Chapter 49: Misunderstanding?
This was the third time coming to the village. The first time was fairly normal; the second time, the village was full of corpses. But this time, the village looked much like it did the first time.
Although Natsuki Subaru's expression looked fierce, the children in the village were not afraid of him at all. Plus, Subaru himself liked the village's atmosphere, so he quickly became familiar with the villagers.
"Barusu, we should go now," Ram's voice called out.
Hearing that, Subaru was just finishing leading the village children in a set of radio calisthenics.
"Okay, senpai, I'm coming right away."
Saying that, Subaru thought about whether there was anything left for him to do in the village. While he was thinking, the children around him spoke up:
"Eh, Subaru, are you leaving already?"
"Play with us a bit longer."
"Yeah, yeah."
Subaru looked helplessly at the children tugging his clothes and said:
"Sorry, big brother still has things to do. Next time, I'll come again to play with you all. So while I'm gone, you have to behave well, okay? Or else next time I won't perform my magic tricks for you!"
"Mm! We'll be good! Subaru, you can't go back on your word!"
"Mm, it's a promise then." Subaru's expression became serious.
He crouched down, extended his hand, and hooked pinkies with the child in front of him.
"This is a promise from my hometown. If you say something and don't do it, you have to swallow a thousand needles. So you all must behave well, and I'll come back next time to perform magic for you."
"That's scary! But as a man, I'm not afraid. It's a deal!"
After making promises with the children one by one, just as Subaru was about to get up and leave, the children quietly gathered and whispered something.
"Hey, Subaru, can you come with us? We have something to show you."
Hearing this, Subaru remembered if there was anything left undone in the village.
To ensure he really got cursed, he had to follow the same actions as the first time he came to the village.
When Subaru looked back with some hesitation toward Ram, she sighed helplessly:
"I'll only wait a little while. Otherwise, I'll come find you and bring you back beaten up."
"Wow, that sounds scary, but thanks, senpai."
Watching Subaru being led away by the children, Ram quietly stood in place, waiting for his return.
Led by the children, Subaru came to the edge of the village fence and saw a rather cute little dog run in from outside the fence.
Looking at the dog, Subaru recalled the first time he came to the village—he was bitten by this very dog.
It was strange; the dog looked well-behaved and cute.
Even when held by the children, it didn't bark or move wildly.
Yet, its attitude toward Subaru was extremely unfriendly.
Subaru tried petting the dog crazily like the first time, and the dog seemed obedient and friendly under his touch.
But the next moment, the dog suddenly bit his hand.
The strange thing was, Subaru didn't feel much pain—only a slight prick.
Pulling his hand back, Subaru looked at the wound, which was only a small cut with a drop of blood. The first time he was bitten, it was quite a large wound; now, it was just a minor bite, so his stats or improvements weren't entirely useless.
"What an unlovable dog," Subaru said with a smile as he stood up.
"Well then, I'll be going now. You all should go home early, too. Remember to behave, okay?"
"Okay~~~ See you later, Subaru!"
Having finished everything in the village, Subaru said goodbye to the children, met up with Ram, and together they walked back toward the mansion.
"Barusu, what exactly did you do just now?"
"Hmm, not much, just looked at the dog with the kids, then got bitten."
"You didn't do anything else, right?"
"Nope."
Hearing this reply, Ram nodded without further questions.
The two remained silent on the way back.
After some time, they arrived at the mansion.
Just upon entering, Subaru and Ram saw Rem holding a broom and cleaning. But both Ram and Subaru knew her cleaning was just a disguise—she was probably waiting here all along.
"Welcome back, sister."
"Yeah, I'm back, Rem."
Ignoring Rem, Subaru picked up a large wooden bucket and said:
"Well, I'll put this in the storage."
Without waiting for a reply, Subaru quickly disappeared from their sight. After placing the bucket in the warehouse, he sighed, thinking how the last time carrying such a big bucket wore him out, but now he barely felt tired.
However, Subaru didn't pay much attention to this. Compared to what he had to do next, there was something more important he needed to confirm.
Just as Subaru left the warehouse to find Pack, he saw Rem back in his line of sight.
"Senpai Rem, is there something you need?"
Rem looked at Subaru with disdain. She no longer bothered to hide her feelings—whenever alone with Subaru, she would never give him a kind face. Restraining herself from attacking him was already being very generous.
"What did you do in the village?"
"Uh, bought food and chatted and played a bit with the villagers."
Seeing Rem's expression, Subaru knew she definitely didn't believe his words. He sighed and said:
"Ram went with me, didn't she? Don't you trust your own sister?"
"····"
"If there's nothing else, I have work to do." Subaru started walking past Rem but heard her voice:
"Indeed, you haven't finished your mansion chores. I'll watch you until you finish everything. I won't let you leave my sight."
Hearing that, Subaru felt a toothache, wanting to say he had more important things to confirm but couldn't. Even if he said it, she would deny it.
"I understand…"
With resignation, Subaru could only finish the chores quickly and then find Pack. If Pack was resting, he would have to look for Beatrice.
So Subaru started quickly cleaning the mansion. When he was wiping the apparently expensive decorations near the front door, he heard Roswaal's voice.
"Subaru, you seem to have fully gotten used to mansion work~~~ I'm really happy for you~~~"
Turning, Subaru saw Roswaal dressed formally, as if about to go out, though his makeup was still intact.
"Used to it, yes, but a little annoyed."
"Hmm? Why annoyed~~~"
Stopping his work, Subaru smiled at Roswaal and said:
"Because I'm being hired despite not being trusted. If you don't trust me, why not just say so from the start and send me somewhere else to work? But on second thought, I guess it's because you don't trust me that you keep me close to watch over me."
"What are you talking about, Subaru~~~ You're the benefactor of Lady Emilia, my guest, and my new employee~~~ How could I not trust you~~~"
"Ah, I'm Lady Emilia's benefactor, your guest, and your employee, but where does it say I only get those roles if you trust me?"
"Looks like you have a big misunderstanding about us, Subaru~~~ In that case, after tonight, I can let you resign."
Frowning at Roswaal's expression, Subaru turned and continued cleaning while saying:
"I don't mind resigning, but I don't want to before I take Beatrice away."
"Roar~~~ Then I hope we clear up this misunderstanding during your time here. Please take good care of the mansion. I have some business to attend to."
With that, Roswaal left through the front door. It seemed he had already talked with Ram and Rem when Subaru wasn't around. But if he didn't trust Subaru, why let him watch over the mansion? Was it just polite talk?
Puzzled, Subaru continued working. Soon, he heard a voice nearby and turned to see Rem had returned. Subaru didn't want to talk, and probably Rem was thinking the same.
Time passed quickly. After dinner, Subaru immediately ran toward the library.