Chapter Text
The mood in the carriage had been a heavy one. Heavy with many complex emotions.
While yes, Natsuki Subaru was certainly NOT okay, he felt as if his burden had been lifted at least a little after they had left the Pleiades Watchtower.
Just like a little king leading an army, he had shared a piece of his burden with those around him. Not through 『Cor Leonis』, but by using his words to let them know that he was not okay. Even if they couldn’t know everything, being able to say that there was indeed something wrong had been the biggest relief he had gotten since a certain event that occurred after his first visit to the Pleiades Watchtower.
And as the carriage passed through the gates of Miload manner and the 5 members of the Emilia camp – bar Meili who still had business to attend to in the capital with Otto and Emilia – finally returned home, the very relief Subaru had just been thinking of… no, had been thinking of constantly for more than a year at this point, was standing by the front entrance in order to greet them, as if she were a gift presented by the gods.
Like a contrast to her pink headed sister, her sky-blue hair flowed through the chilly wind of late afternoon, pinned down by her hair ornaments and styled in her characteristic braid, covering her right eye and leaving her remaining, azure eye staring at their approaching vehicle, her gaze hardened and pink-ish lips pursed, as if she was resolving herself for something. However, regardless of how conflicted she had been in the moment, to Natsuki Subaru, that sight – the sight of those eyebrows furrowing, drawing lines on her smooth features, those lips pursing, extending those captivating, tempting lips, and especially the sight of those eyes… wide open, wide awake, aware and able to interact with the world and create memories with it, capable of defying the evils done by Gluttony.
All of those painted features, forcing themselves back onto the canvas of the world they had once been exiled from, were characteristics of the first person that had loved him in this world, the person he had been fighting to save all this time, his sleeping beauty wide awake, his Rem.
Garfiel had been the first one to exit the carriage – well, he had already been outside, alternating shifts with Subaru to keep Patrasche company throughout the journey. Then came Petra, who excitedly ran towards the opposite door of the carriage of the one she had exited from, swinging it open with inexperienced, yet careful movements (nearby, a red demon watched disapprovingly).
Finally, the final members of the ‘Pleiades rendezvous’ stepped through the open carriage door. Walking hand in hand, Natsuki Subaru and Beatrice finally arrived back home, and while for his Beako, it might’ve been a normal sight, to Subaru, seeing the familiar house and in front of it those familiar maids, almost made his knees give out, instead he just let out a longing sigh at the view.
“Sister, sister. It appears that this man has finally lost it, staring at us like that… just what happened in that tower to make him look like that?” Rem said, beginning the familiar performance of the demon sisters.
“Rem, Rem. While Barusu does have a lecherous nature, his overly virgin personality keeps him only secretly ogling at women. Maybe Barusu has soiled himself at the thought of finally eating more of Ram’s steamed tatoes?” Ram said, hiding her concern under her characteristic rude personality and snarky remarks.
Subaru had to stop tears from flowing as he put on a wide grin at the demon sisters’ performance.
“Nee-sama, now why would the thought of your tatoes make me soil myself?” he spoke softly to stop his voice from cracking.
“Hmph! Welcome back to the world of the living, Barusu. Though maybe you have a death wish, attempting to twist the words of poor, innocent Ram?”
“Yeah, yeah. Sorry for concerning you, Rem. It’s just that… seeing you back in that maid uniform is just incredibly nostalgic. Welcome home, Rem.” Subaru completely brushed Ram off and wiped his face as he said this, staring directly into Rem’s now softened eyes, though they still definitely carried an air of hesitation.
“Home…” She quietly repeated, completely forgetting to comment on the fact Subaru thought she was concerned about him, due to the sheer intensity of the feelings whirling behind the gaze and words that had been thrown her way.
“Would it not be more appropriate for us to welcome you back, Subaru-sama? Rem-san has already been here for almost a month, but this is the first time you have come to the manor since your trip to the Pleiades tower.” A voice that had been quiet until now spoke up to prevent what awkward atmosphere Subaru had definitely just created in the reunion.
Turning his head with a ‘Hm?’ Subaru finally noticed the figure he had unintentionally neglected, which is surprising as she was taller than both himself and the twins.
“Ah. Wait, you’re, Sylphy? Wow, so you really have begun working here. Looking good. Though… Why change the old uniform?”
“Subaru-sama, while I am truly flattered, I’m afraid I could never forgive myself for betraying Lady Emilia like that.”
“Eh?”
“I knew it.” Rem sighed.
“Truly a pervert.” Ram turned her head.
“Subaru…” Petra stepped away from him.
“Useless contractor, I suppose.” Beako began to walk into the mansion.
“Cap’n, you can’t be asking girls stuff like that all of a sudden…” Garf was holding back laughter.
“Young Su, you may be young, but I’m sure you understand why most ladies would not want to wear outfits like the ones the young twins wear?” The wise sounding voice of a little old lady snuck up from beside him, standing in the position his partner spirit had been in a moment ago.
“HAHA! OLD HAGS!” Garfiel almost tackled the young young-looking lady if it weren’t for her quickly stepping away from his trajectory, making him hit his face in the mud.
After a moment of pondering, Subaru suddenly began staring intently at Rem’s uniform in an attempt to figure out why Sylphy and apparently all the others refused to wear them.
It all only clicked once he tried looking at the top part of the uniform, and Rem covered her cleavage with her arm and turned away her body.
“Bilma-san! And the others are on their way too!? Man, this is really starting to become a full-blown family reunion! Man, this place really does feel like home now that everyone’s here, huh? Oh, except Beako! Where’s that cute little spirit now? Beako…!” Subaru quickly became flustered and tried to switch the conversation back to its original topic.
Ryuzu Bilma chuckled at his embarrassment. Though his words weren't without truth, countless Ryuzu clones, some of them having previously opened the gate for them, were running to greet the familiar visitors, while more poured in from inside the mansion, followed by taller women similar to Sylphy and wearing the same uniform.
‘Hearing it and seeing for yourself really is different. So, every single wife of that bastard came to live here just like Petra said in the carriage. Man, you can almost feel bad for the guy; all his wives look so much happier without him.’
Every single one of the women had different eyes – some soft, some sharp, some wide, some as thin as slits – and different hair styles and accessories. However, they all had one thing in common, on their faces there were smiles of various degrees, the smiles they had once feared to display were now beaming on full display, without fear of consequence.
‘Yeah, everyone looks much better this way…’
“You, shouldn't you go in already? We've been standing out here long enough.” Rem said, reluctantly taking her arms away from her front and getting into a more dignified maid posture.
“Barusu, shouldn't you go take a shower already? I would say it is to get rid of your stench, but it seems that comes natural with Barusus.” Ram said, her face the epitome of innocence as she tilted her head.
“Cap'n, me and the copies are gonna put Patrasche in ‘er stable and carry our luggage!” Garf said, pointing to the Ryuzus already offloading the carriage.
“Subaru-sama, if there is anything you need help with, us maids would be more than happy to oblige.” Sylphy said as all of the ex-wives gave multiple unsynchronized bows.
“Yes Young-su, you have been through a lot. From saving Priestella, to capturing the Pleiades Watchtower, to the Empire, and then back to the tower again as if it were an afternoon stroll? Rather impressive, I must say.” Bilma added, mixing concern with genuine praise “And you even managed to wake our Rem-san! That alone should get you a full year off of your butler duties.”
“A year?! I would never forgive myself for slacking off while everyone else works for that long!”
“Alright Barusu, then rest up already. Ram shall work you to the bone as per your request.”
“Eh? Wait, was this all a scheme for you both to get off work?! And why do you make it sound like you're doing me a favor?!”
At that Ram turned her head away and her nose to the sky with a ‘Hmph!’ while Bilma simply shrugged. Then the entire courtyard burst out laughing, even the shyer ones like Rem couldn't contain a small chuckle from exiting their throat, which Subaru didn't fail to notice but chose better than to point out.
“WILL YOU ALL QUIT PLAYING AROUND ALREADY, I SUPPOSE?! BETTY EXPECTS A WELCOME PARTY AND SWEETS, IN FACT!” Beatrice slammed the door open in an attempt to get those outside moving along, however, that only managed to make everyone present laugh even harder.
“A… alright, Beako! We’re… a- all right behind you!” Subaru said, in-between short gasps for air due to so much laughing.
“Thank you everyone, for the warm welcome,” a bright, sincere smile on his face like a star shining across the field, the intense weight on his chest had been lifted and a pair of slow teardrops poured from the corners of his eyes. “Tadaima!”
And thus, Natsuki Subaru had returned home.
The dining hall of the Miload estate was hectic. Not in the sense that it was chaotic, but in the sense that there was a lot going on: There were two long tables pressed on one of the walls, filled with various assortments of drinks and cuisine, all filling the room with a pleasant aroma, people chatting and having fun all around, small lolis running around, trying to get a bite of every sweet dish, maids chatting in small and medium sized groups, Clind watching it all with satisfaction, and Natsuki Subaru, who had switched back from his adventuring gear to his butler uniform to commemorate the situation, now adorning a necklace with a black ball pendant, almost matching with Garf, who was currently keeping his loli grandmothers company.
Subaru had tried to help with the preparations, but whenever he would suggest or try to take the initiative in doing something, he would get beaten to the punch by one of the new maids and encouraged to just wash up, which didn’t make him feel the best way but he knew they were all just worrying for him, which deep down made him feel kind of happy.
So now, after having shown up after the party started and seeing everyone doing their own thing, he felt a bit overwhelmed, like he was at the school dance without a partner.
“Ram must admit Barusu that she is impressed, she had assumed Barusu would surely change back to that disgusting garb of his, but it is good to see that he is so eager to get to work already, after lazing about and making all of these women work for him.” A lone Ram approached him at the door with a glass of wine on each hand.
“Nee-” before he could finish speaking, Ram shoved both glasses onto Subaru’s hands, which shocked him because he didn’t expect her to give him even one of them.
“Now Barusu, be a good manservant and get to work! There are people at this party in need of drinks. What kind of knight would you be to allow people going thirsty inside your lady’s residence? Ah, that’s right, you’d be Barusu.” Ram spoke all of this without even pausing to think of her next word.
“Nee-”
“Chop chop, Barusu. Ram swears she will become an old lady before you manage to do your job properly.” Ram said, interrupting Subaru once again, this time, though, glancing in a direction away from where Subaru was standing.
There, still in her maid uniform, was the blue haired figure of Rem, fidgeting nervously while standing next to one of the tables. Once again, seeing Rem in that outfit caused a stir inside Subaru’s heart, and he had to inhale slowly before turning back to where Ram had been.
“Nee-” but Ram had already disappeared, gone to mingle with the other maids on her own, leaving Subaru once again without being able to say even a word, and herself with the last one.
After a moment of quiet preparation, he began walking towards Rem. She had probably noticed him immediately, but still appeared to pretend not to. Not very well, though, as she kept shooting him with almost impatient looking glances.
“Heya Rem! Nice party, huh?” Subaru finally reached the place she was standing and decided to be the one to initiate the conversation, although a bit awkwardly.
“Yes, it is. Everyone worked really hard to make it good for you returners.”
“Haha, yeah. I honestly don’t know how to feel about all this, but I’m glad everyone else is having fun.”
“You… just what did you do to garner the favor of all of these women?”
“Me? I didn’t do anything, they all feel indebted to Emilia-tan – Not only did she save them, she also gave them all jobs. Truly, E.M.T…”
“I see… you, you really like Emily… Emilia-sama, don’t you?” Rem asked in a whisper, looking away at Ram, who was currently trying to stop Garfiel from making a tower of flat bread.
“Hm? Emilia-tan? Yeah, I do, she’s saved me so many times, I’d take days to pile on just how much that is, and in those days, more and more would add on!” Subaru placed the two glasses on the table he and Rem were standing by and spread his arms wide for emphasis.
“I see…” Rem said, her eyes looking at the floor for a moment.
“You’ve saved me so many times too Rem. Trust me, you wouldn’t believe it if I told you how many times you’ve helped me.”
“Yes, that Rem has helped you a lot hasn’t she…? Which is why you were so eager when you thought you had her back…” This sentence came out the quietest of any Rem had said that day, and Subaru would be lying if he said he didn’t understand how she felt after the events that transpired in a certain library.
“Yeah, that too, but right now I’m talking about back in the Empire, you helped me through so much during that time. Thank you, Rem.”
“Helped… you…? Are you nuts?! All I did in the Empire was get in the way of people way better qualified than I am! There’s no way I’ve helped you or anyone else…” Rem said, turning sharply to face Subaru, who kept the same smug looking grin he always had on his face.
“Rem, don’t depreciate yourself like that, if it weren’t for you, so many injured people wouldn’t have gotten treatment and simply died on that battlefield, how do you think they would react to their savior speaking like this about herself? Personally, I’m pissed, no one is allowed to speak about my Rem like that, not even herself. If it weren’t for you, I would’ve been dead so many times, you were what gave me the determination to keep going despite everything. So yes, you did help me, you helped give me strength, Rem.” Subaru stated matter-of-factly, his entire body turned towards her and his smile never leaving his face.
“...But… the old Rem would’ve done so much better… at both healing, fighting and even maid duties. Don’t try to deny it, I’ve been told how you speak of her. If it weren’t me but her… If… If it were Rem there instead of…”
“Rem.” Subaru calmly cut her off before she was able to continue on the train of thought he had become all too familiar with, and she looked at him with almost scared eyes “I won’t deny it actually, as someone who’s personally experienced all three of those things from Rem, I agree with you that you’re not as good at combat and healing as she was, and especially not maid duties.”
Rem almost recoiled as if struck. Somewhere nearby, a pink demon who was currently pulling an energetic kitty by the ears thinned her eyes suspiciously.
“But that Rem isn’t here, you are.” Natsuki Subaru stuck his right index finger up “Not the Rem that was quick to jump to action, but even quicker to jump to conclusions, always acting without consulting either me or Ram, and while that undoubtedly led to some funny moments, it also caused us so much trouble at times. Meanwhile, you Rem, are constantly overthinking things and putting a bunch of thought into your decisions, which while slower, can lead to much wiser decisions than the old Rem’s.”
“Eh…?”
“The narrow-minded and tunnel-visioned Rem, the type who would focus on one task and seemed to forget about all others until she was done with and was satisfied with her results, which again, while sometimes funny and a lot of times cute, isn’t the most practical thing. On the other hand, you Rem, are trying your hardest to become better at a plethora of things all at once, which may not be good in normal circumstances, but since it’s you, I know you’ll make it.”
Rem was silent, but her eyes appeared to sparkle, which allowed Subaru to reach his conclusion.
“And worst of all… She would listen to me way too much, she’s always doing whatever I say without question and then praising me after, it’s so embarrassing… Rem, do you know what would’ve happened if it had been her there instead of you? We would’ve left Spica alone in that forest, losing not only someone who would become a valuable member, but also one of the key figures to defeating The Great Disaster.” Subaru then points his fingers at Rem “So you see, Rem. It isn’t about you being better than or living up to the other Rem, because, it wasn’t her that helped save the Empire, it was you, and things ended up turning out well with you there, so why fret about what she would’ve done if they don’t matter anyomore, eh? You should live as you and not as someone who looks up to the past Rem, cause it was the you you are now that did something so amazing.”
After a few seconds of chilling silence, Rem finally spoke up.
“...Why? Why are you trying to help me so much, after I’ve hurt you so?”
“Ha! That’s easy! It’s a selfish reason that you’re already aware of, Rem. I want it, that spot I held in your heart that was taken from me, I want it back. Which is why I swore, I would become your hero once again. Because you’re my Rem no matter what. With, or without memories…”
That seemed to be the last straw because Rem, with ears redder than Ram’s eyes, finally took a swig of the wine from the glass closest to her, Subaru followed along by taking a sip of the one on his side.
“Geez… I swear, what if someone heard you say something like that…” Rem said, looking away from Subaru.
Subaru chuckled and almost replied with something like ‘I’d yell it out for everyone else to hear it’, if it wasn’t for the fact that now that Rem was too distracted to block the table from him, he was finally able to spot what she was so desperately trying to hide.
“Woah, no way! Rem, did you make these?!” Subaru said as he was greeted with the sight of a bowl of mayonnaise next to a plate of steamed tatoes.
“Eh? W–wait!” Before she could even process what was happening, Subaru had already grabbed a tato, dipped it into mayo and taken a bite out of it.
The reaction was almost immediate. After the first bite, a stream of tears began pouring from Subaru’s eyes and he had to cover them with his hand.
“W–what?! Is it that bad…?” Rem said, her voice shaking a little.
“No Rem, it’s the exact opposite actually… I guess no matter what, you’ll always be great at cooking, thank you for this, Rem…” Subaru smiled at her and then began to eat the tato again, this time much slower and more caringly, by the time he had finished it, Rem had already drunk all of the wine, his glass included.
“I guess it can’t be helped, if you like it that much then have some more.” Rem grabbed another tato from the plate and dipped it in mayo before putting it up to Subaru’s face, her flushed, drunk face didn’t even need to make a sound for him to know she was telling him to go ‘aaah’.
Obliging with that silent request, Subaru had about a third of the tato instantly forced into his mouth, which almost caused him to gag.
“Look at you taking all of the food for yourself. Truly, what a terrible man you are.” Rem attempted to throw a jab at him, but the blow was instantly softened by the view of her taking a small bite from the same tato as he had before pointing it back to him “Here. If we eat it together, we can finish quickly and get to the other dishes.”
Before he could finish swallowing and processing that last image, the tato was shoved back into his mouth, forcing him to bite off another piece. This went on until the plate of tatoes was finished and they could move on to more food Rem had cooked for Subaru to eat.
Natsuki Subaru slept poorly that night. Due to the absurd amounts and speed at which he had been forced to consume those foods, he had to spend a lot of time going back and forth to the bathroom.
Rem slept peacefully that night. The wine given to her by Subaru seemed to be not only made of wine, but also contained something that was soothing to Onis.
All seemed good, however Ram, as the goddess she is, took pity on Barusu and decided to bless him with some midnight tea for his aching stomach. Hah! What would he ever do without someone like Ram around? No… there is no one like Ram, so what would he do without Ram around to grace him with her kindness?
All traces of the party were gone from the dining hall quickly, due to the sheer advantage in numbers that the maids that worked in the mansion possessed, by the time everyone was asleep, the hall was as clean as new and ready to face another day of the Miload manor’s hectic activities.