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– Hehehe...
– Hehehehe...
– Hahaha!
– Hahahahaha!
Unable to contain the cheerful laughter that had taken hold of them, they could only lower their heads and let it all out. At that moment, the young man with black hair looked free of the shadow of anguish that was always present on his face, especially that look in his eyes that revealed all the suffering he had gone through at some point in his life.
He was genuinely happy.
Happy to share this moment with the man who had now become his closest friend, despite all the friction they had gone through in the past.
– You son of a bitch, you're seriously an incredible guy... – he said, patting the back of the mysterious warrior, whose face, although covered by his iconic helmet, was somehow still capable of conveying his mood.
His brother from another mother had convinced him to take a few hits from a cigarette that he had rolled himself using a curious plant he had found in the lowest part of his mistress's mansion.
Right now, they were in the bathroom of the place where a purely informal and friendly meeting between the kingdom's various factions was being held. By sheer coincidence, both of them had arrived fairly early and quickly struck up a cheerful conversation, free of the bad impressions they had previously held of each other. They had realized they had much more in common than they appeared to.
Hell! Subaru could swear this guy was like some cool, grown-up clone of himself!
Of course, somewhere between one conversation and another, the Sun Princess's servant revealed a little treasure he had been keeping hidden.
Subaru was visibly shaken and nervous by the discovery and flat-out refused to hear anything more about it.
But Al could be VERY convincing...
– Dude... if you don't smoke it, you're a pussy.
...
Obviously, that didn't work on him, but he did admit that a little distraction might be useful after everything that had happened lately. Defeating a Great Archbishop and inspiring an entire city wasn't exactly something that happened every day.
Maybe he deserved a little reward for his —in everyone's words— "heroic deeds."
He hated having to admit that, to some extent, he was starting to become someone more important than he had ever expected.
So, after Aldebaran's assurance that "marijuana doesn't cause any side effects to your health or development" —hmm...—, they got to work near a small window.
After a series of groans and some absolutely miserable coughing, the two of them seemed to have gotten into the groove.
– Subaru? – The soft, sweet voice of the most beautiful girl in Subaru's eyes called from the other side of the bathroom door.
Natsuki nearly coughed his heart out.
His eyes, now slightly reddened, widened in panic.
– Y-Yeah, I'm coming, Emilia-tan... – he managed to say nervously, prompting the one-armed warrior beside him to laugh at his expense.
– Sober!... Uh... Sober! – he repeated to himself in the mirror, staring at those eyes he had inherited from his loving mother, who would have been terribly disappointed if she could see him right now.
Awkwardly, he and Al walked out the door.
After trying and failing to get through it at the same time...
At first glance, nobody noticed anything particularly strange about them. They seemed a little more relaxed than usual, but Subaru's smile and the occasional comments from the servant gave everyone enough reassurance that everything was going normally during the charming gathering.
But Subaru had genuinely been frightened and didn't want to make a bad impression. So he asked his friend to stay with him and make sure he didn't say anything stupid in front of everyone.
If Ram had been there, she would have pointed out that the two of them smelled unusually strong and strange, but everyone did their best to ignore it.
– I'm very glad to see how quickly Crusch is recovering – Emilia said enthusiastically to the green-haired companion of the Royal Selection candidate, who wasn't there at that particular moment.
– Nya, I'd say she has Subaru-kun to thank for a large part of it. It seems that removing most of Capella's blood improved her condition considerably... – said the androgynous, cat-like demi-human gratefully.
His voice, however, carried a trace of hatred when he mentioned the name of the Archbishop who had left his mistress in such a state.
– ...
While staring worriedly at the lamps hanging from the ceiling, wondering whether one of them might fall on someone, Aldebaran brought him back to reality with an elbow to the ribs.
– Ah! Sure, man, no problem... – He gave a small bow, dragging out his words.
...
Felix and Emilia exchanged a quick, puzzled glance.
– You've been a little distracted lately... – Emilia noticed.
Sniff.
– No, not at all, Emilia-tan – he said, keeping his eyes fixed on hers for just a little longer than would normally be comfortable or romantic.
– ...Are you feeling alri—?
Before the feminine-looking boy could finish his question, they were interrupted by the announcement that the banquet had been served.
Priscilla merely noticed that her jester was somewhat quieter than usual and sitting a little closer than he should have been to that eccentric plebeian.
However, she dismissed any suspicion, assuming that since they shared the same place of origin, they didn't need many words to feel slightly more comforted simply by sharing each other's presence.
Thus, she didn't complain when Al took the seat across from Subaru, who was sitting beside Beatrice and the shield of his camp: Garfiel.
– Hehehe... GarfielD... – Al chuckled while playing with his food, poking at the meat with his fork.
The young man wasn't particularly comfortable around knights to begin with, or, for that matter, anyone who wasn't part of his own group. But having his captain beside him gave him enough confidence to glare irritably at the strange man who seemed to be making fun of his name.
– You got a problem with me? – he asked with a low growl.
Several of the people present turned their attention toward what appeared to be an argument.
– Pfft...
...
The sharp-toothed blonde was confused when he saw his captain suppressing a laugh. Somewhat embarrassed, he lowered his head.
Disapproving looks were immediately directed toward the two adults who seemed to share some sort of inside joke at the young man's expense.
It was strange enough that someone normally quiet and reserved like Al would make fun of the boy.
It was even stranger that the Royal Knight was playing along with him.
– Subaru...
– So, I was thinking about... that movie, uh... Batman. There's something I didn't really understand. Why, if this guy, the Joker, is so evil, doesn't he just kill him and save himself all the trouble? – The young man interrupted the scolding he was about to receive from his mistress with a —very stupid!— question.
– Dude, because that'd be like... stooping to his level, you know? Batman doesn't kill because he's, like...
– Yeah, yeah – Subaru began talking over him. – But in the movie I watched, he... doesn't kill the villain, but decides that he isn't obligated to save him either. I... I didn't really understand that part of The Killing Joke, because it's like... Batman knew the Joker's backstory, right? Because otherwise—
– It wouldn't be realistic. He wouldn't have any reason to believe there was anything redeemable about him...
– Right, right... Still, in that comic, uh... he hires a bunch of oppressed people who were treated like jokes at the circus to fight Bruce, but, but—Al! You can't seriously tell me that's okay!
– But wait—
– No! Why—?! Because in the same comic! Yes, in the same damn comic, it explains that the idiot pretended to have abused that mustache guy's daughter, and-and—
– I never said I was defending him!
– You're totally in love with that clown.
– Uh-huh. Of course that's what it is... totally.
...
Huh?
The small conversations taking place among the other guests came to a halt as everyone began listening to what the two men were saying.
"Movie."
"Comic."
"Batman."
Nobody knew how to react to the argument that had just unfolded between the two of them. However, judging by the little context they had managed to gather, it seemed they were discussing one or more fictional stories.
– Um, Captain, who is "Batman"?
– He's like the greatest superhero in history...
– An idiot. A billionaire idiot. – Al rushed to explain, but the negative Subaru interrupted him.
– For fuck's sake, Subaru! Let the adults talk! The ones who actually know what they're talking about, because you're a piece of shit—
– Yeah, I'll let you talk. Let's see when you get to the part where they have to dumb down everyone around him just to make him look smart!
Nobody understood a single thing.
– That's not it at all!
– Aldebaran, enough. – Priscilla reprimanded him, irritated by the nonsense unfolding in front of her.
Beatrice looked from one to the other before speaking.
– I don't know anything about Batman, but if the contractor says that—
The argument continued for another three minutes.
...
G|-1--1--1------1h2p1-------------
D|----------4----------4---------- (X5)
G|-1--1--1------1h2p1-----1-------
D|----------4----------4----------
We passed upon the stairs...
">G#
Liliana couldn't make it, but she had still been meaning to give a present to the new hero of Priestella for quite some time.
The slightly larger six-stringed instrument suited Subaru surprisingly well, considering how uselessly talented he was at this sort of thing.
As Al nodded along to the melancholic melody Subaru was producing, everyone else listened intently to the lyrics coming from Subaru's mouth.
They had known that he possessed some musical talent, but Subaru himself had always chosen to bury it as nothing more than a silly little curiosity about himself that he never bothered to pursue.
He said I was his friend
The princess found it appropriate to simply enjoy the performance.
His fingers were clumsy. He frequently dragged out his words and hummed a rhythm for himself to follow as he strummed.
Even so, he was good enough to make her smile.
It was common to hear songs about great heroic deeds, love, tragedies, and the history of nations.
This particular song, however, seemed quite personal to Subaru, who sang it with a sense of nostalgia.
I thought you died alone
A long long time ago
The room fell silent as everyone listened carefully.
Aldebaran had mentioned that he didn't have many good memories of his homeland. To the others, it was strange to see how much this seemed to affect the half-elf's knight, who had received the gift with great gratitude.
"Well, I can think of something worth remembering!"
We never lost control
You're face to face
Although he was addressing Al, they couldn't hide their interest in the scene unfolding before them.
With the man who sold the world
Only Priscilla noticed that her jester's hand was trembling as he kept it clenched into a fist.
...
– And I spent, like, half an hour trying to explain to her that there was no way anyone could see her through the Talking Angela app! – he explained between laughs to an Al who was leaning against a table, visibly sleepy, yet still laughing along with him at the story.
– Haha... Oh, man... I miss my mom.
...
Those around them didn't quite know how to take that last remark.
Emilia's camp had always understood that Subaru was extremely private about his past and his family, only ever talking about them at very specific moments.
– And why don't you visit them? – asked Otto, surprisingly sober and genuinely curious.
– Hehe...
– Haha...
While Al continued chuckling under his breath, Subaru's laughter disappeared the moment he heard the question.
He kept smiling, looking everywhere except at the merchant who had asked him, making a clumsy attempt to pretend he hadn't heard anything.
Obviously, it didn't work.
Curious looks were exchanged at such an evasive reaction.
– Subaru-sama, Otto asked why—
– No, no... – He shook his head slightly, still smiling at the youngest of the maids, who wanted to repeat the question.
Everyone noticed that his eyes had grown slightly moist.
– Sniff.
...
In the bathroom, he stared at his reflection for a while.
It was strange how almost everyone seemed able to go so long without needing to use one.
He saw his mother's face overlaid on his own.
He couldn't break down now.
He'd have time for tears later.
– See you around, bro!
– good night pal...
They said their goodbyes some time later.
The ride back in the carriage was fairly quiet.
That day, Subaru slept a full eight hours.
Without nightmares.
The End.