Far away, my consciousness drifts among the waves.
As the ripples flicker, my consciousness fluctuates between dream and reality.
"--There's no other way."
"-- I guess. The rest is up to you to do as you like."
Far away, no, close by, at the boundary between here and there, I can hear the sound of someone arguing.
Clinging voices, pushing away voices, tearful voices, voices with frozen emotions. Voices.
Suddenly, a soft sensation enveloped my palm.
The memory of having touched it a few times reminds me that it is the feeling of someone's hand.
He had felt this warmth before.
However, the sensation of his palm suddenly fades away.
Out of reach, far, far away, so high, so high that we can't touch it.
and,
"--I will definitely help you."
Only that strong determination remains, and I am left behind.
Everything disappears, is left behind, goes away. Far, far away.
and--,
※※ ※※ ※※ ※※ ※※ ※※ ※※ ※
I wonder how many times I've had my consciousness forcibly shut out and woken up like this.
Subaru pondered absentmindedly as he gazed upon the unfamiliar pattern on the ceiling.
There's an old pillow talk that goes, "It'll be over in the time it takes to count the number of spots," but if we're talking about the number of spots on a cultural level in another world, it'll be a much longer process, he thought to himself, laughing bitterly at the pointless thought――――My side tightened and I involuntarily let out a groan.
"Ooooh, come on..."
When I tried to touch my sore side, I felt an overwhelming sense of discomfort when I turned my left arm. I brought my left hand in front of my face, feeling the discomfort, and when I saw how ugly it was, I understood why.
His left arm was covered with white scars from his fingertips to his wrist. Furthermore, the scars were held together with misshapen threads, and if someone told him that they had been sewn up carelessly by a child who was no good at sewing, he would have believed it.
But that's not the only thing that feels out of place.
When he rolled up the bottom of his clothes, he saw similar stitches on his right side, which was tense. He also had stitches on both his ankles, his right upper arm, around his right shoulder, and even on his buttocks. There were scars and stitches all over, and it made him feel a bit like a cyborg.
As he caresses each part of his body, which has changed dramatically, his memories slowly begin to return, along with a faint pain.
Yes, I remember that I had gone deep into the forest to look for the children, and encountered a magical beast――
"I thought for sure he was dead..."
He shielded Rem from the attack and was hit all over by the fangs of the demon beast.
The jaws of the beast should have easily bitten into Subaru's flesh, ripping it to shreds, and tearing it apart like rubbish. He should have felt his life slipping away, and been half convinced that it was all over.
"I wouldn't call him a mummy. Looking at how much he's been repaired with needles and thread, I think the image of a Jiangshi is more accurate."
Or maybe if he had a screw shoved in his head, it would give the impression of Frankenstein.
Thinking about it to that extent, I suddenly realized how carefree I was.
"--That's right. This is no time for stupid talk. Rem and the other children."
Jumping up from his simple bed, Subaru looked around, trying to grasp the situation.
An unfamiliar ceiling, a shabby bed, a small room with worn out furniture, it's hard to believe this is Roswaal Mansion.
And then, right next to the entrance, he noticed a silver-haired girl sitting on a wooden chair, sleeping with her face bowed.
"Emilia, sir."
There is no sign of him responding to the call.
She seemed to be in a deep sleep, breathing deeply. Her beautiful silver hair was slightly disheveled, as if she hadn't had the time to style it, and most importantly, there were traces of blood and mud all over her clothes.
I was injured. I woke up in bed in the morning. Emilia was sleeping in a chair next to me. Her clothes were stained with blood and other things.
Considering these points, even Subaru, no matter how dim-witted he was, could grasp the situation.
In short,
"So I've owed Emilia-tan another favor again..."
"I don't know. I think we should be a little grateful to Lia, but I think there are other people we should be thanking more this time."
Subaru's self-blaming murmur was answered by a grey cat that appeared from behind the silver hair.
He lightly stroked the sleeping Emilia's cheek with his paw, then floated up in front of Subaru's face,
"Hey, good morning. How does it feel to wake up?"
"It's hard to say I'm in top form. I've become a cyborg without even realizing it. I want to escape before my brain gets messed with, and become a masked hero who gets revenge on the guys from that organization."
"Modifications… Ah, you mean the threads. It was an unavoidable solution. However, the mana in your body wasn't enough to heal you. You had to rely on tools just to thread it back together. Without them, you'd probably be in pieces by now."
"That's not a horrible story! But it could have been done by someone a little better at sewing."
Even if she didn't mind the stitching itself, she did have some complaints about how clumsy it was. As someone who holds the title of Level S in sewing, she wanted to learn the basics first.
Puck waved his hand in response to Subaru's words and said, "No, no."
"It's been a while since I've put a needle through someone's body. I was so tense all over that it was really hard."
"Of all people, it had to be you! In fact, you're amazed you were able to sew with that tiny body of yours!"
"It was easy because you couldn't move. You were bleeding a lot so I had to freeze the wounds while doing the procedure, but please bear with me."
"I guess that's why the scar is so white... I guess he's a boy, so he won't make a fuss about it leaving a mark or anything."
Looking over each and every scar, Subaru then turned to face Puck once more.
Puck looked taken aback by Subaru's posture, but Subaru bowed deeply to the man with those dark eyes,
"Thanks to you, I was saved. I've been saved once again."
"Yes, yes, it's good that you're honest. Besides, this time you did just that. It would be so devastating if you collapsed because of it. So it's good."
Puck responded to Subaru's words of gratitude without any embarrassment. His words relieved a weight from his chest, and Subaru prefaced his response with "Well then,"
"I'm glad to hear that you did all that, but what actually happened after that? To be honest, I don't remember anything after getting gobbled up by those dogs in the forest."
"Gulp gubble is a cute expression. Judging from the state you were in when they brought you in, I thought it would be more like 'Mushaborigushabuchibuchimichibaribusya'."
"Oh come on, with that sound effect, he's definitely dead. He's missing five or six arms, so I alone wouldn't be enough."
"Yeah, so the blue-haired maid was in a pretty bad state too."
Subaru's throat involuntarily freezes upon hearing the casual, easy-going response. Puck adds, "That's true," in response to Subaru's response,
"In that child's case, his wounds heal quickly thanks to the effects of his demonic transformation. By the time I carried Subaru back to the village, he had no visible injuries. He didn't even need healing magic."
"Don't scare me unnecessarily... Anyway, Rem has returned to the village. And the other child who was carried along with me."
"You can relax because they were there. There are six children and one more, making seven. And Subaru and the blue-haired boy are strong, which is a good thing. Your decision turned out to be the right one."
Puck clapped his hands together while he spoke. The softness of his paws got in the way and prevented him from making any clapping noises. The sight was soothing to watch that it made the corners of his mouth curl up, but Subaru shook his head to shoo it away,
"Puck, I want to ask you a few things. Is that okay?"
"Just make sure you speak quietly so as not to wake Lia. My own manifestation is done using mana I've accumulated during the night, but when I appeared during the night I used Lia's Aether."
"Odo?"
"Mana is something that is taken in from the outside world. Od, on the other hand, is inherently present within a living being; it is literally the power of the soul. Unlike mana, Od is draining, so I don't want you to use it too much."
As he spoke, Puck looked over at Emilia, as if looking at a troubled girl.
As he gazed upon her sleeping face, Subaru found himself easily convinced by what Puck had just said. If it was Emilia, who needed to sacrifice herself to save someone, she wouldn't have wavered. If she had found herself needing Puck last night, and if it was for her own sake that she had to sacrifice, he could imagine that she hadn't hesitated a moment to make the decision.
Subaru: "So, does that mean Emilia-tan saved me even at the expense of her own life?"
"That's true. But, my role yesterday was mainly with the children – the ones Subaru had brought back from the forest. My goal was to lift the curse on those children."
"Dispelling... that's right! There was that too. Are the children okay? What about the curse?"
"That's reassuring, too."
Puck put his hand over Subaru, who was about to approach him, and his cat-like face twisted into a charming smile.
"The recovery magic has reduced their weakening considerably, and the dispelling went well, so there's no problem. I've certainly lifted the curse on the children."
Puck slapped his chest as if to give his approval. Seeing this, Subaru let out a deep breath and took solace in the fact that his actions had not ended up being meaningless.
And the human body is like cash when you feel safe.
"oh"
Just as a sense of relief filled his heart, the worm in Subaru's stomach let out a loud cry.
I touch my stomach and feel a sense of emptiness that is almost like pain, and then I remember that I missed dinner last night.
"By the way, if I consume mana I don't get hungry."
"I haven't heard anything about it. But since mana is everywhere, it's like a plant getting full just by breathing in air."
"They don't need water or sunlight. All they need is love. That's an important thing to remember when dealing with spirits."
"Yes, yes. Can I go and have a look at the table or something?"
I asked, pointing at the door. Puck nodded several times with his arms crossed.
"I think that's a good idea. You should move your body a bit and see how it feels with the patchwork state you're in. Ah, the threads will be absorbed into your body and disappear automatically once they get used to it."
"Oh, thank goodness. It's pretty difficult to look fashionable with stitches that look like they've been wriggling by an earthworm. It's like I was born two hundred light years too early."
Puck tilts his head in response to the joke with a smile.
Apparently it didn't get through. In reality, it was a golden pattern to go from a retort like "Light years are distances" to a joke like "The sense of the stars is so different."
With Puck's permission, Subaru heads out of the room.
On the way, I bowed slightly to Emilia, who was sleeping right next to the door. As I bowed, I caught sight of her sleeping face, and her peaceful face made my breathing heavy, filling me with the desire to play tricks on her, but I gave up because the guardian nearby looked at me with a stern look. I gave up and went outside.
and,
"Oh, well, I guess that makes sense."
Subaru muttered as he left the room, emerged from the front door and saw the village in chaos.
The sun had only just begun to rise, but many figures were already gathered in the square in the center of the village.
It was a small village. The number of people there suggested that most of the villagers were present. Elderly people, women, and children huddled together, looking anxious, surrounded by a group of strong young men, as if to protect them.
Surrounding the villagers to protect them were the young men who had been searching for the children last night. Subaru couldn't find the people he was looking for among them, so he tilted his head and headed towards another building where there was a lot of people coming and going.
And before that,
"--Barus, you're awake."
A voice called out from behind, and Subaru stopped in his tracks and turned around.
Although I could immediately guess from the way he called me, when I saw his face I naturally found myself overcome with relief.
Standing behind him was the pink-haired maid - Ram.
She had the sleeves of her familiar waiter's uniform rolled up and was carrying a colander-like thing holding a large amount of steamed potatoes.
A faint, salty scent was drifting from the slightly steaming potatoes, making Subaru's hungry stomach cheer with anticipation and elation.
Subaru let out a growling noise from his stomach that was similar to the one Puck had made earlier. Ram snorted, "Hah," and then,
"After causing so much worry with your serious injuries, it's shameful that you woke up asking for food as soon as you were gone. Could it be that you were bitten by a dog and the dog caught the virus?"
"I was wondering how a dog could be contagious, but I was like, 'Oh, really? So you were worried about me.'"
He straightened his back, crouched, and shook his body from side to side as he walked towards Ram, a smug look on his face.
Ram narrowed her eyes at Subaru's teasing attitude,
"Take that."
"Softhoz!"
A steamed potato is forcibly shoved into your mouth, literally crushing your throat.
On top of that, the scorching heat invaded the inside of his mouth, and Subaru looked up, breathing roughly like an animal, "Puff! Puff!" Then,
"I thought I was going to die! But it was good!"
"It was delicious, wasn't it? Freshly made... no, freshly steamed."
"What's with that face? It pisses me off! But it was good!"
"Yes, yes, I'll give you one more, so just shut up and devour it."
Subaru receives the sweet potato with excitement like a child. Ram looks at him with disdain for a moment, then,
"Well, I'll be honest and say thank you for what happened last night. Thank you for your hard work."
"You're always saying thank you so much, my dear. No, it's fine, but… do you really think it's something you should be thanking me for?"
"If any harm is done to the people of the territory, the lord will be held responsible. If the children had been threatened by the Ulgarm pack… I think Barusu's actions were the right one."
"Ulgarm, right..."
That must be the name of that black magical beast.
It's an impressive name. Just hearing it tells you that it's the kind of thing that can be life-threatening if you encounter it.
Subaru nodded, and Ram turned her gaze towards the forest,
"I re-tie the barrier that seemed to have come loose last night. After that, I spent the whole night checking if there were any problems with the barrier, so there shouldn't be any magical beasts escaping this way."
"Unless they get out of here, huh? If those brats cross the barrier and come back with the baby, it'll be pointless."
"That hurts to hear. Ever since the barrier was put in place, there haven't even been any skirmishes with magical beasts, so I let my guard down. --I'll remind you."
The reason she speaks in a rather gentle manner is likely because she too is annoyed in her own way. For Subaru, it is his annoyance at having been dragged into this, but for her, it is probably the villagers who are not listening to Roswaal's instructions properly.
When I think of her excessive loyalty, I can't help but feel sorry for the villagers who are being lectured.
While praying in his heart for the poor villager, Subaru suddenly felt dizzy.
Subaru's body unconsciously swayed and he clutched his head, but Ram gently supported him with her hand.
"Don't push yourself. In fact, if it weren't for the Great Spirit and Beatrice, your injuries would have been fatal."
"Beako's name is coming up, so that means I owe her something too... What a pain!"
"Even though it is a request from the Great Spirit, it is quite rare for Lady Beatrice to leave the mansion, let alone the Forbidden Library. She is not someone who can behave properly outside the mansion, though."
Subaru regained his balance with the support of Ram's hand and shook his head lightly.
It feels like I'm not getting enough blood. I feel a similar lethargy to the first morning at the Roswaal Mansion, and my limbs feel heavy. Could this be a serious lack of mana? According to Puck, it had helped him heal some serious injuries.
Subaru's mana reserves were small to begin with, so it wasn't surprising that they had run out.
"I'll keep an eye on the village for a while longer before returning to the mansion. I'm also curious to know how the children are doing after the curse is lifted... and about counter measures against Urgarm."
"Even if you say countermeasures, can't we just put up a barrier and be okay with it?"
"That might have been fine in the skirmishes we've had so far."
Ram responded to Subaru's simple question with her usual emotionless face.
But as she stared back at him with eyes that should have been emotionless, Subaru couldn't stop the goosebumps from rising up his spine, as if ice had been inserted into him.
She spoke to Subaru, one word at a time, as if savouring it.
"After causing damage to the village, and especially to Barusu, who is a related party to Lord Roswaal's mansion, it is unthinkable that they would just ignore it."
"Wh-what are you planning to do...?"
Subaru unintentionally started speaking politely, and Ram suddenly erased the intimidating air she had been feeling. As she lightly combed her pink hair with her fingers,
"We will sweep them up. --However, that is after Roswaal-sama returns. Once Roswaal-sama returns, it won't take that long."
Those words of complete trust left no room for Subaru to argue.
Even though he didn't know the extent of Roswaal's abilities, he could tell the immense trust Ram had in him.
Afterwards, Subaru steals two more steamed sweet potatoes from Ram before parting ways.
After they part ways, she heads to a group of villagers who are still huddled together, feeling lonely. It's probably a thoughtful gesture on her part. The fact that she expresses her feelings by offering steamed sweet potatoes really captures Ram's plain personality.
"But the steamed sweet potatoes are delicious. The saltiness is just right."
Subaru continued to stroll around the village, munching on the steamed sweet potatoes he had been given.
While checking on his physical condition, he also checked on the safety of the children he had retrieved from the forest. The children themselves were still asleep due to fatigue from the night before and the loss of mana from removing the curse, but the parents of the children were overly grateful.
To be honest, Subaru hadn't done it because he wanted to be thanked, so he was extremely anxious and flustered, and in the end, unable to pull off a proper joke, he chose to run away out of embarrassment.
Breaking into a cold sweat at the unexpected welcome, Subaru decided that he had accomplished his main objective. He considered returning to the room where he had initially slept and waiting for Emilia to wake up, but then he realized that he had yet to meet the blue-haired girl face to face.
--Suddenly, the image of a blood-splattered demon laughing loudly flashed through his mind.
At that moment, I don't think it was fear or any other emotion that made Subaru tremble.
It was an overwhelming feeling, difficult to put into words, as if I was standing before a being so superior to me as a living being. Or perhaps people would call it awe.
With a white horn growing from his forehead and using superhuman strength to slay magical beasts, he was the very image of a demon from folklore.
He was worried about whether he would be able to behave normally in front of her.
"No no, why are you so worried about the twin Ram when she was so fine? If Rem is a demon then Ram is a demon too… Haven't I had an incredibly valuable experience!?"
Making himself forget how intimidated he was by the light-hearted remark, Subaru shook his head and refreshed his memory.
I felt that way because I was remembering the most shocking scenes from last night. I wanted something more vivid, something more refreshing that would make me forget all those painful scenes.
I can picture the scene of the iron ball crushing the monster's head, blowing its body away, and smashing through the horde.
"Hmm, even if I ignore the part where he turned into a demon, the only thing I can think of is splatter. And, ugh, just thinking about it makes me feel sick..."
The feast of blood and organs suddenly came to mind, and Subaru clutched his mouth as he felt the urge to vomit.
I staggered over to the edge of the building and crouched down in the grass, breathing heavily. I felt relieved, knowing that I could somehow hold on.
After all, he was hungry and finally stuffed the steamed sweet potato into his mouth. Moreover, it was a precious item that Ram had put his heart and soul into. If he let it go to waste, his reputation as a man would be tarnished.
Somehow managing to hold back the urge to vomit, Subaru nodded vigorously and praised himself.
Then, he raised his head to face Rem once more,
"---I was in just the right place."
A girl with cream-colored hair in vertical curls appeared from the other side of the bushes. When she saw Subaru, she beckoned him over.
"I wonder if there's something I need to talk about. Let me join you for a bit... "Ororororororororo.""
Beatrice's pretentious words came over him, and all the words he had been trying to hold back came out.
"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!"
While thinking, "That guy's screaming is unexpectedly cute," Subaru continued spitting out the potatoes, which couldn't be stopped now that they had come out once again.
The steamed sweet potatoes continued to be excreted, white and white, without staying still.
※※ ※※ ※※ ※※ ※※ ※※ ※※ ※
After the commotion died down, Beatrice brought Subaru to the back of a building close to the Forest of Demonic Beasts.
Previously, this area would have been lined with small, independently-run shops, but as it was the morning after the monster incident, there were no villagers to be found aimlessly wandering around the area.
This place, with its rows of empty houses, could indeed be said to be the perfect location for holding secret conversations within the village.
"So, what exactly is it that has called you out to such a place?"
"That's not the attitude of the guy who brought it back just now. I wonder if he'll regret it."
"Oh, thanks for rubbing my back, I feel a bit better now. Oh, by the way, I heard you also helped me put my body back together."
"If the former and latter are thanked in the same way, Betty will have a hard time knowing how to treat you."
Either way, it's true that I'm grateful, so I hope you'll accept it graciously.
Putting Subaru's thoughts aside, Beatrice was acting quite uncharacteristically, constantly looking around and fiddling with the hem of her skirt with her fingers in a confused manner.
His attitude was that he had something difficult to say.
She is quite frank with Subaru and says whatever she wants, which is uncharacteristic of her. Perhaps it is also influenced by the fact that her facial expression, appropriate for her age, gives off the vibe of a "child who is afraid of being scolded by their parents."
With a look like that on her face, Subaru couldn't bring himself to roughly urge her onward. Crossing his arms and leaning his back against the building, he decided to wait for her to speak.
But the wait didn't have to last very long.
Subaru's lack of desire for the future appears to have instead spurred her on to her decision.
Beatrice closed her eyes, then, as if making up her mind, forced them open.
and,
"Nicha has his own ideas. But I don't think it would be fair to you to keep quiet about it."
The only person she could call ``Nii-cha'' so affectionately could be Puck.
Remembering the grey kitten he had just spoken to, Subaru tilted his head in confusion at the way she spoke.
Beatrice responded to Subaru,
"Nicha is rooting for that girl from among the miscellaneous, so she takes precedence. That's the right thing to do as a spirit. But I wonder if Betty is dissatisfied."
"What are you doing..."
What Subaru was trying to say was something he couldn't continue.
Before he could say anything, Beatrice spoke up, as if to cover for him.
She announces.
"--You will die in less than half a day."