Chapter 48: Communication
On a forest path, Natsuki Subaru and Ram were walking toward the village.
The two were not talking; Ram, for some unknown reason, remained silent.
Subaru was lost in thought, pondering how to act regarding the impending conspiracy.
Thus, there was very little exchange between them on the way, and they still had some distance to go before reaching the village.
While thinking about the next steps and how to handle the village's situation once the mastermind was found, Subaru suddenly heard Ram ask a question.
"Barusu, do you know how to get to the village?"
Snapping out of his thoughts, Subaru turned his head and said, "I don't know. I've never been to the village before. Well—" Before he could finish, he stopped in his tracks, cold sweat spreading across his face.
He turned to look at Ram walking behind him.
His heart began to race.
Lost in complicated thoughts, he had unconsciously moved ahead of Ram.
He had been to the village—but that didn't mean this time counted as having been there.
He realized Ram was suspicious of him. He needed to explain himself or else Ram might take him away again, forcing another reset—a restart Subaru definitely didn't want.
However, before Subaru could explain, Ram spoke words that made him momentarily stunned.
"You don't know? Well then, I'll just take that as the truth. Let's go, don't waste time. Though honestly, wasting time makes me happy because I get to slack off a bit longer."
Subaru's gaze followed Ram as she moved ahead.
After she stepped in front of him, Subaru didn't follow immediately. Instead, he sighed, standing still and calling out.
"Ram."
"What is it, Barusu? Do you want to say something?" Ram stopped and turned to face him.
"I have been to the village."
"I know. You took the right path at the corner just now, after all."
"Don't you want to ask anything?"
"What do you want me to ask?"
Hearing this, Subaru clenched his fists, then relaxed.
His expression softened.
He stepped toward Ram and, without stopping in front of her, resumed walking toward the village.
"Ram, I know my presence is suspicious. I know you've never trusted me.
Also, I clearly said a few days ago that I'd never been to the village, and now I say I have. No matter how you look at it, I'm a suspicious person."
Ram watched Subaru keep walking, quietly following him without a word, listening intently.
"I won't make you trust me. I can't explain the suspicious things about me well either.
But at least, before you decide I'm a bad person, please don't kill me.
I still have things I want to do. Don't worry, what I want to do won't harm you."
Subaru understood he wasn't trusted.
He knew how suspicious his actions were.
Even if Ram killed him right now to eliminate the threat, he wouldn't be surprised.
But if Ram did intend to attack, Subaru would resist and run with all his might, to complete what he wanted to do.
His ability and the gifts from the gods meant he'd die many times—but a fearless death was not what Subaru desired.
"So, Ram, what do you plan to do? Let me make it clear: if you try to attack, I won't give up resisting. No matter how humiliating or embarrassing, I won't give up."
Saying this, Subaru glanced at Ram walking beside him, waiting for her reply, his muscles tense, ready to flee.
Defeating Ram? That was impossible.
Even Rem, her twin, was powerful. He wasn't going to believe Ram had no fighting ability.
"Before I answer, may I ask you a question, Barusu?"
"Sure."
Ram turned to look into Subaru's eyes and stopped walking. They faced each other with no hint of awkwardness or intimacy.
"Were the things you said last night true?"
"Last night?" Subaru thought back to what he'd said the previous night, then nodded seriously.
"Yes, they were."
"I see. Then I won't attack you now, but I will be watching you.
If you do anything suspicious, I won't hesitate to kill you."
"Oh, that really helps a lot." Subaru smiled, returning to his usual attitude as he walked toward the village.
"Let's go, senpai. The sooner we finish, the sooner you can slack off less."
Hearing Subaru, Ram sneered.
"Hmph, you think I'll work seriously after returning to the mansion? You're too naive, Barusu!"
"Ah! Senpai, can't you act like a senpai for once? Talking about slacking off so casually in front of me is too embarrassing!"
"I am doing what a senpai should. Watching over the growth of a junior is part of a senpai's duty."
"..." Subaru sighed, giving up on arguing further.
During this conversation, the distance between them seemed to lessen a bit—maybe it was just an illusion.
"Oh, by the way, Barusu, I had a dream last night."
"A dream? What kind? Mine was really unpleasant."
"Coincidentally, mine wasn't a happy dream either."
"Well, we're really unlucky then."
Just as Subaru was about to end the topic, Ram said:
"Yes, unlucky indeed. In that dream, I killed someone. The person I killed ended up laughing."
"Wow, even if it's a dream, that person sounds like a lunatic."
"Yes, exactly."
Their conversation ended there.
Subaru didn't take Ram's words to heart; his experience told him no one remembers everything they've done.
So he just treated Ram's dream as an unhappy dream.
He didn't notice something odd in Ram's gaze.
After some time, Subaru and Ram finally saw the village.
Subaru's eyes sharpened.
Next, he would be cursed in the village, then return to the mansion to have Puck remove the curse and identify who cast it.
Then he would investigate what was really happening in the village and solve those problems! Otherwise, this save file reset would be wasted.
"Oh! Getting fired up!"
"Barusu, stop shouting, it's gross."
"You just said gross, right? You definitely said gross!"