Uploading date: 10/22/2018 [M/D/Y]

Re: Life in a fantasy world ~ Arc 3: Sweet and Harsh Reality

Chapter 2: Poison-laced facade

"Shamak!"

Engulfing my target in a cloud of darkness, I leap forward with Elsa's kukri knives and I silently stab the man through his chest, his heart was no more, "Damn, these are much sharper than I thought they were…" Maybe I hit a sweet spot, maybe my own flesh was harder to pierce through, or maybe I underestimated myself, no matter the trivial reason, I know one thing, "I'm already loving these knives!"

"Subaru-sama, please lower your voice, we might be heard…"

"Oh, sorry about that, this knife is just way too good..."

Rem lands gracefully beside me and picks up the corpse of the impaled cultist, we have to remove any and all traces of them, nothing must be left of this covert mission, "Where should we dispose of them?" A good question, we need to put them somewhere where people wouldn't check around, "We need to find a place which can cover their smell, if we do that, then it should be okay…"

"Might I suggest feeding them to the nearby Mabeast, Subaru-sama?"

"Woah, you really are a cruel woman under that cute facade huh? I'd feel bad for the person who's wise enough to cheat on you, heh"

"Very funny, Subaru-sama…"

Gazing at me with a frightening glare, Rem's stance suddenly changed, and it doesn't look good for me, "O-Okay, before this escalates any more, let's go and find some Mabeast…" Before Rem had a chance to retort, I had already cast Murak on myself and am on the run, though, it didn't take her long to catch up.

"So what kind of mabeast live here anyway?"

"Rem is not sure herself, Rem was thinking Subaru-sama would know since you were a wanderer"

"Well, I've never been to a mountain in particular so I don't really know…"

We jump from rooftop to rooftop, making sure we aren't heard or seen, these cloaks really do help a lot. Not only do they cancel out the smell of blood, but they also blend in with the night sky, a perfect recon tool. "Subaru-sama to your left!" Seeing something in the corner of my eye, I swung out the kukri knife and it clashed with what could only be a dagger.

I landed back down and the dagger landed beside me, as I expected, it was a cultist's dagger, those have a really distinct look. I face the direction where it originally came from and I saw a hooded figure, it doesn't seem like he's going to flee, does he think he can take us? Or he is he buying time for reinforcements? "Either way, I'll have to silence you"

This is a really bad position to be in, most of the town is made of village style houses so breaking a few things is very much possible, that's not something that I can let happen if I'm going to continue hunting these guys down, "El-Goa" While I was thinking of the dangerousness of the situation, the cultists had already chanted his first spell, and it just had to be Goa.

"El-Kardese!"

As the small balls of flames approached me, I set up a barrier in front of me, though it isn't the usual kind of barrier. With the El-class, the barrier absorbs any mana-based attacks instead of physically blocking it, makes for a silent shield and one that doesn't disrupt the surroundings, quite useful for the occasion. "Let's try not to burn down a few houses please" The fireball hit the barrier and got completely absorbed, no trace of it left.

I leap for him just as he was about to cast another one, but he managed to dash away just in time. "Goa!" He shot a smaller flame towards me, not as large as the last one so I easily deflected it with the kukri knife. Right after deflecting it, I lobbed my knife straight at the cultist who just casually jumped off the rooftop, it hit its mark on his left shoulder, but that wasn't enough.

"Ul-Go-!"

Before he could chant another spell, a spiked metallic ball impaled him directly in the head, slamming him down to the dirt floor with a loud thump. I see Rem land beside the limp cultist, making sure he was dead, "Quickly, before anymore catch sight of us…" I pick up this one, and the two of us are on the run once more.

After sneaking around, we made it to the town's walls, which were surprisingly large, not large enough that we couldn't cross over, though, "Now, let's see…" We walk for a bit until we were at a fair distance away from the town, we then set the corpses down and wait for a bit, thanks to the smell of blood and the lurking miasma it shouldn't take long for them to find us.

"Hey Rem, have you ever seen this Menkalin guy?"

"Rem is afraid she hasn't, Subaru-sama… Why do you ask?"

"Call me crazy or paranoid but I just don't like the sound of him…" Menkalin, just from his name, I can tell this isn't an ordinary guy. Menkalinan is one of the stars in the Auriga constellation, in other words, it's a star name. I'm not exactly sure what it's exact meaning is, but I'm sure it isn't good, well, it can be safe to assume that he's part of the Witch-cult if he has one.

"Although Rem has nothing to say about this Menkalin, Rem is most definitely wary of his attendant, the feeling he gives puts Rem slightly off…"

As we were discussing all this, we hear the bushes rattle behind us, looks like a customer has finally decided to pay a visit, "Yes, yes, come here, dinner is served!" I cut one of the corpse's arm and toss it over to the rattling bush. Without a second to spare something leaped out of it, four-legged, hairy, and awfully large, it's a two legged-hyena. Rem takes the corpses and throws it to the mabeast, it glared at us rather angrily as it caught the food we threw over.

"Well you're a feisty one aren't you? Okay Rem, let's go, we'll call it a night here"

"Rem would have loved to get some more, but as you wish, Subaru-sama…"

Leaving the beast to itself, we walk away. I'm not sure how long we've been scouting the area for, but it wasn't tha~t long, but you never know, time flies faster when you're having fun right? "Subaru-sama, you haven't eaten dinner right?" Rem asks me, I reply with a simple nod as I face her, "Then please allow Rem to treat Subaru-sama to anything he wants"

"How considerate of Rem… or not, you just don't want to cook another meal just for me right? Heh, your evil just like Ram is inside, aren't you..."

"Subaru-sama is rather perceptive, isn't he… and please don't call Nee-sama, evil, she is a masked angel that is full of love and flowers"

"An angel full of love and flowers eh? Kind of ironic since you two are demons don't you think?"

"No one says demons couldn't be angels, Subaru-sama. And even if there are, Rem would have bashed them down by now"

Her continuous admiration of Ram is so great that it actually scares me, it's even bigger than Ram's own ego! But that's siblings for you, there's no way they'd oppose each other when they're like this, "Well then, I guess it's better this way, let's get going then" We jumped over the town walls once more and sneak our way back into the streets, we stashed our cloaks back inside the sack, we can't have anyone suspecting us now can we.

We picked a random restaurant and just ate whatever they had, I heard from nearby tables that this town was famous among chefs for having top quality salt, as a person who thinks salt tastes the same everywhere and anywhere, things like 'this salt is the best in the world' doesn't really matter to me, on the other hand, "You're going to try and get a bit of this 'top quality salt' aren't you Rem?"

"Of course, Subaru-sama, as a chef herself, Rem absolutely cannot waste this golden opportunity to expand on her knowledge"

"Well, while you're doing that, might as well get whatever I want as well…" And so the night passes, Rem was going as far as taking notes from the chef himself while I just gobble up on what I think looks good, and it was, for the most part, good, but for some reason, Rem has this certain flavor that just makes hers infinitely better, no amount of seasoning or spice can make a normal dish as good as her own.

"Still, I didn't know Rem was so passionate about cooking"

"It's less of being passionate about cooking, and more about being passionate on making Nee-sama the ultimate dish, Subaru-sama, to be honest, cooking for anyone but Nee-sama is of no interest to Rem" So it all roots back to Ram huh? Well, what could you expect?

"You know? It's kinda funny how just a while ago we mercilessly slaughtered two people, and now we're eating rather carefree by a nearby restaurant"

"Subaru-sama, please tell Rem that you have no feelings of any kind other than malicious intent for those cultists…"

"Of course, I don't feel bad for killing them in the least, but it just got me thinking… if an onlooker were to judge that situation without knowing beforehand the circumstances of each side, they'd most definitely make us out to be the bad guys. Yes, and just like that, justice is subjective to how one perceives to be wrong and right, in other words, if society doesn't accept it, it might as well just be eradicated… don't you think Rem?"

I give her a look after that, she seems to be taking it in and processing what I've said fully, she really is a fun person to talk to at times like these, she's a good listener, "Are you referring to how the world views the Witch-cult, Subaru-sama? It feels like your saying that they're only bad because we make them out to be bad…"

"Nope, not at all, Witch cult, whether it's now or in a hundred years, they're gonna be bad guys no matter which angle we look at… what I'm more concerned about is… Emilia-san you see…"

"Rem understands… Emilia-sama is rather looked down upon by not only the kingdom but by the Witch-cult themselves… not only is she seen as a direct image of the witch of envy, but a foul imitation of her as well, she truly is suicidal in thinking she can make it in the Royal selection..." That is true, the moment her existence is made public, then the whole country would grow wary, assassins will be on the all-time high, cultists would be lurking here and there, it really is problematic for her, isn't it?

"Even if it is close to impossible, you'd still choose to support her right?"

"Of course, Emilia-sama, although she may be naive, weak-hearted, and at times immature, she has the will to go on knowing all her flaws, it is rather admirable, Rem just can't see her supporting anyone else… it is also partly because Roswaal-sama has seen potential in her, as a maid, Rem must follow along with the will of her master…"

"A loyal maid you are aren't you? Well, I can't say I have the same amount of admiration you have towards Emilia-san, but for some reason… she just reminds me of a person who's suffered rather terribly in his past. Call me a kid for clinging onto old memories but a part of me just doesn't want her to lead the same path that person could have lead…"

Of course, this person is none other than me, a lost child dreaming of avenging his parents, being laughed at by other people saying that such a thing is impossible, quite similar to Emilia's own situation right now, I'll work hard so that both our dreams can come into fruition. Rem nods, as if in agreement with what I say, well saying that while having something in your mouth kinda makes it less serious.

"Huhu, lookie here boys…"

My ears twitched a little, I hear a coarse voice, and it didn't sound very pleasing to the ear, "May I help you?" I turn my back, two men approached me, rather bulk, also wearing the typical clothing of mercenaries, this may or may not end very well. The slightly larger one came over to me and put in front of me a sack, I can hear, many, many coins inside that thing, then again, it could all just be coppers which is useless.

"Hey, listen here boy…" he pats me by the shoulder, acting as if we are best friends, aren't we? Also, I'm actually a young adult, thank you very much… "That little girl over there… let us borrow her for a night yeah?" Upon hearing their request, I look over to Rem, she narrowed her eyes, displeased about this. Also, Rem is actually a young adult too, please stop calling us 'boy' and 'little girl'

"Subaru-sama, Rem hopes you understand tha-"

"Now, now Rem… just let me handle this situation…"

Stopping her sentence with my finger, I turn an eye to the men, my smile, full of mischief, "Listen here lads… I don't want your money, nor do I want any of your belongings, praise, and whatnot, but tonight's been a boring night, and fellow men's gotta help each other I guess. So how about I propose a deal?" Our eyes lock on, it seems we were in agreement, this is going to be hilarious. Meanwhile, I can sense an ever-increasing menace just behind me, I wonder what that could be…

"You guys can have Rem under one condition… You beat her in an arm wrestling match"

Silence was present as everyone turned their heads towards our table, the men looked at me dumbstruck, and I can feel an invisible force behind me that is just waiting to choke me the moment I turn around, seriously, what could such a scary thing be… "Buhaahaa! Alright, then let's get it on!" The men laughed, it seems they were confident in their chances, how amusing.

"Oh, and one thing, in the slim chance that Rem happens to win, you'll pay for our meals and anything else that we owe this store, got it?"

"Haha, slim chance?! You gotta be kidding me, she's got no chance on me, oh, but I guess I can go easy on her, heh! You've got yourself a deal!"

The two of us lock hands, the deal has been made, and a contract too! Our hands glowed, "Subaru-sama…" I can feel someone grab onto my shoulder, it hurts, a lot! Just from a mere touch, how strong is this maid? Was she holding back when we fought in the forest that day?! "Okay then Rem, the contract's been formed so nothing we can do about that right?! Let's begin!" I grab Rem's hand and twirl her in front of me, letting her sit beside the wooden table.

"W-Wait, a minute Subaru!"

"Now, let's have a fair match yes?"

Without any concern for Rem, the bulky man sat down in the opposite seat, and got his hand on the table, ready to destroy Rem, it seems. Rem, though wanting to punch me on the gut any number of times right now, readies her hand as well as she sighs. She glares at him while he shoots her a mocking smile, this is going to give me one hell of a laugh.

"Okay! In three… two… one… go!"

The moment it started, I could feel a wave of pressure blast through their clasped hands, and it was all caused by Rem. As if in slow motion, I could see the mans hand shrink under Rem's intense force, ripples were formed in the skin from the sheer pressure she exerted. Her arm then started to tilt and the man's hand moved with it. It was incredible, the speed that is. Almost like lightning, the whole man's body was flipped over and slammed into the ground, a loud crash could be heard, smoke then started to rise, Rem was victorious...

"..."

"Pff…"

Everyone's stunned eyes turned to me as I could hardly contain my laughter, "Hahaha! That was too good!" Watching someone getting destroyed by someone they just mocked, it really is a funny thing isn't it, it may be mean, but hey, no helping it, we're all imperfect beings after all. "Hah, as expected of the demonic Rem, I knew you'd beat him but still, you packed an extra punch in that swing, didn't you? I mean the dude went flipping through the air and everything"

Rem sighs as she unrolls the sleeve of her maid outfit, ignoring the fearful gazes of everyone around her, "Rem couldn't risk the chance of being defiled by those men, for putting Rem in such a situation, divine retribution shall fall upon you Subaru-sama…" A death glare sent straight at me, I'm dripping cold sweat right now, maybe I took it too far with this one?

"Now, now, it all ended well right? Anyway, we'll be taking our leave right now, hey bud, deals a deal so pay up properly okay?"

"Ah… ag…"

"I think that's a yes…" We leave the man, whose hand was partly stuck on the ground, I can feel wary gazes all around us, we've attracted quite a lot of attention accidentally didn't we...

Me and Rem return back to the inn after the eventful night, hopefully, no one gets too wary of us, it would be really troublesome if such a thing did happen, "Oh, I think he's finally arrived…" As we make our way to the front of the inn, I can see a dragon carriage just outside, and I saw that Tau guy as well, it seems Menkalin has finally arrived, better go greet him then, it's only natural.

The two of us walk over to the carriage, we can make out a subtle aura coming out of it, stealthy, graceful, and deadly, it was him, "Ah… you must be the Natsuki Subaru I've heard of…" I can see a man walk out of the carriage, his hair a dark gray, donning a robe with patterns commonly seen in Gusteko, intelligent eyes that can see through everything, this was most definitely the guy.

"Well, well, didn't think I'd be going against a prince charming now…"

Crap, this guys got some good looks, not gonna lie, I'm a little jealous, "Ah, you flatter me" He walks towards the two of us and bows, "Menkalin, just Menkalin, pleased to meet you, Natsuki Subaru…" He smiled towards me, a facade, I can tell as much from experience, can Rem tell too?

"Yo, I'm Natsuki Subaru, some random wanderer, I'll be your opponent for the role of 'The representative of the Emilia camp', may the best man win"

A little competition won't hurt, if anything, it gets me riled up for what happens after, though, there won't be any competition, to begin with, "Thanks, I do plan on winning rather quickly… but it will have to wait until tomorrow morning sadly" He forcefully shook my hand, this guy's quite arrogant, think he's all high and mighty, well, I'm not too different, I'll keep humble for now, I mustn't respond to his provocations, not one bit.

"We'll just have to see now shall we?"

He entered the inn, and we followed him inside, apparently he was well known in this area, the guards knew him, the innkeeper knew him, if I wasn't suspicious of him, I'd mistake him for an actually good guy, though, I'm not making that mistake. "I guess I'll take the night off here, I'm off Rem" I waved off to Rem as I entered my room, she bowed and replied with a "Good night" as I left the lounge.

Tomorrow's the day the cultist will probably move, Rem would suspect that, I hope anyway, it's good having someone you can count on once in a while. All that said, I seem to have a little problem right now, "Uhh… am I just seeing things or are you… no, I'm definitely not seeing things! Why are you in my room?!" As it stands, there is a little girl sleeping in my bed, well not sleeping, resting would be a better word.

"You expect Betty to book you a room? Your acting rather arrogant, I suppose. In fact, this is Betty's room, so I should be asking, why are you in my room! Isn't this an invasion of privacy!" Invasion of privacy? More like information failure, Rem didn't tell me about this! Actually, wait, Rem was out with me at night so she couldn't have known about this, this must be Ram's doing! That flat-chested demon! "That Nee-san… I'll get her for this…"

"Spare Betty from your endless blabbering, I suppose, I would very much like to sleep now, so you can take the floor as your bed tonight"

"The floor?! Uh, well I'm actually quite used to sleeping on the ground, I've done it on many occasions actually…"

Absolutely not wanting Ram to win on this little peg to find things to mock me with, I sit on the ground, feeling the wooden floor, it was cold, this is not going to be comfy whatsoever, "No resistance at all, I suppose!? Fine, if you really want to sleep on the ground that badly, Betty will gracefully lend her pillow to you, I suppose" Dropping a pillow beside the bed, that wasn't graceful at all. She gave a rather triumphant look, what's to be so proud about?

"Actually, it's a little better to sleep without a pillow so you can have it"

"What?! How can one sleep without the comfiness of a pillow, I suppose?! Let alone sleep on the floor!"

"Not sure if you heard me say it a few seconds ago, but I'm used to sleeping on the ground, it's like a massage at night, as a wise woman once said"

Looking at me rather skeptical as handed the pillow over to her, "Humph, you have a weird way of doing things, I suppose…" Snatching the pillow away from my hands she tucks herself back into the bed sheets and closes her eyes, "I think it's less of me doing weird things and more of you being too afraid to try new things, don't you think?"

"What was that, I suppose! Are you challenging Betty, I wonder!?"

"Heh, yeah sure, I'm challenging you, think you're up to it?"

"Oh, I'll show you!"

And the next morning came…

"To think that you'd actually make it past the night… that's rather impressive for your first time Beatrice, well as expected of an ex-great spirit, sleeping on the ground should be nothing for you right?" I say while folding the bed sheets that she slept with. We both did sleep on the floor, though it was on opposite sides of the bed, so Beatrice kept the sheets to herself, it was rather cold that night, good thing the cloak I bought warmed me up a bit.

"Such a miserable experience… Betty is never doing that again… and what were you saying about this massage, I suppose, Betty felt like she was being tortured the whole night, you know?!"

"I did say it would feel like a massage at night… but I never said it was going to be comfortable now did I? The kind of massage I was referring to is more like the one where you get muscle cramps and so it's for refreshing your muscles see, ah, but then again you're a spirit, so you don't really have those don't you? Well, guess that was a waste of time…"

With her face trembling at the hard truth, I turn to leave the room, "Make sure you come out soon, I feel like something big is gonna happen later today, we might need your assistance" She didn't reply but I'll take it as a 'whatever' and I close the door, to my right I see someone leaving their room, to my left I see… nothing in particular.

"Should go and get breakfast before doing anything, can't run on an empty stomach now…"

I make my way down the stairs and into the lounge where I expect everyone else should be, though no one was there, well, no one but Ram anyway, "I see you are up Barusu, did you enjoy the night?" Again with that face of indifference, it's like she's secretly laughing at me inside "Nope, not at all and it's all thanks to you. I had to sleep on the floor you know?"

"Really? Ram was sure you'd share the bed with Beatrice-sama, maybe you aren't as vulgar as I thought you were, Barusu…"

"Just what kind of image did you have of me… uh, but more importantly, where's Emilia and the other two? Oh and that guy as well"

Pointing her finger to the inn's door, she answered me, "Emilia-sama and Rem have gone to explore the town together, I am not sure where our guest has gone, but he was last seen with his attendant, he and his attendant were gone the moment Ram got down the stairs, Roswaal-sama is out doing business, and Ram was tasked with dumping all this information on you, now that it is done, I shall be leaving…" with that, she turns around and leaves me, was that her way of saying good morning?

"Okay then?" I say while waving to her, what am I supposed to now, I wonder? I look around, there was no one I know around, I could try to go to that restaurant again, they were pretty cheap and the food was pretty good too, maybe I should bring- oh she's already here, "Urgh… I can barely feel my back, I suppose…" I can see her approaching me, it seems she's really didn't enjoy her sleep at night, well, this is the thing about pride, it can make you do things you'd regret later on, too bad for her.

"Hey Beatrice, I'm gonna head over for breakfast, wanna come with?"

"Urghh…" She begrudgingly nodded as she dragged her feet towards the entrance of the inn, I follow behind her, "Where exactly are we headed to I suppose?" She asks as she stops, realizing she was the one leading the way. I walk past her and on forward to the direction I came back from last night.

"Rem and I went to a restaurant last night and it had some decent food, I'm gonna go there again"

"What? You expect Betty to eat something made by the likes of an unknown restaurant, I suppose? Where's the younger maid!"

"It can't be helped, she's out there with Emilia-san touring the town or something, and it's not like I'm the richest man in the world you know? Besides, it won't hurt to try new things right?" It doesn't seem like she's willing to listen, "Betty has already used up all her trials for this year, so trying other new things is currently, impossible, I suppose" Well, it's not like there's another choice, it's either you eat or you starve, ah, then again, she is a spirit so it's okay if she doesn't eat, I guess.

.

"Well, this is the place"

"It's plain, I suppose…"

"Isn't that the same with everything here though?"

Indeed, the structures of the houses all around us were rather repetitive, it can't be helped since this is a village-town kind of thing. I open the door of the restaurant and walk in, no one else besides the two of us seems to be here, except for the person on the counter and a few waiters. It also seems like they've fixed up the table Rem destroyed last night, and the hole in the floor too, these guys are always in tip-top condition aren't they?

I take the seat I took last night, Beatrice sat opposite to me and I called over a waiter to the table, though they all shivered when they heard my voice. The waiter from last night came to me again and we ordered our food, I ordered something different from last night, hope it impresses me, though, nothing can top Rem's cooking.

We wait for a little bit until we got served, after that, it was happy eatings. "So, how do you like the food Beatrice? Pretty decent for a village don't you think?" I say while stuffing some sweetened bread in my mouth, it was surprisingly soft and fluffy, just the way I like my bread, "Indeed it is surprisingly decent, but it doesn't please Betty like the younger maid's cooking would, I suppose…"

"Isn't it like that when you compare anything to how Rem would do it? I feel bad for the store this way…"

"Then the world will just have to catch up to the younger maid to please Betty's taste buds"

"Heh, the world doesn't revolve around you, you know…" Finishing the last of the bread, I gulp it all down with some water, a nice and hearty breakfast that was. Though it isn't as good as Rem's usual, it is more than enough to fill me up.

"So what exactly were you up to last night, I suppose?" She asked meticulously while pushing her empty plate to the edge of the table, "Snuck around a bit with Rem, nothing much"

"I see"

Basking in the calmness of the atmosphere, I succumb to the everlasting silence, but it was short-lived, "There you are you bastard!" With a loud bang, the door opened up and a few men came in, hey, isn't that the guy from last time? The one that Rem destroyed with ease in an arm wrestling match?

"Yo there, Mr. Bulky, how did yesterday's defeat taste?"

"Don't get ahead of yourself now boy, don't think you've won just because I went easy on your little maid…" I repeat, I'm a young adult, so would you please not refer to me as simply a boy? Even bastard would better, "Wait, since when was the younger maid 'yours', I suppose?" Beatrice asked skeptically.

"Since never, blame Mr. Bulky for assuming that she was mine in the first place. Actually, wait, you should also blame his gullibility, he got tricked way too easily in the end!"

"You sure talk big for your size don't you brat, well the little maid isn't here to protect you now" He got close while saying that, a little too close, also, I thought I made it clear that I was her superior last time? When was she ever protecting me?

"S-Sir, may I advise that you don't cause too much of a ruckus in the store…"

"Oh shut your mouth you damn cuck, I already gave you my money last night so get lost!" Woah, this guy's got a temper, I feel bad for the waiter for having to deal with him, "Sorry about that, we'll leave immediately, I apologize for the trouble I've caused last night" I hand over the waiter a few silvers as payment and left through the door with Beatrice, ignoring the group of me who came to see me.

"Where do you think you're running off to bastard?!" Ah yes, please continue calling me bastard, it makes me sound badass.

The door flung open once more and Mr. Bulky walked up to me while my back was turned away, it feels like he was going to shove me so I quickly turned to the side. Seriously, why is it always these weak big-shots that are so arrogant, the least you can do is be polite like that Menkalin guy, "If you really want to vent out that anger of yours, then feel free to come at me, I'll be generous though and give you one whole minute"

I said that rather mockingly, though I didn't mean for it to be as provocative as it turned out, it did. "Shut up!" Without warning, he took out a battleaxe and slammed the blunt face straight at my sides, I tumbled to the ground.

"I'll make you beg for your life!"

Doing the whole action and then walking over to me, it took him twenty seconds, he really is taking his time, isn't he? "What's the matter, can't even block a simple attack like that? Just like I thought, you're all talk after all!" After picking me up, he punches me in the gut, then kicks me to the ground, several times.

"Come on, already had enough that your body just gave up? It's no fun if you don't struggle, come on beg for mercy!" He puts his feet on my head and starts grinding it down, I finally start feeling the pain. He then flips me over to see my face bruised and bloodied, I try to mumble something, but all that came out was, "fggh... scccnds ft…"

"Huh?! What was that! I'm sorry but you're going to have to beg louder, I can't hear you!"

I spat out the dirt in my mouth and then tried once more, "I said… five seconds left, heh" Saying that to taunt him even further, I chuckle. He got enraged, picking up his battleaxe over his head and striking it down on me, "Die!"

"One minute over..."

Using all the power into that swing he, slammed the axe down to the ground, the power was great enough that a gush of wind rippled through the air, a cloud of dust was also launched into the air. Breathing raggedly, the dust cloud dissipated and he looked down on me, only, I wasn't there.

"W-What?!"

"If Rem and I were to fight seriously, I'd probably be able to kill her five times before she could land a decisive blow, what makes you think that you, who couldn't even beat her in a playful match, have a standing a chance against me…"

I whispered these string of words into his ear and before he could react, I plunged the kukri knife into his back and kicked him down. "Guah!"

"I have a pretty high pain tolerance, so your attacks didn't really have much effect on me until you started squashing my head, that hurt quite a bit…" He looked at me in terror, all my injuries from just seconds ago, vanished as if nothing had ever happened, he was literally trembling as blood seeped out of the wound.

"Hey Beatrice mind checking this sorry guy out, he's kinda hurt"

"Hmph, you are a cruel man for toying with your victims like this, I suppose, and for Betty to have to clean up your mess at that? If Betty wasn't this kind, you'd be a criminal in the near future… That's what I'd like to say, but you've hurt Betty's contractor, in fact, so don't expect anything from me"

"Heh, sucks to be you doesn't it? I made sure not to hit any of your vital spots but if you don't cover that up within a few hours, you'd most likely die of blood loss, ciao now"

The two of us leave the scene with little regard to the man who could actually be hanging on the last string of his life, well, he did have the intent to kill me so it's his problem. As we were walking away, the men that were previously with him helped him up to his feet, it doesn't seem any of the can heal his wounds with magic.

The day passes on rather quickly and I never did get to see anyone else, which was rather strange since today's the day we discuss about whether or not that Menkalin guy gets to stay, I should get some say in it right? We head back to the inn to ask the only person who could now this.

"This was set up wasn't?" I asked Ram who was happily munching on some sweets while sitting by her bedside, she looks as dignified as ever with that smug look on her face, "Whatever could you mean, Barusu?"

"You know what I mean, you purposefully lied to me in order to keep me away from the meeting which is probably being held somewhere else. Now I want to know why?"

"Heh, Barusu isn't as stupid as he's bad at house chores it seems. Fine if you insist... Ram will tell you all about her master plan" The way she said that really just wanted me to jab at her eyes, but I held the urge in, "In simple terms, there is no need for Barusu to attend the meeting, no matter what, the outcome would be the same, you'd stay, he'd go. That being said, do you think he would silently go away if he were to lose his position?"

"Course not, he was pretty confident about it, and he has his pride to protect…"

"Exactly, Ram has given you more than enough time to prepare, so go make use of it, a chance to work with me isn't going to come every so often you know?" I think you're making exaggerating how your plan is good, you're making this whole deal bigger than it's supposed to be, but, "Nee-san is surprisingly reliable when it comes to these kinds of things isn't she"

"It's rather unsettling, I suppose…" Beatrice added her own comment after snatching a cupcake from the tray Ram had brought. Well it's as she said, it's the perfect opportunity to unmask this guy's true intention, it's a chance we shouldn't waste, "Okay then, Beatrice, come with me for a bit and Ram, make sure you stay up at night, tell that to Rem too"

"I don't need you telling me the obvious, Barusu"

Ushering the two of us out of the room, we were kicked out into the hallway, left to ourselves, "So what's the plan, I suppose?" Beatrice inquired, revealing a whole batch of cakes she snuck out of Ram's room, she'd really do anything for sweets won't she? "Let's keep it simple, the main priority is to keep Emilia-san out if harm's way, I think you're more than capable of doing that on your own, right?"

"Hmph, you got that right, I suppose, and if they manage to distract Betty, then Bubby will easily just freeze them"

"Then, I can leave Rem with all the small fry and Ram can serve as lookout, I'll rustle with the real deal myself, since he knows I'm a threat, he's probably got something planned for me anyway so I'll take him by surprise. If anything goes wrong, I'm sure Roswaal would swoop in and finish the job" Having someone who's equal to a whole army is pretty relieving, but we mustn't rely on Roswaal, he's most likely have something to deal with Roswaal as well.

I'll make sure Ram and Rem get the details before it all happens, hopefully, until then, "Do you have any spells I can borrow, Beatrice?"Beatrice stopped on her munching and glanced at me with a big smile, "Huhu, since you asked Betty nicely, I wouldn't mind sparing you some lost knowledge from centuries ago, I suppose…"

Yes, thank you Beatrice, I appreciate the help, but maybe tone down that smugness of yours, I don't think I've seen a girl this young act this smug, your ruining the image of cute young girls all around the world you know?

.

The sun set in an orange hue and the moon rose, the day turned into night and everyone had retired to their rooms, not even the nightlife is awake, all that remained was I, "Sneaking up to us at night, is an ungentlemanly thing to do don't you think?" I walk down the hallway, towards the man standing in front of Emilia's room, he wasn't wearing his usual dashing clothes, they seem more ragged, more savage, befitting of his role.

"Huh? And here I thought you ran and hid away from me, well, it wouldn't be fun that way now wouldn't it?"

The man had in his hand a single dagger, but this wasn't any ordinary dagger, it gleamed in the darkness and not the kind of gleam you'd get from polished metal, no, this dagger was coated with a toxic substance, a typical assassin's choice of weapon.

"Sorry but… but before you go through that door, you'll have to go through me…"

A/N

Yo, made it in time didn't I? So, what have I been doing? I'm preparing for a debate that's happening in the end of October, I need to get my recommendation letter in order to get to those big-shot universities you know? Also, the OST's from the Re:zero OVA are released and Relive is my new favourite, it's really catchy!

One more chapter should do it and then we're off to arc 4, the white whale, sloth, and others!

AMR-MNR

I read the chapter earlier yesterday (Sleep patterns screwed atm) and saw that... You wrote, say, four thousand words in a day? While I do say a good job for that, do make sure you can handle it.

Remember I wrote 12K words in a mere day once, that overexertion on your brain really, really bites.

It's actually… four thousand words, in a matter of hours… I took a big nap after that and awoke at midnight, so yeah, my sleepings pretty screwed too. It's just, the urge to write just hits me randomly, I had ten days where I couldn't write anything, then suddenly, bam, I finished up the chapter in a few hours, I just don't know how this works anymore man…

Throlfe

I don't know about anyone else but I think it's hilarious how the author points out all of the ways Subaru is overpowered.

A good author should know everything about their characters you see, whether it'd be all their weak points or all their strong points.

QuantumPE

As a huge Beako shipper it makes me want to cry seeing her so depressed. you'll make her happier right? Tell me she becomes happier! Also, does puck still think that Subaru actually when through with it?

Another admirer of Betty? Welcome, welcome, wholesomeness may not be achievable all the time, but it will be present where it is needed, this is a [Tragedy] after all, you can't expect it all to go uphill right?

70oda

Wow, the way you wrote that part with Beatrice was amazing

Hehe, compliments like these make my day, or would it be night since it's dark out… ah, it's the same anyway! Please do stay to look around, we'll be serving juice for the banquet next time! Hehe did anyone get that?