huh, would they kick Tappei out too? Now THAT would be hilarious.”
…
Q- “Y R U Gay?!”
A- “Maybe.”
…
Q- “Since you don’t like the plot of the first arc, do you plan on rewriting it at some point?”
A- “Hell no. Just because I don’t like it doesn’t mean you all didn’t. To take away something you all enjoyed would just be a dick move in my opinion.”
…
Q- “When will you update (random work I wrote)?”
A- “Whenever I press the ‘post’ button.”
…
Eh, I guess that’s a good amount of questions. Welp, I’ll see you after I press the post button.
…
…
…
Actually… Lemme ask all of you a question before I go.
Am I taking this too slowly? Sometimes I wonder if my pacing is unbearably long and if the shipping I’m aiming for is being built too awkwardly.
I suppose it’s just a random concern I just thought of.

Chapter 12: Right Before Change

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

It has been around a month since Subaru first arrived at Reinhard’s mansion. He was still jobless and had relied on Reinhard to provide him with some kind of allowance. Sure, Subaru could easily say it was payment for being Felt’s designated study buddy but he couldn’t really see that as a job. True, it is very difficult to spark any kind of motivation in that girl to actually participate but he thought just being there for her all those times was pretty fun so he had a hard time considering that as a real job.

Speaking of Felt, Subaru couldn’t help but feel proud of the progress she’s made. Not with the lessons though, she was still very passionate in avoiding them as much as humanly possible. He was more proud of their progress within their relationship. At first, Felt always seemed to be annoyed with Subaru and hit him an uncomfortable amount of times but now, that hasn’t happened. Not as much anyways.

Regardless of that, today was a day like any other. Felt had once again found a way to convince Reinhard to postpone their lessons and she was currently in her room. She was standing in front of a table with a drawn map of the entire manor in front of her.

“Then after that, you’re gonna distract anyone that comes down here. Assuming you do your job right, that’ll give me enough time to slip away so we can regroup in your room.”

After Felt had finished explaining her plan, Subaru, who was standing across from her, spoke up. “Wait, what if Rein comes by? I don’t think I can hide anything from him.”

Felt shrugged. “That sounds like a you problem. I’ll be busting my ass here sneaking and breaking in so the least you can do is not screw up.”

“Ugh… Did you even ask Grimm if you can have your knife back? I’m pretty sure we don’t have to do any of this if you just asked nicely.”

“I already know that’ll be a waste of time! Besides, it’d ruin the element of surprise and Gramps will be on guard afterwards.”

Subaru gave Felt a deadpanned look. “Are you still scared of him? We’ve been living under the same roof for over a month now. If you are, I could always ask for you.”

“Grr! I’m not scared of him, dumbass! Didn’t I already tell ya?! I’m not gonna blow my cover and that’s final! So are ya with me or against me, big bro?”

Subaru let out a sigh. Felt had stopped trying to escape for a good while and he didn’t want to give her a reason to get back into that habit. “Fine, I’ll help. But next time, go ask first before you try breaking and entering.”

“The plan is to take MY knife and get out. He had no right to take my stuff to begin with!”

Not wanting to waste any more time bickering, Subaru just agreed. “Fine, I get it. I'll distract Grimm.”

“Good! I’ll get in position. Gimme the signal when the coast is clear.”

After giving the girl a thumbs up, she darted out of the room and practically vanished from sight through the hallway. As for Subaru, he went the opposite direction, heading straight towards the room of Grimm and Carol.

There were a few phases to this mission and the first part was to see if the room and the area around it was clear. He noticed Carol was in the kitchen either preparing something or just organizing it so that checked off her whereabouts. As for Grimm, he didn’t spot him on the way to the room. Even after arriving at the front door of the room, he looked around the area just to be sure.

After confirming it was clear, Subaru knocked on the door. “Hey!” He called out. “Anyone there? I need your help with something.”

…

No response.

He didn’t hear any kind of movement either. The boy took a deep breath and braced himself before opening the door. Much to Subaru’s relief, no one was inside.

This meant that phase two of the mission was ready to start. Subaru closed the door and tied a red piece of cloth around the door handle. After that, he walked to the specified location that he agreed to patrol before giving the signal:

“YAAAAAAWWWWN!”

It certainly wasn’t the best signal but if it works, then there’s no real reason to complain about it. Subaru just hoped that this yawning signal wouldn’t lure anyone else to him.

But that's neither here nor there. Now he needed to block this point and wait for Felt to do her thing. All she had to do was get her dagger so it should literally only take about a minute or two.

…

Well, he thought that it should only take a couple minutes. So far, it has been twenty. Initially, he was worried that Felt got caught but considering he didn’t hear loud angry Felt noises, that wasn’t likely. Did she fall into a trap? Wait, Grimm and Carol’s room wouldn’t be booby trapped, right?

Now suddenly surged with worry, Subaru abandoned his post to check the room. Sure enough, the red cloth was still on the door handle which indicated that she still hadn’t made it or she was still inside. Felt said she’d take the cloth off the door handle when she was done.

Knowing that at least Felt would be inside, Subaru didn’t waste any time barging into the room, practically slamming the door open. “Felt?! Are you alright?!”

His question was immediately answered as the said girl poked her head from beneath the bed. “Don’t just barge in like that! I thought you were gramps!”

Seeing that Felt was alright, Subaru let out a sigh of relief. “You had me worried there, I thought you would’ve been done by now.”

“I might have finished by now if a certain dumbass didn’t wander in here! You're supposed to be keeping watch so I won’t get caught.”

“Yeah, guess you have a point there…”

Felt let out an annoyed huff before crawling out from underneath the bed. “Since you’re here, why don’t ya be useful and help me look around?”

“Really? You sure you don’t want me to go back to keeping watch?”

“If you really wanted that so badly, you would’ve stayed put! Just quit stalling and help me already!”

“Alright, alright, I’ll help.”

After agreeing, the two began to rummage through the room as discreetly as possible. The two were careful not to misplace too many of the appliances as they didn’t want to be tracked back to in the future.

However, there was a problem. They couldn’t find the knife.

“Grrr…! Where the hell did he put it?!” Felt yelled.

“Q-Quiet down, wasn’t it you who said that we should be as silent as possible?”

“Yeah, I know but why did gramps have to hide my stuff to begin with? It pisses me off that he’s treating me like a kid!”

“Lil’ sis, I really think that it would be better if you just asked Grimm for it back. Besides, if we get caught-“

“Shut up.”

“Wha-? No! I’m trying to give you some real advice to make your time here bett-“

“Shhh!” Felt immediately dove at Subaru, covering his mouth with both of her hands. She then focused her gaze at the door.

It was now that he understood what Felt meant and finally stayed quiet.

“I hear footsteps.”

Subaru widened his eyes as he internally panicked. He didn’t know what would happen if he was caught like this and frankly, he didn’t want to find out.

Felt was pretty quick to react as she slipped back underneath the bed with ease. Subaru tried to follow suit but his frame was too large to fit. Felt clenched her teeth as she placed her foot on Subaru’s head, trying to push him back.

“What the hell?!” Felt said in a whispered tone. “You’re gonna get us both caught!”

“I don’t know where else to hide though…”

“Grr… C’mere!”

Felt quickly slid out from underneath the bed and snatched Subaru’s wrist. Wasting no time, she dragged the boy over to a closet and opened it. There looked to be enough room inside.

Before Subaru could compliment on Felt’s quick thinking, she shoved him into the closet and tossed herself with him. If it was just Subaru in here, there would be enough elbow room but with Felt added to this, they were forced to be pressed against each other.

“F-Felt? What are you-“

Before Subaru could finish, he heard the door swing open. It sounded like someone had entered the room. That explains why Felt went in the closet with him in such a hurry, she had no time to waste.

The person who entered was fairly silent and the only audible sound they made were soft footsteps. Subaru and Felt figured it was Grimm from how quiet it was. The two nearly held their breath, both of them hoping that Grimm wouldn’t check the closet.

It was hard to tell what exactly Grimm was doing out there but he was sure taking his sweet time. Ideas ran in Subaru’s head as the two waited and he only got more and more nervous as time passed.

“You don’t think he’s searching for your knife, do you?” Subaru whispered.

“Why the hell would he?” Felt whispered back. “There’s no way he’d take this long if that’s all he’s getting anyways.”

She had a point. Was he just tidying up his room then? It was well past the time they did their morning routine so maybe he was just taking a break in here.

“Ugh…” Felt suddenly let out a silent groan. “Quit breathing so hard on me already.”

“I’m sorry but I can’t hold my breath forever.”

“Just look away or something. It’s pretty creepy that you’ve been staring at me for so long anyways.” Despite her words, Felt had been staring at Subaru herself the entire time. Not that either of them had a choice since any movement could blow their cover at this point.

Subaru really knew this wasn’t the time to argue or place to argue so he quickly gave in. “Fine…” After that, he very slowly and carefully turned his head to the side. Keeping that position usually wouldn’t prove to be an issue but since it had to be kept for an unspecified amount of time.

The minutes kept ticking by. One minute eventually turned into five, and then it doubled into ten. Before the two knew it, twenty minutes had gone by and Grimm showed no signs of leaving the room.

“What’s taking him so long?” A certain impatient girl complained.

“How should I know? We’re the one’s trespassing. I knew we should’ve just asked nicely…”

“Quit your whining. It’s your fault for not keeping watch like you were supposed to.”

“My fault?! You told me to help search. Besides, this whole operation was your idea to begin with. If anything, I’m the primary victim here.”

“You agreed to help me out so that’s on you.”

“Why you-“

The silence from beyond the closet door was broken as footsteps began to creep closer to the two. Both Subaru and Felt’s faces grew pale as they heard Grim inch closer and closed.

Were they too loud just now? They wondered. Regardless whether or not their bickering blew their cover, the fact remained that they were going to get caught.

The closet door creaked open slowly and the hiding duo tensed up, bracing themselves for what was to come. Once the door opened, the two stared in disbelief as they didn’t see anyone there. However, their gazes slowly shifted downward as they saw the true culprit behind this.

Standing in front of the closet looking up at the two with an unreadable expression was one of the young twins.

There was a long uncomfortable silence as they stared each other down. Subaru could easily tell that this was Flam since Grassis’s cheeks were just naturally more pink than hers. Flam didn’t look either mad or confused, she just looked on at the two with a very calm demeanor.

Neither Subaru or Felt had the will to speak up. After all, what kind of excuse could be made for this situation?

Luckily for them, there were no words that needed to be exchanged as Flam finally took the initiative. The small girl just closed the closet door, leaving the two inside and left the room immediately without uttering a word.

…

The nervous duo that was left behind glanced at one another for a brief moment. As if now able to read one another’s mind, they left the closet in unison and calmly walked straight to the door. Neither of them had the will to find the knife now and they just wanted to leave.

Still having some semblance of caution, the two poked their heads out the door in unison to make sure the coast was clear. From a distance, they saw Grimm lifting up one of the twins above his head while the girl in question was dusting off a portrait hanging on the wall.

Directly behind them stood the other twin, Flam, and she was staring directly at Subaru and Felt. Their gaze had locked on once more and before long, Flam gave the two a thumbs up.

Immediately understanding the implication, the two tiptoed their way in the opposite direction of Grimm and the twins, just being out of sight as they slowly and quietly made their retreat.

They finally made it back to Subaru’s room where the two looked at each other one more time.

“We speak about this to no one.” Subaru finally said.

Felt nodded, still pretty shaken by the whole situation. “R-Right…”

The two shook each other’s hand, symbolizing their oath to never utter a word about this day to anyone.

---------------------------------------------------------

“You don’t look well, young man. Are you sure you’re doing alright?”

Subaru immediately nodded in a very rushed manner. “Y-Yeah! I’m perfectly fine!”

It hadn’t been long since the failed infiltration attempt. After Subaru and Felt calmed themselves down, they parted ways to do their own thing. Subaru, not having anything planned, decided to convince Carol to teach him more about this world’s politics.

“If you say so. Don’t push yourself, young man.” With a shrug, the old maid continued to go over a country called Vollachia. The most he got out of that session was that the place was an empire that valued the strong above all else. He wound up being glad that he ended up in Lugnica after learning this. He couldn’t imagine the hell he’d go through if he started out in that barbaric place.

“Oh, I haven’t seen Rein since this morning. What is he up to?”

“He didn’t tell you? He was suddenly summoned to the capital and he’s been out ever since.”

“The capital? Did something big happen?”

Carol shrugged. “Can’t say for sure. All I know is that it was urgent enough that they needed him right away.”

“Well I hope that it isn’t anything world ending.” Subaru wondered about the situation. Even today Reinhard didn’t push to do today’s lessons like he usually did. After Felt suggested pushing it for later like she usually does, he easily agreed to it and dismissed us. Did he already anticipate getting summoned to the capital?

“That reminds me, how are you and Lady Felt doing? I heard from one of my grandkids that the two of you have been getting really close to each other lately.”

Subaru flinched. At first, he thought Flam told Carol about breaking into their room but he had to be sure before accidentally outing himself. “R-Really…? What did they say…?”

“Just that you two get along well. You both are around one another quite often so it doesn’t really surprise me.”

Subaru sighed in relief. He was glad that Flam seemingly didn’t spill the beans. “I guess so, but I feel more like an accomplice though.”

“That’s one way of putting it. At least you managed to convince the young lady to stop her escape attempts. You’ve certainly made me and my husband’s job a lot easier.”

The boy chuckled nervously as he scratched the back of his head. “You’re giving me too much credit. Felt’s the one who stopped that on her own.”

Carol merely shrugged. “It might just be my old eyes deceiving me but you do seem to get along with others pretty well. Even my grandkids talk about you quite often.”

“T-They aren’t saying anything weird, are they?” Subaru gulped at the very thought at what those two could be sharing. They’ve been joining him in a lot more activities recently and they also participated in his stretching sessions. Even though Subaru has been enjoying their company lately, it doesn’t shake off the fact that a certain golden haired girl kept calling him out as being creepy for it. Perhaps all those callouts were starting to get to him?

“Why would you ask that?” She squinted her eyes, staring at Subaru suspiciously. “You’re not doing anything indecent, are you?”

“I’m not doing anything like that! I meant along the lines of blackmail!”

“Blackmail? I’m certain that if they told me, it wouldn’t be considered blackmail anymore. I’m pretty sure what you mean is gossip.”

“Ugh… Sure, could you just tell me if they’ve been gossiping about me?”

“I definitely can.”

…

“Well?”

“Oh, I said that I can, not that I will.”

Subaru practically deflated in his seat and lied over the desk. “Why do you like torturing me so much?”

“You must have had a very carefree life if you consider that torture, young man.”

Subaru stood up from his seat. He was done being bullied by old maids for one day. “You know what? I think I should go see what Felt’s up to. Do you think we can catch up on this history lesson for another day?”

“We were just about to wrap up anyways so that should be fine. Have fun.”

Finally being released from this torture that he very much brought upon himself, he immediately went for the door. “Thanks, I definitely will.”

Just as he was about to leave, Carol spoke up right before he was out of earshot. “Oh, also, please use your own closet next time.”

“She did tell you!!!”

…

After that brief exchange, Subaru very gloomily wandered his way through the manor, feeling as if his pride was crushed. As he walked on, Subaru passed by Felt’s room and immediately noticed that her door was cracked open.

Subaru opened the door while knocking on it at the same time. “Hey, lil sis. You forgot to close your door all the way.”

Once inside, he saw Felt was leaning against the window seal as she aimlessly stared outside. It was pretty obvious that she was in her own little world as she didn’t even flinch from Subaru’s sudden entry. Instead of calling out to her like a normal human being, Subaru crept to the girl’s side and looked out the window with her, trying to figure out what she’s staring at in the first place.

“If you want to go sightseeing that badly, we can always go out together, you know?”

Felt finally noticed Subaru and nearly toppled over. Luckily for her, she caught herself before doing so. Felt stomped her foot on the ground angrily. “Hey! When the hell did you get here?!”

Subaru clenched his chest and knelt over before dramatically complaining. “Ah, my feelings…! All I wanted was to just spend time with my lil’ sis…!”

Felt cringed and nudged at his arm. “Shut it! You’re acting creepy again!”

Subaru backed off and signaled his surrender by raising his hands. “Alright, alright. You win. I think you would be a lot cuter though if you don’t go ballistic every time you get teased a little.”

Felt’s face reddened immediately and her demeanor faltered. However, she was quick to recompose herself as a counterattack came to mind. Instead, Felt crossed her arms and lifted her brow inquisitively. “What’s so cute about being a pushover? If letting people walk all over me makes me cute then I’ll pass.”

This time, it was Subaru that was thrown off. “T-That’s not what I meant! You’re making me sound like a real scumbag now…”

Felt couldn’t help but chuckle at her triumphant victory before she wrapped this up by putting the last nail in the coffin. “Don’t worry so much, you really shouldn’t let a little teasing get to you like that, big bro.”

“What?! You sneaky little…!”

Before Subaru could finish complaining, Felt’s chuckles turned into full blown laughter. The short girl leaned forward and nudged at his arm in a friendly manner. “I told ya to forget about it. Just sit back and lighten up already.”

“Fine, but I’ll get you back another time!”

“Pfft, if ya say so.” After Felt’s teasing, she returned to her previous position of looking out the window.

Subaru took Felt’s advice and sat himself down in a chair which he scooted next to the girl. “What’s on your mind? I don’t think I’ve ever seen you space out this intensely before.”

“I’m just thinking.”

“You can’t just say that and not tell me. Cmon, what are you thinking about, lil’ sis?”

Felt let out a sigh. “Fine, but if you make it weird, I’ll punch you!”

Subaru nodded, looking towards the girl expectantly.

Not stalling anymore, Felt started, “It’s just crazy thinking about what I’m doing now. I’ve been eating good food, doing those weird acting lessons, and… Ugh… It’s just unbelievable.”

“Yeah, I guess it’s a pretty big change from what you used to do, isn’t it?”

“Tch, that’s an understatement. I was barely getting by with just crumbs and now I’m getting full meals and even dessert!”

Subaru scratched his head. “Don’t take this the wrong way but are you not happy with any of this?”

“Oi! What do ya take me for?! Some kind of spoiled brat?! I’m just trying to say that I’m not used to all of this!”

“Oh yeah, that makes sense.” Subaru frowned. Based on Felt’s words, he really couldn’t help but worry. Was she just going to go back to her slum life after this? He remembered very well how excited she was about his whole shop idea. It’s just that they haven’t really talked about it all too much mainly from how busy the two have been. Since he had the time now, he figured that he might as well start somewhere. “Say, are you still interested in trying to run a shop with me?”

The question had a big enough impact for Felt to break her gaze from the window and onto Subaru. “Of course I am! It’s not like I have anywhere to go after this so it wouldn’t hurt trying to have a normal way of living.” She started to glare at the boy, gazing at him suspiciously. “Why are you asking? You’re not planning on backing out on me, are you?”

“We haven’t discussed any plans about it so I was just making sure you were still on board.”

“We’ve been busy with those pointless lessons this whole time so there wasn’t a chance to do so.”

“We would be done with those lessons by now if a certain someone just cooperated and took them more seriously.”

“They’re still a waste of time! Sure, I’ll agree to be polite during the thing but so much of the other crap that Reinhard is teaching us is just flat out unnecessary! It’s like he forgot that I’m planning to drop out the second I can.”

“I’m sure Rein has his reasons. Maybe the Royal selection is some kind of grand ball. It would make sense why he’s teaching us how to eat properly and to dance.”

“What about the ‘proper way to pick a flower’ lesson?! I swear, I feel like he’s just making excuses to piss me off!”

“The lessons themselves aren’t that bad. You have to at least admit he’s a great teacher. Hell, even I think I have a good chance to be a Royal candidate based on what I learned from those lessons that you think are pointless.”

“Oh really? I sure as hell don’t mind if you take my place instead. That’ll definitely make this shit show go by a hell of a lot faster.”

Subaru frantically shook his head. “I-I didn’t mean it like that. I’m trying to say that the lessons are a lot easier than you make them out to be.”

“Tch, it doesn’t matter if they’re easy or not. It doesn’t change the fact that they’re just a waste of time for me.” Felt sighed. “Anyways, we have time now so why not start talking about that shop idea of yours?”

“Oh, sure! I’d like that actually. I guess we can start with the store location. I’m stuck between setting up a shop here in Lugnica or being a traveling merchant.”

“I’d rather move out to somewhere quiet and start there. I wanna have a nice place to settle down at but I’ve had enough of Lugnica’s bullshit for one lifetime so somewhere new would be pretty refreshing.”

“I don’t think it would be a good idea to leave immediately though. We could start with a good foundation here after all and build up from there. But if you really want to leave Lugnica, I think we should accumulate at least a decent amount of money before leaving.”

“Tch, I’ve already tried doing that.”

“It’ll be different though! Since we’ll be working together, I’m sure reaching that goal would be a walk in the park. Also, my method won’t need you to ever steal again.”

Normally, she’d argue that she was already doing the best she could but she still had this strange feeling things would be different now. “I’ve said it before, didn’t I? I’m sure things will be different with your help and…” Felt looked down slightly and muttered, “I think it’d be pretty fun…”

Subaru stared at Felt for a moment and smiled warmly with a hint of mischief about it. “Oh? Did you say something, lil’ sis?”

Felt’s face lit up before gritting her teeth in annoyance. “I said you better not doubt me again!”

“Heheh… Yeah, I won’t. Sorry about that.”

“Good!” Still feeling a little embarrassed, the girl swiftly went on to change the topic. “What about you though? Are you able to read yet?”

“Oh yeah, I never gave you any updates on that, have I? Well, I’m doing a lot better now. I was able to find a pattern between my writing and Lugnica’s so it’s really been going smoothly now!”

“Your writing? Do you mean those scribbles you showed me that one time? Are ya tellin’ me those actually meant something?”

“You still don’t believe me?!” Subaru clenched his chest, pretending to have his feelings severely hurt. “And here I thought we’ve been through enough together to count on one another…”

“Shut it! Counting on you and your bad art are two completely different things!” The girl let out an annoyed sigh before continuing in a more collected tone. “But… Good to know you’re getting the hang of things here.”

Subaru returned to his normal posture and smiled. “I’d have to thank you and everyone here for that. Having people to help me through this sure has been a huge relief.”

“I already told you not to worry about that. We’re sticking our necks out for each other after all so there isn’t really a need for that.”

“Too bad!” Subaru loudly declared which actually made Felt flinch. “Whenever I’m thankful about something, I’m going to make sure you know that I appreciate it!”

Felt grit her teeth while her cheeks reddened from embarrassment. “Ugh… Fine! If you wanna thank me that badly, go right ahead! Just don’t go around singing it like a creep, ya here?!”

“Alright, alright. I’ll be sure to keep it between us.”

“You better!”

The two talked for a while longer just for the sake of killing time. Not that they didn’t enjoy their talk, they both found it nice to have someone to talk to. Eventually, Subaru excused himself as he still had a full day ahead of him.

Now that the shop idea was still fresh in his mind, he figured that he could finally make some real progress with that. It’s not like he had anything better to do around here.

With Reinhard out, Subaru thought that he’d go out on a stroll to perhaps find some places renting out. This would also be a great way to test his new knowledge that he had accumulated thus far.

The boy began to get himself ready. He considered inviting Felt and one of the staff along but decided against it. He figured that he would learn more efficiently on his own but that was more of an excuse to not risk inconveniencing anyone more than he already had been.

Unfortunately for him, none of that would have mattered to begin with as fate had already made plans beforehand.

Just as Subaru was about to set foot outside, an all too familiar red haired knight opened the door from the other side.

“R-Reinhard?!” Subaru let out.

The knight smiled politely. He said was in his normal knight uniform like always and overall, just looking like he’s enjoying his day like usual. “Great timing, friend. We are needed at the capital as soon as possible.”

“Eh?” Subaru was left dumbfounded. Did he just say that he was needed at the capital? The boy widened his eyes as a dreadful thought came to mind. “A-Am I getting deported?!” He did admit to Reinhard that he wasn’t from here after all and it wouldn’t surprise him if his presence here would count as illegal immigration.

Reinhard had a confused look after Subaru shared that conclusion. “No, you aren’t getting deported. You haven’t committed any crimes so banishment would be unjust. We’re going to the capital because the council is now ready to begin the Royal Selection.”

“Wait, they’re ready now?!” Subaru was admittedly surprised by this. Based on how Reinhard had mentioned the progress of the Royal Selection up until now, it seemed as if it wouldn’t take place for a long time. Hearing that it’s ready to start now felt very out of the blue and unrealistic. “Do you mean that they decided a time? When is it going to start?”

“Yes, they have decided to start the Royal Selection as soon as possible and the council has requested all of the candidates to gather in the capital as soon as possible.”

Subaru’s brow twitched. Reinhard can’t be serious, can he? Up until now, there hasn’t been as much of a hint when the Royal Selection was going to start and now they want everyone to gather under such short notice? “C-Crap! Lemme get ready real fast-“

Before Subaru could rush out, Reinhard stopped him. “I’m sorry, Friend. But we need to leave immediately. Delaying this matter any further may result in serious consequences.”

“You can’t be serious! At least let me get into a nice change of clothes or something! Wasn’t that the main concern this past month?”

“That concern was primarily directed to Miss Felt. Your circumstances are different and as such, you are free to wear whatever you like.”

Subaru let out a sigh. That would mean about 70% of what he did this month was meaningless. He considered just wearing his signature track suit but imagining Felt’s wrath if he did so changed his mind. “It’s fine, Rein. I want to dress nicely for the occasion.”

Reinhard nodded. “If you insist. There’s nothing wrong with that either. Though, I would recommend against wearing a dress as I fear it would cause several misunderstandings.”

Subaru’s face reddened in embarrassment as he frantically shook his head. “W-What gave you that idea?! I meant something like a tuxedo!”

The knight let out a sigh of relief and smiled at Subaru delightfully. “My apologies, friend. Considering how this past month has been, I had a suspicion that you wanted to be just like Miss Felt in… ‘every’ aspect.”

“Every aspect…? N-No! I mean, I like how straightforward she is but I’m not interested in copying her or being a little girl!”

Reinhard immediately bowed apologetically. “I sincerely apologize for my baseless assumption. I hope my misunderstanding doesn’t create a rift in our friendship.”

“It’s fine as long as you know now.” Subaru slumped over, relieved at how easily Reinhard believed him. Now that he thought about it, it was understandable why Reinhard came to that conclusion.

Especially the cross dressing incident…

Subaru quivered as that embarrassing memory slithered in his head. It may have helped accomplish his goal at the time but he’d prefer to bury that memory at least forty feet underground.

“I am not opposed to you taking time to dress properly.” Reinhard started, “However, since we’re tight on time, I would like your permission to assist you in changing your attire.”

Subaru shrugged, not thinking much of the request. “Sure. I don’t really know what’s considered nice to wear in these fancy events that isn’t Felt themed.”

“Not to fear. I have already taken the initiative to get a suit prepared in your size, friend. Now if you don’t mind…”

“Really? When did you have time do tha- GAAAAAH!!!”

Subaru didn’t have time to respond as he suddenly relocated at a speed that could only be compared to lightning. He wasn’t by the entrance anymore but instead in the dressing room.

Reinhard was in the room too and he already had a nice looking suit in hand while smiling generously towards Subaru. He remembered that kind of smile all too well. It was the smile that knight had while he chased Felt with her dress.

Subaru nervously took a step back and raised his hands defensively in front of himself. “Cmon, Rein. Y-You don’t have to do this. I can easily put the suit on myself.”

“I’m well aware, friend. But I’m afraid we’ve wasted enough time already and we cannot afford any more delays. Do not worry, I will ensure this ends quickly.”

“N-No, w-we can talk about this! Th-There has to be another way-“

…

Subaru didn’t have a chance to finish defending himself. After all, it was too late. He had already thought his dignity was crushed a while ago but he would have never imagined just how much lower it could go.

---------------------------------------------------------

Not even five minutes had passed and Subaru was already in a carriage heading straight to the capital. The boy in question was in a very nice suit. It was a black tuxedo that fit him perfectly and despite how scary his eye can be considered, it blended it in such a way that he not only looked very dashing but some might even consider him to be a wealthy noble.

Despite Subaru’s newfound good looks, he was slumped in his seat glooming away. Accompanying him in the carriage was Reinhard and Grassis. The knight was sitting across from him while Grassis was sitting at his side trying her best to comfort the distressed boy.

The little maid rested her hand over Subaru’s lap while silently looking up at him with a cute pleading expression. It was as if the little maid was convinced that the boy would eventually cheer up if she just stayed as close to him as possible.

Even Reinhard had his concerns for his friend’s well being. He wondered what could have possibly happened to him within these past few minutes that soured their mood so much. He was with him that entire time after all so he should’ve been able to notice something.

Reaching their own conclusions, Reinhard spoke up in hopes to reassure his friend. “I understand that you may be nervous but I assure you that there’s nothing to be afraid of. In fact, you don’t have to attend the gathering if you don’t want to. Miss Felt and I are the only ones required to be there.”

Subaru dropped his gloom boy act and shot up furiously. “This isn’t about that! I’m mad that you forcibly dressed me!”

Reinhard seemed to be taken aback by this statement but tipped his head apologetically nevertheless. “My apologies, I was under the impression that you’d given me permission to help you dress for the occasion.”

“I-I mean, I did, but I didn’t think you were going to do it for me!”

“Subaru-sama?” Grassis’s cheeks turned slightly more pink than they already were before gently speaking. “I could help you change instead for next time if you want.”

“No thanks. I’d prefer to dress myself from now on.” Subaru answered quickly. There was no way he was going to risk it. “Oh yeah, that reminds me, where’s Felt? This whole thing’s about her so shouldn’t she tag along?”

“Miss Felt will indeed be attending. She had already made it clear that she had no desire for me to help dress up so I assigned Flam and Grassis to the task.”

Subaru blinked a few times as he glanced at Grassis who was still at his side then back to Reinhard.

The knight knew exactly what was on the boy’s mind and he was quick to clarify his thoughts. “Sorry, I meant to say that was my intention. I instead had Flam and Carol take the task since Grassis insisted to-“

Grassis immediately abandoned her post by Subaru’s side and lunged at Reinhard without warning. The little maid’s face was as red as a cherry while she was relentlessly trying to cover the knight’s mouth as if her life depended on it. Despite the small girl’s efforts, she was incapable of covering the man’s mouth. However, she was able to accomplish her goal…

“Grassis? Are you feeling alright?” The knight asked.

The young maid didn’t answer. She just puffed out her cheeks and gave Reinhard a dead serious stare.

There was a small moment of silence before Reinhard seemingly understood something out of this wordless exchange as he cleared his throat and continued. “Ahem, I meant to say that I believe it would be better to have Grassis accompany us while Flam and Carol prepare Felt.”

You know what? I’m not gonna question it! Subaru thought. This is already a big enough headache as it is. “Alright… So we’ll just meet up with her there?”

Reinhard nodded. “That’s right.”

Subaru tried to envision how this would work out but doing so was way too difficult. He imagined that they would probably wait for her in some kind of reception hall but knowing Reinhard, he’ll probably make some kind of overblown grand entrance and shower her in flower pedals.

Huh…

Actually, that would probably be cute.

No, Subaru thought. Everyone would be at risk of seeing the wrath of an unhinged Felt. Actually, the more he thought about it, the more he wondered. Does Felt know what's going on?

“Hey Rein, you did tell Felt that we’re doing this today, right?”

“I’m afraid that I had no time to inform her. The summon happened at such short notice that I had to prioritize speed rather than formalities. However, I believe Miss Felt should be fine when she arrives thanks to all the training you both did this past month.”

…

So Felt probably doesn’t know what’s going on.

“Why…?” Subaru asked in a broken defeated tone. “Why are you like this…?”

Notes:

Hmm…
…
It really has been quite some time, hasn’t it?
…
Yeah, you don’t really need to answer that. Well, I suppose I could give an explanation. After all, it will be affecting me for a potentially long while.
To start, I have always had a single time frame of when I write. It’s during my job. I had so much free time that I was able to write a lot. However, several months ago I had a promotion and my new responsibilities require more of my attention.
In short, I’m a lot more busy.
That doesn’t mean I don’t write. I actually write on a daily basis. It just turned more into writing a paragraph or two every day. I’m also online daily like some kind of lurking freak so I haven’t really left either.
So yeah, I’m writing all the time still just at a slower pace because I just decided to write at work for some weird reason instead of my free time like a normal person.
Other than that, I appreciate your patience. I’m contemplating on making a discord server for those who might wanna… I dunno, know that I’m still alive? Maybe I can dump a bunch of story ideas there too. Who knows?

Chapter 13: The Royal Selection

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Subaru had been trying his best to brainstorm ways to help Felt through this, but he gave up halfway through. It didn’t matter how long he planned since all of his chances for any real preparation were promptly tossed out the window thanks to a certain knight. The best he could really do is improvise when the time comes, and just hope Felt will follow along.

That aside, there was one thing he should’ve done. Help himself.

That would’ve been a great idea if it weren’t for the fact that Subaru already wasted too much time being concerned for Felt that their destination was already in view.

“We’re here.” Reinhard announced.

“Ah!” Subaru jumped to attention. “So are we going to gather with the other candidates or…?”

“Just stay by my side and I’ll explain as we go.”

It wasn’t long before the carriage stopped and Reinhard got out of the carriage. He swiftly sidestepped to the side Subaru was on and opened the door for both him and Grassis.

Both Subaru and Grassis hopped out of the carriage and followed Reinhard. This was the first time Subaru has seen the castle up close. Sure, he did see it from a distance while he was out and about, but this time, he was going in.

“It’s finally happening.” Subaru muttered to himself. Once Felt does her thing, they can both just leave all this behind and finally kickstart their shop. “Oh…” That’s right, Felt wasn’t warned about any of this. He was only here before her since he had the ‘luxury’ of having Reinhard change his clothes in a blink of an eye. He should focus all his brain power on helping Felt calm down since there’s no doubt in his mind that she’ll definitely be pissed once she arrives.

“Subaru-sama? Are you ok?”

Subaru flinched once he felt his sleeve get tugged on. Grassis had been tugging on him, trying to get his attention so the boy wore a bright friendly smile so he wouldn’t worry her. “I’m alright, Grassis. Just a little nervous.”

After his confession, Grassis immediately hugged his arm tightly. “Don’t worry. I know you’re going to do great! I’ll be more than happy to support you whenever you need it.”

Subaru chuckled and patted the young maid on her head. “I appreciate the assist but I’m pretty sure Felt’s the one who’s going to need it.”

Grassis tilted her head. “You’re worried about Lady Felt?”

“Oh yeah, more than you know. This is her big day after all, not mine. I’m worried that she’ll blurt out something offensive and start a civil war.”

“I have full faith that Miss Felt will do just fine.” Reinhard interjected. “She has worked really hard this past month, and I’m sure her efforts will bear fruit.”

Subaru nodded. “Yeah, you’re right. She’s just going to resign anyway so I shouldn’t worry too much.”

After their banter, the three officially made it inside the castle. Since Reinhard was taking the lead, the local guards wasted no time letting them in. Overall, it was very smooth getting in.

Reinhard guided them through the grand halls of the castle. Eventually they stopped near a huge fancy door. It looked like an entrance to some kind of throne room.

“Beyond this door is where we’ll meet the other candidates, and where the Royal Selection will officially begin.” Reinhard informed.

Subaru stared at the huge door in awe for a good moment before turning back to Reinhard. “Got it, so are we going to wait here for Felt? I’m not sure what the plan is.”

“My apologies, I should’ve informed you sooner. I’ll drop you off in the room where Miss Felt will meet with you and finish her preparations. I myself will be joining the other knights so I’ll be counting on you, Grassis, and Flam to escort her to this location when she’s ready.”

“Wait, you want me to escort her too? Wouldn’t that take away from appearances with so many people by her side?”

Reinhard shook his head. “Not at all. In fact, I believe it would boost her appeal to see just how many people are willing to be by Miss Felt’s side.”

“Boost her appeal? You didn’t forget that she’s just going to resign, did you?”

“I’m still aware of Miss Felt’s disinterest in the Royal Selection. This is in case she happens to change her mind on the spur of the moment.”

Subaru sighed. “Alright, if you say so. You’re really going all out for someone you might not even see again.”

“Are you saying you don’t intend to visit again?” Before Subaru could answer, Reinhard was suddenly blasted with an epiphany and continued, “I think I understand now. You do not need to fear, no matter the circumstances, my doors will always be open to you and Miss Felt, friend. You may visit and even stay for as long as you want if you find your future endeavors to prove more difficult than anticipated.”

Subaru chuckled nervously. In truth, a part of him did doubt that he’d see him again since he’s an important figure. However, there was also another seeded reason that he didn’t want to think about right now. “Thanks Rein. In that case, I’ll be sure to visit often.”

Before they moved on to the next spot, Grassis caught Subaru’s attention by tugging at his sleeve. For some unexplained reason, the little maid looked flustered. “Subaru-sama? If you open up your shop, I would be happy to help you with that if you want.”

Subaru couldn’t help but chuckle at how adorable Grassis was and gently ruffled her hair. “I might not be able to afford workers once it starts, but if it becomes a hit, I’ll be sure you’re the first one I hire.”

Grassis had a look of wonder in her eyes and nodded her head in excitement. “I won’t let you down!”

With all that out of the way, they finally made their way to the room. Reinhard didn’t enter and only gestured to it. “This is where Miss Felt will meet you two when she arrives. I trust you remember what path to take, Grassis?”

The little maid silently nodded in response. Not wanting to be left out, Subaru also piped up, “We’ll be fine, Rein. You don’t need to worry about us.”

Reinhard smiled. “Thank you, Friend. I would love to join you in escorting Miss Felt, but since I’m not her sponsor nor official knight, I will be required to join the other knights. With that, I’ll leave Miss Felt in your hands.” With a courteous bow, he left the two.

Once the knight disappeared from view, Subaru turned to the door. “Alright, hopefully we’ll have enough time to make sure we have our own eggs in order.”

Just as Subaru opened the door, there was already a certain golden haired girl accompanied by a Grassis doppelgänger inside. Felt was already inside the room and she was with Flam. Felt was wearing her beautiful yellow dress, and she looked stunning. He had to give it to Carol and Flam, they sure knew how to make her look gorgeous.

“There you are!” Felt yelled out. “What the hell’s going on?! Why am I being dragged out here all of a sudden?!”

Keeping up a calm stoic front, Subaru casually shrugged. “Honestly, I’m more confused on how you managed to beat us here.”

“How should I know? Granny and Flam cornered me out of the blue then told me we had to go.”

Subaru sighed and shook his head. He was right. No one told her what was going on at all. He might as well just give it to her straight. “The Royal Selection is happening… right now.”

Felt’s eyes widened in shock for a brief moment before glaring at Subaru. “Seriously?! Why the hell didn’t anyone warn me this was happening today?!”

“C-Calm down, lil’ sis. I only learned about this not too long ago myself. We’ve all been hit with this out of the blue.”

Luckily, this was enough to calm the beast and she huffed annoyingly. “Damn it, Reinhard. I thought this was just gonna be another lame quiz or something.”

“Actually, I’d be relieved if this all was a surprise quiz all along. I don’t even know where to start with any of this.”

“If ya ask me, I’m glad this is the real deal. That means all this can finally end today.”

“Oh… Well, when you put it like that, I guess this is a pretty big relief.”

“You got that right! By the way, what’s with the suit, big bro?”

“Are you serious? The least I could do is dress nicely for an important event. Why? Does it look weird?”

Felt shook her head. “Nah, nothing like that. I just thought you were gonna wear that dress of yours.”

An irk formed on Subaru’s forehead. “That was just a one time thing! I’m not going to dress up like a girl ever again!”

Felt giggled a bit. “Calm down, I’m just messing with ya. I just wasn’t expecting you to look this nice.”

“Huh?” Subaru blinked a few times. Did he hear that right? Did he just receive a compliment? “Mind running that by me again?”

“Eh?” It took a moment and her cheeks reddened once the realization hit her. “I-I don’t need to repeat myself! You should’ve just heard it the first time!”

That look said it all. Subaru grinned mischievously and held his hands together. “Pretty please, lil’ sis? Just one more time? It’s not like you said anything embarrassing, right?”

“I-I didn’t! It’s your fault that you’re bad at hearin’!”

Both Flam and Grassis raised their hands in unison before speaking up. “I’m pretty sure she said-“

“Can it!” Felt immediately interrupted. “It wasn’t even that important anyways!”

“Oh really?” Subaru continued, “If you ask me, it looks like you’re desperately trying to- OOF!” Before he continued his taunt, Felt kicked his leg. “Alright, alright, you win.”

Felt crossed her arms and huffed aloud. “Good, now are we doing this or not?”

“Yeah, just remember not to yell, hit, or taunt anyone else.”

The girl rolled her eyes. “I know, tell me something new why don’t you.”

“Something new? Hmm…” Subaru smirked as an idea formed in his head. “Well, you look very beautiful right now.”

That sentence was enough to catch her off guard and stiffened up. Her red cheeks returned as well as those dangerous fierce eyes. “Grrrr…!”

Already knowing where this was heading, Subaru took a step back and moved his hands in between himself and Felt. “Calm down, it was just a compliment. I wasn’t trying to mess with you.”

There was a short moment of silence in the room before Felt loosened up. “Fine, I’ll buy that lousy excuse this time. You ain’t too bad yourself though.” Subaru gave her a weird look and was about to ask if she just called him beautiful. However, almost as if she had the ability to read his mind, she immediately clarified. “Professional! I meant that you look professional.”

“Ah…” The boy was dumbfounded, and had no idea what to say now. Getting a compliment from Felt didn’t come by too often after all. “Well, Thank you, Felt.”

Now getting embarrassed, Felt broke eye contact. “C-Cmon! I want to get this dumb thing over with already!”

“Y-Yeah! Let’s get going.” Subaru nodded and immediately took the lead while the girls followed closely behind.

As they made their way there, Subaru glanced back at everyone. It was very impressive to him at how confident they all look. If he didn’t know any better, perhaps he was the only one nervous here. However, he still had his worries and couldn’t keep silent about it.

“Erm, lil’ sis? You remember everything you have to say, right?”

Felt nodded. “Yeah, I just gotta introduce myself when they call for me, and announce that I’m resigning.”

“Right. Also, don’t pick fights with anyone. The whole point of this is so we don’t make any enemies on our way out.”

“Yeah, yeah. I know that already. Reinhard’s already been hounding me about that all month, I seriously don’t need to hear that from you too.”

“Sorry. I guess I’m a bit nervous.” Subaru scratched the back of his head and chuckled nervously. “H-Hehe… Isn't that pathetic? This is all about you and here I am being the most stressed about this.”

Just as he was trying to laugh his worries away, Felt smacked his back, nearly knocking him over. “Don’t be down playin’ yourself like that. I get it, this is all new and you’re gettin’ cold feet from it, right?”

“Yeah, something like that. Sorry.”

“There’s nothin’ for you to apologize for so don’t bother sayin’ it. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t have my own concerns about this whole shit show.” Felt reached her hand out to Subaru. “Tell ya what, if you’re really that nervous, let me see your hand.”

Subaru blinked and looked strangely at Felt. He wasn’t sure if this was some kind of trick. But he ended up relenting after seeing the sincerity in her eyes. He cautiously extended his hand out to Felt.

To the boy’s surprise, she gently held onto it. Felt was just holding his hand very calmly. “Now just take a deep breath and relax. You’ll even have these two squirts to vent to while I do my thing.”

Subaru was caught off guard by this sudden sincerity. It’s like something was possessing Felt. However, Subaru followed her instructions and took a deep breath. “Thanks, Felt.”

“Don’t sweat it. Think of this as me returning the favor for all the times you helped me out.”

“I’m not gonna lie, I thought you were going to punch me, and say something like ‘stop being a baby’.”

Felt grit her teeth in annoyance. “Shut it! I’m tryin’ to help ya out here! Is that concept foreign to you!?”

Subaru shook his head. “No, it’s not like that. I meant that this is very nice of you to do. It makes me feel a lot better seeing you ready to go.”

The girl's rage quickly subsided, and then sighed. “I said don’t think too much of it, alright?”

“Yeah, but still, thanks again- huh?” Something suddenly snatched his other hand. Upon investigation, it turns out Grassis was clinging onto him with a fiery determined look. For some reason, Grassis’s grip on him was a lot tighter than Felt. Considering their difference in size, he figured it’d be the other way around. “Grassis? You ok?”

“I’m fine, Subaru-sama. But Lady Felt’s right, I’ll be more than happy to hold your hand too if that will make you feel better.”

“Hahah… Thanks. I feel better already.” The way she said it was just too embarrassing but he didn’t have the heart to shatter a little girl’s kind gesture.

The final remaining girl, Flam, walked behind the three with an unreadable expression. Nothing about that was abnormal or anything but there was some kind of tense atmosphere about her. Subaru wondered for a moment if there was something going on in her mind.

“Hey, big bro?” Felt spoke up.

Getting his attention off of Flam, Subaru shifted his attention back to Felt. “Yeah? What’s up?”

“I’ve been thinking, how would you feel if I ended up running for the Royal selection?”

“Eh? Well, I mean, if it’s something you’d really want, I’d support you all the way, lil sis.”

“Really? You wouldn’t feel betrayed or anything? You know, especially considerin’ our shop plan?”

Subaru shook his head. “Not at all. Whether it is running a shop or ruling over a country, they both sound like a lot of fun to try out. I mean, ruling a whole country? When will you ever get another chance to do something like that anyway?” Subaru then grinned mischievously as a thought came up in his head. “Why do you ask? Do you feel like becoming a princess now?”

Felt’s face reddened before frantically shaking her head. “O-Of course not! I-I was just curious! Alright?!”

Subaru chuckled. “Alright, if you say so. But seriously, even if you change your mind at the last minute, I’m not going to hold it against you.”

By the time they made it to the designated spot, Subaru released himself from the girls and briefly gave them one last glance. They all looked ready as they’ll ever be.

One of the surrounding guards immediately took notice of the group’s arrival and quickly approached them. He turned his attention to Subaru and peeked over at Felt. “I saw you with the sword saint earlier, is this the final Royal Candidate?”

Subaru nodded in agreement. “Yeah, that’s her. So, is this some kind of safety checkpoint to make sure we’re clean?”

The guard shook their head. “Not at all. I doubt the sword saint would invite any suspicious individuals to such an important occasion without checking himself.”

Now that he thought about it, did Reinhard ever investigate his person? Nah, he was with him the whole time so that wouldn’t be possible.

…

Right…?

Getting his thoughts back on track, Subaru chuckled. “Heheh, that’s a relief. It’s good to see my luck is finally turning my way.”

The guard more or less ignored that comment and continued with instructions. “Everyone’s already waiting inside. We’ll open the door for you now so please escort the Royal Candidate inside.”

Subaru only nodded and stood up straight behind Felt’s left flank. Grassis and Flam took their own positions behind Felt. The girl in question was ready to get this rolling, not really taking any of this as a big deal.

Once the guards opened that huge door, the group walked gracefully into the throne room. All eyes were locked on them. Inside, there were a lot of knights lined up on one side of the room and a bunch of what looked like nobles lined up on the other.

Subaru knew there would be aristocrats here according to Reinhard but it looked like the entirety of the Lugnica upper class was just crammed in this room. Now it started to make sense why he was so serious about teaching Felt etiquette.

At the end of the throne room, there were four well dressed girls. In front of them was a large empty throne and beside it were seats occupied by very old people. About ten in total.

There was a lot to take in and Subaru had to put every fiber of his being to not look around like a curious child on a field trip. He was determined to not put this whole month's worth of training to waste after all.

Not long after entering the throne room, mister ‘I have very important things to do’ immediately stepped forward and bowed towards Felt. “Thank you for gracing us with your presence, Miss Felt.”

“Ah, Reinhard.” Felt approached the knight with a gentle smile.

This was going very well so far, Subaru thought. Felt’s behavior was his biggest fear so to see her act so well mannered made his worries ease up quite a bit. Reinhard was right, he should’ve had more faith in-

“You bastard!” Without warning, Felt swung her foot at Reinhard.

No! You were so close! Why did it all have to come tumbling down so quickly? Subaru really wanted to cry as all he could do was watch their efforts immediately go down the toilet.

Reinhard effortlessly caught Felt’s foot, and gave her a very surprised look. “Miss Felt? What could have warrant this behavior?”

“Don’t even pretend that you don’t know what’s up! You didn’t even leave a note that this was happening today, and you straight up left me on my own! You even had the nerve to make Subaru tell me everything instead of taking responsibility! For how serious you were about getting ready for this, you sure suck at timing everything.”

The knight very courteously guided Felt’s foot back to the ground and then bowed apologetically. “My apologies, Miss Felt. It wasn’t my intention to rush you without any warning.”

Felt let out an annoyed huff and crossed her arms. “I don’t really care about your sorrys right now. Let’s just get this over with already.”

“Of course, Miss Felt. However, I would like to suggest that you act a little more ladylike.”

Felt rolled her eyes. “No more last minute surprises, and you got yourself a deal.”

While this went on, Subaru glanced around the room to observe everyone’s reaction. A good number of both the knights and nobles did look a little shocked but luckily, no one followed up on Felt’s sudden attempted assault on the sword saint. Not immediately anyways.

“Subaru? What are you doing here?”

Subaru snapped out of his thoughts and turned to see Emilia. “Oh, Emilia! I figured I’d see you here. I'm just working as one of Felt’s escorts right now.”

Emilia’s eyes widened. “Oh! I’m really sorry! I didn’t mean to distract you while you were working. I could’ve sworn Reinhard told me you were unemployed, and you’ve been living with him as a guest since we last met.”

Subaru blinked a few times. After recollecting his memories, he wasn’t entirely sure if he actually visited Roswaal’s mansion in this timeline. After discovering the shaman in the city, he urged Reinhard to inform Roswaal about the situation considering that one of their staff may have been a potential victim.

With that said, did any of them actually go visit them? If not, how would she know about his living conditions?

“Heheh, Say, Emilia, If you don’t mind me asking, when did Rein tell you about that?”

“Not long ago, actually! Once I saw him arrive with the other knights, I asked how you were doing and he told me about your situation.”

…

“Oh…”

Before anything else could be added, a very familiar lord still in his clown makeup inserted themself in the conversation. “Why if it isn’t Subaru. I assume that you’ll be assisting Miss Felt’s camp for the Royal Selection?”

Subaru nearly jumped at Roswaal’s sudden appearance and shook his head. “Sort of but not really. This is just a temporary thing.”

Roswaal contemplated his words while still sharing a generous smile. “Is that so? Anyways, I wanted to express my gratitude for the warning you sent to us, Subaru.”

“H-Heh, It’s no problem. I just wanted to make sure you guys were alright since you happened to be around.”

Emilia frowned. “Warning? Did something happen?”

“Um… When Reinhard stopped by, didn’t he tell you about the shaman incident we ran into?”

The poor half-elf widened her eyes. “Shaman?! Are you alright, Subaru?! You weren’t hurt or anything, were you? W-Wait… Don’t tell me that’s why you didn’t come visit us!”

“Woah there, slow down. I’m just fine. It was just a chance encounter that Reinhard mainly dealt with. None of us was harmed and no curses were place.”

She sighed in relief. “I’m glad you’re alright. You reeeally should stop running into trouble like that.”

“That reeeeminds~ me,” Roswaal added. “Why didn’t you come visit? You seemed quite passionate in your request to stop by whenever you desired. It huuuurts~ quite a bit to be ignored like that.”

“I’m sorry about that. I got so caught up with all the new changes that I-“

Subaru was interrupted by a hearty Roswaal laugh. “It was merely a jest, Subaru. You’re still free to visit whenever you have the time to. I’m sure the Royal Selection preparations have made you quite busy.”

Subaru nodded, relieved by his understanding. “Yeah, it did get pretty hectic over there. I’m sure it’ll be a lot easier after all this is done, though.”

One of the surrounding knights cleared their throat and spoke up, putting an end to their conversation. “I would hate to ruin your reunions but I would like for you to step aside. Would Miss Felt step forward with the other candidates?”

Subaru regained his posture in an instant and immediately bowed to the knight as politely as he could. “Yes, sir.” Afterwards, he stepped to the side beside Reinhard and the other knights.

Emilia hurriedly repositioned herself with the other candidates, afraid of being called out as well. Roswaal kept his cheerful demeanor as he faded back in the background.

Felt bowed in a refined way like Subaru, almost as if trying to beat him in terms of courtesy like it was a competition. She then took her spot beside the other candidates.

Reinhard didn’t have time to brief Subaru on anything once he took his position at his side. Instead, the knight already stepped beside Felt in order to keep moving everything forward. “Miss Felt, please hold this for a moment.”

Reinhard handed an insignia, the one he had Felt touch on their first meeting, to the girl and it glowed red in front of everyone.

“As you can see, the dragon stone has recognized Miss Felt as a priestess. Now that her participation is confirmed, we can now begin the Royal Selection process in earnest.”

All the other knights in the room saluted in unison as if to confirm their agreement. Just as everything looked to be going smoothly, one of the aristocrats in the room decided to speak up.

“Even if the dragon stone has recognized her, don’t you think her appearance is problematic?”

The same knight that instructed Felt from earlier quickly responded. “Are you meaning to say that the knights made a mistake?”

The loud mouth aristocrat shook his head eagerly as the pressure of every single knight in the room was now staring him down intensely. “I mean to say that her late appearance is unprecedented. Not only that, but she even attempted to strike at the sword saint!”

Subaru grimaced. He knew that was going to bite them. However, much to his surprise, Felt bowed courteously in the direction of the noble. “Sorry about that. I had a rough time getting here so I’m a bit on edge. I hope I didn’t offend ya.”

After her explanation, Reinhard added, “I was not offended by Miss Felt’s actions. Since it was directed only to me, everything should be fine.”

Even though this was all presented in a very polite and organized fashion, a certain someone thought it would be a great idea to spread more salt to this for some reason.

Among the royal candidates, the lady who wore a red dress with orange hair opened a fancy hand fan and positioned it in front of her. “This pointless blather couldn’t be any more tedious. But, I suppose you trained your knight enough to withstand your menial conversions.”

Felt wore her most ‘Welp, I tried’ look she could muster. However, she didn’t make any kind of rebuttal. The most she did was let out a quiet sigh, and avoided eye contact. Subaru feared that Felt would end up starting a fight over something like this, and now he felt ashamed of himself for not giving her enough faith.

All this didn’t rub one of the candidates the right way, and Emilia stepped into Felt’s defense. “There isn’t any reason to be talking like that. Shouldn’t we all get along with each other?”

“That’s rich coming from a silver haired half elf. Don’t you feel sorry for drilling anyways even being here?”

Emilia flinched, and tensed up like a frightened sheep. “I understand my resemblance is off putting, but that doesn’t have anything to do with this.”

“So you still decide to show up knowing what that would cause? Perhaps you should apologize for being born instead.”

“W-What? B-But I…” Emilia was at a loss for words. The poor girl didn’t know what to do against this kind of insult. All she wanted to do was for everyone to stop fighting but instead, that made her the target.

Before Anything else could happen, Felt placed her hand over Emilia’s shoulder. “Just ignore her. None of her words really matter anyways.”

Emilia turned over to Felt in surprise but nodded. “Y-Yeah, you’re right. Thank you, Miss Felt.”

However, the rude lady in red didn’t seem to be finished with her rude spree. “You have quite the knack for getting mongrels to stop barking. Perhaps you could work as a dog trainer instead. That way, you could put that skill of yours to more conventional use.”

“…” Felt didn’t entertain her anymore. She just looked away, back in the direction of the wise old men without uttering another word.

The lady in the red dress glanced over to Felt over her fan, almost as if she was confused as to why there wasn't any retaliation from her. Eventually, she looked away, getting bored of waiting for a response that would never come.

“That’s enough.” One of the old men at the end of the throne room called out. Once everyone quieted down, the old man continued, “Knight Reinhard, would you kindly explain the events leading to the final candidate’s discovery?”

“Of course, around a month ago, I came across Miss Felt by chance during one of my patrols in the slums.”

“What?!” That same annoying noble from before cried out. “You’re saying she’s a gutter rat from the slums?!”

The other surrounding nobles started to murmur to themselves in disbelief. Felt looked incredibly annoyed at this point but had enough patience to keep quiet.

In spite of that, the old man finally stepped in to put a stop to the interruptions. “Rickert from house Hoffman, I would like to hear knight Reinhard’s report without any more interruptions.”

The noble known as Rickert flinched at being called out and nodded in embarrassment. “O-Of course...”

After cooperating and finally shutting up, Reinhard continued. “After confirming Miss Felt’s candidacy for the throne, I took it upon myself to take her in my custody.”

“I see, thank you, knight Reinhard, for your contributions to Lugnica.”

“I was only doing my duty.”

The old man nodded, satisfied with the courtesy. “Is there anything else that should be addressed?”

“In regards to the selection, I have nothing else to report.”

“In that case, I believe we can continue. Marcos, will you do the honors?”

The knight in question, the one who initially directed Felt to stand beside the other candidates, spoke up, “Will the royal selection candidates please step forward at this time; Miss Priscilla Barielle and her attendant, Al.”

The lady in the red dress from earlier stepped forward along with a guy with a knight helmet that completely covered their face. The lady, now known as Priscilla, started, “The selection process is pointless. I’m the only one who’s suited to rule this nation. All you people have to do is grovel before my feet.”

After Priscilla spoke her piece, Marcos called on the next candidate. “The head of the Carsten Family, Miss Crusch Karsten and her attendant, the knight Felix Argyle.”

The candidate known as Crusch stepped forward with the all too familiar cat boy healer.

“Wait, Felix was working with another candidate already?” Subaru asked no one. Now he wondered why Felix never told him considering all the times he’s seen him. “What are the odds?”

For some reason, Subaru was somehow connected to three out of the five candidates. He wondered if this was a sign of his protagonist position that he was missing out on or if it was just a big coincidence. After mulling it over for a moment, Subaru shook his head. He already resolved his decision moving forward so that didn’t matter.

His train of thought came to an end after someone tugged on his hand. The perpetrator was none other than Grassis who was now holding onto the boy’s hand. “Subaru-sama, they’re calling the other candidates.” The young maid whispered, seeing that Subaru wasn’t paying attention.

After snapping out of his thoughts, he realized that Crusch was already done, and another candidate, a girl with purple hair, just finished introducing themselves.

Subaru smiled nervously. “Thanks, Grassis.” and to express his gratitude, he patted the girl’s head.

The young maid closed her eyes, simply enjoying the head pat. However, the moment didn’t last as Flam snatched her sister’s arm, and yanked her out of Subaru’s reach.

Grassis blinked a few times while giving her sister a confused look. Flam only had a pouty look on her face. But the two both stayed silent, staring each other down like they were reading each other's thoughts.

Subaru blinked a few times at the peculiar sight before smiling again and this time patting Flam on her head. The boy assumed that Flam was feeling left out. “Don’t worry, I didn’t forget about you.”

Both of the young maids looked on in shock, but Flam’s cheeks reddened and began flailing her arms against Subaru in retaliation. It wasn’t anything brutal, just pretty cute. But the boy didn’t want to cause a scene so he stopped. Without a word, a reddened Flam was left sulking while her sister tried to comfort her.

Subaru glanced away from the twins and back to the selection. At this point, it was Emilia who was up.

The gorgeous half elf stepped forward and started her speech. “I only have one wish, equality for everyone. I want to create a world where everyone is equal.”

Subaru couldn’t help but smile sheepishly. Emilia was just too sweet for this world. However, practically everyone around him didn’t share his sentiment. There were annoyed huffs and murmurings amongst the nobles.

It was straight up disappointing watching everyone gossip like a bunch of school kids. The longer this went on, the more Subaru wondered if everything he and Felt went through this past month really even mattered. Everyone here seemed so hellbent on enforcing their own stupid prejudice ideals for anything they say to really matter.

After Emilia finished, it was finally Felt’s turn to finally put an end to this. The head knight called on her. “Finally, Miss Felt and her attendant, Reinhard Van Astrea.”

Felt obliged and stood before everyone, taking a quick glance at everyone around before speaking. “Listen, I’m not really familiar with all this stuff. In all honesty, I’m not even sure if this whole ruler thing is cut out for me.”

“Miss Felt,” The head knight, Marcos, spoke out. “Are you meaning to say you wish to withdraw from the selection?”

Felt didn’t answer immediately. It was as if she was actually contemplating that question. “I’m still thinkin’ it over. Get back to me on that once you guys are done making your speeches.”

…

Subaru’s jaw nearly dropped to the floor. This wasn’t what they planned at all! Felt was supposed to resign right there, then they would’ve gotten out and went about their day, finally being out of this mess.

For a moment, Subaru wondered what had gotten into that girl but it finally dawned on him after thinking back. Subaru remembered Felt asking about that ‘theoretical’ of hers. Normally, something like this would’ve upset the boy being a last minute decision, especially since this is something Reinhard would do for sure.

However, for some reason, Subaru couldn’t help but feel happy and even excited. In truth, he was proud of Felt for even considering taking up such a big challenge like this.

“Heheh…” Subaru chuckled to himself. “Guess I have to adjust our plan.”

Grassis immediately held onto the boy’s hand, looking up at him hopefully. “Does this mean you’ll be staying with us, Subaru-sama?”

“Well, if Felt does decide to go with this, we’ll definitely need some backers. It definitely wouldn’t hurt to have you two to hop on board.”

Grassis looked on in excitement while Flam still had a very conflicting look about her.

“This is senseless!” A voice echoed throughout the room. The voice came from one of the wise men at the end of the room. This one was bald with large bushy blue eyebrows. “It’s bad enough that all of our time is being wasted by the Astrea family offering a gutter rat, but are we really going to consider that half devil as a valid candidate?”

The rude comments caused Felt to squint her eyes but she managed to not erupt in rage by biting her lower lip. Emilia also had a reaction, the poor girl looked down and her body stiffened like a scared lamb.

In hopes to descale this outburst, one of the other wise men spoke out against the other. “Bordeaux, you don’t need to go that far.”

“We’ve been waiting for the last candidate to be known for a while now, and nearly half of their qualifications are questionable at best!”

More gossiping spread amongst the nobles. They were talking about how a half elf would even be allowed in here, some complained why this was stretched for as long as it was for a slum dweller. Overall, nothing pleasant was coming from this.

Subaru noticed that Felt was trying her best to not erupt in a fit of rage. Her face was red and her fists clenched into balls as if ready to throw down. Emilia looked like she was about to erupt into tears. For a moment, Subaru even looked over to Reinhard, hoping he would say something about this but the knight stood there with a disheartened look, just keeping quiet.

Subaru shook his head. He couldn’t take this any more, they all have gone too far. After bracing himself, he shouted, “That’s enough of your crap!”

For a brief moment, everyone in the room quieted down. More so of curiosity on who would be bold enough to speak out so vulgarly.

Taking advantage of the moment, Subaru continued. “There’s no reason for everyone here to act like immature kids. A normal person would just stay quiet, let everyone say their thing, and then judge them in the parking lot or on your way home. You shouldn’t be doing that in the middle of a hearing!”

At this time, one of the wise men spoke up. “Who might you be, young man?”

Subaru stood up straight and bowed. Even though he wanted to tell these guys off, he figured it would be best to play them using what he learned from Reinhard. “I’m Natsuki Subaru, sir. I’m currently working as one of Felt’s escorts.”

“Right, I remember seeing you come in with her.” The old man assessed aloud. Subaru took this the wrong way. He thought that he was trying to dodge the question.

“I still want an answer!” Subaru interjected. “Can you at least agree with me that your guy’s words are uncalled for? I prepared to be as courteous as I can, and once I arrived, I’ve only seen everyone here try to rip each other’s throats.”

The wise man with the bushy eyebrows, Bordeaux, got annoyed by the boy’s audacity. Before the other wise man who was being questioned could give a response, Bordeaux spoke up. “Silence! You’re speaking out of line!” Not wanting to give the boy another chance to respond, the old man quickly turned to Reinhard to put an end to this. “Is this boy truly working for you, knight Reinhard?”

Reinhard bowed respectfully and answered immediately. “Yes, Subaru is currently employed by me.”

“Is that so? Then tell me where you’ve found this boy!” Bordeaux glanced over at Subaru with a nasty glare. “Based on his black hair, I doubt he’s even a native.”

Subaru really wanted to call him out. It’s blatantly obvious that he’s just finding ways to discriminate towards everyone at this point. However, he stayed silent. Reinhard was the one talking, and Subaru doubted he’d talk badly about him.

“Natsuki Subaru played a big role in the discovery of Lady Felt. It was only after that was when he volunteered to be her escort. I believe he has proved more than enough to be a trustworthy individual.”

Subaru smirked. There’s no way that they’d have anything to say to him after that explanation.

Unfortunately though, that didn’t make the old man back off. “What about his origins? I still find his sudden appearance to be questionable.”

“I can confirm with full confidence that Subaru is a trustworthy individual. I fail to understand how his origins are important-“

“I asked you if he is from Lugnica. Not if you trust him or not.”

Reinhard paused for a moment, almost as if hesitant to give an answer. However, the knight gave in to the old man’s pestering. “Natsuki Subaru is not from Lugnica.”

Bordeaux narrowed his eyes. “If he isn’t from Lugnica, then there’s a possibility that boy’s a spy!”

That explanation made Subaru’s eyes widen in shock. A lot of people in the room were shocked by this claim. Even Reinhard was taken aback by that conclusion.

Not wanting his friend to be labeled as a spy, Reinhard tried to salvage the situation. “I strongly believe Subaru is not a spy. I have had him in my custody for-“

“That’s enough, Reinhard.” Bordeaux interrupted.

Reinhard looked down dejectedly. “My apologies…”

Now with that out of the way, the old man pointed at Subaru. “Knights! Take that boy away for questioning!”

“W-What?!” Subaru cried out. He looked over to Reinhard, hoping he’d do something to help. However, the knight was wearing a pained expression as he didn’t have the courage to make eye contact. Knowing that no help was coming for him, the boy desperately pleaded, “I-I’m not a spy! I’m not trying to do anything shady or doing anything to mess anything up, you gotta believe me!”

His plea went on deaf ears as some of the surrounding knights forcefully detained him. Subaru struggled a little bit at first, knowing he was innocent, but feeling how rough the knights were with him, he stopped so he wouldn’t hurt himself anymore.

“Hey! Stop it! He’s not a bad guy!” Felt cried out. She was initially petrified from the shock herself but after seeing the knights swarm him, the short girl took action.

Felt tried to run over to the knights to pry Subaru away from them but some of the surrounding knights stopped her. The girl turned to Reinhard and shouted at him angrily. “Hey! What the hell are you doing just standing there, Reinhard?! They’re taking Subaru away! We gotta help him!”

“I’m deeply sorry, Lady Felt, but there’s nothing I can do about this…”

“Grrr!” Felt growled. “This is bullshit! You can’t take him away! This isn’t fair!”

“Miss Felt,” Marcos, the head of the knights, spoke up. “If you do not wish to run in the royal selection, then I am not obligated to follow your commands.”

Felt immediately understood what the knight meant. The golden haired girl glanced over to Subaru and back to Marcos. “Fine! I’ll be in your damn selection, ya hear?! Now get your hands off of him!”

After Felt made her declaration, all the knights finally backed away from Subaru. The boy in question was left flabbergasted by the whole situation. On one hand, he wanted to apologize for being that careless with his words. However, there was no way in hell he’d even want to apologize to those inconsiderate assholes.

Felt sighed in relief and glanced over at the knights to give them a cold stare. However, she noticed that everyone in the room had their eyes on her. Felt figured that she should give everyone here a proper speech now that she admitted to running as a candidate. After all, everyone else did.

Seeing that the floor was now hers, Felt stepped before everyone and crossed her arms. “You know what? All of ya make me sick. So, once I become ruler, I’m gonna tear it all down! All your social status and your hierarchy will mean nothing once I reshape how this country’s gonna run!”

It was hard to tell if everyone was too shocked by Felt’s declaration or if everyone just wanted this to get over with now since everyone in the room remained silent. Regardless of that, now that Felt said her piece, Marcos continued on, “Now let us tell you how the Royal Selection will proceed-“

“Take that boy out of here first!” Bordeaux interrupted, pointing to Subaru. “I don’t want any more interruptions when we proceed.” He was left fuming after the turn of events, especially since there’s now nothing he can do about Subaru. However, he was going to use what power he did have to remove him from the room.

This didn’t rub Felt the right way at all. She glared at the old man. “You’re the one interrupting here, you hypocrite! He’s not going to-“

Before Felt could continue, Subaru placed his hand over her shoulder. “It’s fine, Felt. I’ll leave the room and catch up with you later.”

All of Felt’s fury ceased and she quickly turned to Subaru. “You don’t have to turn your tail and run just because he’s being a jerk. You did nothing wrong.”

“Nah, it’s fine, really. I don’t want to give anyone here ammunition to use on you later. You can always fill me in on what happened here later, alright?”

Felt sighed but nodded. “Fine, get going then.”

Subaru returned the nod and made his way out of the room on his own. Frankly speaking, he knew staying there any longer would just make Felt look bad because he could tell that old guy was not going to let this go. He knew leaving would just make it easier for everyone.

Once Subaru left, Felt looked over to Reinhard, giving him a look of suspicion. “You planned this, didn’t you?”

Reinhard shook his head. “Certainly not. I would never plan anything so cruel to our friend. Though, I would like to think that fate must have played a role in this turn of events.”

Felt looked at the knight with a deadpan expression. “Really? Fate? Is that the card you’re gonna play?”

“Not at all.” Reinhard then knelt down to the girl. “In any case, from now on, I am your knight.”

“Fine, but I’m gonna work you to death, especially after you left big bro hanging like that.”

“I’ll do my best to make it up to you, then.”

“Do it for Subaru, not me, you idiot.”

---------------------------------------------------------

After leaving the room, Subaru wandered to the waiting room he initially met with Felt and tiredly slumped into a chair. The boy was still pissed off at how everyone was treating both Felt and Emilia but now that he was out of the room, he couldn’t help but feel guilty.

Not for speaking up against those jerks, because they definitely deserved it. But how he dragged Felt down like that, making her choose to be a candidate by force in order to save his sorry ass.

Reinhard was there, and if anything went wrong, he was sure he’d help him out. But instead, Felt was the one that got involved. Because of that, he stripped away Felt's chance for her to choose her own future.

While Subaru was left to his thoughts, he felt a very soft and gentle wave of bumps along his left arm. The boy looked over and found Grassis was angrily punching at his arm like it was a punching bag.

“Grassis? Are you alright?” Subaru asked, not even acknowledging the soft onslaught of punches coming his way.

The young maid stopped her punches and stomped her foot on the ground, almost as if she was trying her best to look imposing. “Don’t ever do that again!”

Subaru looked away sheepishly. He then chuckled a little in hopes to lighten her mood by showing he was fine. “Yeah, sorry about that. I’ll be more careful next time.”

“I-If something bad were to happen to you…” Just then, Grassis’s eyes began to water up.

Seeing this was going into a pretty bad direction, Subaru immediately took the girl’s hand and gave her a big goofy grin. “Cmon, Grassis. It was just a little scuffle back there. Just a difference in opinion and not something to be panicking over. You really need to turn that frown upside down.”

Grassis sniffled and nodded her head. However, she gave Subaru’s arm one more punch just for good measure.

“Alright, alright, you can stop the punching now. I don’t need two girls to be wailing on me all the time.”

The young maid laughed genuinely at that and her smile returned to her before nodding. “I’m sorry, Subaru-sama. I’ll leave the punching to my sister then.”

“Right, thanks y- Wait, what?”

Notes:

I know, it’s been over a year. You really don’t need to say it.
Though, I will give you a reason why it took so long.
There were a number of reasons but I’ll give you the one that really made this chapter get delayed for so long: I just really dislike this arc.
Arc 3 is my least favorite arc in Re:Zero and by far it’s the meeting with the Royal selection. I just find it boring and having to write that is infuriating.
Normally, I would’ve found a way to straight up skip writing this portion of the story but I understand very well how important including this is. I mean, just because I hate it doesn’t mean everyone else does.
Regardless, I opened this story everyday for the last year only to write a sentence or two. I lost motivation to write anymore after those days because it was just that boring to me.
But it’s finally done now. Hopefully I can finally write more for this story now that my least favorite part is out of the way.
Ah, and I apologize if this was a bad chapter for you all to read. It took a year of sprinkling in sentences after all and frankly, I just wanted it to be done with already.
But seriously, I’m sorry guys.

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Weekend_Ice_cream on Chapter 1 Thu 11 Aug 2022 08:57PM UTC

Work in Progress have no idea how to remove completed tag
> Edit work
> Associations
> Tick "This work has multiple chapters"
> Change the "Chapter 1 of X" to however many chapters there will be. If you don't know, put a "?" instead.
Interesting so far! Let's see where this goes ;)

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Hasona on Chapter 1 Thu 11 Aug 2022 11:34PM UTC

Ay it’s on ao3 now, very nice

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AnaR (Guest) on Chapter 1 Sun 10 Nov 2024 05:20PM UTC

Pon Reinsuba. Venderá como pan caliente

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Imperius on Chapter 1 Mon 18 Nov 2024 11:14PM UTC

Nice

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Izuko22 on Chapter 1 Thu 19 Dec 2024 09:32AM UTC

I would love a reaction from the cast to this story I would have a lot of fun reading it If anyone is up for it obviously with the author's permission do it I would do it But English is not my native language I don't even speak it If it weren't for the translator I wouldn't read these amazing stories

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1. Caballero501 (Guest) on Chapter 1 Thu 12 Jun 2025 04:09PM UTC
  
  X2
  
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Imperius on Chapter 2 Tue 19 Nov 2024 12:14AM UTC

Nice chapter

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Mado_Scientisto on Chapter 2 Sun 03 Aug 2025 09:54PM UTC

Amazing chapter! Felt and Subaru's interactions are very cute and wholesome. And Reinhard... is still Reinhard, I suppose

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KrowPan on Chapter 3 Mon 08 Apr 2024 10:41PM UTC

two weeks huh? put subaru under ram's tutelage and he will be golden

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Imperius on Chapter 3 Tue 19 Nov 2024 07:03AM UTC

Great chapter

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Hexism (Guest) on Chapter 4 Sat 13 Aug 2022 06:25PM UTC

Everything is coming out greeeeat! I love it! Though, not that I want it to happen but will Subaru be dying in this story?

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1. Naracta on Chapter 4 Sat 13 Aug 2022 06:43PM UTC
  
  I don’t mind answering this. My next chapter is gonna be finished soon anyways.
  Yes, that idiot certainly will
  
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Amelia263542 on Chapter 4 Sat 13 Aug 2022 09:35PM UTC

I'm really liking this! I'm surprised there aren't more stories with the same idea. Thank you for this wonderful story.

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Imperius on Chapter 4 Tue 19 Nov 2024 07:19AM UTC

Love the chapter

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Mado_Scientisto on Chapter 4 Sun 03 Aug 2025 11:17PM UTC

Roswaal is trying to take our looper away from Felt and she's jealous. And Subaru wants to sew dress for his lil sis. Absolute Cinema!

Last Edited Sun 03 Aug 2025 11:18PM UTC

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LicenciadoGonzalez on Chapter 5 Sun 14 Aug 2022 08:55AM UTC

Oh damn, I can't imagine who is crazy enough to break into the house of the most powerful man on the planet, only to kill a single individual after visiting the domain of a certain clown, it's quite a mystery.

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1. Naracta on Chapter 5 Sun 14 Aug 2022 09:00AM UTC
  
  If I could favorite your comment, I would
  
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2. 1. LicenciadoGonzalez on Chapter 5 Sun 14 Aug 2022 09:04AM UTC
    
    Oh master author, that you have bothered to read it and give an answer is enough for me.
    Let's hope to see if now the Barusu doesn't annoy Felt more this time (and that he gets along better with the little twins again 🫴)
    
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Odysseus7O7 on Chapter 5 Sun 14 Aug 2022 11:11AM UTC

Wait holy shit, I honestly didn't expect that, this one hit alot harder than the first arc 2 death lol

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Hasona on Chapter 5 Sun 14 Aug 2022 10:00PM UTC

Oh wow that one certainly threw me for a loop. A death with zero initial hints or clues, it's like the arc 2 curse death but experienced again for the first time. Can't wait to see how this 'murder mystery' plays out and the ramifications it has on Subaru's behaviour. Good chapter!

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CorrosiveClothes on Chapter 5 Tue 16 Aug 2022 01:14AM UTC

I got a good feeling of who merked Subaru this time. Knowing Roswaal he'll do nearly anything for his goal; I'll be surprised if he had nothing to do with it. Great read!

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Dragonheart Of Ireland (RepublicChe) on Chapter 5 Tue 16 Aug 2022 07:30AM UTC

I wonder if Rem was responsible for the reset? If so, why? It could of been Ram, possibly Roswaal himself. However I think it's Rem (good bet with Roswaal's aid). Whoever actually did the deed, I consider Roswaal the prime suspect (in getting the assassin past security (unless he did the deed himself for whatever reason).

Last Edited Tue 16 Aug 2022 07:45AM UTC

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Steinfield on Chapter 5 Wed 17 Aug 2022 09:09PM UTC

Oh fuck sake, again? Even in the Astrea household he stills die in his sleep? *Sigh* my guy can't catch a break, huh. Welp, time to break down!

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KrowPan on Chapter 5 Tue 09 Apr 2024 10:18AM UTC

i can believe dying in your sleep to a curse but not by a bludgeoning from an oni

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Work Header

Felt If

Naracta

Summary:

Chapter 1: Legal Abduction

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Chapter 2: Trust

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Chapter 3: Lousy Expectations

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Chapter 4: Clowny Lessons

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Chapter 5: It Never Mattered

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Chapter 6: Too Obvious

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Chapter 7: Another One

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Chapter 8: Nonexistent Reunions

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Chapter 9: ████ ████████

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Chapter 10: Confrontation

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Chapter 11: Two Girls Dancing

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Chapter Text

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Chapter 12: Right Before Change

Notes:

Chapter Text

Notes:

Chapter 13: The Royal Selection

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Chapter Text

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